10 Movies For Book Lovers

I like movies about books. Whether the plot of the movie directly involved literature, or if it simply includes a main character who happens to be a bookworm, it's always lovely to see bookish things on the big screen.

I recently watched a vlog on this topic, and it inspired me to make a list (LISTS ARE LIFE) of some of my favorite movies about books. So let's get started, shall we?

1. Miss Potter

 Miss Potter is pure loveliness. It's a biopic of the author Beatrix Potter; it tells the story of how she got her first story published and how that affected her life. It's a stunning film and it makes you feel many feels. Definitely recommend.

2. Hugo

 Literature is not the main focus of this film (actually movies are a bigger aspect), but I think any bookworm would adore seeing the gorgeous library and bookshop in Hugo. Plus, Saruman Christopher Lee plays the bookshop's owner. Can't get much more epic than that.

3. The Book Thief

 The Book Thief is my favorite book, and this movie adaptation is wonderful. The story is set in WWII Germany and is about a girl named Liesel, who's greatest ambition is to learn how to read. Books (both the reading and stealing of them) end up becoming a pivotal part of Liesel's life. It's honestly just the most touching story.

4. Shadowlands

 This film is about C. S. Lewis - and it's a must-see for any Lewis fan. The film doesn't center around the writer side of Lewis (it's more about the Jack and Joy's relationship), but it's so interesting to get to know the person behind all of those amazing books. I do warn you, though: this film will break your heart into a million little pieces.

5. Beauty and the Beast

 Props to Disney for creating a Princess who's a total book nerd. Belle uses books - especially those that include far off places and daring sword fights - as an escape from the rather boring town she lives in. Her happily ever after includes a gigantic library that I've always been hopelessly envious of.

6. The Princess Bride

"When I was your age, television was called books." Ah, this one is such a classic. The Princess Bride pokes fun at your typical fantasy story. It's hilarious and inconceivably quotable. If you haven't seen this, you've just got to.

7. Little Women

 There's a million reasons to like this movie, but one of the reasons I've always loved it is because of Jo's love for stories. She's a bookworm and a writer who dreams of getting her work published someday.

8.You've Got Mail

 This is one of the cutest rom-coms ever. One of the reasons I like so much is because of all the literary references. The movie is about Kathleen, who owns the most precious little bookshop you ever did see, and Joe, who owns a huge chain bookstore across the street. Adorable things ensue.

9. Whisper of the Heart

 Although it's not my favorite Studio Ghibli film, I have a soft spot for Whisper of the Heart. I find it pretty adorable that the two main characters meet because they realize that they have been checking out all of the same books from the library. Shizuku, the heroine, is also an aspiring author.

10. Saving Mr. Banks

 Saving Mr. Banks is about P. L. Travers and the long process of signing her book - Mary Poppins - over to Walt Disney. I enjoyed this movie a lot. I loved the 60s setting, and I thought that both Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Travers were brilliant. Unfortunately, I went into it thinking that the story was accurate to what really happened, and I felt rather gypped when I researched it later and discovered that it was not. Still, it's a very sweet movie.

So, tell me, do you have a thing for bookish movies? What are some of your favorites? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

love,
Hannah

A Bookish Update

Note: I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone who commented on my last post! You all were so encouraging and helpful. I appreciate it so much!


At the beginning of this year, you might have seen this reading challenge floating around:

I thought it was pretty awesome, so I've been tackling it this year. I've read 12 books, and each of them let me check something off of the list. Here's what I've done so far!

A Book Set in the Future: The Death Cure by James Dashner

 FUTURE. This is the last book in The Maze Runner trilogy. Even though it wasn't my favorite out of the three, I still really enjoyed it. And by "enjoy", I mean I was hyperventilating the majority of the time. I love this series, y'all.

A Book More than 100 Years Old: Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb & Mary Lamb

This was written in 1807, so it's over two-hundred years old. It's a collection of Shakespeare's plays that have been simplified and re-written as prose. I loved it! It's a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's plays. I feel so much more educated now...

A Book that Became a Movie: Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers

This is such an adorable children's classic! So witty and imaginative. The movie is still #1 though, for me. Because Julie Andrews.
 
A Nonfiction Book: Think Biblically by John MacArthur

This book goes through a lot of different issues, and shows what the Bible says about each of those topics. Really great.

A Book Published This Year: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

This book was published in January. Man, who would have believed that such a little book could be so EMOTIONALLY SCARRING?

A Book You Finished in a Day: The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye

On Valentines Day I wanted to read something cutesy, so I picked up this favorite of mine. It's such an adorable little fairy tale! 

A Book Written by Someone Under 30: It Took a War by Emily Ann Putzke

My lovely blogging buddy, Emily, is not only under thirty, but she's also under twenty. #Impressive. This book is so wonderful! I wholeheartedly recommend it.

A Book a Friend Recommended: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson

A sweet friend in my church and I often do "Book-Swaps", and last month she gave me this one. I was sososo impressed with this book. I'm dying to read the rest of the series!

A Book You Started by Never Finished: Christian History Made Easy by Timothy Paul Jones

 

I've had this book for years, and I've even started it up a couple times, but I never finished it until just recently. It's an incredibly thorough yet simple book on Church History. Really awesome.

A Book that Scared You: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Okay, so this poem didn't scare me, but it was a very eerie and strange story. I had to read it for school, so naturally I thought it was going to be super boring, but it actually rocked.

A Book with Nonhuman Characters: Watership Down by Richard Adams

The characters are very nonhuman in this. Goodness gracious, Watership Down is such a such a great story.

A Book with a One-Word Title: Divergent by Veronica Roth

*FANGIRLS MANIACALLY* I'm laughably late to this band wagon (I even watched the movie first, oops) but wow, guys. Just. Wow. What. (I finished this book today so that's what's wrong with me.)


What are some books that you've read this year? Are you working on a reading challenge, too? Do tell.

love,
Hannah

The Blogging Slump

These last few weeks I have been experiencing an unfortunate case of blogger's block. I've been posting a bit, but it's been strangely difficult to post. It's all just VERY DUMB, you know?

It's not that I don't have things to post about. I have a whole lists of ideas, actually. But when I sit down to make a blog post, I just can't. It's very frustrating!

I'm sure that this is just one of those short writer's blocks and not the end of my blissful blogging career (as I sometimes scare myself into thinking).

Do you guys have any advice for poor bloggers who just can't blog? Is there some secret tip that will solve all my problems? Let me know, folks.

love,
Hannah

My Heart's in the Highlands

One of my favorite places in the whole world is Connemara, County Galway. It's beautiful there - so wild and mountainous. Everywhere you look there are gorgeous lakes and quaint little cottages. And sheep. Lots of sheep. Being there gives you a taste of Ireland as it used to be.

The photos I included were taken up on a mountain, which happens to be the very mountain that my grandma grew up on. (Her brother still lives there. The sheep in the last photo is his.)

What is one of your favorite places?

love,
Hannah

P.S. Let's pretend that the poem referenced in the title is about Ireland, not Scotland, okay? Thanks.

16 Curly Hair Problems

Curly-headed girls often get this said to them:

"Wow! You're so lucky! Some people spend a hundred dollars on a perm to get curly hair like that - and you get it for free!"

But curly-headed girls know that this is very, very false. Because no, curls are not free.

Curls come at a very big price.

Whether you're a curly girl yourself, or whether you are simply interested in finding out what it's like to be one of us, I hope you enjoy this list of the many woes of having curls.

Note: Not all of these will be relatable to everyone, as these are just the problems I myself have faced.


1. You wake up every morning looking like a curly-haired monster.

2. Your curls can not be tamed. No matter what products you use, no matter how expensive your bottle of shampoo was - your curls do what they want.

3. You sometimes find bobby pins in your hair while shampooing it.

4. You get called cruel nicknames. My brother occasionally calls me Weird Al.

5. One word: Humidity. No no no no.

6. If you want to straighten your hair, it takes hours. ...and it only lasts a few hours before it starts curling again.

7. Limited hairstyle options. Can't do no milkmaid braid, yo.

8. You vaguely resemble Mia Thermopolis...before her makeover.

9. Messy buns are your best friends. Because at least you meant for it to look messy.

10. You go through more conditioner in a week than most people go through in a month.

11. You refuse to leave the house without a hair tie.

12. You envy girls who are able to keep their curls under control. MUST BE SORCERY!

13. You find twigs and leaves in your hair after a walk in the woods.

14. You receive shocked looks from people after telling them that you don't brush your hair. "Trust me, it would make things worse."

15. When you pluck up the courage to actually wear your hair down for once, you step outside and the wind makes it look like a tumbleweed. Well, good thing I brought a hair tie...

16. Hairstylists don't know how to deal with you.


It's a tough life, that's for sure. But in all seriousness, having curly hair can be cool sometimes. I mean, if I ever want to cosplay Merida, I don't have to buy a wig! #win #curlyhairdontcare


love,
Hannah

3 Simple & Healthy Food Ideas

i. Greek yogurt with blueberries, a sprinkle of granola, and a drizzle of honey.

ii. Healthy pancakes made using this recipe, with the addition of blueberries, cinnamon, and golden syrup.

iii. Apples sandwiched together with peanut butter. The best.

What snacks do you enjoy making (and eating)?

love,

Hannah

The Epic Reads Tag

 I came across the Epic Reads Tag a little while ago when a bunch of Booktubers (for example: this one) posted it on their channels. I wasn't tagged by anyone to do this tag, but it looked so fun that had to go ahead and do it anyway. I'm cool and rebellious like that.

1. If you could invite one author and one of their fictional characters to tea, who would you invite and what would you serve them?

The loveliest thing I can think of is having C. S. Lewis and Lucy Pevensie over for Afternoon Tea. I'd serve scones, a bunch of different cakes, and cucumber sandwiches.  We'd have a good old chat about Narnia.

2. What book do you wish the author would write the prequel for?

 I've often thought that a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy would be epic. Not about Katniss or any of the characters we already know, but a story taking place during the early days of the Capitol. Honestly I just want more dystopian from Suzanne Collins :(

3. Which two characters (NOT from the same book) do you think would make a good couple?

Mwahahaha, I like this question! Let's see...Minho (from The Maze Runner) and Annabeth (from the Percy Jackson series) would make the absolute sassiest couple in existence. It probably wouldn't work out very well, but the banter would be outrageous.

4. If you ran into your favorite author on the subway and only could say one sentence to them, who is it and what would it be?

[Sarah from Inklined gave this same answer. Great minds think alike?] I'd love to meet Megan Whalen Turner, the author of The Queen's Thief series, and say: "I love your books so much; PLEASE TELL ME WHEN THE NEXT BOOK IS GOING TO BE RELEASED." I'd finally solve the mystery that torments us fans!

5. What book made you a reader and why?

I wasn't much of a reader when I was really young. When I was eleven, I decided to give Louisa May Alcott's books a try, and from then on I haven't stopped reading. Little Women was probably the book that made me a reader.

6. Your bookshelf just caught fire! What is the one book you would save?

Oh my gosh, these kinds of questions give me panic attacks! Uh...maybe my Folio Society edition of The Wind in the Willows? That's the most beautiful book I own, and I love it to pieces.

7. Which dystopian world would you want to live in and why?

 

Hmm. Well, all dystopian worlds are terrible...otherwise they wouldn't be dystopians. I think I might have to go with The Maze Runner world. It's a disaster, certainly, but at least I could hang out with Thomas and Friends before I inevitably died.

8. What is your most Epic Read of all time?

I'm in a Lunartic sort of mood because I just recently read Fairest, so I'm going to go with The Lunar Chronicles. Marissa Meyer has created an incredibly detailed and complicated futuristic world in this series, filled with cyborgs, plagues, and unbelievably awesome characters. Those books are most certainly epic.

 I tag Olivia from The Cwtch, Hannah from Fantasy Gypsy, and Elizabeth from Incidents of a Literary Nature to do this tag if they wish! However, anyone can join in whether or not they've been tagged. That's what I did, and no one has showed up to arrest me. Yet.

love,

Hannah