Behind Every Girl is an Amazing Nail Polish

I'm kind of a girly girl. I like frilly things, and stuffed animals and pastels. Oh, and nail polish. Nail polish is kind of my thing. So when I was looking through the two dozen bottles on top of my bookshelf looking for the perfect color I got to thinking, what would some of my favorite literary heroines decorate their nails with? Here's what I came up with!

Scarlett O'Hara 

You all know Scarlett, she's sassy, manipulative and charming. Her name and personality inspire fierce passion. My pick for Scarlett is Royal Rajah Ruby by OPI

It's red, but dark, with a hint of sparkle and dash of vamp and sass.  

Lady Macbeth

Oh, so you want to be King? You better hope you're wife is as devoted to your cause as Lady M is. Killing a sleeping, kind king isn't exactly childs play. Shes dark. Really dark.  My pick for Lady Macbeth is My Darling by Milani

It's black, but sheer. It creates an air of mystic and awe, and would easily hide those 'spots' she keeps complaining about.

Lolita

You saucy little girl, you! I bet even you're short, bitten fingernails are tempting to the likes of Humbert! My pick for Lolita is Temptress by Revlon 

Bubble gum pink, with a hint of sparkle. It's a super flirty color, and with a name like Temptress it's obvious why little Lo would dart towards this color.

Juliet Capulet 

Juliet's you're typical teenager. She's in love, her parents don't like her boyfriend. (okay, her parents don't like her husband) Also, she's rash with her decision making, and inwardly she is rebellious, even if she usually listens to her parents. I think that to demenistrate her love for Romeo, and give an extra kick to her parents she'd pick a blue. A Montague blue, instead of the reds the Capulet are always wearing. My pick for Juliet is Russian Navy by OPI

A rich, deep blue. It's perfect for a rebellious teen, and a Montague. 

Narcissa Malfoy

The matriarch of the Malfoy family is sleek, stylish and surprisingly loving. While she is not a Death Eater she does agree with their policies, and she was a Slytherin through and through.  My pick for Narcissa is Cuckoo for this Color by OPI

After seeing this color I have been dying to write OPI to start a Harry Potter collection, and more importantly change the name of this polish to Heir of Slytherin. 

Elizabeth Bennant

Elizabeth is the every girl. She's smart and funny. She is very independent and headstrong, but has a soft side where her family is concerned. While her attitude isn't always conventional, I think her overall look and nail color would be classical, even if her nails were chipped and her hem dirty. My pick for Lizzy is Dulce De Leche by OPI 

Ducle De Leche is a classical soft pink. It would go well with the pastels and empire dresses that we usually see in all adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. 

Franny Glass

Franny is the perfect picture of quirky and naive. I picture her following most style conventions but occasionally adding a pop of something odd. I also imagine that her brothers probably teased her about this. My pick for Franny is Pea's and Q's by Nicole by OPI 

I really love this color, and it's perfect for the naive actress who has a slight breakdown. 

Happy Saturday! I think i'm going to go paint my nails now!

Top Ten Tuesday - Book to Movie Adaptation

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish. I'm sure they'd love to share your lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten list.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow's Part 1 - While I have seen each of the Harry Potter films countless times, I haven't been completely impressed with each of them, the 1st part of Deathly Hallows was a movie for fans of the book. Personally, I would have been fine with splitting the films in half starting with Goblet of Fire.

2. The Devil Wears Prada - This is one of the few cases where I saw the film before I read the book. I really really really love the film. It's snarky and funny and has the best clothes! The book on the other hand has a more irritating version of Anne Hathaway's Andy doing less interesting things. There is a lot different between the two versions of this story, but the movie is a good time, and a great adaptation.

3. The Lion King - Does everyone remember the day you figured out the weird squiggly thing in front of the isney on the Disney logo was actually a D? What about the day you were in a high school English class, reading Hamlet and wondering where you'd heard the story before. Remember when it hit you that the first emo Prince from Denmark was really like Simba? Wasn't that a good day. Everyone go watch the Lion King. Try not to cry when there is a stampede. Hakuna Matata.

4. Pride & Prejudice (BBC Miniseries) - At the risk of sounding like a broken record - Oh, Mr. Darcy! I am in love with Colin Firth, or maybe just Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. He's fantastic here, and it's a great representation of Austen's most popular novel.

5. Everything is Illuminated - While this isn't the best adaptation I've ever seen, I think it's a beautiful film. I also think Elijah Wood is a great JSF.

6. Bridget Jones Diary - Okay, I was wrong. It is Colin Firth. A modern day retelling of Pride & Prejudice, based of the bestselling novel by Helen Fielding is a great movie for single girls everywhere. You'll laugh, you probably won't cry, but you will yell things like GO DARCY. PUNCH DANIEL IN THE FACE. Or maybe not. I don't really know you. That's what I yell, though.

7.Breakfast at Tiffany's - I don't know about you, but this is the movie that made me love the little black dress. It also  made me love Audrey Hepburn, cats called Cat and Truman Capote.  I love both the novella and the film, but in different ways. Overall, the movie wins out in my opinion, if just because seeing Holly Golightly makes the entire experience infinity better.

8.Julie & Julia - Food, Meryl Strep, Amy Adams. Based off of two different books, by two different woman in two different time frames. It's a fun story even if it does leave you craving all of the food in the world topped with melted butter.

I'm really picky with adaptations so I couldn't make it to 10 this week. Sorry everyone!

I can't wait to see everyone else's lists! Happy Tuesday!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

JK Rowling

The famous Harry Potter longs to be back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, only something is trying to stop him from going back. When he finally get's to school he learns that a mythical chamber may have been opened, and a monster is attacking muggle born students. Now Harry must discover who is behind these attacks before a student dies and Hogwarts is shut down forever.

Chamber of Secrets, in my experience, tends to be the book that people have the most varied opinions on. When I was still a kid it was my favorite in the series (until Half Blood Prince came out). Now, my blind love of the second installment in Rowlings series has been tested. Harry is still a great character. One of my favorite things about Harry is that he doesn't really know who he is. He struggles with not knowing his parents, or anyone else in his wizarding family, and because of this for a brief point in time he thinks he could be the heir of Slytheran. Ron and Hermione don't have the same kind of  growth that Harry does. We get to see Ron's fear of spiders in action, and learn more about his family, but there isn't a real moment where we discover something about Ron. Hermione is still used as the know it all exposition here, and she spends the latter part of the novel petrified.

Really I'm just grasping at straws. The only real reason I don't like Chamber of Secrets as much as the rest of the series is Lockhart. It would be easier if everyone hated him, like they do Umbridge later in the series, but because Hermionie and Mrs Weasley love looking at him I just get annoyed.

Overall, it is a very important book the the series and a good, fun read. There are flying cars, wizards duels, feasts, ghosts and giant spiders. Rowling packs her 341 pages with information and wonder. I'm looking forward to the development and characters Prisoner of Azkaban will bring!

This Semester I'm Making Books

I've mentioned once or twice that I'm taking a bookbinding class this semester. At least I think I mentioned it. If not - Hey guys! I'm taking bookbinding this semester! I bring this up because today was the first day where we did anything that resembles binding. Up to this point there has been a lot of folding paper, and gluing paper together, and then more folding, and then occasionally some sewing.  Today we put all of these skills together and make a pamphlet/book that definitely resembles journals I've bought at target. 

Since this is a book blog, and I am kind of making books I figured I'd post a few pictures.

Hey...That looks like a book, go figure!

 In class we've spent a lot of time folding pages and making folios. This is what they look like

 The inside cover. Not very interesting, but I had to glue it together so I think it's important. 

The whole cover. I really love the blue/green color of the spine. 

In other school news, tomorrow we actually start talking about Sorcerer's Stone in my Harry Potter class. Up till this point we've been talking about a hero's journey and fairytales. 

Have to go take brownies out of the oven! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Literary Hop - One Book

Hi everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted much this week, I've been lazy and keep putting off finishing Chamber of Secrets because I don't like freakishly large spiders, or Gilderoy Lockhard.

I am, as always, excited to be a part of this weeks Literary Blog Hop! A big thank you to The Blue Bookcase for hosting this amazing bi-weekly event!

If you were going off to war (or some other similarly horrific situation) and could only take one book with you, which literary book would you take and why?


I'm the type of girl you never want to play the "What Book, Movie, and Album would you take to a deserted island". My tastes are constantly changing and my answers are almost always depended on my mood. So, when I read this weeks question I was a little nervous. I'd want to take a book I wouldn't get tired of after a few reads, as well as something uplifting, or at least hope inspiring. Eventually, I settled on Nicole Krauss's The History of Love.

In History of Love you get a bit of everything, a sappy old man who is also a writer, a young girl mourning the death of her father, flashes of World War II and an amazing story of love. For me, this would be the perfect book to help me through trying nights and horrifying situations. I always put down Krauss's novel with a sense of hope, even if not everyone ends up happy, and that regardless of what evil is happening in the world, that love will exist

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Rowling

I mentioned a few posts back that I'm taking a class on the Harry Potter series. So far we've just been required to read a hero's journey (I was assigned the Odyssey, the other part of the class got Arthurian Legends) and a few fairy tales. Even though I haven't officially been assigned any reading by Rowling yet, I decided to get a head start, and since my books arrived a few days ago I saw no reason to put off reading about my favorite boy wizard for another week!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

JK Rowling 

Weird things always seem to happen around Harry Potter, much to the annoyance of his Aunt and Uncle. On his 11th Birthday he receives the best gift he could have ever hoped to get - the information that he is a wizard, and will be leaving the Dursleys to go to a magical school called Hogwarts. Even with his new found identify Harry still has a lot to learn, starting with the fate of his parents, who were not killed in a car crash like he had been told, but instead by Lord Voldemort, the darkest wizard who has ever lived and ending with some Potions lessons under the hateful Professor Snape.

I have always been impressed by Rowlings writing. In a short 305 pages she is able to create a complete world of witches and wizards, with shops, schools and laws. It is always a magical experience to rediscover the wizarding world with Harry.  Once at Hogwarts, Harry meets a slew of interesting 11-17 year olds, and makes some great friends.

Of course, who could forget the adventures Harry has. Even his 11 year old self is an accomplished hero. He wins two Quidditch matches, defends his friends and conquers gets past a 3 headed dog and an evil professor without much damage. He even has some emotionally journeys that are well beyond his age bracket when he discovers the mire of  Erised and must come to turns with the fact that he will never have a real family.

While Sorcerer's Stone isn't my favorite of the Harry Potter books, it does provide a great base for the entire series and leaves me hoping that my Hogwarts letter is just 10 years late.

Side note: I've posted three different versions of the covers before, but I just came across these "new" 10th anniversary additions and they're pretty awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish. I'm sure they'd love to share your lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten list.

Top Ten Characters I Would Name My Children After

1. Lavinia - This is from one of my first real favorite books, Falling Angels. I've been in love with this name, and the character ever since.

2. Harry - Harry Potter. Yeah... I don't have anything else to say about this...

3.Zooey - From Franny and Zooey, but used as a girls name. Zooey is easily my favorite character that Salinger has ever written.

4.Holden - I know, I know Holden Caulfield kind of a bitch, but he's just a teenager. All teenagers are kinda terrible. Really, I just think Holden is an awesome name and I'm a Salinger fangirl. Maybe that makes Holden a more suitable name for a cat than a child?

5.Beatrice - I've always been a bit of a Shakespeare nut, and Beatrice is a pretty awesome character. Plus it's so much better than Goneril.

6. Darcy - OH MR. DARCY. Maybe just for a middle name?

7. Minerva - Ancient Goddess and Hogwarts Professor. Yes.

8. Alma - Alam broke my heart the first time I read The History of Love. She's so innocent and kind and hurt. Such a great character.

9/10. Adeline/Emmeline - I think these are my favorite twin names ever. They're from The Thirteenth Tale, and while I wouldn't want my children to emulate them in any way I can't get over how much I love their names.

Clara & Mr. Tiffany - Vreeland

Clara & Mr. Tiffany

Susan Vreeland

Clara works for Mr. Louis Comfort Tiffany at his glass studio. What starts as just jobs in elegant stained glass windows turns into her own personal renaissance when she realizes they can take the same simple principles and make lamps. While Clara fights to establisher herself, and her department of female glass workers she must struggle against the conventions of the early 1900's and the rules Mr. Tiffany sets down. The foremost of which is that married women can not work for him.

Susan Vreeland does a fantastic job of bring Clara, the little know and rarely credited designer, to life. A fully formed character, Clara is eager to place, and to make a name for herself. While she craves love, she values her Independence even more. All of this makes her unique for a story set in turn of the century New York.  Clara is supported by a cast of artists, accountants and friends who can be two dimensional at times, they are endearing.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany is a great example of historical fiction. A New York on the verge of becoming a cultural hub is brought to life without being over worked. From boarding houses to the newly made subway, little snippets of history are tucked neatly into Vreelands pages.

Overall I enjoyed this book, even if at times it felt a bit long. If you're a fan of Vreeland, or similar authors you'll find yourself a reliable read here.

Literary Hop - (time) Travel!

The Literary Book Blog Hop is hosted by The Blue Bookcase. It's an amazing bi-weekly event for Literary bloggers to hop around to each others blogs as well as answer some awesome questions.

This weeks question: What setting (time or place) from a book or story would you most like to visit? Eudora Welty said that, "Being shown how to locate, to place, any account is what does most toward making us believe it...," so in what location would you most like to hang out?

I've spent a lot of time reading about Victorian England and without question that is the time period and place I would pick. For me reading Austen, Bronte(s) and Levy was a transporting experience. I love how much depth works dealing with the late 1800's and early 1900's have, even if they are more contemporary novels. There is just so much history that is happening at this time, that being in London would be mind blowing.
Plus the clothes would be pretty awesome.

Of course there are other times and places I would love to visit, but I'm trying to keep this down to a one destination entry.


Hope everyone is safe and warm during all of this snow!

Top Ten Tuesday - Debut Books

It's been a while since I participated in a Top Ten Tuesday. I'm super excited to be back with this awesome topic!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because they are particularly fond of lists over at The Broke and the Bookish. I'm sure they'd love to share your lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten list.

Today's Topic is

Top Ten Debut novels

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - JK Rowling - Alright, I've been babbling a lot about Harry Potter lately, but I don't care, SS is a masterful work, and sets up the entire series. I'm still impressed that little things from here come up, even in Deathly Hallows. Good work, Jo.

2. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - I loved Catcher in the Rye when I read it, and I feel like it sets the tone for all of Salinger's Career. I'm actually more interested in his short stories, and all of the Glass Family works, but Catcher in the Rye was my first experience with Salinger, as well as his first work. Also, we're still talking about both this book, and the man after his death, and more importantly, 50 years after he stopped publishing anything he wrote.

3. Everything is Illuminated - Jonathan Safran Foer - Few books have caused such a guttural response in me, but this is definitely one. For me, it was at once funny and heartbreaking. One of my favorite books of all time and Foer's debut.

4. The 13th Tale - Diane Setterfield - You know that feeling you get when you finish a book and you can't wait to read more by that author? That's exactly how I felt upon completing The 13th Tale. Only, in this case I was distraught (i'm being a big dramatic) to find that Setterfield hadn't written anything else. A truely strong, and haunting debut that I hope to see on other lists today.

5. The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier - While Chevalier is better known for Girl With a Pearl Earring, and her latest novel - Remarkable Creatures, The Virgin Blue is no less a treasure. Set between modern day France, and the 16th century (I think, don't get mad if i'm 100 years off) it is a tale of strong woman, family trees and a beautiful color blue. My copy of the Virgin Blue, like all my Chevalier novels, is in tatters from obsessive rereading.

6. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath - Any book that can make me feel like I'm going crazy along with the narrator is a-okay in my book.

7. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - I've seen this on so many lists today. I'm always fascinated that Lee never wrote another novel, especially since To Kill a Mockingbird is considered (rightly) such an important book.

8. House of Leaves - Mark Z Danielewski - Love it or hate it, this is a pretty damn impressive book. I was very disappointed with his follow up book, Only Revolutions, but House of Leaves remains a great debut.

9. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - My favorite of all the Bronte's novels, as well as Emily's first and only. If you've never spent any time on harkavagrant.com, check it out, there are some awesome Bronte comics there.

10. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson - This wasn't one of the best books I've read over the past year, but I enjoyed it. More importantly, Larsson gave me a book to talk about with my non-bookish friends.

Wow, that was a lot harder than I expected it to be! Hope everyone stays warm and safe during the impending snowpocalypse!