Top 10 Soundtrack

Tbh I really got into soundtrack music for writing/reading because of Fran and Sarah J Maas, and now I'm addicted (thanks). Picking a Top 10 is so hard but I'm going to attempt it. Mine will actually be a countdown to my favorite soundtrack piece of all time so here we go...

10. Welcome to Jurassic Park by John Williams
9. Land of Shadows by Audiomachine
8. Short Hair from Mulan
7. Tales of a Jedi Knight by John Williams
6. Forest Battle by John Williams
5. To Die For by Hans Zimmer
4. Transformation from Brother Bear
3. One Summer's Day from Spirited Away
2. King of Pride Rock by Hans Zimmer

and the ruler of my soundtrack playlist:

1. Ihojin No Yaiba from Sword of the Stranger 

I could write an ode to this song oh my god. First off the fight scene that goes to it (scene from it on the right) is bloody brilliant and beautiful but also when taken out of context the song remains to be a terrific score excerpt for me to read/write to. When listening to it, I can easily imagine worlds I'm trying to create, journeys I wish my characters to embark on. It's honestly the best and I can listen to it for the rest of my life and never be annoyed. I can't do it justice but please do yourselves a favor and listen to it.

FRAN'S Top 10ish Soundtracks

FRAN'S TOP 10:
These tracks are in no specific order. Because I've experienced playing in a string orchestra, I tend to listen to a lot of orchestra-type film scores because I appreciate them more. All of these are non-lyrical. John Powell, Joe Hisaishi (Studio Ghibli), and Disney comprises most of my favorites.

1. Arrival of the Birds by The Cinematic Orchestra
2. Suns and Stars by Really Slow Motion
3. The Stag from Disney's Cinderella
4. Romantic Flight by John Powell
1. Battle of the Bewilderbeast by John Powell
2. Battling the Green Death by John Powell
5. Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru
6. The Wind Forest by Joe Hisaishi
1. Howl's Moving Castle Main Theme by Joe Hisaishi
2. Day of the River by Joe Hisaishi
7. The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams
8. The Last Airbender Suite by Jeremy Zuckerman
1. Red Lotus from Legend of Korra
9. Flying from Peter Pan
10. Mermaids by Hans Zimmer

Film adaptations

Hello misses and misters,

Woke up this fine Veteran's Day to big news for Sarah J Maas and her fans: A Court of Thorns and Roses is getting a movie!

Source: http://deadline.com/2015/11/tempo-court-of-thorns-and-roses-piers-tempest-jo-bamford-sarah-maas-the-journey-im-global-paisley-mcguinness-1201618575/

Out of the four Maas books I read this year (wow, I can't believe I read that many of her works) this one was definitely my favorite. It was nice to get a break from the world of Celaena Sardothien, a character I remain to be conflicted about. Feyre and her Fae Lords offered a nice new perspective for me to take on. Plus, as I mentioned in my Goodreads review, I'm a sucker for a fantasy world filled with sultry romance and high-points of action. Guilty pleasure, I guess.

However, in my enjoyment of ACOTAR, there lies a fear in this news. Will the film do the book any justice? Then, the bigger question. Will I enjoy any of the screen renditions of YA fiction that are dawning upon us?

In addition to ACOTAR, Maas' main work, the Throne of Glass series, has been auctioned off for a TV series. The 5th Wave will be washing over us in theaters in no time. The Shadowhunters is another attempt of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments to be brought to life. Anything can be better than the movie based on City of Bones that totally flopped, but still?

I also read The 5th Wave this year and freaking loved it (ty Fran for your recommendation). Moments after finishing the novel, I looked up the movie trailer and was met with disappointment. I can't explain it really. It's true that I'm excited for my favorite pieces of YA literature to be put on the big screen, but it also breaks my heart a little. It took me some time to realize this but I'm not one for movies. They're okay but I will always prefer the movie, except maybe Breakfast at Tiffany's. (see http://booksaf.blogspot.com/2015/09/alys-thoughts-breakfast-at-tiffanys-vs.html for my review of both film and book versions of Breakfast at Tiffany's) This said, I may be biased in my dislike for upcoming adaptations of novels dear to my heart.

The 5th Wave film has me heated over the casting for Evan (who is a literal babe in my head but definitely not on screen). Throne of Glass as a TV series might be the most hopeful out of this bunch. That is until they get past Season 1/Book 1. The casting for this also terrifies me in a way. I can't imagine a Hollywood actress embodying the overwhelming confidence and lethal grace of Celaena Sardothien. The Shadowhunters will obviously be better than its TMI on-screen predecessor, but will it be good enough to renew for a second season? Let's hope because TMI is a series I still love despite the fact that I read it years ago.

So this was my excessive rant to celebrate ACOTAR's film news! Very excited as you can tell haha. But sincerely, I can't wait to see who takes on the roles of Feyre, Tamlin, Lucien, and Rhys. I hope that the world of ACOTAR is properly brought to life so it may do the novel some justice. The same applies to all of the film adaptations I have mentioned above.

FRAN'S THOUGHTS: NanoWrimo

Halloween is over! and aside from the automatic transition into Thanksgiving preparation, the time has also come for NanoWriMo!

For those who are not familiar with the term, NanoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Yeah, it's a thing. Writers commit themselves to starting and finishing a novel within the month of November, and you become a winner by achieving your desired word count by November 30th! (AKA WHEN UC APPS ARE DUE HAHAHA H8 LIFE) 

Click here to participate!

Anyone who joins this insanity has my immediate respect. I have never been one to finish a novel even if I get a whole year as opposed to a month. So to honor this special time for writers all over the world, I thought I'd share with you the stories-that-I-thought-about-writing-24/7-but-never-actually-spent-the-time-to-finish.

• 2009: Love Story
• It was about a love story.
• 2013: Stonehaven Academy
• A story of long-lost twins named Lennon and Emerson who ran cross country for a living.
• 2014: Ryland
• A girl named Ryland who did the most badass things because her name was Ryland.
• 2014: Hero Battles Fanfiction
• Damn right I wrote fanfic
• 2014: A Story for my Mother
• A 5-page fictional message to help my mom cope with claustrophobia during her solo trip on a plane. (She never read it)
• 2014: Elite
• In which a group of Sherlock Holmes' prodigies come together to solve crimes throughout the universe. They may or may not have been spies as well. 
• 2015: Forest
• A treasure hunt occurs within the mystical forests of a parallel universe. 

Killing Two Crows With One Stone

Yes, I made a pun concerning Six of Crows, a book I will be reviewing momentarily. In addition to finishing Six of Crows, I also added The Stranger by Albert Camus to my read shelf. That's where the second crow comes into my pun. Ha ha, I'm so funny.

First, The Stranger. I didn't know what to expect from this short novel since it was required for my English class. Most of the time, school reading is horrendous, the only exception before this year being To Kill a Mockingbird, which I loved. However, The Stranger can add itself to my blunt list of books I read in school and actually enjoyed. A lot. This book was weird, mainly because the main character is bizarre. Camus wrote this through an existential viewpoint, and that's probably why I liked it. Meursault, the protagonist, can be called a sociopath or a monster or even Monsieur Antichrist, but I found myself relating to several of his points/perspectives. Existentialism strikes a chord with me to a certain extent, so I feel like that lead me to like more than some of my fellow students.

Now, the real crows I'm talking about: Six of Crows.

 

"The autumn leaf might cling to its branch, but it was already dead. The only question was when it would fall."
-Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows 

I loved, loved this book, and I don't even think it was for the plot line. Yes, heist stories are great, but what really got me about Bardugo's new series? The characters. Six is a lot of people to keep up with, albeit Wylan didn't get his own narrative (which made me very sad, but Bardugo has said that he will have one next novel). However, the overwhelming amount of characters and backgrounds weren't annoying for two reasons.

1. I have read Game of Thrones. Once you read that, no other book has too many characters

2. The characters' strong personalities

Each of them was firmly distinguished from one another. They all had distinct traits that made them unique and lovable. There was one character I started off not liking but by the end I had grown to care for him as much as the others. My favorite character at the conclusion of the novel is Inej. That girl is amazing and lovely and I adore her and what she stands for.
The couples are also well-matched and very interesting. There was no kissing though. I'm sad about that. Leigh, please give me proof that these couples are going to happen!
I'm upset that I'll have to wait a year until the next book comes out. Let the anticipation build now.

Both the books above get a rating of...
5/5 stars!

Follow me on Goodreads to keep up with what I'm reading (Catcher in the Rye currently): Alyssa Skvarla

Photocreds:
The Stranger mock cover artwork- Lise Sasaki
Inej and Kaz fan art- fictograph
Nina and Matthias fan art- nilaffle.tumblr.com

FRAN'S THOUGHTS: Pan Movie Review

It sucked.

Recap of the week

I know so many of you care, so here's an update on what all went down in the last week for me. I'll start from the most recent event...

Carry On is out!! I didn't realize it until it came in the mail but this book is the one I most anticipated to come out. It's like a gay version of Harry Potter- how can I not be pumped? However, due to school reading and school in general this fella won't be cracked open until later this month, maybe even early November :(


So now jumping backwards to Saturday. I was up in Portland for a very random family vacation this past weekend. I love the city and its greenery and the people, but what made the trip especially awesome was that I got to meet one of my favorite YA authors: Leigh Bardugo! She was so sweet and funny, and her conversation with Laini Taylor was amazing. Both of their insights regarding writing, editing, and life were not only humorous but informative. I actually got a lot of writing tips out of this, my favorite being Leigh's idea of the 'slutty idea.' (Most of her writing analogies link to sex or love, and it's amazing and very easy to relate to surprisingly) I got three of my books from her signed, and Siege and Storm featured a quote from #1 babe of the series, Nikolai (see first picture on the right). I also got to talk to her for a bit and snatched a free pin. In summary, it was great.

And finally, a short book review on one of now favorite books of the year. It is also the book that I cried on an airplane for. May I present to you, Eleanor and Park.
Rainbow Rowell, you destroyed me but in every single way that I want to be destroyed. Both of the protagonists are unconventional and unique, which makes them and their love story unforgettable. Park is the epitome of my ideal boy: half-Asian, kind yet punk rock, WEARS EYELINER. God, I love him so much. And Eleanor, poor, dear Eleanor. You have my respect and love as well.
This is probably the best romance I've ever read, even with that ending. I swear I cried through the last twenty pages and I was sitting on the aisle seat of an airplane and I hate shedding so much as a tear in front of my closest friends. Albeit it was 11:30 PM, so hopefully no one noticed the girl silently crying one seat over.

This book is easily 5/5 stars, no doubt about it. It's most likely tied for my best book of 2015 with Tell the Wolves I'm Home. 

So that's been my life for the past week or so! Stay tuned for more review, news, and (eventually) something from Fran (I miss her and her blog entries)

ALL PICTURES BELONG TO ME (I SHOULD TOTALLY BE A PHOTOGRAPHER, RIGHT?)