Top Ten Tuesday #21 - Book Geniuses

Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where I will be picking from their top tens and attempting to reveal what my thinking is behind these choices.

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is on Book Geniuses!

1. Sherlock Holmes
The best detective in existence, whose ideas were the basis of modern police investigation. Obviously he's fictional, so Arthur Conan Doyle gets the credit for that, but still, he's awesome.

2. The Phantom - The Phantom of The Opera
The most misunderstood genius that ever graced the pages of any book. His story is so sad, so real, and yet unbelievably horrible in what can happen to a person who has been tortured and neglected their whole life.

3. Dr Jekyll - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
This guy invented a potion that made him change not only physical form, but his actual identity. The most interesting case of split personality I've ever read.

4. Hermione Granger - Harry Potter
Everyone's favourite witch and a complete nerd. She reminds me of myself in that she works really hard to achieve her goals, and I admire that.

5. Artemis Fowl
Boy genius extraordinaire, and to top it off, he's a bad guy that turns good! I love it when evil geniuses come around.

6. Victor Frankenstein - Frankenstein
The guy who actually brought the dead back to life. Who could not think of this guy as a genius?

7. Robert Langdon - Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code etc
This guy has one of the best memories ever and he is really good with symbols. He's a teacher, and they're very smart, but he also figures out things logically with what little he's given. Very good with puzzles. I do love reading these books :).

8. Matilda
Possibly the first fictional genius I ever knew about... possibly not. All I know is that Roald Dahl's creation of a girl whose mind was so intelligent she could literally move things about is truly magical and very awesome.

9. Lord Asriel - His Dark Materials
This guy is the one who really brought all of the events in Philip Pullman's series into being. He saw Dust and discovered how to use it to cross into other worlds. Identifying something that has never been done before seems to be the genius thing these days.

10. Ariel Manto - The End of Mr Y
This book is so super smart that at some points I could not keep up with it. But hey, Ariel does, so she must be a genius.

Kyra_x

Top Ten Tuesday #12 - Top Ten Characters I'd Want In a Fix

Top Ten Tuesday is a Meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where I will be picking from their top tens and attempting to reveal what my thinking is behind these choices.

Top Ten Characters I'd Want In a Fix

1. Puss in Boots
Perfect for when I am completely unable to make up a good lie or if I want to make my fortune. Plus, he's a cat, so it wouldn't look weird to have him around.

2. Fairy Godmother
Anything you need or want, the Fairy Godmother will make it happen. A great person to be acquainted with when I don't have anything to wear to a party, or a ride.

3. Aslan
Excellent for scaring people and rescuing me from pirates and angry magical creatures. Also, in Narnia he's God, so I'd know for sure I was going to heaven even if I did die in this fix.

4. Albus Dumbledore
A very powerful wizard, but also a very wise man. I'd want his advice on all sorts of things, and i would save me having to drive everywhere is he brings me along.

5. Gandalf
Because you can never have enough wizard about. Gandalf is pretty powerful too, and he's got a ton of elf and dwarf friends who will help me out if I need it.

6. Sherlock Holmes
What if I got framed for murder, or if I thought I was going mad and kept seeing huge dogs all over the place? What if the police couldn't get enough evidence? Then I would need a detective of Sherlock's calibre to help me out.

7. Miss Marple
Another detective, but this time in the guise of a little old lady who anyone would talk to. She would be perfect if I needed a private investigator.

8. Obi Wan Kenobi
For those times when someone just won't do what they're told, or if someone had a few nasty ideas about me.  Also good for lightsaber needs.

9. Artemis Fowl
An inventive, clever kid who secretly has a kind heart will serve very well if I ever need help with things I don't understand... mostly technology, I expect.

10. Jiminy Crickett
Sometimes in an emotional fix, all you need is a good conscience.

Kyra_x

Top Ten Tuesday #3 - Classics I Want to Read

Top Ten Tuesday is something I made up on my own, but recently I discovered a Meme over at The Broke and the Bookish that is entirely the same, and so I've decided to go ahead and join in with them, because honestly I am already running out of good top ten topics. Instead of joining in on their set lists, I'm being a rebel and picking those ideas I like the best. This week's Top Ten is therefore:

Top Ten Classic Books I Want to Read:

Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
I've read Pride and Prejudice and it was a joy to read, now I want to further my reading with all the rest of Jane Austen's novels, starting with this one. I already own it, it's just getting around to reading it that's the issue!

Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Widely translated into films and tv, this classic is etched deep into my childhood memory with songs from the musical being sung at school plays. It will be nice to see what the adaptations have missed out, as well as to understand the story better.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
I've only ever heard of this book a little bit, but I know that it is widely read and deals with difficult issues such as rape, ethics and discrimination from the perspective of a child, which sounds not only intriguing but like a learning experience.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes has been in the spotlight for a while now, with the Robert Downey Junior films and the Benedict Cumberbatch TV series coming out one after the other. Our fascination with the detective who showed modern policemen how it was done never seems to end, and neither do the adaptations. I'd love to know what the real stories were like.

The Time Machine - HG Wells
Not quite his most famous work, but still sounds like a good read. I'd love to read War of the Worlds even though it seems a bit daunting, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Invisible Man when I get the chance, too.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
My friend studied this at College and adored it, so based on that recommendation I think I'll rather like it too.

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Strangely, I've never seen any adaptations of this hugely famous novel, but I know enough that although I'm quite sceptical about the way that Cathy will act, i am still really intrigued to see how their story plays out.

Animal Farm - George Orwell
This has been on my wishlist for ages, and it is one that I simply must read. I enjoyed 1984 immensely (though I still think Brave New World is better) and I can't wait to get my teeth sunk in to the strange world of animal society.

Farenheit 451 -Ray Bradbury
I love dystopias, and this is meant to be one of the best. It's all about the power of words and the power of books. If there's anything I love, it's books that are about books.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
Ever since I watched Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame as a little girl, I was enraptured by the story of the gypsy woman Esmerelda, the misshapen Quasimodo and the pious Frollo, and now that I am a bit older, I want to take on the task of reading through this classic French story to see the reality behind the Disney gloss-over.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

The Eagle

This film is about a young Roman (Channing Tatum) who is stationed in Britain to look after a small settlement. After battling with the native tribe, he is injured and honourably discharged from the army as a result, since he will never fully recover. While Marcus (the Roman) recovers, he sees a fight to the death between a British slave (Jamie Bell) and a gladiator. The slave, Esca, is saved by him after being defeated when he makes the crowd shout for him to live. The slave then serves him out of debt and together they embark on a quest to find the Eagle: a golden statue held by a legion that was lost in the north.

This film made me very thoughtful. As a British inhabitant myself, it made me both proud and disgusted at my heritage. They valour and bravery of both the main characters was something that I appreciated, as well as the attention to detail. The British tribes, for example, had their own language that was separate from the roman language (this was English for the film). The costumes were also paid attention to, which made it much more realistic. It was interesting to see the original British tribes and how they contrasted with the regimented life of the Romans.

The tenuous friendship between the two characters is also something that really got to me. When travelling into Scotland through Hadrian's wall (which, by the way, was huge compared to how it really was/is) the relationship between them becomes confused. They are no longer a master and a slave, they are equal, sometimes tipping this balance completely the opposite way. Sometimes you wonder if they will betray each other in some way, and this adds some suspense to the film.

The actor who particularly stood out for me is Jamie Bell. He has come a rather long way from his all dancing role as Billy Elliott, and although he did appear in King Kong as the rather creepy cabin boy on the ship, his role in this film was so much more impressive. He gave the character many more dimensions than you would first think, and he has a mysteriousness that makes you question your perceptions of him. I really love this actor.

Channing Tatum was pretty good, but didn't give too much away about his stoic and quite aloof character. It was a little bit disappointing actually, though Jamie Bell more than made up for this. I would, however, like to mention an appearance from the ever more popular Mark Strong, known more for his role in the recent Sherlock Holmes film as Blackwood. He is a terrific actor, and I can't wait to see him in other films soon.

Like all other Roman or Greek films, there will always be one that it will be compared to, and that's Gladiator. But I think I'd like to be different and compare it more to other films in the action genre. As it goes as an action film, it is pretty good. The fight scenes are good and keep your interest, it has flashback and dreamlike sequences that make for a little bit of intrigue, and it has subplots that are easy to follow, as well as the main plot of finding the eagle.

All in all, I think this film deserves 7/10 stars.