Thursday, December 8, 2016

Recent Reading

Hi everyone!! Today I'm going to talk about what I've been reading.

 I read a LOT! In fact I read every single day. I have a nightly ritual before bed that consists of classical or ambient music, herbal tea and reading. 

Fan fiction 


I read so much fan fiction, it's rather sad. Sometimes it is needed though to satisfy cravings for more story especially with instances like the Harry Potter series where all of the books have been written and the series has ended. Fanfiction/fanfics/fics are simply fan written stories based upon a certain fandom. 

Attack on Titan Fanfiction 



Since the summer I have been reading tons of fan fiction from this crazed fandom. Of course 99% of it is all totally gay. I read mostly Erwin x Levi fics but I will also read Levi x Eren. There has also been the rare Levi x Petra. A lot of the stories I have read are too embarassing for me to post here for recommend! Hahaha ....oh, the smut! 

Harry Potter Fanfiction 



The Harry Potter fics I read are MUCH tamer compared to the AOT ones. My favorites are ones that pick up from the ending of book 7 (before the epilogue). I also really enjoy "butterfly effect" type ones, where something small in the course of the series is changed in the story and how that affects everything else. 

I am currently reading The Lion's Pride, sequel to The Lion Tamer by James Spookie.

The Lion's Pride - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6554334/1/The-Lion-s-Pride
The Lion Tamer - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6311215/1/The-Lion-Tamer


 It is basically a take on the series where Harry begins dating Daphne Greengrass in his 5th year and how different things are as a result. For those that don't know, Daphne Greengrass is a character the fandom absolutely loves to play with! She is briefly mentioned in The Order of The Phoenix and she is known to be a Slytherin. Her little sister, Astoria Greengrass is married to Draco Malfoy in the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Not much is known about Daphne, so fans have fun tinkering with her character. It is a common head-canon (a fan made canon, not actual canon) that Daphne is one of the neutral or good Slytherin - she isn't a death eater and doesn't support them.

 As a Gritherin/Glytherin I fully appreciate this!! Not all Slytherin are evil or cruel. Ie - Horace Slughorn. I say Gritherin/Glytherin because I have been sorted in both Gryffindor and Slytherin by Potter more. When I first joined the website I was sorted into Gryffindor; when they relaunched the website it was required for members to register again - I was then sorted into Slytherin. I am stuck in between - I feel a part of both houses and I have pride for both. I have the courage and kindness of a Gryffindor - I've dealt with a lot in my life. I also have the determination and cunning of a Slytherin. I refuse to give up on my goals and I keep my aspirations high. I will do whatever I need to achieve these goals and I will plot plans in order to make them happen.

 Some of my favorite Harry Potter fanfictions are: 

Recnac Transfaerso by Celebony 


This fic seems silly to some and it's really angsty/emo...but I absolutely LOVE Harry's characterization in it. He is just the sweetest nugget! In all seriousness this story is about Harry magically extracting cancer from a muggle whom he really cared for and having to take it on himself, with no magical cure. This fanfic really helped me to get over my whole "burst out crying simply at the mention of cancer" type issues. 

Harry Potter and the Battle of Wills by Jocelyn 


It has been a long time since I've read this one. I don't remember much of what happens, I just really know I enjoyed this one immensely. 

Harry Potter and the Summer After The War by Mrs. Granger 


I wish Mrs. Granger wrote more than 2 in this series. It is so good! As the title says the first fic focuses on the summer after the war. The series takes it from right after the battle of Hogwarts through Harry's first mission as an official auror.

 Antiquity Link by Semprini 


 I totally recommend any of Semprini's works. They have quite a few series, some being different takes on Harry's life and story while in school, others post- Hogwarts. I really enjoyed this one. Basically Harry becomes sick of everyone and everything, on a whim runs away on a plane and goes to stay in Japan for a while. It's really cool how the author envisioned the difference between English and Japanese wizarding society and culture. Plus Fred is a ghost in this one, which results in occasional hilarity. 

Miss Peregrine Series by Ransom Riggs



 I started reading Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children a year or two ago but it didn't hold my interest, so I moved on. When I saw the trailers for the movie - done by my favorite director, Tim Burton my interest was once again piqued. This summer I gave this book another shot and was pleasantly surprised. Once I got past the dragging and monotonous parts I could not put the book down. Without giving much away it is about a teenage boy named Jacob Portman. He was incredibly close to his paternal grandfather, Abe Portman. Growing up his grandfather would show him pictures of "peculiar" children and tell him all of the stories to accompany them by. Abe was a paranoid man convinced monsters were out to kill him. Upon his death under mysterious circumstances Jacob thinks he saw a monster kill him and he finds a last message from his grandfather. So he travels to the island that his grandfather grew up on in order to piece together the fragments of the past. 

I am now starting book 2, Hollow City. I have literally read 1 page so I cannot report back on it quite yet. 

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Original Screenplay by J. K Rowling 



I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan, I will read anything my goddess and savior J.K Rowling writes in the wizarding world. I was going to wait to read this until I could see the movie, but I do not anticipate that happening any time soon so I dug in. I'm not far into this book yet, but the format is similar to The Cursed Child. I am really enjoying the story so far! Niffler is precious and I'm awaiting to see more than a glimpse of the Bowtruckle. I really like Newt so far too. Fun fact - even as a die hard fan that has read every book over 20 times a piece, until recently I was misreading Newt's last name as SCHMANDER, not Scamander as it actually is. Anyone else have moments like that with literature? 

I remember as a child reading the first two books before the movies ever came out I misread quite a few words! Severus Snape was Serverus Snape, Diagon Alley was Dragon Alley, Privet Drive was Private Drive, Prefect was Perfect, Karkaroff was Karakoff. What was wrong with my brain back then?? Bonus, I would pronounce Hermione as Her-Me-Own until the movies came out and Sirius as Sir-Eye-Us. LOL 

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas



 This is a series that Vicky and myself discovered while browsing the library; we were hoping to find a good fantasy series that we could both read and discuss. Honestly, we couldn't have made a better choice. It is like Game of Thrones mixed with The Hunger Games. The story follows Celaena Sardothien (Sell-Aye-Nah Sar-Doth-Ee-En Yay for me pronouncing it correctly in my mind while reading!), she is a famous assassin imprisoned in a work mine. Miraculously she has lived longer than any other prisoner there. One day the crowned prince of Adarlan, Dorian Havilliard pulls her from the mines - he announces that she is to be his champion in a tournament to become the king's assassin. If she competes and wins then she will earn her freedom after 7 years of service. Of course, this isn't an offer she can refuse. Despite her contempt for the kingdom and its corrupt king she goes along and vows to win so that she may finally be free. But all is not easy! All of her competitors are men and brutal assassins at that, plus something is mysteriously killing the other competitors. 

I am currently on book 3, Heir of Fire.

 I LOVE this series. Celaena is such a badass; not just that but she's tough and intelligent too. She can get down and dirty but she is also very feminine and adores beautiful clothing. There is magic in the series from sort-of unexpected places; the series is filled with so many twists and turns. There is romance and I admit a rather silly love triangle - but the love triangle isn't the focus of the story; Celaena is. I totally recommend reading this. Don't let the YA categorization fool you! 

Attack on Titan Manga



 If you follow me then you most likely know about the incredibly popular anime; possibly the most popular anime in the world with the most cracked out fanbase. I have such an intense love for Levi as well as a huge craving to find out what happens after season 1 leaves off. I am currently on volume 14 (roughly chapter 55/56). The manga is really good and I am so enthralled my the story and the shitstorm the characters find themselves in.

 Astrology



 I am always researching something. I love to research topics of interest; I love enriching my mind. As of late Astrology has been particularly interesting to me, so I have read a few books on it as well as some online research. 

Poe Short Stories 



In October I was in my usual spooky mood so I read some of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories in the scariest place - the laundromat. All kidding aside, the bathroom at my local laundromat is fucking terrifying. I had to venture in there to get paper towels once.....never again O_____O. I have a dislike for public restrooms to begin with, I would literally weep if I were forced to use that particular facility. I love the master of macabre; I find that no one quite write such hauntingly beautiful pieces of literature quite like him. My favorite story of his is The Masque of Red Death. 

Fun fact - in high school for an English final we had to do a presentation with a certain chosen medium and pretend that we were the main character from a story we read that year. Me being the eccentric person I am, not even thinking chose The Cask of Amontillado and I had to present songs that could fit the story as Montresor. That paired with a multitude of metal music was in poor choice, I'm pretty sure everyone thought I was nuts. My teacher was giving me the strangest looks and some of my fellow students looked scared. It probably didn't help that when I was done I walked up to a kid that was laughing at me through my presentation and screamed in his face. 

If you want to see what I've read or keep up with my reading, follow me on Goodreads. Seriously, guys pleaaseee join me. I would love to have more friends to follow on there! 


Xoxo Heather Zombie

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