Today I am recommending H2O, a teen show that I originally watched on Nickelodeon when I was in secondary school. Having craved to watch the series in the correct order and all the way through I was glad to find it on Netflix. With all the extra time I found myself with as summer started (being at home away from university life) I managed to power through the three seasons that were made.
The show, while sometimes meant for a certain age group, is very engaging and even my mum, who is in her forties (let’s hope she doesn’t read this post and see that I have broadcasted her age on the internet), has enjoyed the show. Yep, it has a parent’s approval, a parent, might I add, who doesn’t much care for films and could, I’m pretty sure, live life without a television at all.
H2O is a show about mermaids and we follow three such beings from their magical creation in the pilot and see how they cope not only with their new powers and hiding their secret from the world, but also with the constant struggles that every teenager has to deal with: friends, boyfriends, school, family life and even the occasional part time job.
‘Three ordinary women discover an Island on Mako and a moon pool that turns them into extraordinary mermaids with special powers over water on the night of a full moon. They must never look in the moon’s eye or there will be side effects for each of them’.
Paper Towns, a John Green novel, recently turned into a film (2015), is a story about a boy who likes a girl. However, this girl is Margo Roth Spiegelman and is somewhat of a mystery to everyone she knows. After an all-night adventure, Margo disappears leaving behind clues for Quentin to follow. The book takes place in the last few weeks of Quentin’s school life adding further stress to the exams, prom and graduation.
Having never read a John Green novel, I was first introduced to Paper Towns at the cinema when I watched the film for a friend’s birthday. I enjoyed the film and decided to pick up the book. I first found the book to be quite slow (probably due to knowing what was going to happen thanks to watching the film first – oops). But once I got half way through (its only about 300 odd pages) I was enraptured and couldn’t put the book down.
The story, which follows a very basic structure unwinds in a very linear fashion (find a clue, follow clue, eventually find girl), frames questions about life, people and friendship. While it seems that the book is about Margo, which in a way it is, the story sees the development of unique and unusual friendships between different types of people as they come to the end of their high school careers. Many of which are brought together by the events surrounding and the disappearance of Margo.
I really enjoyed this book and urge you to give it a read if you haven’t yet. If you struggle through the first half, like I did, try your best to power through because I really did enjoy the ending. It was definitely worth the time and effort.
Here’s the trailer for the film (I also really enjoyed the film but it did follow a slightly different ending):
What I’m reading – I am currently reading Paper Towns by John Green. I thoroughly enjoyed the film so I thought I would pick up the novel. The story is about a girl named Margo Roth Spiegelman and her neighbour Quentin Jacobsen. The blurb reads as follows: ‘Quentin Jacobsen has always loved Margo from afar. So when she climbs through his window to summon him on an all-night road trip of revenge he cannot help but follow. But the next morning, Q turns up at school and Margo doesn’t. She’s left clues to her disappearance, like a trail of breadcrumbs for Q to follow’.
What I’m watching – With the university year finished, an abundance of time and very little to do, I have taken to watching a lot of TV. Currently I am watching Friends, 3rd Rock from the Sun and The Big Bang Theory. All three I would recommend, especially if what you’re after is a light watch which you don’t have to put a lot of energy or concentration into.
What I’m listening to – Plastic by Nina Karolidou, Like I Would by Zayn, My Demons by Starset, Bulletproof by Young Guns, Give Up by Once Upon a Dead Man and MFT80s by Chris Bourne. Further proof of my very eclectic music taste…
What I’m eating – STIR FRY. I think I’m obsessed with Stir Fry… is that weird? At least it’s healthy and easy to make. I make stir fry with cabbage, pepper, onion, broccoli and carrots with either rice noodles, cous cous or rice. I’m a vegetarian so I don’t add meat.
What I’m quoting – ‘In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.’ -Nikos Kazantzakis
Today I’m going to recommend one of my favourite TV shows, Once Upon A Time. Now on its sixth season, it continues to be popular. However, I am recommending the show from only having reached episode 21 of Season 4, but it is so incredible!
Starting with Season 1, I found the concept of the show so intriguing. It follows the inhabitants of a town called Storybrooke, the idea being that they are all characters from fairytales, cursed to live in our world instead of their own by the Evil Queen.
Throughout the seasons of the show, we see many curses being implemented and broken. Many characters turn from evil to good, or good to evil. We see so much character development within such brilliant characters known from popular fairytales or books.
The storylines are often quite powerful too. Warning: this show will pull at your heartstrings on a constant basis, especially if you start to love the characters. Very little good happens to them characters but that’s another reason why you just cannot stop watching.
Additionally, one of the reasons I love this show is because it gives a voice to so many women. Pretty much all of the strong characters are female and this is so inspiring because there are so few shows that do this even in 2016.
Disclaimer – I do not own the above image, it is from: http://dvd-subtitles.com/once-upon-a-time-season-1-episodes-1-4-d111780.html
What I’m reading – This month I have been reading The Shadowhunter’s Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis which is a side novel to The Mortal Instruments series. This book is quite enjoyable and acts as a handbook to new Shadowhunters (and also has Clary’s notes all over it).
I have also been reading The World According to Wolverine by Matthew K. Manning which is a fun book all about the comic book character of Wolverine.
Both of these were presents for my birthday and I’m enjoying them thoroughly.
What I’m watching – I have been watching Once Upon A Time (I’m obsessed), Friends (also obsessed), Shadowhunters and The Big Bang Theory!
What I’m subscribing to – No new subscriptions but I have definitely fallen in love with Wheezy Waiter’s new style of video. He used to do skits and sit-down vlogs, but now he has taken up a daily-vlog style with some artsy cuts. Very enjoyable, do check him out.
What I’m listening to – The top few tracks this month, between my friends and I, are: Broken Generation by Of Mice and Men, X Gon Give it to Ya by DMX (from Deadpool), Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots and finally, Judgement Day by Stealth (from Suits).
What I’m eating – Too much. I’ve eaten a lot of cake this week… let’s leave it at that.
What I’m quoting – Stars Can’t Shine Without Darkness (from Unknown).
What I’m reading – Lately I’ve been much better getting books finished. I’ve finished the 6th Mortal Instruments book: City of Heavenly Fire. I, then, moved on to Carrie Hope Fletcher’s book: All I Know Now.
What I’m currently reading is Stardust by Neil Gaiman. This book is set in the Victorian era starting in the unusual village called Wall. This village is separated from a whole other world, the land of Faerie, where Tristan, the young protagonist, is from. He finds himself adventuring off into this new land, sent there by his true love Victoria to find a fallen star. There is also a film based on this novel, information for which, I will link here. It is a truly beautiful film with such a wonderful cast.
What I’m watching – I have recently been watching Once Upon A Time Series 1 and 2. I love this show because it has a unique concept: all fairytale characters have been cursed and therefore pulled from their world and dropped into ours. A 28-year-old Emma Swan, daughter of
Snow White and Prince Charming, is the saviour: the only who can break their curse, but only if she believes. It’s a fantastic show.
Other than OUAT, I’ve been watching good ol’ Friends. There’s no use in me explaining that show because if you don’t know it you’ve clearly been living under a rock. However, if you don’t know the show, you should definitely look it up. It’s classic, and fantastic in every way.
What I’m listening to – I have been listening to a lot of Young Guns recently, and I absolutely adore their music. My favourite song of theirs in Bones, I’ll insert the video below.
Other artists and albums I’m listening to in Adele’s newest: 25 and Bryan Adam’s Get Up. Two amazing new albums. Check out Bryan Adam’s songs You Belong to Me and Brand New Day and Adele’s single Hello and the track Miss You from her new album.
What I’m quoting –
‘I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.’ – David Bowie.
Today I’m recommending Doctor Who once again, because yes, it’s that time of year. Doctor Who is back on our screens and well into its ninth series with only two or three more episodes to go.
Many people were unsure about Capaldi’s doctor last series, but I think he’s now well-adjusted and has settled into the role quite successfully. I love his unique relationship with his companion Clara, who keeps him balanced when he could quite easily go off on one or be mean or too extravagant.
The episodes this series have been quite incredible with interesting plots and characters. There have also been a lot of two-parters which is actually really good so we can gain more detail from each story. There have been ups and downs as you would expect with any good TV show and… there have been incredible speeches from both the Doctor and Clara.
I’ve been loving these episodes massive amounts so… If you’ve missed this series, or never watched Doctor Who, it is never too late to jump in and I hope you really enjoy it!