The Dating Game: Werewolf Edition
Last Guilty Pleasure Friday, you voted for your favorite vampire. Shocking results showed that True Blood’s Eric Northman was the leading supernatural man of choice by a whopping 45% majority vote. Now, I like Eric, but I must say I was in with the 2nd place crowd voting for The Vampire Diaries Damon Salvatore, who earned a respectable 35% of the vote. If you missed your chance to chime in, you can view the original post here and take the poll!
So today, we’ll be talking about another guilty pleasure of mine: werewolves! And it seems where there are vampires, there be wolves! Learn about our contestants and vote below; which mystery manimal would you most like a date with?
Bachelor #1: Jacob Black There’s something about the boy who started out all scrawny and awkward, but whose fans fought so hard to keep him in the Twilight series that makes me admire Jacob Black. Played by Taylor Lautner, Jacob is sensitive, mischievious, and 180° all the time, so he’ll be able to keep you warm on those chilly winter nights fast approaching. To bulk up for the physical transformation, Lautner kept extreme diet and strength training, doing drills and weights during set breaks and basically eating a lot of hamburgers. But don’t let his brute strength scare you ladies, he knows how to treat a woman. His favorite first dates include motorcycle rides, cliff diving, and holding hands at the movies.
Bachelor # 2: Alcide Herveaux Newcomer character Alcide Herveaux, played by Joe Mangiello, has been making advances appearances on the last season of True Blood. He’s recovering from a terrible break-up with a druggie werewolf chick, but if fixer-uppers are your thing, Alcide may be your dream come true. He’s part rugged outdoorsman, part softie who wears flannel. First dates with Alcide include snuggling on the couch, long romantic drives, and chasing after his ex-girlfriend.
Bachelor #3: Tyler Lockwood High School wouldn’t be High School without the football jock alter ego werewolf character. Tyler Lockwood, werewolf, is the result of the Moonstone Curse on The Vampire Diaries. Played by Michael Trevino, he originally came to casting for the role of Stefan Salvatore, but the producers immediately saw him as Tyler. With his athletic build, playful smirk and smile, and inner struggle to fight his werewolf desires, Tyler is an ambitious and strong man. First dates include reckless house parties and drinking too much, sneaking around and rummaging through other people’s belongings, and chaining oneself up in the old abandoned Lockwood estate. Please call ahead for a date with Tyler so he can check the full moon calendar, he’s new at this.
Bachelor # 4: Mason Lockwood Tyler’s uncle on the Vampire Diaries, Mason Lockwood, acts as mentor and guardian over Tyler for awhile, explaining how the Curse of the Moonstone works and actually documenting his werewolf transition process on video camera. Played by Taylor Kinney, Mason is a bit of lone wolf…pun intended. You can never be too sure which side he’s on, Ladies, and he’s likely to disappear without much notice. He’s been known to come back though, and usually with a grudge. Despite his actions, his heart is in the right place, protecting Tyler. First dates include a faraway getaway where no one knows your name, attending council meetings, and an unwarranted desire to be in and out of his nephew’s life.
And those are our contestants for today. Let the voting begin! Who’s your guilty pleasure wolfman of choice? Would you write in your own vote for a werewolf I missed? Who’s sexier: the vampire or the werewolf?
Peculiar Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
This book came came out of nowhere. A fascinating cover: a young girl in the woods, slightly grimaced, and upon further inspection, you’ll observe she’s levitating.
The author, Ransom Riggs, grew up in small towns of Maryland and Florida. He equates having nothing to do being the key factor that helped him create stories about other worlds. He has a degree in film making and is currently working on his third book, which consists of photography with writing on it.
Peculiar Children tells the tale of a group of strange orphans, characters Riggs designed from photography archives. Riggs is quite impressive with the way he has pieced together images and plot about a fantastical world of magic children alongside history loops.
The story begins with Jacob Portman, a misfit teen with no friends, and parents who don’t understand him. His childhood was filled with stories from his grandfather, tales about the peculiar children who lived with “the bird” at an orphanage, where Jacob’s grandfather himself was taken after the Nazi attacks. But the monsters in this book aren’t the ones we know from our history lessons. After Jacob’s grandfather’s death, Jacob learns all too quickly that the monsters in grandpa’s stories are real after all, and perhaps Jacob has more in common with the peculiar children than he thinks.
The wonderful thing about this book is its characters. The black and white photos depicting the peculiar children are both entrancing and unnerving. Everything about these mysterious lost kids invites you in, though you remain uneasy. There is the boy with bees inside him. The girl with the backmouth. The child who can bring a heart to life in his hands, and place it in whom he wills. Beginning with their photos, Jacob comes to endear these children.
Another intriguing element to the novel is its use of multiple dialects/accents. The islanders have a different vernacular than the peculiars, and each character is given a distinct voice and persona. Often the interactions Jacob has with them is humorous and adventurous. I laughed several times at the bartender’s bellowing phone pick up “Piss hole!” And there’s the childish rapping of a boy named Worm.
The story of Jacob and the people he meets along his journey is an odd one, but then what would a reader expect with a title like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children? The only slight downfall of the tale is the fact that the ending is a bit abrupt. I’m not sure it ended at all. Perhaps Riggs intends to write a sequel, but as the pages become more and more scarce, it’s evident not all the problems of the peculiar children are going to be solved before the last page. I both thoroughly enjoyed this book and am also unsure whether I’m invested enough to await a sequel that shows no signs of being written (at least from what I’ve gaged on the author’s site).
I think the idea of taking a photography collection and making it into a bizarre tale of both fantasy and mystery is awesome! I however, also wanted more. But don’t just take my word for it! Albert Berg recently reviewed Riggs’ book on his Bizarro Book Review post. Or you can always read it for yourself! I hope you do! It will keep you turning the page.
Have you read Peculiar Children? Have you ever loved and been upset by a book before? What was the book? What do you think of Riggs’ method of using photo archives to web together a strange tale?
Happy Halloween!
Hi ya’ll! Happy Halloween! Today’s post is brought to you by Dolly Parton! And I’m just thrilled to be celebratin’ with ya’ll on All Hallow’s Eve. Don’t you get to spookified, I’m here to guide ya and keep the ghosts away!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. And since it falls on a monday, I had a whole weekend to celebrate. For starters, I went to work for Jess on Saturday. I was a big hit with her team. They made the credit goal we needed so I agreed to sing for them. Popular requests were 9 to 5 and Jolene. Two of my favorites!
Saturday night was the typical celebrity party. You know, attend a live concert, well, at least I think they were…
The usual music celebrities were there. Michael Jackson, Prince, Amy Winehouse, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, and my particular fave, ABBA.
Mamma Mia! It's Halloween again!
After a full night of autograph signing, I was ready for a lazy day at home on the couch. The line-up included: Halloween, The Addams Family, Practical Magic, and The Walking Dead.
To end the night, some great reads that say Halloween!
Tiffany A White’s Ooooh Factor gave an eerie review for The Boo Factor of the scream favorite film Halloween.
Sara Grambusch made a Halloween monster mash-up that talked craft projects, party foods, and even wine and candy pairing in My Magical Halloween Puree.
Albert Berg gave away his book The Mulch Pile for FREE in honor of Neil Gaiman’s All Hallows Read. Be sure to get your copy of this spooky tale!
The Good Greatsby shared halloween stories from his creative children, The Fonz and Optimus Prime. Fonz has got a secret and he thinks you’d like to know what it is in Saturday Hallowiener.
Little Miss Vix shares her Top 10 Supernatural Favorites including books, film, and TV series. See if yours made the list or add to it!
If history is your thing, check out El Muerto: The Texas Headless Horseman by Catie Rhodes.
If you missed the final edition of Haunted Hawleyville by Pam Hawley, check out her last post about camping in the woods with her family, Visits from Jason and Freddy.
That’s all for this Halloween, folks! How did you celebrate this weekend? Hope you all have a fabulous All Hallows Eve!
Luv,
Dolly
xox
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 