Stranger Things Book Tag

When I first saw this show being advertised on Netflix, I wasn't sure if I would watch it. I love supernatural type shows, but I am not the biggest fan of Winona Ryder. I had one afternoon where I wasn't sure what to watch, so I decided to give Stranger Things a shot and whoa! I'm glad I did because it wasn't just supernatural. It was dark and interesting and mind bending. I'm just sad there's only one season at the moment!

While I'm waiting for season two, why not reflect on the show by comparing key aspects of it to my favorite thing, books? I saw this tag originally done by Ava at Bookishness and Tea and I want to thank her for doing it so well. 

The Vanishing of Will Byers

The First Book in a Series That Left You Intrigued and Slightly Confused

I think this is one of the first book in my recent trend with books that has characters that are villains or anti-heroes that I like more than I would have in the past. The Darkling, for example, starts out as something of a good person, or at least you're lead to believe he is. By the end, though, perceptions have changed and you aren't sure what's happened, only that what you believed clearly is either wrong or is warped.

I haven't read the rest of the series yet, but I'm curious to see how this turns out. His development especially is confusing because I'm not sure how I'm meant to view him.

The Upside Down

A Book With a Setting You Would Never Want to Live In

Westeros has some great stories in it (three cheers for Daenerys!) but I would never want to live there. I'm sure there are some beautiful landscapes and the architecture in some of the cities is gorgeous in the show, but the politics would make my existence there a terrible thing. I don't have the stomach for political intrigue and if you don't play that game here, you're soon a dead man. This is all besides the fact that the medical technology is obviously medieval, so I'd probably die sooner than necessary anyway.

Eleven

A Book You Own That Is Somewhat Damaged, But Loved to Pieces

I found an old copy of Sherlock Holmes stories at a garage sale years ago and it was the most complete edition I've ever seen. Have you ever noticed how volumes these days will say "complete" but will actually be volume one of however many? Well, this was a hardbound edition and it was the real deal. It's too old to have a ISBN, so the above picture will have to to, but it's been well loved since I got it. The binding is a bit fragmented at this point and coming away from the paper, so it stays shelved now until I can find a professional book mender to bring it back to life.

Mike, Lucas, and Dustin

A Trilogy You Always Go to Whenever You Need a Pick-Me-Up

This one is sort of true, sort of not? When I need a pick-me-up I do turn to Lord of the Rings, but it's because I want to try and actually finish the book rather than because I've actually finished it and want to reread it. I love the movies and have watched them dozens of times, but it's been difficult for me to actually finish the book because it's so long. I know it's also not really a trilogy, though it is traditionally published as a three volume set, so does this count really? Sure, why not? All hail Sam, the true hero of the book!

The Demogorgon 

A Book With a Terrifying Beast You Wouldn't Want to Face in a Dark Alley

There are a lot of monsters that show up in this series, but the zombies are the scariest ones I've ever come across. They aren't glamorized at all. They barely retain their humanity, regardless of what people want the animators to do with them, and  they start to rot rather quickly, so they're disgusting as well as inhuman.

Dr. Brenner

A Book With a Villain Who is Both Manipulative and Dedicated

The systematic emotional abuse that takes place within this novel is amazing. It's unbelievable that Josephine is able to get away with this and it makes me fear for my interactions with people because if there are people out there that can deceive so well, what hope is there for those of us that must interact with them, never mind the poor souls that live with them?

Nancy Wheeler

A Book You Didn't Expect to Love

When I first read the description for this, I thought it would be entirely  too cheesy for me, too lovey dovey. I am so glad that I not only read this book, but also the two companion novels that followed. I didn't like them as much as I did this one, but if I hadn't started with this one, I wouldn't have gotten to any of them.

Anna and the French Kiss ended up being a lot of fun. Anna was the airhead I thought she would be and Etienne wasn't the typical overheated YA hero. Their story was a fun contemporary read.

Hawkins, Indiana

A Book With a Setting That's Just a Little Bit Strange

This is probably a bit more than a little bit strange, but it's my favorite recent strange setting. Things sound like they're going "normally" for a minute, then one thing changes just enough to start the snowball rolling downhill towards weird. The main character, for example, is blanched of color. The whole world depends on color in an extreme way. Their day to day activities are...odd, to say the least. It's a weirdness that rivals Wonderland and Narnia. It's a jumble of crazy that's fun for a weekend read.







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