Get To Know Me post: some favorite TV shows & the future of this feature

Hey guys :)

Since Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer had to cut back on blogging a bit and will only be doing the Know Me Better meme sporadically, I've decided that I will do my own version for the time being. To be honest, I've been planning a different Sunday feature for months now but I never seem to get around to the bits like making a banner (bad photo skills, terrified of copyright issues) and writing an intro post. And just now with having to move and all that (just yesterday my dad & sister carted three big boxes of books and CDs and DVDs out of my room to store at the family house... it felt like defeat, like there's no way I'll find a new apartment in time) I'm just not in the right frame of mind to write a topic about something I'm as passionate about as I am about the content of that feature and make it good.

So instead, the awesome Micheline from Lunar Rainbows had the idea that I could do a post or series of posts about favorite stuff. And well... since I talk about books alll the time on here and because many favorite lists like book boyfriends or whatnot can be found among my Top Ten Tuesday posts, I'd like to branch out a bit to other things in life. I guess it will mostly be nerdery like TV shows or movies or bands but maybe I could also do photo posts of cities / countries I've been to or would like to go to one day. You guys seemed to like that post about Barcelona I did in late January. I'd try to keep them a bit bookish too, if possible (I love visiting foreign book stores).
If there's any topic you'd like me to talk about or questions you'd like me to answer or whatever, just tell me in the comments or send me a tweet :)

So... for today  I think I'll talk a bit about favorite TV shows. Why? Because last night and this morning I finally started catching up on the new season of Game of Thrones. And I realized that 1) damn do I love this show and 2) damn who was that guy again and what did he do? Yeah... loads of characters. And I like to keep track of even the minor ones so I don't miss all the underlying complications and implied threats etc. But honestly I think the series is fantastic. The intro alone is epic. So many strong women characters! You have admire even the evil ones...

I don't own this image. I just thought Arya looked fab.

And of course the setting and the clothes are so realistic! And the dialogue. Not to forget the cinematic aspects of how it's all made, the angles from which they film, the switching from one setting point to another... my sister could tell you more about that, she studies film. But even I notice stuff like that because we discussed it in my English classes (film adaptations of novels) and I always appreciate great storytelling, no matter whether it's a book or film or music or just someone sitting there and really telling you the story.
Since we're talking favorites: hard to pick here, but I think Arya, John Snow, and Daenerys Targaryen (mother of dragons!). I also like how Sansa evolved! And Tyrion sort of grew on me.

Again, I don't own.

Another HBO series I love is True Blood. I wasn't a huge fan of season 4, but season 5 was a lot better again. And nope, I don't just watch it for the blood and gore and sex. I think they negotiate a lot of issues in that series that are interesting from a theoretic/critical point of view. I actually wrote a paper about season 1 once using Julia Kristeva's idea of the abject, the semiotic, the symbolic, boundary transgression etc. Can't go into too much detail here. And of course again, the way the series is made is great! I also like how it veered away from the books and is doing its own thing. And well... there's Eric ^^' I hated him at the beginning. I truly did. Then I started hating Bill and appreciating Eric. And... now I'll shut up and re-watch some favorite scenes :P

This post is getting rather long... another series I love is Vampire Diaries, but DO NOT TELL ME ABOUT IT because I'm awfully behind and I don't want to hear about any spoilers!! Why I love it: great characters, great acting, Damon Salvatore, and they cram stuff that would take other shows a season to sort out into one episode. Also, it's hard to say who's really the bad guy.

I'd love to watch a lot more series but it takes so much time and I can never stay caught up. I haven't seen any Bones past season 5, even though I love the show. I haven't started American Horror Story, or Misfits, or Revenge, or watched more of Supernatural (yet to start season 3) or 2 Broke Girls (my sister made me watch a few episodes and we laughed our asses off together). I try to watch Grimm on Mondays when it's on German TV.

Find this pic here. And read the manga, it's gorgeous :)

I also used to watch a lot of Anime, but again I'm behind. In the case of Bleach, I'm behind more than a year. Some animes I've seen all episodes of and love are Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler <333), Vampire Knight, Wolf's Rain, Death Note (watched nearly all... in 2009. But I bought all the mangas). I also liked D. Gray Man and Hellsing (only the OVAs, not the 12 or so episode version). I watched a lot more anime but I don't remember all of them at the moment. When I was a kid I loved Sailor Moon, Pokémon (until they kept inventing too many new ones that were less awesome), Digimon (up to the end of season 3), Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, Mila Superstar (you know, that volley ball playing girl), and a really old show from the 90s that would translate to Planet of the Dinosaurs. It was about a bunch of kids from the marine club of their school getting into a storm with their ship and being spirited away to a medieval-ish world where humans co-existed with dinosaurs.



Sorry for another terribly long post... can't believe I confessed to all the anime :P
Do we have any beloved series in common? Did I list any you hate? Let's battle it out discuss ;)
Also, if you have ideas for future topics in this feature, let me know! Same if you're also doing something Know Me Better-ish on your blog! Leave a link, I'd love to check it out :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Desert Tales, by Melissa Marr

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to spotlight upcoming book releases that we're excited for.


My pick this week:

Release date: October 22, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback, 200 pages

Goodreads description:
Return to the world of Melissa Marr’s bestselling series and discover how the events of Wicked Lovely set a different faery tale in motion….

The Mojave Desert was a million miles away from the plots and schemes of the Faerie Courts—and that’s exactly why Rika chose it as her home. The once-mortal faery retreated to the desert’s isolation after decades of carrying winter’s curse inside her body. But her seclusion—and the freedom of the desert fey—are threatened by the Summer King’s newfound strength. And when the manipulations of her trickster friend, Sionnach, thrust Rika into a new romance, she finds new power within herself—and a new desire to help Sionnach protect the desert fey and mortals alike. The time for hiding is OVER.

Originally presented as a manga series, and now available for the first time as a standalone novel, Desert Tales combines tentative romance, outward strength, and inner resolve in a faery story of desert and destiny. 


I'm so excited for this! I LOVED the Wicked Lovely series!!! I own the Desert Tales mangas and I've read the first two, but I'm still curious about how the story will change as it goes from one medium to another. And I'm just homesick for that world... already the cover design and font fit in so well with the other books!
What do you guys think of my pick? Have you read the Wicked Lovely books or the manga? And what are you highlighting this week?