On TV: The Strain

Are you all watching The Strain on FX this summer?

Aren't you glad I didn't post the eye ad? You're welcome.
I have been catching up on missed episodes and am really freaked out by the scary del Toro monsters. Ack! So creepy. Love it.
I remember reading the book and thinking about how it would translate to film or tv. Television was definitely the right choice, especially if we get more than one season. 
A mix of known actors and new make for an interesting combination. Sean Astin is in such a quiet role...so far anyway. 
I read the first two books in the series and have yet to pick up the third. You can find links to my reviews below.  
The Strain The Fall
The Night Eternal is the last book in the series. Will be getting that one soon. The Strain airs Sundays at 10pm on FX
Happy Watching! _________________________________________
 FTC Disclosure: Clicking on book title and/or image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

Book Review: Heat Wave by Richard Castle

Heat Wave by Richard Castle 213 pages, ebook Published September 2009, Hyperion
Do you all love Castle as much as I do? It is one of my favorite shows and I find it pretty ingenious that the writers have actually written and published the books that are mentioned on the show. I purchased the first book, Heat Wave, awhile ago but just hadn't found the time to read it until now.
First, I should say that you shouldn't expect great literature here. This is just a fun read. Silly, Castle fun. It's hard not to picture Beckett and Castle in the characters of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook while following them as they investigate the apparent suicide of "a real estate mogul". 
Turns out that Matthew Starr did not jump but was thrown off the balcony. Detective Heat, along with Detectives Raley and Ochoa and the journalist tag-along, Jameson Rook do what they do to solve the murder and catch the bad guy (or gal). 
The murder mystery is okay, not too hard to figure out, but the Castle like feel is here in the banter between Heat and Rook, the relationship escalates a little faster in the book than in the series, but of course, Castle wrote it. He is living his fantasy, right?
If you enjoy Castle you will enjoy this book.
Source: purchased ebook _________________________________________
FTC Disclosure: Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page.

TSS: Holiday Movies

Happy Holidays!
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, isn't it? I have the Christmas decorations up and have wrapped some gifts already. There is also a ton of Christmas programs on TV.  So many favorites. What is your favorite holiday movie? I am still waiting for A Christmas Story to come on.
Here are some others you might want to check out:

Donna VanLiere’s Christmas Movies will be airing on Lifetime TV and we have the schedule:

http://www.donnavanliere.com/news.html

 

There is also a contest to win all of Donna’s Christmas books, including an autographed copy of A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY that ends on December 14^th:

http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/contest_donnavanliere_thechristmasjourney.php

My review of Donna VanLiere's The Christmas Journey will be posted on Dec 15th. There will also be a giveaway open to US and Canada residents. Be sure to stop by to enter.

I reviewed The Christmas Secret last year. You can find my review here.

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Dickens

Have you read much of his work? I have read some but seem to have missed quite a few. I realized this while checking out the listings on PBS Masterpiece Classics tonight. Little Dorrit was the movie tonight and I was amazed that I had never heard of it, let alone not read it. 

How did I miss this one? 

So, I am watching it right now. Couldn't not watch it. It is hard to pass up these BBC adaptations of the classics. Also, Matthew MacFadyen is in it. :)

As for the books I have read by Dickens, they are:

Great Expectations

A Tale of Two Cities

A Christmas Carol

That's it! I think I may have to add some Dickens to my Classics Challenge list.

What would you recommend?

On the boob tube

Oh no! 

I am getting sucked into Dancing with the Stars once again. How does this happen every season? Every year at the end of it I think, never again, but here I am watching it. Well, the first half hour of it anyway. I am off to do a little dancing myself right now. It is being DVR'd though. 

It's not the only thing being recorded to watch later on.

Also on my list:

The Big Bang Theory

How I met Your Mother

Heroes

Castle

No links right now, but they are to come. I am late!

Haunted Post

Naida has started this really fun Halloween themed "blog event" which I can't pass up. I love Halloween!

So, to start it off, this weeks post is about a TV event happening on Friday. Most Haunted Live from Gettysburg. Here is some info from the website:

Join the Most Haunted team on Friday, Oct. 10, for the first-ever live broadcast from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the most haunted town in America.

Starting at 8 p.m. ET, The investigative team will begin an extraordinary seven-hour LIVE paranormal investigation of some of the most historically significant locations and landmarks in and around Gettysburg.

For three long days in 1863, the South and the North faced off in the deadliest clash of the Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg. Every two seconds a man was shot, the streets ran red with the blood of the dead, and nearly every dwelling served as a makeshift morgue or hospital.

Viewers at home will be able to take part in this interactive investigation by monitoring live webcams and communicating with the team via the message boards, text messaging and psychic art.

Join Yvette Fielding and the rest of the Most Haunted team as they scour the streets of Gettysburg in search of the spirits left behind.

Fun, history and scares all rolled into one show. It's seven hours, so be prepared with blankets, food and a pillow to hide behind. :)

The Ruby in the Smoke

I haven't read Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart books, but was excited to see that "The Ruby in the Smoke" would be on Masterpiece Mystery tonight. Just started. Sally is being played by Billie Piper. I will have to pick up these books very soon. I have heard great things about them. "Shadow in the North" will air after, I hope.

Thoughts on True Blood

I have been asked a couple times what I thought about the show. So, I thought I would post what I replied to Melissa on her blog.

"So, as for True Blood. It was just okay for me. For being the series
premiere, I thought there would be a more exciting storyline. I wish the murder was more of a mystery. I will watch next week, see if it gets any better."

Liked Fringe tonight, though. With all these new tv shows I am not going to get as much reading done! :)

gossip girl

Is it just me, or is Chuck looking much better this season than last?
Is it the hair? The clothes?

Vampires all night

True Blood is on tonight on HBO and there are two shows prior to it with great info about vampires in pop culture through movies, books and myths. They are mentioning a lot of great vampire series and interviewing authors.

I have been looking forward to this show since I heard about it. I am hoping it stands up to the hype.