Monthly Recommendations: Favorite Mysteries

October 21, 2017 ~ afledglingadult ~ Leave a comment

For October the topic for the Goodreads group Monthly Recommendations is Favorite Mysteries. I personally don’t read a lot of mysteries it’s probably my least read genre besides non-fiction books. Here are books I have enjoyed that have mysteries or have a focus on something to solve that are good for those just getting into the genre

like me.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart: It is such a fun mystery following gifted children that all work together to solve puzzles and infiltrate mysterious academies.

The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: Ahhh the horror and the mystery. I think this is a pretty obvious one but I really enjoyed trying to figure out the Baudelaire’s fate, Count Olaf, VFD, etc.

Smoke Screen by Dick Francis: Dick Francis is another pretty famous mystery writer. These books are really short fun and easy to get into. Bonus you don’t figure out the murderer on the first page they are introduced!

Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie: Agatha Christie is a must for any mystery but my favorite is Miss Marple, the unseemly old woman who is always in the right place at the right time. Definitely some of the funniest mysteries.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin: I LOVED this book and mystery! Everyone in an apartment building is teamed up to solve the will of an old millionaire to receive inheritance. Everyone has their own secrets it’s such a fun read.

Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: I know this isn’t the world’s greatest mystery but it’s great for beginners like me and has a really cool unreliable narrator and mostly unlikable characters that you can still root for.

The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell: Probably the most obvious and gruesome of the bunch. Probably best not to going in knowing too much but compelling and has multiple layers of mystery.

Scary Movies for the Easily Scared

October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 ~ afledglingadult ~ Leave a comment

It’s Halloween season! Unfortunately it’s not all dress-up and candy lots of people are big fans of binging horror or thriller movies. I am very easily scared and don’t joy the gore that comes from movies like Scream or Annabelle. Here’s some movies that are so great for the spooky season but won’t have you peeing your pants.

Coraline: Dark and kinda super eerie… but it’s a kids movie so there aren’t deaths and almost no jump scares.
Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl: In my personal opinion pirates are very Halloween-y (who hasn’t been a pirate for trick-or-treating?). It’s a super fun paranormal movie with one jump scare (and it involves a monkey)
Paranorman: A claymation movie that is ghostly and involves zombies, so you know it’s gonna be good. It’s a very sweet movie and there aren’t jump scares and it is mostly sweet and funny.
Hocus Pocus: Enough said.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: An old fashioned black and white scary movie. It is creepy but also one of the funniest movie of all time.

Oh, living with others…

October 4, 2017February 11, 2023 ~ afledglingadult ~ Leave a comment

Lessons learned in a month and a half of living with 5 other people:

Write your name on all specialty foods or any food you don’t want eaten by other people. Still mad about that blueberry muffin by the way.
If you take more than 15 minutes in the shower, shower or no, someone is going to have to pee. It will be hilarious
The apartment will always smell like food because everyone’s mealtimes are slightly off.
NOT ALL SMELLS GO WELL TOGETHER!
You only get one overnight dish in the sink per night. If you leave every piece of flatware used to make a meal the sink will begin to overflow.
There should never be any hair on bathroom surfaces. It’s really gross and your roommates will not let it go… even after you point out that you are not the only one with long, curly hair.
These will become some of your closest humans, not a lot of people get to survive you in the mornings. Or understand the intensity of game show night. Or have dance parties as you all stress out about midterms.

It’s your home. Be courteous. Have fun.