Spandex and the City by Jenny T Colgan

I've never read any of Colgan's novels before I don't think, but I was drawn to this one because of it's storyline. It's about a normal human woman who lives in a city that is protected by a superhero who possesses extraordinary powers. The two of them develop feelings for each other after he rescues her from a attempted mugging, and try to cope with the realities of pursuing a romantic relationship given their differing abilities, and the pressures of his chosen vocation.

I've watched a lot of superhero based tv shows and movies, and it's a common thread for the extraordinary hero to develop feelings for a human, but I don't think that I've seen it explored in written fiction. I'm sure that there are probably numerous examples in comic books, but I've never read all that many of them.

Colgan delivers a believable heroine in Holly Phillips, who has family issues and work troubles to deal with. I wanted her to be able to have the romance with Ultimate Man, and that her brother would be able to reconnect with her.

It's a relatively fast paced book, but at times can get confusing. I found the motivations of the villain to be a little hard to work out, and so found it hard to care about the stakes in that part. However Colgan has a fun and easy way of description, and a light hand when creating her characters.

If you're a fan of superheroes, and want something light and easy to read then you should give this one a try.

Authors beginning with the letter A

Little Women 

Louisa May Alcott

I recently reread this book, after a long time because it was selected as this month's title for the book club I'm part of. I had forgotten just how important it had been to me during my childhood, all of the characters struck some kind of chord with me, and I remember wishing that I could have a sister like Jo.

Jo was always the one that I felt the strongest connection with, being as she was the tomboyish writer. I wasn't ever a girly girl like Meg and Amy were drawn to be, and I definitely wasn't as selfless as Beth, although I was quiet and reserved about my emotions. The section in which Jo leaves home in pursuit of her writing ambitions was something that I wished that I could experience one day, as I sat scribbling short pieces of fiction in my bedroom.

I also related to the stormy relationship that Jo and Amy had throughout the novel, because my relationship with my brother in particular wasn't without it's tensions. Although thankfully he never burnt any of my writing, he did destroy a couple of my toys after I had done something to irritate him.

Alcott manages to create four distinct characters in the four sisters, who share a tight bond without a strong male influence for the majority of the novel. Her own father was absent for at least part of her childhood, not at war but in England trying to gain some financial independence back after a failed attempt to run his own school.

Alcott was evidently a staunch believer in the old adage that writers are supposed to work by namely 'write what you know', incorporating her own mother's ability to run the household without the influence of a man, her desire to write for a living, and the death of her sister Lizzie into the novel.

Lizzie is largely accepted to be the sister that Beth is based on. She was the shy and reserved sister who kept house while the elder Alcott girls were out at work. She contracted scarlet fever, battling it for two years before passing away.

Shortly after the death of Lizzie, another event happened that Alcott placed almost whole into the novel. Her sister Anna announced her engagement, and Alcott reportedly reacted in a similar way to Jo does, when Jo discovers that Meg is to marry John Brooke.

Alcott's ability to create endearing and realistic characters is part of the reason that I still enjoy reading the novel. I like spending time in the largely female dominated world of the March girls, and Alcott was one of the first writers that I read as a child, which showed me that I didn't have to necessarily always rely on a male partner in order to live a fully happy life.

Steph and Dom Parker: Gogglebox

Steph and Dom Parker

Gogglebox

“Must remember that when I next go to the Co-op.” – Steph after watching the clip from the Full Monty when they’re in the job centre queue. 

These two are hilarious on Gogglebox, and that’s saying something, considering how many endearing, humorous and insightful people are on the show. I like them, not only because they obviously can seriously drink, but their relationship seems to be quite sweet underneath that. It’s endearing that they always seem to be holding hands while watching the programmes, well the one that’s not holding their drink obviously.

All I keep thinking, every time they appear, is that I really want to visit their B and B, just to see if they’re really like they appear to be on the show, well that and the rooms they’ve shown seem to be really nice.

Kelly Kelly: WWE

Kelly Kelly

WWE

Barbara Jean ‘Barbie’ Banks

I only discovered Kelly through a clip of one of her matches, with Maria Menounos, but she was impressive throughout the match, and I checked out a few more. She obviously had a similar ability to Neville, and the move when she spins her opponents round, with her legs around their necks, is memorable. Match uploaded by WWE.

However, it was the match when she was teamed with Edge, to defend his world heavyweight championship which I think was remarkable. She managed to defeat both members of Laycool and make sure that Edge kept his belt.  Match uploaded by TheCaptainMartin

She struck me as being a cheerful and sweet-natured girl, but one that didn’t allow anyone to take her for granted, or disregard her abilities. She competed for Edge’s Heavyweight belt, and the same episode included a conversation between the two when she told him what she really thought, a clip of Edge and Kelly’s conversation uploaded by trishandashleyfan1. She didn’t seem to have been very afraid of the superstars’ physical frames, given that she told Drew McIntyre off, after seeing him fighting another wrestler backstage, clip of Drew and Kelly’s conversation uploaded by WWE

I didn’t realise just how big a fan following she had on youtube but here are some of the videos dedicated to her

Background song: Kiss Me video created by Roselyn Abigail

Background song: something I need, video created by MasQueRade

Video created by CHEmovies

Some of her other matches 

Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix v Laycool uploaded by WWE

Big show and Kelly Kelly v Serena and Luke Gallows uploaded by WWE

Kelly Kelly v Tamina uploaded by WWE

Kelly Kelly and Gail Kim v Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox uploaded by OHSOBARBIEvideos

Jenny: Doctor Who

Jenny 

Doctor Who

Georgia Moffat

I found Moffat’s portrayal of Jenny, to be endearing and interesting pretty much from the first moment that she stepped out of the machine. There was something lovely about her enthusiasm and her misunderstanding of things. Moffat held her own against Tennant, in the scene when the Doctor talk about the Time Lords, something made even more impressive considering her relative lack of formal acting experience, well there were only a handful of credits to her name on her Wikipedia page anyway.

Another very touching scene between the pair, is when Jenny has changed enough to be his true daughter, self sacrificing just like her father. It was a little bit heartbreaking, uploaded by mizzharmonieeee

But the thing that I love most about Jenny, is the scene when she shows off her physical abilities, back flipping through lasers uploaded by  BBCWorldwide. I don’t think I’ve seen a companion do such a thing.

Fan videos dedicated to Jenny

Background song Christina Aguilera’s Fighter Uploaded by HumanDancerrOx

Background song: on my father’s wings, uploaded by AnonymousCatt

Lyla Winston: Sons of Anarchy

Lyla Winston 

Sons of Anarchy

Winter Ave Zoll

She’s not a major character, her connection to the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle gang coming because she is tied to Opie, the best friend of the lead character. However even though she was only in a handful of episodes, I grew to really like her.

Yes, she’s a porn actress, who has a drug habit, but she’s also sweet natured, reliable, brings up her son on her own, takes on Opie’s children after they are orphaned during the fifth season. She fits in with the Sons, as she's another character that values family, and is remarkably loyal. Her loyalty to the club is possibly one of the reasons why Gemma takes to her. There's not much tension between those two characters, even in the early scenes featuring Lyla. 

There are many other qualities that are admirable within the character. She’s proud, determined to make her own money, and is capable of thinking of others despite being in extreme pain, she gets shot in the leg but asks about Chibs’ safety rather than complaining about her pain. I doubt that I would do the same in such a situation. 

I’m not the only one that likes the character, this tribute video was created for her Tribute video

Mira: Spartacus

Mira 

Spartacus

Katrina Law

This character was one of my favourites from early on in the show because she never let her feelings for Spartacus blind her, or let him get away with disrespecting her. She clearly had stronger feelings for him, than he had for her, given the fact that he still had strong feelings for his wife, and instead of staying in the relationship for convenience or protection, she had the strength to end the romance.

It was the first time that I had seen Law in a show, and I liked the physicality that she brought to Mira. Mira was initially a slave, and joined the rebellion, she was the reason that Spartacus and the other gladiators were able to get into the main body of the house. During the later seasons, Mira became more and more proficient with weaponry and was one of the most skilled archers within the camp.

Her loyalty and her strength of will are two qualities that I particularly like her. She displays her loyalty to Spartacus and to the rebels at large more than once.

The character was written to be believable, and seemed to me to be relatable even despite the fact that she was supposed to have inhabited a more brutal world, of 73BC, and suffered things that I thankfully have no first-hand experience of.

Fan videos

Background song: Take it all by Adele video created by axlegoddess

Background song: Skinny Love  video created by KRL2008

Background song: Shattered video created by eden2222