Authors beginning with the letter B

Image credited to Amazon.co.uk

Crazy is my superpower

AJ Mendez Brooks

I was a great admirer of AJ during her time in the WWE, as her character was a lot of fun to watch, and she was incredibly impressive within the ring. I was interested to learn more about her background, when I discovered the book, to see what had shaped her into the determined figure she seemed to be within the WWE Divas.

The first thing I loved about the way that the book was written was that it was very honest, with a dry wit running throughout. The details about her family background, particularly the section about her father nearly dropping a television set on her mother during a intense fight and then smashing it against a wall because AJ defended her, are dealt with candidly. Her father and mother clearly have had their own difficulties, but I never got the impression that AJ ever feels much anger towards them, for her unconventional childhood. The family evidently moved quite a lot, and there is a very affectionate portrait of the time that she lived with her grandparents on their farm. I loved a anecdote about her grandmother dealing with a rooster that they owned when it went to an neighbouring farm, and telling her 'You never betray a Mendez woman'.

AJ seemingly has always agreed with her father's idea of how to deal with people, adopting his philosophy 'Life is like a wheel. Some days you're on top and some days you're on bottom. What's the fucking difference?'. It's shown particularly when she relates the days she worked as a checkout girl, and allowed at least one elderly couple to use expired vouchers to buy essential items.

It was interesting to learn a little more about the WWE, and she talks about how protective some of the wrestlers were about her. In one ancedote Mark Henry lifted a crew guy off his feet, when the man was ogling AJ in the middle of stretching in preparation for a match. Beth Phoenix was evidently supportive as well, as AJ relates a behind the scenes conversation she heard Beth having with the Head of Talent Relations, telling him 'That was just her 3rd match in one night, and they were all great matches. I hope I'm not the only one who noticed that.' It was also touching to see exactly how close she really was with Kaitlyn, I had realised that they were genuine friends from AJ's reaction to Kaitlyn winning NXT season 3.

AJ ultimately comes across as a highly relatable woman, who has managed to deal with various difficulties in her early life with humour, grace and determination. I admire her even more than I did, when I just knew her as the WWE wrestler. The book deals with serious and evidently life shaping events and issues, with a light humorous writing style. There are various laugh out moments, and she is definitely a writer I would read again.

Favourite Comedians (in no particular order) number 1

Johnny Vegas aka Michael Joseph Pennington

I'm a long standing fan of Johnny Vegas, he's just so normal in his delivery. It's like listening to a drunken uncle with a keen wit. A favourite clip of him performing is the one on the Last Leg, when he's disrupting the filming. There's something very intelligent about the way that he chooses to frame the gags though. It's angry ranting to some, but I find it hilarious to watch. 

I'm not sure how much of Michael Pennington's character was what drove the interactions with the British athletes during the Rio Olympics, but it was still endearing to see him so excited by the success of the incredible sportspeople. This Is What Johnny Vegas Said to Gold Medal Winner Will Bayley | The Last Leg


Johnny Vegas Messing With Adam, Alex & Josh - The Last Leg (Outtakes)


Johnny Vegas' funny response to John Lydon's heckle Uploaded by VHS Music Memories

Johnny Vegas Christmas rant - Shooting Stars - BBC comedy

Nutbush City Limits by Tina Turner

Image credited to Wikipedia

This song is energising to listen to, and no matter which version I listen to, there's a raw power in the delivery that is exciting. 

Tina Turner is obviously the one most people are familiar with, when it comes to this song, but there have been several women that have put their own slant on it. Each one combines powerful vocals, and energetic dance moves, in a nod to Tina's version. 

My personal favourite cover of the song is Courtney, a 12 year old who auditioned on Voice Kids with it. She combines a powerful and raspy voice with dance moves she's copied from James Brown, and is extraordinary. 

Here are a few of the different versions, I've come across. 

Tina live in 1970

12 year old absolutely smashes the song

Beth Morris from The Voice UK

Santana from Glee

Authors beginning with the letter F

Image credited to Amazon.uk

Sunshine on a rainy day

Bryony Fraser

Synopsis

Zoe and Jack have only been married for a year, but announce their divorce at the party amongst family. Zoe receives the counselling of her three sisters, and Jack's best friend attempts to help him through it.

This book has a different slant on relationships to others in this genre, and it drew me in for that reason. Fraser opts to show both Zoe and Jack's perspective on their relationship, which was a little confusing at the start, but was easier to follow when I got used to their differing voices. She also gives us snapshots of different time periods in Zoe and Jack's relationship, such as seven years before the marriage, in a non linear manner not unlike Quentin Tarantino's earlier films. Although there's very little of the violence and explicit language he employs.

It also reminded me a little of the plot of a Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston movie, as that movie's plot centred on a couple breaking up, but unwilling to move out of their shared home. Zoe and Jack both refuse to be the one to search for a new place to live, and are reduced to making a weekly rota for their bed. The supporting characters such as Benni, Zoe's boss and Chuck, her sister's current boss to name but two, all have a different slant on what they want from a romantic partner.

The history between Zoe and Chuck is evident throughout the novel, but Fraser allows the truth of the past unhealthy relationship to unfold slowly in the background. Fraser writes Zoe as being a woman influenced but not overwhelmed by her former relationship, which made her a endearing and likable character.

It's a lighthearted and less predictable addition to the 'chick lit' genre, and definitely worth packing for holiday reading.

My favourite fictional friendships

Laurel Lance and Felicity Smoak

Arrow

Katie Cassidy and Emily Bett Rickards

I really liked Laurel during the first season, and still find her a fascinating character. I know that there are constant wars between some Laurel fans and Felicity fans, but I think that there are more similarities than differences in the two.

Wait! Hear me out.

When we first meet Laurel, she's buried herself in her work, her determination to help others leading her to take on the corrupt regardless of the financial complications. She's clearly very intelligent, seeing as she has managed to become a lawyer. She has a defensive streak, protecting herself by maintaining a distance from others, due to something painful in her past. She is working for a pro bono lawyer firm, when she could potentially be earning a good deal of money. 

Felicity's introduced a couple of episodes later, but she has also buried herself in her work. She's doing something below her intelligence and ability level, just like Laurel. She clearly doesn't like being underestimated, letting loose when Walter calls her into his office, her outrage mirrored by Laurel when Laurel defeats Max's thugs who are beating Oliver and Tommy. 

Admittedly it's not exactly the best start for their friendship when the two first meet on screen it's a blink and you miss it moment. Laurel meets Felicity. Felicity interrupts a conversation between Oliver and Laurel, and I don't think the two meet again until season two. 

It is not until season three when Laurel has been given the story line of becoming the Black Canary, that the two of them start developing a real friendship. I think it's because Sara, the one that Laurel has the strongest connection with, amongst the female characters, is killed off during the season three premiere. Both Felicity and Laurel spent a good deal of time with Sara, and Sara was the only female friend that we had seen Felicity have on screen, certainly during the second season. 

The writers needed to develop the friendship between Laurel and Felicity, especially given the fact that the two characters would be spending a lot of time together, as Laurel became a solid part of Team Arrow. 

The scene after Laurel has been fighting what she thinks is her sister, while hallucinating is a particularly touching one. Felicity comforts her, and gives her a new reason to wear the Black Canary mask. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cor9P_VLiRY


The friendship is cemented during the fourth season, and Laurel is a sounding board for both Oliver and Felicity about their romantic issues, after the exposure of Oliver's son, and Felicity's shooting by Damian Dhark. 

I enjoyed seeing Felicity and Laurel interact, as their relationship was different to the relationships between Nyssa and Laurel, as well as the one between Sara and Felicity. Those seemed to be more about Nyssa and Sara training the other girls, but Laurel and Felicity together alone supported each other in a different way. 

The actresses apparently enjoyed their scenes together as much as I enjoyed watching them, Emily Bett Rickards and Katie Cassidy at Paley Fest 2015

I'm not the only viewer who enjoyed their scenes together, as there are a number of fan videos featuring the pair. Here are a couple I found: 

Laurel and Felicity- Stand by You by jdmalone95

felicity & laurel | the nicest thing (3x13) by nedlovesyou

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.