2016 Reading Challenge: A Book You've Been Meaning to Read

A Book You've Been Meaning to Read

There are probably over 200 books I've been meaning to read, just in the last few years.  For this specific challenge I chose I one I've been meaning to read only for a short time:

The Martian by Andy Weir

Summary:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Mini-Review:

I loved this book since the moment I picked it up and finished it record time (or what passes as record time for me these days).  You can see my full review of this book here.

Happy Halloween! - Scary Movie Love

Happy Halloween!

In honor of this awesome holiday I'm deviating from my traditional book posts and giving you a list of my favorite Halloween/Horror movies!  And I LOVE horror movies so this shall be fun.  I really tried to limit the list to 10 or 15, but clearly that didn't work.  And the only reason The Conjuring isn't on this list is because I haven't seen it yet.

Top 20 Best/Favorite Halloween and Horror Movies

1.  The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

• I can't even express how much I love this movie, truly.  I have the entire score memorized and have multiple figurines around my room/house.

2.  The Awakening (2011)

• This was truly fascinating for a supernatural horror movie.  It was more suspenseful than scary, but it was truly intricate and amazing.

3.  Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

• I have always been fascinated with Chernobyl in general, so seeing this movie wasn't even an option for me.  I loved how authentic  it was, but I was a bit put off by the ending because I just felt unsatisfied after all the scares.  Scariest part:  that damn bear racing through the apartment.

4.  Grave Encounters (2011)

• Holy crap!  I love found-footage supernatural horror, but this movie takes it to a new level.  It combines all my loves of horror movies:  quick scares, long build-ups, asylums, supernatural elements, and likable characters.

5.  Grave Encounters 2 (2012)

• I can't decide if this is better than the first one or not, but they definitely stepped up the scare factor of things jumping out of rooms and dragging people away.

6.  Halloweentown (1998)

• Who didn't love this as a kid?  It's adorable!

7.  The Inkeepers (2011)

• I was surprised by how much I liked this movie, but once again it was a supernatural horror so I was all but required to watch it.  It's slow suspense, the best.

8.  Dark House (2009)

• Mystery!!  And with an actual Halloween element.

9.  An American Haunting (2005)

• Don't normally like the historical, but this was just so very well made.  Not to mention how hot the school teacher is, seriously.

10.  Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

• My favorite out of the whole saga.  I think I like it the most because of the subtle things I didn't catch until I watch it more than once, like the pool cleaner being constantly removed.

11.  Mama (2013)

• I think I liked the idea of this more than I actually liked the movie itself.

12.  Fragile (2005)

• Oh my god the ghost is the scariest ghost I've ever seen.  And I love scary movies with children and hospitals (yeah, I'm creepy like that).

13.  The Amityville Horror (2005)

• It's a classic, end of story.

14.  The Amityville Haunting (2011)

• Again, found-footage!  Didn't love the dad's craziness, but hey, the rest of it was pretty awesome.

15.  1408 (2007)

• If I was the main character I would have lost my mind completely, and in about 10 minutes flat.

16.  Sinister (2012)

• Creepy children!!

17.  The Pact (2012)

• Really not that great of a movie until the final scenes.  But then the scary creepy factors came to light.

18.  Fingerprints (2006)

• Traditionally scary so it's a must-see

19.  Orphan (2009)

• That "child" is deranged.  Completely certifiable.  SHE BROKE HER OWN ARM! Ugh, so good.

20.  Dream House (2011)

• Just saw this recently.  I think it was more sad than scary, but it definitely messed with your mind.

Bonus one:

21. Scary Move (saga)

• If you've never seen any of these you need to go watch them now.  Seriously.  Right this second.  They're hilarious.  Scary Movie 4 is my favorite.

So what are your favorite/least favorite Halloween/horror movies?

Have a Scary Day!