The Greatest Showman Book Tag // Taking a Break From my Break

Hello....

It's mee.....
(You've forgotten me, haven't you?)

I am taking a break from my hiatus (actually that doesn't really make sense because isn't a HIATUS a break? So..... I'm taking a break from my break...?) because I read this really cool tag on Eva's blog, and I had to jump in and steal it!
Things are slowing down a bit with our moving (as in, the work is getting less and less the more we clean up and stuff), so hopefully I can be back to posting regular posts really soon!
In the meanwhile, here we go.

Edit cred: Eva

Rules:
~Answer the Questions
~Tag Whoever You Want

(I think I can do that...)

The Greatest Show: Name a book that's as entertaining as a circus.

Well, nothing comes directly to mind except for Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality, which was quite fun to read, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you watch their YouTube channel, because that's what it's all about... :)

A Million Dreams: Name a book that's set in a fantastical world.

Well, I don't read a lot of books from that genre, so I'm just going to say The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Last time I read the series, the third book was my favorite.

Come Alive: Name a book that makes you outrageously happy.

I gotta say Lynn Austin's Hidden Places, not because it's a happy book per se, but it always makes me happy when I read this one because I love her writing so much. But I totally agree with Eva about The Blue Castle too. 

The Other Side: Name a book that changed your mind about something.

This book by Jack Klumpenhower, Show Them Jesus. This is probably the most influential book I've ever read in my life, other than the Bible. It's that good. The truths are amazing.

Never Enough: Name a book that you've re-read more than once.

Anne of Green Gables. That book made me so happy during my high school days. I need to read it again. I actually learned a lot about writing from that book, plus Anne's misadventures and Montgomery's writing style always make me smile.

This is Me: Name a book with a character that reminds you of yourself.

I wish I could say Patrick Jane from The Mentalist... but that's a TV Show. I have never met a character more like myself than that guy. But since this is a BOOK tag, I'm going to say Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird. He does what is right while (mostly) keeping his mouth shut. He's great.

Re-write the Stars: Name a book with a forbidden romance.

I really love forbidden romance situations, so I wish I knew more books with them, but I don't so I'm going to say Lynn Austin's A Proper Pursuit. Although that one isn't super dramatic the way I like them. #yes i'm cliche sometimes
o

Tightrope: Name a book with an adventurous main character.

 I couldn't possibly name any other book or character than Sage from The False Prince Trilogy. I always admired the strength of that guy, and how he never stops. His cleverness never ends.

From Now On: Name a book with a wonderful family (related or otherwise)

Well, I'm going to go with the 'otherwise' option, and say how much I liked the companionship of the characters in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. They are not family, but they stuck together through the war, and afterward. And they accepted Juliet into their adorable circle of trust and friendship. *sigh* It makes my heart happy. I love that book. (WHO ELSE IS EXCITED FOR THE MOVIE. Let me hear ya!)

There we go. I love book tags. Thanks for letting me steal from you, Eva! :)

I Tag:
Tessa at This Great Adventure (AKA - MY VERY BEST FRIEND WHO NOW HAS A BLOG)
Abbie at Chronicles in Bloom
Mary from Sunshine & Scribblings

Go check out Eva's post here.

It was nice writing a post again for once! I will be back soon, my bloggy friends...

-Amaris

Four Things I Loved About 'The Greatest Showman'

This year, my birthday movie was 'The Greatest Showman'.  

Keep in mind the opinions you are about to read are coming from a person who 'hates' musicals.
But keep reading and you might not find a lot of hate.
A.k.a. GO WATCH THIS MOVIE IT'S GREEEAT AND BEAUTIFUL AND EXCITING AND lemme finish this post first. Then go.
HEE HEE. #so excite

*cough* Sorry. (for real, amaris. you're 20 now. cut it out)
Ok, ok.

What I loved:
 
1. The Music & Singing

Have you been on YouTube lately? If you haven't, you need to go on there and listen to some of these songs. I personally didn't listen to the songs until I saw the movie because I didn't want to ruin the experience of it. 

If you have been following my blog for awhile, or if you know me personally, you know that I do. not. like. musicals. I personally find them severely annoying.

However.

There have been a select few musicals I have actually, truly, sincerely enjoyed. Broadway's Newsies was one of them. I had the pleasure of seeing the Broadway version in theaters with a couple of friends last year.

The other is The Greatest Showman. I loved the music in this movie. I could listen to it all day. I left the theater humming "What if we rewrite the stars..." and feeling like the musical parts did NOT clog up the story parts (read this post if you're not sure what I mean), so that I couldn't enjoy the characters to their fullest. 

If a musical can do that to me, believe me, it's impressive.

2. The Lead Roles

Out of all the people who worked to make this movie great, the ones that stuck out at me as my favorites were Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. I admit I've never seen Jackman or Efron in any other movies before (I was never the 'High School Musical' type), but I have seen Zendaya in Spider-Man.

Whether I've seen them before or not, it's hard to put into words how good I thought each of them were in this movie. I could say 'flawless', 'stunning', 'brilliant'. But somehow, mere words fall short of how great it was to describe me sitting in the theater enjoying the life out of myself watching them. I guess you'd have to experience it yourself. (Srsly. Go watch it.)

These three made the movie for me. Basically it's the best acting I've seen in a movie that doesn't have Benedict Cumberbatch in it.

And that's saying something.

3. The dancing

'Invigorating'

'Beautiful'

'Thrilling'

Yep. I'm using adjectives because I don't know how else to explain how great it was.
I loved the dancing. People don't realize that's a lot for me to say, because usually dancing is the boring part of the musical where I leave to go refill popcorn or put more ice in my water. After all, who cares? People moving in time with the music, while having no dramatic influence on the story? Not my thing.
But this dancing? Not only was it beautiful to watch (and paired with not-boring music, what-do-you-know), but it meant something, and it made me care. That's my thing.

4. Everything
A few more worthy 'mentionable' notes:

•  The singing voice of P.T. as a child (I always love a child with a good singin' voice...)
• The dancing scene in the bar with P.T. and Philip (Loved how masculine this scene is, the drama that's woven through the song and dance moves, and just watching Jackman and Efron do their thing.)
• When P.T. is dancing on the roof with his wife (Absolutely loved that part. Also, it sorta gave me vibes from this scene in White Christmas, which I've always loved. With the pink dress and all.)
• Anne Wheeler. I loved her character, I love her dancing, I love her singing, I love Zendaya. (I know some people think Zendaya an annoying 'teenager star', but I personally love her acting. Plus, who has more perfect eyebrows...)
• P.T.'s children. They were acted well, and so sweet.

SO. After all that, maybe you'll believe me that this movie is one of the beautiful-est, danci-est, exciting-est (and what other words can I put -est at the end to sound clever?) BEST-EST movie I've seen in... a long time? A LONG TIME.
AND THAT'S ME TALKING
Yeah, me! I DON'T LIKE MUSICALS.
But THIS MOVIE.
*nods approval*
 Remember when I asked you guys a couple of posts ago "Is it as good as the trailer?" I can now confirm that question for myself.
It is.

-Amaris