NERD

So, as I mentioned, I've been kind of under the weather lately, and these badass antibiotics I'm on (3x/day, 14 days)  have a scary "DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL OR YOU WILL DIE" warning, so I've had to tone down the debauchery a bit. This is a bummer, obviously, but it's opened up a ton of time to indulge my nerdy side with the following new obsessions:

YOUGUYS.  This is so good.  And don't take this from someone who is openly obsessed with enthusiastic about a British boy-wizard and who will also in certain circles, when pressed, reveal that she's on Team Jacob.  That person has questionable taste/credibility (unless you share those traits with me - in that case, just skip this post and buy the book NOW).

Instead, take it from someone who finds Emily Giffin books insufferable (but will read them while tipsy on the beach if nothing else is available), read/enjoyed Pillars of the Earth (albeit sans papal funeral nightmares), and  somewhat stomached/understood Invisible Monsters.  Does this title-dropping up my literary streetcred?  Hopefully, because I am a Hunger Games zealot now and feel a need to INSIST that everyone I know jumps on board.

Need a reference point? It's basically The Giver for a (slightly) older audience, with more action, violence, tragedy, and a bit of romance but-not-of-the-cheesy-vampire-variety-I-promise. DON'T ACT LIKE YOU DIDN'T LOVE THE GIVER - BEST. BOOK REPORT. EVER.

If you have a long car ride looming, the audiobook would be a great way to pass the time, but buy the paper/e-version as well because if you don't finish the audiobook on your drive you will end up creepily listening to it by yourself in your bedroom, which your roommates will think is weird (right Maggie?) unless they've read it (right Hawkins?).

If you're still not convinced, there's this:

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JLaw looks bangin' as a brunette, Katniss is basically Ree but from the future so you know she'll kill it, and that cute guy from The Kids Are All Right will be playing her love interest, so obviously you'll want to know what's going on when this movie is all anyone's talking about.



At the other end of the nerd-spectrum, there's this:

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My disclaimer for recommending this is basically the opposite as the one I used above, in that I am really not smart enough for this PBS Masterpiece Classics miniseries.  In episode one alone, I had to google a legal term (entail, noun-form), as well as the year the Titanic sank (1912), just to get my plot and timeline bearings straight.  That being said, this series (which is available for instant-stream on Netflix) TOTALLY appeals to my newly-enriched fascination with high society English history/culture, decorum, traditions, etc.  Plus, there's secret/DEADLY sexytimes, a cheeky cook, gorgeous costumes, and Professor McGonagall Maggie Smith as a Dowager Countess who doesn't know what a weekend is (because, presumably, when one is a Dowager Countess, every day is a weekend).

Minerva, running shit.

I watched three hours of this stuff last night and I'm basically counting down the moments until I can go home and watch some more.  Don't have Netflix? There's a 1 month free trial, and you can get through this whole series in 1/30th of the given trial time.  Still not convinced?  I'll give you my Netflix login/password.  IT'S THAT GOOD.