Welcome

Welcome!

My name is Maggie. I live in New York City. I teach Kindergarten. And I love to read. I have for all my life. I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t read.

I was the student who was always reading ahead in English class because I just had to know what happened next in the story. (And thank God I read ahead, because if I hadn’t, I would have been crying reading Bridge to Terabithia in my sixth grade English class. Being twelve is hard enough, I didn’t need to add being the girl who cried over books in class to the already inescapable awkwardness that comes with being a preteen.) 

I always carry a book with me, wherever I go. Whether sitting on the subway or bus, standing in a long line, or waiting in the theatre for a movie or show to start, I love to take advantage of the time to read. 

I always ask for a book from my parents for Christmas, my birthday, and Thanksgiving. Growing up, my parents would give my brothers and I a book for every holiday. Not just the holidays where you traditionally exchange gifts (like Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day), but the smaller, non-gift-giving holidays as well (Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick’s Day). At Christmas (and some Thanksgivings, when I can convince my mom to buy me a book), seeing a new book wrapped and waiting for me at my spot at the dining room table, brings me just as much excitement as an adult as it did when I was a kid.  

Bookstores are my happy place. When I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, just stepping into a bookstore calms me down. I can spend hours going through the bookshelves, exploring new titles, adding books to my ever expanding “To-Be-Read-List.”  

Yes, I love to read, but I love watching movies and TV, too.

This blog is a place where I can put down my ideas about the books I’ve read, new (or old) movies I’ve watched, and TV shows I’m watching. And when I watch a movie or TV show based on a book I’ve already read, or read a book based on a movie or TV show that I’ve already seen, I will discuss how the book is better, because, we all, know, THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER.

Top 10 Favorite Books (or book series):

1.  Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
2. Eloise by Kay Thompson
3. The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary
4. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
5. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares
6. The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
7. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
8. The Shopaholic series by Sophia Kinsella
9. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
10. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld  

Top 10 Favorite Movies:

1. A League of their Own
2. Pitch Perfect
3. Mean Girls
4. When Harry Met Sally
5. Clueless
6.  Beauty and the Beast (1991)
7. The Muppet Christmas Carol
8. The Wizard of Oz
9. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
10.  The Parent Trap

Top 10 Favorite TV Shows:

1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
3. The O.C.
4. Veronica Mars (until the last 10 minutes of the fourth season)
5.  Friends
6.  Parks and Recreation
7. 30 Rock
8. Saturday Night Live
9. The Mindy Project
10. Top Chef

Is the book ever not better?

1. Wicked by Gregory Maguire 

I saw Wicked just months after it opened on Broadway. Being a fan of The Wizard of Oz, and musicals, I was excited to see a show that told the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West. I loved the show. I thought it brilliantly explained how the characters of The Wizard of Oz got to where they were once they were introduced to us in the original story, while still honoring and respecting L. Frank Baum’s work.

When I saw the show, I hadn’t even realized that it was adapted from a book. I tried to read the book at least 3 times, but just could not get through it. The musical was so simple and told the story beautifully. The book however, had so much going on and was a little weird. Maybe one day I’ll give it another try.