Tom Gates, Princess Diaries and Hunger Games.

I absolutely love to read. I always have and most certainly always will. I think it probably has something to do with my Dad reading Fantastic Mr Fox and The BFG at bedtime... he made the snozzcumbers come to life.

Over the past couple of days I have been thinking a lot about my reading, past and present. I didn't realise quite how much until I came to write this blog. My new topic to teach in Literacy is 'Authors and Letters' where the children have to share books by their favourite author ready to write a letter to them to say how awesome their stories are. I know that most of my children will want to bring in the latest copy of Tom Gates. Those of you who don't know Tom Gates, it is very much like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the children LOVE IT. I have been reading them as our class shared story since September using a variety of silly voices and allowing the children to act out the 'Mr Fullerman stare' and 'Norman hyper drumming'. Now most of the children in my class have been bought a copy or it's on their Christmas list! Instilling the love of reading? Take that University! 

There is even a Tom Gates World blog that I recently discovered. It has similar cartoons to the books and all sorts of fun stuff. I might try and sneak a few Tom Gates pictures into my lesson smartboard slides.

BEWARE. If you do read Tom Gates to your class, be prepared for the consequences. The children do think it is hilarious to compare any teachers to Mr Fullerman. He gives them a teacher stare, he is obsessed with homework and he has a loud voice. I've even been drawn pictures of me with Mr Fullerman eyes... but it also said I was the best teacher ever so I let it slide ;)

A couple of weeks ago I asked my Mum to sell all my old Buffy the vampire slayer DVDs to CEX. I now love going there to look for film bargains. The Harrogate and York branches are soooooooo much nicer than the Wolverhampton one I'm used too, sorry guys! I got £23 store credit for a series that I haven't watched for over five years!! So yesterday I dragged Ryan in to check out what they'd got. He did a film degree so he always wants to get all the fancy pancy onces with a good director. However I couldn't help myself buying Princess Diaries for £2.50 :) :) :) :) :)

I think I was probably about ten or eleven when I started reading all of Princess Mia's adventures. There was just something so relate-able about her that I loved all seven of the books and even read them more than once! I love reading books but I also love it when they make GOOD films from the books. Yes I am one of those people that complains about the tiniest incorrect details. I made Ryan watch it yesterday afternoon and I sat chuckling to myself like I was thirteen years old again.. foot popping kiss... HILARIOUS! Watching it again made me realise that I do have more in common with Mia than I first thought, even at twenty-one I am still a Doc marten wearing, hippy, stupidly lanky, geeky, glasses wearing girl. Just minus the crown!

If that wasn't enough of an amazing Saturday, I went to the cinema in the evening to watch the new Hunger games! Catching Fire was UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Again, another one where I sat engrossed in the books one after the other. I started reading them on the coach to my school in Middlesborough during my second year of Uni. Ask anybody, I was the most anti-social person on that coach haha. I remember finishing Catching Fire on my Kindle on the way home and I literally COULD NOT WAIT to get home and download Mocking Jay. 

The film most definitely did not disappoint. I think there were tears in my eyes for the majority of the film, to Ryan's amusement! The new characters were perfect, the arena was exactly how I imagined it and Jennifer Lawrence was as kick-ass as usual!! What was even better about the film was that we got in for free. I was in my own little world daydreaming about something or other, next thing I turn around and Ryan has tickets! Appaently some guy came through the crowd asking if anybody hadn't bought tickets because it had sold out, then gave the last two to Ryan! I know I am just stupidly lucky :P