Gilmore Girls Monday Week 6 (Season 3 part 1)

Gilmore Girls Mondays is a feature I started on my personal blog when Molli, Jess, and I decided to do a rewatch-along in June. I did four weeks of it, but since no one really saw it, I decided to move it over here to Ramblings of a Daydreamer. You can see my first four posts here. Please note that there will be spoilers for the show if you haven't watched it.

You can find my recap of season 2 here

Last weekend I finished watching Season 2 of Gilmore Girls, and this week I proceeded to watch over a dozen episodes in 4 or 5 days. I was working on revisions for my holiday novella (shameless little self-promo plug here - the cover reveal is in 2 weeks and if you want to participate you can sign up here) as well as beta reading for a friend, so I worked away on my laptop while marathon-watching Gilmore Girls. I took a bunch of notes to talk about but if I added them all this post would never end, so I’m going to break them up over the next few weeks.

• I was so relieved when Lorelai and Luke started talking again. I hate it when they’re fighting, even though it’s slightly amusing watching Lorelai avoid the diner like the plague. When she went to the diner after closing one night and said she’d had a crappy day and just needed a cup of coffee and to pretend she was a stranger named Mimi (which is my nickname, by the way), and she told Luke about things not working out with Christopher and how she just wanted the whole package, my heart ached. As I’ve said before, I find myself related to Lorelai so much during this rewatch. When I first watched the show, I was the same age as Rory, but now I’m closer to Lorelai’s age and while I still relate to Rory in a lot of ways, I relate to Lorelai a lot with her more ‘adult’ issues, I guess.

• Kirk is absolutely killing me. When he asked Lorelai out, I just about died. And then he starts showing up all over town, working all kinds of jobs. Everywhere they go, there he is, and he’s usually so serious about it (like when he was working at the beauty store and was recommending things to Rory and Lane and then asked them to tell him how a certain product was). Oh, and when he gets a cat and names it Kirk and decides to call it Cat Kirk because Lorelai points out it might be confusing - SO FUNNY. 

• I love how much Luke loves Lorelai and Rory. He gets so irritated and impatient, but then he gets this part indulgent/part if-you-can’t-beat-them-join-them look and gives in to them. It’s clear he’d do anything for them, and I love that. Like when Taylor wanted to open the soda shop (or should I say Soda Shoppe), Luke wasn’t going to rent him the space until he found out Lorelai and Rory liked the idea, then he gave in. Or when Lorelai needed to learn to fish, he set up a kiddie pool and taught her. I LOVE HIM.

• You can see the potential for change coming. Before Rory and Dean broke up, he asked her what would happen with them when she left. Jackson asked Lorelai what she was going to do with Rory’s room when she was gone. Lane and Rory talked about seeing each other during school breaks. There are a lot of changes coming for the Gilmore girls with Rory growing up and it’s really bittersweet (especially knowing some of the train wreck-esque things that happen later on).

• Rory and Dean’s breakup was so sad. It was good in a way, because it had been coming for a while, but it’s always sad to end things with your first love. As I said last week with myseason two recap, it was sad to watch Dean so desperately trying to hold onto Rory when her heart didn’t seem in it anymore.

Favourite moment of the week: 

When Rory and Lorelai devil-egged Jess’s new car and then they tried to squeal away but it didn’t work so they made the squealing noises themselves. They are so hilarious and ridiculous and I love their relationship so damn much. 

Favourite quote of the week:

Lorelai: Did you call an exterminator?

Michel: Why no, what a wonderful idea. I  was actually going to fasten a large wedge of cheese to my head and lay on the ground until Mickey gets hungry and decides to crawl out and snack on my face.

I am seriously loving Season 3. Watching so many episodes all at once back to back to back is SO MUCH FUN. I've never done that before. I think the most I've ever done at a time is three, but this week I went nuts. I love all the character development, how things are changing, and that things aren't always sunshine and roses.

 

Now I want to hear from you. Comments, thoughts, etc. How did you feel when Rory and Dean broke up? Did you expect it to happen or think it would get dragged out? Do you love Luke as much as I do?

{Facebook || Twitter || GoodReads || Pinterest || YouTube || Author blog || Personal/photography blog}
{Subscribe to my author newsletter}

Gilmore Girls Mondays: Week 5 (Season Two recap)

Gilmore Girls Mondays is a feature I started on my personal blog when Molli, Jess, and I decided to do a rewatch-along in June. I did four weeks of it, but since no one really saw it, I decided to move it over here to Ramblings of a Daydreamer. You can see my first four posts here. Please note that there will be spoilers for season 2 if you haven't watched it.

• I love that this show is about flawed people. Lorelai doesn’t react to situations in the best way (point in case, how she handled the whole Max thing…what a shitshow); Rory is smart and a really good kid but she’s not perfect, she’s makes mistakes. Nobody in this show is all good or all bad, nobody is right all the time, they all makes mistakes, do or say things they regret, and it’s just so great because it makes it real and relatable. 

• Another thing I love is the relationship between Rory and Dean. So many shows and movies idealize first love, but Gilmore Girls doesn’t. They have fights, they’re both insecure (I lost count of the times I said to the TV, “Dean, you’re such a whiny little bitch”), and they have issues, just like any real couple. While I didn’t root for them as a couple, I think Dean was the perfect first love for Rory. He taught her a lot, showed her the possibilities, and he was basically really good to and for her (even though he was a whiny little bitch at times).

• Then there’s Rory and Jess. *sigh* I really love these two. Just like with Dean, Jess taught Rory a lot. He was so different from Dean, it seemed impossible that Rory could like a guy like Dean while liking a guy like Jess. He dragged her out of her shell in a way - she had it in her all along, but Jess was the catalyst in many ways with his 'I don’t give a f*ck' attitude. He was so indifferent, and yet with Rory, he just came alive, and I loved it. The looks that pass between them made me want to giggle and blush; they’re just so sweet and sexy and perfect. I loved watching them get to know each other in a way that Rory and Dean never did (even though R & D knew each other well too, just in a different way) - they knew little things about each other, small facts and quirks and habits. It was really cute.

• I also loved the relationship between Dean and Lorelai. He respected her, admired her, and accepted that Rory and Lorelai were somewhat of a package deal. It’s not every guy who can do that, and I really admired Dean for it, especially since Jess was such a jerk to Lorelai. 

• Even though I didn’t root for Rory and Dean, it made me sad to watch things start to fall apart. Jess started coming between them, they had less time for each other, and you could see Rory starting to question her feelings for Dean. She maintained that she loved him, wanted to be with him, and make things work, but you could see the cracks starting to form. Dean’s desperation to hold onto her really broke my heart.

• And then we have Lorelai and Luke and Lorelai and Christopher. I’m a total Lorelai/Luke shipper but…and this is something Molli has said too…if it weren’t for Luke, I’d want Lorelai with Chris. They’re perfect for each other in so many ways - they have shared history, they know each other inside and out, and they have great chemistry. They genuinely love each other, and at first, you could pass it off as just the shared history and the fact they have a kid together, but as season 2 progresses you can see they really do love each other. As Chris said in the season finale, they’ve never been at the same place at the same time, so it’s never worked before. When they had that chance to make it work, I wanted it to. Badly. For all of them. Lorelai and Rory were so hopeful that things would work out, but of course, that would be too simple. It made me really sad...and kinda angry, too.

• BUT…Luke and Lorelai. *sigh* I love watching their interactions, whether it’s silly, serious, touching, or maddening. They got closer this season, and were really there for each other. They've always been friends, but it's becoming a deeper friendship. They know they can count on each other, and I also love the way Luke is with Rory. He clearly loves the Gilmore Girls, and it warms my heart.

• As for secondary characters, I adore Sookie and I’m so glad she married Jackson. Michele and Kirk slay me - they’re so ridiculous and hilarious. Lane is adorable, and I like that we got to see the beginnings of her more open rebellion (as opposed to her secret rebellion, like her freaking wicked-awesome closet of sin that I want, even though I’m an adult) in this season. Emily and Richard…I have a love/hate relationship with them. Mostly I love to hate Emily. She has some of the best lines in the show, and I want to throttle her more often than not, but she’s a great character. Paris is another one I have a love/hate relationship with. She's so crazy and in your face and just the type of person who I would HATE in real life, but I love her on the show.

• A couple of my favourite moments happen in season 2: when Luke pushes Jess into the lake, and when Luke bashes in the wall of his apartment with a sledgehammer, hands it to Jess, and tells him to finish up and then they can ‘hold hands and skip afterward’. Oh, also, “Oy with the poodles already”. There are so many great moments and so many favourite quotes from season 2, I could go on forever (which is why I originally started doing this feature episode-by-episode) but it would just take forever, so those are the ones that instantly come to mind. 

So…lots of character growth, lots of set-up for the coming season, lots of laughter and heartache and drama and ridiculousness…now tell me fellow Gilmore Girls lovers: what did you think of season two? Are you a Rory/Dean shipper or a Rory/Jess shipper? How about Lorelai? Did you want her with Christopher or Luke? Or maybe even Max? Who are your favourite secondary characters?

{Facebook || Twitter || GoodReads || Pinterest || YouTube || Author blog || Personal/photography blog}
{Subscribe to my author newsletter}

Distractions from Reading

The other day when I was getting my monthly recap together for May, I was disappointed to see I'd only read six books during the month. Then I got the dreaded message on GoodReads that I was behind in my yearly goal - nooooo! It may seem ridiculous, but I'm sure a lot of you can relate. I'd hoped to get ahead early in the year and then sorta coast the rest of the year, and I did manage to get ahead the first couple months but since then I've been struggling to stay on track.

Then the other day I realized why I haven't been getting much reading done lately: I've been watching way too much TV (if there is such a thing). I've always been a TV junkie, but I pretty much balance my reading and TV time...until recently. Or more accurately, until I started watching Doctor Who...

So, I haven't been reading enough lately because of...

Doctor Who ~ I started watching Doctor Who in March of April, and I just finished season 4. At least half my online friends, including one of my best online friends, watch it and I was curious because people talked so much about it on Twitter. Luckily my library had it, so I got season one and settled in to watch it with plenty of warnings that it was kinda weird and the effects were sometimes cheesy, but that I should give it a fair shot. The first couple episodes piqued my interest while also making me wonder wtf was going on, but by the third episode I was hooked. I fell in love with Christopher Eccleston's Doctor, Billie Piper's Rose, and all the other characters and their stories. I didn't think I'd be able to get over Christopher Eccleston leaving, but I fell for David Tennant immediately when he took over, and just found myself getting more and more invested in the show. I finished season 4 the other night (I'm so traumatized, you guys...so many feels, both good and bad) and I'm going to watch the specials in the next couple days, then start season 5. I find it kind of ironic that with the announcement Matt Smith (the eleventh doctor) is leaving at the end of this year and people are getting ready to say goodbye to him, I'm just about to meet him as the Doctor in season 5.

Road to Avonlea ~ This was one of the defining shows of my childhood. I was about six when it started, and my family and I watched it together every week. It's one of those quintessential Canadian shows - set here, filmed here, mostly Canadian actors. I grew up with the Kings and Sara Stanley, and I was heartbroken when the show ended. The DVDs are out-of-this-world-expensive but last year around Black Friday, Sullivan Company had an incredible sale and I splurged and bought the whole set. I just finally started watching them a month or so ago and I'm up to season 3. I think I love it even more now than I did as a child because I understand a lot of it better.  

Gilmore Girls ~ Another defining show of my adolescence. I was 16 when it first aired, and I related to Rory in so many ways. Molli, Jessica, and I started a rewatch-along on the 1st and I'm already 5 or 6 episodes in. I've started a weekly feature on my other blog called Gilmore Girls Mondays if you want to check it out and discuss the show!

So, these are the three main reasons I haven't been getting much reading done lately. I've decided I'm going to try to split my evenings up equally between TV and reading (at least most nights) and maybe try to squeeze in more reading during the day when I'm able.

Do you/did you ever watch any of these shows? What are some of your current favourite TV shows? How about some of your distractions? Do you find it difficult to create balance?

{Facebook || Twitter || GoodReads || Pinterest || YouTube || Author blog || Personal/photography blog}
{Subscribe to my author newsletter}

Review: Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Series: Standalone

Published: April 30th, 2013

Publisher: Ballantine Books

352 pages (e-ARC)

Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction/chick lit

Acquired this book: From the publisher via NetGalley

Warning: May contain spoilers

{GoodReads || Buy this book: Book Depository || Amazon || Chapters/Indigo}

From Lauren Graham, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood, comes a witty, charming, and hilariously relatable debut novel about a struggling young actress trying to get ahead―and keep it together―in New York City.

It’s January 1995, and Franny Banks has just six months left of the three-year deadline she set for herself when she came to New York, dreaming of Broadway and doing “important” work. But all she has to show for her efforts so far is a part in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters, and a gig waiting tables at a comedy club. Her roommates―her best friend Jane, and Dan, an aspiring sci-fi writer―are supportive, yet Franny knows a two-person fan club doesn’t exactly count as success. Everyone tells her she needs a backup plan, and though she can almost picture moving back home and settling down with her perfectly nice ex-boyfriend, she’s not ready to give up on her goal of having a career like her idols Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep. Not just yet. But while she dreams of filling their shoes, in the meantime, she’d happily settle for a speaking part in almost anything—and finding a hair product combination that works.

Everything is riding on the upcoming showcase for her acting class, where she’ll finally have a chance to perform for people who could actually hire her. And she can’t let herself be distracted by James Franklin, a notorious flirt and the most successful actor in her class, even though he’s suddenly started paying attention. Meanwhile, her bank account is rapidly dwindling, her father wants her to come home, and her agent doesn’t return her calls. But for some reason, she keeps believing that she just might get what she came for.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a story about hopes and dreams, being young in a city, and wanting something deeply, madly, desperately. It’s about finding love, finding yourself, and perhaps most difficult of all in New York City, finding an acting job.

Lauren Graham has been one of my favourite actresses since 2000 when I was first introduced to her as Lorelei Gilmore on what would become one of my all-time favourite TV shows, Gilmore Girls. When I discovered she had written a book I was both excited and slightly wary. Many actors who decide to start writing should clearly stick with their day jobs, and I’ll admit I was afraid that would be true of Graham. Thankfully my concerns were unnecessary.

All of the charm and wit we see in Graham on the TV/movie screen translated into her debut novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe. I could almost hear her voice in my head while I was reading, as if we were friends and she was telling me about these crazy things that were happening to her. I’m not sure how much of the story is fiction and how much she took from her own experience, but to me Franny was Lauren, and I could picture the entire story with absolute clarity.

Franny was a great character. She was funny, smart, and determined, and I enjoyed watching her learn and grow. She discovered a lot about herself throughout the course of the book, and also about the people around her. Life doesn’t always take the direction you expect, and while sometimes it can be frustrating and heartbreaking, other times it can be the best thing in the world. 

The secondary characters were also terrific and well fleshed-out, from Franny's roommates to her dad to her friends and fellow actors. I particularly enjoyed how things played out with the romance - I won’t say too much because I don’t want to be spoiler-y, but I liked that it wasn’t the main focus of the book, and I also appreciated what it taught Franny and how it was an unexpected bonus in her life during a difficult time. 

I loved the setting of the book and getting to experience New York City in the ’90s. New York is always one of my favourite settings for books, and Graham made me feel like I was there. Through Franny’s experiences, I felt like I got an inside look at acting - the highs, the lows, the people, the crazy things you have to do sometimes. It was interesting to get that behind-the-scenes look, and to see that it’s not all glamorous, but that acting is indeed an art.

 

Quirky, laugh-out-loud funny, charming, and surprisingly touching, Someday, Someday, Maybe was a solid debut from Lauren Graham. I sincerely hope this multi-talented woman plans to write more novels in the future!

*I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*  

Have you read Someday, Someday, Maybe? What did you think? Are you a fan of Lauren Graham?

Any fellow diehard Gilmore Girls fans out there? This is one of my top 5 favourite shows of all time. It meant so much to me (still does), and I could talk about it for ages. So let's talk!

Also, have you seen the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge? I haven't made it very far yet but I'm plugging away!

 

 

{Facebook || Twitter || GoodReads || Pinterest || YouTube || Author blog || Personal/photography blog}
{Subscribe to my author newsletter}