Sci-Fi Movie Book Tag | #RRSciFiMonth

Hi everyone! It's that time of year again, Sci-Fi Month!!!!!!! Science fiction is my favorite genre (tied with fantasy, I'll admit) so I'm always happy to participate in #RRSciFiMonth. If you want more details,  click the picture above for a link to the main page.

In honor of Sci Fi Month, I'm going to do a Sci-Fi Movie Book Tag. I'm sure there are other versions of this tag, and I'm not actually tagging anyone (though if you want to use this tag, go for it!) It's the first tag that I've created so I'm kinda nervous about how it'll go. Anyways, here's what I've got for the Sci-Fi Movie Book Tag!

1) Alien - A book series that should've ended long before it did.

For this one, I'm going to have to go with either the Xanth series or the Dragonriders of Pern series. Yes, these are two of my favorite series of all time, but I stopped reading them after a while because I kinda got bored with them. It was sad to see them go and I know I would have been sad had the series stopped, but I think that'd be better than getting bored with them.

2) Tremors - A scary book that also made you laugh.

I gotta give this one to Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix. Not only did it make every subsequent trip to Ikea slightly unnerving, but it legitimately terrified me. There were several moments, though mostly in the beginning, that also made me laugh so I gotta give this one to Hendrix.

3) Ghost Busters - Your favorite classic.

This may be my childhood speaking, but my favorite classic book is, hands down, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It was a tradition for my great-grandfather to read the story to his kids and the family has continued loving that story. And not just at Christmas, either.

4) Evolution - A book you love that no one else seems to like.

Don't get me wrong, there are so many books and so many preferences that I don't mind being the "only one" to like a book. I get it, there are just too many out there to be informed of all of them. That being said, I do wish I had other people to talk about all the Hellboy novelizations out there. I have so many Hellboy books that aren't the graphic novels and yet, I don't really know anyone else who's read them. They're always so good. The writers really get Hellboy and his associates and I'm always on the lookout for new ones.

5) The Thing - A book where the bad guy wasn't who you thought.

It ain't often that a book can legitimately surprise me. I've stopped reading thrillers and mystery novels because of this. So when the bad guy from 14 by Peter Clines was revealed I almost yelled out loud at myself "how did I not see that coming?!" I was legitimately kicking myself because, in retrospect, it was so obvious! Yet, while reading, I thought nothing of the signs and warnings. I was so happy to be surprised.

6) Star Trek - Your favorite retelling of a classic story.

I'll admit, this is kind of a tough decision so I'm going to name both contenders for favorite: Cinder by Marissa Meyer and Pride, Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. Both of these books were based on classics that I either didn't like or only cared for a little. I read them because of all the hype around one and for the fun of the latter. I was not disappointed. PPZ is one of the few books I've re-read in recent years, not just because the movie was released. 

7) Wall-E - A character so adorable you couldn't put the book down.

I'll admit, this one is a more recent read, but Ella Patel, main character in Rise of Io is exactly the kind of lovable troublemaker that I find adorable and love to read about. She practically made the book for me and was consistently making me laugh. I couldn't put down the book because I wanted to know what she was going to do next, pranks or otherwise. 

8) Doom - A book that didn't translate well to other mediums.

Hands down, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde as a video game. If you don't know, the 1988 NES game of the same title is one of the worst video games of all time. This is more the fault of the developers than the book because the player is never told anything about how to play it. As a result, random people and things hurt them and your character dies before any real progress can be made. 

*Personal Note: I'd love to see a Pride, Prejudice & Zombies video game with mostly female PCs and you have to find the right balance between civility points and fighting points so that you can progress in society and continue being able to kill zombies. 

9) Transformers - A favorite book or series, if only because of the nostalgia factor.

On my bookshelves, I have a copy of The Grasshopper Trap by Patrick F. McManus. I've had it for years but have only read it, maybe, once or twice. The reason I have it? It's a family favorite on my Dad's side of the family. These stories were so well read in the family that, every time we got together, everyone would get the joke when the stories were referenced. I'll admit, I still think on the stories often, but I just don't have as much interest in reading them as I used to. But I'll always cherish them.

10) Star Wars - A book or series that blurs the line between sci-fi and fantasy.

I'm going to give this one to The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. The first book was a brilliant blend of science and fantasy with doctors treating the vampirism as a disease. Don't get me wrong, by the third book in the series it was strictly fantasy, but that first book had so much science. It was such an intriguing attempt at applying science to the fantastical/supernatural. 

So, that's my first ever original book tag. What'd you think? What books/characters would you pick for these? Please feel free to leave comments or links to your own version of the tag. 

Top Ten Funny Sci-Fi Movies | Sci-Fi Month

Last week I posted about 10 Scary Sci-Fi movies. Today, I'm going to list 10 Sci-Fi movies that made me laugh, whether they intended to be funny or not. I have to admit, it was a LOT more difficult to find funny sci-fi movies than scary ones, so some of these may be a bit of a stretch.

1. Evolution: I feel like this movie doesn't get as much credit as it should have. My family watched this in theaters and had a great time. I do wish they had gone with the alternate ending, though.

2. Men In Black: As a kid, this was one of the very few alien movies that I could watch without getting scared. 

3. Eight Legged Freaks: This is a movie you have to go into with absolutely zero expectations in order to have a good time. But it is still a good time. ^_^

4. They Live: I don't know if the creators of this movie intended for it to be so funny, but I had a great laugh.

5. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: There may be some who argue that this isn't Sci-Fi, but the time-travel alone makes it count for me.

6. Wall-E: Okay, yeah, this is more "cute" than "funny", but I'm still counting it.

7. Weird Science: This is a more recent watch for me, but the humor in this seems to be ageless. 

8. Serenity: Again, probably not the first thing you think of for a "funny" Sci-Fi Movie, but Serenity (and Firefly) wouldn't be what they are without their strong sense of humor.

9. The World's End: Again, a more recent watch, but so much fun. I appreciate movies where you can tell the actors had fun making the movie.

10. Ghostbusters: I feel like this is an iconic Funny Sci-Fi Movie. In so many ways, this movie set the standard for those that came after. 

I know I've left out a bunch, so tell me, what are some of your favorite Sci-Fi laughs?

Sci-Fi Month: Top Ten Scary Sci-Fi Movies

Hello! I know that I don't usually do "Top Ten" posts, but in honor of Sci-Fi Month, I figured I'd do a list of Scary Sci-Fi Movies. Every movie and game in this list was, at some point or another, too scary for me to watch. A couple of them are still too scary for me. Please keep in mind, I used to be a lot more sensitive to scary stuff than I am now so some of these movies I wasn't able to watch until recently.

1. Jurassic Park: This movie came out when I was in 4th grade and I ended up having to leave the theater during the velociraptors in the kitchen scene because it was just too scary for me. My brother still hasn't let me live this down.

2. Alien: I've only been able to watch this movie in the past year or so. Fortunately I'd seen enough parodies and knew enough of the overall plot that it made it less scary and, therefore, more enjoyable for me.

3. Event Horizon: Funny enough, this was one was never actually too scary for me. I've been able to watch this one since I was in junior high or high school.

4. The Thing: This was the first scary movie my husband used to try to help me get over my fear of scary movies. Funny thing about the clay/animation models they used for the horror effects, they're still incredibly creepy!

5. Dawn of the Dead: I watched this movie in high school and for years, literally years, afterwards, every building I went into I immediately assessed for if there was a sudden zombie outbreak.

6. Resident Evil: This series wasn't quite as bad for me as it could have been. I still had to stop watching after the 3rd or 4th movie, but part of that was boredom.

7. 28 Days Later (still haven't watched): Fast zombies? No thanks. I learned my lesson from Dawn of the Dead.

8. The Fourth Kind (still haven't watched): The ads from this movie kept me awake with a baseball bat all night. I could not sleep until I saw the sun coming up and even then it was rough sleep. I've had "issues" with alien abduction stories since elementary school.

9. Arachnophobia: I actually didn't have arachnophobia until I saw this movie. I used to be quite fascinated by spiders. Then I saw this movie.

10. Mars Attacks: This movie scared the hell outta me. I still cannot even look at the Martians without feeling impossibly creeped out. I know it's supposed to be a comedy, but I was too freaked out to laugh.

So, I clearly don't care for alien and zombie movies. Funny enough, Predator has never scared me. What sci-fi movies scare you?