Books & movies

Our brother and sister dynamic duo, Melissa and Brian, both completed the challenge. They're not comfortable posting, but Brian said I could publish their recommendations.

Books-
Lost Empire by Clive Cussler-  Occasionally over descriptive but a good action mystery. Plus you learn things.

Action Philosophers- Plato Smash. Cartooned Philosophy, entertaining.

What Color is Your Parachute?- Read the second half first. Possibly helpful if you have no direction in life.

The Bartimaeous Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud- Recommended by Rachelle. Rerecomended by Brian and Melissa. Listen to the Audio Book, the reader is excellent.

Poems by Robert Frost- Very good writer, more versatile than originally known.

ABC's of Relativity: Understanding Einstein by Bertrand Russell-  Occasionally technical but entertaining and educational.

The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde- Laugh riot.

Lost in a Good Book and Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde- Recommended by Heather. Quick but highly entertaining.

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov- Entertaining and unique perspective.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick- Read the book don't watch the movie(Hugo). Very quick (despite being over 500 pages) told half in pictures half in words.

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley- Recommended by Heather

King Solomon's Mines by H Rider Haggard- Keep reading it gets better.

Murder at Bridge by Anne Austin

The Murderer by Ray Bradbury (Short)- Just read or listen to it.

A Confederate Girl's Diary by Sarah Morgan Dawson

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman (Short)-  Read pdf, looks like a newspaper, with adds, interesting point of view.

Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan- Book 2 in a series (read book 1 first).  If you like the Percy Jackson series, the books not the movie, you'll like it. This one is Egyptian rather then Greek based.

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket- 2nd in the series

The Hunger Games- If you like that stuff.

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Old Man's War by John Scalzi- Scifi, first in a series (worth reading them all), author with humor.  If you don't like scifi, not for you.

Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan- see Throne of Fire except Greek and Roman mythology.  2nd book in a different series.

Ready Player One- 80's pop culture nostalgia

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens- If you haven't read it yet.

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne- a pleasant late 1800's romp.

Above Suspicion- Predictable and sappy but enjoyable.

Are You Ready for the End of The World (Short)- Scifi short story with a funny twist.

The Book Thief- recommended by a sister



Movies-
Stranger than Fiction- Quite possibly the best Will Farrell Movie.

Winnie the Pooh ~2011

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra- don't think, just watch .

Waking Sleeping Beauty- Insightful Documentary into the 1990s Disney golden age of animation.

Pirates: Band of Misfits

Apollo 18- scifi, suspense. 

A Monster in Paris- French but the dub is good.

Avengers- for the .001% who hasn't seen it, they should.

Sherlock season 2-  Don't have to watch season one, though you should especially if you don't want episode one to ruin the first season.  Only 3 episodes but work it.

Johnny English Reborn-  turn off brain and enjoy.

Brave

Castle in the Sky-  you should see all Miyazaki films

Metropolis~ 2002- animated.

Atomic Mom- documentary, definitely not for everyone.  About the atomic project in the Navy and the bombing in Japan.  Some archival footage that is not for everyone.

Hidden Fortress- Japanese subtitled.  If you are a film person.

Rear Window-  Everyone should watch more Hitchcock.

Get Smart season 1- Original series that everyone should see, but don't marathon it.

Wallace and Gromit- All are a must see.  Of note is World of Invention.  Cleverly disguised educational material.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol- Director Brad Bird (Incredibles, Iron Giant).

Some Like it Hot- classic worth a watch.

Men in Black 3- better than 2.

Haywire- Action a la Bourne.

The Amazing Spiderman- not the best super hero movie, but good.

Fanboys- Watch it once and done if you want a glimpse into uber geek culture.

The Man Who Knew Too Little- Hitchcock (the Man Who Knew Too Much with Bill Murray is a comedy based on this.)