Sunday Funday: Weekend Update, Book Haul, & Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

I've had quite the week!  Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 3D, Thursday I got to see family and dine upon delicious foods on Thanksgiving, I got some great deals on Black Friday (including some books), saw the local youth ballet perform The Nutcracker on Saturday with some friends, and today I'm going to a Christmas parade and taking part in the downtown Christmas walk.  Let's just say, I've had a nice little vacation this holiday season.  Now, if we can just put Monday morning on hold...

Movie Review:

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If you haven't been able to guess, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was my most highly anticipated release of November and I was about as hyped up as possible for it.  I'm happy to say that I absolutely adored it.  It was a real treat to be back in the Wizarding World, and see how that world looks in the USA.  It's a bit different than Harry Potter and takes a bit of a darker turn than what I was expecting.  Eddie Redmayne is wonderful as our lead, Newt Scamander, and he brings a lot of heart to the story.  As for the other three main characters, Tina, Queenie, and Jacob, all of whom I loved getting to know, Jacob was my favorite of the group.  It was great getting to see a muggle, excuse me, no-maj, get in on the action.  May I just say, Credence was also quite fascinating - I was wondering who Ezra Miller's character was going to be.  As for the creatures, I particularly enjoyed seeing the niffler on the big screen - lots of fun there.  I really enjoy the HP musical themes - and the addition of jazz elements hit just the right notes.  I can't wait for the sequel - I just wanna be a wizard!

Book Haul:  I lucked out at Barnes & Noble on Black Friday when I picked up these three titles - with my coupons and membership discounts, I pretty much got one of these for free.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer - Signed copy!  This is one of my most anticipated reads of the season, so I have a lot of high hopes for it.

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis - I love the fact that this local Ohio author is doing so well - I can't wait to see how her newest release turns out.

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff - Signed copy!  After all of the good things I've heard about this one, I couldn't pass it up.  Plus, it sounds exactly like something I'd love.

Murder of Crows (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop - I actually saw this a bit later at Meijer, but it was only $5 and in excellent conditions - I couldn't pass it up, especially after how much I enjoyed book one.

I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving weekend!  Have you seen Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them yet, or picked up any new books recently?  Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting!