Lovely Books and Things - 6.11.22

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Mailbox Monday (details)
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Sunday Salon (details)

~*~

HAPPY THINGS:

1. Egg and cheese on a Buttermilk Malt Biscuit from Bazaar Cafe - Brews. Bundts. Biscuits. (and banjos …) (here)
2. Gifted an Inspector Gamache themed coffee from Brome Lake Books, Knowlton, Quebec, Canada (here) one of the towns that inspired Three Pines in Louise Penny's Gamache series. My reading buddy for this series happened to be in that area while traveling.
3. Finished fun puzzle image - Sugar Daddy by Pezel Puzzles (photo by Tori Annesley)

~*~
Bought:

The Brutal Telling
by Louise Penny
Mystery, Canada | Published: 2009 | Goodreads

Library: audiobook

Bones of Hilo
by Eric Redman
Mystery, Hawaii | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
Library:

Violets
by Kyung-sook Shin
translated by Anton Hur
LGBTQ, Historical, Korea | Published: 2022 | Goodreads
For Review:

Out of the Blue
by Jason June
Fantasy, Romance, LGBTQ | Published: May 2022 | Goodreads
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
yes, that's a merman ;-)
~*~
In-store Author event: hosted by Books Inc., Opera Plaza

Happy-Go-Lucky
by David Sedaris
Memoir, Essays, Humor | Published: 2022 | Goodreads

Mother Noise
by Cindy House
Memoir, Essays | Published: 2022 | Goodreads
Virtual Author event: Upcoming Fall/Winter books hosted by Buzz Books (here) | see panel archive

Nubia: The Awakening
by Omar Epps, Clarence A. Haynes
Fantasy, YA | Published: November 2022 | Goodreads

Anne of Greenville
by Mariko Tamaki
YA, Retelling, LGBTQ | Published: October 2022 | Goodreads

Queen Among the Dead
by Lesley Livingston
Fantasy, YA | Published: January 2023 | Goodreads

The Davenports
by Krystal Marquis
Historical, YA | Published: January 2023 | Goodreads
note: not a final cover, but i liked it so much i wanted to show this version
~*~
AND watched: theatre

Montana Story (2021)
Director/Writer: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Writer: Mike Spreter
Stars: Haley Lu Richardson, Owen Teague
Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
western vibe, beautiful, sad, hopeful
Two estranged siblings return home to the sprawling ranch they once knew and loved, confronting a deep and bitter family legacy against a mythic American backdrop.


~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Lovely Books and Things - 4.24.22

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~

HAPPY THINGS:

1. Yerba Buena Gardens Festival show: A Song of Triumph: The History of Black Music by Maestro Curtis featuring The Curtis Famly C-Notes and The Song of Triumph Ensembles (here)
2. Strawberry Rhubarb pie with a dollop of The Greek Gods honey vanilla greek yogurt
3. Reading Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida at Shakespeare Garden on Shakespeare's birthday

~*~
Library: audiobook

The Paper Palace
by Miranda Cowley Heller
Literary | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
Borrow: from friend -Thanks D!

The Golden Mare, the Firebird, and the Magic Ring
by Ruth Sanderson
Children's, Fairy Tale, Russia | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

Freebies: from Free Little Library

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
by David Sedaris
illustrated by Ian Falconer
Short Stories, Humor, Fables | Published: 2010 | Goodreads

For Review:

Ordinary Monsters
by J.M. Miro
Fantasy, Victorian, London | Published: June 2022 | Goodreads
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
~*~
AND watched: virtual theatre for 65th SFFILM Festival (details)

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
Director/Screenplay: Dean Fleischer-Camp
Screenplay: Elisabeth Holm, Nick Paley, Jenny Slate
Stars: Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Isabella Rossellini
Animation, Comedy | imdb | my rating: 5
adorable; life gems and observations
Feature adaptation of the animated short film interviewing a mollusk named Marcel.


~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Lovely Books and Things - 1.31.21

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~

HAPPY THINGS:

1. Catching up with videos by booktubers: Savidge Reads, cari can read, monica kim, Books with Chloe
2. Finding a missing puzzle piece in an unexpected place. Whew!
3. Browsing independent bookstores - Green Apple Books on Clement

~*~

Library: audiobook

The Memory Police
by Yoko Ogawa
translated by Stephen Snyder
Dystopia, Japanese-Japan | Published: 2019 | Goodreads

The Best of Me
by David Sedaris
Essays, Memoir, Humor | Published: 2020 | Goodreads

The Viscount Who Loved Me
(Bridgertons #2)
by Julia Quinn
Romance, Regency | Published: 2000 | Goodreads
listening to the English version, but showing off this cute cover

~*~ AND watched: DVD

Birds of Prey (2020)
And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
Director: Cathy Yan
Writer: Christina Hodson
Harley character created by: Paul Dini, Bruce Timm
Stars: Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Ella Jay Basco
Action, Adventure, Comedy | imdb | my rating: 5
After splitting with the Joker, Harley Quinn joins superheroes Black Canary, Huntress and Renee Montoya to save a young girl from an evil crime lord.

GIRL power rockin' it.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
Director/Writer: Eliza Hittman:
Stars: Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder
Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.

SOME harsh realities.

Phantom Lady (1944)
Director: Robert Siodmak
Screenplay: Bernard C. Schoenfeld
Based on book by: William Irish (pseud.), Cornell Woolrich
Stars: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis
Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | imdb | my rating: 5
A devoted secretary risks her life to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his selfish wife.

COURAGEOUS lady doings for love.

~*~
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Thanks for stopping by :-)

Calypso by David Sedaris

Calypso
by David Sedaris

Find out more about this book and author:
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website

Published: 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Essays, Humor
Hardback: 272
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
Though there’s an industry built on telling you otherwise, there are few real joys to middle age.

David Sedaris returns with his most deeply personal and darkly hilarious book.

If you’ve ever laughed your way through David Sedaris’s cheerfully misanthropic stories, you might think you know what you’re getting with Calypso. You’d be wrong.

When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it’s impossible to take a vacation from yourself.

With Calypso, Sedaris sets his formidable powers of observation toward middle age and mortality. Make no mistake: these stories are very, very funny–it’s a book that can make you laugh ’til you snort, the way only family can. Sedaris’s powers of observation have never been sharper, and his ability to shock readers into laughter unparalleled. But much of the comedy here is born out of that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future.

This is beach reading for people who detest beaches, required reading for those who loathe small talk and love a good tumor joke. Calypso is simultaneously Sedaris’s darkest and warmest book yet–and it just might be his very best.

My two-bits:

I found that I knew most of these stories already from attending David's guest appearances while on tour. However, the stories were just as enjoyable to encounter again.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

* part of Backlist Reader Challenge (here)

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2019

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2019
January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019
hosted by The Bookwrym’s Hoard
Details | Review links | #BacklistReader

The Backlist Reader Challenge encourages you to read all those older books that have been piling up on your TBR pile or list—not just the books you already own, but also the books you’ve wanted to read for a long time but haven’t gotten around to yet.

This is the perfect challenge to really get into my ever growing tbr list.

I plan to pick out books from my bookshelves based on my mood.


Reading list:

Calypso
by David Sedaris
translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies
-Essays, Humor
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

The Jane Austen Project
by Kathleen A. Flynn
-SciFi, Historical, Jane Austen-related
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

Six Four
by Hideo Yokoyama
translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies
-Mystery, Thriller, Japan
Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
3/28/19 - discontinued challenge

Lovely Books and Things - 9.29.18

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Yoga classes that help get the kinks out

2. Random compliment from stranger "I like your color palette."

3. Looking at Maud Lewis paintings online - they give off that cozy vibe

~*~
Bought:

Emma
by Nancy Butler
illustrated by Janet Lee
based on Jane Austen novel
-Historical, Romance, Graphic Novel | Goodreads
SUCKER for things Jane Austen related.


Library:

Barrel Fever
by David Sedaris
-Humor, Essay, Memoir | Goodreads
CATCHING up on Sedaris works. I love to listen to the audio versions as Sedaris narrates them. His sense of humor really shines with the telling.

What We Were Promised
by Lucy Tan
-Contemporary, China, Shaghai | Goodreads
FOR the World Reads challenge (here). I chose China for this and next month.


AND watched: in theatre

Science Fair (2018)
Director/writer: Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster
Writer: Jeff Plunkett
Stars: Anjali Chadha, Ryan Folz, Harsha Paladugu, Abraham Riedel-Mishaan, Kashfia Rahman, Ivo Zell, Robbie Barrat, Myllena Braz de Silva, Gabriel de Moura Martins, Serena McCalla, Jack Andraka.
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
Nine high school students from disparate corners of the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and hormones on their quest to win the international science fair. Only one can be named "Best in Fair."

WENT to a screening that included a Q&A with directors and one of the students in the film (Robbie). I usually find it entertaining and fascinating to learn about the behind-the-scenes goings on of big events. This film was inspiring and hopeful. Amazing kids!

The BookShop (2017)
Director/screenplay: Isabel Coixet
Based on book by: Penelope Fitzgerald
Stars: Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Hunter Tremayne, Patricia Clarkson
-Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
England 1959. In a small East Anglian town, Florence Green decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition, to open a bookshop.

LOVED the setting and storytelling visuals and the books!


AND watched: on DVD for Fall Film Challenge - six degrees from Kevin Bacon (here)

The Monuments Men (2007)
Director/Screenplay: George Clooney
Screenplay: Grant Heslov
Based on book by: Robert M. Edsel, Bret Witter
Stars: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray
-Drama, History, War | imdb | my rating: 3
An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.

Watched: 9/23/18
Connection: John Goodman starred with Bacon in Patriot's Day
Despite the all-star cast and interesting historical topic I found the film okay.

On Chesil Beach (2017)
Director: Dominic Cooke
Writer/screenplay/based on book by: Ian McEwan
Stars: Billy Howle, Saoirse Ronan, Andy Burse
-Drama, Music, Romance | imdb | my rating: 4
Based on Ian McEwan's novel. In 1962 England, a young couple find their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night.

Watched: 9/26/18
Connection: Saoirse Ronan was in Lady Bird with Laurie Metcalf who starred with Bacon in JFK
Beautiful scenes and scenery amongst a sad love story.

Paddington (2014)
Director/Writer/screen story: Paul King
Writer/screen story: Hamish McColl
Paddington Bear created by: Michael Bond
Stars: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins
-Adventure, Comedy, Family | imdb | my rating: 4
A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.

Watched: 9/27/18
Connection: Ben Whishaw was in Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks who starred with Bacon in Apollo 13
Cute one with a whimsical portrayal of London.

~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Lovely Books and Things - 6.30.18

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Fascination with miniatures (after watching the horror film, Hereditary) has led me to watch CSI Las Vegas, Season 7, which includes a story arc of the Miniature Killer.

2. Catching up on sleep - hard to do with our summer daylight hours schedule

3. Lovely evening walk in San Francisco downtown on a warm night - The Salesforce building top floors with its animated light art show was in action. FYI: Salesforce is now the tallest building in the city.

~*~
Bought:

Circe
by Madeline Miller
-Fantasy, Mythology, Retelling
Amazon | Goodreads
FOR the Rooster Summer Reading Challenge (here)

Lion Cross Point
by Masatsugu Ono
translated by Angus Turvill
-Literary, Short Stories, Japan
Amazon | Goodreads
ON a Japanese reading binge this year.

The Good Son
by You-jeong Jeong
-Mystery, Thriller, South Korea
Amazon | Goodreads
IN preparation for a Korea reading binge.

Books Inc. at Opera Plaza hosted a reading and Q&A with David Sedaris for the release of Calypso (Amazon | Goodreads). I had to go to the latest David book release as he is my favorite humorist. It is my fourth time to go to a David event. He does not take to photos. So, this book photo is from the dinner after the event at Max's Opera Cafe.


Subscription:

Persuasions #39
The Jane Austen Journal
by JASNA (website)
COMES with the membership to JASNA, Jane Austen Society of North America. This is a collection of essays related to Jane Austen and her works.


Other book-ish stuff:

Paris in July 2018
hosted by Thyme for Tea
(details & my post)
THE francophile in me could not resist joining this book blog event.


AND watched: live theatre

Soft Power
Play and Lyrics by David Henry Hwang
Music and Additional Lyrics by Jeanine Tesori
Choreography by Sam Pinkleton
Directed by Leigh Silverman
at the Curran Theatre
A mostly asian cast with democracy and hope as strong themes provide the perfect messages for the times.

~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)