Happy 4th of July

Sharing some red, white and blue books from my tbr pile...

Just Another Girl
by Elizabeth Eulberg
-YA
Amazon | Goodreads

It
by Stephen King
-Horror
Amazon | Goodreads

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
by Hannah Tinti
-Literary, Mystery
Amazon | Goodreads
~*~
* image source: book with fireworks

Stacking the Shelves & Sunday Post - 4.15.17

Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
AND
Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer (details)
~*~
I had a good balance of reading and watching (films) this week. Good stuff.

I also visited three different bookstores this week for the Independent Bookstore challenge mentioned below. I usually average 2-3 bookstore visits a month mostly triggered by author events.

~*~
Bought:

The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley
by Hannah Tinti
-Literary, Mystery
Amazon | Goodreads

For Review:

The Beast of London
by L.D. Goffigan
-Fantasy
courtesy of publisher author -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Wrong
by Jane Aston
-New Adult, Romance
courtesy of Romance Read-of-the-Month Club -Thanks!
BarnesNoble | Goodreads

OTHER things (kinda book-related):

Independent Bookstore Day
April 29 (details)
CELEBRATING the upcoming Independent Bookstore Day by visiting at least 10 independent bookstores during the month.

#5 Green Apple Books on the Park
San Francisco, CA (here)
with Mollie Makes
Living a Creative Life
issue number seventy seven
comes with a cute mini-loom kit
See the complete list of places I visited (here).


AND watched: in theatre - part of San Francisco International Film Festival (details)

Yourself & Yours (2016)
Dangsinjasingwa dangsinui geot (original title)
Director/Writer: Sang-soo Hong
Starring: Hae-hyo Kwon, Joon-sang Yoo
-Drama, South Korea | imdb | my rating: 4
A foray into the uncanny with a spin on Luis Buñuel's "That Obscure Object of Desire"

THIS weird and unusual, but interesting love story left me sad.

Future Perfect (2016)
El futuro perfecto (original title)
Director: Nele Wohlatz
Writers: Pío Longo, Nele Wohlatz
Starring: Xiaobin Zhang, Saroj Kumar Malik
-Drama, Argentina | imdb | my rating: 5
A smart and innovative look at the possible futures of a young Chinese immigrant to Buenos Aires, told in the stilted language of an elementary Spanish textbook.

WE were treated to a Q&A with the director of this film. Interesting to know that the story is somewhat true to the main character, Xiaobin's experience in Argentina.

The Next Skin (2016)
La propera pell (original title)
Director: Isa Campo, Isaki Lacuesta
Writers: Isa Campo, Isaki Lacuesta, Fran Araújo
Starring: Emma Suárez, Àlex Monner
-Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Spain, Switzerland | imdb | my rating: 5
A teenager who went missing and was presumed dead returns home after eight years to find a family deeply affected by his disappearance. Gradually, doubts arise about whether he really is the missing boy or an impostor.

LOVED how this one pulls you in and keeps you wondering. And, loved the small-town Spanish Pyrenees location.


AND watched: at the library theatre

Chinese Couplets (2015)
Director: Felicia Lowe
-Documentary, Family, History | imdb | my rating: 5
Part memoir, part history, part investigation, Chinese Couplets spans two centuries, three countries and four generations of women in this intimate story that reveals the impact of America's Chinese Exclusion Acts on filmmaker Felicia Lowe's family. Lowe offers a nuanced, engaging approach to the debate that details the long-term, multi-generational effects of ethnically motivated immigration policies while imparting a cautionary tale of living with cultural pluralism in the 21st century.

INTERESTING historical perspective on the Chinese immigration experience.


AND watched: on DVD

Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Director: Peter Berg
Screenplay: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand
Based on book by:
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell
-Action, Drama, Thriller | imdb | my rating: 5
A dramatization of the April 2010 disaster, when the offshore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and created the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Oscar nominated for Sound Editing and Visual Effects

I liked how the story of this tragic event has a focus on the survivors.

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

;-)

Independent Bookstore Day

Independent Bookstore Day
April 29 (details)
I am celebrating the upcoming Independent Bookstore Day by visiting at least 10 independent bookstores during the month which is part of the Book Lover Quest challenge mentioned in the details. Below are the places I visited and what I picked up. Most of the places listed are those I visit regularly for author and book events.

# 1 Books Inc.
Opera Plaza, San Francisco, CA (here)
Little White Lies: Truth & Movies, No. 68, Jan/Feb 2017
Toni Erdmann issue

#2 Diesel
Larkspur, CA (here)
Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt

#3 Booksmith
San Francisco, CA (here)
Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

#4 Books Inc.
Laurel Village, San Francisco, CA (here)
with a Happy Birthday card

#5 Green Apple Books on the Park
San Francisco, CA (here)
with Mollie Makes
Living a Creative Life
issue number seventy seven
comes with a cute mini-loom kit

#6 Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA (here)
with News of the World by Paulette Jiles
and stocking up on more Birthday cards

#7 Alexander Book Company
San Francisco, CA (here)
with two books by Jenny Han
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
P.S. I Still Love You

#8 Books Inc.
Marina, San Francisco, CA (here)
with How To Be A Bawse by Lilly Singh

#9 Bookshop
West Portal, San Francisco, CA (here)
with The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda

#10 Book Passage
Embarcadero Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA (here)
with Note to Self by Connor Franta

#11 Green Apple Books
Clement Street, San Francisco, CA (here)
with Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Spent Independent Bookstore Day at this fine San Francisco establishment which is currently ranked #21 on Huffington Posts's 50 Of The Best Indie Bookstores In America (here).

AND completed the Book Lover Quest challenge of visiting at least 10 independent book stores from the list. It was a fun experience to visit more than my usual three stores in a month. There are two in San Francisco that I still plan to visit for the first time.


POST Challenge visits:

Christopher's Books
Potrero Hill, San Francisco, CA (here)
with Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
and
Kokoro by Keith Yatsuhashi