Waiting on Wednesday - 12.7.16

Waiting on Wednesday
sponsored by Jill at Breaking the Spine (details)
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I'm waiting for...

The Burning World
(The Warm Bodies #3)
by Isaac Marion
-YA, Zombies
Release date: February 7, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
The New York Times bestseller Warm Bodies captured hearts worldwide in twenty-five languages, inspiring a major film and a cult fandom. Now R the reluctant zombie continues his journey in this much-anticipated sequel.

Being alive is hard. Being human is harder. But since his recent recovery from death, R is making progress. He’s learning how to read, how to speak, maybe even how to love, and the city’s undead population is showing signs of life. R can almost imagine a future with Julie, this girl who restarted his heart—building a new world from the ashes of the old one.

And then helicopters appear on the horizon. Someone is coming to restore order. To silence all this noise. To return things to the way they were, the good old days of stability and control and the strong eating the weak. The plague is ancient and ambitious, and the Dead were never its only weapon.

How do you fight an enemy that’s in everyone? Can the world ever really change? With their home overrun by madmen, R, Julie, and their ragged group of refugees plunge into the otherworldly wastelands of America in search of answers. But there are some answers R doesn’t want to find. A past life, an old shadow, crawling up from the basement.

=====> I enjoyed the movie version of book 1 and definitely want to see what happens with R and Julie.


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* part of December Zombies (schedule)

Stacking the Shelves - 10.8.16

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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Bought:

Warm Bodies and The New Hunger:
A Special 5th Anniversary Edition
by Isaac Marion
-Zombies, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> I really liked the movie version of Warm Bodies and saw that this book also offered The New Hunger novella. Awesome two-fer!

Jane Austen
(Adult Coloring Book): 55 Removable Coloring Plates
by Abrams Noterie (Creator), Anita Rundles (Illustrations)
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> Could not resist this one because of the variety of all the Jane novels - not just Pride and Prejudice.

Eileen
by Ottessa Moshfegh
-Historical, Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> As a Man Booker Prize 2016 short list nominee, I was drawn to this.

=====> Book Passage, Corte Madera, hosted a visit from author, Liane Moriarty, presenting her latest, Truly Madly Guilty. She mentioned that her novel, Big Little Lies has been made into an HBO series that will run in 2017.

Truly Madly Guilty
by Liane Moriarty
-Women's Fiction, Australia
Amazon | Goodreads
For Review:

Brake Failure
by Alison Brodie
-Women's Fiction
courtesy of author - Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Outward Blonde
by Trish Cook
-YA
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

UNBOXING:

BOOK OF THE MONTH (details)
If you’re an avid reader, one thing is for certain: if you only shop the “bestseller” lists, you’re going to miss many of the best stories. That’s why we work hard to bring you the gems: well-written, immersive stories that transport you, give you thrills, and tug at your heartstrings. The books that are truly worth reading.

MONTH Box includes:
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles | Amazon | Goodreads
- Notecard from judge to selected book
- BOTM Bookmark

He can’t leave his hotel. You won’t want to.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

“Towles’s greatest narrative effect is not the moments of wonder and synchronicity but the generous transformation of these peripheral workers, over the course of decades, into confidants, equals and, finally, friends. With them around, a life sentence in these gilded halls might make Rostov the luckiest man in Russia.” –The New York Times Book Review

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.


AND watched: in theatre

The Girl on the Train (2016)
Director: Tate Taylor
Screenplay: Erin Cressida Wilson
Based on book by: Paula Hawkins
Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux
-Mystery, Thriller | imdb | my rating: 5
A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shockwaves throughout her life.

=====> Captured the story well and the three actresses portrayals were spot on.

The Hollars (2016)
Director: John Krasinski
Writer: James C. Strouse
Based on book by:
Starring: Margo Martindale, John Krasinski
-Comedy, Drama, Romance | imdb | my rating: 4
A man returns to his small hometown after learning that his mother has fallen ill and is about to undergo surgery.

=====> Family drama with both happy and sad moments. Had a circle of life vibe.

Our Little Sister (2015)
Umimachi Diary (original title)
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Screenplay: Hirokazu Koreeda
Based on manga by: Akimi Yoshida
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose
-Comedy, Drama, Japan | imdb | my rating: 5
A story that revolves around three sisters who live in their grandmother's home and the arrival of their thirteen-year-old half sister.

=====> Beautifully told story with gorgeous setting to enhance it. Sisterhood at its best.


AND watched: on DVD

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Director: Peter R. Hunt
Screenplay: Simon Raven, Richard Maibaum
Based on book by: Ian Fleming
Starring: George Lazenby, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas
-Action, Adventure, Thriller | imdb | list | my rating: 2
James Bond woos a mob boss's daughter and goes undercover to uncover the true reason for Blofeld's allergy research in the Swiss Alps that involves beautiful women from around the world.

=====> So far, the least favorite, Bond film. Mostly because the actor did not really fit the part. And not crazy about the relationship aspect. I did like the Swiss and snow setting. Also, Diana Rigg was beautiful in it.


Currently flipping through: from the library

Adulthood Is a Myth:
A "Sarah's Scribbles" Collection
by Sarah Andersen
-Graphic Novel, Humor
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> Hilarious!

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

Guest post: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies
by Isaac Marion

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
Blog
Facebook
Instagram
Snapchat: isaacmarion
Tumblr
Twitter @isaacinspace

Published: 2011
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Zombies, YA
Hardback: 256 pages
Rating:

Warm Bodies series:
Warm Bodies
The New Hunger
The Burning World - release date: February 7, 2017

First sentence(s):
I am dead, but it's not so bad. I've learned to live with it.

R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn't want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

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It is my pleasure to present Sophia Rose of the Delighted Reader today with her mini-review on, Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.


~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
by Sophia Rose
~-~-~-~-~ guest ~-~-~-~-~
Sophia's two-bits:

I stepped well out of my comfort zone to pick this one up and read it. I know for zombie purists this one is a softball, but for me, it was a test of my fortitude. And gladly, I can report that it was a successful attempt. I loved what the author brought together here with a thought-provoking blend of horror, romance, humor, philosophy and just a poignant story at the end of the world.

About Sophia:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family.

A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.


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* part of September Zombies (schedule)

Zombie movies pt 2

Warm Bodies (2013)
Director/Screenplay: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich
-Comedy, Horror, Romance, Zombies | imdb | my rating: 5

After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

=====> Touching zombie story done well with references to the classic Romeo and Juliet. Leaves you with hope for the zombies!

BASED on this book...

Warm Bodies
by Isaac Marion
Amazon | Goodreads
R is having a no-life crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he is a little different from his fellow Dead. He may occasionally eat people, but he’d rather be riding abandoned airport escalators, listening to Sinatra in the cozy 747 he calls home, or collecting souvenirs from the ruins of civilization.

And then he meets a girl.

First as his captive, then his reluctant house guest, Julie is a blast of living color in R’s gray landscape, and something inside him begins to bloom. He doesn’t want to eat this girl—although she looks delicious—he wants to protect her. But their unlikely bond will cause ripples they can’t imagine, and their hopeless world won’t change without a fight.

=====> So now, I really want to read this before book 2 comes out February 2017.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
-Comedy, Horror, Zombies | imdb | my rating: 5

A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living.

=====> This was a third re-watch. And again, I enjoyed it as much as the first time. Loved the friendship theme. Since my last viewing, I have seen The Office (UK) tv series and appreciated the inside joke of seeing Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis in the scene they appear together.

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* part of zombie month (schedule)