Lovely Books and Things - 4.25.21

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

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

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Oscar party tonight
2. Grishaverse on Netflix
3. Yummy treat from Schubert's Bakery

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Bought:

Arsenic and Adobo
by Mia P. Manansala
Mystery, Cozy, Food, Filipino, Book of the Month | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

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Virtual Author event: hosted by Alta Magazine
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Mean
by Myriam Gurba
Memoir, Feminism, LGBTQ | Published: 2017 | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Green Apple Books
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Abundance
by Jakob Guanzon
Literary | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Son of Good Fortune
by Lysley Tenorio
Literary, Coming of Age, Filipino | Published: 2020 | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passages
See the archive of this: (here)
A conversation between:

When the Stars Go Dark
by Paula McLain
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Favorite Sister
by Jessica Knoll
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2019 | Goodreads

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AND watched: PBS

Down A Dark Stairwell (2020)
Director: Ursula Liang
Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
On a fall day in 2014, Peter Liang, a Chinese American police officer, shot and killed an innocent, unarmed black man named Akai Gurley. Unfolding in the dark stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project, the shooting inflamed the residents of New York City and thrust two marginalized communities together into the uneven criminal justice system. Gurley's death sparked cries of police brutality and a raging, anguished debate about racial bias in criminal prosecution of law enforcement officers.

AND watched: DVD

Saving Face (2004)
Director/Writer: Alice Wu
Stars: Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen
Comedy, Drama, Romance, LGBTQ, Asian American | imdb | my rating: 5
A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll

The Favorite Sister
by Jessica Knoll

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Just released: May 15, 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Women's Fiction
Hardback: 384
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
A man whose name I do not know slides his hand under the hem of my new blouse, connecting the cable to the lavalier mic clipped to my collar.


When five hyper-successful women agree to appear on a reality series set in New York City called Goal Diggers, the producers never expect the season will end in murder…

Brett's the fan favorite. Tattooed and only twenty-seven, the meteoric success of her spin studio—and her recent engagement to her girlfriend—has made her the object of jealousy and vitriol from her castmates.

Kelly, Brett's older sister and business partner, is the most recent recruit, dismissed as a hanger-on by veteran cast. The golden child growing up, she defers to Brett now—a role which requires her to protect their shocking secret.

Stephanie, the first black cast member and the oldest, is a successful bestselling author of erotic novels. There have long been whispers about her hot, non-working actor-husband and his wandering eye, but this season the focus is on the rift that has opened between her and Brett, former best friends—and resentment soon breeds contempt.

The Favorite Sister explores the invisible barriers that prevent women from rising up the ranks in today's America—and offers a scathing take on the oft-lionized bonds of sisterhood, and the relentless pressure to stay young, relevant, and salable.

Quote to note:
Healthy people are people who feel connected to their communities, who are loved and supported by these around them, and who have a sense of purpose in their lives.
page 14, chapter 1

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:

Felt like a Mean Girls as grown ups - still mean.

This story gives a good dose of the lifestyle of reality tv stars which include a bunch of unlikable characters.

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* part of BookSparks Reading Challenge, Summer (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 6.16.18

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

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Brought the kid home from college for summer break.

2. Attending the kid's friend's graduation festivities from UC Santa Cruz.

3. Treated to an appearance and Q&A with director/actor Tommy Wiseau before a screening of The Room

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Bought:

Grantchester
Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death
by James Runcie
-Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
WANTED to read this before getting into the tv version.


Library:

The Favorite Sister
by Jessica Knoll
-Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
PART of the BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge 2018 (here).


For Review:

Dead If You Don't
by Peter James
-Mystery, Thriller
courtesy of Wunderkind -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
THIS is #14 in the Roy Grace series. Curious to see how it goes.


Unboxing:

A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
-Literary, Family, India, Muslim
Amazon | Goodreads
GOT this to celebrate the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker’s new imprint, SJP for Hogarth. I like the pre-order offer of swag with this edition.


AND watched: in theatre - part of the SF Film Documentary Festival (here)

Unfractured (2018)
Director: Chanda Chevannes
-Documentary, Environmental | imdb | my rating: 5
A triumphant documentary about resistance, UNFRACTURED follows introspective biologist and mother Sandra Steingraber as she reinvents herself as an outspoken activist.

LEARNED about the activist activity on the topic of the historic fight against fracking in New York state. A Q&A with the director and local activists who are part of the California fight.

Mole Man (2017)
Director: Guy Fiorita
Writer: Cassidy Hartmann (story consultant)
-Documentary, Autism | imdb | my rating: 5
MOLE MAN follows RON, a 66-year-old autistic man who has spent the last five decades building a 50-room structure in his parents' backyard. Using no nails or mortar, Ron instead creates perfectly balanced structures from scavenged materials he finds in the woods outside his Western Pennsylvania home. When Ron's father passes away, leaving him living alone with his 90-year-old mother, Ron's siblings are left to figure out what's best for Ron - who has never been officially diagnosed with autism - when his mother can no longer care for him. In an effort to find the money to keep Ron in his home, his friends team up in search of a mythical mansion Ron insists lays abandoned in the forest. But will they be able to find it? And, more importantly, does it even exist? This is the story of an extraordinary life, a family, and the beauty of thinking differently.

Q&A with the director gave a little more insight and update on Ron and his situation. The film presents some history of autism in relation to its affect on family.


AND watched: in theatre

Hereditary (2018)
Director/Writer: Ari Aster
Stars: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff
-Drama, Horror, Mystery | imdb | my rating: 4
After the family matriarch passes away, a grieving family is haunted by tragic and disturbing occurrences, and begin to unravel dark secrets.

A couple shockers in an otherwise slow moving horror tales that delivers in the end. Oh boy!


AND watched: on DVD

An Autumn Afternoon (1964)
Sanma no aji (original title)
Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Screenplay: Kôgo Noda, Yasujirô Ozu
Stars: Chishû Ryû, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada
-Drama, Japan | imdb | my rating: 5
An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.

SAD but beautiful story of parent/daughter relation in Japan in the 1960's.

Loving Vincent (2017)
Director/Writers: Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman
Writer: Jacek Dehnel
Stars: Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Robert Gulaczyk
-Animation, Biography, Crime | imdb | my rating: 4
Oscar 2018 nominee
In a story depicted in oil painted animation, a young man comes to the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist's final letter and ends up investigating his final days there.

THE story told by way of paintings was beautifully done. Loved how they incorporated Van Gogh's actual works and subjects.

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

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Luckiest Girl Alive
by Jessica Knoll

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
Twitter @JessMKnoll

Release date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Hardback: 352 pages
Rating: 5

HER PERFECT LIFE
IS A PERFECT LIE.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.

The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:

This story has one of those protagonists that makes you leary. Is she good? Is she bad? In general I kept wondering what made her tick and why.

But then as the story progressed, it started to take a turn in another direction with another angle and perspective of things.

Loved the different women's issues that arise from this story.

The story blends past and present in a thriller mode that certainly jumbled my feelings for the protagonist. And even to the end, I'm not sure. I'll be stewing about this one for awhile.

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* fyi: Lionsgate has bought the rights to Luckiest Girl Alive! Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea will produce and Jessica Knoll will write the screenplay. (details)

* review copy courtesy of edelweiss

* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Plants on Cover

Bookish Bingo Challenge: Spring

Bookish Bingo Challenge
Winter: April to June 2015
hosted by Great Imaginations (details)
I'm hooked!

I am joining this bingo challenge again - fourth one.

The Rules:

Read read read!

-You may include one DNF.
-Remember, one square per book.
-Books do not have to be reviewed

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Books read:

Square - Horror
Outpost by Ann Aguirre -my review --coming soon

Square - We Need Diverse Books
A Boy Like Me by Jennie Wood -my review

Square - Anthology or Collection
Finder, Vol. 04: Talisman (Finder #4) by Carla Speed McNeil -my review

Square - Yellow Cover
I Take You by Eliza Kennedy -my review

Square - Green Cover
Paperweight by Meg Haston -my review

Square - Classic
Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse -my review

Square - Memoir
The Year My Mother Came Back by Alice Eve Cohen -my review

Square - Illustrated cover
The Sculptor by Scott McCloud -my review

Square - Parental Relationships
Bittersweet by Kimberley Loth -my review

Square - Historical
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback -my review

Square - Plants on cover
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll -my review

Square - Dark Contemporary
Bear Witness by Melissa Clark -my review

Square - Murder Mystery
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters -my review

Square - Aussie Author
Darkness by Ciye Cho -my review

Square - April release
Blue Sun, Yellow Sky by Jamie Hoang -my review

Square - Parallel Universes
Years and an Ocean by Jo Noelle -my review

Square - WWII
Mademoiselle Chanel by C.W. Gortner -my review

Stacking the Shelves - 10.11.14

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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FREE from author:

The Sending
by Jandy Salguero
Amazon | Goodreads
FREE ebook available: October 9-12, 2014
For Review:

The Bodies We Wear
by Jeyn Roberts
-dystopia, YA
courtesy of book tour
Thanks Aisha!
Amazon | Goodreads
WIN a copy of this book at Goodreads -expires Oct 15

Christmas in Snow Valley
set of 6 clean Christmas themed romance novellas
authors include: Cindy Roland Anderson
Jeanette Lewis
Cami Checketts
Taylor Hart
Kimberley Montpetit
Lucy McConnell
courtesy of tour in November
Thanks Kathy!
Amazon | Goodreads

Whip Smart:
Lola Montez Starts a Revolution
by Kit Brennan
-historical, romance
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Melanie!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Secret Journal of Ichabod Crane
by Alex Irvine
-related to tv show
courtesy of Blogging for Books
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Luckiest Girl Alive
by Jessica Knoll
-thriller
courtesy of edelweiss
Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
Library:

Mercy Thompson: Homecoming
(Mercedes Thompson Graphic Novels 0)
by Patricia Briggs, Francis Tsai (Illustrator)
-graphic novel, werewolves
Amazon | Goodreads
Mercy Thompson is a walker, a magical being with the power to transform into a coyote. She lives on the fine line dividing the everyday world from a darker dimension, observing the supernatural community while standing apart.

When Mercy travels to the Tri-Cities of Washington for a job interview, she quickly finds herself smack-dab in the middle of a gang war between rival packs of werewolves. And as if fangs and fur weren’t bad enough, Mercy must deal with the scariest creature of all: her mother, who is convinced that Mercy is making a mess of her life and determined to set her daughter on the right course.

The thrilling adventures of Mercy Thompson–Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed–have topped the New York Times bestseller list. Now Mercy makes her comics debut in an exclusive new story created by Patricia Briggs. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming is sure to please longtime fans and capture new ones with its mix of unforgettable characters and thrilling supernatural intrigue.

-----> Have been meaning to read something from Patricia Briggs for awhile now. And got turned on to start with a graphic novel from a recommendation from Sophia Rose of the Delighted Reader.

Dreaming about getting soon:

Trust Me, I'm Lying
by Mary Elizabeth Summer
-mystery, thriller, YA
-release date: October 14, 2014
Amazon | Goodreads
Fans of Ally Carter, especially her Heist Society readers, will love this teen mystery/thriller with sarcastic wit, a hint of romance, and Ocean’s Eleven–inspired action.

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.

But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal.

OTHER things on my shelf: kinda book-related

Binge-ing a book podcast...

I got turned on to The Readers after listening to Books on the Nightstand episode #299. It is book banter between two dudes, one from the U.S. and another from the U.K., but started off with both from U.K. Got hooked. And now, listening to all the episodes to catch up.

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* some of these may be offered as giveaways within the next two months

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

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers