Lovely Books and Things - 7.19.20

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

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Working on french themed craft projects to post for Yarn Along July post for later this month.

2. Zucchini spaghetti - who knew it could be so tasty and pasta-like ;-)

3. Been seeing this stencil around from unknown artist. I'm calling it the Covid Kiss - new scavenger hunt while walking.

~*~
Library: audiobook

The Black Swan of Paris
by Karen Robards
Historical, WW2, Paris | Goodreads
Freebies: from Free Little Library

The Jane Austen Marriage Manual
by Kim Izzo
Chick-lit, Jane Austen theme | Goodreads
For Review:

Engaging The Heiress
by Juli D. Revezzo
courtesy of author -Thanks!
Romance, Historical | Goodreads
~*~
Virtual Author event: hosted by Booksmith
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)
Tune in Tuesdays 11am pst VIRTUAL: ZYZZYVA & The Booksmith Present: Lockdown Lit @ Lunch
A conversation between:
What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family's Search for Answers by Jessica Pearce Rotondi
Memoir, History | Goodreads

Book of the Little Axe by Lauren Francis-Sharma
Historical | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Reese's Book Club
Check it out via instagram (here)

A conversation between:

The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Mystery, Thriller | Goodreads

One By One by Ruth Ware
Mystery, Thriller | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Green Apple Books
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)
A conversation between:
A Good Family by A.H. Kim
Mystery, Korean American | Goodreads

River of Stars by Vanessa Hua
Literary, China | Goodreads

A conversation between:
Sex and Lies: True Stories of Women's Intimate Lives in the Arab World by Leila Slimani
Essays, Feminism, Morocco, France | Goodreads

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
Feminism | Goodreads


Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passages
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)
A conversation between: Kate Schatz, Miriam Klein Stahl and Kate Hudson

Rad American History A-Z: Movements and Moments That Demonstrate the Power of the People (Rad Women)
by Kate Schatz
illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl
History, Illustrated | Goodreads

A conversation between:
French Like Moi: A Midwesterner in Paris by Scott Dominic Carpenter
Memoir, Travel, France | Goodreads

The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George by Don George
Travel | Goodreads

A conversation between: Miss Manners and Liam Mayclem

Minding Miss Manners: In an Era of Fake Etiquette by Judith Martin
Guide, Etiquette, USA | Goodreads

~*~
AND watched: virtual theatre for SFFILM Hong Kong Cinema (here)

Twilight's Kiss (2019)
Suk Suk (original title)
Director/Writer: Ray Yeung
Stars: Tai-Bo, Ben Yuen, Patra Au
Drama, Hong Kong | imdb | my rating: 5
SUK SUK is a quiet portrayal of a gay relationship between two men in their twilight years. PAK, 70, a married taxi driver who refuses to retire meets HOI 65, a retired single father. Although both are secretly gay, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and hardship over the years. HOI is a member of the Mature Tongzhi Society, a social group, which caters for gay men who are over 60. The group is planning to attend a public forum to request the government to create senior citizen homes dedicated exclusively for gay people. However, due to the fact that most men in the group are in the closet, there is no one who is willing to voice their opinions in the public forum. HOI supports the notion of a gay senior citizen home and considers speaking in the public forum. However when HOI begins to wonder whether his son WAN suspect he is gay, his attitude shifts. As PAK and HOI fall in love they contemplate a possible future together. SUK SUK studies the subtle day-to-day moments of the two men as they struggle between conventional morals and their personal desires.

BEAUTIFUL, gentle, sad love story. Also, learned a bit of the LGBTQ situation in Hong Kong.

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

*** THANKS to those on the front line during these times ***
Shelter In Place - Day 125, Week 19
Stay healthy! Be safe!

Thanks for stopping by :-)

The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani

The Perfect Nanny
by Leïla Slimani
translated by Sam Taylor

Find out more about this book and author:
Goodreads
BookExcerpt

Published: 2018
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Thriller, France, Paris
Paperback: 228
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
The baby is dead. It only only took a few seconds.

When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work after having children, she and her husband look for the perfect nanny for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise: a quiet, polite, devoted woman who sings to the children, cleans the family's chic apartment in Paris's upscale tenth arrondissement, stays late without complaint, and hosts enviable kiddie parties. But as the couple and the nanny become more dependent on one another, jealousy, resentment, and suspicions mount, shattering the idyllic tableau.

My two-bits:

Perfectly creepy and chilling.

This story includes another set of unlikable characters with a dark storyline in a Paris setting.

Made me wary of "perfect" people. It's usually a facade.

~*~
* The #1 international bestseller and winner of France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt, 2016.

* part of Paris in July (here)

Adèle by Leïla Slimani

Adèle
by Leïla Slimani
translated by Sam Taylor

Find out more about this book and author:
Goodreads
BookExcerpt

Published: 2019
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, France, Paris
Paperback: 216
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
Adèle has been good. She has held out for a week now.

Adèle appears to have the perfect life: She is a successful journalist in Paris who lives in a beautiful apartment with her surgeon husband and their young son. But underneath the surface, she is bored--and consumed by an insatiable need for sex.

Driven less by pleasure than compulsion, Adèle organizes her day around her extramarital affairs, arriving late to work and lying to her husband about where she's been, until she becomes ensnared in a trap of her own making. Suspenseful, erotic, and electrically charged, Adèle is a captivating exploration of addiction, sexuality, and one woman's quest to feel alive.

My two-bits:

With an unlikable protagonist this is a dark ugly story set in the lovely Paris which makes for an interesting juxtaposition.

Got me thinking of the role and importance of sex in people's lives.

PeekAbook:



~*~
* part of Paris in July (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 7.13.19

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

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Made fresh walnut pesto to go with spaghetti into my belly ;-)

2. Hainan Chicken with rice and soup to help combat a cold

3. Used an Amazon gift card to pick up some Paris in July themed items
- Harney & Sons Paris, Black Tea
- 8pcs Mini Notebook, with Eiffel Tower icon
- Cavallini Vintage Paris 10 Pencils and 1 Sharpener
- iPhone Case with Eiffel Tower and Pink Flowers

~*~
Library:

Lunch in Paris
A Love Story, with Recipes
by Elizabeth Bard
-Memoir, Food, Travel, Paris | Goodreads
FOR Paris in July reading list.

The Perfect Nanny
by Leïla Slimani
-Thriller, Mystery, Paris | Goodreads
FOR Paris in July reading list.


For Review:

The Hashtag Hunt
by Kristina Seek
-audiobook, Romance| Goodreads
courtesy of publisher for blitz tour -Thanks!

AND watched: in theatre

Midsommar (2019)
Director/Writer: Ari Aster
Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper
-Drama, Horror, Mystery | imdb | my rating: 5
A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown's fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

HORROR done in a visually beautiful way with its vibrant colors and constant sunlight.

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Director/Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Roger Avary
Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
-Crime, Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster & his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

PREPPING for the upcoming July 26 release of Tarantino film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a local theatre presented Pulp Fiction this week. I won a free ticket to see this. Next week will be Kill Bill, volume 1. And the following week will be Jackie Brown.

It was a re-watch for me and continues to be a wonderful classic with its innovate way of storytelling. Love that dance scene.


AND watched: on DVD for Paris in July

Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey (2014)
Fidelio, l'odyssée d'Alice (original title)
Director/Writer: Lucie Borleteau
Writers: Clara Bourreau (scenario), Mathilde Boisseleau (collaboration)
Stars: Ariane Labed, Melvil Poupaud, Anders Danielsen Lie
-Drama, Romance, France | imdb | my rating: 5
Thirty-year-old Alice's occupation is rather unusual for a woman : she works as an engineer on a freighter. She loves her job and does it competently but even in a greasy blue overall a woman will be a woman, with her heart, her desires and her seduction... In such conditions can an all-male crew really remain totally insensitive to her charms? A situation all the more complicated as not only does Alice leave her fiancé Felix behind but she also discovers on board the Fidélio that the captain is Gaël, her first love...
—Guy Bellinger

LIKED the female perspective of life as a sailor. Loved the character's strong independent spirit.

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

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Paris in July 2019

Paris in July
hosted by Thyme for Tea
(details & signup)
Paris in July is a French themed blogging experience running from the 1st – 31st July this year.
The aim of the month is to celebrate our French experiences through actual visits, or through reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking and eating all things French!

CRAFT:

Make a book bundle cover (tutorial) with a Paris scene (source).

VOLUNTEER:

Bastille Day
at Justin Hermann Plaza
July 13, 2019 (details)

Watched some Petanque with The Perfect Nanny while stationed at the kid zone area.


WATCH:

2 or 3
A Paris Education
Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey -my review
Les Cousins
Lourdes -my review
Midnight in Paris


FLIP THROUGH:

A Paris Year: My Day-to-Day Adventures in the Most Romantic City in the World by Janice Macleod | Goodreads



Citix60: Paris: 60 Creatives Show You the Best of the City | Goodreads
Lonely Planet Experience France | Goodreads

F Is for France: A Curious Cabinet of French Wonders by Piu Marie Eatwell | Goodreads

Paris: The Collected Traveler by Barrie Kerper | Goodreads

SHOP:

Used an Amazon gift card to pick up some Paris in July themed items
- Harney & Sons Paris, Black Tea
- 8pcs Mini Notebook, with Eiffel Tower icon
- Cavallini Vintage Paris 10 Pencils and 1 Sharpener
- iPhone Case with Eiffel Tower and Pink Flowers

READ:

I have a stack of books, but decided to post the final list here later. I will be reading what strikes my mood.

The stack:

Adèle by Leïla Slimani | Goodreads | my review
The Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani | Goodreads | my review


LISTEN: Audiobooks of Expats in Paris

Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard | Goodreads | my review
Pancakes in Paris by Craig Carlson | Goodreads | my review
Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod | Goodreads | my review

CAFE:

The Bookseller
by Mark Pryor
-Mystery, France, Paris | Goodreads

Author binge: Cara Black

Aimée Leduc Investigation series:

Murder in the Marais (1999) - my review
Murder in Belleville (2000) - my review
Murder in the Sentier (2003) - my review
Murder in the Bastille (2004) - my review
Murder in Clichy (2005) - my review
Murder in Montmartre (2006)
Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (2007)
Murder in the Rue de Paradis (2008)
Murder in the Latin Quarter (2009)
Murder in the Palais Royale (2010)
Murder in Passy (2011)
Murder at the Lanterne Rouge (2012)
Murder Below Montparnasse (2013)
Murder In Pigalle (2014)
Murder on the Champ de Mars (2015)
Murder on the Quai (2016)
Murder in Saint-Germain (2017)
Muder on the Left Bank (2018) - my review
Murder in Bel-Air (2019)