Lovely Books and Things - 7.7.18

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. Good gardening weather - made a small dent in much needed weeding, might get some flowers at the nursery this weekend. It would be nice to have some color to brighten the garden patch.

2. New (to me) fireworks spectacular - a red dotted outlined five-pointed star

3. Greek mythology - loved the storytelling in this retelling of Circe who is a lesser known mythological goddess/witch

~*~
Bought:

Another Sun
by Timothy Williams
-Mystery, Caribbean
Amazon | Goodreads
JULY pick for the Foreign Intrigue Book Club (here).

Murder on the Left Bank
by Cara Black
-Mystery, France, Paris
Amazon | Goodreads
Books Inc. Laurel Village hosted a reading and Q&A with Cara Black to celebrate the release of the 18th Aimée Leduc Investigation mystery. Always a treat to get a visit from Cara and her thoughts on Paris.

This is going to be part of my Paris in July (here).


FREEBIE:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Junot Díaz
-Literary, Magical Realism
Amazon | Goodreads
SPOTTED this on a giveaway pile and have always wanted to read it.


Unboxing:

Save the Date
by Morgan Matson
-Romance, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
GOT some swag (notebook and stickers) with a pre-order of Morgan's latest.


AND watched: in theatre

Damsel (2018)
Director/Writer: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Stars: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner
-Comedy, Drama, Western | imdb | my rating: 4
It's the Wild West, circa 1870. Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the west, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.

TOTALLY taken with the miniature horse, Butterscotch ;-)

Per the description, the blur of characters plays out well in this storyline. Got a good dose of slow western pacing with some twists.


AND watched: on DVD

Teen Spirit (2011)
Director: Gil Junger
Writers: David Kendall, Kathryn McCullough,
Stars: Cassandra Scerbo, Carissa Capobianco, Gabriela Lopez, Bob Young
-Comedy, Drama, Fantasy | imdb | my rating: 5
The story is about Amber, a mean popular girl who gets electrocuted and dies and is not allowed to enter into heaven unless she helps the least popular girl in school become Prom Queen within a week, but things do not go as planned.

ADORABLE teen flick with fashion guru, Tim Gunn, as a Supervisor in Limbo.

Also, part of the Blog All About It Challenge: Spirit (here)

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

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Olympics Book Tag

Olympic Book Tag
sponsored by It Starts at Midnight (details)

Found this fun tag as a way to indirectly participate in the Summer Olympics.

TAG you are it - feel free to join in or comment with your book picks ;-)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Fantasy, YA | Amazon | Goodreads=====> Plan to pick up the newly released, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child this weekend!

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Road Trip, YA | Amazon | Goodreads | my review=====> Loved how the references to the different sites and food references.

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Fantasy | Amazon | Goodreads=====> You never know who is next on the hit list with this series.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Mystery, Thriller | Amazon | Goodreads | my review=====> Wha? What? HUH?

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Contemporary Fiction | Amazon | Goodreads | my review=====> This chunkster had my attention for a good part of a year as I could only take small doses at a time, but worth it.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Chick-lit | Amazon | Goodreads | my review=====> Still have to see the movie version.

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn
Romance, Travel, Africa | Amazon | Goodreads | my review=====> Loved how this one transported me to 1920s Africa.

The Boys in the Boat:
Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
Non-fiction, Sports | Amazon | Goodreads | my review=====> Loved learning about the world of rowing.

~*~
I am looking forward to watching the Gymnastics. How about you?

FYI: I am going to read this one for the gymnastics theme - it is a dark one...

You Will Know Me
by Megan Abbott
-Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads | my review

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
by Morgan Matson

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

Published: 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA
Hardback: 352 pages
Rating: 5

First sentence:
I sat on the front steps of my house and watched the beige Subaru station wagon swing too quickly around the cul-de-sac.

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend.

Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

My two-bits:

Road trip! Always love a good one and this one delivers.

This pair travels across country from California to Connecticut via the northern route. There are just the right amounts of sights, sounds, roadside attractions and food for that vicarious road trip experience.

Loved watching the growth of their friendship from acquaintance to couple by the end of the book. They both work through their individual issues with travel as a kind of therapy.

The book includes sprinklings of images of scrapbook-like memorabilia and music playlists that enhances the experience of this read.

Added a couple must-go places for foodies:
NuWay (crumbly burgers) - Wichita, KS
Brown Hotel (Kentucky hot brown and derby pie) - Louisville, KY

~*~
* added to my COYER challenge/scavenger hunt (details)

* part of my vvb32 reads book club (details)

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books I'd Love to Read With My Book Club/If I Had A Book Club

Top Ten Tuesday
meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish -details
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

~*~
January 27: Ten Books I'd Love to Read With My Book Club/If I Had A Book Club (or you could pick a specific kind of book club -- like if you had a YA book club or an adult book club or a science fiction book club etc.)

For my fantasy vvb32 reads book club here are my picks for the year - most of which are in my TBR pile.

Come to think of it, I think I will go ahead and make this official. I will post review links here as posts go up.

JANUARY: for Celebrity Read a Book Week (last full week of January)

and Ewan McGregor is reading...

Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales (Peter Rabbit)
by Beatrix Potter
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> I will pick out at least two stories from the collection as January is already booked.

FEBRUARY:

The Secret of Pembrooke Park
by Julie Klassen
-Christian, Historical, Jane Austen theme
Just released: December 2014
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
=====> part of a book tour

MARCH:

Razorhurst
by Justine Larbalestier
-Paranormal, YA
Release date: March 3, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
APRIL: for National Poetry Month

Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
-Poetry, Memoir
Amazon | Goodreads | dnf
MAY: for Zombies Awareness Month

Outpost
Razorland #2
by Ann Aguirre
Amazon | Goodreads
JUNE: for Dirty Book Day (June 11)

Fear of Flying
by Erica Jong
Amazon | Goodreads
=====> NPR picked this as a dirty book last year and I'm curious why

JULY: summer/road trip theme

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
by Morgan Matson
-YA
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
AUGUST:

Ruin and Rising
The Grisha #3
by Leigh Bardugo
-Fantasy, YA
Release date: August 18, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
SEPTEMBER:

Shades of Doon
Doon #3
by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon
-Fantasy, YA
Release date: September 1, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
OCTOBER:

Night Film
by Marisha Pessl
-Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
NOVEMBER:

A Fairy Tale
by Jonas T. Bengtsson
-Coming of Age, Scandinavian
Amazon | Goodreads
DECEMBER: for Jane Austen's Birthday

Persuasion
by Jane Austen
edited by Robert Morrison
-annotated
Amazon | Goodreads | my review
~*~
* source for themes found here

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Since You've Been Gone
by Morgan Matson

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

Published: May 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Coming-of-age, Romance, YA
Hardback: 449 pages
Rating: 5

Emily is about to take some risks and have the most unexpected summer ever in this new novel from the bestselling author of Second Chance Summer and Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour.

Before Sloane, Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, and she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—someone who yanks you out of your shell.

But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list with thirteen bizarre tasks that Emily would never try. But what if they can lead her to Sloane?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Wait…what?

Getting through Sloane’s list will mean a lot of firsts, and with a whole summer ahead of her—and with the unexpected help of the handsome Frank Porter—who knows what she’ll find.

Go Skinny Dipping? Um…

Zombie sighting:
I wanted to learn the zombie dance from "Thriller" and she wanted to learn the dance from London Moore's new video, the one that had sparked all sorts of protests from parents' groups.
-chapter 1, page 18

My two-bits:

Loved the gradual character and relationship development between the two main ones, Emily and Frank based on the tasks required on the summer to-do list.

And loved the transformation of friendship to love interest.

A road trip is also included in this story which was a fun way to see some bonding time.

Also, the mystery of Sloane and how Emily comes to terms with it works out well in the end.

Stacking the Shelves - 8.30.14

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!

~*~
For Review:

Frostbitten
by Heather Beck
-paranormal, romance, YA
courtesy of author
Thanks Heather!
Amazon | Goodreads

The Sharp Hook of Love
by Sherry Jones
-france, historical, romance
courtesy of upcoming blog tour
Thanks France Book Tours!
Amazon | Goodreads
fyi: you can WIN this at Goodreads -expires: Sep 4
Library:

Since You've Been Gone
by Morgan Matson
-romance, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just...disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night?
Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn?
Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger?
Um...

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she'll find?

Go skinny-dipping?
Wait...what?

-----> reeeeeeeally loving this one

Dreaming about getting soon:

-----> love the covers and sounds like a fun steampunk romance series

Gossamer Wing
Steam and Seduction #1
by Delphine Dryden
Amazon | Goodreads

Scarlet Devices
Steam and Seduction #2
by Delphine Dryden
Amazon | Goodreads

Gilded Lily
Steam and Seduction #3
by Delphine Dryden
Amazon | Goodreads
~*~
* 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