Month: December 2009

Happy 101 & Let’s Be Friends

6 Comments

The rules of this award:
List 10 things that make you happy.
Try and do at least one of them today.
Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
Link back to the person that tagged you.
I received this from Em at The Many Thoughts of a Reader.  Em is a fellow Buckeye fan so you know she must be cool 🙂  This month she leading a book discussion of The Awakening by Kate Chopin.  I read this on college, but plan to read it again this weekend so I can participate.  Why not join us?
 
Here are my 10 things
1. My husband Jason, cat Scout, and dog Max
2. My family
3. Visiting with friends
4. Books – can’t seem to have too many
5. Games – board games, card games, or even a game of rock, paper, scissors 🙂
6. Italy (I blogged when we were there).  Wouldn’t mind going back often.
7. Leaves and snow
8. Ohio State
9. Going out to eat  – Chinese and Italian are favorites
10. Parties
 
Okay, I am only going to pass this along to one deserving person and she is Alita.Reads!  I think she writes wonderful reviews and can’t wait to see what makes her happy 🙂
 
 
This Let’s Be Friends award comes from Carol at Carol’s Notebook and I really appreciate because I think Carol is so warm and friendly and I’m glad she thinks I’m okay too 🙂  I also love that she reviews board games since I’m always looking for new fun ones.  Thanks, Carol!

Fave Film #15 – While You Were Sleeping

9 Comments

1995

Cast- Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden, Glynis Johns

Lucy (Bullock) is a Chicago subway worker with no family and few friends.  When the man she fancies herself in love with (Gallagher) is unconscious on the tracks with a train about to run him over she risks her own life to save him.  At the hospital, Peter is in a coma and confusion abounds with the family believing Lucy to be Peter’s fiance and she gets caught up in the madness.

Why I love it – I love Sandra Bullock’s performance in this movie and, like her character, fell in love with the Callahan family.  They were hysterical and the writing was top-notch.  The absurdity and warmth of the family made me understand Lucy’s ongoing decision to keep quiet about her deception.  It is the family in this one that is the stabilizing factor for this romantic comedy and I loved that.

This is a perfect time of year to watch this feel-good movie since it takes place over Christmas and the New Year.  It is a reminder to all of us who have loving family to celebrate the holidays with that there are those who could use a little cheer and an invitation to join in the celebration.  Lucy was adopted by a family that did not know her and I think that we could all benefit from taking that to heart.

I have seen this movie too many times to count and I love it every time.  It is my favorite Sandra movie and maybe the only time I ever felt like Bill Pullman was a great romantic lead (but feel free to tell me if there is a better one).  She is charming and likeable, as is the movie.  And when my husband gave me a choice, like Lucy, the only stamp I wanted in my passport was from Italy.

Interesting fact- Demi Moore was first slated to be Lucy.  I think Bullock was the perfect choice.  Only Bullock could have made this silly, sappy movie a success.

 

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

14 Comments

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier: CD Audiobook CoverFinished audio 12-07-09, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1999

Griet is a 16-year-old girl living in 1660’s Holland.  Her father has been blinded by his work and it is up to Griet to live at the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer as a maid.  Here she is accepted by Vermeer himself and his mother-in-law Maria Thins, but despised by the lady of the house, Catharina, and one of the daughters, Cornelia.  Cornelia is out to do real damage to Griet, while Vermeer is her champion.

The relationship between Vermeer and Griet is a complicated one.  Griet is being sought by the butcher’s son, but her sexual awakening is due to Vermeer.  Vermeer allows Griet to become his assistant and the two spend their days together in the studio.  When Griet is forced to sit for a painting she knows it will ruin her, but she appreciates the hours she and Vermeer spend staring at one another, the longing filling the small studio.

I saw the movie when it came out in 2003 and thought it was a bit slow, so I was in no hurry to read the book, but I was wrong not to have read it first.  The book was wonderfully done.  It is the story of Griet and what life was like for a girl in her time.  She had so few options, if any, and she still managed to maintain her independence in small ways.  It is also an imaginative tale of the story behind the girl in the painting.  I love art museums,  looking at a painting and trying to take myself back to when it was painted and this book did that for me.

I do admit that while I liked Griet she really did frustrate me at times.  People in the house mentioned on many occasions how smart and cunning she was and yet I didn’t feel that.  The author told me she was special, but I was never really convinced.  She was a young girl caught up in a life out of her control and that is enough, no need to tell me I should think she is the most misunderstood maid ever. 

I liked it and now I may have to watch the movie again even though I didn’t love it the first time.

This audio was from the library.

When Christmas Comes, by Debbie Macomber

6 Comments

Cover ImageFinished 12-7-09, rating 3.5/5, romance, pub. 2004

Why, oh why, couldn’t her sons be like her friends’ children, who were constantly causing them heartache and worry?  Instead, she’d borne two sons who had to be the most loving interest sons on God’s green earth, but… The problem was that they didn’t understand one of the primary duties of a son-to provide his parents with grandchildren.

Chapter 6

Emily is a widow and the prospect of spending Christmas without her daughter is too much to bear.  Charles is a college professor who wants to avoid Christmas at all costs.  The two strangers agree to switch houses for two weeks.  Emily is headed to Boston to surprise her daughter and Charles to Washington state to finish writing the textbook he’s working on.

Emily’s daughter is not happy to see her mother and Charles is horrified to find himself stuck in a small town that adores all things Christmas.  Both face disappointment and surprise and discover that trading places may have been the best thing for them.

This is a sweet holiday romance.  If you have seen the 2006 move The Holiday where Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet switch houses you get the gist of the plot.  I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it is and it did put me in the holiday spirit.  There are no big surprises, but I loved Faith and Charles’s brother, Ray. Perfect light-hearted reading for this busy time of year.

I borrowed this book from my mom.

Teaser Tuesday – When Christmas Comes

17 Comments

teasertuesdays31Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!). Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Emily was bored and sad and struggling not to break down.  There was only one thing left to do-what she always did when she got depressed.

Bake cookies.

 Chapter Eight, When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber

So, what are you cooking up today?  Head on over to MizB for more teasers.

Sandra Bullock Was In That? Quiz

18 Comments

Sandra Bullock PhotoJason and I saw The Blind Side on Saturday and loved it.  I love watching Sandra Bullock onscreen and this movie is one of her best.  As I looked at a list of her movies I was surprised to find that I had seen 20 of them.  I guess you can call me a fan 🙂   I’ve listed her characters in the order that I like the movies  best.  Can you identify the movie?  Leave a comment telling me the # and the name of the movie.  No Googling – that’s cheating and no fun!

1. Lucy Moderatz (1995) While You Were Sleeping – Kaye

2. Margaret Tate (2009) The Proposal – Kathrin

3. Jean Cabot (2004) Crash – Kathrin

4. Leigh Anne Tate Yuohy (2009) – The Blind Side – Em

5. Annie Porter (1994) Speed – Kathrin

6. Gwen Cummings (2000) 28 Days – Kathrin

7. Cassie Mayweather (2002) Murder by the Numbers – Kathrin

8. Lucy Kelson (2002) Two Weeks Notice – Kathrin

9. Kate Forster (2006)  The Lake House – Kathy

10. Gracie Hart (2000) Miss Congeniality – Word Lily

11. Birdee Pruitt (1998)  Hope Floats – Staci

12. Ellen Roark (1196) A Time to Kill – Susan

13. Sidda Walker (2002) – Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood – Em

14. Angela Bennett/Ruth Marx (1995)  The Net – Kathrin

15. Sally Owens (1998) Practical Magic – Wrighty’s Reads

16. Roz (1996)  TWO IF BY SEA

17. Lt. Lenina Huxley (1993)  Demolition Man – Bumbles

18. Judy Tipp (2000)  GUN SHY

19. Sarah Lewis (1999)  FORCES OF NATURE

20. Linda Hanson (2007) Premonition – Margot

Answers to last weeks Christmas Book Qhiz here.

Dumb Witness, by Agatha Christie

15 Comments

Cover ImageFinished audio 12-4-09, rating 4/5, mystery, pub. 1937

Belgian detective Hercule Poirot receives a letter from a dead woman and he and his friend Captain Hastings try to find out if this woman died of natural causes or was murdered.  There is no shortage of suspects – nieces, a nephew, a companion, servants, and two doctors.  Hercule must find a way to get answers without alerting anyone to his true purpose and his talent for skillful lying takes him far. 

This was my first Agatha Christie novel (my husband too) and we really enjoyed it.  Neither of us figured out what really happened til the end and our favorite character was Bob the dog.  I usually hate when animals talk or we read their thoughts, but Bob was wonderfully charming and he made me laugh every time.  This could have been due to the talented narrator, Hugh Fraser.

This was a great audio for a road trip because it appealed to both of us.  Since we have more travels ahead this month (I’m leaving in 7 1/2 hours) I will have to stock up on more Agatha Christie.

I checked this out of the library.

Over the Top Award

10 Comments

Carol at Carol’s Notebooks passed this very cool award on to me.  Stop by and say hi to Carol – she’s another Buckeye blogger.

Here are the rules:

Answer the following questions using single word answers. Then pass the award to 5 other people and let them know.

Your cell phone? Purse
Your hair? Curly
Your mother? Friend
Your father? Loved
Your favorite food? Chinese
Your dream last night? Forgotten
Your favorite drink? Caffeinated
Your dream/goal? Write
What room are you in? Office
Your hobby? Reading
Your fear? Airplanes
Where do you want to be in 6 years?  Happy
Where were you last night? Home
Something that you aren’t? Neat
Muffins? Blueberry
Wish list item? Books!
Where did you grow up? Ohio
Last thing you did? Treadmill
What are you wearing? T-shirt
Your TV? Basketball
Your Pets? Adorable
Friends? Appreciated
Your life? Good
Your mood?  Happy
Missing someone? No
Vehicle? Vibe
Something you’re not wearing? Socks
Your favorite store? Bookstore
Your favorite color? Red
When was the last time you laughed? 8-ish
Last time you cried? Commercial
Your best friend? Jason
One place that you go to over and over? Market
Facebook? Yes!
Favorite place to eat? Out

I’m not going to say anymore, but feel free to add your two cents 🙂

I am going to pass this along to-

Bermudaonion’s Weblog

Joyfully Retired

Fleur Fisher Reads

Betty’s Books

Heidenkind’s Hideaway

The Jane Austen Book Club- 2007 movie

11 Comments

Cast – Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, KAthy Baker, Amy Brennenman, Maggie Grace, Hugh Dancy, Jimmy Smits

Five women and one man of varying ages and circumstances form a book club to read all six of Jane Austen’s novels.  As they meet each month their lives intersect with the novel they have read and friendships are forged, relationships destroyed, and insecurities conquered. 

I reviewed the book this movie was based on a few days ago and liked it.  I won’t get into a point by point comparison because the movie truly stands alone.  My biggest complaint was the Prudie storyline because that was the biggest change/addition.  I didn’t care for her in the book and I liked her even less in the movie.

I liked that this was a movie that revered Austen and literature and featured women as the leads.  All of these ladies were phenomenal.  The movie had more warmth than the book mainly because these women gave it more sparkle.  And I’ve never seen Hugh Dancy in anything, but what a cutie! 

To be honest, I don’t think the book storyline is better than the movie.  If I had to choose the movie or the book to recommend I’d probably choose the movie.  Crazy, huh?  Have you seen the movie?  How did it compare to the book for you?

I recorded this movie on my DVR.

Until Now…, but Denise Skelton

7 Comments

Until Now...Finished 12-2-09, rating 3.5/5, romance, pub. 2009

It was only 7:30 am, but if today was going to be anything like yesterday, she knew that her Saturday was not going to be good.  If finding only ninety-eight cents when she needed almost three dollars in order to get a half-gallon of milk was any indication, she knew that this was going to be a great start to another shitty day.

Chapter 4

Terry is having a tough time.  Her ex-husband has knocked up his new wife for the third time while completely ignoring their two sons and bills are past due, basics like electricity and telephone are in danger of being shut off.  Terry is desperate to provide for her kids without resorting to taking her ex to court for money, and decides that starting a day care at her house would pay the bills.

Wade is an undercover  FBI agent  moving back to Chicago to work as a teacher while investigating a drug problem at the school.  He must also confront his abusive father while still maintaining a relationship with his saintly mother.  And then he keeps running into Terry in the most unfortunate situations and he starts to appreciate this brash and sexy mom.

Terry is a main character that I in turn was exasperated with and in love with.  She seems to always do the wrong thing, but she is a loving mother.  She does things that make me understand why she found herself in a bad situation, like smashing her phones when she doesn’t even have enough money for a carton of milk and I just wanted to shake her (and tell her to quit using the word ass in so many creative ways)I like a character who isn’t perfect and Terry is definitely that.  Wade is pretty much a saint and I figure that he’ll tame her a bit.  Eventually.

The story and writing kept me reading and I finished it in a day.  It isn’t so much a romance as a family drama with two people who need to find each other.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I did not really like the cover, but that certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.  Skelton wrote two other books with characters from this story and I would certainly read them.

I received this book from the author.