First & Last Quiz – guessing closed

We did this in January with classics, so I thought I’d see how you all do with books that have been popular in the blogoshere and book clubs over the past several years.

See if you can match up the first lines and last lines from 10 famous novels.  At least you can guess!!  Each correct match is worth 9 points and you ‘ll get an extra point if you can tell me what novel each correct match comes from.

No cheating.  No googling or looking at other commenter answers.  Yes, we’re going by the honor system :)    Your first answers will be the only ones accepted.  Play every week or just one time, you are always welcome   It only takes once to be eligible for a prize.

Last week’s Soldier quiz here.  Leaderboard here.

First & Last Lines

1. My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie.

  E. I wish you all a long and happy life.

  The Lovely Bones

2. Today I’m five.

  B. Then we go out the door.

  Room

3. Momma left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road.

  F. As much as I missed her and wished I could hear her laughter one more time, I believed she was out there in the big bright somewhere, watching me, cheering for me. Loving me.

  Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt

4. Clare: It’s hard being left behind.

  I. He is coming, and I am here.

  The Time Traveler’s Wife

5. Before she became the Girl from Nowhere-the One Who Walked In, the First and Last and Only, who lived a thousand years-she was just a little girl in Iowa, named Amy.

  A. Shots outside. I am going to look.

  The Passage

6. Lillian loved best the moment before she turned on the lights.

  C. Then she turned off the light, and left the kitchen.

  The School of Essential Ingredients

7. Louis and I see you nearly at the same time.

  H. “Of course it was. You had it with you the entire time.”

  The Weight of Silence

8. Dear Sidney, Susan Scott is a wonder.

  D. By way of congratulation, she said “I hear you and that pig farmer are going to regularize your connection.  Praise the Lord!”

  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

9. Here is the truth, this is what I know: we were walking on Ocean Beach, hand in hand.

  J. Water gushes around me, the board shakes, I cannot see, but somehow I know I am moving forward.

  The Year of Fog

10. They found Mary’s body in Round Pond.

  G. Out of our movement, a crow lifted off a high pine and the glint of the sun, for an instant, resembled a flash of diamond in its beak.

  The Eternal on the Water

Monday Movie Meme – Gifts

Feature Presentation…MONDAY MOVIE MEME
This week’s movie topic is all about Gifts…
Share on your blog movies that feature presents, gifts or other tokens being
presented.  And please visit The Bumbles to participate.
I’ve only got a few minutes before heading out-of-town, but here are the few I’ve come up with.
1. In No Way Out (1987) Kevin Costner is stuck in the Pentagon while he is assigned the task of finding his lover’s killer.  Only the trail points to him unless he can prove that Gene Hackman gave her a government registered gift from Morocco, thus pointing a finger on him.  I love this thriller.
2. The Breakfast Club (1985) is an all-time favorite and who doesn’t love the scene when good girl Molly Ringwald gives bad boy Judd Nelson a diamond earring?
3. Colin Firth’s gift of a diary to Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) made a very fun and satisfying last scene.
Do you have a favorite gift in film?

Sundays with Gage (and Les Roberts) and my 1,000th post with giveaway

This is a super-sized Sunday with Gage.  Who knew when I started blogging on January 7, 2008, that I’d still be around three and half years later?  These were my first two posts that day.  So, here we are 1,000 posts later and still having fun and loving all of the friendships I’ve made.

Yesterday was a busy day for Gage and here’s why…

His first trip in the pool.  Jason and I weren’t sure what to expect and were pleasantly surprised when he seemed to really like it.  He lasted as long as Daddy, who spent 20 minutes swimming him around.  I was at the side of the pool and getting ready to start snapping pics when a very nice lifeguard informed me that I couldn’t take any.  Huh.  Shows you how often we’ve been to the pool in the last few years.  Apparently, people like to take pictures of kids not their own and do who knows what with them.  I am sure that not all of these people are perverts, but really, way to ruin it for the rest of us.  So, I begged the lifeguard to let me take one photo and that’s the one I got.

Then in the evening local mystery author, Les Roberts, invited all bloggers to join him for a meet and greet at Visible Voice Books in the Tremont area of Cleveland.  This is an area I’m not all that familiar with but have always wanted to explore.  Jason and Gage came with me and while I got to listen to Les talk about his books, writing and life, Jason and Gage toured  the area.

This was the bookstore, which also has a wine bar and live music on the patio in the evenings and also a photo taken with a few of the bloggers that attended. There were around a dozen of us and we each enjoyed a glass of wine and the hour of  listening and asking questions.  I’ll probably include more details in a later post.

Since this is a super-sized 1,000th post I am going to be giving away a signed Les Roberts mystery and you get to pick which one.  On Saturday Les will be signing books 5 minutes from my house, so on Saturday at noon I’ll draw a winner and go and pick up your book.  Since this is also a Sundays with Gage post, you’ll also receive a signed head shot of Gage (LOL).

To enter to win a Les Roberts mystery (a series that is a great representation of Cleveland) just leave your email address with a comment.  You have until Saturday, June 11th, to enter.

A Classic Summer

My friend Molly of both The Bumbles Blog and Quirky Girls Read is hosting a challenge.  And since Molly is fun, creative and just all around great, I thought I would join in and invite you to do the same.

She couldn’t have made the challenge any easier.  Read a classic book before Labor Day, review it (linking to Molly’s challenge post) and add your post to Mr. Linky.  And you can enter as many classics as you want!

Did I mention she’s giving out an Amazon gift card?  You should probably head over there and check it out for yourself!

The Classic Bribe

I am currently reading A Room with a View by Forster (and loving it) and hope to get Emma by Austen in this summer too.  I also need to read Roots and Mists of Avalon.  What about you?  Is there a classic that you’d like to read this summer and this challenge is just the thing to give you a gentle push?

May’s 5 Word Movie Reviews & Money for Charity

Once a month I feature the movies I’ve seen for the first time with a 5 word ‘review’.  Only it’s not really a review.  For that I need your help.  I hope that you’ll add your 5 words to my 5 words and that someone else will add their 5 words and so on until we have a a fun hodgepodge of words that make up a ‘review’.

You may notice that we saw a movie at the theater this month.  Can you tell which one of us won the March Madness bracket and gets to pick the next five theater movies? 🙂

This month you can give money to charity by contributing your 5 words (Details here).  Please join the fun :)  Past 5 Word Reviews here.  We’re up to $66.

(2011. Cast-Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy)    Grade A-

Bawdy Girl Fun. Surprisingly Touching.

Wet my pants laughing (TeddyRee)

Obnoxious. I must be prudish. (Stacy-A Novel Source)

Real Women Having Real Fun (Beth)

Best bathroom humor scene ever! (Michelle)

Obnoxious but hilarious, go women! (Debbie)

So funny and real, favorite.  (Heather)

Depressing but incredibly funny, too.  (Tony)


(2005. Cast-Samuel L Jackson)   Grade B

Tough Coach Reforms Athletes.  Refreshing.


(2010. Cast- Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leto)                                          Grade B-

Great Performances. Depressing True Story.

Creative use of the f-word. (Kathy)

Touching, f-ing story. Bale Rocks! (Heather)

Christian Bale falls in trash.  (Tony)


(2010. Cast- Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Martin Sheen, Dan Fogler)                      Grade B-

Cute Leads. Sweet Healing Romance.


(2005 Cast-Lisa Kudrow, Steve Coogan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Ritter, Bobby Cannavale, Laura Dern, Jesse Bradford)  Grade B-

Interesting Twists & Cast. Unique  Storytelling.


Theatrical release poster, includes two white silhouetted figures against a black background.(2010. Cast- Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz)       Grade D

Action Gone Terribly, Terribly Wrong.

No chemistry between leads…None (Kay)

Cruise is creepy. No chemistry. (Heather)

Previews looked good, movie wasn’t! (Debbie)

Should have been great. wasn’t. (Louise)

Cruise and Diaz: poor showing.  (Tony)

Tangled Webs:How False Statements are Undermining America:From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff by James B. Stewart, part 2

Tangled Webs: How False Statements Are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie MadoffFinished 5-31-11, rating 4/5, current events, 441 pages, pub. 2011

(part one reviewed here)

I jumped on my soapbox in the first half of my review so I’ll try to exercise some restraint this time around.  Lying is bad.  Perjury is worse.  How can we be a country ruled by law if people, under oath, lie.  I covered the first two celebrity perjurers, now on to the last two.

Barry Bonds is not a likeable guy, he used some sort of steroid, and his old friend was so faithful to him that he went to jail instead of testifying against him.  Oh, and the case is just now going to trial.  It’s like 10 years later! Sprinter Marion Jones was somehow caught up in the same investigation and she’s already served her time!  There were a lot of players involved and since baseball is not my thing, it was my least favorite.

My husband is a portfolio manager, so the Bernie Madoff case was right up my alley.  Somehow Bernie got away with lying to the SEC for years and to many different people.  Seriously, the SEC looks bad.  There were a few people in the SEC who were actually doing their jobs, but they or their superiors were in awe of Madoff’s power and reputation.

I really liked this book.  I thought all the stories were interesting and told with an easy to understand, yet detailed, narrative.  I complained in my first post that people made excuses for liars if they liked them.  I had to swallow that sentiment this week as my beloved Coach Tressel (Ohio State football coach) fell prey to the exact problems addressed in this book.  He didn’t commit the crime, but he did lie to cover it up.  If it can happen to the squeaky clean sweater vest, it can happen to anyone.

This book was sent to by the publisher for this book tour.

James’ Tour Stops

Wednesday, May 11th: Take Me Away

Thursday, May 12th: Laura’s Reviews

Tuesday, May 17th: Power and Control

Tuesday, May 17th: Marathon Pundit

Wednesday, May 18th: Man of La Book

Wednesday, May 25th: Stacy’s Books

Wednesday, June 1st: Bibliophiliac

Monday, June 13th: Lisa Graas

Tuesday, June 14th: Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms

Wednesday, June 15th: Deep Muck Big Rake

15 Free Books for June

My book problem post encouraged me to clean out at least 15 titles that I’ve had for too long and no longer have any desire to read.

Leave a comment, tell me which book you want and I’ll get the book to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon.  The first one to request each book wins. Once you’ve ‘won’ the book I can get your shipping address if I need it.  Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want.  These have all been read a time or two.

1. The skinny orange titles on top all come together.  They are Baa,Baa, Black Sheep by Rudyard Kipling, Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Love Among the Haystacks by DH Lawrence, The Dead by James Joyce, The Happy Prince by Oscar Wildefor Amy

2. The Bastard by John Jakes. mass market. published 1974. 629 pages.  B&N review here.

3. The Mysterious Stranger and other stories by Mark Twain. library bound paperback. Stories include: Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865), Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut (1876), Stolen White Elephant (1882), Luck, (1891), The 1,000,000Bank-Note (1893), The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (1899), Five Boons of Life (1902), Was It Heaven? Or Hell? (1902).  for Mariska

4. An Introduction to Haiku by Harold Henderson.  mass market. published 1958. 185 pages.  B&N review here. for Gautami

5. Generation React:Activism for Beginners by Danny Seo. trade paperback. published 1997. 171 pages. B&N review here.

6. Stealing Time:Stories by Mary Grimm. hardcover. published 1994. 196 pages. B&N review here.  for Carol M

7. So Far…by Kelsey Grammer. hardcover. published 1995. 238 pages. B&N review herefor Kathy

8. Lovedeath by Dan Simmons. hardcover. published 1993. 306 pages.  B&N review here for Mariska

9. The Frenchwoman by Barbara Paul. mass market. published 1977. 295 pages.for Gautami

10. The Great Alone by Janet Dailey. mass market. published 1986. 817 pages. B&N review here. for Amy

11. The Captive Queen of Scots by Jean Plaidy. mass market. published 1963. 448 pages.  B&N review here. for Violet

12. Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters.  mass market. published 1962. 316 pages. B&N review here.  for Carol M

13. The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper. mass market. published 1925. 534 pages. B&N review here.

14. The Vintage Contempotraries Reader.  trade paperback. published 1998. 321 pages.  Includes stories and excerpts from writers: McInerney, Exley, Russo, Ford, Simpson, Gibbons, Yates, DeLillo, Baker, Ellis, McGrath, Cisneros, Carver, Beattie, Leyner, McGuane, Guterson, Danticat, Wolff, Munro, Gaines, Dubus, Sapphire, Millhauser, Huneven. for Melissa

15. Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad. trade paperback. B&N review here. for Molly

Happy Reading.  You can request one book a day until they’re gone 🙂

Soldier Quiz – guessing closed

Yesterday, we celebrated Memorial Day here in the US, a day to honor our fallen soldiers and the sacrifices they made.  This week’s quiz is all about our servicemen & women in literature and movies.  Each correct answer is worth 10 points.  You have until Friday to submit your answers.

No cheating.  No googling or looking at other commenter answers.  Yes, we’re going by the honor system :)    Your first answers will be the only ones accepted.  Play every week or just one time, you are always welcome   It only takes once to be eligible for a prize.

Last week’s Book Sale quiz here.  Leaderboard here.

I’m looking for the titles only.

Movies

1. This 2009 Oscar winner is the only one on this list about an ongoing war.  The Hurt Locker

2. The father View Image Apocalypse Now

3. And the son View Image Platoon

4. Tom Hanks leads a team to find the last surviving brother (of four) serving during WWII.  This 1998 film makes me cry every time.  Saving Private Ryan

5.  This 1946 Oscar winner is the movie that has stuck with me as the best depiction of what happened to soldiers when they came back home from war, in this case WWII.  The Best Years of Our Lives

6. This is a 1989 movie about the Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, featuring Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington.  Glory

Books and Movies

7. Clint Eastwood directed two movies about WWII, one from the perspective of the American attackers and one from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers, based on the book written by James Bradley and Ron Powers.  Each one is worth 5 points.  Flags of Our Father & Letters from Iwo Jima

8. This Stephen Ambrose classic was made into a very successful HBO mini-series about WWII.  Band of Brothers

9. This dark comedy about a WWII bomber helped coin a new English phrase to define a no-win situation.  Made into a 1970 film.  Catch-22

10. This novel by Erich Maria Remarque is about a German soldier in WWI and is the only one on the list focused on a non-American soldier, but was made into one of my favorite war movies.  A 1930 Oscar winner.  All Quiet on the Western Front

Remember

Remember those who gave their lives for ours and for those still serving in the military around the world.

Happy Memorial Day from my veterans to yours.  Jason was in the Navy and my Dad was in the Army.  Gage’s other Grandpa was in the Air Force.

Don’t forget to give your own veterans a hug today.  And then go outside and grill up some good food and have some laughs with friends and family!

Sundays with Gage – His first country club

This past year I spent my 6th year on the New Clevelander’s Club board, having a number of positions ranging from president to newsletter editor.  When I accepted the parliamentarian position last May, Gage was just along for the ride, but once he arrived in October he was running the show so we missed a lot during those next few months.  In January we started going to the monthly beard meetings.  He slept through that first one and we had to leave the last one early because he was disgruntled, but he liked seeing all of the smiling ladies.  So, at the changing of the guard this week Gage got all dressed up and went to his first country club, appropriately named, The Country Club (for some reason that always makes me laugh).  He left the house with socks and shoes but by the time we arrived at the club he was missing a shoe and a sock, so he went in barefoot and I appreciate the club not kicking him out since he had no shoes 🙂  That picture is us with the new president, Natalie.

Needless to say we did not make it through the whole thing, but he did make it about an hour and fifteen minutes, which I thought was pretty good for him.  Next time I’ll have to see if I can get him on the golf course!