My 2011 Book and Movie Favorites

December 29, 201115 Comments

I read 76 books this year and these are my favorites (only 2 of them were published this year)…

Cover Image Good Grief by Lolly Winston Roots by Alex Hailey

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch WilliamsBig Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart Live Wire (Myron Bolitar Series #10) by Harlan Coben: Book Cover Live Wire by Harlan Coben

The Missing Ink (Tattoo Shop Series #1) The Missing Ink by Karen Olson Buried Prey (Lucas Davenport Series #21) Buried Prey by John Sandford

A Room with a View and Howards End A Room With a View by EM Forster Heartsick (Gretchen Lowell Series #1) by Chelsea Cain: Book Cover Heart Sick by Chelsea Cain

I watched 44 movies this year and these are the ones I feel good about recommending…

Bridesmaids (2011) A

The Help (2011) A

Sherlock Holmes:A Game of Shadows (2011) A-

Horrible Bosses (2011) B+

Gidget (1959) B+

Inside Man (2006) B+

Holes (2003) B+

Definitely, Maybe (2008) B+

Desk Set (1957) B+

Strangers on a Train (1951) B+

The Kids Are All Right (2010) B+

In April I asked that you all participate in my 5 word reviews by adding 5 words of your own. For each review posted I would contribute $1 to charity. When we reach $100 the person who contributed the most reviews would get to choose the charity. Well, we are up to $99 and I’d like to get that check out! So, please contribute your reviews (list here). Since I’ve still got the holiday spirit I’ll keep contributing $1 for a week, even if we go over $100.

My favorite high school movies

July 15, 201111 Comments

I read Carrie this week and it got me thinking about some of my favorite high school movies. As a teen in the 80’s that decade is well-represented.

1. The Breakfast Club (1985) I know this one is always showing up on this blog, but I can’t help it. Here’s the post about why I love it so much.

2. Sixteen Candles (1984) This one actually gets better with every viewing. That whole movie is full of teen insecurity. Here’s the post about why I love it so much.

3. the Harry Potter movies (2001-2011) Can you imagine attending Hogwarts? I think the fact that we all can proves how spectacular this series is. While I liked the books better, each movie has gotten better and now I love the movies too. I think The Goblet of Fire (2005) was my favorite onscreen.

4. Grease (1978) I can sing every song in this musical. I had a hard time believing that any of the cast was young enough to be in high school, but it was great fun anyway.

5. Mean Girls (2004) This is a great movie about, what else, how mean teen girls can be to each other. This is probably the last time I actually enjoyed watching Lindsay Lohan onscreen.

6. The Karate Kid (1984) I love this story of the new kid on the block who did nothing wrong but talk to the wrong girl. He overcame bullying by beating them at their own game.

7. Pretty in Pink (1986) Aw, Duckie. Who didn’t love Duckie in this love story about a ‘richie’ falling for a poor girl. Their prom certainly beats the one Carrie had!

8. Dead Poet’s Society (1989) Teaching boys raised to appreciate their priveleged status a different way to look at life is at the heart of this movie that requires at least one tissue.

9. Bring It On (2000) Do not ask me why I love this cheesy movie because I do not know. I was not a cheerleader nor did I ever have a desire to be. It’s a mystery, but I really liked it.

10. Heathers (1989) I haven’t seen this one in forever and really need to watch it again. I remember the bitchiness and the angst and the wit. Loved it.

11. Election (1999) This dark comedy was a great story about an overachiever going too far and her teacher going even further. Great stuff.

12. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) I didn’t fall in love when I saw this the first time in high school, but each viewing makes me appreciate it more.

Movies that celebrate summer

June 24, 2011June 27, 201123 Comments

It is officially summer and that got me thinking of some of my favorite movies that celebrate the sun, the unbearable heat, and vacations. Here are my favorite 10 movies that celebrate summer. What are some of yours? Maybe I’ll have to revise my list if you remind me of better ones 🙂

1. Summer School (1987). It’s Mark Harmon. That should be all I need to say.

2. Jaws (1975). Ruined the beach for me for a long time.

3. Dirty Dancing (1987). Who didn’t want to spend a summer with Johnny Castle when they first saw this?

4. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983). Who doesn’t remember the summer road trips with family? Let me know if any of you have a story as good as this one 🙂

5. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005). I didn’t read the book but I was charmed by the 4 friends in this movie.

6. Summertime (1955). A movie that celebrates summer vacations, Venice and Katharine Hepburn.

7. An Affair to Remember (1957). It starts on a vacation and the romantic last scene has snow falling in the background. I still need to see the original.

8. Under the Tuscan Sun (2003). If only I had been able to convince my husband we needed to buy a fixer upper while we were on vacation in Italy!

9. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989). Probably the only list where you will find this movie listed above Stand By Me. For a summer cheesefest you really can’t go wrong with this one.

10. Stand By Me (1986). Was I the only one surprised to find out that Stephen King could write such a sweet and heartwarming coming of age story?

EDITED TO ADD- Grease (1978) You were all so right! It was completely wrong to leave Grease off this list! I’d probably add it in at 5 or 6.

2010 Wrap-Up

December 31, 201010 Comments

2010 by the numbers…

80 books read

63 movies watched

53 books given away

45 Tuesday Quizzes

10 awards- thank you

9 movies reviewed for my Top 100 movie list

7 Quiz prizes awarded

7 Challenges, 6 Fails

4 author interviews- Beth Hoffman, Shirley Tallman, Susan McBride, Marie Semple

3 puzzles found new homes

2 book signings- Beth Hoffman, Tracy Chevalier

2 trips (San Fran & France)

2 blog events – Bloggiesta and Book Bloggers Appreciation Week

1 book blogger met in person- Bonnie from Redlady’s Reading Room and I met for the Beth Hoffman signing and again for coffee.

1 book read and reviewed with another blogger. Molly of The Bumbles Blog read War & Peace with me and made it fun 🙂

1 Baby Gage arrival

2010 Movie Favorites

December 30, 201011 Comments

I love movies and with an infant in the house it is nice that watching movies is something I can share with my husband and still take care of the baby. So, I’m sure 2011 will bring more moving watching and less book reading. This year I’ve added reviews of some of my favorite movies- Only You, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, A Few Good Men, Four Weddings And a Funeral, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Romancing the Stone, Silence of the Lambs, Pride & Prejudice miniseries. The rest of my favorite 100 movies is here. It’s an ongoing project.

I also keep track of movies I see for the first time in my monthly 5 word reviews. This year I watched 63 movies and here are my favorite 10 with their 5 words…

Dreams. Orginal. Ending Greatly Debated.

Endearing Robot Saves 2805 Earth.

Quirky Charming Original Un-Love Story.

Politics Sure Hasn’t Changed Much.

War. Iraq. Bombs. Tense Thriller.

Funny. Bateman & Affleck are perfect.

Sweet Piggy Fairy Tale. Fun.

Crime Scene Cleanup Made Heartwarming.

Sweet Romantic Comedy. Minnesota Flavor.

Must see 3D. Visually stunning.

2010 Book Favorites

December 29, 2010December 29, 201024 Comments

I only read 80 books this year. I knew I’d been reading less, but I had no idea it was only 80 until I counted them up last night. At the beginning of the year I set my reading goal at 105 with 12 of those being fiction and I did read 10 non-fiction and I consider that a success considering how many fewer books I actually read. A few interesting stats…

I read 51 women authors and 29 men.

The state I most visited was California followed closely by New York.

I read 7 Brenda Joyce books, making her my most read author.

And now for the FAVORITE FIVE BOOKS I READ THIS YEAR (in order)…

I’m not much of a memoir reader so I am surprised to find this my very favorite read this year. Reviewed here.

A historical romance that will keep you reading far past when it’s time for bed. Reviewed here.

You chose it for me and I was surprised at how much I loved this novel set in Spain in the 1940’s. Reviewed here.

I had no idea I liked magical realism. An enchanting read. Reviewed here.

Little Cee Cee grew up not far from where I live in Ohio but it wasn’t until her move south that she blossomed. Reviewed here.

NPR’s top 100 Killer Thrillers

August 7, 2010August 8, 201032 Comments

I love a good thriller, so when I saw that NPR was allowing us to vote for our favorites I was more than happy to cast my ballot. The results are now in (the link is here) and I now have a great list of thriller recommended reads. With over 1000,000 votes cast I think it’s a fairly comprehensive list. I’ve bolded the few I’ve read and commented on what I thought. What do you think of the list? Do you see a favorite that I need to read first?

1. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Kiss the Girls, by James Patterson
4. The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum
5. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote – Just read this for the first time in January. My review here.
6. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown – Gripping page turner.
7. The Shining, by Stephen King – Listened to the audio of this one in March. My review here.
8. And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
9. The Hunt tor Red October, by Tom Clancy – My first and only Clancy. Surprised that I liked it so much.
10. The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
11. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
12. The Stand, by Stephen King
13. The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver – Love this one and the whole series. My review here.
14. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
15. Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown – Fun hunt through Italy. My review here.
16. A Time to Kill, by John Grisham – It’s been a very long time but I remember liking it .
17. The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton
18. Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
19. The Day of the Jackal, by Frederick Forsyth
20. Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier – I know I was supposed to love it but I didn’t
21. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett
22. It, by Stephen King
23. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
24. The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson
25. Jaws, by Peter Benchley
26. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
27. Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris
28. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
29. The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett
30. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larsson
31. No Country For Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
32. Gone Baby Gone, by Dennis Lehane
33. Gorky Park, by Martin Cruz Smith
34. Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin
35. Subterranean, by James Rollins
36. Clear and Present Danger, by Tom Clancy
37. Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King
38. Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane – I liked this one. My review here.
39. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John Le Carre
40. The Poet, by Michael Connelly – My first and only Connelly so far, but it was good. My review here.
41. The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin
42. Cape Fear, by John MacDonald
43. The Bride Collector, by Ted Dekker
44. Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
45. Dead Zone, by Stephen King
46. The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon
47. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, by John Le Carre
48. The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith
49. Tell No One, by Harlan Coben – My first and favorite Coben and I’ve read them all.
50. Consent to Kill, by Vince Flynn
51. The 39 Steps, by John Buchan
52. Blowback, by Brad Thor
53. The Children of Men, by P.D. James
54. 61 Hours, by Lee Child
55. Marathon Man, by William Goldman
56. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
57. 206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs
58. Psycho, by Robert Bloch
59. The Killing Floor, by Lee Child – Just started this series last year and am loving it. My review here.
60. Rules of Prey, by John Sandford – A big fan of this series. My love affair with Lucas begins with this one.
61. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
62. In the Woods, by Tana French
63. Shogun, by James Clavell
64. The Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
65. Intensity, by Dean Koontz – This is very intense 🙂
66. Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming
67. Metzger’s Dog, by Thomas Perry
68. Timeline, by Michael Crichton
69. Contact, by Carl Sagan
70. What the Dead Know, by Laura Lippman
71. The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
72. The Cabinet of Curiosities, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
73. Charm School, by Nelson DeMille
74. Feed, by Mira Grant
75. Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child
76. Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay
77. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
78. The First Deadly Sin, by Lawrence Sanders
79. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
80. The Brotherhood of the Rose, by David Morrell
81. Primal Fear, by William Diehl
82. The Templar Legacy, by Steve Berry
82. The Hard Way, by Lee Child [tie]
84. The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper
85. Six Days of the Condor, by James Grady
86. Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
87. Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith
88. The Eight, by Katherine Neville
89. The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
90. Goldfinger, by Ian Fleming
91. Bangkok 8, by John Burdett
92. The Kill Artist, by Daniel Silva
93. Hardball, by Sara Paretsky
94. The Club Dumas, by Arturo Perez-Reverte
95. The Deep Blue Good-by, by John MacDonald
96. The Monkey’s Raincoat, by Robert Crais
96. Berlin Game, by Len Deighton [tie]
98. A Simple Plan, by Scott Smith – This is a great book and one of my faves. More people should read it.
99. Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
100. Heartsick, by Chelsea Cain

Historical Romances

July 18, 2010July 18, 201032 Comments

As a teen historical romances were my favorite escape reading and this probably continued through college. As an English Education major I had to read lots of classics and the historicals were like a reading vacation. Many people don’t read romances. Think they are predictable, all about sex, or poorly written and some of them are, but not the good ones. I’m a romantic and I like knowing that when I pick up a romance it is not going to depress me. It is a comfort read.

As a teen I read a lot of LaVyrle Spencer, but for the life of me I cannot remember any of them specifically. I’m going to have to try her again and see what I think. Here are a few current favorites…

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is not your ordinary historical romance. It has adventure, history and magic too. And best of all, it’s smart. I always recommend this one for those that claim they hate historical romance. This one is an original. I’ve read the first four in the series and need to get to the next two. And if you ever have a chance to hear Diana Gabaldon speak, do it! She’s a delight.

Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati is another great one and it doesn’t get enough attention. This one is set in 1792 when an Englishwoman settles in New York village. She meets a Mohawk and finds herself drawn to him and his ways. Not your typical romance. It’s smarter and full of great beauty. It also has several sequels, although this one can be read alone, there are no cliff hangers to make you continue.

I have two favorite authors of historical romance. The first is Judith McNaught. I have read Almost Heaven many times over the years, followed closely by A Kingdom of Dreams. I’ve read every book she’s written and her historicals are the best. It seems that she has stopped writing historicals, but her contemporaries are good too. Brenda Joyce is another favorite. I’ve never been disappointed in her historicals. I reread her Deadly series this year and a few other recent favorites are The Fires of Paradise and Splendor. She’s written so many books that I haven’t read them all, but hope to read all of the historicals someday.

So, do you read historical romances? Do you have a favorite that I should add to my wish list?

2009 Wrap-up, part 2

December 31, 2009January 9, 201012 Comments

Out of the 130 books I read this year (the final 2 to be reviewed in the next week) I gave only 3 a perfect 5 Star rating. I’m picky.

I gave out 15 4 1/2 Stars. To make it a top ten list I’ll choose my favorite 7 from this list.

I see none of these were published in 2009, but that can’t be helped now.

I joined 5 Challenges and COMPLETED THEM ALL!!!! Of course, I should confess I only finished the 100 Mile Challenge today at 3:30 pm after walking 4 miles on the treadmill 🙂

readown3 I made a goal of 50 and reached that number in October.

I finished this one in October too. For each letter I read a title and author.

I realized how little Southern fiction I read and did something about it. I only read 3 books, but liked them all.

I’d never read Austen and enjoyed reading Pride & Prejudice and listening to Sense & Sensibility during this challenge.

I had 3 months to walk 100 miles. As I’ve already confessed it came down to the wire, but I did it!

And this is a monthly challenge where I committed to reading when I could. Of the four months, I’ve participated in 2 and look forward to more screenplays and movies in 2010.

Thanks for reading and commenting! I appreciate each and every one of you 🙂 Have a fun and safe New Year’s Eve.

2009 Wrap-Up, part 1

December 30, 2009January 2, 20105 Comments

It’s been a fun blogging year and I’ll focus on a few of the numbers.

53 – Number of books I gave away

2 – Memes I participated in (Teaser Tuesday & Monday Movies)

9 – Series I continued (Sophie Metropolis by Carrington, Boston PD-FBI by Neggers, Stephanie Plum by Evanovich, Lincoln Rhyme by Deaver, Myron Bolitar by Coben, Lucan Davenport by Sandford, Women’s Murder Club by Patterson, Bailey Weggins mysteries by White, Milan Jacovich by Roberts)

7 – Series I started and plan to continue (Chesapeake Shores Trilogy by Woods, FBI Suspense Thrillers by Coulter, Elm Creek Quilts by Chiaverini, Della Cooks by Wells, Texas Rangers by Neggers, Sarah Woolson by Tallman, Tradd Street by White)

67 – New authors read this year. My favorite discovery must be Deborah Smith since I read 3 of her books this year.

35 – Blog awards received. Thank you!

1 – Author signing (Daniel Levin)

6 – Trip posts (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, New York City, The Wilds of Ohio, Washington DC, Denver/Vail, Kelley’s Island)

100 – Favorite movies list posted.

Stop by tomorrow for my wrap up of favorite books and challenges.

Stacy's Books

books, movies, and boy

Category: lists