Ok, I know I’ve been pretty inconsistent with the Tuesday quizzes this last month and I would like to say I’ll do better, BUT I won’t. I worked on a quiz last night (a fun one I’ve never done before) and I couldn’t get it to work on the blog. I’m going to play around with it this week and see if I can figure it out, but I don’t have any more time to devote to it today.
Carry on with your Tuesday 🙂
Answers to last week’s quiz here.
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week.Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
It’s been over a month since I participated so I have a few things (and probably more than a few that I forgot already). Before Easter, this wonderful surprise arrived from Cheryl & Co. I definitely like to receive free books, but maybe yummy cookies just as much 🙂 Thank you to the authors who sent the cute cookie.
I pre-ordered the new Christopher Moore book so that I could get the special signed edition. It’s a beautiful book.
I picked up these at local bookstores from the clearance shelves, all for a dollar or two.
Oh, I almost forgot that I received The Shadow Year by Hannah Richell from She Reads. I’m reading it now and really liking it.
So, what arrived in your mailbox this week?
The End of Everything. Finished audio 4-19-14, rating 3/5. fiction, pub. 2011
Unabridged audio 8 1/2 hours, read by Emily Bauer
Thirteen-year-old Lizzie Hood and her next-door neighbor, Evie Verver, are inseparable, best friends who swap clothes, bathing suits, and field-hockey sticks and between whom, presumably, there are no secrets. Then one afternoon, Evie disappears, and as a rabid, giddy panic spreads through the balmy suburban community, everyone turns to Lizzie for answers. Was Evie unhappy, troubled, or upset? Had she mentioned being followed? Would she have gotten into the car of a stranger?
Compelled by curiosity, Lizzie takes up her own furtive pursuit of the truth. Haunted by dreams of her lost friend and titillated by her own new power as the center of the disappearance, Lizzie uncovers secret after secret and begins to wonder if she knew anything at all about her best friend.from Goodreads
Once I finished this book, the one word that kept coming to mind was creepy. Our narrator, Lizzie, perhaps most of all. Her reaction at the disappearance of her best friend was puzzling to me, mainly because there didn’t seem to be one. Her almost-casual willingness to help find her was all about spending time with Mr. Verver. There were a lot of damaged characters in this book, but none so more than Lizzie.
The writing was good and the mystery surrounding Evie kept me reading, so I’d consider checking out another from this author, but the over-sexualized barely teen girls of this one will probably leave a bad taste in my mouth for awhile.
I know lots of bloggers loved this one, so I do wonder if the narration led to some of disappointment.
I own the hardcover book (even though I listened to the audio) and since it’s not something I want to keep, I’m offering it to one of you free of charge!
Leave a comment with your email address and I’ll throw your name in to win. I’ll draw a winner on May 15th!
It’s May and the sun has finally shown up here. It’s time to start planning an August trip. Are you guys going anywhere fun?
Just tell me which covers you recognize. You get and extra few points if you know the author too.
Take your best guesses, be entered to win a prize. No cheating (using the web to help find answers) or copying. You have til Sunday to enter. All extra details can be found here.
Leave your guesses in the comment section.
You only need to guess one to be eligible for a prize.
1. The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin 2. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole 3. Playing for Pizza by Jogn Grisham 4.What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen 5. The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison 6.The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons 7. The Dive from Clausen’s Pier by Ann Packer 8.In the Bag by Kate Klise 9. Panorama City by Antoine Wilson 10. Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan
Answers to last week’s Digned Books quiz here. Details and Leaderboard here.
Gage has known his letters by sight since before he was two and now at 3 1/2, he’s learning sight words. He knows around 20 or 30 and sometimes he’ll surprise me with one I didn’t know, like this week he had an old book titled ABC Book and pointed to the word book and said, “that is book”. Yep, sure is. Yesterday during his private swim lesson he pointed to his instructor’s swimsuit and asked, “What’s that say?” and when she didn’t answer him fast enough he said “Speedo” and he was right (I’m sure this has more to do with his incredible memory than anything else, but she was impressed :)).
We’re doing worksheets where he circles pictures that start with a particular letter (left) and having him go through a pile of stickers and put only ones that start with a particular letter on the paper (above). He is well above 90% accuracy for both of these exercises. The kid is smart. I’ll have him reading books in no time 🙂
I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month. It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it. I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie. This is ongoing so you can leave your 5 words anytime.
Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine and earn $1 for charity. Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity. Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to. Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.
We’re at $19
Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014 (Cast-Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, F Murray Abraham, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton) Grade B
Fun romp, dragged in middle
Hugely enjoyable romp; that’s all. (Tony)
Draft Day, 2014 (Cast-Kevin Coster, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary) Grade B-
I’m ready for some football!
The Place Beyond the Pines, 2013 (Cast-Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendez) Grade C
Ambitious, rambling take on fatherhood.
Friends with Benefits, 2011 (Cast-Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Woody Harrelson) Grade C
Hot Leads Have Much Sex
Light, chick lit and fun! (Veens)
Eye candy and lovepanky 😉 (Sheree)
The Expendables, 2010 (Cast-Sly Stallone, Jason Stratham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis) Grade D+
Free plastic surgery for everyone!
Many haven’t aged well – eek! (Kay)
Lots of action, little substance (Wendy)
They all are, turns out. (Tony)
I started using Letterboxd this year thanks to Sandy. If you are interested in rating your movies and keeping tabs on your friends, check it out (sort of like Goodreads). I’m stacybuckeye if you want to follow me and get a few more than 5 words about the movies I watched.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Finished 4-26-14. Rating 4.5/5, 260 pages, pub. 2014
A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. His wife has died, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. Slowly but surely, he is isolating himself from all the people of Alice Island-from Lambiase, the well-intentioned police officer who’s always felt kindly toward Fikry; from Ismay, his sister-in-law who is hell-bent on saving him from his dreary self; from Amelia, the lovely and idealistic (if eccentric) Knightley Press sales rep who keeps on taking the ferry over to Alice Island, refusing to be deterred by A.J.’s bad attitude. Even the books in his store have stopped holding pleasure for him. These days, A.J. can only see them as a sign of a world that is changing too rapidly.
And then a mysterious package appears at the bookstore. It’s a small package, but large in weight. It’s that unexpected arrival that gives A. J. Fikry the opportunity to make his life over, the ability to see everything anew. from Goodreads
I spent a few years working in bookstores and loved the experience and, most importantly, the people I worked with. Book people are the best kind of people, diverse in all ways but their love for the written word. So, it is no surprise that I loved this book about small town bookstore owner, A.J. Fikry. When we first meet him he is a depressed man with no interest in being otherwise, until a surprise gift is left in his bookstore. His life changes overnight and so does he. He is a transplant to the small town of Alice and had never truly been embraced, but the bookstore itself becomes a community of the best kind and A.J. is swept into the this giving world when he needs it the most.
Lovers of books and small towns will surely love this breezy book, but anyone who appreciates a look into the mind of a life turned around by love will probably like it too. I think this would make a great tv show. I would love to hang out with these characters once a week to get my literary fix. Loved every page!
I received this book from She Reads. Go on over and see what other bloggers think about this one. HURRY and you can enter to win a free copy!
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I’ve only read The Shadow of the Wind, but I loved it.
Surprisingly good, with a great female lead.
Never a lead, but always solid (Reality Bites & You’ve Got Mail being favorites)
I listened to this one on a road trip when it came out and liked it well enough. And it starts with Z and that means my A to Z April challenge is officially over. And just in time because I’m exhausted 🙂
You Learn by Living by Eleanor RooseveltRoosevelt wrote this book only a few years before she died and in it she chronicles what the many years of her life taught her. She covers a variety of topics: learning, fear, using your time, maturity, readjustments, usefulness, individuality, getting the best out of people, responsibility, politics participation, and being a public servant. This book holds up remarkably well and many of the affairs of the world are eerily relevant today.
Eleanor was born to privilege and the book makes that evident. Some of the advice, while coming from a good place, seems somewhat elitist. On the other hand, she is a woman who has seen the people of the world at their best and worst and has come away with a passion for life and making the world a better place. Her antidotes about some of the important men of the day, her lunch with Calvin Coolidge and conversation with Mr. Krushchev are two that come to mind, make the book that much more interesting. I found the book enlightening, inspiring, and educational.
Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942A biopic film of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan, from his start in his family’s vaudeville act to his success on Broadway. A true American success story.
The choreography and music of the stage shows is based on the original Cohan productions and are showstoppers. It feels like getting a behind the scenes looks at a way of life few get to experience and knowing Cohan was a real person makes it all that more enjoyable.
The music and story will make you feel proud to be an American without that theme seeming heavy-handed or political. This is the story of America before and during the two World Wars and patriotism is inherent to the time.
Burt Young?I liked him in the Rocky movies and his name does start with Y. That’s all I got.
Yann Martel?I’ve only read Life of Pi, but Y is a hard letter for names!
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog yesterday and read my 24 Hour Read-a-Thon posts. You made it my busiest day ever in my 6+ years of blogging with 735 visitors 🙂
X-Men, 2000Fun, fun , fun. And it introduced us to Wolverine. Great cast and not quite your typical superhero movie. Thumbs up!
the TriXie Belden seriesI loved this series as a kid. I see that they reissued it in 2003 and it makes me want to go back and read about 13-year-old Trixie, who I always liked better than Nancy Drew 🙂
Jude DeverauXI read so many of her historical romances growing up (A Knight in Shining Armor showing up on this list already) and based on that, feel good about listing her as a favorite. I prefer her older titles to the few recent books of hers I’ve read.
Try as I might I just can’t seem to think of an actor or actress who I feel comfortable listing as a favorite. I could’ve used Joaquin Phoenix but I already used him for J. Is there any actor with an x in their name who you would consider a favorite? Am I missing someone?
Another Read-a-Thon is in the books!I’m always amazed at how many people enjoy my mini-challenges and am thankful. It makes me want to be even more creative next time. This year 79 people stopped by and left comments – holy smokes!
Thank you to the fearless leaders who make this event the very best twice a year, Heather and Andi!!! You guys rock! Ieven won a prize this year, woo hoo 🙂
Stacy's Books 