E is for Ever Ethan Emerson’s Executioners

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Blogging from A to Z

Daily bookish and filmish picks.

bookThe Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer

This  book about convicts and the death penalty is one that challenged the way I thought about both.  It’s based on a true story in 1976 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980.  I read this 15 or so years ago and I still remember the way it made me feel.  If you can commit to over 1,000 pages, it’s worth it!  I’d say 3 might be a little young to appreciate it but Gage wanted to take a look over breakfast anyway.

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movieEver After, 1998

I’ve seen this movie more times than I’m willing to admit.  This is a  romantic retelling of the fairytale Cinderella as the great great great-granddaughter of the real Cinderella wants to set the record straight.   Drew was luminous as Danielle/Cinderella.  And Angelica Huston as the stepmother?  Perfection.  This is a Cinderella story that I think has a great message for girls.  Hint-Cinderella doesn’t wait to be rescued, she takes care of  that herself.

authorRalph Waldo Emerson

In college, I took a class on transcendental authors during a particularly difficult time, it was the quarter that my grandfather was sick and passed away. I was forced to read and keep a journal and these writers (Emerson, Thoreau) really comforted me somehow.  I’m sure some of my world view comes directly from reading them.  I haven’t taken the time to read them in awhile and I need to remedy that.  Here’s a quote that I need to keep handy as I reach my limit of the new 3-year-old tantrums I’ve been living with.

“Men are what their mothers made them.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you want to try Emerson or think that you should, read Self-Reliance, start here.

actorEthan Hawke

He’s been in some very good movies – Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.  I find him likeable and enjoy his performances.  I did think it was in poor form to knock up the nanny though.  Was he trying to become a cliché?

D is for DaVinci Dirties Deaver Downey

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Blogging from A to Z

These are the same four categories every day and the best match I could come up with for the letter.  It was a good mental exercise!   Some people have been commenting that they are all time favorites, but unless I say so that’s not the case.  But they are the best person, book or movie for each letter 🙂

authorJeffery Deaver

I really love Deaver’s series about a former NYPD criminologist who became a quadriplegic in the line of duty, Lincoln Rhyme. Great mysteries with lots of red herrings and flawed characters.  I’ve read and loved the first 9 of the series and #10 came out last year so I need to find time for it.  The first book, The Bone Collector, was turned into a movie starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie that was pretty good.  I’ve read some of his standalones and prefer to revisit Lincoln instead.  He was a lawyer before turning to writing full-time.  Good choice!

actorRobert Downey Jr.

I first remember seeing Downey in Weird Science back in 1985 (watch this 30 second clip, he’s totally 80’s)

But it wasn’t until the sugary sweet romance, Only You, in 1994 with Marissa Tomei that I recognized his good looks and charm.  He had well-known addiction issues that kept him off the screen for awhile but he managed to keep acting and rebounded with amazing commercial success as Sherlock Holmes and Tony Stark (Iron Man and Avengers movies).  He is so quick and witty that he brings a spark to all of his roles.  I loved him in Tropic Thunder and The Soloist along with many others.  He’s so fun to watch and brings energy to every movie he’s in.

movieDirty Dancing, 1987

This movie takes me back to my teens every time I see it.  There are so many cultural references that make it a must see for teen girls, I think.  I loved the story of an awkward girl falling for an older, much more experienced man and I adore the soundtrack. She’s Like the Wind makes me melancholy when I hear it, maybe, due to the lost innocence of youth.

bookThe DaVinci Code by Dan Brown

I loved this book. Once I started reading it was impossible for me to put down.  Honestly, we were going to a party  (and I love parties) the day I started reading and I took the book with me in the car so that I could read for the 15 minutes it took us to get there, never mind that I get sick if I read in the car.  Luckily no headache but I was grumpy that I had to put it down.

I love puzzles, I love fast-paced thrillers, and I thought the story of a possible descendent of Jesus was captivating.  Some people won’t read it because of the sacrilege of Jesus having a child.  Okay.  But it is fiction so I don’t think your religious views are really going to be challenged here.  I’ve gone on to read all of Dan Brown’s books but this is still my favorite one.  Although I liked Digital Fortress too and that starts with a D 🙂

C is for Craig Coben’s Christian Crash Confederacy

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Blogging from A to Z

Product DetailsAmerican on Purpose by Craig Ferguson. Finished book 4-2-14, rating 4/5, memoir, 268 pages, published 2009

There’s just something about Craig Ferguson that I love.  I don’t often watch his show BUT BG (Before Gage) I was able to catch him more often.  I think it’s the twinkle in his eye, his Scottish accent, and his intelligence that make him so easy to watch.  If you are a fan of his then you should read this book.  It tells of his life growing up in Scotland and his love affair with America from a young age.  He is first rocker, then stand-up comedian, then actor, but through it all he is an alcoholic with a drug problem.  His wrap-up at the end of why he became an American citizen will make you smile,  be a little proud and give some hope for our idealized potential (if you are American).  He tells his stories with humor, embarrassment, appreciation of his good luck, and honesty.  It was good memoir for fans.

This book is in my personal library and I finally read it!

 

authorHarlan Coben

I fell in love with Coben when I first read Tell No One in 2001 and went on to gobble up everything he wrote.  I had a chance to meet him at a book signing in Houston and he was so personable and funny and so appreciative of all the fans who had turned out that it made me that much more happy to support his career.   I actually purchase his new books in hardcover, one of the few I do that for.

bookA Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Some of you may know this Pulitzer Prize winning book (In 1969, at the age of 32 this college instructor took his own life. It was three years later that his mother found his manuscript and handed it over to Walker Percy. He in turn handed it over to the people who would make it a publishing success.)  The tragedy of how it came to be published adds an extra layer to the book, a books that is full of layers already.  It’s satire, the characters are outrageous and the New Orleans setting is perfect.  Not for everyone, but I laughed, a lot, and fell in love with Ignatius J. Reilly.

 

actorChristian Bale

He got me as Bruce Wayne in 2005’s  Batman Begins. I have gone on to watch and love him in so many other movies; The Prestige, 3:10 to Yuma, American Psycho.  The man has range and depth and I’m likely to watch any movie that he’s in the cast.  Do you have a favorite Bale movie?

movieCrash, 2004

I saw this many times the year it came out. I loved each of the individual stories and I loved how they all came together.  It made me think about stereotypes and how much one act or person can affect so many others.  It won an Oscar Best Picture and I don’t think you can go wrong with this all-star cast.

B is for Bullock’s Beloved Blume Breakfast

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Blogging from A to Z

movieBreakfast Club, 1985

breakfast clubAs a child of the 80’s and a lover of all things John Hughes, it is no surprise that this is my choice.  I loved all of Hughes’s movies but this is the one that takes me back to high school.  It’s about the stereotypes we want people fall in line with and how much we can grow when they don’t.  Five students were stuck together for an eight-hour detention (I can’t believe this is ever true, is it?) and  they learn more about how much they are alike than different.  At one point in time I had large chunks of this movie memorized and my friends and I would act out the dialogue.  Fun times 🙂  I hope this classic will stand the test of time, but just for fun let’s do a recast…

The Brain – Josh Hutcherson

The Jock – Taylor Lautner

The Prom Queen – Jennifer Lawrence

The Basket-case – Emma Watson

The Criminal – Alex Pettyfer

The Principal – Bryan Cranston

My cut-ff age was 24.  What do you think?  Have any nominations?  Maybe I’ll chance my dream cast 🙂

actorSandra Bullock

I fell in love with her in While You Were Sleeping in 1995 and have had a girl crush ever since.  That movie is one of my go-to comfort movies.  The woman can do little wrong (Except maybe choose better husbands in real life. Never did get the whole Jesse James thing).  She is pretty and funny and has a sparkle in her eye just to let you know that she’s on to you.  The Proposal and The Blind Side are two other favorite performances, she won an Oscar for The Blind Side.  Do you have a favorite Sandy movie?

bookBeloved by Toni Morrison

When I read this in 2012 I fell in love.  The writing is perfection and the story of ex-slaves after the war was heartbreaking and triumphant.  I consider this a must read, but be prepared for a slow start.  Don’t give up, it’s worth the ride.

 Paul D had only begun, what he was telling her was only the beginning when her fingers on his knee, soft and reassuring, stopped him.  Just as well.  Just as well.  Saying more might push them both to a place they couldn’t get back from.  He would keep the rest where it belonged: in that tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be.  Its lid rusted shut.  He would not pry it loose now in front of this sweet sturdy woman, for if she got a whiff of the contents it would shame him.  (p. 86)

I just checked the movie out of the library and am anxious to see if  Oprah can do Sethe justice.

authorJudy Blume

I still have my childhood copy of Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret and it’s well-worn.  I don’t know many women my age that didn’t read it.  Blume gets it.  She wrote about getting your period, masturbation, teen sex, divorce. bullies, all things that are still so relevent today.  She didn’t shy away from hot button topics.  I remember a copy of Forever (there was sex!) was passed around in the fifth grade like it was porn and I guess in the fifth grade it was!  I’ve read most of her books for younger teens and even her few adult books (they didn’t work as well for me, but Wifey had t he same embracing of taboo subjects) and consider her a classic children and young adult and pre-teen author.  I wonder how she reads to the new generation. Do they still read her books?

 

A is for Audrey’s Absolutely Allen Apartment w/ an Autism Quiz

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Blogging from A to Z

April is Autism Awareness month and as many of you know my son is on the mild side of the spectrum.  People see mild and think everything is okay and they’d be mostly right. It’s been over a year since his diagnosis and he has made so many strides (the school system keeps telling me he doesn’t need what I ask for because he is too high functioning and while that’s nice to hear it is not at all helpful) but equal strides have been made in my thinking and accepting of the diagnosis. We are in a much happier place than we were a year ago, but it has come through hard times and hard work (most of that by Gage).  His story is still being written.

There are quite a few characters in fiction that are on the autism spectrum and that’s this week’s quiz.  See if you can match these titles with their character who is or is most likely on the spectrum.

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 extras 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 Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time (Haddon)   A. Christopher Boone

2. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Foer)       E. Oskar Schell    

3. The Rosie Project  (Simsion)        H. Don Tillman

4. Oryx & Crake (Atwood)          J. Crake    

5. Al Capone Does My Shirts (Choldenko)       I. Natalie Flanagan             

6. Someone Else’s Love Story (Jackson)        G. William Ashe     

7. Marcelo in the Real World (Sandoval)       D. Marcelo Sandoval 

8. House Rules (Picoult)       C. Jacob Hunt    

9. Dear John (Sparks)      F. Alan         

10. Love Anthony    B. Anthony Donatelli 

And as promised, here are my A favorites…

actorAudrey Hepburn

I’ve loved her since my teens and her luminous beauty and graceful spirit still draw me to her movies to this day.  Did you know she is the daughter of a Dutch baroness?   She spent her later years as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and died too young at 63.  My favorite movie of hers is Breakfast at Tiffany’s, one of my all-time faves.  And I really love  Roman Holiday and Two for the Road too, one at the beginning and one at the end of her great career.

bookAbsolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I have a favorite A title for three different periods of my life and this happens to fit my current state, even though it is a young adult book.  Jason and I listened to the audio read by the author on a road trip and fell in love with it.  Fiction loosely based on Alexie’s life growing up on the Spokane reservation, Junior will steal your heart.  It’s funny and heartbreaking at the same time, not an easy thing to achieve.

authorSarah Addison Allen

I could have just as easily said Jane Austen, but Jane sometimes makes me work for the pay-off and Sarah just lets me have the fun.  I love the lightness and the ease of her writing and the magical element she seamlessly makes a part of the story.  I’ve read all of her books and still consider her first, Garden Spells my favorite.

movieThe Apartment (1960)

This comedy is full of laughs but also has a dark edge to it that makes it stick with you after it’s done.  Lemmon is a nice guy who gets taken advantage of and MacLaine is a naive girl who gets taken advantage of and this bond forms a friendship.  This won a Best Picture Oscar and Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were also nominated for Oscars.

Blogging from A to Z and a WINNER!

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Blogging from A to Z

Last year I participated in this challenge, to post something for every letter of the alphabet in April, and had fun.  This year I decided to try it again but with a bit of a different spin.  I will still have regular posts (quizzes on Tuesdays, some book reviews, etc.) but I will also be sharing my favorites for each letter.

bookmovieauthoractorI know you will all will be on the edge of your seats waiting to see my picks 🙂  Maybe we’ll have some sort of vote at the end! It’s been a fun exercise for me and I’ve realized that you may want to change your name to something starting with X of you want more recognition!

I hope you’ll stick with me through April’s alphabet.

And now for the winner of Sarah Addison Allen’s latest, Lost Lake (chosen by my friend Henrietta)……..

Hannah! (Word Lily)

Thanks to all who entered.  Stay tuned. I have a few fun things to give away this month 🙂

March’s movies with $ for charity

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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 $18

Dallas Buyers Club poster.jpgDallas Buyers Club, 2013 (Cast-Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto. Jennifer Garner)      Grade A

Captivating and worthwhile HIV/AIDS story.  

Sad, Based on true story.  (Pat)

Updated Declasse Philadelphia is Outstanding.  (Jill)

 

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Poster.jpgSeeking a Friend For the End of the World, 2012. (Cast-Steve Carrell, Kiera Knightley, Adam Brody)      Grade B

Last moment, who’s with you?

 

Lead characters Tris and Four stand above a futuristic Chicago.Divergent, 2014 (Cast-Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Ashley Judd, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney)      Grade B-

 Decent Dystopia with good leads.

Hold on and be brave.  (Nise)

Hot Theo James with Shailene.  (Jill)

 

Identity Thief Poster.jpgIdentity Thief, 2013 (Cast-Melissa McCarthy, Jason Bateman, Amanda Peet)     Grade-C

Lotsa goofy, not enough laughs.

 

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.

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen w/ GIVEAWAY

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Lost LakeLost Lake. Finished 3-19-14, rating 4.25/5, fiction, 294 pages. pub. 2014

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it’s the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn’t believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake’s owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake’s magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found.

from Goodreads

There are so many things to love about Allen’s writing.  She has a light, lyrical quality that encourages fast and happy reading.  And even though I always consider her books happy, she embraces difficult topics, like how to move on when who you love has died.  Her characters are always so true and somewhat quirky and the icing on the cake is the magic that movies the story along.  All of these make her books a delight to read.  This was no exception.

Kate, her lively daughter Devin, and her great-aunt Eby are great anchors to this story of never giving up.  Strong females at different stages in life but able to lean on each other as family.  Kate, once she had woken up from her year of grief, saw Devin’s spirit and let her be exactly who she wanted to be.  It was heartwarming.

Lost Lake made me wish it were a real place so I could make my reservations today.  I loved the idea of the whole town getting behind Eby so she doesn’t sell her property.  I loved each unique character’s back story. They were all engaging.  I loved the romance of Paris.  This is great Southern fiction with charm and the magic of childhood.

My only complaint is that  it needed to be longer.  It felt somewhat unfinished, or maybe just hurried.  Or maybe it’s just that I didn’t it to end because I have to wait so long for another one to be written!

There’s a Facebook Quiz to see which character you’d be and I got Kate- “Who you are now is not who you started out to be. Your life is a journey. You follow the signs. Even when you’re lost, you don’t lose faith that you will get to where you’re supposed to be eventually.”  If you take the quiz come back and tell me what character you got, I’d love to know!

I received this book from She Reads.  Go on over and see what other bloggers think about this one.

I ended up with two copies of this one so I’m giving one away.  Let me know you want it by leaving a comment and including your email address. And if you want to earn extra entries you can visit (or revisit) yesterday’s Lost quiz.  I’ll draw a winner Monday at noon.

 

Lost Quiz with Lost Lake giveaway! – CLOSED

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I mentioned a few weeks ago that I ended up with 2 hardcover copies of the new Sarah Addison Allen book Lost Lake Lost Lake and was going to give one away. Well, now’s the time!  My review will post tomorrow and you can get entries for the giveaway both days.

No cheating (using the web to help find answers) or copying.  You have til Monday (3/31) to enter.  All extras can be found here.

Leave your guesses in the comment section.  

Fill in the titles.  Each GUESS will earn you one entry (and every Correct answer will get you 10 points for the big prize).

 

1. Lost in a Good Book (Fforde)

2. Paradise Lost (Milton)

3. The Lost Symbol (Brown)

4. The Book of Lost Things (Connolly)

5. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent (Alvarez)

6. Lost Memory of Skin (Banks)

7.  Lost Souls (Brite)

8. The Keeper of Lost Causes (Adler-Olsen)

9. Lost Boy Lost Girl (Straub)

10. The Lost City of Z (Grann)

Mailbox Monday – March 24

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mmb-300x282Mailbox 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.

IMG_5755Only one book this week, but a good one!   This was a win from Luxury Reading.

Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

At the age of thirty-five, Fanny van de Grift Osbourne leaves her philandering husband in San Francisco and sets sail for Belgium to study art, with her three children and a nanny in tow. Not long after her arrival, however, tragedy strikes, and Fanny and her brood repair to a quiet artists’ colony in France where she can recuperate. There she meets Robert Louis Stevenson, ten years her junior, who is instantly smitten with the earthy, independent and opinionated belle Americaine.

from Goodreads

So did anything fun arrive in your mailbox this week?