My Ohio author tour

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Last week I posted about the Ohioana Book Festival and it has inspired me to spend the rest of this month and June reading Ohio authors.  Maybe it will last longer I don’t know, there are so many authors to choose from.  Although Ohio has a rich history of renowned authors I think I’m going to focus on author’s still writing today.  I’m hoping to discover a few new faces.  I think this could be a good challenge for any of you wanting to discover your home states and invite you to join me.

A few authors I’ll be reading…

Regina Brett (newspaper columnist and Pulitzer Prize finalist)

Les Roberts (a Cleveland transplant.  Love his Milan mystery series)

Carrie Bebris (a festival discovery)

Susan Gee Heino (another festival discovery who writes historical romances)

Julie Anne Lindsey (a self-published festival discovery whose title and cover made me buy her book)

Thrity Umrigar (Another Cleveland transplant who I met at a book signing)

Bob Adamov (writes a series of books about Put-in-Bay, the island next to the one we spent a week at every year)

Karen Harper, Casey Daniels…

I really don’t think I’ll be able to read all of these by the end of June, but I can hope!  Or maybe I’ll find even more authors I have to read and continue all summer 🙂

Mark Ruffalo was in that? Quiz

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We saw The Avengers last weekend and really liked it.  It had a great cast, including a few of my favorite actors, like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L Jackson, and Mark Ruffalo.   I’ve listed Ruffalo’s characters in the order that I like the movies best with the name of a co-star or two. These are only movies I’ve seen.  Can you identify the movie?

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling!

This round will last til August.  The person with the most points will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Have fun and Good Luck!  Last week’s Mom Quiz here.  Leaderboard and rules here.

 1. Paul (2010)- Annette Bening and Julianne Moore couldn’t have had their 2 kids without him. The Kids Are All Right (2010)

2. Fanning (2004)- Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx are the leads of this thriller. Collateral (2004)

3. Matt Flamhaff (2004) – Jennifer Garner was the timeless love interest. 13 Going on 30 (2004)

4. Brad Sullivan (2010)- Tina Fey and Steve Carrell were having a bad night. Date Night (2010)

5. Chuck Aule (2010)- Leo DiCaprio helped make this movie based on a Dennis Lehane novel a good one. Shutter Island (2010)

6. Inspector David Toschl (2007)- Based on a non-fiction book by Robert Graysmith about the hunt for a serial killer.  Also starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr.  Zodiac (2007)

7. Bruce Banner/The Hulk (2012) – no description necessary. The Avengers (2012)

8. David (2005) – a very unreal/real Reese Witherspoon played his love interest. Just Like Heaven (2005)

9. Yates (2001) – Robert Redford goes to prison. The Last Castle (2001)

10. Stan (2004) – Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet had a few problems.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

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Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Series #1)Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Finished audio 5-17-12, rating 4/5, YA, pub. 2012

Book 1 of The Lunar Chronicles

Unabridged audio 10 hours. Read by Rebecca Soler

Cinder is 16, New Beijing’s best mechanic, and a cyborg.  After the 4th World War the Earth divided itself into peaceful provinces and the real threat is from the moon, where the Lunars are ruled by the evil Queen Levana.  For Cinder there is evil at home too as she is owned by her guardian, Adri, who resents her very presence.  Cinder has two “step-sisters” and is lucky to call one a friend.  Unfortunately, that one friend is stricken with the plague, an epidemic that no one in New Bejing survives.

I remember reading reviews for this when it came out in January and actually won a copy (forgive me for not remembering where) of the audio.  It sat on my shelf until I was caught without an audio book for the car (Gage is going to be a very well read little man :))  I knew it was a Cinderella retelling and that everyone seemed to like it, but didn’t remember much else and that’s probably a good thing.

For someone like me who doesn’t read a lot about cyborgs I needed to check the definition, which was embarrassingly simple.  A bionic human.  Okay.  So, then it made sense when Cinder found out she was 36% cyborg, limbs and all.  In New Beijing cyborgs are essentially slaves so Cinder is mistreated by her guardian.  Imagine Cinder’s luck then, when Prince Kai shows up at her mehanic booth at the weekly market and needs her help.  Sparks fly and Cinder is relieved when Kai doesn’t realize she was cyborg.

I was surprised that I enjoyed this so much.  I loved the audio, Rebecca Soler did a fabulous job.  As much as I liked it, the big reveal was fairly obvious from early on, but Soler’s performance and a few turns here and there made it a very fun story.  I will seek out the audio when the next book comes out.  Which leads me to my big complaint…

The non-ending ending.  I dislike when books do this, even series books.  I was probably more mad at myself that I had forgotten it was a series, but still!

This book was a fun, exciting and very modern retelling of the Cinderella story and I loved it, obviousness and all.  I’m looking forward to the next one (stupid cliffhanger).

A Cold with Gage

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This was supposed to be a post about My Gym closing this week.  The My Gym that Gage went to 3 times a week and where we both made friends.  I’m going to need find a new morning activity for us.  Yesterday Jason was going to go and take pictures, but on Saturday morning at 2:30 am when I went to check on Gage, I found a sick boy.

We have hacking coughs, a runny nose, runny eyes, diarrhea and a fever.  All in time for Jason’s dad to visit from Michigan and for his last class at My Gym (Where I’m sure he got the cold in the first place.  Maybe I should have continued the circle and taken him anyway !)

He acted fairly well for as sick as he was and I thought for sure he’d sleep well last night.  Little ones really don’t care what their parents think.  Gage ended up in bed with us at 12:30 and was up because he couldn’t breathe through his nose/coughing at 2:30 am.  Again.  So, Jason and I took shifts until I finally got him to sleep from 8 til 9:30 in the guest bed with me (I didn’t want to interrupt Jason’s few hours of sleep).

Somehow Gage operates better with little sleep than his parents.  This is Gage’s first real cold and I am not a fan.

Fave Film #67 – Speed

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Speed1994

Cast-Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels.

LA SWAT officers, Jack and Harry are called to a downtown highrise when a bomber calls in a ransom demand, holding an elevator full of hostages.  When they are able to thwart him, the bomber disappears, presumed dead.  It’s hard to keep a good villain dead in an action movie and the bomber shows up again, only this time he’s holding a bus hostage and Jack is the only one who can save them.  Well, and Annie, as long as she keeps the bus going over 50 miles per hour.

Why I love it – I’ll start with two of the leads, both of which I love.  Keanu has never been better as the tough and buff hero.  If I were in a hostage situation I’d love Jack/Keanu to save me.  And then kiss me at the end like he did Annie/Sandy.  And Sandra was perfection in the role of Annie.  She drove that bus over that large gap in the overpass like a professional bus racer.  She was rattled but never lost her sparkle.  They both had excellent chemistry.  Dennis Hopper was a great villain with just enough angst and crazy to make it work.  Jeff Daniels was perfect as the long suffering partner trying to impart his years of wisdom to the instinctual driven Jack.  Their friendship was a real bright spot for me.

In many action movies like this there are parts (usually extended car chases or fist fights) that leave me bored and my mind wandering, but this movie never had a dull moment.  From the excitement of the elevator dropping in the first scene to the careening subway at the end this was non-stop excitement.   Perfectly paced and just enough special effects to make it fun.

Yes, as with most thrillers like this, you have to leave your common sense at the play button, but if you do you’re in for a treat.

Check out the rest of my 100 favorite movies

Ohiana Book Festival and book blogger meet-up

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Last Saturday my mom and I attended the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus and we can thank Carol for the wonderful day since it was her post that intrigued me.  We had a fun time going to a few of the panels, visiting the author tables, and meeting Carol and her husband and daughter.  I didn’t even recognize her (she doesn’t post enough pics of herself on her blog) but I knew who Amber was right away.  We only visited for a few minutes, but hopefully next year we can work in some more time.  She was lovely.

The panels

Columbus at 200 with Raimund Goerler, David Meyers, Arnett Howard, Nellie Kampmann

  • I grew up about 40 minutes east of Columbus and graduated from Ohio State so I was interested to see what kind of things they would share.  Goerler wrote a book about the history of Ohio State that I’m pretty sure I’ll be unwrapping for my birthday in October.
  • Kampmann talked about the haunted places around town and her experiences with ghosts.  Although I have no intention of reading her book I was most fascinated by her stories.

Fiction:Mystery series with Les Roberts, Casey Daniels, Carrie Bebris

  • This is my fourth time listening to Les Roberts speak and it never gets old.
  • I was surprised to learn that Daniels has a mystery series set in Lakeview Cemetery, one of my favorite Cleveland places.  I am very excited to start this series.
  • Bebris writes a series of books that blend Austen novels “in which the married Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice become entangled in intrigue with other Austen characters.” I picked up the first one!

Novel Ideas:Creating Fiction with Karen Harper and Robin Yocum

  • This one was fun because you had an author with 20 books and a brand new novelist sharing the way they approach writing.  I also thought it was interesting to hear Karen talk about the difference in British marketing and why some of her books are bestsellers over there and not here. (Hint:they add Queen to the title over there)

I only came home with three books, but I am going to make it a goal to read all three plus a few other Ohio authors for the next month or so.  I hope you’ll enjoy my Ohio author reading tour!

Mom Quiz

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I know I should have been together enough to get this up last week, but that didn’t happen so here it is a little late. These are noteworthy mothers, good and bad.  I’ll take the name of the mom or the book/movie.

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling!

This round will last til August.  The person with the most points will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Have fun and Good Luck!  Last week’s Boggle Quiz here.  Leaderboard and rules here.

1. It couldn’t have been easy raising seven red-headed kids with little money and it got a whole lot tougher when you take in a son’s BFF, one with a shocking tattoo no less, and love him like your own.

2. The prairie was a wonderful place to raise four children, especially one precocious pig-tailed girl who went on to write about her childhood.

3.

4. This was one tough chick.  She had to fight to stay alive so that one day in the future her son could save mankind.  Good thing she was so buff.

5. This mother had to wear her shame for life after bearing an illegitimate daughter.

6. Having to choose which child will live and which will die is enough to drive this mother into a dangerous depression.

7.

8.

9. The original mom who was a temptress with an apple.

10. This saintly mother of four daughters endures hardship and still inspires.

Mother’s Day with Gage

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The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

The only mothers it is safe to forget on Mother’s Day are the good ones.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960

Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.  ~Linda Wooten

Happy Mother’s day to all.

Guess where I am today?

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When I saw Carol’s post about Ohiana Book Festival I thought it looked like a lot of fun and then I saw it was the day before Mother’s Day and thought it would be a great Mother/Daughter day.  I know my mom will miss spending the day with Gage, but I’m looking forward to a day full of girl time and books.  There will be around 100 authors and 25 different panel discussions.

Carol (Carol’s Notebook) and I are planning  to meet up at some point and I hope that happens!