Sunday Salon 3/5/17

Sunday again already, the first Sunday of March at that. Is it just me or does the year seem to be flying by already? I have not gotten as much reading as I wanted to do this week, my brain has been a little bit “squirrel” feeling this last week, but I am learning to not be so hard on myself for the weeks like that. What I did read quite a bit of this week was preparations to make sure I am caught up on my Read it first personal challenge. There are so many good movies coming out in the future or that have recently come out based on books. TV is starting to get a little bit more into that as well. Two examples that are coming up this year are the Hulu original series The Handmaids tale and the ABC series Time after Time.

I am a little conflicted over The handmaids tale, I know for many it is a classic and one that they really enjoyed, but for me the book has always just been a little bit, meh. Among just my friends on Goodreads I know I am in the minority as most of my friends gave it a much better rating than I did. Yes, I only gave it 1 gem/star if anyone remembers my review of it. If not here is the link and you can see it for yourself, at least there is a Doctor who reference in my review right? I want to give the show a chance though and I am sitting here laughing at myself and asking why? I clearly did not like the book. Well the short and simple answer is because I wanted to like the book and sometimes I am actually upset at myself for not liking the book. There is so much there that in general I like, but I guess it is one of those things that for me it never came together. I am going to give the show a chance though, I really hope I like it better than the book. Stranger things have happened, right? I mean I liked True Blood as a whole much better than I liked The Southern Vampire mysteries (lets not go down that rabbit hole with how much I hated the “last” installment).

Time after Time however, oh boy it has all of the elements to be fantastic. You have a great plot, fun history to work with and a little eye candy never hurts right? This is not the first adaptation of the book by Karl Alexander of course, there was the movie with the same name done in 1979 (same year as the book and funny enough the movie screenplay was written up before the book was finished) which was touted as being filmed in Panavision ooo! In a world of reboots (I am not a fan of all of them trust me. Footloose not cool and now Dirty Dancing SERIOUSLY?) I feel this is one that actually is worth visiting again and playing around with more.

Despite my slow reading progress this week I am actually slowly starting to feel like I am getting my book mojo back, which I take as a good sign overall. I went on a spree this morning of adding a whole slew of Historical fictions that I have missed over the last few years to my want to read list. I had to say sorry to my Facebook friends since my Goodreads activity posts there, LOL. Reading mojo may be waking up like a slow bear after hibernation, but I am so happy to see it again. I find that it also makes me want to get back to writing for myself, instead of just doing it for freelance work. There is the inspired feeling of wanting to sink my teeth into writing something historical, maybe even an alternative history. Beyond that, I have a feeling that I am going to end up feeling very inspired to make creations for my shop once I dig into a bunch of books again. I often get teased by loved ones who say I could find inspiration is a puddle, but seriously as stimulating as movies and TV shows can be for creativity (I want to make ALL the things from Outlander and the Tudors? So many pretty things!) I find books are fantastic for that as well, mostly because you can completely build the vision yourself. You get the context and of course the description from the writer, but it is your mind that can see it come to life without someone else putting their stamp on it, beyond the writer of course.

So I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Sunday and that the week you have coming ahead is enjoyable as well. I’ll be back for Musing Monday for now it’s time to go poke around my kindle a bit and line up a short list TBR for the upcoming weeks.

Teaser Tuesday 2/28/17

Teaser Tuesday

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

“When seasoned by the subtleties of accident, harmony, favor, wisdom, and inevitability, luck takes on the cast of serendipity. Serendipity happens when a well-trained mind looking for one things encounters something else: the unexpected.”
― Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

Musing Monday 2/27/17

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEKS RANDOM QUESTION: Have you ever accidentally destroyed a book? Such as accidentally dropped it in the tub, or run it over with a bike? How about accidentally on purpose or simply purposefully?

Before I go in and answer this weeks random question, I just want to say Thank you to everyone who has come over to this blog for the Musing Monday & Teaser Tuesday posts. I can admit I was a little nervous to take over, since the meme was so well established by a wonderful host. I am trying hard to be creative and make things fun and I appreciate everyone who posts. If you ever have any suggestions of questions you would like to see posted, feel free to drop me a line I will happily take submissions and give you credit unless you want to remain anonymous.

 

Now here we go about this weeks random question. I have sadly accidentally destroyed several books. I am glad to not have done so in a while, but oh many there was a period of time where I did it a lot I felt like a person bringing doom upon books. Just a few ways I accidentally destroyed books:

Dropped in tub

Dropped in snowbank

Dropped down an ice fishing hole

Dropped into the manure pile

Trampled by several horses

Dropped in camp fire

Dropped in pot of stew over camp fire

 

Yes..you read all of those right, lol. I hope the books can forgive me.

 

 

Sunday Salon 2/26/17

 

Here we are again on Sunday, the last Sunday in Feb it is hard to think that March is already nearly here! There has been so much going on this year for me already sometimes I am surprised when I look up and see what day it is. The good news is that in March we will be seeing Beauty and the Beast pop up in theaters. Very excited about it! I mean what book lover hasn’t been a fan of Belle at one point or another?

I have not gotten as much reading done as I wanted to this week, but I am still having fidgeting issues so I hope that at some point I will be able to shake out of that. At any rate I am getting the itch that I often find myself getting every so often. What is that itch you ask? It is the undeniable itch to read a specific time period. Lately I have managed to find some balance in what I am reading. I have even really stayed pretty well into the modern stuff (hey for me that is an accomplishment lol) but I am straying out of that now. I am finding that it is time to dive into the Tudor court again.

The good news is that this is an era which is pretty popular and there are several very good authors who write within it. I mean when I get stuck in a mood to read oh say the Revolutionary war time frame I find there is not as much to choose from. That is changing as more authors seem to be wanting to write in that era but I digress. The problem I have come on in this instance is that I have so many books on hand to choose from I have no idea where to start.

So, friends any suggestions? LOL

 

Book Review: Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage

Remember the places you touched me.

The parts of Mira Cillo that Ben touched are etched on his soul.

Palm. Hair. Chest. Cheek. Lips. Throat. Heart.

It was the last one that broke her. After her death, Mira sends Ben on a quest for notes she left in the seven places where they touched—notes that explain why she and her sister, Francesca, drowned themselves in the quarry. How Ben interprets those notes has everything to do with the way he was touched by a bad coach years before. But the truth behind the girls’ suicides is far more complicated, involving a dangerous infatuation, a deadly miracle, and a crushing lie.

There are some books that when you go into them you have fairly high expectations, for me this was one of those books. Unfortunately, it didn’t really live up to what I hoped it would, I tried, I really did, but even with that said it doesn’t make it a bad book. It could just be that this book was not my personal cup of tea in general.

Two young sisters are found wrapped together, clutching one another at the bottom of a quarry, the question then becomes how did they get there in that place together? The premise of this read is solid, it promises for intense reading and at times discomfort for the reader and on that it does not disappoint and it lives up to the title of the girls being broken. The cover of the book is also haunting and beautiful at the same time, yes you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes a good cover really can be an added bonus.

The way the book unfolded and the letters we see through Ben’s eyes is interesting, but for me it just was not interesting enough. The story goes back and forth in time and there are times that on its own made things a little harder to stay connected. There are books out there that can do that two different time lines game fairly well and one’s that can’t for me this one fell into the can’t area. Then there is the over detailing on things. This is what for me caused my attention to wane from the story. While the writing is beautiful when I get to many details thrown at me, I feel as if I can’t imagine the world for myself. I like to feel as if I can picture some of the story in the way that I want to picture it and that is where I get a disconnect. I also honestly found Ben to be more than a little bit creepy, but that could have been what the author was going for.

So at the end of the day this book was not the worst I have ever read by any means, but it just falls into the meh area for me. I am sure other readers will like it better so I wouldn’t call it a complete pass, it will depend on what kind of writing you really enjoy.

I would like to thank the Publisher for allowing me to have a digital ARC from NetGalley of this book. This review is completely my own and honest opinion and has nothing to do with getting the ARC for free.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Teaser Tuesday 2/21/17

Teaser Tuesday

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

It would seem my last few book selections have been a little..on the dark side, lol This one seems to fall into that category as well but I was very excited when I was approved for this title on NetGalley.

Everyone wanted to touch us,including you. So remember the seven places you touched me. That’s where you’ll find the truth. Start at the beginning in my words. Ben wiped sweat from his eyes. Mira had left him something. Mira had left him her words. Letters, notes, something. Where?” ~ 3% Beautiful Broken Girls by Kim Savage

Musing Monday 2/20/17

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEKS RANDOM QUESTION: Do you like new book smell? Old book smell? All book smell?

So this weeks question is rather random but it is something that I ponder frequently because I love old book smell. New books are nice too but there is just something more familiar and calming about the smell of old books to me. The lack of book smell was one reason that I did not jump onto the Kindle bandwagon when they first came out. Price was a factor too (is it me or were they way more expensive when they first came out? Like massively.) but it really did come down to the lack of book smell for me.

I still love walking into a used book store the smell is one of a kind. I will always pause and just enjoy that smell for a moment before I go on to continue my shopping. I often do the same thing when I walk into a library. I know they have tried to replicate that smell in candles and the like but for me it is never the same. Old book smell is one of a kind.

Sunday Salon 2/19/17

I used to be able to curl up with a good book in the same place for hours on end and simply get lost in the world that was being given to me though the pages. I have not been able to do that recently. This is not because of any lack in the books it is because of me and how I have been the last 4 years or so. A lot of it I think is because that is when my anxiety really got worse. My mind just refuses to be still, no matter how much I try. I am sure that some of you reading this will understand the issue. I do hope at some point to be able to make my mind relax enough so that I can curl up for hours at a time again.

Of course, just because I can’t spend hours at once reading doesn’t mean I don’t read. I have learned to smile and not just laugh outright at some of the mistakes the kindle reader makes. When I pick up a hard copy book I can read for an hour at most before the brain starts running again and demands that I do something else. That is the biggest issue for me, there just are not enough hours in the day to do every single thing that my mind comes up with. From writing ideas to, crochet ideas too, make up ideas, to clothing ideas and so on and so forth you get the drift. So many wonderful ideas I want to bring to life and I can’t make time stop so that I can do them all and then write a book. There are also the regular duties we all have in life, mothering, cleaning, working. Oh right and every once in a blue moon I manage to get some sleep. I guess one benefit of being a chronic insomniac is that you do tend to get more time in the day than many others, but that is going to be a completely different kind of post.

I have been thinking about the trouble I have keeping still a lot lately. I know I need to work on it so I am going to make an honest effort to do so this year. I was treated to a fidget cube, several days ago and I am wondering if that will help me with this new mission. I love writing and crochet so much that it often feels like if I am just sitting and only reading (vs having kindle read out loud to me (like I am right now lol) or listen to an audio book, my hands want to be crocheting. So maybe the fidget cube, will keep my hands busy while I read. I plan on giving that a try later this week.

Alas, I fear this has become a little bit of a random ramble. I am going to blame that on the lack of sleep again I am afraid. I almost got to sleep at a semi normal hour for once, and then new little boy Misha decided my feet were his fun toys. I wasn’t even moving them! Little stinker and yet I love him for it.

Here is hoping for a good week for everyone reading this.

Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz #1) by L. Frank Baum

Follow the yellow brick road!

Dorothy thinks she’s lost forever when a tornado whirls her and her dog, Toto, into a magical world. To get home, she must find the wonderful wizard in the Emerald City of Oz. On the way she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. But the Wicked Witch of the West has her own plans for the new arrival – will Dorothy ever see Kansas again?

Every now and then I like to travel back to books that I loved when I was younger. When a new show that is based on an old favorite book I really want to read the book again, thanks to Emerald City I went back and read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The book is truly enjoyable and one of the reasons that I became such a fan of books along with some other classics of course.

The book is so much different then the classic Judy Garland film, it is darker and of course the slippers aren’t ruby at all but silver. There really isn’t much I can say about this book other then I enjoyed every page just like I did when I was a kid. It is a classic for a reason and as one of the earliest fantasy works you can really see how it plant the seeds in the genre. It might seem “trope” like to readers who are coming to it late in life or the younger generation but when it was written it really was something different. To me it stands the test of time even if it doesn’t to others. This will be one that I keep coming back to every now and then. Not much left to say because really I think almost everyone has read this one or at least knows a fair amount about it.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Teaser Tuesday 2/14/17

Teaser Tuesday

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

Happy Valentine’s Day…I am sure there is something to be said about my quote this week considering the day lol

“The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

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