A blog about books, music, movies and more…
I discovered Flower Friday last year while visiting Lorilin@Bugbugbooks and have been having a blast sharing some flower pictures and information. Please check out Lorilin’s blog if you haven’t already for book reviews and more!
This is a flower from the legume family that blooms tall spiky flowers that taper at the top. The spikes produce multiple sweat pea-like flowers.
• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day, can be a super short post).
• Nominate three new bloggers each day.
Day 3 – Quote
Rather than choose a book quote today, I thought I would end the final day of quotes with an excerpt from one of my favorite movies. I just finished reading The Hobbit and loved it so much, but I was surprised to learn that Tauriel wasn’t in it. I’m one of those who watched the movies first and then read the book along with my 9-year-old. Regardless, I love her addition to the movie and honestly was totally bummed that she wasn’t in the book. Watching the banter between her and Kili, and then the growth of the whole connection were some of the best moments in the movie for me.
• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day, can be a super short post).
• Nominate three new bloggers each day.
• Thank the person who nominated you.
• Post a quote for 3 consecutive days (1 quote for each day, can be a super short post).
• Nominate three new bloggers each day.
This meme was created by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek. You pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday!
From May 7th: When I first started this blog, one of my intentions was to talk about music as much as possible, hence my blog name. 🙂 My very first music blog post from March 2017 featured Mad Season, a band that eventually included Chris Cornell and the next, Temple of the Dog. It felt great to talk about some of the music I’ve always loved. Little did I know, just a few months later he’d be gone like so many others before him.
I’m not one of those people who usually count dates or add up the time since someone has been gone, yet here I am doing it with Chris. It’s been a year this month and I can’t believe the time has flown. For the whole month of May–to honor Chris–I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Chris Cornell songs.
On Friday, which marked one year since Chris’s passing, I shared “Live To Rise” by Soundgarden. If you’d like to see that post you can click here.
Author: Patricia Furstenberg
Synopsis:
As engaging as a tail wag
Celebrating the simple things in life as seen through the eyes of our old time favourite furry friends, “As Good as Gold” is a volume of poetry revealing the talent and humour we always knew our dogs possessed.
Dogs are full of questions, yet they are famed sellers of innocence especially when it comes to explaining their mishaps and often foolish effervescence through ponderings such as “Why IS a Cat Not Like a Dog”, “As Brown as Chocolate”, “Silver Stars and Puppy Tail” or, best yet, “Dog or Book?”
A book with an enormous heart for readers of all ages, it includes 35 poems and haiku accompanied by expressive portraits of our canine friends. Continue reading “Blog Tour & Book Review: As Good As Gold: A Dog’s Life in Poems by Patricia Furstenberg #AsGoodAsGold”
I have a lot of old vintage books and one of my plans when I first started blogging was to do a post every week or so that shared one of my cherished vintage books. Then I thought there might be other book bloggers out there that have some vintage books, heirlooms, or maybe some old books from childhood that they might want to share. I decided to start a weekly meme titled ‘Shabby Sunday’ for those who would like to participate and share some of their old vintage books. Do you have some shabby books you’d like to share? If so, please feel free to participate as anyone can join. Feel free to use the picture I’ve provided if you’d like to. If you decide to do this meme, please consider linking back to me so that I can see the book you’re sharing.
I discovered Flower Friday last year while visiting Lorilin@Bugbugbooks and have been having a blast sharing some flower pictures and information. Please check out Lorilin’s blog if you haven’t already for book reviews and more!
I debated doing an extra post today, but I have to share these lilacs! I love lilacs. They have the best smell and I look forward to them every spring.
We have a few bushes around the house and they are so easy to care for. They’re also really easy to propagate into new plants and they grow super fast.
They are just coming into bloom and there’s a light aroma in the air. These particular lilacs only bloom in the spring. I do wish it lasted longer! Continue reading “Flower Friday: Meyer Lilac”
One year ago today, the music world received the sad and shocking news that Chris Cornell had passed away.
In memory of one of my favorite musicians of all-time, I’ve been sharing Chris’s music throughout the month of May for Music Mondays. In addition, today I’d like to share a song Chris wrote from the Avengers Assemble album, which includes songs from Marvel’s The Avengers movie (2012). This album marked Soundgarden’s return with their first song in 15 years.
My family and I were at the drive-in when the song played during the closing credits of the movie. It was a breathtaking moment for me especially. I’ve loved the song ever since, but never really thought much about the meaning of the lyrics. The song adapts well with the movie and it’s not like I knew Chris personally or what he was going through, but it seems like he was on his own spiritual journey during this time, possibly even back when he was writing some of the earlier Audioslave songs. Everyone interprets songs differently, but to me, this one is fairly clear-cut.
Continue reading “Chris Cornell 1964-2017 | Soundgarden “Live To Rise””
Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme created by Renee @ It’s Book Talk. This meme is an awesome way to share old favorites that were published over a year ago or even books that you’re finally reading after much time has passed. I have plenty of those to share! If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board. Please link back to her by using the link above.
“Are you happy with your life?” Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – May 17th”
Hello everyone! I hope you’re all doing well this week. It’s hard to believe we are in the middle of May already. Time is flying this year! I’m sorry I haven’t been doing many Breakfast and a Book posts lately, but life has been a little crazy. I hope to pick back up with more of these during the summer when I have a little more time in the mornings.
I’ve had this recipe in mind for some time now. I cook it often, but the difference now is that I don’t have it with eggs like I used to. For breakfast, this can be served with fried eggs or scrambled eggs mixed in. Continue reading “Wednesday’s Breakfast and a Book: Spaghetti Squash – In the Shadow of the Hanging Tree by Michael A. McLellan”
Blurb from Goodreads:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jamie McGuire comes a riveting tale of first love that starts young but runs deep.
The first time Elliott Youngblood spots Catherine Calhoun, he’s just a boy with a camera, and he’s never seen a sadder and more beautiful sight. Both Elliott and Catherine feel like outcasts, yet they find an easy friendship with each other. But when Catherine needs him most, Elliott is forced to leave town.
Elliott finally returns, but he and Catherine are now different people. He’s a star high school athlete, and she spends all her free time working at her mother’s mysterious bed-and-breakfast. Catherine hasn’t forgiven Elliott for abandoning her, but he’s determined to win back her friendship…and her heart.
Just when Catherine is ready to fully trust Elliott, he becomes the prime suspect in a local tragedy. Despite the town’s growing suspicions, Catherine clings to her love for Elliott. But a devastating secret that Catherine has buried could destroy whatever chance of happiness they have left.
This meme was created by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek. You pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday!
From last week: When I first started this blog, one of my intentions was to talk about music as much as possible, hence my blog name. 🙂 My very first music blog post from March 2017 featured Mad Season, a band that eventually included Chris Cornell and the next, Temple of the Dog. It felt great to talk about some of the music I’ve always loved. Little did I know, just a few months later he’d be gone like so many others before him.
I’m not one of those people who usually count dates or add up the time since someone has been gone, yet here I am doing it with Chris. It’s been a year this month and I can’t believe the time has flown. For the whole month of May–to honor Chris–I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Chris Cornell songs.
Here I am thinking about rating books without reading them. I’m beating the dead horse here, but with all the #cockygate drama, we’re seeing it all over again. Scrolling through Goodreads last night I consistently came across 1-star reviews or 5-star reviews for this author’s books and most from people who never read the books. They either feel this author is right for what she’s doing with trademarking the word ‘cocky’ and want to try to stop her ratings from dropping, or they totally hate the idea and they’re lashing out at her by bashing her books and leaving 1-star reviews.
I remember when this happened with The Black Witch over racist characters last year and it began on Twitter. People read a review using the words ‘this author is racist’ and they retaliated by leaving 1-star ratings on the book. Not long after, it happened again with an author who threatened black magic on a reader for leaving a crappy review. The author threatened to curse him if he didn’t remove the statements he made in the review. Scads of people felt that these author’s needed to be chastised and began rating their books 1-star. I watched the ratings on both of these books drop from 4-stars all the way down to nearly 1-star in just under a week!
Now, I totally do NOT agree with what this author is doing trying to trademark a word that’s been used for probably 500 years or more. It’s asinine and I think she’s getting some serious backfire. What she’s done simply isn’t fair, but is this really the right thing to do when upset with an author for something they’ve done? Everyone makes their own decisions, but when does is become okay to rate a book 1-star when you haven’t read it or any rating for that matter? After all, no matter what the author has done, isn’t this lying? What sort of message does it send to younger readers when they see this happening?
I have mixed emotions about it, but in the case with #cockygate, I’m truly borderline! Part of me feels like it’s wrong to rate her books based off her actions with threatening other authors, but then I also think this is the only way that people can get their point across with their voice. I’d really like to hear your thoughts. What do you think? Continue reading “Rating When You Didn’t Read It…”
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Blurb from Goodreads: At the start of 1991, eleven-year-old Ali Fadhil was consumed by his love for soccer, video games, and American television shows. Then, on January 17, Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein went to war with thirty-four nations lead by the United States.
Over the next forty-three days, Ali and his family survived bombings, food shortages, and constant fear. Ali and his brothers played soccer on the abandoned streets of their Basra neighborhood, wondering when or if their medic father would return from the war front. Cinematic, accessible, and timely, this is the story of one ordinary kid’s view of life during war.
Continue reading “Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy and Ali Fadhil- Book Review”
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A New York Times bestselling author-illustrator brings readers into the woods to meet two young sisters and a strange bit of magic in this reimagining of the classic but little-known fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red.”
Snow and Rose didn’t know they were in a fairy tale. People never do….
Once, they lived in a big house with spectacular gardens and an army of servants.
Once, they had a father and mother who loved them more than the sun and moon.
But that was before their father disappeared into the woods and their mother disappeared into sorrow.
This is the story of two sisters and the enchanted woods that have been waiting for them to break a set of terrible spells.
Bestselling author-illustrator Emily Winfield Martin has created a world that sits on the border of enchantment, with characters who are grounded in real emotions that readers will recognize in themselves. Continue reading “Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin – Book Review”
This meme was created by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek. You pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday!
When I first started this blog, one of my intentions was to talk about music as much as possible, hence my blog name. 🙂 My very first music blog post from March 2017 featured Mad Season, a band that included Chris Cornell and the next, Temple of the Dog. It felt great to talk about some of the music I’ve always loved. Little did I know, just a few months later he’d be gone like so many others before him.
I’m not one of those people who usually count dates or add up the time since someone has been gone, yet here I am doing it with Chris. It’s been a year this month and I can’t believe the time has flown. For the whole month of May–to honor Chris–I’ll be sharing some of my favorite Chris Cornell songs.
I have a lot of old vintage books and one of my plans when I first started blogging was to do a post every week or so that shared one of my cherished vintage books. Then I thought there might be other book bloggers out there that have some vintage books, heirlooms, or maybe some old books from childhood that they might want to share. I decided to start a weekly meme titled ‘Shabby Sunday’ for those who would like to participate and share some of their old vintage books. Do you have some shabby books you’d like to share? If so, please feel free to participate as anyone can join. Feel free to use the picture I’ve provided if you’d like to. If you decide to do this meme, please consider linking back to me so that I can see the book you’re sharing.
Raised on a ranch in northern California, Jody is well-schooled in the hard work and demands of a rancher’s life. He is used to the way of horses, too; but nothing has prepared him for the special connection he will forge with Gabilan, the hot-tempered pony his father gives him. With Billy Buck, the hired hand, Jody tends and trains his horse, restlessly anticipating the moment he will sit high upon Gabilan’s saddle. But when Gabilan falls ill, Jody discovers there are still lessons he must learn about the ways of nature and, particularly, the ways of man.
I can still remember reading this book for the first time when I was in junior high school and I didn’t like it. From the look of the cover and title, you’d think you’d be reading a happy little novella about a boy and his horse, but it’s so much more than that.
The Red Pony is a collection of four short stories about a 10-year-old boy named Jody and his life on a ranch with his family. As time moves forward and he matures, Jody is exposed to multiple events and learns many lessons on what it means to be a man. Much of what he learns comes from his father and the farm hand named Billy. He looks up to them both.
I don’t want to summarize the four stories and spoil them for those that haven’t read this, but I will say I had a good mix of emotions when reading it for the second time. I was sad and angry multiple times and didn’t care for a few of the characters, but there was happiness here too, especially when Jody gains some responsibility and gets excited about upcoming future events like visiting with his grandfather, or caring for his pony by himself for the first time.
One thing I didn’t like, was how I didn’t really see Jody’s character change over time. With the death he’s experienced, he certainly doesn’t seem to be effected by it much and maybe that’s because as a boy, he wasn’t allowed to share his feelings vocally. His actions portray anger, but not a whole lot of sympathy for the animals themselves as he still continues to irritate them by throwing rocks, etc. He seems to forget about how sad he was to lose a friend to death and doesn’t make the connection.
There are many themes in this book including coming of age, tragedy, death and disappointment to mention a few, but also one I didn’t truly pick up on the first time I read it. It appears that the modern men in the story don’t feel that they measure up to older men from the past. This is something I experienced myself–even as a female–when I moved out to the country. Being raised in the city meant that I didn’t have the experience the country folk had as far as raising your own food, and in turn, putting the animals to death. A lady I met within the first year of living in the country told me that my generation weren’t survivors and I had to stand corrected as I realized there was no way I was going to cut a chicken’s head off with my hand like she did so effortlessly, in fact, I wasn’t ever going to do it. There were multiple times in the book that I cringed because of the details that were given and it reminded me of this very moment in my life, but this is farm life, whether you’re exposed or not and that’s just part of it.
Overall, this is a powerful little novel and worth a try. You might end up hating it, or you might be sucked into the writing like I was because it’s so descriptive and realistic. I wound up devouring this in one sitting when reading it for the second time.
My copy is from 1992, not very old, but still vintage. It’s in good condition for the most part with mainly cover wear.
My rating is 4****
I discovered Flower Friday last year while visiting Lorilin@Bugbugbooks and have been having a blast sharing some flower pictures and information. Please check out Lorilin’s blog if you haven’t already for book reviews and more!
Continue reading “Flower Friday: Daffodil and Unicorn Garden”
I found this tag that Jessica Rachow did on her blog and thought it was so cute! If you haven’t checked out her blog yet, please do. You can meet her beautiful pup Cheyenne! I dis this tag for Bowie already and you can see it by clicking here. Today, I thought I’d talk about Cynder.
I had the pleasure of reading Happily by Chauncey Rogers and finished it this morning. I was truly charmed by this retelling! You can read my book review below.
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Laure is a teenage street urchin just trying to get away. Where the rest of the world sees an enchanting love story, Laure sees royal incompetence and an opportunity to exploit it. She’ll have wealth and a way out of a life she detests, if she can only manage to hoodwink the royal family and survive to tell the tale.
Happily by Chauncey Rogers is a retelling of Cinderella, but totally unique and refreshing with an interesting premise! I sort of cherish retellings and couldn’t wait to see how Happily compared to some of the others I’ve read. As soon as I saw it, I instantly fell for the cover too! I had no idea what to expect, but rather than following the story of Cinderella and her wicked step-sisters, it follows what’s happening on the outside with Laure, the female protagonist. Laure is hard-headed, sort of pessimistic and chooses to live differently than a commoner while despising royalty as well. She’s a street urchin, and because she refuses to work, Laure barely makes ends meet by stealing the foods and necessities she needs to survive. With good reason (due to her past) she hates where she lives, Éclatant, and would love nothing more than to leave it all behind forever. During one of her thefts, she ends up causing problems for a boy named Luc and he simply won’t stand for it. He threatens to turn her in for her crime, until she shares her plans to trick the royals and in turn promises to pay him back. They both set out on an exciting, yet often dangerous journey filled with adventure.
I was genuinely connected with all the characters in the book. Laure is a very strong main character and I admired how she evolved throughout the story as she learned many lessons about honesty, love, and friendship. She’s headstrong and stubborn–nearly the opposite of Luc– but even so, she wants to do what’s right and they still had some similarities too. Luc is the type of person that wants to have a positive perspective in all situations. He’s optimistic and wants to help Laure see the good in people, and in life. With their likes and differences, they were nearly perfect medicine for one another. Prince Carl was everything I wanted him to be and truly, all the characters were great and meshed together well. Derived from the characters, one of my favorite morals in the story was to be yourself and to stand up for what you believe in.
I was pleased with the writing and the pacing was spot on which kept me interested throughout. It’s modern and without too much romance which I think makes it appealing to younger readers. The twists kept me guessing and the story wasn’t predictable. I felt like the narrative consistently took the direction I wanted it to. With that said, the ending felt a tad rushed, but with some wonderful surprises which the author tied up well. I can see this easily adapted into a movie as it’s remarkably different and stands out from others! I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys retellings or those looking for a magnificent story.
I’d like to thank Chauncey Rogers for bringing this book to my attention and sharing it with me.
Continue reading “Happily by Chauncey Rogers – Book Review #UltimateReadingChallenge April”
This meme was created by Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek. You pick a song that you really like and share it on Monday!
Today’s Music Monday shares Megadeth, a band I’ve loved since I was a young child. I have many pics to share for subsequent Megadeth Music Monday’s, but today I’ll share one of my old concert ticket photos from 1992. It’s hard to believe this was 26 years ago because it feels like yesterday. Good times!
During this time, “Symphony of Destruction” was #1 for like 9 weeks straight on our main rock station The Blaze 103.5 out of Chicago which had the top ‘8 at 8’ every evening.
Continue reading “Music Monday: Megadeth “Symphony of Destruction””
I have a lot of old vintage books and one of my plans when I first started blogging was to do a post every week or so that shared one of my cherished vintage books. Then I thought there might be other book bloggers out there that have some vintage books, heirlooms, or maybe some old books from childhood that they might want to share. I decided to start a weekly meme titled ‘Shabby Sunday’ for those who would like to participate and share some of their old vintage books. Do you have some shabby books you’d like to share? If so, please feel free to participate as anyone can join. Feel free to use the picture I’ve provided if you’d like to. If you decide to do this meme, please consider linking back to me so that I can see the book you’re sharing.
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I was recently tagged by Nina@TheCozyPages for the Sunshine Blogger Award! This is my 5th Sunshine Blogger award and I’m unsure how many of these you’re supposed to complete, but the questions Nina had were fun, so I did it again. I’d like to thank her for nominating me. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Nina’s blog, but be sure to check it out if you haven’t! There are many awesome book reviews, blog tours, and more to check out. 😀
The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive and inspiring, while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.
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Blurb from Goodreads: Fans of Serafina and the Black Cloak and The Night Gardener will devour Shadow Weaver, the first in a dark middle-grade fantasy duology that’s filled with shadows, danger, magic, and has the feel of a new classic.
Emmeline’s gift of controlling shadows has isolated her from the rest of the world, but she’s grown to be content, hidden away in her mansion with Dar, her own shadow, as her only company.
Disaster strikes when a noble family visits their home and offers to take Emmeline away and cure her of magic. Desperate not to lose her shadows, she turns to Dar who proposes a deal: Dar will change the noble’s mind, if Emmeline will help her become flesh as she once was. Emmeline agrees but the next morning the man in charge is in a coma and all that the witness saw was a long shadow with no one nearby to cast it. Scared to face punishment, Emmeline and Dar run away.
With the noble’s guards on her trail, Emmeline’s only hope of clearing her name is to escape capture and perform the ritual that will set Dar free. But Emmeline’s not sure she can trust Dar anymore, and it’s hard to keep secrets from someone who can never leave
Continue reading “Shadow Weaver by MarcyKate Connolly – Book Review”
Hey everyone! I’m so excited to share another special reader with you today!
I’m always looking for friends on Goodreads that have similar tastes. I like learning about books and discussing them with others, so I decided to experiment with an idea and thought it would be neat to find readers that I’m friends with on Goodreads or blogs and share them with you. Maybe they might be someone you’d like to add too? As I find readers with an interest, I’ll introduce them.
This is another reader that I met through WordPress! Many of you already know her, but she’s a wonderful friend and is truly inspiring to me. I was so very delighted when she said she was interested in doing this series! Hope you enjoy. ❤
Last week I shared my review for Bernard Jan’s book Look for Me Under the Rainbow and right now it’s free on Amazon!
Continue reading “FREE Ebook! Look for Me Under the Rainbow: A Novella by Bernard Jan”
Congratulations to Sara, Laurie, and David D. for winning copies of Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage! I’ll be emailing you this afternoon and I’ll get the books shipped out ASAP!
the ramblings of a bookish mama
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Anna Rymer
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a place for Middle Grade book-lovers to share and connect
The One to Capture Your Interest
We read it, and then we review
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Writing & Reading, Watching & Eating
A self-published author of epic and heroic fantasy
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Kate Olson ~ professional reader
