For the love of reading... A long book blurb

Hello Lovely Readers,

I am back in Boston. I have been away seeing part of my family in Houston where it was hot, humid, and felt more like September than Christmas, but being with my niece and nephews, and my family was more important than the weather and that made it feel like Christmas.

The kiddos and I with their books

From the pic above, you can see that I spread my love of reading to another generation... I sure hope they never tire of me giving books. I gave books to a few people this Christmas some of them were books I had read in my 26 book challenge (link) that I really liked and thought other people would like and now that I have finished the challenge (link) I wanted to go through the books I read, focusing on the books I really enjoyed, pulled on my heart strings, or other various thoughts

Some books I really enjoyed..

1. First Impressions by Charlie Lovett- it is an intriguing literary mystery to keep you guessing who actually wrote Pride and Prejudice. I picked up this book because I love Jane Austen and looking for good fan-fiction about the author or her works. I also liked reading a book written by a guy that actually felt to be written by a woman. I don't usually read books written by men, I don't know why, but I am not usually drawn into male author's works... so I was pleased by this book.

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2. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson- was a historical fiction novel with a sort of time traveling novel that made you think... "What if you could live life over and over again, till you got it right?" Ursula Todd keeps being able to live her life over and over to fix the mistakes she has made till she gets it right, but what will she do with that power? I will admit it took me a bit to get into it because the first couple chapters were a bit repetitive but over all the story was interesting and I loved the concept of the story.

3. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller- I can't really even put into words my love for this book. Just read it!


4. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley- This book was given to me by a friend and I have already passed it along to others. It also introduced me to the plot twisting, historical and modern day writings of Susanna Kearsley and I cheated a few times on this challenge to read more of her books. Half of the book is set in present day where author Carrie Maclelland is searching for the inspiration for her newest novel, the other half is set in 1708 and the story of a Jacobite uprising. I love reading multi-generational stories and I loved both the present and past story lines weave together and both kept me wanting to see what happens next.

5. The Lake House by Kate Morton.- This is another multi generational novel, told from many different perspectives and shows how a secret from the past can still impact our present. Kate Morton is one of my favorite authors and one reason is that she blends the past and present together wonderfully. I feel as I have just written about this book I don't want to be too repetitive... so go read my post "Book blurb...The Lake House" ( link).

For more info on this books go to my "26 Book Challenge" (link)

Books that pulled at my heart strings...

1. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah- I am not a huge WWII fan when choosing historical fiction, once again don't know why. So I think it is interesting that the two books that pulled at my heart strings the most are set in WWII. This book is set in German occupied France during the war and is about two sisters who must chose different paths in trying to protect their homes and lives around them. The eldest, Vivanne, tries to keep her head down and just tries to survive and to keep her family farm going. The younger one, Isabelle, joins the French Resistance and helps pilots who have crashed sneak into Spain. Though they chose different paths they both make ripples in the war effort.

2. The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult- is yet another multi-generational story and weaves together Nazis Germany and the concentration camps with a small town in New England. I found this story very powerful and had to take deep breaths after reading some parts because of the descriptions of how the Nazis treated the Jews was very powerful and I couldn't push it aside and think "well that is all in the past" as I know it happened and it was horrific. In present day, Sage who is part Jewish, has hidden away from the world after a horrible accident that killed her mom and she is left with many scars. Her life is changed when a new acquaintance, Josef, confesses that he is a former Nazis officer. This story nicely weaves Sage, her grandmother's story, and Josef's story together.

3. Light between Oceans by M.L. Stedman- is about Tom Sherbourne, who returns to his home, Australia, after fighting in the trenches on the Western Front (WWI) and takes a job as light house keeper on a island. He likes the solitude of it all until he meets Isabel who is young, bold and beautiful. They go through many heartaches with a few miscarriages and stillborn deaths (this is the part that made me cry) and they kind of believe life is hopeless until there is a boat crash on the island and baby girl is left helpless on the shore. Though they live a happy life together when they return to the main land they see their choices have made impacts on other people's lives and now they must decide what to do. I held my breath for many moments in this novel.

These three I would recommend but would suggest keeping a pack of tissues with you when you read. 

To see other books I read for challenge click this link

Book Blurb... The Lake House

Hello lovely readers,

I know it has been awhile since I posted about the "26 book challenge" I have been going through this year...the last book on my list was to read "A Book set Somewhere you've Always Wanted to Visit" at first I thought this book would be about Africa or India or someplace exotic. I decided then after read the The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley and watching Poldark over the summer, both set in Cornwall I began to fall the idea of wanting to go to Cornwall, England. And while I have been to London and Bath. I still really, really want to go to the English country side.

In Kensington Park

Thankfully I found the book that satisfies my love of the English country side and yet makes my desire to visit to grow even so more so.  That book is The Lake House by Kate Morton.

Meeting Kate Morton

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In May (with some of my birthday money) I pre-ordered the book and anxiously awaited the book to come in the mail and it was worth the wait. I have loved Kate Morton's writing for years, she has a brilliant way of tying the past and present together to figure out a mysterious secret, and while she lives in Australia she writes mostly about England. Half the book takes place in 1930s and in 2003 to solve the case of a baby boy who has disappeared into thin air...





Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, innocent, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories. But the mysteries she pens are no match for the one her family is about to endure…
One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. What follows is a tragedy that tears the family apart in ways they never imagined.
Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as an author. Theo’s case has never been solved, though Alice still harbors a suspicion as to the culprit. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old estate—now crumbling and covered with vines, clearly abandoned long ago. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever. 

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The story was gripping and I loved the different perspectives between Sadie, Alice and Eleanor Edevanes (Alice's mother) keep the story going and trying to figure out what happened to Theo. Not only did it touch on the 1930s, it also went into 1910s and World War I, which is my favorite era. So not only is this book set in a place I want to visit it is also is set in a era I would love to visit (if I could).

As part of the story is set in the 1930s I loved imagining the character Eleanor in great gown (left). And Kate Morton wrote great passages of details about London in the past that I underlined or tabbed so I can refer back them. For example, "London had a distinctive smell, the unpleasant mingled of manure with exhaust fumes, of old and new, and she was glad when she turned into Hyde Park and caught the scent of roses." And one quote that caught me was, "Eleanor, wondered sometimes whether hope, that awesome, awful habit, ever died; better still, whether it could be killed. Things would be so much easier if it could, if it were simple as flicking a switch. But, alas, it seemed hope's glimmer always hovered in the distance, no matter how long one journeyed towards it without it."    

I loved this book and highly recommend it if you like to mysterious secret historical novel. I also recommend if you like the English country side.

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Friday Films... A Little Chaos

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Hello lovely readers,

Before I can truly write a review of A Little Chaos that there are some aspects of the movie that might make some people uncomfortable. I am not condoning these actions I am just saying it was common in French Court for the King and the people around him to have mistresses. These aspects made me hesitant to write about this film but I thought this was a beautiful film I had to share it with you all. 

 

Link 

 

I will admit the film is a little slow and the love story is slow and with films like Star Wars and other high action movies coming out I think this film might not satisfy someone who loves a fast pace movie. From the trailer you can tell it is a romantic story but the romance is so little you don't even know they are in love until Andre Le Notre's (played by Matthais Schoenarts) wife points out that he is infatuated with Sabine De Barra (played by Kate Winslet).

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I was first intrigued by this movie after watching Far From a Maddening Crowd and I thought Matthais Schoenarts looked familiar so I looked up his other film credits, only to discover I had never seen a movie of his but I discovered this film. I was intrigued by the casting and loving both Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman I put it on my waiting list at the Library... got to love the library and free access to 100s of movies. 

The movie starts off saying "There is an outdoor ball room at Versailles, in what follows this much is true." So the character of Sabine is fictional, as there would be no women landscapers at the time, regardless Kate Winslet plays Sabine very well. Sabine is strong, passionate, and does not confirm to the world around her.  This draws attention to her not only from the love interest but also from the King and his brother Duke of Orleans (played by Stanely Tucci.)

Stanley Tucci and Alan Rickman in awesome wigs

At the start of the film Sabine is hired by Andre, who is in charge of the landscape for the gardens at Versailles but he cannot handle demands of the King so he brings her on. At their first meeting he does not seem to like her very much, because she won't confirm, they discuss how gardens are to be structured and she doesn't agree with him. Then they have a beautiful scene in her personal garden where Andre discusses when God made men he put them in a beautiful garden, since we have been banished we have been seeking out our own Eden... it could almost give you the desire for a green thumb. While Sabine doesn't want to confirm to the world around her, she does have to navigate the happenings of French Court... oh and Jennifer Ehle (aka Elizabeth Bennet) makes an appearance. She also needs to deal with some struggles of her past in order to accept love.

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One reviewer on IMDb wrote that she would "watch Stanley Tucci read a phone book, he is that good." I quite agree and I did find him quite an amusing character.

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The story was charming and beautiful with costuming and settings to match. I know it is a British Film (directed by Alan Rickman) but I found it funny that all the settings were in England. Some of them I even recognized from watching The Young Victoria a lot. But try to not let that distract you if you watch the movie.

I would recommend this film if you like Sense and Sensibility (for Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet), The Young Victoria (beautiful settings) and Marie Antoinette (French Court). 

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Tunes for Tuesday... Christmas music

Hello Lovely Readers,

After my last Tunes for Tuesday (link) where I shared music that inspired me while I was writing I thought this week it would be fun to share my favorite Christmas Music... In no particular order.

Even though I said no particular order this has been my favorite Christmas song this year

Song: Mary Did You Know?

By: Pentatonix 

Link

Song: God Rest Ye Merry Men
By: Mercy Me
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I listen to this song probably all year round--it is so beautiful

Song: O Come O Come Emanuel
By: Bethany Dillon
Link

Song: O Holy Night
By: Carrie Underwood
Link

I like these next 2 songs because I am from Oklahoma

Song: Oklahoma Christmas
By: Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire
Lyric

Song: BC Clark's Jingle
Link

I know this song gets dissed for being too materialistic
but I have memories of singing it with my sister

Song: Santa Baby
 By: Eartha Kitt
Link

Song: Carol of the Bells
By: Pentatonix
Link

No Christmas song list would be complete without this

 Song: Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas
By: Judy Garland
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Ah! So many Christmas songs I love... it is probably favorite type of music. And while in some ways I wish I listened to it all year round I am glad to keep it special for this time of year.