Monthly ArchiveApril 2009
Book 29 Apr 2009 08:27 am
Can You Keep a Secret?
I have blogged about Sophie Kinsella in the past, but I wanted to make sure everyone knows that she writes more than just the Shopaholic Series. Her official page at Random House gives a bunch of information about Sophie and her books, but I want to point you in the direction of one specifically.
Can You Keep a Secret? came out in 2004 and I have been enjoying it ever since. I have probably reread it once a year because it is just so FUNNY. You cannot read this book without laughing, probably out loud like I have.
It is one of those great books that just CHEERS you up (at the cost of a little misery for poor Emma Corrigan). It is available in paperback at your favorite independent bookshop so go check it out.
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music 27 Apr 2009 08:09 am
Night at the Opera
Last Saturday, April 18th, my boyfriend, brother and I went to the town of Wolfeboro NH for a performance put on by the Wolfeboro Friends of Music. It was fabulous.
A Night at the Opera
American lyric soprano Diane Penning sings well-loved opera arias, including works from “Phantom of the Opera” and “Porgy and Bess,†accompanied by American pianist Paul Bisaccia, a charismatic compelling artist who enjoys being a showman.
Ms. Penning and Mr. Bisaccia were phenomenal. They preformed Verdi, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Pucinni, Sheldon & Harnick, and Rodgers & Hammerstein in the first half and Donizetti, Gershwin and Bernstein in the second half. Additionally, Bisaccia played an assortment of Chopin, who is known for his love of opera. It was a beautiful night. Penning’s voice combined with Bisaccia’s skill at the piano made the night fly by.
If you can, try to get over to Wolfeboro for one of their performances. They get excellent groups and performers and put on a great show!
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Book 24 Apr 2009 09:52 am
The Little Pink House
Here is a book definitely a book worthy of being read- slowly, quickly, with enthusiasm, with tears and tissues, however you read. READ THIS BOOK.
Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage by Jeff Benedict was PHENOMENAL.
Susette Kelo wants a home. She has had a hard life and wants something of her OWN. She finds the perfect house right on the waterfront in New London and is happy.
Then everything changed. This book is the amazing and shocking journey that Susette goes through. It starts on 8 East Street in New London and goes all the way to the US Supreme Court.
This is the starred Publisher’s Weekly review.
Benedict has taken a complicated court case centered on eminent domain and turned it into a page-turner with a conscience. In 1997, an EMT named Susette Kelo left her husband, bought a cottage and started over in the economically depressed Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Conn. In February 1998, the New London Development Corporation began trying to muscle the neighborhood into selling homes to make way for a Pfizer research complex. Benedict’s passionate account is rife with heroes and villains – he delights in pillorying Kelo’s foil, Claire Gaudiana, the president of Connecticut College who lured Pfizer to consider New London. The fight escalated when the city tried exercising eminent domain to seize the homes of Kelo and others who refused to sell, leading to the case, Kelo v. the City of New London, reaching the Supreme Court in 2005. Raising important questions about the use of economic development as a justification for displacing citizens, this book will leave readers indignant and inspired.â€
Here is a YouTube video from his site.
This is an IMPORTANT book to read. Eminent Domain is changing. The Kelo vs New London case shows this. So everyone, please read this book, and go to www.JeffBenedict.com for even more information and reviews.
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Uncategorized 22 Apr 2009 08:15 am
AMAZING Dog!
Head over to this Yahoo news story about a dog who fell overboard and was assumed drowned for four months before he was found.
From the article.
A pet dog that fell overboard in rough seas off Australia has been reunited with its owners after surviving alone on an island for four months, reports said.
Sophie Tucker, apparently named after a late US entertainer, fell overboard as Jan Griffith and her family sailed through choppy waters off the northeast Queensland coast in November.
The dog was believed to have drowned and Griffith said the family was devastated.
But out of sight of the family, Sophie Tucker was swimming doggedly and finally made it to St Bees Island, five nautical miles away.
Wow right?!?
Sophie Tucker is an Australian Cattle dog, a breed known for their smarts. She has certainly proved that!
What has your pooch done that was amazing?
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Book 20 Apr 2009 08:43 am
Jessica’s Guide to Dating the Dark Side
I know I know, another teen vampire romance. Yeah no.
So much more than a cheesy vamp novel. This was sweet and painful and analytical and racy! All in one young-adult novel!
Jessica’s Guide to Dating the Dark Side is Beth Fantaskey’s first novel. And it is a pleasure!
A bit more info at Fantastic Fiction and from Beth’s website, here are two reviews:
“Jessica evolves nicely with each new shocking revelation, becoming, over the course of the novel, an intriguing and strong protagonist . . . romance buffs will find the ultimate pairing of Lucius and Jessica absolutely irresistible, and it’s downright swoonworthy once their elaborate courting ritual begins in earnest.”— The Bulletin
and from Publishers Weekly, a Starred Review.
A romance involving a high school girl and a handsome vampire may sound a little too familiar, yet this first novel quickly bursts ahead of the pack of Twilight-wannabes. Down-to-earth mathlete Jessica Packwood is completely horrified when, a few months shy of her 18th birthday, a Romanian named Lucius Vladescu shows up on her doorstep, claiming that he and she are vampire royalty betrothed to each other since infancy—what’s worse, her adoptive parents verify the betrothal story and explain that her birth parents identified themselves as vampires, too. Fantaskey makes this premise work by playing up its absurdities without laughing at them, endowing Jessica with a coolly ironic sensibility and Lucius with old-world snobberies that Jessica’s girlfriends find irresistible. Jessica’s laidback parents serve as foils for imperious Lucius (Can I ever again be happy in our soaring Gothic castle after walking the halls of Woodrow Wilson High School, a literal ode to linoleum? he asks sarcastically); a scene at a steakhouse where the vegan Packwoods meet the carnivorous Vladescus is first-rate comedy. The romance sizzles, the plot develops ingeniously and suspensefully, and the satire sings. Ages 14–up.
While the story is told from Jessica’s viewpoint, Lucius gets his opinions known through his letters to his uncle. My coworker Katherine felt that they were the highlight of the book. They show his self-confidence, insecurity, incredulity, disgust, awe, jealousy, love and pain but with humor at the same time. I know it sounds hard, but yeah. Its all there.
It is definitely a fun read, though I wish there was a second by Beth for me to jump to next!
Head out and ENJOY it!!!
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Book 17 Apr 2009 08:31 am
What Would Emma Do?
So. This book, you think is going to be weird and silly and throwing in religion as a way to prevent the characters from having sex. Yeah, YOU WOULD BE WRONG.
Head over to Eileen Cook’s website and read the first chapter. It is FUN. But there is still weight to the story. She has interpersonal relationship problems with… pretty much everyone, but when the crap hits the fan, does she speak up for what is right?
I think you will be surprised how it ends up.
While juggling friendship issues (her best friend isn’t speaking to her), a love triangle-turned-square (okay, maybe she shouldn’t have kissed her best friend’s boyfriend…but it was totally an accident!…sort of), and escalating mayhem in her small religious town (uh-oh…what would Jesus do?), Emma realizes she has to stop trying to please everyone around her and figure out what she wants for herself. It’s time to start asking, “What would Emma do?”
(don’t you love that she is stepping on his feet in the picture? it looks so “in the bushes” and a little bit racy, but then you see the feet and giggle)
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Uncategorized 15 Apr 2009 08:26 am
Awesome Piano
I wanted to show you an awesome online game..plaything…fun time. I don’t know how to describe this. Beyond, it’s an online piano! My cousin Evie told me about it, and I am so glad she did!
Head on over and give it a try.
I think it is really fun. What do you think?
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Book 13 Apr 2009 08:24 am
The Dust of 100 Dogs
One of the Kids’ Next List from Indie List.
TOTALLY deserves that accolade. This was an awesome Book. Head over to the author’s website for the book and familiarize yourself.
There is a trailer here at YouTube
Some fun reviews at Good Reads, Flux Now, and some great points at Becky’s Book Review’s.
I want to focus on Becky’s for a second. From her review,
But the animal abuse introduced into the book by the presence of Fred in addition to the foul and abusive language (a bit stronger than I personally like) make these passages unpleasant….for me.
I am RIGHT there with her on the animal abuse. The character Fred and what he did to Rusty was… hard for me to get through. He was obviously unstable, and I didn’t mind the language or his comments about his “aide” but his treatment of Rusty was heinous. Now, I am following A.S. King on Twitter and she assured me (as the author she can do these types of assurances) that Rusty gets love at the end.
Honestly, that is why I was able to finish. So if you are worried about Rusty like I was (and no this doesn’t spoil the book for you), rest assured, he is OKAY.
That all said, yeah, go read it. It’s awesome. A bit different from what you might be used to, but still, AWESOME.
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Uncategorized 10 Apr 2009 08:00 am
Crochet Jealousy
I crochet a little. Not a lot. Nothing too hard, but I try. Yeah. I am embarrassed by my scarves when I compare it to Gege’s Crochet work. Yeah. wow.
So first, go there and look at all the cool stuff she has on her website. Pretty awesome right?
LOOK AT THIS BLANKET. Yeah. wow.
Like I said.
Crochet Jealousy.
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Book 08 Apr 2009 08:52 am
The Secret Life of Prince Charming
I just finished Deb Caletti’s The Secret Life of Prince Charming and I loved it!
I was about a half hour in (at the end of my lunch period) and was not really getting into it. But it was my first attempt at one of her books, so what the heck, lets give it another half hour. Yeah, so glad I did. Once she starts finding the stolen items, it really picks up, and then the road trip. Super fun.
Okay, so head over to Deb Caletti’s website for more info on her and her other books!
Reviews here: at Fantastic Fiction and Good Reads.
I also need to quote two sections because I was so amazed by their beauty.
“A jar is just a jar except when it was in your kitchen growing up. An umbrella is an umbrella, except when the man you love stood under it during a hailstorm when he asked you to marry him,” Olivia said and sipped her tea.
and
She said a marriage is like a well-built porch. If one of the two posts leans too much, the porch collapses. So each post must be strong enough to stand on its own.
I was just amazed by those two quotes. I hope you enjoyed them too, and that you will go out and read this book! (Available on April 7th 2009. That’s almost here!!)
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