Saturday Snapshots

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.

My kids will not be happy I'm posting these , but here goes:

 (hair was never red - just looks it )

First Communions

(mid - 80's)

Thanks to All and Happy Thanksgiving

Taking a moment to wish those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving a wonderful day with family and friends.

For those of you outside of the US, this post is for you as well.  I wanted to let each and every reader of my blog know how much I appreciate the fact that you take time out of your busy lives to read my blog. You've made the (4.5 years) since I started blogging worthwhile.  Some days it seems like I barely have 15 minutes for the computer outside of work.  Even though I don't have the time to comment as often lately, please know that I do stop by and visit as many of my favorite blogs as time allows each week.

This has been a big year for our family, and as I host our family dinner we'll give thanks for each other, for new homes, new baby, a marriage, a retirement, and continued good health for all.  I hope all of you have much to be thankful for as well.

Thank you All.

Joy for Beginners; Erica Bauermeister

Title:  Joy for Beginners

Author:  Erica Bauermeister

Publication Year: 2011

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Edition: audio 

Reader: Cassandra Campbell (excellent)

Source: library

Date Completed:  November/2012

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: yes

 

In this story of friendship and courage, Kate a breast cancer survivor in recovery announces at a party that she is going to challenge herself to do something that she always felt was too frightening or challenging previously -- for her it will be white water rafting  in the Grand Canyon with her daughter.  She challenges her (6) friends and supporters through out her health crisis to do the same, with the condition that she, Kate, gets to pick the challenge.

 

Each of the women has an issue they need to deal with. Marion is an empty-nester, Sara's life revolves around her children, Daria is a woman who has closed her heart to love, Ava, can't bear to deal with loss, Hadley, is a self-imposed home bound young widow, and Caroline, has an ex-husband whose books she hasn't been able to part with. Not all of the challenges Kate chooses are frightening or ones that most of us would see as tough, however, for these women they are significant and critical to help each move on with life.

 

The women range in ages, and their stories are diverse. I think some readers might even find something in the stories that resonates with them as well.  What makes the story work well is that each story is told by one of the women at a time.  The reason I was drawn to this book was because, I had listened to the author's first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients, and really enjoyed it. Like this book, it was narrated by, Cassandra Campbell who is a fantastic audio book narrator.

 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro to a book by an author that  I have enjoyed in the past. Has anyone read this one?

 Shadow Tag; Louise Erdrich

November 2, 2007

BLUE NOTEBOOK

" I have two diaries now. The first is the red hardback Daily Reminder of the kind I've been writing in since 1994, when we had Florian. You gave me the first book in order to record my beginning year as a mother. It was very sweet of you.  I have written in a book like it ever since.  They are hidden in the bottom drawer of my office covered with ribbons and wrapping paper.  The latest, the one that interests you at present, is kept in the very back of the file cabinet containing old bank statements, checks left over from defunct accounts, the things we vow to shred every year and end up stuffing into files.  After quite a lot of searching, I expect, you have found my red diary.  You have been reading it in order to discover whether I am deceiving you.

The second diary, what you might call my real diary, is the one I am writing in now."

Would you keep reading?

Other excellent books by this author include: The Plague of Doves, and her newest book, The Round House. 

Please feel free to grab the logo and join in by posting the first paragraph (or 2) of a book you are reading now or hoping to read soon.

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Flight, starring Denzel Washington

Between work, planning for Thanksgiving, and other stuff, I haven't had much time to visit my favorite blogs or post much. I think that just happens this time of year to some of us.  We did manage to make time for a FANTASTIC movie yesterday though. Have you seen it?

Denzel Washington has always been a favorite actor of mine, and after seeing him in Flight, I definitely think his performance was "award worthy".  In a nutshell, Washington, stars as pilot Whip Whitaker who miraculously lands a malfunctioning plane, saving almost everyone on board. He's immediately seen as a hero, that is until his problems with alcohol and drugs soon surface.  He's in denial like many addicts, and his addiction could lead to prison time for him.

Actor, John Goodman plays he whacky drug supplier --some really hilarious scenes there.

Every minute of this movie was a thrill, but the "flight" scene made me grip my husband throughout and I felt thankful I didn't have to get on a plane this morning. There is a lot of nudity, swearing and also drug use which some parents with young children and preteens at the theater obviously had not been aware of, but it is a great movie.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Beautiful Ruins; Jess Walter

Title:  Beautiful Ruins

Author:  Jess Walter

Publication Year: 2012

Publisher: Harper Audio

Edition: audio 

Reader: Edoardo Ballenini (okay)

Source: library

Date Completed:  October/2012

Rating: 2.5/5 

Recommend: no

A crumbling hotel, the Hotel Adequate View, set atop a small Italian coastal town, provides a backdrop for the Beautiful Ruins. Lonely, hotel owner Pasquale Tursi, sees an opportunity to make his hotel a success by attracting wealthy Americans. The year is 1962 and when the lovely American starlet. Dee Moray arrives, Pasquale becomes instantly infatuated with her.  She in Porto Vergogna for the filming of the movie Cleopatra, but is later removed from the set because she is pregnant.

The story then jumps ahead some 50 years when Pasquale, who has never forgotten this American beauty goes to Los Angeles in search of the woman he's longed for all these years.  It is here that I really started to lose interest in this novel, and started skimming an awful lot. Fifty years is an awful lot to cover in a short novel and found there was way too much crammed in, from war to a  reality television and a whole lot in between.

The story just did not work well for me. Although the writing was good; I especially enjoyed the descriptiveness of the Italian coast and of Hollywood as well, the story just felt disjointed and hard to follow at times. At first I wondered if listening to the audio, read by Edoardo Ballerini, was the reason, but I don't think this book would have worked for me even had I read the print version.

Did anyone else find this novel less enjoyable than you originally anticipated?

Live By Night; Dennis Lehane

Title:  Live By Night

Author:  Dennis Lehane

Publication Year: 2012

Publisher: Harper Audio / William Morrow

Edition: audio and eGalley

Reader: Jim Frangione (very good)

Source: publisher

Date Completed:  November/2012

Rating: 4.5/5 

Recommend: yes

When I began this book I wasn't aware that is was a sequel to the author's earlier book, The Given Day, which I own, but hadn't read.  Despite that, I found this story extremely easy to get hooked on, and I can honestly say this one would be fine to read or listen to as a stand-alone novel.

In this story Joe Coughlin is the youngest son of a corrupt, Irish police captain.  The story begins in 1926, it's the Prohibition era, and the Coughlin family is well off compared others in his neighborhood.  Joe's a smart kid, but that doesn't stop him from getting himself involved in risky business as a teen. He thinks getting away with things is fun, and enjoys the opportunity for some easy money even if the money comes dishonestly from the pockets of Boston mobsters.

Live By Night is a sprawling saga with so much going for it that it's sure to have plenty to please most readers.  There is corruption, murder, moral issues, issues of faith and there is even romance -- a woman named Emma, that Joe becomes obsessed with, who happens to be the girlfriend of a big time mobster.  The characters are well developed, and I loved that the story took place during the time of Prohibition. The author did a great job enlightening the reader to all the corrupt financial opportunities that existed at that time, all of which made for some exciting listening and reading. I am now looking forward to reading the prequel, The Given Day.  A long time Lehane fan, I've read at least 5 of his previous books and enjoyed them all.