Literary Friday ya’ll…

F-R-I-D-A-Y!

Literary Friday is here!

The biggest news for Literary Friday is that Kimberly Brock’s book, The River Witch, is on sale today only for $1.99 as an Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. $1.99- that’s a steal my friends- a complete and total steal! It’s worth full price, but if you’ve been waiting to buy the book, on the fence about whether you want it (Trust me- you want this book!)- now is the time to buy! Carpe diem!

Here’s an idea- since the book is so cheap today- book clubs should buy it for their groups- Having a book that is good and amazing to discuss is a great thing!

Deep South Magazine and their weekly Literary Friday is filled with information: A giveaway of Faulkner books from Book Riot, a giveaway of Shine, Shine, Shine from Joshilyn Jackson, a mention of the hit summer book, Gone Girl, and Reese Witherspoon, and book festivals/book signings going on all over the South. For more information on the giveaways- read the Deep South Magazine’s Literary Friday!

Other Literary Friday things:

My Friday Reads- trying to decide between A Teeny Bit of Trouble or  Summerland. Thoughts?

Happy Reading!

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Dog + Reading a Book = Adorable!

Zeke reading a book

I like to think I have the cutest dog in the world. He’s always got a big doggy grin, and he’s so happy to see me. My dog is the subject of many photos- as I’m learning how to shoot pictures in manual mode as opposed to just plain auto-focus.

Yesterday, he was being particularly adorable as I was organizing my library books. He kept looking at this one intently- so I just pulled the camera out and began snapping pictures. Then decided to add props. End results: This!

If he could talk- I’d like to think he would say “While I’m enjoying the Lizzy/Diesel storyline, I much prefer the Stephanie Plum series for this reason- I’m a total Team Cupcake!”

But realistically, he’d probably prefer being friends with Lula- especially in “To the Nines” when she was on the meat-eating diet- after all, having a best friend who carries meat in the purse- total heaven for the dog!

 

 

 

WWW Wednesday (Should be Reading) Aug 1

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

 

What are you currently reading?

Currently reading Twanged by Carol Higgins Clark and Little Shop of Homicide: A Devereaux Dime Store Mystery by Denise Swanson.

 

What did you recently finish reading?

The Great Gatsby. And The Sweet Life #4 by Francine Pascal. Where We Belong by Emily Giffin. The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

This is tough. I just got The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier. I also went to the library to get several books. I have Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand and the new Nancy Thayer book. Choices, choices….

Went to the library- came out with too many books….

Total #bookgirlproblems- going into the library and coming out with too many books. Yesterday’s visit: 2 James Patterson books, 1 Nancy Thayer, 1 Carol Higgins Clark, and 1 Janet Evanovich. Ok, 5 books- on the surface, not so bad- but, I have 3 other books from library that I need to read- plus a stack of books that I’m eager to read as well. I’m a book hoarder!

Next #bookgirlproblems- I’m still waiting on copy of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley that I requested eons (real time April 2012) ago from the inter-library loan. I’m feeling quite confident that the book will be on a bargain list before it comes in on inter-library loan.
A little Literary Friday teaser: I heard from a VERY reliable source that a certain book that I’ve been raving about will be on the Amazon Kindle Daily Deal Friday August 3rd for $1.99. Check here, check Amazon, check wherever on Friday to find out which book. And when you do find out- let the price be the deciding factor if you’ve been on the fence about the book- it’s worth more than a $1.99, but take advantage of the low, low, low price if you don’t have it. Even better- say you’ve read it and loved it, wanted friends to be able to experience the book. For the price of a $1.99, you can treat a friend to a book!

* I’m terrible at keeping secrets- so, the book has 3 words in title AND it’s by Kimberly Brock.

 

 

The Great Gatsby…..

As I confessed in a previous #literaryconfession, I’ve never read The Great Gatsby. With the movie coming out in December and the fact that I’ve never read it before, I decided to read it. I finished it today. Some of the lines in the book are quite good.

Not being really sure what to expect, I just went into reading with an open mind. I’m still deciding how I feel about the book, but I have some questions and thoughts. If you’ve read The Great Gatsby, please chime in!

1. Tom- he tells Wilson that Gatsby was driving the car that kills Myrtle;  was his true motivation because his mistress was dead and he saw a way to keep Gatsby away from Daisy OR was it because Daisy loved him and he loved her?

2. Daisy- at first I felt sympathy for her, for her character; but then- it was like whether she planned to have these 2 men fighting over her in New York or not, having them both together was not a good idea. Was she THAT clueless or that manipulative? Or am I reading the scene wrong?

3. Gatsby- for all that he was, all that he became and how he invented himself- in the end, few people were around to celebrate his life/mourn his death. Is that a telling view of society and how we forget people in death?

 

Overall opinion- I liked the book. I thought it was interesting and neat. I think if I had read it earlier, I’d probably not appreciated the intricacy of the book.

Thoughts on The Great Gatsby? Come on and spill them!

Read a book! Read a Book!

It was a weekend of reading- I usually get at least one book read a weekend (it all depends on the weekend plans), but this weekend since I only had these 2 plans: 1. Get rid of tan lines for my bridesmaid dress and 2. Be an Olympic nerd- I was able to get some reading completed.

First, I finished Emily Giffin’s Where We Belong. A good book, very enjoyable. My next bit of reading was The Great Gatsby- not quite finished with the book; but very close. I made huge strides in Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld- less than a 100 pages left. I also finished the 4th installment of The Sweet Life- the ongoing drama of the Wakefield twins.

What did you read this weekend?

Emily Giffin and her cast of characters….

First, I love Emily Giffin books. I love how she writes characters that are flawed and real. Love that her books are great for discussion because people can identify with them. I also like how she doesn’t just toss the characters aside after she writes about them- occasionally they reappear in another book. I knew this little ploy about her (hello Dex and Rachel in The Heart of the Matter) and yet when I picked the new book Where We Belong, it did not even cross my mind that characters from another book, a book that I unfortunately have not read would reappear in the latest book (and spoilers of how their book was!)

Is it a big deal? No, in the scheme of it all, not even a blip on the radar. I’ll still read the other book, even though I know some things about it now. Just a part of me wished I’d thought of the possibility that characters from other books would be in the newest one.

However, if in any way this would dampen your enjoyment of her great books, be advised that if you have not read all the books, to either read them or be ok with the information you will find out while reading Where We Belong. Just a friendly heads-up!

Literary Friday ya’ll…..

Friday- TGIF. Katy Perry Songs. #DAYSASTER (if you are a fan of Days of Our Lives). Oh yeah, and tonight- Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics- I love the Olympics!

So since this is a special Literary Friday (because of the Olympics) I’m going to change some things up- I’ll be raving and providing information on Literary things, but will tie it in with the Olympics by breaking categories down in Gold, Silver and Bronze worthy sections.

Gold Medal:

1. Deep South Magazine and their Literary Friday- a weekly what’s what in the world of literary gems. Always insightful!

2. Mia March The Meryl Streep Movie Club– I’m def giving it a Gold Medal. I enjoyed it that much.

Silver Medal:

1. Melinda Mcguire is still looking for people to guest-blog for her #STHRN idea. She’s had some interesting people (and my guest-blog on Rowan Oak, Faulkner, books will be posted in August!) so if you have ideas, please check her page out!

2. Francine Pascal- The Sweet Life– the stories of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield at 30. Part soap-opera, part nostalgia- and all together a delicious little e-serial. It’s  really the only reason I look forward to Sunday now, so that I can read the latest installment.

3. The blog Man VS Books Club (@MVBClub) and the staff- they post reviews of books that are current and getting quite a buzz, committed to exposing readers to books that they might not know of , and always up for a literary chat on Twitter. Great work, ya’ll!

Bronze Medal:

1. Emily Giffin and the latest book- The book is great, actually, but there is a teensy spoiler to another couple in one of her books. I hadn’t read that book yet, so now I know basically how things work out. I’ll still read the other book, but I wish I’d known that she’d have these characters in her new book Where We Belong.

Other Literary Friday Tidbits:

1. Kimberly Brock, Anna Kline and the Grits and Soul Band will be making their way across the South to different bookstores. Kim will be signing The River Witch and Anna/Grits and Soul will be singing/playing. Don’t miss out!

2. My #fridayreads are as follows: Where We Belong by Emily Giffin (almost finished), Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald.

Happy Reading!

The Meryl Streep Movie Club….

I just finished reading The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March. Cannot not say enough good things about the book. Some people are drawing similarities to books such as Jane Austen Book Club and Friday Night Knitting Club, but since I’ve never read those- I’m not sure if books are similar.

I love how the movie of the week for the club helped open a discussion amongst the ladies (and helped shed some light on personal problems). I also liked how each of them did not view the movie the same way- some felt empathy with Meryl Streep’s character, while others did not approve of the choices made in that role.
But no matter agreeing or not, each movie lead to a discussion that was thoughtful and frank.

A movie or a book can lead to wonderful discussions- but sometimes the movie is easier to discuss because it’s a visual experience. Are there any movies or books that have lead to a discussion amongst friends and family?