Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Hygge Hygge Ho!!!



Dang!  I've been practicing Hygge my whole life and didn't even know it!  Such a trendsetter!  My Hygge lifestyle just proves I've got some hearty ancestry and should be living in a somewhat cooler climate!!!  It's hard to get all Hygge in Texas where the weather fluctuates wildly from hour to hour but I do my best!  I love love love snuggling on the couch with a cozy blanket, tons of candles lit, leggings and a comfy sweatshirt, no make-up, hot cup of tea and a good book.  I can go days without even turning on the TV and could definitely handle hibernation.  Add a hot bubble bath with lavender salts?  That's heaven!  For more information, check out the following:  http://hyggehouse.com/hygge

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/mentalhealth/i-practiced-hygge-and-its-kind-of-the-best-thing-ever/ar-BBRpWbh?ocid=ientp




 
 




Sunday, April 6, 2014

Finally!!

Finally!  A book worth reading!  I just finished reading "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" by Alice Hoffman and loved every minute of it!  I started reading it Saturday afternoon and couldn't put it down.  I finished this morning and it was one of those books that I didn't want to end.  So beautifully written.  I love reading about old New York and was thoroughly entranced by this book.

Unfortunately, I hated "Bread and Butter" immensely.  Another one of my recent reads that didn't live up to all the hype.  The three brothers were so unlikeable; I couldn't relate to any of them and thought the reviews were way off.  One of the reviews I read said something about "hilarious insights to the inner workings of a restaurant."  Hilarious?  Terribly depressing was more like it.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Some Goodreads, Some Not So Goodreads

Just finished reading "The Silent Wife" by A.S.A. Harrison.  Actually, I read it in one day. It's been compared to "Gone Girl" but I don't think that's very accurate.  The story is written in a similar style (he said / she said) but that's really about it.  The main female character, Jodi, is wound up tighter than a top and it's only a matter of time before she loses it on her cheating husband.

I read "The Fault in Our Stars" a couple of weeks ago and really, really did not enjoy this book.  Maybe I'm just too old??  I had downloaded it on my Nook and was halfway through it when KJ texted me and asked me to buy her a copy (she has a Kindle so we can't really share books).  Anyway, for her to ask me to buy a book is a big deal so when I was visiting T I picked up a copy of the book in one of the airport bookstores.  This YA novel is being made into a movie staring Shailene Woodley of "Divergent" fame.  She's about to become the new "It" girl in Hollywood.  Move over Jennifer Lawrence.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582846/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I've added a couple of new books to my Nook Wish list:

 "Bread and Butter" by Michelle Widgen (see NY Times review here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/books/review/bread-and-butter-by-michelle-wildgen.html?_r=0)

"The Museum of Extraordinary Things" by Alice Hoffman http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/alice-hoffmans-museum-of-extraordinary-things.html

Always on the lookout for a great book!  Please share your finds!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Invention of Wings

I recently finished reading Sue Monk Kidd's "Invention of Wings" and I have to say, I was so underwhelmed.  "The Secret Life of Bees" is one of my Top 10 favorite books and I really enjoyed "The Mermaid Chair" so I was pretty excited when her latest book came out.  Historical fiction is my favorite genre but this book just left me with an overwhelming feeling of disappointment.   Kidd's characters are usually so deep and intricate but this was not the case with this book and I felt absolutely no empathy towards any of them.

I just started reading "The Fault in our Stars" and did not realize it was kind of YA (young adult).  It's been on a lot of "must read" lists this year and I know the movie is to be released soon.  I'm only twenty or thirty pages in so we'll see how this one pans out.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Some Good Reads

Some of my favorite authors have new books coming out this Spring!  Love a good book -- at the beach, on the back deck, in between lacrosse games, at night, in the morning, rainy Sunday afternoon.  I don't think there's ever a bad time for a book!

For all you DaVinci Code fans, Dan Brown's newest book, Inferno, will be released mid-May!
Here's a brief overview:
In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.

Sophie Kinsella fans can get excited for her new book, Wedding Night, which should arrive in stores just in time for bridal season!
Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. No formal dates—just a quick march to the altar and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago. Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive—but surely this is her worst decision yet. And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career. To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night. As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better . . . or worse.

One of my favorite authors of all-time, Edward Rutherfurd, has a new saga, Paris, coming out the end of April.  Rutherfurd has also written New York, London (my favorite!), Russka (not my favorite) and Sarum.  His books are huge, sweeping sagas spanning generations. 
Moving back and forth in time across centuries, the story unfolds through intimate and vivid tales of self-discovery, divided loyalties , passion, and long-kept secrets of characters both fictional and real, all set against the backdrop of the glorious city—from the building of Notre Dame to the dangerous machinations of Cardinal Richlieu; from the glittering court of Versailles to the violence of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune; from the hedonism of the Belle Époque, the heyday of the impressionists, to the tragedy of the First World War; from the 1920s when the writers of the Lost Generation could be found drinking at Les Deux Magots to the Nazi occupation, the heroic efforts of the French Resistance, and the 1968 student revolt. With his unrivaled blend of impeccable research and narrative verve, Rutherfurd weaves an extraordinary narrative tapestry that captures all the glory of Paris. More richly detailed, more thrilling, and more romantic then anything Rutherfurd has written before, Paris: The Novel wonderfully illuminates hundreds of years in the City of Light and Love and brings the sights, scents, and tastes of Paris to sumptuous life.

Family Pictures, by Jane Green, is expected to be released next week.  I've enjoyed some of her other books, Babyville, Bookends, Mr. Maybe
Sylvie thought she had already experienced the worst that life could deal her: After her husband died, leaving her to raise Eve alone, what more could happen? Years later, Sylvie has a good life. Her daughter Eve will head off to college soon, and her second husband, Mark, may be ready to settle down into a sales manager position. While life with Jonathan brimmed with the glow of young love, life with Mark rings with a secure love. Maybe it's Mark's traveling that has kept their love life sparking after 11 years--years that have seen other marriages fail. Yet all is not well, not well at all, in Eve's life. Struggling to hide her worsening eating disorder, not to mention her secret second Facebook account, Eve's once-close relationship with Sylvie is deteriorating. One fateful weekend, Eve goes to an all-girls party in New York City, where she meets a kindred spirit, Grace, and the two girls swiftly abandon the others to their partying. Grace takes Eve home, where she meets Chris, Grace's older brother, who is instantly attracted to her. Grace's mother, Maggie, is a perfectionist (even her husband calls her the General), who has adopted a posh accent and posted rules throughout the opulent house. And it is there, in Maggie's lovely Connecticut home, that Eve sees a photograph that will ruin two families. Riddled with coincidences and unlikely secrets, Green's (Another Piece of My Heart, 2012, etc.) latest still manages to explore complex family dynamics with warmth. An inverted fairy tale in which the happily-ever-after occurs without the prince.


Apparently there is also a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada but I haven't been able to find much about it.  I think the original date was sometime this Spring but I don't know if that is still true.  If anyone hears anything, let me know so I can update my blog!  Thank you!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Good Year for Good Books


Had a chance to read some good books while I've been sick.  My mom suggested "The Shoemaker's Wife" by Adriana Trigiani.  I really enjoyed it and ordered a couple of her other books for my Nook.  I also read "Coming Out" by Danielle Steele.  Quick, easy read.  Nothing great; typical Danielle Steele.  She always sucks me in. 

I just started reading Mark Zusak's novel 'The Book Thief" and I'm intrigued. 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

To Gift Card or Not to Gift Card

We had a big discussion at work prior to the holidays about gift cards.  Our group was fairly evenly divided.  Some of us love giving gift cards for various reasons (I fall into this camp!) and most in this group love receiving them, too (ditto!).  The other half of our group felt gift cards are a cop-out and really aren't making much of an effort, 

Some people are really, really hard to buy for (cough!  cough!  my husband!) and some of us are really bad gift givers (raises hand!).  It's a bad combination.  He puts a lot of thought and effort into mine and the girl's gifts; I hate crowds and espcially don't enjoy shopping under pressure. 

In any event, I'm pretty lucky!  My family and friends know me so well! 
I luv, luv, luv receiving gift cards!
I luv it even more when the gift cards are for Barnes and Noble!  (I got 3 separate BN gift cards this year!) 
I also luv seeing "Reading Challenges" people post on FB, Twitter or their blogs.  I started reading the Sex & the City prequels this weekend, The Carrie Diaries, and am finishing up #2, Sex in the City, tonight.  Over Christmas break I read "Last Noel" Michael Malone (it was a recent Nook Free Friday selection) and I also read "Nemesis" Jo Nesbo. 

Came across this link and swooned.  http://www.flavorwire.com/240819/the-25-most-beautiful-college-libraries-in-the-world  Aren't libraries some of the most beautiful places in the world??? 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Have You Read Any Good Books Lately???


Last year I read a couple of Lisa See's books, Shanghai Girls and its sequel, Dreams of Joy. I really liked both books and decided to check a couple more of her novels. This year, so far, I've read Peony in Love and Snow Flower & the Secret Fan. I enjoyed the Snow Flower book, Peony in Love, eh. Not so much. http://www.lisasee.com/books/

I also read The Island by Victoria Hislop this month (one of my mother's recommendations) and think I will look into her other books. Last night I started reading A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith (yes, I'm back to historical novels) and I've also got The Leopard by Jo Nesbo qued up on my Nook. I read one of his other books, The Snowman last year and the style of writing was reminiscent of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (The Millennium Trilogy). Haven't seen the Dragon Tattoo movie yet. The book was so graphic and I don't know if I want to see that stuff on the big screen.


I'm always on the look out for a great book! Please share any titles / authors!

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