2025 Books

I think I set a new  record for me in 2025.  35 Books!!!  To some, that's peanuts as some people read that many books in a month! But to someone who just a few years ago, barely read 6 books in a year, I'm pretty happy with myself.  

You'll see from the book covers that I am missing 3 books...I don't know how for the life of me I missed them but the others were:

Rules for Fake Girlfriends - Reagan Revord (read after Black Bear)
The Widow - John Grisham (last book I read)
Boldness & Battlescars - Brittnay Collins (read before Huckleberry Finn)

I read 5 biographies, include 2 by Osmonds!  I loved the Cher book and I'm looking forward to part 2 of that that will be released in November 2025 (I believe) and Tim Curry's book. His book was so fun, he's got such a great sense of humor.  The only biography and only book I didn't really enjoy was surprisingly Sally Field's.  It was more about her mother than her, in my opinion.  It was just OK but I wouldn't really recommend it.  

I read 2 classics - Huckleberry Finn and Frankenstein and really loved Frankenstein...it was totally different than I expected it to be.  You might include Swan House in there too.  It is an older book (2001) but I don't if it is really defined as a classic.  I enjoyed that book a lot, because it took place in Atlanta and I recognized every place they were talking about and I learned a lot of history, especially about the High Museum and Woodruff's Art Center that I didn't know before.  

I never realized it until this year, but I really like Historical Fiction books.  The Lion Women of Tehran, James, Swan House, The Stolen Queen, The God of the Woods, Broken Country, The Queen of Sugar Hill, The Story She Left Behind, The Book Club for Troublesome Women, My Friends & The Correspondent fell into this category.

I even read 2 political books, which is something I usually never do. I also read 3 religious non-fiction books.

I can usually pick a favorite book but this year was really hard because I pretty much loved all of them.  I guess my least favorite novel was probably The Stolen Queen.  It was ok, but the subject matter didn't appeal to me a great deal I guess some of my faves were Theo of Golden, about a man who shares happiness and joy to others, The Queen of Sugar Hill, which is a fiction book about the life of Hattie McDaniel, but it contained a lot of true facts about her, The Bookclub from Troublesome Women, about a group of female friends and their lives in the early 1960s, & The River Is Waiting, about a man, who serves time in prison after he accidentally kills one of his twin children...it was sad, very sad, but a good story.

Did you read any fun books in 2025?? 

Happy 2026 - New Year, New Goals

Happy 2026!

Which seems so odd to say...do you know in 4 years it will be 2030?  That's seems so futuristic to me. 

 

Last year was a bit of a struggle for me with the changes in the U.S. political environment and I admit I didn't always have my best Christian hat on during some things that happened.  But I have tried, I really have.  We have to remember it doesn't matter that we agree with people or not, EVERYONE is a child of God, even if you don't think they act like it...they are a person that God created and loves and He calls us to do the same, which is really challenging when some people feel (in your opinion) like they don't come from God but the other place.  I'm really working on that and I'm going to focus on being a better person in 2026.  
 

Philippians 4:8 tells us....Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I think that is something we should all focus on...focusing on the good, focusing on the excellent instead of focusing on bad things and things we disagree with.

So...what are my goals this year?

Spiritual Goals:

Well as a part of being a better Christian and a better person, I'm reading the Bible in a Year again.  I've done this in 2020 and 2023 and now I'm doing it again this year.  You just read (or listen to the podcast) daily and at the end of the year, you've read through the entire Bible.  I encourage you do read along with me. I follow a Catholic Priest's reading plan because it is quite popular...just look up Bible in a Year with Father Mike and subscribe.  

One thing I do is that I do this reading in the mornings, because I want to give God the best of my time and my day instead of trying to squeeze it in to what is left-over at the end of the day, but you can do what works best for you.

Crafty Goals:

I've had this goals for many, many, many years, but I do finally want to finish my 15 year old UFO (Unfinished Object), the  Around the World Afghan and I have another one that I want to finish another blanket I started 3 years ago (has it really been that long?), the Flower Power Blanket.

I do have a current WIP (Work in Progress) Prayer Shawl but I'm almost done with that.  I've promised myself that I will not start the Imagination Quilt or any other project until I finish my WIP and UFOs. I really want to do that Imagination Quilt, so finishing my projects will be a good motivation.

I also have a cardigan I want to make and another afghan I really want to do.  I may do those before the Imagination Quilt because I already have the supplies for them, even if I haven't started those yet.  I just feel like I need to use what I have first.  After all the Imagination Quilt isn't going anywhere. 

There are so many beautiful projects I want to make, but oh where is the time?  As soon as I start something, I see something else that I want to make.   

Other Goals:

Continue on my health journey.  I lost more than 20 pounds within the past few months and I'm exercising more and I want to continue to lost weight and get in better health.

I read 35 books last year (more in a future post) and that is a record for me. I don't know that I am really setting a goal for how many books to read (although I set it at 15 for the Goodreads challenge) but I'm a member of a book club and I read every monthly selection last year and I hope to do the same this year.

Project Life...continue taking a photo a day every day but not sure I will continue to share it here, I haven't decided.

Travel...I want to get back to taking my courthouse and covered bridge photos.  I didn't do a lot last year because of my health and the high and low temperatures and also my commitments but I really want to get back to that this year.

Genealogy...I didn't do a lot of that last year either, also mostly due to health and other commitments but I do want to get back to it. 

 Remember these are GOALS, not resolutions.  All I can do is to try and be the best person that I can be.

 

 

 

  

2024 Year in Books

I read 18 books this year!  I see on Goodreads that some people read 60, 180, even 486 books a year...I will never read that many books in a year, basically because I have a life outside of reading.  I mean if you are reading 486 books, that's more than one a day, unless the books are like 100 pages, you'd be reading practically all the time.  I mean who has time for that? No me!  

18 books may not be a lot for many but it is for me!  Goodreads only list 17 books but they didn't count the BIBLE. Yes, I read the complete Bible this year...what a great feeling that is.  I've started it in the past and made it as far as October, but never made it completely through.  I'm going to try again this year, although I am already a few days behind in my daily reading, but I can catch up pretty easy.

I always read a classic novel each year and this year I picked two..."Flowers for Algernon" (so good) and "Island of the Blue Dolphin", which I think I may have read when I was younger, but I didn't remember much about it so I'm glad I read it (maybe, again?)

So....

My two favorite books this year were "The Women" and "The Wedding People".  "The Women" was historical fiction, which I don't usually read but it was so, so good and very eye opening to hear about the nurses that served during the Vietnam War and especially to hear about them once the war was over.

"The Wedding People" was just a super fun read!  

I don't have a "least favorite book"...I enjoyed ever single book I this year.  Some, I don't even know  how I found out about them, it's like they just popped up in my email or maybe on my Goodreads' feed..I honest don't know.  Some I found out about when the author was doing the promos on them by going on talk shows and such.

I'm looking forward to 2025 reading.  I have so many that I want to read already! 

Did you read any of these books this year? Which ones?

Book Review - The Wedding People

 

I don't even remember how I came across this book.  I think it was in an email from Amazon or maybe I was just on Amazon's website and saw it.  It sounded interesting so I thought I would check it out.

Here is the synopsis:

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years―she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan―which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

This book was so good! There were only 2 things I didn't like about it but luckily improved as the book went on.  In the beginning, there was quite a bit of gratuitous and unnecessary foul language.  Also, the writer was constantly using the lead character's name way too much.  Ex: Phoebe decided to put Phoebe's feet in the pool and Phoebe thought it felt good to Pheobe. Phoebe walked into the room and saw a chair. Phoebe decided that that would be a great place for Phoebe to sit and look at the ocean. (not direct quotes but you get the general idea).

This book started out intriguing, you didn't really know what Phoebe was going to carry out the plan of why she came to the Cornwall Inn or if she'd change her mind about it.  The entire inn, except for her room has been reserved and rented out by a wedding party.  The wedding events take place over a whole week, because the bride's father left her a huge inheritance and she knew he'd want her to spend it all on the wedding of her dreams.  

When Phoebe arrives in the lobby and sees all the wedding people, she gives them little names based on their appearance.  Two of the bridesmaids were waiting to check in and they had just arrived from the airport.  One hade a high bun on her head and the other had a neck pillow still around her neck so they were deemed "High Bun" and "Neck Pillow".

The book describes the characters and setting so well that you feel like you are there in the Inn yourself and seeing the people and your surroundings. You can just picture yourself in her room with its beautiful view from the balcony.

Right away, Phoebe meets the bride, Lila, who initially thinks she must be a guest because EVERYONE is...when she finds out she isn't and why she is really there, the bride is not a happy camper and at first comes across as a spoiled brat. 

But as the book progresses, you learn a lot about Lila and she and Phoebe form a bond.  Lila trusts her and confides in her because she really doesn't feel all that connected to High Bun and Neck Pillow or her own mother.  She somehow feels it is okay to confess and talk to this lady she barely knows.

It's funny at times, thought provoking at times and just overall an entertaining book - I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

2023 Year in Books

2023 was apparently my year for re-reading books.  I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series.  The first book, I finished in a couple of days, but boy, that last book was a LOT longer than the first one and it took me a while to finish it.  I also re-read "The Firm" because a sequel is out (next on my list after I finish my current book that reading).

I see so many of my scrapbooking friends books and boy, they read a LOT more than I do...One of them read (or listened to) over 800 books!!  Many read 100 or more.  I can't ever see me reading (or listening to) that many books in a year.  In fact, I hit a record this year with 25.  That is a lot for me!  I can't imagine how you get through 800 books a year, they must be super short books or you are reading/listening practically all day long.  I would love to read 30 books this year, but set my goal at a realistic 15.

Click on photo to enlarge

March 2023 Book Review

 Last month I completed 4 books

1) Lucky Suit by Lauren Blakley

2) Murder on an Irish Farm by Carlene O'Conner

3) Inside Out by Demi Moore

4) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Harry Potter book was a re-read.  I decided I want to re-read all the Harry Potter books, as it has been over 20 years since the first book was released. Plus, I love them.  

I didn't realize Lucky Suit was actually part of a series (The Guys Who Got Away #6), perhaps that is why I didn't really enjoy it much.

Murder on an Irish Farm is also part of a series (do you sense a theme so far).  It is book #8 of the Irish Village Mystery books.  Now these, I have read them all and I LOVE them.  They are what you call "cozy murder" mysteries.  The book is rather light-hearted, even though someone has been murdered.  But you are invested in the person that is murdered, but rather the main character of Siobhán O'Sullivan and how she goes about solving the crime.

I decided to select Demi Moore's 2019 biography "Inside Out" to review.  It was rather short, as far as biographies go (262 pages).  

Overall, I thought it was good.  I enjoyed it.  I do feel like she left a lot out though.  For instance, while she talks about how she met the men in her life (Emilio, Estevez, Freddy Moore, Bruce Willis, Ashton Kutcher), she doesn't get too personal into how she felt with them or give any personal details about their lives together and their breakups.  She kind of keeps it on the surface.

She talks quite a bit about how her parents were drug addicts and alcoholics and how she too, had problems with both drugs and alcohol.  She doesn't really seem to blame her parents for her problems but it is clear she knows she didn't really have good role models in her life.

She practically raised herself once she became a pre-teen.  She does mention her early beginnings with modeling and film roles but again, didn't really offer much insight on how all that came to be.  She mentions she started modeling because a girlfriend told her how she could make some money.  She talks about her first movie major movie role and the experience of filming it (Blame It on Rio), but doesn't mention how she obtained the role or how she really got her start in the industry.  She just says "When I was filming Blame It on Rio...I met this person and I did this" but how did she get that role, how did she feel about it, was she happy about it? Excited? What made her want to go into the movie industry?

Several times throughout the book, she discussed her body issues. Isn't it hard to believe that someone as beautiful as her would have body issues? But it just proves that all women do.  It made me a bit angry at the industry and I know this goes on, but still...When she was in "One Crazy Summer" she said she had put on a little weight (reasons for this is explained in the book) but please...she was still amazingly thin and beautiful.  Honestly, she is NOT fat in this film!

 

But before she filmed her next picture, "St. Elmo's Fire", Joel Schumacher, told her she was too fat and needed to lose 20 pounds.  God Bless Her, she said, "I knew he was right", I was so fat!.  How sad that she thought she was fat! How awful that he said she had to lose 20 pounds! I bet your bottom dollar he didn't tell Emilio Estevez to lose 20 lbs before he would give him the role - UGH!! Such a double standard.

Also, didn't it tick you off how Mare Winngham's character, Wendy, was always saying things and others were saying things about her weight - like she was a huge blob or something..OMG, if Wendy was considered fat, I'd hate to know what that think of me...but I don't care and I digress...

Back to Demi's book...while she did tell some a few very personal stories, overall, it just felt like she kept it at the surface.

After reading about her parents and a few other adults in her life, I think she just really tries to protect her heart and by keeping things on the surface, this is how she protects herself, and honestly, I can't say that I blame her.

February 2023 Book Review

 

I read 3 books last month...one of which was actually a re-read.  I had read "The Guardians" years before but my sister recently read for the first time and pass the book along to me.  I couldn't remember for sure that I had read it so I started it and a few chapters in, I realized I HAD read it before.  But, I couldn't quite remember the entire story or how it ended so decided to finish it.

I also read "Sleeping Dogs Lie" - which was a short novella and "How to Sell A Haunted House"

"Sleeping Dogs Lie" was a short little murder mystery. 

I chose to review "How to Sell a Haunted House" this month.

First, I want to start off by saying that I have never even heard of this author before, but the title got my attention.  Had I known this was a "horror" book and not really a "ghost" book, I wouldn't have read it.  I do not like horror. 

The book started out really good.  A single woman living in California with her young daughter, who left Charleston, NC behind.  Her parents still lived in the family home and her brother is also still living in Charleston.  She got along ok with her parents but she always felt they favored her brother and she and her brother did not get along at all and barely spoke to each other.

She gets a call that her parent were both killed in a car accident.  Her mom had been taking her dad to the hospital because he had some kind of fall and they were in a crash along the way and both died.

She goes back to NC for the funeral and to help settle the estate.  Creepy things happen in the house.  Her mom was a doll collector and made puppets her entire life, which she used in Christian puppet shows.  She could feel the eyes of the dolls/puppets upon her.

When she arrives at the house, the TV is on, she finds her mom's purse and her dad's cane in the living room and thinks that is odd but thought...well, they rushed to the hospital, I guess they left in such a hurry they forgot to turn off the TV and left some things behind.

She goes upstairs and checks out her old room and hears the TV again. She knows she turned it off, she goes downstairs and unplugs it and notices that a couple of the dolls seem to have moved.  But she chalks it up to her imagination.

After the funeral a day later, she returns to the house and finds the TV on again.  She accuses her brother of turning it on but he swears he hadn't been in the house since before their parents died. The dolls, appear to have moved again.

So far...so good....

THEN, it gets really stupid, really fast....come to find out, her mom's favorite clown puppet named Pupkin, comes to life and long story short...it conjures up an imaginary blue 8-legged dog from their childhood, makes the dog real, has it attack her, possesses the brother (while saying "Mark gone, Pupkin now"), etc. etc.  There is a gruesome arm amputation with a circular saw involved and even after the puppet eventually seems to be destroyed for good..guess what?? 

Nope, her daughter had her other grandmother make her an exact replica even though she'd never seen the puppet before.  Now the daughter has the puppet on her hand and is possessed by the thing.  The puppet talks through the person that has it on their hand and talks in a baby voice and says sadistic poems and things like “Pupkin here! Pupkin here! Everybody laugh! Everybody cheer!” and "Ca Ca Wee Wee" 

At first we are to believe Pupkin, the clown puppet, is possessed, then we are told it isn't possessed, it is cursed, then we are told, it isn't cursed, it is haunted by a ghost.  I won't say who the ghost, so I don't spoil it, but it is reveled later and I saw it coming and knew it from almost the start.

I found myself rolling my eyes and groaning so much throughout this book.  The thing is, it started out so good and the story about the family relationships was good and I stuck with it because I ultimately wanted to see the dog-gone puppet destroyed for good.  I honestly thought it might have a little twist at the end with Pupkin resurfacing at the very end somehow, but thank goodness that didn't happen.

If you like movies like "Child's Play" and enjoy all the other Chucky movies, you will probably like this but if you are like me and find those kind of stories dumb, then stay away from this one.

Book Review - Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before

 
I think I might write a monthly book review...just picking one...some months, like this one, I read or listen to quite a bit of books (well quite a bit for me). Other months, I may not even read or listen to a book.  

This month, I finished FOUR

1)  The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

2) Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tommorrow

3) Mary Wickes" I Know I've Seen That Face Before

4) Daisy Jones & The Six

I am selecting "Mary Wickes: I Know I've Seen That Face Before" by Steve Taravella.  The reason I am picking this book is because I bought this book over 5 years ago...gosh I can't believe it was that long ago....I bought it second hand.  I have always liked Mary Wickes and enjoyed her in every thing I've seen her in so I wanted to read more about her.

Who is Mary Wickes, you might say?  Well, she really IS the face you've seen before. She never had a leading role but she had hundreds of supporting roles.  Most of the time, she was cast as a house-keeper, a nurse or a nun.

You may know her from the 1950s as the house-keeper/inn-keeper in "White Christmas"

Or perhaps you recognize her from the 1960s as she appeared in various roles over several episodes

My friends from the 1970s will definitely know her from "Sigmund & The Sea Monsters", where she appeared as "Aunt Zelda"

In the 1980s, we all know her as Maggie in the "The Father Dowling Mysteries"

In the 1990s, one of her more recognized roles was in "Sister Act" as Sister Mary Lazarus, the previous choir director.

After reading the book, which was incredibly researched, I found that I liked her even more.  I won't go into her whole life story, but she was a single child raised by conservative, high-moral parents.  She was very close to them.  

Her strong morals followed her throughout her life and I so admired her for this.  Her contracts usually included the right to change the dialogue with words or subject matter she found inappropriate.  Sometimes, she even had a say so over the whole script, not just her role.  

She lived a frugal life.  While she made very good money for her roles, she never took anything for granted.  She lived a modest and frugal life and lived in her apartment (which she purchased when they were converted to condos).  She just didn't see a need to waste money.  

She was EXTREMELY close friends with Lucille Ball...best of friends!  Mary was an only child and Lucy didn't have any biological sisters and it seems these two had a real sisterhood.  They were so close that Lucy Arnez delivered Mary's eulogy when she passed since Mary was just a part of the family.

 Some might have seen Mary as a prude as she grew older but she wasn't.  She was set in her ways, and lived a good, righteous life.  She didn't have a large circle of friends but she was very, very loyal to those the friends she had and maintained long lasting friendships.  

Mary, in my opinion, never really got the full recognition she deserved from Hollywood.  She was often overlooked for awards and such because she didn't have major roles.  Even after she passed, the Academy Awards didn't reference her in their annual memorial segment...I mean, come on!  But...to their credit, Mary was kind of private and only let those close to her know what was going on in her life, so perhaps the Academy didn't even know she had passed.

So...if you are watching an old movie like "The Trouble with Angels" or "Sister Act" or an old TV Show like "Bewitched", "The Beverly Hillbillies" or "The Danny Thomas Show" - you'll be sure to spot Mary - take a minute and thank her for her contribution to entertainment.

2022 Year in Books

 

I typically set a small goal to read a few books a year.  Honestly, I generally set it pretty low - like 6 books a year...that is one book every 2 months.  I always feel pretty accomplished if I meet that goal and I find myself quite surprised with several ladies on the 2Peas Refugees board state they read like 120, 180 or over 200 books.  I honestly don't know how people have time to read that many books...do they read super fast?  Do they have a job?  I don't see how anyone that works full-time, outside of the home, would have time to read 200 books unless they just work and read.  Maybe their books are very small - like 50 or 100 page books?  I don't know.  I can't even fathom reading that many books, when I am lucky to read 6.

Well, in 2021, I completed 11 books so I thought...why not make a goal of 12 books for 2022 - one book a month on average.  I surprised myself though and actually completed 23 books.

Now to many people, 23 books may sound pathetic but to me - WOWZER!!  I can't believe I finished 23 books, almost twice my goal.  I'm still keeping my goal at 12 for 2023.  

Fave book of the year...this was tough because I really liked several.  I guess my top 3 books were (in no particular order)

Enough Already by Valerie Bertinelli
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney
A Day Like This by Kelley McNeil

Probably my least favorite book was Broken Horses by Brandi Carlisle.  While it wasn't a bad book, it really didn't talk all that much about her personal life/feelings/emotions and came across to me as more of a "look who I know" and "look how successful I am" - sorry, but that was just my take of it.  I was lucky enough to see Brandi Carlisle in concert this past September and she gave an incredible show...so much energy and the crowd was wild and loved every minute.  But her book, to me at least, just came off kind of "braggy" for lack of a better word.

I always pick a "Classic" book to read every year and one year's selection was "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  It was quite a bit different from the movie.  I really liked the character of Holly Golightly in the movie version, but in the book...she really wasn't a very likable person...she is selfish, self-absorbed and abandons people.  After reading the book, I wondered why it was even turned into a movie...guess it is a good thing they changed some major things to make the movie enjoyable.  I am glad I read the book but still not sure why it gets all the accolades that it does. I also read "Little House in the Big Woods" I actually think I read this once, many, many years ago, but I can't say for sure.  

I'm not sure what "Classic" book I will read  next year.  Hmmm..

 

2017 Books Read

I read (or in some cases listened to) 19 books in 2017.  That is a new record for me.  I generally read 6 or less books in a year.  It amazes me because I know that some of my friends over at 2peasrefugees read WAY more (many are over 100) but I just have to assume that most of the ones that have read that many books in a year either (a) read very, very fast and/or (b) do not work 60-70 hours a week outside of the home like I do.  I simply do not have time to read that many books, work full time (plus), maintain a home and some sort of a social life.

Anyway...I am very pleased with myself (although the perfectionist in me is a tad upset that it wasn't an even 20 books - maybe next year!)

I do a reading challenge each year over on Goodreads and my challenge this year was 6 books (which as you can see, I surpassed) - for 2018, I am taking a bold step (for me) and challenging myself to 12 books - which is an average of 1 a month.

I may even take on some of the Pop Sugar Reading Challenges.  We shall see.

Anyway...I did some Project Life layouts of all the books I read this year and thought I would share here (click on photos to enlarge)

Favorites for the year: A Man Called Ove and Wish Me Home.
Second Place Contender: Here's to Us

'

Similar Book Covers

I am currently reading the book "Wish Me Home" by Kay Bratt (which is pretty good so far).  The other day, I got an email from Amazon with Kindle book suggestions and one of them looked familiar.  I realized it looked very familiar to the cover of "Wish me Home" - then I started poking around and found 2 more books that I thought also had a similar cover.

There are probably even more that look similar to these - do you know of any?

Whatcha Reading Wednesday

Normally I have W.I.P. (work in progress) Wednesday but I say "normally" as if I have been making regular WIP posts, which I haven't.  Why?  Because I haven't been working on any crochet or knit projects lately. 

After all I went through last year, I just can't always find the joy I need to do crafty things.  I have 3 projects in the works and one of them just needs to have squares sewed together.  It was a mystery CAL, which I didn't end up liking much so I have set it aside.  I guess I will piece it together, maybe next week I will start - I will probably gift it to my friend's dog to use as a blanket.  I have sworn of mystery CALs forever...I have only done 2 but didn't like either of them and decided I don't like mysteries.....except for mystery books

(how did you like that lead in)

I just finished reading "Jaws".  I have seen the movie a gahjillion times - yes - a gah-jillion times but never read the book so I decided to read it (when I was at the beach no-less)

 

The basic storyline was similar to the movie but there were some differences.  Some minor, some major.

**** SPOILER ALERT ****
(STOP READING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW)


First of all, in the movie, it appears Chief Brody is somewhat new to his job - maybe a year or less but in the book, he has been sheriff for about 17 years, very well seasoned.  The characters in both books are about the same but the Chief Brody in the movie is a bit more physically fit. 

In the movie, Chief Martin Brody and his wife, Ellen, have 2 boys (about 12 and 6).  In the book, they have 3 boys ranging from 17 to 10.

In the movie, lovable Richard Dreyfuss plays the character of Hooper, the marine biologist, with a great interest in sharks.  He is fascinated and excited to be on this journey to catch the Great White.  In the book, however, Hooper is kind a yuppie - grew up kind of wealthy - tall, blond and tan. 

As it turns out, in the book, Hooper and Ellen have a past.  She use to date his brother when she was in high school.  She is quite attracted to Hooper (in the book) and flirts with him big time.  Not only does she flirt with him, she sets up a rendezvous' !!  She sleeps with Hooper and gets a little afternoon delight at a local motel.  Ugh! 

I hated that part in the book because I love their relationship in the movie - very close and supportive.  In the book, Brody is suspicious of Hooper and Ellen but his suspicions are not validated. Thank goodness, he never finds out and part of the reason why is because....Hooper dies in the book!!  Ugh!  I didn't mind that the book Hooper died because I was mad at him for sleeping with Ellen but I was glad that the movie Hooper didn't die because I loved the movie Hooper.

Steven Spielberg totally changed the Hooper character and I am glad he did - Hooper is likeable in the movie - you cheer for him.  In the book, you don't like what he does with Ellen - other than that, he isn't really a bad guy but you don't feel too bad for him when "the fish" as they mostly call it in the book, ends up eating him out of that so-called "shark-protecting cage". 

As for the character of Quint.  Robert Shaw played him quiet well in the movie - very much like the book character but with less cussing (thank goodness - the book had a lot of that).  The only bad thing about the book though - is that Quint doesn't really become involved until about the last 70 pages or so - he isn't in it very much.  He dies, like he dies in the movie. 

The movie had kind of a "brothers in arms/buddy" feel to it - these 3 guys with nothing in common that come together, become friends and kill a great white shark!  They don't bond like that in the book - they get along alright but they are not "buddies" by any means.

As you most likely know, the end of the movie is spectacular, when Brody blows the shark up into a billion pieces and you just want to stand up and cheer.  He doesn't blow it up in the book, he  harpoons it, he kills it and then kicks back to shore holding onto one of those floating barrels.  It was not a big dramatic ending like the movie.  Of course there is no soundtrack to the book so that probably helps the movie too - haha!

All and all - I give the book 4 stars.  It was a really good read - I would have given it 5 if it didn't have so much cussing (the book was more violent than the movie too if you can believe that but you do expect that in a book about a killer shark). 

If you never read it, you should give it a chance.

The Boxcar Children

When I was a little girl, living in Columbus, Georgia, I loved library day at school - Waddell Elementary !  We had a day of the week that our class got to go to the library and just browse and read and check books out.  90% of the time I would head straight to the shelf where "The Boxcar Children" books were.

I loved reading the tales of Henry, Jessie, Violet and Benny (and Watch, their dog) - and I loved, loved, love the illustration in the book - like the one above.  I think I liked them because they were silhouette type illustrations so I could imagine for myself what they really looked like.

The covers have been updated and modernized and have more detail illustrations on it (on the cover, not sure about inside the books) but here is what the book looked like that I read back in the day.

My favorite character was Violet - I think it was because I could relate to her.  She was about 10 years old (I was probably 7 or 8 at the time).  She is the most sensitive of the children and is skillful at painting and sewing. (Crafty girl - just like me).  She can frequently win over grouchy characters and is good with animals. (I have always been very good with animal and sometimes prefer their company over humans - LOL).  Violet is often very shy (just like me) and loves playing the violin (well I didn't play violin but I was learning to play piano at the time). Of course, her favorite color is violet or purple (again - just like me) and she always wears one of those colors (I don't do that but would like to).

Even though this is a children's book (actually a series of books) - I've been thinking about picking this up and re-reading it - it has been a VERY long time and I think I would enjoy re-visiting some old friends.

If I were rich and famous - I would make this book into a movie (which as far as I know has never been done).  Why hasn't anyone thought of that? 

 

What books did you enjoy as a child ?

Frank L. Baum - Did YOU know ?

Recently I saw Oz, The Great and Powerful.  It was a good movie with incredible special effects (almost too many special effects ~ at times it seemed that was the focus instead of the story) but it did have a good story. Even though it wasn't actually ONE of Frank L. Baum's Wizard of Oz book series.

Notice how I stress ONE.  After seeing the movie, I am totally and utterly amazed that pretty much everyone I know (a) thought this new movie was a remake of The Wizard of Oz and (b) didn't know that The Wizard of Oz was actually a SERIES of books, not just one book.  I must have told this to about 10 people now and none of them knew this was a series!  I just assumed this was common knowledge.  Apparently not.

Now granted, originally in 1900, Baum wrote The Wonder Wizard of Oz without any thought of a sequel. However, after reading it, thousands of children wrote letters to him, requesting that he write another story about Oz.  So, in 1904, he wrote and published the first sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz.  Then he went on to write 12 more sequels...so he wrote 14 books in all just about Oz.  The books include:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900
The Marvelous Land of Oz, 1904
Ozma of Oz, 1907
Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, 1908
The Road to Oz, 1909
The Emerald City of Oz, 1910
The Patchwork Girl of Oz, 1913
Tik-Tok of Oz, 1914
The Scarecrow of Oz, 1915
Rinkitink in Oz, 1916
The Lost Princess of Oz, 1917
The Tin Woodman of Oz, 1918
The Magic of Oz, 1919
Glinda of Oz, 1920

And you thought J.K. Rowling wrote a lot of Harry Potter books!  You will notice a little break between the years 1910 and 1913 when he didn't publish any Oz books. In The Emerald City of Oz, he wrote that Ozland had lost contact with the rest of the world (in other words, that was going to the be last of it) but .... his readers would have none of that so he started back in 1913 and wrote an Oz book every year after that, until he died in May 1919.

*** If you are interested, you can get all 14 Books on your Kindle for a mere 95 cents ****

What you also may not have known is that even after his death, Baum's publisher had Ruth Plumly Thompson write 21 more sequels - 21 !!  Wow !!

So collectively, the Wizard of Oz series consist of  35 books - nothing the sneeze at !!! 

Yet another thing most people don't realize is that the Oz series of books were not the only books that Frank L. Baum wrote.  He wrote 21 other non-Oz related books.

And still ANOTHER thing many people don't know is that there was a 1990 TV movie (which you can watch below) called The Dreamer of Oz, which was kind of a biography on Frank L. Baum's writing of the first book, which starred the very cute and talented, John Ritter.  Now I don't know how much of this is true but in that movie, I recall that Baum came up with the name of "OZ" when he looked at a filing cabinet that was labeled O - Z and that was how the name came to be.

And one OTHER thing is that many people are not aware that there is another Oz movie called Return to Oz, that starred a very young 11 year old Fairuza Balk (I just love her!)

So.... Now You Know

And...if you have some time and are interested, you can watch the TV Movie

The Dreamer of Oz