Period Drama Challenge

As my blog features both books and movie reviews, I also follow a few sites that discuss period dramas. Over at Lights, Camera...History! they feature photos, articles, and updates on soon to be released period dramas. I love the information they provide, and it really helps me keep track of the great films I'd like to track down, especially since many of them skip straight to DVD (only showing in LA & NYC). They are holding a Period Drama Challenge that allows you to choose how deep you want to get yourself into the challenge. Here are the levels of participation:

After careful deliberation, we’ve decided to set several levels of difficulty. Each person will select their levels according to the number of movies they want to see during the following year.

1. Just looking (2 movies)
2. Becoming interested (4 movies)
3. Faithful viewer (6 movies)
4. Clearly addicted (8 movies)
5. Undoubtedly obsessed (12 movies)

To make things more interesting, you can choose one or two themes for your challenge. Let us give you an example. Let’s say that Miss X chooses level 5 (12 movies) and decides to go for Kings & Queens and Wars & Revolutions. She simply has to divide those 12 movies between these two themes.

Challenge themes:

• Kings & Queens (central plot around royalty)
• Through the Centuries (1 movie per century)
• Wars & Revolutions (plot set during a war or revolution)
• Bonnets & Hessians (set during the Regency)
• Victorian Mist (set during the Victorian era)
• Maids & Knights (set during the Middle Ages)
• All Over the World (1 movie per country

I really love period dramas, so I chose to be #5--Undoubtedly Obsessed. I can't say that the pieces I'll pick will all be unfamiliar to me, but I'll try to choose things that I haven't reviewed yet (if I can). If you'd like to join, head over the Lights, Camera...History! at the link above to sign up. I think this should be great fun.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July. I know I'm in a beautiful location for the summer, but I have to admit that I'm missing our extended family. We've always celebrated the holiday together, going to a local parade, followed by a family barbecue in my aunt's back yard or down by the river, ending with a family firework show. Here in Hawaii it's just the two of us (mom and me). We're going to sleep in, head to the beach & eat our lunch there, and then drive later that night to the North Shore for a free fireworks show. I know! It sounds so ideal, and yet I'm really missing family this year.

So here's the thing. It really will be a relaxing, delightful day, but I'd like to butt in on your lives and hear what you're doing today! Are you going to be with family today (or were you), and are you glad to be? :) Let me know what you're doing this weekend to celebrate the 4th of July!

Everything Austen Challenge & a Quick Giveaway

I haven't been myself these past two days, so I didn't get this post up in time, but have been excited to announce that I'm joining the "Everything Austen Challenge" over at Stephanie's Written Word. Here are the details, in short:

The details! The Everything Austen Challenge will run for six months (July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2010)! All you need to do is pick out what six Austen-themed things you want to finish to complete the challenge.

She goes on to list a myriad of Austen items you might choose for your list, so here are the Austen-related things I've decided on:

1. Re-read Pride and Prejudice (on my Kindle...since it's been about 10 years since I read the original!)
2. The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy
3. The Other Mr. Darcy
4. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre
5. What Would Jane Austen Do
6. Re-Watch the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice

***A FEW OTHER AUSTEN OPTIONS: Just as a side note, at the beginning of the week, I posted a "condensed review" of two books coming out in September. Neither of these books appeared on Stephanie's original list, so I might recommend them to any that are involved in this challenge. You can see my post under "Release Dates: Jane Austen Sequels and Period Pieces." I also reviewed Sharon Lathan's extremely romantic sequel to Pride and Prejudice, Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One, which I adored for all it's romantic possibilities. Please put aside your own prejudices against sequels and give it a try! Last of all, I reviewed a romance novel, Seducing Mr. Darcy, which you can follow the hyperlink to read my review. I must be a real sucker for all things Austen, because while it was definitely a "romance" in all the best ways, I laughed my way through the novel and give it two thumbs up for entertainment. So, here are a few additional options to try out! (If you click on my Pride and Prejudice label, I think there might even be a couple I've missed, but I've listed some that stand out to me as especially good or memorable, in my opinion.)

I can't wait to get started! If you'd like to join, please visit Stephanie's Written Word (linked above) to participate. Also, in anticipation of the 4th of July, let me wish everyone the very best holiday!


This picture is the background on mylaptop. Can you tell where this comes from? Leave me a comment, letting me know where it comes from (be specific), and I'll draw one comment on July 10th to win a pretty little bookmark from Waimea Park here in Hawaii (I've fallen in LOVE with these bookmarks...they are wood & super flat). Please include your email address so I can contact you after the drawing! Twitter the giveaway, and come back to let me know and I'll add you in for another entry.

Rejuvenate & Renew Challenge Update: 6/29 to 7/5

I can't say that I've made marked progress in the Rejuvenate & Renew Challenge that I can record, but can say that I'm part way through reading Elie Krieger's Small Changes, Big Results (as I've mentioned before), and have been using her cookbook like crazy. It's a great cookbook, and have loved every recipe we've tried thus far.

If you're participating in this challenge, how are you doing? Post a reply and let me know, or leave us a link to your post!

On another note, I was awarded a couple of awards this month and wanted to say THANK YOU so much! It means a lot to me to be recognized by fellow bloggers, as we have such a great community.

The first was The Lemonade Award, which Andrea, a great librarian over at The Little Bookworm gave to me.

I also received the Humane Award, by Cathy over at One Eyed Stuffed Bunny and..., who has the cutest blog. I actually hadn't seen this award before, so here are the details:

The Humane Award is in order to honor certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world.

Thank you so much to both of you for this great award! I've been so inundated by my new teaching schedule (I teach for a great online school, along with my full-time teaching), that I've had little time to join my favorite community. To top it off, I have joined many other bloggers and fallen victim to the heinous migraines over the past two days. Honestly, we need to post a poll to find out just how many of us have this issue! Maybe it's a reading thing??? I sure hope not!

Anyway, thank you to the two of you for nominating me. I hardly know who to pass these along to, so I'd like to offer them to all my great blogging friends. Thank you for all you do!

Release Dates: Jane Austen Sequels & Period Pieces

For those involved in the Everything Austen Challenge, being held by Stephanie's Written World (which I'll post about on July 1st), you might be interested in some of the following books being released. Coming out later this fall are two really delightful Pride and Prejudice sequels: Loving Mr. Darcy, by Sharon Lathan, and Darcy and Anne, by Judith Brocklehurst. Both of these books come out in September, so I'll be posting my detailed reviews some time in August. For now, let me give you a taste!

Loving Mr. Darcy is the second book in Lathan's sequel series, following her first book Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One. (See my Review: Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy.) If you are a purist, I will say that Lathan's novels are a departure from the chaste I-daresn't-look-at-you-let-alone-let-you-touch-my-hand tale; however, as I stated in my review of her first novel, I felt that relinquishing my own prejudice over the Darcys' relationship allowed me to see the beautiful development of this newly married couple. My only sadness or regret with these novels, is that they end!

For more on this devastatingly romantic novel see: Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley

Darcy and Anne is a short, cute novel about Anne de Bourgh. Now that Darcy is out of the picture, what will happen to Anne? Will her health improve? Will her mother allow her to consider marrying another man? Will Anne ever get out from under her mother's iron-grip hold on her life? A delightful little read that I think doesn't tread on any Pride and Prejudice toes too much.

For more information on this cute little read: Darcy and Anne: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Lady Catherine will never find a husband for Anne...


The last release coming out is Georgette Heyer's novel, The Grand Sophy. As I received each of these books at the same time, I thought they released at nearly the same time. Much to my horror, I looked up the release date on this novel, and it comes out on July 1st! Yes, I've started reading the novel, so I hope to get it read and reviewed as soon as possible. Until then, let me just say that if you enjoy Regency fare, this novel has all the trappings of the time period to enjoy. So far, my reading of the novel has been completely delightful.

For more information on Heyer's novel: The Grand Sophy

Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Since I started teaching two large English classes for my online job just two weeks ago, I've been pretty much out of the loop. Being online for 4 to 6 hours a day for correspondence and grading can take it all out of me, and at that point I really do want to just head outside for a bit! However, in the midst of the chaos of teaching online, I flipped open The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan to just give it a little once over. That's all it took, and I was gone!

Synopsis: I'm not 100% sure I want to give this book any sort of synopsis for fear of giving away one single thing in the story. If you haven't read any reviews yet, I would recommend that you walk into this book as blindly as possible. I had read a few things, but very little. For the basics, Mary is a young woman entering that time in her life when she must begin the steps towards marriage. In the midst of that decision, Mary is living in a protected society, surrounded by the Unconsecrated. Who are they? What's her life to hold?

That's it. I refuse to say any more!

Review: As far as engaging me right away, this has to range right up there near the top of my list for the year! I had avoided reading too much about "what" it was about, and focused on the reviews others had given it. Thankfully, I knew little, and honestly had a huge, "What in the world?!?" factor going on from the first second. The style Ryan uses is light-handed, and although told in a first person narration that manages to leave you as out in the rain on what's going on as Mary is, it manages to really propel your reading of the story. I loved the thoughtful details that built on one another to continuously reveal small pieces of the story, which then had me gut-wrenchingly, emotionally engaged in the lives of Mary, her family, and her friends. Each time I thought I knew what was going on, another detail would emerge that kept me flipping pages. Mary had much more mature responses to life circumstances than I would have expected for someone of her age, but I still found her courage and love of life enthralling.

Having given it this glowing review, let me also say that this novel had me constantly looking over my shoulder at night, listening for funny noises, or gasping out loud, making those around me ask, "What's wrong?" To me, this book was downright SCARY! I had no idea that it would be so scary, but various scenes in this novel had my heart pounding, my palms sweating, and my head swimming...all the while trying to read even faster to find out what would happen.

Recommendation? Honestly, unless you get scared by Grover on Sesame Street, I'd recommend this book to just about anyone!

For more information see:The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

Review: Obama's Blackberry by Kasper Hauser

Okay, this Blackberry nut will admit to loving the stories that came out in the news about Obama's reticence to give up his "crackberry." I totally understood, and thought about how I'd feel if it were taken from me. I actually won this book from Drey's Library, so thank you for holding this giveaway, and also a thank you to Hatchette for offering these giveaways for book bloggers. Thanks all around!

Synopsis: Obama's Blackberry is exactly that, the president's correspondence via his Blackberry. Told in short email, text messages, and graphics, this little book takes you through a series of humorous conversations we think we might see on our new president's phone. The ones I found to be the funniest, were the ones from George W., and the "trick" emails to Joe Biden. (There was one really funny one about a Tickle Me Elmo that the president found in the Oval Office that had me laughing out loud!)

Review: As a short, coffee-table style book, this comic take on Obama's communication was hilarious in a lot of politically savvy sort of ways. If you didn't know who some of the characters were in the book, you wouldn't understand completely why they were so funny, but it still could make you giggle. Not that I completely understood who all of the people were, but I laughed at some references, such as to Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. I also laughed really hard at a forward from Sarah Palin to the president. They are obviously satirizing many situations and people in our current political climate, and I found it to be really light and funny! It was definitely what I've needed to break my non-reading rut with all of the online grading I've been doing.

For more information, see: Obama's BlackBerry.