Lost It

When reading and watching movies become a chore instead of enjoyment I believe it's time to quit blogging.... at least for awhile. Maybe once I stop feeling guilty about not posting once I read or watch something. I'll miss all the bloggers and I'll probably pop by once in awhile to see what's going on but it's time for me to find the joy I used to have about blogging again.

Internet Problems

I disappeared on you guys again but I've been having internet issues so I can only get on when it's working. We're supposed to be replacing it soon with cable internet. Miss you guys!

Late Fia Friday and a Question

After a Bath

Oops! I missed Fia Friday! I wasn't online yesterday though and Fia's been a brat lately so I've been running around after her making sure she's not chewing up any more of my favorite shoes.

Closest the two have ever been (without Fia getting smacked)

Do you do Netflix? My husband recently set it up for me and I'm addicted which is very strange since I never watch actual TV. I'm getting caught up now though! I actually watched the first episode of 21 Jump Street last night with Johnny Depp and I wasn't crazy about it but I did like some of it. The show must be good if it lasted as long as it did. Does anyone have any other suggestions for me to watch? Movies too!

My New Orleans Trip

Hello all! I've been completely out of it lately or else I would have updated about Monday's trip sooner. Paige, Kat, and I all went to New Orleans to pick up Kat's passport since she's leaving for Italy this Friday and while we were down there took in a few sights.

Usually whenever I head that way, we hang out in the French Quarter but that day we went to the Garden District/ Magazine Street. I loved to see all the Mardi Gras decorations! We at lunch at La Madeliene which wasn't half bad (I had the Chicken Parisien which is a sandwich of marinated chicken breast, bacon, melted cheddar, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato on a sourdough roll and a lemon mini tart from their bakery) but I've definietly had better.

After lunch we headed over to Magazine Street (because I've never been) which is just a bunch of cute little boutiques and shops. I finally got to try gelato at Sucre which was super yummy! I like it SO much better than ice cream (the difference between the two is gelato has less buttercream and sugar). We also looked around all the little clothing shops and stuff (boy is that stuff expensive!) and then headed over to Whole Foods. I seriously wish that there was one closer to home and that I was rich enough to afford shopping there all the time since that was just neat!

After we left Whole Foods it was getting kind of late so we headed home and though I had a blister or two from those flip-flops, I did have fun! So, if you've been to New Orleans, what are your favorite stores and resturaunts? I'm a big dessert fan so I'm especially eager to hear recommendations in that quarter as well.

NOTE: My camera has grown legs and walked off again so no pics for now :(

New Orleans for the Day

Hey sorry guys, no Monday Musing today. I spent all day in the Garden District/ Magazine Street of New Orleans with some friends and I'm exhausted and have blisters. I'm going to bed! Night!!!

Fia Friday

Here's Fia outside sniffing my daffodils!

I keep trying to get a video of her chasing her tail but here she is right afterwards with her ducky.

Cover Contemplation- Alas Babylon

It’s another cover contemplation! Today is Pat Frank’s post-apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. These first three covers all feature the same picture of a group of people out of focus all being led by one man. I’m guessing the man is supposed to be Randy Bragg, the main character in the novel, the last cover is the copy I own of this book.

I've been told that this blue and purplish-pink cover is the bookjackets that were on the first editions of this book. Not really sure what all the shapes are supposed to mean; if anything, but I do like the font on this one. The yellow cover of the man looking into the explosion was a 1993 paperback release.

The really interesting Pan Giant cover with the mushroom cloud rising over the city and has broken telephone poles is an Australian cover of the paperback. The red cover with the black broken telephone poles is a hardcover found in the UK.

These last two are the only foreign language editions I could find. The first is the Italian cover which translates to Goodbye Babylon and is the only cover that actually looks like the time period it's set in with the cars from the 1950s gracing the cover. You can also tell that this is set in a sunny place (in this case Florida) with all the palm trees too. I'm really not impressed with the French edition (which translates to This World Was Not Saved) even if I do like the title, since it's a bit misleading. It does show a family but the main character has no children. The children belong to his brother's wife who is in the SAC and when he thinks their might be war headed their way, sends his family down to his brother and childhood home. Randy does take care of them but he also takes on several others, mostly his neighbors as family too.

That's all I could find out there for this book. If there are any others that you know about, please send them to me!

Teaser Tuesday- Alas, Babylon

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read and share two (2) “teaser” sentences
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

ALAS, BABYLON BY PAT FRANK

Randy and Mark never forgot Preacher Henry’s thundering, and from it they borrowed their private synonym for disaster, real or comic, past or future. If one fell off the dock, or lost all his cash at poker, or failed to make time with a promising Pistolville piece, or announced that hurricane or freeze was on the way, the other commiserated with, “Alas, Babylon!”

Musing Monday- Family Day

This week’s Musing Mondays post asks…


In honor of the Canadian “Family Day” holiday, today, I’m curious… What was the last book (or, what was your favorite book) that dealt with family? What did you like / dislike about it?

I've never heard of Family Day but it sounds like a good practice! The last book I read that dealt with family was Pat Frank's Alas, Babylon. I loved this book the first time I read it and I still loved it when I finished it last night. It's a dystopian post-apocolypse type of book but what makes it eligible for this post is that the main character Randy pulls together not only his brother's wife and kids but also the town doctor and all his nearby neighbors to make a family that works together in this new dangerous life without modern conviences. I loved how with them all teaming up, and eventually working with the town itself, they brought order to the chaos.

Fia Friday and a Toothache

This is Fia up in her bed (which is in my bed) which used to belong to the cat but after it sitting in a corner for a year without her getting in it once, I thought Fia would get more use out of it.

I haven't abandoned the blogs again, I've just had a horrible toothache the past few days and I can't find a book that truly interests me. I've tried three so far since Made to Be Broken and I got pretty far into the last one (enough that I do plan on finishing it eventually). The writing style and the voice was just too awkward for me. Also, it was really bugging me since the scenes weren't transitioning well. Since I'm not feeling good, this is doubly irritating for me.

That's not to say I'm not working on some reviews because I've finished the children's book one and I'm about to start the movie adaptation so I can review it all in one post. Also, I'm listening to the audio commentary of Under the Tuscan Sun so look for that review soon too. Hopefully I'll pick something up soon that I'll love and actually feel like reading... maybe a re-read of something I haven't reviewed?

Library Loot

I'm kind of exhausted and I've still got a ton of laundry to get through so here's a really quick Library Loot.

Three DVDs came in, two that were supposed to be for last weekends Italian night and one for this weekend's Mexican night. Hopefully The Mexican will come in soon (thanks for the rec JenD!)

Also two books came in, both Disney related. Can you tell I have Disney on the brain lately? Can you kind of guess what movie review is going to be coming up really soon?

Musing Monday/ Cover Contemplation

This week’s musing (in honor of St. Valentine‘s Day) asks two questions, but you only need to answer one…


If you read romance novels, answer this question: Who are your favorite “romance” authors? Why?

Plain jane romance novels isn't something I read all that often anymore, I much prefer urban fantasy with romance elements like Laurell K. Hamilton. However, I do have a few romance authors I like such as Jennifer Crusie because she's so funny or Nora Roberts/JD Robb but only her series books for some reason. Oh, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Brenda Joyce, and Teresa Medieros is usually awesome too! The latter was actually the first book I reviewed over on my other blog.
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Cover Contemplation Time! You didn't think I'd forgotten about this did you? There isn't that much out there for Kelley Armstrong's Made to Be Broken (see my review)... according to the author's website and the research I've done, there's only two English covers actually but here they are.

This first one is the cover for the US and Canadian books featuring Nadia Stafford. The color scheme is very similar to the previous book in the series Exit Strategy. I actually really like the UK cover though. From the colors to the picture of Nadia's Red Oak mountain lodge (or it could be meant to be the cabin in Nadia's nightmares), this cover is just neat!

I'm Bursting With Questions!

Ours was better than this but we demolished it. It had mushrooms and fresh baby spinach leaves added to it. I put chicken in mine (Paige is a vegetarian). We had cheesecake for dessert (and I had some for breakfast!) which was beyond delicious!

Good morning everybody! Italian Night with the girls turned out pretty great even though we got started a bit late and was only able to finish one movie (Under the Tuscan Sun). I completely forgot to take pictures but we did have fun! Kat brought over Fia's litter mate Lucy and they had played all night, poor Fia is tuckered out this morning. I will say one thing: I have never cleaned up so much puppy pee in my life! They were too busy playing to go potty whenever we took them outside. Hey, we're talking about doing a Mexican food night next weekend. Anyone got any fantastic movie (or book) ideas?

This gorgeous work of art... is a cake! By Cake Doctor

In other news, I've been thinking of doing something on the blog for awhile now and I'd like to run it past you guys first. A few months ago I won a book of my choice from Bookish Delights and I picked 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up by Julia Eccleshare and Quentin Blake (yes, the illustrator of Roald Dahl). It's an awesome list book that has some great YA recommendations however, the first couple sections are for children's books and I've been thinking about checking everything out in order. Some of these children's books are classics that I remember as a kid and some I remember hearing about that I've never read, even a few that are unknown to me. What would you guys think about me doing a review for these children books, say maybe once a week or whenever the whim strikes me?  I have no children, no plans for any in my future, and I hardly ever see any kids so I couldn't give you their opinion- I would be reading these. I mean, you know how I do my reviews by now. It would have tons of trivia, links, and even a review of the movie too if there is an adaptation. Would that be something anyone is interested in?

Fia Flick and Pic Friday!

So you wanted Fia? You got her!

Library Loot

Hello all you lovely people out there! I’m actually using my library again but since I can't seem to find my camera I can't share pictures of my new(ish) puppy Fia or my newest library acquisitions so here's the next best thing.

Up first are the DVDs, both set in Italy because my friend is traveling there next month and we're having an Italian movie night this weekend (we watched Eat, Pray, Love last weekend).

Then the books, two Disney and one what I call "list book". No, I'm not going to Disney World yet *grumble*, but I thought I might as well start planning it out since we'll probably go next year. The list book is courtesy of my friend Lady T's great review on it.

Hey, I would love to be pointed in the direction of some great books on Disneyland/ Walt Disney World history if anyone can think of anything.

Teaser Tuesday- Made to Be Broken

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read and share two (2) “teaser” sentences
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

MADE TO BE BROKEN BY KELLEY ARMSTRONG

I had the gag tied, the blindfold on, and the guy pulled flat on the seat and he kept sleeping. If it wasn't for the now- muffled snores, I'd have thought he was dead.

Musing Monday- Book Police

This week’s musing asks…


How do you react to the “book police”? (people who judge what you are reading, and try to make you feel guilty) Do you respond to their judgements? Or, do you keep quiet? Do you let what they say influence your reading, or do you do your own thing, regardless?

Oh the book police! Annoying, nosy people. What happened to 'if you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all'? Maybe I'm just channeling my inner Thumper but if I see you holding a book that I personally wouldn't read if you paid me (considering all the genres I read, that's very rare), I'm certainly not going to say that to you! The world wouldn't be so nearly an interesting place if everyone just read old classics.

That said, I have made some excuses for what I was reading before and to keep from being teased in high school I would usually carry Stephen King novels to read since everyone knew who he was (that and it was before I realized just how much was out there). Nowadays, I read what I want when I want and I could care less what others think about it.

I'm Coming Back

Good morning to all my old readers! You may have noticed that I haven’t exactly been around for… well awhile. Between all of the holidays (hope everyone had great ones!), lots of real life stuff, and just having problems getting up the motivation to read lately; blogging took the last seat on the bus these past few months. Well February has only just begun so I’m going to try to get back to where I used to be by getting organized and moving all of the books I only half reviewed into a separate folder to get around to them sometime later and just start fresh. Fresh start… sounds awesome to me!

I’ve got some great stuff planned for this year and I plan to review more of the ARC’s and other books I receive- well, maybe not as soon as I get them but not a year or two later either. I’ll try my best not to flake out on you guys again. I even may have a giveaway coming up soon and I have a review all written up and ready to go to post sometime today too. Can't wait to see what everyone has been up to!