King Arthur Movie Tristan

Tink tagged me for the Weird and Random Meme.

Here's the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write 6 random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself.

4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.






Here's my six random things:

1. I tend to be cranky, okay not too cranky...but definitely bitchy.

2. Scarface is one of my favorite movies and I quote it often. Yes, I do the Tony Montana accent.


3. I speak fluent Spanish.

4. I have green eyes, I think they are my best feature.

5. I'm a hopeless romantic.

6. One of my favorite TV shows is LOST. No one must interrupt me while I watch LOST.
(see random thing #1)



Here's who I am tagging, only if they feel like it:

yvonne

nymeth


sarai

c.j.

book zombie

sleepy reader

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:



Grab your current read.


Let the book fall open to a random page.


Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.


You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser
you’ve given!


Please avoid spoilers!






I am currently reading: The Monster of Florence

Investigators converged on the halfway house near Verona where Mele was living. They questioned him relentlessly.

TEN (10) PREDICTIONS (ABSOLUTES) NO MATTER WHO WINS THE ELECTION:
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.
ISN'T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS STILL IN CONTROL? (Amen!)

title: Any Given Doomsday (The Phoenix Chronicles)

author: Lori Handeland

release date: November 4, 2008

genre: paranormal suspense

pages: 343

first line: On the day my old life died, the air smelled of springtime-budding trees and just-born flowers, fresh grass and hope.

rated: 3 1/2 out of 5

Elizabeth Phoenix once used her unique skills as a psychic to help in the Milwaukee Police Department’s fight against injustice. But when Liz’s foster mother is found viciously murdered—and Liz is discovered unconscious at the scene—her only memory of the crime comes in the form of terrifying dreams...of creatures more horrific than anything Liz has seen in real life. What do these visions mean? And what in the world do they have to do with her former lover, Jimmy Sanducci?


While the police question Jimmy in the murder, Jimmy opens Liz’s eyes to a supernatural war that has raged since the dawn of time in which innocent people are hunted by malevolent beings disguised as humans. Only a chosen few have the ability to fight their evil, and Jimmy believes Liz is among them. Now, with her senses heightened, new feelings are rising within Liz—ones that re-ignite her dangerous attraction to Jimmy. But Jimmy has a secret that will rock Liz to her core…and put the survival of the human race in peril.

Psychic Elizabeth Phoenix used to be a police officer, but after her partner is murdered, she quits and winds up working at a bar. One day while at work, she has a sudden urge to leave and go to her foster mom's home. Once Liz arrives there, she finds her foster mother, Ruthie, nearly dead. Ruthie says one last thing to Liz before dying.

"The final battle," she managed, though her voice was fading, "begins now."

Liz passes out and awakens later at the hospital with no recollection of what happened to make her pass out. She is questioned by the police who are investigating her foster mother's murder. Their prime suspect is Liz's former flame, Jimmy Sanducci. Jimmy's character is basically a jerk, he cheated on Liz and he treats her badly. But you wonder if the two will get back together and make it work.



Jimmy explains to Liz that there has been a battle going on between humans and demons, and that Liz is now a seer. She finds it hard to believe at first, but slowly comes to realize Jimmy is telling the truth. Now it is up to Liz to help fight the battle, with the help of her new spirit guide, her foster mother.


Liz and Jimmy wind up going to find a man called Sawyer. Sawyer is a shape shifter, he is centuries old.
Now this is the part of the book I didn't like too much. Jimmy leaves Liz with Sawyer. I'm wondering where the heck did Jimmy go? It's like he's a main character for the first half of the book, then he just leaves. Liz is attracted to Sawyer, and the two become intimate, but she is supposedly still in love with Jimmy. I didn't like the sex scenes between these two. Mainly because it seemed like rape at first, then it seemed too cold, no real connection coming from Sawyer.




Sawyer can change into different animals, he's covered in the different tattoos of animals that he transforms into. Sawyer started off as an interesting character, but as the story unfolds, I began to dislike him.



Liz does run into Jimmy again towards the end of the book. Then there's some more strange sex going on, and there are vampires all over the place.



I actually didn't even like Jimmy or Sawyer. And I don't understand how Liz can love Jimmy. Both guys seem like such big jerks to me. Liz was alright, but I didn't understand her relationship with these men. I would want to read the next installment of this series however, to see where the author takes these characters.







This was an ARC from St. Martin's Press and Library thing.


visit the author's website: http://www.lorihandeland.com/




This book has also been reviewed by:

Blacklin’s Reading Room Reviews & More

The Sleepy Reader

serena

This weekend I finished up Any Given Doomsday and will be posting my review very soon. It was interesting seeing other bloggers reviews on it, I had the same feelings as most of them did.



Besides reading, this weekend I got to play with some fun yarn. I don't usually post my finished crochet projects here on my book blog, but I had to post this since most of you know j.kaye. She knows I crochet and she had some yarn lying around and was kind enough to send it to me. As you can see I've already put it to good use.

Here's the yarn:



And I worked up two scarves with it this past weekend.







The photos don't really do the yarn justice, it's sooo soft and fuzzy. Very pretty. Thanks j.kaye!

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday. It's a cold and rainy one here. Perfect weather for staying home and reading. (In case you're wondering who that guy is in the above pic, it's Sawyer from one of my favorite tv shows, LOST)


This past week I read & reviewed:

Soup In The City: I enjoyed Soup in the City from page one. I like the references toSex And The City, which is a favorite show of mine.
This was a fun and entertaining read. I really enjoyed it. Once I began reading, it was hard to put down. If you're looking for a quick and funny read, with a great plot and likeable characters, pick this one up.
...click here for the rest of my review.

And I had an author interview this week! Soup in the City author, Kelly Hollingsworth, was kind enough to grant me an interview.
click here for the interview.




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Current reads:






The Monster of Florence. I had no idea what to expect, but after picking this one up, I am hooked. It's scary, but very good. It's the true story about a serial killer in Italy and the investigation into the murders.







Any Given Doomsday (The Phoenix Chronicles); So far, so good. I'm nearly done with this one.




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That's about it for now.

I'll leave you with a little Maroon5. I love this song. Enjoy your Sunday :)

One likes to believe in the freedom of music.

Rush - Spirit of Radio.

Now that it's available at a more reasonable paperback price, I picked up the Eric Clapton autobiography Clapton. I have never not liked Clapton, but I have never loved him either. I have a friend who thinks he's the greatest guitar player ever, a position I think is absurd. However, he's done some good things through the years.

Weekly Geeks 19

Compile your list of favorites. Please be sure that books you choose actually were published in 2008, or at the very earliest in the winter holiday season of 2007. Sometimes books that come out then are left out.

Here's my favorites of 2008 that were published in 2008 or late 2007:

(in no particular order)

1. Shattered Dreams

2. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

3. Chasing Windmills

4. The Host


5. An Absolute Gentleman

6. Soup In The City

7. Matrimony


8. Return of the Rogue

9. Your Scandalous Ways

I'm starting a random meme today because...well, just because.


1. Name an author you love.

2. Name an author you dislike.

3. What was the last book you read?

4. What genre do you read the most? Which have you never read?

5. How many hours a day do you spend reading?

6. What is your favorite time of day to read?



Here are my answers:

1. Alice Hoffman

2. I don't like Dan Brown. His books bore me.

3. Soup In The City

4. I tend to read romance alot as well as suspense/thrillers. I've never read a graphic novel.

5. That's hard to add up, because I usually read while doing other things...

like while waiting for the water to boil for my pasta,
or on my lunch break at work, or while waiting for the bell to ring when I pick up my kids after school. But I spend at least 2-3 hours per day reading.

6. I like reading at night, when everyone is asleep and I can read uninterrupted.





Play along if you like!

Saturday Fluffernutter - all the fluffy news about those nutty celebrities.

Wham! Singer George Michael was arrested last weekend for - ahem - loitering around a mens washroom.

"I want to apologize to my fans for screwing up again..." he said in a statement that simply doesn't apply to me.

"And to say sorry to everybody else, just for boring them."

Oh, OK then.

Singer Clay Aikens announced this week, during his baby's first photo shoot, that he is gay. This leads to a natural question: who?

Last time I reported that James Bond will not drink his classic Vodka Martini in the next Bond movie: Quantum of Solace. Now it is reported that Bond will not use his famous introductory line: Bond, James Bond.

I spend too much time wondering why the current owners of the Bond franchise bother making the movies at all seeing as they seem to like so little about them.

Review in Brief: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night (CD):

Rockin'


Led Zeppelin rumour of the week, courtesy of Ramble On: Last weekend it was reported that Led Zeppelin would issue an ultimatum to Robert Plant: We have a guy, and he can do your job, we are going on tour with or without you. Plant has apparently responded with the word Zeppelin fans have been waiting to hear: hey guys, where you goin? Wait for me...

Paul McCartney played in Israel this week amongst threats from the jihadi set that he would be given the Anne Boleyn treatment. Fortunately for the "cute" Beatle, he had the offer of bodyguard services from Ted Nugent. The Wand Dang Sweet Poontanger offered to guard McCartney with what may wel be the quote of the year:

Regardless that Paul and I have our obvious social, cultural, and culinary differences outside of music, I will not bend or waiver to voodoo religious whackjobs and neither should Paul.

And if guarding Paul didn't work, he could start singing Wango-Tango and confuse the hell out of them.

I recently read & reviewed Soup in The City by
Kelly Hollingsworth. Kelly has kindly taken time out of her busy schedule to grant me a blog interview!




Bookworm: What inspired you to write "Soup In The City"?




Kelly: I started writing this book in January 2008, just as our financial markets were careening into their current skid, and I was getting deeper and deeper into my own personal version of mortgage hell (like Avery, I’m learning to deal with a new financial reality since I lost my hedge fund job). I was inspired to write the book after reading an article in the New York Times about how Manhattan ’s fashionable elite are scaling back in response to the end of America ’s economic heyday. I wanted to explore how one girl would cope with the new austerity, and maybe learn a few things along the way.





Bookworm: What was the hardest thing about writing this book? How long did it take you to write?
Any plans for a sequel?



Kelly:
As far as books go, this one was fairly painless, because I enjoyed the subject matter and the main character so much. But writing books is never easy, so “fairly painless” in this context is probably like having a four-hour labor instead of a thirty-hour ordeal. Writing and re-writing took about six months, followed by a few months of editing, and the book was “born” in late August 2008.




For me, the hardest part of any book is the end, tying up the plot in a way that’s authentic to the character and satisfying to the reader.




I miss Avery, so a sequel is forthcoming soon!





Bookworm: Avery really made me laugh. I think she's funny & smart, and she's one tough cookie. Is her character based on someone you know?



Kelly:
She’s based on someone I’d like to know. I admire how she dives into whatever she’s doing, however misguided it might be, without much agonizing or soul-searching. She just rolls up her sleeves and gets to work. This characteristic initially is her downfall, but when she learns to channel her energies in the right ways, it winds up being her saving grace. She’s also adept at grabbing on to serendipity when it flies by, which means she’s always going someplace.





Bookworm: Avery loves watching episodes of "Sex and The City" and there's several references to the show in your book. Are you a fan of the show as well?



Kelly:
I love the show, the characters, the writing (especially in the later episodes), and how New York City is so beautifully portrayed. Over the years, Carrie Bradshaw and her friends have become our friends, and the show is fantastic in that respect. On the other hand, sometimes it seems that watching those girls live their magical lives makes the rest of us feel even more isolated by comparison. I wanted to explore this idea in Soup in the City, so Avery’s feelings are similarly conflicted. Because Avery is lonely in the beginning of the story, she spends a lot of time with the girls from Sex and the City. Occasionally she’s resentful and sarcastic about them (such as when she realizes that not even Carrie Bradshaw could possibly live like Carrie Bradshaw), but she’s also in awe of their friendships and their opportunities, and she wants some of that for herself. I think we all do on some level, which probably explains the show’s great impact and resonance. It also could explain why a lot of us have way too many shoes and way too much credit card debt.





Bookworm: What message do you want your readers to grasp when they read your book?


Kelly:

That authenticity is attractive--people are drawn to it, which Avery is very surprised to discover. Also, that too much money (or worse, too much credit) can breed neurotic perfectionism that keeps us from seeing what’s really beautiful in life—we miss out on a lot when we spend our days running around from appointment to appointment trying to become perfect. Last, obsessively trying to lose weight can be a big obstacle to weight loss. When Avery learns to eat what she wants and quits trying to diet so strictly, her weight takes care of itself.





Bookworm: Who are your favorite authors and what is it that really strikes you about their work?



Kelly:
Geneen Roth is a constant source of inspiration for me. She is so smart and funny and wise about food, body image and dieting. I firmly believe that anyone who struggles with emotional or obsessive eating (or not eating) should keep at least one of her books on the nightstand at all times. My favorite is “When you Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull up a Chair.”




Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, is simply the most entertaining writer I’ve ever read. She’s perfectly dry, perfectly knowledgeable and perfectly perfect. My copy of “Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior” was so rumpled I had to buy a new hard cover. I love to give this book as a wedding gift.




I also read a lot of books about writing. Some of my favorite writing books are by Sol Stein, Renni Browne and Donald Maass. I love how they get to the heart of what makes writing bad, and what makes it good, and how to improve.






Bookworm: Do you have any advice for other writers?


Kelly:

Expect it to be hard, and learn to enjoy the difficulty. When it gets fun, you’ll be so shocked and exhilarated you won’t want to do anything else.




If you want to feel good, don’t be a writer. Review your work with a harsh eye. When it stinks, hit the books and figure out why. Also, look for and welcome criticism wherever you can get it. When other people take the time (and risk their relationship with you) to comment on your work, honor the risk they are taking and listen for the criticism, no matter how deeply it’s buried. Then put your hurt feelings aside and heed the advice.




Also, writing is about writing. In other words, a writer is someone who sits down and writes, just about every day. Writing does not include talking about writing (even if the talking occurs in a writer’s group), or thinking about writing, or doing anything that doesn’t result in words on a page. Television and the Internet are a writer’s worst enemies in this regard.




As a final point, coffee and carbohydrates seem to fuel the writing cog. I wish this weren’t the case, but I fear it’s a universal law of nature from which there is no escape.






Bookworm: Last but not least, if you were stranded on a deserted island, and were allowed to bring 3 items with you, what would they be?


Kelly:
A laptop. Sex and the City--Seasons 1 through 6. Definitely a toothbrush.



----------------------------

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Kelly. This has been a great interview.

If you haven't read Soup in the City yet, I recommend it! I am glad to hear there's a sequel in the works.

Visit Kelly's website here.

I've noted before that bad management is the auto industry is real. My out of the house life, like most people, is run by idiots: supreme, extreme idiots. I build cars for a living and yes, that does have a hemi in it.

That said, at least the people who run Chrysler have 1) experience in the industry & 2) a personal stake in the companies success. Unlike, say, Elizabeth May who if given the choice would tell Chrysler from Ottawa what cars they will build:

"Building things is not something Greens are against, it's just a question of building the right things," said the 54-year-old American-born May, who noted her party's policy ideas are often overlooked. "The plants that are building the muscle cars and the trucks should be building small, energy efficient vehicles."

Yea, yea, yea... and politicians who can't even get a seat in Parliament should concentrate on getting a seat instead of touring the country FDR style and promoting a competing party. But politics is not my business and while I might offer suggestions to Elizabeth May, et al. I wouldn't dare tell her how to do her job.

I'll know it's time to jump all over those buy-outs when activists/politicians are deciding what cars we should build.

title: Soup in the City


author: Kelly Hollingsworth

pages: 249

genre: fiction, chic lit

published: 2008

first line: Monday morning.

rated: 4 out of 5 stars

When she's not abusing credit cards, caffeine and carbohydrates, Avery St. George wonders how to penetrate Manhattan's unforgiving outer shell. If she could just lose a few pounds and squeeze into the right labels, her friends might actually invite her to some of their A-list functions.



But then Avery loses her lucrative hedge fund job and has much bigger questions to ponder. What happens to girls who spend all their money on Lanvin platform pumps and have nothing left for bus fare? Can one person really survive on twenty dollars a week? Has anyone ever died from the pressure of skull-crunching debt?

As Avery rolls up her sleeves and sheds the excesses of her old life, she discovers that authenticity is the best accessory. And that sometimes you have to lose everything to find yourself.

Yale Graduate Avery St. George lives in a posh apartment in the city. She earns
$25thousand a month in risiduals because she raised $80million dollars from a bank that invested in a hedge fund she referred.
Her BBF Courtney, is basically a snob and not really a true friend to Avery. So to impress Courtney, Avery makes up a fake rich boyfriend and buys herself a Russian Sable coat, that she pays $50thousand for, and pretends that her imaginary rich man gave it to her. Big mistake Avery!



Soon after, she finds out that her hedge fund will abruptly stop, since the company has filed a redemption notice and that basically means Avery won't get paid anymore. Now Avery owes staggering amounts of money, like some $50thousand to the bank, plus thousands on her maxed out credit cards, and that's not including the sable coat she just purchased.

'As I walk home, I fall into a deep depression bordering on clinical. I'm certain there's nothing worse than plunking down seventeen hundred dollars for a dress that doesn't fit after brazenly lying about your profession. Well, actually perhaps what's worse is to return to your apartment building painfully cloaked in the realization that, although it's not Halloween, you've been running amok in New York City in a Holly Golightly costume.

All afternoon. In broad daylight. On Fifth Avenue.'

Avery seems hopeless at first, she's so lost. All she does is buy empty purchases, to make herself feel good for the moment, and winds up in this incredible debt. The way Avery spends money is insane. And it finally catches up to her. She realizes she can't afford to live like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex And the City, she realizes not even Carrie can afford to live like Carrie.




Avery winds up basically homeless, and has to stay at her friends apartment until she can get back on her feet. She ends up looking for work, and finds herself along the way. She realizes the way she was living was all wrong and decides to turn her life around. I liked Avery's character, I liked how she was able to come out of the mess she was in and become a better person because of it.



I enjoyed Soup in the City from page one. I like the references toSex And The City, which is a favorite show of mine.

This was a fun and entertaining read. I really enjoyed it. Once I began reading, it was hard to put down. If you're looking for a quick and funny read, with a great plot and likeable characters, pick this one up.





I had no idea what a Russian Sable Coat was. So I googled it.

This is it:



I just wanted to make sure I posted a pic of the coat :P

Click here to see the coat listed on Amazon.com

Special thanks to Kelly Hollingsworth for sending me her book to read & review.



visit the author's website: http://www.soupinthecity.com/


Kelly has kindly granted me a blog interview, click here for that

During our evening perambulation, Lady Hespeler last night suggested this election has been particularly negative. Although she tends towards the "if you can't say anything nice," school of politics, it is this time a sentiment with which I tend to agree. Not just negative, but completely lacking in humour, which is to me the greater sin. Finally, however, somebody has gone and done something funny: Darth Harper



h/t Gerry Nicholls

I'm almost done reading Soup In The City and the author, Kelly Hollingsworth, has kindly agree to grant me a blog interview! I'm very excited about that. Soup In The City is a great read, funny and entertaining. Stay tuned for my review and author interview.



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Special thanks to Tink & Nymeth for this cute award. Your blogs are awesome and I always enjoy visiting.


I'm passing this award on to the following bloggers:

cheryl, c.j., yvonne, j.kaye, mariel, wisteria, sleepy reader, book zombie, literate housewife, sandra, samantha & jezebelsk.


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And I was in the mood for some Coldplay today....but then again, i'm always in the mood for Coldplay.

Enjoy your day everyone.