October 5, 2014

Bookish (And Not-So-Bookish) Thoughts

This is a weekly meme hosted by Bookishly Boisterous where we write about stuff. I happened to see this via Birdie at Lady of the Manor and thought I'd join in today.
191676561. It's only a few weeks until Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay is released! YAY!!!! I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy and am hoping my review will be coming soon. But til then, just know that this was a wonderful and delightful and real story. You need to read it!! :)

2. I finally had the chance to watch The Book Thief last week. Oh my gracious! Such a great movie. I'd like to try reading the book now. I've read such a mix of reactions to the book though. Have any of you read it? What did you think? The movie though, I can officially state that I loved the movie! The actress who played Liesl was amazing. And the love of words and stories.........oh my heart. I think I need to go watch it again, to see what I missed the first time.

3. I love Pinterest. If any of y'all follow me there, I'm very sorry. You get almost daily bombarded with loads of pins from me. But there is so much fun stuff on there! Plus the funnies. I kid you not, I have sat in bed laughing my head off at 11pm. It's a good thing I don't have close neighbors!

SFB poster
4. I am beyond excited, y'all! I'm hoping to head to Nashville this next weekend for the Southern Festival of Books. My very first book festival! I'd heard and read about it for a few years now and always wanted to go. But as I lived in CA that wasn't possible. But this year, I am within driving distance, so I have been itching for October to finally get here. You can bet that I'll have many thoughts I'll probably want to share come next week. And I am SO EXCITED! (In case you were wondering. ;)

5. Did I mention I'm excited for the festival?

6. I should also mention that one big reason I want to go is that Natalie Lloyd is going to be there. Who's Natalie Lloyd, you may ask? I reviewed her awesome debut earlier this year, A Snicker of Magic. But beyond that, I've been reading her blog for several years and I just love her writing! Plus she just seems like a pretty awesome person in general. So when I heard she was going to be there, I knew I had to make every effort possible to get there!!! I shall let you know how our meeting goes. (Because yes, I already warned her via twitter that I wanted to meet her and that I may end up acting a bit....fangirlish.)

7. I've also been watching a couple other British shows recently. Doc Martin and The Musketeers. Well, I should be honest. I've only seen the first episode of The Musketeers so far, but you can bet that I'll be watching more as soon as possible! It is SO much swashbuckling fun. And Doc Martin? I never thought I'd like a show about a grumpy, small town doctor, but Martin convinced me otherwise. This show is hilarious! I may just have to write a post about all my thoughts and feelings on these shows. Have you seen either of these?

8. I got to cuddle my friend's cute baby girl this morning. She is a chunk and a half of pure sweetness! Her leg rolls, her gummy grin, her baby smell, I'm in love, y'all. :)

9. Jamie's Inklings Series is reading The Hobbit this month. I'm planning to join in, why don't you?

10. And that's all I got. Hope you're having/have had a wonderful weekend! :)



12 comments:

  1. Love this post, Kara! I am SO excited to read Lizzy and Jane. Yes, Pinterest is fantastic, isn't it? I used to be on there all the time, but I had to cut back in order to do other things, LOL.

    I adore The Book Thief. It's a powerful story and albeit long, I was glued to every page. At first I was very skeptical of reading it because it's narrated by Death, but the unique perspective actually makes the story so much more intriguing. If you like historical fiction, I highly recommend you read it! But make sure you have tissues ready, especially toward the end.

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    1. Thanks Jillian! L&J is so wonderful. I just know you'll enjoy it! :)

      The length is part of what intimidates me, I suppose. But as I enjoyed the movie so, and you recommend it!, I hope to one day get it read. Thanks for the info!

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  2. Lizzy and Jane sounds really good! I'll have to read that. I've heard good things about The Book Thief, as well, but have neither read it nor seen the movie yet. I'll probably read it first if I can fit it in. Pinterest is amazing. I've cut back a bit on my time there because, like Jillian, other things need to be done once in a while. :) The book festival sounds awesome! I've never been to one, because not a lot of authors come within driving distance of me for anything--can't wait to hear all about it. Babies are great! Mine is two now, but he still has a little of that baby chunk...love it!

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    1. L&J is SO wonderful, Hannah! I definitely recommend it. And good luck fitting the length of The Book Thief in your life! That's part of why I haven't been able to start it, it's just so long.

      I just finished my lengthy post on the book festival, so be on the lookout for it later this week. But be warned! I gush a lot and have a lot of pics. ;)

      Babies are SO fun, aren't they?! I just visited your blog and saw the pic of Gabe. He's adorable!

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  3. Loved reading these! I have Lizzy and Jane in my TBR pile. CAN'T WAIT!!

    I read the Book Thief (I really need to see the movie!) and I really liked it. You'd think it'd be a slow novel, but you get so drawn in!

    And thanks for the Inklings shout out! Can't wait to chat all things Hobbit! :) :)

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    1. I can pretty well guarantee you're going to LOVE L&J, Jamie! SO, so good! :)

      That's great to hear. The length has been part of what's intimidated me, so it's good to know that the story draws you in. Which shouldn't surprise me since the movie did the same. :)

      Yay for The Hobbit!

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  4. He, so much fun to see you picking up this meme as well!

    I´ve never seen Doc Martin or The Musketeers, but did you know that they made a Dutch version of Doc Martin? I do watch that, it's very funny!

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    1. It is, Birdie! I think I may have to join in more often. :)

      I didn't know there was a Dutch version, but if it's anything like the British one, then I bet is hilarious!

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  5. I felt very much like I should have liked The Book Thief better than I did. It was well-written and engaging, but I didn't like it in the end. Worth a read, overall, though.

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    1. Well hmmm. I've heard both good and bad things about it so far. Perhaps I should just read it for myself and find out what I think? Thanks for sharing, Hamlette. Also, should I assume since you didn't enjoy book as much, that you haven't seen the movie?

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    2. Nope, haven't seen the movie, though I think Geoffrey Rush was perfectly cast. I think I felt like the book was somehow unbalanced, that the subject matter was so serious that it didn't dig deeply enough or something. And it does dig into some deep stuff, but... maybe because the main character is a child, it felt off-kilter. I'm not sure.

      I wouldn't say it was bad, or that I didn't appreciate it. I just didn't *like* it... but I'm actually not sure it's meant to be liked. Learned from, yes. Kind of like "The Help" -- I didn't *like* that book, but it was a book worth reading.

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    3. I definitely agree that Geoffrey Rush was perfectly cast! He was wonderful. :)

      I understand what you're saying. There are books that have done the same for me. Which may be why I sometimes don't finish them? Hadn't thought about that til just right now. But I can definitely see where the themes of the book can make it worth reading, even if it's not one you like.

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