Literary Junkies: June 2014

I haven't filled out one of these in so long, but in addition to my Great Falls book club that I have going with a few fantastic ladies, I'm also part of an online book club called Literary Junkies.  It's a really relaxed environment and we participate in online Twitter questions when it's time to discuss the book.  It's a great way to keep yourself reading and to diversify what you read!

Here are this month's questions: 

1. What are you reading? Tell us about it!

I'm reading What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.  This was actually a Literary Junkies book awhile back but it conveniently was chosen for my other book club's choice for June.

2. Library or bookstore? 

Ooo this a toughie.  I love bookstores but as of recently, I've been frequenting the base and town library more often.  I highly recommend folks check out the online features that their local library provides.  I am able to download audio books to my iPod and listen while I'm at the gym or through long car rides.

 

3. What book(s) have you read and re-read several times?

I might have to be a cheeseball on this and say the Bible and probably Harry Potter (lawlz).

 

4. What is the first book that made you fall in love with reading?

I've always been reading and I don't know if there was a specific book but I loved the Boxcar Children when I was a little girl.

 

5. Who's your favorite author? Tell us so we can binge-read!

I don't know if I have a favorite author but I definitely have enjoyed Tanya Biank's Undaunted and highly recommend it.

 

  If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!

Literary Junkies November 2013: The Storyteller

1) What are you currently reading? Tell us about it!
Just wrapped up Jodi Picoult's "The Storyteller" and it was an amazing read. The overall story is about a young woman named Sage who comes from a Jewish family but doesn't really connect with her faith. It isn't until she meets an elderly German man does she realize exactly how important her family's history and the Jewish culture is in her identity. It was one book that I didn't guess the ending until it was happening. Such a great read!
Now I've moved onto "The Bone Season" and "The Valley of Amazement." I saw a ton of reviews on "The Bone Season" and how the author is in her early 20's and being compared to J.K. Rowling with a series that may be as popular as Harry Potter. I like the book so far but I don't think it will have the wide set appeal that the Harry Potter series had on a global level. With "The Valley of Amazement," I have been a huge fan of Amy Tan since I read "The Joy Luck Club." I'm incredibly excited to get started on her latest book.

2) How many books have you read this year? Do you set reading goals for yourself?
So far 18. I originally started off with a goal of 30, which may still be attainable but for some reason it got changed to 50 on Goodreads. Not thinking that's quite possibly at the moment but who knows, anything could happen.

3) What do you think are the best and worst book-to-movie/TV show adaptations?
This definitely got me thinking. Earlier this year, there was a series based on the Bible and I thought they did a phenomenal job. I think any person, whether they identified with Christianity or not, could really appreciate how the director and producers put the series together. People were even saying that the show had a hot Jesus. That's Hollywood for ya.

I am always so cautious about going to see book-to-movie adaptations because if I love a book, the movie could just kill it. For example, I love "The Fault in Our Stars" but since I really just adore the characters, I hope that the actors in the upcoming movie will be able to convey them.

4) What is the first line of your favorite book?
This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun. It might seem strange to start a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time.

5) What's your favorite quote from a book?
Variations of this quote, "Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die" (Herbert Hoover) and "I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in" (George McGovern), have been cycling through my mind the past couple of weeks. It's not my favorite book quote yet, but I'm trying to create a story with this as the main focus. I'm actually really excited about it.


If you liked this post, share it with others! If you feel particularly moved by it, leave a comment because I love feedback and discussion. Social media links are provided below and thanks for reading!

What every 90's kid wants: a hot pink Triceratops

In my job we have partners who are usually more experienced than we are in our career field.  For me, I'm a deputy and my partner is a commander.  I am extremely lucky and blessed to have an outstanding commander who not only looks out for my best interests but encourages me to challenge myself.  She's awesome!

Anywho, we have certain sayings like #teamawesome and "you can't sit with us," a quote from the movie, Mean Girls.  We have a lot of fun together and I'm still learning a lot since I'm still very new to this.  One of our quirky isms is our love for dinosaurs.  It all started when during one of our tests, she pulled out a little orange Triceratops figurine and declared, "this is my lucky Stegosaurus."  We let her know it's a Triceratops but every since then we have loved dinosaurs and collecting them.  This past week, while I was hunting for anniversary dinner supplies, I came across this gem:

 

We're about to check out at Party America and there's this little shelf of doodads.  There are tons of these animals and I spot these Triceratops.  Of course my dinosaur senses start tingling and I pick one of these bright pink beauties up.  Well they're actually a case and inside:

My inner 90's child is squealing with glee!  Every good memory of Barney, the Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, Giga pets, gel pens, and so much more fills my soul as I see these itty bitty dinosaurs.  A necklace that matches the awesomeness of this dinosaur?! Say it isn't so!

So of course, I bought two.  One for me and one for her. Clearly we're besties, just in case she didn't know :)

I am totally wearing this necklace on alerts.  I can already feel the good luck vibes radiating off of them.

 

I also made a pit stop to Tarjay and picked up a copy of Silver Linings Playbook.  I have been waiting to read this for f-o-r-e-v-er.  If you're looking for a great online, blogger-friendly book club, this read is the choice for the Literary Junkies and you can find more information at this post.  I liked the movie although I think I'm more excited about the book- hopefully it's good!

Now I leave you with this picture so that you too can let your 90's kid dreams come true.

Literary Junkies 7.0

Had fun chatting with the other Literary Junkies and wanted to share some of the things I'm working on in terms of my little literary world ;)

I finally got my hands on an eBook copy of a Sophie Kinsella book!   

♪ VICTORY DANCE ♫

I absolutely love libraries and not only being able to borrow books by physically visiting a library but also digitally.  I'm such a book nerd about how excited I am about this.  However, I have like a 3-day loan on it so I'm trying to wrap this post up so I can get back to it.  I feel bad for ever judging chick lit because of a few bad samples.  Sophie Kinsella is hilarious and I love the character of Poppy so far!

 

 My three top reads that just fit warm summer days with a cold drink in your hand.

 

I have never finished Gone with the Wind, however the last time I tackled it was a summer years ago.  It's time to read this classic and watch the movie again.  If you're looking to get wrapped up in a summertime romance, consider Rhett Butler for your inspiration. Bloom is a book that I love and I could see myself re-reading this on a warm summer night surrounded by my little family.  Kelle is such a fun writer and blogger.  After you read the book (which I love), check out her blog.  Her posts are family-oriented and I feel like I would love to be a part of her life.  I read The Help during the summertime and you can relate to that down South heat.  It's an amazing book and one that you won't want to put down.  I highly recommend it and it's perfect for the theme of summer.

Three books that I can't wait to read this...since June is basically next week.

I've seen the movie, heard their was a movie, and then there's a blogger.

Can you figure out that riddle? ;)

I enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook because I really liked Bradley Cooper and his family dynamic.  I like Jennifer Lawrence a lot and I liked them paired together.  For some reason parts of the movie didn't sit well with me.  I'm hoping that after I read the book it will all come together.

I just found out that The Handmaid's Tale also has a movie made in the early 90s. Oh boy howdy- gotta see it!  Finally, the wonderful Nicole from Three31 sent me a copy of Let's Pretend This Never Happened by blogger Jenny Lawson.  I've heard rave reviews on all three books and I'm excited to read em.

I know that I'm completely obesessed with this book and that it needs to become a movie but it needs to happen! Plus I truly think that Henry Cavill would be an amazing Michael Hosea.  

#gottahappen

I know Nicholas Sparks is coming out with another book in September that differs from his normal writing format and that's incredibly exciting! The man is a genius when it comes to marketing a product because it works and he has one helluva loyal fan base.  I remember a couple years ago saying that I would love to have that type of literary career.  He might not write books of the year but he writes a product that makes people happy.  Can't hate on that.

Literary Junkies: An Online Book Club Guest Post

Taylor, from Pink Heels Pink Truck, is visiting The Simplicity today to tell y'all about a great opportunity to join Literary Junkies.  It's an online book club that I found through a blogger and have met several other bloggers through this awesome opportunity.  If you're looking for ways to connect with other bloggers who love to read or want to join with your swap partner, read on!

Hi fellow book lovers!! I'm Taylor (Pink Heels Pink Truck), co-founder of the Literary Junkies Online Book Club. I'm excited to be here today to tell you all about our online book club!

As I said, I'm one of the co-founders of the Literary Junkies. My partner in crime in this awesomeness is Leslie (By the Porchlight). We both share a huge (like I mean, HUGE) love of books and we got to emailing/chatting back and forth one evening about our love of said books and well, it just turned into "why don't we start an online book club so other book lovers have a place too" and ta-da! The Literary Junkies was born. :)

We have over 50 members currently and are growing! Membership is easy peasy! Just click here, make a request to join our group and the doors will open to you. :) (Well, after we click the little approve button...but don't worry we let everyone in who asks...we just keep it private so we can personally welcome each one of you! Oh and to keep the spammy people out!)

The Literary Junkies meets monthly on Twitter on the 3rd Tuesday of the month under the hashtag #LiteraryJunkies. When we aren't partying it up on twitter, we mingle with each other on our facebook group page. We also host a monthly Literary Junkies link up that falls on the same 3rd Tuesday of the month. This fun linky is, you guessed it, all about books. :)

We are currently reading "Diamond in the Rough: A Memoir" by Shawn Colvin and will be chatting about her book on May 21st. Our next book for our June discussion is "Silver Linings Playbook" by Matthew Quick.

We've got some fun and extremely exciting things (well Leslie and I think so) coming up for all of our members and we would love to have more fellow book lovers join in, so if this sounds like it's your cup of tea...come join us!