Sunday, April 01, 2007

Estella, A Pile of Books, a Movie and an Old Photograph

First things first . . . for those who can't get enough talk about books, the April issue of Estella's Revenge Ezine has been posted. You can reach the main page, here. My review of The Broken Shore, tada; and my article on our recent visit to Oxford, Mississippi, where we ate melt-in-your-mouth catfish and played with a totally cool dog on Faulkner's estate, voila. Congratulations to Andi and Heather on another great issue!

And, wahoo!, another photo of a pile of books . . . some recent acquisitions, a few of which I neglected the last time I stacked up books and asked them to smile:


Top to bottom:
An advanced reader of Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason (stay tuned; I'll be giving away a copy of the official release at the end of May)
Cakes and Ale by Somerset Maugham
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer
In the Cut by Susanna Moore
Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara (a total impulse purchase, but I still had one remaining gift card for Border's when we dropped in, yesterday)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Beginner's Luck by Laura Pedersen
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
How Full is Your Bucket? by Rath and Clifton
Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
Judgment Day by Joe Lee
Sudden Sea by R. A. Scotti

Most of this pile came from Paperback Swap. I love Paperback Swap. The advanced reader copy of Rises the Night is one obvious exception; Colleen asked me if I'd be willing to review her latest and I'm still wondering if she could hear me jumping up and down. Well, of course I will. I loved The Rest Falls Away. You can see my review, here.

Joe Lee, author of Judgment Day, is my friend John Floyd's publisher (you can read about John, here) and we'd chatted by email when I bought a copy of John's book, Rainbow's End . . . getting tired of links, yet? Just one more! Here's my review of Rainbow's End. When my little family walked into Border's, I was surprised to see Joe sitting at a table, surrounded by his own books; I never made it to a single one of John's signings and I still feel awful about that. Anyway, I love reading a new author so, what the heck. Joe signed a book for me and I bought it. He also told me a great story about a woman who was apparently so terrified that Joe was going to chase her down and attempt to sell her something that she ran right into the 4-foot Harry Potter sign, sent it flying about 5 feet and nearly overbalanced. Gotta love it.

I told friends on one of my book lists I would try to scan a copy of one of my favorite photos of the kids taken during a time when the eldest was still significantly bigger than the youngest. Instead, I figured, what the heck - just whip out the camera and take a picture of the picture. I used to do that all the time. It's a little battered from 14 years of being stuck to the fridge, but I just love this photo because it's such a happy shot of both boys:


Movie time: We watched the latest Bond movie, Casino Royale, this afternoon, while folding laundry. I'm not a big James Bond fan because, while I love action (particularly when exercising on the Nordic Track - a good action flick gets the old heart pumping and makes time fly), Bond movies tend to have at least one really nasty, cruel character and some annoying violence, which just isn't my cup of tea. Casino Royale is no exception, but I enjoyed it, if only because I thought Daniel Craig was so believable as a character who is suave one minute and dodging bullets the next. Whew, boy, that man can run! The only thing I really missed was the levity of the typical "gadget man". Those moments with Desmond Llewelyn (Q) and John Cleese (R) touting their latest inventions have always been among my favorites.

Reading wise: I hope to finish The Moon on a Stick, tonight and have a review posted by tomorrow night. This has been a terribly slow reading weekend, for me. I think it's about time to turn off the computer and curl up with the book.

Bookfool in search of a cushy chair

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful pile of books :) I haven't even heard of a single one of those aside from Colleen Gleason, so I'll be looking forward to your reviews!

    I love to fill my posts up with links as well. I love links...always fun to discover new stuff!

    Great picture. Looks like two very happy boys.

    I've been wanting to see Casino Royale. I was a big Bond fan when I was younger and just never got around to seeing this latest one. I'll have to check it out.

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  2. I love, love, love the picture of your boys! Absolutely Adorable!

    The pile of books isn't so bad either. *big grin*

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  3. Forgot to mention...

    HAVE YOU FILLED A BUCKET TODAY? is a children's book that I own that is obviously based on the same concept as HOW FULL IS YOUR BUCKET? I'm going to look into that one. Thanks.

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  4. My husband and I watched Casino Royale this weekend too!! I've never been a bit Bond fan. But this was a really good movie. And Daniel Craig won me over hands down. He rocks!

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  5. Ooh, exciting things going on re: all the reviews and stuff! And that is a LUSCIOUS looking pile of books, I tell ya. I just wanna paw 'em.

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  6. Oh man I want to read the first one in Colleen's series cause I am a huge Vampire nut now. LOL I will definitely stay posted. :) That is a great picture of the boys. I would like to have another kiddo but we'll see what happens.

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  7. Adorable picture of your boys. Your youngest looks so joyful!

    I'm going to the bookstore myself today (as an anniversary present, the hubby said I can pick out as many as I want! Yahoo), and I was thinking about getting 'The Tender Bar' if they have a copy.

    I'm not a big Bond fan in general, but I'm so attached to Pierce Brosnan's version, I'm hesitant about Craig's Bond. I'm sure I'll watch it when my husband gets around to it.

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  8. Chris,

    It's dangerous reading a lot of book blogs and being on readers' list groups!! I'd heard of a few of those prior to reading reviews or seeing them on lists, but not many.

    I have pretty happy kids; they're just a lot bigger, now! LOL

    As to Bond . . . my favorite has always been The Living Daylights because it was tame (and I really did like Timothy Dalton), but I still thought of Sean Connery as the "real" Bond. I've revised my opinion. :)

    Joy,

    Thanks; that's my favorite of the two of them when they were little.

    How Full is Your Bucket? was a recommendation by a friend. I didn't know there was a children's version. Interesting!

    Stephanie,

    I was pleasantly surprised and, oh yeah, Daniel Craig was amazing. He had me from "considerably". ;)

    Andi,

    You can come over and paw my books if you'd like. LOL Estella looks great! I don't know how you find the time to squeeze in all you do!!!

    Krista,

    I'm not a vampire nut, but I loved The Rest Falls Away. It's a nice blend of historical and paranormal with a little romance thrown in. You'll love it.

    Hubby had to talk me into a second child and I can't imagine having stopped at one, now. Even at 15, Will's a joyful person and fun to have around.

    Kookie,

    My youngest smiles a lot; he's a very relaxed and happy guy (although he's 15, so we have our mood swing days). He was just born with a really upbeat personality.

    Oooh, happy birthday and have fun at the bookstore!!

    Brosnan as Bond stunned me - I didn't like him in the role at all; maybe just because he was so perfect as Remington Steele. He was so nice and harmless as Steele - dishonest, maybe, but fun. I'll have to watch to see what you think of Daniel Craig as Bond!

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  9. Anonymous2:21 PM

    Oh a new stack! I hope you enjoy Maisie Dobbs - I really liked that one. My weekend was a slow reading one too - spent too much time watching movies :)

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  10. what a cute picture of the kids! They look like they were having so much fun. haha!

    I liked Casino Royale too - but I tend to like most bond movies.

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  11. Iliana,

    I've read loads of positive reviews about Maisie Dobbs and I'm glad to see you've given it another thumbs-up! Weekends are seldom good reading time for me - it's too noisy with the family around!!

    Kris,

    Yeah, they were having a good time; it was a Kodak moment. Actually, a Minolta moment. :)

    Well, of course you loved Casino Royale. What woman wouldn't enjoy ogling Daniel Craig? I thought it was interesting that he's not a "pretty boy" like most Bonds, but still . . . the camera loved him, as they say.

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  12. All I've read from your stack is Masie Dobbs and The Spirit Catches You. I liked the former, but didn't love it as much as many of my friends. The Spirit Catches You is very enlightening and well-written. My copy is well-highlighted!

    I love that picture of the boys. Such happy kiddos. Made me smile. :)

    I'm looking forward to Casino Royale simply because I love anything with Judi Dench.

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  13. Les,

    Thanks, it's great to know you enjoyed The Spirit Catches You (and I hope I like Maisie better than you did!). :)

    That photo makes me smile every time I look at it, even though it's been on my fridge for eons. The cats shredded that chair they're on; I forgot to mention that little tidbit. LOL

    Judi Dench is great; I always enjoy seeing her, too. Have you seen her in As Time Goes By (British series)?

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  14. I love your newsy posts! I actually saved it from this morning so I could read it more leisurely. My next stop will be Estella's Revenge.

    My husband is reading Maisie Dobbs right now. I was surprised at how easily I got him to read it! This is the second book in a row he's read that I've recommended (and I haven't read either!) to him.

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  15. Wendy,

    Aw, thanks, that's so sweet!

    Very cool about your husband taking your recommendations! I'll bet that makes you happy all over, yes?

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  16. Yep, we're big fans of As Time Goes By. I'm fairly certain we've seen every episode, but I should double-check my Netflix history just in case. "Rock on!" ;)

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  17. Nancy, Bookfool, hi!!!!!!!!!!!

    *hugs*

    I'm so excited to be back from hiatus and back to visiting your blog!!!

    My goodness, I have so many wonderful posts to catch up with!

    I love your new acquistions....the Anne Fadiman book has been highly recommended to me and I can't wait to find out what you think of it!

    Love the picture of your boys, I'm so glad you shared!

    You know, I love how your posts are a mix of different topics... there is always something for everyone...I might try to borrow that idea too, if I may!

    Will visit here again soon, Nancy, just wanted to let you know I'm back!!!

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  18. Hi Lotus!!!!

    I'm soooo glad you're back!! I missed your wonderful posts. *HUGS* right back at you!!!

    I'll have to read the Anne Fadiman book, soon; it came highly recommended to me, also. I've just started a second book from the Spring Thing challenge, so I'm reconsidering joining in on Joy's Nonfiction Five and Fadiman's book would be perfect for that challenge.

    Thank you, yes, feel free to copy my hodge-podge posting method. I don't always babble on a bunch of different topics, but sometimes I have so many things in my head at once that I just throw everything into a post at once. LOL I have about 10 things on my mind, right now, but I have to go outside and do some yard work while it's cool. We must have gotten a cold front, last night! Wahoo!!

    I'm so happy to see you!!! I'll come visit your blog, later. :)

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  19. Anonymous5:03 AM

    I've been meaning to get the Maisie Dobbs books. I've also been reading good reviews on it. Hopefully the mass-market paperback comes out soon.

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