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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Review: St. Vincent

Product Details


I told my kids "Hey I got a funny movie with Bill Murray, and the girl from Mike and Molly". We all scrambled to the couch to watch. We all totally went into the movie thinking it was going to be hilarious. It had several funny spots. It was a little slow at the beginning, but please don't give up on it. The movie is touching and one of the best I have seen in a while. Naomi Watts is hysterical and holds her own against Melissa McCarthy. I don't want to give away any of the plot. I have a feeling many will be surprised at what the movie turns out to be.
Bill Murray is so underappreciated for his dramatic roles. This, in my opinion, is one of his best. The ending of the film made me cry, and I never do that with movies. This one may be a little over kids heads. They will laugh at the funny scenes, but they may not get the whole big picture. This is intended for an adult audience.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday! My Top Ten Bookish Problems!

See the other lists at http://www.brokeandbookish.com/


I have lots of book problems! I will limit my list to ten!


1. Not enough storage space for all my books!
2. Not enough time to read them all!
3. I'm a book hoarder. It's hard to get rid of them!
4. Reading my own library, instead of going to the library in town. This is a major issue!
5. Reading several books at the same time, and getting the plots confused. Anyone else?
6. Figuring out what to read next.
7. Not loving the book that EVERYONE else loves!
8. Incorrect grammar and words spelled wrong, drives me crazy!
9. When the book jacket description doesn't even come close to matching the book.
10. When the cover picture looks nothing like the characters described in the book.


What are your bookish problems? Anyone agree, disagree with mine?

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Reveiw: Welcome to the Dark House

Welcome to the Dark House (Dark House, #1)*Some Spoilers Ahead**



I love Stolarz's writing. I have read a few books by her and have enjoyed them all. This one was also enjoyable. I did have a few problems with it though. The writing was stellar. I enjoyed the plot and the fact that each character had a distinct nightmare and various things they were scared of. I must admit that the book did read like a horror movie. A cheesy 80's horror movie, but still. Not saying it's a bad thing. I love me a good 80's cheesy horror flick.
The problems I had with the book were that I found it hard to keep the characters straight. Even when the chapter gave the name of which character was being discussed, I still found it confusing. The book was written from a first person point of view, but they all talked in that way. So "I was running and fell" could have been any character, sometimes I had to refer back to the chapter to see who was talking. I think the writing would have been easier to follow if told from one character's point of view.
I did love the setting. The creepy house they were staying in was easy for me to visualize and there were plenty of scares happening throughout their time in the house. When the action switched to the theme park the scares picked up even more. I certainly think an abandoned theme park in the middle of the woods, in the dark, would be enough to make my hair stand on end. Some of the "rides" were a little hard to buy into, but they did a good job of bringing the nightmares to life. I also had a hard time believing that one person could pull all of this off, which leads me to believe that several people were in on this scheme, although we are never really told who was in charge.
The fact that most of the characters were too naïve to figure out what was going on was also slightly unbelievable. Although, also not unlike a horror move. We all know that several horror movies have characters making decisions that we know that are too smart to make, but somehow follow through anyway.
There are many unanswered questions at the end of the book. What happened to Taylor? Whose idea was this all? What happened to Parker? I have been told that this is book one of a series. It would be nice if there was a sequel so I can find out exactly what was going on. For me the book was a success, but don't pick it apart too much. Just read and enjoy, cause it won't stand up to scrutiny.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Likes and Dislikes in Romance Stories

Check out the other top ten lists here http://www.brokeandbookish.com/2015/02/top-ten-things-daisy-likesdislikes-when.html


Top Ten Tuesday!
This weeks subject is what I like and dislike about romance stories. I will start with the Likes.

Top Five Likes:
1. Opposites Attract!
2. Bad Boys!
3. Slow Build Romance!
4. Couples with a History!
5. Staying Together in Times of Trouble!

Top Five Dislikes!
1. Erotic Sex!
2. Love Triangles!
3. Insta-Love!
4. Cheaters!
5. Abuse!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Review: I Was Here.....and personal thoughts on that word that no one wants to deal with.

First, let's get to the review. This is not my first book by Gayle Forman. I knew what I was getting into. For some reason I think YA author's who have garnered success with romance, feel they must stick with that genre. I really didn't feel that the romance was needed here. I also feel that it distracted from the main storyline. I understand why Ben needed to be in the novel, but the romance was a mistake, in my opinion. I thought Cody was well written. She reacted in ways that I could understand. Maybe not ways I would have behaved. We all react to death differently. I really liked Runtmeyer and his reactions were some of the most realistic in the book. I thought that Forman did a wonderful job of handling a very touch subject.
The "suicide support group" might have been explained a little better. I'm an adult and I found some of it confusing. I understand why it was included, but again, I'm not sure it was handled correctly. I enjoyed the story and it made me look at the subject of suicide with a new lens, but it did have problems that could use some work. I did appreciate the fact that Forman was willing to tackle this "touchy" subject.


I Was Here














Now, since I know hardly anyone reads this blog, I am just going to spill my guts. So if you don't want to dive in,  you should stop reading now!



Okay, having recently dealt with a suicide in my family, I want to give an idea of how it has affected me. I come from a very large family and live in a very small town, the two don't always go together well. Several of my cousins are old enough to be my parents, and they have children who are close to my age. I have grown up with second cousins who were more like first cousins. I hope that makes sense.  At any rate my own family had never had to deal with someone taking their own life. We have experienced a lot of death. Out of ten children in my father's family, only three are still alive. But none of those were from suicide. This brought out a whole new experience at the funeral home.

First of all, I have never dealt with such an emotional experience. So many people, friends and family, were SO angry!! I know that anger is one of the stages of dealing with death, but never have I seen it so poorly handled. There was inappropriate behavior at the funeral home itself, the graveside service, and even the dinner. I have never heard so much anger, over so many silly things. I did my best to keep my emotions in check, but I must admit that I was angry too. Angry that three children were left with no father, angry that I would never again be approached for advice, angry that I couldn't do anything to make it better. You might think that you could feel that at any death, and you would be right. For me this manner of dying just brought me to an anger that I have never felt from death before. I am still not on speaking terms with several members of the family who did not handle themselves with tact at these events.
Second of all, I hope that no one ever has to experience what I have experienced. Death is hard, suicide is almost unbearable. We all know that we will die, but when it is at your own hands, it is so very hard for everyone around you to accept. Feelings of blame, depression, withdraw, fault, and contemplation abound. I hope beyond hope that if anyone ever has to deal with this terrible issue, they have a huge support system in place.
Thirdly, if you are in this situation and have dealt with the suicide of a friend, or family member, and are feeling angry or sad. PLEASE, find someone to talk to. Suicide leaves everyone behind scrambling to pick up pieces that can't be grasped with any amount of hands. I am sure if you are sad or angry or hurt, someone else feels exactly the same as you, maybe even worse. Hug that girl who is crying, because you might be the only one who does.
Finally, if you are considering that life would be better without you here, seek help! PLEASE do not ignore the warning signs. If you have a friend who needs you to listen, DO IT! If someone says that they are contemplating something, Take that seriously! Better to be the one who told and still have the person alive, then to say nothing and have them gone. Be the strength that the person cannot have on their own. Be a friend! Don't Bully! Help others in any way that you can. I promise you that life will get better! One day you will look back and realize how crazy it ever was to feel the way that you did!

If you need help with these issues please check these links.
http://www.afsp.org/
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Don't ever be ashamed by the way you feel! Everyone needs help at sometime in their life, I promise!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Review: The Judge

    




WOW! I don't know what I was expecting, but I never thought it would be this good! Downey Jr. and Duvall put on some of their best performances. This is one that you need to quietly watch, no distractions, total attention. There are little hidden gems that you will miss along the way if you aren't paying attention.
      The story revolves around Downey Jr. who is a lawyer. He receives a phone call that he must return home, home to a place he hasn't been in years, and that he doesn't really want to return to.  His father is the local judge, a well respected pillar of the community. Father and son have never gotten along too well. The journey home reunites not only Father and Son, but a resentful brother, an ex-girlfriend, and tons of surprises along the way. It is an exploration of family. The ride is slow, but so worth the trip. I laughed, I cried, I was touched, and I enjoyed myself.

The Judge 2014 film poster.jpg