Found via Design*Sponge
Images via Engrained
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Engrained Pinhole Cameras
Awkward Family Photos
Have you heard about Awkward Family Photos? Definitely check out their site. There are quite a few gems. Their book looks hilarious too. Spreading the Awkwardness one family photo at a time...
Alice I Have Been
Here is the second book review for the Slow Readers Book Club! Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin is a historical fiction novel based on Alice Pleasance Liddell. She was the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland written by Lewis Carroll.
"But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful? It is. Only I do get tired."(p.3)
Summary:
Alice I Have Been tells the story of Alice Liddell Hargreave's life. The book is divided into three sections. It begins with her childhood, skips to her twenties, then skips again to her later years. Alice I Have Been contains a fascinating literary mystery, a royal romance, heartbreak, and war.
Alice Liddell dressed up as a beggar-maid
"Alice I am, Alice I will be. Alice I have been."(p.345)
I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved seeing the Alice in Wonderland references and learning more about the Liddell family. Alice's relationship with Charles Dodgson, who is the infamous Lewis Carroll, I found very interesting and definitely disturbing. Whether or not there is truth to the controversy is certainly a mystery.
Alice had an interesting life. However, I found it to be a sad one. Her mother seemed very cold and distant and in a few instances cruel. There was a lot of heartbreak in her life. Deaths and of love lost. I admire her spirit. Alice found strength and determination in all that she faced. She had faults but she grew from them. There were years and experiences lost because of her past. Alice seemed haunted by it. In the end, she was able to move on from it which in return it helped to save her. It was interesting to see things come full circle.
Overall, Alice I Have Been was an entertaining read. I must admit that since I've finished the book, I've thought quite a bit about it. It is a haunting story.
Alice Liddell as a young woman
By W. Coulbourn Brown
4 out of 5 stars
Images via Amazon, Melanie Benjamin, and Wikipedia
Out of Print
These t-shirts from Out of Print are really cool. Their goal is to bring "iconic and often out of print book covers" to fashion. For each shirt sold, one book is donated through the charity Books For Africa. I love their tagline: "What's your story? Wear it proud." They have men and women's fitted shirts. Check them out!
Found via Daydream Lily
Images via Out of Print
The Sugar Queen
A few days ago, I read The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. Here's a description of the book.
"Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands. She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them—and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush. Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons. And that’s just for starters."
Sarah Addison Allen novels are known for southern charm, illustrative descriptions, and a bit of magic. The Sugar Queen definitely has all three.
I have to admit I did enjoy Allen's previous novel Garden Spells a bit more than The Sugar Queen. Yet it was an enjoyable and quick read. I liked that each chapter title had a candy name that alludes to the chapter's contents. The main character, Josey, is really endearing. I love that she is always thinking about food and hides large quantities in her bedroom closet. She also drives a large, gold Cadillac. That alone is pretty cool. I have a few complaints with the book. Some of the twists were a bit predictable and I think it ended rather abruptly. I also didn't like that people made such a big deal out of Josey's unruly childhood. She had thrown a lot of tantrums and been a bit spoiled but she did grow out of it. It seemed a bit unrealistic, even for a small town, to hold on to thoughts about a behavior that had changed nearly twenty years before. Other than those three things, The Sugar Queen was a fun book to read.
3 out of 5 stars
Image via Allen's website
Luscious Coconut Desserts
Image via Amazon
Cover Me Badd
Have you ever been reading a "popular" book at an airport and had fellow passengers give you disapproving looks? I sure have. (cough... Twilight) Now you can read your guilty pleasures in peace. Sell Sell, a creative agency in London, has created Cover Me Badd. Cover me Badd are fake book covers that hide the true identity of your "less intellectual" novels or teen fiction.... I think they are pretty funny. My favorite covers are War & Peace Translated Into Mandarin, How to Not Look Like A Terrorist by Ali Bye, and Mummy's the Word, Living with the Oedipus Complex.
FYI: Sell Sell is inviting people to submit either a title idea or design a fake book cover. They will choose one to be included with their launch pack as well as a share in the profits. The deadline is March 31st. ~ Email your entries to doubles@sellsell.co.uk ~
Images via Sell Sell
Half Broke Horses
Here is my first book review for the Slow Readers Book Club! Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls is a novel based on true-life events written about the author's grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. It is a first person account about her life, her struggles, and her triumphs. The following saying, found on the first page of the book, describes the overall essence of Half Broke Horses.
"It was a great north wind that made the Vikings."
--Old Norwegian saying
Summary:
Half Broke Horses begins with young Lily Casey. The oldest of three children, Lily had a lot of responsibility at a young age. Her father had some physical disabilities from a childhood injury and her genteel mother wasn't much of a physical laborer. At six years old, Lily was breaking horses with her father. At 15, she started teaching in rural schools and would travel by herself sometimes 500 miles to reach her post. Lily lived through "tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy." Lily Casey Smith had "gumption" and every time things would go amiss, she always picked herself up and tried again.
Review:
"The problem with half-broke horses like these was that no one took the time to train them. Cowboys who could ride anything caught them and ran them on fear, spurring and quirting them too hard, taking pride in staying on no matter how desperately they bucked and fishtailed. Not properly broken, they were always scared and hated humans. A lot of times the cowboys released them once the roundup was over, but by then they'd lost some of the instincts that kept them alive out in the desert. They were, however, intelligent and had pluck, and if you broke them right, they made good horses." (p. 49)
I really enjoyed Half Broke Horses. In the past, western stories had never really appealed to me. However, this book was incredibly enjoyable. Lily Casey Smith was a no-nonsense woman. She got things done, she spoke her mind, and always tried to find her "Purpose." She learned to accept change and she grew with it. Lily loved learning and loved to try new things. She loved horses but learned (and loved) to drive a car and to fly a plane. Lily worked hard and learned the difference between wants and needs. Everything in life was a lesson. She didn't dwell in the past but kept moving towards her future. Lily had moxy. Maybe that's why I liked the book so much. I didn't always agree with her methods or even her opinions, but she stuck to her values and always kept going forward. She taught that you had to be tough, to be prepared, to be educated, and to invest in yourself. Lily tried to teach those things to her students as well as her two children. Her methods were a little harsh sometimes, but I think it was probably reflected the time in which she lived.
It seemed like a lot of people in her life, including herself, were half-broke horses. Maybe we all are. It's something to think about at least. It's interesting to learn about people's experiences, hardships, blessings, etc. All of which make up a life. Lily Casey Smith had a pretty interesting life.
"When God closes a window, he opens a door. But it's up to you to find it." (p.42)
4 out of 5 stars
Luscious Chocolate Desserts
My all-time favorite chocolate cookbook is Luscious Chocolate Desserts by Lori Longbotham. It also features beautiful photography by William Meppem. The recipes are easy to follow and are absolutely divine. Also, she includes a brief history of chocolate, the process to make chocolate, as well as the different forms of chocolate. Being a chocolate addict and all, I found it very interesting. FYI, did you know in the 1700s, Italian doctors used chocolate in medicines?
The Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cake and the French Chocolate Macaroons are my two very favorites. Some other great recipes are: The Original Chocolate Decadence; Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread on Toast with Nectarines; Chocolate, Dried Cherry, and Pistachio Bread and Butter Pudding; Black Velvet Chocolate Mousse; Katherine Hepburn's Brownies; Ganache-Filled Brown Sugar Bars; etc, etc. Anyone hungry yet? I wouldn't blame you, I did mention chocolate a total of 14 times.
Zombies and Sea Monsters
A few months ago, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I'm a big fan of Jane Austen and so it was a nice twist on an old classic. The book begins with: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." With an opener like that how could it not be entertaining right?! A "mysterious plague" has awakened the dead. There are countless attacks by zombies. The Bennet sisters are all trained in the ninja arts and are well-known throughout the county as being excellent warriors. Elizabeth is especially ferocious in her defending against "the unmentionables."
In this story, in certain characters, their original personality characteristics are magnified. Elizabeth is fiercely loyal, and definitely has a temper. Only in this story she definitely is more violent in her thinking. Mr. Darcy is just as stubborn and Lady Catherine is not nearly as useless! The story follows the original with a few delightful changes.... I especially like the Charlotte and Mr. Collins storyline as well as the Lydia and Mr. Wickham ending. This version is a bit gruesome so those with a weak stomach might want to avoid eating for a few hours or so. There are plenty of zombies, brains, duels, romance, and some laugh out loud moments. I am looking forward to the film adaptation starring Natalie Portman. I think she's a great young actress with the acting chops for this role...
After reading P & P & Z, I was quite excited to read Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I had the chance to read it this weekend and it did not disappoint. The very beginning of the book refers to "the Alteration, when the waters of the world grew cold and hateful to the sons of man, and darkness moved on the face of the deep." There are revengeful tunas, homicidal lobsters, mysterious symbols, evil pirates, a sea witch, etc. Technology in this book is much more advanced. They have sub-marine stations! There are scientists experimenting with genetic engineering in humans as well as in sea life creatures. However, most of the clothing remains the same, minus the diving costumes.
The characterization in this book seemed rather authentic to the original. Elinor was sensible, wise, caring. Marianne continued to be the hopeless romantic with not much thought of propriety. Colonel Brandon has a "condition" where tentacles cover his face and he has the ability to breath underwater. His personality is the same though. He is constant, loyal, and an overall great man. Mr. Willoughby is the same rogue who just so happens to be a treasure hunter.... The only change in Edward is he wants to be a lighthouse keeper. He still has an overpowering sense of duty as well as being very shy. Once again the overall storyline remains unaltered. Definitely the specifics are much different. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read.
Honestly, I don't think you can really compare P & P & Z, and S & S & SM. Both have different strengths. P & P & Z has more of a horror feel to it. It is rather funny though. I laughed a lot more in this book. Probably because it was so ridiculous and the characterization was a bit different. S & S & SM seemed to mesh a little bit better. The majority of people will probably enjoy it better as it's not really violent/gory. The main characters had little change to their personalities. Even though it's clearly a fantasy, it is a bit more realistic. It seems like maybe this could happen in the very, very, far future. Just with different clothes and societal traditions... Maybe....
If anyone has read them, let me know what your thoughts are! On a side note... how about Northanger Abbey and Vampires....? Someone needs to write that!
Slow Readers Book Club
A bunch of bloggers are wanting to try and slow down this year. Take time for the little things. Reading has been a favorite of mine as long as I can remember. It seems like life sneaks up on you and sometimes you get busy and some things have to drop. Reading was one of those things I only made time for on long plane rides and vacations. So this year, let's take time to slow down. Do the things that make us happy.
Now the "Slow Readers Book Club" was inspired after the Slow Movement. Professor Guttorm Fløistad summarizes the movent by saying, "The only thing for certain is that everything changes. The rate of change increases. If you want to hang on you better speed up. That is the message of today. It could however be useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated! It is the need to belong. The need for nearness and care, and for a little love! This is given only through slowness in human relations. In order to master changes, we have to recover slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal."
If you would like to join the club, either email me or leave a comment below with your email address and if you have one, a blog address. I'll make sure you get put on the main list. You don't have to have a blog to participate but if you do, then get a button from one of these and link it to the blog you write about The Slow Readers Book Club. You have two months to buy the book and read it. The reviews will be posted on March 4th.
The first book is:
Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
Happy Reading!
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