Saturday, April 22, 2017

Born in China (2017)


And this movie, folks, is precisely WHY I DON'T DO ANIMAL MOVIES!!!!!!  I spent the whole movie tearing up over the beauty of it, and then sobbed my eyes out at the end because not every story in this movie ends well.  And the set of animals I cared most about was the one without the happy ending.  I did not bring nearly enough Kleenex with me.  I blithely assumed because the trailer was so full of cuteness that I didn't have to worry about my heart being torn out and stomped on.  Yeah.  Right.  Couldn't have been more wrong.

My heart and the ensuing waterworks aside, it's a beautifully filmed movie, showing absolutely gorgeous locations in China and a bit of the lives of the wild creatures that make their homes there.  I took my nephew, and he thought the movie was only a half hour long, that's how caught up in it he was.  If he noticed the complete mess it turned his aunt into, he politely didn't say.  LOL.  The credits had some great extra footage showing the filmmakers on location.  It really is a beautiful movie, with some incredible footage of some beautiful creature.  Alas, I could never sit through it again, knowing what happens.

There was a trailer beforehand for next year's Disneynature Earth day movie, entitled Dolphins.  It looks beautiful as well.  I told my nephew his mom can take him to that one!  I'm done!  (Although, I'll probably let him talk me into it when the time comes. I'll just remember to bring more Kleenex, just in case.)

Friday, April 07, 2017

Tag - I'm it!


Eva at Coffee, Classics & Craziness tagged me for this.  I haven't done anything on this blog regarding writing or reading lately, and my author wordpress site is still horribly crashed, so... here we go.  The Tag - I'm it! tag:

Rules
You must be honest.
You must answer all the questions.
You must tag at least 4 people.

1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?
I have all my books from childhood, no idea which one I got first.  However, some of my fondest early reading memories are of the My Book House series.  Loved loved loved these.  Book 10 was my favorite.


2. What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?
Not reading any books right now, just reading the current issue of F&FS magazine. The last read was Rogue One by Alexander Freed, and the book I'll read next... I am not a planner, so no idea. Whatever appeals to me when I'm ready to start a book

3. What book did everyone like, but you hated?
Atonement by Ian McEwan

4. What book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?
Jane Eyre.  I've tried.  Believe me, I have tried.

5. What book are you saving for retirement?
Santorini, by Alistair MacLean.  It was his last book, and I bought it when it came out in 1986, but I've never read it so I would always still have one novel left to look forward to.  Not that I'll ever be able to afford to retire, but that will be as good a time as any to read it.

6. Last page: read it first, or wait 'til the end?
Wait until the end. I'd be way more tempted to read the plot on wikipedia than read the last page of the actual book.  Last pages would rarely tell me what I want to know anyway.

7. Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?
I love acknowledgments. I read every single one of them, as these are the people/things that made this book possible for that author.  That's very important to me.  Acknowledgments are lovely things.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?
Han Solo in any of the Han Solo Adventure trilogy books by Brian Daley.  Particularly Han Solo and the Lost Legacy.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (Place, time, person?)
No.  My brain doesn't roll that way.  Things rarely link to a place, time, or person.

10. Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way.
Alas, no interesting stories.

11. Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?
Just as presents for birthdays and Christmas.

12. Which book has been with you most places?
All my books have come with me from house to house.  But my paperback thesaurus that my dad used in college and one of my many copies of Alistair MacLean's The Secret Ways are always at my desk, and both went to the college dorm with me, while my main collection stayed at home.


13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad later?
I can't say I've ever re-read anything that was required.  Either I liked it when I read it, or I didn't.  If I didn't, well, life's too short to revisit things I dislike unless someone gives me a very good reason to.

14. Used or brand new?
Both!

15. Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?
Yeah, read The Da Vinci Code on an airplane once.  Can't say I remember much about it.

16. Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?
Many times.  I have a shelf of books that were all turned into movies, and for many of them, I prefer the movie.  The Dirty Dozen, Laura, Swamp Water, and The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, among them.

17. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks included?
In a novel?  Dear me, no.  I have yet to read a description of food that made me want it.  Now, watching people eat delicious looking food in a movie?  Sure, but not written-word food.  Cookbooks?  I'm not sure they made me hungry, but there are recipes I read that I want to try.

18. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?
I'm afraid none.  I don't think anyone is currently familiar enough with what I like to be able to successfully recommend books to me.  Movies yes, books, no.

19. Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., outside your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?
No.

Not tagging anyone, but if you read this and would like to share your own bookish answers, I'd love to read them.

Sunday, April 02, 2017

April 2017

April is here, and, with all the rain we've finally had, the wildflowers are in full bloom:

 

Writing stories at my house these days usually entails a Silver sleeping under my desk:


He's now 60 lbs of playful energy, but he has the work routine down pat, and usually sleeps and lets me work between 8 and 5 before demanding more attention.