Monday, February 18, 2013
Oscars Week 2013: The Nominees & Other Fancies
The Oscars are less than a week away, and I can hardly wait. So this week, I'll not only be talking about the movies, but the books behind some of the nominated films. If you need a primer on what's been nominated this year, here they are.
If you're anything like me, you're probably going to get distracted on that site for a while. My favorites:
Oscar Love Letters. "Gone With the Wind" and "The Sound of Music" in the same place? Yes.
Best Picture Oscar Statues. Love trying to guess what movie each statue represents.
Historical Timeline. Not only is it fun to go back in time, but I love that I can take the timeframe of my novel (1950s-1960s) and see what kind of movies and celebrities would be shaping pop culture then.
Oscar Questionnaires. It's not only fun to read the answers, but see who handwrote vs. typed and who had much to say and who didn't.
Now, that should hold you over for today. Be sure to check back tomorrow for my first Oscar book review.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Valentine's Day Library: 2013
I'm sure after a week of checking out our past year's Valentine's Day books, you're all wondering what books made an appearance this year. So, without further ado:
Nathan: City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels. I wrapped them all up in this bag.
Whitney: The Remains of the Day (though I like my book's cover better than this one), Rules of Civility, and Me Before You.
We just had a nice night at home. I made this treat for dessert. Delicious, and I felt OK about it because it has vegetables in it. A dessert with vegetables is the best way to eat vegetables in my opinion.
Nathan: City of Ashes, City of Glass, and City of Fallen Angels. I wrapped them all up in this bag.
Whitney: The Remains of the Day (though I like my book's cover better than this one), Rules of Civility, and Me Before You.
We just had a nice night at home. I made this treat for dessert. Delicious, and I felt OK about it because it has vegetables in it. A dessert with vegetables is the best way to eat vegetables in my opinion.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Valentine's Day Library: 2012
One "thing" that I really liked about Nathan when we started dating was that he liked to read probably as much as I did. (As evidenced on this blog thanks to our book swap and other times he has done reviews.) So one tradition we've started right away was getting each other books for Valentine's Day. So this week, even though I know I've covered this other years, I thought I would spend each day sharing which books we got for each other, and some thoughts on these books. (Five days=five years. Works out perfectly.)
This year, we're adding a few more books. We went out this weekend to Barnes and Noble a did a little joint shopping. It was fun in the beginning to try and hide around the store and hope that we didn't figure out what books we were getting, but eventually i needed help at the "Buy two get the third free young adult fantasy table" and Nathan needed help navigating the store. (because all of the books he had researched were in totally random places, like by the bathroom...what? That required an actual sales person.). So I'm not ruining the surprise by telling you what books we got this year.
Nathan: City of Bones, Unwind, and Pathfinder
Whitney: The Night Circus, Anna and The French Kiss, and Walking Back to Happiness
Last year, we went to the bookstore together, which is one of our favorite dates. From last year's post: It was fun in the beginning to try and hide around the store and hope that we didn't figure out what books we were getting, but eventually I needed help at the "Buy two get the third free young adult fantasy table" and Nathan needed help navigating the store. (Because all of the books he had researched were in totally random places, like by the bathroom...what? That required an actual sales person.)
This year, we're adding a few more books. We went out this weekend to Barnes and Noble a did a little joint shopping. It was fun in the beginning to try and hide around the store and hope that we didn't figure out what books we were getting, but eventually i needed help at the "Buy two get the third free young adult fantasy table" and Nathan needed help navigating the store. (because all of the books he had researched were in totally random places, like by the bathroom...what? That required an actual sales person.). So I'm not ruining the surprise by telling you what books we got this year.
Nathan: City of Bones, Unwind, and Pathfinder
Whitney: The Night Circus, Anna and The French Kiss, and Walking Back to Happiness
Last year, we went to the bookstore together, which is one of our favorite dates. From last year's post: It was fun in the beginning to try and hide around the store and hope that we didn't figure out what books we were getting, but eventually I needed help at the "Buy two get the third free young adult fantasy table" and Nathan needed help navigating the store. (Because all of the books he had researched were in totally random places, like by the bathroom...what? That required an actual sales person.)
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Valentine's Day Library: 2011
One "thing" that I really liked about Nathan when we started dating was that he liked to read probably as much as I did. (As evidenced on this blog thanks to our book swap and other times he has done reviews.) So one tradition we've started right away was getting each other books for Valentine's Day. So this week, even though I know I've covered this other years, I thought I would spend each day sharing which books we got for each other, and some thoughts on these books. (Five days=five years. Works out perfectly.)
Whitney: Great House and The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
Nathan: This Book Will Change Your Dog's Life, Why Does My Dog Do That?, and Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
Some Reasoing: In case you couldn't tell, this was our first Valentine's Day with Shelby. (How cute is this face? She looks so little compared to now.)
I had never read The Pioneer Woman's blog, but really wanted to read the book, so I was glad Nathan got it for me. As for Great House...it's maybe still in my to-read pile. I should get on that. Nathan's books were themed around big, exciting events during 2011, getting a dog and also visiting Europe and the Sistine Chapel on our honeymoon.
Whitney: Great House and The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
Nathan: This Book Will Change Your Dog's Life, Why Does My Dog Do That?, and Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
Some Reasoing: In case you couldn't tell, this was our first Valentine's Day with Shelby. (How cute is this face? She looks so little compared to now.)
I had never read The Pioneer Woman's blog, but really wanted to read the book, so I was glad Nathan got it for me. As for Great House...it's maybe still in my to-read pile. I should get on that. Nathan's books were themed around big, exciting events during 2011, getting a dog and also visiting Europe and the Sistine Chapel on our honeymoon.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Valentine's Day Library: 2010
One "thing" that I really liked about Nathan when we started dating was that he liked to read probably as much as I did. (As evidenced on this blog thanks to our book swap and other times he has done reviews.) So one tradition we've started right away was getting each other books for Valentine's Day. So this week, even though I know I've covered this other years, I thought I would spend each day sharing which books we got for each other, and some thoughts on these books. (Five days=five years. Works out perfectly.)
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Nathan: Lamb and a Huskers trivia book
Whitney: The Believers and the yellow roses in the photo!
Some Reasoning: Nathan got Lamb by Christopher Moore because my sister told him he would like the author. And he does! I think since this book he has read every Christopher Moore book he can find. The Believers was really good, and one of the first "literary" books I had read in a while. (I blame that on taking too many English classes my last semester. All I wanted to read was light reading for a while.)
Monday, February 11, 2013
Valentine's Day Library: 2009
One "thing" that I really liked about Nathan when we started dating was that he liked to read probably as much as I did. (As evidenced on this blog thanks to our book swap and other times he has done reviews.) So one tradition we've started right away was getting each other books for Valentine's Day. So this week, even though I know I've covered this other years, I thought I would spend each day sharing which books we got for each other, and some thoughts on these books. (Five days=five years. Works out perfectly.)
Whitney: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and The Rim of the Prairie
Nathan: The Graveyard Book and James and the Giant Peach
Some reasoning: Nathan got me The Rim of the Prairie while we were visiting the Bess Streeter Aldrich house in Elmwood, the first time I went to his house and met his parents. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society he just picked out. The Graveyard Book is by Neil Gaiman, one of Nathan's favorite authors, and I got him James and the Giant Peach because it was his favorite book when he was younger.
Whitney: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and The Rim of the Prairie
Nathan: The Graveyard Book and James and the Giant Peach
Some reasoning: Nathan got me The Rim of the Prairie while we were visiting the Bess Streeter Aldrich house in Elmwood, the first time I went to his house and met his parents. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society he just picked out. The Graveyard Book is by Neil Gaiman, one of Nathan's favorite authors, and I got him James and the Giant Peach because it was his favorite book when he was younger.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Friday Fancies: February 8
It has been a long time since we've done a Friday Fancies, even though it's my favorite kind of post--a collection of interesting-to-me things I've read/watched/found this week that didn't quite fit into the blog as a full post.
-The season premiere of "SMASH" was Tuesday and I kind of loved it. And here's a random observation for you. When Karen signed her Playbill from new-character-whose-name-I-can't-remember's (oh wait! Kyle? But I already had that all typed out.) collection of failed plays, I noticed it was in color. When we were in NYC, we went to a preview (Dead Accounts, starring Katie Holmes) and got a Playbill that was printed in color. We learned from a woman there that they are printed in color for previews, but then in black-and-white once it's not in preview anymore. See?
Did you also see that it's autographed? We went back to the stage door to see the actors, and got a quick glimpse of Katie Holmes as she dashed to the car. But back to SMASH now. Also while we were in NYC, we saw an announcement that SMASH filmed where we were a few days before. I took a picture of it but it was much too fuzzy to post.
-Other TV randoms: This week I noticed that two of my favorite shows made an appearance on new shows. On Monday's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," Bob Saget and Dave Coulier made a little "Full House" reference, in an episode with Robin Sparkles that I seriously loved. Then, Tuesday's episode of "Raising Hope" had Jimmy and Christine from "Yes, Dear," as well as the studio boss guy, and they made references to their kids. Loved "Yes, Dear" and thought the reference was very fun.
-I was very relieved to see that my favorite Monopoly piece will not be retired: the thimble. Instead, the iron will be replaced with a cat, thanks to fan votes. Of course, iron manufacturers had something to say about it.
-Not sure why, other than maybe because it makes me feel better about the fact my library books are hardly more than a few days late, but I love stories like this about library books being returned years later.
-This really bothers me. So NOT Anne.
-The season premiere of "SMASH" was Tuesday and I kind of loved it. And here's a random observation for you. When Karen signed her Playbill from new-character-whose-name-I-can't-remember's (oh wait! Kyle? But I already had that all typed out.) collection of failed plays, I noticed it was in color. When we were in NYC, we went to a preview (Dead Accounts, starring Katie Holmes) and got a Playbill that was printed in color. We learned from a woman there that they are printed in color for previews, but then in black-and-white once it's not in preview anymore. See?
Did you also see that it's autographed? We went back to the stage door to see the actors, and got a quick glimpse of Katie Holmes as she dashed to the car. But back to SMASH now. Also while we were in NYC, we saw an announcement that SMASH filmed where we were a few days before. I took a picture of it but it was much too fuzzy to post.
-Other TV randoms: This week I noticed that two of my favorite shows made an appearance on new shows. On Monday's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," Bob Saget and Dave Coulier made a little "Full House" reference, in an episode with Robin Sparkles that I seriously loved. Then, Tuesday's episode of "Raising Hope" had Jimmy and Christine from "Yes, Dear," as well as the studio boss guy, and they made references to their kids. Loved "Yes, Dear" and thought the reference was very fun.
-I was very relieved to see that my favorite Monopoly piece will not be retired: the thimble. Instead, the iron will be replaced with a cat, thanks to fan votes. Of course, iron manufacturers had something to say about it.
-Not sure why, other than maybe because it makes me feel better about the fact my library books are hardly more than a few days late, but I love stories like this about library books being returned years later.
-This really bothers me. So NOT Anne.
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