Sundays in Bed With…Glory Be

Sundays in Bed with is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Kate at Midnightbookgirl.com!


This Sunday I will be meeting up with one of my book clubs to discuss Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood. Which means that I will be spending my Sunday in bed finishing Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood.

The book is a piece of children’s fiction that is set in small town Mississippi during a time when integration is just beginning.

I only have about 75 pages left and my book club meets at 7pm tonight so I know I should have plenty of time to finish this one. And then I need to read some more of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis because that is the book that I chose for my other book club!

So, what are you reading?

Abducted by About A Boy

THE HEADLINE: Can a 36 year old, single and seemingly aimless man, be a role model to a 12 year old boy? Find out as these two coming of age stories cross paths in About a Boy by Nick Hornby.

THE ABDUCTOR: The abductor of this novel was found in the character of Marcus. The story is told from two perspectives, Will (36) and Marcus (12). There really wasn't much to Will's character in the beginning, he was kind of just...there. Of course, his character develops a great deal and by the end I rooted for him. But Marcus was the real heart of the story for me. From the very beginning he was quirky and direct. He had so many funny moments that came out of just being a kid trying to understand the world.

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: Marcus meets Will on a day where after being out he comes home to find his mother has attempted to commit suicide. He decides then that him and his mom need more people in their lives and so he reaches out to Will. Which is really a remarkable thing! How many of us are walking around feeling lonely in our lives but are so afraid of rejection that we would never go to the links that Marcus goes to?

Will becomes more of a big brother to Marcus and their relationship ends up changing the way both of them end up looking at the world. Will starts to realize that he needs more of a purpose and Marcus starts to realize that he needs to stand on his own two feet and think for himself.

The book contains plot points that follow along with many coming of age stories. However it also navigates around questions on depression and family. I loved reading Hornby’s take on depression and how it can play out in different people. And I loved everything he had to say about the people who are biologically our family and the people that we choose to make our family.

PICK UP LINE: "Will had at least managed to introduce some friction into the conversation. Until he played the Marcus card, he'd kept slipping off before he'd even started. Now he felt as though he were climbing a mountain, rather than a glacier. He imagined himself right at the bottom of the cliff face, looking up and around for footholds." 

This comes from the part in the book when Will and Rachel first meet. And I think it was my favorite quote because I just love that moment in building a relationship when it isn't about the lust or attraction, but just about the awkward beginning of trying to have a conversation. That moment when you just want to talk to the person to hear their voice, but you are never quite sure of what to say or how to get it started.

POINT OF ABDUCTION: I kind of have two points of abduction. I think I really fell in love with Marcus’s character during the scene where he forced Will to take out him and his mother, Fiona, in an effort for them to become a couple. The way that he kept trying to force the conversation between the two of them was hilarious!

However, having already seen the movie (about 50 times) I was counting down until the scene when Will would meet Rachel, his potential love interest. I knew from the movie that they would meet on New Year’s Eve so as the book made its way through Thanksgiving and Christmas I just kept thinking “We’re almost there!!!”


ABDUCTION RATING:

5 huge stars!!! Hornby has yet to disappoint me! It was a great novel with tender moments and difficult questions and amazing development for all the characters!

*** BOOK VS. MOVIE ***

Here is something that I have learned about movies: screenwriters, producers and directors actually try enormously hard to make their movies appear timeless. So sometimes when plot points are removed from certain novel adaptations it is merely to serve this purpose.

In the book, the death of Kurt Cobain is the catalyst that leads to the climax for the characters. Therefore the book is specifically dated to the timespan of 1993 to 1994.

The removal of this catalyst is what allowed the creators of the movie adaptation to have a movie that could have taken place anytime between the late 90’s to today. And I know this because literally as soon as I finished the book, I made dinner and put the movie on.

The movie version of About a Boy stays shockingly close to the plot and development of the novel until that point. But the ending works out in a way that although the catalysts may be different the ultimate ending is still sincere to the novel.

And in conclusion…how nicely did Nicholas Hoult grow up???

Abducted by Sundays in Bed With…7.14.13

Good morning!!!

This weekend instead of fighting with my internet back at home, I have decided to fight with the internet at
my friend Mary’s house, where I am currently house sitting.

My friends, Mary and her husband David, have told me numerous times that you don’t need a password to access their wifi…and yet every time I go there it keeps asking for one! And of course by the time I need to use it they are in the middle of whatever vacation they are on and don’t have time to reply to my pleading text messages.

They also have a desk top that they have said I could use anytime. However, their desk top is set up to never go into hibernation mode, and it is in the guest room. And their guest room has one light in it which is a ceiling light, which is too high for me to reach being that I am short. Mary and David are very tall so I am sure this light is not a problem for them…but I loath that light!

So last night I was hitting buttons to try to get the screen to turn off because I couldn’t see what I was doing with out the light on, and this is one of those screens that have the buttons below the monitor so that you can’t see them even with a light on. And the screen was so bright that I had to get it to turn off or I would never have been able to sleep! So then I finally got it to turn off..

but then this morning, I couldn’t get it to turn back on!

Long story short…I’m at IHOP having an omelet and some pancakes!!!

Anyway, moving on:

This Sunday I will be spending some time in bed with About A Boy by Nick Hornby and First Light by Rebecca Stead.
















As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Nick Hornby! And this book has been on my TBR list for a very long time. I remember going to see the movie version in the theater twice because I loved it so much! Which, by the way, I can’t believe was already 11 years ago! Feeling Old? Yeah, me too! But not as old as saying that I remember going to see Tim Burton’s Batman movie in theaters (1989).

So far the book version is playing out very closely to the movie version. Which makes me happy! However, I am prepared for this not to continue to be the case as I get further in the book. But Hornby is such a fantastic writer that I know I wont be disappointed.

First Light is a book that I bought back in October after having met Rebecca Stead at a book signing in Austin. I went to that book signing not really knowing who she was but she was so charming that I bought all three of her books!

And then I came home and now it is nine months later and I have yet to read one of them!

As soon as I get home tonight I will start First Light and I’m hoping to get to her other two books as soon as possible.

So…what are you spending your Sunday in bed with?

Abducted by Sundays In Bed With…6.23.13

Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I have been spending my Sunday in bed fighting with my router for not wanting to fully connect with my internet. I have tried sweet talking, bribery and threatening. None of it seems to work. So, if this post doesn't go up until later this evening it is because I had to wait until I was at my parents house to steal internet access from them.

Other then that I am spending my Sunday finishing up the 6th season of The West Wing, my all time favorite show! Taking a 3 hour nap, because that is what Sundays are for! And since I have yet to finish it, I will also be spending time reading The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater.



Last night my book club met up to discuss the Raven Boys and it was a pretty lively discussion. Theories on about this series were running a muck! It has left me with a desire to finish The Dream Thieves ASAP and then eagerly await the rest of the series!

I have also started a new audio book by Jennifer Cruise called All Night With Charlie. So far it is exactly what I would expect from a Cruise novel, romantic comedy fun. However, most of her novels involve characters that hate each other or fight their attraction to each other through out the first 3/4 of the novel and don’t hook up until the end.

In this novel, Ally and Charlie hook up from the get go! Steamy Steamy Steamy!!!

Abducted by The Night Circus

THE HEADLINE: A magical circus comes to town, but no one is aware of the battle being fought behind the curtains.

THE ABDUCTOR: Because I listened to the audio version, the abductors in the Night Circus were definitely both Erin Morgenstern and Jim Dale. The combination of Morgenstern’s incredible writing and Dale’s vocal talents was instantly captivating!

TIME IN CAPTIVITY: It may have been because it was Jim Dale reading this book to me, but this book reminded me a lot of the Harry Potter series. The way that Morgenstern and Rowling introduce us to their magical worlds were both instantly visual, I was always right there in the moment with the characters. Of course this was helped by the fact that in Morgenstern’s novel, she included chapters that were written from the perspective of “You walk between the black and white curtains.” “You see a fortune teller and a young girl playing with kittens.”

I found myself caring about the characters and yet at the same time, was never quite sure if I should trust any of them. The basic story follows the characters of Ceila and Marco. We meet them as kids when both of their teachers bind them into a competition against each other, however they don’t meet their opponents until adulthood.

Ceila’s teacher is actually her father, Hector Bowen, and I found his methods of teaching her to be barbaric and harsh. On the other hand Marco was taught by a man named Alexander who selected him from an orphanage. His methods came across to me as uncaring and isolating. As their competition heats up it begins to involve the lives of the people around them they care the most about.

If I were to have anything negative to say about The Night Circus it would be two things. One being that the names and timeline could lead to some confusion. Almost all of the main characters have their own name and a stage name or have a nick name so they were continuously referred to by something different depending on whose perspective was narrating at that moment. And although each chapter began by giving you the exact location and date, when you are listening to the audio version it can easily go unnoticed.

My only other complaint would be that I was not too fond of the ending. Not because I didn’t agree with the climax or the resolution, but because I felt the resolution part went on for far too long. There were several moments that I thought were going to be the end and was disappointed that there were more chapters left. Now I agree that when a book is as enchanting as this one you may never want to leave it, but even in the best of books if the resolution at the end goes on too long then it almost cheapens the actual climax.



PICK UP LINE: “The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”

POINT OF ABDUCTION: Pretty much the first 10 minutes. The writing of this book, the rhythm the diction, the tone, instantly abducted me. And that is a real rarity for me. I’m a big character driven person rather then plot driven when it comes to my favorite books. But this book had me before the plot was established or main characters were even introduced.

ABDUCTION RATING: HUGE 5 stars!!! Although the ending sort of faded out for me to the point where I can understand why some people have a hard time with it, the book as a whole was so beautiful that I must have it and must reread it ASAP!

Abducted by Top Ten Tuesdays…6.18.13

I was so excited to get back to blogging on Sunday that not only did I forget to title my post with my signature "Abducted by..." introduction, I also forgot to say that Sundays in Bed With is a meme hosted by Kate at Midnightbookgirl!


Sorry Kate!

Today I'm here to participate in the Top Ten Tuesday meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!



This week's topic is...

Top Ten Books on your 2013 summer TBR list!!!

Here are the Top FIVE books that I absolutely must finish them this summer (because at some point in time I already somewhat started them and just haven't fully committed to them yet):

(in alphabetical order)

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday

Dream Thieves ARC by Maggie Stiefvater

Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb

Songbook by Nick Hornby

Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers by Louise Rennison

And here are the top FIVE books that I just really hope to get to this summer:

About A Boy by Nick Hornby

First Light by Rebecca Stead

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

So, what books are on your TBR list this summer?

Sundays in Bed With...6.16.13

Today I am spending my Sunday in Bed With divided by the ARC of The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater and the audio version of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern read to me by Jim Dale!

My book club will be meeting up this coming Saturday and Mandy has picked Raven Boys for her month. I had listened to the audio version this past winter but I went ahead and re-listened to it and of course I loved it just as much the second time around as I did the first. Since my totally awesome friend Andrea picked up the sequel which is The Dream Thieves for me when she went to BEA I am really going to try to finish it before book club too! That way I can brag about knowing what happens next! 

Recently I also started listening to The Night Circus from audible and I am LOVING it!!! I have just under three hours left so I am really going to try to finish it tonight!

So that is what I am spending my Sunday in Bed With!

In other news (since I have been away from the blogging scene for so long) here is what is new with me...

I finished my first semester back at school! Next semester I will only be taking two classes and I am hoping I will have more time for blogging.

Right after school ended and I was just starting to relax into my summer a freaking tornado ripped right
through Moore Oklahoma, which is where I work!

The tornado literally demolished a 7/11 store that was right across the street from my office! I mean the entire building was just gone! The only thing left standing was the sign where they posted the gas prices! My office suffered a lot of damage but we were extremely lucky! I was also lucky because I had left work an hour before the storm hit because I had a doctors appointment. 

Anyway, since my office has had to be closed in order to get the repairs done, I have been floating around and working at different offices in the mean time. Some of the offices I've been working at have just been an extra fifteen or twenty minutes away, but I've also been working at offices in Tulsa and Okmulgee which are cities that are a good hour and a half to two hours away! It has been really stressful and has completely shaken up my summer.

We are hoping to be back into our office in the next couple of weeks but I have settled into a rhythm with all the chaos so I'm really working on getting back into blogging. 

And lastly I just want to say that I have the most amazingly awesome blogger friends in the world! Steph, Kim, Kate, and Andrea have been incredibly supportive, encouraging, and understanding during these last six months! 

The last time that I was posting on my blog was back when I was trying to complete my Levithan Loveathon and even though I have yet to get around to giving the winners their prizes they have been very patient with me! 

So, Steph your gift card prize is coming I promise! Kim, your book prize is sitting on my desk and I will get it in the mail asap! Kate the journal is also sitting on my desk and I will send it to you when I send Kim her prize. And Andrea, I love you and you are awesome!