Cat Thursday (13)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! Hosted by Michelle of The True Book Addict.

Cat showing dogs what's up!

High Fives for kitteh's staff!

Mansfield Park Read-A-Long--Getting to Know You Questions

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1. Was Mansfield Park the first Austen book you read?

No. That is probably a good thing, too.

2. Is this the first time you've read Mansfield Park?

This is my first absolute determined time to finish Mansfield Park. I have started it numerous times and have failed miserably to finish.

3. How many other Austen books have you read?

I've read all but Mansfield Park, which I'm reading now and determined to finish, and her unfinished book Sandition.

4. Will you read more of them/reread them?

I will reread all of them. My favorite is Persuasion, but I enjoy all of them.

5. Do you or will you read Austen adaptations?

I have done so in the past. I really enjoy paranormal retellings, etc of Austen. I like the modern-day retellings a bit better. They seem to be able to capture the essence of Austen while telling a new story better than retellings of Jane's or Darcy's perspectives, etc.

I still need to finish the first part of Mansfield Park so I can join in on the rest of the discussion questions. Check out Book Rat for links to others' posts, questions, and discussions!

Austen in August 2013

Book Rat

I'm not exactly sure how much participation I'll be doing with this. But I do know I will be reading along with Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Misty over at Book Rat is hosting Austen in August and a read-a-long for Mansfield Park. Mansfield Park has been the bane of my Austen existence. I have unsuccessfully tried to read this book many times over the years and have yet to do so. This is my chance and I'm taking it!

Book Rat

She has so many things going over there like giveaways, guest posts, vlogs, discussions, etc! Go on over and participate :)

One Line Movie Reviews (11)

1. Arbitrage (2012): Mediocre thriller exploring some ethical quandries.

Rating: C+

2. Stoker (2013): Disturbing thriller that packs a pretty big punch at the end.

Rating: B+

3. The Great Gatsby (2013): So depressing but oh so beautiful.

Rating: B+

4. Chernobyl Diaries (2012): The storyline had such potential--radiated human zombies from Cherynobyl, but it ended up being completely ridiculous.

Rating: F

5. Hitchcock (2012): A very interesting and entertaining look into Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho; I enjoyed the exploration with this wife, Alma.

Cat Thursday (12)

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! Hosted by Michelle of The True Book Addict.

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I may not have lost all of them but I'm slowly losing most of them ;)

First Frost by Liz DeJesus

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It was a fun and fast read. I really enjoy fairy-tale retellings and this one was an exciting read.

What I liked: It had a great premise. Bianca and her mother rose own a fairy-tale museum. Rose reads stories to cute little kids and sells them wands and Cinderella outfits. The creepy apple from Snow White and the mirror are all in there. Plus, DeJesus throws in some great world-building elements like the history of how the museum was started back in the Great Depression by her grandfather. She has a fun relationship with her mom. She also has a really great friend. You can kind of feel their history and loyalty.

I also enjoyed the way she weaves the fairy-tale world in Everafter with our modern world. She explains who the Grimm Brothers were and why they told the fairy tales the way they did. It adds some credence to the world she's built. And I liked Bianca's inner dialogue. DeJesus had fun writing her female characters. Her male characters were a bit dimmer but they weren't major characters so I didn't mind as much.

What I didn't like as much: The story didn't flow in some parts. Some plot devices were thrown aside to make things easier. She learns magic super fast. An old woman who's magic finds them, stops time and teaches her a bunch of stuff. Another character tells her to believe and not doubt and she can do anything and the next encounter she can do all this stuff just because of that. At the beginning when her and her friend get to Everafter, they just happen to immediately find a somewhat dim prince and his awesome servant who are super helpful and become their respective love interests.

Also, many times Bianca wants answers and to understand things; she has questions but the characters just say 'don't worry about it,' 'just believe.' Nah, it's good to question and want to understand and have doubts.

The true love theme was a bit cheesy, too. Bianca's romance was a bit strained but not too heavy-handed so I didn't mind so much. The ending wasn't my favorite. I was hoping for more real life and less movie magic fantasy but oh well.

Overall, it's a really cute book. I liked the fantasy, the characters, fairy-tales and how it all came together. But due to it's 'rough-around-the-edges' nature, I had to lower my rating. I do look forward to continuing the series, though.