Tag: Books

Updates

October Recap 2014

Geoff W

2014 11-01 Happy HalloweeenBetter late than never right? October was long and so were the first two weeks of November. I’m finally getting a bit of a chance to breathe but between now and Thanksgiving I have a big event at work and friendsgiving. Add in that I still have TEN items left on my 30×30 list and you can imagine my stress level is a bit high. On the other hand it hasn’t all been work!

I’ve been able to do a lot and see a lot of friends which is always fun. My best friend from childhood and I went as the same character for Halloween, Tina from Bob’s Burgers (obviously because she’s amazing). I was able to see her when we went down to a wedding in Virginia and I was a happy camper!  Visiting Aile in VA was on my 30×30 list and I also crossed off singing a song at live-band karaoke and getting out of non-student loan debt!

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CRWMPodcast

CRWM #02: The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice

Geoff W

CRWM02It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally here!

As promised I’ve finally edited and posted Episode 2 of Come Read With Me! My guest this episode is my friend Caitrin and we discuss Abigail Reynold’s The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice which I wrote about back in January! Thankfully, there weren’t any technical issues this time.

By far the highlight of this episode, apart from all the general Austen love, is about nine minutes in when I realize I misspoke about my favorite Jane Austen novel. It’s a good thing it wasn’t later in the podcast (aka later in the bottle of wine) or I might’ve cried! From pick up lines and my confusion over Colin Firth and Colin Farrel to Caitrin’s adoration of Sense and Sensibility and the Classics Club, nothing is off-limits.


You can download it by right clicking this link and selecting save as.

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ARC, Books

Book 307: First Impressions – Charlie Lovett

Geoff W

If you’ve ever read this blog before you know I really love two things: books and Jane Austen. So when I found out Charlie Lovett, author of The Bookman’s Tale wrote an Austen fan-fiction novel (my label) I was super excited! I requested a copy from the publisher and received no compensation for my opinion.

Many authors have tried to write novels featuring Jane Austen at the time she wrote her stories and try to connect her novels to her life. However, few have done it as well as Lovett has in First Impressions. The author worked around many of the issues other authors face (mirroring Austen’s language and getting the time period and personality of Austen and her characters correct) by immediately jumping into Jane Austen’s life. The book opens in the late 1700s with Austen on a walk through the countryside (hello Lizzie Bennet) and as the reader gets to an interesting point Lovett jumps to modern-day London. This could be confusing, but Lovett does it effortlessly.

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Updates

September Recap 2014

Geoff W

2014 09-14 Sherman's Book Store Bar HarborThis was a crazy month. I completed five of my 30×30 list AND read five books. Most of the month surrounded my trip to Acadia. I know I did other stuff too, but my brain is absolutely drained.

The photo to the right, was an awesome snapshot I took while visiting Bar Harbor, Maine. I think what I was most impressed with is that there are no people other than the driver and it could really be any time period (except for the pram/stroller). It wasn’t my favorite book shop we visited, that was Mystery Cove and I didn’t get the chance to visit the Big Chicken Barn but I will go back up at some point!

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Books

Book 304: The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) – Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Geoff W

I don’t care what people say. I love J.K. Rowling.

She is a skilled story-teller and talented writer. With the two types of reactions most people have when they hear her name, it’s easy to see why she wanted her name kept far from her works as Robert Galbraith. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen, but this was a bonus for those of us who would never have discovered them.

On one side, you have those with visceral negative reactions to her and her writing. (A lot of the time by those who’ve never read her books.) And on the other side, you have the people who adore them solely because it’s J.K. Rowling; Obviously. Thankfully, I’m somewhere in the middle. I can both appreciate her as an evolving writer and find fault in her skills as a story-teller, especially in her post Harry Potter novels. (I’m still waiting for the, hmm Harry Potter isn’t as wondrous as I first thought it was moment, but it still hasn’t happened.)

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