A-Z book tag

Jenny over at Book Coffee Happy did this fun challenge and I decided to take it on as well! I'm doing this at my personal blog since I talk about more than just chick lit here. Anyway, you should also visit Jenny's blog. I always enjoy her posts about life and her thoughts on books.

Author you’ve read the most books from:
Sophie Kinsella. I've read all her books and she has a lot.

Best Sequel Ever:
Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale. You need to read Everything We Keep in order for it to make sense.

Currently Reading:
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner (reading an ARC and it's so good)
I'm Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan
Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky (audio)

Drink of Choice While Reading:
Hot tea, preferably vanilla or mint

E-reader or Physical Book?
Both! I never thought I'd be a Kindle person, but now I love my Kindle.

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:
Logan from Babysitter's Club series (they all eventually go to HS, right?)

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance:
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (review)

Hidden Gem Book:
Room for Love by Andrea Meyer. It was a sweet romantic comedy that I read about 10 years ago and still recommend.

Important Moment in your Reading Life:
Starting a book blog and knowing that people were buying books because I recommended them.

Just Finished:
The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, and Michelle Schusterman. A fun YA novel that I even got teary eyed from.
My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren (review)

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:
Stealing this from Jenny because I totally agree: Anything with a topic that truly doesn't interest me. There are too many wonderful books out there...why waste time reading one that I don't find interesting?

Longest Book You’ve Read:
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb was 900 pages and I breezed through it. Can't wait to see the TV series!

Major book hangover because of:
Too many books to name! I know I had one from Me Before You.

Number of Bookcases You Own:
One in the living room along with two big ones in the basement, but one of those only has half the books that the other does.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:
I used to re-read V.C. Andrews books in high school. I have no time to re-read anything now.

Preferred Place To Read:
On the living room couch. It's old and worn out but so cozy!

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:
I don't memorize quotes from books.

Reading Regret:
See this list

Series You Started And Need To Finish (all books are out in series):
I don't read series all that often, aside from Shopaholic books. Some books are in a trilogy, but I've read them all. I do need to finish Tracy Krimmer's All That trilogy.

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, and The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel. (Narrowing down my favorites was soooooooooooooooo hard!)

Unapologetic Fangirl For:
Sophie Kinsella. Notice a trend here? I freaked out when she followed me on twitter.

Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:
There are way too many books coming out that I'm excited about. I know that Erin Morgenstern wrote another one and I'm eagerly awaiting that. Also anything new that Jodi Picoult has in the works.

Worst Bookish Habit:
Taking forever to put up reviews.

X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
My bookshelf is a mess, but Lacy Eye by Jessica Treadway. I have not read it yet but a friend recommended it a while ago.

Your latest book purchase:
E-book of Looker by Laura Sims when it was on sale earlier this month.

There's no Z?!? Shouldn't this be A-Y? How about this:
A book I'd like to read that starts with Z:
Zac and Mia by A.J. Betts or Zoya by Danielle Steel

Eight is NOT enough: Thoughts on Russian Doll

Photo courtesy of womentainment.com

A while back, my husband sent me a trailer for a new Netflix series called Russian Doll. It had a similar premise to Groundhog Day, at first glance. Then I heard around social media that it was quite different from that 90's classic rom-com. For one thing, Russian Doll is not a romantic comedy. It's not necessarily a thriller either (like Happy Death Day 2U). It's more surreal than anything else, but it's also a powerful and complex series that I really hope will continue into another season.

It's hard to find a decent synopsis that doesn't give a multitude of spoilers. I found this on IMDb:
On Nadia's 36th birthday she is struck by a car and killed, only to finds herself alive and well, back at her own birthday party earlier that night. When she dies again and her timeline resets, Nadia begins to question her own sanity as she strives to unravel the mystery of why and how this is all happening.

Here are eight reasons you should watch (since there are only eight episodes):
1. It stars Natasha Lyonne. She first comes off as similar to Nicky on Orange is the New Black, but she has more layers and the red curls just top it all off.
2. There's another actress from Orange on this show, Dascha Polanco, who plays a complete contrast to her role as Daya on that show. I was hoping for a meta moment, but it never materialized.
3. The song that keeps playing is rather catchy. My husband and I thought it had a Ben Folds feel to it.
4. A teen actor from the 90's, Brendan Sexton III., is on this show, but totally unrecognizable. See if you can figure out who he is without consulting IMDb. (He was in Empire Records and Welcome to the Dollhouse back in the day.)
5. Chloe Sevigny plays Nadia's mom in flashback scenes. She kind of looks like Sarah Jessica Parker in this role.
6. The visuals are interesting to watch. At first the blue tinted shape on the bathroom door is strange, but then it just grows on you. It's a similar color to the fish tank in Alan's house.
7. It just messes with your mind a lot and there are so many questions and answers to ponder. Another reason I am hoping for more seasons.
8. Something about the bond between Nadia and Alan (Charlie Barnett) just does me in. I nearly cried toward the end of the final episode. I'm shipping them hard and am not ready to let go of either yet. They're both so beautifully broken and strange circumstances brought them together.

Fair warning, some parts are a bit gross. Especially in episode seven. The funny and emotional moments balance those parts out though.

I will NOT be posting any spoilers since I still can't wrap my head around everything, but you're welcome to share your own thoughts in the comments section. (For those of you who haven't seen it, don't read the comments if you are planning on watching at some point.)

Want another reason to watch? Check out the trailer!

Thoughts on A Million Little Things (with spoilers at the end)

Photo from abc.go.com

Last fall, I kept promising myself I wouldn't watch any new shows. Then my friend told me I should be watching A Million Little Things. She explained the premise and I was curious enough to check out the first episode. Then I kept watching until I was caught up and could just check in on a weekly basis. It's marketed for fans of This is Us and it has all the feels like that show does. The cast, aside from Ron Livingston, was a bunch of unknown or vaguely familiar actors, as far as I was concerned. Fast forward a few months and I got a thrill from one of them replying to my tweet recently.

The premise from Wikipedia doesn't tell much, as to avoid spoilers:
Set in Boston, a tight-knit circle of friends is shocked after a member of the group dies from suicide unexpectedly. Each friend realizes that they need to finally start living life as they cope with their loss. The title is a reference to the saying "Friendship isn't a big thing – it's a million little things."

My take (no spoilers):
The series started out with Rome (Romany Malco) standing in his kitchen trying to kill himself with a combination of pills. Then he gets a call that his friend Jon actually killed himself and spits them into the sink. However, he doesn't get rid of his note, which causes problems later on. We learn about Jon through the eyes of his widow, children, friends, and people who are keeping his secrets. Ron Livingston plays Jon and we see him during flashback scenes. Jon's friend Gary (James Roday), who is in remission from breast cancer (yes, men can get it too), meets Maggie (Allison Miller, who looks like a cross between Drew Barrymore and Katharine Heigl) at a cancer support group meeting. He then brings her to Jon's funeral where she instantly becomes friends with Delilah (Jon's widow, played by Stéphanie Szostak) and Regina (Rome's wife, played by Christina Moses). Jon's friend Eddie (David Giuntoli) is having problems connecting with his workaholic wife Katherine (Grace Park), which leads him to seek affection elsewhere.

The initial thing that brought all four men together is that they were trapped in an elevator and started bonding. Jon made a promise to look after all of them and asked them to do the same for him. (At least that's what I remember.) There are other complications on the show, such as Jon's assistant Ashley (Christina Ochoa) keeping secrets for him, Maggie refusing to get chemo for her breast cancer, Eddie and Katherine separating, Delilah and Regina trying to open a restaurant, Rome struggling with depression, etc. I don't want to say any more as to not spoil it. There are some joyful moments as well as some heartbreaking ones. All in all, it's worth a binge-watch, if you haven't seen it yet.

Check out the trailer:

Spoilers below...







Not too late to turn back...








Last chance!


I wanted to share some thoughts with other fans, as well as say who my top five favorite characters are.

Favorite characters:
1. Katherine--At first I didn't know what to expect from her. She seemed quiet and closed off. Then when she started showing more emotion, she really stood out and I started to like her the most. She even helps Delilah, after everything that happened with the affair. I really hope she and Eddie can work things out, as I like them together the more I see glimpses from the past.
2. Regina--She's a very powerful and emotionally charged character and I enjoyed seeing her succeed with the restaurant.
3. Gary--He's another one who grew on me after a while. At first I was annoyed at him for pressuring Maggie into getting chemo, but there are so many things about him to love. Especially how he treats kids and dogs. And, of course, how devoted he is to Maggie.
4. Danny--It's nice to see a pre-teen boy trying to figure things out for himself in regards to being gay. He just seems like a sweet kid.
5. Maggie--She is complex and has a lot of layers, but she's just instantly likable. I love when she was teaching Sophie how to drive. I just find it annoying that everyone treats her like a therapist because that's her job. It's like they take advantage of her friendship to resolve their emotional issues.

I wouldn't say I hate anyone on the show, aside from Regina's uncle, but there are some characters I take issue with. Eddie and Delilah for not only having an affair but also being dishonest about who the baby's father is. Eddie is attractive, so it's hard to stay mad at him. I was also annoyed that even though he was the one who strayed from his marriage, he was also the one saying that he and Katherine should get divorced. And now that things are good between them, he wants to start telling the truth about fathering Delilah's baby. If he had been up front to begin with, it's something they also could have worked on. Now that Delilah is about to have the baby, this is going to ruin things with Katherine all over again. Also, I thought it was impulsive and a bit selfish of him to go off touring with his band. He's a father with responsibilities!

Delilah also annoys me with how she acts all helpless one moment and then all strong and independent the next. She comes off as "cutesy" in a way that's hard to explain.

Then there's Ashley, who has been shifty and secretive while also trying to help Jon's family. The letter Jon wrote was nothing that needed to be hidden for so long.

Everyone else is in a neutral, but good place for me, i.e. Rome, Theo, Sophie, and Jon.

The final episode of the season revealed some interesting information, such as Jon's connection with Barbara Morgan and the revelation that P.J. (Rome's new friend, if we call him that....there's more of a father figure thing going on) is Barbara's son, whom she was most likely pregnant with before she met Mitch. Also that Regina is adamant about not wanting kids, which I hope won't cause a rift between her and Rome.

What are your thoughts? What do you think is in store for season two?

Thoughts on Manifest season 1...with spoilers (at the end)

Courtesy of YouTube

Back in 2012, I read a really good novel called Down to Earth (reviewed here). It was about a woman who goes skydiving and lands six-and-a-half years later. She's presumed missing and when she returns, her relationships aren't what they used to be.

When my friend told me about Manifest, it brought back memories of reading this novel and I knew I had to watch it. I went back later to find my review and saw that the main character's name was Michaela, just like one of the main characters on the show! There's a story line in this series that reminds me of another book I enjoyed, One True Loves (reviewed here). And there's even a character named Olive in that one, just like Ben's daughter.

Anyway, Manifest is a fascinating and somewhat terrifying show. It makes me nervous to get onto an airplane again, knowing what happened. Even if it is totally surreal. It's produced by Robert Zemeckis, who wrote one of my all-time favorite time travel films, Back to the Future. While Manifest has an aspect of time travel in a future direction, it also doesn't have a way for the characters to go back to the past to fix everything. (Like not get on that flight in the first place.)

There are aspects of other series that I really like, such as Orphan Black (all the conspiracies and people being chased around) and Stranger Things (Cal reminds me so much of Will, especially when he's connected to other characters). I like how they explore grief, difficult decisions, health issues, etc. The main mystery is what happened to Flight 828 and its passengers for five-and-a-half years. It was a blip in time to everyone on the plane, but it felt much longer to those on the ground who missed their loved ones and thought they were gone for good. There's a lot of psychology to explore for both everyone in the air and everyone on the ground. The callings have both psychic and religious aspects to them and I know there's a lot to figure out with those. I liked what some of them led to though. There's a lot of numerology, as well. (I even pointed that out in my review for Down to Earth, oddly enough.)

I don't want to give too much away here, so I'll share a trailer for those who haven't seen it and then share some further thoughts below. So please stop at the trailer if you don't want to see spoilers. Even if you think the show is cheesy or bizarre, it's a lot of fun to play MST3K with. My husband and I are constantly making comments to amuse each other while we watch it. And we both like this show a lot!



SPOILERS BELOW. Last chance to turn back...
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All I know is that season two HAS to happen. Season one had such a cliffhanger at the end. Who got shot: Mick, Jared, or Zeke? Any guesses? Also, The Major is going to be Saanvi's therapist? Yikes! I really hope it was an innocent mistake from the hot doctor's end because I really don't want him to be a bad guy. There are enough of them on this show! Also, I was hoping Vance wouldn't actually be dead and would show up in the end. Is that too much to ask for? Cal's prediction matching the date that Olive and Ben figured out gave me chills. And I had a feeling Grace would be pregnant with Danny's baby. Not surprising at all. I still want Saanvi and Ben to hook up. There's so much sexual tension between them. Maybe now Ben has an excuse to make it happen.

Here are my favorite and least favorite characters.

Favorite:
1. Saanvi
2. Olive
3. Cal
4. Ben (even though he does get in over his head, his heart is in the right place)
5. Zeke: I know he seems shifty, but I feel like he should be trusted.

Least Favorite:
1. Mick: She basically screwed over her best friend when she slept with Jared. When Lourdes got together with Jared, it was under the assumption that Mick was dead. Lourdes is clearly not dead and I feel bad for her.
2. Grace: Who actually likes her at all? There's no love for Grace as far as I know. She kicked Ben out for trying to protect his family and now she suddenly believes him after she didn't the first 10 times he told her to trust him?
3. Autumn: Even though she helped Mick in the end, I still don't trust her.
4. The Major: Obviously. I think she wants to hurt Cal.
5. Jared: Cheated on his wife and now he's being a jerk to Zeke.
6. Griffin: Such a horrible excuse for a human being. He got what was coming to him by trying to abuse the callings.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show along with favorites and least favorites. If it gets renewed, where do you think the story will go next? What do you think really happened to Flight 828?

No Day But Today: Thoughts on RENT Live

Photo from The Stranger

Anyone who knows me knows what a huge Rentaholic I am. I can't always remember why I walked into a room, but I can sing the entire soundtrack...if you let me. I've seen the show many times, the last two being somewhat more amateur productions at a community college and a community theater. I saw the movie in 2005, but was disappointed with how many songs they took out. So while the prospect of a live-televised production was exciting, I also had some reservations. I knew I would watch it either way. (And thanks to Fox.com's difficulty with streaming, I had to wait until the next day to watch. The upside was very quick commercial breaks.)

Overall, I was impressed. Rent is a hard show to pull off really well and the energy and camaraderie from the cast was prevalent throughout. This is the first time I cried over a significant character's death since I first saw it on stage (after seeing it so many times, I became more desensitized to it). I enjoyed it for the most part and smiled and laughed a lot, as well. I think a lot of people are being too hard on it. I just had fun watching for the nostalgic feel it gave off.

If you have never seen Rent before (it's only been 23 years, what are you waiting for?), you may want to first watch the filmed Broadway production. That one has the best feel for the musical.

Some other random thoughts, in no particular order:
*I felt that everyone fit well into their parts. Mark's mom seemed a bit over the top, but she was funny.

*Angel's voice was weak, but her personality and style made up for it in spades. I couldn't help but love her. She looked like Adam Lambert without the elaborate costumes on.

*Tinashe was cute as Mimi. I thought she sang well, despite what everyone else has been saying.

*I didn't buy into Roger on an emotional level, but he had a good voice.

*Jordan Fisher was adorable as Mark. I've never seen any Mark crying during "Halloween," but I love that he did that.

*Brandon Victor Dixon was amazing as Collins. He balanced out Angel's voice when they sang together. (Side note: I love the part in "I'll Cover You" when they're climbing the playground equipment and she jumps into his arms.)

*I loved that aside from the "Seasons of Love" soloist, Keala Settle (from The Greatest Showman) was also the support group leader and Roger's mom. She has a wonderful voice and such great stage presence.

*I thought the "Seasons of Love" blocking was interesting. It was a new way of thinking about the song.

*They left out a LOT of lines in songs and changed wording when it wasn't always necessary (i.e. the very beginning). I was especially annoyed that they didn't include the two lines that Mark and Roger yell at each other at the end of "Halloween." They also omitted the "Seasons of Love" reprise.

*I was surprised they didn't change certain words in "La Vie Boheme" and that they performed "Contact". My 13 year-old son didn't hear the words in question and didn't really understand what was happening in "Contact," thankfully. He said it gave him more context for what happened next.

*The set was cool. It took on the feeling of NYC really well. What was weird was that it was sort of in the round and if they put up a wall on stage, half the people couldn't see it. The same is true for any above-the-audience action. They kept filming things in a circle, which was hard to watch sometimes.

*I thought it was weird when people who didn't have AIDS sang part of "Will I?".

*I didn't like that people were screaming for the actor who played Roger when he was singing "What You Own." It was distracting. And Jordan should have gotten more audience love too. Just saying...

*I have to wonder how much was pre-recorded and how much was done live? They had to show scenes from the dress rehearsal if Roger was in them because he broke his foot. However, they all came together on stage at the end.

*I thought it was strange that they set it in 1991, since it came out in 1996 and that's closer to the "end of the millenium." In the stage production, they don't mention years.

*The actresses playing Maureen (Vanessa Hudgens) and Joanne (Kiersey Clemons) were perfect in their roles and really gave it their all during "Take Me or Leave Me." I loved Maureen's cow hat in "Over the Moon," but didn't think it was necessary for her to fly above the audience during the "mooing" part.

*At various times, they included little monologues about AIDS and homelessness. That was different from the stage production.

*I enjoyed the tributes and nods to Jonathan Larson. It's still so sad to think that he never got his own glory of seeing the success of Rent.

*The "Easter egg" of Mark's original shirt was so funny and awesome.

If you saw Rent Live, what were your thoughts? 

Stick it to the man: My thoughts on School of Rock

I saw the movie School of Rock back in 2004 and enjoyed it at the time. I saw it again about 10 years later with my kids and still thought it was a lot of fun. I had no idea it would be turned into a musical and wasn't sure what to expect from it. However, I was really impressed!

This past weekend, my husband, kids and I saw School of Rock at the National Theatre in DC. It was a surprise for the kids and my oldest figured it out after a while. My younger two thought we were seeing a movie. We got the tickets through TodayTix back when they had their Cyber Monday sales. The only drawback is that you don't get to pick your exact seats. They had us over on the far right of the orchestra section. We could see, but with some heads blocking our view, it was hard to get in the full stage.

My husband forgot he wasn't seeing Newsies :)

Here are my thoughts:

*I was surprised at the amount of swearing with kids around, both in the show and in the audience. I feel like the stage production was marketed as being family friendly, so I didn't see that coming.

*I enjoyed the music. Some of the songs were from the movie and some were written for the musical. Out of the new songs, I especially liked "If Only You Would Listen," "Time to Play," and "Stick It to the Man."

*While I love that they played "Edge of Seventeen" at the bar, Rosalie's song afterward ("Where Did the Rock Go?") felt kind of slow.

*The kids were fantastic! They had lots of energy and talent, great voices, and were funny. Billy said my favorite line from the movie: "You're tacky and I hate you." The girl who played Summer was adorable!

*The ensemble cast was strong, but it got confusing when some people played three different roles.

*We had an understudy for Dewey, Liam Fennecken. He did a great job and fit the part well. He was very likable and used a lot of physical comedy.

*The set was cool. There were a lot of different parts to it that moved around nicely to fit each scene.

A glimpse of the classroom, from The New York Times

*There were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. Of course, some of those went over my kids' heads. I especially love that Dewey improvised a line about the government shutdown.

*At one point, Billy brought out a costume he designed and the mannequin was wearing a Rocky Horror shirt! :)

*The ending was slightly different, but it was still good. I would have not noticed the difference if my husband hadn't pointed it out.

*My daughter had the best time and was rockin' out by the end. She said it's her favorite musical now.

Overall,  it was a great show that my entire family enjoyed. It was hard not to clap along with the music! I recommend it for a fun day or evening out when it comes to your town.

Best of 2018

I've decided to take inventory of some past lists I've made, and do some updates. Hoping for more fun and entertainment in 2019!

Top Five Best Movies that I saw in 2018
You can see how many movies I watch with my kids these days...(and how few I get a chance to see in general. I'm sure Bohemian Rhapsody would be on this list if I had the time to see it!)

1. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (I saw it twice in the theater and cried more than I expected to the first time)
2. Ralph Wrecks the Internet
3. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (this was really funny and I enjoyed it more than the original movie)
4. Paddington 2
5. Mary Poppins Returns 

My favorite new TV shows (shows I started watching in 2018):

1. Manifest
2. A Million Little Things
3. You
4. 90 Day Fiancé (it has become more of a train wreck, but it's fun to talk about with friends and has generated some inside jokes)
5. Rise (So sad that they cancelled it after one short season.)
6. Cobra Kai


Top Ten Favorite Books I read in 2018. (Some may be from previous years or publishing in 2019.)
I've shared my top five chick lit favorites at Chick Lit Central (as Melissa A). I read so many amazing books this year (go to my Goodreads page and see all the 5 star books) and am sad to have to narrow it down at all. Links are to reviews.

1. The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
2. The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis-Graves (review coming soon)
3. Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda (I enjoyed the movie version, but the book was just so wonderful)
4. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
5. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
6. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
7. Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June
8. The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
9. The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson
10. The Way of Beauty by Camille DiMaio

Ten good things that happened in 2018:
1. My older son's Bar Mitzvah.
2. Jen Tucker moving to Maryland.
3. Going to NYC with the kids to see Wicked (my third time, their first).
4. Seeing Something Rotten with Adam Pascal as Shakespeare.
5. Seeing Waitress.
6. Making some new friends in the neighborhood and through Girlfriend Circles.
7. Trying my hand at canvas painting. I went to a few paint nights and enjoyed the experiences. I liked how my paintings turned out too.
8. Seeing my older son perform in musicals from his camp.
9. My BFF coming to town for a visit (it's our annual end-of-year thing)
10. My younger son getting into honors chorus and my older son getting into Tri-M (music honor society).

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!