Good morning! Today’s post will link up to Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post, and head over to Bermudaonion for Mailbox Monday.
How did this past week skip by so quickly? The best thing about it was how lost I got in some of my reading.
And then there was the blogging!
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED ON MY BLOGS:
Serendipitous Tuesdays: Intros/Teasers: Mr. Monk Helps Himself
Thursday Potpourri: Book Drives, Review Books, & Movies
August Bookshelf Clearing: Come on Down!
Friday Potpourri: Book Beginnings & The Friday 56 – Is This Tomorrow
Sweet Saturday Sample: A Great Escape
Review: We Are Water, by Wally Lamb
Review: MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
Review: The Obituary Writer (e-book), by Ann Hood
Read: Mr. Monk Helps Himself, by Ty Conrad (Review will be posted on 9/10 at Blog Tour Stop: Rainy Days and Mondays)
INCOMING BOOKS:
No books came in the mail, but I downloaded two e-books to feed Sparky
What Maisie Knew (e-book), by Henry James
Strikingly modern in its subject and narrative voice, this 1897 novel centers on a child’s view of her parents’ bitter divorce. Maisie develops a precocious maturity as she observes the adults’ irresponsible and immoral behavior. Rather than a gloomy parable of innocence corrupted, the tale abounds in dark humor and savage wit.
Alterations (e-book), by Rita Plush
Author’s Note: Many of these stories hark back more than fifty years, unwritten stories that lived in me the way stories do, as a bit of memory – a certain smell, the turn of a head, or the particular sound of a voice. Or, in the case of “Love, Mona,” in a quilted dime-store night table and a sleeping Mexican painted on a cupboard door.
My Brooklyn stories were told through the eyes of a child growing up with the rumble of the El along 86th Street, walking with her mother in her big-shouldered mouton coat, as she did her errands and talked with the shopkeepers. The walkup apartment house where she lived with her family, the damp steamy smell of the lobby where the metal taps on her shoes made a satisfying clicking sound as she ran up and down the marble steps. The seamstress in her apartment building, her friend’s father who seldom spoke, the people her parents knew, the relatives – her ear pressed to the wall, hearing talk that was not for her to hear – the people they spoke of in Yiddish so the child would not understand.
Decades later, they called to me, the memory of them morphing, changing, altering, becoming characters that were and were not them. And I kept writing about the loving and sometimes mysterious bonds of family. I dressed my characters, gave them habits and a particular way to speak, and put them down on the pages, wanting things they could not have, remembering things they wanted to forget. They mended and they sewed, they owned stores and boutiques, they jerry-made contraptions and carved dollhouse furniture. They dug in the dirt and planted tomatoes, they hunted for bear and did a jigsaw puzzle in a far off mountain cabin. Makers and fixers, they had the creative qualities derived from my parents and passed down to me.
Beginning with Frances, the young child grieving for her mother in “Love, Mona,” these stories come full circle to Rusty in “Feminine Products,” pregnant but unmarried, desperate to make a family for her unborn child. Family is a recurrent theme in my stories.
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I picked the Henry James book after seeing the newly released DVD, What Maisie Knew, updated to the present day:
And that is my week! What a ride!! And now I am curious about your week…come on by and let’s chat.
If I saw the movie I would have picked up the Mazie book too! I love to read the book first. Have a lovely week and I adore the flying books pic
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Even though the book was set in a different time, I’m looking forward to it. Usually I like to read the book first….but this is how it worked out.
Thanks for visiting, Kimba.
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I haven’t heard of What Masie Knew but now I want to see the film and read the book. Especially the book, with it’s older setting. Divorce must have been a bit of a stigma back then.
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I recorded The View one day when Julianne Moore was on, and she talked about the movie. It didn’t come to our city, so I had to wait for the DVD. Worth watching. And I found the classic e-book free on Amazon! Thanks for visiting, Trish.
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Sparky must be fed! lol That book/movie actually looks really good!
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The movie was good…and I’m looking forward to the book. Thanks for visiting, Melissa…and yes, Sparky is a hungry beast.
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I’m sure Sparky appreciated it. 🙂 I feed Montgomery every week; he has a voracious appetite. 😀
I hadn’t heard of “What Maisie Knew” before this but now I’m curious. I hope you like it.
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Montgomery is an interesting name….thanks for stopping by, Bea, and I hope you enjoy your week.
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I’m part of the Mr. Monk tour, too, but I haven’t read it yet. Hope you have a great week!
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Yes, it was my first exposure to Mr. Monk, but I’d definitely heard a lot about him. Hope you enjoy it…and thanks for stopping by, Yvonne.
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Enjoy your movie, looks good
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Thanks, Brandileigh; glad you could stop by! Have a great week.
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Your ereader is named Sparky? 🙂 Mine is named Portal. Have a great week!
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Thanks, Voracious Reader…I like your e-reader’s name, too. Enjoy your week.
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Haven’t heard of that movie, or book. Will have to check them out.
Your week was a busy one for sure!
Thanks for visiting my Sunday Salon/Post!
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I looked for What Massie Knew on Amazon and it’s free for the Kindle, so I downloaded it. I’ll probably watch the movie after I’m finished.
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Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that part! I always love getting freebies, especially if they’re well-written books.
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I only accidentally heard about the movie (and book) after watching The View one day when Julianne Moore was on (the star of the movie). I see most of her movies, as I enjoy her talent. Thanks for visiting, Vicki, and have a great week.
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Looks like a busy week. Glad you got lots of reading done, and What Maisie Knew looks good (both book and movie).
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I think so, too, Greg…and thanks for stopping by. Have a good week!
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Sounds like you’ve got two great new reads, Laurel-Rain. Enjoy them and have a great week! Thanks for visiting my blog.
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Yes, looking forward to them, Catherine…glad you could stop by. Enjoy your week.
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I can’t wait to hear hat you think of What Maisie Knew. It was a difficult one for me to read but a really good story.
Happy Reading!!
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Yes, it is an old one, so I imagine that the language will be challenging! Thanks for stopping by, Lori, and enjoy your week.
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Great week and great haul! Have another amazing week! Thanks for stopping by my Sunday post.
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Thanks, Chelsea…hope you have a great week, too.
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You had a terrific week by the look of all those posts! Enjoy both your new books, and thank you for stopping by my blog today!
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Thanks, Lark…hope you have a great week and enjoy your books.
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I hope your new books are terrific!
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Me, too, Kathy, but it will probably be awhile before I get to them…between the TBRs and the review books! Thanks for visiting.
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I haven’t heard of What Masie Knew, book or movie. I’ll grab the kindle version though. Someday I should get a chance to read it. If not there’s always the DVD.
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I really loved the movie…hope I like the book too; I probably won’t get to it for awhile, either. Thanks for stopping by, Leslie.
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Nice week. I love how you call your e-reader Sparky. 🙂
Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.
Love your new side panels.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My Mailbox Monday
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Thanks, Elizabeth…Yes, I have to name things…cars, electronic devices, etc. LOL
Glad you could stop by….and I love changing out the panels. The beads are such fun, aren’t they?
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What Maisie Knew looks like a good movie. gonna watch the trailer later and then grab a copy of the book too. I like reading the book first before watching the movie 😀
You can read my Sunday Post Here
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I think the book might be quite different, since it was written in the 1800s…but it should lend an interesting perspective on the topic. Thanks for visiting, Farzy.
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Hm, I haven’t named my Kindle. I’ll have to think about that 😉 Enjoy your reading this week!
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Yes, I have a quirky side that compels me to name everything….Kindle, laptop, cars, etc. LOL
Thanks for stopping by, Mary, and enjoy your week.
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My girls and I name our cars 🙂 Younger daughter drives a 20 year old toyota named Goldie and I have a 14 year old station wagon named Evie. Too funny, huh?
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I do love naming cars…I started doing that before I named other things. I had a dark blue VW bug in the 70s that I called Alfie; I had a desert tan Nissan that I named Lizzie (reminded me of deserts & lizards); and my current car has a boring name: Rain Toy (It’s a Toyota, and I’m “Rain.”)
I like your car named Goldie…really cute.
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I’m curious about the Henry James book. Happy reading!
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So am I, Anna…thanks for stopping by, and have a great week!
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