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Top Ten Tuesday – Books I’ve Read because They Were Recommended by Rachel McMillan

Today’s Topic:  Books I Read Because Someone Recommended Them to Me

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

I know what types of books I like to read. That’s not to say I can’t be influenced to read something that might not normally catch my eye. But I rarely remember who first piqued my interest in a specific book once I decide to read it…with one exception.

Rachel McMillan is an author (and a great one at that) who also has wonderful taste in and a special knack for recommending amazing books. All it takes is her gushing review and that book automatically goes on my TBR list. She is my go-to person for book recommendations and I trust her implicitly. With few exceptions (I’m looking at you Villette), I LOVE every single one of her recommendations. And my TBR list should either thank her or villify her for expanding beyond what I will ever be able to read in a lifetime.

Here are just a few books I discovered thanks to Rachel. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Books I’ve Read because They Were Recommended by Rachel McMillan”

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September 2020 Quickie Reviews

September 2020 Breakdown
  • 25 films/series total
  • 9 foreign films/series
  • 6 new classic films
  • 3 TV series
  • 2 re-watches

Biggest Disappointment: Le Samourai and Marie Antoinette just didn’t live up to their hype, for me.

Favorite Discovery: This was a great month overall for me when it came to entertainment choices as it gave me lots of new favorites. However, if I have to narrow it down, I’ll go with It Happened in Flatbush and the Korean dramas Crash Landing on You and Masquerade. Continue reading “September 2020 Quickie Reviews”

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Top Ten Tuesday – Fall Book Titles

Today’s Topic:  Book Covers with Fall Colors/Vibes (or spring if you live in the southern hemisphere)

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

Hmm…I decided to interpret this week’s prompt loosely. Very loosely. This week, I’m featuring books with fall in their titles. And strangely enough, even though most of these aren’t about Fall, some of these covers still give me fall vibes. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Fall Book Titles”

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Top Ten Tuesday – Evocative Book Covers

Today’s Topic: Cover Freebie

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

Art serves many purposes, but one of the most important is to make us think and feel, to evoke emotion in us and to help us to see things with fresh eyes. In my opinion, book cover art is no different. Although it’s main design is to sell the story inside. The image tells us what to expect. But good book art can also create the same reaction as other types of art.

For this week’s prompt, I want to share covers which have not only grabbed my eye, but have caused me to feel or to take action. Some of these covers motivated me to purchase the book, without knowing anything about it. Others have artwork I wish I could use in my home. And then there are those that evoke strong emotion in me, whether that is yearning, comfort, wistfulness or familiarity. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Evocative Book Covers”

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Driving with Cary Grant – Nine Grant Films Featuring Memorable Auto Scenes

While the history of the automobile begins a couple of decades earlier, the rise of mass production in the early 1900’s led to them becoming part of our every day lives. Another popular “product” was produced around the same time in 1904, a man who would eventually come to be known as Cary Grant.

Both Grant and the automobile are ubiquitous parts of international history.  Autos are in-arguably a vital part of every day life, an industry which continues to grow and innovate.  While Grant may not be as essential by comparison to our world today, he is still a very important part of our cultural history. Comparisons are still made to his talent, his style and his contributions to the film industry.

As someone who has long been obsessed with Cary Grant, it recently dawned on me how many of his movies contain a memorable scene with him in a vehicle. Almost all non-historical films contain vehicles as they were a part of every day life. But Grant’s films elevated them as more than just part of a scene. Instead they became an actual setting for action and dialogue to advance the story. Even closer notice reveals that many of the movies utilizing vehicles in this way are directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I’m sure there is a deeper analysis to be drawn here about Hitchcock’s particular use of cars in his pictures starring Grant, but that’s another article for another day.

In celebration of two great “products” of the past century, here are nine films featuring Cary Grant in vehicles. Continue reading “Driving with Cary Grant – Nine Grant Films Featuring Memorable Auto Scenes”