Month: September 2017

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Book Review -Death by the Book

SUMMARY

Drew Farthering is fresh off the success of solving the murder of his mother and step-father. During which time he met Madeline the woman of his dreams. Now that the tragedy is behind them, he is attempting to convince his American girlfriend to settle down in England and marry him.  Though she loves Drew, she asks for more time to make such an important decision.

Unfortunately circumstances intervene in the arrival of Madeline’s prickly Aunt Ruth. She is determined to drag her niece back to Chicago, away from the man she views as an insincere playboy. And then of course, there is the added interruption of the murder of Drew’s family attorney.

Thanks to Drew’s keen eye and nimble mind, the local police detective invites Drew’s help in solving this latest crime. Drew is unprepared for how involved he will actually become. More murder victims keep appearing with seemingly no apparent connection to each other other than hatpins stuck through notes left on the victim’s chests. Even more disturbing is that these crimes continue to move closer and closer in proximity to  Drew’s family home and the village of Farthering St. John. Will this amateur sleuth solve this mystery before the murderer strikes again? Or was his first success just luck? Even more importantly, will Drew be able to win over Madeline’s Aunt Ruth before she talks her niece into leaving England and Drew for good?

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Foreign Film Friday -It’s Okay, That’s Love (2014)

SUMMARY

Ji Hae-Soo is a compassionate and nurturing psychiatrist who genuinely cares for her patients. But this side of her nature is not nearly as obvious in her personal life. When she meets popular author and DJ Jang Jae-Yeol she takes an immediate dislike to the handsome tease.

When Jae-Yeol temporarily moves in with Hae-Soo and her other housemates, sparks fly between these two opposites. Jae-Yeol is more willing to accept his attraction to the combative Hae-Soo, but she fights it. As they come to know each other better Hae-Soo begins to realize that there is more to Jae-Yeol than meets the eye. Continue reading “Foreign Film Friday -It’s Okay, That’s Love (2014)”

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Book Review -P.S. From Paris

SUMMARY

When Mia finally runs out of patience with her cheating husband, she packs her bags and escapes to Paris to stay with her best friend Daisy. As an actress she knows the value of escaping into a good role. So she dyes her hair, changes her appearance and takes up waitressing in Daisy’s restaurant all while bemoaning her bad luck in love.

Paul is an expat American author living in Paris. His initial publication success mingled with his shyness drove him across the sea to hide out in the City of Love. His subsequent novels are only popular in South Korea, so it doesn’t interfere with his introverted lifestyle.

Thanks to an interfering friend, Paul meets Mia in a blind date arrangement neither is aware of. After much confusion, they enter into a strangely defined friendship which helps both of them cope with their lonely and sad personal lives. But although they are drawn to each other, Mia and Paul’s path to a more meaningful relationship is strewn with obstacles, not the least of which is themselves.

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Character Spotlight -Tracy Lord of The Philadelphia Story (1940)

“Would I trade places with Tracy Lord for all her wealth and beauty? Oh boy, just ask me.” Liz Embrie

Ruth Hussey as Liz Embrie

I feel ya, Liz, but appearances can be deceiving. To the outside observer (or tabloid photographer), Tracy’s life is one of ease and privilege. Tracy is fortunate to be part of Philadelphia’s Main Line society. As played by Katharine Hepburn, she is the typical example of the haughty entitled attitudes inherent to the elite. Born into wealth, she wears it with cool sophistication along with her couture wardrobe.

Despite her engagement to “man of the people” George Kitteridge, she has had little contact with the lower classes and their daily challenges. But Tracy is oblivious to her lack of true cultural experience and really believes she is without prejudice.

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Top Ten Tuesday -Hating on the Classics

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

Today’s Topic : Ten Books I Struggled to Get Into But Ended Up Loving or Ten Books That Were A Chore To Get Through or Ten Books I’ve Most Recently Put DownSo, as usual I have interpreted today’s prompt to suit myself.  There are very few books that I don’t end up finishing. I hate giving up on a story even when it doesn’t resonate with me. Plus, I always want to promote good stories and authors. I have no desire to draw negative attention to books I don’t enjoy, because one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right?

In pondering this week’s topic, I finally decided to highlight a genre which I don’t particularly love. I totally understand the need and value of the classics, but for the most part, I find them dull, overly wordy, depressing and just boring. In my opinion, real life gives enough hard knock lessons without needing them preached to me by my entertainment choices. I can and do appreciate stories of tragedy, but overall I prefer those which promote encouraging messages and hope. And I love a happy ending, so sue me. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday -Hating on the Classics”

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Classic Director Spotlight -Clarence Brown

Clarence Brown is an American director from the classic film era. He was highly intelligent and graduated from the University of Tennessee at the age of twenty with two engineering degrees. He worked for and eventually owned his own automobile dealership. He also served in WWI as a flight instructor and pilot before making his way into the motion picture industry.

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