Month: January 2020

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Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Title Fonts on Book Covers

Today’s Topic: Book Cover Freebie

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m a sucker for a great cover. Many is the time I’ve picked up a book based on the cover alone. What I’m loving lately are all the creative title fonts that are popping up. While I tend to be drawn to embellished cursive script, I also like any thing that really makes the title stand out on the cover. Here are a few examples of what has grabbed my eyes lately. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – Favorite Title Fonts on Book Covers”

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Top Ten Tuesday – The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

Today’s Topic: The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

Hosted by: That Artsy Reader Girl

As if I need to add more titles to the out of control planet that is my TBR list. But I’m nothing if not optimistic. Plus, I can’t resist the lure of a new book. Here are several that are the most recently added. Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday – The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf”

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Carole Lombard Memorial Blogathon – A Tribute to Carole as a Dramatic Actress aka How Carole Lombard Won Me Over

Carole Lombard is much lauded for her skills as a comedienne, but not as much so for her dramatic performances. Perhaps, it is for this reason, that it took a while for her to grow on me.

Photo Source – Film Noir Photos

Screwball comedy is my favorite genre, and Carole is one of its’ heroines. But when I viewed her popular films, like My Man Godfrey, Twentieth Century and Nothing Sacred, I felt I must be missing something important. To me, her performances were shrill, occasionally manic and sometimes painful for me to watch.  And yet, everyone raves about her talent.

That many people can’t be wrong. So, I kept at it. I continued to work my way through her films. And along the way I discovered something. I must be a bit contrary, because I appreciate Carole most in her dramatic roles and her less popular comedies. Continue reading “Carole Lombard Memorial Blogathon – A Tribute to Carole as a Dramatic Actress aka How Carole Lombard Won Me Over”

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2019 Book Year in Review

Well, 2019 was a slower year for me as far as reading goes. Compared to last year’s triple digit stats, I only read about 75 books. Due to some life changes I didn’t have as much time to read as I have in the past. But I’m not complaining.

For the first time ever I was part of a book club in 2019. I was only able to attend three times unfortunately. But because of this I read books I might not have otherwise; The Wedding, The Quiet Game, The Getaway Girls. I also participated in an online book club. The book choice was Charlotte Bronte’s Villette, which I didn’t like nearly as well as Jane Eyre. But I did enjoy discussing it with others online. Continue reading “2019 Book Year in Review”

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2019 Film Year in Review

This year I decided to keep track of my viewing stats a little differently. In the past, I only kept track of the new to me classic films in  my tally. But for 2019 I chose to also include re-watches, newer films and television series. I continued to leave out television films from my total count. All told, I watched about 300 films and series which is quite a lot.

NEW CLASSIC FILMS – 143 Total 

I continued on from last year in watching the films of Marlon Brando, Robert Mitchum and George Brent. I also actively sought out the films of Shirley Temple, Margaret O’Brien, Kay Francis, Greta Garbo, Jane Powell, Marion Davies and John Garfield. 2019 will also go down as the year I watched my first Elvis film.

Kay Francis & George Brent

Some of the more popular classics I finally made time for were Murder My Sweet, The Stranger, I Know Where I’m Going, Angel and the Badman, Ryan’s Daughter and Becket. Cleopatra was as much of a slog as I expected. However, I was happily surprised by great experiences with The Picture of Dorian Gray and Cat People. I had also put off watching the famous silent film The Big Parade but it completely wowed me! Continue reading “2019 Film Year in Review”

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December 2019 Quickie Film Reviews

December was a month for indulging myself. Just over a third of my entertainment choices this month were re-watches, mostly of my favorite Christmas films. And still, I didn’t get to see all the holiday films I wanted to.

I also spoiled myself by going to the theater four times this month. I can’t remember the last time there were that many new releases I actually wanted to see. In fact, I think these four may account for a third of my total new release viewings for the whole year.

decemBER 2019 BREAKDOWN
  • 30 Films/Series Total
  • 12 Christmas movies (including While You Were Sleeping)
  • 11 Re-watches
  • 6 New Classics
  • 5 TV Series
  • 4 Theater Releases
  • 1 Documentary

Biggest Disappointment: Stand Up and Cheer – Shirley Temple’s brief presence was not enough to save this one.

Favorite Discovery: Virgin River & Little Women  –  Both of these surprised me in a great way. Continue reading “December 2019 Quickie Film Reviews”