I've Been Nominated!!!

I am SO EXCITED!!!

My feature, 451 Fridays, has been shortlisted for an award for Best Series or Feature at Book Blogger Appreciation Week. This is SO COOL!! I was nominated for several awards, but this is the one I would really like to win - I'm so proud of this idea, and I think it's fascinating to read everyone's choices. YAY! (And yes, the first thing I did today was go check out the nominations. *grin*)

If you'd like to vote for your favorite nominees, please visit the Book Blogger Appreciation Week website - there are a lot of great blogs up for awards this year. I'm not sure I think I'll win, but boy is it sure fun to be on the shortlist!

Also, if you haven't participated in 451 Fridays and would like to, let me know. Now it's a BBAW-nominated feature, so I'm sure the participation will skyrocket! =)

My Month in Movies

"We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all."
- Andrew, The Breakfast Club (RIP John Hughes)


Last Chance Harvey (2008) - This movie about two rather prickly people finding a "last chance" at love could have been really cheesy, but Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson turn it into something rather sweet. I liked it.

Coraline (2009) - I realize it's been a while since I've seen a movie wearing the 3-D glasses, but Wow! They are a lot better at that then I remember. I thought this movie used the 3-D to great effect. Of course, I already knew and enjoyed the story, and I was pleased to see that the movie stayed true to the dark side of the book. Excellent.

Valkyrie (2008) - Note to self: You do NOT like Tom Cruise. This is basically a very good movie, about a historical event I am quite interested in, but I every time Tom Cruise walked onto screen, I thought, "hey, that's Tom Cruise. He's irritating." I just couldn't get over it. Also, I'd heard a lot of people say they didn't like that Cruise didn't attempt a German accent for the movie. I was much LESS irritated by that than by the fact that ALL the actors playing Germans had DIFFERENT accents. Really??

The Band's Visit (2007) - I really enjoyed this quiet, simple movie about an Egyptian band who gets itself lost in Israel. This was a simple plot and great acting and not much else, and I loved it.

Grey Gardens (2009) - I watched the documentary this movie is based on a couple of months ago, and I am amazed at how well Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange captured Little Edie and Big Edie. I was curious about how the women's lives had become what they did, and this movie answered a lot of my questions. Fascinating.

Defiance (2008) - I read a book about the Bielski brothers and the people they saved during the Holocaust a couple of years ago - glad to see a movie made about their remarkable story. This movie has adventure and survival, and a great cast of characters. Recommended.

Monthly wrap-up

September has arrived - time for back-to-school, the end of the farmer's market (sob!), and a look back at what I've been reading over the past month.

Written in Blood by Sheila Lowe - fun mystery about a handwriting analyst called to solve a mystery involving a private school headmistress. Very entertaining. Rated 8/10. (My review of Written in Blood)

American Eve by Paula Uruburu - true story about Evelyn Nesbit, the first young girl to capture the imagination of America, and the crime that brought her worldwide attention. Fascinating, tragic story. Rated 7/10. (My thoughts about American Eve)

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon - weird but completely engrossing story about a young woman's book club who brings to life the books it reads. Review book for Bookloons.com, this is one of the strangest books I've read in a long time, but I couldn't put it down. Rated 8/10. (My review of The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal)

The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall - Christian fiction about a refreshingly NOT perfect group of believers, and the troubled woman who enters their midst, looking for a fresh start for herself and her daughter. I will be looking for more by this author. Rated 8/10. (My review of The Hope of Refuge)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows -
this novel about a writer in post-WWII London and the literary society she befriends is SO GOOD!!! I loved it. Rated 9/10. (My review of The Guernsey Literary...)

Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy - I was really not at all engaged by this family saga that was a choice for the Take a Change challenge. Rated 5/10. (My review of Liars and Saints)

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White - I thought I would enjoy this memoir of a man's year in a prison that was also a leper colony, but found myself much more interested in the people around him than in White himself. Rated 6/10 (review forthcoming)

The Summer Before the Dark by Doris Lessing - dense, internal novel about a woman's journey of self-reflection and discovery over the course of one summer. Interesting, but not a light read. Rated 7/10. (My review of The Summer Before the Dark)

Top O' the Mournin' by Maddy Hunter - fun mystery involving a midwestern girl acting as tour escort for her grandma's senior citizens tour group. In this installment, murder and mayhem in Ireland. Rated 7/10.