Search

Search only in certain items:

What a neat book!

I loved all the different perspectives in this book. Each couple’s story was interesting to read, they all had different experiences, and they overcame different things. What I enjoyed though, was reading about how they interacted with each other. Each couple’s conversation was uplifting and an interesting view into the lives of people who have been married for many years. It was not just pastors either, it was regular people, from all different walks of life. From Pastors, Military, and remarried couples, each couple all had some great stories to share. Marriage Matters was written almost in an interview type-style and lead to some good conversations between my husband and I. Truly a good book to read when you want to see some different perspectives on the topic of married life.

My favorite quote:

“God moved us around to different states and cultures, refining us, to make us fit for the ministries He had for us all along, and as we walked the path, He gave us many experiences to grow us.”

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars for the great conversations, the interactions between the couples, and for the wealth of information packed in between these pages.

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
An Unlikely Proposal
An Unlikely Proposal
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let me say this book definitely surpassed all my expectations!!

I know we've all been there... that isle of books at the store with the Harlequin titles trying to decide if we want another feel good, know how its gonna end type of story. LET me advise you. This book IS NOT your typical Love Inspired book (of which I will admit to reading ... almost everyone published). I had to do a double check of the page count with this one honestly. Toni Shiloh managed to fit SO much depth of character, layered background, and faith based elements that I was enamored of the book from the beginning and scratching my head wondering how something so marvelous could come out of such a tiny package!

I loved the plot, a true friends-to-lovers/ girl-next-door/ marriage of convenience story that I have.. uhem already reread. I loved Omar's little ones that Toni Shiloh filled with life and love. Plus, I really enjoyed the circumstance that Toni Shiloh put Trinity and Omar into! Great chemistry and awkwardness between the two of them.

Overall, one of my favorite reads ever in terms of modern character development and storyline. A definite 5 star read you DO NOT want to miss!

*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
40x40

John Bailey recommended Contempt (1963) in Movies (curated)

 
Contempt (1963)
Contempt (1963)
1963 | Drama, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Even with a nod to some of Hollywood’s best navel-gazing films, I will make a case that this is the best film ever made about filmmaking—made by one of the most self-referential of all filmmakers. Visually lush to the point of a Powell and Pressburger surfeit, Godard’s film lays bare a marriage in crisis. The long apartment sequence between Bardot and Piccoli is a dystopian analogue to the hotel room playful casualness of Seberg and Belmondo in Breathless. A back-to-back viewing of the two sequences constitutes a minihistory of the French New Wave. Raoul Coutard’s cinematography and Georges Delerue’s score give the Greek myth parallels of the film’s story line (and of the film-within-a-film trope) a sensuous subtext—music and image caressing the body of the star of And God Created Woman. It’s great to see Fritz Lang and Jack Palance, two polar opposite cinematic icons, in a room watching dailies. Below the screen is a running legend that reads, “Cinema is an invention without a future. Louis Lumière.” The film’s opening long shot over verbal titles—as the BNC anamorphic camera approaches the viewer along tracking rails, then pans and tilts so that Coutard’s lens points right at you—is one of those great “gotcha” cinematic moments."

Source
  
Unfaithful (2002)
Unfaithful (2002)
2002 | Drama, Mystery
A deceitfully simple erotic thriller that goes from idle 0 to 100 so suddenly it could cause whiplash. A lot of things I love about this one: the trio of stellar performances from Gere, Lane, and Martinez; the way it reaches its cold tendrils into numerous different genres; and while it isn't as visually attractive as 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 (still looks great though, as is standard with Lyne) it's eight billion times more subtle. Though perhaps the highest nuance for a film that so easily could have been another anemic dump into the ever-sterilizing late-90s-esque trashy erotic thriller genre is how all of these events and the subsequent domino effect they set in motion don't really start out from your standard 'nondescript failing marriage' trope. This is a relatively happy, normal, even healthy family which still ends up... in an Adrian Lyne movie. It gives a false sense of hope and thus almost this feeling of normalcy, like even though you're a model citizen something of this severity could still somehow happen to you or someone you're close with, which quickly becomes rather traumatizing. Has a lot of solid banter and shit-your-pants "get me the fuck out of here" moments strung together nicely. Wasn't sure where it was going at first, but it all made sense in the end.
  
The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
1986 | Action, Comedy, Family
This isn't a tournament...
I've only recently just finished watching the actually quite good The Karate Kid spin off (featuring the same characters, 30 years later) on Netflix.

The reason I mention this?

Because the final episode of Season 2 teases Daniel returning to Okinawa, when he wistfully rediscovers/looks at a book about the history of that location.

It's the same book as in this film (he's reading it on the plane), which I'd never actually seen before.

The plot, basically, is that Daniel accompanies Mr Miyaga back to his ancestral homeland of Okinawa when the latter receives a letter saying his father is dying, 6 months after his (Daniels) victory at the All Valley Karate tournament - the film actually picks up directly here, with Kreese attacking Johnny Lawrence (one of the two main adult characters in Cobra Kai). It transpires that Mr Miyaga left to avoid a fight with his best friend, who had an arranged marriage to Mr Miyaga's love. Said friend still holds a grudge, with his nephew starting to pick on Daniel as a foreigner. As in the first, this ends with a Karate fight, but here the stakes are raised considerably with said fight more brutal than in the first film (but not as brutal as in the season 2 finale of Cobra Kai).
  
Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life
Has Anyone Seen My Sex Life
Kristen Bailey | 2020 | Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Made me laugh and relateable (0 more)
This was such a feel good book and felt like a real story. It felt like a family you could meet in real life.
It make me laugh and the characters were so relatable (mostly). The mums at the school were definitely the stereotypical types of mums every school seems to have.
Although the story started with a bang it took my a chapter or two to get into but once I did I really enjoyed the book and it was not what I was expecting at all. The blurb didn't give anything away and it was so unexpected. It made the story even better as it wasn't the typical thing that could crop up in a marriage. No-one could guess what the twist is.
There were a few spelling mistakes but this is expected in any book.
I tried to put myself in the main character (Meg) shoes and tried to see how I would feel in her position and I came to the conclusion I would feel exactly the same way and would handle it the same way too.
This book is one if you are looking for a story that you can laugh at with a bit of a surprise and is definitely for early 20s upwards.
I would read other books by this author.
  
40x40

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Aug 30, 2020  
Today's special guest on my blog is Teddy Jones, author of the literary fiction novel SLANTED LIGHT! Read her fantastic guest post about her writing journey, and enter the giveaway to win these fantastic prizes:

Grand Prize: $25 Amazon gift card and signed copies of both books in the Jackson's Pond, Texas Series by Teddy Jones
Two Winners: Signed copy of Slanted Light by Teddy Jones

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/08/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-slanted.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Teddy Jones’s earlier novel, Jackson’s Pond, Texas, began the saga of the Jackson family. Now, Slanted Light continues their tale.

Claire Havlicek’s late night call brings her brother Chris Banks from his home in New Mexico back to the town that bears their family name, Jackson’s Pond. She’s collapsed under the weight of threats to her thirteen-year marriage that have undermined her confidence and her will. Her husband, J. D., responds to seduction by a woman in need; theft and the threat of a forced buyout jeopardize Claire’s two medical clinics; drought imperils their ranch and cattle business; a teenage daughter turns to bulimia.

When Claire admits her limits, her grandmother, Willa Jackson, and the other members of her family help her learn that being human, weaknesses and all, can be a source of strength and joy.