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Friday, March 27, 2015

Bookish and Non-Bookish Thoughts...

I have music on the brain lately.  Must have been that final episode of Empire that was filled with awesome performances that has me jamming out lately.  I've actually been listening to the show's soundtrack on repeat lately when I drive around town.  On my laptop I have Stevie Knicks, Tracy Chapman, and Johnny Cash playing in the background.  Although I did find myself getting lost in Sufjan Steven's latest CD thanks to NPR.  So, yeah music has been taking over lately, while reading has sort of fallen to the background.  Not to say that I'm not reading.  I'm just reading magazines instead of books -  O magazine, Real Simple, Glamour, and Redbook. The weird thing is that I keep adding titles to my TBR list and requesting ARCs off NetGalley.  I think my problem is that I can't seem to figure out what it is I want to read exactly.  Part of me wants to buy this:
I hear that this book is AMAZING!! So, I'm pretty keen to read it.  However, another part of me wants a familiar author to read. 
 But, I think I might just read something on my kindle from NetGalley.
Or I'll just wait for this book to come out next week.
So many choices...perhaps, too many choices.  Maybe I just need to grab a book and start reading and see what happens.  What do you think?  Do you have any book suggestions for me?  If not book, what about TV shows?  I was hooked on Empire - who doesn't love Cookie and hate Lucious?!?  That show is BEYOND!  I was disappointed with The Mindy Project and can only hope that if it comes back in the Fall that it will be much improved.  I'm still obsessed with The Walking Dead.  The season finale is on Sunday and I can't wait!  Will Rick and his gang take over Alexandria or will they go back out into the wild?  Talking Dead is gonna have Darryl and Scarol, which means its going to be AWESOME!!  I'm excited about the upcoming season of Real Housewives of NYC. Bethenny is back and I'm sure that will make for some interesting drama.  From what I've read, she doesn't get along with Heather (holla!), so that will make for some good gossip amongst the ladies.  I have just started watching Southern Charm and already want to make a trip to Charleston - the people are crazy on the show, but the city looks amazing.  And, of course I'm watching Shahs of Sunset.  Gotta love Reza and his crazy 'stache!  Cripes! I am a reality show junkie, eh?  Well, I am also hooked on Better Call Saul - I love watching Saul before he was Saul.  Plus, its cool to see some of the characters from Breaking Bad on the show - Tuco is still super CRAZY and Mike is still pretty quiet (I loved getting to know his back story).  I'm hoping we get to see Jessie and Walter at some point down the line.  How cool would that be?

And now I'm off to check on my baked ziti.  Its in the oven and smells delicious - let's hope it tastes delicious as well.  I'm trying to test out new recipes from the cookbooks cluttering the kitchen.  I found a new recipe for scones, so I'm thinking of baking them over the weekend.  All I need is some clotted cream and good strawberry jam and I will be set. How yum does that sound?  Tea and scones is the perfect pairing!  Hope you have a great weekend!  Happy reading!!

I'll leave you with a taste from the new Sufjan Stevens CD, Carrie and Lowell:
Enjoy!

2 comments:

Steven Paul Leiva said...

Hi, Nadia!

Syrie James told me about your "Bookish and Non-Bookish" blog and suggested I contact you about my latest novel, "By the Sea," just published by Crossroad Press in hardcover, paperback, and ebook. An audiobook edition is in the works And as I always do what Syrie tells me to do, and as you asked for suggestions -- Here's some back cover info:

By the Sea is a modern comic adult fairy tale with an ensemble cast of Cinderellas.

Instead of a kingdom by the sea, our story takes place in and around a residential hotel by the sea. The architecturally eclectic Briers Hotel is situated on Leech Beach, a not particularly inviting beach, being often fog-bound and always scruffy. But it’s the perfect setting for our Cinderellas, male and female, who put up with the scruffy-ness of life while striving to make it through their various personal seaside fogs. Theater; art; antiques; old movies; sex; more sex; death; fast and slow cars, chicken shit and cow poop; military bearing and erotic emissions -- not to mention the wicked witch, the sea serpent by the sea shore, the village ogre, the village idiot, and several Prince Charmings -- all figure into this merry tale with a multitude of happy endings.

“Steven Paul Leiva has written an engaging, thoughtful, and kind book. In this era of unlikable characters and the idea that a "good" book is one in which horrible things happen to horrible people, Leiva has turned that entirely on its head. Even when people act badly, he has told their story with sympathy and grace, with a complete kindness for even the most outwardly difficult characters. By the Sea is long, but it's not fat. It's all muscle. And what a satisfying book it is! Leiva has built his small world perfectly, and each character is so complete and well thought out that what at first seem disparate pieces fit together perfectly by the end. It's a hat trick in perfect proportions!” -- Jo Graham, author of Black Ships, Hand of Isis, and Stealing Fire.

If you would be interested in adding "By the Sea" to your reading list, I would be more tan happy to email you a mobi or an epub version of it.

Cover art and more info can be checked out here:

http://stevenpaulleivasthisnthat.blogspot.com/2014/11/coming-2-1-15-by-sea-comic-novel.html

You can email me at: pasob@aol.com

Best, regards,

Steven

Lisa said...

I think you're right; so many choices makes it so hard to settle on something because while you're reading one thing, you keep thinking that the other things might be even better!