WEEKLY UPDATES: BOOKS, MOVIES, & MEMORIES

On By Laurel-Rain SnowIn weekly updates

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Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

What a week!  I read and reviewed THREE books, but none of them counted for my Read the Books You Buy Challenge.  One was a “freebie” from Amazon Prime, while the other two were books purchased in 2014.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the books.  But since I purchased those books and was drawn to them at some point, should that surprise me?

Perhaps I should be stunned that I waited so long for them.

I finished watching American Odyssey, Season 1, on Netflix.  Now I’ll have to wait for another season!  I did also watch a couple of episodes of Lie to Me, but I am so annoyed by a couple of the characters (newbie staff members at the company), that I’m about ready to stop watching.  Do you ever find that when you are annoyed at characters, whether in a book, a movie, or a show, that you want to throw something?  Or am I the only immature creature here?  LOL.

I also watched a movie on my DVR that had me tearing up from the memories…it was an oldie, from the 1970s, and it had that Johnny Mathis song playing throughout:  “The last time I felt like this, I was falling in love….”. 

The movie was Same Time, Next Year, with Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda.

I hadn’t seen the movie in a few years, so it almost felt like the first time.  Do you ever have that reaction to old movies?  It reminded me of exactly what was going on in my own life when the movie first came out.  I must have listened to that song all through that momentous summer.  Enough said.  LOL.

Let’s toast, okay?  And chat about the past week in books and blogging….

 

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LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Rainy Day Reading: Sunshine Interruptus

Interior Thoughts: Musing About Books

Serendipitous Tuesdays: “Breakdown”

Hump Day Potpourri: Waiting for “Falling”

Bookish Thursdays #9: A Potpourri of Events

My Interior Thoughts: A Glimpse of the Past

Bookish Fridays: “Have No Shame”

Let’s Curl up with Some Bookish Dreams

Review:  Dream of the Blue Room (e-book), by Michelle Richmond

Review:  North of Here (e-book), by Laurel Saville

Review:  Lila (e-book), by Marilynne Robinson

 

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

One review book came in my mailbox from Amazon Vine…and I downloaded three e-books (purchased).

Three-Martini Lunch, by Suzanne Rindell (Vine)

 

 

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Downloads:

Luckiest Girl Alive (e-book), by Jessica Knoll

 

 

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What We Find (e-book), by Robyn Carr

 

 

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The Obsession (e-book), by Nora Roberts

 

 

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WHAT’S UP NEXT? (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Currently Reading:  A Fatal Grace (Book 2) (e-book), by Louise Penny

 

 

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Then….

Mother Knows Best, by Karen MacInerney

 

 

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Terrible Virtue (e-book), by Ellen Feldman

 

 

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I have a few more to consider….let’s see what really happens in next week’s post. 

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That’s it for my week…what did yours look like?  Have a good one!

 

Coffee, Mimosa, & reading - 2

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84 thoughts on “WEEKLY UPDATES: BOOKS, MOVIES, & MEMORIES”

  1. Oh I loved Same Time, Next Year. Haven’t seen it in a long time. My week was busy catching up from my vacation the week before. Hoping for more reading time in the week ahead. Have a good one, Laurel and enjoy your new books.

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  2. I love it when an old favorite movie brings back memories. Well usually anyway lol. Looks like a good week over in your neck of the woods. I think A Fatal Grace sounds like a good mystery…

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  3. I have strong emotional recall when I hear certain songs from my childhood, such as Hall & Oats “Kiss on My List” from when I was in high school. It brings back memories of driving around with my friends in my first car! All the titles you got this week are new to me, which just shows why I love going to various blogs and seeing their book finds. Have a fun week.

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    1. Yes, a strong emotional recall would definitely describe what I was feeling, Ardis. Hearing music from the past can take us right back and into those moments.

      Visiting blogs is how I’ve broadened my book choices…and I am grateful. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week, too.

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    1. The Prime selection for this month was one I got last week: Blood Defense, by Marcia Clark. I’m excited about that one…the one I read this week was from February.

      I just know I’ll love The Obsession, Kimberly…you and others have shown me through your reviews what I have to look forward to.

      Let’s enjoy that drink now! Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. I recognise a few of your incoming books Laurel and there are a few there I enjoyed.

    I used to watch Lie to Me – if it’s the show I’m thinking of… and I know what you mean about the ‘new’ staff – they’re a bit annoying. I remember watching something else recently and seeing the guy from the show and it took me a while to place him!

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    1. Those two newbies on Lie to Me have that quality we often see in new employees: they are overly eager and think they know everything. They rush ahead without thinking of the consequences. So…I am not going to watch for a while. LOL.

      Thanks for stopping by, Deborah, and I hope you enjoy your week!

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Sarah; I don’t enjoy a lot of NR…I usually don’t get into the series books. My favorites are the romantic suspense books that stand alone. Anything with a mystery and a slower-burning romance will get my nod. Enjoy your week!

      I love that doll, too…got it from Amazon Vine, imagine that! I collect a number of fairytale pieces, including dolls.

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  11. I remember seeing Same Time Next Year! Loved it at the time, and I love Alan Alda, from MASH to Scientific American (watching with hubs, not my usual type of show). I thought American Odyssey was only one season long then got canceled while on broadcast, unless I’m confusing two similar shows together. Sorry to burst your bubble 😦
    Yes, yes, and yes to What We Find, The Obsession, and Terrible Virtue, all look so good.

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    1. I especially loved the music from Same Time, Next Year. Plus the actors, of course.

      American Odyssey ended like on a cliffhanger, but I’m sure that has happened before to shows that never appear again. I was hoping that Netflix would have another season…but oh, well. So many shows to watch.

      I started watching The Newsroom on Amazon Video yesterday…Season 1. I don’t know if there are more seasons to come. I’ll try not to think about it.

      Thanks for stopping by, Rita, and enjoy your week.

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  12. LOL!! You’re definitely not the only one.. I also feel like throwing something when a character is annoying me.
    I’m reading ‘The Obsessions’ right now.. Let me tell you.. You have to start reading that one ASAP!!
    Love the cocktail! Happy Reading 😉

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    1. Yes, I would probably not be watching any soap operas now if I gave up when the characters annoyed me, so, yes, still watching. But I might wait a while on that Lie to Me show as those characters are especially bothersome.

      Thanks for visiting, Emma, and enjoy your week.

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  14. Lauren

    Great post. I agree with not watching a show if the characters get annoying. Enjoy your books, especially the Nora Roberts who is a must buy author for me.
    Thanks for stopping by.

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  17. I remember loving Same Time, Next Year! It’s been years and years since I’ve seen it… will check and see if it’s available on Netflix streaming. Three-Martini Lunch sounds really good. It just dawned on me last week that it’s the same author as The Typist, which I thought was great. My biggest decision will be whether to read or listen to that one

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    1. Thanks, JoAnn, I noticed that Three-Martini Lunch writer was the author of The Typist, which I have ogled, but never got around to getting. Must check it out! Hope you find Same Time, Next Year…I loved hearing that music again…sigh.

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    1. Sometimes I haven’t watched a movie in such a long time that I don’t remember exactly how it ended…so it’s like seeing it for the first time…sort of. LOL.

      Thanks for stopping by, Laura. Enjoy your week.

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  19. The Read the Books You Buy challenge sounds like something I should be doing, if I hadn’t sword to cut back on challenges. (It’s the keeping track of them all that eats up time…) I really like the idea of focusing some attention on the books I already own.

    I hope you enjoy What We Find as much as I did, and I can’t wait to read The Obsession (but I have to, because I’m like #37 on the hold list at the library.)

    Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Lark, and have a great week. The Read the Books You Buy is my only challenge…I cut back to no challenges for a while (except the Goodreads one), and that one I even dropped out of this year. I got annoyed with how the count was often not accurate, with them counting a book twice if I changed the version of the book (hardcover to Kindle).

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  20. I’ve eagerly awaited the new Nora Roberts book! It sounds good and almost any book with the name Nora Roberts on it is. I read The Liar last and loved it. Okay, I hadn’t picked out my Prime book yet, so I downloaded the Marcia Clark book. This will be my first MC book, but it looks really good! Thanks for sharing all these great books this week!

    Enjoy your week!

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  21. katarguelles

    I’ve had books that I owned for a long time and was really surprised I enjoyed them. I felt like I shouldn’t have waited so long and I immediately would get more books from the author. But it’s good you are tackling your TBR pile. The Luckiest Girl Alive is on my TBR and I hope you enjoy it. Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy…I would love to be able to curb my buying just enough so I could keep abreast of the ones I’ve bought…but I don’t see that happening. That would be too disciplined…LOL. So I’ll keep working on a backlog for now. Enjoy your week!

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    1. Oh, that sounds good, Laura….there are an endless supply of wonderful shows to watch on Netflix…I’m also watching things on Amazon Video, like The Newsroom, Season 1. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week!

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    1. Thanks, Kathryn, and the movie is definitely an oldie….but the song playing throughout certainly did the trick for me. And it was fun to see Alda and Burstyn when they were young…again.

      I am pretty sure I’ll love both the Carr book and The Obsession. Enjoy your week!

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  34. Oh boy, my memory is bad but when you say old movies, I think of Humphrey Bogart’s Cassablanca and The Maltese Falcon. I watched those in high school for a lit class. We had a teacher who used to turn over our blue test booklets to make sure we weren’t cheating.

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    1. Ha-ha…you are right, of course, and I don’t really think of 70s movies as “old,” but many bloggers were not even around during that time, so for them, the movie would be old…maybe even ancient. LOL.

      Thanks for stopping by, Stefanie. Enjoy your week!

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  35. Kathy Martin

    I’m usually pleasantly surprised when I dig something off TBR mountains but, on the odd occasion, I wonder what I was thinking. Enjoy your reading this week and thanks for visiting my blog.

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    1. Yes, I found it on Netflix….I thought there might be a second season, but Google searches reveal that it was cancelled. So Season 1 ends with a kind of cliffhanger.

      I haven’t listened to Johnny Mathis in a long while, but hearing the soundtrack on the movie brought back all those feelings he evokes.

      Thanks for stopping by, Myra, and enjoy your week.

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  39. Sounds like you had a good reading week! My reading has slowed down some this week, but I think it’s more my choosing longer books and not having quite as much reading time. At least this month will be a better reading month than March.

    You are definitely not the only one who sometimes wishes you could throw something at a character. I often want to shake them when they do something dumb. And I have also had a similar feeling when watching old movies or hearing old songs–they can really bring back the memories.

    I hope you have a great week!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Wendy, and I have set aside longer books for that very reason, and I know that I’m missing out when I do that. Perhaps I should rethink that practice!

      Have a great week, and I hope we both enjoy what we’re reading.

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    1. Yes, sometimes it seems like just a short time ago (the 1970s). Young people consider those “historic times,” but for me, those were my heyday. LOL. Thanks for stopping by, Yvonne, and enjoy your week.

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  41. A great haul! This reminds me I still have to catch up with Louise Penny’s books (I’ve loved the few I read). And Luckiest Girl Alive wasn’t my favorite but it was still a good page-turner. I hope you enjoy it even more than I did. Happy reading 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Kay, and I just finished A Fatal Grace, my second by Louise Penny; and while I am eager to read more, there are so many series books that I’ve recently discovered (the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths, for one), that I think it will take a lifetime to read them all. Enjoy your week!

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  42. Hi Laurel, I think I remember that movie with Alan Alda. Hmm. Wasn’t it sort of a comedy? Was there tennis in that movie? I only slightly recall. It would be a good one for me to rent. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on Suzanne Rindell’s new novel Three Martini Lunch — it sounds like a pretty woozy lunch to me LOL. but the novel looks good.

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    1. No tennis…the two of them meet when they stay in Mendocino for individual retreats…and then go back every year to meet again. Yes, comedy, but some drama, too.

      I can’t wait to read Three-Martini Lunch…I love martinis, but three are too many for me…LOL.

      Thanks for stopping by, Susan. Enjoy your week!

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