Mirkwood Reflections

Clara & Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland - 3/1/2011 Fair - Historical Fiction Clara is a designer at Tiffany Studios around the turn of the 20th century. I listened to this on audiobook and I didn't particularly like the narrator. It was a good story, though. GOVERNESS: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres by Ruth Brandon - 3/2/2011 Fair - Nonfiction This was more about the lives of several real women who were governesses at some point. So, more about the TIMES than the LIVES of governesses. Mildly interesting and somewhat lurid (because one of the women was Byron's mistress and another was the mother of Mary Shelley), but not what I expected. I had expected something else, as this didn't seem like a fair account of the average governess. But I did learn a lot! Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo - 3/5/2011 Excellent - Chick Lit Emma Grant, college professor in disgrace, travels to England hot on the trail of some previously unknown Austen letters. Enjoyed...

Margins are acting crazy again. Sorry!   Me and Mr. Darcy Alexandra Potter 2/4/2011 Good Fiction Bookstore manager goes on Jane Austen tour on a whim and, through a twist in time, meets the real Darcy. But he's not all she imagined. Interesting, if you need something light and Austen-related.   Emma Jane Austen 2/8/2011 Good Classic Spoiled rich Emma Woodhouse tries to make matches for everyone but herself. Loved Emma this time! The Postcard Killers James Patterson & Liza Marklund 2/8/2011 Good Suspense A pair of killers roams Europe killing young lovers. Gory but interesting.   Northanger Abbey Jane Austen 2/10/2011 Good Classic Catherine Morland visits Bath for the 1st time and meets Henry Tilney Tilney is my fav. Austen hero!!!   One Tough Mother: it's time to step up and be the Mom Julie Barnhill 2/11/2011 Good Parenting Tips on parenting Took me forever to read this. Really, I started it a couple years ago and then it sat in my basket for a ...

Guess I never did a January or February post! Will remedy that now.   Beguiled by Deeanne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand - 1/2/2011 Good - Inspirational Suspense Dogwalker Rylee finds herself in the middle of a Robin Hood robbery and is implicated. Will reporter Logan Woods be an ally or an enemy? Not my favorite Deeanne Gist novel.   Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story by Ann Kirschner - 1/3/2011 Good - Nonfiction As a young woman during WW2, Sala was placed in a Nazi work camp. She survived but never talked about her experiences until she gave letters she had saved for 50+ years to her adult daughter who then researched her mother's story. I never knew much about the WW2 work camps - very interesting and sad part of WW2 history.   The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe - 1/18/2011 Good - Gothic Romance Emily St. Aubert is orphaned and taken from France to Italy by her aunt and eventually to the castle of Udolpho where strange things occur. Read this to bet...

These are the books I read in 2010 that I rated Excellent. I would recommend any of them to you. They are in the order I read them. A Bride in the Bargain by Deanne Gist Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (But read Hunger Games 1st, ok? This is 2nd in a series) The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte Emma by Jane Austen Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon (part of the Outlander series, so start with Outlander) Read It and Eat by Sarah Gardner Outlander by Diana Gabaldon Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen Every Last One by Anna Quindlen Let's Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Juliet by Anne Fortier Yes, my list is a little heavy on the Jane Austen. That's because of the Austentatious class I am co-teaching at our homeschool co-op. But if you h...

Well, this post is a little late, but I didn't read too much in December anyway. Not Ready for Mom Jeans by Maureen Lipinski - 12/9/2010 Fair - Chick Lit Immature and pretentious Clare Finnegan has her 1st baby and can't decide whether to remain at her job as an event planner or to stay home with her baby. This was not a book I'd recommend. I did not like Clare at all and by the end, I didn't care if her baby was ever around her. Juliet by Anne Fortier - 12/23/2010 Excellent - Historical Fiction Julie Jacobs travels to Siena, Italy to track down her parents' mysterious deaths and gets caught up in a modern Romeo and Juliet mystery. Excellent book recommended to ME by my friend Cathy. I think you'd all love it! Well-written, suspenseful, and not your normal storyline at all. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - 12/24/2010 Good - Chick Lit Lexi wakes up in hospital with amnesia for the last three years and doesn't recognize the person she's become. Again - ...

I've divided this post into several categories, ranking the movies I've seen that were released in 2010. ENJOYED IT - Would recommend Toy Story 3 Ramona and Beezus Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Knight and Day How to Train Your Dragon Despicable Me The A-Team Iron Man 2 Inception Diary of a Wimpy Kid ENJOYED IT - Not necessarily for everyone (or guilty pleasures!) Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Charlie St. Cloud Babies Tron: Legacy (moved from the top category since I think this may be a love it or hate it movie) INDIFFERENT - Not a lot of feeling one way or the other Tooth Fairy Robin Hood Life as We Know It Letters to Juliet Leap Year Last Song, The Eclipse (The Twilight Saga) Extraordinary Measures Clash of the Titans Dear John Book of Eli, The Alice in Wonderland MIXED FEELINGS - Liked some parts, disliked something about it When in Rome Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of ...

Here are some movies that came out in 2009 that I saw on DVD during the past year. My reactions are given and I've put the ones I recommend in BOLD to make it easy on ya! Amelia - bleh An Education - bleh The Blind Side - LOVED IT! Bright Star - LOVED IT! Couple's Retreat - a stinker Dance Flick - a few laughs, but mostly distasteful Extract - Yuk Fame 2009 - Boring The Hurt Locker - Turned it off a few minutes in Ice Age 3 - can't remember if I actually watched it or if the kids just did, lol The Lovely Bones - SO suspenseful! Me And Orson Welles - Very good ! New Moon - um, well... It was Twilight. New York I Love You - a stinker Pippa Lee - good acting, rotten story Precious - same thing as Pippa but worth watching Sherlock Holmes - enjoyed very much! Star Trek 11 - liked it far more than I imagined I would Up in the Air - liked it until the ENDING - AUGH!! Where The Wild Things Are - loved it! Whip It - very compelling The Young Victoria - A WONDERFUL MOVIE!