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    • #LessInterestingBooks

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    A few days ago I caught wind of a hastag trending on Twitter. (If that phrase meant nothing to you, let me translate: many people were talking about a topic.) The topic of the day: Less Interesting Books.

    Before you jump in thinking this blog is going to be “less interesting,” let me explain. The idea behind it was to take well-know, popular book titles and make them … well … less interesting by tweaking the title ever so slightly. At one point these were flying along my screen so fast I couldn’t read them, but I got enough to make me smile. And several that even made me laugh out loud. In honor of the brilliant men and women (who I’m afraid I can’t identify, and therefore can’t name here, but rest assured these aren’t my ideas) who came up with these, I give you my favorite #LessInterestingBooks.

    1. Of Mice
    2. Harry Potter and the Order of Takeout
    3. The Meh Gatsby
    4. Bored of the Flies
    5. A Series of Not Too Shabby Events
    6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Commerce
    7. Love in the Time of Chicken Pox
    8. To Somewhat Offend a Mockingbird
    9. Minor Discomfort and Casual Resentment in Las Vegas
    10. The Grapes of Math
    11. There’s Waldo
    12. Where the Wild Things Were
    13. The Building Inspector of Oz
    14. Bossyspanx
    15. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Artist Formerly Known as Prince
    16. A Drainage Ditch Runs Through It
    17. The Call of the Skittish
    18. The Second to the Last of the Mohicans
    19. Lord of the Onion Rings
    20. Farenheit 72

    I hope I’m not the only one who reads these and wonders what the books by these titles would actually be about. 🙂

    So thanks to whoever came up with the idea and all those that made it fly off my screen. I appreciate the chuckles! Hope you enjoyed them, too! What have we missed? What would you add?

    Please tell me I’m not alone …

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    Confession: I think I should start numbering my confessions. If I did, I think this would be Confession #457 on this blog. Okay, sorry. Here’s the real confession: Sometimes when I’m having a rough couple of days, I pull all my favorite movies off the shelf, lay in bed, and watch only my favorite parts from my favorite flicks on my laptop.

    I told my new roommate that the other day, and she looked at me like I was crazy. Am I crazy? Am I alone here? Doesn’t anyone else ever crave the comfort of jammies and the parts of the movie that make my insides all warm and squishy. You know what I mean. That point where the bone-headed hero finally realizes that his life is pointless without her. That moment when he realizes that the girl he thought he was in love with pales in comparison to the girl who’s been his best friend. That instant when he decides he doesn’t care if there’s a curse, he’s in love with her and he doesn’t care if she has a pig’s nose (okay, that’s really only in Penelope, but it’s an excellent movie!).

    I’m not alone am I?

    Please tell me that I’m not the only one watches just my favorite scenes because–by definition–they’re my favorite parts of the movie.

    The Art of Romance – GIVEAWAY

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    Can you believe how fast this summer is flying by? I know, I know. It’s only June, but it feels like the heat and cicadas (yes, Nashville’s had a nice little visitation from these pests) have been here for ages.

    I don’t know about you, but I think it’s about time to put your feet in the pool and relax with a good book. That’s where I come in. 😉 I’m giving away an autographed copy of the perfect summer read, The Art of Romance by my friend Kaye Dacus.

    I remember going for a walk through some botanical gardens with Kaye as she was writing this book. She had all sorts of fun stories about writing a scene to match the cover and her wild hero Dylan. I knew right then that it was a winner!

    the-art-of-romance

    About the book:
    Sassy Evans and Perty Bradley are determined to get their older grandchildren married off, but when twenty-eight-year-old Dylan comes home after being fired from his teaching position because of the betrayal of his ex-girlfriend, Perty knows her grandson has more important issues to deal with first.

    Sassy understands her friend’s reservations about timing, but she also sees so many ways in which Dylan would be the perfect match for her thirty-four-year-old granddaughter Caylor. With his record of acclaimed paintings and Caylor’s bestselling novels, they could complement each other’s talents and provide each other support and encouragement. And there’s no denying the spark of attraction between the English professor with the untamed red hair and the painter with unusual tattoos.

    But neither grandmother realizes the secrets both Caylor and Dylan are keeping from each other. Will pain and embarrassment from the past keep Caylor and Dylan apart, or will they develop the courage to be truthful with each other and discover the true art of romance?

     

    So you want to read it? I thought so! 🙂 Here’s how! Leave a comment that answers the question: What’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for you? Leave your comment between now and next Monday (June 13) at noon. I’ll randomly pick one commenter and send them the book. Good luck!

    Rules of Concert Etiquette

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    Last weekend, my new roommate Nicole and I went to see Third Day at the Ryman. As I may have mentioned in the past, the Ryman is one of the oldest and most revered theaters in Nashville. It’s also just plain a cool place to see a show. (Let me take this opportunity to give a big shoutout to my sweet friend Caroline, who hooked us up with tickets and meet and greet passes that produced this picture.)

    thirday-day-pic

    Nicole and I were both excited about the show, especially when we found out that Tenth Avenue North was opening the show. And boy, were they excellent! The Tenth Ave boys were ROCKIN’ their set with songs like “Healing Begins” and “You Are More.” I was enjoying them so much until the girls a couple rows behind us screaming at the top of their lungs. In fact, they were shouting their Hallelujahs so loudly that they could be heard over even the loudest songs. And then the girls were praying–also over top the music. At first, I thought I was the only one who could hear it, but then it became clear that everyone else around us was bothered by this as well.

    It wasn’t that the girls were praying. Nope. I’m a fan of that. And it wasn’t that they were worshiping God. Nope. I’m a fan of that, too. It was the manner in which they were doing it that was driving me nuts. You see, they were breeching a very important rule of concert going etiquette.

    What? You didn’t know there were rules when attending concerts (in this case, Christian concerts)? Ah, but there are. At least 4 of them actually. To help in your next concert going experience, I offer them here.

    Rules of Concert Etiquette

    1. Your speaking and prolonged shouts should never be louder than the songs that are being sung on stage. You see others have purchased tickets for this show to enjoy the music being played, not whatever it is that you think is more important. Your voice should not carry beyond two people to either side of you.

    2. The flash of your camera should always be angled in such a way as to blind the fewest number of people. At no point should your camera be stretched to arms length and the flash set off directly in the eyes of the people in front of you.

    3.  Failure to bathe and use deodorant prior to the concert event is inexcusable. In the same way, overuse of perfumes is never appreciated. Think about how closely you’ll be sitting next to your neighbor.

    4. Sitting in someone else’s assigned seat because you don’t want to ask where yours is, is a sure-fire way to make concert enemies. If, heaven forbid, you do wind up in someone else’s seat, be prepared to move quickly, quietly, and graciously.

    Those are my rules. What have I missed?

    Monday Movie – 3 Recents

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    Well, it’s been a while since I shared a Monday Movie with you all, but not because I haven’t seen them. Just because I haven’t gotten around to writing reviews on them. But I’ve seen three in the last month that I thought deserved a spot on the blog–at least I had a strong enough reaction to them to write up a snippet on each. Without further ado here are my thoughts on a three flicks I’ve seen recently.

    the-conspirator

    Several weeks ago, my friend and fellow writer, Kaye Dacus sent me a twitter message: do you want to go see The the-conspirator-james-mcavoyConspirator tonight? It was all too easy to answer, since the move combines 3 of my favorite things. James McAvoy (seen here with a beard that he sadly wore the entire movie). Abraham Lincoln. And the Civil War.

    This (mostly) historically accurate tale, follows the military trial of Mary Surratt, the only woman charged in the conspiracy to murder Lincoln, his Vice President and Secretary of State. Lincoln, of course, was the only one to die at the hand of the conspirators. But this story isn’t really about Lincoln. It’s about Mary and the young lawyer, Frederick Aiken, who defends her against all odds in a heavily prejudiced court of generals. It’s a fascinating tale. Not really an edge of your seat thriller, but more an interesting dive into the characters themselves. I highly recommend this one.

    prom-movie

    I was so excited to see Disney’s Prom a few weeks ago in the theater. I haven’t made any secret of my appreciation for all things teeny-bopper-ish. And I really love a good teeny bopper movie, so when I saw a preview for Prom with Aimee Teegarden from Friday Night Lights, I had high hopes. And then one of my favorite authors, Jenny B. Jones, tweeted her endorsement, and I was ready to go!

    So imagine my sadness when I saw it and realized it was only a weak mash up of all of my favorite teen movies from when I was a teen. It’s 3 parts Can’t Hardly Wait, 2 part s 10 Things I Hate About You, and 1.5 parts terrible dialogue. So if you’re looking for a witty, fun film, check out one of the older ones that I’ve mentioned here.

    500-days-of-summer

    I have a new roommate, so our first weekend in the new house, we decided to enjoy a little Noodles & Co. for dinner and watch a movie. She has 500 Days of Summer on dvd, so we popped it in. It came highly recommended from my sweet friend Jess Barnes (who has made many an appearance on this very blog). While I give it points for originality (it’s told in a set of achronological scenes), it didn’t grab me. But I think it might have something to do with Zooey Deschnel, who I want to love as an actress, but I just can’t seem to get into her movies. And the attitude and flipancy with which her character in this movie treats her friend and boyfriend does nothing to endear her any more.

    To sum up … see The Conspirator if you have any interest in history … or James McAvoy. The other two? Well, I wouldn’t spend more than a Redbox dollar on either. Happy film watching, friends!

    Where I’ve been …

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    I’ve missed you guys! No, really … I have. This has been a crazy, busy time in my life, and guess what’s fallen off the plate? You got it! Blogging. But I’m back and ready with some super-exciting upcoming blogs. Including a giveaway! But shh … it’s a secret. I’ll tell you more about it soon.

    So for the mean time, I wanted to fill you in on the top 16 things I’ve done in the last month, many of which are inteneded to make you feel sorry for me. Let your sympathy-giving commence. 🙂
    1. Hanging out with my mom and dad. (That’s not supposed to induce sympathy.)
    2. Moving into a new house.
    3. Cleaning the old house.
    4. Writing a proposal for a new Love Inspired Suspense book.
    5. Reading emails in which my editor explains why she doesn’t like said proposal.
    6. Rewriting proposal.
    7. Traveling for work.
    8. Listening to Matt Wertz music.
    9. Training to run a 5K on July 4th. (Is this really inteneded to celebrate our country’s birthday? Really?)
    10. Reading a weird book. (Not on purpose. I thought it was going to be normal.)
    11. Reading a plumb bad book. (Also not on purpose.)
    12. Missing Castle every week.
    13. Watching Make It or Break It instead.
    14. Watching Jimmy McAvoy in his first movie in AGES.
    15. Brainstorming fun book projects with friends.
    16. Planning another trip to Prince Edward Island!

    But it’s good to be back! I’ve seen some really wonderful–and some really terrible–movies in the last month. I can’t wait to tell you about them.

    And, yes, if anyone asks, I did steal the numbered list idea from Jenny B. Jones, who happens to be my hero.

    A return to Sweet Valley

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    Did you grow up reading Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley books? Did you read about Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield’s sweet-valley-twinsearliest adventures in the Sweet Valley Twins series? My sister and I sure did. In fact we read them with our cousin Sarah and–dare I admit–even had a secret club like the girls in the books. We loved those books. And we wanted to love the Sweet Valley High books–but we weren’t allowed to. 🙂 In fact, to this day, I don’t think I’ve ever read a Sweet Valley High book. But I sure did watch the tv show when it was on when I was in high school.

    As much as I loved these books as a kid, I’d all but forgotten about these books until I opened my Entertainment Weekly recently and saw this.

    sweet-valley-confidential

    Sweet Valley Confidential, which released in March, catches up with our favorite twins and their classmates in their late 2os. The romances are new, the girls are grown up, but the drama is the same!

    So a quick glance at Amazon reveals that the reviews haven’t been kind. Inner 12-year-old girls have spoken out about their disappointment. No one expected a great work of literature, I think. But sadly it’s not even meeting the most basic hopes for a lot of fans.

    Okay, so I won’t be running out to pick up a copy of Sweet Valley Confidential any time soon. But it did get me thinking about some of the YA books that I loved as a kid and would like to see a Ten Years Later sequel to. My top three:

    1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Okay, so I didn’t read these as a kid, but I sure would love to know what happened to Katniss 10 years after (more than the very short epilogue).
    2. The Sadie Rose series by Hilda Stahl – this series followed the prairie adventures of a girl who was forced to move into a soddy when her father dies and her mom remarries.
    3. The American Girls books – I loved them as a kid, and I would love to hear what happened to Samantha and Molly and Kirsten.

    Honorable mention: Why Harry Potter, of course! I want to read about how Ron proposed. 🙂

    What books do you wish they’d write a Ten Years Later sequel to?

    What’s driving me crazy right now!

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    I had a moment today when my breath caught in my throat and my heart doubled in speed. It was a moment I’d been waiting for for ages–okay, actually more like 2 years, but still … a long time. It’s been more than 2 years since NBC brutally cancelled one of my favorite TV shows of all time. LIFE.

    It was tragic. Really. One minute I could spend every Friday evening with Damian Lewis. And then all of a sudden he was gone. Sure I could watch him in Band of Brothers and Life on dvd. But it wasn’t new …

    And then I was on Facebook this morning, and what should I see? Why a post on my wall from my sweet friend Ruth with this video, of course.

    Did you see him? Did you catch it? Beneath that woolly beard is none other than Mr. Lewis. Yep!

    homeland

    A show with Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, and Claire Danes? “Homeland” is going to be good. Count me in!
    Now I just need Showtime to schedule the season. (And I have to figure out how to watch it, since I don’t have cable.)

    Thanks, Ruth, for giving me just enough information to let me drive myself crazy as I wait!

    Life Without Limits

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    life-without-limitsI received a review copy of Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a RIDICULOUSLY Good Life by Nick Vujicic several months ago. And I thought that it would be a book that I would dive right into. I figured I’d have no trouble just sailing through it, but for some reason that I’m pretty sure has way more to do with me than with the book, I’ve really struggled to get to the end.

    And it’s not that this is not a really great book. This autobiography is an amazing tail. Nick was born about thirty years ago with no arms and no legs. And Nick’s story is incredible. A life that could have and should have been defined by limits is actually an incredible tail of a life lived to the extreme. This is a man who has traveled the world, speaks in front of millions of people, and has even surfed with Bethany Hamilton (the young surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack). 

    The point then becomes, how are you letting your daily challenges keep you from living life to the fullest? Especially when compared with a life that is filled with unique challenges.

    I really loved the last chapter, “Make Giving Your Mission.” Nick’s closing statements are all about making a difference, loving others, and leaving a legacy of kindness. From small, random acts of kindness to lives like Mother Teresa, these make a difference. And not just in the lives the you’re reaching out to. “When you step outside yourself and your own concerns to reach out for others, it will change you. You will be humbled. You will be inspired.” (p. 220)

    If you’re looking for a reminder of why you were created to be uniquely you and that you were created to live an abundant life, Life Without Limits will fit the bill. While it’s filled with stories of the people that Nick has met in his travels, I found their stories less compelling than other books I’ve read. Sadly I didn’t find it the page-turner that I hoped it would be. I recommend it as a book to pick up in bits and pieces for a quick bit of encouragement when you need it.

    *Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.