Monday, July 28, 2014
Official Movie Trailer Has Been Released for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
#TheHobbit #BattleoftheFiveArmies #bookstomovies #movietrailer
Press Release: Terminal City by Mystery Author Linda Fairstein
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Marissa Curnutte
347.574.3136
BookGirlTV informs, inspires readers with top quality new reads
Newest interviews with BEST-SELLING authors Linda Fairstein, Adam Braun
NEW YORK CITY – Tessa Smith McGovern finds the best new books to read for BookGirlTV so you don’t have to and takes you behind the scenes with today’s top authors.
With BookGirlTV, McGovern cuts through the advertising and hype to find what books you should be reading right now. She aims to save people time and money by only highlighting exceptional books that readers will want to finish and to provide readers with an interactive, entertaining and life-enhancing monthly video book club that fits anyone’s schedule. BookGirlTV also works to shine a light on under-recognized female writers, both emerging and best-selling, and can help new authors learn strategies and wisdom from successful authors.
The most recent edition of BookGirlTV’s author interview show, ‘Just Books with Tessa Smith McGovern’ features an interview with Linda Fairstein about her book “Terminal City,” which reveals the “dark side” of New York City’s Grand Central Station. McGovern’s upcoming interviews include Adam Braun, founder of Pencils of Promise and author of The Promise of a Pencil, and author and journalist Anna Quindlen.
BookGirlTV also produces a series called BookGirlBUZZes, 1-2 minute book reviews that tell you what a book’s about (don’t worry, no spoilers here!) and whether those 5 star Amazon ratings are accurate – think of it as the mobile version of your local bookstore clerk.
BookGirlTV airs Thursdays at 4 p.m. on YouTube and BookGirl.TV and after on Facebook, Twitter, BlipTV, Dailymotion, iTunes, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Reddit, Roku and all connected TVs. The BookGirlBUZZ mobile app for Android and iOS allows people to stay up-to-date and watch BookGirlTV on their favorite mobile device. The email newsletter also keeps people in the know about new episodes of BookGirlTV and offers the chance to win free books, many of them signed.
About the BookGirl: Tessa Smith McGovern, originally from England, published her first short story in 1996 and has continued to publish work while also founding eChook Digital Publishing and hosting and producing BookGirl.TV. McGovern’s linked short story collection, “London Road: Linked Stories,” has earned high praise, including being the Gold Medal Winner in the 2012 eLit Awards. McGovern also teaches at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, NY.
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@SamiJoLien @BookGirlTV Tuesday, July 22, 2014
If I Stay Movie Trailer
Tonight I saw the movie trailer for Gayle Forman's book "If I Stay." Now that's just great. Another YA novel I HAVE to add to my TBR list!!! I have rarely read YA in the past but it all started with Harry Potter, then Twilight, then the Lunar Chronicles...... I have to admit there are a lot of impressive YA novels out there! My children are all young adults (in their twenties) and here I am. Is this what it's like to have a midlife crisis?
Monday, July 21, 2014
Conquering Shame and Codependency by Darlene Lancer - book review
Conquering Shame and Codependency
8 Steps to Freeing the True You
Author: Darlene Lancer
Published: July 2014
Publisher: Hazelden Publishing
Pages: 180
Genre: Self-help
Source: A complimentary copy was provided by TLC Book Tours and the publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Codependency Expert Uncovers Fundamental Causes and Effects of Shame and a
Simple Path to a Healthier Life
Shame is an emotion that can be buried in a person’s psyche so deep that one does not realize how much he is affected by it. From the publisher that popularized the topics of shame and codependency with such publications as Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection and Melody Beattie’s Codependent No More, Hazelden Publishing releases CONQUERING SHAME AND CODEPENDENCY: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You (Hazelden Publishing; July 14; $14.95), by nationally-recognized author, codependency expert and family therapist, Darlene Lancer. This essential guide explores the powerful emotion of shame, what can happen if it is not addressed, and provides practical advice on how to break deep-rooted patterns.
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In the book, Lancer begins by explaining the difference between guilt and shame: “Guilt results from violating rules or moral precepts, while shame emanates from breaching accepted group norms. We’re guilty if we do something bad. With shame, we believe that we ourselves are bad or inadequate in some way.” Understanding these definitions shows how incredibly deep and profound feelings of shame can be, and as a result, how difficult it can be to change how you feel about yourself.
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She then delves into the link between shame and codependency, explaining how they prevent us from living life as our “true selves”. As the result of a combination of personality, parenting, and life experience, we may develop an “inner critic” who is constantly questioning our motives and putting us down for our actions. We become victims of our own negativity which then leads to codependency, which is the disease of a lost self where one organizes his or her thinking and behavior around another person, process, or substance. Before we know it we may be engaged in abusive or inappropriate relationships. For example, we may be working in a career we felt we “had” to take on in order to please a parent. We may be living as if we were someone else, unable to make our own decisions out of fear of hurtful repercussions left over from living with an abusive partner. These and other similar situations can cause us to spiral down into an unhealthy state such as severe anxiety or depression, substance abuse, or other serious issues.
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In CONQUERING SHAME AND CODEPENDENCY Lancer outlines 8 Steps that will help us develop more healthy attitudes about ourselves:
- Find Your True Self
- Uncover Your Shame
- Find Your Shame’s Roots
- Disarm Your Shame
- Confront Your Shame
- Share Your Shame
- Build Your Self-Esteem
- Love Yourself
By working through these steps you will be able to better identify and understand the root source of negative feelings and what course of action to take in order to let it go and free yourself to a life confident in being your true self. Drawing on thirty years of experience as a therapist, Lancer has made an immense contribution by writing CONQUERING SHAME AND CODEPENDENCY. For anyone who has been in therapy or has never knocked on a Ph.D.’s door, this book will break down a wall and open an entirely new path for you to begin living a true and authentic life.
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Purchase Links
My Thoughts:
Classmates make fun, a sibling belittles, a parent scorns, a teacher chastises. All part of growing up or can be. Is there one among us who hasn't at some point in our lives felt ashamed or embarrassed? Has it altered how we see ourselves...our self-esteem?
To begin, author and therapist Darlene Lancer explores how shame happens and the types of shame: existential, situational, class, and narcissistic. Using tables, the author shows the difference between guilt and shame and how guilt can be healthy while shame leads to negative self-image.
Once shame, its sources and effects have been identified, the reader is given 8 steps to freedom. These steps are intended to help the reader overcome feelings of shame and learn self-love. With exercises to help accomplish this last and final goal; the reader will be empowered to make positive changes in their lives.
Conquering Shame and Codependency is written in easy to understand terms, with clearly defined segments so you can easily select what applies. From an author who works as a family therapist and lectures about self esteem, co-dependency and addictions; this reference guide makes available to a wide audience what she teaches in smaller environments. Teachers, family therapists. and school counsellors will find this a good reference in identifying factors and solutions for those they may be concerned with assisting; and for anyone who has experienced the negative effects shame can produce, this book is recommended reading.
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Note: this reviewer is not a trained therapist. The thoughts I've shared here are my opinion in relation to how I and how I feel others may respond to Conquering Shame and Codependency.
Meet the Author:
About Darlene Lancer, JD, LMFT
Darlene Lancer, JD, LMFT, is a licensed family therapist with over twenty years of experience working with individuals and couples. She regularly lectures on self-esteem, codependency, and addiction. Author ofCodependency for Dummies and 10 Steps to Self-Esteem, she has also published numerous articles.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson - book review
Author: S.J. Watson
Published: June 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 340
Genre: Fiction/suspense
Edition: Trade paperback
Source: borrowed
'As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I'm still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me...'
Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love — all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine's life. (from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
From the opening paragraph, S.J. Watson had me hooked. "The bedroom is strange. Unfamiliar. I don't know where I am, how I came to be here. I don't know how I'm going to get home."
Before I Go to Sleep is the thrilling, can't put down suspenseful novel of a woman who can't remember things day to day because of an accident she was in years earlier. Each morning she wakes up not knowing where she is or who she's in bed with. The mirror shows a significantly older woman than the one she remembers herself to be. She cannot form new memories.
Daily her doctor calls to remind Christine to get her journal from the closet and to read it. At day's end, she writes about her day and the journal, though it's not been written in for very long, slowly begins to reveal certain truths about her life. The curious thing, which really keeps you reading to know why, is at the very beginning of the journal she has written "Don't trust Ben."
Although I am itching to tell more, I don't want to ruin the story for you. Cleverly plotted and written; it's enough to say it's a real page-turner that I hated to put down! Breaks were not long enough and days too short, as I squeezed in reading time for this thriller!! I can't wait for the movie! Wowza!!!
Warning for sensitive viewers: some language and sexual references.
The Unveiling of the Agatha Christie Bench
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| bench designed by Mandi Pope |
Saturday July 26/14, meet "Poirot" as the Agatha Christie notable bookbench Hercule Poirot and Greenshore Folly Bench is revealed to the public at Bloomsbury Square Gardens (London, England).
The artist Mandi Pope recreated the bench art from the cover of Christie's novella Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly, originally designed by Tom Adams.
It's too pretty to sit upon, don't you think?
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Word Crimes
If grammar errors and spelling mistakes get your ire up, then you'll enjoy Weird Al's Word Crimes!
#WordCrimes
#WordCrimes
Friday, July 11, 2014
It's the Year of the Book to Movies Adaptations!! Here's Unbroken, coming this Christmas to theatres.
The movie is an adaptation of "Unbroken" the biography of Louis Zamperini, a rebel child who turned his life around and became an Olympian athlete. Louis later fought in World War II and was captured and kept in a prisoner of war camp. This is the story of a man who wouldn't be broken.
Louis Zamperini passed away July 2/14 at the age of 97.
Film directed by Angelina Jolie
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Movie Trailer for Cheryl Strayed's "Wild" Now Available
See my review of the memoir "Wild" here: http://shirley-mybookshelf.blogspot.ca/2013/08/found-in-wild-review-of-wild-by-cheryl.html
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Monday, July 7, 2014
Gone Girl Coming to Theatres This October
Gone Girl has just moved up the must read list!!! This looks soooo good!!!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
What's on Trend? Book Inspired Home Decor
Outdoors  |
| http://tatteredcover.tumblr.com/post/11453027839 and in.... |
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| http://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Bench-of-Thought-Banco-del-Pensamiento/290532/139427/view |
There are some creative and remarkable ideas for book inspired home decor for virtually every room of the house.
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| http://dornob.com/coffee-table-book-cleverly-literal-2-in-1-home-furnishing/#axzz36hXTKwIV |
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| http://www.pinterest.com/uconncoopbooks/book-benches/ |
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| http://ajarndtbooks.blogspot.ca/2012/04/book-inspired-home-decor.html |
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| tumblr.com & http://www.pinterest.com/pin/63331938482599937/ |
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| http://www.designtoscano.com/product/furniture/tables/novelty+tables/nettlestone+library+ensemble+-+oa3650.do?sortby=bestSellers# |
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| http://blog.wilsonkelseydesign.com/2011/11/decorating-with-books-and-prints-is-a-success/ |
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| http://mattresszine.com/headboards-mattress-accessories/spruce-up-your-bed-with-this-headboard-made-from-books/ |
How would one make a book tub waterproof/watertight so you might actually soak in literature?
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| http://inhabitat.com/take-a-bath-of-knowledge-with-vanessa-mancinis-tub-made-of-books/
For the book obsessed, you know who you are (myself included), these examples of decor are truly inspirational. Which would you like best for your home? Personally, I would choose the table and chairs for the dining area.
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http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/literary-products
http://www.oddee.com/item_98542.aspx
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion - book review
Author: Graeme Simsion
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2013 (original place of publication: Australia)
Pages: 329
Genre: Fiction; romantic comedy
Source: Borrowed
Wife Wanted.
Must be punctual, logical, and enjoy travelling by bicycle. No smokers, drinkers, or horoscope readers need apply.
Don Tillman has a brilliant scientific mind, but social situations confound him. He's never had a second date. And so, in the evidence-based manner in which he approaches all things, he embarks upon the Wife Project; a sixteen-page questionnaire to find the perfect partner. Then in walks Rosie Jarman.
Rosie is on a quest of her own. She's looking for her biological father; a search that a certain genetics expert might just be able to help her with. Soon Don puts the Wife Project on the back burner in order to help Rosie purse the Father Project. As an unlikely relationship blooms, Don is about to realize that, despite the best scientific efforts, you don't find love; love finds you.
My thoughts:
"I may have found a solution to the Wife Problem. As with so many scientific breakthroughs, the answer was obvious in retrospect. But had it not been for a series of unscheduled events, it is unlikely I would have discovered it." (opening paragraph, page 1)
By page six, I was laughing to the point of tears. On page 24, I commented to my husband, "Oh dear, this book is just too much fun."
My husband was the "captive" recipient of several oral readings from The Rosie Project as we were driving and he was nearby, being the only other person in the vehicle. I just couldn't keep it in and so we shared some laughs during our long drive south and back.
"Claudia advised me that I should have abandoned the experiment prior to Elizabeth leaving. Obviously. But at what point? Where was the signal? These are the subtleties I fail to see.....The Apricot Ice-cream Disaster had cost a whole evening of my life, compensated for only by the information about simulation algorithms."
Professor Don Tillman is a scientist studying the genetic predisposition for cirrhosis of the liver, entailing the intoxication of mice. Don Tillman is not unlike Gregory Peck in appearance but incredibly socially awkward, slow to pick up on social cues, and incredibly similar to Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory. (If you enjoy The Big Bang Theory, you'll love this book, as I do.) He's an adorable nerd, funny in his own way, with limited empathy and uncertain of his ability to learn to love. Yet, he will sacrifice his own career as a professor at a renowned university to help a beautiful lady. A choice he has to ponder at great length to identify his motive.
When Don realizes that his motive for helping Rosie with The Father Project in an after hours unethical investigation utilizing the lab at the university is not purely academic, he finds himself in a world totally foreign to his logical, methodical, systematical self. He scales walls, collects hair samples, bar tends, obtains urine samples..... He even put his own Wife Project on hold to assist Rosie with hers. Aside from the scientific collection and analysis of data, all this is foreign territory to this adorable funny nerd.
The Rosie Project is a charming and disarming exploration of the pursuit of love in a world of algorithms and logic as defined by science that unwittingly turns a man's world upside down in hysterical fashion. If asked to describe The Rosie Project in one word, I would say "tantalizing." For truly it is! I absolutely loved this book.
****With great anticipation, I'm excited to announce a sequel to The Rosie Project: The Rosie Effect - to be released late September 2014. I simply must pre-order my copy. It's the logical thing to do.
About the author:
Graeme Simsion, PhD was the owner of a successful consulting business before he decided, at fifty, that he would become a writer. The Rosie Project is his first novel. Graeme is a New Zealand born Australian author, playwright, screen writer and data modeller. He won the 2012 Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award for his debut novel, The Rosie Project.
Twitter: @GraemeSimsion and #ProfDonTillman
#TheRosieProject #GraemeSimsion
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
The Death of Lucy Kyte by Nicola Upson - book review
Author: Nicola Upson
Published: June 2014
Publisher: Bourbon Street Books
Pages: 368
Source: A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
An unexpected inheritance plunges beloved British mystery author Josephine Tey into a disturbing puzzle of dark secrets connecting the present and the past in this intriguing historical mystery brimming with psychological tension.
When Josephine Tey unexpectedly inherits Red Barn Cottage from a godmother she barely knows, the will stipulates that she must personally claim the house in the Suffolk countryside. But Josephine is not the only benefactor—a woman named Lucy Kyte is also in Hester’s will. Sorting through the artifacts of her godmother’s life, Josephine is intrigued by an infamous murder committed on the cottage’s grounds a century before. This old crime—dubbed the Red Barn murder—still haunts the tight-knit village and its remote inhabitants. Is it superstition, or is there a very real threat that is frightening the locals? And is the truth related to the mysterious Lucy Kyte, whom no one in the village admits to knowing? Surrounded by the shadows of obsession, abuse, and deceit, with a palpable sense of evil thickening around her, Josephine must untangle historic tragedy from present danger to prevent a deadly cycle from beginning once again.
My Thoughts:
The Death of Lucy Kyte takes place in the early half of the century in a cute town whose inhabitants bear grudges and judgments for generations. When she inherits her godmother's cottage home, Josephine takes on the task of clearing out the old home and in doing so learns the tale of the death of a local village girl; a tale that had mesmerized her godmother so much she had written a journal of her story.
While Josephine inherited the home, a mysterious Lucy Kyte inherited any contents within that she might choose. But how to find this mystery lady and what was the significance of her role in her godmother's life? Later, when Josephine discovers the death of Lucy Kyte, she determines to solve the mysteries surrounding her godmother and the two deaths.
Set in the Suffolk countryside of the UK, The Death of Lucy Kyte explores how a village can influence, a grudge can linger, and how forbidden relationships can have enduring consequences. The Death of Lucy Kyte is a descriptive narrative of another era written in descriptive style that illustrates the nuances of village life, for good and bad, unveiled with the investigating prowess of the seasoned mystery author Josephine Tey. It's a bit slow reading but worth the time for the build up towards a suspenseful climax.
Meet the Author:
Nicola Upson is the author of five Josephine Tey mysteries, including An Expert in Murder, Angel with Two Faces, Two for Sorrow, Fear in the Sunlight, and The Death of Lucy Kyte, as well as two works of nonfiction. She has worked in theater and as a freelance journalist. A recipient of an Escalator Award from the Arts Council England, she splits her time between Cambridge and Cornwall. Visit Nicola at her website, www.nicolaupson.com, and on Facebook.
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