Teaser Tuesdays - March 31, 2015

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

I just finished this book a few days ago, so my review will be coming soon! And I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Julie Klassen's books as well.

Someone had taken her journal, as she'd thought. Taken and returned it. But not before they had torn out a page.

~The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen, page 159

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - As You Wish

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As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes -  Having recently read Goldman's book The Princess Bride, I thought it fitting to read Elwes's memoir about the making of the movie. This book was a delight from start to finish. Cary Elwes shares stories both humorous and poignant about the experience, from his reaction to hearing that he was being considered for the part of Westley, through the final day of filming. He gives glimpses into the personalities of the other actors, and his affection and admiration for the entire cast and crew is evident throughout. Director Rob Reiner, Assistant Director Andy Scheinman, author William Goldman, and many of the actors contributed some of their own thoughts and memories, which are included in sidebars throughout the book.

I loved having the inside scoop on how some of the scenes were filmed, and how the actors prepared. Fascinating tidbits like these - Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin trained with Olympic fencers every day to master the swordfight sequence, and they didn't use doubles for the swordfight at all! In the scene where Count Rugen knocks Westley out before taking him to the Pit of Despair, Elwes really was knocked cold, when the handle of the sword actually struck his head. While filming scenes in which Billy Crystal (Miracle Max) and Mel Smith (the Albino) were ad libbing, Rob Reiner had to leave the set after shouting "Action!" because he couldn't help laughing out loud. And Elwes couldn't keep still enough to pass for "mostly dead" while Billy Crystal was cracking jokes, so a dummy had to be used for part of that scene.

Especially touching also were the many fond memories of Andre the Giant, who played Fezzik. It seems that Andre was one of the most beloved and popular people on the film, and there are many stories of Andre's sweet nature, generosity, and kindness.

A must read for every devoted fan of The Princess Bride!

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - March 28, 2015

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The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

~Numbers 6:24-26~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.
The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - March 24, 2015

This post may contain affiliate links. 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

There's something inherently ridiculous about lying on your back, with suction cups attached to your nipples, staring up at Chris Guest and Mel Smith, pretending to endure searing pain while strapped to a massive "life-sucking machine." I remember both Rob and I lost it on the first take when Mel unexpectedly did that whole bit on the steps where he loses his balance. Then that whole coughing and hacking bit? Forget it. In the end I think I had to turn away during his off-camera dialogue just because I couldn't look at his face without laughing. 

~As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes, page 198

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - March 21, 2015

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Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
~Matthew 6:26-33~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.
The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

 ©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy

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The Disappearance of Georgianna Darcy by Regina Jeffers - I wanted to like this book more than I did, and it started out with promise. The author, Regina Jeffers, is respected as one of the best writers of sequels and alternate tellings of Pride and Prejudice, so I had high hopes. 

 Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam were married just before he returned to the continent with the army. She travels to the Fitzwilliam family home in Scotland to prepare for his return home, but he is delayed, and Darcy and Elizabeth begin to be concerned when there is no communication from Georgiana either. She has, as far as anyone can determine, disappeared. Eventually a communication comes from the steward that she didn't return after riding out on the moors, and despite several days of searching, they haven't been able to find her. At this point, Darcy and Elizabeth journey to Scotland to conduct their own search, both of them - and Fitzwilliam as well - convinced that she is still alive.

In alternating scenes, a young woman finds herself a captive in a castle, but she can't remember anything of her past. She realizes she is in danger in the castle, but at the same time she is developing an attraction to the master of the castle. Can she trust him, or is he party to the evils she suspects are going on in the castle? And can she enter into a relationship with him, not knowing her own past, and without a memory of the father of her unborn child? The reader assumes that the young woman is Georgiana, but as the story goes on, that conclusion must be questioned. If it isn't Georgiana, then who is it, and where is Georgiana? 

If this was the whole of the story, it would be enough, but Jeffers is not content to tell just that story. She goes into great and convoluted detail with several other side stories that attempt to explain what has happened to the other Bennet sisters; that attempt to give reasons for Fitzwilliam's delay in returning to England; and that give Wickham an excuse for also being in Scotland (granted, he does need a reason for being there, but that side story rambles on and goes into far more detail than necessary). The reader is also subjected to a long set-up story for Kitty's wedding, even though it has no bearing upon the story at all, other than serving as a device for bringing all the characters together at Pemberley. As if that isn't enough, she also feels compelled to bring another couple into the story (apparently they are characters that were introduced in a previous Jeffers P&P story) for no other reason than to give Elizabeth and Darcy someone to talk to. There is just WAY too much going on that is not relevant or necessary and it bogs down what might be a decent gothic-style novel.

The story-telling is further derailed by the frequent reminiscing of characters on events that happened in the original Pride and Prejudice. Jeffers borrows and quotes quite liberally from Austen in these asides, which readers familiar with P&P already know (and recognize that it's more or less a quote from Austen's work), and which new readers don't need to know in order to follow the story. Moreover, these forays into the past usually occur right smack in the middle of a dramatic scene, so the action of a moment or two is interrupted by a few paragraphs of fond memories. So for example, Darcy bursts breathlessly into a room to see his sister, his wife, and the dastardly Wickham, but in the midst of taking in this scene, he is inexplicably reminded of the first time he laid eyes on Elizabeth and the narration switches from action mid-paragraph to spend about half a page on Darcy's fond recollections of her fine eyes etc etc before finally returning to the action at hand. I cannot make myself believe that this is skillful story-telling. It is distracting. 

I also could not help but wonder if every character in the book was in need of a throat-lozenge, as during almost every emotionally or sexually charged dialogue, someone would "rasp" a sentence or two. Perhaps a very small complaint, but when partway through the book I felt that I had seen the word "rasp" so many times that it might be amusing to keep a tally of how many times it appeared, it may be that the word really did appear too many times. (by my calculations, approximately 1.5 times per chapter) There were also a few misuses of words - "sorted" when obviously "sordid" was meant; and "courtly" used as the wrong part of speech - that could be attributed to editing error, but one doesn't expect to see these kinds of errors in something written by a 37-year master teacher of English. 

In conclusion, I didn't find it awful, but it did fall short of expectations. Fans of Darcy and Elizabeth may well find it an interesting gothic style mystery featuring their favorite couple. It is, however, overly sentimental, and the amount of extraneous detail in the form of side stories, explanations, and reminiscences is distracting. 

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - March 17, 2015

This post may contain affiliate links. 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

At that very moment the door to the ornate room opened and in walked the giant himself... Andre. It was like a scene from an old Western, where the guy enters the saloon and everyone stops what they are doing, including the piano player. 

~As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes, page 50

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - March 14, 2015

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Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
~II Corinthians 3:17-18~

The greatest characteristic a Christian can exhibit is this completely unveiled openness before God, which allows that person's life to become a mirror for others. When the Spirit fills us, we are transformed, and by beholding God we become mirrors. You can always tell when someone has been beholding the glory of the Lord, because your inner spirit senses that he mirrors the Lord's own character. Beware of anything that would spot or tarnish that mirror in you. It is almost always something good that will stain it -- something good, but not what is best. ~Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.
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©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - The Legend of the Firefish

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The Legend of the Firefish by George Bryan Polivka - I first read the Trophy Chase Trilogy several years ago, and I enjoyed it just as much this time around - probably the third time I've read it. The story has elements of fantasy and adventure, and the characters include pirates, swordsmen, and a warrior with a thirst for revenge.

Packer Throme wants to help the people of his fishing village, and thinks he can do that by partnering with the notorious pirate Scat Wilkins in hunting the legendary firefish. Packer's father had passed along his theories about the firefish feeding grounds, and it's this information that Packer hopes to broker with Wilkins in order to more successfully hunt the dangerous fish. He stows away on Wilkins' ship, unleashing a series of events that put him and the crew in danger; and puts the life of his fiancee Panna Seline at risk as well.

Panna has a vivid dream in which Packer is in danger, so she tries to follow him, stumbling directly into the path of Talon, the Drammune warrior who has determined to take her revenge against Packer by killing Panna. She deceives Panna into an uneasy partnership, and the two of them head for the capital city.

Neither Packer nor Panna know for sure that the other is still alive, but they each set out on a mission to protect the other, knowing only that the dangers they face are real and deadly.

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - March 10, 2015

This post may contain affiliate links. 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

But I also felt as though I were being the most insufferable prig -- because, really, I'm not Kitty's mother nor even her older sister, and it's no business of mine to criticise how she behaves. But I couldn't stop myself from saying, "And what about Captain Ayres? Would he have found anything to object to?"

~Pemberley to Waterloo: Georgiana Darcy's Diary, Volume 2 by Anna Elliott, 17% on my Kindle

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Scripture and a Snapshot - March 7, 2015

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The LORD is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation;

This is my God, and I will praise Him;

My father's God, and I will extol Him.

Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power,

Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?

Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

You have led in your steadfast love the people whom You have redeemed;

You have guided them by Your strength to Your holy abode.

You will bring them in and plant them on Your own mountain,

the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your abode,

the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.

The LORD will reign forever and ever.

~Exodus 15:2, 6, 11, 13, 17-18~

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by A Glimpse of Our Life.
The Weekend Brew is hosted by My Freshly Brewed Life.

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - The Princess Bride

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The Princess Bride by William Goldman - I assume that almost everyone has seen the movie The Princess Bride by now; and if you haven't, what is wrong with you and what rock have you been living under? It's a classic and it's my favorite movie. But I hadn't read the book, and decided I needed to remedy that recently. I read this hardcover version with illustrations by Michael Manomivibul, and it delivered on all the true love and high adventure as promised.

It opens with an Introduction by William Goldman for the 30th anniversary of the movie, and it's actually hilarious. He tells the story of how his father read him "S. Morgenstern's classic" when he was a kid recovering from pneumonia and how much he loved it. It's full of tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating humor, and sets up his print version of "just the good bits". Most of the story is very similar to the movie, with some extra background on the characters, and some extra scenes. Throughout the narrative, Goldman jumps in to interrupt with an anecdote or an explanation of what he's cut out of the original and why. The characters are slightly different too. Buttercup has far fewer brains in the book than in the movie, and Humperdinck is much more devious and evil. He is portrayed as a hunter of unparalleled skill in the book, while the movie character fancies himself a hunter but also is more obviously cowardly and a bit of a bumbler, and doesn't seem to know exactly what is going on in the Zoo of Death.

There is also an epilogue, Buttercup's Baby, which is also accompanied by Goldman's introduction and commentary on "S. Morgenstern". Much of it is just as funny and entertaining, but overall I felt like I wouldn't have missed much if I hadn't read it.

Lots of laughs and action, but don't freak out that it's not the exact same as the screenplay!

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads - When Love Comes My Way

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When Love Comes My Way by Lori Copeland - I grabbed this book from the library shelf mostly because I recognized the author as one that I liked, and the description on the back cover was intriguing. The story is set in 1873 Michigan, at a logging camp. Tess Wakefield has inherited the logging operation from her grandfather, but knows little about it and has decided to sell. Unfortunately, the potential buyer has plans to clean-cut the whole area with no regard for replanting or the future of the business, and Wakefield Timber's foreman, Jake Lannigan, cannot convince Tess through the business letters they've exchanged to stop the sale. On her way to the camp, Tess is involved in a terrible wagon accident that takes the lives of the other passengers, and causes her to lose her memory. She is brought to the logging camp, but it's assumed that she is the teacher that was arriving on the same train. Jake begins to suspect that she may actually be the spoiled heiress he is so angry with, but decides to continue on as if she is the teacher, reasoning that if she is who he thinks, this is his chance to show her that she has a responsibility to the future of the logging industry. And then, of course, there is the growing attraction and affection between them, and the possibility that Jake's deception may ruin their future together.

Overall, I really did enjoy this unusual story, but I found the amnesia angle cliched and difficult to believe. At the beginning, Tess is as spoiled and frivolous and self-centered as the letters Jake has received would indicate. But when she regains consciousness after the accident, she has not only lost any memory of who she is or anything that happened before the accident, but she apparently has a different personality than the one displayed during the description of her train and wagon trip. All of a sudden she is compassionate and sweet, when the day before she had been haughty and judgmental. The driver and other passengers on the wagon are presumably killed and swept away by the river they tumble into, and with a young unidentified woman as the only survivor, the assumption by Jake and the others that she is the teacher is reasonable, because they had been expecting the teacher but didn't know for sure that Tess was on her way. Conveniently, the teacher (who was, in fact, on the same wagon - and her luggage was found, but not her body) has no family, so there is no one to write to for help. Also convenient to the set-up is the fact that the severe winter weather has effectively closed off transportation in and out of the area for quite some time after the accident, and the crew hasn't yet strung the telegraph wire that would allow communication outside the area. I really don't know much about how amnesia cases usually occur, but this set-up to the story seemed overly contrived.

All that said, the interactions between Jake and Tess are interesting, as are the inner conflicts they each face as they realize the developing bond between them. At first, Jake's decision to carry on as if she is the teacher until he's given reason to think otherwise makes sense, but as time goes on, he more or less paints himself into a corner by stubbornly sticking to that approach yet subjecting Tess to rather harsher living conditions than necessary because he thinks she could stand being taken down a peg. As time goes on and he grows more convinced that she must be Tess and not the teacher, he is also falling in love with her and it is growing harder for him to continue the deception, knowing that when she finds out it will destroy any trust between them. Although it's not a believable story, in my opinion, it was one that was interesting and humorous enough to keep my interest, and I decided to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride.

By the same author: Patience, Hope, Faith, June

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Teaser Tuesdays - March 3, 2015

This post may contain affiliate links.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title and author, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!

The crewmen at the windlass forgot their duty. Their hands, like their jaws, went slack. The windlass spun wildly, unwinding the ropes to the longboat and dropping it to the sea.
~The Legend of the Firefish by George Bryan Polivka, page 250   

©2008-2015 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/