It's been another month and we had our 5th bookclub meeting tonight. As always, lots of fun!!! This month's was held at Kathy Hansens house and the book was :

Here is a summary from Book Browse.com
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb…. As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
I read this over a year ago because Sylvia got the book and I borrowed it from her and I loved it very much. (and I just saw it on Stephenie Meyers website as a must read. he he!!)I got so involved with these characters that I laughed and cried and was really sad when the book ended.
So, at last nights bookclub, everyone who had read the book said they enjoyed it. There were some that didnt read it but I think they enjoyed the conversations. This month we took a different turn in our meetings by adding a conch shell which is to show that the conversations have gotten way off topic and Shellie had questions for all of us to read and I really hope we keep that one going. I liked that. Kathy picked the new book for June which is a Mary Higgins Clark "The Shadow of your Smile". I have not read her at all, so this should be interesting.

movies I've seen

So this month I've seen a few movies.....
I've watched 'The Young Victoria' several times and actually purchased it off of Ebay for a bargain price.
I've watched the 1st 4 episodes of Pushing Daisies which is a TV series from a few yrs ago that I thought was BRILLIANT!! (why only 4 of the episodes you may ask? Well, I have my Netflix account set up w/1 dvd out at a time so when you have to watch a series that's on dvd...you only get the one disc at a time!! It's sorta a pain.)
I saw two theater movies....both w/Sylvia....the first was 'How to Train Your Dragon" which was sooooo adorable. The dragon reminded me of Warryn. Then the next week we saw Shrek 4 which should be the last in the series and that one was really good.

well, that doesnt seem like alot. I guess now that Buffy is over and my tv viewing is over till Big Brother comes on....I should be able watch more.

On April 3, 2010 I started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1 (compliments of Netflix instant play) . I started this thinking it would be something fun and quirky for Dylan and I to watch together but he soon tired of it and I was left on my own. After I finished season 1...I decided I was going to watch all 7 seasons. It took 6 wks and 144 episodes to accomplish this task. I would watch some at night after work but the bulk of the watching came on the weekends sometimes as soon as I woke up till I went to bed. All Buffy, All the time!!! and I had the greatest time. I liked that Buffy aired in 1997, so it was fun to watch this 'vampire show' that is pre-Twilight. Though all 7 seasons actually held by attention, the first 3 seasons were the best. I loved Angel in the first 2 seasons but then he got his own show! The music in the shows were great and even after 144 episodes, I never got tired of the beginning intro w/ the theme song by Nerf Herder.

So, this is one event in my life that I will look back on as something that I'm happy I did and I actually find myself being sad that I dont have any Buffy to watch!!!!

I dont typically read romance novels but I started a book entitled The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. This is a series by Lauren Willig.  This is a 7 book series (I so love to find a good series to read, especially when they're already written and I dont have to wait for the next one to come out!)

This is the excerpt from Wikipedia on the series:

Eloise Kelly, an American grad student, attempts to write her dissertation and unmask the Pink Carnation (a Napoleonic-era spy inspired by The Scarlett Pimpernel) – and find love with an attractive Englishman, Colin. The books also feature several different romantic adventures detailing the exploits of the Purple Gentian, the Pink Carnation, the Black Tulip, and a host of other characters from early 19th century England and France.

So, sounds like a good enough storyline. The book went from 21st century to the land of Austen era.....and as in these types of books, the girl always falls for the bad guy who turns out to the good guy etc. etc. You could even tell this writer was an Austen fan by how she incorporated names, places, even mentioning "Lizzies hair in A&E's Pride and Prejudice". I actually enjoyed it alot..... UNTIL....(and I forgot how some of the romance novels can be) there was a sex scene. Not too bad so I read on. Then there was another, more descriptive...shocking actually. It was at this point I decided to quit reading the book. I skipped to the end to find out if it ended the way I thought it would (which it did) and there was another big scene right at the end as well. I dont consider myself a prude but it really disappointed me that this writer threw these kinds of scenes into her book and I say threw because that is what writers and movie people do in order to boost sales. I guess I was disappointed in the writer because when I started reading it, I had the feeling that I was reading someone with an appreciation of the things I like to read and watch and so in her adding these types scenes, it felt kind of like a betrayal. If you read Austen books....they're all very chaste, like so many Classic books from that era are, so obviously a book doesnt have to have these types of scenes in them in order to be good. I think it cheapens the book actually.

It's kind of weird because I've read books with inappropriate scenes in it before and havent felt this strong about those. Maybe I gave it too high of expectations when it first started out.

So, I cant decide if I'm completely done with the series or if I can skip over those parts when they come up. I'm a little sad cause I was really looking forward to a good 7 book series!!