Books of Summer

Here is some of what I have been reading this summer. My choice of at least three of these has been influenced by my interest in the actor Richard Armitage.

Can you guess which three?

The books are clockwise from the top left: 1. One Step Behind, by Henning Mankell.
2. Claude and Camille, by Stephanie Cowell.  3. Worlds of Ink and Shadow, by Lena Coakley
4. The Last Kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell.  5. Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew, by Bernard Hare.  6. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood.  7. Anybody Out There, by Marian Keyes.

At least one of these books should be an easy guess for any Richard Armitage fans. The other 2 will be easier for longtime fans to guess.

So, I am finally getting around to posting here on my long neglected blog as today is Armitage Day (otherwise known as Richard Armitage's birthday).  Although I haven't been as devoted to devouring all available information about him (as I may have been a few years ago), I still follow his career.  You can sometimes find me reading a few blogs, possibly making a comment when I am able to, and also sometimes I will be on Facebook or Twitter.

I was very pleased when someone posted a link to his film "Brain on Fire" on Youtube.  I enjoyed watching that film and learning about what that poor girl and her family had to endure.  Richard's role was a small one, but it was nice to see him in a father role.  I haven't had the opportunity to watch his television role in Berlin Station, except for the first episode which I was not overly impressed with.  I think it was because his character wasn't developed much.  I am sure it gets better with further watching.  I guess I was expecting something more like Spooks (MI-5) which I loved!

The other series I was excited to watch was Castlevania.  Thanks again to the fandom for the heads up about this series.  I probably wouldn't have thought to watch it otherwise, as it is a Manga cartoon based on a video game about Dracula and vampire hunters (not my usual thing!).  But I absolutely loved it!  And even better, I tricked my husband into watching it too!  (So I watched it twice!)  I could tell he was impressed because he actually asked me to put on the next episodes, even after he figured out that you-know-who's voice was in it.

Oh yes, and I finally caught that tiny but memorable role as King Oleron in Alice Through the Looking Glass as that movie made it to Netflix too.

To the creator of this GIF - If this is your work, please let me know and I will give you credit.

Richard Armitage, you still rule!

Happy Armitage Day!

Happy!

The colour Yellow makes me happy.  Balloons make me happy. Books make me happy -- even just the thought of books!  Reading books, talking about books, showing books, owning books, looking at books, yes. Books make me happy.

Here are a couple of my favourite children's book characters by Roger Hargreaves (England's 2nd bestselling author of the last decade -- after J.K. Rowling as reported by The Guardian in 2009).

Funnily enough, they are both yellow and balloon-shaped.

May I present: Mr. Happy and Little Miss Sunshine!








As readers of this blog can attest, I also love pictures of a certain actor (especially those rare shots of him smiling)...  So when I find a picture of said actor reading a book and smiling!... BINGO!  All systems are GO!

Richard Armitage performing the audio book Hamlet 
adapted by A. J. Hartley, and David Hewson for Audible.

Music also makes me happy...

This is a song which I sing to myself quite a bit when I need a little cheering up.
I really like this version sung by (not only) June Carter, of the Carter Family fame but with the bonus of her husband Johnny Cash and their daughter Carlene.

Keep on the Sunny Side (Blenkhorn and Entwistle)



I remember this next song from my childhood and it brings back many happy memories.
I didn't realize until recently that it was written by Marvin Hamlisch.
I saw a documentary about him a couple of months ago.
He certainly knew how to make himself happy.  He gave up a promising career as a classical pianist to write music for Broadway plays and soundtracks for films. 
He met Barbara Streisand when she was performing Funny Girl on stage, and later worked with her when he wrote the sound track for the movie The Way We Were.  He also worked with Woody Allen for the sound track of his movie Bananas.
He earned many awards over his lifetime, but better even than that -- he enjoyed his work,
which was essentially - entertaining the public (making people happy).

Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows (by Marvin Hamlisch)

Notice that singer Lesley Gore is wearing yellow?
And yes, that song is so sweet it could rot your teeth.


Here is my favourite summer camp song:

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops,
Oh what a world it would be...
Standing outside with my mouth open wide
Ah, ah, ah-ah, ah, ah, ah-ah, ah, ah-ah!
If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops,
Oh what a world it would be!

That really would rot your teeth!


Then there were those delightfully crazy yellow minions from the Despicable Me film and its sequel.
They certainly made me happy -- hilariously so!

I didn't realize there were so many animated short films about these critters!
Here is one where they are fighting over a banana.



Despicable Me 2 had such an upbeat song (which should have won the best song Oscar instead of that overwrought outpouring from Frozen! --Don't hit me!)
I know the song has been overplayed on the airwaves but I'm not sick of it yet.  I love the Youtube version with Pharrell Williams in it, but I can't resist this version either.

Richard Armitage -- HAPPY / by Crystal Chandlyre



Lately, it makes me very happy to read so many stage door fan encounters with Richard Armitage as he plays the role of John Proctor in the Old Vic's production of The Crucible. There is even a blog which collects all those experiences!  http://thecrucibleexperience.wordpress.com/
and a Facebook page called 'Richard Armitage in The Crucible' Appreciation Page
The play has been getting rave reviews from critics, regular theatre attendees and fans alike.
I thank Servetus @ Me + Richard Armitage blog and Perry @ Armitage Agonistes blog for keeping the fans up-to-date with the flurry of tweets, instagram pictures and Tumblr posts after each performance.
This is one of my favourite bloggers reactions to seeing The Crucible:  Maria Grazia @Fly High .

Judi, who blogs at Confessions of a Watcher  imagines Richard Armitage's feelings about the opening night success of his current play: The Crucible at London's the Old Vic in a lovely story called Happiness: http://www.jagrant.com/watcher/happiness/


Yes folks, Richard Armitage has come a long way
from his long ago (but never-to-be forgotten) stage role as a dancing banana!

 Forgive me if I resurrect one of my old videos!
Well, I'm no Bccmee -- but he's yellow! (That's all I'm sayin')...

Killer in the corn

What makes a cornfield so scary?  Last year I posted about scarecrows, but sometimes a field can be spooky looking even without the scarecrow.

 In Season 6, episode 12 of Bones, Dr. Brennan and FBI agent Booth discover
a grisly murder in a cornfield.

Recently I had the pleasure of hearing Brock Zeman perform  a crowd favourite,
his spooky song: "Killer in the Corn"


If you click on his name it will bring up his touring schedule.  He may be coming to a place near you!


In the Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones the main character, 14 year old Susie is murdered in a cornfield and she tells the story from her perspective as her soul lingers nearby her family while they try to cope with her loss.  Here is an excerpt of the first chapter which describes what happened to her.  (It is quite graphic so don't read it if it might disturb you.)

Saorise Ronan stars as Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones

A film adaptation was made from the book in 2009 and was directed by Peter Jackson.  (It just happens to be his birthday today! ) Here is an interview with Jackson where he discusses the movie.

Director Peter Jackson has just wrapped up filming of his 3 part adaptation of The Hobbit, starring Martin Freeman as hobbit Bilbo Baggins and none other than Richard Armitage as the heroic dwarven leader Thorin Oakenshield.  There have been many interviews since part 1, An Unexpected Journey hit theatres last December.  Part 2, The Desolation of Smaug will be this Christmas season's offering.  The interview I would like to feature here was a film screening, and an interview session from Sydney, Australia known as Popcorn Taxi.

View the photo gallery here!

There are quite a few videos of this interview on Youtube and even on the Popcorn Taxi site, but I like that they also have the transcript here.
I have enjoyed listening to this interview more than once, but this time it was this quote which stood out for me.  When asked if he considered himself a "method actor", here was his response:

We were always told, ‘Don’t bring the character to you, go to the character’. I always preferred leaving lots of myself outside the room and exploring the world through the eyes and the body and the mind of a different person who is ultimately better than you are. Even if they’re a mass murderer, they’re infinitely more interesting than you are. People talk about The Method, or whatever. I don’t think I’m a Method actor. I have a method but I don’t believe you have to be a mass murderer to play a mass murderer.

So there you go.  Thankfully, Richard Armitage is definitely NOT the killer in the corn!
(I know I'll sleep better tonight!...)

Phylly's favourite Austen

I very much enjoy the works of Jane Austen, and have read most of them more than once.  But my favourite is the most popular of her novels, none other than Pride and Prejudice. This year is the 200th anniversary of its publication.  Because of that, many Jane Austen fans (and fans of the novel) have banded together on a Blog Hop, hosted by Alyssa Goodnight and Stiletto Storytime.

My way of participating is to relate the story of how I came to be an admirer of Austen's works, and in particular - the novel we are celebrating now.  It's certainly not the usual way one might fall in love with an author, but then Jane Austen is not your usual author!

The first Austen novel that I encountered was given to me as a present by my best friend, when we were in our early teens.  I doubt that my friend had ever read it - she was into horror novels like Stephen King's.  She must have thought I would like it because of my love of "romantic fiction".  It was Emma (certainly not your typical type of romantic fiction), and although I tried to get to know our heroine, you must admit, she isn't really all that "likeable" at first.  Several times throughout my teen years, I attempted to plough through it, but I would get bogged down by all the gossip and tea times and long walks.  I couldn't really see the point of it all, and as I wasn't fond of the main character, there was nothing to keep me going.  Fast forward to me in college.  I was taking a course called a Survey of English Literature (or something like that).  It was just a simple introduction to a huge range of classic literature taught by a not unhandsome man of a certain age with a dreamy English accent!  I am not so sure I would have had such a perfect attendance record for those 8:00 am classes had they been taught by someone else!  So when he posted a list of authors we had to pick from to do a book review and I noticed Austen's name there, I figured it was a good opportunity to finally read Emma from cover to cover!

My favourite adaptation of Emma

So at last I finished it, and lo and behold, I liked it!  Once I got past the reason for all the gossip, I could see that the plot was as tight as any Agatha Christie mystery!  I must admit I was pleased when Emma got her comeuppance delivered most nobley by the heroic Mr. Knightly. That was probably the turning point for me, after that scene I was truly hooked.

The perfect P&P pairing

Years later when I saw the wonderful miniseries with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle on television I knew I had to read Pride and Prejudice. Not long after, we decided to purchase our first home computer.  I had heard of the Gutenberg project so I looked up what books were available to read online.  I probably tried to read a couple of books that way, but it was rather uncomfortable to sit too long at the computer, so I didn't get very far.  Then I saw Pride and Prejudice listed and noted that the chapter lengths were rather short.  So I thought that it would be a good idea to read just a couple of chapters in a sitting, then get up and do something else, and return to it later.  Turns out, it was so engrossing that I had no trouble reading more than a couple of chapters at one sitting.

The story enthralled, entertained and enchanted me from beginning to end.  I think that had Miss Austen written none other than this one book, she would still be as famous as she is today.  It is a perfect jewel of a book, polished to perfection.  Each word is well chosen and serves its purpose perfectly.  After that experience I headed to our local public library and was overjoyed to find that their collection contained most of Austen's works.  I discovered that even though I truly enjoyed Sense and Sensibility, followed closely by Persuasion -- it was still Pride and Prejudice that I returned to over and over again.  Perhaps it was because I came from an all-girl family with a long suffering father that I related to it so well?

Whatever the reason, I am very glad I finally did succumb to the pleasures of Jane Austen's universe. If I could sum up my reading experience with Miss Austen I would have to say...

“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” Jane Austen, Pride And Prejudice

This isn't the first time I've written about my interest in Jane Austen's works. 
See this previous post about my trip to Bath, UK, where I seek out 
the Jane Austen Center despite all odds!

It's your move

My Dad taught me how to play chess.  I'm not sure how or when he learned how to play, but we did have a copy of Bobby Fischer's book which he referred to quite often.  So I am thinking that the chess craze begun by Fischer's popularity as a chess god in the 1970s probably led to his renewed interest.

Not long ago I noticed this documentary on Netflix and I was immediately interested.

It didn't disappoint.  I was riveted from beginning to end, watching how this genius of logic and strategy became the most celebrated chess player on the globe for a brief shining moment and then self-destructed like a time bomb.  This biopic is a personality study of Fischer's mind over the matter of his behavior.  It not only answers the question I had - whatever happened to Bobby Fischer?, but it puts his story directly in the context of the historical times and what real impact that had on his life.



Not long after viewing that documentary I came across this subtitled French film on Netfix called Queen to Play, and it was completely charming!  It's about a quiet, unassuming woman (beautifully played by Sandrine Bonnaire) working as a maid in a picturesque village who witnesses a sensual couple enjoying a chess game and decides she wants to learn to play.  When her husband shows no interest in playing, she finds a tutor (played by Kevin Kline) and soon develops into a very skillful player.  Her talent for chess gives her the confidence to improve herself in other ways which has repercussions for her whole family.

Queen to Play (2009)

This next screencap is from the movie Cairo Time which I just watched the other day on Netflix.  It is such a beautiful film, I am going to have to give it some more blog love soon.  It doesn't really have anything to do with chess, other than the male lead, played by the excellent Alexander Siddig likes to play the game in his coffeehouse.

It would be difficult to concentrate while playing such a romantically handsome man.

The movie Two Weeks Notice features an amusing conversation about women between Hugh Grant's character and his chauffeur while playing chess. As I was unable to embed it, you can watch the clip Here.

Dorian Missick as Tony the chauffeur explains his theory

While it had never occurred to me to play this next particular variation of the game, I will admit it could make things very interesting with the right partner. This just might qualify as one of the most awkwardly uncomfortable scenes ever (for good reason).

Two Weeks Notice (2002)

This next scene has got to be the sexiest chess game on film!

Scene from original movie The Thomas Crowne Affair (1968)
with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway

The scene following this one is even hotter. You can click on it at the end of this video if you dare!

I am pretty sure this next scene is why so many young students at our elementary school became interested in this ancient game.

The Harry Potter gang plays chess.

I love the '70s Rock group Kansas but I wasn't aware of this song until Cassia deWarren posted it on Facebook:

Play the Game Tonight / Kansas

Well, I had no idea that this next song was from a concept album which lead to the 1986 musical by Tim Rice and the male members of ABBA aptly entitled Chess . I kind of lost touch with the music scene sometime after Boy George and The Culture Club appeared on the scene. I remember hearing this song but as this was the year my first child was born I was much more immersed in baby culture than anything else!

One Night in Bangkok / Murray Head (1986)

The Arbiter is another song from this musical.  How nice that potomusicfan4ever made a fanvid which highlights the Sheriff of Nottingham from the BBC's Robin Hood.  Of course you will also see Robin Hood, Marian and my personal favourite - Guy of Gisborne!

Yes, that wicked Sheriff of Nottingham played poor Guy of Gisborne like a pawn.

But what a wonderful pawn he was!

Awhile ago, when I was still researching this post, Judiang's blog, Confessions of a Watcher had a "Surreal Saturday" post on chess with an interesting video by a fun vidder she got me hooked on, by the name of DeStorm.  If you haven't already read it, her post is definitely worth checking out.  We bloggers definitely have a lot more in common than just a certain actor with the initials RA.

There is no end to styles of chess pieces and boards, but this is one I would love to own!

Chess pieces modeled after the Robin Hood legend

When I began writing this post this next item was news.  Although I may be repeating some information previously published in others' blog posts, I would be remiss in not mentioning this exciting book!

This debut historical fiction is by Australian fantasy author Prue Batten.

Prue Batten of Mesmered's Blog has a new book about GoG which has been released in Ebook format and is almost ready for paperback publication. The title is Gisborne: Book of Pawns. It is a total departure from canon as there is no Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood or Maid Marian!  I enjoyed this portrayal of Guy of Gisborne which follows closely what fans of Richard Armitage have come to believe as his true character.

It's been available as an e-book since the first week of March 2012 when I downloaded it from Chapters/Indigo for my Kobo Ereader, it is also available as a Kindle Ebook from Amazon.com.  I can't wait until it is released in book format.

Here is a review by Maria Grazia of Fly High!

I also am eagerly awaiting a sequel! Have you seen any of these movies?  Do you play chess?   Have you read Prue's book yet?

Rummage for Richard!

There's been another of those rare sightings of Richard Armitage thanks to Peter Jackson's video blogs via Facebook. Here is his 7th installment.  If you are not a fan of The Hobbit or are too impatient to watch 14 minutes of video for those rare seconds of Armitage spotting then you will be very grateful to Ali at Richard Armitage Net for her speedy screen caps. Click here to see them. Why not leave her a little comment in the Guest Book?

Here are some of my favourites:

Richard being HOT

 

Richard being COOL

Richard lighting up a room

There has been much discussion in the RA fandom about Richard Armitage's lack of availability since he began work in New Zealand.  The only work project he has been in since his ignoble demise in Spooks series 9 was in the sequel to Strike Back where his character was reintroduced only in order to assassinate him!  There were a couple of photo shoots and some voice work and commercials since then but most fans have been complaining of the drought. Still other fans have been losing interest or jumping ship altogether!

I appreciate the effort that the fan known as ArmitageWatch and her friends have done recently to keep us all engaged.  The Global Watch of North and South last weekend was well planned and went off without any trouble.  There are plans to continue this weekend with Robin Hood and Spooks. See the calendar here.

We can't be blamed for thinking Richard might be hiding from us a bit.  In fact, it's been noticed from the beginning.  If I hadn't circled him, finding RA in this Hobbit group photo can be almost as hard as finding Waldo.

In fact this next video, in which someone impersonating Werner Herzog does an amazing job of narrating the Where's Waldo? picture book, reminds me very much of the whole "where is Armitage?"controversy.

If you are the competitive type and want another challenge,
you should really try the game Tanni Tani created for his birthday.
You click on him every time he pops up and he gets a kiss!  Click here to play!

What do you think?  Is RA purposely playing hard to get?  Does he need his time to stay "in character" as Thorin and find it hard to be himself?  Is he just being his shy self?

LibRAry Comix

Things I shouldn't be doing when the library software is down...

Any other caption ideas?  I'd love to hear them!  

Perhaps this could be a regular feature?

In a Nutshell

Hearing of the death of Maurice Sendak yesterday brought me back to being 6 years old and reading his Nutshell Library collection of books at our local library.  They were perfect sized books for little hands. They were cleverly written with amusing language and charming illustrations.  They were probably the first books I ever signed out of the library.  My favourite of the four book set was Chicken Soup With Rice.  But what I didn't know (until today) was that it became part of a musical with the words sung by Carole King!

His most famous picture book was Where the Wild Things Are.  Although I should have known it as a child, I didn't really connect with it until I was old enough to babysit.  I decided my nephew needed to have his own copy and so I happily presented him with it when he was around 4 years old.  It was one of the bedtime stories that I didn't need any prodding to read to him.  When my own son was born, this book was a necessity for our home library.

I have seen the magic of this book happen for other young children (particularly rambunctious boys) in my work as an elementary school librarian.  More than once, there has been a certain Kindergarten aged boy who for some reason has not yet discovered the joy of a good book.  I bide my time, and when I decide the time is right, then I read that class Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.  I have witnessed the moment of transformation, like a wonderstruck epiphany where I imagine the child is thinking, 'Hey! This book is about ME!' And after that introduction to the world of great literature, that child is the first one sitting on the carpet, with eyes and ears ready for another great story.

I am privileged to have the opportunity to share the great talent of Maurice Sendak with my school community.  Let the Rumpus never end!

Owl's well that ends well

An award winning picture book.
Have it read to you on Youtube!

Who? Close as darkness.

Who? Whose cold voices
trembling in the trees?

The owls are calling.
Ice in their voices.
Moon in their glittering eyes.

Cocooned in dreams
my sleep troubled
by the owl's calling

till the black throat
of the early cock splits
night for the furious sun

to spring up singing.

     PAUL COLTMAN

My daughter showed me this freaky owl awhile back and I have been saving it to share with you now.  I am not sure it is for real. Make sure you watch until the end, for the most surprising transformation!

 Transforming Owl

Fellow Richard Armitage fan Ana Cris also mentions a certain type of owl in her post called: I'm Not Going Out There on her new blog La Loba :A jornada de uma alma (Wolf Woman: A soul's journey). She posts twice - first in English and next in her own language of Portugese. I was introduced to Ana Cris where she is a frequent commenter over at Servetus's blog, Me + Richard Armitage. It is lovely to meet RA fans from all over the world -- Ana Cris is from Brazil!

One of the most famous bird artists would have to be John James Audubon (1785-1851)

Canadian naturalist painter Robert Bateman is famous for his realistic depiction 

of animals in their native habitat.

Native Canadian artists paint in a style known as Woodland.  I like this Anishanabee artist's depiction of an owl. This artwork by Robert Kakegamic can be found in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Wahsa Gallery.

 
  Here is an awesome website of arts and crafts and wonderful things all to do with owls!
http://www.myowlbarn.com/



 Probably Canada's most famous owl of all, wasn't a real owl, or even what he appeared to be. The man known as Grey Owl (1888-1938) was thought (by white society) to be of First Nations origin.  He was actually born Archibald Belaney in England and dreamed of coming to Canada since he was very young to live his life as a native person.  He finally arrived in Canada in 1906. He lived with the Ojibway peoples in Quebec and Ontario and learned much from them.
After several failed relationships he met a young woman who had a huge influence on him. Named Anahareo, she was of Mohawk and Iroquois descent and much younger than he was when they married  She persuaded him to give up trapping for a living and instead write about his experiences.  Grey Owl's writing had a huge influence on the conservation movement.  His log cabin home where he lived while writing is a historic site in  Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan.

Born Archie Belaney, known as Grey Owl

A movie was made in 1999 starring Pierce Brosnan. Although it was quite factual, I couldn't quite believe Brosnan in the role as he was just a bit too movie star beautiful to seem real.

If the movie is ever remade, I would vote Richard Armitage for the role!  He is a better character actor and can easily transform himself (like that owl!) to fit into any role!

Do you see the resemblance?

 
  








Owl and the Pussycat is a very famous nonsense poem by Edward Lear, published in 1871.  Beatrix Potter was fascinated with Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat and even did her own illustration of the poem which is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. Click here to see it.

 This title was also used for a movie made in 1970 starring Barbra Streisand and George Segal.  This one is definitely not for the kids! It's pretty racy and very dated but it looks like it would be good for a chuckle.  Here is a trailer:

Guardians of Ga'hoole is a series of children's books written by Katherine Lasky. It is a fantasy adventure about a group of owls who are on a quest for justice and must escape danger from the evil usurpers of the kingdom. Zack Snyder made the first three books into a movie last year.  I hope you enjoy this preview which highlights a song by Owl City.

Take to the Sky / by Owl City from the movie Legend of the Guardians (2010)

Here are a couple of cartoon owls from Disney movies you will probably remember:

Winnie the Pooh's Owl

Archimedes from Disney's The Sword in the Stone

 

When I was in Leeds, UK last summer I was fascinated by all the gorgeous owl statues everywhere I looked in the middle of the city! I took lots of pictures as it seemed very unusual to have a city mascot (especially of an owl).  According to Wikipedia, the owl symbol is part of the city's coat of arms, established in 1666.

This one shows 3 silver owls which are attributed to the coat of arms of Leeds' first city alderman Sir John Saville. The sheep in the center symbolizes Leeds' history as a center for the wool trade. This coat of arms has not been used since 1921, as it has been replaced by a newer design.

 I enjoyed my visit to Leeds and would love to return some day.



 
 
In the Harry Potter universe O.W. L. stands for Ordinary Wizarding Level and it is type of test or examination which must be passed in order to become a wizard.

Owls play an important role in the Harry Potter series of books by J.K. Rowling. They are the messengers and every wizard must have one!

Hedwig the Snowy Owl from the Harry Potter movie series

Now here is a wizard who performs magic nearly on a daily basis for me!  

I have him in costume for Halloween, so perhaps he is not quite as attractive as usual. 

But at least he looks better than his sidekick! Can you tell whooo that is?

  
Happy Halloween to OWL of you!

Hot potato!

I heard from a tweet awhile ago by Sinjoor that Kenneth Branagh will be producing a movie version of this wonderful book by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society captivated me from beginning to end.  I love historical fiction, the time period of World War II, all things British, humour, books, heroes, tender moments and this book has it all and then some!

I borrowed it from a friend at work because she was gushing about it in the Staff Room one day. I kept it for so long because I loved it so much and I just knew I'd end up blogging about it.  So I had to keep it "for research purposes".  I knew the owner had asked me to pick her up some Hawaiian coffee when I was in Hawaii on the March Break.  So I wondered if she would accept a trade? -- The coffee for the book!  It wasn't an easy decision for her (she obviously loved the book too) so she mulled it over at home for a night.  The next day she told me it was a deal -- and so I had my book!

Why was I so attached to this book?  Here is part of the reason:

The story, which takes place after the end of World War II is told in a series of letters. A writer named Juliet Ashton who became famous during the war for her humor column, decides she is tired of that syle of writing.  Then she receives a letter from an unknown man from the island of Guernsey named Dawsey Adams who has found a book of essays by Charles Lamb which used to belong to her.  When she answers him back, they begin a correspondence which also includes many other acquaintances of Dawsey's. The letter writing results in her wanting to visit the  island (which had been occupied by the Nazis during the war) to interview residents about their experiences and the bond which was forged between them by their love of reading as an escape from the harshness of wartime reality.

The plot is explained much better by one of the authors, in this video:

 

Here is the other reason I loved this book.  I envisioned the main male character as a perfect movie role for Richard Armitage. I am not the only person who feels this way.  Yesterday Maria Grazia who also reviewed this book on her blog Fly High! alerted her Facebook friends to a Facebook page called Richard Armitage for Dawsey Adams Campaign  It is trying to persuade people that Richard Armitage should play Dawsey Adams in the movie adaptation of the book.  According to Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) the film is due out in 2013.  I hope there is time for Mr. Armitage to conclude his part in the The Hobbit movie in order to be available for filming this movie.

Although I could picture Richard Armitage right away as I got to know the character of Dawsey Adams, it was when he appeared wearing this hat that I was absolutely convinced he would look the part in a movie role.

 

His gentlemanly manners and shy demeanor in real-life are similar to Dawsey.

Signing autographs.. or writing a letter to Juliet?

This cap seems like a fashion from the 1940s.

Have you read this book?  If so, who else would you want to cast in this movie for the role of Dawsey or Juliet or any of the other roles?  Here is a website where you can make your suggestions. Or write me a comment below.

Warm fuzzies

So many people have had bad things happen to them, and when I hear these things I feel the need to comfort them in some way, but it is difficult to know what to say.  I know for myself, if I am having a bad day, it helps to talk about it, so venting on a blog is another useful tool when there is no one else around to talk to.  If one of my blogger friends has had something rather traumatic happen to them, and I haven't commented, it isn't that I haven't been thinking about them, but somehow what I want to say just doesn't seem ... profound or useful in any way.  What I would really like to do is give them a big, warm hug!  But when far away, or when words are not enough, in my family we have developed a code word that says it all.  Before I tell you that word, let me precede that with the background story.

I may have said this somewhere before, but I am known for being very emotional -- I just can't keep it in, whatever the emotion I am feeling.  Usually it is laughter (I am very lucky!), but sometimes it is sadness, and believe me I can cry at the drop of a hat.  Well, not literally of course, what's so sad about dropping a hat, after all?... but I digress.  Even a commercial can make me sappy!  So when I watch a sad movie, there had better be a lot of kleenex handy! (I know I should say tissues ... oh, nevermind!)

So... when we were newlyweds, my husband, not being used to my waterworks, would get very upset when I started bawling during a movie.  He would get up and start pacing and start asking me silly questions or something.  I can't remember exactly what it was he would do, but it would usually end up with him being upset with me and me crying harder!   Finally, after this happened a few times, I explained to him that actually I was enjoying the movie, and the fact that I was crying didn't mean there was anything wrong with me.  If he wanted to help, he could put his arm around me or just hand me the kleenex box!  Well, after a while it got so he thought I was pretty funny, and he would end up tossing the kleenex box at me with a smirk on his face!  Well, at least we understood each other! :)

by ~the-jc-monster

A few years later, when we had children, I would read them a bedtime story and since we were very fond of Dr. Seuss, often it was his ABC book.  At the end of that book was a very strange creature called The Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz.  I guess this imaginary critter can be very scary to young children especially just before going to sleep, so there was a lot of discussion about this drawing.  I remember trying to make it seem more friendly, so I said something like, it would scare away bad dreams with a magic word which was "Zah-Zuzz!"  This explanation seemed to satisfy them.  Then the word became useful to show sympathy to someone. "Aww! Does your boo-boo hurt? Zah-Zuzz!", said in a comforting voice.

Fast forward a few years and there's me with my husband again.  I was telling him my problems, after a bad day at work (or something).  There he goes getting all upset again, and giving me all kinds of unnecessary advice, that just ended up making me feel annoyed and then pretty soon we'd be arguing!  So I figured out I should tell him, it was okay really, that I just needed to vent, and he didn't have to feel like he had to solve my problems.  Perhaps I just needed a "Zah-Zuzz"? So he filed that piece of information away.  Then the next time I started ranting about my work issues, when I was finally done and took a breath, my husband looked at me with a very sad and forlorn look and said, "Awww! Zah-Zuzz".  Well, it just broke me up and I started laughing so hard, and so did he and suddenly it was the best day ever!

So here's to everyone out there who is going through some bad times... I can't really help you, but I hear you and I do care, so here you go....
Zah-Zuzz!

This song isn't exactly what I was talking about, but the silly lyrics themselves and the upbeat rhythm might cheer up someone with the blues.
 Zaz Zuh Zaz / Cab Calloway

This is one of my favourite songs that never fails to make me feel better.  The Kinks are always a lot of fun and even when serious they are still very upbeat.

Dr. Seuss has a lot a good sayings that could possibly make someone feel better.  They don't call him "Dr." for nothing!  Here are a few I like:

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

Well, nothing makes a Richard Armitage fan feel better than ogling another picture of the wonderful man himself.  A little "Armitage Therapy" anyone? 

Here is Dr. Alec Track from The Golden Hour to the rescue.

What's that?  A phone call for me?

You're hurt? I'll be right there!

I'm on my way!

Now let's have a look here!

Well, it's just what I thought.... the worst case of Armitagemania I've ever seen!