It's Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. For this meme, bloggers post what they finished last week, what they're currently reading, and what they plan to start this week.
My comments are not meant to be recaps of the story lines as I include a link to Goodreads for their synopsis of the book. I am merely stating how I felt about the book without giving any spoilers.
I'm also linking the second book to An Accidental Blog. as it has many mentions of Paris. My reads this week are all very different from each other. 46 COMPLETED READS TO DATE!
1 ABANDONED
1 not finished as it expired so I will have to borrow it again. The Nightmare
When Eve Petworth writes to Jackson Cooper to praise a scene in one of his books, they discover a mutual love of cookery and food. Their friendship blossoms against the backdrop of Jackson's colorful, but ultimately unsatisfying, love-life and Eve's tense relationship with her soon-to-be married daughter. As each of them offers, from behind the veils of semi-anonymity and distance, wise and increasingly affectionate counsel to the other, they both begin to confront their problems and plan a celebratory meeting in Paris--a meeting that Eve fears can never happen.
Not my typical reading selection. But, hey, England and Paris? Lightweight reading but enjoyable if you are a foodie. The two main characters are "penpals" and discuss their lives through recipes. it's a comfortable read with lovely writing. A favourite sentence: "Everything needs editing. Everything: biographies, closets, address books, friendships, fiction, life."
STARTED:
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
The Old Burying Ground, one of Beaufort's most interesting historic sites, is located along the quaint 400 block of Ann Street, just one block from the waterfront. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and one of the oldest cemeteries in North Carolina, the Old Burying Ground is the final resting place for soldiers who died during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Other gravesites reflect Beaufort's storied past of broken hearts, lost children and early coastal life.
Methodist Church Adjacent to the Old Burying Ground
Visitors frequently leave small gifts and trinkets at the unusual gravesite of the little girl buried in a barrel of rum. According to the legend, a young girl traveled to England with her father who promised the child's mother to return her safely home. Sadly, on the return journey, the young girl died at sea. Desperately wanting to keep his promise to return home with his daughter, the girl's father purchased a barrel of rum from the ship's captain. He placed his daughter's lifeless body in the barrel of rum and returned her to Beaufort for burial at home.
Here's a new fun meme to join! You'll Shoot Your Eye Out rules are: 1. Would be kinda cool if you would link back to my blog somewhere...ANYWHERE 2. Would be kinda cool if you "followed" me. Not to the bathroom or anything creepy...just here in blog-land. 3. Please link up using your permalink URL. 4. Photos MAY or MAY NOT be recently taken. Heck, sometimes you might see a song title and think "I ALREADY have an amaaaaaaazing photograph for that song title!" No reason you shouldn't use it. Amazing is amazing regardless of when it's taken, right? 5. Would be kinda cool if you'd visit some of the other participants and leave a kind word or two. I'm from Philly, and you KNOW we have a rep for being the kindest and friendliest peeps in the world :) 6. You may have one photo, or drop a photo bomb of photos in your link up post. Just please make sure your photo(s) are an interpretation of the song title for the week. 7. Link-up will be available beginning Sunday mornings. 8. Tell lots, and LOTS of your blogging friends so I don't feel like I'm sitting at the school lunch table all by myself on Sunday morning. I don't want to be a "Lonesome Loser" and have to post a photo about it.Got it? Sunday, link up, song titles, photographs that are interpretations, a mash up I'm calling Song-ography, be there...YO.
For this week's challenge I am sharing our love (of each other and) of travel through photos of ourselves. It also made me realize I haven't done any scrapping in a while!
"All You Need Is Love"
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy
Nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time
It's easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
All you need is love (All together, now!)
All you need is love (Everybody!)
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Yee-hai! (Love is all you need)
Love is all you need (Love is all you need)
Brick Kids - Life is an Open Book The Brick Association of the Carolinas commissioned this sculpture honoring the AIA (American Institute of Architects) of both North and South Carolina. In keeping with the literary theme of The Green sculpture garden, "Life Is An Open Book" by Brad Spencer shows brick children climbing an open brick book.
Ah, I remember it well. Get out your smart threads, polish up your brogues, stand around that imposing jukebox and spin those old favourites : "Summer Holiday", "V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N", or maybe "Viva Espana". Yes, it can only mean one thing : I am about to go on holiday again. But, worry not, who is looking after things whilst I am away but my fellow administrator - Marilyn. And the theme image Marilyn has chosen for Sepia Saturday 225 (post your posts on or around Saturday 26 April 2014) shows a group of smart young things stood around a jukebox. If you are theming this week there are endless possibilities - jukeboxes, music, the 1950s are just a few suggestions. All you have to do is to post your post, link your link, and visit your sepia friends. Easy-peasy ...... itsy-bitsy, yellow polka-dot bikini (control yourself, Alan) But before you pack your bag and fly off to Spain (oh, no, that's me isn't it!), here is a preview of what is in store over the next week or two.
I'm going with a travel theme. The man on the left is my grand uncle Alec Brennan and his wife Nora Sweetman is on the right. This would be in the 1950s and they are on a vacation from Dublin to the Isle of Man. The couple with them are the Stewarts as was written on the back of the photo.