March 8, 2018

A Month in Summary - February 2018

Little Whale Cove
Depoe Bay, Oregon
February 2018


Last month's summary seemed to be a big hit since I didn't just talk about the book I read, but I also included the shows & movies we watched, plus the puzzles we worked on. I've decided to continue with that format again this month. Hopefully, it won't be too long. It rained a lot in February, so we watched a lot of shows in the evening!

Books Read in February:

Promise Me, Dad by Joe Biden

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

News of the World by Paulette Jiles (second reading)

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

The Force of Nature by Jane Harper


First Lines:

The days were getting shorter, so the light in the sky had started to fall away when the gate to our temporary home swung open and our motorcade edged beyond the fencing that surrounded the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. (Promise Me, Dad)

Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the alter of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Goleen, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore. (The Heart's Invisible Furies)

I stand in the doorway of the twins' room and watch them sleep, peaceful and innocent, through crib slats that remind me of bars on a prison cell. (Need to Know)

Captain Kidd laid out the Boston Morning Journal on the lectern and began to read from the article on the Fifteenth Amendment. He had been born in 1798 and the third war of his lifetime had ended five years ago and he hoped never to see another but now the news of the world aged him more than time itself. (News of the World)

At Windsor it was the evening of the state banquet and as the president of France took his place beside Her Majesty, the royal family formed up behind and the procession slowly moved off and through into the Waterloo Chamber. (The Uncommon Reader)

Later, the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you. (The Force of Nature)


Movies & TV Series:


Broadchurch - We finished Season 3, which I thought was anti-climatic. Of all three seasons, the first was the best and now there's no more to come. I'm so sad. I miss this great duo, so I may have to watch the whole thing all over again. 


I'm not sure I'm ready to see David Tennant return as Kilgrave in the new season of Jessica Jones. Kilgrave is one creepy dude!


Endeavor - Once we finished Broadchurch, we moved on to more of Endeavor (Seasons 2, 3 and part of 4). This is a great show, but at times, I can't even keep up with the subtitles (we always enable them for British shows - ok, who am I kidding, we use them for everything!). The dialogue moves very quickly and as the episode wraps up, it feels rather convoluted and somewhat contrived. Still, great acting and very entertaining.


Vera - I've started watching Vera with my mom (who is watching it for the second time) and have only seen Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2. I like the fact that Vera is frumpy and enjoys her whiskey, but she is pretty coarse and loud. My husband, who was upstairs in the loft working on an editing project, asked what all yelling was about. I told him that's just Vera. ;) I'm not hooked yet, so maybe I'll try some of the books (by Ann Cleaves) before I watch any more. It may just be one of those series that takes a little time getting in the groove of the main characters.


Goodbye, Christopher Robin - We all watched this movie and thought it very good. I found it fascinating to learn how the Winnie-the-Pooh books came to be and how it affected Milne's young son. I think it would be fun to read the books again as an adult. I'm sure I read The House at Pooh Corner to my daughter, but that was almost 30 years ago!


Wonder - What can I say. This is a fantastic book, which I wrote about here. The movie was equally as impressive, although it came across more as a "feel-good" movie than R.J. Palacio's powerful book, written for young readers, but loved by all generations across the world. I was a little surprised that Auggie's appearance in the movie didn't reflect what I pictured after reading the book, finding his disfigurement not as severe as the author depicted. Overall, the movie was both informative and entertaining, but read the book. It's much better!



Victoria & Abdul - What a delightful film. I love Judi Dench in everything I've seen her in and she was a perfect queen! I don't know much about Queen Victoria and after reading this article from Vanity Fair, I'm interested in reading more about her life in the palace. 


Dead Again - Hmmm. Emma Thompson is another favorite actress of mine, so when my mom rented this dvd, I was eager to watch it. I liked it, but thought it was bizarre and melodramatic. 


Darkest Hour - Gary Oldman was outstanding as Churchill, but we have also recently watched Dunkirk and Churchill, so this latest film was not quite as riveting as I had hoped for. 


Coming Soon!!:



I just watched the trailer for this movie and can not wait to see it!! There is no U.S. release date, so I think I might have time to reread the book and refresh my memory. It has been a decade (!!) since I last read it.



And then there's this, which I know nothing about, but it looks wonderful! Oh, wait. I read this book (by Penelope Fitzgerald) many years ago and as I recall, I didn't care for it. But the movie looks quite good.

Puzzlemania:






A dear friend of mine sent me this puzzle and at first glance, I was pretty sure it would prove to be impossible! None of the pieces are "traditional" in the sense of any puzzle I have ever worked on. It doesn't have 500 pieces or 1,000 pieces, but rather 527 pieces! Even assembling the edges, which is usually a task I'm eager to finish first, was a major feat. We swore (as we always do) that there must be several pieces missing--or on the floor--or hidden by my husband! But in the end, they were all there and this wound up to be one of my favorites and I'm eager to try another like it. This particular puzzle is Interior of the Pantheon, Giovanni Paolo Panini by Liberty Puzzles (Classic Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles). The pieces are cut out of thick wood and there are dozens of shapes resembling people and objects. What fun!


Once we finished that puzzle, we were sure this one would be easy. Ha! I don't remember how long it took, but we struggled!


We ended the month with a dusting of snow. The nighttime temps dropped down in the high 20s, so we cancelled our week-long camping trip to Brookings. Fingers crossed that the weather continues to warm up through March, as we're planning a three-week-long road trip to Northern California at the end of the month.

14 comments:

  1. Sharon5:24 AM

    I enjoyed reading your post. I have not read any of your books but put several on my list to check out at the library.
    Your puzzle with the different shapes looks very challenging. We usually do 1000 piece puzzles with traditional shapes. Our last one was from Ceaco's Coming to Life Series-Savannah. Not particularly hard but I liked the picture and it was fun.
    Like you, I thought the first season of Broadchurch was the best. We watched Vera for a while and liked it but then for some reason moved on. While I've watched all the Endeavors I find them hit or miss and would be okay if there wasn't another season. Have you ever watched Brokenwood? It is from New Zealand and we love it.
    We have both the Christopher Robin and The Darkest Hour movies from Netflix for the weekend. Victoria and Abdul was wonderful.
    I thought The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society was a terrific book. The trailer seems like the movie will do it justice. Wonder when The Bookshop will be released.
    Safe travels on your trip this month. Hope the weather holds out for you. Winter seems to not be ready to let go in Central Ohio where I live.

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    1. Sharon, thanks for you wonderful comment! That's what I love about blogging - the conversations between readers, travelers, and friends (old & new). I googled your puzzle and it's beautiful. Looks pretty challenging to me! Thanks for the recommendation for Brokenwood. I've added it to my list!

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  2. I loved Wonder too. Goodbye Christopher Robin is new to me but I think I would like it as well.

    A good friend of mine loves Liberty puzzles but I've never worked one.

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    1. Kathy - If you like puzzles, I think you'd really enjoy trying a Liberty puzzle. It's a little strange at first, but then you get the hang of it, searching for the shapes rather than the images.

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  3. This is a great feature and I hope you continue it. It was fun. First of all, you did know that it rains in Oregon for months on end, right? Ha! Just teasing! LOL

    OK, after watching that trailer of the Guernsey book, I must reread it. I loved that book and the movie looks wonderful. I remember the movie Dead Again - found it very creepy and liked it a lot. Think it was made when Emma and Kenneth were still married. Of course, now she's married to that really cute guy who played Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility. I'm still reading or rather listening to the Vera books. I want to try to read all of them before watching the TV adaptations. And do this before the end of April. I'm moving right along in the series. Love the little snow shot. It didn't snow much while we lived in Portland, but some.

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    1. Kay - I plan to continue this feature since it's a lot of fun to put together and I love the chatty comments. :) Ah, yes. I kind of figured it would rain a lot here. ;) We got lucky when we moved since we were at the end of the season and really didn't get much until fall. Now we know! I plan to reread Guernsey again, too. It was such a wonderful book. Yes, Dead Again was creepy, but a bit melodramatic. I think Portland has gotten a lot more snow over the years since you left. I have a friend in Beaverton and it seems like she's always posting snowy picture every winter.

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  4. I have Wonder, but haven't read it yet. I heard that Darkest Hour had inaccuracies. I'm funny about historical books or movies. I'd rather watch a documentary. I would watch Bill Nighy in anything. Even movies I haven't liked are brightened by his presence. I almost don't think I can watch the Guernsey movie. The book was so, so perfect. I like Emma, and her sister Sophie. But I love their mother Phyllida Law. Vera - well, I watch every episode, but it isn't a show I ever watch over again. I like her, and I don't like her. I think some of the shows are fairly good, but I am not wowed by it. Endeavour, I do like, but I love Lewis the very best, and then I love Morse. E. comes in third. These are indeed fun posts!

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    1. Nan - I think you (and maybe Margaret) will enjoy Wonder. Darkest Hour was ok, but I liked Churchill better. We like Bill Nighy, too. He does have a sunny dispostion in his films, doesn't he? As I told Kay, I plan to reread the Guernsey book. I can't believe it's been a decade since it was published. Yes, I like Vera and I don't like Vera. Why is that?? We'll watch Lewis and Morse after we're finished with Endeavour. I'm so glad you enjoy these posts. They're a lot of fun for me, too!

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  5. For such a short month, you really read, watched, and overall enjoyed a lot! I'm excited for the Guernsey movie! I loved the book! And I think I'd love the Christopher Robin movie because I was raised on Winnie the Pooh! This was a fun post to read!

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    1. Robin, it was quite a full month! I should start including Bloggers Whom I Lunched With, too. :) We'll have to remember to get a photo next time! I rarely ever go to the theater to watch a movie, but the Guernsey one might tempt me. Maybe we can plan a visit to your area and go together! You'll have to rent the Christopher Robin movie. I'm certain you'd enjoy it. So glad you enjoyed this post. Lots of fun to keep track of what I did and write up the summary.

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  6. You did SO much more reading, viewing, and puzzling than I did last month... of course, we had record warmth and next to no rain! ;-)

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    1. JoAnn - It was a great month of a variety of activities! Next month will be full of travel, so I'll have more travel essays to share and probably less about books. I'm a little envious of your warm weather. Maybe I can talk Rod into a road trip to Florida one of these years!

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  7. I love those puzzle pieces! I'm sitting here thinking I could use them for some of my crafty projects! haha... Wasn't Broadchurch amazing. So sad it's over. We've started a new crime show but still too early to tell if I'm really into it.

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    1. Iliana - That puzzle was so much fun and so interesting! They would be great for your crafty projects, but one puzzle is quite expensive. I'm lucky that a friend sent this one to me to borrow. Not sure I'll be buying a bunch of them anytime soon. Yes, it's very sad that Broadchurch is over. I still think I'll watch the first season again someday. Let me know about the new crime show you're watching, if it turns out to be a winner.

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