Top Ten Tuesday November 30: Bookish Memories

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Updates are now at That Artsy Reader Girl

November 30: Bookish Memories (Share stories of your reading life as a child, events you’ve gone to, books that made an impression on you, noteworthy experiences with books, authors you’ve met, etc. Reminisce with me!)

1) The Baby-sitters Club. My cousin and I would read the BSC books. It was like the first book club I joined. We also would play the board game and watch the TV series. I also remember seeing the movie in the theater with her and our siblings and our moms. It was my first fandom. 

2) The Scholastic Book Fair in grade school. I so looked forward to going to the gym where they set up the book fair, even though I couldn’t go crazy because I was on a budget my parents gave me. But it was ok because all year long we also had catalogue that they gave out in school. I have bins of books from those orders.

3) My 4th grade teacher was really encouraging about the importance of reading. I still have a book she gave me as a Christmas gift. The Bad Times of Irma Baumlein by Carol Ryrie Brink. I don’t remember anything about the book itself (I should read it again) but I do remember her thoughtfulness.

4) She’s Come Undone. I didn’t get to read much for fun when I was in college because I was so busy with school work. But I do remember reading She’s Come Undone because my friend recommended it. We were so obsessed we even came up with our casting choices and it was our fantasy to adapt it into a movie ourselves.

5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This came out when I was a senior in high school. I remember by two best friends read it but were being really secretive about it. Like they were excluding me on purpose to have their own private book club. And then they would have all these inside jokes about the book. Teenagers are so annoying and don’t make sense, LOL. Anyway, I managed to find out what book all their inside jokes came from and I went to the mall and got the book too. And then at Book Con 2017 I met Stephen Chbosky and he autographed my first edition. 🙂  

6) I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since I was in junior high school. When I was in the 8th grade I got into reading the Expanded Universe books and (somewhere) there is a photo of me on my 13th birthday reading one of the Jedi Academy Trilogy books by Kevin J. Anderson. It’s odd that I didn’t start with the The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn. It probably had to do with the fact that Jedi Academy Trilogy synopsis mentioned that Han and Leia had kids and I was a shipper so I wanted to know about their kids. Spoiler alert: the books barely mention their kids. Anyway, for some reason that I cannot remember, I didn’t continue reading the EU books until 2005-ish when Revenge of the Sith came out. I wish I had spent my youth reading them because I would have been caught up! It took years to read most of the EU books and I still never caught up. Oh well… 

7) Once a year my friend and I go on a book crawl. We go to the city and visit many different book sellers, most are independent. It’s a great way to spend the day with a book worm friend, give business to smaller sellers, and get some exercise walking the city. 

8) Meeting a favorite author Pierce Brown. I have met him a few times now so he remembers me when I approach him. Pierce has an easy going and charming personality. He’s so friendly and has a good sense of humor. He loves to talk to his fans. He makes eye contact with you (his eyes are gorgeous) and really gets into whatever you’re discussing.  

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 8 review

Aww, the season finale. Ok, here we go.

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 7 review

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 6 review

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 5 review

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 4 review

In the words of River Song, 

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 3 review

As always there are spoilers for the trilogy and the TV series.

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 2 review

What exciting news we got this week! Starting Sunday, April 7 at 9pm ET/PT A Discovery of Witches will air on AMC and BBCAmerica!  I’ll be watching again.

This week I am reviewing Episode 2. As always there are spoilers for the book trilogy and the TV series.

Witchy Wednesdays: A Discovery of Witches – Episode 1 review

I signed up for a 30 day free trial of Sundance Now to watch A Discovery of Witches. I have already seen and loved all 8 episodes and am now re-watching them with a closer eye and ear to write up reviews.

Overall I feel that making the book(s) into a TV series was smarter and more beneficial to the story than a two hour movie(s). It kept the tone and much of the core story intact. With only 8 episodes some details and favorite scenes were omitted to fit other important details and to expand the story outside of Diana’s first person POV. I read a rumor that the next season for book two is getting more episodes, which is great because it has some much more going on. I am hoping for 12 episodes, at least!

Realistically the only way you are getting every single favorite detail in is if you turn the books into a daily daytime soap opera. These are the Days of Our Witches. lol

Ok SO, this review has major spoilers for the TV series and the book.

Don’t say I did’t warn you.

Book review and book signing of Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness

From the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches, a novel about what it takes to become a vampire.

On the battlefields of the American Revolution, Matthew de Clermont meets Marcus MacNeil, a young surgeon from Massachusetts, during a moment of political awakening when it seems that the world is on the brink of a brighter future. When Matthew offers him a chance at immortality and a new life free from the restraints of his puritanical upbringing, Marcus seizes the opportunity to become a vampire. But his transformation is not an easy one and the ancient traditions and responsibilities of the de Clermont family clash with Marcus’s deeply held beliefs in liberty, equality, and brotherhood.

Fast-forward to contemporary Paris, where Phoebe Taylor—the young employee at Sotheby’s whom Marcus has fallen for—is about to embark on her own journey to immortality. Though the modernized version of the process at first seems uncomplicated, the couple discovers that the challenges facing a human who wishes to be a vampire are no less formidable than they were in the eighteenth century. The shadows that Marcus believed he’d escaped centuries ago may return to haunt them both—forever.

A passionate love story and a fascinating exploration of the power of tradition and the possibilities not just for change but for revolution, Time’s Convert channels the supernatural world-building and slow-burning romance that made the All Souls Trilogy instant bestsellers to illuminate a new and vital moment in history, and a love affair that will bridge centuries.

On September 24th I went to Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side to hear Deborah talk about Time’s Convert.

The main theme of Time’s Convert centers around parenting. The book is split into three stories: Diana and Matthew with their 18 month old twins, Marcus reminiscing about his early life, and Phoebe’s first 100 days as a vampire.

Phoebe’s chapter titles are numbered to tell how many days old she is as a newborn vampire. New born vampires have a faster development and each day represents a year.

The Bishop-de Clermont family have been through the wringer and need a break. So they get a summer vacation with no dire life or death situations.

Being a historian, Deborah was somehow going to weave history into her book. Diana can’t time walk in this story because she has too many responsibilities being a wife, mom, witch, and a professor with tenure, so Marcus reminisces about his life as a human and as a young vampire.

The story is also about kids rebelling, and Marcus is certainly a rebel having served in the American Revolution and being a fan of Thomas Paine. In contrast, his vampire father, Matthew, is from the Middle Ages, so they sometimes clash. Deborah has fun writing those moments.

Writing a story that took place during the American Revolution allowed Deborah to become a student again because her focus is the 16th century Europe.

Deborah said she wants to write more stories in the All Souls world like this, where it moves forward in time and we get to see how the twins grow but also incorporate elements of history. So it will be an ongoing series, instead of another trilogy where there is a beginning, middle and end.

Deborah writes long hand for her first draft. She writes in loops where she’ll write a scene or maybe just two lines of dialogue, then do some research and go down that route before returning to a scene. She was writing The Serpent’s Mirror about Matthew’s life with the Tudors, but then Matthew “stopped talking” and Marcus wouldn’t stop. And that is how we got this book first. She also is writing a story about Gallowglass.

She read a scene from Chapter 9 where Marcus meets Sarah Bishop during the American Revolution. She chose that scene because it was not considered a spoiler since it is mentioned in ADoW. (I liked that scene very much.)