Beach Trip

Beach Trip 

by Cathy Holton

"A reunion of four friends becomes a cathartic journey into the past in Cathy Holton’ s luminous new novel.

Mel, Sara, Annie, and Lola have traveled distinct and diverse paths since their years together at a small Southern liberal arts college during the early 1980s. Mel, a mystery writer living in New York, is grappling with the aftermath of two failed marriages and a stalled writing career. Sara, an Atlanta attorney, struggles with guilt over her son’s illness and her own slowly unraveling marriage. Annie, a successful Nashville businesswoman married to her childhood sweetheart, can’t seem to leave behind the regrets of her youth. And Lola, sweet-tempered and absentminded, whiles away her hours–and her husband’s money–on little pills that keep her happy.

Now the friends, all in their forties, converge on Lola’s lavish North Carolina beach house in an attempt to relive the carefree days of their college years. But as the week wears on and each woman’s hidden story is gradually revealed, these four friends learn that they must inevitably confront their shared past: a failed love affair, a discarded suitor, a betrayal, and a secret that threatens to change their bond, and their lives, forever.

Darkly comic and deeply poignant, Beach Trip is an unforgettable tale of lifelong friendship, heartbreak, and happiness."

 I was seaching for something different to read and I found this review: 

"Beach Trip would be a great beach/vacation read. It is full of heartaches, true loves, loyalty lost and found and the deep bonds of girlfriends!"

Maybe I'll try this one in my summer vacations.

 

Snow White

"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 (German: Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs").

Although the basics of the story still the same, there are lots of variations from other European traditions. 

  

Walt Disney version (based on Brothers Grimm) is a warm, full picture-book retelling of a classic Disney movie and one of the most popular ever produced. 

Recently, this story was adapted into 2 movies and one TV show: 

Mirror Mirror

Snow White and the Huntsma

Once upon a time

Now you just need to choose which one you want to see xD

Autumn scene

 Autumn scene

When I was young (8 years old), I learn to do cross-stitch (really simple things of course).
 

I always had the necessary patience to do this works and as I grew older I was increasing the degree of difficulty of the embroidery. 

I made this Autumn scene with 16 years.

Football player

Football player

I made this some years ago as a gift for a friend. What do you think?

Green Turtle

Green turtle

Made by me some days ago. Do you like it?

The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2)

by Philip Pullman

"Here is the highly anticipated second installment of Philip Pullman's epic fantasy trilogy, begun with the critically acclaimed The Golden Compass. Lyra and Will, her newfound friend, tumble separately into the strange tropical otherworld of Cittàgazze, "the city of magpies," where adults are curiously absent and children run wild. Here their lives become inextricably entwined when Lyra's alethiometer gives her a simple command: find Will's father. Their search is plagued with obstacles - some familiar and some horribly new and unfathomable - but it eventually brings them closer to Will's father and to the Subtle Knife, a deadly, magical, ancient tool that cuts windows between worlds. Through it all, Will and Lyra find themselves hurtling toward the center of a fierce battle against a force so awesome that leagues of mortals, witches, beasts, and spirits from every world are uniting in fear and anger against it. This breathtaking sequel will leave readers eager for the third and final volume of His Dark Materials."

The adventures of young Lyra continue, and now she's with Will, a 12-year-old boy from our world. I really loved this book when I first read it and I still love it now. I'm sad because the movie based on the first book wasn't what I expected and they didn't make the seconde after that. At least I have in my mind the world and the characters.

Random

I found this image in 9GAG today and I loved it. It's beautiful what we can do with a some imagination!

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

"Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life; indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was a succes de scandale. Early readers were shocked by its hints at unspeakable sins, and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895."

Last year I saw this movie: Dorian Gray and thought it was pretty cool.
Here is the movie trailer:

 

I think the book could be even better than the movie so maybe one day I'll read it.

A Storm of Swords

A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3)

by George R. R. Martin

"Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world...

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords..."

I loved A Storm of Swords! and I can say that this is my favourite of all (at least until now).

There are some many twists and turns in this book, some expected but others totally unexpected. I loved all the intrigue, betrayal, fighting that was going on. All that struggle for power, plotting to take each others land, castle, title, wife or kingdom...

The characters are so well written that I really feel like I know them. I even sympathized with some of the more evil ones like Jaime and Tyrion cause when you see the story from their side you can see they're not all bad. All these different points of view from all these characters make it so much more interesting to read.

At one point in the book though, about halfway, I was completely in shock with how the story went. I never expected that 2 characters that I really loved would be killed. It's not something many authors do. 

Other interesting thing it was that I started to like some characters that I didn't like from the beginning and hated other.

Just for the record, this book have the rating of 4,49 in 5 in Goodreads so ...  "you know what I mean"

I don't have to say that I really recommend this book!

The Gunslinger

The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1)

by Stephen King

"Beginning with a short story appearing in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1978, the publication of Stephen King's epic work of fantasy -- what he considers to be a single long novel and his magnum opus -- has spanned a quarter of a century.

Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is King's most visionary feat of storytelling, a magical mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that may well be his crowning achievement.

Book I
In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.

This new edition of The Gunslinger has been revised and expanded throughout by King, with new story material, in addition to a new introduction and foreword. It also includes four full-color illustrations in the hardcover and trade paperback formats"

I first read "The Gunslinger" almost five years ago, not knowing that it would indelibly alter my opinion of Stephen King's literary merit. I was so taken with the titular character and so wrapped up in his story that I finished the book in a matter of hours, immediately and hungrily scrabbling for "The Drawing of the Three" because I couldn't bear not knowing what happened to Roland next. When I returned to the introductory novel for a second helping of the series a few years later, it felt very much like coming home to dearly missed friends. I rarely reread books -- let alone seven-book series -- these days because there's simply too much I still need to read for a first time, but I will always find a reason to travel the path of the Tower again.

If you are not so fan of fantasy/fiction Stephen King has a lot of other books.

 

Unraveling

Unraveling 

by Elizabeth Norris

"Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming."

 This book was recommended to me some days ago by a friend and I saw some pretty exciting reviews about him. Here are some short opinions:

"I never give five stars easily, but I'd give this book ten if I could."

"This is one of those moments where I wish I was a better writer so my review could at least do this book justice."

"If I had to describe this book in only one word I would say “incredible”"

"Mind-blowing, heartbreaking with a pinch of humor and an action/suspense overdose... all in the best possible way. Keep both eyes on it when it comes out! And be assured - this is a hell of a great book!"
 

Hope you like this suggestion!   

Magician: Master

Magician: Master (The Riftwar Saga #2)

by Raymond E. Feist

 "He held the fate of two worlds in his hands...

Once he was an orphan called Pug, apprenticed to a sorcerer of the enchanted land of Midkemia.. Then he was captured and enslaved by the Tsurani, a strange, warlike race of invaders from another world.

There, in the exotic Empire of Kelewan, he earned a new name--Milamber. He learned to tame the unnimagined powers that lay withing him. And he took his place in an ancient struggle against an evil Enemy older than time itself."

Magician: Master is a deeply engrossing story which is fairly straight forward from beginning to end. Based on the title of the novel and the actions in Magician: Apprentice it is obvious that the book will revolve around Pug’s capture and his training to become a Master Magician. This book involves more political intrigue and less action than Magician: Apprentice but the author manages to make the political intrigue interesting enough to make me not lose interest in reading it.

If you liked Magician: Apprentice, you will like this too for sure.