On Folly Beach Teaser

Teaser Tuesday's is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read -
Open to a random page -
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser from page 41:

"These were all my mother's books, which I brought from the house in Charleston when I sold it following my father's death three years ago. I didn't have room at the cottage but I didn't want to get rid of them, either."

I'm only about one quarter into On Folly Beach but I am really enjoying the book so far. The story is being told from two points of view - Maggie's in 1942 shortly after the United States entered World War 2 and Emmy's in 2009. It seems that a bookstore, books and some sort of mysery are going to make their stories intertwine.

Hyped-Up Books

Musing Monday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading! This week’s question:

"What do you think of books that receive a lot of hype? (think of the “Twilight” saga, or “Harry Potter”, or “The Da Vinci Code”). Do you read them? Why, or why not?"

I generally tend to shy away from books that are overly hyped. The main reason is because I'm afraid that I will be disappointed in the book. This has happened more than once. Fortunately, I've given hyped-up books a chance and been pleasantly surprised, as well. I read Water for Elephants amidst all of it's hyped glory and now count it as one of my all-time favorite books. And I am 2/3 of the way through The Millenium series and thoroughly enjoying that one also.

Finally, since it was specified in the question, I LOVE the Harry Potter series. And I am indeed guilty of telling people that haven't read them how very great they are. However, I started reading the books before there was hysteria around any and every thing Harry. If I had come into the Harry Potter books once they were (seemingly) the only books people were speaking of - I may have been reluctant to pick them up. Oh, how glad I am that this was not the case.

Mixed Reviews

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. This weeks pondering:

Do you read book reviews? Do you let them change your mind about reading/not reading a particular book?

I'm kind of weird about book reviews; I like them but I avoid them sometimes. What this means is that if I am looking for something to read then I'm likely to read some book reviews (especially from other book bloggers). I have read some great books that I may have otherwise missed because of reviews.

However, if there is a book that I know I want to read already - then I try to avoid any reviews as I like to make my own opinion. Plus, I don't want any accidental spoilers.

Wedding Anniversary

Today is mine and my husband's anniversary. However, since it's Monday, he had to work, my eldest daughter had to go to school and my youngest daughter and I played chauffeur and errand girls. So, my husband and I had our anniversary time out yesterday.

We dropped our daughters off with their great aunt and we went out to a very nice brunch and a movie. Expensive meals are not something we do in our family so the brunch we had yesterday was an amazing treat! Oh, and did I mention that my husband made the reservation and planned the babysitting? Yeah, that was a treat in itself. And, he did this two weeks ago.

Anyway, the brunch was a four course deal and included champagne. Normally, I can't have more than a couple of sips of champagne without acquiring a headache. Yesterday, I had three glasses and all I felt was giddy and happy. Our brunch began with a bowl of fresh canteloupe and berries, followed by shrimp chowder which was to-die-for. Then we had the main course (beautiful pics below) and an apple tart topped with vanilla mousse for dessert. I am still thinking about how amazingly delicious the brunch was.

The company of my husband, the delicious food and exemplary champagne was set off by a jaw dropping view of the Pacific Ocean. I felt spoiled and completely loved. Well, I always feel loved but the spoiled was a great treat yesterday.

After brunch we walked on the beach and then went to the movies. We saw Get Him to the Greek. It was a really funny movie that had some serious parts to it, as well. I'd definitely recommend the movie.

And now, for the pictures:
My husbands filet mignon, yukon gold potatos, scrambled eggs topped with tomatos and green beans.

My seafood salad that had lobster, shrimp, scallops and a vinigarette dressing.

The view from our table.

Reading Spots

Musing Monday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading!

This week’s question asks:

Where is your most often used (favorite) reading spot? Do you have more than one? What makes your favorite spot just that?

I love to lay in bed at night once my kids and husband are asleep or occupied and lose myself in the pages of my book. It's so relaxing, quiet and often the perfect end to a perfect but almost always crazy day.

I also like to go to Starbucks by myself and order an iced coffee or tea and just read my book. Usually, I am writing when I'm at Starbucks but it is nice to spend a little time with a book there, too.

Classic Books

I've decided that I want to read more classic books. I love The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and East of Eden by John Steinbeck. There are plenty that I read at University that I enjoyed, as well. However, once I was out of school - I needed a break from what I thought of as 'required reading' at that point. Now that some time has gone by I find myself wanting to read classics again. I'm thinking I want to read one classic book per month.

So, which classic books are your favorites?

Long vs. Short

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. This weeks pondering:

Which do you prefer? Short stories or full-length novels?

I definitely prefer full length novels. I have read many short stories that I enjoyed and always find myself wishing for more. To me, short stories are teasers.