Birthday: Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

Birth: April 23, 1564

Death: April 23, 1616

I’ve posted about him: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/search/label/Shakespeare

It’s his 448^th birthday!

You know him because – he’s one of the most famous British literature authors. He wrote a ton of plays, including Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Othello, and many more.

Day 22 – Random

Websites I Frequent

I mostly read blogs, but there are a few websites that I absolutely adore as well. Interestingly, several have to do with books!

Goodreads – I’m on here as often as possible. J It helps me keep track of everything (almost) that I read! I can see what my goodreads friends are reading, and what they rated any particular book I’m curious about. There are giveaways (though, IMHO, not usually very good ones), trivia, groups, and much more. I’m far from exhausting this wonderful place! Check it out: http://www.goodreads.com/

Amazon – When I have a book I want to buy, this is usually the place I go. I enjoy reading the reviews, and it’s almost certain that they’ll have reviews of any book I look up. I find these especially helpful too when buying electronics. I occasionally write reviews there too. I love the wishlist function, and have several (all organized, you know!). I love Amazon. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/

Google – Does Google count as a website? Seeing that I’m there almost daily, I think it should. I use it for all my searching, and it’s a huge help! I think that’s enough said, since you already all use it and know about it, I’m sure. Check it out: https://www.google.com/

IMDB – International Movie Database. You know my movie reviews? This is where I get most of the information about actors, year it came out, and sometimes length. And trivia. I have found IMDB to be a priceless help when looking up a movie to see if it has objectionable stuff in it (Netflix can help too, but this is better). Also trailers and pictures! Check it out: http://www.imdb.com/

Wikipedia – Now, I know that they say (and I believe) the information on Wikipedia isn’t always completely accurate. But I still use it fairly often. All the birth and death dates for the birthday posts come from here. I use it to look up (occasionally) actors, authors, movies, random information. If you want something really fun, look up “pride and prejudice”. There are pages for Elizabeth and Darcy, and also a “family tree” type of thing tying all the characters together – that’s on the P&P page. All on Wikipedia. Check it out: http://www.wikipedia.org/

A Time to Dance

Author: Karen Kingsbury

Genre: Life

Series: Women of Faith series

Number in series: 1^st, I think

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 528 (large-print)

Time period: Present (2001, actually)

My overall opinion: It was an interesting book. It reminded me of a combination between the films by the Kendrick brothers, Fireproof (the couple in this book are going through major [even unto divorce] marriage problems) and Facing the Giants (a football coach is a main character). It was pretty cool, and I recommend it!

Day 21 – Random

A Picture of Something that Makes Me Happy

Having set myself the challenge of finding ONE picture of something that makes me happy…I discovered I simply could not do it. So here are several! And my apologies.

Jesus risen from the grave…

…dark chocolate…

…my camera…

…tall stacks of books…

…mail…

…trucks that make cool noises (winks at Angelica)…

…flags…

…Ramen noodle soup…

 

…kittens…

…country life…

…completed schoolwork…

 

…lists – of almost anything. J

There you have it! More than I meant to put down. But hey, it’s pretty much a list of my favorite things!

Name Necklace Giveaway!

I find myself posting twice in one month about a jewelry giveaway on "Legacy of a Writer"! But trust me, you'll love this. You can get your own necklace with your name on it in this totally awesome giveaway! Just go HERE to see the necklace and enter the giveaway (and check out Katy's blog)!

140 Followers!

Thank you to all 140 of you! Seeing a new follower always makes my day, and hitting a milestone...even better!

Especial thanks to those of you who regularly leave comments...I love them. :)

Birthday: Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte Bronte

 

Birth: April 21, 1816

Death: March 31, 1855 (wow, only 39 when she died!)

I’ve posted about her: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/search/label/Charlotte%20Bronte

It’s her 196^th birthday!

You know her because – she wrote, most notably, Jane Eyre. She and her sisters also wrote a variety of other books.

Movie: Facing the Giants

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Genre: Life

Series or set: Made by Sherwood Films and the Kendrick brothers, but not in a specific series.

Primary actors: Alex Kendrick

Length: About two hours

Based on: Nothing. But thinking back on it now…it reminds me a little of the story in Learning by Karen Kingsbury. Both struggling ball teams that are revived by an amazing coach; a coach who had problems, but overcame both his own problems, and those of the team – making them a true team.

Time period: Present

Year it came out: 2006

My overall opinion: It was a good movie. I think I liked it a tad more than Fireproof and a tad less than Courageous. Though I’m about as un-knowledgeable about football as any person can be (not quite, but almost), I still enjoyed the movie. A wonderful story, good acting, great film.

Day 19 – Random

Nicknames I Have

Actually, I’m rarely called anything but Charity. It’s not really an easy name to shorten, you know? Let’s see. Mom and Dad call me Doll or Dolly on occasion…that would be the oldest one – trust me, it’s old. At least once, we met a new family who asked if they could call me Cherry. Being shy, I said yes. But they didn’t call me that for long! I’m just not a Cherry. Doesn’t fit me. Occasionally my siblings try Char or Chair, but it never works for long. They forget, and when they remember, I don’t respond, so. ;) Really, yes, I’m pretty much just known as Charity!

My Entries in the Keep Calm Contest

Though the polls aren't closed yet (feel free to keep voting!) I think I've decided (with your help) which two to enter. They are the rather popular Darcy 2 and Feelings 2, both inspired by Pride and Prejudice. Thank you to all who voted! And to Miss Amy Dashwood for hosting this awesome giveaway on "Yet Another Period Drama Blog."

P.S. The post with the first round of the ALMT was also my 800th post! Yes, really! Very exciting. :)

The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club

Author: Wanda Brunstetter

Genre: Life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 312

Time period: Present

My overall opinion: One of the first things that attracted me to this book was the cover. Isn’t it interesting? And here’s the awesome thing – every person on the cover looks exactly like their character in the book! Now that’s great. ;) This was one of those stories where I have absolutely no idea what to put as the genre, so “life” gets used. It’s a story concerning the lives of these people! You see, Emma (an older Amish woman) decides to host a quilting class. But when it begins, a great variety of people arrive. These people include: a single dad; a biker who appears rough, but isn’t as bad as he may seem; an over-worked pastor’s wife; a couple with marriage problems; and a teen with an attitude. Over the six weeks of the class, these people learn interesting things about each other while learning to quilt a small wall-hanging. Emma is able to encourage each of them through the trials they go through. I really enjoyed it! There are some surprises in store for you in this book. I loved them! It was very interesting, and not at all hard to read. For some reason, Barbour (the publisher) is filing it as a Christian fiction romance, but while it’s certainly both Christian and fiction, it’s really not a romance. All in all, I recommend it!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Demigod Files

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: Fantasy, companion

Series: It’s a companion to the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: About 100

Passage from book: No excerpt, but the book includes maps, short stories, interviews with the most important characters, a crossword puzzle, etc!

My overall opinion: I enjoyed it. Wish all my favorite books had a handbook like this!

Day 18 – Random

Long Time Goals/Plans/Dreams I Have

There are so many things I’d love to do that it’s really not even funny. I guess my primary one at this point is to go to college and get at least a Bachelor’s Degree. Naturally, I’d love to get married someday, but will that ever happen? Who knows. An office job appeals to me, especially at a college or university. More than that, I don’t know. Maybe education. We’ll have to see!

Annoying Ladies Mini-Tournament Round 1!

Hooray! Round one of the Annoying Ladies Mini-Tournament is finally here!

Let’s get started. In this round, we’ll have eight polls, each with two ladies. The winner of each poll will progress to the next poll! The polls are open for one week. Here are the contestants!

Poll 1: Kitty Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) vs. Fanny Dorrit (Little Dorrit)

Poll 2: Fanny  Thornton (North and South) vs. Mary Musgrove (Persuasion)

Poll 3: Caroline Bingley (Pride and Prejudice) vs. Harriet Smith (Emma)

Poll 4: Anne Steele (Sense and Sensibility) vs. Miss Bates (Emma)

Poll 5: Jane Fairfax (Emma) vs. Louisa Hurst (Pride and Prejudice)

Poll 6: Josie Pye (Anne of Green Gables) vs. Lucy Steele (Sense and Sensibility)

Poll 7: Elizabeth Elliot (Persuasion) vs. Julia Bertram (Mansfield Park)

Poll 8: Mrs. Elton (Emma) vs. Mary Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

 Now you can vote! Make sure you vote for the most annoying one, not necessarily the one who was worst. Results will be posted in a week, and the next round will begin then. May the most annoying win!

VOTE!

I decided to enter the contest that Miss Amy Dashwood is holding on her blog, Yet Another Period Drama Blog. It's for those Keep Calm signs that are so popular right now. Having finally become inspired (somewhat) I made several...and can't choose. So I need you to help me! Here are your choices (we have to choose two...).

Darcy 1

Darcy 2

Feelings 1

Feelings 2

Want of a Wife 1

Want of a Wife 2

Want of a Wife 3

I'm putting up a poll...the two with the most votes will be entered in Amy's contest!

Also, remember...tomorrow the Annoying Ladies Mini-Tournament begins!

Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia

Author: Anna Kirwan

Genre: Journal

Series: There are a lot of these Royal Diaries, but you don’t have to read them in any order.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Historical fiction

Number of pages: About 180

Time period: 1800’s

My overall opinion: These diaries are very easy reading for me, but I enjoy them anyway. Diaries are SO interesting! This one was fun and a good one-time read.

Day 17 – Books

Favorite Books (fiction, not classics)

***Note: you can find a mostly-complete list on the Favorite Books page. A link is towards the top on the right, along with the other pages. ***

The titles are linked to the reviews that I’ve posted. For series, each number is linked to the corresponding book in the series. Remember that this list doesn’t include classics – thus, no Jane Austen. Now, a few books I love above most others…

 

Livvie’s Song by Sharlene MacLaren

 

The Zion Chronicles series by Bodie Thoene

 

Heart’s Journey Home by Jen Stephens

River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren

 

Montana Skies series by Penny Zeller

 

A Vision of Lucy by Margaret Brownley

 

Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer

Storm Syrrell Adventure series by Davis Bunn

Above the Line series by Karen Kingsbury

Must stop…