Holy Cow...It's Already April!!

2016 is almost 1/3 gone, and this is my first post.  I have an excuse, however lame it may be.  I've been bitten by the Binge Bug.  It started off with this:

201 espisodes later, March was upon me, but it was SO worth it!  I'd seen an episode or two of The Office here and there over the years, but I highly recommend watching it from the beginning.  It is a brilliant show with a brilliant cast, and you will end up loving every single character no matter how crazy they may seem at first.  (i.e.: Dwight)

It was therefore quite serendipitous to find this at the bookstore:

 

The Basoon King by Rainn Wilson. Wilson, the actor who plays Dwight Schrute, is just as fascinating as his Office character. He has lead a most unusual life, and his stories make for a delightfully entertaining book.  His life as a struggling actor in New York made my toes curl, as my daughter is going down that same path.  I gave her the book to read anyway:)  Love you, Rainn/Dwight!

Before and after my next binge, (more on that later...), I did manage to read some great books.

Vintage by David Baker

A well-past-his-prime and writer's-blocked food critic stumbles upon the story of a lifetime.  Seeking self-worth and redemption while on the trail of a mythical WWII French vintage, he must solve the mystery before his rivals do, his funds run out, and/or his ex-wife finds out what he's up to. From Chicago to Burgundy, on to Germany and back, Vintage is a journey well taken. Sante!

The Lady in Gold by Anne Marie O'Connor

Once upon a time, Vienna was a place of tolerance, where people of all faiths mixed together and supported a culture of art and beauty. Then the Nazis came. Not many were safe from their evil reach,  especially if you were a wealthy, art-loving Jewish family with Gustav Klimt masterpieces hanging on your walls. Sixty years later, a young Los Angeles attorney is determined to return the Klimt paintings to their rightful owners, taking the Austrian government all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  This book has something for everyone: romance, art, bad guys and good guys. It could be a fabulous novel with a happy ending, except this is a true story, and no real ending can be perfectly happy. 

Time's Up by Janey Mack

If you like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, you will LOVE Janey Mack's Maisie McCrane. Maisie comes from a Chicago family of cops and attorneys, and she is determined to show them that the only/youngest girl of the family has what it takes to make it on the force. Until she washes out of the police academy. Determined to prove herself and make it onto the CPD one way or another, she joins the ranks of Chicago's meter maids, the most hated group in town. Despite her family's horror and her defense attorney mother's get-into-law-school-free card, she dons her official parking enforcement safety vest and stumbles right into a murder investigation. Meter Maid Mahem ensues! Full of crazies and creeps, not to mention her smokin' hot ex-Army Ranger boyfriend, Maisie's adventures have something for everyone.  Lucky for us more Maisie McCrane adventures can be found in...

Choked Up by Janey Mack

In which Maisie becomes the "girlfriend" of a Serbian
mobster and breaks up an international chop-shop ring, all while still a meter maid. Or IS she??
Read and see!




One Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

Before it was a movie, One Hundred and One Dalmatians was an actual book written by Dodie Smith. Somewhat surprisingly, the movie stays very true to the book, which is quite charming, and the 1956 story holds up well even today. This is only to be expected, as the relationship between dogs and their pets is a timeless one. Love you, Dodie Smith! (I Capture the Castle is one of my favs.)

Now, about that other binge I was on...



The Tudors

Because...Henry Cavill.

Also Starring:

Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Natalie Dormer
Sam Neill
Peter O'Toole
and
many
more.

Warning:  NOT for young'uns.

Until next time
TBC