"i could almost hear you laugh"

a look back...

i thought last year was memorable...

for the first year in so many years, i was in touch in some way with every one...

i didn't really know the best way to do that but having a book club was what i came up with...

i knew we all loved to read...

or cook...

or watch movies...

since we live so far apart this seem to be a pretty fun way to stay in touch...

pretty cheap too:)

thanks guys...

pretty cool family!

here is a look at my favorites from last year.

~~~~~

"the book thief" 

this book was unexpected and really amazing.

i think it is one i will never forget.

~~~~~`

"shadow of night"

i so loved this book and "a discovery of witches" 

and since i kind of have a thing for witch books and movies

this will definitely go down as one of my favorite series.

i am really excited for book three! 

i will keep you posted about when it is supposed to come out.

~~~~~

"the thirteenth tale"

i think that this book was the perfect book for a book club.

this story was so interesting and mysterious and of all the books we have read, this one was the one i wish we could have had a party for.

it would have been so fun to talk about and plan a party around.

it was for sure one of my favorites.

~~~~~

"outlander"

this one has become a lifelong favorite series.

i have loved it.

~~~~~

"the physic book of deliverance dane"

this one was not on our reading list but one i came across and enjoyed so much.

it is a modern witch book but also delves into the salem witch trials and what those people went through.

it was fascinating and also very unexpected. 

it would have been a fun one to talk about as well.

 ~~~~~

"the night circus"

okay.

this one was my very favorite...

makes me want to make carmel corn right now.

i think i had the most fun during the months of february  and october.

i would love to know what your favorites were...

~~~~~

can't wait to see what this new year brings...

babies, books, and who knows what else...

we are down to counting the days now...

i will keep you posted:)

bye...

more later...

"rosemary, for remembrance"

Shadow of Night

A Discovery of Witches introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and the handsome geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont; together they found themselves at the center of a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Drawn to one another despite longstanding taboos, and in pursuit of Diana’s spellbound powers, the two embark upon a time-walking journey.

Book Two of the All Souls Trilogy plunges Diana and Matthew into  Elizabethan London, a world of spies and subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the mysterious School of Night.  The mission is to locate a witch to tutor  Diana and to find traces of Ashmole 782, but as the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them they embark on a very different journey, one that takes them into heart of the 1,500 year old vampire’s shadowed history and secrets. For Matthew Clairmont, time travel is no simple matter; nor is Diana’s search for the key to understanding her legacy.

Shadow of Night brings us a rich and splendid tapestry of alchemy, magic, and history, taking us through the loop of time to deliver a deepening love story, a tale of blood, passion, and the knotted strands of the past.

here is my goodreads review

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. I really loved Matthew in this one. Instead of being so English and proper, like he was in the first book, he was dark and haunted and even cruel at times. I loved his rogue and tormented struggle between right and wrong and what his true purpose was. I loved his father and I can't wait to see what the big Scot Gallowglass' role will be in the next book. He was my favorite. I thought the first book was great but I think this one was better. Cannot wait for the Third Book!

View all my reviews

bye...

more later...

"the witches" book review by ireland and beau

 "the witches"

by roald dahl

This Roald Dahl classic tells the scary, funny and imaginative tale of a seven-year-old boy who has a run-in with some real-life witches! 

"In fairy tales witches always wear silly black hats and black cloaks and they ride on broomsticks. But this is not a fairy tale. 

This is about REAL WITCHES. 

REAL WITCHES dress in ordinary clothes and look very much like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses and they work in ordinary jobs. That is why they are so hard to catch." 

Witches, as our hero learns, hate children. 

With the help of a friend and his somewhat-magical grandmother, 

our hero tries to expose the witches before they dispose of him.

from goodreads

a book review by ireland and beau...

what was your favorite part?

ireland: when the boy is in the treehouse and the witch comes and asks him to come down. 

he remembers that his grandma told him that witches are bald and wear wigs and wear gloves to hide their ugly fingernails and have pointy noses and he recognises that this is a witch so he stays in the treehouse until the witch leaves and then he goes home and tells his grandma.

beau: when they are in the hotel and the witches, 

who hate children, turn him into a mouse. he goes to find his grandma, 

who is a witch hunter and she knows its him. 

she tells him to go put a potion into the soup that the witches are going to eat for dinner and when he sneaks into the kitchen the chef sees him and CUTS OFF HIS TAIL!!! COOL!

would you recommend this to other people?

ireland: yes. it's a good book

beau: it's not the best book in the world but i liked it okay.

how would you rate it out 5 stars?

ireland: 4 stars

beau: 3 stars

apparently the was also a movie made of the book starring anjelica huston

click on the arrow below to watch the original movie trailer...

The Witches by Roald Dahl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great fun! I love witch books! Thanks Ireland for the recommendation:)

View all my reviews



thanks so much you guys!
keep reading:)


bye...
more later...

"the physick book of deliverance dane"

click on the arrow below for a taste of the book

http://www.physickbook.com/index.html

(most of the information on this post is from this site)

"A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history – 

the Salem witch trials.

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie’s grandmother’s abandoned home near Salem, she can’t refuse. 

As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: 

Deliverance Dane. 

This discovery launches Connie on a quest—to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: 

a physick book, 

its pages a secret repository for

lost knowledge."

this book is so good...

super creepy...

the good kind...

especially the audio version...

if you want something awesome to read

to get you in the mood for the upcoming halloween season,

this is your book...

constance and sam...

(my version anyway:))

~~~~~~~~

here is my goodreads review...

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! It reminded me a little of the DiVinci Code in that she was trying solve a puzzle with strange and unobvious clues along the way and someone trying to use her to do it. I loved the spooky feel it had and I thought the interludes of what happened in 1691 with the Salem witch trials was fascinating. Really well written and interesting. I loved it!

"there's a little witch in every woman"

"i dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for"

sally and gillian owens have always known that something about them was different.

their parents died when that were children and they were raised by their eccentric aunts in a lovely old house that was anything but typical...

they were taught the "practical" uses of magic and tried to live a quiet life in a town where people always whispered about them...

the family was also rumored to be cursed with the promise that they could never find true love...

the men they fall in love with are cursed with an untimely death...
(click below to check out the movie trailer)


(the quality isn't great:()

now, adult women with very different personalities, the sisters must use all of their powers to fight the family curse and a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the owens women, including sally's two young daughters...
when sally loses her husband (to the curse),
she writes a letter to herself describing a man so amazing he can't possible be real. she does this to prevent herself from getting her heart broken again...
but then he arrives in the form of officer gary hallet
and the love of her childhood dreams
now she can't fight true love no matter how hard she tries...
she must break the curse...

this is one of those movies that you have to sit down and watch every time it is on...
i especially loved sally's apothecary shop and her clothes.
she was a beautiful witch...

"can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart?
was it our joined hands that finally lifted maria's curse?
i'd like to think so.
but there are some things i know for certain:
always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder,
keep rosemary by your garden gate,
plant lavender for luck,
and fall in love whenever you can".

bye...

more later...

johnny depp. umm..yes please:)

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chocolat

"the most tempting of all sweets becomes the key weapon in a battle of sensual pleasure verses disciplined self-denial in this comedy.

in 1959, a mysterious woman named vianne (juliette binoche)

moves with her young daughter into a small french village, where much of the community's activities are dominated by the local catholic church.

a few days after settling into town, vianne opens up a 

confectionary shop across the street from the house of worship-

shortly after the beginning of lent.

while the townspeople are supposed to be abstaining from worldly pleasures, vianne tempts them with unusual and delicious chocolate creations, using her expert touch to create just the 

right candy to break down each customer's resistance.

with every passing day, more and more of vianne's neighbors are succumbing to her sinfully delicious treats, but the comte de reynaud (alfred molina), the town's mayor, is not the least bit amused;

he is eager to see vianne run out of town before she leads the town into a deeper level of temptation.

vianne, however, is not to be swayed, (she is a witch after all:))

and with the help of another new arrival in town, a handsome irish gypsy named roux

(johnny depp),

she plans a "grand festival of chocolate,"

to be held on easter sunday."

 

    
  based on the novel by joanne harris, chocolat features a distinguished supporting cast, including judi dench, lena olin, carrie-anne moss, peter stormare, hugh o'conor, and leslie caron.

                      ~ mark deming, rovi~

i love this movie so much.

it is one of my all time favorite witch movies

and i do believe that johnny depp is at his most beautiful in this movie...

it's my favorite johnny depp movie for sure...

i decided since i was watching this movie that i needed to make something from grandma j's cookbook that has chocolate in it but it was so hot and i wasn't sure i wanted to actually cook...

i found this funny recipe and decided to try it...

it is without a doubt the easiest thing i have ever made...

if you like rice crispy treats, you gotta try this...

here are the ingredients:

2 table spoons butter

1/2 small jar marshmallow creme

2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal

i quart of ice cream

the only cooking required is melting the butter he he...

mix em up...

scoop it in...

lust after johnny depp while eating and watching 

"chocolat"

worth every. 

single. 

calorie.:)

umm...

yes please...

bye...

more later...

"it began with a discovery of witches"

mabon

it is the time of the autumn equinox, the harvest is winding down. the fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter.

mabon is the mid-harvest festival, 

and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and to celebrate the second harvest. 

on or around september 21st, for many pagen and wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, 

whether it is abundant crops 

or other blessings.

~~~~~~~~

in this book

mabon is like a "witches convention"

that occurs at the beginning.

http://deborahharkness.com/

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

"Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilightseries--with an extra serving of historical realism."

~~~~~~~~~

these are my visions of matthew and diana

~~~~~~~ 

i hope you are enjoying whatever book you are reading...

i am finding that witches are oddly interesting

and surprisingly likable...

fun witch stuff

~~~~~~~

it is an anniversary of sorts for me....

a year ago i started this little book club and blog...

i started with

 the help 

in august of 2011

and only dared ask people

to join me in october

with 

a discovery of witches

it was only in my own head at that time and i was afraid

to actually do it for fear that no one would read with me

so for me it did begin here...

so thank you for reading with me:)

happy anniversary

chapters and tea

bye...
more later...