Samantha Hastings

I love attending book club because I inevitably learn something new.  Last week, I learned about a new word: pulchritudinous .   Although it sounds like warts or something growing on a mole, it actually means  a person of breathtaking beauty.  I'm tempted to use it in conversation, but I'm afraid that it's true meaning would be lost.  "Hey, Livvy, you're looking pulchritudinous today..."

Selected for Publication by Swoon Reads:  July 9, 2019. 1861.   Miss Lucinda Leavitt is shocked when she learns that the author of her favorite serialized novel, Mrs. Smith, has died before completing the story.   She sets out to discover who the mysterious author was and how she would have finished the novel.   Lucinda reluctantly asks for assistance from her father’s much younger business partner, Mr. David Randall.   David is wealthy and successful, but overwhelmed by too much work.   He’s trying to prove something to his dead father and to himself.   He doesn’t have the time, nor interest, to find a deceased author, but Lucinda is not the type of person to take no for an answer. Their search for the elusive Mrs. Smith will take Lucinda and David around the country and the truths they discover about themselves, and each other, are anything but fictional.   See updates at:  Swoon Reads  

My friend Megan is expecting her first baby--a girl!  I googled for food ideas for a baby girl shower and oh my goodness!  There were plenty of great and some over-the-top food items out there.  I'm afraid that I passed on all the food ideas that made vegetables and fruit resemble diapers or strollers.  But I did love the idea of PINK food.  So the PINK food I bought: -Pink and White Animal Cookies -Pink and White Wafer cookies -Pink and White Wafer Rolls (look like striped candy canes) The PINK food I baked: -Strawberry banana bread -Rice Crispie Treats with Strawberry marshmallows and drizzled with white chocolate -Cupcakes with Strawberry frosting -Brownies with drizzled chocolate -Strawberry cake bites PINK fruit (not pictured-another friend brought it): -Watermelon -Red Grapes I wrapped my mini water bottles in cute white and pink papers and made a banner.  I think PINK was the  perfect way to go. 

I loved this movie.  It had everything I could possibly want in a movie: great acting, compelling story, beautiful scenery, sumptuous costumes, romance and it was clean!      Watch the trailer.   "Belle" is based on a real story and a intriguing painting of two cousins: Dido (Belle) and her cousin Elizabeth were raised by their Great Uncle and Aunt, Lord and Lady Mansfield.  In the movie, both ladies portray how difficult it was to be a woman (whatever your color) during the 18th century with very few options outside of marriage.    Dido's uncle is the chief justice (kind of like the head of the supreme court) and there is a huge case about a slave ship and whether or not you can insure human cargo.    Two gentlemen of good family who are interested in the cousins.   Enter a young idealistic man who wants to change the world.   I don't want to give spoilers.  A thought-provokin...

Title:   How does the title help you understand the book better? Would your reading or understanding of the book change if the title were different? Could you think of alternate titles for the story? Does the title refer to another piece or literature or a religious figure or symbol? Wide Sargasso Sea : The novel’s first working title was “The First Mrs. Rochester”, followed by “False Legend” and “Solitaire”.   Rhys also titled it, “What the Hell or Where’s Jane.”   Would a different title have changed your reading of the novel?   Do you like any of these titles better? Epigraph:    How would you compare the epigraph to the book as a whole, a specific character, or a theme of the story?     An Unfinished Life:   Why do you think Spragg chose to add an epigraph to the beginning of the book? How would you compare the epigraph (excerpt from poem “Not Dying” by Mark Strand) to the book as a whol...

Rewritten fairytales, or fractured fairytales, are old stories told with new twists.   WILDWOOD DANCING   by Juliet Marillier Five sisters who live with their merchant father in Transylvania use a hidden portal in their home to cross over into a magical world, the Wildwood, where they dance with their pet frog.   Companion novel: Cybele’s Secret . THE GOOSE GIRL   by Shannon Hale On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and must become a goose girl to survive.   The first book in the Books of Bayern series. Another great title is The Book of a Thousand Days.   PRINCESS OF THE MIDNIGHT BALL b y Jessica Day George Twelve princesses wear out their shoes dancing every night, and of Galen, a former soldier now working in the king's gardens, who follows them in hopes of breaking the curse.   The sequel is Princess of Glass . Try also, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow .   Enchanted   by...

I just read a fantastic book.  I won't give the title, because I plan on giving away the ending.  The main character was female and she was both feminine and tough.  I love that!  And there was a little romance.  I love that too.  Except, the author killed off the hero (aka romantic interest).  He was a good hero too.  He respected the heroine, was talented in his own right, and attractive of course.  He died saving another person, which of course is a good thing.  But I felt disappointed.  I finished the last few pages of the book, but have no desire to ever read it again and I don't know if I would recommend it.    I NEED a happy ending.  Isn't that why we read fiction?  Fiction doesn't have to be accurate, just enjoyable.  At least that is how I feel today.