Literary Marie

February 10, 2012

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

Grab your current read(s).
Share the first line(s).
Include the title and author.

"Three loud thumps echoed through the floor beneath Hester's feet--a signal that her guests had finally arrived."

~ Indigo by Beverly Jenkins

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"She couldn't concentrate on making love."

~ The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

February 9, 2012

Yesterday I reviewed my first book read by J. California Cooper, Life is Short But Wide. Like I said yesterday, she drops jewels! She places tidbits of knowledge cleverly within paragraphs of a fiction story. Again, these are the kinds of statements that make you stop reading, grab a highlighter, take a sip of sweet tea, then lean over and ask a friend, "Did you catch that?"

The day comes when you look out over this world, and see things you want to do, but now...you can only wish you had done them. You get too old to do the things you once dreamed of doing, or just things you want to do even now.
Love runs, and ruins, many lives.
Not just African slaves; every nationality alive has been a slave, at some time, for some other nation.
Love, chile.
Everybody can, and might, do you wrong. Sometime the least one you expect, chile.
Jealousy is a dangerous thing; you should never take a jealous, envious person lightly.
But there comes an end to some old problems while the new problems move into place.
Chile, there are some crazy, wicked people in this here world! You know some of them.
Child, never be embarrassed about improving your condition. Only fools laugh at anybody in school.
It is exciting to me that if you live, and think right, you can find love no matter how old you are. And no matter how old you are, it's always good.

February 8, 2012

Life is Short But Wide

I have wanted to read a book by J. California Cooper for the longest. This particular book has been sitting in my wish list, then TBR pile since forever and a day. A couple of my bookhearts (Vern and Cassandra) have encouraged my reading this author. What better time to try a new African American author than during Black History Month? So I finally picked up and started reading Life is Short but Wide.

The story is told from different perspectives. Overall, it is about love. That "hard-to-find, hard-to-get, hard-to-keep" type of love. Ninety-one-year-old Mrs. Hattie B. Brown is the narrator. To use Hattie's accurate description of the story, it is in the shape of the letter "Y." Two lives move down into one life. A Native American falls in love with a woman. They marry and have two daughters. One daughter gets a degree and moves to Paris. The other daughter stays in their hometown and teaches children. Another family story is parallel and eventually comes together.

OMGosh, author J. California Cooper drops jewels! She writes tidbits of knowledge within fiction narrative. Well crafted! The story itself was just okay, but I really looked forward to the statements about life that would cleverly appear within a paragraph. The kind that makes you take a sip of your sweet tea, lean over and whisper to a friend, "Did you catch that?" I have so many highlighted passages! (Check back here tomorrow for a separate blog post of JCC quotes.)

The characters were believable, especially if you or your family are from the South. And we all know people who would argue with God if you let them. I quickly picked up the characters' dialogue and even found myself speaking southern in real life conversations, using phrases like "Hush, chile" and "My my my" and "Yes'm."

In Hattie's words, "It's a good story, but you have to pay attention." If you are already a J. California Cooper fan, you understand what I'm talking about. If not, YOU BETTER GET INTO HER QUOTES! It is evident why Cooper was honored as Black Playwright of the Year and rightfully received the James Baldwin Writing Award and Literary Lion Award.

Now I got other thangs to tend to, so re-read or pick up a copy of Life is Short but Wide. Share your thoughts.

Title: Life is Short But Wide
Author: J. California Cooper
Published: March 2009
Pages: 234
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

February 7, 2012

One for the Money Movie

On opening weekend, Chickadee and I went to see the One for the Money movie. It is based off the book by Janet Evanovich. We love it when books make it to the big screen. The fun part is matching the scenery and characters to what was written.


Grandma Mazur

Lula

"Cupcake" & Morelli

"Babe" and Ranger

Let's break down the cast. I love Katherine Heigl. I am one of the few Grey's Anatomy fans that miss Dr. Izzie. She's a good actress, funny and can adapt to any character whether serious or comedic. I was disappointed in Stephanie's father because he spoke. Dude! You're just supposed to just sit there, give an occasional side eye, and eat quietly. And Stephanie's mother never ironed or drunk alcohol. But other than that, the cast was on target. Grandma Mazur (played by Debbie Reynolds) was a pistol...literally. I would have liked for her to crash at least one funeral though. Sherri Shepherd played Lula. During an interview, she mentioned seven years ago she read the book. She put on her vision board that one day she would play Lula. And let me tell you, nobody could play Lula better than Sherri did. The wig, the clothes, the donut eating, all well done! Morelli was played by Jason O'Mara. Meh. I expected differently. But Daniel Sunjata as Ranger? Hey boo!

The script was true to the book. If you're a Stephanie Plum series reader, check out the movie. You are guaranteed a laugh and entertainment.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

2012 Support Local Library Challenge

Challenge Guidelines:

Borrow and read books from your local library.
Audio, eBooks and bound books are okay.
No re-reads.

Levels:

1. Read 12 library books
2. Read 24 library books
3. Read 36 library books
4. Read 37+ library books

I signed up for Level 2: Read 24 library books

2012 Southern Lit Challenge

Challenge Guidelines:

Read a book(s) written by an author from the South and set in the South.
Definitions of the South are flexible.
States include South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas and Arkansas.

Levels: