Rachel Kovaciny's Blog, page 97

"Rogue One" by Alexander Freed

I had basically given up reading movie novelizations until I read this book.  In fact, I initially had zero interest in reading this because I'd tried reading the novelization of The Force Awakens last year and hated it so virulently that I'd sworn off reading movie-into-book stuff.

The trouble is that, when I watch a movie, especially when I watch it over and over like I did Rogue One, I write it in my head as I watch.  I will absolutely have an internal voice-over of sorts going on...

Upcoming Events

Time to do a post about all the cool stuff I'll be participating in soon.  I know I have buttons in my sidebar for them, but I want to talk a bit more about them too.

First up is Beauty and the Beast Week hosted by Meredith at On Stories and Words.  I'll be reviewing Gaston Leroux's classic novel The Phantom of the Opera for this.  This is next week!!!

Next, Joseph at The Once Lost Wanderer is hosting the Mini March Reading Tag.  Whether you want to read something by al...

"J.R.R. Tolkien: The Mind of a Genius"

I picked up this magazine at Toys 'R Us last week.  It's pretty nifty -- lots of lovely pictures and interesting text.  it's divided into three sections:  Creating Middle-Earth, Exploring Middle-Earth, and Celebrating Middle-Earth.

Creating Middle-Earth tells all about how Tolkien came up with the idea for his fantasy world, drawing on his love of myths and languages, his wartime experiences, and his dissatisfaction with modern fantasy stories at the time.

Exploring Middle-Earth...

"The Trouble Begins at 8" by Sid Fleischman

Sid Fleischman has been one of my favorite authors since I was probably ten or so.  My mom read By the Great Horn Spoon! aloud to my brother and I, and she had to stop reading over and over because we were laughing so hard, we couldn't hear her.  I read every book of his I could get my hands on after that, and have a deep and abiding fondness for him.  I read his memoir, The Abracadabra Kid , a few years ago and loved that too.

So it comes as no surprise that, when I spotted this...

"With Blossoms Gold" by Hayden Wand -- Cover Reveal!

This is my first time participating in a "cover reveal" where an author gives us an advance look at the cover art for their upcoming release.  It's very exciting!  I've already read With Blossoms Gold as a part of the Once collection, but Hayden Wand is releasing it as a stand-alone work on April 2, 2017.

Before we get to the cover, here's the official synopsis:

She never wanted to leave the tower. He never wanted to rule the country.

Nella has lived quietly in her tower in the wo...

"Montana Rides!" by Evan Evans (Max Brand)

If you've been following either of my blogs for the last, oh, ten days or longer, you'll probably know I'm a wee bit fond of a certain actor named Alan Ladd.  That's him on the right in my current blog header.  He's also splashed all across my Hamlette's Soliloquy header.  For a full year now, he's been the main focus of my cinematic attention.  And yet, in that whole year, I only read one book that was made into one of his movies, the amazing And Now Tomorrow  by Rach...

"The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder" by Rachel McMillan

This is a cute book.  It's not a deep book, or a daring book, or an intense book, but it is fun and sweet, with bits of excitement and romance woven in.  It's got a lot of things I love:  mystery, historical setting, brave female characters, clean romance.  I like that it's set in Toronto instead of the usual cities of London, New York, or Chicago.  

Above all, I like that the two female detectives are consciously trying to be like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. &nbsp...

Character Sketch of Anne Elliot from "Persuasion" by Jane Austen

Anne Elliotby Hamlette
Anne Elliot is an anomaly.  She doesn't fit the pattern of an Austen heroine.  She's not young.  She's part of the nobility.  And her great, sweepingly romantic story is, in some ways, over before the book begins.  We see all of Austen's other heroines fall in love, but not Anne.  Hers is not a story of finding a man to love, but of reclaiming the man that she chose to part from years earlier.



And unlike most of Austen's heroines, Anne spend...

I Love Austen Week Tag

Here are my own answers to this tag!  Don't forget to visit the party's master post here to find links to everyone's posts and join up yourself!

1. Which did you experience first, a Jane Austen book or a movie based on one?

A movie.  I can't remember anymore if I saw Sense and Sensibility (1995) or Emma (1996 -- the Gwyneth Paltrow version) first.  I know I watched S&S with my mom, and Emma with my friends -- but this was back around the time the movies c...

"Color Me Jane" Coloring Book by Jacqui Oakley

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Here I am with another review of a coloring book!  To fit with the I Love Austen Week that I'm hosting right now, today I'm sharing Color Me Jane, with artwork by Jacqui Oakley.  This is a small book, only about 6" x 8", but it's got some beautiful artwork and has quickly become one of my favorite coloring books even though I only just got it in January!  The paper really takes color well, and the smaller size makes it easy to color on my lap while w...