Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 76
March 1, 2023
Book Review: The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey
Title: The Office BFFs
By: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey
Genre: Non-fiction
Pages: 321
Release Date: May 17th, 2022
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Rating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads:INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * One of Esquire 's Best Celebrity Memoirs of All Time An intimate, behind-the-scenes, richly illustrated celebration of beloved The Office co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey’s friendship, and an insiders' view of Pam Beesly, Angela Martin, and the iconic TV show. Featuring many of their never-before-seen photos. Receptionist Pam Beesly and accountant Angela Martin had very little in common when they toiled together at Scranton’s Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. But, in reality, the two bonded in their very first days on set and, over the nine seasons of the series’ run, built a friendship that transcended the show and continues to this day. Sharing everything from what it was like in the early days as the show struggled to gain traction, to walking their first red carpet—plus exclusive stories on the making of milestone episodes and how their lives changed when they became moms— The Office BFFs is full of the same warm and friendly tone Jenna and Angela have brought to their Office Ladies podcast.
Jenna and Angela have a wonderful writing voice with fun stories of life on the set of The Office. They really bring their experiences to life, and for someone who hasn't watched much of the show, this really resonated with me on a deeper level. I feel like I was there, like I had a part in creating something wonderful.
This was a fun read that I would recommend to everyone.
February 27, 2023
Weekly Menu #496 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Monday!Ok, this weather needs to make up its mind. One day its warm, next day its snowing. The kids have been out of school since Thursday and there is a chance it will snow again today and Friday. Stop this madness.
Anyway, the book I'm going to attempt to read between work and taking care of the kids is The New One by Eve Green. I know I said I was going to read this one a few weeks ago, but my time has been filled with other things and I'm just now getting to it. I also want to start in on Dracula by Bram Stoker, but we shall see how far I get this week.
Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy!
WEEKLY MENU
Monday
Kids - Chicken Ramen
Tuesday
Chicken and Potatoes with Creamy Dijon Sauce
Kids - Chicken Nuggets and Tater Tots
Wednesday
Kids - Chicken and biscuits
Thursday
Kids - Beef Ramen
Friday
Kids - Grilled Cheese
Saturday
Kids - Cheese Quesadillas
Sunday
Leftovers Night
February 26, 2023
Sunday Confessions #188
Hello Sunday!
It has been a week. It seems that our old home needs more plumbing repairs, ones that my handy husband can't do himself, and the weather has been so cold, we haven't been able to pour concrete in the drive way. We are so close to being finished with that project, but so far away. Crossing my fingers the weather warms up and we can move forward.
Sunday Confessions #187~Weekly Menu #495 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Poster Girl by Veronica Roth~
Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Weekly Menu #496 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey~Book Review: The Keepers Six by Kate Elliot~Sunday Confessions #189
Carnival Row season 2 is off to a bang. Still working through season 5 of Chicago Med and Although I like Fire Country, whoever is in charge of the special effects needs to be fired. If you claim there is a thunder storm, then why is the sun shining and the sky cloudless and blue?
14/100 2023 Reading Challenge~49/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~58/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~57/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
It was a long week with limited time to read. Hoping this week will be easier.
February 24, 2023
Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Title: Book Lovers
By: Emily Henry
Genre: Romance
Pages: 377
Release Date: May 3rd, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn't see coming....
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
I loved the chemistry between Nora and Charlie. They hate each other. Always on the other side of the fence, getting in each others way. She's a literary agent, he's an editor, but underneath it all, there might be something there.
This was fun to read. Every time these two characters ran into each other by chance, I was rooting for them. Can't wait to see what else this author has to offer.
February 22, 2023
Book Review: Poster Girl by Veronica Roth
Title: Poster Girl
By: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopian
Pages: 228
Release Date: October 18th, 2022
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:WHAT'S RIGHT IS RIGHT.
Sonya Kantor knows this slogan--she lived by it for most of her life. For decades, everyone in the Seattle-Portland megalopolis lived under it, as well as constant surveillance in the form of the Insight, an ocular implant that tracked every word and every action, rewarding or punishing by a rigid moral code set forth by the Delegation.
Then there was a revolution. The Delegation fell. Its most valuable members were locked in the Aperture, a prison on the outskirts of the city. And everyone else, now free from the Insight's monitoring, went on with their lives.
Sonya, former poster girl for the Delegation, has been imprisoned for ten years when an old enemy comes to her with a deal: find a missing girl who was stolen from her parents by the old regime, and earn her freedom. The path Sonya takes to find the child will lead her through an unfamiliar, crooked post-Delegation world where she finds herself digging deeper into the past--and her family's dark secrets--than she ever wanted to.
With razor sharp prose, Poster Girl is a haunting dystopian mystery that explores the expanding role of surveillance on society--an inescapable reality that we welcome all too easily.
Although this book was short, there was a lot going on in the pages. The pacing was good and the characters relatable. I felt the pains of the world, as they were deeply rooted in the pains of today. A grim reminder of human nature. Veronica Roth has an amazing story here. Worth the read.
February 20, 2023
Weekly Menu #495 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Monday!Last week was rough, especially the weekend. Along with the normal chaos of the kids with school meetings and work, we managed to get out of the house for a bit. It didn't make me feel as relaxed as planned. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It seemed that I was to be the butt of every joke or belittled in some way to build up others. I'm tired of defending myself, my family and my childhood.
Maybe this weeks read will keep my mind off my heartache. I'm reading Smolder by Laurell K. Hamilton. I'm ready for a vampire wedding to keep my mind of things. Make sure you come back to the blog on the 14th for the review.
Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy!
WEEKLY MENU
Monday
Tuesday
Kids - Sheet Pan Pancakes
Wednesday
Kids - Popcorn Chicken Salad
Thursday
Kids - Chicken Ramen
Friday
Parents Night Out
Kids - Pizza
Saturday
Sunday
Family Dinner
February 19, 2023
Sunday Confessions #187
Hello Sunday!
What a week. I asked the boys if they wanted to participate in any Valentines day festivities and they all declined, so that got me off the hook for buying Valentines day cards and goodies to share with their classes. Sometimes having introverted children is super easy.
Lets recap this week on the blog.
Sunday Confessions #186~Weekly Menu #494 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Waxing on: The Karate Kid and Me by Ralph Macchio~Book Review: If I did it: Confessions of the Killer by O.J. Simpson
Weekly Menu #495 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Poster Girl by Veronica Roth~Book Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry~Sunday Confessions #188
I'm up to season 5 of Chicago Med. We've also started watching How the Universe Works with Mike Rowe. Its surprisingly soothing and a good show to fall asleep to. Next Level Chef is back and I'm super excited.
12/100 2023 Reading Challenge~49/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~57/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~56/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
Another good week!
February 17, 2023
Book Review: If I did it: Confessions of the Killer by Fred Goldman and Kim Goldman
Title: If I Did It: Confessions of The Killer
By: Fred Goldman and Kim Goldman
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 240
Release Date: September 8th, 2008
Publisher: Beaufort Books
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:On July 31, 2007 Federal Court Judge A. Jay Cristol awarded the Goldman family the rights to If I Did It. Thus began one of the strangest odysseys in publishing history.
The book, called “one of the most chilling things I have ever read” by Barbara Walters, skyrocketed up bestseller lists across the country in fall 2007 as the national media relentlessly covered O.J. Simpson’s dramatic Las Vegas arrest for armed robbery and kidnapping.
Originally written by O.J. Simpson, this edition includes essays by the Goldmans and a member of the Goldman family legal team that reveal the fascinating story behind the bankruptcy case, the book’s publication and the looming court proceedings, that would eventually lead to his conviction.
Although reading this book made me feel morbid and dark, I couldn't put it down. Its like my husband always says, "It's like a train wreck. You just can't look away."
To know that O.J. Simpson wrote or had a hand in writing most the book, is disturbing, but paints a picture of the days leading up to the murders and also his mind set. I found him very narcissistic. He thought he could do no wrong and that everything that happened was Nicole's fault. Although we will never be able to hear her side of the story, I couldn't help but feel that she was a victim in all this, no matter what she contributed to the problems in their marriage.
Don't get me wrong, this was a disturbing book, but very enlightening.
February 15, 2023
Book Review: Waxing on: The Karate Kid and Me by Ralph Macchio
Title: Waxing on: The Karate Kid and Me
By: Ralph Macchio
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 256
Release Date: October 18th, 2022
Publisher: Dutton
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:Since The Karate Kid first crane-kicked its way into the pop culture stratosphere in June 1984, there hasn't been a week Ralph Macchio hasn't heard friendly shouts of "Wax on, wax off" or "Sweep the leg!" Now, with Macchio reprising his role as Daniel LaRusso in the #1 ranked Netflix show Cobra Kai, he is finally ready to look back at this classic movie and give the fans something they've long craved.
The book will be Ralph Macchio's celebratory reflection on the legacy of The Karate Kid in film, pop culture, and his own life. It will be a comprehensive look at a film that shaped him as much as it influenced the world. Macchio will share an insider's perspective of the untold story behind his starring role--the innocence of the early days, the audition process, and the filmmaking experience--as well as take readers through the birth of some of the film's most iconic moments.
Ultimately, the book centers on the film itself, focusing on the reason that the characters and themes have endured in such a powerful way and how these personal experiences have impacted Macchio's life. It will bring readers back to the day they met Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi for the first time, but will also provide a fascinating lens into how our pasts shape all of us and how the past can come back to enrich one's life in surprising and wonderful ways.
This book was heart warming and wonderful to read. Macchio really poured his life out inside the pages and gave us a good look at what his life was during his fame at a young age. I loved to hear his stories about Pat Morita and his life around the movie.
I read this book in one afternoon. A great read that was hard to put down. A definite must.
February 13, 2023
Weekly Menu #494 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Sunday!I've been fighting a migraine this week that just wont go away. Its really making it hard to function. The boys still need to get to school and housework still needs to be done. Dinner made. I wish there was a better way to get rid of the pain other than a nap and cold pack on my head.
This weeks read is The New One by Evie Green and I'm continuing to work on Ulysses by James Joyce. That is a big one.
Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy!
Monday
Kids - Cheese Quesadilla/Nachos
Tuesday
Sausage and Veggie Couscous Bowls
Kids - Mac and Cheese/Cheese and Breadsticks
Wednesday
Kids - Chicken Nuggets and Rice/Fries
Thursday
Kids - Chicken Salad/Bread Sticks
Friday
Kids - Cheese Quesadilla/Nachos
Saturday
Sunday
Leftovers Night
