Book Review: Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

Book: Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★

This is pretty much what it says it is... the love story between Alex and Eliza.... as in Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Shuyler. And we know that these two have risen to massive fame these past few years so their love story is a hot commodity!

(Does the thought of people who lived years ago suddenly becoming so famous in our day and age fascinate you? Like who will be the Alex and Eliza of our day for the people living hundreds of years from now? And if those people knew that now would it creep them out or would they think... wow! Cool beans?)

Anyway. I enjoyed this story but it felt just a bit lacking to me. I don't know why exactly... I needed more emotion or feeling or something. For a love story there really wasn't much romance. Most of the stuff in this book is "filled in" or "made up" since there really isn't much to go on. But still, I guess the author had to stick with what mos likely could have happened, and most likely there really wasn't a whole lot of interaction between them!

(Though there was a great rescue scene involving a horse ride that I quite enjoyed!)

The historical backdrop for all of this is interesting for sure. Living during this time period must have been crazy to say the least. And thus, I think, all the fascination with it, and the reason why a crazy fun musical was made to spark everyone's interest anew.

So, I heartily recommend this one if you are in the Hamilton camp or have kids that are. It's a fun look at the people, the history and the love story.

Top TWENTY KPOP SONGS of 2018

Over on the channel we each made a video highlighting our favorite songs of the year. Any songs that overlapped made it to TOP 12 Songs from all of us.

It was a great and beautiful year for awesome music. And very very hard to choose only 20 favorite songs. So after a bit of stress, here are my favorite songs:






Here are the songs that made the cut to final top 12 songs for our channel:





If you are into Korean music, let me know if any of these songs made it to your favorites list. (Or, if you aren't into Korean music but you listened anyway, I would love to know if any songs stood out to you and made you think.. oh... that's not bad at all. :)

If you are into American/Western/English music, let me know what awesome songs I missed this year.  I hear a lot about Shawn Mendez, Chainsmokers, Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello.... are any of them your favorites and someone I should check out?

Year End Book Survey 2018

The annual year end survey from Jamie at the Perpetual Page Turner is still happening! I wondered if it had died along with so many other book blogger memories, but here it is! 

My reading was a bit better this year than the past couple of years, so maybe I can find answers for most of these. Let's so how it goes, should we?

I will have the annual number crunch later in a different post. 

1. Best Book You Read In 2018?

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee for non fiction

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

This is for sure Hank Green's book, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. I thought I'd totally love it. But nope. It was WAY too weird and agendy for me. Sadness!

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Well, so yeah I was surprised I didn't like Hank's book better. I was surprised that Orphan Keeper was so good. I was surprised that Every Falling Story was so good too. 

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

I didn't really push any books this year. Maybe I pushed the fun that is Kasie West books and people seemed to take me up on that a bit. 

5. Best series you started in 2018? Best Sequel of 2018? Best Series Ender of 2018?

I started the Shadow and Bone series, also it's companion series Six of Crows. Loved it! I hope to finish the Shadow and Bone books this year. 

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2018?

Probably Leigh Bardugo for this one. Also, I would love to read more Fredrik Backman books. 

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

I read a couple of Asian fairy tale books. Definitely something out of my normal. One of them, The Princess and the Beggar, I loved a lot and would love to rewrite as a YA romance. Yeah. Ha.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Probably Six of Crows for this one. It was a bit hard to catch one's breath during that book! One thing after another!

9. Book You Read In 2018 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Probably none of this year's books, but I read Eliza and Her Monsters at the very end of 2017 and I have an inkling I might re-read this coming year if we vote it in for book club. :)

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2018?

I can't think of any favorite covers. Nothing stood out I guess.

11. Most memorable character of 2018?

Ove from A Man Called Ove is pretty memorable. I quite enjoyed him!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2018?

There were actually a lot this year that I enjoyed the writing, but I think I'm going to go with A Gentleman in Moscow. Just the flow was so nice, the style, the wit. I really enjoyed it.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2018?

Thought provoking probably goes to Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee. Wow, his story is crazy amazing. Also Please Look After Mom. LOVE YOUR MOMS PEOPLE!

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2018 to finally read?

I'm thinking this would be Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows both. I have been hearing about them forever and FINALLY I know why!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2018?

“Only after Mom went missing did you realize that her stories were piled inside you, in endless stacks. Mom's everyday life used to go on in a repeating loop, without a break. Her everyday words, which you didn't think deeply about and sometimes dismissed as useless when she was with you, awoke in your heart, creating tidal waves.”
― Kyung-Sook Shin, Please Look After Mom

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2018?

Longest: Crooked Kingdom at 536 pages
Shortest: I read three books that are 32 pages long. The two Asian fairy tales and also Those Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula LeGuin. 

17. Book That Shocked You The Most

Okay, speaking of Those Who Walk Away from Omelas! The shocking thing in that book is... shocking! 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR 

Clay and Carrie, from Markus Zusak's Bridge of Clay.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

The relationship between the Count and Nina (is that her name, I already forgot!) in A Gentleman from Moscow.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2018 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. Some people did find it very good, but I loved it. 

21. Best Book You Read In 2018 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

Not a specific recommendation, but just a another book that I had heard so much about and was a little leery about... but then, it was awesome. The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright. Quite the story this one!

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2018?

I didn't crush on anyone particularly hard in any of my books this year. Sadness! I would have loved to know more about the dude in 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You... and then I would have probably crushed! Paul. His name is Paul. 

23. Best 2018 debut you read?

I don't think I read any debuts this year!

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Definitely the world from Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone. A beautiful, rich and scary world!

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

All my kpop romance books. They do make me smile if nothing else!

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2018?

I cried quite a bit when the two moms in Orphan Keeper met up.

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Please Look After Mom by Kyung Suk Shin was a book I read sort of suddenly, spur of the moment, knowing nothing about and it was lovely. So glad this one ended up on the list! 

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

Bridge of Clay was soul crushing. WHY ALL THE SADNESS MR. ZUSAK????

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2018?

Probably Please Look After Mom just because of all the interesting POV changes.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

I was kinda mad about how Crooked Kingdom ended. The yearning and longing in my heart!!! AH!!!

1. New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2018?

BookTube channel is Emily Boone! YES!!! 

2. Favorite post you wrote in 2018?

Probably the Up10tion concert review. So fun to write and gush and remember that lovely experience.


3. Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2018:?

LOL, this one is easy!!! Talk about a highlight moment of the year!!!

4. Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, etc.)?


See above!!! Meeting Markus Zusak again having him take MY picture and post ME on his Instagram??? Yeah. Not to mention just listening to him for an hour. Best. Thing. Ever.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2018?

Okay. I sense a theme here. SEE ABOVE!!!! :)

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Well, the challenge to keep posting is getting harder and harder. Not that I don't really want to. I do. But everyone is gone. The room is empty. It's echoing around here. There is no more interaction. The hey day is over. It's so sad. And so the motivation is slowly ebbing away.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

I participated in Bloggiesta back in March and my post about blogging slumps got the most love this year. Surprising... a kdrama review is in second place! Who knew? :)

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
 

Of course I wish my kdrama reviews got more love, but I'm not surprised. Though I knew there are tons of kdrama lovers out there, I just wish they could find me! Meanwhile, they get more views than my book reviews lately, just not any interaction or comments. And I love gushing about them, so for now, they will stay!

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Nothing really new for me this year in this category. 

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I lowered by Goodreads goal significantly it seemed to be the perfect number! I read 40 books this year and completed the goal!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2018 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2019?

I have stacks and stacks to get to.. nothing in particular though.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2019 (non-debut)?

My mind is blank. I was looking up books the other day on Amazon and looking forward to so many! But now I can't think of what any of them were!!

3. 2019 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

I don't know the debuts! You tell me!

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2019?

Not a new series, but I look forward to finishing the Shadow and Bone series.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2019?

Just keep reading and blogging, and hoping not dropping it all.


Well...for what it's worth, there are my thoughts on some books I read this year! Let me know if you fill this out and share thoughts too!

Favorite Things of 2018

Here are a few of my favorite things of the this year. What have been some of YOUR favorite things this year?

Trader Joe's FINALLY came to our area and I'm loving it. The buzz about this store is all true!

These ice cream bars were on sale once this summer. And I've bought them every time I  go to Costco since. Dang, but we become addicted

This is a small little company that puts on kpop concerts for small little groups in small little venues. And we experienced that for the first time this year and it was awesome. I want to keep going to small little places and enjoy the small little groups where you can actually have some eye contact and interaction! It's the best!

In all our travels I have discovered the magic of getting  a Lyft ride. (Preferred over Uber for some unknown reason.) What a lot of stress and hassle this saves!! Thank you Lyft drivers!

The new favorite group of the year for me is definitely these guys. Stray Kids. They debuted in March I think? And have since won Rookie of the Year! They are adorable and amazing and unbelievably talented. 

Some other favorites of the year:

Kim Sang Woo

Min Yoon Gi 

Jung Taek Woon

Lee Jin Hyuk

Park Hyung Sik

Seo In Guk

Another great year with great discoveries and experiences! Can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Mini Reviews: Recent Media Consumption

I have a list of a bunch of things I've seen and read and attended this past while. I was going to write posts for them all, but then I remembered the awesome mini review idea and thought: brilliant plan! Especially since most of these really don't require a full post. So here goes.


Movie: Robin Hood

We had the theater rented out for Stuey's work people. I have no idea why they picked this movie for a party, but they did, so we went. I knew nothing AT ALL going in. So, it was yet again another take on the story of how Robin Hood began. I love this story, so of course I enjoyed it. But mostly it made me miss the BBC production that I loved back in the day. The dude playing Robin Hood reminded me both of that dude and Stephen Amell who plays the Green Arrow dude. Anyway, it was enjoyable with lots of great fight/escapade scenes as one would expect with Robin Hood.




Broadway: Finding Neverland

Last week we went to another musical... Finding Neverland and it was also enjoyable. I thought my heart strings would be tugged at more than they were, but it was sweet and the music was pretty great and the kids in the show were awesome. I think the actual stars could have been... louder. Not sure if it was their fault or the fault of the sound guy. But yeah. LOUDER!






Book: Flower Boy Tour Guide by Shannon Kent

Another fun fluffy K fan book.... this one not kpop, but kdrama. I read it on my phone on the plane coming home from our Thanksgiving adventure. It was a quick read, yes! It's about a girl (this one is not YA but NA... very very clean NA) who goes to Korea to participate in a tour of all the fun kdrama places. And the guy who leads this tour is beautiful of course (the flower boy... a term for beautiful guy.) But they annoy each other... until they don't. :) It was fun, as all these little easy K fan books are!



TV Show: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

While visiting my daughter, I suggested we watch this one evening. It was a fun one to watch together though her husband thought it was way too predictable and trope-y. I didn't remember the book at all, so everything was new to me. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a sweet and well done movie.



 

  Movie: Luck Key

When Toto joined us in Illinois for Thanksgiving she "made" us  watch this Korean movie that she had just watched with roommates and loved. Everyone actually seemed to enjoy it, (the above son in law seemed to enjoy it better than PPP Society!) It's one of those movies where you THINK you know what's happening, but in the end, everything was not at all as it seemed. We have two guys who live completely different lives and they somehow (the mess up of the locker key) switch lives. And in the process, they become better dudes... and in the process we the viewers find out what's REALLY going on. Pretty good!



Movie: BTS Burn the Stage

Earlier this year YouTube Red did an awesome documentary on BTS following them on their Wings tour (the one in 2017 that I was able to attend) and we all loved. So then they decided to do a feature film. I thought it was the same thing, but when it came out the week before Thanksgiving (only limited showings in limited places) I heard from all those able to go that it was similar, but different. So of course I was sad I couldn't go since I was no where near a theater that was showing it. But lucky for me, they decided to bring it back for a second run and I got to go this time!  YES! It was so fun. I smiled and giggled so much my face hurt. It's so awesome to see the behind the scenes of what these guys put themselves through to make fans happy and put on the best concerts they can.





What have you all been watching, seeing and reading these days?

Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

Movie: Bohemian Rhapsody
Genre: Biography/Musical
Starring:  Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: Two thumbs up

I've actually watched a handful of movies the past while and I've gotten really behind telling you about them! LOL! (This cracks me up big time since I know you are all DYING to know my thoughts on the things....)

Of course I had to watch this movie even though it took forever for me to finally get there! We did make it before it left the theaters though!

Queen was one of my first musical loves that I discovered on my own (meaning not the stuff my parents played and/or sang.) I was very very  much in love with We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions right around my 13th birthday I think it was.. .and I got that 45 record with one song on one side and the other on the other. I was ecstatic! I loved it so so much!!

A few years later I was all about Another One Bites the Dust. Oh man... that song though. I also remember loving Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Under Pressure and of course Flash Gordon.. oh MAN I LOVED THAT ONE! LOL! And the movie that went with it! Guys I was just as crazy then as I am now believe me.

Anyway, as far as the Bohemian Rhapsody song, I have no idea when I became aware of it... I think I just always knew it! And I think this is one song that I can say I pretty much know every word. If ever I had to do Karaoke this is the song I'd choose....

The movie was awesome. Sad. Depressing. Yes. But awesome. I was not aware of the "group" growing up...  I just loved the songs. I knew nothing about them as people. If I would have known them, I can tell you I would have been in love with the drummer. Pretty sure of it. The dude playing the drummer was dang cute.

The movie takes us through the whole beginning of Queen and how they become popular, how Freddie Mercury just got crazier and crazier, how he estranged himself from the group, and how they came together again for the huge LIVE AID concert... a concert I should have known about and been aware of... but I was not up on those things then. Probably someone on the radio talked about it. But the fact that Queen came together for that and how big a deal it really was... I was not aware.

Anyway, so it was fun to see this story. Though as I said... it's so depressing. I feel like so many success stories end in sadness and tragedy and relationships that are ruined. It seems to happen over and over again.

Despite all that, they remain one of my all time favorites. I love them so much. And there are so may memories tied up with their songs. I'm glad I was part of their heyday back in the late 70s and early 80s! :)

The movie trailer:




And the MV for Flash!! LOL! I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! It's the BEST cheesiest thing EVER!!

Book Review: A Gentelman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Book: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This was our book club read this past month. I had only half of it read by the time we met, but I FINISHED NOW! Yay! It's a great book, but there are some slowish parts I must say... or parts that just basically go over my head. But not enough to make me too frustrated.

Anyway, it's about a dude.. a Count who has ties to the Russian Tsars? yes? I think... and he gets mixed up in the political upheaval that happens after the Russian Revolution and because of a poem he wrote, he is under house arrest for the rest of his life and big fancy hotel in Moscow.

Which doesn't seem so bad since he was basically living there anyway, but it turns out they kicked him out of his fancy suite and banned him to tiny attic room.

Well, he makes the best of it and lives his life over the years and this is his story... his life in this big fancy hotel in Moscow! (Guys, if I ever go to Moscow.. ha ha... this hotel will be something I will be wanting to see for sure now!)

The years fly by and it seems big events happen all the time on the 21st of June, since that's how many chapters start out. I loved that literary device. And I'm so slow that it took me nearly the whole book to realize all the chapter titles started with A.... I wonder what the significance of that is, cause nothing obvious is coming to mind. But it's cool anyway and another fun little device of the author's.

Our Count meets a little girl who becomes his close friend and they have all sorts of adventures in the hotel. We watch her grow up and then we watch HER girl grow up. The Count is very close buddies with the workers in the hotel and ends up being a waiter at the restaurant himself.

You'd think he was happy with all the lovely stuff that's going on there, and it seems there's plenty to do. He even has a girlfriend! But it appears not all is as it seems....

I loved the writing in this one. So snarky and funny and witty. I loved it. I loved learning about history as we flew through the years, though as I said some of it went over my head. I loved this Count character from the very first page. He's great!

It isn't an easy book to read, that's for sure and requires some brain power, but I'm happy to say I seemed to have found the power needed and even though it took a few weeks, I managed it just fine!