Just what I needed

After four days of no electricity, a massive pile of lawn mess, fallen trees, a wet basement, wasted food, no air conditioning and lots of traveling from family home to other family homes, Monday night we received some relief. POWER BACK ON!

Just in time to toast up a pizza, bath the little one, get him tucked into a nice cool bedroom, and prop our feet to watch UNDER THE DOME.

I enjoyed the heck out of it. You?

Just what I needed.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Life Post

Folks, we are coming up on my fourth year of book blogging. I've done giveaways, big posts, and whatnot but this year...well, I'm actually thinking more of change and what's next. I've explored the motivation behind my blog in yearly wrap posts and here and there. My blog definitely has changed; at times it has been very extensive and diverse and other times, I can barely slap up a few sentence review. This is life, especially when it involves a "hobby" per se.

Books will always be one of my favorite pastimes and I still very much like my blog. But I've been thinking of expanding it, either in a separate "life" blog that links on my sidebar OR just reinvent Red Headed Book Child all together. My life is bigger than just books and I've got a crap ton to say. 

I'm leaning more towards just revamping the look of Red Headed Book Child and incorporating more life posts rather than book posts.

My life has changed a lot in the last four years. 
To quote my Facebook post: "In the last 3 years, I went from having everything in place. A career, benefits, savings, a house, a beautiful baby, a happy marriage, and wicked sense of identity to losing my career, being denied insurance, using all my savings, not being able to afford to fix my old house, my baby becoming a little boy with special needs, a marriage that I have to remind myself to nurture sometimes and an identity that I'm still trying to figure out and regain. But through it all, I love my life and even with the recent turn of events, I will get through it once again. Because I 'effing rock."

So my blogging friends, I ask you. New Blog with New Name? Or Same Old Blog Name and 
new design?

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by 

(and thanks for your input in 

advance)

red headed book child

Blogger Night at the Ordway: The Buddy Holly Story

It was finally a beautiful evening out this past Wednesday.  No rain. No cloudy skies. Perfect for a night at the theater. This time around it was all about Rock-n-Roll, Buddy Holly style. 

The Buddy Holly Story was a musical romp through the very short life of the pop singer; starting with his earlier days of doing country radio and breaking out with his rock-n-roll sound soon there after. It also included his struggles between him and his record labels, his urgency in doing the music he wanted to do and his whirlwind marriage to a record executive's niece.

The music was lively and I couldn't help but sing along. I am the youngest of five kids with parents that are now in their seventies. This was the music I grew up listening to. The "Day the Music Died" was well known in my household. I was the only kid in my neck of the woods who had a cassette tape of Richtie Valens. So listening to all this music was like going home.

My only issue with it was that there really wasn't a lot of substance to this show. His life, though tragic indeed from having ended so soon, wasn't an overly dramatic tale. I don't think  you need all that drama all the time to make a good story but it seemed that there were quite a few filler moments. The actors were overly hyped and overly expressive in most scenes and that got a little jarring but the musical performances were outstanding. Seriously lively, spot on and very fun to watch.

Overall, it was a fun show. I think for the nostalgic set, this would be a blast. But expect more of a concert rather than a in depth story of his life.

Playing now through June 16 at the Ordway. Click here for details.

Here is one of my favorite Buddy songs. That'll be the day

Happy Listening and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Want to see something a little frightening?

 

 Check out the book trailer for Noah's Rainy Day by Sandra Brannan.

#livbergen

Be prepared for chills.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Audio Review: Let's Pretend this never happened by Jenny Lawson

Jenny Lawson realized that the most mortifying moments of our lives—the ones we’d like to pretend never happened—are in fact the ones that define us. In the #1 New York Times bestseller, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Lawson takes readers on a hilarious journey recalling her bizarre upbringing in rural Texas, her devastatingly awkward high school years, and her relationship with her long-suffering husband, Victor. Chapters include: “Stanley the Magical, Talking Squirrel”; “A Series of Angry Post-It Notes to My Husband”; “My Vagina Is Fine. Thanks for Asking”; “And Then I Snuck a Dead Cuban Alligator on an Airplane.” (GoodReads)

This book came out a few years back and popped up on my radar when I found out the author was the Keynote speaker at a Book Blogger Convention during BEA. I was unable to attend that year and didn't really know much about Jenny Lawson at all. She was a blogger, appropriately named The Bloggess. That's all I knew.

Well, like most things, I was waaaaaaay behind on this one. I am so incredibly happy I finally got around to reading/listening to this. The Ladies' Book Club chose this for our June pick and I can not be happier with it. Lawson reads it herself, which is perfect, much like Tina Fey was reading her humorous memoir. 

Lawson's squeaky, anal, always somewhat self righteous and perturbed tone makes her over the top stories and opinions an absoolute riot to listen to. I was lucky to find a whole Goodreads page of favorite quotes from this book because I honestly could not keep up with how many I wanted to write on my walls for a quick reminder chuckle for the future. 

“When I was in junior high I read a lot of Danielle Steele. So I always assumed that the day I got engaged I'd be naked, covered in rose petals, and sleeping with the brother of the man who'd kidnapped me.” “It's true, I did say I wanted girlfriends," I capitulated hesitantly, "but couldn't we start with something smaller and less terrifying? Like maybe spend a weekend at a crack house? I heard those people are very nonjudgmental, and if you accidentally say something offensive you can just blame it on their hallucinations.” 


Excuse me while I fall off my chair from laughing.

"It's true, I did say I wanted girlfriends," I capitulated hesitantly, "but couldn't we start with something smaller and less terrifying? Like maybe spend a weekend at a crack house? I heard those people are very nonjudgmental, and if you accidentally say something offensive you can just blame it on their hallucinations.” 

Hilarious.

It's so much better on audio, to hear her tell it all. I am so excited to discuss this with my book club. There are actual serious moments too. Lawson is honest in her attempts to have a child and her battles with her health and keeping a marriage going. But you can tell that humor is what has carried her and helped her gain some much needed perspective on life. I actually learned quite a bit from listening to her. Look for the light in situations.

So far this is her only book and I'm kind of going through a withdrawal. Luckily she has a blog that I can stalk... I mean, follow. :)

Author Website:
Jenny Lawson

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child