Throwback Thursday (January 24) – Throw Momma From the Train

Posted on January 23, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

ATTENTION! Next week, Mandi and I will be hosting a Throwback Giveaway! That’s right, you will be able to WIN THINGS! I’m not telling you what yet, but they will be awesome. Trust me, you want to enter.

But here’s the catch: You will have the best chance of winning if you participate in Throwback Thursday. And comment on other people’s Throwback Thursday posts. And yes, you can do this after the giveaway goes live, but EVEN OLD THROWBACK THURSDAY POSTS WILL COUNT AS ENTRIES. In other words, browse your bookshelf or DVD collection, find something you loved, and HOP TO. RIGHT NOW. Get a leg up on the slackers.

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

It’s the nature of book blogging to focus mainly on new releases, but there are thousands of great books out there that haven’t seen the “New Releases” shelf in years. We hope to be able to bring attention to some older titles that may not be at the top of the current bestseller list, but still deserve a spot in your To-Be-Read pile.

You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can put up a Throwback Thursday post on your non-bookish blog; or if you don’t have a blog at all, just use the comments to tell us about a book you remember fondly.

And NOW! We’re expanding! Throwback Thursday is no longer limited to just books! Throwback Thursday is dedicated to shining the spotlight on any book-related old favorites that need to be remembered.What’s your favorite classic television show or movie adaptation? What about your favorite song? Was your favorite toy a character from a book?

Here’s how it works:

Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Throw Momma From the Train, starring Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal (1987)

I am classifying this under the category of “bookish” because although it is not actually based on a book, it is about a frustrated author suffering from writer’s block as he attempts to write his first novel, while making ends meet by teaching a creative writing class. That seems pretty bookish to me.

Also, it’s an excuse to talk about this movie, which is one of my favorite movies ever. EVAH.

Here’s the gist of it. Larry (Billy Crystal) has lost his writerly spark, as his first novel was stolen by his ex-wife Margaret (played by Captain Janeway) and subsequently hit the New York Times Bestseller List. He wants to write a new novel, but he’s too consumed by bitter thoughts of Margaret to make any process. This bitterness bleeds into all aspects of his life, including the adult writing class he teaches. In the class is Owen Lift (DeVito), a mild-mannered wannabe writer who lives with his cantankerous Momma (played by Mama Fratelli). Owen has attempted to write a murder mystery, but it sucks. Larry advises him to go see a Hitchcock thriller to try to get the feel of the kind of story he wants to tell in his head. Owen decides to see Strangers on a Train, and comes away with the notion that what Larry was really telling him was that he wants Owen to kill his wife in exchange for Larry killing Momma.

And what follows a hilarious tale of attempted murder and unlikely friendship.

I love this movie so much it’s ridiculous. Maybe you aren’t into black comedies from 1987, and that’s fine. But if you want something to make you laugh and provide you with an arsenal of quotable material (seriously, my husband and I quote this movie to each other all the time. It’s also the source material for the header on my Tumblr #shamelesstumblrplug), this is the movie for you. Or if you’re a frustrated writer who sometimes harbors violent urges (which…I think…is most writers).

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (January 17) – Roswell

Posted on January 17, 2013 by TheHouseworkCanWait

ATTENTION! In a couple weeks, Mandi and I will be hosting a Throwback Giveaway! That’s right, you will be able to WIN THINGS! I’m not telling you what yet, but they will be awesome. Trust me, you want to enter.

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

Here’s how it works:

Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Roswell, based on the Roswell High series of books by Melinda Metz

I discovered this series on Netflix a couple years ago, in my search to fill the void in my heart left by Buffy and Veronica Mars. I’ve never read the books the series is based on, but I watched the episodes like I read books, if that makes sense. As in, I couldn’t stop, and just kept starting the next episode after finishing the one before. Good thing the series is only 3 seasons long, or my family may have starved to death.

Roswell is about three aliens – Max, Michael, and Isabel – who crash landed on Earth as children, and grew up raised by humans. Max and Isobel were lucky enough to be discovered by a loving couple who wished for children of their own (Superman, anyone?), but Michael wasn’t so fortunate, and wound up in the foster system. As teens, Michael and Isabel FREAK OUT when Max uses his Alien Superpowers (because of course they have alien superpowers) to heal local waitress Liz Parker after she’s shot. Soon, Liz figures out that Max is not exactly human. And then her best friend Maria finds out. And the local sheriff smells something fishy about the whole thing. And Liz is kind of dating his son — which is inconvenient, because there is a Definite Something happening between Liz and Max.

Ugh, I could go on and on about all the things I love about this show, but I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t seen it. But never fear, if you want to gush about Roswell, I am more than happy to do that on a one-on-one basis. Just tweet at me or something, and I’ll be happy to blather on indefinitely about my great love for these characters. Especially Alex. And Kyle. And Michael. And Maria. And…well, all of them.

The show is this awesome combo of teen angst and superpowers and romance and sci-fi and mythology and secrets and puzzles and hiding and running. It is short, but at least the creators knew the show was ending, so everything wraps up pretty well at the end of the third season (although, make no mistake: I want more). And I love it so, so much.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (December 13) – The Shawshank Redemption

Posted on December 12, 2012 by TheHouseworkCanWait

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

Here’s how it works:

Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

The Shawshank Redemption

Based on the short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

This is the story of Andy Dufresne, a mild-mannered banker wrongfully accused of killing his wife and her lover, and his subsequent imprisonment in Shawshank Prison. It covers the nearly two decades Andy spends in Shawshank, the friendship he forms with Red, another convicted murderer, and the trials and horrors he suffers and overcomes while in prison. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and has one of the best movie endings I’ve ever seen. The novella it’s based on is quintessential King — beautifully written, harsh, poignant. But my heart lies with the movie. It’s difficult to watch at times, but so very worth it. I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve seen it, yet I never get tired of it. If you’ve never seen it, and if you have the stomach for it (it is rated R for language and prison violence), I’d say it’s a must-see.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (December 6) – Les Miserables

Posted on December 5, 2012 by TheHouseworkCanWait

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books.

THIS PART HAS CHANGED! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR GREATNESS!

Here’s how it works:

Pick any media (or non-media item) released more than 5 years ago. Remember to keep it book-related!
Write up a short summary (include the title, author, and cover art, if applicable) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list – or some other classic!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

My Throwback this week is…

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

I love this story. It’s beautiful and epic and inspiring and so, so sad. It is the story of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict recently released after serving 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Upon realizing he will never be able to build a new life for himself when he’s forced to show all potential employers his yellow ticket marking him as a felon, he breaks his parole. Flash forward a few years, he’s built a new life for himself. Unfortunately, others aren’t so lucky, and after Fantine is dismissed from one of his factories, she becomes desperate to provide for her child, Cosette, turning eventually to prostitution. When she is on her deathbed, Valjean promises to care for Cosette, as he feels responsible for what happened to her. He raises Cosette as his own, and when she grows up, she falls in love with passionate young student Marius on the eve of the Paris Uprising. As Marius attempts to choose between love and duty, Valjean realizes that Javert — the Inspector who has been hunting him since he broke his parole — has found him, and he is faced with a decision: Should he take Cosette and run, or should he stand his ground and finally face the ghosts of his past?

I KNOW. THIS STORY IS AMAZING. And yes, it is 150-year-old French literature, so it’s a bit hefty and doesn’t exactly fly by. But it’s worth muddling through.

AND NOW! Since we are changing Throwback Thursday to include other media inspired by books, I’ll also call attention to the musical, because it is fabulous and my favorite stage show of all time. I’ve seen it live five times and yes, I am BESIDE MYSELF with anticipation for the movie. (There was another movie, but I can’t recommend that one because although it follows the book pretty well, it ends WAY too early). But I haven’t seen the 2012 movie yet, so I can’t yet give it my shining stamp of approval, but I HAVE seen the stage show (five times, remember?) and can tell you that it is worth seeing. You will cry and be astounded.

(P.S. You don’t have to highlight the book and the movie/show/musical/play/whatever in the same post. I’m just doing it because I feel like it.)

Here, have a song.

Oh, also, Colm Wilkinson who plays Valjean in that video — and originated the role in London and New York — plays the bishop in the 2012 movie. How awesome is that?

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!

Throwback Thursday (November 29) – Water for Elephants

Posted on November 28, 2012 by TheHouseworkCanWait

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly meme hosted by The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books!

Here’s how it works:
1. Pick any book released more than 5 years ago. Adult, YA, Children’s; doesn’t matter. Any great book will do.
2. Write up a short summary of the book (include the title, author, and cover art) and an explanation of why you love it. Make sure to link back to The Housework Can Wait and Never Too Fond of Books in your post.
3. Link up your post at The Housework Can Wait or Never Too Fond of Books.
4. Visit as many blogs as you can, reminisce about books you loved, and discover some “new” books for your TBR list!

Feel free to grab the Throwback Thursday button code from the sidebar to use in your posts.

Thanks for participating, and we look forward to seeing which books you choose to remember!

Sorry that I fell off the radar there for a couple weeks. You may have noticed that my co-host, Mandi, has been on a blogging hiatus and I’ve been hosting solo for a few months now. Thankfully, she will be returning to the blogosphere next week, but in the meantime, life got away from me. There were holidays and vacations and basically, I just didn’t plan things very well. Sorry about that. But now we are back, so yay!

My Throwback this week is…

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

From Goodreads: As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It was there that he met Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. And he met Rosie, an untrainable elephant who was the great gray hope for this third-rate traveling show. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and, ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

For all of you currently sprinting to the finish of NaNoWriMo, this is a NaNo novel! There is hope! (Full disclosure: I’m not doing NaNo, but I know plenty of people who are, and decided to be relevant to the times for once in my life).

I honestly can’t remember what prompted me to read this book. I have a feeling it was something along the lines of a friend shoving it into my hands unsolicited and saying “Read this.” It’s not at all along the lines of what I usually read. But I loved it, and it left me itching for more circus books. It’s sad — at times heartbreaking — but also sweet and funny and utterly fascinating. The writing is lovely and I really got swept up in the world of the Benzini Brothers circus, with all its wonder and magic and grime and danger. The characters traversed the spectrum and evoked all sorts of emotions. If you think you’d like to try a circus book, this is where I’d recommend you start.

This is a blog hop! Link up your Throwback Thursday post below!