Tag Archives: Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday (December 13) – The Shawshank Redemption

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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…

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

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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.

THIS PART HAS CHANGED! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR GREATNESS!

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…

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

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, 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.

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!



Throwback Thursday (November 1) – Sphere

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, 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.

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!

My Throwback this week is…

Sphere by Michael Crichton

Remember how there was a period in my life when I read all the Michael Crichton? Well, during that period, and for a bit after, I stalwartly maintained that Sphere was my favorite book, not just of Crichton’s, but in general. I wouldn’t say that anymore, and I honestly don’t even think it’s my favorite Crichton anymore, but I still really like it. So much so that when I did my great book purge before I got married ten years ago (because we were about to move into a 450 square foot apartment and I thought I couldn’t fit all my books — a decision I’m still regretting), it was one of the few that survived.

Sphere is the story of a group of scientists — of course — called in by the government to study a strange (and possibly alien) sphere found on the ocean floor. They go live in a pressurized deep sea habitat and poke around for a while, and crazy psychological and alien shenanigans ensue. All very scientifically, of course, as this is Crichton and that’s what he does best.

But don’t rent the movie. It’s rubbish. If you want to see a good movie about a group of scientists encountering aliens in a deep sea habitat, watch The Abyss. It’s a much better use of your time.

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


');

Throwback Thursday (October 11) – The Oath

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Welcome to Throwback Thursday, 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.

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!

My Throwback this week is…

The Oath by Frank Peretti

Oh, Christian fiction, I have a love-hate relationship with you. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but too often it’s like being punched in the face with a Bible and then slugged in the gut by a preacher. Not that I’ve ever had either of those things happen — most of the preachers I’ve known haven’t exactly been the slug-you-in-the-gut type — but you know what I mean.

However, when it’s done well, I really enjoy it. And by “done well,” I mean that the story is interesting, the characters engaging, and it makes its point through illustration and allegory rather than through blatant and deliberate proselytizing.  The Oath, by Frank Peretti (one of the biggest names in Christian fiction), is — in my opinion — an example of it being done well.

The basic premise is a town full of flawed people, where the evil in their lives physically manifests via a viscous black goo literally oozing from their skin. And once they’re sufficiently gooey, they get eaten by a dragon. Yes.

There is tension and suspense, great pacing and some gripping action sequences. Obviously, being Christian fiction, there is an underlying spiritual message and moral to the story. It doesn’t just end at “And then they were all eaten by a dragon.” So if you’d rather it did, you’d probably be better off reading [insert story where they all get eaten by a dragon. I have not yet discovered this book, but if you come across it, would you let me know?]

But if this type of book seems like something you might enjoy — I did mention that the townspeople are being eaten by a dragon, right? — then you may want to check it out.

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