Siracusa by Delia Ephron (Book) Spoilers

Siracusa by Delia Ephron

There will be spoilers in this post but it will be clearly marked.

 So I got this book Siracusa (by Delia Ephron) in my August Book of the Month Club shipment. (Link here) And I started reading it right away and it took me about a week to finish. The chapters are each told by a different character in the story.

Short description of plot: Two couples and one daughter go on a vacation to Italy and something dramatic happens at the end.


Longer description:
 The four main adult characters and the one teen character are: Finn, Taylor, Snow, Michael, and Lizzie. Side adult character Kath.

 Details about each character:
 -Finn: used to date Lizzie, married to Taylor, father of Snow. He is a restaurant owner.

 -Taylor: Married to Finn, mother of Snow. She works with the mayor's office in Portland, Maine on the city's tourism. She babies Snow and believes her to have extreme shyness syndrome. Can "decipher" what her daughter is trying to say even when no words are used.

 -Snow: a shy teenager, she goes through a transformation throughout the book - or maybe she was already like that but didn't show her true self until Italy.

 -Michael: Married to Lizzie, having an affair with Kath (you find out in Michael's first chapter about her so this isn't really a spoiler). He's written plays and is currently writing a play.

 -Lizzie: Married to Michael, used to date Finn. I think she's a freelance writer for newspapers and stuff but I don't really remember. She's the one who plans the Italy trip for the two couples.

 -Kath: Having an affair with Michael, she's the hostess at a restaurant Michael goes to frequently (where they met).

The story:
 The five main characters go to Italy on a vacation together, Rome is nice, Siracusa is next. Michael and Lizzie rekindle the romance in their relationship. Taylor is overprotective especially when Snow starts to be more engaged in her surroundings because of Michael (but Taylor not so secretly loves this). Snow is weird but that's the point. You're not supposed to be able to figure out what she's thinking. A mysterious thing that all of the online reviews mention happens. But you'll have to read the spoilers below to find out what it is. The spoilers will be clearly marked when it starts and ends. There will be some final thoughts afterwards. You'll see the "end spoilers" if you keep scrolling

SPOILERS!!

SPOILERS BELOW!!

SPOILERS!!

SPOILERS STARTING NOW!!

 Kath shows up on the trip. She surprises Michael in Siracusa. She used his plane miles by using her spare key into his office and accessing his password and other information. She gets a room at the same hotel as the rest of the group. And she makes him buy her a ring as a sign of commitment.

 Snow, who has been smitten with Michael this trip (not sure if romantic or as a father figure), finds out about the affair and allegedly pushes Kath onto the rocks by the sea. No one knows for sure but Kath is definitely dead.

END SPOILERS!!

SPOILERS OVER!!

END OF SPOILERS!!

YOU CAN READ THIS PART IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!!

Final thoughts:
 I like when a book has chapters each based on a different day (like Dracula's journal format) or each is a different character narrating like this book is. It gives us multiple points of view of one situation and we can see how each of the characters interpret the situation.
 I can totally see the author writing this book from Snow's point of view. Her thoughts should be quite interesting since she barely speaks throughout the book.

Leaving Netflix February 2016

Here are the shows and movies leaving Netflix in February 2016. What do you need to watch before they're gone?

February 1

• “Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein”
• “Asylum”
• “Bad Santa”
• “Benny and Joon”
• “Big Fish”
• “Blue Crush”
• “Classic Doctor Who: Collections 1-18”
• “Crocodile Dundee 2”
• “The Dancer Upstairs”
• “Daylight”
• “Doctor Who,” Seasons 1-8
• “The Firm”
• “Fletch”
• “Gifted Hands”
• “Gothika”
• “The Hurt Locker”
• “The Naked Gun”
• “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult”
• “Rain Man”
• “Ray”
• “Secrets and Lies,” Season 1
• “Sorority Row”
• “The Terminator”
• “Terms of Endearment”

February 2

• “Pokemon the Movie: BW Adventures in Unova and Beyonce”
• “Pokemon the Movie: Black: Victini and Reshiram”
• “Pokemon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened”
• “Pokemon the Movie: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice”
• “Pokemon the Movie: White: Victini and Zekrom”
• “Pokemon: Black & White,” Seasons 1 and 2
• “Pokemon: Indigo League,” Season 2

February 3

• “Bottle Shock”

February 7

• “Compliance”
• “Jack and Diane”

February 11

• “Bridezillas,” Season 10
• “Stephen King’s Bag of Bones”
• “United 93”
• “Were the World Mine”

February 13

• “The Fourth Kind”

February 15

• “Kitten Party”

February 16

• “The Pitch,” Season 2

February 17

• “Violet & Daisy”

February 19

• “North Sea Texas”
• “Problem Child: Leslie Jones”
• “Side by Side”

February 21

• “Jesus Camp”
• “Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas,” Season 1
• “Nobody Walks”
• “Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning”

February 24

• “Chicagoland,” Season 1
• “Death Row Stories,” Season 1

February 25

• “The Guild,” Season 1

February 27

• “Crooked Arrows”
• “Halloween: Resurrection

February 28

• “Sabrina: The Animated Series,” Seasons 1 and 2
• “The Sea Inside”
• “Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Series”

Coming to Netflix February 2016

For those of you who have Netflix or access to Netflix, these are the shows and movies coming out next month. What are you most excited about?

February 1

• “Armageddon”
• “Better Call Saul,” Season 1
• “Charlie’s Angels” (2000)
• “Collateral Damage”
• “Cruel Intentions”
• “A Faster Horse”
• “Full Metal Jacket”
• “Game Face”
• “Jennifer 8”
• “Johnny English”
• “The Little Engine That Could”
• “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles,” Season 1
• “Losing Isaiah”
• “Masha’s Tales,” Season 1
• “My Side of the Mountain”
• “Para Elisa”
• “A Picture of You”
• “Pokemon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction”
• “Pokemon XY,” Season 1
• “Scooby-Doo”
• “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed”
• “Sin City”
• “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”
• “Stardust”
• “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
• “Teen Witch”
• “Tin Man: Search for the Emerald”
• “The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom”

February 2

• “Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave”

February 3

• “I Love You Phillip Morris”

February 4

• “Love”

February 5

• “Care Bears & Cousins,” Season 2
• “Hannibal Buress: Comedy Camisado”
• “Mad Men,” Season 7 part 2
• “Turbo: F.A.S.T.,” Season 3

February 6

• “Lila and Eve”

February 10

• “Dope”
• “The Girl in the Book”

February 13

• “The Face of Love”

February 15

• “Open Season”
• “XXY”

February 16

• “Asthma”
• “Atonement”

February 17

• “The Returned,” Season 2

February 19

• “Cooked,” Season 1
• “Love,” Season 1

February 22

• “3rd World Cops 2”

February 23

• “Bare”

February 24

• “Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight!”

February 26

• “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny”
• “Fuller House,” Season 1
• “Theo Von”

February 28

• “Finding Vivian Maier”

February 29

• “Ashes and Embers”

Flesh and Bone

 There's a new show on the Starz channel called Flesh and Bone. I've started watching it and I am hooked. It's about 21 year old Claire Robbins who runs away from her sexually abusive brother to join the American Ballet Company in New York.
 She obviously has a tragic backstory because of her brother. She is portrayed as timid and shy because she has a secret to hide which gets annoying at times but it comes across in her dancing as passionate.

  I'm not going to summarize each episode but I do recommend everyone to check it out. Disclaimer, it is really dark and emotionally scarring so if you're sensitive to things, maybe skip this show. (After each episode I do need to get up and hug my dog or look at cute animals online. It is really dark.)

Female nudity involved (and one instance of male nudity so far). Also rape/sexual abuse.

Why I Stopped Reading

If you ask me now, I would say that I am currently reading Sherlock Holmes volume 1. (I accidentally bought, then read, volume 2 first.) But in reality, I haven't picked it up in forever.
The reason is...I am currently on the chapter called "The Final Problem" at the part where Sherlock and Watson are hiding from Moriarty by travelling all over Europe. I already know what's going to happen and it depresses me to think about it so I haven't been able to finish the story.
The other issue is, I just can't start a new book if I'm not able to finish my current one. Which means I've basically been stuck in reading limbo for over a year now.
There's so much of the book left to read but I just can't. :'(

Point of Honor - Pilot

Point of Honor

I am currently watching the Amazon pilot episode of Point of Honor and I have conflicting opinions about it. I feel like it's basically Gone With the Wind but with bad accents and less accurate outfits. It is a period drama based in Virginia at the beginning of the Civil War.

Location: Point of Honor in Virginia, owned by the Rhodes family.
Sisters: Kate - main sister who is in charge of the place and makes all the decisions. Lorelai - the only blond sister, married to a "Yankee" (Robert) who is fighting for the North, and a constant worrier.  Estella - the youngest sister, free and young, a bit "loose" for a lady, and the fun one.
All three sisters were taught to shoot and defend themselves by their father and they put it to use in the episode.
There are also two brothers, one is John, the other is a drunkard (apparently.)

Opinion: I love period dramas, especially ones with great costumes. This fell short of that. Costumes didn't look like they were from the right time, the colors seemed off. The accents (not that I can do better) were less than convincing. And the pilot didn't really show enough for us to want to know more about the characters. Sure it is another point of view to shoot this from, but the pilot episode should show enough to keep people wanting more.

Spoilers:










John leaves the army to free the slaves on his land but still fight for the South.
Robert leads the army to Virginia to stop the war before it begins. (But also to see his wife?)
Drunk brother sees some men from the army in the woods and has time to warn his family.
Rhodes men and some others from the town go to the army base to confront them.
The father is shot (not by Robert) and Robert rides away with the rest of the army.






With all that said, I would watch more just to see how they run with it.

Glee Season 6 Ep 3 - Jagged Little Tapestry

Glee Season 6 Episode 3 - Jagged Little Tapestry 

I apologize in advance but I have cut out a bunch of Becky’s storyline from this summary because I find her character very rude and not to my taste. (That and she’s so mean to Quinn)

Kurt is in the sheet music store looking for songs from Smash (tv show, I loved it!)

Blaine shows up on the other side of the aisle looking for the same thing. Dave is also there. Awkward.

They sing (song: It’s Too Late). This song actually means a lot to my family and me because of how much my dad sings it. Our whole family uses this song in situations when a person wants something after the fact “it’s too late baby, now it’s too late.”

Klaine scenes in their Dalton blazers. Regretful glances. They go to their respective pianos and look at pictures of the two of them together. Basically what the whole Klaine fandom has on their tumblrs.

Opening title sequence

Kurt suggests mash-up week. Me: already?

Kurt + Rachel don’t get along because they’re just Alphas.

Offensive things said to Quinn and Tina via Becky’s mouth.

Santana + Brittany scissor and have lesbian talk about their future. They confess their love. And they duet. (Song: Hand in My Pocket/I Feel the Earth Move.) Santana’s voice isn’t sexy Latina anymore, she basically sounds like Brittney’s singing voice. Santana proposes to Britt.Lots of jaw drops in the choir room. Rodrick: Wait…what is happening? Puck: This kind of thing happens all the time, just go with it.

Kurt has an outburst. Santana gets fiery. She makes fun of his dance moves and lists a million reasons Blaine and Kurt didn’t work out. Britt and Kurt have a bonding moment. But then she tells him that Blaine is moving in with Dave. More bonding moments.

Issues/argument about Becky’s new bf and having intercourse with someone who has Down Syndrome.

Jane and guy twin Mason duet. Kurt has Klaine flashbacks to when they first met and were running down the Dalton hallway, their first kiss, and when Parvoti died. He also sees when he refused to have sex in the back seat with Blaine, and when Blaine proposed. Tears.  (Song: Will You Love Me Tomorrow/Head Over Feet.)

Sue confronts Coach Beiste and finds out she has cancer. Sue is on her side.

Becky pretends to be part of the Glee club to impress her new boyfriend. (Song: So Far Away)

Coach Beiste tells Sam (and Sue) that she has gender dysphoria which means her outsides don’t match her insides and she’s going to change herself into a man. Sue is human in this scene.

Kurt, and Rachel sing with Tina and Britt as backup. Santana steals the stage. (Song: You Learn/You’ve Got a Friend)

Overall: Puck was there to give awesome one-liners. Sam is there to move the Coach Bieste storyline along. Quinn is there to look beautiful, show off awesome dresses, and to sing one or two lines a song to show off her voice. The old Glee club was called back to help with ratings because of viewer complaints.