Read. Watch. Listen. Inquire.

  The newest installment to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter came out at midnight July 30, so naturally I already read it. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child starts off at the end of book 7, with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny putting their kids on the train to Hogwarts at Platform 9 3/4. The book (which is actually a script of the play in London that opened the same day the book came out) follows Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy on an adventure through time to save the world as they know it. This book was a fast read and a heartfelt journey back to an adventure and story that is dear to me. The characters are just the same as ever, though older and wiser. Hermione is Minister of Magic and Harry is head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ron runs Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and Ginny edits the Daily Prophet. The newest characters are the children of the famous trio and Draco's son Scorpius - who is best friends with Albus. I have been at home at Hog...

If you haven't started watching the Netflix series Stranger Things yet, you need to! It's a great coming of age show with the likes of Stand by Me , The Goonies , The Monster Squad and E.T . It's a great script, great cast of actors and it keeps you on your toes. It's a definitely must-see binge-watch kind of show. With only 8 episodes it went by quick and had me wanting to watch more. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the series follows three boys on a quest to save their friend, Will, who disappeared from their small town after playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Along the way, they meet Eleven, who helps them, in her own way. Winona Ryder plays Will's mom, Joyce, who is also looking for her son, obviously. What else would a mother do? It's a great come-back role for her. To me she is one of the princesses of the 80s and for her to be in this role, it's like going back to where it all began for her. There are other significant cha...

Check this trailer out ... the trailer for the upcoming season of Once Upon a Time ! I've been waiting for them to do an Aladdin story from the beginning. They came close when they did Once Upon a Time in Wonderland with a mad cast of characters - Jafar was in love with the Queen of Hearts and so obviously he was in the storyline, but where was Aladdin? A big question I have is why didn't they cast the actor who portrayed him in Wonderland for this upcoming season? Why switch around actors? Maybe he was busy, but the Knave of Hearts/Will portrayed by Michael Socha was in both series, so why not Naveen Andrews ? According to IMDB.com, Andrews is in Sense8 on Netflix, so maybe he was too busy to be recast as Jafar. Either way, I'm a stickler for changing actors. I always hated on General Hospital , or any soap opera for that matter, when actors were switched around. I know now that those actors got other roles, but still it messed with my emotions. I got used to Lucky ...

This was an amazing story! I just couldn't put it down. Many people have said they cried ... at times I was on the verge ... But it was so well written and the story so great that I understood what was happening before it was going to happen and so the sadness was not overwhelming because I understood the predicament. I don't want to give the whole story away but what I learned was some things you just have to deal with because you love someone and have to respect their wishes. Lou just lost her job at the coffee shop. A job she loved because she liked to talk to people. It wasn't a job that she wanted to have for the rest of her life, but it was something she had grown comfortable in. She was comfortable in her small town, her family home, her long-time boyfriend and her job. Until her boss closes up shop and she has to reassess her life. What does she want to do with her life? She tries all of these crazy jobs that just aren't a good fit for her. Even her career...

Before I watch the movie I have to read the book. Otherwise the book will be entirely ruined for me. And so...I will let you know how it is. 😊

I found this new app called Overdrive . It's basically a Netflix for books - but the books are from your local library and all you need is a library card. An acquaintance of mine told me about it while we were at our Tuesday night yarn club gathering at the Yarn Cow in Jacksonville, FL. I have a decent drive to and from work and I started getting audio books from the library, but haven't had a chance in a long while. But now, with this app, I can request audio or ebooks and check them out without ever entering the library, which is really convenient. The first book I listened to was Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millett. It wasn't a bad book, but I couldn't really get into it. There were some interesting parts like a kidnapping and the pursuit of mermaids - or was it to protect the mermaids? But it started out really slow. This book is about protecting nature, or at least that's what I figured it was about towards the end. Protecting the reef and the wildlif...

I've never read Jennifer Weiner before, but know that she writes what most people call: beach reads - a book that's easy and fun to read. No one wants to read Anna Karenina on the beach, right? So you need something - I don't want to say dumbed down, but yes, dumbed down. Something that everyone can understand, laugh about, maybe even cry a little. I bought this book a while ago at my local Books-A-Million on a sales rack and it's been sitting collecting dust in my book shelf with numerous other books for months. I haven't been reading a lot lately - sad, but true - but I've been busy and was reading Dan Brown for months. It's not that I couldn't get into it, but if you've read Brown, he has so much facts in there that you really have to pay attention and reading at work or while you're renovating a house, I put it down then have to go back and read a chapter or two before I can remember what happened. I also can't read more than one b...