Book Chat - 9/1/2022

I do love beach reads. I do love the beach. I decided I want to read all of Elin Hilderbrand’s books at some point.

The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand 

It’s the first of her books set in Nantucket. The story centers around the owners, staff and guests of the exclusive Nantucket Beach Club and Hotel. The story is character driven and is a good read. I liked it.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 8/29/2022

Still redecorating. I watched one movie on Netflix.

In Hampstead, Diane Kenton plays an American widow who meets a curmudgeon (Brendon Gleason) living off the land. They strike up an unlikely relationship. Lesley Manville also stars. It’s cute!

MK out.

Book Chat - 8/25/2022

On this pseudo vacation, there’s more work going on than vacationing, but I’m for sure grabbing what I can when I can.

That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam 

It’s not a suspenseful page-turner, but it’s a timely story about a woman who adopts her African American nanny’s baby when the nanny dies in childbirth. I liked it.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

I’d call her The Queen of Beach Reads as she has been churning out a book (most, if not all set on Nantucket Island) a year for the last twenty or so. This one set in a hotel that has a real life counterpart on the island, the Nantucket Hotel and Resort. It includes references to a couple of Nantucket businesses. There’s mystery; there’s romance; there’s a beach. Loved it.

The dichotomy:

MK out.

Movie Monday - 8/22/2022

Currently busy with redecorating, but have managed to watch two films at the theater.

Tom Cruise returns to reprise his role in Top Gun: Maverick. Instead of being the hotshot fighter pilot, he is now the aged, experienced flyer who is tasked with imparting his knowledge on the next generation. One has to suspend a good bit of belief, but it was highly entertaining.

In Mack & Rita, 30-yr-old Mack has always felt she was an old woman in a young woman’s body. Again, suspending belief, she morphs to look like an older woman (played by Diane Keaton) on the outside. It was cute.

MK out.

Book Chat - 8/18/2022

I’m back on the road, but probably won’t read as many books this time.

The Push by Ashley Audrain

OMG! I read this book in one day and it took under 10 hours. I don’t know how to summarize the story without giving things away. I will say, it’s about a mother having trouble bonding with her newborn. She starts to feel that something is wrong with the child. That’s all I will say. Read it!

MK out.

Movie Monday - 8/15/2022

Still bingeing and reading and engaging in other dash worthy activities, whatever they may be.

Set in WWII, Summerland is a sweet film. A woman is coerced into caring for a child moved out of London for safekeeping during the war. It’s all much to her chagrin. Loved it.

Recent Binges:

Hacks - HBOMax

MK out.

Book Chat - 8/11/2022

I’ve slowed down with reading lately. Don’t ask me what is taking up all my time because I don’t know.

A recent read:

Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

This novel is a beach read in more ways than one. It’s set in a beach town, written by a foremost beach read Queen and tells a juicy story. A mom watches her kids try to navigate life 

without her. I liked it.

A couple I read a while back:

The Designer by Marius Gabriel

A delightful imagining of the discovery of Christian Dior. It was good.

The Dressmaker’s Gift by Fiona Valpy

Three seamstresses having to make dire choices survive WWII. Decades later, the granddaughter of one returns to Paris to find out more about her grandmother. It was very good.

MK out.