Thursday, August 31, 2017

#CatThursday: #Cats in Art (23) - Adam, Anker, Currier and Ives


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

The Favorite Cat - Currier and Ives 1838-1846

Albert Anker - Girl with Cat watercolor 1903

Albert Anker - 1862 

Julius Adam II - German 1852-1913
Cat with Kittens at Play

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Tuesday, August 29, 2017

#EricaGoss Night Court - Review


My thoughts
Each time I review a book of poetry, I think to myself, "I need to read more poetry." Poetry centers me. As I'm reading each poem, I feel a calmness come over me. There are moments of joy, and too, moments of sadness. This holds true in this lovely volume of poetry titled Night Court. As I was reading, I felt each poem describing some aspect of life. Very relatable and, at times, poignant. I found the poems about parents the most compelling and touching. I've been having a difficult time of late with my relationship with my dad so the poems about her father really spoke to me. Particularly "My Father at Seventy" and "Visiting Hours." The latter had me near tears. I'll share it with you...

Visiting Hours

You don't panic when you see him
sitting at the window of his private room

where he's been sketching a bottle of hand lotion.
Something else sets in, let's call it pre-panic,

like the first time he left you, dropped your hand
and stepped through the kindergarten door

or when you left him in a dorm
with two wall-eyed roommates.

This not-quite-panic, this warmup-for-panic
served you well when he called you from

the highway with a crumpled fender.
You made him call the tow truck, made him

take responsibility, for once,
smug and parental and not panicking.

But when he looks through you, tells you about movie night
and occupational therapy

shows you the ten pills a day he needs 
just to keep his world horizontal

you let the clean heat of panic constrict your heart,
loosen your gut, the sweat rolling down your scalp

like the first rain after summer's drought
in a California meadow.

Like I said, relatable. "Visiting Hours" perfectly captures what we fear, but must face, with aging parents. Not hard to understand why this one had me near tears.

If you love poetry, I highly recommend Goss's Night Court. I hope it speaks to you as it spoke to me.

********

Night Court by Erica Goss was the winner of the 2016 Lyrebird Award and published by Glass Lyre Press in May 2017.

Advance Praise:
“Night Court leaves us hungry for more of the poet’s open, probing, leaping intelligence, her ‘wild associations’ and surprises in the unexpected ‘shivering’ sweetness of a love story where ‘joy scrambles sadness.’ We hear ‘the clatter of souls entering bodies’ and experience ‘spring’s lizard stealth’ as sadness, longing and reluctance are transformed by breath-stopping beauty. Like a creature in the forest, the poet will ‘rub my cheek against the night.’ And she reminds us a prince waits, perhaps for centuries, until we wake.”
—Susan G. Wooldridge, author of poemcrazy: freeing your life with words

“’No more / mindless syrup blunting / raw edges, // no more disguising things / with bland counterparts.’ The poems in Night Court are often starkly rendered, tough yet sensitive. Deeply imaginative, the poems describe a feral world also experienced by children, a world of hungry ghosts, magic, beasts and violence. ‘There’s a crack at the edge / of the world where the dark // and comic leak through’ Goss takes us to this illuminating place.”
— Robert S. Pesich, President, Poetry Center San Jose


About the Poet:
Erica Goss is a poet and freelance writer. She served as Poet Laureate of Los Gatos, CA from 2013-2016. She is the author of Night Court, winner of the 2016 Lyrebird Award, Wild Place and Vibrant Words: Ideas and Inspirations for Poets. Recent work appears in Lake Effect, Atticus Review, Contrary, Eclectica, The Red Wheelbarrow, Main Street Rag, Pearl, Rattle, Wild Violet, and Comstock Review, among others. She is co-founder of Media Poetry Studio, a poetry-and-film camp for teen girls: . Please visit her website, Facebook page, LinkedIn, and Vimeo.

Video poem: https://vimeo.com/214537057
Available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2uzK6ne

Blog Tour Schedule:
Aug. 3: Reading Writings (Guest Post)
Aug. 8: Modern Creative Life (Typical Tuesday)
Aug. 14: Reading Writings (Review)
Aug. 16: The Book Connection (Interview)
Aug. 21: Modern Creative Life (Studio Tour)
Aug. 28: Diary of an Eccentric (Video Poem)
Aug. 29: True Book Addict (Review)
Aug. 30: Wall-to-Wall Books (Review)
Aug. 31: Reading Writings (Interview)
Sept. 6: Celticlady’s Reviews (Book Spotlight)
Sept. 12 Readaholic Zone (Review)



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Thursday, August 24, 2017

#CatThursday - Random cuteness #cats


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

With everything going on in the world lately, not to mention what might be going on in our own personal lives, I thought we could use some cuteness this week. Enjoy!




I had to share this one I saw on Facebook. I'm always comparing Alice to Toothless! Guess I'm not the only one who compares their black cat to that awesome dragon. Seriously though, Alice has the disposition and everything. 😻


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Thursday, August 17, 2017

#CatThursday - #Authors and #Cats (65) Julia Child


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

The second Cat Thursday of each month is Authors and Cats Thursday. Each time I will feature an author with their cat(s), or pictured with a cat(s). Moving this to this week since we had the tribute to Jigglypuff last week.


Julia Child would have celebrated her birthday this month, this past Tuesday in fact. (August 15, 1912 - August 13, 2004) I have long been fascinated with Julia, ever since that horrible Saturday Night Live skit in the 70s. Then came the film Julie & Julia and that really piqued my fascination (still have not read the book. Go figure). I pretty much watch the movie every time it's on. My dream is to own her cookbooks, but they're hard to come by (expensive). Maybe someday. Turns out she was also a cat lover. These images are of her with her cat Minette, and then the kitty on her own. Cute!


Julia Child was a famous American cook, author, and television personality who introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques to the American mainstream through her many cookbooks and television programs. Her most famous works are the 1961 cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and, showcasing her sui generis television persona, the series The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

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Thursday, August 10, 2017

#CatThursday - In memory of Jigglypuff #cats


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

This week, we say goodbye to one of our own. Kate and Jigglypuff were a part of Cat Thursday from the start. Kate blogs at Books, Crafts and Pretty Things. Sadly, Jigglypuff passed away last week on Friday. At 17 years old, she was sick with tumors and arthritis. She sure did live a long life. 



Jigglypuff was always such a joy to visit on Kate's blog. Definitely a kitty with personality. She even had her own Facebook page. Kate, we are so sorry for your loss. We know you will miss her dearly. Hugs from Alice, Arya and me...and all of us at Cat Thursday. May her dear soul rest in peace. ❤



I hope Kate doesn't mind that I nabbed a couple of images of her. It wouldn't be a tribute without them. 

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Saturday, August 5, 2017

Happy Nine Years, True Book Addict! #Blogiversary


Can you believe it? Nine years! Where has the time gone?

I found my tribe nine years ago and it has changed my life. A girl who already loved reading blew that love up into the stratosphere when she discovered book blogging and this wonderful bookish community. This blog started it all for me. I not only blog here, and at my sister (horror) blog, Castle Macabre, but I also host two book clubs on Goodreads, host six readathons yearly at Seasons of Reading, and I have a community reading site, Gather Together and Read, from which I host all of my reading challenges (and read-alongs of books from those challenges).


I know my blogging/reviews have slacked off a bit, but I'm still around and I'm trying to get back into more regular review writing. In the meantime, I'm participating in Roof Beam Reader's Austin in August, and I still host Cat Thursday every week.

I'd like to thank everyone who follows me and takes the time to read what I post. As many of you know, blogging is a labor of love. We don't get paid. A person must have a real passion for it to keep at it year after year. I have no intention of stopping. I love it. I love all the friends I've made, all the great authors I've met, and all of the wonderful books I've discovered.


So, in recognition of nine wondrous years, and to thank you for your friendship and loyalty, I'm hosting a little giveaway. I'm giving away a $10 gift certificate (egift) from Better World Books to one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me a book you've read recently that you would recommend. Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact the winner. (Anyone who does not leave an email address will not be entered. If you're afraid of a bot stealing it, enter it like so: truebookaddict AT gmail DOT com) This giveaway will end on September 1st at 12 midnight central time.

Good luck...and thanks again for being here!



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Thursday, August 3, 2017

#CatThursday - On hiatus this week


Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)

Right about now (12:00am central), I'm at my sleep doctor's office in the midst of an overnight sleep study. Joy. So, we are on hiatus this week. I will leave you this to tide you over. 😺


See you next week!


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Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Austen in August #AustenInAugustRBR Northanger Abbey #CBAM2017


I've been looking forward to this all summer! I think it's time for some Jane in my life again. How about you? My friend, Adam, Mr. Roof Beam Reader is hosting his FIFTH year of Austen in August. How awesome is that? Also, he appropriately planned Northanger Abbey for the August Classic Book of the Month read-along. I have not read NA yet so it works out great!


My other plans for Austen in August...


I recently acquired Pride and Prejudice for free on audio. I'm a big lover of audio books. I mostly listen when I drive and since my sons will be going back to school this coming Monday, I'm going to be doing a lot of driving with school drop off/pick up, football practice, music lessons. Looking forward to listening to P & P which will be a reread for me.

Note: These are the exact covers of my editions of Jane Austen's books (the fab five). I got them from Book of the Month Club years ago. I'm so glad I did!





I'm also going to be reading a bit from these three books. I won't have time to read them all entirely, as I have tons of other reading obligations this month, but I will read from them and post some commentary here on the blog on what I read/discovered.


Again, I couldn't be more excited! What can I say...I love Jane!





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