World of imagination, magic, and excitement

Top 10 Books of 2016
1. The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Ann Michaels
2. Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary A. Kassian
3. Greater Than Gold: From Olympic Heartbreak to Ultimate Redemption by David Boudia
4. Jubilee by Patricia Reilly Giff
5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
6. Snow White: a Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan
7. Suspicion at Sanditon (Or, The Disappearance of Lady Denham) by Carrie Bebris
8. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
9. We are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust by Jacob Boas
10. White Fur Flying by Patricia MacLachlan

Honorable Mentions:
*The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by J.B. Kaufman
*I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love by Emily Maynard Johnson
*Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
*The Road from Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope by David Kherdian
*Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story by Caren Stelson
*Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944 by Aranka Siegal

Below (in chronological order of my reading them) are the books to which I gave five stars this year on Goodreads.

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And the runners-up: the books to which I gave four stars.
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Hard to believe but the 2016-2017 figure skating season is almost halfway over! The Grand Prix series is a wrap and the Grand Prix Final's next weekend. So I thought this would be a good time to share my 10 favorite performances from the Grand Prix. :)

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Title: I See the Light
Rating: PG (K+)
Disclaimer: Bleak House, all characters, places, and related terms are the sole property of Charles Dickens and BBC.
Summary: Chaos, gloom, peace, joy…ten Allan Woodcourt and Esther Summerson moments. No chronological order. Bookverse, 1985 BBC-verse, 2005 BBC-verse, AU.
Author’s Note: Written for the 10 Sentence Meme on Tumblr.
Dedicated: For litlover12.

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Have stumbled onto new (re)discoveries...!

*During the past week I've been watching on YouTube fanmade trailers of the 2015 Cinderella in Non/Disney styles. Very cool! They have reintroduced me to the interesting notion of crossover pairings, too!( Read more... )

*Another discovery I made on YouTube is Grimm Reflections, a fairy tale webseries which has retold the stories of Snow White and Rapunzel. It is an excellent series. In Snow White the characters are layered, there's surprising twists, and the end...! Rapunzel is like a miniseries, short yet brilliant. Suspenseful, beautifully shot and edited, great music. I will go down as a hardcore Will/Rapunzel shipper. Great casts in both seasons. And June 1st kicks off season three: Cinderella. Bring it on!( Read more... )

*So I've seen Disney's The Jungle Book twice at the movies now. I actually wasn't interested in seeing it at first. Growing up I watched the animated cartoon a lot, but it never was among my favorite Disney films. It wasn't until after the live-action movie came out and I kept hearing so many good things about it I finally decided to check it out. And...WOW. It blew me away. Favreau's The Jungle Book may now be my definitive version. Not only was it visually stunning, but had story with heart. The voice cast was all perfect. Neel Sethi made me totally believe in him as Mowgli and in his world. Shere Khan has catapulted into my top 5 Disney villains. Kudos to (terrifying) Idris Elba! I love so much the relationship between Mowgli and Bagheera. Unlike the cartoon, I felt their friendship was stronger, more of a focus point than compared to Mowgli's and Baloo's. (There is no "Papa Bear" or discussion of Baloo adopting the boy in the new film.) Instead Mowgli longs for Bagheera's approval, looking up to him very much as a father figure. And it is so touching.

The Jungle Book I think ties with Cinderella as my favorite live-action Disney film (both are head and shoulders above Maleficent). After the release of that stunning teaser trailer (the music!!!!) last week, I am looking forward to seeing what Beauty and the Beast has in store. :)

I just stumbled over this cool blog post about Disney and Jane Austen: Wait, There's Some Disney in My Jane Austen. Had to share!!

2015 Summer reading total: 164 books

Top 12 Summer Reads:
*For Such a Time by Kate Breslin
*While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age During the Civil Rights Movement by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
*Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle
*A School for Brides: A Story of Maidens, Mystery, and Matrimony by Patrice Kindl
*The Ballet Lover's Companion by Zoe Anderson
*Dancing Through It: My Journey in the Ballet by Jenifer Ringer
*Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
*Murder & Matchmaking by Debbie Cowens
*Pigs Might Fly by Dick King-Smith
*A Castle Full of Cats by Ruth Sanderson
*Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
*Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

Just learned Elisabeth Elliot, a Christian missionary and writer, went home to be with the Lord earlier this week at age 88. I'm both sad and happy. She was an inspiration to me, and I read many of her books. Thank you, Elisabeth for your testimony.