sunday salon: Thanksgiving wrap-up

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While Thanksgiving brings wonderful time spent with family and friends, as well as a few days to relax, the most exciting about Thanksgiving for a graduate student is knowing the end of the semester is almost here. There may be a lot to get done in the next two weeks, but I'm already looking forward to the ability to read, relax and watch movies without feeling guilty.

I also became an Amazon Associate this week. You should notice the Amazon search box to the right of this post. You'll also notice a link to purchase each book I review at the bottom of posts. The program is rather simple: when you click on links from my site to purchase things at Amazon, I get a small percentage commission; you pay the same price. While it's not secret I want a Kindle, I decided to stop hoping I win one and start making plans to buy one. I'll use the money I earn through the Amazon Associate program to finance my Kindle. I hope the advertising won't be distracting. I don't have high expectations for revenue, but every cent helps!

Books finished this week: 
  • A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd - I was thrilled to discover this new to me author and a new series for this author.
  • The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi - I'm so glad I finally got around to reading Persepolis, and I look forward to reading more of Satrapi's work.
  • No Time to Wave Goodbye by Jacquelyn Mitchard, the sequel to Deep End of the Ocean will be reviewed Tuesday.
Currently reading: A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve. Somehow, I've never read Anita Shreve, and I'm really enjoying this novel so far. I've read some middling reviews, so I'm curious to see how my opinion changes as the book goes on. I'm already smitten with Shreve's writing, however, and plan to read more of her books.

Movies seen (I finally got around to hooking up my Netflix account to the xbox 360, so we can now watch instantly through the television. I can't believe it took me this long to set it up, but I immediately cancelled HBO. I'm a convert, and thus, I will be watching and reviewing more movies in the coming months!):
  • To Catch a Thief  - We watched this movie on Thanksgiving, and I haven't seen it in years. It was so much fun! I adore Cary Grant, but I was most amazed how visually stunning the film was and how it didn't seem outdated. 
  • Casino Royals - We also watched Daniel Craig's first foray as James Bond on Thanksgiving. I really enjoy this movie, especially the ending scenes in Venice, one of my favorite cities in the world. 
  • Coco Before Chanel - I went to see this lovely French film Friday night, and my review will be posted Monday as part of my new Movie Monday feature.
  • Brodre - I watched the Danish film that the upcoming Brothers (starring Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire) is based on. I'll offer a comparative review when I see Brothers, but in the meantime, if Brothers is anywhere near as good as Brodre, it should be a major player at the Oscars this year.
Happy reading!

Comments

  1. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaNovember 29, 2009 at 9:36 PM

    Hope you had a great weekend with Thankfully Reading. I thought it was fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmusedNovember 30, 2009 at 12:42 AM

    Great wrap up! Hope you make some money with the Amazon Associates program and get your Kindle!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sycorax PineNovember 30, 2009 at 1:18 PM

    I LOVE the Xbox's Netflix interface. It is far superior to the way you access Netflix via Tivo (although I normally adore all things Tivo). I am quite excited to visit my partner in California in a few days so that I can use his Xbox to catch up on movies. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Eric DavidsonDecember 6, 2009 at 2:57 AM

    it's been a while since i've seen a decent movie at the theater, so 'Brothers' was a welcome surprise; that movie will get nominated for at least a few awards I'm sure

    ReplyDelete

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