Cross posted on Joyful Miles.
Wow, April ended up being a huge month for me. First off, I TURNED 50, woo-HOO!!!!! I’m so blessed and thankful for reaching this milestone. #50isfabulous baby!! April is also Camp NaNoWriMo, a huge event for many writers. Unlike November’s National Novel Writing Month where you have thirty days to write a 50,000-word novel, there’s more flexibility for April and July’s Camp NaNo. You get to pick your project and/or word count, whether it’s to edit a novel, do plotting work. For me, my main goal was simple:
To fall in love with writing again.
This is a rather long story, so here’s the short version: As I worked on my current novel on a sunny April day with a cup of tea and a bouquet of daffodils on my kitchen nook desk … I fell in love with writing again. True magical moment! Even more magical is how ON THAT VERY DAY, an early birthday present arrived from my dear friends, Sara, Shannon, and Stephanie:
Seriously???? The timing was beyond perfect so of course, I cried.
Better move on or I’ll be here all day!
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Books I’ve read
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
My list of books this month might be very short due to Camp Nano but oh my goodness, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine completely blew me away and more than makes up for it! Five stars. Two thumbs up. Loved it, loved it!
That voice.
I still can’t get over the main character’s voice and how brilliantly Gail Honeyman brought her to life with an emotional arc that left me in tears by the end. And her writing! At first, I regretted listening to an audio version because I wanted to see the words on paper so they’d truly sink in, but hearing Cathleen McCarron’s dialect brought it to a new level. Highly recommend!
DNF: The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
I waited a long time to borrow The Happiness Advantage on the Libby App, but it ended up being a Did Not Finish for me. While I appreciate the author shining light on how happiness comes before success rather than the other way around …. dude. After two hours of listening to nothing but case studies and where he’s taught and his many Harvard name drops, I checked out.
There’s a few other books that I’ve started and enjoyed, such as Amy Poehler’s Yes, Please and Lauren Graham’s Talking as Fast as I can, the timing wasn’t right so I’ll give them a try later on. Especially the Yes, Please audio version because what I listened to so far was hilarious!
Movies I’ve watched
Captain Marvel
Gotta confess: This movie wasn’t high on my priority list since I’m not much of an action hero fan, but Bob really wanted to see this so we took in a matinee at the beach on a rainy day. I ended up loving it and ahhh, that brief scene with Stan Lee on the train??? How endearing and sweet!
Book Club
This was the second time I watched Book Club that’s about four lifelong friends whose lives are turned upside down after reading 50 Shades of Grey for their book club.
Love, love, LOVE!!
Seriously, Hollywood, there needs to be more movies about vibrant, successful older women who are still sexually active … or want to be. As Jane Fonda’s character, Vivian, says, “I don’t care what society says about women our age. Sex must not be taken off the table.” Amen, sister! And bonus? They each have or discover love interests who are actually interested in women their own age rather than ones twenty years younger. Imagine that! <<insert eye roll.>>
About Time
After watching Book Club, I continued a Netflix binge by watching About Time, a charming movie about life, love, and how time travel can’t always shield you from pain. Two thumbs up!
Nappily Ever After
BY FAR one of my new favorite movies about a repressed perfectionist who learns to fully embrace life and her natural beauty after drunkenly shaving off the hair that has held her back for so long. It’s based off the book Nappily Ever After by Trisha R. Thomas, which is most definitely on my to-read list!
I love this so much I ended up watching it twice, with some scenes bringing tears to my eyes both times. Especially when she relays a painful memory to her overbearing mother and says …… Well, go watch it and then we’ll chat because it’s AWESOME!! <<cries happy tears>>
TV Shows I’ve Watched
My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Not a lot of television for me last month, but I did watch the final season of My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and wow, what a season that was! Sniff. Total bummer that the show is now over, but in some respects, the plot and character arc had run its course with Rebecca Bunch ending up right where she needed to be … not in love with a guy, but in love with herself.
Ah. Perfection.
And now it’s your turn. What books, movies, or television did you enjoy last month or lately? Have you watched Nappily Ever After?? If no, will you so we can chat about it??? 🙂 🙂 🙂
Take care, thanks for reading, and have a joyful day!
