AT THE THEATRE (AND NOT ONLY): THE GREATEST LOVE STORY OF ALL TIME OR THE MOST ANNOYING TEENAGERS IN LITERATURE? - MY ROMEO & JULIET WEEKEND

I've been recently involved in a discussion on Facebook about Romeo and Juliet, the young protagonists of Shakespeare's tragedy (1595),  who were included in a top ten list of literary annoying teenagers. I really couldn't agree with that dismissive judgement nor with the low consideration given to such finely written characters. Please, don't touch my Shakespeare!

I have myself kindly underestimated Romeo as a dreamer and an incostant lover at times (dying for love for Rosaline and suddenly desperately in love with Juliet?) but he is such a realistic embodiment of teenage fast crushes and violent passions, and that cannot be denied. I couldn't agree with whom  defined the two young lovers as annoying characters.

The audience at the Gran Teatro - Rome

Virtual discussion apart, my real life has been full of emotions connected to the story of the two star-crossed lovers from Verona of late.

Last Saturday afternoon I was at Gran Teatro in Rome with niece and sister and friends to see a musical: Romeo e Giulietta, Ama e cambia il mondo (adaptation of the original French work “Roméo et Juliette” by G. Presgurvic).

I had decided to join  them out of curiosity,  knowing nothing about the show and its cast. As you can

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE FORTUNE CAFE', A NOVEL IN THREE PARTS

The Fortune Café a novel in three parts

MIS-FORTUNE: Emma, a waitress at The Fortune Café will do anything to avoid opening a fortune cookie. Each fortune is rumored to somehow magically come true. Being a girl grounded in reality, she doesn’t have time for that kind of nonsense. But when trying to prevent a food fight at the café, Emma accidently cracks open a fortune cookie: “Look around, love is trying to catch you.” If there is one thing that Harrison, her former best friend in high school is good at, it’s catching her unaware. 

LOVE, NOT LUCK: Lucy has always been lucky . . . until her parents meet her fiancé’s parents at a disastrous lunch at The Fortune Café, and she breaks her lucky jade necklace. Even worse, her fortune cookie reveals that “True love is for the brave, not the lucky.” How is she supposed to read that? She’s always considered it lucky how she met her fiancé. But after breaking her necklace, Lucy’s luck takes a dive. And when her fiancé dumps her, the only person she can turn to is Carter, the unluckiest guy she knows.   

FATHERS AND SONS, THOSE FLAT ON THEIR BACKS AND THOSE DREAMING OF A WALK IN THE MOUNTAINS ... GLI SDRAIATI BY MCHELE SERRA

Hello everyone! It's been a while,  I know,  since I posted something really personal but here I am, ready to update you about my latest adventures and misadventures as ... a reader . 

I haven't been reading much. Not since my father sudden illness and his too quick departure.  I haven't read much since last December. I don't know why, exactly. I happened to start and immediately drop more than one book. I finished just one and not because I particularly liked it. And of that one I'm going to tell you.
It is a small Italian book titled "Gli sdraiati", in English something like, the lying down, or "those  flat on their backs".  (Apparently,  I am not that good at translating, I can't find a better one for this title, can you?). 

Anyway, the mentioned book is about a father and his relationship with his teenage son. Yes, teenagers.  They are  the lying down .

The more I try to understand them, the more I realize I can't. Is it only me?  It is not just due to the generation gap, it is because I have never been like them. I was a teenager once, I still feel like one at times, but I was never like them. Not like the ones I have in front of me every day, at least. It is like we are not separated by a generation but by an era, a geologic era.

HOME MATTERS BY JULIE N. FORD - BLOG TOUR AND GIVEAWAY

Tour Schedule

Home Matters by Julie N. Ford

 According to her mother, Olivia Pembroke was born to be a star. But how is she supposed to be famous when she can't even get a decent acting gig? Her lucky break comes when she lands an audition for a wildly popular home improvement show. Even though she has no design training and has never even held a power tool, she refuses to let that stop her. She's confident that her destiny is finally within reach. When her affections are torn between her heartthrob co-host and the irritating, yet somehow endearing lead contractor, does she continue to reach for the stars? Or does she design a new happily ever after? One that leads not to the fading lights of fame and fortune, but to a love that will burn forever.

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AVALON SERIES BLAST & GIVEAWAY

Avalon: Web of Magic

Three very different young teens, Emily, the shy one, Adriane, the outsider, and Kara, the power shopper, are all drawn to a secret place deep in the woods where they discover a portal to another world. Wondrous animals have emerged from the portal, desperately seeking the magic that will keep them alive. Though the animals are peaceful and good, what follows them through the portal is twisted and evil and bent on destroying them all. The Fairimentals have chosen these three fourteen-year-olds to protect the magical animals. To save them and their world, the girls must overcome their differences and band together. They begin a perilous quest to discover Avalon, the lost, legendary home of magic, little knowing the terrible dangers they will face along the way.

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BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE BOXCAR BABY BY J.L. MULVIHILL

The Boxcar Baby by J.L. Mulvihill

Born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia. At least that is what Papa Steel always told AB'Gale. But now, fifteen years later, the man who adopted and raised her as his own is missing and it's up to AB'Gale to find him. Aided only by a motley gang of friends, AB'Gale train hops her way across the United States in a desperate attempt to find her papa and put her life and family back the way it was. Her only guide is a map given to her by a mysterious hobo, with hand written clues she found hidden in her papa's spyglass. Here is the Great American Adventure in an alternate steampunk dystopian world, where fifteen-year-old AB'Gale Steel learns that nothing is as it seems, but instead is shrouded in secrets and mysteries ... and that monsters come in all shapes and forms. The Boxcar Baby is the first book of the Steel Roots series.   

 Praise for The Boxcar Baby

  “Miss AB’Gale Steel, is a pure spitfire girl, full of strong-minded grit, who draws strength out of adversity, and endures hardship by bracing herself against self-pity.” – Jorie Loves a Story 

“One thing I really loved about this one was it was fast paced and moved quickly. Mulvihill did an amazing job making realistic characters.” – Bee’s Knees Reviews “J.L. Mulvihill is quite a talented writer and I think she has such a creative mind to come up with this Steampunk Southern American Adventure.” – Book and Movie Dimension

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M.L. LEGETTE, FAIRY-TALES & MEMORIES - THE ORPHAN & THE THIEF BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY

I don’t wear make-up. I hate high heels. I positively detest dressing up. So it’s probably a bit of a shock that all I wanted to be when I was little was a princess in a poofy pink dress. I actually owned many versions of said poofy pink dress in matching plastic shoes. If you met me when I was seven and asked ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ I would have promptly answered ‘Cinderella!’

So what is it that makes children love fairy-tales so much? I don’t really know. My enjoyment of them in my youth obviously did not have a lasting impression on my wardrobe, so what is it? Generally speaking, boys make their own suits of armor out of cardboard and pretend to slay dragons and goblins in the backyard, while girls wear glittering, plastic crowns and run about with fairy wands.

This was my childhood, by the way.

MARCH KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY

 

Win a Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash ($229 value)   This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER GIVEAWAY EVENT! Bloggers & Authors have joined together and each chipped in a little money towards a Kindle Fire HDX 7".    

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE LELAND DRAGON SERIES

Redheart 

Enter the lands of Leland Province, where dragon and human societies have long dwelled side by side. Superstitions rise sharply, as a severe drought strips the land of its bounty, providing fertile ground for the darker ambitions of Fordon Blackclaw, Dragon Council Leader, who seeks to subdue humans or wipe them off the face of the land. As the shadow of danger creeps across Leland Province, a young dragon named Kallon Redheart, who has turned his back on dragons and humans alike, comes into an unexpected friendship. Riza Diantus is a young woman whose dreams can no longer be contained by the narrow confines of her village, and when she finds herself in peril, Kallon is the only one with the power to save her. Yet to do so means he must confront his past, and embrace a future he stopped believing in. A tale of friendship, courage, and ultimate destiny, Redheart invites readers to a wondrous journey through the Leland Dragon Series.

   Praise for Redheart

“Redheart is a captivating and enthralling book.”- Evie Bookish

 “Gamber has written a hypnotic tale that lulls you into a dreamy state of ethereal bliss, as you enter into the world of the Leland Dragons!” – Jorie Loves a Story

 “I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a great fantasy novel.” – Jess Resides Here

 “The story itself is very beautifully told, and Gamber does a phenomenal job creating personable characters and down to earth themes, all dealing with different aspects, such as social, psychological, feministic, archetypal, and philosophical issues.” – A Book Vacation

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WAITING FOR THE OSCARS: WHICH ONES HAVE I SEEN? 12 YEARS A SLAVE, HER, THE GREAT BEAUTY

Oscar Weekend is finally here! The 86th Annual Academy Awards air live tonight Sunday, March 2, at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT on ABC, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.
Have you seen any of the nominated movies? I've seen only: 12 Years A Slave, Her, The Great Beauty.  What about you instead? Looking forward to tonight's show,  where some of the anxious nominees will become excited winners, let's discuss these three movies which are among them.

12 Years A Slave

The true terrible story of Salomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave,  is a movie based on an incredibly touching account of one man's fight for survival and freedom. Salomon is a free middle class black man living in North America, a musician, when he is deceived, kidnap and forced to live as a slave for twelve years. 

As in other of his films - Hunger or Shame for instance - director McQueen wants the audience leave the theatre disturbed and upset. No censorship, no filters: the ugly truth is there in all its tragicality, it hurts, it shocks, it makes you sorrowful. Neither the happy ending can relieve you from the sense of loss and brutality you experience watching this movie.