I first want to thank Paul O. Williams of Halo Companies, Inc. – awarded C.F.O. of the Year by the Dallas Business Journal – for quoting my first published novel: “Sometimes battles are unavoidable.” – November Snow. Thank you, Mr. Williams! Read more about that here.
Last time, I shared my interview with The Modest Verge – now, you can read their review of Minutes Before Sunset. After doing that, you can also enter to win Minutes Before Sunset in Feeling Beachie’s Valentine’s giveaway by clicking here. (Love holidays = romance novels. There are 21 to choose from.)
My Author Facebook Page hit 2,000 likes – thank you very much. 😀 I love connecting with everyone here as well as on my other pages. On that page, I asked you all if you wanted to see a monthly entertainment review in which I review movies, books, music, and more at the end of every month. So this is my first time, and I would love it if you let me know if you want me to continue to do this at the end of every month. (I promise to never do it more than once a month.) Since I come across so much entertainment, I will only mention so many per topic, but I’ll try to mention the most relevant – normally positive – entertaining moments.
Movies – I won’t normally start with these, but I have more of these than anything – mainly because the Oscars are coming up, and the Oscars is the one awards show that I love watching.
- The Book Thief – Beautifully done. I’ve read the book – loved it – and my friend that watched it with me – who hasn’t read the novel – loved it, too. It’s visually stunning and respectfully done.
- Frozen – This film deserves to win animation of the year. It’s amazing. It had more music – kind of like the 90’s Disney movies I grew up with – and the lessons weren’t revolving around boys but around sisters. I liked that a lot. Plus, as many of you know, winter is my favorite season, so I liked seeing a film that showed the beauty of snow and ice while allowing it to be symbolic to a sister’s love.
- August: Osage County – If you can handle watching another movie about a messed up (but realistic) family, then I highly recommend this. I loved it, but yes, it’s sad and difficult to watch at times. Meryl Streep is a genius – as usual – but the rest of the cast brilliantly bring the plot together in the aftermath of all of their twisted relationships.
I’ve also seen a few others that don’t really have to do with the Oscars, but I thought I would mention them:
- 47 Ronin – if you like the cheesy-ness of old Kung-Fu and the (classy?) damsel in distress, not to mention the infamous Keanu Reeves, then you’ll like this flick. Just don’t expect anything too deep.
- Stand Up Guys – This came out in 2012, so I’m a little late on this one, but – Christopher Walken. Need I say more? I love anything gangster. It’s my guilty pleasure. Add a little comedic relief and a couple of great guys, I’m sold. It was awesome.
Novels
- The Impossible Knife of Memory – Laurie Halse Anderson has been one of my favorite authors since I read “Speak.” It’s no surprise that this novel was something I couldn’t put down. Probably my favorite of hers since “Speak.” It’s brilliantly dark and quirky while somehow facing real-life challenges without making them seem petty.
- Humans of New York – the bookstore suggested I read this since I follow PostSecret. They also have a free Facebook page if you want to check that out first. I follow it.
- Ryan Attard – okay. okay. He’s an author, not a book, but I’m lucky enough to read his upcoming novel before it’s released (book 2 of The Legacy Series) and I seriously had to turn on epic music to feel worthy enough to read his epic battle scenes. Check out his first novel, Firstborn, before the second book releases.
- The 5th Wave – so my friend recommended this to me, and now I’m recommending it to you!
T.V.
- King of the Nerds – I wrote about the first season last year, and I’m definitely following the second season this year. It’s more or less the television show my father and I watch together. So far, I like the group aside from Nicole and Zachary. My favorite is Katie. (How could I not love someone who makes puppets for a living?)
- American Horror Story [Coven] – It ended this week, but I have to mention it. I’ve been an American Horror Story fan since the beginning. I can confess that I have yet to miss an episode. This is – well – my favorite show, and I loved this season, too. However, I will say that the two episodes really made up for a few episodes that I felt like nothing really happened, but, of course, lots happened when it all came together in the end. I am so glad that they are doing a season 4, and I can’t wait to see Jessica Lange in action again (although I’m sad that she has come out and said she probably won’t return for season 5.) Nevertheless, season 4!
Music – I mainly listen to music on 8tracks, because it’s free, and I like mixing up what I’m listening to, so here were some of the lists I came across that I loved. (Minutes Before Sunset actually has a soundtrack on this website. Check it out.)
- Classical Crossover Sampler: violin and other instrumentals mixed with hip hop sounds. Contemporary classical.
- A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to: this is also classical. (See a pattern, here?)
- When the Clock Strikes Midnight: “Magical and enchanting classical pieces to whisk you away into a fantasy world.”
~SAT
Shannon A. Thompson 
that is so cool about the quote!!! Congrats!
Thank you! I thought it was really neat, too. 😀
~SAT