10 Great Movies That Take Place in Autumn

Summer may be a time for huge blockbuster action flicks, but as the kids settle back into school, autumn is a time for more peaceful reflection.  Grab a cup of hot chocolate, some fresh-baked cookies, your favorite warm blanket, and curl up with one of these films that take place in the fall. You’ll be glad you did!

Dead Poet’s Society – Robin Williams as an inspiring teacher in a prep school. One of his best roles.

Rudy – Sean Astin in a true story about a boy who wanted to play football for Notre Dame.

On Golden Pond – Henry Fonda’s Oscar-winning role as a family tries to come back together before it’s too late.

     

 

The Four Seasons – an all-star cast leads this sweet Alan Alda film about a group of friends vacationing through a year.  Gorgeous autumn scenery set to a soundtrack of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Hannah and her Sisters –  Woody Allen directs this film about a family, beginning and ending with Thanksgiving.

The Big Chill – A group of old friends gather together for the funeral of one of their own, accompanied by a fabulous soundtrack.

      

Sweet November – a sweet little love story starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron.

The Trouble with Harry – Alfred Hitchcock’s frightful comedy about a body that won’t stay buried.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles – a John Hughes comedy starring Steve Martin as a man trying to make it home for Thanksgiving, when the world seems out to get him.

Far From Heaven – Connecticut in the fall of 1957, and the prejudices that existed.

Food for Thought: For Book Clubs

foodIs your book club looking for a new theme to read?  Everyone loves food!  Below is a list of titles that will stimulate your brain and your appetite!

1.  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

2.  My Life in France  by Julia Child

3.  Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford

4.  The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace

5.  I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

6.  Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck

7.  The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones

8.  The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World’s Most Famous Cooking Schoolby Kathleen Flinn

Counting, Measuring, and More: Children’s Books About Math

Are you or your child a math whiz, or are you like me and dread the very idea of sitting down and tacking the related homework? Well, here are some books for children that get your youngest children on the right track, and help school age children stave off the fear of math or feed their math love. I have broken down my recommended books into three sections; Preschool and Kindergarten, First through Third Graders, and Above and Beyond.

For Preschool and Kindergarten Aged Children:
1. Help Me Learn Subtraction written by Jean Marzollo, Illustrated by Chad Phillips.

2. Janice VanCleave’s Play and Find Out About Math: Easy Activities for Young Children by Janice Pratt VanCleave.

3. Millions, Billions, and Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers written by David Adler, Illustrated by Edward Miller.

4. Musk Ox Counts written by Erin Cabatingan, Illustrated by Matthew Myers.

5. Tyrannosaurus Math written by Michelle Markel; illustrated by Doug Cushman.

 For First through Third Graders:
1. A Dollar, a Penny, How Much and How Many? written by Brian P. Cleary , illustrated by Brian Gable.

2. The Wing Wing Brothers: Math Spectacular! by Ethan Long.

3. Fractals, Googols, and Other Mathematical Tales by Theoni Pappas.

4. Dazzling Division : Games and Activities that Make Math Easy and Fun by Lynette Long.

5. Sir Cumference and All the King’s Tens : A Math Adventure written by Cindy Neuschwander ; illustrated by Wayne Geehan.
But do not stop there, because this is a series, simply look here for more.

Too simple for your math whiz? Then try these math related books that go Above and Beyond.
1. One Minute Mysteries : 65 Short Stories You Solve With Math! by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder.

2. Math created by Basher; written by Dan Green.

3. Math Games for Middle School: Challenges and Skill-Builders for Students at Every Level by Mario Salvadori and Joseph P. Wright.

4. Timekeeping: Explore the History and Science of Telling Time with 15 Projects by Linda Formichelli & W. Eric Martin; illustrated by Sam Carbaugh.

5. How Math Works by Carol Vorderman.

Still want more? Then you can also check out: Mummy Math: an Adventure in Geometry by Cindy Neuschwander; illustrated by Bryan Langdo,  Measurement Mania: Games and Activities that Make Math Easy and Fun by Lynette Long, Mystery Math: A First Book of Algebra written by David A. Adler ; illustrated by Edward Miller,  Math on Call: a Mathematics Handbook by Andrew Kaplan; edited by Carol DeBold, Susan Rogalski, and Pat Boudreau,  or Number Sense and Nonsense : Building Math Creativity and Confidence Through Number Play by Claudia Zaslavsky.

On Our Shelves: New Romance

heartHere’s a selection of Romance paperbacks added to our collection this month.

The House On Main Street by Shirlee McCoy – Interior designer Tessa McKenzie has built a good lifefar from her Washington hometown. She intends to get back to it – as soon as she sells the cluttered Victorian house and antiques shop she inherited from her sister, Emily. But leaving Apple Valley a second time won’t be so easy. There’s her grieving nephew, Alex, to consider. And there’s Sheriff Cade Cunningham, the adolescent crush who could easily break her heart again if she let him.

Barefoot By The Seaby Roxanne St. Claire – Tessa Galloway is a gifted nurturer-her verdant garden at Barefoot Bay’s new resort is living proof. If only the woman who can grow anything could grow what she wants most: a baby. Her friends think the right guy will come along, but Tessa doesn’t want to wait. All she needs is the perfect donor to make her dream come true. Then John Brown is hired at the resort. If anyone could make beautiful babies, it’s this gorgeous, mysterious man. So why does Tessa suddenly find herself wanting so much more?

If You Were Mineby Andre Bella – The last thing Zach Sullivan wants is to take care of his brother’s new puppy for two weeks. That is, until he meets the dog trainer. Heather is bright, beautiful…and she just might be the only woman on earth who wants nothing to do with him.

Heather Linsey can’t believe she agreed to train Zach’s new pup, especially since his focus seems to be more on winning her heart than training his dog. Having sworn off love, she has vowed never to fall for a charming man. But Heather’s determination to push Zach away only fuels his determination to get closer—and the sensual and emotional connection between them grows more undeniable.

Wild Child by Molly O’Keefe – Monica Appleby is a woman with a reputation. Once she was America’s teenage “Wild Child,” with her own reality TV show. Now she’s a successful author coming home to Bishop, Arkansas, to pen the juicy follow-up to her tell-all autobiography. Problem is, the hottest man in town wants her gone.

Take Me Home For Christmas by Brenda Novak – Everyone in Whiskey Creek remembers Sophia DeBussi as the town’s Mean Girl. Especially Ted Dixon, whose love she once scorned.

But Sophia has paid the price for her youthful transgressions. The man she did marry was rich and powerful but abusive. So when he goes missing, she secretly hopes he’ll never come back—until she learns that he died running from an FBI probe of his investment firm. Not only has he left Sophia penniless, he’s left her to face all the townspeople he cheated.…

Sophia is reduced to looking for any kind of work to pay the bills and support her daughter. With no other options, she becomes housekeeper for none other than Ted, now a successful suspense writer. He can’t bring himself to turn his back on her, not at Christmas, but he refuses to get emotionally involved.

Will the season of love and forgiveness give them both another chance at happiness?

Romance Authors Love Veterans

veteran

One of the wonderful things about Romance authors is that they write about relevant, current, everyday topics.  Lately, many contemporary Romance authors are writing about our wounded warriors.   Romance authors have picked up on the heroic sacrifices our Veterans have made and have written authentic, smart, sensitive, emotional, heartwarming, and uplifting stories that touch all of our hearts.   Two new releases are highlighted below.

USA Today best selling author RaeAnne Thayne continues her series, Hope’s Crossing, with book number six, Christmas In Snowflake Canyon.  

Dylan Caine is a wounded war vet, losing an eye and part of his arm in Afghanistan.  He lands back in Hope’s Crossing, but heads up to an isolated cabin in Snowflake Canyon to get away from his large, loving, and smothering family.  He finally agrees to meet his brother at the local bar in town.

Genevieve Beaumont is the daughter of Hope’s Crossing’s mayor – a spoiled, rich, pompous brat who has spent the last several years in Paris – overspending and overindulging.  When she discovers her fiance has been cheating on her, she breaks their engagement.  Her parents pull her back to Hope’s Crossing, cutting her off from her trust fund until she can get her act together.  She’s banished to live in her late grandmother’s run down house,  and feeling sorry for herself, she heads off to the local bar.

When Genevieve ends up in a bar room brawl, Dylan reluctantly comes to her rescue.  Both are arrested and are assigned community service at the local Wounded Warriors facility.

What follows is a painful, emotional, uplifting journey that brings these two unlikely characters together.  Through emotional and physical trials, both characters transform from people you don’t quite like, to people you want to invite into your home.  The two main characters are supported by a wonderfully written cast of supporting characters.  Ms. Thayne does a beautiful job describing all the characters, the exquisite scenery and expertly shows us the courageous struggle of our wounded soldiers.  A wonderfully written journey of loss and hurt replaced with healing and love.

The Way Home by Cindy Gerard – Killed in Action – the most dreaded words imaginable for a soldier’s wife. Jess Albert has been living with them for four years, since the death of her husband in Afghanistan. Finding blessed numbness in routine, she doesn’t dare to look ahead, any more than she can bear to look back. Then Tyler Brown, a former special-ops warrior, shows up at her small general store in Minnesota North Woods, jarring her back to life. Jess knows better than to fall in love with another man who places duty to his country before love of his wife- but there’s no denying the longing and the hope for a future that Ty makes her feel.

A world away, a man ravaged by years of captivity and torture, a man with no memories, finally escapes- clinging to life and sanity in a hostile land. In his darkest hour, he awakes in a lantern-lit cave to find a woman at his side. Dark-haired and dark-eyes, her touch is caring, despite the resentment he hears in her voice and sees on her face. Rabia is bound by honor to save the lost American soldier in her keeping, this broken warrior from a war that has brought so much devastation to her land. But is it honor igniting her compassion for her enemy, or is it something more?

A beautifully written story of love, honor,  and loyalty and the sacrifices of our soldiers and their families.

Check out some other Romance authors who have written military themed books:  Suzanne Brockmann, Robyn Carr,  Laura Griffin,  Elle Kennedy, Penny McCall, Lindsay McKenna, JoAnn Ross, Roxanne St. Clair, Julie Ann Walker.