Bought, Borrowed & Bagged [221]: What I'm Watching #HTGAWM #Versailles #Westworld

BB&B (Bought, Borrowed and Bagged) is a weekly meme, inspired my The Story Siren and Pop Culture Junkie, where we share with you the books that we have bought, borrowed or bagged (won or gifted) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, ongoing events and book movie or television news. 

BB&B is an homage Barron's Books & Baubles from Karen Marie Moning's smash hit series, Fever. 

Loved It: Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Series: Standalone
Format: eGalley
Release Date: November 1, 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Literary Fiction

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and The Dovekeepers comes a soul-searching story about a young woman struggling to redefine herself and the power of love, family, and fate.

Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

What happens when a life is turned inside out? When love is something so distant it may as well be a star in the sky? Faithful is the story of a survivor, filled with emotion—from dark suffering to true happiness—a moving portrait of a young woman finding her way in the modern world. A fan of Chinese food, dogs, bookstores, and men she should stay away from, Shelby has to fight her way back to her own future. In New York City she finds a circle of lost and found souls—including an angel who’s been watching over her ever since that fateful icy night.

Here is a character you will fall in love with, so believable and real and endearing, that she captures both the ache of loneliness and the joy of finding yourself at last. For anyone who’s ever been a hurt teenager, for every mother of a daughter who has lost her way, Faithful is a roadmap.

Alice Hoffman’s “trademark alchemy” (USA TODAY) and her ability to write about the “delicate balance between the everyday world and the extraordinary” (WBUR) make this an unforgettable story. With beautifully crafted prose, Alice Hoffman spins hope from heartbreak in this profoundly moving novel.

Alice Hoffman has been on my hit list for a long time and with her impressive bibliography, picking what book to read first to sample her writing became challenging. 

Then came FAITHFUL and everything about it called to me like a siren from the whimsical cover art to the already heart tugging blurb. Shelby Richmond is an unforgettable character and her journey towards self forgiveness and genuine happiness is affecting in its rawness, her resilience inspiring, and her introspective narration of events touched me in a powerful yet somber manner. 

Suped Up: The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro

Series: Standalone
Format: Audiobook
Length: 5h 52m
Narrated By: Hillary Huber
Release Date: July 22, 2002
Publisher: Villard | Tantor Audio
Source: Borrowed via Overdrive
Genre: Memoir-Humor

Introducing Laurie Notaro, the leader of the Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club. Every day she fearlessly rises from bed to defeat the evil machinations of dolts, dimwits, and creepy boyfriends—and that's before she even puts on a bra.

For the past ten years, Notaro has been entertaining Phoenix newspaper readers with her wildly amusing autobiographical exploits and unique life experiences. She writes about a world of hourly-wage jobs that require absolutely no skills, a mother who hands down judgments more forcefully than anyone seated on the Supreme Court, horrific high school reunions, and hangovers that leave her surprised she woke up in the first place.

The misadventures of Laurie and her fellow Idiot Girls ("too cool to be in the Smart Group") unfold in a world that everyone will recognize but no one has ever described so hilariously. She delivers the goods: life as we all know it.

I was feeling antsy one day and decided to browse Overdrive for funny and available audiobooks. Laurie Notaro's THE IDIOT GIRL'S ACTION-ADVENTURE CLUB caught my attention, it's kinda hard to skip a humorous memoir with a catchy title as this right? Also I identify with the "idiot" crowd so I thought I'd give it a shot. Before anything else, I have to mention that I'm not familiar with LNotaro, her column, writing, or any of that so I started listening to this one blind with high hopes that it'll be worth my 5 hours or so. 

Boy, if I could literally roll with laughter without losing my diginity, I would've done so totally. Insteadd I contained myself to LOLs, and LMAO's because LNotaro is so. Effing. Funny! I'm not sure if millenials can appreciate some of the anecdotes as a few of them happened pre-2000, so there's that caveat, but if you're not one of the selfie-generation, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of THE IDIOT GIRL'S ACTION-ADVENTURE CLUB. 

The humor is PG, self-deprecating, dry at times, and reminiscent of sitcoms. I'm particular when it comes to comedy, I want it smart, a little crass, and not overtly sexual or borderline nasty, and LNotaro met those with high marks! From dumpster diving in NY during the Summer, to dating woes, drunken nights, the single life, children, and fela infestation, THE IDIOT GIRL'S ACTION-ADVENTURE CLUB kept me entertained and laughing at all times. So if you need a pick-me-upper, a great laugh, or something that will make you feel a little bit better about yourself, I suggest you spend time with LNotaro, she'll have you in stitches from beginning to end.

Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Loved It: Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan

Series: Standalone
Format: eGalley
Release Date: June 16, 2016
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Genre: Psychological Suspense Mystery

First Class Psychological Suspense From a Major New Voice in Fiction

Margot Lewis is the agony aunt for The Cambridge Examiner. Her advice column, Dear Amy, gets all kinds of letters - but none like the one she's just received:

Dear Amy,
I don't know where I am. I've been kidnapped and am being held prisoner by a strange man. I'm afraid he'll kill me.
Please help me soon,
Bethan Avery

Bethan Avery has been missing for years. This is surely some cruel hoax. But, as more letters arrive, they contain information that was never made public. How is this happening? Answering this question will cost Margot everything

DEAR AMY by Helen Callaghan is a great read in that it's engaging enough, but not too intense where the suspense starts to stress me out. Although I think this is relative depending on one's taste or level of tolerance for psychological suspense mysteries.

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged [220]: #Logan

BB&B (Bought, Borrowed and Bagged) is a weekly meme, inspired my The Story Siren and Pop Culture Junkie, where we share with you the books that we have bought, borrowed or bagged (won or gifted) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, ongoing events and book movie or television news. 

BB&B is an homage Barron's Books & Baubles from Karen Marie Moning's smash hit series, Fever. 

Motivate Me (Video Review) feat. Leil Lowndes, Joan Rivers, Anthony Bourdain, John Gray, & Lisa Nichols

I hope y'all are had a great week so far, if not, it's FRIYAY! The weekend is almost here so you can rest easy for a little bit, recoup, and get ready for the next week. I know, it never ends!

Thanks for watching, I'm sorry if the editing is a little sloppy, I'm working on it. In any case, thanks for stopping by, and much love for watching.

How to be a People Magnet - 1:17

Diary of a Mad Diva - 2:54

Kitchen Confidential - 5:27

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - 7:38

No Matter What! - 10:28

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged [219] + My First Video!

BB&B (Bought, Borrowed and Bagged) is a weekly meme, inspired my The Story Siren and Pop Culture Junkie, where we share with you the books that we have bought, borrowed or bagged (won or gifted) plus a recap of the previous week's reviews, upcoming reviews, ongoing events and book movie or television news. 

BB&B is an homage Barron's Books & Baubles from Karen Marie Moning's smash hit series, Fever. 

My First Video!

Bought, Borrowed & Bagged is a laid-back meme, please use your LABEL OR TAG LINKS and not your post links that way you don't have to update your linky every week.