Month: November 2017

Book Reading Bingo: A Novel Adapted into TV or Motion Picture

This category was much harder for me than it should have been.

I’ve already read Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice (as well as the other Jane Austen novels).

When I searched for titles on Goodreads , I was appalled by the list. You see, this reading challenge is about romance novels, and romance novels as defined by Romance Writers of America must have “an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.”

So how did the following titles make Goodreads’ list of romances adapted to TV or movie?

  • Gone With the Wind (he leaves her)
  • Wuthering Heights (I don’t even know where to begin as to why this isn’t even romantic, much less a romance)
  • The TIme Traveler’s Wife (she dies)
  • Love Story (she dies)

But I’ve read all these titles, so I couldn’t use them even if they were romances. And what’s so romantic about death?

I did ask the project coordinators for clarification on this square and they told me if the main story contained a romance, the book could count.  Other chapter members suggested I try looking at Lifetime or the Hallmark chanel’s line up.

I did manage to find an old Diana Palmer novel that had been turned into a made for TV movie.  The title was in my county library system’s data base, and voila. One more square down.

The Organized Writer 2018

I love planners. I love the idea of being organized, and I am the type of person who needs to see a list.

Yes, I broke down and purchased an Erin Condren planner for 2018. Many of the aspects of the planner can be customized.  I chose this cover…”She designed a life she loved” in the colors I wanted, along with my “real” name and my author name. (Please excuse the reflections on the cover. It is very glossy!)

I went with a horizontal weekly layout.

The planner comes with stickers. There is also an option to purchase snap-in “dash boards”. I went with bill paying, to-do list/goal setting, and meal planning.  The planner also comes with a snap-in ruler, sticky notes, a pouch for carry stuff. There are a few blank lined pages, a few dot-grid pages of the sort Bullet Journalists like, and 4 “coloring book” pages.Because I went with the colorful layout, almost everything I received is bright and cheerful. EC also caters to those who prefer something more subdued.

I really think this might be what I’ve been look for.

 

 

Goodbye DST, Return to Real Time

Most people love Daylight Savings Time because it “gives them an extra hour.” Well, no, it doesn’t. DST simply rearranges time in an official way so businesses adjust hours of operation without appearing to do so. And the weekend we change from standard to daylight savings time we actually lose an hour our lives. We got that back today. It’s not a gain of an hour. It’s a return of an hour we lent to DST.

Standard time is real time. The sun is directly overhead at noon. Which begs me to ask: when experts say to avoid lying out in the sun between 11AM and 1PM do they mean daylight savings time or standard time? So during the summer, when the US is mostly on DST, wouldn’t the hours be 10AM-12NN?

Another oddity about the time change: I have a deplorable habit of waking up at 4AM. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 4AM EST or 4AM EDT, it’s always 4AM.

If you’re interested in the pros, cons, whys, and wherefores of DST, this website lays it out in an understandable manner.