Bye Bye August, Hello September

photograph by me

Is it really September already? This year has been flying by, my friends, and Real Life has been keeping me on my toes. But hey, I am going to England later this month! *runs about the house freaking out because she still doesn’t quite believe it's true* Yes, I have an impending trip to England coming up this month, autumn is just around the proverbial corner, and I am slowly working on getting my reading life back into shape. So, let’s do a quick round-up of what I have been up to of late.

Reading

I just finished reading Around the World In 80 Days by Jules Verne. I adored the 1956 film starring David Niven. While the novel is very different from the fantastically whimiscal 1950s epic adventure of the film, I still loved it. It helped knowing they were different going into the book. I have picked up reading through my two volume collection of O. Henry’s short stories after a year’s hiatus and hope to tackle A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute, Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohlke, and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr this month. We will see how that goes. I just started Saving Amelie and, so far, it is doing a fantastic job of pulling me into the story.

Writing

I finished reading through the first draft of my novel The Letters of Lee Ames with a friend the other week. I have a whole slew of notes of adjustments to make in draft two and just began rewriting the opening scene a couple of nights ago. So excited for this!

Listening

Amelie from Montmartre Soundtrack composed by Yann Tiersen
Born Again - Josh Garrels
The Crown: Season One Soundtrack composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams

Watching

August is TCM’s Summer Under the Stars, where each day is dedicated to showcasing a specific actor or actress’s films, and my DVR has been busy keeping up with all of my recordings. Highlights include:
The Cameraman (1928) a silent comedy starring Buster Keaton
Double Wedding (1938) a romantic comedy starring the team of William Powell and Myrna Loy
Terror on a Train (1953) British made suspense starring Glenn Ford. The British title for this movie, Time Bomb, is a little less melodramatic.

My latest television discovery would have to be the 1970s TV show Laverne & Shirley. It is hysterical.

So, what have you all been up to? Read any great books? Found a new favorite song? Watched any really good films or discovered a new favorite TV show?