April 2019 Reading & Movie List
Hey y'all! How is everyone's week going so far? I am thrilled because this is officially my last week of school for this semester but it is filled with finals so I have been prepping and studying for exams that I am nervous about. Positive vibes is all I keep saying to myself and that I can get through this with no problem! I also can't believe that we are already at the end of April like time is just flying by like crazy. But since it is the end of April that means it is time for our April Reading List but this month we are adding on to it. This month I am also including my movie list of the movies that I went to theaters and saw in the month of April and they have turned out to truly be some of my favorite movies that I have seen. I hope y'all enjoy!
~NOTHING MORE BY: ANNA TODD | Book 1 of a new series featuring After worldwide fan-favorite Landon Gibson as he leaves Washington to navigate love and life in New York City. At the end of the After Ever Happy, Landon got married—but readers everywhere have been wondering who will get to call the nicest boy in the After series their forever love? If you have been reading my other monthly reading lists you can clearly see that I am a huge fan of Anna Todd's books and her After series. Nothing More is from the point of view of Landon Gibson, who is Tessa Young's best friend in the After series and personally one of my favorite characters. It is amazing to be inside Landon's mind and finally get to read from his point of view. Now there is a second book to go along with this one that I can't wait to get! Seriously y'all need to go check out Anna Todd's books because I fly through her books because I get so hooked on them!
~WALT DISNEY: AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL BY: BOB THOMAS | Walt Disney is an American hero--the creator of Mickey Mouse, and a man who changed the face of American culture. After years of research, with the full cooperation of the Disney family and access to private papers and letters, Bob Thomas produced the definitive biography of the man behind the legend--the unschooled cartoonist from Kansas City who went bankrupt on his first movie venture but became the genius who produced unmatched works of animation. Complete with a rare collection of photographs, Bob Thomas' biography is a fascinating and inspirational work that captures the spirit of Walt Disney. I grew up as a Disney kid and am very much still a Disney kid today! I watched Disney channel, Disney movies, and went to Disney World several times. I get so excited every time there is a new Disney movie coming out and even more excited when these new life action Disney movies come out. To be able to read about and get inside the mind of the man who created one of the biggest companies today, is so fascinating and truly an enjoyable book to read!
~THE SECRET LIVES OF DRESSES BY: ERIN MCKEAN | Dora has always taken the path of least resistance. She went to the college that offered her a scholarship, is majoring in "vagueness studies," and wears whatever shows the least dirt. She falls into a job at the college coffee shop, and a crush on her flirty boss, Gary. Just when she's about to test Gary's feelings, Mimi, the grandmother who raised her, suffers a stroke. Dora rushes back home to Forsyth, NC, and finds herself running her grandmother's vintage clothing store. The store has always been a fixture in Dora's life; though she grew up more of a jeans-and-sweatshirt kind of girl, before she even knew how to write, Mimi taught her that a vintage 1920s dress could lift a woman's spirit. While working there, Dora befriends Mimi's adorable contractor, Conrad. Is he after Dora, or is working from a different blueprint? And why did Mimi start writing down—and giving away—stories of the dresses in her shop? When Mimi dies, Dora can't get out of town fast enough and cedes control of the store to her money-hungry aunt who wants to turn it into a t-shirt shop for tourists. But ultimately, she returns to Forsyth, willing to battle whatever may stand in the way of her staying there. Dora can trade her boring clothes for vintage glamour, but can she trade her boring life for one she actually wants? I have read this book several times over the years and keep coming back to it. For some odd reason that I still haven't figured out yet, I relate to it on some sort of level but its probably because of the relation that Dora has with her grandmother reminds me of my relationship with my Mimi. As you know I am obsessed with fashion but I am also obsessed with vintage clothes because each piece has its own story. Reading The Secret Lives of Dresses really was such an enjoyable read and one that I can say really brings me a lot of joy to read about this life of Dora.
~MICHELLE OBAMA: A LIFE BY: PETER SELVIN | With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago while building a high-powered career, raising a family, and helping a young community organizer named Barack Obama become president of the United States. From the lessons she learned in Chicago to the messages she shares as one of the most recognizable women in the world, the story of this First Lady is the story of America. Michelle Obama: A Life is a fresh and compelling view of a woman of unique achievement and purpose. I am probably one of the biggest fans of Michelle Obama and anytime there is a new book out about her or one that she has written, I jump at the opportunity to read it. I think she is one of the most influential people today and, in my eyes, a First Lady that did a lot of good for children and women in the world. Hearing all the things she has done growing up in Chicago, a tough city, and going to law school, meeting Barack, starting a family, and then of course becoming the First Lady of the United States, is simply a story that will have you hooked. After reading this amazing book I felt the urge to get up and do some kind of good in the world and make a difference like she has over her years.
~50/50 BY: DEAN KARNAZES | Dean Karnazes has run 350 continuous miles through three sleepless nights, ordered pizza during long runs, and inspired fans the world over with his adventures. So what does a guy like this do when he wants to face the ultimate test of endurance? He runs 50 marathons in 50 states— in 50 consecutive days.With little more than a road map and a caravan packed with fellow runners and a dedicated crew, Dean set off on a tour that took him through a volcanic canyon in Maui in high humidity and 88-degree heat; to an elevation gain of almost 4,000 feet at the Tecumseh Trail Marathon in Bloomington, Indiana; to a severed moose leg found alongside an Anchorage, Alaska trail that compelled him to sprint for safety.Now in this heart-pounding book, Dean reveals how he pulled off this unfathomable feat with a determination that defied all physical limitations. But Dean goes beyond the story of the Endurance 50 marathons to share his invaluable secrets and advice for athletes of all levels. These are the tips that kept Dean going during the 1,310 miles he covered and 160,000 calories he burned while averaging sub-four-hour marathons and often sleeping fewer than four hours each night. I don't know if I have really shared my running past on here before but I used to be and still am (just a little more broken) a huge runner! When I first started running I stumbled upon the craziest runner out there, Dean Karnazes, who has done some of the craziest running experiences out there. 50/50 goes along with the documentary they did as well about the 50 races in 50 states in 50 days. It is an easy read but really teaches you how to recover more quickly, adapt to extreme conditions, prevent muscle cramps and overheating, pace yourself when you "hit the wall," and stay motivated. It is packed with practical advice and including training regimens, 50/50 will inspire you no matter what your fitness goal is, whether it's simply walking around the block, running a 10K, or completing yet another Ironman.
~THEN AGAIN BY: DIANE KEATON | So begins Diane Keaton’s unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals—literally thousands of pages—in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane’s grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother—a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents—as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years. More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most. Diane Keaton is one of my favorite actresses out there and reminds me so much of my Mimi with the black and white polka dots and how she acts! Reading this was a true inspirational read about the amazing life of Diane Keaton and, to add to it, HER MOTHER! What could be better than that! I loved reading every second of this and, not gonna lie, did a binge watch of Diane Keaton's movies because of some of the stories she talked about in Then Again.
~FIVE FEET APART | The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Rachael Lippincott and contributors Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. In the film, Haley Lu Richardson (Stella Grant) and Cole Sprouse (Will Newman) play two young patients with cystic fibrosis, who try to have a relationship despite always being forced to stay a certain distance away from each other. Now let me tell you I truly did not want to see this in theaters because I knew I would be a pile of mush and I WAS! It was a truly amazing movie that touched my heart and had a great storyline but gave me a GIANT anxiety attack because of things that were happening at certain parts. They could not have casted this movie any better and truly was so inspirational and opened my eyes as to what cystic fibrosis actually is and what people with CF go through.
~CAPTAIN MARVEL | Is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Carol Danvers starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law. Set in 1995, the story follows Danvers as she becomes Captain Marvel after Earth is caught in the center of a galactic conflict between two alien civilizations. I am probably the most well hidden geek out there because I geek out so hard for anything Marvel related. Captain Marvel goes back to the very beginning of all the Marvel stories and you get to even see Nick Fury with both eyes and how he came to have the eye patch. The fact that this movie, starring a woman superhero, made $1 billion dollars at the box office is absolutely INCREDIBLE! The movie is amazing and has you hooked right from the beginning and is packed with action, humor, and at the core a heart felt story. GO WATCH IT!
~AFTER | The movie is based on the 2014 new adult fiction novel of the same name written by Anna Todd. The film stars newcomer Josephine Langford as Tessa Young, a college student who begins a turbulent relationship with "bad boy" Hardin Scott, played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin. If y'all haven't been able to tell, After is one of my favorite book series and when it was announced that it was going to be turned into a movie I was OVER THE MOON! Some other fans were not happy with how the movie was made because not all parts of the book were in the movie but I absolutely LOVED it. People it is an hour and 40 minute movie it is hard to fit 600 pages into that! I think they did an amazing job with it and included the essence of the story and the relationship of Tessa Young and Hardin Scott. And yes I did see it 3 times and I would go see it 3 more times. I would suggest reading the book first before seeing the movie because it makes it a lot more fun to watch because you get to see these characters come to life.
~AVENGERS: ENDGAME | Is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. It is the sequel to 2012's The Avengers, 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron and 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Even though I am known as the spoil queen, I refuse to spoil the Endgame because it is a movie that you have to go see. This does take place right after Avengers: Infinity War, so if you haven't seen that one yet, you must see it before you see Endgame. Yes, it is a 3 hour movie but I can honestly say that it did not feel like 3 hours AT ALL! I will say Mark Ruffalo was not wrong with bring a box of tissues because I sobbed like crazy. Now I did know who dies before I went to the movie, not because I looked it up, but because of clues from other upcoming Marvel movies getting reading to be released. But even though I did know who was going to die I still wasn't prepared for it to happen and it really hit me hard. Seriously, go to the theaters and see it ASAP because this wraps up everything with a nice little bow!
I hope y'all enjoyed April's reading and movie list and may have even found something new to go read or watch!
As always thank y'all for stopping by and reading! I will see y'all back here next time!
Love, D
