Night of Documentaries....

Normally I do not review any type of movies on here, however the other night I saw a few documentaries that I felt I had to share.

Mile..Mile and a Half

This consisted of 6 friends that take a 25 day journey hiking through the John Muir trail. They share photos and video of their whole experience, including talking to other hikers they meet along the way. Seeing the landscape was breathtaking and peaceful. The film was about an hr and a half. I rate it 9/10, a must see if you are one that loves nature. You can see this through netflix and I think also itunes.

Mile Mile and a half trailer

Tiny: A Story About Living Small

Think your living space is small, what about 84 sq ft or 124? This documentary is about a couple who decide to build a small (what I would call mini) house on their own with no previous experience. They interview other people who now live in small houses some made the choice due to economics, down sizing or environmental reasons. I thought this film was interesting, and you can get an update about where the couple is now on their blog. I did wish though it went more in depth on their decisions how to build their house and where they learned how to construct it, so rate it 7/10. This can be seen on netflix and itunes.
Tiny Trailer


Have you seen any good documentaries or films lately?

Classic Spin Number

 I know that I am a few days late posting but the number for the Spin is 13! I was a little surprised since I had so many previous event/spin books listed that one of them didn't make it. I have started reading The Age of Innocence of Edith Wharton, only about a chapter or so in, to early to see if I will like it or not. Have you read Age of Innocence? If so what are your thoughts? I have until Jan. 5, 2015 to finish it.

Classics Spin #8!!

So I realized I haven't posted on here in a long time. How time flies, anyways it is time for another classic spin.

  If you have read my blog before, then you will recognize the first ten books, were all previous spin list or event books that I have yet to finish. I hope that I get something that is somewhat a light read.

1. Heart of Darkness and selected short stories by Joseph Conrad
2. Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
3. Germinal by Emile Zola
4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
5. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
6. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
7. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
8. Persuasion by Jane Austen
9. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
10. The Secret Garden by Hodgson Burnett
11. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
12. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
13. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
14. Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
15. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
16. Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn
17. The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper
18. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
19. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
20. The memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln

What book on your list are you hoping to read or dreading? I have tried to read Conrad's books and gotten stuck. I am in the first part of Walden but not finding it very interesting, and I have heard the second part is better. I am about halfway through Jane Eyre and Sense and Sensibility, and finding I am liking Jane Eyre more than I originally thought I would. I have read a few chapters in Germinal and found it quite interesting, as well as War and Peace (although trying to remember all of the characters and their nicknames is a huge challenge). I have previously read The Outsiders multiple times, but for books listed 12-20 I have never read and just listed ones that I thought sounded interesting. 

Bout of Books 11: Master Post

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I hope to either finish all of these or at least read quite a bit of them. I have already started reading all of them, except for Germinal but will start this week. Here are the books that I hope to complete during the Bout of Books week:

 This is for a book club I belong to, and is the choice for us to read this month.



This is for the Austen in August challenge.


This is for the Classics Club Spin


I am reading this for the publisher, and am almost halfway done.

Classic Spin Number......

 The number for the 7th Spin the Classics Club picked was 17! So I will be reading Germinal, I have heard it is good but just haven't read it yet. Have you read Germinal? What were your thoughts? Did you get a good number for the Spin?

Classic Club Spin #7!

Unfortunately, I saw this notice of a new spin early this morning, so I am making a very late post about it. The last few I have participated in I was not able to finish the books. The  books marked with an * are from previous spins that I was unable to finish; because of time, couldn't get through it,etc. The challenge is to read whatever book from my numbered list that the Classic Club picks by October 6.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte*
2. Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau*
3. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Republic by Plato
6. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 
8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
9. The Magican's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
10. The Railway Children by E. Nesbitt*
11. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
12. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
13. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
14. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
15. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
16. Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
17. Germinal by Zola
18. My Antonia by Willa Cather
19. Heart of Darkness and other stories by Joseph Conrad*
20. Five Little Peppers and How They Grow by Margaret Sidney

Are you participating in Austen in August?

Since it is now August, I have started on the Austen in August challenge, today I will be reading a little bit of ;



Will you be doing some reading today, perhaps for this challenge? I hope you are reading a good book, no matter what you pick.