Happy Birthday Dear Richard Armitage *** Aug 22, 2022 *** Renaissance Man

 

        Happy Birthday Richard

🎂🎈🎈🎈🙌

Renaissance Man: A person with many talents or areas of knowledge. (Oxford Dictionary)

The ideal European “Renaissance Man” excelled in a variety of areas. He was well educated, charming, witty, able to dance, write poetry, sing, play music, wrestle, ride horses, and be able to fight as a swordsman. (houstonisd.org)

A modern definition:  A person who has wide interests and is expert in several areas. (Merriam-Webster)

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This has been a great year for Richard.  He has established his production company, has authored his first novel, has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Leicester, and has continued to work as a leading actor in TV programs and movies, as well as an award winning and much sought after Voice Actor.

I have been a fan, supporter, well-wisher, of Richard Armitage for 17 years. Every year has been a different adventure, and that has added to my enjoyment of being a fan, and to my esteem for the  person I have followed. 

Feliz Cumple - Happy Birthday Richard Armitage

BWB Reading Challenge for April, May, June

 April Book *** Tales Across Time

Burning Shakespeare

By

A.J Hartley

I am  58% done with Burning Shakespeare and you may notice that we are in June.  I have fallen a bit behind on my BWB Challenge reading and didn't start the book until the last week of April.  😇

It is a time travel novel, moving from our times to Shakespeare's time with a varied and quirky group of characters.  Also has a bit or more of the supernatural.  

Rich businessman wants to travel back in time and destroy all of Shakespeare's plays, group of misfits from earth and heaven try to thwart him.  

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May Book Selection 📑 Two Sides to the Story

Rock, Paper, Scissors, by Alice Feeney 

Audiobook narrated by Richard Armitage and Stephanie Racine

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June Book Selection  👻   Fantastic YA Fantasy

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by  Washington Irving, 

Audiobook narrated by Tom Mison

🙎🙎🙎🙎

I hope to finish all three by end of June.

Happy Birthday Sean Bean 2022

 

BWB Reading Challenge 2022 - March Selection

The reading challenge for March is  "Chilling True Crime".

As I have mentioned before,  though my favorite genre deals with fictional crime (mysteries, police procedurals, etc.), I'm not usually a fan of True Crime. So when looking for a book for this challenge I turned to an author I like, Erik Larson.  I loved The Devil In The White City so I turned to another Larson true crime and history book:

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

Audiobook narrated by Bob Balaban

Larson's website describes the book as "the saga of how the lives of the inventor of wireless and of Britain’s second most famous murderer (after Jack the Ripper) intersected during one of the greatest criminal chases of all time."

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For mystery lovers like me, I just finished listening to Mania by L.J. Ross, narrated by Richard Armitage.  So many twists and turns in this story, I have to listen to it again soon to capture all the details.

BWB Reading Challenge 2022 - February

 

 

My book for February is an audiobook, Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor, narrated by Caroline Lennon.

I'm enjoying this cozy mystery, especially all the marvelous Irish names and the narrator's Irish accent.

The book challenge for this month was/is  "Treat Yourself Reads" and  I selected my favorite genre, Mysteries and Thrillers.   I will confess that the Carlene O'Connor mystery I selected is also the pick of one of my book clubs.   I'm 90% done with the book and need to return it to the library by end of Feb 27.

I haven't selected my March book yet (Chilling True Crime).

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New Year - New Reading Challenge: Better World Books 2022 Reading Challenge and My January Selection

 Sean Bean in Equilibrium - photo from Fanzone50

In December I started contemplating taking up a new reading challenge for 2022.  I liked the Better World Books reading challenge the best.

This is not a strictly audiobook challenge like other challenges I've attempted.  As an audiobook lover I plan to do both printed books an audiobooks depending on the book I select for the month's challenge.

Better World Books (BWB) also has a Facebook page for this reading challenge and I like the idea of sharing comments with my fellow challenge participants.  

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I'm still a member of three different book clubs (all still online 💖).  Part of last year I was a member of four book clubs, but I dropped one for this year. Though I enjoyed all the book clubs, two monthly ones were a bit too much for me. One monthly I can handle. Two hefty books a month, plus my other "two chapters a week" clubs left me no time to read/listen to books of my own selection.  (Plus I still have other chores of life I have to do, even if now retired.)

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What does BWB consider History Retold for January?  " Historical fiction, memoirs, or any retelling of a historical event or time in history. "

https://blog.betterworldbooks.com/2021/12/30/2022-better-world-books-reading-challenge/

I've selected two audiobooks for this challenge:

I'm finishing this one today, have one hour to go.

And

A book a friend recommended a few years ago, and I've had it "resting" in my Audible library since then.

Why two?  I was already listening to the Poe one, but didn't think of it when I posted Educated: A Memoir as my Jan selection on the BWB Challenge FB page. 

Stay Close by Harlan Coben and Netflix Book Club with Richard Armitage

Photo from Harlan Coben and Netflix 

 

What a great idea from Netflix.  To have a book club for their book-to-series "original" streaming offering.

Discovered the Book Club because of Stay Close series starring Richard Armitage, Cush Jumbo, James Nesbitt, Jo Joyner and others, from the book by Harlan Coben.

Uzo Aduba is a charming and well prepared host and guide for the book club.  She had a very easy rapport with the author, Harlan Coben, and with series star Richard Armitage.  

SPOILERS -  DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK OR WATCHED THE SERIES (STAY CLOSE):