Real Salt Lake

Loving the new anthem and can't wait for this season to get started:

Click here for the full anthem

MR. KNIGHTLEY (aka Michael Sharon)

Saw Pioneer Theatre Company's production of Emma last night and was in love (with both Mr. Knightley--played by Michael Sharon--and the amazing set design) You can still catch the production until March 3rd and I recommend that you do.



And here's a quick look at Michael Sharon (just to tempt you):

WHY BUY A BOOK?

Read this lovely post that touched on the change in book buying habits and publishing attempts at luring us into purchase with lovely designs and bold endpapers over the weekend that just about has me setting the fantastic goal of buying one new book every month this year. Doesn't that just sound lovely? And while the author specifically references hardback books, one of my favorite purchases last year was this little paperback:

This purchase has me thinking about collecting a variety of different editions of this book and forming some sort of a display...

p.s. after you check out that post (by Simple Village Girl) I referenced above, be sure to check out the rest of her lovely blog--absolutely worth the time.

WATCHED: THE ARTIST

Saw this recently:

Loved it. It was imaginative and emotional and just plain lovely (it is a silent movie--in case you haven't heard of it--and they pulled it off beautifully and just won a Golden Globe or something).

FORWARD!

Saw this on Facebook today and it made me smile:

Love their enthusiasm! 

Now I'm off on a long weekend. Hope your's is lovely and long as well.

LOVE BOOKS...

so I love this:

 

spotted here 

MICHAEL MCLEAN BENEFIT CONCERT

Fun little benefit concert announcement if you are a fan of Michael Mclean and/or The Center for Story: Saturday, February 4th, 7 PM at the Orem Public Library (Just $15). 

Also, if you are interested in Storytelling, Timpanogos Storytelling's Midwinter Conference and Concert is coming up February 9th through the 11th--I highly recommend the concert on Friday the 10th at 7:30 PM (cause we get Donald Davis and Bil (one "L") Lepp!) Tickets for the concert are available here and general information about the conference is available here.

DOWNTON ABBEY REMINDER

Before the week gets away from me entirely, I thought I would just take a sec to offer this brief reminder:

Downton Abbey Season 2 starts up on Sunday!

Here is a bit of a preview:

Watch Downton Abbey I Wonder Preview on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

SICK

The assembled supplies:

I'VE CAVED TO SOCIAL PRESSURE

If you know me, you know that I hate cell/mobile phones and think they are basically not necessary. And for many of the past 10-15 years since they have become popular and then basically necessary, I have resisted the pressure to get one--there was that one brief blip when living overseas. Now all these years later, I have caved. Not only have I caved, but I have caved so thoroughly that if my house was on fire the one thing I would grab is my mobile. So this is the lovely model that I purchased:

Mind you, I'm not grabbing it for my ability to stay in touch or be in touch via phone or text--hardly use or bother with those. No, the reason I can't live without it is the aps!. Instagram, Goodreads, Lose It!, Pinterest, LDS Tools and Library, Score Mobile, Mint.com, Ted, and don't even get me started on the google maps ap that is so beyond cool for my travel missing self. Sigh, I really don't know what has become of me, but please don't try to separate me from my mobile these days.

AUTHOR BOOK SIGNING

Looking for for a great Christmas present for your favorite book lover? Well, Ally Condie, fresh off her latest book tour, thought it would be fun to get some local authors together for a pre-Christmas book signing at my local library. Among those authors are, Kristen Chandler, Ally Condie, Bree Despain, Jessica Day George, Nathan Hale, Jed Henry, Brandon Mull, E.J. Patten, Rick Walton, Dan Wells, Robison Wells, and Tyler Whitesides. As an added bonus, books will be on sale at a 20% discount. Hope to see you there!

SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME

There are books that I have loved and that I would love to read again, but...there are so many books out there that I do want to read and that list is just getting longer and longer. That has been my thinking for a long time, but this fun little essay from the New York Times has me rethinking that silly little excuse. I'm now trying to decided which to read again first: The Harry Potter series or the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

p.s.

My copy of LOTR has him on the cover:

UTAH SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

I would like to take a moment to interrupt this incredible streak of not blogging to say:

Did you see the new  lineup for the 2012 Utah Shakespeare Festival?

I don't believe I've seen any of the 3 Shakespeare plays (so yeah for new-to-me stuff), am quite excited about the prospect of To Kill a Mockingbird, and who doesn't love Les Mis? 

The only thing that could make it better would be putting Stones in His Pockets (one of my favorite plays ever at the Festival) in the Summer lineup.

Oh well, I guess I will just have to go twice next year.

BOOK LOVE

What does one do when one has an aching ankle that prevents one from getting around much or sleeping at 2 o'clock in the morning? Two things: first, one reads and second (at 2 o'clock in the morning) one watches that Texas Book Festival on C-SPAN2. 

The result is a few books being added to my GoodReads account. But let's just stick to a few of the books I've added as "read."

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Gorgeous book in verse that follows a Vietnamese family who flees Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War and ends up in Alabama. I love, love, love books in verse and this one was just splendid.

The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak

Reminded me something of Hemingway in both style and content. Only about 200 words but packs a powerful and touching story.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

What is there to say that hasn't already been said about this book? It was simply amazing in pretty much every way.

Leaping by Brian Doyle

A collection of essays--"Why Write" and the section entitled "Grace under Duress" are must reads. (If you ever get the chance to hear Doyle in person you must take it--he is so fantastic and dynamic)