All About A Pirate

                        A Pirate Looks at Fifty

As promised this time we look at a non-fiction book. Jimmy Buffett is one of my favorite musicians, so it is no surprise I own this book. It isn't a typical autobiography in that it doesn't start at the beginning of his life and end at present day. This book is part travel log, part memoir, and part history lesson. He does discuss growing up and the rise of his musical career, but they are interspersed around the trip to South America that he is taking with his family. We learn of various experiences in tiny tropical airports, reflections of his life and family, and planes. We learn a lot about planes. Jimmy is a pilot and on this trip he is flying his beloved seaplane. No commercial flights for this guy. A lover of both sky and water, Mr. Buffett has an interesting story to tell and he tells it in a unique way. A must read for Parrot Heads.

But before a pirate can look at fifty he must first look at forty and that leads us to our musical selection.

                                       A1A

This is my all time favorite Jimmy Buffett album. I am from Florida, so I grew up listening to Jimmy and I think this particular album was played the most in our house. A1A is a beach front highway that runs along the eastern part of Florida and gives you some great views of the Atlantic. This album has so many great songs on it but my particular favorites are, "A Pirate Looks at Forty" ( you may know it as the "Mother, Mother Ocean" song), "The Stories We Could Tell" and " Life is Just a Tire Swing". Do you self a favor and take a listen to this one. It really is a treasure.

As always you can click on the images and be taken to Amazon if you care to purchase either item. See you next time. Thanks for stopping in and have a great Thanksgiving.

Love in a Dress Shop

As I have previously mentioned I love a good Regency era, historical romance. I read them more than any other genre and thus my current review is about one.

Book: "Vixen in Velvet" by Loretta Chase

 This is book three of the Dressmakers series. Our heroine is Leonie Noirot. Who along with her two sisters own one of London's most successful dress shops. Currently, Leonie is having to run the shop single-handily, while both of her sisters are attending to other matters. Leonie has always taken care of the business side of things, both in the shop and in life. The shop is her very world and as a good business woman she likes things tidy. That tidiness becomes disrupted, not always in an unpleasant way, when she meets Lord Lisburne.

From their first meeting Lisburne has a way of getting under Leonie's skin. Lord Lisburne too, finds himself in an upheaval. He cannot get the shop owner out of his thoughts and finds himself seeking her out. Between their game of cat and mouse, throw in a wager. Leonie will make the most unlikely of candidates the belle of the season and Lisburne will relinquish his most prized piece of art, but if Leonie should lose she  must give the Lord two weeks of her undivided attention and so the games begin. Chase gives us a fun, flirtatious story that is well paced. An easy enjoyable read.

Tunes: Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars

 Like so much of the music I have come to love , finding this album was a happy accident. I don't remember where I heard the song, but I remember that I liked it enough, to use my song recognition app to learn what it was and have since gotten the album. As a side note if you do not have a song recognition app, I highly recommend Soundhound. I have an Android phone and was able to download it for free from Google Playstore. I don't know if it is offered on Iphones. If you find yourself out and about and a song comes on that you would like to know the name of, as well as the artist performing it, simply open the app and hit listen. It will identify the song for you. It is fabulous.

Barton Hollow actually came out in 2011. This is ( to me anyway) a relaxing album. One to put on and listen to from beginning to end. It is very rare for me to find an album where I don't like at least one of the songs, but that is the case with this one. The songs are well written and the harmony of this duo's voices is simply beautiful. They have put out a few other cd's that I am looking forward to checking out. Unfortunately, this 4 time Grammy winning duo officially called it quits in August of this year. The music world mourns.

Thanks for stopping by and as always you can click on the images to be taken to Amazon where you can purchase or download them if you so choose. Next time I will be reviewing a non fiction book. Hope to see you then.

My Favorite Novel

I don’t typically purchase fiction books. I usually rely on my local library to support my vice. I own more non-fiction than fiction, but even those are in limited amount. Trust me, it is a dream to one day live in a home with a “library”. I envision floor to ceiling book shelves all around,  worn brown leather furniture, and a fireplace. Until that time comes I am very limited with space, which is why I don’t normally buy books. Once in a great while I will download one, but digital books don’t hold the same appeal to me. I want to hold the book, feel it in my hands. One book that I do own and has graced my bookshelf for longer than I can remember is Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg.




Fannie Flagg has written some great books over the years, but in my opinion non better than this one. Like most of Fannie’s stories this one takes place in the South beginning in 1952. It is the story of young Daisy Fay Harper and the trials and tribulations she experiences as she goes from childhood to young adulthood. Daisy’s father is always looking for a way to get rich quick and her long suffering mother puts up with it for a time. Hilarious supporting characters include Jimmy Snow, an alcoholic crop duster and her father’s best friend. We also meet Mrs. Dot who is trying to teach the young girls of Shell Beach, Mississippi  how to act like young ladies, all be it from the back of a bait shop. As all girls do, Daisy Fay also has a nemesis by the name of Kay Bob Benson. This book has made me laugh until I have cried. Though enormously funny, there are moments of sadness and the combination makes this my all time favorite novel.

TUNES

I freely admit I am not a fan of Beyonce nor was I ever a fan of Destiny’s Child, however I must admit I love a version of her song, ” Crazy In Love” from the Great Gatsby soundtrack. This is from the Baz Luhrmann version of the film. I have not heard the whole album yet, however it is on my list. But so far there are two songs from it I love. The first I have already mentioned, “Crazy In Love”, which isn't performed by Beyonce. It is performed by Emeli Sandé and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra. Interestingly, Beyonce does perform on the album, she sings “Back to Black” with André 3000.

The second song I love from this album is “ A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (all we got)”, performed by Fergie, Q-Tip, Goonrock. The reason I love these songs is because of the jazzy, dance-hall vibe they have. Others who perform on the soundtrack include:Florence + The Machine, Gotye, Jack White, and Lana Del Rey to name a few. Even if you aren’t a fan of one of the songs as traditionally played, take the soundtrack for a spin and experience the music performed in a different way. Maybe you will find a couple of tunes you love too.



You can click on the pictures and will be taken to Amazon where you can purchase the items if you care to. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones with your very own library. If not you can get the digital version there as well.

Thanks for dropping by.

The First One

Hello. Welcome to the first post of my new blog, A Book and Some Tunes. I am moving the blog from a different site, because the other site was down a lot, so hopefully that won't be the case here. I have decided I will only post about books I enjoyed and music that I like. I read all different types of  books, both fiction and non, but be forewarned, my favorite genre is historical romance so there will be quite a lot of that.  I don't intend to review a new album every post. I just may comment on some songs that I like both old and new, or talk about an artist or group. I may even actually review an album now and again..of course it may be from the 70"s. Okay, enough with the intro, let's begin shall we?
                                                                  Books

  I just finished Why Dukes Say I Do by Manda Collins. This is the first in the, " Wicked Widows" series. While there are some authors that I routinely check to see if they have any new work, I typically find the historical romances I love so much at my local library, just perusing the stacks. Because of this, once in awhile I check out a book that I have already read, but that doesn't happen often. However, to save myself some time when I get home from the library I check my shelves on Goodreads.com (side-note: if you are a reader and do not have a Goodreads account you are missing out. Click the above link to check it out) to see if it is one I have already read. Turns out I had yet to read anything my Manda Collins.

I was delighted by this book. It is the story of the widow, Lady Isabella Wharton, a woman that  has a few secrets from her past and Trevor Carey, the newly titled Duke of Ormond. Isabella  is essentially blackmailed by her deceased husband's mother into leaving London and going to the country to try and  convince the Duke that he must come to London and take up his Ducal duties.

Trevor Carey has no desire to go to London and is perfectly content to remain on his country estate with his sisters.  He has little affection for London society and prefers a simple life. The Duke and Isabella strike a bargain that may bring the reluctant Duke to London after all, but Lady Isabella's past rears its head and someone has followed her all the way from London to cause her harm.  Now the Duke and Isabella must figure out who is after her before it is too late.

This was a very enjoyable read. It is well paced, the budding romance between Isabella and Trevor is refreshingly more direct than in most historical romances. There are interesting supporting characters and while there is the element of mystery, it is written in such a fashion that it does not weigh the rest of the story down. I found myself not wanting to put the book down and as soon as I had finished it I immediately went online and had the titles that my library owns by the author put on hold for me. I even put in a request that they purchase one that they didn't have. I cannot wait to read the next one by Manda Collins. If you prefer to purchase your books  either print or digital, just click on the book image above and you should be taken to Amazon to order.

TUNES     

                                                                                                                                   I have have been listening to a couple of tunes over the past week or so. One is an oldie but goody and the other is a bit newer. The first is,  "Luka" off of Suzanne Vega's 1987 release, Solitude Standing. Some of you will remember that when this song was released it seemed you could not turn on a station that wasn't playing it. I liked it then, but I had not heard it in a very long time until recently. Turns out I still really like it. Surprisingly the song has not had the longevity as "Tom's Diner" which was released on the same album. It isn't that version of "Tom's Diner" that is still played today, however. It is the 1990 remix done by DNA with Suzanne Vega. Luka is a happy, sing along type of song that just happens to be about child abuse.

The second song is equally as happy and up beat, but it too has a disturbing a message. It is about planning to shoot kids at school. It is "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People It was originally a viral hit, but was released on the 2011 album  Torches after the group was picked up by a label. Yes the story line is horrible, but the song  is so upbeat and catchy that you can't help but sing along. Interestingly, songs that are upbeat and tell me to be happy  don't appeal to me in the least, but for some reason these two songs, although told in  different styles can lift my spirits. I don't know if I really want to ponder what that says about me. Again, with either of these songs, you can click on the image and be taken to Amazon. You can preview the songs and purchase the album or just the single.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am not the most eloquent person and I am sure I have grammatical  errors, but I hope you found it helpful or enjoyable anyway.

See ya next time.