Brief synopsis: It's 2011 and Jake Epping is a high school English teacher who teaches adult education classes in the evening and enjoys a cheap burger at Al's local diner. But Jake's world gets turned upside down when Al let's him in on a little secret - a closet in the back of the diner is a rabbit hole to 1958, and no matter how long one stays down the rabbit hole, they'll always come back to two minutes later in 2011. Now Al's dying and he needs Jake to complete the mission he's tried so hard to complete - stop Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating JFK.



When Hulu developed an 8-episode mini-series a few years ago about JFK and starring James Franco, I was totally there for it. 11/22/63 - the date President Kennedy was assassinated - now turned into a science fiction novel about time travel, and hence a mini-series. I watched it every single week and absolutely loved it. It took me a little longer than I'd meant for it to, but I finally got around to picking up the Stephen King novel from the library, and though it took me close to two weeks to finish the book (those King novels sure are dense), I enjoyed every second of it. Once I finished, I immediately watched the mini-series again, and that adaptation? I didn't love it so much the second time around, because the book was fantastic. Seriously.

The characters, even those that seem minor, are so well developed. The mixture of facts and fiction are completely intriguing. Oh, and those little tie-ins with other King novels were a wonderfully pleasant surprise (and I'm talking about Richie-who-lives-in-a-ditchie and Bevvie-from-the-levvie in a little town called Derry). I swear Stephen King is a genius and if I never get to meet him, I will be eternally sad about it.

I had more than my fair share of cries while reading, because the lives of the characters and the surrealism of what could have been. Sidenote: I went to Dallas a few years ago and stood there in Dealey Plaza and sobbed in the middle of the street. Those moments were incredibly surreal and somehow that just added to the story King laid out in 11/22/63.

I can't say enough about how amazing the book was. I will say that if you haven't read nor watched - watch the show first, so you can enjoy it as it is. Then read the novel and become completely immersed in the life of Jake Epping/George Amberson and the precious little town of Jodie, and the impact educators can have on the lives of students. Watching the series after reading the book really took away most of the awe of the series - they both tell the story is totally different ways, but the book is always better rings true with this one, too.

I'd definitely recommend this one.

I started out July with a bang because I took that first week of the month off work - it was glorious. I stayed up many nights until about four in the morning, just reading. The rest of the month kind of tapered off a bit, but I still meet my monthly goal of six books. We're over halfway through the year at this point, and I'm still checking off prompts for the 2018 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, so fingers crossed I satisfy all prompts this year, unlike 2017 and 2016.






Carrie by Stephen King ★★★★☆
POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book that is also a stage play or musical
Brief synopsis: Carrie White is a weird girl, different from all the other teenagers in her school. When a traumatic event sends her over the edge, one of her classmates tries to make it better by trying to give her an amazing prom night. Unfortunately, the taunting only gets worse, setting loose Carrie's gifts and giving her classmates a night they'll never forget.
See full review here.







The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey ★★★☆☆

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift
Brief synopsis: Boston, early 1900s. Four young immigrant women join together each Saturday night to catch up and together plan for their futures. Each of the four women try their best to adjust to what it means to be an American woman in the 20th century and figure out how to live their best lives with their best friends by their sides.
See full review here.







The Glitch by Elisabeth Cohen ★★★☆☆

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: A book that's published in 2018
Brief synopsis: Shelley has it all - a husband she loves, two adorable children, an amazing house, and an executive position at Conch, a tech company that produces the latest gadget that's nearly artificial intelligence. And she owes it all to a life-changing event that happened mere days before her twentieth birthday. When abroad with her family, her little girl goes missing - but due to the kindness of a stranger is safely rescued. But the rescuer is really interested in Shelley's company and wants in on the venture. Up next is a young girl who looks remarkably like a young Shelley, and just happens to have the same scar. Is something fishy going on, and how does all this relate back to Conch?
See full review here.







The Anamoly by Michael Rutger ★★★★☆

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: An allegory
Brief synopsis: Nolan and his team of documentarians delve deep into the Grand Canyon in search of a secret cave that may have existed over 100 years ago. Finding the cave could be a big win for them - it could take The Anomaly Files from obscure YouTube series to cable. They find the cave, a big enough win for them because the team isn't typically one to find the things they search, but things in the secret cave certainly are not what they appear to be. And they could be in big trouble.
See full review here.







Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes ★★★★☆

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/A
Brief synopsis: Joe Goldberg is back, with a new girlfriend, who just so happens to be using him just to get to his collectible books to sell for money to make it to (and in) Hollywood. So of course Joe, being the stalker that he is, follows her to to California to do some unthinkable things. But Hollywood has quite the effect on him.
See full review here.







*Prague Spring by Simon Mawer ★★★★☆

POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Prompt: N/A
Brief synopsis: Two students from the University of Oxford take a tour of Europe over a break from school. As they get to know each other better, they find out a little more about themselves, while making friends and acquaintances along the way. Simultaneously, a diplomat from the British embassy in Czechoslovakia determines what it means to be in love and in lust, while also trying to do the best for his country. Their stories merge at some point along the way during the spring of 1968, during what's known as the Prague Spring.
See full review here.

Brief synopsis: Two students from the University of Oxford take a tour of Europe over a break from school. As they get to know each other better, they find out a little more about themselves, while making friends and acquaintances along the way. Simultaneously, a diplomat from the British embassy in Czechoslovakia determines what it means to be in love and in lust, while also trying to do the best for his country. Their stories merge at some point along the way during the spring of 1968, during what's known as the Prague Spring.



I've mentioned it a variety of times here before, but historical fiction is not my favorite genre by any means. I'm not a history buff, and while I realize the importance of understanding history, it's not necessarily something I am overwhelmingly interested in. I really enjoyed this novel, however, not only because of the factual pieces of the story, but also because the obvious parallels to our current political climate. Mawer intertwined both wit and prose to provide a timeless story of facts and fiction in this novel set during the Cold War.

Prague Spring not only forces its readers to understand the intricacies of love and intimacy, but it forces us to think about how far we would go to save those around us; not only those who are our friends, but those who are total strangers. It forces us to think about how well we really know those we call friends, and if we can know enough about someone's character within mere hours to know that we want that person to be a part of our lives for a much longer piece of time.

This novel was written in such a beautiful prose and one that's intriguing enough to encapsulate its readers within its pages, while also weaving in true historical facts in a way that forces you to place yourself in the shoes of individuals who experienced such terrifying placement in a time of political liberalization, which in turn houses such eye-opening similarities to events happening throughout the world in this current day and age.

Prague Spring not only reminds us of where this world has been in the past, but makes us realize where we could go in the future if we're not careful.

There are certainly some sexist themes within the novel in the ways that that both Sam and James think and interact with the women around them. This may be a sign of the times, but could also be a further examination of sexist ideals and perceptions of how and who is in charge of our bodies. The women in the novel are much more complex, with furthering discussions of "this is my body, not anyone's property," as well as women who feel they "owe" something to the men in their lives.

There was so much engrained in this 400-page story, but I truly enjoyed reading it and learning more about Czechoslovakia and its history. This was certainly an informative mix of facts and fiction.

UPDATE: Since this was posted, MoviePass has now updated their service to 3 movies a month for $9.95. Additional movie tickets may receive a discount of up to $5. We'll see how service changes.


When MoviePass came into being, we all knew it was impossible. How could the company possibly make any money with a subscription service with a monthly fee that costs less than one movie ticket? I mean, I'm not adept at anything slightly business-related or anything, but that much seemed pretty common sense to most of us. But who are we to not take advantage of such a great deal.

Well, it obviously took MoviePass a bit too long to realize their company, one of the fastest growing ever with over 3 million subscribers, was bound to be a total failure. They obviously seem to have no clue how to run a business, and because of that, they're losing subscribers left and right to other services, like AMC Stubs A-List. Unfortunately, Regal doesn't yet have any type of subscription service, and Regal is my favorite - it's closest to me and I love the Crown Club loyalty program. So, the only reason I haven't yet quit MoviePass is because there's not a Regal subscription.

I haven't even had MoviePass for two months at this point, barely a month actually, and I've already experienced more issues than I can count. I obviously joined during the downfall. When I joined, MoviePass wasn't totally ruined yet. The deal was unlimited movies, but you could only see one a day and you couldn't see the same movie twice. Not too big a deal - I mean, that definitely seemed reasonable to me for $9.95. a month.








Since I've joined, here are some of the issues I've experienced:

1. Blackouts for popular movies, like Missions Impossible: Fallout and Christopher Robin.

2. Peak-pricing during popular showtimes (from $5 -$8 extra), which aren't entirely accurate, but whatever.

3. Only certain movies and certain times being available for MoviePass showings, including times that movies aren't actually being played at the theatre, like 3:00 AM.

4. Leaving my house with the app working, then getting to the theatre, only for the app to not work, so having to go back home. The app will work for e-ticketing theatres, but "locally" (as in 30 miles), those are only the Studio Grill locations, which are much more expensive that my more local theatres - and I'm not driving an hour out to watch a movie. There also seem to be no restrictions for those e-ticketing theatres, too, so what the actual hell?







But honestly, there are so many solutions that MoviePass could've done from the get-go, including some of the following:

1. No opening weekend tickets. Honestly, I tend not to go to the movies opening weekend anyways, and if it's something I want to see that bad, I'm totally fine buying my ticket out of pocket.

2. Allow for more showings during the week and matinee tickets (because hello, those tickets are cheaper anyways).

3. Actually have a customer service department that cares and even responds to people (what a novel idea!). I contacted customer service to basically just receive an email response that said "we know about the issue and you won't receive an individual response."

4. Charge $19.95 a month. I would happily pay $20. One movie ticket at my local theatre ranges from $10-15 for a regular 2D ticket, so $20 for unlimited or hell, three times a week would be a-okay. $9.95 a month for unlimited movies seems a bit ridiculous anyways, am I right?






As long as I can continue to see at least one movie a month, though the app and the company really suck, it looks like I'll continue to subscribe to MoviePass until it's dead or until Regal creates a subscription service, just for the fact the one month subscription costs less than one movie ticket. So, that's a win, I guess. But honestly, they should really get their crap together, because I think the majority of people are much less tolerate than I.

If I had to take a guess, I would say one of the biggest issues in a lot of people's lives is money. We're all always trying to make the best budgets for us, but sometimes we could all use a little extra cash, whether it's saving up for a vacation, saving up for a rainy day, or just even just trying to minimize the things in our lives.



So, here are a few things you may or may not have thought of before:



1. Junk an old car, or old car parts. Hubby and I have both junked cars. My 2002 Malibu, which I loved dearly, ended up with a warped engine that was going to cost more to replace than we paid for the car. A 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was quite literally falling apart. A 1991 Toyota Celica that had too many problems to count, and eventually filled with spiders because the window wouldn't roll up. We've definitely had our share of car problems, and have really made a come-up and now both own our own cars we bought brand new. But finding a trustworthy, reliable, and easy-to-work-with junker can be difficult to come by and you certainly want to get the best deal for your car - because sometimes our cars can come with a lot of sentimental value, so we don't want to just get rid of our cars, ya know? So find a great, reliable junking service like Sanford & Sons Junk Cars. Serving the Atlanta area for many decades, Sanford & Sons are reliable, trustworthy, and quick. Plus, they pay on the spot when they pick up - not to mention, they'll come to you!





2. Turn your skills into services. Are you great at writing? Pick up some tasks like writing articles freelance for your local newspaper or even online outlets. If you've got a blog, work on sponsored posts (like this one!) that you feel can fall into your blog's niche. There are also sites and apps, like TaskRabbit that let you pick up all kinds of varieties of tasks, from cleaning to organizing to styling!



3. Drive folks around with Lyft or Uber, if that's an option for you. It's not personally a job I'm sold on (I don't want to drive drunk people around and risk them throwing up in my car, if I'm being completely honest), but my brother-in-law does it, and since I work at a university, I honestly know a handful of people who earn a lot of extra money by driving for rideshare companies.



4. Thrift unwanted clothes. I've been visiting thrift shops my whole life. My mom really taught me how to stretch a dollar and it's something I'm still proud of to this day. But thrift shops have really become more popular, especially since Macklemore's Thrift Shop dropped several years ago. So get rid of the clothes, shoes, and accessories you don't wear anymore, or let's face it, if they're never going to fit anytime soon. While you may want to donate,  you can certainly earn an extra buck or two by selling your clothes to local thrift stores, resale stores like Plato's Closter, or resale apps like Poshmark, ThreadUp, or Mercari.





5. Recycle cans. This can take a bit of time, depending on how many cans you go through a day, but you could think a little out of the box here, too. Collect cans at work, or collect a group of friends to volunteer to pick up cans and trash roadside or within the community. Look in your area for a recycling company - they typically pay mere cents per can, but I used to rack up like $80 every couple of months growing up because I forced my family to recycle their cans!



6. Use apps that help you earn, like Shopkick (earn kicks/points for walking into stores, scanning items, and shopping - you don't have to spend money to earn, which is my favorite thing about this app) or Achievement (earn points for being active, taking health and wellness quizzes, and keeping track of your food intake!). There are probably a million other apps out there, but those are just some I actually use fairly regularly.