Courtney

Author Archive

An Update

Hey all – it’s Courtney from Once Upon a Bookshelf here. Teresa’s asked me to stop by and let you all know what’s been going on.

Her grandfather recently had hip replacement surgery, and so she’s currently dealing with a family convalescence – all is well, but it is keeping her extremely busy. Due to this, over the next couple of weeks there’s going to be a shortage of posts. It also means that it will take longer than normal for her to reply to any emails that you send her.

Again, all is well, but it’s going to take some time for things calm down. She’ll be back soon.

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2011: 09/14
POSTED BY: Courtney
CATEGORY: Musings
Site Updates
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Imagine Me and You

Imagine Me and You
Synopsis: On Rachel and Heck’s wedding day, they meet Luce, their wedding florist. Rachel quickly develops feeling for Luce, and not only has to deal with the consequences of these feelings, but also causes her to explore her own sexual orientation.

Starring: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode, Anthony Stewart Head

One word review: Adorable.
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Courtney

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2010: 01/14
POSTED BY: Courtney
CATEGORY: Romantic Comedy
TAGS: director: Ol Parker
LGBT
studio: 20th Century Fox
studio: BBC Films
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Everyone Is Someone by Dala

There is something so utterly charming about Dala that makes their music so enjoyable. Partially because of the beautiful harmonies in every song, partially because the lyrics that they write are so sincere and evocative, partially because the duo plays all the instruments in the songs themselves, and partially because their personalities come through their music so fully.

Everyone is Someone is Dala’s fourth album, and yet it is only the first one that I’ve personally experienced. But it won’t be the last. If their previous albums are anything like this one, then I need to dig them up, and I will quickly grab anything new that they put out. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I can’t figure out what my life was like before it had Dala in it. Read more

Courtney

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2010: 01/03
POSTED BY: Courtney
CATEGORY: Folk
TAGS: Folk
Folk Pop
LABEL: Campus
MUSICIAN: dala
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North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Synopsis
Set in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, Margaret Hale’s life is turned upside-down when her father gives up his parish and moves their family to Milton, a city in the north of England. Milton is so much different than everything Margaret had been used to – going from the south of England to the harsher northern part of the country, where the people all depend on the cotton mills for their jobs – and she and her family have a very tough time adjusting. Margaret’s father takes up teaching, and one of his students is the proud Mr. Thornton, owner and manager of a local mill.

In a story not unlike Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Margaret and Mr. Thornton soon discover they have feelings for each other, but pride, bruised egos and major misunderstandings seem to be in the way of their ever forming a more lasting attachment.

Courtney

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2009: 05/19
POSTED BY: Courtney
CATEGORY: Classic Literature
TAGS: author: elizabeth gaskell
classics
england
publisher: wordsworth editions
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Goddess by Emm Gryner

Emm Gryner grew up outside of Sarnia, Ontario (just across the border from Port Huron, Michigan), and studied Music Industry Arts at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario before persuing her own music career. Now in her early 30′s she has about a dozen albums and her own label (Dead Daisy Records). She’s a highly talented singer-songwriter, and a kick-butt piano and guitar player. Goddess is her most recent release.

I’ve had this album for about a month now; it always takes me a while to decide whether I like a new album, and sadly most of the time I find that they don’t live up to past albums. I’m really happy to say that that’s not the case with Goddess , and it’s exciting to see that it lives up to the same quality of awesome music that I have come to expect from Gryner.

This is definitely a must-own for any fan of soft, melodic indie rock.

Courtney

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2009: 04/18
POSTED BY: Courtney
CATEGORY: Indie
TAGS: indie rock
label: dead daisy records
musician: emm gryner
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The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Synopsis
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione is given The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book containing five fairy tales: ‘The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,’ ‘The Fountain of Fair Fortune,’ ‘The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,’ ‘Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump’ and ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers.’ The last one, ‘The Tale of the Three Brothers’ is the story that introduces the Deathly Hallows – three magical objects that will cause the person who has them all to become the “master of death.”

Originally, there were only seven copies of this book made, but in late 2008, it was released to the mass market. This book includes all five fairy tales, as well as commentary on each one by Dumbledore.

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