Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I Wish I'd Discovered Sooner

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews requests that you share your link in their weekly post on their website (which will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated. 

Today is Wednesday, which means it is time for the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge. I may not have replied to any of your comments from last week yet. So sorry if that is the case. Real estate is keeping me up late at night and getting up early in the morning. Send some good wishes and prayers my way that things slow down to a manageable level. 

This week's prompt asks us to share Books I Wish I'd Discovered Sooner. Here are a few:

Harry Potter - I've discussed this before. I don't read highly popular books and series. I am not a follower. The final movie had been out for four years before I stopped by the library to grab the first book in this series. Then I listened to them in quick succession in my car as I drove around to appointments. 

Murder, She Wrote - I loved the show, but I never indulged in a book until Jon Land, one of my favorite authors, took over after Donald Bain passed away. Land wrote six Murder, She Wrote books. I read his last two.

Cedar Cove - This is a series I knew about, but I find it disheartening to start a new-to-me series when so many books have been written. It was the Hallmark Channel television series that got me into reading these books. I've only read the first three books and one of the Christmas novels. 

I would be remiss if I didn't add Amish novels by Charlotte Hubbard. I first read Charlotte's work in 2012, when she also wrote Amish novels under the pen name Naomi King. As far as I know, I didn't miss any of her novels from that point on until her retirement. I still miss her work. 

That's it for me. I will try my best to visit your blogs by the end of the week. Appreciate your visits and comments. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I have to start this week's topic by stating I don't watch a lot of TV or movies. That's changed a bit lately as we have spent more time at home, but I prefer to read than watch anything (with rare exception). Thanks to my Kindle Fire HD 10, however, I have binge watched the entire Fuller House series. Though this might seem odd, I am watching season 1 of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, which aired from 2010-2013. I've always been a fan of Scooby-Doo, so I wanted to check out a more recent adaptation. You can read some of my thoughts at my kid's book blog.

So, on to today's topic. These are my suggestions for Top Ten Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies. Some of these would be remakes of other shows/movies, but I think modernizing these could gain new audiences.

One of my favorite TV mini-series, The Thorn Birds is overdue for a remake. Proving I don't follow Hollywood at all, I can only guess who would play the main characters. Maybe Chris Hemsworth or Henry Cavill and Anne Hathway or Kiera Knightly. I suggest less focus on Meggie's younger years and moving swiftly into her coming of age and the forbidden love between Meggie and Ralph.

In The Cutting by James Hayman, readers meet Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe, who moved from New York City to Portland, Maine to escape a dark past. Along with his partner, Maggie Savage, McCabe must find a sadistic killer of young, blonde women. McCabe and Savage return in The Chill of the Night, where they must discover who killed a young attorney and dumped her body at the end of the Portland Fish Pier. This would make a great series. Hayman already has six books for inspiration.

The Amish Bishop Mysteries by Vannetta Chapman started with What the Bishop Saw. Henry Lapp rushes to the scene of an out of control fire. He soon learns, however, that this fire is no accident and Vernon Frey is left dead. Not the most liked guy, there is no end of potential suspects. Henry must decide if he will use his God-given gift to set the record straight one someone he knows is innocent is implicated in Vernon's death. 

This is the first of a three-book series, but I think it would make a great regular TV series for cozy mystery lovers that is unique in setting and because of the main character's faith. 

Here is another great book series that would make for a fun TV series or movie. The House on Tradd Street introduces us to Realtor Melanie Middleton. She inherits the house on Tradd Street from a man she recently met, not knowing of the house's malevolent presence. We also meet Jack Trenholm and a cast of other great characters who appear in this series. I think this first book would make a great movie.

As I mentioned in an earlier Top Ten Tuesday, the 1993 TV series, Walker, Texas Ranger is being remade. Due to premier in January 2021, Walker is something I will be looking for. However, I would love to see fifth-generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong make it to Netflix as a series. Author Jon Land has given us 10 books of material to get started. Would be a truly superb series if done right.

The Madhatter's Guide to Chocolate by Rhett DeVane brings us up close and personal into the lives of Hattie Davis, Jake Witherspoon, Aunt Piddie, and all the other folks in Chattahoochee, Florida. Small town secrets always make for some good viewing. 

I know this will sound unusual coming from me, but I really enjoyed what I read of The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I'm not usually into futuristic stories, but Cinder captivated me when I read it with the girls. This series would make great movies. 

In my not-so-humble opinion, Jessica Fletcher has been off television for far too long. New books are still being published featuring the former school teacher turned writer and amateur sleuth. Murder, She Wrote is way overdue for a new TV run or a new movie. 

I love everything about Charlotte Hubbard's work, but I feel A Mother's Gift would make for a special kind of movie. Leah Otto has never been comfortable with housework. She prefers to tend to her goats and chickens. Jude Shetler, a widower with three children, likes her non-traditional skills, but she is not prepared for all that goes into being a wife and mother. While struggling to keep their teenage daughters in line and care for a five-year-old who is desperately missing his mother, a new challenge arrives in the form of an abandoned baby on their doorstep. This book was wonderful from beginning to end. It would make a great faith-based TV movie.

One of the things that deters me from watching TV is that every show I enjoy is eventually canceled. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek had good runs, but Mercy Street and Cedar Cove barely got off the ground before they were pulled. If Netflix found a way to bring Cedar Cove, based upon Debbie Macomber's popular series back to life, I would eagerly watch each episode. 

What do you think of my list? Is there hope for any of these to be picked up? What's on your list?

Book Reviews: 204 Rosewood Lane and 311 Pelican Court by Debbie Macomber

My love for the Cedar Cove series on Hallmark Channel--which viewers recently learned would not be renewed for a fourth season--led me to begin reading the books by beloved author Debbie Macomber.

In 204 Rosewood Lane, Grace Sherman's life flipped upside down thanks to her husband's sudden and unexplained disappearance six months ago. Questions plague Grace: Where is Dan? Who is he with? Olivia Lockhart, Grace's best friend, is a source of advice and comfort, but at least Olivia's ex-husband didn't disappear without a trace.

Elsewhere in Cedar Cove, Justine--Olivia's daughter--impulsively got married and is making a life with her new husband, Seth; Grace's daughter, Maryellen, seems to be hiding a new relationship; newspaper editor Jack Griffin continues to woo Olivia, and Rosie and Zachary Cox's marriage looks like it might be coming to an end. Oh, and how could I forget that a stranger arrived in Cedar Cove, checked into the Thyme and Tide--the local B&B--and was found dead the next morning.

Filled with drama, romance, and intrigue, 204 Rosewood Lane is a superb addition to this series set in the coastal community of Cedar Cove in Washington. Capturing the charm of small town America, Macomber adds new characters to the story while further developing the storylines of characters readers meet in the first book. It is definitely a good idea to start from the beginning of this series.

The recent divorce of Rosie and Zachary Cox plays a significant role in the third book of the Cedar Cove series, 311 Pelican Court. Known for her unusual decisions, Judge Olivia Lockhart rules that instead of the children being shuffled back and forth between the home they grew up in and their father's new apartment, Rosie and Zach must be the ones to move back and forth. 

Things aren't going smooth in Olivia's world either. Her ex-husband, Stan, has decided he wants her back, which leaves her feeling confused and puts her budding romance with Jack Griffith on ice. Her best friend, Grace Sherman, is still dealing with the fallout from her husband's sudden disappearance, but is ready to finally move on. She's just not sure how. 

The investigation into the man who died while staying at Bob and Peggy Beldon's bed and breakfast continues with some surprising twists and turns, and the consequences of Maryellen's actions end up being tougher to deal with than she anticipated.

While I enjoyed the first two books in this series, I feel 311 Pelican Court is where the series hits its stride. The core characters have been introduced and developed, so Macomber dedicates this book to moving some storylines forward and bringing others to a satisfying conclusion. It is easy for the reader to become attached to these folks and this town as if they were real. One thing I believe Macomber handles very well is how war impacts families. Some of the town's residents served in Vietnam, which is woven into their stories and has at times created more questions than answers. 

I look forward to the continuation of the series in 44 Cranberry Point, which is the location of Bob and Peggy Beldon B&B, the Thyme and Tide. 

I borrowed both these books from my local library. These reviews contain my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

I read these books for the following challenge: