Freda's Voice

Welcome to the November  edition of the monthly news! Had a great niece born this month. Her name is Scarlett and she was 8 lbs 1 oz. I have taken to spoiling her rotten.  I mean, look at her. How could you not spoil her?! Also got a cool Christmas giveaway still going on. Check it out on the Giveaways tab ! I also read more books that I have reviewed due to review copies! Some are not due to launch until next month, so reviews are held. Looks terrible when I see so few read... BOOKS: Dark Ambition by Ann Brocklehurst (recommend) The Devil Wears Scrubs by Freida McFadden (recommend) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (recommend) MOVIES: Good Boys Hobbs & Shaw (recommend) The Peanut Butter Falcon (recommend) Ad Astra Where'd You Go Bernadette (recommend) YEARLY TOTAL: 44 Books, 30 Movies & 1 Product BOOK OF THE MONTH: BOOK OF THE YEAR: SPECIAL P

Kindle:  536 KB Print:  335 pages Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin; Special ed. edition (February 26, 2013) ASIN:  B008SAZHLQ AMAZON Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits-smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love-and just how hard it pulled you under. Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL and CARRY ON). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love. When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things. She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons. REVIEW: OM

Welcome to week 454! RULES: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your  ereader . If you have to improvise, that is okay. *Find a snippet, short and sweet. *Post it, and add the url to your post in the Linky below. Also join in the fun on Instagram using the hashtags #Instagram56 #Friday56 Happy American Thanksgiving weekend to you all! (Even though I said it last week as well... I am Canadian after all. 😁 ) Check out this read on  Amazon . Here is my snippet from page 56... View this post on Instagram One of the sweetest stories I've read in a while for this week's #Friday56 #Instagram56 A post shared by Freda Mans (@fredasphotos) on Nov 28, 2019 at 5:18pm PST Book Beginnings leave your links in the comments if you didn't join in the Friday 56. Q:     Did you go shopping on Thanksgiving Night, Black Friday, or on Cyber Monday? If

AVAILABLE DECEMBER 17! RATED PG 122 minutes AMAZON Based on Carnival Films’ Emmy award-winning television series, the feature DOWNTON ABBEY sees the original cast return, alongside a host of newcomers. The incredible ensemble cast been applauded by critics as “funny and charming as ever” (Caroline Siede, The A.V. Club). The film chronicles the Crawley family one year after the conclusion of the series, as they prepare for the most important moment of their lives: an impending visit from the Royal Family. Join the glitz, glamour and spectacle as the special visit unleashes scandal, romance and intrigue on the fan-favorite family and its staff members. Lauded as “a delight” (Stephanie Zacharek, TIME), the film comes from the series screenwriter and producer Julian Fellowes, and producers Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge. WATCH FOR MY REVIEW COMING SOON!! AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY 1 WINNER US AND CANADA GOOD LUCK!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

AVAILABLE NOW! RATED PG 108 minutes AMAZON My review for the book. Based on the runaway bestseller, Where'd You Go, Bernadette is an inspiring comedy about Bernadette Fox "Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett", a loving mom who becomes compelled to reconnect with her creative passions after years of sacrificing herself for her family. Bernadette's leap of faith takes her on an epic adventure that jump-starts her life and leads to her triumphant rediscovery. REVIEW: What a great movie! The hubby and I sat to watch this, I was hopeful, having read the book. He was oblivious. Throughout the movie, the hubby was ready to bale. I told him to stay, you need to watch to the end. If it was anything like the book, the story really comes together at the end. So he stuck with it, and at the end said it was a great film. That , to me, shows the brilliance of this film. This movie has a powerful message, not to judge a book by its cover. T

I love UglyChristmasSweater ! This is the best online store for all things Christmas! If it's sweaters, pajamas or even toys, they have all the holiday novelties you are looking for. With the click of a mouse, you can access so many styles and prints. From naughty Santa to your favorite tv show, you will find cool and well made clothing and toys. I can literally spend hours on this website! Every year, I get permission at work for Casual Fridays to be Ugly Christmas Sweater Friday in December. This year is no different, but I did need a different sweater. One that flows with the times. One that is cool with the kids nowadays.... I went with dabbing Santa! Dabbing is all the rage with young people now so I thought it would get a laugh or two. I can't wait to wear it to work! This sweater is so soft. The fleece inside is comfy and so well made. I am always impressed with the quality of the sweaters, whether knitted or cotton blend with a print. Each sweater

Welcome to week 453! RULES: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your  ereader . If you have to improvise, that is okay. *Find a snippet, short and sweet. *Post it, and add the url to your post in the Linky below. Also join in the fun on Instagram using the hashtags #Instagram56 #Friday56 Happy weekend to you all! I completely forgot to post last night, so very sorry! I didn't get prepared at all so I do not have a share this week. UGH. I have a new book, I just forgot to get snippets from it for my post. Happy American Thanksgiving to you all! Book Beginnings leave your links in the comments if you didn't join in the Friday 56. No BB this week. Q:     Excluding the Bible, name one book that makes you feel thankful and happy. A: A book I can think of top-hand that made me grateful for all I have was The Memory Jar by Tricia Goyer. Shows how important some things really can be. **

N. Lombardi Jr, the N for Nicholas, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese, and Khmer (Cambodian). In 1997, while visiting Lao People's Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.  Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotian culture, Buddhism etc. http://plainofjars.net His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya. His latest novel, Justice Gone was inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police, and has won four awards in its first year of publication. Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Check him out on GoodReads . Congr

AVAILABILITY UNKNOWN RATED PG 124 minutes AMAZON Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos. Also starring Tommy Lee Jones, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland. REVIEW: What a waste of two hours. UGH. I like Brad Pitt, but this film though, that's another story. Speaking of story. Where was the story in this one? I get his dad was an adventurer astronaut, a man they told tales about. I also get his dad went to Neptune and never came back. I also get that Brad was an astronaut trying his hardest to find his dad. But everything in between falls so flat, it literally has no gravity. Two hours of this was no fun. It sure as heck wasn't like Matt Damon in The Martian. That had power. This one, you felt like it had t

I was browsing through Pinterest one day and saw Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I had a spare can of pineapple in the cupboard and thought, 'what if I did bite size cakes?' They seem to go faster in smaller portions in my home. Not sure why. So off we went. Using a basic Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe and just using a muffin tin to bake instead of a cake pan. Easy peasy! (Though they will fall over if you're like me and almost fill the cup of the tin. That's still okay though!)  INGREDIENTS 1 box Betty Crocker white cake mix 3 large eggs 1/3 cup melted margarine 2/3 cup brown sugar Canned pineapple rings 1/2 cup vegetable oil Cooking Spray DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350c.  Cut your pineapple rings into pieces, but save the juice.  Spray a muffin tin liberally with cooking spray. I use Pam. In a medium bowl, mix the cake mix, eggs, oil and reserved pineapple juice. Blend it until it's smooth. In a smaller bowl, mix the melted

Welcome to week 452! RULES: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your  ereader . If you have to improvise, that is okay. *Find a snippet, short and sweet. *Post it, and add the url to your post in the Linky below. Also join in the fun on Instagram using the hashtags #Instagram56 #Friday56 Happy weekend to you all! Check out this read on  Amazon . Here is my snippet from 26%... View this post on Instagram A book that tours my site in December for this week's #Friday56 #Instagram56 A post shared by Freda Mans (@fredasphotos) on Nov 14, 2019 at 4:34pm PST Book Beginnings leave your links in the comments if you didn't join in the Friday 56. Q:     Do you think that overall work morale would be improved by having a "book lunch", sponsored by the company, at least once a month, or perhaps once a week?  A: In some jobs I