Sites where you can get FREE ebooks

You must love reading books or you probably wouldn't be reading this blog!

If so, then great news!

Book lovers rejoice! The internet has made books so much  more accessible, letting you find thousands of eBooks for  absolutely no cost. Read on your eBook reader, your  tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer. Here are  3 of the best sites where you can download your free books. 1. HundredZeros.com

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This site is a treasure trove for people who own a Kindle. The site will refer you to thousands of free books straight from  Amazon.com. If you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry – You can download a Kindle app for your iPhone & iPad, your Android  device, for Windows Phone, and even for the PC or Mac.

2. ProjectGuttenburg.org Project Guttenburg is a free organization that wants to spread knowledge in the world. They offer several thousand titles, mainly in English but also in Czech, Portuguese, German and French. 3. Free-Ebooks.net Another great source for free eBooks is the aptly-named site,  Free-Ebooks.net. Offering their own collection of thousands of  books, magazines, including many titles in Spanish and Portuguese.

Beer with Books?

One of the companies that has published some of my books is Big World Network. The founder, Jim McGovern, posts these really great, quick videos about what's happening in the world of publishing. In this episode, he talks about some interesting trends, such as recommendations for pairing beer with books, like wine with meals. Funny. Check it out!

Photo Gallery of books by Trina Boice

I love watching movies and writing about movies, but I thought you might like to see some of my more recent published books! My next one hits stores next month! It's called "Base Hits and Home Run Relationships"!

The classic Cinderella story told again

Movie:  Cinderella

PG, 1 hour 45 minutes

Grade:  A-

In a Nutshell:  In an era of movie remakes, this version of Cinderella by Director Kenneth Branagh is very simple, elegant, pure, and even old-fashioned, staying true to its original animation roots.  Walt Disney would have been very pleased.  So would the original author of the story, Charles Perrault.

SPECIAL NOTE:  One of the best things about seeing this in the movie theater right now is the animated short that plays before the movie.  It’s called Frozen Fever and highlights your favorite characters from the Frozen movie!  It’s a cute singing number that features Anna’s birthday party.  Absolutely ADORABLE!

Uplifting Theme:

·         “Have courage and be kind.” – Cinderella’s dying mother’s wish for her.  This phrase is repeated so many times that it’s not a subtle theme, but a very clear one that even little children will be able to pick up on.

·         Inner beauty shines greater than outer beauty.

·         “Just because it’s done doesn’t mean what should be done.” - Ella
-    "Where there is kindness there is goodness and where there is goodness there is magic." - Ella

Things I liked:

·         The dress! Wow. We are sure to see dozens of little girls wearing miniature versions of Cinderella’s shimmering, blue ball gown  on our front door steps this year on Halloween, complete with butterflies and sparkles in the hair.  I thought it was clever to match the ball gowns with the personalities of the wearers, such as the tacky and garish stepsisters’ dresses contrasted with the beautiful, graceful one worn by Cinderella.  I also loved the Fairy Godmother’s whimsical dress with wings.

·         The word that describes the film itself, as well as the set designs is charming.

·         Cate Blanchett can do no wrong. I adore her in everything she does.  She is splendid in this role as Lady Tremaine and looks absolutely stunning in every outfit in every scene.  Her subtle expressions add depth and nuance to the wicked step-mother, but they don’t change the story, only enhance it just enough.

·         The mice and other CGI creatures look very real.  They provide some comic relief, but it is very understated and simple.   The narrator tells us that Ella “had very little in the way of friends…well, her friends were very little.”

·         The magical transformations of the creatures to footmen, coachman, etc  is wonderfully Disney.   The lizard footmen are kind of creepy looking, but I love that they had lizard teeth and kept a green eye shadow hue to remind us of their true nature.

·         Both Prince Charming (the handsome, blue-eyed Richard Madden with absolutely perfect teeth) and Cinderella are modest, wholesome, noble, and good.  That’s so refreshing in protagonists these days.

·         Cinderella shows such grace and poise even when confronted with cruelty.  SPOILER ALERT: I love it when she tells her wicked stepmother “I forgive you.”

·         I’m really glad this film didn’t show the ugly step-sisters getting their feet cut off to fit into the glass slipper like in the recent movie Into the Woods .  So gross.  Speaking of glass slipper….wow!  Gorgeous.  “And you’ll find them quite comfortable.”  - Fairy Godmother    

Things I didn’t like:

·         While there are a few touching moments, none are tear-worthy. 

·         Helena Bonham Carter appeared too fake and quirky for this simple, elegant version of Cinderella.   While some would say she stole the show, I thought the humor seemed too forced and out of place.

·         Ella always wears the same blue dress to everything. Her ball gown is also blue.

·         It’s a bit slow-moving with very little action.

·         The interactions with Ella and Prince Charming were too short.  I wanted to see them together longer.

·         I was surprised that Prince Charming’s castle didn’t look like the Cinderella castle in Disneyland.

Funny lines:

·         “I can’t drive!  I’m a goose!.”  - Coachman

Interesting lines:

·         “I believe animals speak to us if only we have an ear to hear them.  That’s how we learn to care for them.” – Ella’s mother  (played by the lovely Hayley Atwell who you will see more of in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man)

·         “Time passed. Pain turned to memory.”  - Narrator (Fairy Godmother)  True statement.

·         “I do love a happy ending, don’t you?” – Ella

·         “Kindness is free.”  - Ella

·         “This is, perhaps, the greatest risk we will take – to be seen for who we really are.” – Narrator/Fairy godmother

·         “Surely you have a right to your own heart.” – Ella

·         “It really was like a dream…better than a dream.” – Ella

·         “They’re all looking at you.  – Ella

“Believe me…they’re all looking at YOU!” – Prince Charming

·         “Names have power.”  - Narrator/Fairy Godmother

·         “Punctuality is the politeness of princes.”  - King

Tips for Parents:

·         There is nothing super scary or offensive.  This is a very safe movie for family viewing of all ages. 

·         No profanity.  You’ll hear “Gosh” and “my goodness” instead. I think the harshest sentence uttered is when the wicked Stepmother says “Do shut up” to her own daughter who sings terribly.

If you can't get enough of this great classic, you'll enjoy these:

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Jupiter Ascending gets an A for visuals and a C- for script

Here's what bad writing can do to a movie...


Movie: Jupiter Ascending

PG-13, 2 hours 5 minutes

Grade: A- for visually amazing

              C- for story and dialogue

In a Nutshell:  Wow.  Talk about sensory overload.  The special effects are amaze balls. I went with some friends to see this in 3D at a Galaxy DFX theater which enhances the sound and offers those awesome reclining chairs.  One of the ladies I sat with said she had to close her eyes several times because she couldn’t take it all in.  I wonder if you get a free vomit bag with your ticket when you watch this in those Dbox motion chairs.

This fantasy adventure feels like a visit to the cantina scene in Star Wars with crazy aliens coming together to fight over power and the ownership of planet Earth.  One of the scenes looks like it actually could have been filmed on Star Wars’ Naboo. The script is messy, but the costumes, set design, make-up, and CGI are extremely creative and impressive, surely eating up most of the reported 175 million dollar budget.  The Wachowski brothers (one of them is now female) brought us the epic The Matrix magic, but have now created a story that mere earthlings can’t quite comprehend.  Even still, it’s an entertaining ride if you don’t mind the odd moments.

Uplifting Theme:

·         “It’s not what you do.  It’s what you are.” – Stinger Apini (Sean Bean)

·         What would you do with your time if you had an endless amount of it? What price would you be willing to pay to get more time?

·         There is an awkward exploration of capitalism, greed, and morality.

Things I liked:

·         If you like action, this movie includes the non-stop variety.

·         I LOVE LOVE the hover boots that make Channing Tatum look like he’s ice skating through air.  I hope I can buy a pair on Amazon soon.

·         Beautiful aerial views of Chicago.

·         There is a somewhat humorous attempt at explaining crop circles and dinosaurs.  I always wanted to know the scoop on those two things.  Now I know.

·         I loved the see-through floor on Balem Abrasax’s space ship.

·         I didn’t know Tuppence Middleton was so pretty when I first saw her in The Imitation Game.  Her character as Kalique Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending looked obviously fake in the beginning, so I was glad when we got to see her true beauty later on. 

·         There was so much to see that I would like to study some of the images frame by frame.

·         The gay robotic bureaucrat scene was odd, disturbing and funny at the same time.

Things I didn’t like:

·         Mila Kunis plays Jupiter Jones who falls in love with Caine in less than 30 seconds.  It’s embarrassing how quickly she throws herself at him.  Caine, by the way, is played by a blonde Channing Tatum.  He goes shirtless for a longer than necessary and the blonde scruff makes you wince just a little bit.  Two good-looking people should create sparks, but their romantic dialogue falls flat.

·         One of the guys I watched the movie with noted that the musical score by Michael Giacchino was too overpowering.  That could have been because we were in a sound-enhanced screening, so it’s hard to know if others will experience the same effect.

·         There were some attempts at humor, but not nearly enough successful ones.  Want to see a sci-fi fantasy flick that will make you laugh out loud a LOT?   Guardians of the Galaxy!

·         Mila Kunis’emotional range as Jupiter Jones is pretty small in this movie. Even after her entire world is shaken, all she can muster is a “Holy Crap.”  Years ago I took a jungle tour of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.  The tour guide’s name was Jupiter.  He explained to us that it was because he was so “far out.”

·         I adored Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything and hope he wins an Oscar to go with his Golden Globe for it, but his performance in this film was odd and vacillates between monotone whispers and screaming, with nothing in between.

·         The elephant man alien appears out of place in what should be serious dramatic moments.

·         SPOILER ALERT: There is an icky Soylent Green moment.

·         Why were there so many bald women in this movie?

·         There is so much going on in the action sequences that it’s often hard to figure out exactly what’s going on.

Interesting lines:

·         “Technically speaking, I’m an alien, and from an immigration perspective, I’m an illegal one.” – Jupiter

·         “Off the record, I will tell you that you are a man of rare courage and I pray that your aim is true.” – Diomika Tsing (Nikki Amuka-Bird)

Lines that make you sneer:

·         “Men do not like smart women.” – Jupiter’s uncle

·         “My mom says true love is just a fairy tale for little girls.” – Jupiter

·         “I will never complain about the DMV again.” – Jupiter

·         “I am not your mother.” – Jupiter

“No, my mother never cleaned a toilet in her life.” – Balem Abrasax

Tips for Parents:

·         Some profanity, but no F-bombs.

·         You see the naked backside of a female and male in two different scenes, as well as a girl in her tiny underwear.  (She has amazing abs.)

·         There is a short orgy scene, but you don’t see details, other than faces.

·         There are sexual innuendos, lots of violence (some bloody), and evil motives.

Alan Turing inspires a great book and a great movie

Another good book made into a great movie!
See my review from my movie review blog below:

Movie:  The Imitation Game

Grade: A

PG-13, 1 hour 54 minutes

In a Nutshell:  Two words:  Benedict Cumberbatch

Endless are the movies about WWII that are thought-provoking, inspiring, heartbreaking, and touching.  This is definitely one of them.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing of Alan Turing’s history before viewing this film. In fact, his story has been hidden for 50 years.

Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film "The Imitation Game" by Andrew Hodges, the movie is a fascinating character study of a British mathematical genius who broke the unbreakable German code during the war and who created the first computer.  He was also a homosexual during a time when it was illegal. Especially engrossing is watching Cumberbatch’s multi-layered facial expressions that reveal impressive depth and deserve Oscar recognition.

Uplifting Theme:

·         Alan’s childhood friend explained it well when he said “You know Alan, sometimes it’s the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” -  Christopher

Things I liked:

·         I love movie titles that have double meaning.

·         I thought the suspenseful music at the beginning set the tone well for the movie.

·         The interview between Alan and Commander Denniston was hilarious.

·         Keira Knightley is always mesmerizing to watch.

Things I didn’t like:

·         It may be a little slow-moving for some, but I was intrigued the entire time.

Funny lines:

·         “You’re serious!” – Commander Denniston (Charles Dance)

“Would you prefer I made a joke?” – Alan

“I don’t think you know what those are.”  - Commander Denniston

·         “How the He** were you supposed to decrypt German communications if you don’t speak German?” – Commander Denniston

“Well, I’m really quite good at crossword puzzles.” – Alan

·         “What is it about women with little hats?” – Hugh (Matthew Goode)

·         “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.  That’s not progress; that’s just blind luck.” – Alan

·         “Well, this is inhuman, even for you.” – Hugh

Interesting lines:

·         “Do you know why people like violence?  It is because it feels good.  Humans find violence deeply satisfying. But remove the satisfaction, the act becomes hollow.  I didn’t learn this on my own, of course.  I had help.” – Alan

·         “They only beat me up because I’m smarter than they are.” – Alan

“No, they beat you up because you are different.” -  Christopher

·         “Some people thought we were at war with Germany.   Incorrect. We were at war with the clock.” – Alan

·         “I’m a woman in a man’s job and I don’t have the luxury of being an a$$.” – Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley)

·         “The interesting question is just because something thinks differently from you, does that mean it’s not thinking?” – Alan

·         “Are you paying attention?  Good.  If you’re not listening carefully, you WILL miss things.  Important things.”   “What I will need from you now is a commitment.  You will listen closely and you will not judge me until I am finished.” - Alan

Tips for Parents:

·         Discussion of homosexuality, school bullying, smoking, actual war footage from WWII.

·         The language is mostly clean and even eloquent.

·         It’s a bit slow-moving, so children may get bored.