What are you up to for Spring Break? We are taking our boys to the mountains with our good friends. I’m hoping for a few moments of bright sunshine, white snow, and smiling kiddos in puffy snow suits. If you are anything like me, a good break includes reading some really great books and watching a few good movies. I thought I would recommend a few to you, and I hope that you will recommend a few to me. Now, you have to know my taste, I like uplifting stuff with some kind of life lesson attached. Oh, and I like happy endings – I try to stay away from dark and depressing. Here are my recommendations for a good veg out:
Movies:
I’m not sure if these were up for lots of Oscar’s, but that might be a good thing. Ha!
The Hundred Foot Journey is a great story about following your passion and loving with your whole heart.
About Time is a wonderful reminder to live in the moment.
The Chef is a story about making a mistake and the good that can come out of it.
Inside Out is hands down my favorite movie for adults and kiddos alike.
A few that are on my list to watch are Shine, Saving Mr. Banks and The Intern. Help, which one first?
Books:
The Rosie Project is not your typical romantic comedy.
Happiness for Beginners is packed full of little life lessons.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a short, heartwarming read.
The Balance Project is a reminder that no one really has it all in balance, regardless of what they look like.
Rising Strong– You all know how much I love Brene Brown, (see post here) and her latest book (Rising Strong) is life changing. Well, all of her books are life changing.
I’m finishing Dear Mr. Knightley (it’s really good), and Be Frank with Me is next on my list. Have you read it, is it good?
I’ll be taking a break while in the mountains. I might come back for one more post, but if you are wanting to shop for spring/summer, check out these posts (here and here).
Don’t forget to leave me your veg out recommendations!
Image by @fani_psd
I liked Saving Mr. Banks and The Intern. Also, Brooklyn was VERY good (even my biker husband liked it)! Spotlight was excellent.
Have a wonderful vacation!!
I’m adding Brooklyn to my list! Was Spotlight really sad, or was the end worth the sadness?
Spolight is very good and not overall sad. It’s really more focused on being truthful even when it hurts people or an institution in order to protect the innocent.
Ah, that makes sense and, now it sounds like I would love it! Thank you for your comment.
The Intern is sooo good! Best movie I’ve seen in a long time. Enjoy your break!
Great reads: Sommerset and Roses by Leila Meacham. The best Southern novels since Gone With The Wind! Written by former schoolteacher who made the NY Times Top Ten.
Oh wow, this is definitely going on my list! Thank you!
The Walk – movie – is good for the family!! About the guy who tight rope walked between two towers in the 70s. Also, great book is The Traveler’sGift by Andy Andrews. I just bought Rising Strong!! 🙂
Thank you for your recommendations!!! You are going to love Rising Strong!!!
The Martian was great! I couldn’t imagine myself liking it, but I really did. The author has a great sense of humor. I was going to recommend The Rosie Project, but I see you’ve read that one. It made me smile.
I love an author with a great sense of humor. I’m adding The Martian to my list.
Jeanie, I watched The Martian tonight, and it was so good! I loved the humor! Thanks for the great recommendation.
Well, it’s official ~ I like your taste in everything! From fashion to your picks in movies and books! I am the exact same way about what I read/watch ~ I want/need uplifting. I have read/watched just about all of your recs and totally agree with every comment. For my recs: have you seen “Silver Lining Playbook”? It’s been out for a while but if you haven’t seen it, it’s sweet with a great message. I’ve heard that “Joy” {with Jennifer Lawrence} is really uplifting but I don’t think it’s out to rent for another month or so. “St Vincent” {with Melissa McCarthy had a great message and was uplifiting} and “Woman in Gold” with Ryan Reynolds and Helen Mirren was wonderful. Books: have you read the Mitford series by Jan Karon? If not ~ you MUST! Talk about uplifting! It’s a series and it helps to read them in order. The first one is called “At Home in Mitford”, the second one is “A Light in the Window”. Hope that helps! I am going to read the comments from others to get more ideas. I love that you posted this ~ would love a yearly list from you about movies/books ~ just in case I miss something uplifting! : )
Phyllis!!!! Thank you!!!! You have so much good stuff in here. You must continue to let me know of good books and movies throughout the year! I love a good series, so the Mitford series just made it to the top of my list. I saw both “Silver Lining Playbook” and “Joy”, I should have included these in the post – I needed you when I was writing this post. Thanks again, I can tell your recommendations is going to make this year full of uplifting books and movies!
I loved the Mitford Series too!
Carly ~ just wanted to add a couple of things. First, another book I loved that if you haven’t read it, I think you would enjoy ~ “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”. AND just an fyi ~ the Mitford series is sweet and cozy. It has funny parts and such sweet characters ~ and I would call it “old fashioned” in that it’s like stepping back in time into Mayberry. I think you would enjoy the characters and the Southern charm, but just wanted to tell you that it’s a series in the “slow lane”. {And it TOTALLY made me want to move to North Carolina!} Anyway, let me know if you read them and what you think!
Oh, I have to agree with Phyllis on Mitford! I love that series. Love. Another series in that vein is Miss Julia. “Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind” is the first one. And I am going back a few years but The Husband and stayed up until one A.M. re-watching The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezel and a young Henry Cavill. The book is good, but this movie version is wonderful. For a fun documentary on Netflix watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It is uplifting- and the story of a simple man who has spent his entire life working hard at perfecting his trade, and ended up creating one of the most in-demand restaurants in the world. We love that one. If you have never seen “Pride and Prejudice” with Kiera Knightley. I can leave it on with my little girls in the room. And it is one of the best. I love reading all these new book and movie leads here in comments!
Thank you, Ginni!!!
Jiro Dreams was really great! My husband liked it, too! Thanks for the rec.!
You’ve got to read A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams! I’ve been in a book club for 13+ years, and this was my friend’s recent choice for us to read. I just read it on my Spring Break this past week! It’s a very quick and easy read–a love story and historical fiction. I will admit I blushed at times while reading it, which made it hard to put down. I texted the group to say I was finished and how much I enjoyed it, and another girl replied saying she had just finished it and thought it was one of the top 10 books we’ve read over the years. You’ll love it!
Oh wow, I can’t wait to read this book! Thank you for the recommendation!
I’m a book editor but foremost a reader and definitely can identify with your not wanting something too depressing. A few recommendations that have stuck with me are Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand (also one of my favorites cover illustrations ever), Circling the Sun (historical fiction about Beryl Markham. She was a badass and the setting is amazing), and Where’d You Go Bernadette (made me laugh out loud). On a personal note, one of my favorite books I worked on is a memoir called A Journal of Best Practices by a guy with Asperger’s trying to save his marriage. Really funny and inspiring. You can hear him talk about it on NPR’s This American Life too.
Thank you for taking the time to give me your recommendations. I read “Where’d You Go Bernadette”. It made me laugh out loud, too. I can’t wait to read your other recs. I Love This American Life, so I’ll listen to the pod cast before I read the book. Thanks again for the great recs!
Loved the Potatoe Peel Society! Read it years ago. Also, Necassary Lies by Diane Chamberlaine and My Husbands Secret. Good vacation reads. I LOVED AJ Finkry too! I picked it up randomly on vacation last spring,
Do not watch Spotlight. Very upsetting especially being a mother of boys.
Brooklyn- so good!
Sisters- hilarious
Mitford Series- just ok for me
Train wreck- hilarious
Someone else told me the same thing about “Spotlight”, thank you for you honesty. Thanks for the recommendations!