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Adventureland - This is a great coming of age movie in which Jessie Eisenberg takes the only summer job he can find at the local amusement park. Once there, he quickly becomes part of the summer fabric of the place, making friends and partying. Kristen Stewart plays Em, a complicated rich girl who also happens to work there. Of course there's the good looking young married guy who does maintenance on the machines as well as the whacky owners of the place. It's as sweet as can be.
The Hedgehog - A couple of years ago, I read a wonderful book called The Elegance of the Hedgehog about a Parisian girl named Paloma and Renee, the unassuming concierge of her building. The movie somehow incorporates more of the story of Paloma's life with her parents than I remember from the book, but brings to life the memorable Kakuro Ozu in a simple and beautiful way. I enjoyed seeing these characters and this story come to life.
Daniel's Story by Carol Matas - Daniel was 14 years old in 1941 when the Germans forced he and his family to leave Frankfort and resettle in Lotz, Poland. Lotz was a ghetto with many hardships, but each time the Germans relocated Daniel, his circumstances worsened. I will go to my grave haunted by the fact of the Holocaust and the fact that it could happen in modern society in a populous place surrounded by civilization. I will never understand it. This story is fiction written for young people who are studying the Holocaust in school. It's written in the first person, but for me the most powerful stories are those that are completely true. I wish Carol Matas would write a book about what happens to Daniel in the next years of his life, so that the young readers can look at their elders and understand that they were once young.
Babylon and Other Stories by Alix Ohlin - My favorite of the short stories in this book was Babylon, about a woman who's entire life was a lie. Once discovered, there is something honest about her lying though. It's worth reading all these good stories to be able to read that one excellent story. Each story is composed of a character or characters living every day lives, which on the surface seem normal. However, once we are in their thoughts and behind closed doors, the truth comes out, and a mundane life takes on new meaning. Sometimes the meaning is just misery, but almost always, we get a feeling of hope that things are going to change in the future.
Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James - This is the third book in the Fifty Shades trilogy, and you can pretty much fly through the first 3/4 of the book. Then it actually starts getting interesting, and I love the way E. L. has finished out the series at the very end. In five months, since meeting Christian Grey, Anastasia has come a long long way: "And now here I am, Mrs. Christian Grey, married to the most delicious, sexy, philanthropic, absurdly wealthy mogul a woman could meet." and "He'll always be Fifty Shades...my Fifty Shades. Do I want him to change? No, not really - only insofar as I want him to feel loved. Peeking up at him, I take a moment to admire his captivating beauty...and he's mine. And it's not just the allure of his fine, fine, face and his body that has me spellbound. It's what's behind the perfection that draws me, that calls to me...his fragile, damaged soul." There was also a sentence I loved that I can't locate right now. Something about my poor damaged, megalomaniac, controlling husband. You gotta love this stuff! If you don't then the Fifty Shades trilogy might not be for you.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - This is a fabulous murder mystery written in two voices. Nick and Amy married and were very happy until both lost their jobs and moved from a great New York City lifestyle to Nick's hometown in Missouri. Amy's first chapter is hooked me. She is typical entitled New York girl, Nick is a regular guy, albeit extremely good looking. The story will keep you wondering what each of them is going to do next, right up until the final sentence. This book has twists and turns galore, and the alluring voices of our narrators will keep you turning the pages. You will not forget Amy for a long long time, and if you're a guy, just be careful. You never know what is going on in your wife's mind.
The Chocolate Money by Ashley Prentice Norton - This fun and smutty
little read is about poor little rich girl Bettina, daughter of Chicago
socialite Babs. Babs is larger than life and a force of nature, while
Bettina is just a kid trying to get any kind of attention from her
mother. It's surprisingly readable and I enjoyed every page. Chic lit
with a bite.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Finally! Although my DVR was almost full and the presidential candidates were debating last night, I wanted an escape. I loved this movie about seven senior citizens who, for various personal and financial reasons, decide to visit India for an extended stay. They arrive to find Dev Patel as their earnest host in a hot dusty crowded foreign land. I love that the English actors age naturally, and that a story about retirees isn't forced and slick. Instead it's quirky and wrinkly and fun.
No Easy Day The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen - The title says it all with this book. For anyone who still wants to read more about the Navy SEALs after American Sniper, this book is for you. (My husband and son are of course included in that group). Although the news media saturated us with details about the mission, it turns out many of those details were drama and speculation. This author describes the mission in detail from his firsthand perspective, and provides details about how well trained and well prepared our SEALs are to do the tough jobs. He seems to resent that the president is using the capture of Bin Laden as part of his campaign. What the author doesn't mention is that if the mission failed and any American lives had been lost, the president would have taken the heat. I think the decision was as important as the accomplishment in this case.
The blogger people have introduced a "new" and "improved" method for blog posting. I'm still trying to get used to it, but the biggest change seems to be a worst method for bringing images into the blog. The picture of this book is a cut and pasted, but the blog won't let me make the image smaller. So now each entry takes a few more clicks and steps to produce. That's progress!
The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson - I wish this this Pulitzer Prize winning book had been the history book of choice for any of Peter's english or history classes these past years. It tells the stories of three people of color who were born in the segregated and discriminatory south and follows their lives to very different lives with new freedoms in the north. It is a history, factual and detailed, frightening and hopeful. Ida Mae, George and Robert are real people who were part of that "greatest generation". They never gave up; they survived and thrived, almost more so when they were down. The beautiful title comes from a line in a poem by Richard Wright. This is a must read.
