THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES * DK SMITHSONIAN GREAT DESIGN * MOTHER, MOTHER

The Place Beyond The Pines - This under the radar movie is about a small town, a carny, a girl and a cop, and then it gets really good when a new story evolves to connect generations.  Each actor is really good, and it's filmed as if a film noir, so it's not vivid or too in your face.  It's a solid story and a good movie, and I recommend it.  The characters and story will get under your skin a little and make you think.  

DK Smithsonian Great Design - I'm not usually a fan of DK books, but I wanted to see all the Great Design.  I saw it, and was mostly greatly disappointed.  I want my great design to be very functional and comfortable.  So when they show me a Barcelona Chair and call it great design, all I can think about is how uncomfortable those things are.   Near the end of the book, Jonathon Ive, a designer for Apple who worked on the iPad, is quoted with the best take away of this book "It's very easy to be different, but very difficult to be better." 

Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas - This story about a disfunctional family is so good!  It's worth the read because of what I found to be a big surprise at the end.  I didn't see it coming, and loved that the author was able to accomplish it.  The mother is a real prize which you'll find out right away.  I like that the author is female, because by her name, I thought I was reading a male author, which sometimes creates a subtle bias for me.  Definitely worth the read if Running With Scissors was your thing.