IT'S SO EASY AND OTHER LIES * NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST * THE DUFF

It's So Easy *and other lies+ by Duff McKagan - I never thought I'd read a book by the bass player of Guns 'N Roses, and then that I'd not only enjoy it, but rave about it. I've always loved biographies and for me autobiographies are the top of the genre since the author actually experienced those stories and that life. Duff is from Seattle and grew up there during the era when Seattle was the center of a new music scene in the U.S. His stories are storied - he started young, lived poor and broke and addicted, then wealthy and addicted, and then clean and healthy. There's a great integrity here and Duff writes with love.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - The secondary title is You Never Know Where the Night Will Take You, and therein lies this nice little New York love story alternately told in the first person by the main characters. It's delightful reading when you're way past the ages of the characters and a seriously great story when you're in middle school and high school yourself and long to have their freedom and confidence.

The DUFF - This movie got great reviews, and it's a sweet little movie with some great characters and fun acting, but it's not John Hughes. Perfect for when you can watch it on cable but not worth the rental. (Yes, I'm still renting movies from the library or Red Box.) It's a high school movie and DUFF stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend. I guess the question is, are you or were you ever the DUFF? or were you the beauty? I've been the DUFF and it's not fun when you know it. So glad they didn't have the DUFF designation back in the day. Ouch.