GAP YEAR GIRL * THE BIG SHORT

Your first clue about what's going on here is that I'm reviewing Gap Year Girl ahead of The Big Short.....

Gap Year Girl A Baby Boomer Adventure Across 21 Countries by Marianne C. Bohr - I'm not sure I really need to say much more, (since the secondary title does the heavy lifting) but this is a sweet book about a woman and her husband, in their mid 50s and married 30 years, who embark on her dream of traveling and living in Europe for a year. Started this one last night and finished it this morning. At first it was repetitious, but as it went along, it became a lovely travelogue written by someone with a real passion for her pursuit. So if you enjoy reading about France, Italy, Spain, Greece and the places that border and correspond and beckon one from there, this could be inspiring. I used to be a person who desperately dreamed of doing this, but not anymore. It was a good dream, but others have replaced it.

The Big Short - I feel like I missed something. And it was more than the actual missing of something because I dozed off a few times during everyone's current favorite movie. Steve said I missed the best part with the explanation in Las Vegas, but still, I have a feeling that had I seen it, I'd still be lost. There were other explanations that didn't work for me, and despite the all star cast of cool guy actors, it just wasn't that good. Definite points to my friends who understood it all.....the betting against, the investors, the AAAs and the Bs and the greedy lying banks. I mean, I guess I did understand it pretty much, but just because a movie inserts current event flashes photoshopped to great music, doesn't mean it's turned a trashy story into a great movie.  I mean, was there a story here? That we didn't know? Or that we cared about? Feel free to replace we with I. 
I think I've been somewhat snarky or "edgy" lately, and do apologize for any reviewing that's veering into ranting. We're in the cold spell, I had high hopes for completion of projects and life changing magic based on joyful sparks, and another week went by with very little of it. At least the reading and movie-ing is going along.