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The Campaign - Can you go wrong with Will Ferrell and Zack Galifanakis? I don't think so! The laughs start right away, and continue through the entire movie. I love modern raunchy movies with heart. Somehow the heart takes away some of the guilty pleasure. Easy and fun to watch.
It's funny about my blog. I have been neglecting it for the longest time while attending to long term projects and new distractions and a super fun Thanksgiving visit from my family. It's like the blog is a sourdough starter. It's a living thing that is always there, waiting to be accessed and used and added to, but since it's in the back of the fridge, it's also easy to ignore and even forget. I never really do forget, though. Sometimes it's very pleasant to bake bread, and sometimes it's more like something that gets fit in among other tasks and pleasures. Funny enough, I also use this analogy for my garage sale stuff. After every sale, I get rid of most of the items that didn't sell. There are always a few things that was hoping to sell but got left behind. I box these up into a small container, label it, and hang onto it for the next year. During the year, a new garage sale pile starts, and when it's finally time, it's so nice to go back to that original starter box where I've also kept the price tags and markers, and to know there are a few really nice things that might sell this year at lower prices. Just like the sourdough starter, if I really don't want to have a sale that year, the little box sits quietly on the shelf, waiting for its moment in the sun.
Blog-wise, sometimes the sourdough starter doesn't make as nice a batter, and here at the blogspot, since things have changed, it's not as much fun to write with the new ways of labeling, attaching pictures, etc. Fonts and colors are all different, too. There must be an easier way, but of course, there is no one to call. Just an impersonal "HELP" menu which doesn't help at all.
I've been reading......
Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon - This one is a National Book Award Winner, but I'm not sure why. It's difficult to read, which is fine, and the characters do grow on one, which is nice, but it's a story that you don't see where it's going until you are there. It's about a small time race track in West Virginia and the horses and the small time operators who work the races. When I was younger, my Uncle Peter took me to the track all the time, and I loved betting and watching the races. There was something exotic and mysterious about it all. Uncle Peter loved it, and I have a photo of us in the Winner's Circle. His horse had won and he was so happy that day. From that standpoint I read and enjoyed.
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes - At some point during the narrative of this charming story about children and pirates, I realized that it might not be a modern book. Sure enough, with a few pages to go, I checked the copyright page and found that the book was originally copyrighted in 1929! That's mainly a comment on the writing style which is enjoyable and not so old-fashioned as you might think. Not necessarily a delightful story, but a delightful read. For me, anyway.
Playing With Matches by Carolyn Wall - You know how when you read To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time even if you'd seen the movie, you didn't want it to ever end? I wanted that book to go on and on into forever and eternity, and I would do nothing but read it always. No other books required. Here's a book, albeit with a less than satisfactory title, that lives up to Harper Lee. Playing With Matches takes place on Potato Shed Road in a Mississippi prison town. It's about an outspoken girl named Clea and her remarkable family. It is so good that I will tell you no more. Clea is the first girl who ever reminded me of Scout Finch and I love the author for the gift of this powerful character.
A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style by Tim Gunn - Who doesn't love Tim Gunn, that formal, fun voice of reason and kindness on Project Runway. You won't learn anything new from his book, but you'll learn about Tim's aesthetic, and here and there you'll revisit some age old basics of style.
Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows - The author and her husband lived in China, and she studied the language which is filled with complicated characters and nuance. If you are a student of the Chinese language or a language aficionado, you might enjoy this account of some of the vagaries of the language, otherwise, read my review or the back cover and go on back to your fiction. An imaginary world is so much more enticing than the real one!
Seasons of Sun by Paula Renee Burzawa - This is one of my favorite books in a long time. It's a novel about an all american Greek-American 14 year old girl who spend the summers of her teen years in her mother's reletives' village. Her mom lets her have run of the town and she finds romance, fun and drama living life far from home with new friends and family. The village becomes her second home, and when she's there it's like her home in a Chicago suburb doesn't exist. It's a charming story for all ages, but especially women and girls, and then most especially for those who have a second life in a second home.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Finally! Peter read this for sophomore English last year, so my version is rife with annotations from both George T and Peter. It slowed me down at first, then I just ignored them and plowed on through. What a story. Young boys find themselves stranded on a desert island and have to figure out how to survive. It's as good as it always was, although today's version would be so much different in style and language. I wish I'd been reading it along with Peter, so I've got to be more diligent with Junior Year reading. We've got The Great Gatsby coming up!
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.
