The books of September 2013

I think it was fall for a day or two, then it felt like summer again. Sigh. Just come on already!

Movies:

I made it to four movies in September. The first one was Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. I had the book on my Kindle, but decided to wait to read it until I had the characters in my head from the movie stars playing them. It was a good choice. The movie was quite entertaining...Jonathan Rhys Meyers is always a good choice for a villain (which is why I'm really looking forward to NBC's Dracula that starts this month!). I didn't find it to be as angsty as it could've been, which is a plus...but I was more than a little disturbed by one of the storylines. It was fun overall.

The Family is about a mob family that have to go into witness protection for turning against the mob. Only they're really bad at not being a mob family and keep getting moved around. The movie takes place in a small town in France, their latest relocation. It's not just the dad who does bad deeds, it's the mom, the son, and the daughter. How do you respond to criticism in the grocery store? Blow up the store of course. How do politely tell a boy you're not interested in them? Beat him to a pulp with a tennis racket? Sure. It was really funny and good to see Michelle Pfieffer in something again. 

I saw Despicable Me 2 again. It was still hilarious. Can't wait to own it.

Last movie of September was Rush. Not Rush the band. Not Rush the movie from the early 90s. This one was about the Formula 1 driver rivalry in the mid-70s between James Hunt and Nikki Lauda. It was fantastic! The guys playing the main characters even looked like the real drivers. I used to watch Formula 1, but it was about 10 years after this...although one of the names I recognized showed up on the leader boards at some point. I just found this to be a great story and all of the high speeds and occasional crashes made it really exciting. The only down side was that the traffic leaving the theater was very slow and I wanted to go fast like the movie drivers.

Books:

This month I read all of the currently published Mortal Instruments books: City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, and City of Lost Souls, all by Cassandra Clare, Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt, The Life of Cesare Borgia by Rafael Sabatini, and Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (technically finished in October).

The Mortal Instruments series is pretty good. A girl, Clary, wakes up one birthday and finds that she can see people who aren't appearing to others, leading her to see a murder in a club. But it's not what it seems. She, and the killers, are really Shadowhunters: Half-angels who protect humanity from all sorts of demon-types. Clary's mother left that world behind to escape her late husband and had a magician alter Clary's memories so she'd never know about it. At 16, it's too late and it all comes crashing in...she sees the murder, meets the Shadowhunters, her mom is kidnapped, she learns her father is still very much alive and very evil, and she falls in love with a Shadowhunter that turns out to be her brother. As the books progress, her best friend becomes something else (since the movie didn't cover it specifically, I'm not spoiling it), her family issues get both better and worse, her mom's longtime friend turns out to be a werewolf, she meets the Faerie Queen...and so much more. The first three books are very strong (book 1 and book 3 being the best...book 2 is just a plot movers with some revelations). Book 3 could've ended differently and made this collection only a trilogy, but it didn't...which made me sad because book 4 was really tedious. Book 5 was much better. Book 6 comes out in May. Sigh. I hate when I get sucked into these sets of things, but this was good enough to keep my attention for a good solid couple of weeks.

Lookaway, Lookaway was read in the middle of Mortal Instruments book 4 to alleviate all that teen overload I was feeling. This one is the story of a generational southern family. It was interesting, but the mom was so manipulative that it was shocking to see her survive the whole story...especially with how unhinged everyone was with that many civil war reenactment firearms around the house. It was sometimes funny. Everyone had lots of demons. But in the end, they were still family. I don't know...I wouldn't read it again, but it definitely helped get me out of the Shadowhunter world for a bit.

The Life of Cesare Borgia has been something I've read in the background for a couple of months. After watching Borgias (Canal+ on Netflix) and The Borgias (Showtime), I found myself wanting more, so I turned to actual history as opposed to filmed fiction based on history. Cesare was the second son of the Pope. His life ended early, but it was pretty amazing. Not as sensational as filmed by either series, but really not that far off. The author tried to be fair, reporting facts alongside rumor and debunking myth where he could. It was a very interesting read. He was a cardinal in the church (in the Vatican, really) but his soul was that of a warrior. He could plan battles and win with minimal to no bloodshed. He had a sharp mind and was essentially fearless. He also killed many who opposed him (although not as many as rumor supposed). The family as a whole has been put up as the most dysfunctional family in history, but after reading some of the rumors and the facts, I'm not so sure. They were powerful and influential, but I don't know that they were so many of the terrible things that have been reported.  I might try to find more and continue reading. That family is just fascinating in both fact and fiction.

Finally, I read Doctor Sleep. This is King's long-awaited sequel to The Shining. I read The Shining in high school or college, so it's been a while. Of course, I remember the movie and the TV version, but the book itself was something that never was fully captured on film. I opened this new one and was immediately back with Danny (Doc), only now he's a grown up with a lot of problems (duh). Being an alcoholic just seems par for the course for him. He moves around trying to settle down and ends up in a small town with people who can help him...and, people he can help with his shine. He meets a girl who has even more of a gift than he does and the two pair up to destroy the True Knot - a group of what were once people who travel in RVs and kill children who have the shine (they call it steam) to survive. Some of them are hundreds of years old and they. are. evil. I didn't want to put this book down. If you read (or saw) The Shining and liked it at all, this book is worth reading. The things he tied together stunned me. It was definitely my favorite read of the month.

I've already read the first book of October...I hope I remember enough to write about it next month! Happy October...let's cross our fingers that the weather turns to autumn for real!

The books of August 2013

Every year, I overbook my August. This was no exception. It's like I do all the things I normally do, times two. The thing that suffers is the sleep. Hopefully I can have more sleep this month...I'm crossing my fingers for it. I did go through a few of the fall magazines (Vogue, In Style, Marie Claire)...even when it's 90+ degrees outside, but you can still appreciate the loveliness of the fall and winter clothes. 

Movies:

I managed to make it to three movies: Elysium, Percy Jackson Sea of Monsters, and Lee Daniels' The Butler.  

Elysium was from the same guy who did District 9, so I expected violence, but maybe not in this magnitude. I think it bothered me more because in District 9, they look like monsters, but in Elysium, everyone is human. Also, the premise that the Earth's resources are just gone and all of the rich people take off to a new place and leave the poor to suffer didn't seem completely implausible. So it got to me a little. I liked it, but it's not one I need to see again. As usual, despite my natural dislike of Matt Damon, he did a fine job with his role...and Jodie Foster was awesome and awful at the same time.

I have a soft spot for the Percy Jackson movies, so I warn you, I'm biased. I enjoyed the movie a lot. It was not a great movie by any means, but there were several shout outs to Whedonverse fans (most notably to Buffy and Firefly fans) and that thrilled me. I didn't even mind them recasting Pierce Brosnan...because they used Anthony Stewart Head...GILES!  They also added Stanley Tucci as Dionysus and Nathan Fillion as Hermes. Seriously?! With that kind of cast, I knew I would be entertained...and I was. Unfortunately, the "kids" in the movie are beginning to look older than me and the sea of monsters itself was less monstery than I would like. Overall, this isn't one I expect people to see, but I still found it a fun watch.

The Butler was awesome. Just go see it. They start with slavery and end with Obama. It's a lot of history and it was very interesting to see it from a different viewpoint going over all that time. Everyone did a great job playing these known characters. That said, Robin Williams will never be any president other than Teddy Roosevelt because of the Night at the Museum movies. It took me a while to figure out who was playing Johnson. And Cusack as Nixon was awesome. He totally nailed the role...which is disturbing in a way. This is the first one to be getting Oscar buzz, so check it  out.

Books:

The library came through again! This month I read: The White Princess by Philippa Gregory, The Perfume Lover: A Personal History of Scent by Denyse Beaulieu, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria by Lauren Willig, Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke by Rob Sheffield, The Omega Project by Steve Alten, Private Entrance by Kathryn Harvey, This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith, and The Dinner: A Novel by Herman Koch. I also read more of The Life of Cesare Borgia by Raphael Sabatini (it's on my Kindle and I'm reading it in between other things), and tried to read two more books about perfume, but I gave up on those. 

The White Princess was yet another entry into the Cousins War series. At this point, I can hardly remember who's who...I mean, I think this is the fifth book. I the main character was the same main character as book three...or was it two? I don't know anymore. It picks up pretty much where that one left off...Richard is dead and his lover is now re-betrothed to the man who caused his death, Henry. The forced marriage between them, even when it's going ok, is never a thing of happiness. There is a little more about the boys in the tower because they were the princess's brothers, but not much. True to history, Gregory leaves it a mystery, but pulls in all the gossip of the time to show you how her characters are thinking about what happened and how it tempers some of their actions. They keep trying to end the Cousins War through different marriages and allegiances, but it's still there...none of them ever trust each other, even when it seems like they should. I'm feeling pretty done with the series at this point, but I know if she writes another one, I'll read it. I just like the time period.

The Perfume Lover was a surprisingly good read. Denyse Beaulieu met up with a master perfumer and they recreated one of her passionate memories from her youth through smell. The final scent, Seville a l'Aube (letter accents not included), can be bought from L'Artisan Parfumeur. She talks about how they layer all the different notes to form her memories. It's pretty interesting. She also talks about other perfumes she's worn and how they smelled in the bottle and on her skin. It actually made me go give a few perfumes another chance, leading to a purchase, so, well done.

Lauren Willig continues her fantastic spy series, but this time, another mystery is forming in the present day. They talk of lost jewels that were smuggled to England through the spy network and how they were kept by the Pink Carnation's relatives, but no one ever found them. Once again, I found myself completely engaged in both time periods, excited about where they story was leading. Willig wrapped up both stories nicely and left me still wanting to know more about other spies and about the current day graduate student and her boyfriend who are caught up in all of it. She's really a fun writer.

Rob Sheffield writes for Rolling Stone magazine. His first book, Love Is a Mix Tape, was the story of his love and heartbreak when his college sweetheart died suddenly early in their marriage. His next book, Talking to Girls About Duran Duran, took us back to his less sad past where he learned to bond over music and try to get dates. The newest book, Turn Around Bright Eyes, takes us back to after his wife died and how he wasn't living. He moved to New York and continued to not actually live while still working and simply being. It's on a short trip back to Virginia that he truly comes alive again, listening to a DJ on the radio. He meets the DJ and over the course of time, he falls in love again and learns to live again, expressing a lot of his feelings through the songs of others by trying to sing them. His praise of the karaoke culture will make you want to straight out and embarrass yourself. I've always believed that music can heal you...and this is a sweet example of it. I'm hoping that future books will have a bit more joy to them as the author finds more to be happy about every day.

I'm not really sure I recommend The Omega Project to people. I checked this book out because I've not read anything by Alten this isn't about gigantic, mythical, sea creatures...mostly megaladons, but plenty of other things that he feels live in the deepest parts of the oceans. This book didn't disappoint in creatures...and it was certainly an interesting science fiction premise. I didn't dislike it and I did (and do) keep thinking about it. He ties religion and science together very well in this book. The alternative, nearer future he describes really doesn't seem that far-fetched: we run out of oil and while looking for alternatives, plunge the Earth into turmoil and it's pretty much The Walking Dead, only there are no zombies. The scientific projects are interesting...some of them too out there to believe, some of them I would actually expect to see in the time frame suggested. But the asteroid that hits the moon and therefore throws the Earth into a complete formation panic is kind of wild. Not that it couldn't happen, but I doubt that the scientist is frozen and wakes to go through more creation ages so many millions of years in the future (for starters, wouldn't the atmosphere have changed?). But that was the part with the cool morphology of current day animals and insects. I love that the octopus turns into a land-dwelling creature that has all of the best qualities of humanity and can communicate through touch and a bit of telepathy. Some of the other creatures...and definitely some of the hybrid-human-clone-with-animal-parts were too much. Overall, just not most people's cup of tea, but something I found interesting to read and think about. But I do wish he'd write another megaladon book. I heart sea monsters! 

Private Entrance is listed as the third book of the Butterfly Trilogy by Kathryn Harvey. I reread the first two books earlier this summer in preparation for reading this one. It was completely unnecessary. This book actually had nothing to do with the other two, minus one mention of Butterfly and its demise. However, the story was very much in line with the other books. Woman treated poorly early in life; woman rises above and creates place people want to be (with escort-type services provided); woman solves mystery of her past, while putting herself and her best friend in harm's way; woman and handsome man save themselves, the bad guy is killed, and everyone else lives happily ever after, the end. An easy, fast read...just like the other two in the trilogy.

This Is What Happy Looks Like is very sweet. It is definitely a feel good kind of read, much like Smith's earlier The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight. I read Statistical Probability in one sitting, not putting it down. It was about two teens who find each other and learn about each other and fall for each other. This is the same thing, only it starts with a mistaken email address. The boy emails the girl by accident, asking her to walk his pet pig, Wilbur, while he is running late. He's in California and she's in Maine, so walking the pig can't happen. They keep in touch and learn a lot about each other and when the movie shoot location falls through for the boy's latest picture, he pushes the team toward the girl's hometown so he can meet her (she doesn't know he's a famous actor). It's just a really cute book and takes a long evening to read. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The Dinner started slow for me. Two couples (the men are brothers) meet at a restaurant to discuss a problem with their children. As I got more into it, it struck me that this story would be an excellent play/movie. Much like the movie Carnage. Although the children in Carnage were also having a bullying problem, this goes far beyond what we expect to find for how civilized the book starts. The memories of the man telling the story seem whiny at first, but he does get to the point. And when action is needed, he's integral to the planning. It's a horrible train-wreck of a scene that you can't look away from...the storytelling is excellent though. This one will stay in my head for a while.

That's it for now. Have a great September!

The books of July 2013

Is it just me or has this month completely flown by insanely fast? I can't believe it's August...time for all the back-to-school issues of magazines. I used to love those. Now I think it's more just about Vogue's September Issue (also an excellent movie)...which I am anxiously awaiting to see. I did some crafts at the beginning of the month, but since they're gifts, I can't show them right now. I went home for about a week and hung out with family. Also, I had some crazy allergic reaction to a combination of things that resulted in a trip to the doctor and my swearing off of chia seeds forever.

Movies:
July was a good movie month. I started with Despicable Me 2. I love, love, LOVED it. I can not wait until it comes out on DVD. The storyline is cute and the minions are awesome. If you didn't see it, rent it when it comes out.

When I was a kid, I used to watch reruns of The Lone Ranger on TV on the weekends. I remember always liking it...the music and the catch phrase made me very happy. Turns out, those two things also made me very happy when I saw the movie last month. I imagine if I'd never seen the original, this would've been a strange movie...a western with loads of explosives and Jack Sparrow from the Pirates movies, only he was wearing weird make-up and a bird on his head. But since I knew the characters already, I found this highly enjoyable. It was more violent than I expected, especially for a Disney flick.

I know a lot of people didn't like this one, but I liked Pacific Rim quite a bit. Idris! Idris! Idris! That's really all it needed, but it also had giant sea monster aliens and giant robots. Clearly, I would find this to be a winning combination. It was very much like old Godzilla movies, only without the stomping of buildings. The monsters and the robots pretty much destroyed everything in their fighting, not by stomping. I wouldn't recommend this to all of you, but if you enjoy things like this, go for it. It's totally fun!

Champaign finally got Much Ado About Nothing. Which means I got to see it. I really like the Kenneth Branaugh one that came out years ago. After watching this and also really liking it set in modern times, I think that maybe this could be my favorite Shakespeare offering. The story can clearly translate, but what's great is how the dialog, given the actors' intonations, can seem so very now. Everyone did a great job...and of course, any time Joss Whedon is involved, I'm going to love it. I think the biggest surprise was figuring out that Borachio was the kid from Gladiator.

Lastly, I saw Wolverine. WOLVERINE! The whole experience started out great...there was a guy at the theater dressed up like Wolverine, adamantium "claws" and all. The storyline was ok, but the fighting and everything was pretty awesome. Hugh Jackman really owns this character. The wee preview at the end of the movie makes me super excited to see the next X-Men movie!

Books:
Looking at my book list, I'm guessing I spent a lot of time on my couch again.The library really came through on some of my early requests for newer titles.

This month I read Fall of Giants: Book One of the Century Trilogy by Ken Follet; Coming to My Senses: A Story of Perfume, Pleasure, and an Unlikely Bride by Alyssa Harad; Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger by Beth Harbison; Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman; Topsy: The Startling Story of the Crooked Tailed Elephant, P. T. Barnum, and the American Wizard, Thomas Edison by Michael Daly; Blood and Beauty: The Borgias: A Novel by Sarah Dunant; I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman; and I finally finished Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie.

Fall of Giants was epic. It covers time before World War I through a bit after the end of the war. It follows many characters through mining troubles, aristocratic upheavals, the suffragette movement, thievery, the mafia, birth, death, and the war itself. The people take us through Russia, England, Wales, France, Germany, and America. It's very well researched and written. I was sucked into the book by the third chapter and rarely wanted to put it down. The second book comes out in paperback this month, so I think I'll be reading it soon.

Coming to My Senses sparked a major interest in perfume and scent. The author's story of coming to love the different smells and finding her favorites made me request many more books about perfume from the library (I apologize in advance if you're not interested in scent...next month will have a lot of reviews on books about scent). It kept reminding me of the chapter on smell in Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses. I've loved perfume for a while...I find it very interesting how the different scents interact with skin and how something that doesn't smell great on me may smell amazing on one of my friends. The author's research into the history and science of scent was easy to follow. I liked how different scents not only hit memory notes for her and others, but also triggered confidence in herself and curiosity among her friends and family. This was a lovely book and I really appreciate my friend giving it to me for Christmas :)

I needed a break from heavier topics and I read Chose the Wrong Man, Gave Him the Wrong Finger. Besides being an awesome title, it was a pretty funny book. The main character never leaves her hometown and she runs a bridal shop and makes one of a kind wedding dresses. Kind of a sad job for a gal who ran out on her wedding with the groom's best man...who was also his brother. The set up of the story (and the title) drew me to the book. It's a very fast read and a cute story.

Freud's Mistress was a bit more substantial. I don't know much about Freud and this was new information for me. Did you know that it's been proved that Freud had a long time affair with his own sister-in-law? I didn't. This fiction novel is based on actual history and events...letters, hotel guest books, and so on. I thought this seemed like a decent representation of what happened...and how the affair could've happened and how it would've progressed. An interesting read.

Topsy wasn't my favorite read...and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. I didn't know a lot about the beginnings of the circus in the US, but now I see how it's tied to so many different parts of our history. I think what I didn't like was reading about the abuse of the elephants and how Edison and others ran all the experiments on stray dogs. Those parts were really not cool. But I would've never have put together the circus, Barnum, Edison, and electricity.

I've watched both of the Borgia series through their second seasons (one on Netflix and one on Showtime) and I enjoyed both...although I think the one on Netflix is better overall. So I was pretty excited to find a new book about the Borgias by Sarah Dunant. I love all the different takes on their history. Each retelling of their story breathes new life into the old family. It doesn't hurt that it all takes place in Italy...mostly in the Vatican. All that history...the politics, the plotting, the murders...it's just really complicated and really intriguing. I highly recommend both shows and Blood and Beauty.

I generally enjoy Chuck Klosterman's essays. I did enjoy some of this book, but overall, I didn't think it was his best effort. I think I like his unrelated essays better than having the theme of villainy run through the whole book. I still laughed out loud many times, but it was just a downer topic, I guess. I don't know...I'd recommend his older books, but I don't think this one makes my list. I've not read his fiction works, but after this, one theme throughout? I'm thinking I wouldn't like it much either.

And hurrah! I finally finished Catherine the Great. It was so good! Massie is a fabulous author. He tells history as a story and pulls you into the people's lives. Bringing together the pieces of Catherine's life before and during her rule was a massive piece of work. He said it took him eight years of research and writing. I didn't know of her correspondence with many of the great writers and artists of the time. It was truly a fascinating read.

OK, that's it for July. I've started the latest Philippa Gregory and am looking forward to the second Percy Jackson movie, Elysium, and that September issue of Vogue.

The books of June 2013

I think all I did last month was read. I know that isn't technically true. But still. Me and the couch logged a lot of quality time. I did finally finish the craft project, but since it'll be a Christmas gift, no picture posting. Sorry.

Movies:
I saw three movies in June (please note, it is July 7th as I type this and I've already seen 2 movies this month and I might see another this afternoon...clearly, good things are happening on screen).

Man of Steel was great! I love Henry Cavill as Superman. (I also love him as Sir Charles Brandon in the Tudors and Theseus in the Immortals...basically, if he's in it, I love him in it.) I'm a little bewildered at some of the story changes, but overall, I really enjoyed the movie and look forward to sequels. If you like superhero movies, you should see this...it's a nice addition to the genre.

I wasn't sure that I would enjoy it, but This Is the End was really funny. It was also really wrong. Like horribly, can't banish thoughts of it, wrong. Kind of like Hot Tub Time Machine wrong. Which means I enjoyed it enough that I'll probably check it out on DVD when it's released. James Franco still bothers me, but I like most of the other people in it...Emma Watson possibly being my favorite surprise character. If you don't know anything about this one, it's famous people playing themselves in a movie about the rapture/end of the world. The end scene was one of the funnier things I'd seen in a long time.

At the end of the month, I saw The Heat. That's the one with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. It was absolutely hysterical. I laughed over parts that I'm sure were also hilarious. I will definitely watch this more than once. One of my friends thought it was funnier than Bridesmaids and Ted...and she loved both of those! Go see this before it leaves the theater...it's definitely worth the time.

Books:
I read lots of really good books this month. Seems like every author I like has been cranking things out to keep me entertained. I reread a couple of old ones because I found out there is a third in the series that I never knew about and I did read some more of Catherine the Great...another 5% has been read...just 40% to go!

This month I read The Potty Mouth at the Table by Laurie Notaro; The Tao of Martha: My Year of LIVING; Or Why I'm Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog by Jen Lancaster; Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger; The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig; The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan; The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett; Inferno by Dan Brown; Stoker's Manuscript by Royce Prouty; and the two re-reads, Butterfly and Stars by Kathryn Harvey. PHEW!

Laurie Notaro's personal essays never fail to entertain and The Potty Mouth at the Table is no exception. This particular grouping does have one story that isn't intentionally funny, but shows you how Notaro uses laughter to get through even the darkest times in her laugh...something that I always try to do as well. I laughed out loud way too much and I think I texted or emailed complete paragraphs from the book to friends as it made me laugh. If you like laughing, you should probably read this.

And again with the laughter. I love Jen Lancaster's writing. I love that she does some of the same bonehead things that we all do and is willing to share it with the world. And I especially love that in this book, she decided to become a Martha Stewart minion...something that I occasionally aspire toward myself. So much of this book is funny...if you've ever tried to reorganize yourself or overextend yourself with party planning or having a crafts-only gift season, you'll really get this book. Over the year she has slip-ups, but given some of the things that happen to her family, it's totally ok. The point is that she didn't let things completely derail her quest and she had a lot of fun to help get her through the bad times. I would love for everyone to read this...unless you have pets...then there are a few chapters that you just can not read. It's a lot of sadness and a lot of happy...which, hey, is life.

I need to admit something...I didn't really like book The Devil Wears Prada. I read it a long time ago and when they announced it would be a movie, I was very skeptical. But, even though I disliked the book, I LOVED the movie. Keeping the movie in my mind, I read those characters into the sequel, Revenge Wears Prada. It made things better for me, but I probably could've skipped this one. It was entertaining to find out where all their lives had gone, but it seemed a little forced. Perhaps the pressure of a movie sequel or something? It was definitely easy to slip back into the story, I just don't know if I believed it, you know? It was a quick read if you're looking for something easy.

The Ashford Affair was a complete surprise. If you've read old posts of this blog, you know that I love Lauren Willig's spy series starting back with the Pink Carnation. This book has nothing to do with the spies at all. It's about two cousins and the resulting family issues through time. It takes place all over the world through many years and just as the time hopping in her spy books is planned out, so it is here. How the family comes in and out of contact with each other after marriages, divorces, deaths, and births is really well done. The family secret is well hidden from younger family members until the very end. It was a very interesting read and I really enjoyed it. As a bonus, she's got another spy book coming out later this year...woohoo!

J. Courtney Sullivan has been hit and miss with me. I really liked Commencement, but I didn't like Maine much at all. This one I liked, but I didn't love it. It's the story of engagements and people's marriages/relationships and how all of the characters' storylines end up entwined. The best part was the story of the ad campaign manager who came up with the De Beers slogan "A Diamond Is Forever." I kind of recommend this one, but I can't say it was one of the better reads of the month. I think it was a little too much...like maybe a couple of storylines could've been lost and it would've been fine. If you liked they other books, you will like this one though...definitely the same style.

The Bookman's Tale was really good. I read the synopsis on Amazon and was very intrigued. It's chasing down an original, lost Shakespeare play...one that includes proof that Shakespeare was a real person and that another copy is a fake. The bookman is very reserved and finds himself embroiled in international intrigue and murder just trying to find the truth. I'd never heard of the author before, but I would definitely read something else from him. This one was hard to put down.

Oh, Dan Brown. Why must you be so entertaining? I've been more than a little vocal of my dislike of The Da Vinci Code...but also vocal about my (shocked) enjoyment of Angels and Demons. But this time, I knew I would like the book from the get-go because the plot revolved around Dante's Inferno. For me, the best part of Brown's Inferno is the first part of the book, which takes place in Florence, Italy. To be able to relive my trip through his descriptions was really nice. I liked being able to picture exactly where the characters were and their path of travel through the city. I even have pictures of many of the spots he described. It was great. By the time they left Florence for Venice and beyond, I was hooked. Robert Langdon is up against bio-terrorism this time...the end result leaves you with some interesting questions and makes you think about population growth and human survival long after you've finished the book. I think, for me anyway, Brown finally hit it out of the park. I truly loved this book.

Stoker's Manuscript was another shot at an author I'd not read before. The notes and original manuscript of Bram Stoker's masterpiece are put up for auction. An old family wants to buy it through an agent who was an orphan originally from Romania. The old family has blood ties to the orphan and the journey to discover the truth of the book and of the orphan's heritage made the original Dracula seem tame. I really enjoyed this modern take on a classic. But then again, I tend to like vampire tales in general.

After reading all of those, I looked on the Kindle to see if anything I'd been wanting had dropped in price...and found that Kathryn Harvey had a third book in her Butterfly trilogy. I was very surprised, but I added it to my wishlist and decided I should re-read the first two books before I made my purchase. I found Butterfly at a used bookstore when I was just out of college. It's the story of a girl who ran away from an abusive home and ended up in the hands of a horrible man who craved only power and money, so he used her and set her up in a brothel to earn money for himself. When she became pregnant, he took care of it and had her kicked to the curb. She vowed revenge. Her story takes her from extreme poverty to the heights of power among California business...and give a new spin on brothels for a new era. It is an insane story and it's been a guilty pleasure of mine for years. Stars is the second book. It's another girl (the sister of the girl in Butterfly), who finds out she was adopted near the same time she finds out her adoptive father is in prison for murder. She flees boarding school using her best friend's name and birth certificate to reinvent herself. She proves to have just as much business acumen as her real sister. Her story takes her to Stars...an exclusive retreat for Hollywood types and all of the people staying there have backstories that make the book even better. Some of the stars are loosely based on real Hollywood people, so you can inset faces of stars onto the characters in the book, kind of making your own assumptions. Toward the end of the story, the two sisters have their lives start to intersect and it's a great ending. These guilty pleasure books (trashy novels really) have been re-read more than once and I've always thought they'd make a great mini-series. Now I'm excited to read the third book...according to some of the comments, it's not truly about the same women, but they are outlying characters in the third story, so it should be decent.

All right. That's it for June. Stay tuned for more books and movies :)

The books of May 2013

Wow. I feel like I just wrote the post for April! The weather has continued its unpredictability...although, no more snow...which is good since we're close to the mid-way point of 2013. I mean, I'd be fine with cold all year, but I also like vegetables and fruit and I realize my eating habits would be radically messed with if the weather never changed. OK. Enough babbling.

So, not a lot of movies, crafts, or books this time around. But, I did catch up on some TV via Netflix and I helped with two garage sales! I also had to give up a larger-than-rent-sized chunk of money to fix my car (shattered and brakes are not words that go together), so not buying lots of books or going to the movies was fine by me...and my bank account.

Crafts:
I am still working on the same project I started back in March. It's ending up as a Christmas present, but I'm almost done with it and I'll be very happy to post the picture later this year. It's turning out really, really pretty. Knowing how close I am to being done also motivated me to start looking for my next projects...now my head is spinning thinking of all the things I could do!

Movies:
What? Of course! I totally saw that!

First up was Iron Man 3. I thought it was lots of fun. It's never going to be Oscar-winning material, but I was very happy with it. I felt like this was the first of the Iron Man franchise that really had a coherent storyline that didn't falter. Sure, physics would be a problem with a lot of that, but that doesn't mean I don't like to watch the craziness of robots flyin' and fightin'.

The week after, I saw The Great Gatsby. First, let me tell you, I do not like the book. I don't hate the book; it's just not one that I want to read again and again. To tell you the truth, I don't like many of the "classic" American writers. I mean, this book is a decent thing to read, but I only needed the one read. Enough time had passed since I read it...and since I saw the Robert Redford movie version...that I was ok seeing this on a book-to-movie level. Now I need to tell you something else. Baz Luhrmann could film himself reading the phone book and I would pay cash money to see it in the theater because he would Luhrmann-ize it. The phone book would spin into view as massive collage of photos of all the people in the book. People would dance around the frame of the film as their names were called. Glitter and champagne would flow freely from statues and fountains and random spots in fabulously decorated rooms housing the people. And possibly the word "Fabulous!" would be plastered on the screen in different fonts, to make sure you understand. So the end result was that I fell asleep for a few minutes near the beginning, but loved looking at the movie...except for that one part...you know, the part they showed twice, up close, that no one would ever want to see that close. Anyway, I really liked it. Seing it on a big screen as opposed to a TV screen is a good idea because Luhrmann's take of over-the-top opulence is crazy amazing. 

Enough Luhrmann-love. The other movie I saw in the theater was Star Trek: Into Darkness. This was just as much fun to me as the first Abrams' Star Trek film. It was fun; it was funny; it was exciting; it referenced. It was all of the things I wanted. Well played, J. J. Abrams. Well played. No spoilers, but you know what happened, right? I mean, come on. Yeah it was different, but in a good way.

Books:
I said I was going to stop talking about what I bought right? Well, I didn't lie. But I do need to say that I pre-ordered Jen Lancaster's Tao of Martha and it shipped out today! SQUEE! Which sucks for my continued reading of the excellent Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie, but it's nice to read hilarious books in between a heavy history tome (currently reading Laurie Notaro's new one along side it right now).

This month I (completely) read: Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls: Essays, Etc. by David Sedaris, Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris, and The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan. (Catherine the Great will be a work in progress for a while more...according to the Kindle, 45% is left.)

David Sedaris never disappoints me. The best thing about him is that I've had a couple of books on tape/CD, heard him on NPR a lot, and I've seen him do readings in person. That means when I read a David Sedaris book, I get to hear his voice in my head, reading it to me. And that makes it about fifty million times more hilarious. If you like laughter and essays about the little things that make everyone both different and the same, do yourself a favor and pick up one of his books. I've given away his Holidays on Ice as a gift before (more than once) and it makes an excellent gateway book...you read it and you want more. The funny is almost too much...don't take big sips of drinks or big bites of snacks while reading...there will be spit takes and/or choking from laughter.

Dead Ever After is the last Sookie Stackhouse book. Yep. That Soo-keeeh. I know these books are silly and I don't care. Once you can see those characters from the show in your head while you read the books, well, the one where Eric loses his memory will never leave you...in a very, very good way. So, we've know since book 11 that the 13th was the last. I've had time to process and I was ok with that. I also am completely fine with her ending...as a matter of fact, it ended well and appropriately given where she led us. I am in way disappointed that (a) it ended like that (no spoilers) and (b) that it's over. I can read my favorites (see above: Eric, memory loss...I believe that's book 4?) whenever I want and the TV show is still on, following no plot I've read before, so it's a win-win. Haters gonna hate, but that's a waste of time because of Eric...and Sam...and maybe Bill and Jason, but not as much as Eric and Sam.

The other book that got completely read this month was the third of Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles series. The fight with Chaos continues...the Kane kids (Carter and Sadie) get help from some very unexpected corners of the Egyptian mythology realm. Always a fun read, but you need to like Egyptian mythology...and maybe be able to get past how they channel their powers...when you read the descriptions of that, it has a 70s cartoon feel to it (remember Shazaam and Isis?), but it's still good. Definitely need to read the first two though.

OK, well, I gotta get back to watching The Voice. Peace out for now.

The books of April 2013

Another month is gone...and with it, possibly the last of the snow for middle and southern Illinois (never say never). As predicted, the allergens changed and are out in full force. Time to change the allergy meds.

Crafts:
Craft mode hasn't really kicked in after all the frantic Christmas cross-stitching of last year. I'm very slowly working on the first Christmas gift of this year (the birthday is long past...she got a different gift instead). And I've actually already purchased a Christmas gift from another crafter. So, I'm well on my way to being so organized that I forgot I had these gifts for people and buy them something else later. Awesome.

Movies:
I only saw one movie in April, and it was a really good one: Oblivion. I've talked about my not-so-stellar feelings for Tom Cruise before, but in no way did he mess up this movie. It was a solid story; it was sci-fi, yet believable. Plus, when is Morgan Freeman bad? Pretty much never (I'm not talking about that one...what was it? Chain Reaction maybe? Ugh. That wasn't his fault.) When it comes out to rent...or if it's still playing right now, check it out.

Books:
I ended up reading more than I thought I would this month. Which is good. Because when I look at the crafts and movies section, I wonder just what the crap I did all month. Apparently I watched tv, dvds, and read, so I think it's all ok.

This month I read: Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Asgard Stories: Tales from Norse Mythology by Mary H. Foster, The Mystery of Mercy Close: A Walsh Sister Novel by Marian Keyes, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith, Bossypants by Tina Fey, The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell, and Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd.

The last two books of the Beautiful Creatures books followed up and closed the story nicely. I enjoyed the entire series as a whole. These last two books follow Ethan and Lena through more of the casters' worlds and the south's past. These tales are sad and funny and compelling. I don't want to give away spoilers, but there are definitely some surprises that aren't what you want to read, but when the story ends, the entire tale feels right...even with all that's happened in between. Good, evil, light, dark, love, death, love beyond death, demons, casters, ghosts, succubi, the civil war, and southern cooking all feature heavily in these books. Enjoy!

I was in the mood to read about Thor and Loki since the second movie will be out this fall. Asgard Stories was basically a quick peek into Norse mythology. Not all the characters were covered, but it nice to revisit the tales. I've enjoyed pretty much all mythology since my first intro to Egyptian mythology back in the third grade.

The Mystery of Mercy Close is great! I've waited for this book for a long time. I really enjoy Marian Keyes writing and I really, REALLY enjoy stories from her that include the Walsh family. I think Helen is the last of the daughters, so it was nice to finally read about her...and to get an inside look on what Keyes was going through during her depressive times that kept her from writing. It had to feel good to get that out there. In previous books, Helen was the biting wit, jealous and sarcastic, and possibly a bit spoiled, but through her own ability to persuade people to her way. In this one, Helen's grown up and has a real job (as real as she can have) and definitely real problems. The investigation she gets, to find the missing member of a boy band in the midst of a reunion/comeback tour is a fun twist to a crime novel. I can't actually say enough good things about this book...which is kind of what happens with most of Keyes books. So I'll stop. It's good...it's fun...it's explanatory about depressive behaviors...do yourself a favor and read it.

I got The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight because (a) the title intrigued me and (b) the Kindle version was a deal of the day one time, so I got it super cheap. It was such a delightful read. that I stayed up past my bedtime so I could finish it. The main character, Hadley, is the only child of a couple who split when her dad moved to England to teach. She and her mom were going to follow, but things happened and Hadley had been estranged from her father for many reasons ever since. But now her dad was remarrying and wanted her there. She missed her flight and took the red eye to London a few hours later. While at the airport, she meets a young, British man, Oliver, who's also going to London to see family. In the intense hours they spend together, they fall for each other and help each other get through very difficult and complicated family issues. It was a quick read, but a very good one.

Bossypants was also on a Kindle deal one day, so I finally bought it. It's Tina Fey, so of course, it is hysterical. Nothing earth shattering here...just that I like and respect her more after reading this book than I already did. Get it when you need some chuckles.

The Carrie Diaries is a re-read. I love, love, LOVE the series on the CW (which means it'll probably get canceled), but I didn't remember loving the book as much. So I read it again. It's a decent read, but really? I think you should watch the show. It's set in the 80s, so the music is fabulous. The clothes are era appropriate and awesome. The details of the things in their house for the era kind of blow my mind. Don't bother comparing this Carrie to the jaded Carrie we all know from Sex and the City. You can see the beginnings of how she gets there, but it's just more sweet and fun back in her high school days. Also, there are appearances by people as adult characters in this show that were on SATC as one time characters. Kind of fun to spot those things.

The last book of the month was a hefty one. Paris, by Edward Rutherfurd, was one that I got excited to read when I saw the blurb on the website. This book takes a handful of families and follows their slowly entangling lineages throughout about 700 years of the city of Paris. I think my favorite part was when they were building the Eiffel Tower...and then much later when Germany invaded and the Gestapo was in charge of much of Paris (not the resistance, bien sur!). You learn a lot about the city's geography and history as told through these families and their involvements with each other. It's a little over 800 pages, so be aware of what you're getting into, but I thought it was well done. I'll probably read another by him...all of his city/history books are fairly large, so I'll wait a while before tackling another.

That's it for April. I've already read a book (Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls: Essays, Etc. by David Sedaris) and am nearly a quarter of the way through another (Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie), so next month's list should be good. I also already saw Iron Man 3. Loved it! 

The books of March 2013

March is gone. Easter was nice...and luckily, not nearly as snowy as the Sunday before it. Remember when snow fell in the winter? Yeah. Not this time.

Not even a week after the first day of spring.

That picture was about two and a half hours after it started snowing. This one is from the next day. I kept hearing some noises from outside, but I couldn't see anything on the balcony. Clearly because they weren't on the balcony, duh!

Put a bird on it!

Crafts:

So, I haven't really done a lot crafts-wise. I worked a little on a scarf I started in December or something. I started a friend's birthday present...her birthday came and went and I am still working on her present. I'm thinking maybe I just get a substitute gift and use what I'm working on for her Christmas gift. Way to underestimate time needed! But, here's the one I made a while ago for another friend's birthday...she actually got her gift early (I finished it at like the beginning of February).

Too bad the pattern called for sepia instead of sparkley.

Movies:

Gee, what *did* I do in March? Apparently, not much at all. I only saw two movies. I think maybe my brain is taking it easy and saving all the excitement up for the summer blockbusters (starting with Iron Man 3).

Jack the Giant Slayer wasn't the best movie ever, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was cast well and I enjoyed the new take on the fairy tale. Probably a very solid rental if you have kids who like these kinds of things. 

The other movie I saw was Oz the Great and Powerful...or is it The Great and Powerful Oz? I don't remember. I do not like James Franco. I extremely dislike The Wizard of Oz original movie. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Given the rules they had (for avoiding copyright infringements), I think they did great with the known factors: the munchkins, the yellow brick road, the flying monkeys, etc. The land of Oz was amazing to look at and the monkeys were actually a little scary. The special effects, especially on the wicked witch, were very cool. I liked this more than I expected and could probably watch it again.

Books:

So, yeah, I totally give up on telling you what books I bought. With physical books and eBooks, who can keep track anymore. 

But, I do remember what I read this past month: City of Dark Magic: A Novel by Magnus Flyte, The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates, Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Dream Dark: A Beautiful Creatures Story by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore, and Wolf Hall: A Novel by Hilary Mantel.

I read the back cover introduction for City of Dark Magic one day while browsing at Target. Prague, magic, devils, history, intrigue, mystery...of course I wanted it immediately. I got it on my Kindle for less money and when I needed something fluffy, it was there waiting for me. I really liked the book a lot...contrary to my BFF's opinion. I do believe that we agreed on one thing: the author totally used some old Lonely Planet Prague book or something to define the area and to represent the culture. Which is sad, but not everyone can afford to go to the place he or she is writing about...but maybe next time, grab the DK travel guide and the Rick Steve's travel guide. Between the two, it'll give you a better picture of the where and the what. Anyway, I did enjoy the fictitious background story on the author (I assume it's made up...because I assume the name is made up...what if it isn't? oh man, who would name his or her kid that? the questions never stop...). It's not the best book ever, but I found myself not wanting to put it down. It's a bit jumpy in plot and there might be a bit more subplot than needed, but still, kind of fun. 

I found out midway through reading The Accursed that I had not read the whole description. If I had, I'm not sure I would've checked it out from the library. It really dragged on and on. The story ties the devil, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Sherlock Holmes, Jack London, Grover Cleveland, Upton Sinclair, and so many more into the time when Woodrow Wilson was president of Princeton University. It takes the elite white families of the times and tears them completely apart through use of devilry. It was interesting...this social commentary on women's suffrage, racism, and other political concerns...amidst the small, uptight world of privilege. I think I bought into it because of the supernatural aspect, but as I read it, I just wish she'd left that out and called people out for their mistakes. But the manners of the time hadn't gotten that liberal as yet. I don't know...it was tedious reading (that's two things on Wilson now...and I'm feeling no more) and not what I thought it would be at all. I guess if you like Oates and know what to expect, have at it.

Beautiful Darkness is the second of the Beautiful Creatures books. It was a much quicker read than the first one as I already knew most all of the characters and the town. The story continues with the introduction of a few new characters, the rewriting of some history, and further details about the characters and the town's underground. Ethan is still the viewpoint and he's coming into his own more..not just solely focused on Lena. I continue to like how these women collaborate and write together. These books bring that world alive for me...and that is always a good thing. 

Dream Dark is a short story based mainly on Link, Ethan's best friend. It takes place between the second and third books...probably more in the timeline of the second, but you learn about some things that are coming into play for the third book as well. Link was a full participant in the crazy light and dark showdown and got a little power to show for it. I think it's not necessary to read, but it's a nice transition and pretty short if you need some filler.

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat was an interesting read. I thought it sounded kind of good from the brief description I saw, but it was more layered than expected. The Supremes are three best friends who have been friends since high school and are now in their later years. One sees and talks to dead people, one has a cheating husband, and one married a man she didn't love, but they love each other and take care of each other like nobody's business. These are complicated women living sometimes completely different lives from what they show everyone in town. Earl's is the local hangout when they're teens and becomes their place for Sunday brunch after church for the rest of their lives. The townspeople are woven in and out of the story really well and enhance the main story lines without clogging up the reading superficially...every one has a purpose...dead or alive. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this by the end.

Wolf Hall. OK. I like British history that has been fictionalized with discussions and events that we have little to no recorded information about. It's my thing. First, I feel in love with King Arthur stories. Next, it was the Sharon Kay Penman stories of the wars between England and Wales and France. Now, it's pretty much anything I can find on the topic. What I'm saying is that this genre is my guilty pleasure and I am always going to like it. I do understand that not everyone does. This one in particular is named after Jane Seymour's home, Wolf Hall. But, Seymour ages from small child to eighteen or so during the course of the book and she is in no way a major player. This book is about Thomas Cromwell's role in the time Henry VIII is divorcing Katherine, marrying Anne, and trying to keep his kingdom all to himself. Cromwell is a major player for a long time and I like how he is written here. There's dialog that goes on too long and occasionally the details are overwhelming, but I still liked it. It's a lot like reading one of the not-best-selling books by Phillipa Gregory. You can see all the potential, but there's something just a smidge off. But it's still a good read and I'm looking forward to reading the follow up, Bringing Up the Bodies, when it comes out in paperback.

Alrighty...time for spring...and completely different allergies. Later!