Book: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Like/Don't Like: I had a hard time putting it down
I have once again found myself in a reading slump, where nothing holds my interest. It's a horrible place to be. So it was very refreshing to read a book that I didn't want to put down.
This is a love triangle set in a dystopian society that is not the Hunger Games. (It is also not as nuanced or action packed as the HG but still worthwhile). Cassia is seventeen and lives in a world where every decision is made for her. From the clothes she wears to the food she eats to the city she lives in to the job she will have for the rest of her life and the person she will marry. She happily goes along with the system because it has always worked for her but on the day of her match, when she finds out whom she will marry, an error occurs that makes her question what the Society has been up to all along. Drama ensues.
It is primarily a love story and if the world that they live in weren't so detailed and defined and the problem they're up against so interesting I would not have been able to tolerate it. There were a lot of longing gazes followed by averted eyes, and at times I felt like it was holding the more intriguing part of the story back - that being the system that they have been living in. But I loved how thought out the world she lived in was. And I did not question how a character could live in such a society because Cassia was very believable. She goes from trusting in the Society to slowing and methodically seeing it for what it really was. It was not a sudden change in her and I liked that, because it wouldn't be for most people.
It needs to be said though about the two love interests: It was hard to not root for the one she will not end up with because he was so good. I would have liked him to be a little bit less perfect for her.
Dystopian love stories seem to be the new teenage vampire love stories so I don't know how long this trend will be able to sustain itself. But this was a good one.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Muppets
Movie: The Muppets
Like/Don't Like: Would you trust someone who didn't like this movie? Me neither.
I think it's impossible to not love the Muppets. Especially if you're my age and you grew up watching the Muppet Show and Sesame Street. If you combine them with Mickey Mouse Disco, Thrify's ice cream cones, and a Big Wheel it would pretty much encapsulate all the glorious parts of my childhood. (When, WHEN, I ask you, will they create a grown-up sized Big Wheel? I want one more than I want a Slurpee machine.)
So this movie was a no-brainer. It was bound to be great. It was nostalgic (I got chills when they did the intro to the old Muppet Show and welled up when they sang Rainbow Connection) and still riffed on modern pop culture, as they have always excelled at doing. And it was corny and funny and not a bit ironic or snarky. Miss Piggy looked glamorous even as she karate chopped someone, Fozzie wore fart shoes, there were subtitles for the Swedish chef, celebrities made cameos, and Kermit played the banjo. Basically it was everything you want from a Muppet movie.
Like/Don't Like: Would you trust someone who didn't like this movie? Me neither.
I think it's impossible to not love the Muppets. Especially if you're my age and you grew up watching the Muppet Show and Sesame Street. If you combine them with Mickey Mouse Disco, Thrify's ice cream cones, and a Big Wheel it would pretty much encapsulate all the glorious parts of my childhood. (When, WHEN, I ask you, will they create a grown-up sized Big Wheel? I want one more than I want a Slurpee machine.)
So this movie was a no-brainer. It was bound to be great. It was nostalgic (I got chills when they did the intro to the old Muppet Show and welled up when they sang Rainbow Connection) and still riffed on modern pop culture, as they have always excelled at doing. And it was corny and funny and not a bit ironic or snarky. Miss Piggy looked glamorous even as she karate chopped someone, Fozzie wore fart shoes, there were subtitles for the Swedish chef, celebrities made cameos, and Kermit played the banjo. Basically it was everything you want from a Muppet movie.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Modelland
Book: Modelland
Author: Tyra Banks
Like/Don't Like: Um, well, that's complicated
Where do I begin? Oh, how about THIS IS THE CRAZIEST, CRAPPIEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ. And I mean that in the best possible way. You know how sometimes you watch really horrible movies for the laughs? Like Spice World? Well, this was the book version of that. And let me just tell you, if you don't appreciate Tyra's brand of crazy, this book will be UNREADABLE. If you don't think that Tyra's funny accents and zany antics and wackadoo jumpsuits and weaves and gimmicks are a special type of hilarious than you would be miserable reading this book. Because it is baaaaaaaaaaad.
For the plot: we have Tookie de la Creme (for real) as our heroine. She is overlooked by everyone around her but she somehow makes it into Modelland, a school for would-be models (think Harry Potter meets ANTM) and goes through the rigorous training. Or at least I think she does. For a book that is over 500 pages (and, according to the acknowledgements, was originally over 1000) there was very little action. Everything is description, description, description. I got the feeling that Tyra's golden rule for writing was More Is More. If it can be said in 10 words it would be better in 100. Why just use 1 adjective when the thesaurus is giving 20. There were so many crazy characters and activities and places that about 100 pages into it I started just skimming through all the descriptions. I could not help but compare it to Twilight. Although, to Tyra's credit, Twilight is WAY more insufferable. We all know that Tyra is crazy. Stephanie Meyer has no excuse.
So Tyra is a lot of things, but a good writer is not one of them. Fortunately for all of us she has other talents.
Talents like: the excessive use of adjectives and adverbs; the ability to say something in 100 words that a normal person would only say in 5; making up cutesy names for things that already have names; taking those cutesy names and giving them cutesy nicknames, abbreviations or acronyms; creating the most elaborate description of every single item, action, place, person, outfit, food, dance move and modeling technique found in the book; making me simultaneously laugh out loud and pray for death.
Oh, Tyra, what would I do without you.
Author: Tyra Banks
Like/Don't Like: Um, well, that's complicated
Where do I begin? Oh, how about THIS IS THE CRAZIEST, CRAPPIEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ. And I mean that in the best possible way. You know how sometimes you watch really horrible movies for the laughs? Like Spice World? Well, this was the book version of that. And let me just tell you, if you don't appreciate Tyra's brand of crazy, this book will be UNREADABLE. If you don't think that Tyra's funny accents and zany antics and wackadoo jumpsuits and weaves and gimmicks are a special type of hilarious than you would be miserable reading this book. Because it is baaaaaaaaaaad.
For the plot: we have Tookie de la Creme (for real) as our heroine. She is overlooked by everyone around her but she somehow makes it into Modelland, a school for would-be models (think Harry Potter meets ANTM) and goes through the rigorous training. Or at least I think she does. For a book that is over 500 pages (and, according to the acknowledgements, was originally over 1000) there was very little action. Everything is description, description, description. I got the feeling that Tyra's golden rule for writing was More Is More. If it can be said in 10 words it would be better in 100. Why just use 1 adjective when the thesaurus is giving 20. There were so many crazy characters and activities and places that about 100 pages into it I started just skimming through all the descriptions. I could not help but compare it to Twilight. Although, to Tyra's credit, Twilight is WAY more insufferable. We all know that Tyra is crazy. Stephanie Meyer has no excuse.
So Tyra is a lot of things, but a good writer is not one of them. Fortunately for all of us she has other talents.
Talents like: the excessive use of adjectives and adverbs; the ability to say something in 100 words that a normal person would only say in 5; making up cutesy names for things that already have names; taking those cutesy names and giving them cutesy nicknames, abbreviations or acronyms; creating the most elaborate description of every single item, action, place, person, outfit, food, dance move and modeling technique found in the book; making me simultaneously laugh out loud and pray for death.
Oh, Tyra, what would I do without you.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Adjustment Bureau
Movie: The Adjustment Bureau
Like/Don't Like: Liked
This had all the right elements - an interesting story, good acting (I like that Emily Blunt. I think she has spunk.), and a fast pace without being too fast that it confuses you.
Matt Damon plays a political hopeful who's life takes a turn he did not expect. He later finds out the source of that unexpected turn in the form of men in suits and fedoras who call themselves the Adjustment Bureau. They've been making slight alterations to his life course and he's fighting against it in order to stay with Emily Blunt. It was way more romantic than I expected (I was anticipating a straight action flick), but when do I complain about romance? I thought it was sweet.
Now lets, just for a moment, give three cheers for suits and fedoras! I'm going to sound 80 here but don't you wish men wore suits more often? They just look so sharp. And you cannot go wrong with a gray fedora. It's a class act all the way.
Like/Don't Like: Liked
This had all the right elements - an interesting story, good acting (I like that Emily Blunt. I think she has spunk.), and a fast pace without being too fast that it confuses you.
Matt Damon plays a political hopeful who's life takes a turn he did not expect. He later finds out the source of that unexpected turn in the form of men in suits and fedoras who call themselves the Adjustment Bureau. They've been making slight alterations to his life course and he's fighting against it in order to stay with Emily Blunt. It was way more romantic than I expected (I was anticipating a straight action flick), but when do I complain about romance? I thought it was sweet.
Now lets, just for a moment, give three cheers for suits and fedoras! I'm going to sound 80 here but don't you wish men wore suits more often? They just look so sharp. And you cannot go wrong with a gray fedora. It's a class act all the way.
The House at Riverton
Book: The House at Riverton
Author: Kate Morton
Like/Don't Like: If only I had known I would be so bored with it I would have quit reading
Let's talk about foreshadowing for a sec. I feel it is a device bested used in small, subtle amounts. If it's going to be used it needs to be just enough to give the reader an inkling that something is coming without making them try to guess what that something is through the entire story. One of my least favorite phrases to read in a novel is, "If only we had known what we know now." It gives the entire book away. Suddenly, I know that there's going to be a twist so I miss out on it because I'm anticipating it. When a twist comes I want to be so surprised that I go back and reread it to catch any hints that might have been there. What I don't want to do is shrug. There was a lot of shrugging going on while I was reading.
So there was a lot of foreshadowing in this book. And absolutely zero surprises. Which made reading it a bit of a drag. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You don't even know what it's about. This 98 year old woman Grace is recounting her time as a maid in a big fancy English house during and just after World War I. She is intrigued by and mysteriously drawn to the family she is serving and the story really becomes more about them than her. There are quite a number of subplots and characters, none of them adding anything to the actual story. There is a lot of telling and not a lot of doing. All that foreshadowing felt like a weak substitute for what was happening in the moment - which was very little. There just wasn't a whole lot of action. And I could barely muster any feelings for the characters. They were so underdeveloped, I felt like they were just there to move the story along and get to the big climactic ending - which wasn't nearly as climactic as it could have been. The whole thing felt really contrived and a lot was sacrificed for an ending that was a let down.
Author: Kate Morton
Like/Don't Like: If only I had known I would be so bored with it I would have quit reading
Let's talk about foreshadowing for a sec. I feel it is a device bested used in small, subtle amounts. If it's going to be used it needs to be just enough to give the reader an inkling that something is coming without making them try to guess what that something is through the entire story. One of my least favorite phrases to read in a novel is, "If only we had known what we know now." It gives the entire book away. Suddenly, I know that there's going to be a twist so I miss out on it because I'm anticipating it. When a twist comes I want to be so surprised that I go back and reread it to catch any hints that might have been there. What I don't want to do is shrug. There was a lot of shrugging going on while I was reading.
So there was a lot of foreshadowing in this book. And absolutely zero surprises. Which made reading it a bit of a drag. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You don't even know what it's about. This 98 year old woman Grace is recounting her time as a maid in a big fancy English house during and just after World War I. She is intrigued by and mysteriously drawn to the family she is serving and the story really becomes more about them than her. There are quite a number of subplots and characters, none of them adding anything to the actual story. There is a lot of telling and not a lot of doing. All that foreshadowing felt like a weak substitute for what was happening in the moment - which was very little. There just wasn't a whole lot of action. And I could barely muster any feelings for the characters. They were so underdeveloped, I felt like they were just there to move the story along and get to the big climactic ending - which wasn't nearly as climactic as it could have been. The whole thing felt really contrived and a lot was sacrificed for an ending that was a let down.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Bombay Bistro
Restaurant: Bombay Bistro
Location: 8851 Central Ave., Montclair CA 91763
Like/Don't Like: Delicious
This is another Restaurant Club pick. And like all that came before it, there were a lot of things to love. Specifically their ginger garlic coconut sauce that we had in two of the dishes. So tasty! We ordered garlic naan, lamb kabab, chicken tikka masala, chicken shaquidi, aloo gobi, and malai kofta. The naan was not as garlicky as I like it, and the lamb kabab was a little overcooked although the flavor was terrific. Everything else was fantastic. The sauces were so good, really balanced and you can have as much or as little spice as you like. We asked for something between mild and medium and all agreed it was just right. The service was great and the prices weren't that bad. They have a lunch buffet for $9 which could be a real bargain and a great way to sample everything.
Location: 8851 Central Ave., Montclair CA 91763
Like/Don't Like: Delicious
This is another Restaurant Club pick. And like all that came before it, there were a lot of things to love. Specifically their ginger garlic coconut sauce that we had in two of the dishes. So tasty! We ordered garlic naan, lamb kabab, chicken tikka masala, chicken shaquidi, aloo gobi, and malai kofta. The naan was not as garlicky as I like it, and the lamb kabab was a little overcooked although the flavor was terrific. Everything else was fantastic. The sauces were so good, really balanced and you can have as much or as little spice as you like. We asked for something between mild and medium and all agreed it was just right. The service was great and the prices weren't that bad. They have a lunch buffet for $9 which could be a real bargain and a great way to sample everything.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
84 Charing Cross Road
Book: 84 Charing Cross Road
Author: Helene Hanff
Like/Don't Like: Loved. So loved.
Katie, remembering my love for the movie, found a copy of the book at the going-out-of-business sale at Borders this afternoon and brought it home to me. Within an hour it was read and wept over.
This slim volume of a decades long correspondence between an American writer and a British bookseller is in every way a charmer. Helene is spunky and sassy and loves books. And Frank has that dry British wit that kills me. It is so sweet to see their friendship develop over the years. It made me wish I had a long running correspondence with someone. Any takers?
Author: Helene Hanff
Like/Don't Like: Loved. So loved.
Katie, remembering my love for the movie, found a copy of the book at the going-out-of-business sale at Borders this afternoon and brought it home to me. Within an hour it was read and wept over.
This slim volume of a decades long correspondence between an American writer and a British bookseller is in every way a charmer. Helene is spunky and sassy and loves books. And Frank has that dry British wit that kills me. It is so sweet to see their friendship develop over the years. It made me wish I had a long running correspondence with someone. Any takers?
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