Book: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Like/Don't Like: Loved! I couldn't put it down. Hooray!
This was what I needed. It's been a lackluster year of reading for me. I just haven't been taken with a book in a long time. So this book was the perfect thing to read at the end of the year to leave me with the Blue Bird of Happiness in my literary heart.
Katsa lives in a land where a small percentage of the people are born with special talents or skills - graced. Hers happens to be that she can kill people. She doesn't relish in it. In the course of the book she meets another graceling who helps her understand her skill better and they go off and save a few people. The writing is fantastic. It zips along and keeps you wanting more. The characters seem believable enough - especially for a fantasy novel, which I often times find hard to stomach. And it was a great story told well, which all I ever want from a book.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Les Miserables
Movie: Les Miserables
Like/Don't Like: Really liked, with just a few exceptions
Like just about everyone else on the planet, I love this musical. I've seen it on the stage 3 times. I grew up listening to the soundtrack over and over and over again. I once went to a show tunes singalong and the moment of belting out I Dreamed a Dream with a few hundred other nerds holds a very special place in my memory. I also love the book a lot. I think it's a perfect story. So I was excited for this movie to come out and naturally I have a lot to say. To the list!
1.) I didn't hate Anne Hathaway. Everybody knows that she's not my favorite actress, and when I found out that she was playing Fantine my initial reaction was, "Ugh. Of course she is! I'd like to spit now, please." but I went in with an open mind because I genuinely wanted to like her so that I could like the movie on a whole. So I think that it shows real growth that there were only a few moments when I thought, "Oh, GIVE ME A BREAK ANNE HATHAWAY!" She sang her song, and all in one long shot and on key, which you have to give her props for, and then she died and we all moved on. Side note: I think the short hair suits her. It has turned her into the edgy waife she's always wanted to be.
2.) Do not see this with expectations of awesome singing. These are not trained singers who can act, like you would see on the stage. These are trained actors who can sing. Nearly all of them are outmatched by the songs. So just be prepared for Marius to sound like Kermit the Frog at times. And Javert to be so understated that you wonder if someone should check for a pulse. That being said - they all sang well. And live. They were not recorded in the studio and then dubbed in but actually recorded live as they were filming, and that takes a lot of skill. And what they lack in vocal power they make up for in performance. Except for Russell Crowe. They could have put epaulets on an animatron and you would have seen the same performance.
3.) Be prepared to see a lot of pores because this was shot almost entirely in close-up. Which was great for the really intimate songs but dreadful for the big numbers when all you want to see are waving flags and rifles being thrust in the air and not actors with their mouths wide open sustaining a note. I mean, I love Hugh Jackman but I don't need to see how many freckles he has on his nose.
4.) So I would have made different casting and directorial decisions. But I can't complain too much because it's Les Miserables. The story is so powerful and the music is so breathtaking that even if it was nothing but close-ups of Anne Hathaway's nostrils (which sometimes it was) I still would have loved it. What I'm saying is it's hard to go wrong with this. And it's hard to not get swept up in the whole thing. I wept like a baby at the end. And at the beginning. And parts in the middle. And I had to stop myself from singing along with Do You Hear the People Sing. I really appreciated the authenticity they were going for and I felt like they captured the drama grandness of the stage production while still giving us an intimate film.
Like/Don't Like: Really liked, with just a few exceptions
Like just about everyone else on the planet, I love this musical. I've seen it on the stage 3 times. I grew up listening to the soundtrack over and over and over again. I once went to a show tunes singalong and the moment of belting out I Dreamed a Dream with a few hundred other nerds holds a very special place in my memory. I also love the book a lot. I think it's a perfect story. So I was excited for this movie to come out and naturally I have a lot to say. To the list!
1.) I didn't hate Anne Hathaway. Everybody knows that she's not my favorite actress, and when I found out that she was playing Fantine my initial reaction was, "Ugh. Of course she is! I'd like to spit now, please." but I went in with an open mind because I genuinely wanted to like her so that I could like the movie on a whole. So I think that it shows real growth that there were only a few moments when I thought, "Oh, GIVE ME A BREAK ANNE HATHAWAY!" She sang her song, and all in one long shot and on key, which you have to give her props for, and then she died and we all moved on. Side note: I think the short hair suits her. It has turned her into the edgy waife she's always wanted to be.
2.) Do not see this with expectations of awesome singing. These are not trained singers who can act, like you would see on the stage. These are trained actors who can sing. Nearly all of them are outmatched by the songs. So just be prepared for Marius to sound like Kermit the Frog at times. And Javert to be so understated that you wonder if someone should check for a pulse. That being said - they all sang well. And live. They were not recorded in the studio and then dubbed in but actually recorded live as they were filming, and that takes a lot of skill. And what they lack in vocal power they make up for in performance. Except for Russell Crowe. They could have put epaulets on an animatron and you would have seen the same performance.
3.) Be prepared to see a lot of pores because this was shot almost entirely in close-up. Which was great for the really intimate songs but dreadful for the big numbers when all you want to see are waving flags and rifles being thrust in the air and not actors with their mouths wide open sustaining a note. I mean, I love Hugh Jackman but I don't need to see how many freckles he has on his nose.
4.) So I would have made different casting and directorial decisions. But I can't complain too much because it's Les Miserables. The story is so powerful and the music is so breathtaking that even if it was nothing but close-ups of Anne Hathaway's nostrils (which sometimes it was) I still would have loved it. What I'm saying is it's hard to go wrong with this. And it's hard to not get swept up in the whole thing. I wept like a baby at the end. And at the beginning. And parts in the middle. And I had to stop myself from singing along with Do You Hear the People Sing. I really appreciated the authenticity they were going for and I felt like they captured the drama grandness of the stage production while still giving us an intimate film.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Gone With The Wind
Book: Gone With The Wind
Author: Margaret Mitchell
Like/Don't Like: Like. Although I would have liked it more if were half the length.
Much like Sherman's march to Atlanta, reading this book was a long slog. But it in the end it was mostly worth it. There's always something rewarding in reading a grand and epic novel. Because it's so vast I'm going to need a list to capture most of my opinions:
1.) Scarlett O'Hara is a moron. And I spent 900 pages wishing she would just shut it because every time she opened her mouth she said something dumb. She was selfish and conniving and dumb as a box of nails. She was also spirited and brave and quick, which saved her a bit in my eyes. I wish that she had evolved a little throughout but she stayed the same almost the whole way through. It wasn't until the very end that I started feeling sympathy for her and that still wasn't enough to make me wish for a different ending. She got what she deserved.
2.) Rhett Butler is the best kind of anti-hero. Confident, unapologetic, roguish, handsome, mustachioed. If he weren't such a cad he'd be a dream.
3.) I thought the writing was effortless. Margaret Mitchell knew this world perfectly and it was fascinating to read about a time and place from such a insider point of view. I never got tired of reading about it, which is saying something. I especially loved how she treated her characters. She never blamed nor excused her characters flaws. Because of that she had some truly profound insights into human nature.
4.) Oh, those Yankees. Always coming around to burn something down. Like all wars, the Civil War was much more complicated than we think it was. So I appreciated getting the South's side of the story. However, the most tedious part of the book was all the history thrown in. It kind of got in the way of the story.
5.) I had to keep reminding myself that this was a book written by a southerner in the 1930s about the Civil War from a southerner's point of view. So I had to kind of gloss over the INCREDIBLY OFFENSIVE ideas about blacks and women. I cringed a lot.
6.) As far as an epic goes, this was a good one. When things were winding down I could think back to the glorious early days at Tara with fondness and see how far all the characters had come. It was a satisfying read.
Author: Margaret Mitchell
Like/Don't Like: Like. Although I would have liked it more if were half the length.
Much like Sherman's march to Atlanta, reading this book was a long slog. But it in the end it was mostly worth it. There's always something rewarding in reading a grand and epic novel. Because it's so vast I'm going to need a list to capture most of my opinions:
1.) Scarlett O'Hara is a moron. And I spent 900 pages wishing she would just shut it because every time she opened her mouth she said something dumb. She was selfish and conniving and dumb as a box of nails. She was also spirited and brave and quick, which saved her a bit in my eyes. I wish that she had evolved a little throughout but she stayed the same almost the whole way through. It wasn't until the very end that I started feeling sympathy for her and that still wasn't enough to make me wish for a different ending. She got what she deserved.
2.) Rhett Butler is the best kind of anti-hero. Confident, unapologetic, roguish, handsome, mustachioed. If he weren't such a cad he'd be a dream.
3.) I thought the writing was effortless. Margaret Mitchell knew this world perfectly and it was fascinating to read about a time and place from such a insider point of view. I never got tired of reading about it, which is saying something. I especially loved how she treated her characters. She never blamed nor excused her characters flaws. Because of that she had some truly profound insights into human nature.
4.) Oh, those Yankees. Always coming around to burn something down. Like all wars, the Civil War was much more complicated than we think it was. So I appreciated getting the South's side of the story. However, the most tedious part of the book was all the history thrown in. It kind of got in the way of the story.
5.) I had to keep reminding myself that this was a book written by a southerner in the 1930s about the Civil War from a southerner's point of view. So I had to kind of gloss over the INCREDIBLY OFFENSIVE ideas about blacks and women. I cringed a lot.
6.) As far as an epic goes, this was a good one. When things were winding down I could think back to the glorious early days at Tara with fondness and see how far all the characters had come. It was a satisfying read.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Fahrenheit 451
Book: Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Like/Don't like: It was kind of eerie. In a good way.
When Ray Bradbury died in June I found myself feeling nostalgic. Which is weird because (shameful admission forthcoming) I have only read one of his books. And it was not this book. It was Something Wicked This Way Come and it was maybe 25 years ago. But he's one of those writers that I admire. The stuff he says about his life of writing is inspiring. Not just because he was a writer but because he was happy about it. Writers are notorious for complaining about how hard their lot is. He always struck me as being so cheery about it. So I felt a little sad that he was gone and decided that I needed to start working my way through his stuff.
When I tell people that I've never read this book they aways look a little bewildered. Because it's weird right, that I've never read this? I mean, it's a book about books. And it's a classic that nearly everyone read in high school. But I didn't. I read Moby Dick, which, I learned while reading the obituary on his website, Ray Bradbury wrote the screen adaptation for. Do you see how books are the circle of life?
In a way, I'm glad that I didn't read it until now, because it is eerily telling of the world we live in. I'm not too worried about us burning books, but Bradbury got it right about everyone walking around with ear buds embedded, and giant TVs taking up our living spaces, and war happening and people just kind of shrugging their shoulders about it. There is always some truth in dystopic literature but this was really spooky how close he came to describing us. To say that I enjoyed it would be strange, but it definitley struck a chord.
Author: Ray Bradbury
Like/Don't like: It was kind of eerie. In a good way.
When Ray Bradbury died in June I found myself feeling nostalgic. Which is weird because (shameful admission forthcoming) I have only read one of his books. And it was not this book. It was Something Wicked This Way Come and it was maybe 25 years ago. But he's one of those writers that I admire. The stuff he says about his life of writing is inspiring. Not just because he was a writer but because he was happy about it. Writers are notorious for complaining about how hard their lot is. He always struck me as being so cheery about it. So I felt a little sad that he was gone and decided that I needed to start working my way through his stuff.
When I tell people that I've never read this book they aways look a little bewildered. Because it's weird right, that I've never read this? I mean, it's a book about books. And it's a classic that nearly everyone read in high school. But I didn't. I read Moby Dick, which, I learned while reading the obituary on his website, Ray Bradbury wrote the screen adaptation for. Do you see how books are the circle of life?
In a way, I'm glad that I didn't read it until now, because it is eerily telling of the world we live in. I'm not too worried about us burning books, but Bradbury got it right about everyone walking around with ear buds embedded, and giant TVs taking up our living spaces, and war happening and people just kind of shrugging their shoulders about it. There is always some truth in dystopic literature but this was really spooky how close he came to describing us. To say that I enjoyed it would be strange, but it definitley struck a chord.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Nickel Diner
Restaurant: Nickel Diner
Location: 524 S. Main Street, Los Angeles
Like/Don't Like: Holy Cats! If it were a rich, single, non-weird Mormon man I would marry it.
We was looking for a place in downtown LA to have my birthday dinner because we were going to be down there for a sing-along (natch). I already love a few places in that area but I wanted to go someplace new. So I got onto Yelp and found this gem. It's right in the heart of downtown, a few blocks from City Hall, the area looks a little sketchy in the dark, but let me tell you, it may actually be worth getting mugged if you can have their root beer creme brulee.
I was with a bunch of people who like to eat and want to share, which is the best group to be with when you're going out to eat, and we each ordered something different and passed the plates around. I had the skirt steak with chimichurri (perfect), there was some mac and cheese which was out of sight, spicy pulled pork, cat fish with brussel sprout hash (I don't even like cat fish very much but I would have cuddled with this after hours), stuffed artichoke and a pork chop with some kind of jam sauce that made me want to weep. So delicious. And then we couldn't pass on the desserts. We tried the smore cake, the surprise cupcake (surprise! Pop Rocks!), and the aforementioned root beer creme brulee. You know how most creme brulee that you get when you eat out is kind of grainy? This was so silky and delicious and root beery. I wanted to lick the ramekin. And here's the kicker - they're really known for their breakfast. I can't wait to try it.
The review on Yelp said the ambiance was "Hipster Casual", which was initially a deterrent. And it was also dead on. But it was also kind of legit. It didn't look like it was trying too hard. And the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. They kept the water coming and they joked with us without being obnoxious and made really good suggestions. After I finished my dinner I told our server that I just wanted to hug everyone, it was so good. So on my way out she gave me a big hug. You know you have a winner when you leave with a hug.
Location: 524 S. Main Street, Los Angeles
Like/Don't Like: Holy Cats! If it were a rich, single, non-weird Mormon man I would marry it.
We was looking for a place in downtown LA to have my birthday dinner because we were going to be down there for a sing-along (natch). I already love a few places in that area but I wanted to go someplace new. So I got onto Yelp and found this gem. It's right in the heart of downtown, a few blocks from City Hall, the area looks a little sketchy in the dark, but let me tell you, it may actually be worth getting mugged if you can have their root beer creme brulee.
I was with a bunch of people who like to eat and want to share, which is the best group to be with when you're going out to eat, and we each ordered something different and passed the plates around. I had the skirt steak with chimichurri (perfect), there was some mac and cheese which was out of sight, spicy pulled pork, cat fish with brussel sprout hash (I don't even like cat fish very much but I would have cuddled with this after hours), stuffed artichoke and a pork chop with some kind of jam sauce that made me want to weep. So delicious. And then we couldn't pass on the desserts. We tried the smore cake, the surprise cupcake (surprise! Pop Rocks!), and the aforementioned root beer creme brulee. You know how most creme brulee that you get when you eat out is kind of grainy? This was so silky and delicious and root beery. I wanted to lick the ramekin. And here's the kicker - they're really known for their breakfast. I can't wait to try it.
The review on Yelp said the ambiance was "Hipster Casual", which was initially a deterrent. And it was also dead on. But it was also kind of legit. It didn't look like it was trying too hard. And the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. They kept the water coming and they joked with us without being obnoxious and made really good suggestions. After I finished my dinner I told our server that I just wanted to hug everyone, it was so good. So on my way out she gave me a big hug. You know you have a winner when you leave with a hug.
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Book: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Author: Aimee Bender
Like/Don't Like: Mmmm...lemon cake. Oh, wait, yes. I liked it.
It took me a bit to form a solid enough opinion on this novel before writing anything and I've decided that I liked it. Even though I felt uncomfortable through the whole thing.
Rose is about 9 when she realizes that she can taste emotions in the food that people cook for her. It starts with her mother's despair and her brothers confusion. And this starts a lifetime of trying to avoid anything but food that is made in a factory because she can't process all the bad emotions that others struggle with and hide. It was a pretty interesting premise. But her family was so awkward. I cringed every time they would have a conversation because they just had no idea how to communicate. So the whole time I was reading it I just wanted to yell, "Will someone just give this girl a hug!"
The bulk of the blame goes to the author for this very drawn out style of writing. A conversation of just a few sentences could last pages and pages because she kept interrupting with thoughts. And that's a fine technique but it felt overplayed at times. Also, it felt a little sloppy at places, like time had no meaning. But I cannot deny that the story lingered with me long after I finished. I think she captured the confusion and fear in Rose nicely. Overall it was a good read.
Author: Aimee Bender
Like/Don't Like: Mmmm...lemon cake. Oh, wait, yes. I liked it.
It took me a bit to form a solid enough opinion on this novel before writing anything and I've decided that I liked it. Even though I felt uncomfortable through the whole thing.
Rose is about 9 when she realizes that she can taste emotions in the food that people cook for her. It starts with her mother's despair and her brothers confusion. And this starts a lifetime of trying to avoid anything but food that is made in a factory because she can't process all the bad emotions that others struggle with and hide. It was a pretty interesting premise. But her family was so awkward. I cringed every time they would have a conversation because they just had no idea how to communicate. So the whole time I was reading it I just wanted to yell, "Will someone just give this girl a hug!"
The bulk of the blame goes to the author for this very drawn out style of writing. A conversation of just a few sentences could last pages and pages because she kept interrupting with thoughts. And that's a fine technique but it felt overplayed at times. Also, it felt a little sloppy at places, like time had no meaning. But I cannot deny that the story lingered with me long after I finished. I think she captured the confusion and fear in Rose nicely. Overall it was a good read.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Midnight in Paris
Movie: Midnight in Paris
Like/Don't Like: Yeah, I liked it
I never quite get the allure of a Woody Allen film. I think my west coast, non-neurotic sensibilities makes him sort of just okay in my book. But I aside from the usual unrelatable characters that are always in his films, I thought this one was totally charming. Mostly because it's set in Paris, partly in the 1920s which means it's filled with Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and Picasso and Cole Porter. And the whole thing was warmly lit and had lovely jazz music in the background and, well, I watched it like 2 weeks ago which means that it has completely slipped out of my mind. But it counts if I remember that I liked it, right?
Like/Don't Like: Yeah, I liked it
I never quite get the allure of a Woody Allen film. I think my west coast, non-neurotic sensibilities makes him sort of just okay in my book. But I aside from the usual unrelatable characters that are always in his films, I thought this one was totally charming. Mostly because it's set in Paris, partly in the 1920s which means it's filled with Hemingway and Gertrude Stein and Picasso and Cole Porter. And the whole thing was warmly lit and had lovely jazz music in the background and, well, I watched it like 2 weeks ago which means that it has completely slipped out of my mind. But it counts if I remember that I liked it, right?
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