September 02, 2010

Fiction: The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

Re-read for me; new to Dad. Our June challenge book.

I lovelovelove this book a completely crazypants amount. I read it shortly after I had moved to Chicago and there were so many great details from my new city in it, places I had been, places I needed to then seek out. For me, it's incredibly romantic; but some of it may be related to being single for a very very long time--this idea of him being there, he's off in another time, visiting a different you, but he exists, he is there, you just have to wait... It's probably a selfish veneer but feels like there's something very (sadly) (poignantly) romantic about that lonely yearning life...

Also I thought the (admittedly few) times you get to hear about Claire's art were just FANTASTIC. I could picture her works so vividly. Why can't someone make me wings? WHY!?! So amazing.

So yeah, I went completely ga-ga for this book and was sending it out as gifts to everyone I knew. bought it for my parents the Christmas after I read it (maybe 2003?) and waited and waited for them to read it. Eventually Dad saw the movie. While most of my friends who had seen the book didn't love the movie (Jenni said it was like watching the Cliff Notes), he said he liked it (well enough). Really liked the chemistry between McAdams and Bana--although he hasn't had any particular urge to see it again.

So on to his reaction to the book: Yeah. He did NOT like it. Thought it was an OK book about a relationship, liked some of the scenes, the monopoly game, little things like that. But just thought it was so weird overall. What a weird life for this woman and got to the point where he needed the story to straighten out (2/3 way through). Felt he didn't need to read about Henry being 105 and Claire being 2 months old...said that every time he turned to the next chapter and read that paranthesis, he just wanted to throw the book across the room!!

Also felt like what if the 15 year old horny teenager Henry shows up when she's 16. why didn't that ever happen? [Of course that can't happen! When he's 15 he doesn't know she exists yet...] He couldn't finish it. Too frustrated by the time / couldn't go with the story anymore. Also didn't like the drawn out stuff around her mom's death.

SO...after Dad's reaction to the book, I decided to try the movie. I couldn't make it past the first 15 minutes!!

A) The movie makes it HIS story, which really takes away the whole point. Yes, in some ways, he is the more interesting or unusual character, but that's part of the point, it's not about him! it's about being his wife, being the one that's NOT that.

B) The movie makes the accident HIS FAULT!! Noooooooo. That's just completely wrong. The accident is how he figures out his ability and it's what saves him but it was NOT the cause. SOOOOO WRONG. And it's SO irritating when stupid people connected with making movies out of good books make a BAD decision about something like that. How could they possibly think that was something that either 1) needed changing or 2) was a good idea to change? Increasing dramatic tension? Please. This story already has plenty of that. DISAPPROVE.

C) The casting of Gomez is just WRONG. I'm all for Ron Livingston in other roles but SO NOT HERE.

Verdict: I still love this book SO MUCH. Dad did NOT. He likes the movie OK. I could not even get through it. Disagreement reigns! ;)

Posted by Duff at 10:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin', Watchin'

Fiction: "Possession, by A.S. Byatt

Re-read. Our April challenge book.

Speaking of academia (as we were when reading Davies)...very dazzling. Funny and wicked about the academy and these kind of blighted lives; people that love literature and get trapped where they're just drudges to this work--in this case especially, the woman with the index cards about the wife. Such a miserable life, inflicting misery on each other.

Really makes us laugh when the American woman sweeps in and creates all this sturm und drang--of course that's how the Brits see us. We come in and just start breaking stuff!!

Maude = very well-written character. Interesting person with her own hurts and wounds, but a really good person. Always think it's cool that they got together in a way.

The book itself is really a literary tour de force when you think about all the stuff Byatt wrote for it! Not just the book itself, but also Ash's poetry, Christabel's poetry, their letters, his wife's diary, Sabine's diary, various letters. Re-reading it though, we find ourselves skimming some parts. Artistically great, but do we need to read 8 pages of a Spenserian poem before moving on to the next chapter? Even in earlier readings, we remembered being kind of impatient at some parts--want to go on with the story. Didn't need that much extra to see the ability--sometimes clogged the narrative flow. And the characters give you the exposition so you don't need to have the whole thing.

Always knocked out by that connection with the mystical weirdness, the seance--when you realized she made him think the kid was dead. Very moving at the end--when you see he did get to meet the kid and realize the truth / and watching his wife thinking she's hiding it from him. Byatt really projected you back into this other story--the modern story in a way was a happier one. This is one of those books that breaks my heart every time I read it.

Some scenes such a rush, and have a great mystery feel, as when Maude figures out the letters are hidden.

Verdict: still really good. So worth re-reading.

Posted by Duff at 10:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: The Fool's Progress, by Edward Abbey

Re-read for Dad; new to me. Our May challenge book.

Total black comedy with incredibly (surprisingly) sad moments; you get to like the guy more than you ever though you could. The first chapter is just outright hilarious. Dad remembers hearing about Abbey at a reading once, picking that chapter, and apparently some women walked out. Personally, I feel you have to be able to enjoy well-written things (or even to apply this broader, well-done art in any genre) without imposing your filter. If you can never enjoy writing that doesn't agree with your (for example) feminist viewpoints, you're shutting out a huge portion of the world.

Abbey just reallys wrings out the in your face redneck stuff; takes a hard look at the mess a person can make of their life. He's pretty hard on the guy for making dumb choices. But there's always this underlying hopeful place--"maybe we'll find a way to make it work" enthusiasm.

Dad has been going back and reading biographies of Abbey, trying to parse out which bits are autobioraphical and which aren't--all the wild stories about Abbey and women stop the day he married his last wife. Both Abbey and the main character here are so involved with people: so much fun, so attractive, so adventurous, but (until the end) not a long-term guy.

Dad felt that on his second time reading it, some of it got a little tedious: got kinda tired of the trip, didn't always enjoy the flashbacks--felt like they were always pulling you out of something you were enjoying (the current trip more engaging than the past memories).

A lot of individual scenes were so much fun. Love how he has all these horrifically failed relationships but also has friends pretty much everywhere he goes. Clearly this guy is bringing something to the table that makes keeping him around worthwhile.

For me, it's reminisicent of Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theater--the dark, dark humor of it, a voice you're not going to meet a lot in ilterature, a part of America that doesn't get chronicled a lot.

Verdict: both enjoyed it a LOT.

Posted by Duff at 09:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: Rebel Angels, by Robertson Davies

Re-read. Our March challenge book.

Love reading novels as saturated in the world of academia as this one. Also adds something to the mix that there are people that weren't quite in that world--Maria and her crazy gypsy relatives; Parlabane. Great mixture.

Davies is really funny about the academic stuff--and then the mystical stuff is his own spice. Very much a social comedy, like Trollope or someone; reading this right after reading Gatsby (with that veneer that social class matters), you do kind of live and die with Maria and those people, they become important to you. Maria's so smart that when she gets pulled back into the gypsy world she's pissed off.

Thinking about wacko Parlabane's ability to just be in and around academia even though he's so beyond the range of it; is it still like that? (Academics more tolerant of nutters in their midst?)

All the art stuff is so vivid that you're picturing those drawings in your head, Davies really brings that stuff to life. (And in the third book of this trilogy, they do an opera that makes you believe that this thing exists. Same is true of Francis' paintings in book 2.)

In this first book, Francis is like one of those planets exerting all this force, everything sort of orbiting around him, this figure you can't quite picture.

Davies is more than a clever writer--very wise.

Verdict: Very enthusiastic double thumbs-up, both in previous reads and now.

Posted by Duff at 09:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

September 01, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for August.

Bought:

• Mockingbird, by Suzanne Collins

Read:

• Midnight Falcon, by David Gemmell
  
• The Eye of the Storm, by Jack Higgins (borrowed from Dad)
  
• Within the Frame; The Journey of Photographic Vision, by David duChemin (gift)
  
• Memory in Death, by Nora Roberts writing as J.D.Robb (laundry room pickup)
  
• White Teacher, by Vivian Gussin Paley (laundry room pickup)
  
• Mockingbird, by Suzanne Collins

Posted by Duff at 03:47 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

Fiction: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Re-read. Our February challenge book.

Dad comments that he always enjoys it when he's reading it, but later he never remembers what it was about: a year from now he'll think: "What was the plot of the Great Gatsby? I know it's in the '20s..." My friend Cathy loves this book...but she always teaches it to her high schoolers every year--the plot would definitely stay in your memory if you were doing that! :)

It's well written, nice voice, really easy to pick up and read, has a nice conversational tone, Nick is really likable. But doesn't necessarily take you somewhere. Similar to Austen it has that veneer of society being worthwhile. Very cool tone to it.

Easy to forget the hollowness in Gatsby--it's so much all show. All the characters are so shallow, see, for example, Gatsby putting up a huge facade to chase this really childish illusion of the perfect romance, the kind of thing you believe when you're 12. Everybody's living a fake life, cruising along as if, if they keep moving, nothing's going to catch with up them. Even Nick's psuedo relationship with the tennis player. She's a real slippery character.

Dad remembered the movie from 40 years ago - just a clunker. Robert Redford played Gatbsy, Sam Waterston played Nick - it was a huge flop.

A very Midwestern exchange:

Me: I found all the MN stuff really surprising. didn't remember that at all.

Dad: The Great Gatsby is like War & Peace to Minnesotans. Once heard a professor at a conference in Minnesota being asked how wonderful it was and he gave a very careful answer: "Well, you know it's one of those essential works of a period where, in America, you just can't approach the '20s without reading the Great Gatsby" i.e., worth reading for its picture of a time and place, but not putting it up with the great novels.

Verdict: Thumbs up for an enjoyable easy read, but would not appear on our Greatest Hits list.

Posted by Duff at 03:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle

Re-read. Our January challenge book.

Having both seen the movie and, while agreeing that it is a decent action flick, both agreeing that it really wasn't our Sherlock Holmes, it seemed like a good time to go back for a re-read, this being the very first SH book (and ACD wasn't even sure he was going to continue with Holmes--this could have been the only one!!).

Interesting to go back and read -- we all come to it knowing the character already, whether through RDJ or Basil Rathbone, or memories of other stories... Fun watching Holmes and Watson bond on the page in front of you. Always think back on these as "Holmes stories" but in re-reading, really realize how much of the OTHER story you get here: the Westward expansion story, the spooky cult aspect of the Mormon setting, the hero who becomes an anti-hero--he becomes such a different person, an unstoppable avenger, and his heartbreak defines the rest of his life. You're almost sad when Holmes catches him; the people he murdered deserved it!!

Full of dark sharp bitter elements, this is not a POP book. The hero goes down. In memory, you often soften Holmes a bit; you meet him here again as acerbic, rougher, dismissive (of Watson, among others), boxing. Watson always comes off a bit of a bumbler in the Rathbone films--really he's "normal" right? He's the "us" or "you" in these stories.

As with other Holmes' stories, the everpresent suggestion of a ghost / pushed aside by Holmes who is always the one pointing out the physical evidence. Thought this was a weakness of the RDJ film as well--seemed like Holmes was falling for the mystical a bit too much.

According to an article in the Smithsonian (awhile back), Holmes was partly based on a doctor ACD knew and the bohemian / nonconformist aspect was based on Oscar Wilde (note that Dorian Gray and Study in Scarlet were put out by the same publisher). Holyroyd thinks the actor Henry Irving was one of influences for the illustrations of Holmes (haunted police courts, played lurid characters on stage).

Favorite new (to me) expression I had to ask Dad to define: "sere and yellow" = late autumn (here, of life).

Verdict: thumbs up from both Girl and Dad.

Posted by Duff at 03:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

August 02, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for July.

Bought:

• All Mortal Flesh, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (iphone/kindle)
  
• I Shall Not Want, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (iphone/kindle)
  
• Sword in the Storm, by David Gemmell
  
• Stormrider, by David Gemmell (used: $2.50!)
  
• The Lyre of Orpheus, by Robertson Davies (used: $5!)
  
• Curse of the Wolf Girl, by Martin Millar
  
• Midnight Falcon, by David Gemmell
  
• Ravenheart, by David Gemmell
  

Read:

• In the Bleak Midwinter, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (borrowed from mom)
  
• A Fountain Filled with Blood, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (borrowed from mom)
  
• Out of the Deep I Cry, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (borrowed from mom)
  
• To Darkness and to Death, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (borrowed from mom)
  
• All Mortal Flesh, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (iphone/kindle)
  
• I Shall Not Want, by Julia Spencer-Fleming (iphone/kindle)
  
• The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (re-read)
  
• Sword in the Storm, by David Gemmell
  
• Curse of the Wolf Girl, by Martin Millar
  
• Slut Lullabies, by Gina Frangello
  

Bad month for slipping up and buying books. ;(

Posted by Duff at 03:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

July 06, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for June.

Bought:

• Dead in the Family, by Charlaine Harris (iphone/Kindle)
  

Read:

• The Hidden City, by Michelle West
  
• A Distant Magic, by Mary Jo Putney (borrowed from Mom)
  
• Dead in the Family, by Charlaine Harris (iphone/Kindle)
  
• Still Missing, by Chevy Stevens (from Steph, thanks dude!)
  

Posted by Duff at 12:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists, Readin'

June 22, 2010

Books I Wish I Could Buy Right Now

• "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan
  
• "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet" by David Mitchell
  
• "Slut Lullabies" by Gina FrangelloI have very generous friends!

Posted by Duff at 01:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

June 16, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for May.

Bought:

• Magic on the Storm, by Devon Monk
  
• 61 Hours, by Lee Child (iphone/Kindle)
  
• The Hidden City, by Michelle West
  

Read:

• Magic on the Storm, by Devon Monk
  
• 61 Hours, by Lee Child (iphone/Kindle)
  
• The Fool's Progress, by Edward Abbey (library)
  
• The Photogenic Soprano, by Dorothy Dunnett (library)
  

Posted by Duff at 12:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

May 05, 2010

SciFi: Blackout, by Connie Willis

I remembered really loving The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, although I apparently read those well before I started keeping track for this site (or its previous incarnations) and I was super excited to hear Willis had a new book out! (And thanks for the bday present, Cat!)

She falls somewhere between the Diana Gabaldon Outlander books (with the time travel, of course) and Maureen McHugh (more sci/fi fantasty, less romance than Gabaldon) in my mind.

I felt this one was a bit slowgoing at first, there are SO many characters to set up, in different places both in space and time. But about halfway through I found myself quite eagerly turning the pages and then...OH NO IT'S BEEN TURNED INTO A TWO-PART BOOK AND THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST HALF NOOOOOOOOO

Yeah, that's putting it mildly. Apparently part 2 "All Clear" will be out in October.

Really cool intertwining of historians from the future (2060) sent back to research WWII England. The contretemps of trying to find the right outfits, accents, accessories, etc., is quite entertaining. The effect of them navigating the past, trying to observe with the minimum of involvement and no interaction; can that ever really be possible? There have been a bunch of History teachers-to-be in my classes this year and we've done a lot of talking about "historical fact" and it's really interesting to read this with that type of semantics in mind.

I was really psyched about who arrives in the last chapter (or who I think it is that arrives). I hope to see more of that character in book 2...

Posted by Duff at 12:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Romance: How to Knit a Love Song, by Rachael Herron

This is not an unbiased review. I have been friends with Rachael for years.

Be that as it may, I absolutely loved this book.

Now, this IS a romance genre novel and it does abide by many of those conventions. It's not a mystery who's going to wind up with who, or even whether they'll wind up together. Rather the mystery is in how is that going to happen? How will they get past their irks and irritations and hangups and baggage? How will they become the right person for each other?

That said, there is a lot going on here: the integration of knitting lore and farmers meeting 'round the breakfast table at the diner, as well as a mystery popping up from someone's past...

Abigail and Cade seem very real and very human and very connected. Their interactions have just the right touch.

I'm so proud of my friend that she wrote this lovely book and I'm so excited for her success!

Posted by Duff at 12:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy/Mystery: Silver Borne, by Patricia Briggs

Book #5 in the Mercy Thompson series (book #4 here).

Another fantastic entry in this series. Lots of stuff happens here, we learn more about the pack and its internal dramas/rules/etc., about Samuel, about the fae. I couldn't put it down!

I'm super into these, I'm into the related Charles/Anna books, I've read her more "medieval"-type fantasty as well (here or here or here). I just think everything Briggs writes is fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 12:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi/Fantasy: Magic on the Storm, by Devon Monk

Fourth in a series. Definitely in my top five current fantasy series (along with the Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson books and the almost-completed Robert Jordan Wheel of Time books...I'd have have to walk to a different room to look at a different bookshelf to pin down the rest...).

This has a lot of the good stuff of the previous three books, as well as widening the list of characters I cared about, filling in some of the folks who were broader strokes in books past (Shamus in particular). There continues to be a LOT about blood magic that we don't really know its longlasting effects. Lots of great fighting (magic and otherwise). And a freakalicious ending that is NOT going to keep me patient until the next one comes out in November (YAY SO SOON!).

Allie and Zayvion continue to have a sexy yet more than that relationship. The imagery describing Zayvion in a certain fight at a certain point in this book...is just so so cool. And I do dearly love Stone. (FYI you can knit your own Stone should you wish to. Although in the books he is a LOT BIGGER than that.)

Posted by Duff at 12:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

May 01, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for April.

Bought:

• Silver Borne, a Mercy Thompson novel, by Patricia Briggs
  

Read:

• What's Bred in the Bone, by Robertson Davies (library) (re-read)
  
• Letters to a Young Teacher, by Jonathan Kozol (library)
  
• Death at an Early Age, by Jonathan Kozol (library)
  
• I Won't Learn from You, by Herbert Kohl (library)
  
• Silver Borne, a Mercy Thompson novel, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Possession, by A.S. Byatt (re-read)
  

Posted by Duff at 09:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque

April 07, 2010

Oh, I agree.

I would argue that if a book needs multiple typefaces, either the writer hasn’t done her job or the reader isn’t being trusted.
-Jessica Francis Kane, on Kingsolver's "Lacuna"

Posted by Duff at 01:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

April 03, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for March.

Bought:

• How to Knit a Love Song, by Rachael Herron
  

Read:

• How to Knit a Love Song, by Rachael Herron
  
• The Rebel Angels, by Robertson Davies (library) (re-read)
  
• Blackout, by Connie Willis
  
• The Walls of the Universe, by Paul Melko (library)
  
• The Ugliest House in the World, by Peter Ho Davies (library)
  
• The Delicacy and Strength of Lace, by Leslie Marmon Silko & James Wright (library)(letters)
  
• Inside Mrs. B.'s Classroom, by Leslie Baldacci (library)(memoir)
  

Posted by Duff at 06:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Readin'

March 24, 2010

Letters: The Delicacy and Strength of Lace, by Leslie Marmon Silko & James Wright

I've always been a sucker for the epistolary, whether fiction or not (as here).

These are really quite lovely, however, in their own right. Poets with great command of language, imagery, sensory. Their friendship grows across the page and their words become quite magical as they get to the nitty gritty of their lives.

Lovely, and sometimes, sad to read. I can't remember where I saw this book recommended now, but I'm so glad I did.

Really makes you want to do nothing else but curl up with collections of their poems and get to know them even better.

Posted by Duff at 08:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

March 23, 2010

Short Stories: The Ugliest House in the World, by Peter Ho Davies

I've been wanting to try out some Peter Ho Davies ever since his novel "The Welsh Girl" was longlisted for the Booker prize (I am generally a fan of lots of stuff on the Booker long and short lists). Just happened to see this collection while in the library checking out Robertson Davies (for our March challenge) so I decided to check them out.

Intriguing and unusual mix of stories, representing his unusual background of 1/2 Welsh, 1/2 Chinese. Some of the Welsh stories felt very Australian to me -- if you've ever been to Australia, after having spent time in England, it's an interesting mix of British & Asian influences. These were entertaining, interesting and some really nice language choices. My favorite story was "A Union."

Posted by Duff at 03:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

March 16, 2010

SciFi: The Walls of the Universe, by Paul Melko

Totally fascinating multiple universe / devices that enable travel between them / doppelgangers appearing / exploiting technology that wasn't developed in the "then" that you've gone to...sometimes being caught powerless, and choosing which life is the one you want to stay in.

Liked the characters and the twists and the physics connections. Really intriguing!

Posted by Duff at 11:46 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

March 01, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for February.

Bought:

• The First Rule; a Joe Pike Novel, by Robert Crais
  

Read:

• The First Rule; a Joe Pike Novel, by Robert Crais (iPhone/Kindle)
  
• Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth 1), by Terry Goodkind (re-read)
  
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read)
  
• Black and White, by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge (library)
  

Posted by Duff at 12:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Readin'

February 28, 2010

Sci Fi: Black and White, by Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge

A superhero novel. Reads like a comic book except, you know, there are no drawings and there's lots of text. Two young girls, schooled at the same superhero "academy", now diametrically opposed. Flashes back and forth between their current conflict and their school days.

Lots of fun. Go Jet! Go Iri! I want to be their #3.

Posted by Duff at 03:46 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

February 11, 2010

Fantasy: Wizard's First Rule (Sword of Truth 1), by Terry Goodkind

Re-read.

Wow, I had totally forgotten about the crazy masochistic torture stuff in this book. I also forgot about that whole whiney mcwhinerson section with Kahlan. I would like a clearer picture of how old Richard and Kahlan are supposed to be as this series begins.

Love the rules around magic in this book. All the use of webs. And Kahlan's power. ESPECIALLY in Con Dar.

Posted by Duff at 12:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

February 06, 2010

Mystery/Fiction: The First Rule; a Joe Pike Novel, by Robert Crais

I got too bored with Elvis Cole to read anymore of those* but good grief I love me some Joe Pike. It's possible I love Joe Pike more than Jack Reacher^ even because it just seems like while Jack Reacher would be my big brotherly uncle type, Joe Pike would be you know more interesting to me in the sack. Plus I TOTALLY want his tattoos. Totes.

He's hot, and also the coolest customer out there (never lets himself lose his temper which you do occasionally see from Reacher), the mystery is interesting, there's some lies/twists/turns but not so many that you want to hang yourself. And at the end, as in the first Joe Pike-centered book, there's that hint of more humanity than one would guess...

Oh, Joe.

p.s. I read this in bed on my iPhone when I couldn't sleep. :) Then I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop reading.

*Joe Pike was originally the sidekick in the Elvis Cole series. This is the second Joe Pike-focused book. I don't remember Elvis appearing in the first book (did he?) but in this one he gets to be Joe's sidekick instead.

^The Jack Reacher series is by a different author, Lee Child. If you type either of their names into that search box on the right, you'll get a few hits.)

Posted by Duff at 09:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde

If you think the Tuesday Next books are too gimmicky, then you're going to want to avoid this one as I believe it blows that series out of the water gimmick-wise.

While I did enjoy some of the events of the ending, I really had to force myself to get there, and honestly that's not something I really like to do when I read these days. Yes, I used to be a "have to finish everything I start" reader but now I'm an "hey I'm old and there isn't that much time and I don't want to die not having gotten to read as much GOOD stuff as possible so if it sucks, I'm stopping" reader.

This is a society based on color and the color that you can see is therefore the color that you "are" and the amount (percentage) of that color you are able to see determines your prestige, and both those items determine your EXACT position in society. What jobs you can have, who you can marry, etc. The world is ruled by a certain book of rules and infractions/demerits are cumulative. So what's the obvious thing right? Time for a revolution.

A lot of really obvious metaphor here. I remember I loved the first two Tuesday Nexts, didn't care for book 3, thought book 4 was OK...and just did not need to read more. (He could have stopped at one and had a really original book out there. Did he have to play it out?)

This series I am going to stop at book 1 as it's already boring me... In addition, at least the Tuesday Next books made you think about other great books, or google names that you couldn't place to figure out where in literature they were from. None of that extra in this one. (And it's definitely going to be a series, the names of the next two books were listed in the back.)

Posted by Duff at 09:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

YA/Fiction: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Powerful book. Told in a long reveal, it takes a while to know what's truly going on, although as an adult I had a pretty good idea (would kids jump to the right conclusion? I don't know).

A lot of nice metaphorical work throughout the story, mirroring the evolution of the main character (particularly in the conception of the tree, and in the naming/recognition of a certain character).

I'm interested to check out her other books, looks like she's written a ton of stuff.

[Apparently there was a movie (Lifetime?) of this, but when I used this book for my media mini-study in my middle school curriculum class, the people in my small group who had seen it said it wasn't anywhere near as good as the book. Why had they seen it? Oh that class is chockfull of undergrads. Bunch of 22 year olds who apparently watch Lifetime teen movies! Heh.]

Posted by Duff at 09:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

The first part of Book 12 of the Wheel of Time series, which will be split into three (I call it 12a). For however much these later books cover such small amounts of time, and how at least one main character always seems to vanish for a book (in this one, Elayne and Lan do not actually appear although they are of course talked about), and how much you fear that the ending won't live up to that great end of days that's been talked about the whole series long... I still really love a lot of these characters and still enjoy reading about them and thinking about their interrelationships. Still love the Aiel and their crazy ways. Enjoying Suian Sanche more than I would have thought. Mat! is all over this one. You know I love Mat! Some nutty Black Friend reveals! There's a lot to enjoy. Now 12b, hurry up.

p.s. I thought Sanderson did a fine job of writing both in his own and in Jordan's voice. There were a couple instances of "huh didn't he just use that exact phrase to describe someone a chapter ago" but other than that, I thought it flowed just fine and all the pivotal characters still felt "right."

Posted by Duff at 09:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

YA/Fantasy: The Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink

Not badly written. The stuff with the little brother is poignantly told. Some of it is quite spooky.

On the other hand, this felt like a book in which very little happens other than the reveal of the ancient curse/prophecy...and it just...ENDS. Very much a "book 1" but even in a series, shouldn't each book have its own purpose? I felt like this one really tailed off at the end in setup for book 2.

There's something to be said for cliffhangers.

Posted by Duff at 09:22 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Man Walks Into a Room, by Nicole Krauss

I really had to force myself through this one. It's a bit cold and most of the characters I found extremely difficult to connect with (or even to want to).

However, I absolutely adore (ADORE!) her next book "The History of Love" and I would highly recommend you read that one (instead of this OR any other book!). (Search this page for the title or author to hear my enthusiasm. It was one of my very favorite reads of 2005.)

Posted by Duff at 09:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

February 01, 2010

DadReaction: Nostromo, by Joseph Conrad

Our November challenge book. I had to leave Dad in the lurch on this one, I just had too much school work in November (with finals in the beginning of December) to undertake this one.

Dad: It was harder to get into than I expected / I remembered really liking Conrad. It was one of those sort of prescient things that could be so easily adapted: a South American country gets sucked into the capitalism of the West, because of its resources. Of course, this starts warping the society there; you're watching it happen.

It's an interestingly written book: always taking some weird perspective, lots of flashbacks, leaving things behind. You know ahead of time who makes it and who doesn't, because he tells you throughout the text. Odd hero as well: he won't marry the right chick / her dad kills him. Very odd ending for a book about something else

Worth it but I did have to flog through it.

Posted by Duff at 04:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for January.

Bought:

• None!! (None other than school books, anyway.)
  

Read:

• Night Child, by Jes Battis (library)
  
• This Is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper (library)
  
• Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar (library)
  
• A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle (re-read)
  
• The Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink
  
• Man Walks Into a Room, by Nicole Krauss
  
• Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde (library)
  
• Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
  
• The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
  

Posted by Duff at 09:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Readin'

January 23, 2010

Fantasy: Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar

This book is fantastic. The characters are hilarious and deep and interesting and quirky and the plot is both silly and serious and there's love stories and friendships and fights and just so much to love.

There were two small things that I felt were a bit surprisingly ... dropped off at the end (lacking sufficient explanation as to their closure). But that did not stop me at all from loving the ending the rest of the characters get.

Kalix is a fantastic character. I would be sorely tempted to use that name for my firstborn, were there going to be one (there isn't).

Highly recommended from me to you. (Recommended to me by someone on Flickr after they saw I had read and enjoyed The Good Fairies of New York.)

Posted by Duff at 10:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Best of November

The best movie I saw in November was nonexistent. :( Waah! I had no time to go to the movies! Too much studying to do!

The best book I read in November was a tie between two books by the same author Fire and Graceling by Kristin Cashore. They were FANTASTIC!!

The best gig I went to in November was the only gig I went to: it was Joseph Arthur and he was amazeballoons. Just overflowing with talent and creativity.

My favorite tunes in November, besides Joseph Arthur who I listened to constantly all month, were songs featured on my favorite show Sons of Anarchy like "Mary" by Patty Griffin and a cover of "Ruby Tuesday" by Katey Sagal. I also listened to a lot of Matt Hires, with some Shwayze thrown in for good measure.

Random personal highlights: Finally meeting Mary and Doug in person! YAY! Going to observe at classmates' schools: Freaky but good. My cousin Leslie visits!

Lowlights? Studying, writing, studying, writing, studying, writing. School is exhausting.

Posted by Duff at 09:45 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Tunes

Best of October

The best movie I saw in October was a tie between two Chicago Film Festival Flicks: SPY(IES) (ESPION(S) en francais) and Fish Tank. But I also really loved Whip It! and Zombieland.

The best book I read in October was The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson, a fantastic end to his trilogy!! And I also loved Liar, by Justine Larbalestier and The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean.

Random personal highlights: Chicago Film Festival. Dinner with the McCains (no, not THOSE McCains, my Chicago McCains). Getting our rooms reserved for Dragon*Con! PIE SHAKES ROAD TRIP!!! FTW!!! Jazz at the Cultural Center. Dinner at Meera & Ross' new place. Francesca stops by!!

Lowlights? Lots of frustrating emails trying to get my life at school straightened out. Always being given the runaround.

Posted by Duff at 09:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks

Best of September

The best movie I saw in September was...whoops! I didn't make it to the theater even once in September. How sad!! :(

The best book I read in September was a tie between Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins and White Time, by Margo Lanagan.

The best gig I went to in September was also nonexistent. My concert-going in 2009 was extremely LOW and 2010 is looking to be even lower. I may need to just eliminate this category in monthly write-ups!!!

My favorite tunes in September were albums from The Avett Brothers and Kid Cudi as well as songs from two of my favorite TV shows Sons of Anarchy and Glee.

Random personal highlights: DRAGON*CON!!!! Lauren & Peter's wedding! Saw Kevin Smith live ("an evening with" type).

Lowlights? Had to cancel going to Monolith; had a paper due.

Posted by Duff at 09:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Tunes

January 22, 2010

Fiction: Undiscovered Country, by Lin Enger

Our challenge book for December. Dad skipped out on this one (after I skipped out on November). :)

I liked it but didn't entirely love it.

Liked the MN winter setting. Liked the kid and his inner thoughts. Found some of the mom / kid stuff handled a bit weird. Liked the little brother stuff. Hated the girlfriend's dad storyline and found it a bit distracting. Some unexpected twists. I liked it better at the beginning than the end.

I would be interested in reading what Enger does next.

Now all I can think about is how long it's been since I've been out on a frozen lake visiting the ice fisherman. You would NOT even believe how much shit some of them put in their icehouses. I mean we're talking electric generator-powered heaters and TVs and all kinds of crazy stuff. NO JOKE!

Posted by Duff at 11:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, Readin'

Fiction: The Flying Troutmans, by Miriam Toews

A roadtrip novel! You KNOW how I feel about roadtrips, right? (PRO.) I also bought this book while on a road trip!

Just as with her earlier novel "A Complicated Kindness" (at least I think it was earlier. It was earlier for me!), this book is full of really quirky and quirkily strong characters. Unusual, unexpected, unpretentious.

Fun but sometimes exasperating and sometimes worry-inducing. The frustrations of family.

Although: when I read the blurb in the back about another book of hers "Summer of My Amazing Luck" the plot seems eerily similar to this one. (And by eerily I don't mean eerie, I mean, is she writing the same book again?)

Posted by Duff at 11:37 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: City of Thieves, by David Benioff

Thanks to Cathy for the loaner!

Really funny in the worst of circumstances. Both the main characters, Lev and Kolya, are completely engaging. Witty dialogue. Recommended.

I didn't realize he had also written the book (and the screenplay) "The 25th Hour" which I liked as a movie (maybe I'll go back and read the original now).

Posted by Duff at 11:32 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Letters: Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? by Preston Jones and Greg Graffin

subtitled: A professor and a punk rocker discuss science, religion, naturalism & christianity.

I found this book super annoying. While in many ways, I would agree more with Graffin's arguments, I thought he was being kind of a dick the whole time. You shouldn't agree to be in a CONVERSATION with someone if you aren't actually interested in conversing.

While Jones, the religous one, was coming at things from a "this is interesting to think about / it's interesting to hear other viewpoints and try reconciling them with my own and pondering" viewpoint, Graffin seemed to coming from a "what I think is right and you are wrong and I will just tell you YOU ARE WRONG over and over again" viewpoint.

Graffin seemed to only want to talk about THE EXACT FACTS and how anything else was RIDICULOUS; Jones was interested in exploring WHY do people believe, whether it's right or wrong. (It ain't all about the facts.) Most of the time, Graffin's response was basically "NO." Then why even respond? Why bother discussing it? It really didn't seem like he even heard the other point of view.

I mean, I understand. There's a reason I don't discuss politics with Republicans. I don't fucking care what they think. But I wouldn't bother writing back to their letters and saying "NOPE YOU'RE WRONG" everytime either.

Posted by Duff at 11:19 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short stories: Normal People Don't Live Like This, by Dylan Landis

Reminiscent of Betsy Crane's "All This Heavenly Glory" in that while these are short stories, they are all interrelated / they are all telling some bit of Leah's overall story.

An overall story about teenage-dom and cruelty and popularity and curiosity and loneliness and families.

Good. Bittersweet. Sometimes intense.

Posted by Duff at 11:14 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction/Mystery: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson

Read in October. Since I've been doing reviews in any old order...I'm almost caught up!! Yipee!!

Also known as Book 3 of the Millennium trilogy. I am SUCH a huge fan of this trilogy. I picked up book 1 on a whim. Blew through it like a crazy person. LOVE. Then I was so excited in Dublin last February to find book 2 already out there. Loved that one just as much. As SOON as book 3 was released in the UK, I ordered it from amazon.uk because HELLO I could NOT wait.

And it was completely worth it.

These are dark, nasty, sadistic books. They are also exquisitely plotted with seriously intelligent, persistent, strong and attractive (in more than one way) characters. They are entertaining and deep and completely fascinating and honestly it is so hard to get anything else done when you are reading them because you just do NOT want to put them down.

So bummed that there will be no more books by this dude (he died shortly after turning in all three manuscripts to his publisher) because they are some of the best books I've read in years.

Stieg Larsson and Tana French: revolutionizing the SMART mystery category. These are so far above genre books. Truly literature. Truly fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 11:04 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: Liar, by Justine Larbalestier

Yay thanks to Stephanie for sending me this for my birthday, because she knew of my love for Larbalestier's Magic or Madness trilogy.

This was SOOOO different than those books. And SOOOO GOOD. Such deeply written characters. Tangible emotions. Poignant. Sometimes funny. Very affecting.

As you move from section to section in this book, you get absolutely turned around. Fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 10:56 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fiction: The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean

Our challenge book for October. I can't remember what led us to pick this book; I know we (or I) read about it somewhere.

We both LOVED it. It doesn't hurt that we're both South Pole/Antarctic junkies and have already read lots of books on the topic/subject/area (including great books by Sara Wheeler! "Terra Incognita" and "Cherry").

Sym is so smart and fantastically imaginative. It's one of those books that, rather than having an unreliable narrator, it's a narrator who doesn't know everything but as she figures it out, the revelations start coming out fast and crazy and the whole world changes before your eyes. Her obsession with Captain Titus Oates is both humorous and touching.

There's some really sad stuff and some really amazing stuff and you are just ROOTING for certain things to happen...

Fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 10:46 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: Midnighters (Books 1-3), by Scott Westerfeld

A(nother) series by the guy who writes Uglies, Pretties, whatevers. I had read his stand-alone Peeps (but not the Uglies, Pretties, whatevers).

1: The Secret Hour
2: Touching Darkness
3: Blue Noon

These books are great. Our world...but with an extra hour that happens at midnight that only a select few are "awake" in. A band of losers whose common ground is the midnight hour, when it turns out they have a few special skills of their own.

I really loved these. I loved the members of the group (particularly Dess). I LOVED all the wordplay (fantastic!). I loved how the slithers seemed related to something deeply dark and ancient. I loved the transformation of the group and how their relationships changed.

I am really going to regret that I read most of these from the library. Definitely buying up the set when I have income again!!

Posted by Duff at 10:34 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Memoir: Toast, the Story of a Boy's Hunger, by Nigel Slater

I read (and loved) The Kitchen Diaries. I've cooked from his books "Appetite" and "Nigel Slater's Real Food". (His "unctuous" potatoes are delicious.)

But I guess I wasn't really prepared for the tone of this memoir. The bits about food are great. But some of the anecdotes made me really sad. And some were kinda creepy. He just put it all out there.

The ball aways hits me in the face or brings a shower of sand with it. My father sighs one of those almost imperceptible sighs that only fragile boys who regularly disappoint their father can hear.

It was brutally honest. I didn't love it. But you might.

Posted by Duff at 10:21 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Even Money, by Dick Francis (and Felix Francis)

Let me just put it out there that I LOVE DICK FRANCIS. I do. I LOVE most of his books. I got completely addicted to them the summer I lived in the UK with my cousins and I've never stopped reading (and re-reading) them since. I know they're all horse centered and I know some of the main characters are really similar and sometimes you really get the sensation of this just being one long ongoing story and I know they can be cheesy.... but I love his writing and I particularly LOVELOVELOVE "Bolt" and "Break In" and they are two of my very, very favorite all-time books....

But this book? "Even Money"? SUCKED. Worst Dick Francis I've ever read. I was sorely disappointed.

Read "Bolt" or "Break In" and know the love. Avoid this book like the plague.

Posted by Duff at 10:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Thriller: Ravens, by George Dawes Green

CPL (Chicago Public Library) was recommending this on their web site one day when I was online reserving books, and then Steven King recommended it in one of his EW columns.

I did not think it was good. Seemed super predictable. And I didn't find any of the characters interesting enough to care about. :(

Posted by Duff at 10:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFI: Mother of Storms, by John Barnes

A loaner from Anne, who's been borrowing all my books!!! ;) Hee hee just teasing. It came with the recommendation that it's one of her all-time faves so I was excited to delve in.

Totally wicked modern sci fi basically detailing a (slightly into the future but mostly "our") world falling into catastrophe set off by one tiny thing. It's so freaking BECAUSE IT SO COULD HAPPEN. I mean really the entire time you're reading it, you think "this is ENTIRELY plausible and it is FREAKING ME OUT!" Lots of characters in different storylines with loose connections; like the Robert Jordan books in that if you don't like certain characters, you just hang in there because the ones you like will have another chapter shortly...

Really entertaining. Really scarily plausible.

Posted by Duff at 10:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: The Sweep Series (Books 1 - 15), by Cate Tiernan

Since I've already read the Twilight set (yup, this one also) and the Stackhouse books, it seemed I should read these also.

1: Book of Shadows
2; The Coven
3: Blood Witch
4: Dark Magick
5: Awakening
6: Spellbound
7: The Calling
8: Changeling
9: Strife
10: Seeker
11: Origins
12: Eclipse
13: Reckoning
14: Full Circle
15: Night's Child

This series is focused on wicca, with no vampires!, so there are good witches and bad witches and it's primarily about a teenager girl named Morgan who discovered she's a blood witch and then becomes entangled in the magical world through successive boyfriends.

These were certainly entertaining and I really enjoyed the first 10 or so / I didn't like some of the later ones as much, particularly the one from Hunter's point of view...

But they had some of those same problems that a "YA series rushed out" tends to have. Too repetitious / too much explaining or "reminding" the reader of things that the reader JUST read like 20 pages ago, or in the previous book. Do YA editors think kids can't remember things? Because if they explained about being each other's mùirn beatha dàn (soul mate) one more fucking time, I was going to scream. [I enjoyed reading them anyway, but some of those things were really glaring, especially when you are reading so many of them one after the other.]

If you like reading about magic, and you like having that "all caught up in your emotions" teenage feeling again, then you will probably enjoy these! And if you are sick of vampires - they are vampire-free!! :)

Posted by Duff at 10:05 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 17, 2010

Fiction: A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy

Our September challenge book.

Dad really enjoyed it, I really did not.

It's an earlier Hardy (almost 20 years before Tess of the d'Urbervilles and more than that before Jude the Obscure) but its immaturities writing-wise really didn't bother me. And Dad's right, there is some really beautiful descriptive writing in it. (Some of the descriptions of the cliffs and the countryside would really take me away for a moment and I'd think "oh that sentence was lovely.")

But I found the characters, especially Elfride, and the plot and the ridiculous romantic contretemps -- all of which could have been avoided just by somebody opening up their mouth and being honest once in a while -- So. Fucking. ANNOYING! I mean, yes, I know, it's a thing of its time, and society was a very different animal and women had such a struggle to even be allowed to have opinions... YES I KNOW all that. That doesn't make me enjoy it any more or want to be more patient with it. I really never found anyone in the novel interesting enough or attractive enough to be more than irritated by their behavior and the events.

Dad on the other hand could find more sympathy for it. In his own words: I ended up liking it a lot--i think Hardy has the gift of life, always makes the characters live (for me, anyway). Did you notice he stopped being so maddeningly allusive as he got closer to the end--he started to trust his own tale and didn't need to refer to Hamlet, etc. And the way his poor people a) get stuck with carrying these torches of love beyond all reason and b) ALWAYS running into the wrong person or the wrong room or being seen in the wrong company. Poor Elfride!!!! Leaving that note for that ghastly woman!! What a schmuck Knight was. Also like Hardy's scenery, the way the places and landscapes become characters. Great cliff scene, no? And , for a Victorian, lots of erotic buzz.

Posted by Duff at 04:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: The English American, by Alison Larkin

I'd have to put this one in the "chick lit" category; there were some times it seemed about to rise above that...but it never wholly did. Story of a Brit who finds out her birth mother was American... Lots of interesting family / adoption stuff.

But also really annoying "things that Brits say about us that I have never experienced once in my almost 42 years of life as an American" stereotypes or psuedo witticisms. So every time I was enjoying reading it there would suddenly be something that just ticked me off. For example, I've never once made tea by heating water in a microwave for 30 seconds and then using the same tea bag for three mugs. In fact, no one has ever made me tea that way either. I'm sure you see what I mean: ANNOYING. Makes you want to go around your apartment shouting out random insults at the British.

There were things I liked about it. But I thought there were things that could have been done better.

Posted by Duff at 04:38 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi/Fantasy: The Travelers, by John Twelve Hawks

A really interesting mix of old traditions and modern technology. Very unexpected. Travelers (those who can move between realms) and Harlequins (those who protect them) and Pathfinders (their teachers) and the society that's out to destroy them all. And Ninja moves and surveillance and swords and motorcycles and skyscrapers and primitive utopian farms in the middle of nowhere. Really intriguing. Just couldn't put it down.

And at the very bottom of the last page it says "Book One of the Fourth Realm"...so I guess there's going to be a sequel! Yippee!

Posted by Duff at 04:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi/Fantasy: Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk

The third in a series (one, two) that I am really...into. These are sexy books with great imagery and interesting ideas. You can read it just for the one level, or you can read deeper; your choice. Mmmmmm.

Posted by Duff at 04:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 12, 2010

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2010 [Updated]

We have decided to do re-reads this year (or each book will be a re-read for at least one of us).

January: "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle

February: "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

March: "Rebel Angels" by Robertson Davies

April: "Possession" by A.S. Byatt

May: "The Fool's Progress" by Edward Abbey (new to me)

June: "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (new to Dad)

July: "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville

August & September: "His Dark Materials" (the trilogy) by Philip Pullman

October: "Sabbath's Theater" by Phillip Roth

November: "The Old Devils" by Kingsley Amis (new to me)

December: "King Hereafter" by Dorothy Dunnett (new to Dad)

Our 2009 and 2008 lists. (Our 2009 and 2008 reviews.) [Yes, I know I haven't finished posting 2009 yet. I will hopefully get all caught up this week!]

Posted by Duff at 01:57 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 10, DadReaction, Readin'

Mystery/Thriller: Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain

Third in the series (two,one).

These books are so fucking horribly sick and twisted and yicky and soooooo fucking good. A twisted pleasure.

Posted by Duff at 01:43 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Best of August

The best movie I saw in August was a tie between District 9 (fantastic!) and Inglourious Basterds (exhilarating!).

The best book I read in August was White Time by Margo Lanagan, followed closely by a pair of wolf books by Patricia Briggs. Wow, those are two authors I just love. You may note there are a few reads on that list from August that I'm just not even bothering to write up, mostly continuations of trade paperback mystery series. Bygones. A girl's gotta get caught up somehow.

The best gig I went to in August was The Knux' set at Lollapalooza. But, as with the rest of the year, there just hasn't been any real competition in this category. I read a LOT this year but I did not go to many shows.

My favorite tunes in August were... Damien Rice, apparently. I was mostly running around doing stuff like a crazy lady in August and not doing much listening.

Random personal highlights: My first month of unemployment in a million years. Ah, how refreshing. Also Rebecca came to visit! And school started. I joined Movie Dictators! I had a party! Greg taught us the BSG board game! Some cousins came for a weekend!

Lowlights? There was a wedding I couldn't attend. Otherwise I really don't remember. Ah, the wonder of time.

Posted by Duff at 01:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

Short stores: White Time, by Margo Lanagan

If you use that search bar over on the right and type in Lanagan, you will find this is an author I adore, this book no less than the rest. Some of these take place in that middle ages/medieval-ish type fantasy land and some are very, very modern. And my very favorite was "Wealth" which I have read over and over both because it's fantastic and because it feels like it's part of the same world as Hunger Games.

Posted by Duff at 12:48 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Happy All the Time, by Laurie Colwin

I have a friend who refers to Laurie Colwin books as "tomato soup and grilled cheese." They are usually quiet and somewhat reserved but really quirky and funny when you get to know them. She writes great dialogue that feels refreshingly real. I think Misty was my favorite character but really I would love to be friends with any of these people.

Posted by Duff at 12:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill

Our challenge book for August.

I liked it more than Dad did (he reports having to flog himself through it) but overall, as time has passed, it didn't leave that much of an impression. It felt like there was an awful lot of that male midlife meandering (the way Philip Roth and David Hodges novels are getting to be)... The modern stuff was a lot sharper, the drooling down memory lane stuff (moonings over mama and cricket) bored us both. Dude's wife was a totally infuriating character; that relationship was nearly inexplicable. We both liked Chuck but his role is weirdly peripheral and pivotal at the same time.

It was a decent enough book but we have no idea why it got the hype it did. I guess the 9/11 references were probably what brought it to people's attention. Eh.

This is what I've learned on the subject of women: never delay. The more quickly you act, the greater the chance of success.

Posted by Duff at 12:20 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Lit Quotes, Readin'

As one does.

"It's funny," said Daniel. "A few weeks ago, I'd never have expected to be wrapping a werewolf in a quilt and giving her a hot water bottle. Now it's almost second nature."

I am reading Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar and it is fantastic.

Posted by Duff at 11:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

January 04, 2010

Fantasy: The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar

Bought on a whim.

Really hilarious, irreverent, charming.

Posted by Duff at 01:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: This Is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper

Have looked at it in the bookstore a few times so picked it up when I saw it at the library the other day.

Three brothers, sister, insane mother all in different stages of romantic mess-ups sit shiva for their dad for a week and contretemps ensue.

Occasionally a bit crass but entertaining. Both funny and sad in parts, I liked the main character and I really loved Penny.

At some point you lose sight of your actual parents; you just see a basketful of history and unresolved issues. ...

Penny's honesty has always been like nudity in an action movie: gratuitous but no less welcome for it. ...

You can't let your dog crap on the sidewalk, but it's perfectly acceptable to blow carcinogens down other people's throats. Somewhere along the way, smokers exempted themselves from the social contract.

Posted by Duff at 01:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

SciFI/Fantasy: Night Child, by Jes Battis

A random library pickup.

Entertaining. Along the lines of "fantasy goes forensic".

But I thought some of the transitions were choppy / and seemed to have some editing issues / a character would seem to be replying to something that wasn't actually in the other character's dialogue.

Posted by Duff at 01:09 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

January 01, 2010

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for December.

Bought:

• The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar
  

Read:

• Blue Diablo, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Doubleblind, by Ann Aguirre (library)
  
• Undiscovered Country, by Lin Enger
  
• City of Thieves, by David Benioff
  
• The Flying Troutmans, by Miriam Toews
  
• A Plea for Eros, By Siri Hustvedt (essays)
  
• Marcher, by Chris Beckett (library)
  
• The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar
  

Posted by Duff at 11:44 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque

December 28, 2009

SciFi/Fantasy: Blue Diablo, by Ann Aguirre

By the author of the Sirantha Jax books (here and here), that's why I picked it up. Didn't like it as much. This is more a magical world rather than a sci fi world, so that may be part of it. Also: product placement in a fantasy novel? REALLY jumped out at me. Bizarre. I guess I just don't love this main character the way I love Sirantha.

Posted by Duff at 10:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi: Doubleblind, by Ann Aguirre

The third book in the Sirantha Jax series. I really love this character and this world but I felt a little disjointed for the first bit. I guess I didn't remember clearly enough what happened at the end of Book 2... And it's going to suck when Book 4 comes out and I can't go back and look at the end of this one again since I checked it out of the library! Oh woe is the unemployed student.

Love the action, love the world, love the Vel character. Really into this series.

Posted by Duff at 10:07 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

SciFi: Marcher, by Chris Beckett

Very cool sci fi that I picked up on a whim at the library. A little further ahead in a grimier version of our modern world, where the immigration problem has become "shifters", people who take a mysterious drug called "slip" that slips or shifts them into other, parallel universes. Charles is one of the immigration officers involved. Lots of cool thoughts about identity and choices and time and linearity. Very cool!

Posted by Duff at 09:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

December 27, 2009

Essays: A Plea for Eros, by Siri Hustvedt

I had read and really enjoyed Hustvedt's intense novel "What I Loved" (if you search for "Hustvedt" on this page you can hear more) and although I am not a big reader of nonfiction, one day in the bookstore this just insisted on coming home with me.

These are really interesting essays. My favorites were the literary ones - ponderings on The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald), The Bostonians (H. James) and Our Mutual Friend (Dickens) - and, as someone who was a New Yorker at the time, her essay on 9/11 from a NYer's point of view. The Minnesota stuff is all very familiar to me, I can picture those places not just from my own experiences in small towns there, and my undergrad experience at Gustavus (very similar to St. Olaf, where she went), but also from having been to many of the actual places.

She makes herself very vulnerable here. Way beyond anything I could ever commit to print. And at some points as similarly intense as in her fiction. Burning brightly.

Posted by Duff at 05:27 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

December 22, 2009

Fantasy: "Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire" both by Suzanne Collins

Another fantastic duo, I would recommend these just as highly as the Kristin Cashore books, but note that they are very, very different.

The dystopian universe here is almost Dickensian in its shadings (although with fewer of the finer details) and it definitely makes you, the reader, long for escape for these characters, for survival, for even just the littlest bit of hope.

Unexpectedly cruel with odd kindnesses. And, as in much YA, some growing up and self discovery along the way.

An adventure of endurance... You'll want to block off a day for these as you will find yourself unable to do anything else.

And if you've read the story "Wealth" in Margo Langan's "White Time" collection, it almost seems like they come from the same world. In fact, I drove myself insane for an entire afternoon trying to figure out where that story was from as they felt so much of a piece.

Posted by Duff at 07:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: "Graceling" and "Fire", both by Kristin Cashore

I absolutely loved these books; they sucked me right into their world and I didn't really ever want to leave. (A third book is being written.... Wahoo.)

A world where people have "talents" or "graces."

Graceling: a novel of growing up, of standing one's ground, of discovering the hidden layers, of coming to know oneself.

Fire: a different sort of animal, a story of someone already grown but not always allowed to grow, already knowing oneself, but coming to better know others.

Lyrically written, they both made me cry at points. They both made me yearn.

Note: Fire is a prequel but I'd say DEFINITELY read it second as it gives away something that you want to figure out more slowly as you read Graceling.

Posted by Duff at 07:23 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

December 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for November.

Bought:

• Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk*
  
• Graceling, by Kristin Cashore*
  
• The Gathering Storm, by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson*
  
• Hold Still, by Nina LaCour*
  
• Fire, by Kristin Cashore†
  
• Prophecy of the Sisters, by Michelle Zink
  
• The English American, by Alison Larkin
  
• The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks
  

Read:

• Toast, by Nigel Slater
  
• Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk
  
• Graceling, by Kristin Cashore
  
• Fire, by Kristin Cashore
  
• Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
  
• The English American, by Alison Larkin
  
• Normal People Don't Live Like This, by Dylan Landis
  
• The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks
  
• Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?, by Preston Jones and Greg Graffin
  

*Bought via 20% off coupon on National Bookstore Day!!
†30% off coupon

Posted by Duff at 01:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque

November 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for October.

Bought:

• The five books I bought in Iowa!
  
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson (book 3!!!)
  
• Toast, by Nigel Slater
  

Read:

• Sweep 12: Eclipse, by Cate Tiernan (cathy's)
  
• Sweep 13: Reckoning, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• Sweep 14: Full Circle, by Cate Tiernan (cathy's)
  
• Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness, by Scott Westerfeld (library)
  
• Sweep 15: Night's Child, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean
  
• Midnighters 3: Blue Noon, by Scott Westerfeld (library)
  
• Liar, by Justine Larbalestier
  
• Even Money, by Dick Francis (and Felix Francis) (iphone/kindle)
  
• Ravens, by George Dawes Green (library)
  
• Mother of Storms, by John Barnes (anne's)
  
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
  

Posted by Duff at 01:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

October 18, 2009

Best of July

The best movie I saw in July was Hurt Locker. I've seen it three times so far. I would love to see it again.

The best book I read in July was "The Death of Sweet Mister" by Daniel Woodrell. It really took my breath away.

The best gig I went to in July was EMPTY ORCHESTRA. They are great and I highly recommend you buy tickets if they come through your town.

My favorite tunes in July were (you guessed it) all from Empty Orchestra. And Ryan Auffenberg singing "Sellout" live. I would like to see him live.

Random personal highlights: Cinnamon fed me lots of cast-iron-y goodness, soon coming to bookstores near you; Brenda came to town for a visit, played more Settlers, Pam's band came through town, and I had my last day of work EVER. Or EVER for the foreseeable future.

Lowlights? Mammograms HURT. For rlz. And saying goodbye to people you might not even ever want to know in real life but happen to have known for 10 years which is longer than you've known some of your good friends in real life? Is hard.

Posted by Duff at 02:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

Seduced by Prairie Lights.

You may have heard about a wee lil roadtrip to Iowa we took on Friday. One of just several reasons (PIE SHAKES. PIE. IN A SHAKE.) to go to Iowa City was to hit up this great bookstore, Prairie Lights, recommended by one of my professors. I haven't been buying books at all in my unemployed state (borrowing! from various friends AND the library!) so I had given myself a $100 budget for the event. (I actually came out $10 under! Yay me! Aren't you proud of me for being so restrained?!?!)

• "The Flying Troutmans", by Miriam Toews - the first cople pages sucked me in. You may remember me reading another book by her a couple years ago.
  
• "The Turtle Catcher" by Nicole Helget - another writer I've read before (you can search for Helget on this old page) and a Minnesotan. I'm interested to see what her fiction is like.
  
• "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson - a YA selection. First few pages seem very intense. On a side note: I don't think it's a great decision to house the YA downstairs in what primarily looks like a (tiny, little wee) kids' playroom. I would have liked to see this section upstairs, maybe near the fantasy/sci fi section would be a good spot.
  
• "Normal People Don't Live Like This" Dylan Landis - a short story collection about young girls. Thanks again to Betsy Crane for getting me on the short story bandwagon these last few years. So pleasing sometimes to just be able to read a story and not have to set your book down and come back to it.
  
• "College Girl" by Patricia Weitz - Read a few pages. Seems a bit like Frankie Landau-Banks and a bit chic-lit-y and I really think I'm going to like it.
  

I can't wait to get readin'! After I finish some homework, that is...

Posted by Duff at 12:51 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lists

Romance/Fantasy: "Sea Witch", "Sea Fever" and "Sea Lord", all by Virginia Kantra

A trilogy about "selkies" / shapechangers who are seals in the water and humans on land / with some demons and intrigue thrown in for good measure.

Sexy, sexy fantasy. Mmmmm.

Perfect for some bedtime readin' on the iphone/Kindle.

Posted by Duff at 12:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Best of June

The best movie I saw in June was probably "Moon" but my favorite movie in June was "Away We Go".

The best book I read in June was "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem. Fantastic! I also really liked the short story collection "Emerald City" by Jennifer Egan.

The best gig I went to in June had to be a tie between Metric and Telekinesis!!! Being that I haven't been going to shows much at all this year, I wish I could remember more about those evenings! But hello June was a long time ago. I know we were standing at the back of the Metro for Metric and it was hot and sweaty but the sounds were great. Oddly I can't even remember who I went to Telekinesis with. Maybe I was drunk.

My favorite tunes in June were from "Back & Fourth" Pete Yorn's awesome, outstanding, lovely latest album. Gee, I guess I liked it.

Random personal highlights: the Settlers obsession continued; saw an amazing Gordon Parks exhibit; finally met a flickr friend (Meera!); went to a couple gigs.

Lowlights? I was still working then so I was still getting up at 4 a.m. every weekday. I KNOW that sucked. And my parents were in Illinois, but the days they were in Chicago I was in the 'burbs and vice versa, and I never managed to hook up with them.

Posted by Duff at 10:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

October 08, 2009

Fiction: The Death of Sweet Mister, by Daniel Woodrell

Woodrell's later book "Winter's Bone" was one of my very favorite books read in 2007 and I've finally gotten around to reading one of his earlier works.

This novel has a similar focus on a downtrodden, lonely teen in a harsh poverty-struck landscape. But this book is a LOT creepier than Winter's Bone and you are not (at all) left with the same sense of hope. That's not a denigration / more of a gentle warning.

Lovely lyrical rhythm to his writing. But woah to come to that end...

Posted by Duff at 10:34 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Nonfiction: In Defense of Food; An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan

Some of this book is entertaining, some of it's really impassioned about things I have a hard time feeling much oomph about, and overall it just really, REALLY made me want to eat a crapload of sugar. Which was not the authorial intent. :)

It was interesting and thoughtful, on one hand. On the other, isn't it a little sickening how intensely we insist on (over)analyzing each and every choice we make in every aspect of our lives these days? Sometimes a girl's just gotta LIVE, ya know.

Posted by Duff at 10:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray

Our challenge book for July and what a behemoth it was. As DadReaction described it: "Some gremlin keeps adding chapters to this sucker, so no matter how much I read there's still more to go. and more, and more, and more..."

It's weird how what we all remember / socially think / this book to be about is Becky Sharp yet in fact she disappears for chapters at a time, as sometimes do Dobbin and Amelia as well. (You could easily abridge about several hundred pages out of this thing and lose nothing of the main plot lines.) There are passages about which members of society are at a party that read as thrillingly as the genealogical sections of the bible.

GirlReaction: The problem with most of the older (in terms of when they were published!) books we've read this year is insipid heroines. I just get bored by the helpless female (Amelia) and the crafty female (Becky) is just as one-dimensional in her own way (although a bit more entertaining). I sometimes feel that as you read "old classics" you can pick out a bit of WHY they were so renowned in their time (or shortly afterward) but it seems very old hat now (i.e., the things that were original about them don't seem original if you happen to have read their (many, and later) imitators first).

DadReaction: Reminded of what Samuel Johnson said of Paradise Lost: everyone can see its value, but no one ever wished it longer. Amen. Becky, the one live wire, keeps vanishing--didn't you think it would be more about her? And the old men--Sedley and Osborne--are just monsters!! It's like suddenly you're in a Eugene O'Neil play. Very much an 18th century feel to the book, though. More like Tom Jones than , say, Great Expectations. Names too are tres 18th siecle: e.g., Castlemouldy. Dobbin's a complete idiot.

Posted by Duff at 10:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

October 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for September.

Bought:

• Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain (iphone/kindle)
  
• Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (iphone/kindle)
  
• Sweep 10: Seeker, by Cate Tiernan (iphone/kindle)
  
• Sweep 11: Origins, by Cate Tiernan (iphone/kindle)
  

Read:

• Evil at Heart, by Chelsea Cain (iphone/kindle)
  
• Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (iphone/kindle)
  
• A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy
  
• Sweep 1: Book of Shadows, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 2: The Coven, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 3: Blood Witch, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 4: Dark Magick, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 5: Awakening, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 6: Spellbound, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 7: The Calling, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 8: Changeling, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 9: Strife, by Cate Tiernan (sarah's)
  
• Sweep 10: Seeker, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• Sweep 11: Origins, by Cate Tiernan (library)
  
• Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfeld (library)
  

Posted by Duff at 02:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

September 17, 2009

Best of May

Oh good grief, I am so far behind on my own recordkeeping. Maybe I should toss it all!

The best movie I saw in May was Star Trek. I saw things that considered themselves more important than that movie, but they didn't live up to their own forecasts.

The best book I read in May was a three-way tie between The Dart League King by Keith Lee Morris and two really awesome sci-fi books: Wanderlust and Grimspace both by Ann Aguirre. But you know, unlike with going to shows, I've been reading a LOT this year (June was the first month of 2009 to see me read under fewer than 10 books), and for the most part I have really liked the stuff I've been reading. So you know, pinning it down is a bit...silly. Mayhaps. :)

The best gig I went to in May doesn't exist (as with April and March). (I have NOT been going to shows this year. Not sure what's happening there.)

My favorite tunes in May were new albums from Telekinesis!, Eminem, Green Day and Phoenix. Perhaps I'll get caught up on album reviews soon and come back and give ya a link. ;)Write-up here.

Random personal highlights: Carrie came to visit!! YAY YAY YAY!. Oh and I went to MDS&W [again]. Went to a goodbye party for Naz & Jen [again]. And I went down south to spend some time with my cousins and celebrate Kasey graduating nursing school yipee!!

Lowlights? My aunt Anita died. (SO glad I got to see here at the aforementioned trip south, just two weeks earlier.)

Posted by Duff at 03:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

Best of April

Oh good grief, I am so far behind on my own recordkeeping. Maybe I should toss it all!

The best movie I saw in April was Sunshine Cleaning. Not mindblowing but certainly worth seeing.

The best book I read in April was Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Really intense and thoughtful. Wasn't totally thrilled with the ending, but that wasn't enough to make me stop thinking about it and recommending it to people.

The best gig I went to in April doesn't exist (as with March). (I have NOT been going to shows this year. Not sure what's happening there.)

My favorite tunes in April were new albums from Gomez and Great Lake Swimmers, two of my very favorite bands. And my favorite single was "Lights Off" The Dears.

Random personal highlights: I paid a visit to my friends in Milwaukee. Was that the month the Settlers of Catan craziness started? I think it may have been. One of several goodbye parties for Jen & Naz (fun party, sad occasion.

Lowlights? You know, at this point, really, I don't remember! Fortunately for my mental health, I tend to only jot down the good things.

Posted by Duff at 02:51 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

Best of March

Oh good grief, I am so far behind on my own recordkeeping. Maybe I should toss it all!

The best movie I saw in March was The Reader which I was oddly unprepared for the subject matter of but thought Winslet's performance was really tour de force.

The best book I read in March was... Wow that one is really hard to narrow down (especially after all this time!). I'm going to call it a tie between "City of Refuge" by Tom Piazza, which was really heartbreaking fictionally as the Katrina situation was in real life; "Bone Crossed" by Patricia Briggs, because honestly that woman cannot write a book that doesn't keep me up all night savoring every word; and "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson, a satisfying sequel that had me on the edge of my seat.

The best gig I went to in March doesn't exist. (I have NOT been going to shows this year. Not sure what's happening there.)

My favorite tunes in March were new albums from Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Boy Least Likely To, and U2 and I was really digging these singles (still am, frankly): "Afterglow" Kate York, "Airport Surroundings" Lonely, Dear, and "Sweet Dream" Greg Laswell.

Random personal highlights: I applied for a ginormo lifechange which you may know I am now about four weeks into; Lauren and I went on a photowalk in the wastelands of downtown Chicago; awesome dinner out w/ Monica, Jen and Cinnamon (all part of Jen's extended goodbye series); and I'm not even sure at this point what some of the notations in my calendar mean so we'll just leave it at that.

Lowlights? Who knows. It was just so long ago now! :)

Posted by Duff at 02:34 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

September 16, 2009

Fantasy/Mystery: "Cry Wolf" and "Hunting Ground", both by Patricia Briggs

I've talked a LOT about Patricia Briggs here, all of whose books I love, particularly the Mercy Thompson series.

These books take place within the same universe, concentrating on events in Bran's pack instead, particularly his son Charles. While I think they discussed the concept vaguely in the Mercy books, these books also focus on Anna, who is an "omega", a sort of "powerful submissive" who can stand up to alphas in a way no other wolves can.

Just as with the Mercy books, the action is great, the romance is great, they feel very real and believable and oh my god I cannot wait for her to write another one!!!!!

Posted by Duff at 11:01 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

August 31, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for August.

Bought:

• Sea Lord, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• My Life in France, by Julia Child
  
• Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child, by Noel Riley Fitch
  
• Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Hunting Ground, by Patricia Briggs
  

Read:

• Sea Fever, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Sea Lord, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Netherland, by Joseph O'Neill
  
• Carved in Bone, by Jefferson Bass
  
• Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Happy All the Time, by Laurie Colwin
  
• Hunting Ground, by Patricia Briggs
  
• White Time, by Margo Lanagan (stories)
  

Posted by Duff at 10:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

August 04, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for July.

Bought:

• Sea Fever, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Haley's Cabin, by Anne Rainey (iPhone/kindle)
  

Read:

• Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
  
• In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
  
• The Death of Sweet Mister, by Daniel Woodrell
  
• Sea Witch, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/kindle)
  
• Mark of the Demon, by Diana Rowland (iPhone/kindle)
  

Posted by Duff at 08:12 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

July 17, 2009

Short stories: Emerald City, by Jennifer Egan.

I read Egan's (fairly) recent book "The Keep" right before I moved all my book thoughts over to this page (see it right at the top of the old readin page), but I think this collection was published well before that novel.

I thought these were great. Unexpected and tense. The main characters are often in moments of conflict or deception. Very different from each other. And all very finely detailed.

Posted by Duff at 06:02 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

SciFi: Old Man's War by John Scalzi

I've been reading his blog for awhile (have gotten some great recommendations from it) so I decided to try out his (from a while ago) debut.

It felt sooooo familiar that I kept checking my lists over and over to see if I had read it before and finally I realized that it was just really (REALLY) reminding me of Haldeman's The Forever War. The difference for me being that it doesn't have the strong underlying anti- (or "futility of") war message. i.e., This one is more about the surface story.

Decently written but the dialogue felt very stiff to me. One of the blurbs inside calls it "The Forever War with better sex."

I think I'll like sequel The Ghost Brigades better, when I get around to that one, as that's the part of this story that interested me the most.

Posted by Duff at 05:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

In the end, I wound up liking this book. But if you had to choose only one of her books to read, Sharp Objects is by far the better.

It took me a while to really get involved in the story. And it didn't have the really intense (and awesome) imagery that Sharp Objects had, nor the inviting main character. The mystery seemed much more ordinary to me / not as creative.

However, at a certain point, I really couldn't put it down. And even the things about it I was disappointed in were still well-written. Similarly to Sharp Objects, however, there is a lot of really, really icky family stuff. So, you know, if you can't handle that, well, you may want to avoid this.

Posted by Duff at 05:49 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Lethem

Our June challenge book.

We both just TOTALLY loved this book. So much fantastic word play. Great plot, nice details on the L.I.C./BQE area of NYC. A completely original take on this type of book, just takes it to another level.

As DadReaction put it: you know, I usually don't enjoy bizarre narrators but I really--EAT ME, MINNAWEED--like Lionel--and the unlocking of the Tourette's experience is just dazzling (like when he talks about the environments that calm him). Balmslim. Slamkill. Allmiss. Really good.

Also (GR here again) reminded me of the character Adah from Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (a great book and to my mind by far the best Kingsolver book).

Posted by Duff at 05:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

SciFi/Fantasy: Magic in the Blood, by Devon Monk

The follow-up to Magic to the Bone.

I continue to really love the tattoo imagery in these books and the specifics of the magical world created here. There really wasn't enough Zayvion in this one though. I hope he has more to do in Book 3 (I hope there is a Book 3!)

Posted by Duff at 05:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Another Tournament of Books find.

Really fast read, the print in this sucker is HUGE. And it's got that "thick book / but huge print / too short" YA thing going on. That said, I pretty much totally loved it.

Smart college girl. Questionable boyfriend. Secret Society at pseudo-Ivy League school. Really a LOT of fun.

Posted by Duff at 05:26 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Dart League King, by Keith Lee Morris

As with City of Refuge, bought after reading about it at the Tournament of Books.

I really didn't have that much an idea of what to expect, and this book just got better and better as it went along. As each chapter unfolded, you realize the story is actually about something completely different than you were expecting. Expertly drawn small-town dramas, this all felt so familiar and so real.

It really takes talent to make you care about characters that are in many ways not very attractive people. Loved it!

Posted by Duff at 05:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

SciFi: "Wanderlust" and "Grimspace" both by Ann Aguiree

I can't remember now if I read about these somewhere or if I just came across them in the bookstore but I loved them! Ann Aguirre may be my next go-to sci fi writer (after Patricia Briggs and Elizabeth A. Lynn).

A female space pilot who navigates faster-than-light ships telepathically through "grimspace". An intergalactic corporation whose monopoly may be coming to an end. A hot mystery man. Mmmmmm.

These books were a lot of tightly plotted fun with sassy dialogue to boot. I really hope there's going to be another one in the series!!! (In the meantime, I have bought another book by Aguirre with a different setting/heroine.)

Posted by Duff at 05:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Dracula, by Bram Stoker

Dad's and my challenge book for May and a re-read for me from grad school (the first time around!).

It was really interesting to go back and re-read this now, when vampires are such a hot topic: between Twilight and True Blood, they're all over the place. But this? This is back when vampires weren't sexy, or intriguing, or sparkly, or helpful to humans, or any of the other modern twists. (You know how every new vampire series needs to put its own twist on the old legends. Which I find it a bit of an authorial conceit.)

They were scary and murderous and preyed on you and sometimes, if you were really unlucky, turned you to evil. There is menace and malice creeping out the seams of this book. It did get annoying (to both of us) how the men just fawn over the poor innocent women...it's definitely a novel "of its time" as they say.

Kept running into notes I had scrawled in the margins in whatever class I read this for (while getting a Literature MA): "This symbolizes the marriage ceremony" or "refers to King Lear". Heh. Funny to come across those although most of it is stuff that you could easily still enjoy the book without knowing.

Dad and I also talked about how similar it felt to Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde which you may remember us reading earlier this year. As Dad mentioned, the multiple points of view, groping for the story, etc.

Some additional comments from DadReaction: Didn't being AND becoming a vampire seem a LOT more complicated than the movies let on? To wit, Drac seems to be able to be out in daylight, he just has less power--and WAY less at sunrise and sunset. Then it seems like there are all sorts of transition stages to become one if you're a victim--but you DON'T want to predecease Drac! No way!! That's like a 'get out of jail free' card in monopoly, no? You skip the steps, even if the death is from natural causes--or, what?

Interesting, though, that it's IMPOSSIBLE to read without filling in the blanks from all the movies you've seen. I keep wanting to tell the characters: 'It's a vampire, you morons!!!" And how weird, that van Helsing talks like Yoda.

I did get tired--o Lord, weary, weary--of all the FAWNING over Mina, those long adulatory passages from Herr Yoda.

Posted by Duff at 04:59 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: All Summer, by Claire Kilroy

Bought on the Dublin trip as well.

A story that kind of swirls around you, with bouts of amnesia, an unreliable narrator, and a mysterious crime (or two) that took place before the novel's start. Creepy and tense and really good.

Posted by Duff at 04:11 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

July 09, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Mostly drinking. Black Cherry Soda. Yummers.

Making: Gaaah, have fallen off the wagon on all craft projects but will hopefully finish up an overdue baby quilt this weekend. Send me some motivation, puh-lease.

Reading: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. Ah, yes, the BIG 'UN of our challenge books this year. It's actually going pretty fast when I actually read it...but have been doing a lot of El train crossword-ing so I haven't quite devoted myself to it yet. But I like it more than I expected to!

Watching: Finally finished Band of HottiesBrothers. Sigh. So Good. Warehouse 13 just started; I liked the first one! At least enough to keep watching.

Listening to: Pete Yorn "Back and Fourth". Empy Orchestra "Here Lies Empty Orchestra". Fuel/Friends latest mix. Eminem.

Failing at: Not freaking out.

Posted by Duff at 08:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

July 08, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for June.

Bought:

• The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (for iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• 13 Bullets, by David Wellington (for iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• Mark of the Demon, by Diana Rowland (iPhone/Kindle)
  
• Sea Witch, by Virginia Kantra (iPhone/Kindle)
  

Read:

• Gone Tomorrow: A Reacher Novel, by Lee Child (on iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• Magic in the Blood, by Devon Monk
  
• Motherless Brooklyn, by Jonathan Lethem
  
• Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn
  
• Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
  
• 13 Bullets, by David Wellington (on iPhone/Kindle!)
  
• Emerald City, by Jennifer Egan (short stories)
  

Posted by Duff at 05:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

June 25, 2009

I know the feelin'.

"It's funny," she said, narrowing her eyes. "There are things you're just positive will happen to you. Then there's that second when you realize, Jesus Christ. Maybe they won't."

-from "Passing the Hat" by Jennifer Egan (short story published in "Emerald City" collection).

Posted by Duff at 07:52 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

June 11, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: At Lula, tonight. I'm excited; I've never been!

Making: A bullshit annoying stupid summer shirt thingamabop. How do I always forget how much sewing clothes FUCKING SUCKS. I need to stick to quilts.

Reading: "Dark Places", by Gillian Flynn. I LOVED (her earlier/first novel) Sharp Objects, but this book is much more....conventional? Sort of? Its main mystery is more conventional and it doesn't have as interesting or as strong of imagery as SO. But after picking it back up this week, I really haven't been able to put it down.

Watching: Reruns of NCIS. or CSI. whichever's on. And I'm going to a screening of MOON on Monday: can't wait!!

Listening to: New albums from Eminem, Green Day, Telekinesis!, Gomez, Phoenix, and shitloads of random singles, especially the Glee cast cover of "Don't Stop Believin' ", Iron & Wine doing New Order's "Love Vigilantes" and random old, nasty nasty songs like "Crazy Bitch" by Buckcherry.

Failing at: Staying upbeat. Being patient. Imagine the shitstorm when the lack of those collides. My brain is a bad place to be!

Posted by Duff at 11:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 06, 2009

Fiction: Eureka Street, by Robert McLiam Wilson

Bought in Dublin.

Really liked this book. Set in Belfast. Two down-n-out friends. Chuckie Lurgan, protestant, and Jake Jackson, catholic. They're so scruffy and downtrodden, one would have to call them anti-heroes. It's sarcastic and crass and rough and funny and unexpected. Very enjoyable.

Posted by Duff at 11:36 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery/Fantasy: The Sookie Stackhouse books (all of 'em so far), by Charlaine Harris

So, scattered throughout April and May, a few here, a few there, I have made my way through all the Sookie Stackhouse books published so far (the basis behind HBO's True Blood series).

1. Dead Until Dark
2. Living Dead in Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead as a Doornail
5. Definitely Dead
6. All Together Dead
7. From Dead to Worse
8. Dead and Gone (read on my iPhone/Kindle app! instead of having to buy hardcover, yay!)

They are certainly entertaining although sometimes quite predictable. Harris puts her own twist on the vampire genre by outing vampires to the real world thanks to the Japanese development of a synthetic blood drink almost as good as the real thing.

I like Sookie, although I think sometimes she is painted more vapid than others, depending on the needs of that storyline. It cracks me up that OF COURSE she begins the series as a virgin (every vampire story needs a virgin) but (again OF COURSE) soon finds sex the Best. Thing. Ever (you KNOW how good vampires are at sex. come on!). I love that while finding her a new person to sleep with in quite a few of the books, Harris continues to really underline Sookie's naive, good-girl status.

I like the mysteries, I haven't found them as obvious as I feared, and there are some supporting characters I really enjoy. But at their best, these are "entertaining". And I need them to be a LOT longer.

There's a lot of discussion (in the 365 knitter/crafter world anyway!) as to whether they're better written than the Meyer books. I'd have to say they're differently written / not necessarily better or worse. In terms of actual well-writtenness, I'd recommend the Cassandra Clare books over either of these sets, really.*

But it IS nice to read the Sookie books which are all clearly, despite Sookie's protected innocent status, very much more adult comedies. Sometimes the teenybopper books can get toooo angsty. Sookie rarely keeps angst hanging around very long.

ETA: And Sookie, unlike Bella, is quite capable of taking care of herself. She is an unexpectedly self sufficient heroine, for someone so often pictured as naive in the ways of the world.

*But if you're looking for actual very well-written adult fantasy books, then you need to be reading Patricia Briggs. They are less vampire-focused but they're really "tight". The Mercedes books are modern-day but if you want "fantasy medieval feelin' worlds", she writes those too.

Posted by Duff at 10:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: The Three Evangelists, by Fred Vargas

Bought in Dublin, although Vargas is a French writer. Sil said her stuff can be hard to find.

This was almost a philosophical mystery. For a LOT of this book, very little is taking place but people are thinking and talking and wondering and hypothesizing. The characters are a real collection of oddballs, thrown together nearly by chance.

Quite enjoyable and quirky.

Posted by Duff at 10:52 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Tell No One, by Harlan Coben

I think this was loaned to me by Mariko. Or did I buy this? Can't remember.

A stand-alone mystery (not part of his Myron Bolitar series. You may remember I've sort of lost my patience with those.) I liked some of this, found some of it frustrating, and thought the plot ultimately suffered from too many twists of the very same moment. It was OK. Eggplant, do you want this book back?

Posted by Duff at 10:48 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson is the author picked to finish up Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and I thought I'd like to read something he'd written on his own before those start rolling out (the final book is being spilt into three with the first one coming out Nov 3. yay!).

This was his debut novel and also, somewhat unusually for fantasy, it's a stand-alone so a good one to read when you're not necessarily looking to get thrown into yet another fantasy series... :)

There's a city of magic that was mysteriously corroded; there's a new religion rising; there are politicians who've stopped caring about the body politic; and there's an arranged marriage that fell apart before it even started. Intrigue and magic and religious furor and HOPE really is the thing this book is about. Really enjoyed it.

Posted by Duff at 10:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris

Our challenge book for April.

GirlReaction: We both came to really like it in the end, Dad perhaps a bit more than me, but it was a bit of a struggle to get into. There were times when I felt he played a little fast and loose with the third-person narrative: i.e., if "we over here" don't like "those people over there" they should be "they"s not also another set of "we"s. And I wonder if this book will have a lasting legacy; it's VERY much a book of its time: of a world with "Office Space" and "The Office" and layoffs and recession/depression (and bonus for me: set in Chicago!).

DadReaction, first: Weirdest response: read one paragraph and thought 'going to like this'. read two paragraphs and thought 'can't go on'--happens everytime I pick it up!! There seems to be an underlying suicidal depression about it--maybe it takes me back to when I was desperately job hunting when you guys were tiny. Tres traumatic.

GirlReaction: That may have been part of my struggle with the book as well: my current-day frustrations with the bureaucratic office environment and at the point we were reading this, I had not yet given notice and it did seem each day like I might just be there forever, until I eventually died there and why am I reading a book about people just as unhappy as me.... Arggghhhhhh. However, at some point I did find my way to enjoying the characters and all their many tics and nuances, and I thought it really picked up after a bit. Really enjoyed the Lynn-centric section and the way that really evolved the action.

DadReaction, second: Finished the book of the month. Okay: officially declaring this the best book I've read this year. Amazing effects, some wallops. So weird that it was so hard to get into. But it did take off, as you PROMISED. More than that, though: really mesmerizing use of the 'we'--it gave the narration a real spaciousness, as though this stuff was always happening, the way you really do feel at work, when it seems like you've been telling the same jokes forever. Great comic moments, but a real dive into seriousness--esp. with the Lynn episode, but also when you really believe Tom Mota COULD be blowing people away.

Some very teasing character developments, with Joe Pope and Jim and Amber and Larry, who all seem kind of throw away when they first come round but then he keeps circling them and they all kind of come alive. Oh, and then it was cool that he would mention other people you never heard of, just the way you do when you're telling work tales.

What else? I'm starting to think we should declare a moratorium--wait, no, an outright, absolute BAN on all references to September 11, 2001--because, folks, there really have been worse disasters in history and it's only the infantile Americans who don't seem to realize that. Or realize that we have killed more people in its wake than we want to admit.

But that said, I loved the leap at the end with Hank's novel and the VERY nice touch that it wasn't this entire novel but only the part about Lynn. But the greatest part WAS the way the 'we' sort of surrounded you without ever becoming focussed and that wonderful, wonderful last line with just 'you and me' left. That's from the Muse her ownself.

Oh, and wasn't Janine sitting in the McDonald's play area just a crushing image--and those jerks staring at her, and Joe calling them on it, and then they really feel their primal jerkiness. I thought a lot of it was LIKE Kafka but more fetching than Kafka, less distant and more able to draw you in, but still the same strangeness. And how about Benny's totem pole?!! (Tres glad Marcia and Benny linked up.)

But now: ALL THAT SAID--why does it seem like IT REALLY DOES TAKE FOREVER TO READ!!!!!!?????????? I felt like I'd never get through it, even as I enjoyed each moment. (To be fair, my own exhaustion could have played a part in that.)

Posted by Duff at 10:26 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

YA/Fantasy: City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare

The third book of the Mortal Instruments trilogy (book 1 here and book 2 here).

I loaned this book out since finishing it so I can't flip through it to refresh my memory. I liked it; I was SO HAPPY to find out that the thing I thought was a lie throughout the first two books was indeed false. I thought it had some cool mythical fights and some touching moments. Maybe not quite as strong as book 1, but certainly a worthy end to the story. I'll be looking to read what Clare does next, certainly.

Posted by Duff at 10:23 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Compromise vs Development

"Compromise, eh? Isn't it sad, growing up? You start off like my Charlie. You start off thinking you can kill all the baddies and save the world. Then you get a little bit older, maybe Little Bee's age, and you realize that some of the world's badness is inside you, that maybe you're a part of it. And then you get a little bit older still, and a bit more comfortable, and you start wondering whether that badness you've seen in yourself is really all that bad at all. You start talking about ten percent."

"Maybe that's just developing as a person, Sarah."

I sighed and looked out at Little Bee.

"Well," I said. "Maybe this is a developing world."

-from "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave

Posted by Duff at 10:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

Fiction: Little Bee, by Chris Cleave

LOVED it. My third favorite book so far this year (preceded by #1 and #2).

I thought his previous novel was good: intense and unexpected. But this book just went to an entirely higher level. Completely swept me away.

A British woman crosses paths with a young African girl. And then we hear how their story started. And nothing was ever the same again. Really lovely.

Posted by Duff at 10:12 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Memoir: The Pianist, by Wladyslaw Szpilman

Borrowed from Lauren & Peter. A Holocaust memoir. What a crazy combination of luck, intelligence, and kindness helped Szpilman to survive the devastation. Very moving.

Posted by Duff at 10:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: The Feminists Go Swimming, by Michael Collins

Bought in Dublin, Collins is a writer I've read in the past and often had a hard time finding his books in the US (I've occasionally ordered them from Amazon UK) so I was on the lookout for him.

These stories are such a unique combination of funny and harsh: you're sometimes embarrassed to be laughing at the funny parts, particularly as they're so quickly followed by the serious and dark.

Catholics dealing with the prophesised end of the world; the portioning out throughout the day as an alcoholic drinks himself to death... I think my favorite may have been "The Horses" where a man is a wildly accurate race picker to no benefit to himself.

Posted by Duff at 09:59 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Circle of the Dead, by Ingrid Black

Bought by Silvia on our trip to Dublin.

Entertaining enough; I enjoyed the brusque "what the author thinks is Americanness" of Saxon's character. But it was a bit convoluted and one of those mysteries with too many twists, to the point where it becomes not very believable.

Posted by Duff at 09:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza

Bought after reading about it at the Tournament of Books (where it made it to the final round but lost to Toni Morrison's latest).

There are really three storylines here: Craig and his middle-class white family; SJ and his lower-class black family; and the historical facts of Hurricane Katrina. They pretty much trade off chapters throughout and in the beginning of the book, I definitely found the "fact" chapters a bit distracting; taking me away from the action to just recite numbers. But toward the end of the book, I found them a welcome emotional relief; a way to ground yourself in the reality of how many people this actually happened to.

I thought it was a great book, perhaps made more weighty by being woven in to such a recent past. The characters and their struggles with moving on vs turning back felt very real to me.

Clearly Piazza loves New Orleans, and continues to struggle with the thought of his city in destruction. Huffencoopers, have you read this yet? I think you'd love it.

Posted by Duff at 09:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

June 05, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Today: nothing. Tomorrow: a cake like this one, I hope.

Making: Good week for dreaming of projects a-plenty. Bad week for actual crafting.

Reading: Just started this month's challenge book: "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem. Loving all the Tourettes' word experiments.

Watching: New season of Burn Notice, yippee. Also about to start in on the Band of Brothers DVDs. For real this time.

Listening to: "Orange Sky" and "All of My Days" (Alexi Murdoch, both) back to back to back. Thanks to seeing "Away We Go" last night (a: it was AWESOME and b: Murdoch was basically the entire soundtrack), I just can't listen to anything else.

Failing at: Focus. Control. Willpower. The usual.

Posted by Duff at 08:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for May.

Bought:

• Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• From Dead to Worse, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre
  
• What We Eat When We Are Alone, by Deborah Madison & Patrick McFarlin
  
• In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
  
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery
  
• Blue Diablo, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Wanderlust, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris (for kindle/iphone!)
  
• Gone Tomorrow: A Reacher Novel, by Lee Child (for kindle/iphone!)
  

Read:

• Dead as a Doornail, by Charlaine Harris
  
• The Dart League King, by Keith Lee Morris
  
• Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• From Dead to Worse, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Wanderlust, by Ann Aguirre
  
• Dracula, by Bram Stoker (re-read)
  
• All Summer, by Claire Kilroy
  
• Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris
  

Posted by Duff at 09:00 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

May 05, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for April.

Bought:

• City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
  
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
  
• The Dart League King, by Keith Lee Morris
  
• Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Dead as a Doornail, by Charlaine Harris
  

Read:

• Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
  
• City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris
  
• Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
  
• Tell No One, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Three Evanglists, by Fred Vargas
  
• Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris
  
• Eureka Street, by Robert McLiam Wilson
  
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
  

Posted by Duff at 06:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

April 21, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: I'm drinking so many calories, there is no room left for eating. Bygones.

Making: Finishing the second of the two baby boy quilts. And an awesomely cute pair of wrist warmers that are sadly not for me. Sigh.

Reading: Another Dublin purchase "Eureka Street" by Robert McLiam Wilson. It's self deprecating and fun and I quite like both the scruffy narrators/heros.

Watching: All the TV there is available to watch. Plus lots of old movies on random cable channels now that I got rid of all my 975 movie channels, in a preemptive "I may have no income soon" move. Oldies like Top Gun. Ah, Top Gun.

Listening to: New Great Lake Swimmers "Lost Channels" which I LOVE; new U2 "No Line on the Horizon" which I like a lot of; and an awesome new playlist made by yours truly on which I mixed in a few oldies more than my norm. Shouldn't EVERY song sample the BeeGees? SHOULDN'T THEY ALL? Want a new mix? Got something I'd like in trade? E-mail me and we'll see.

Failing at: Restraining addictions. Of many kinds.

Posted by Duff at 07:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, Tunes

April 12, 2009

Fantasy: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

Soooooo good.

I bought this after reading about it on John Scalzi's blog.

Tactile and intense. Made me cry on the El train. I felt like I was in Mary's head. I could barely put it down.

Wow, what a book. Spring 2010 is tooooo long to wait for the next one! Too long!

Sure, you won't be able to read it without thinking of M. Night Shymalan's The Village (a movie most people hated but I loved mostly for Joaquin's quietly brooding performance. That scene where they're on the porch? Sigh.), but just put it out of your mind as the similarities are only circumstantial.

Posted by Duff at 01:47 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Poetry: Domestic Violence, by Eaven Boland

Another Dublin purchase/Irish author. My dad introduced me to Boland a few years ago.

As intense and personal as the work of Sharon Olds, these also have highly literary sensibilities and allusions, along the lines of Anne Carson (but perhaps more approachable for the lay person).

Not just because books of poetry tend to be slim, but also because poems reach further into you with each reading, I tend to not put a book of poetry on the list as "finished" until I've read it five or six times over a few days. These are poems I could read for months and not be done with.

From "Indoors":
Find me a word for love. Make it damp. Sinuous companion,
knowing how to enter, settle in wood, salt the sheets
with cold, saying by this that we could never be
anything but an island people.

From "Letters to the Dead":
How many daughters stood alone at a grave,
and thought this of their mothers' lives?
That they were young in a country that hated a woman's body.
That they grew old in a country that hated a woman's body.

Posted by Duff at 01:25 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Flesh and Bone, by Jefferson Bass

The first book of this forensic mystery series, of which I've already read the second. Since the second book is very contiguous, I already knew the outcome of this book. But it was well-written enough that it still felt suspenseful to me. The dialogue in the scenes between Jess and Brockton was really enjoyable.

Jess's mixture of scholarly erudition and quirky irreverence always caught me by surprise, like topspin on a serve in tennis or Ping-Pong.

Posted by Duff at 01:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Cookbook: A Homemade Life, Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg

Not every cookbook has more to read than recipes and pantry stocking ideas. So in a way this reminded me of Nigel Slater's Kitchen Dairies (love that book!) which also, in a different way, gives you context around the recipes. In this book, however, the context for each recipe is a memory.

It's a eulogy to her father, a memoir of her childhood, a record of courtship with her now husband, and a engaging testament to the importance certain meals can take one due to the events surrounding them.

Great quote (I'm sure you'll know why I like it):
I soon learned that Sam consumes books the way most of us consume food, which, though I do prefer to eat, is a quality I much admire.

A discussed, but not present recipe I hope is on her web site somewhere: the chocolate "rad" (cookie).

Recipes I have dog-eared to potentially try first: Bouchons au Thon, Rum Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, Chana Masala, Custard-Filled Corn Bread, Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.

Place I need to go in Paris: L'As due Fallafel, "purveyor of some of the finest fried chickpea balls this side of Israel."

Posted by Duff at 01:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Food, Readin'

Fiction/Mystery: The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson

Very excited to find this for sale in Dublin in February (won't be released in U.S. until July 28), this is the followup to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, one of my favorite books from last year.

I really liked it. But there's a bit of a sadistic streak in these books that may not be palatable for everyone and there's a bit more of it in this book as Lisbeth's former life takes a much bigger role this time around.

Highly recommend both of these. They are really smart, really tightly plotted and interesting from many different angles.

Random quote I enjoyed (As Lisbeth reads some private police reports via computer hacking): It proved once again the theory that no security system is a match for a stupid employee.

Posted by Duff at 01:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy/Mystery: Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs

Book #4 in the Mercy Thompson series (see Book #3 here).

This series continues to get better and better. The Mercy/Adam relationship continues to evolve. The mysteries/dangers in these books are intriguing, well plotted and satisfying. There just isn't anything NOT to love.

You should be reading this series.

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Short Stories: Antarctica, by Claire Keegan.

A Dublin purchase (Irish author) from my favorite Dublin bookstore: Hodges Figgis.

These stories were really good. But they're not happy go lucky. Intense moments. Sad lives. With unexpectedly large catalysts.

"Sisters" was my favorite. And "Passport Soup".

Posted by Duff at 12:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson

This was our March challenge book, technically a re-read for both of us and super short!

DadReaction: It WAS a shorty. Too short really--I actually remember it as being longer, but I liked the sense of being taken over by one ghastly part of yourself. It's one of those stories--Jekyll/Hyde one of those characters--that seem to live beyond the actual story itself, like Don Quixote or Sherlock Holmes. Also liked the oblique narration, getting the story at second and third hand from these peripheral figures. Also: the way stuff develops while some of the characters are just going on with their lives and they have to catch up. Kind of a tiny little gem. I remember really liking the Spencer Tracy movie of this; Michael Caine's in one, too--I think he actually impregnates somebody as Hyde and they spawn this grotesque child. Let's see--Hammer films had a Dr. Jekyll/SISTER Hyde teaser out and Jean Renoir, of all people, adapted the original--Stevenson's, not Hammer--for French tv.

What did you think? It actually ranks as a comfort book for me, since I read it in High School and can always pick it up again--like Treasure Island. Looking forward to the next one.....

GirlReaction: As you touched on, the thing that strikes me most is how it is such a dramatic story but told in a completely passive manner. Two dudes, going for a calm evening walk, one says to the other "So you see that door? Let me tell you a story about it..." Yet the story is smack full of drama. The events have all already happened off screen, yet even in the retelling they are gripping. All the hearsay and facts gathered from different sources give it a real urban legend feel. I also love the emphasis on the science of the experiments. First he just wants to explore the duality he already senses in himself...but eventually science fails to overcome the darker side of his personality. As he unwillingly becomes more Hyde than Jekyll, the story shifts to fantasy from science.

Posted by Duff at 12:20 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

April 09, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Lots and lots of gyoza. Yum.

Making: Quilts, socks, hats. What'm I NOT making right now.

Reading: Trying out some new-to-me fantasy "Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson. He's the dude picked to finish up Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

Watching: Kings on Hulu.

Listening to: Stuff I bought in March like Jason Isbell and Boy Least Likey To. And, sigh, another GREAT fucking album from Great Lake Swimmers bought on the cusp.

Failing at: Replying to emails. Staying awake much past 7:30. Eating breakfast.

Posted by Duff at 09:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

Best of February

The best movie I saw in February was The Class (Entre les Murs). I enjoyed the experience of watching The Wrestler...but did not ENJOY the movie. If you can parse that one out. In fact, it annoyed me greatly.

The best book I read in February was a tie between Delicate, Edible Birds, by Lauren Groff, her new short story collection, and For All We Know, by Ciaran Carson, a very novel-istic book of poetry. Both are very highly recommended.

The best gig I went to in February was a tie between the only two gigs I've been to ALL YEAR: Griffin House, who was totally kickin' it and it was a very enjoyable evening although it was a rough weekend having gotten some really shitty news at 4:45 that Friday. Grrr; and a week later Prairie Cartel, who were really great. (You may remember my friend Nan's brother Mike who used to be in Fig Dish and then Caviar (check your "Charlie's Angels" soundtrack) is part of Prairie Cartel.)

My favorite tunes in February were the latest albums from Mick Flannery and Joshua Radin.

Random personal highlights: Trip to Dublin!; Bowling Geeks Unite; Huffencooper Hot Sauce party.

Lowlights? Getting fucked over by someone on the aforementioned Friday afternoon. Getting stuff stolen from my checked luggage on the way home from Dublin. Getting violently ill upon arrival home from Dublin.

Posted by Duff at 09:40 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

April 02, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Doing way more drinking than eating. Liquid calories, they're delish.

Making: The last of the Fab Five hats. Two baby boy quilts. Whatevs.

Reading: I just finished one GREAT and one pretty good book ("Little Bee" by Chris Cleave and "City of Glass" by Cassandra Clare) and today I'm going to start "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris (Dad's and my challenge book for April).

Watching: BStarG. I went back to the beginning again. There are some nice resonances to the very first five eps or so in the finale. It's nice to go back. Also I am loving this season of Lost. Sawyer is awesome*.

Listening to: An AWESOME* album I bought in Dublin. Mick Flannery "White Lies". Over and over. Particularly "Wait Here". Swoon.

Failing at: Being cooperative instead of confrontational. (This may be a bit of an in-joke. But I trust you can figure it out. And honestly, I'm not interested in NOT failing at that. At all.)

*This month's most overused word. Odd, since there's very little AWESOMEness happenin' here. If any.

Posted by Duff at 11:00 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

March 31, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for March.

Bought:

• Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
  
• Maps & Legends, Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands, by Michael Chabon
  
• A Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg
  
• City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza
  
• The Lady Elizabeth, by Alison Weir
  
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
  
• Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
  
• The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi
  

Read:

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson (re-read)
  
• Antarctica, by Claire Keegan (stories)
  
• Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs
  
• The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larssen
  
• A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg
  
• Flesh and Bone, by Jefferson Bass
  
• Domestic Violence, by Eavan Boland (poetry)
  
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
  
• City of Refuge, by Tom Piazza
  
• Circle of the Dead, by Ingrid Black
  
• The Feminists Go Swimming, by Michael Collins
  
• The Pianist, by Wladyslaw Szpilman
  

Posted by Duff at 06:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

March 30, 2009

Snappy Is as Snappy Does.

I always dressed up for deadline days. Heels, skirt, smart green jacket. Magazine publishing has its rhythms and if the editor won't dance to them, she can't expect her staff to. I don't float feature ideas in Fendi heels, and I don't close an issue in Pumas.

-from "Little Bee" by Chris Cleave, my new read that is totally sucking me in, in a dangerous "may not accomplish anything else this week" way.

Posted by Duff at 09:41 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

Heh (in more ways than one).

There was a joke he liked. Goes something like this. Two guys meet at the Pearly Gates and get talking. One says to the other: 'How did you die?'

'I froze to death,' he says.
'What did it feel like?' says the first one.

'Well, it's uncomfortable at first,' says the second. 'You shiver, you get the shakes, there's pain in your fingers and toes, it's cold as hell, but then it becomes relaxing and you just go numb and fall asleep and that's it. What about you? How did you die?'

'I had a heart attack. See, I knew my wife was cheating on me, so I came home early one day, found her in bed, reading. Middle of the afternoon. How suspicious is that? So I ran round the whole house looking for the guy she was fucking. Down to the basement. No one there. Up to the second floor. No one there. Then I ran fast as I could to the attic, I knew he had to be hiding somewhere. Just as I got there - boom. I had a heart attack, and here I am.'

The second man shakes his head.
'That's so ironic,' he says.
'What do you mean?'
'If only you'd stopped to look in the freezer, we'd both be alive.'

-from "Circle of the Dead," by Ingrid Black

Posted by Duff at 09:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

March 26, 2009

Best of January

Apparently all I did in January was read. The choices in other categories were sparse, my friends, very sparse.

The best movie I saw in January was Coraline.

The best book I read in January was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which was just outright excellent. No doubt about it.

The best gig I went to in January DOES NOT EXIST. I didn't see/hear any live music in January? WTF!

My favorite tunes in January were MGMT "Oracular Spectacular", new Bon Iver EP "Blood Bank" and Why? "Alopecia." I was also still listening to Frightened Rabbit "Midnight Organ Fight". A lot. And other favorites from 2008.

Random personal highlights: Brunch with cousins; tail-end of Cat's visit including brunch w/ Lauren-O and Petey Sweatshirt; Cinnamon-arranged Stitch 'n' Tweet; BStarG returned to TV: fancy dinner for T; Game Day! at my house; Party in Milwaukee; Spamalot. Huh. Pretty good month. In retrospect.

Lowlights? Stress at secondary browsing location. (Shocker, I KNOW.)

Posted by Duff at 09:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

March 18, 2009

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Stress is making me not hungry. Oh I'm still eating. But it just makes my tummy feel worse than it already does. Wouldn't it be nice if this led to some unexpected droppage of excess poundage? (It won't.)

Making: I did finish a bunch o' matching nickname hats over the weekend. But I haven't done much lately. Sure, crafting should be a stress reliever. But it is also an energy user and I don't have much of that right now.

Reading: At home, as I mentioned already, I'm reading "City of Refuge" by Tom Piazza, which is mostly really good but also too sad to read on the El (I hate crying on the El!). Therefore in transit, I am reading "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" by Carrie Ryan that I picked up after reading this review and it is soooo good. (And actually it's sad also. What was I thinking? Beautiful. But Sad.) But I've probably only got one more train ride left with it so I'll have to pick out something else shortly.

Watching: BStarG. BStarG. BStarG. I think I will be crying Friday night. And by *think*, I mean there's a 99.9% likelihood of that happening.

Listening to: Every single thing I bought in 2008. Shuffled. Working on my "favorites of the year" list because I think that's really useful to have in, you know, MARCH or even APRIL. ;) Hahaha.

Failing at: Managing. Things. such as 1) eating; 2) spending; 3) (which are both due to) stress. (Thanks to MissStephanie for my new category)

Posted by Duff at 06:49 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV

March 13, 2009

Wordplay

Pleased to meet you meat to please you
said the butcher's sign in the window in the village.

--from "Domestic Violence" (collected in Domestic Violence) by Eavan Boland.

Shyla Bruno was doing a review of Philip Roth's newest book, and Craig said, "You going with 'Goodbye, Portnoy' for the head?"

"No - listen to this - Allen came up with 'The Gripes of Roth.' "

Craig waited a moment and then issued one of his patented, arch, stagey chuckles. "Bingo," he said.

--from "City of Refuge" by Tom Piazza, which I bought after I read this (I myself am NOT much of a Lahiri fan) and am sooo enjoying. Enjoying in a tearful, maybe won't read in public because I might start bawlin', kind-of way.

Posted by Duff at 12:39 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

Poetry: For All We Know, by Ciaran Carson

Bought in Dublin, baby. An Irish poet my Dad introduced me to a few years ago when we were trading packages of "here's some of my books you should read" recommendations, and I read (and told you about) one of his translations when I was home for Christmas a year ago. I was so excited to go into Hodges & Figgis (a GREAT bookstore in Dublin), stroll over to the irish authors section, and find a HUGE selection of his stuff. It was hard to choose what to buy!!!

I chose this one and I think I did well. A collection in two parts, a man and a woman, a story told, and then retold, mirrored from one part to the next, intertwined with other events. I read it several times over several days, and still want to go back for more. Certain images and themes repeat over and over again, with different details ringing in your head. Little moments, expanded, then contracted, then expanded. These were lovely poems and my regret is I didn't buy another book of his when I had the chance. I'll be searching out more, you can count on it.

(For those of you poetry scares off, these were very accessible. Readable even without pondering of the deeper layers, and the repeat images, and then connections tethered and severed...)

Posted by Duff at 12:26 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Short Stories: Delicate Edible Birds, by Lauren Groff

I enjoyed her debut novel last year. Then I got one of the stories from this book in my One Story subscription (which I highly recommend you treat yourself to. It's cheap, it's good, and it's just one story. EVERYONE can make time for one story!!). I was so excited to see this collection come out and not one bit disappointed. Very, very good. Better even than her novel! My second favorite book of the year so far. Such an impressively wide range of characters and timeframes and situations and... And really, I cannot recommend these stories highly enough. They were all completely individual (sometimes a problem in short story collections), and completely engaging, and original, and UNEXPECTED. I'm in awe.

Posted by Duff at 12:22 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery: Dark Hollow, by John Connolly

The second Charlie Bird book (here was the first). Bought in the Atlanta airport on the way home. No New Orleans this time, primarily set in the boonies of Maine (ha!). As with the first book, has an intense layer of psychology/mythology that somewhat overpowers (not necessarily in a bad way. mostly good, sometimes a little frustrating) what would otherwise be just your normal mystery novel. Makes everything creepier and ickier. Has some follow-up to the ending of book one, but I feel there is more to come with those relationships.

Posted by Duff at 12:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: SweetHeart, by Chelsea Cain

The follow-up to HeartSick, already out in paperback in Dublin, YAY! Just as totally fucking CREEPY and TWISTED and DARK as that one was. And just as damn good. Eeeeck!

Posted by Duff at 12:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery: Every Dead Thing, by John Connolly

Bought and read in Dublin, yay. An Irish writer...who sets his mysteries in America; this one in New York City and New Orleans. If you, like me, have British relatives and friends who get completely BENT OUT OF SHAPE when some American writer sets their books 'cross the pond and gets little details wrong... Yeah, I kind of had to shake my head and laugh at seeing the opposite occur. (Not that he's "British" being "Irish" but the correlation is there regardless.)

In some way, it's a mystery series like any other: an ex-cop Charlie Bird, with a sad personal history of violence, winds up involved in a mystery, has some criminal friends and some not, there's really brutal murder and mayhem. The additional spin here is that this has far more than your average mystery's amount of psychology and mythology running under it. Bird's thoughts often go wandering off for a bit into an underlying sort of swirl of emotion and ESP like feelings. Sometimes it added interesting themes and I went with it; other times I wanted him to get back to solving the mystery already!

Dark, gruesome, brutal. Some horrible stuff happens to quite a few people. Pretty frakkin' intense. (In a good way. Obviously.)

Posted by Duff at 12:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery/Fiction: Lies of Silence, by Brian Moore

Bought and read in Dublin, yay. Belfast, the IRA, having the wrong job (but right for them), politics vs. personal safety, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and intertwined relationships convoluting things, as they do. Something a bit desperate and sad about the train of the events. The ending shouldn't have been a surprise, but somehow it was.

Posted by Duff at 12:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: The Devil's Bones, by Jefferson Bass

Layover in the Atlanta airport. I claim to hate reading mystery series(es?) out of order...but somehow that seems to be how I always start them. In airports, desperate for something, hmm, this sounds good, book three (or whatever), ah well.

A forensics mystery. A male version of "Bones" with a creepy dead body farm. Creepy cool, I mean. Very entertaining.

Posted by Duff at 12:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: L.A. Outlaws, by T. Jefferson Parker

Just a little airport readin' as the trip began. It was entertaining. I dug the main character. I need to be tougher. Like her. :)

Posted by Duff at 12:03 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Broom of the System, by David Foster Wallace

Our February challenge book (we are alternating between 19th-century and contemporary novels this year).

I liked a lot of this book. But there were things I could've done without. Since we already reviewed it in sort of rambling fashion on Flickr, I'll just paste in what we had to say there:

GirlReaction: I liked a lot of it but there were annoying things. some chapters where you couldn't figure out who was speaking until WELL into them (must EVERYONE be first person?) or dialogue where it took some figurin out who the conversation was between and who was saying which lines. and then at the end of the book, it just...ENDS. midsentence even. eh? I prefer a bit more of a finale, even if you have a cliffhanger.

But it was really funny and clever and felt very much like Vonnegut to me. Vonnegut but with more details, longer sentences / paragraphs, and if Vonnegut wrote females as the main character (or important characters really). Vonnegut is easier to get through (generally both shorter and less literarily dense), but I felt like they shared some sensibilities.

I liked it more than Dad though. He eventually got kinda of annoyed with it and I think it's tweeness. Like sometimes the reader shouldn't have to work QUITE that hard. "Cleverness for the sake of clever". Although now maybe I am being harsher than he was. Dad?

DadReaction: Yes--your summary of my assessment was pretty accurate. I thought all the guesswork was unnecessary and didn't like the non-ending. He actually got you involved with his goofy people and then sort of sold them short. Still, still, VERY clever-- e.g., Vigorous' son living out the news, being Nixon, etc. The Vigorous-Lenore storytelling duo was super--but you miss her reactions when it's just his story. I wanted to complete the grandmother saga. To be honest, I probably would have loved this book when I was reading the first Pynchon books, Tom Robbins, Edward Whittemore (WHAT? You've never heard of Whittemore? Shame! Go, go, get Sinai Tapestry, Jerusalem Poker.). Then Again, I LOVED the last Pynchon--Against the Day--and I pick up Vonnegut effortlessly. This one, I kind of had to force myself through. Okay, but, once more, STILL, still, Lenore herself always drew me back. And Lang sort of grew on me--okay, so I really wanted to know how their story came out, and was denied that by a much too clever author. So I like much of the creation, but I was not drawn to the creator. Telling fact that maybe sums it all up: haven't recommended it to anyone and not really eager to read another by same author.

Posted by Duff at 11:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Poetry: Satan Says, by Sharon Olds

This was a re-read. I was near a used bookstore and (apparently) in the mood for the kind of visceral, tear your heart and innards out, poetry Olds excels at. She was at NYU the same time I was (her as faculty, me as grad student) so I've seen her a read a few times (including poems from this book). I don't know that I can recommend that: these are the kind of very intense, super personal, definitely biographic FEELING whether they are or not (along the lines of "diary exposing"), poems that...well, you have to be prepared for it. I'd rather read this kind of poetry alone! :)

Posted by Duff at 11:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

Very unusual stories. Heavily science- and math-based sci fi (Dad, I think you're going to want to borrow this) that in some stories felt a bit beyond my grasp, theoretically. (Fortunately the characters keep you involved, even when their minds are on a different plane than yours.) Not necessarily futuristic, although sometimes a touch of it. But not fantastical (along the lines of, say George Saunders); even the wildest ones feel like they COULD be happening.

Posted by Duff at 11:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Essays: The Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell

I remain blissfully unaware of radio in general and NPR in particular so although I had heard vague murmurings about Vowell, I had no personal experience with her prior to reading this book.

Very entertaining, packed full of pop culture references, and prescient in its political discussions. But you already knew that didn't you? I am always behind the times. ;)

Posted by Duff at 11:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery/Fiction: Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon

An undertaker, and a detective, and an unidentified body, and a young lost girl coming around. While there is murder and mayhem around, this book has a very, very calm feel. A heavy outer calm lying over turbulent feelings and actions and a thick, almost humid layer of emotion. Clara, I'm rooting for you.

I thought it was a very impressive first novel.

Posted by Duff at 11:39 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

YA/Fantasy: City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare

The follow-up to City of Bones. The kickin-ass part of the action expands a bit here and more characters come into play. The lie I'm perturbed by from the first book continues; I'm even MORE sure it's a lie now. WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMING OUT? I'm not sure I can wait! :)

Posted by Duff at 11:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: Magic to the Bone, by Devon Monk

A non-vampire book about a world where magic exists all 'round. I really loved the imagery, particularly the "tattoos" Allie gets with the power. It had a bit more romance than some of your typical magic genre books /fans face/ and I'll probably seek out the follow-ups. But it didn't engage me quite as much as the Cassandra Clare book (one of which I've told you about so far (about to tell you about another one!)).

Posted by Duff at 11:32 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: Mainspring, by Jay Lake

Reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. A clockmaker's apprentice is visited by an angel and told the planet is winding down unless he can rewind the "Mainspring". And off on adventures he winds up going. There's a flying Navy (reminiscent of the Naomi Novik books but without dragons), and a lot of watch/clock imagery going on. I liked it, but I felt it wandered about and here, a month and a half later, when I flip through the end pages, I can't quite recall some of the characters in the final chapters.

Posted by Duff at 11:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens

The January pick for Dad's and my challenge this year. Somehow...I didn't realize I'd read this before (it was a re-read for him, but he knew it!). I KNOW. The thing is, I bought a complete Dickens a million years ago when I lived in NYC (and definitely when I couldn't afford it!) and one summer I read a TON of them on my daily commute. But that was...a long time ago. So when I first started reading this, I *thought* it was something I hadn't read before. Then I kept finding turned over pages, and about halfway through it all came back to me.

The main thing Dad and I talked about with this one is how cinematic Dickens was in his details. Moments like describing a wine cask spilled on the cobbled street that then leads the reader's "eye" to the door of the wineship, and in...and then the plot comes in again. One can really see the details around the edges of the action, as a (good) cinematographer would do, to give you a little moment of breath while still keeping you involved in the moment. Really lovely. Not SO descriptive as to lose your focus on the events at hand (as sometimes Proust can do), just enough to paint a fuller picture.

Posted by Duff at 11:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Readin'

Mystery/Thriller: HeartSick, by Chelsea Cain

So incredibly creepy and gross and horrible and UNPUTDOWNABLE. Do not read this at home, alone, at night, in the dark, in a creeky house. I warned you.

Really horrible and icky and TOTALLY ENTRANCING.

If you like Hannibal Lector-type stuff, well, this kept me entertained even moreso than those. Freaky!!!

Posted by Duff at 11:16 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Essays: Shakespeare Wrote for Money, by Nick Hornby

Another collection of his "what I read vs. what I bought" essays for The Believer (yes, the very essays I refer to every month when I show you my lists! albeit without commentary).

I always find these fun (see here for one I read last year). I also find they are dangerous because I always wind up adding to my "something I should read" someday lists, which are dangerous things for a person with my shall we call them "spending propensities" when she walks by a million bookstores every day. Dangerous!

Just a little reminder to myself to go pick up "Skellig" by David Almond, apparently voted the third greatest children's book of the last seventy years. Here's what Hornby had to say: "I can tell you that it's one of the best novels published in the last decade, and I'd never heard of it. Have you?"

Posted by Duff at 11:10 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book was just outright fantastic. FANTASTIC!!! Highly recommended.

An epistolary novel (sigh. I have such a weakness for those!) relating the story of young writer who finds herself corresponding with a group of Guernsey natives, learning of their experiences during the German occupation. Charming, poignant, moving. It's romantic and sad and just really really lovely.

Best book I've read this year, hands down (and although I read it in January, I still think that now in March when I'm finally telling you about it).

Posted by Duff at 11:06 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

YA/Fantasy: City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

More vampire fantasy. Takes place in modern day NYC so you know I'm lovin that. I would say it's better written than the Meyer books. Also a female main character. Not quite as emotional. And more "good guys"; girl is not as much of a loner. But still feels very true to "teendom".

If you like reading vampire fantasy type stuff, I can't think of a reason you wouldn't want to read this(these).

Although there's one twist that I'm pretty sure is a lie; i.e., the characters all believe it, but I definitely don't. I'll be interested to see how that plays out as the trilogy continues.

Posted by Duff at 11:01 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

March 09, 2009

Both Ways.

If you're going to play what-if -- which, by the way, is a huge waste of time and energy, not to mention an act of supreme, center-of-the-universe narcissism -- you have to play it both ways. If you're going to imagine yourself as an accidental victim, you have to give yourself equal time as an unwitting hero.
-"Flesh and Bone" by Jefferson Bass.

Posted by Duff at 10:23 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: All things yummy and bad. If it has nine lbs of sugar in it and/or 9000 calories, then I'm eatin it. You know you're in trouble when even your underwear is too tight. But does that stop me? Nooooooo.

Making: Working on one of those top-secret "could change life as we know it" things again this week. Hopefully the crafty spirit will return over the weekend. HOPEFULLY. Also working on year-end lists (as you may have seen). Just music to go but of course that's the hard one.

Reading: Man I have been WHIZZING through books over the past week or so, I finished three books over the weekend! WOOT! Plus Dad and I picked a super shortie for this month's challenge book so I'm already done with that and feelin all free and easy in my readin'. Today I am partway through a grody forensic mystery "Flesh and Bone" by Jefferson Bass. It's got some Bones-type action and you know how I feel about Bones. It's v. entertaining.

Watching: The end of BStarG. The end of FNL. The end of (this season of) Burn Notice. What will most likely be the end of Dollhouse which continues to get slammed by critics and mostly deservedly so (honestly, there is only one person doing a great job on this show and I SWEAR I'm not blinded by... well, you know...).

Listening to: Mick Flannery "White Lies" (Dublin purchase). Joshua Radin "Simple Times". Things I was listening to last month like MGMT and Why and Bon Iver.

Posted by Duff at 09:45 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

March 08, 2009

Wrapping It Up: Favorite Books 2008

My Favorite Ten Books of 2008 Were:
(in chronological order of my reading, with links to my Snip reviews)

• Native Guard, by Natasha Thretheway (poetry) Unlike any poetry I've read before.
  
• The Complete Stories, by David Malouf (stories) My fave Aussie writer. He can write from ANY viewpoint.
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff An excellent first novel.
  
• Lush Life, by Richard Price This guy can write dialogue like no one else.
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories) Another Aussie. Succinct but intense.
  
• The Likeness, by Tana French Follow-up to one of my favorite books from last year. So.Damn.Good.
  
• Dead Boys, by Richard Lange (stories) Engaging, unexpected and truly original.
  
• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel Possibly her least accessible book. Dark.
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson Spooky pasts. Dark and twisted.
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Langan So good. Poignant and brutal at the same time.
  

And if you'd like to hear more ruminations on things I read last year, you can check out the full year-end wrap-up post over here.

Posted by Duff at 05:22 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Lists, Readin', Recommending

March 03, 2009

RIP Bill Holm.

A Minnesotan and a Icelander.

A poet. An essayist. 2008's McKnight Distinguished Artist of the Year.

Author of one of my favorite travel/experience books EVER!!!: Coming Home Crazy.

And Barton Sutter sums him up poetically: "Tis also a gift to be complex and ornery / with a house full of music / cigar smoke and whiskey / and Icelandic sagas / preserved by farmers / for nearly a thousand years."

Posted by Duff at 10:22 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, R.I.P., Recommending

March 02, 2009

Heh.

I could have asked him what was wrong, pointed out the obvious, but why do that? That might lead to an open, frank discussion about our future, and who wants that with a man you're about to marry?
-Clare O'Donohue "The Lover's Knot.

Or with any man, really.

Posted by Duff at 12:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

March 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for February.

Bought:

• Rogue Angel: Renaissance, by Alex Archer (trilogy in one volume)
  
• Delicate Edible Birds and Other Stories, by Lauren Groff
  
• L.A. Outlaws, by T. Jefferson Parker*
  
• The Devil's Bones, by Jefferson Bass*
  
• Lies of Silence, by Brian Moore^
  
• Every Dead Thing, by John Connolly^
  
• Sweetheart, by Chelsea Cain^
  
• For All We Know, by Ciaran Carson (poetry)^
  
• Nocturnes, by John Connolly (stories)^
  
• The Three Evanglists, by Fred Vargas^
  
• That They May Face the Rising Sun, by John McGahern^
  
• Domestic Violence, by Eavan Boland (poetry)^
  
• Finding the Gossamer, by Patrick Hicks (poetry)^
  
• Eureka Street, by Robert McLiam Wilson^
  
• All Summer, by Claire Kilroy^
  
• The Pillowman, by Martin McDonagh (play/drama)^
  
• The Feminists Go Swimming, by Michael Collins (stories)^
  
• The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson^
  
• Antarctica, by Claire Keegan (stories)^
  
• Dark Hollow, by John Connolly*
  
• Carved in Bone, by Jefferson Bass
  
• Flesh and Bone, by Jefferson Bass
  
• The Killing Kind, by John Connolly
  

Read:

• Satan Says, by Sharon Olds (poetry)
  
• The Broom of the System, by David Foster Wallace
  
• L.A. Outlaws, by T. Jefferson Parker
  
• The Devil's Bones, by Jefferson Bass
  
• Lies of Silence, by Brian Moore
  
• Every Dead Thing, by John Connolly
  
• Sweetheart, by Chelsea Cain
  
• Dark Hollow, by John Connolly
  
• Delicate Edible Birds, by Lauren Groff (stories)
  
• For All We Know, by Ciaran Carson (poetry)
  

*bought in airports
^bought in Dublin, baby

Posted by Duff at 02:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque

February 07, 2009

Fantasy: The Scarecrow and His Servant, by Philip Pullman

A sweet little story by the author of the amazing His Dark Materials series (for which my love knows no bounds).

It doesn't have the deep mythology those do, but it has a pretty sharp social message nonetheless.

Posted by Duff at 10:09 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Toaster Strudel. It's my go-to breakfast when I have to leave the house before 5 a.m. Like I have to every day now.

Making: Supposedly working on two baby boy quilts. Supposedly.

Reading: Our challenge book for February, "The Broom of the System" by David Foster Wallace, which I am loving. I call it "Vonnegut if he wrote female narrators."

Watching: BStarG season 4.5 and Holy Frak the last two episodes have been NUTS. Remember all those interviews Tahmoh was giving where they asked him about the last 10/11 and he said "Everybody dies!" Yeah, I'm wondering if that might not be the truth! Also loving Bones (hockey dream sequence!!!) and the past few episodes of The Office have been really side-splittingly funny. I have a bunch of random other series on DVD saved up but I just can't get around to watchin' 'em.

Listening to: "Alopecia" Why (like a lot); "Oracular Spectacular" MGMT (Love! and hello where have I been?); Bon Iver "Blood Bank" (love) and a few singles from LadyGaGa (sounds like a combination of Pink + Gwen Stefani? no?) and just bought the latest singles from Kelly Clarkson (only the second song of hers I own! but it's fun!) and Eminem!

Posted by Duff at 09:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, Tunes

Best of December

The best movie I saw in December...was Bolt, the ONLY movie I saw (Pathetic! Especially considering I was on vacation the first week of the month.

The best book I read in December was... hmmm, hard to pin it down when you read 11 books that month!!! I'll make it a three-way tie between Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan; Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge; and Black & White, by Dani Shapiro. But I don't think there were many of my December reads that I wouldn't recommend to you. It was a great month for reading.

The best gig I went to in December was My Morning Jacket, which was allright but I actually thought the time I saw them at Lollapalooza was a better set. The ony other show I went to I didn't review. It was The Sea and Cake on New Year's Eve, which was good, but I wasn't really aware of their stuff before so I wasn't necessarily super engaged. Plus you know, NYE, crowds, loud drunk girls, etc. Cathy and I had fun but then we had enough fun so we went home early! :)

My favorite tunes in December boils down to one album: Frightened Rabbit "The Midnight Organ Fight" which I pretty much listened to nonstop. And I listened to a lot of Kanye, Killers, and Pink (all from November) as well.

Random personal highlights: A week off! Yay!; hung out with Cinnachick!; Back to the Future marathon with Carlos; dinner with my cousins; brunch with MK; brunch with KC; dinner at the Coopers; and Cathy came to visit!!! YAY!!!!

Lowlights? Can't remember any in particular. Now that's rare!!

Oh look, I finally got through December. Now I can write up my year-end lists. I'm SO TIMELY this time around. Ha!

Posted by Duff at 09:25 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

Novella: Disquiet, by Julia Leigh

A teensy little novel (three bus rides tops) recommended by EW. My friend GirlDetective talked about it here. Creepy and weird and certainly full of the Disquiet of the title. Lots of little details that hit home.

Posted by Duff at 09:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Silver Wings for Vicki, by Helen Wells

It's possible you remember me going to my parents' house for Christmas 2005 and re-reading all my mom's Cherry Ames books, '50s novels about a girl who becomes a nurse and inadvertently solves little mysteries. (See the end of the 2005 reading list or the beginning of 2006 or search for Cherry Ames on this page.) And then I got back to Chicago and went a little crazy on eBay buying up copies for myself. And then I found that the women who wrote Cherry Ames also wrote books about a flight attendant named Vicki Barr.

I don't find them quite as enthralling as the Cherry Ames series (I say this one book in), but it could be because when I read Cherry Ames I am enthralled with all this childhood nostalgia and that's just not present reading the Vicki books for the first time. But they're still fun. Full of totally non-PC sexist garbage that can either make you mad (eh, why bother) or make you laugh (that's my response), they're almost pedantic. Were they written to be pseudo instructional books for girls on possible careers? Be a Nurse (in Ames' case) / Flight Attendant (Barr) and Solve Mysteries! YAY! :) Ha!

Posted by Duff at 09:06 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Stories: If the River Was Whiskey, by T. Coraghessan Boyle

Gifted to me by Ginger. A lot of people in these stories have reached their limit and the story concentrates on them at their last efforts, their last decisive actions. The woman in Sinking House, Zoltan in The Human Fly, Anthony in King Bee. More based in reality (or "our" reality) than say the Greenman stories I read earlier in the month, but that just makes the unexpected even more jolting when it happens.

Really good, I'll definitely be seeking out more T.C. Boyle.

Posted by Duff at 08:54 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Black & White, by Dani Shapiro

A very intense book about a messed-up mother/daughter relationship with lots of cool photography stuff to boot. I doubt anyone with knowledge of 20th century photography can read this without thinking of Sally Mann's photographs. (However, while Mann shot all three of her children, the photographer in the book concentrates only on the one daughter.) It was sometimes a tough read (my overly enhanced Piscean empathy gets me way too involved in fictional conflicts!), but I thought it was completely engaging and I may have stayed up until 3 a.m. finishing it. Really loved it.

Posted by Duff at 08:48 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery/Fiction: A Spy in the Family, by Alec Waugh

Alec Waugh = Evelyn's brother. I read about his books in Slightly Foxed and then sought some out on my most recent trip to Myopic (conveniently located down the block from my haircut so I'm there quite often). This is subtitled "an erotic comedy" and I remember wondering for the first, oh say, 40 pages or so when exactly that was going to kick in. (But it does, no worries. Hee hee.) Apparently (per the book jacket), this is a spoof on "Anonymous Underground Victorian Novels" and I did find it quite silly at times. Silly mingled with a lil "Eyes Wide Shut" wannabe action.

Posted by Duff at 08:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Stories: A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both, by Ben Greenman

I've read more short stories in the past few years than ever before (I mostly blame Elizabeth Crane for that. "Blame" being a good thing in this scenario), and still I thought these were really unusual. But now that two months have gone by... I can't pinpoint exactly why that was. I will say that they were all really truly individuals. I'm sure you've come across short story collections that as you read through them, the narrators and/or subjects tend to blur together (when they weren't intended to, although there are collection that intend that) and it seems you've just read a novel with some bits that don't seem to fit together. No question of that happening here. I think my favorite was "Oh Lord Why Not" where everyone has a hit pop song in them.

Pretty short collection though. Big print, small pages. Not a book that takes long to get through.

Posted by Duff at 08:37 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan

Soooooo good. I've recommended short stories by Lanagan to you before (here or here), and I believe this is her first novel. I will be eternally in Marrije's debt for introducing me to such a great author.

This is earthy, dark, bitter, spiky, sexy and tactile. It's also sweet and loving and tender at times. The bad is often quite brutal, often in metaphor, and the good is quite poignant.

I was a little surprised it was classed as YA. Certainly the fairy tales of our/my youth flirted with just as much danger. But I don't remember them being as powerful. Perhaps if I re-read them today, I would find myself gripping the book like an anchor and crying through chapters as I did here. But I doubt it.

So Good!!!

Posted by Duff at 08:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: The Trial, by Franz Kafka

This was our challenge book for December. So much fun!!! Dad had read it back in high school and been totally traumatized. Then at some point watched the Orson Welles film of it and found it equally traumatizing. But somehow, to both of us, this time around it was just soooo farcical. Might make a good companion for a book we read earlier in the year "The Good Soldier Svejk".

The end is a bit of a shocker just because the narrator has, for the most part, taken things so lightly until then that you sort of expect it to just keep going on forever. It was a lot of fun to read.

Posted by Duff at 08:26 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge

So good. So sad. With Lodge, as with Philip Roth, as he gets older, more infirm and perhaps crankier, so do his characters. I loved the diary-style writing. I loved the tone.

Really only one thing rang false to me and that was an extensive description of a pair of breasts (and how the narrator could tell they were natural) on page 5 (only the third page of actual text). I actually called my dad and asked if that paragraph stuck out like a sore thumb to him as well. AND IT DID. So it wasn't just a girlreaction, yo.

It was interesting in reading this to think about how there never stops being a time in life when you can inadvertently make bad decisions, or make so-so decisions that cascade into much worse events. Something I think most of us assume will cease to happen as we age.

Really good, but I think I would read other Lodge before this one, if I were to try him for the first time. "Small World" and "Changing Places" are both really great.

In my library this is classified as somewhat academic function. Good companions would be "Straight Man" by Richard Russo or "Foolscap" by Michael Malone (or see the "academic foibles" list on this page).

Posted by Duff at 08:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: The Lover's Knot, by Clare O'Donohue

This was OK / fine for light reading. But the attempt at misdirection seemed way too obvious to me and it drove me nuts the entire time I was reading it that the quilt on the cover of the book was a sampler and not a Lover's Knot, one of the main metaphors. Dear publishing house: when you're publishing a book for the crafty market, these types of things WILL be noticed. Idiots.

Posted by Duff at 08:16 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

February 01, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for January.

Bought:

• City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
  
• HeartSick, by Chelsea Cain
  
• Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon
  
• The One Marvelous Thing, by Rikki DuCornet
  
• City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow
  
• Magic to the Bone, by Devon Monk
  
• The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
  

Read:

• City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare
  
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
  
• Shakespeare Wrote for Money, by Nick Hornby
  
• HeartSick, by Chelsea Cain
  
• A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens (re-read)
  
• Mainspring, by Jay Lake
  
• Magic to the Bone, by Devon Monk
  
• City of Ashes, by Cassandra Clare
  
• Tethered, by Amy MacKinnon
  
• The Partly Cloudy Patriot, by Sarah Vowell
  
• Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang
  

It was a good month for readin'. When I'm stressed out? I read.

Posted by Duff at 07:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

January 20, 2009

Best of November

The best movie I saw in November was Milk and it was EXCELLENT. My No. 2 movie for the year. So good.

The best book I read in November was "The Way of Shadows" by Brent Weeks. It was a slow month reading-wise but I did really enjoy that book.

The best gig I went to in November was....some gig that I didn't go to! First month all year with no shows. Am I slowing down? I'm certainly feeling old and decrepit but it may just be I wasn't paying attention to what was coming up so I missed out on tickets I would have wanted. Who knows!

My favorite tunes in November were new albums from Jem, and The Killers, and Matt White, and Vancougar, and Ryan Adams, and Pink, and Kanye, and Winter's Fall and...some others. I bought a ton of music over the month (click on the link and you'll see!).

Random personal highlights: HuffenCooper Halloween party; "HOLY FUCK OBAMA WINS!" is what it says on my calendar for November 4. Certainly a day that will not be forgotten; did some serious shopping in the burbs with Sara; I hung out with my nephews for the first time in ages; beers at Guthrie's with Lauren; bought some cool shit at the DIY show; I visited my "second (or third, really) home" in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving; and Michelle was in town for a day. There was a lot going on (hence the aforementioned lack of reading!).

Lowlights? Fallout at secondary browsing location continued. Missed seeing Francine Prose & Anne Carson speak, both of which I had tickets to but I'm too dumb to look ahead in my calendar when the month rolls forward. Was very tired.

Posted by Duff at 08:51 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

January 07, 2009

Dad's and My Reading Challenge for 2009 [Updated]

Alternating 19th century and/versus contemporary novels.

January: "Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

February: "The Broom of the System" by David Foster Wallace

March: "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

April: "Then We Came to the End" by Joshua Ferris

May: "Dracula" by Bram Stoker [this is a re-read for me]

June: TBD/Contemporary "Motherless Brooklyn" by Jonathan Lethem

July: "Vanity Fair" by William Makepeace Thackeray

August: TBD/Contemporary "Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill

September: "A Pair of Blue Eyes" by Thomas Hardy

October: TBD/Contemporary "The White Darkness" by Geraldine McCaughrean

November: "Nostromo" by Joseph Conrad

December: TBD/Contemporary "Undiscovered Country" by Lin Enger

Posted by Duff at 10:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 09, DadReaction, Lists, Readin'

January 06, 2009

Best of October

The best movie I saw in October was a three-way tie between Zach and Miri Make a Porno, Let the Right One In, and Hunger, all of which I saw at the Chicago Film Festival. In regular movie releases, I also really liked The Duchess.

The best book I read in October was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. I also really liked Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf, my favorite Aussie author.

The best gig I went to in October would be Fujiya & Miyagi. I didn't write up any of the October shows so here's the quick and dirty: Liam Finn, was completely unlike his album, super into experimental, extemporaneous, and jam band-type style if you can be a jam band when there are only two people on stage; Catie Curtis sang some really nice sweet songs, but also some goofy stuff that isn't really my thing. And Fujiya & Miyagi was good, they sounded great, people were into it, the beats were hoppin'....but at some point all the songs start to sound the same. Felt like we heard an hour of one long song with a great beat.

My favorite tunes in October were the latest albums from Keane and Ray LaMontagne and my top two favorite songs were "Honey Let Me Sing You a Song" Matt Hires and the First Aid Kit cover of Fleet Foxes' "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song".

Random personal highlights: My dad came to visit and joined wholeheartedly in my 365 project and it was outstanding.

Lowlights? Fallout at secondary browsing location continued. My Morning Jacket concert cancelled and then I wound up blowing off a Joseph Arthur concert as I just didn't have any energy that day. Also had a weird shiatsu massage that bruised/hurt my back so badly I could barely sit in a chair for two days afterward

Posted by Duff at 02:59 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Live!!, Tunes

January 02, 2009

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for December.

Bought:

• Disquiet, by Julia Leigh
  
• Among the Thugs, by Bill Buford
  
• Shakespeare Wrote for Money, by Nick Hornby
  
• Shadow's Edge, by Brent Weeks
  
• Throne of Jade, by Naomi Novik
  

Read:

• The Lover's Knot, by Clare O'Donohue
  
• Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge
  
• The Trial, by Kafka
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
  
• A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both: Stories about Human Love, by Ben Greenman (stories)
  
• A Spy in the Family; An Erotic Comedy, by Alec Waugh
  
• Black & White, by Dani Shapiro
  
• If the River Was Whiskey, by T. Coraghessan Boyle (stories)
  
• Silver Wings for Vicki, by Helen Wells
  
• Disquiet, by Julia Leigh
  
• The Scarecrow and His Servant, by Philip Pullman
  

Posted by Duff at 10:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

December 28, 2008

Best of September

I seem to have fallen behind here, haven't I. Kept waiting for myself to have written up movies, books, etc., before doing these. Ah well.

The best movie I saw in September (of only two, so take that as you will) was Tropic Thunder, which will definitely make my Top 10 this year.

The best book I read in September was the short story collection "Dead Boys" by Richard Lange. (But I did really like both the other books (one, two) I read in September as well.)

The best gig I went to in September was (overall) Monolith and my favorite performance there was Band of Horses, a magical twilight moment.

My favorite tunes in September were (the only in some cases or the most recent) albums Schwayze (yeah, I know I'm the only one, but it's FUN), The Billionaires, The Wave Pictures and Everlast.

Random personal highlights: The aforementioned weekend at Monolith (including visiting Mariah, Stephan and Jack!).

Lowlights? Well. If you know about the secondary browsing location and events therein, then you know I had a very, very, very shitty September. Very Shitty. And honestly, the fallout is still going on.

Posted by Duff at 12:20 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

Fantasy: The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks

You know that old joke about "why wasn't anybody poor in their "past lives"?" How in our past lives, we were all Cleopatras and Queen Elizabeth's and nobody was "the servant girl". (Speaking to the females in the audience, obviously.) I often feel that way about fantasty novels, they are always taking place in the world one would WANT to be in, where your special magical talents bring you into interaction with the best crowds, the higher bits of "society" and generally, of course, fighting against evils/evil magics.

This book, on the other hand, is set firmly in the lower dregs. The world of "guild rats", i.e., abandoned homeless "ghetto" children and, for Azoth/Kylar, the way out is to become an assassin, a "wet boy", sometimes using those evil magics the heros of your typical fantasy are usually working against. There will be of course times when the "bad assassin" will turn out to be working on the side of the morally good, but for the most part, the focuses of this book are on the other side of things, in the back alleys, in the prostitution houses, on the outskirts. "Under the stairs", so to speak.

It's violent, brutal and cutthroat. And very engaging.

Posted by Duff at 12:11 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: The Oxford Book of Short Stories, by V.S. Pritchett

Our November challenge book. Admittedly many of these stories are drawn from older/earlier writers, but a big chunk of them felt dated to me moreso in their style than anything else. This is just a random, not researched or well thought out, theory but modern short stories seem to have stronger plots, better drawn (and perhaps intenser) situations, more things happen, and people have stronger reactions to the happenings, while many of the stories from earlier times seem more passive: one character "telling the story" to another, i.e., stories told at a remove (via third person, epistolary, storytelling or other device). Stories where almost nothing happens, or the sense that something "might" happen (sometimes a very specific thing) turns out...not. And then the story just...ends.

Although the Byatt-edited collection we read earlier in the year had stated that it picked "scary" stories purposely, we both found a lot of those icky, or super sad, but not scary. This collection however had some real creep-you-outers.

My favorite was "The Demon Lover" by Elizabeth Bowen.

p.s. yes you're right it's sad that it has taken me so long to get to writing about anything I read in October or November that I don't have the DadReactions to these challenges in my head anymore. But you'll live without them, I'm sure.

Posted by Duff at 12:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin'

Fantasy: His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik

Unusual fantasy taking dragons and plopping them into our historical world (as opposed to planting them in a more fantasy-bound world a la Anne McCaffery, who I dearly love and whose first six or so dragon books will never be equaled*). Dragons as an essential part of aerial battle strategy as the Brits (and others) war against Napoleon. Really entertaining but what made this book for me was the dragon, whose voice I thought was better written (and more engaging to the reader) than those of the humans.

Temeraire, you are awesome.

*More on that soon. SRSLY.

Posted by Duff at 11:56 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf

I've read and enjoyed quite a bit of Malouf in the last several years and this book was no exception. An officer talking to a convict in the wilds of Australia, feeling a possible connection to something from his past, and reminiscing on the choices he's made, and his childhood loves, and how his life has taken him away from them, and opportunities to find them again. A quiet slim book that packs quite a punch.

...he had long since given up the belief that the forces that move us have anything to do either with nature or reason, or that the heart moves in anything but the most crooked way.

Posted by Duff at 11:53 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes, Readin'

Short Stories: The New Granta Book of the American Short Story, edited by Richard Ford

What a behemoth of a book for us to have picked for our challenge. As you may remember, we wound out spreading this one out and reading it in both July AND October and even then it was touch and go whether we'd finish this one as it's just too darn big for me to carry around (and I do apparently almost all my reading in transit).

There were a few oldies thrown in at the beginning, where I thought "what is this one doing here?" (i.e., given the composition of the rest of the choices), but for the most part I thought these were good stories. My favorites were "The Pugilist at Rest" by Thom Jones, "Firelight" by Tobias Wolff, "Blue Boy" by Kevin Canty, "Anthropology" by Andrea Lee and "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" by George Saunders. And my least favorite was the Mary Gaitskill next to which I wrote just "Ick."

Posted by Duff at 11:47 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin'

Fiction/Mystery: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

Really entertaining. In the beginning the focus is split and I started to wonder when the two stories would come together, but the payoff when they did was pretty great. Dark and twisted, totally intense mystery. Loved how it was finally figured out. So many well-drawn characters and spooky pasts to think about. Very cool.

The title is a bit of a misnomer. That person exists, but the tattoo is very little to the point. But that may have been picked by the publisher as apparently Larsson died shortly after turning in this manuscript (and two others).

Posted by Duff at 11:42 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

December 26, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: The new Clubby sandwich from Potbelly's which is so fucking delicious it may have ruined me for all other sandwiches. But it's (most likely) insanely high in calories (they don't even list it on their nutrition page!). Thus helping me in my goal of being the fattest girl in the universe.

Making: Oh, you know. This 'n' that and mostly things I can't talk about.

Reading: At home I am reading "The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood" by David Thomson that I'm pretty sure I borrowed (from Dad) last Christmas so it's about time I read it, no? I didn't feel like carrying it on the train this morning though so in transit I am reading "Silver Wings for Vicki" by Helen Wells, who I'm sure only one of you (hi CCB!) knows is the author of the Cherry Ames books which were very, very beloved to me in childhood, although technically they are books originally from my mother's childhood (the first Vicki book was published in 1947 and the first Cherry Ames in 1943).

Where Cherry was a nurse, Vicki is a flight attendant. And just as with the Cherry Ames' series, they are full of now hilarious (but so non-PC and borderline offensive) comments on how to be a good woman (to your man), or things of that nature. Here's a "great" (that's me, being sarcastic) description of the requirements to be a stewardess, from Vicki's interview: "Real beauty isn't necessary, but you have to be nice to look at: well groomed, pleasant, and not too tall or heavy. After all, a plane must carry the biggest payload possible, and the heavier the crew the less paying weight we can carry. Did you see that tall girl who came in ahead of you? She was qualified for this work in everything except that she's five feet eight and weighs proportionately. But the airlines do recognize that American girls are growing taller, and we're gradually raising the height and weight limits."

So far, I don't love Vicki the way I love(d) Cherry, but she's growing on me. She's so perky, how could she not! :)

Watching: Only two episodes left to (re)watch in my (zillioneth) rewatch of all of BStarG to get read for the season 4.5 premiere on January 16. (So close, but yet so far.) As well as the webisodes. Which are OK. But not "oh holy shit!" entrancing. Also in the midst of a (re)watch of all four of the Alien films, although my plan to marathon through them all yesterday did not materialize. (Apparently I needed a lot of those hours for sleeping.)

Listening to: Frightened Rabbit "The Midnight Organ Fight" with a little of Sufjan's old Christmas box set thrown in. (There is a new Xmas EP out but I'm not sure I want it based on this review.)

Posted by Duff at 02:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

December 03, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for November.

Bought:

• The Lover's Knot (A Someday Quilts Mystery), by Clare O'Donohue
  
• Deaf Sentence, by David Lodge
  
• Hurry Down Sunshine, by Michael Greenberg
  
• Smells Like Dead Elephants, by Matt Taibbi
  
• The Historical Novel, by Georg Lukacs
  
• The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks
  

Read:

• The Oxford Book of Short Stories, edited by V.S. Pritchett
  
• The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks
  

Posted by Duff at 12:30 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

November 06, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Food I cooked myself, can you believe it? It's been many, many months since I last spent time in the kitchen. In other fun news, my carbon monoxide alarm now goes off every time I use the oven.

Making: Haven't made a stitch of progress in anything. But I am going to KIP tonight so that should be good for a couple rounds on a sock.

Reading: Our November challenge book, "The Oxford Book of Short Stories" edited by V.S. Pritchett. I am only a few stories in so still in the "way back" part of the collection. I've read it (somewhere?) before and I really, really hate Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark." HATE. But the other stories have been good.

Watching: Old, but from this season, episodes of House on Hulu and remembering exactly why I'm not watching this show at home either in real time or on TIVO anymore. It's WAY beyond time for a new formula.

Listening to: Everlast. Joseph Arthur. Ray LaMontagne. The Avett Brothers. The Billionaires. The Wave Pictures. Mumford and Sons. Sam Phillips. Just kinda wandering around my iPod.

Posted by Duff at 10:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

November 01, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for October.

Bought:

• Her Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik
  
• Mainspring, by Jay Lake
  
• Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
  

Read:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larssen
  
• Her Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik
  
• The New Granta Book of the American Short Story, edited by Richard Ford
  
• The Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf
  

Posted by Duff at 10:10 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

October 30, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Pumpkin scones from SBUX. They are sooooo good. They are also 500 calories, which lands on the not so good side. So as long as you just don't eat anything else...

Making: Vaguely knitting socks for Dad and socks for me. Vaguely. [All the same quilts in all the same stages they've been in.]

Reading: Same as last week...since I spent a gazillion hours at the Chicago Film Festival I've barely done any reading at all: At home I'm reading the Ford-edited short stories from our July / October challenge. On the train I'm reading "The Conversations at Curlow Creek" by David Malouf which is very slow and measured but weighty in its own way.

Watching: The Offce, Pushing Daisies and Sons of Anarchy. Those three are definitely my favorite shows right now so I generally watch each episode a few times. You know, once the night it's on, once the next night while I'm falling asleep, once over the weekend when I don't feel like doing anything on my to-do list... [As well as random online video interviews of my future husband. They do keep popping up!]

Listening to: Last few days I've been listening to everything I bought in August, September and so far in October in one big shuffled pack. I am particularly loving Mumford & Sons "White Blank Pages", First Aid Kit's cover of "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" (Fleet Foxes), Carla Bruni "Tu es ma came", The New Frontiers "Mirrors", Jump Little Children "Cathedrals" (old and kinda cheesy but damn I can't stop listening to it), Ryan Auffenberg "Pictures (of Someone Else)", but that's just a samplin'.

Posted by Duff at 11:17 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

October 21, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Way too much. Every day. I can't be stopped. I WILL be the fattest girl in the universe, just give me a couple more days.

Making: Started a pair of dad socks. That'll only take me 10,000 years. Have one quilt basted and another just about to be but won't be have time to work on either of them for a week or so at least.

Reading: At home I'm reading the Ford-edited short stories from our July / October challenge. On the train I'm reading "The Conversations at Curlow Creek" by David Malouf which is very slow and measured but weighty in its own way.

Watching: A crapload of movies at the Chicago International Film Festival. You can follow the updates on the 2008 movie page. Or you can wait for me to post about them here.

Listening to: Not a damn thing. Dad was here for a few days so all the times I'd normally be listening, I was busy talking to him. And just a few hours after he left, the Film Festival started and now all the times I'd normally be listening, I'm in a dark movie theater mostly watching totally intense, brutal movies where people's hopes and dreams are crushed to pieces and/or ripped to shreds, which may sound like the same thing but isn't necessarily so.

Posted by Duff at 12:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks

October 12, 2008

Fiction: Iodine, by Haven Kimmel

If there is one author I would want to be, if I were an author, it would be Haven Kimmel. I've read and loved her previous novels (here and posts from June 26, 2004 and April 13, 2004 on this page) AND her nonfiction/memoirs (here and the post from April 24, 2005 on this page). When I saw a new Kimmel in the window of the bookstore on the way home, there was no question I was stopping to buy it, regardless of my many grocery bags.

This one is a bit darker than you may be expecting. While her lead characters are often girls in crisis...generally they are girls finding a way out of it. This book is about a girl who may not even know she's in it. But we the reader certainly do.

While Trace and her haphazard life sucked me in just as powerfully as Kimmel's other characters have in the past, this was a more distressing read and a very intense one. Academically somewhat dense, with rampant literary "nods", and mentally unsettling.

If you liked Sharp Objects or My Sister's Continent (April 16, 2006 on this page), I think you will find a way in to this book. But it may be a tough read for the faint of heart.

Posted by Duff at 02:33 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Sway, by Zachary Lazar

A fictionalized account of a number of non-fiction events. There's a) the Rolling Stones in their drug heydays, with Brian Jones falling off the deep end, a fan getting murdered at Altmont, and a trip to Marrakech; b) Charles Manson and his groupies beginning their swath of murders; and c) Kenneth Anger, whose psychedelic filmmaking forces the groups to intersect and ties the two stories together.

Really creative premise. Very effective blend of fact and fiction. I didn't love all of it. I liked the Stones-centric chapters a lot better than the others. And I particularly enjoyed Lazar's handling of Anita and Keith's "characters", and the vivid candlelit interactions as the group circles 'round each other during the trip to Morocco.

A very interesting read.

Posted by Duff at 02:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: Dead Boys, by Richard Lange

This was our September challenge book and it was so nice to be reading short stories again after slogging through the Musil in August.

These are not happy times stories. Someone in every story is lost (physically, mentally or emotionally), or lonely, or angry, or ... or they've come to the end of what they can handle or find their way around.

For some characters, their searching leaves them in a better place than where they began, but never the perfect place. But for some, the story's end is further down a road they never should have been on in the first place.

Really engaging. Unexpected. True and original. Unlike stories you've read before. In a very gritty down to earth way.

Posted by Duff at 02:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: The Man Without Qualities, Volume I, by Robert Musil

Tthis was our August challenge book. And we did not enjoy it.

The reason it made our list was Dad had bought it years ago and always meant to read it, particularly after the Wilkins/Pike translation came out and it was lauded everywhere as "the third member of the trinity in 20th-century literature, complementing Ulysses and Remembrance of Things Past" (Wall Street Journal).

In the beginning, I found it sardonic and was open to it. As it went on, it dragged and felt very pedantic and, as I put it, "kinda prissy." Dad's more adult reaction was "It's very arch."

We can sort of understand the reaction, originally. A big book trying to touch on a million different European themes right as the War is sneaking up on everyone...

But to compare it to Joyce? or Proust? No. Not in the same league. Not experimental, not groundbreaking, not even truly entertaining. And not worth our time to read Volume II so we've scratched that from our plan.

Posted by Duff at 02:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

Challenge '08 Update.

We are tweaking our challenge slightly.

In July, we both only got through the first half (it was THICK). And in August, we finished (eventually. Or I did, a few days into September, can't remember if Dad actually did or not) but we did NOT enjoy the book and have no interest in reading part II (which was the book for October).

So we are scratching October's choice and reading the second half of the July book this month.

In case you were wondering.

October: "The Man Without Qualities, Vol 2" by Robert MusilSecond half of "The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford

November: "The Oxford Book of Short Stories" edited by V.S. Pritchett

December: "The Trial" by Kafka

Posted by Duff at 02:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

October 08, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: The occasional square broken off a chocolate bar from a Claudia Care Package. But mostly just drinking beer.

Making: The second sock to go with the first sock that I mostly knit at Dragon*Con. I am sooooo close to being done with #2.

Gearing Up For: The Chicago Film Festival! Yay! I bought tickets to 11 films. Woooooooot. Although it's highly possible I may not wind up seeing all of those.

Reading: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. So far that girl hasn't been much involved. But I like the other characters as well.

Watching: One of my favorite shows from last year's shortened season, LIFE, which has had three episodes in a week's time and another on Friday. Last Monday's? Pretty good! Glad it's back. Friday's? Sucked soooooo bad. May have been the worst episode of any TV show EVER. This Monday's? Awesome. Mostly. I had a few reservations. What will Friday bring? Who can say.

Listening to: My Morning Jacket, who I'm going to see tomorrow nightoh. :( Also Joseph Arthur, Nana Grizol, Carla Bruni and some songs from this post and this post .

Posted by Duff at 12:26 PM | E-Mail | Comments (2) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

October 01, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for September.

Bought:

• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel*
  
• Indignation, by Philip Roth*
  
• Home, by Marilynne Robinson*
  
• Ballistics, by Billy Collins (poetry)*
  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson*
  
• Generation Kill; Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War, by Evan Wright
  
• One Bullet Away; The Making of a Marine Officer, by Nathaniel Fick
  

Read:

• The Man Without Qualities, Vol 1, by Robert Musil (mostly read in August but not finished until Sept...)
  
• Dead Boys, by Richard Lange
  
• Sway, by Zachary Lazar
  
• Iodine, by Haven Kimmel
  

*That was one expensive trip to the bookstore!!

Posted by Duff at 11:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

September 28, 2008

Best of August

The best movie I saw in August would have to be the ONLY movie I saw in August which is ridiculous and pathetic but that's something for a different post, eh? Yeah, so anyway, that'd be Wall-E, which was fine but animation isn't really my thing.

The best book I read in August was The Likeness by Tana French. It's somewhat of a sequel but you don't really need to have read the earlier book to enjoy it; different main character.

The best gig I went to in August was Great Lake Swimmers.

My favorite tunes in August were the songs that wound up on my current favorite playlists.

Random personal highlights: (Only) one day at Lollapalooza (this time around); Silvia came to Chicago two weekends in a row! Woot!; Hot Doug's with Cinnamon. I actually went to KIP twice, if you can even believe that. And then there was this little thing I went to called Dragon*Con (which also encompassed a week long trip to Georgia to crash the Happy Pants home).

Lowlights? I don't know, looking back it seems like it was a fairly decent month. Maybe bursting into uncontrollable tears about 15 minutes after meeting my crush? Fun times (poor Carrie and Cat).

Posted by Duff at 06:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (1) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

September 17, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Complete crap. If it has a gajillion calories and absolutely no nutritional value, then I'm eatin it.

Making: Nothing really. Not right this second anyway.

Reading: "Sway" by Robert Lazar, a fictionalized account of the convergence of the Rolling Stones and Charles Manson. Just started today. Good so far. Kinda dreamy/druggy.

Watching: Just a few days into the week and I'm way behind (I was out of town! Get off my back, man!). Have only watched this week's episodes of Gossip Girl (I love Vanessa and Nate together!!) and Fringe (I like this show more than anyone else. But it's pure Pacey love); DVR also has latest eps of Terminator, The Closer, two eps of The Cleaner, and I think there was something else also to catch up on. Uh oh. Really need to go see Tropic Thunder THIS WEEK. Can I manage it?

Listening to: Band of Horses. I hadn't listened to them in awhile and they were SO FUCKING GOOD at Monolith this weekend. Ethereal and spooky and yet rocking.

Posted by Duff at 10:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (2) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

September 10, 2008

Japanese Crime Novels

recommended by Becky (no, not you Becky, my cousin Rebecca Becky):

• "The Salaryman's Wife" by Sujata Massey
  
• "All She Was Worth" by Miyuki Miyabe
  
• "Out" by (Natsuo Kirino? I think)

Posted by Duff at 09:43 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books

Books to Think About

I greatly enjoyed the two Tana French novels (1, 2) I read based on Jessica Lee Jernigan's sidebar recommendations.

Here are two other comments she has up right now that I want to remember to check out.

What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
JLJ: Spooky, funny, harrowing, heartbreaking. One of the best books I've read in awhile.

Prince of Annwn by Evangeline Walton
JLJ: I am almost always horribly, horribly disappointed in fantasy novels. But, so far, I'm enjoying this one.

Posted by Duff at 08:56 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books

September 04, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for August.

Bought:

• The Likeness, by Tana French
  
• I Was Told There'd Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley
  
• Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
  
• Darkest Fear, by Harlan Coben
  

Read:

• The Likeness, by Tana French
  
• Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
  
• Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There, ed. by Jason T. Eberl
  
• Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly (poetry)
  
• Break In, by Dick Francis (re-read, many times over)
  
• Bolt, by Dick Francis (re-read, many times over)
  
• The Hob's Bargain, by Patricia Briggs
  

Posted by Duff at 10:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

August 21, 2008

Fantasy: The Hob's Bargain, by Patricia Briggs

Another - typically as you might expect from who the author is - completely entertaining, engrossing fantasy novel.

Dear Ms. Briggs,
Every book of yours I read just breaks my heart a little bit more than the last one. The characters are so enticing; smart and funny and strong and so many other things that you wish people were in your real life. I just want their stories to go on and on and on...
Seriously,
I want to marry Kith, do you know a real him for me?,
Duff.

Posted by Duff at 12:38 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Letters, Readin', Recommending

Finally.

I think this is the best (baking) cookbook review I've ever read.

I'm so OVER stupid people going on and on about how hard things are. Or patronizing, say for random example, SHITTY bakeries that sell SHITTY TASTING BLAND AND STUPID cupcakes* and oohing and aahing over them because good lord cupcakes are just sooooo hard to make FROM SCRATCH.

People are idiots. I'm so over them. Baking is a stress reliever. Just ask Maida Heatter.

*If you've ever walked to my apartment, I THINK YOU KNOW THE SOURCE OF THIS FRUSTRATION.

Posted by Duff at 12:22 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Food

August 18, 2008

[Another] Book to Think About

"Sharp Teeth" by Toby Barlow.
Recommended here.

Posted by Duff at 06:13 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books

August 17, 2008

YA/Fantasy: Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer

The fourth in the sparkly vampire series, I really struggled to get through this one. Not that I didn't finish it the same day I started, but that I found myself very annoyed with it early on and really pushed through only because I just HAD to know how it ended.

The first three I whipped through in a weekend and found them exhilarating and entertaining DESPITE the sloppy writing. So perhaps I had a harder time with this one because I wasn't already on Bella's emotional rollercoaster when I started. Whatever the reason, there were a number of things I just found too ludicrous here to really enjoy. But I sort of wondered going in if that would be the case.

As an adult, I can see all the weaknesses. As a teenager, I'm sure I would have [purposely] completely overlooked them and been swept right along.

Posted by Duff at 03:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery/Fiction: The Likeness, by Tana French

Wow. Soooooo good.

A follow-up of sorts to her debut "In the Woods", taking the #2 character from that book and putting the focus on them (and I hear an auxiliary character in this book will be the focus of her third).

Really intriguing mystery, characters that become sooooo real... The descriptions are rich and thick, and the emotions are layered and tangled.

French has just written two of the most interesting, and unusual, mysteries out there.

Posted by Duff at 03:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Books to Think About

"What Happened to Anna K." by Irina Reyn
Updated Tolstoy. Enthusiastically reviewed in People.

"The Amnesiac" by Sam Taylor.
Recommended by Very Short List.

Posted by Duff at 10:26 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books

August 14, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Inconsistently. One day, super. One day, super bad. Two days...

Making: Trouble.

Reading: Same as last week: Volume 1 of "The Man Without Qualities" by Robert Musil.

Watching: La L'Olympics, baby. As should you be.

Listening to: The latest albums from My Morning Jacket and Carla Bruni (swoon). Back to back. And all the shit I bought in June that you might hear about tomorrow, if you're lucky.

Posted by Duff at 12:49 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

August 07, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Goldfish. (Original flavor) They just never get old.

Making: One secret thing. Sometimes. Rarely. When lying on the floor gets too boring.

Reading: Neither Dad nor I have finished last month's challenge book yet (it was too damn big to carry around so I was only reading it at home except when do I read at home? Not often, turns out), but we decided to move on to this month's for now and go back and finish the other after.... so that means I'm reading Volume 1 of "The Man Without Qualities" by Robert Musil. It's not laugh out loud funny but there's sort of a dry sardonic undertone. So I'm enjoying it.

Watching: Firefly, for the zillioneth time (and then Serenity but of course). Since both Carrie and my future husband are watching it right now, I needed a refresher in case they feel like talking about it.

Listening to: Stuff I bought in June like Fleet Foxes and Shearwater and Jakob Dylan and The Fratellis and James Hunter and Lil Wayne and Port O'Brien. Yeah I have this dream that I will review all June & July albums by month's end and be ALL CAUGHT UP in time to start fresh with the "school year" so to speak. But don't hold your breath, I wouldn't want to be the cause of any untimely deaths.

Posted by Duff at 08:40 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

August 05, 2008

Best of July

The best movie I saw in July was also the only movie I saw in July (or the only one I saw for the FIRST time anyway...). It was The Dark Knight and it was pretty fantastic. I had reservations, but they weren't "I don't love you" reservations. More like "I do love you, but I probably wouldn't marry you, because I know you'll only hurt me in the end."

The best book I read in July was Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart, which was just outrageously fucking funny.

The best gig I went to in July was either the Fleet Foxes set at Pitchfork or the Earlimart show at the Hideout. Probably have to tip the hat to Earlimart since the sound was better (purely by locational happenstance), but I remain equally entranced by both.

My favorite tunes in July were Fleet Foxes and (more) Joseph Arthur and The Kills and Nana Grizol "Love It Love It"(which you sooo need) and this totally awesome mixdisc/playlist I made for Juno. My question for you is*: What would you give me to get a copy of that?

Random personal highlights: Visit from the Nipper. Secret Family Craft Project.

Lowlights? Long slow stressful month. This summer has sucked some fucking rotten ass, let me tell you. I mean, except for that it's all shit I can't tell you.

*Do you remember when I used to use this phrase ALL THE TIME? Dang, I miss it.

Posted by Duff at 10:00 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

August 03, 2008

Poetry: Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly

Funny, wry and matter of fact. Cow tipping, Berthe Morisot, Kudzu (vine) creep, and John Berryman: her subjects are flung far and wide but always treated with the same intense gaze.

You can feel the Mississippi humidity seeping off the pages. These poems are fresh, verdant and fecund.

Similar to Billy Collins, she writes simply, but deeply.

Posted by Duff at 06:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Sci Fi/Fantasy: Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld

Very, very different than the other YA vampire fiction out there these days.

Male protagonist, certainly interested in romance/sex but not consumed by it the way Bella (of the other books) is. A more realistic/scientific look at the phenomenon, if you will, despite the fictionalness of it all. Lots of cool Manhattan stuff: underground, bureaucratical, conspiratorial.

Certainly pulls you right along. Enjoyable easy reading. I mean, other than the bug stuff. If you are bug, insect and gross-phobic the way I am...well, let's just say it was hard for me to even let my fingers touch the pages of the Parasite chapters as a) soooooo nasty and b) some of my worst nightmares CONFIRMED!!!

But on a separate note, as I said with the other: It kinda cracks me up how every "new" installment to vampire lore needs to put their own tweak on the legends. This rewrites a different part of the legend, but I still fail to understand the reason to need to make those tweaks to what are centuries old "beliefs" (if you can call them that). Your writing should stand out as something special, even without that tweaking; if you feel you have to tweak aspects of the overall Vampire legends in order to stand out, maybe you're concentrating on the wrong thing. I'm not saying that's Westerfeld's problem (I think this book is certainly well written, which I can't say about the other series, which is much more superficial and really only works on an emotional level), but why the need to change the mirror bit of the mythos? Yeah, in YA speak, I don't "get" that urge.

Posted by Duff at 11:31 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart

Mindblowingly fucking hilarous. Truly comedic. Completely non-PC, an equal opportunity satirist taking on everyone/thing. Smart and sarcastic, yet willing to show a softer side on occasion. Brilliant.

In the tradition of "Confederacy of Dunces", but I enjoyed this more. Takes it a few steps further, less bitter, more fun. And in addition to the narrator and (anti-)hero Misha Vainberg, the author himself plays a bit part in this book (from afar), the emigre writer "Jerry Shteynfarb" author of "Russian Arriviste's Hand Job" [Shteyngart wrote "The Russian Debutante's Handbook"]. Poking fun at yourself equally as to others = always fertile ground for hilarity.

This is in no way one of the funniest quotes in the book, but it's emblematic of the general tone: "We give these American schmendricks a map of the world and say, 'Point to the general area where you think Congo is located.' Nineteen percent point to the continent of Africa. Another twenty-three percent point to either India or South America. We count those as correct answers, because Africa, India and South America all start out wide and then taper off at the bottom. So, for our purposes, forty-two percent of respondents sort of know where Congo is."

So the book. Yeah. It's really crude, and often gross, and TOTALLY AWESOME.

Posted by Duff at 11:18 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Trespass, by Valerie Martin

Family tension, even in other people's families, can really set me on edge. This book had me anxious from page 1, just waiting for Bad Shit to Happen as the tension and anxiety of each character grows and grows. Definitely had me on the edge of the seat.

Really neat characterization and very finely detailed: the mom's art (so cool), the dad's writing. The intricacies of the familial relationships were so well plotted; you love someone, but you see their weakness; you hate when they act a certain way, but you know how to handle them when that's the case; etc.

When the moment of crisis comes, it was not at all what I expected, and that includes the follow-up events.

But I have to wonder what the blurb writer was thinking. Because the last sentence on the front flap blurb? Yeah, that's NOT what I got out of this at all.

Posted by Duff at 11:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

August 02, 2008

Best of June

Just in time to write up Best of July... I mean, once I get the individual reviews of that stuff up. So slackerass I am this summer.

The best movie I saw in June was Wanted, which I just loved. But I also thought The Fall was visually stunning.

The best book I read in June was a tie between Lush Life by Richard Price (gritty, real and modern day) and Life Class by Pat Barker (artistic and historical). I also really enjoyed Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy, dark short stories, and I just cannot get enough of Patricia Briggs sci fi/fantasy stuff this year.

The best gig I went to in June was definitely Sea Wolf. Soooooo wonderful live.

My favorite tunes in June....were mostly things I bought in April. When I look back through my posts, I was listening to a lot of: Joe Purdy, Joseph Arthur, Fleet Foxes, Meg Hutchinson, Mason Jennings, the aforementioned Sea Wolf and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Random personal highlights: Amy's whirlyball birthday party (whirlyball! so much fun!); Weis [college roommate] here for a weekend; out to dinner with Cinnamon.

Lowlights? I'm sure there were some (primarily secondary browsing location and stress related presumably) but thankfully all I can tell you right now by looking at my calendar is that I was too lazy to go to the Printer's Row Bookfair this year (either day!) and that's pathetic.

Posted by Duff at 08:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for July.

Bought:

• Peeps, by Scott Westerberg
  
• Uglies, by Scott Westerberg
  
• Finding Battlestar Galactica, by Lynnette Porter, David Lavery, and HIllary Robson
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy, ed. by James B. South
  
• Undead TV: Essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ed. by Elana Levine and Lisa Parks
  
• Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There, ed. by Jason T. Eberl
  
• Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang
  

Read:

• Trespass, by Valerie Martin
  
• Absurdistan, by Gary Shteyngart
  
• Finding Battlestar Galactica, ed. by Lynette Porter, David Lavery, and Hillary Robson
  
• Peeps, by Scott Westerfeld
  

I spent a significant part of the month reading two other books (The New Grant Book of the American Short Story, ed. by Richard Ford; and Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy, ed by Jason Eberl), but since I haven't finished them, they'll have to wait for August's list...

Posted by Duff at 11:03 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

July 30, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Not much. But drinking buttfuckingloads of caffeine (bad bad (and as a result) red-faced girl!). Caffeine + Rosacea = not so attractive.

Making: A blurb book from a select few of my Japan photos. Woot.

Reading: Still reading Dad's and my challenge book for the month, "The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford, when I'm at home. And reading "Finding Battlestar Galactica: the Ultimate Unauthorized Fan's Guide" ed. by Lynette Porter, David Lavery & Hillary Robson on the El. [same as last week except FYI neither me nor Dad is going to finish this month's challenge during this month. Whoops!] whoops, wrong BStarG book, actually reading Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There, ed. by Jason T. Eberl. Although it is true, neither Dad nor I is going to finish our challenge book this month (we'll move on to our August book and hope we have time later in the month to go back and finish the July one).

Watching: Generation Kill. Love. Still carrying around the first disc of Band of Brothers for no reason since I've pretty much decided I won't start it until Generation Kill is over so I don't get confused about which war I'm in. Have been to The Dark Knight twice so far. Swoon.

Listening to: Earlimart "Hymn & Her". a) it is an awesome album and b) they are awesome live, super nice and sweet. Also a lot of random singles.

Posted by Duff at 01:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

July 24, 2008

My Dad.

This is his book.

Posted by Duff at 09:33 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, DadReaction, Recommending

July 23, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Like there's no tomorrow. Seriously, people. On Friday, I must have been afraid there'd be a run on meat overnight because not only did I have a 900-calorie Chicken Poblano Fresco sandwich for lunch, but then I had BOTH a Brat AND a 2-lb. Hamburger at dinner. Along with 4? 5? Kirs. And as I'm sure you can imagine, I ate even grosser than that at Pitchfork all weekend. What is wrong with me?

Making: Technically nothing, last two days have been complete fucking hell on wheels at the secondary browsing location. But Jenn did rewrite the sleevecaps for me on the pattern I'm stuck on (ravelry link) so soon I will be working on that. Soon. Supposedly.

Reading: Still reading Dad's and my challenge book for the month, "The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford, when I'm at home. And reading "Finding Battlestar Galactica: the Ultimate Unauthorized Fan's Guide" ed. by Lynette Porter, David Lavery & Hillary Robson on the El.

Watching: The Cleaner , a show that apparently I am the only person on earth to like. Have you read the reviews? Because they're BAD. But I like it! Also The Closer, which I am enjoying but not as much; Saving Grace, which I am NOT enjoying at all; Burn Notice, which I am enjoying primarily when Tricia Helfer is on screen (she is sooo different than her BStarG character, and yet has some of the same powerful characteristics. It's kinda awesome); and Generation Kill, which I am LOVING but am *ahem* only 15 minutes into the first episode. Slacker! And I've already watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog three times (all 3 eps) with many more repeat viewings to follow, I'm sure. As for the Big Screen, I loved both Wanted and The Dark Knight and frankly I'd like to see them both a second time over the weekend. We shall see.

Listening: to Nana Grizol "Love It Love It" which I bought after reading about them (a bunch of times) on this blog. It is a LOT of fun. And the Sea Wolf song "Neutral Ground" over and over after this morning's El contretemps.

Posted by Duff at 12:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

July 16, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: My weight in brownies from Jamie. Yum.

Making: Secret.Family.Craft.Project.

Reading: Still reading the same two books as last week: 1) at home: Dad's and my challenge book for the month, "The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford, and 2) in transit: "Absurdistan" by Gary Shteyngart . Close to finishing #2, which has been a hilarious ride so far, and definitely spending some time gazing at the bookshelves, pondering what's on deck.

Watching: Summer TV kickoffs of Burn Notice, The Cleaner, The Closer, Saving Grace and the wonderful, truly awesome, so enjoyable Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. (I had more to say ova heah.) Also rewatching lots of old favorites. As well as (re)watching BSG season 4 so far. Wanting to see Wanted again...Sooooo good. (So good that I haven't written it up? Slacker!)

Listening: Mostly to SModcasts. About five in the past four days or so? As my Dad says, "those two make great traveling companions." Also (re)listening to the latest albums from Madonna, Gnarls Barkley, Coldplay, Meg Hutchinson and Missy Higgins. All as accompaniment to Secret.Family.Crafting. I have a bunch of new stuff I haven't listened to yet. And there's Pitchfork (with the Nipper! YAY! NIPPER VISIT!) over the weekend. So we'll see.

Posted by Duff at 11:40 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

July 09, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Better than last week. So far. Lots of bananas. Monkey-loving girls can never have too many bananas.

Making: This week? Absofuckinglutely nothing. Maybe over the weekend.

Reading: Dad's and my challenge book for the month, "The New Granta Book of the American Short Story" edited by Richard Ford, a behemoth of a collection, way too heavy to read in transit. I didn't think the first three or so were very good choices, but after that it really picked up and now I can't put it down. I mean when I'm at home, sitting down, with the book resting on a pillow or table, THEN I can't put it down. So since I'm not carrying that fucker around, on the El I'm reading "Absurdistan" by Gary Shteyngart which is really hilarious. Solidly in the "Confederacy of Dunces" tradition. I am picturing the main character as a (much) fatter Kevin Smith. If you listen to SModcasts and then read this book, I think you'll see why.

Watching: Almost nothing. (I mean BSG every night but at this point, does that even count?) I'm supposedly going to start watching Band of Brothers (CCB, can you guess why????). But I've been carrying around disc one for a couple days now and haven't managed to pop it in yet.

Listening: The new Beck "Modern Guilt" (good!), the awesome mix I just made per Juno's request, another new Joseph Arthur EP "Vagabond Skies" (Love.It.), the most talked about rap album of the year Lil Wayne "Tha Carter III" (fun!), and still listening to Fleet Foxes , Sea Wolf and Matt Costa a lot as well. Plus today I am listening to "Nightswimming" from an old, old beloved album (R.E.M. "Automatic for the People") after a eulogy in the April issue of Paste brought it to mind.

Posted by Duff at 08:50 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Tunes

July 08, 2008

Is this true?

Psychologists figured that the memory center was located in the left brain, and the imagination engine in the right brain. Therefore people unconsciously glanced to the left when they were remembering things, and to the right when they were making stuff up. When they were lying. This girl was glancing right so much she was in danger of getting whiplash.

-Lee Child "Nothing to Lose"

Posted by Duff at 09:58 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

Mystery: "Nothing to Lose" by Lee Child

The latest Jack Reacher. You know how I feel about Jack Reacher.

I liked the little bits of the mystery that made this very modern day / the connections to the current global conflict. Definitely enjoyed it overall. Another solid addition to the series.

But I wasn't loving the (yet another) dead-end relationship and I thought the way they made the relationship "connect" to the main mystery (the husband) was a bit contrived. Also, hello, there is no way a smart guy like Reacher takes THAT LONG to figure out what's going on with the husband. Come on.

Posted by Duff at 09:55 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Dads will always set you straight.

In a story, where an environmentally aware son (not young, but still a son) is "borrowing" his dad's welding equipment to weld shut the pipes of a company dumping into a waterway.

'They're pouring emission straight into the water down there, from two pipes hanging out over the bank.'

He tests the chisel, nodding slowly as he works out what I want his welding gear for. 'They're pouring human shit straight into the ocean, too,' he says, pinning me with a glance, 'but I haven't noticed you welding your arse shut.'

-Cate Kennedy "Direct Action" (collected in "Dark Roots")

Posted by Duff at 09:51 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Lit Quotes

Short Stories: "Dark Roots" by Cate Kennedy

Very intense little stories. Succinct but centered around the moment of conflict. Very in medias res. People caught by surprise, sometimes by their own actions. Questioning themselves, questioning you, what would you do. People in unconventional situations. All different points of view: men, women, old, young.

Really good. (And very fast read. BIG print, less than 200 pgs.)

I must not have read the blurb beforehand though because I was somewhere in the mdidle when I thought "This girl MUST be Australian." Yeah, dork, says so right on the back cover. Doh.

Posted by Duff at 09:46 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

July 07, 2008

Books Stephanie recommended

Another reminder to self post: I keep forgetting to buy these two and I can't keep carrying around this email I sent myself...

The Genius, by Jesse Kellerman (also mentioned here)

To the Power of Three, by Laura Lippman (also mentioned here)

Posted by Duff at 07:56 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books

Book I keep reading about.

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. Called "possibly the most impressive post-9/11 novel yet" somewhere that I copied & printed out and then promptly forgot wherefrom. Looked at it in the bookstore but couldn't decide...

Posted by Duff at 07:54 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books

Fiction: Lush Life, by Richard Price

A bday present from Carla who must've seen me mention it here. ;)

Price does such a good job of sucking you into each character's point of view. I kept changing who I was rooting for / who I thought was guilty / who deserved a serious smackdown. He is also just brilliant at maintaining the main plotline while also delving into all the little conflicts going on in the substories around it. Every character, every story, every little grouping of people is fully fleshed out and palpably human.

And the dialogue? Holy crap, no wonder they make this guy's books into movies. The dialogue is just spot-on in every scene.

Combine this great book with Minty's recent Coney Island and Mermaid Parade photos and I was missing NYC something fierce for a week there.

Posted by Duff at 05:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fiction: Life Class, by Pat Barker

I really, really canNOT understand the reviews for this book: all of which seem to compare it unfavorably to her earlier Regeneration trilogy and some of which I just find ludicrous ("Tellingly, many critics mentioned as their favorite character one with little more than a walk-on—the real-life artist, teacher, and surgeon Henry Tonks, whom they hope to see more of in a sequel". What? NO.).

I didn't think the first half of the book was "slow" as so many have said / I thought the first half was about a bunch of very unhappy people, some of whom are actually happier when the war comes (second half) because it gives their life some direction they hadn't seemed to be able to find before it. Life does move slower when you're unhappy, don't you know.

I loved the descriptions of the art in this book; I could *almost* see the paintings in my mind and I really wish most of them existed. (Similar to how I felt about the paintings in Siri Hustvedt's "What I Loved".)

I found it moving and insightful and while it does continue to crack me up that so many contemporary British writers are often to be found writing about WWI and II (because there just haven't been any conflicts in the world since then, right?) in a way you don't find quite as often on this side of the pond, I think Pat Barker is (and continues to be) one of the best.

Posted by Duff at 05:00 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

July 02, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: All I want to eat is crap. Particularly the Special Dark Hershey's Chocolate Kisses that I bought to send to Max (and Alison) and then never put in the mail...Whoops. Their loss, my ass's gain.

Making: Almost done with the second thick woolly sleeveless vest (WHATEVER!). Hoping to finish the top of Kysa's Friendship Star quilt (a.k.a. Friendship Star #2) and then sandwich/baste/and quilt BOTH that AND the quick baby quilt top I whipped up over the weekend and get them in the mail to her by the 9th, which is supposedly the date on which the baby boy is going to pop out. I'm hoping he's late (although I'm sure she's not!!).

Reading: Was supposed to start July's challenge book yesterday (!), but picked it up and almost had my arm drop off due to the weight. Guess I won't be reading that one in transit!! So instead I've started "Trespass" by Valerie Martin which is prickly and dark and promises to get moreso.

Watching: Since my dad started watching BSG, I started watching it ALL OVER AGAIN (I know!) so that when he calls me and says OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS JUST HAPPENED, I know specifically what episode he's talking about (and in what order) and I don't accidentally give away a spoiler like I almost did the other night... Of course I have way more time in my day than he has in his, so I've already gotten past where he is. Maybe I'll wait for him to catch up. I mean, I so would, except for there being fucking nothing else for me to watch right now. And I saw "Wanted" which I loved as much as I thought I would and maybe I'll write a post on that for ya say over the long-ass holiday weekend during which I HAVE TO WORK ON SUNDAY and will not be in Southern Illinois with all my Blonde K-Cousins as I like to call 'em. Waah.

Listening: I listened to Matt Costa (which I mentioned here and here among other places) all weekend long, over and over, after introducing someone to him on Thursday night when we were at my house "playing DJ" since we thought we were going to see Meg Hutchinson at Uncommon Ground but she wasn't there (???) and instead there were these really pretty mediocre singers basically doing karaoke and I'm sorry but Alanis Morrisette "You Oughta Know" done on acoustic guitar with a husky Melissa Etheridge wannabe voice and admonitions to the audience to please "Join in!" ??? I don't think so.

But now I'm listening almost exclusively to the NEW! Earlimart "Hymn and Her" out yesterday that is AWESOME. Oh I love me some Earlimart (for example, this is how much I loved their previous album and here is where they were in my favorite albums of 2007) and Hello! Score! coming to Chicago on the 26th at the teeny tiny Hideout. Woot. Yes, I bought tickets. Yay! (Or, as a former coworker would say "I'm stoked!")

Oh and while the whole "Meg Hutchinson not being playing although that's the only reason we went" issue sucked, I did have some incredible pistachio-encrusted tilapia that pretty much blew my mind and this wacky french Apple-flavored beer that was DELISH. So there's that.

Posted by Duff at 11:57 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 30, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for June.

Bought:

• Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, by David Bassom
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 2, by David Bassom
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 3, by David Bassom
  
• Breath, by Tim Winton
  
• Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child
  

Read:

• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion, by David Bassom
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 2, by David Bassom
  
• War with the Newts, by Karel Capek
  
• Raven's Shadow, by Patricia Briggs
  
• The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck
  
• Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season 3, by David Bassom
  
• Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Life Class, by Pat Barker
  
• Lush Life, by Richard Price
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories)
  
• Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child
  

Hmmm, I think that's the first month since I started keeping track that I've actually read more than I bought. WOOOT!

Posted by Duff at 08:15 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

June 25, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

So I have officially declared Wednesdays to be the "Currently" update date. Completely official until next time I forget and just don't do it, which will most likely be next week! Ha!

Eating: I'm kinda obsessed with the Poblano Fresco (with Chicken) sandwich at Corner Bakery right now. Which is unfortunate being that it's 900 calories (NO JOKE) which is a lot to spend on one sandwich when you are pretending to only eat 1500 calories a day...

Making: A second "vest" type garment made out of super thick, super warm, wool. Because that's totally what you are looking for in clothing right? Something with short sleeves that's super hot?

Reading: Just finished ""Lush Life" by Richard Price (v.v.good) and was reading short stories from Cate Kennedy "Dark Roots" except I didn't realize how close to the end I was and finished it on the El this morning (only 182 pages and BIG print). So crap, I'm not reading ANYTHING right this second and you know I am antsy to get home and dig into the bookshelves and get moving!

Watching: Nothing. I don't think I've turned on the TV this week. (Oh except to put in BSG discs which I've started over again for the third & fourth times (depending on the episode) and am now mid-season 2. I like to be watching around where my dad is watching so when he calls I can remember the stuff he's raving about.) I am waiting for this weekend where I WILL see WANTED, I tell you now.

Listening: Listening to the (still relatively) new Death Cab and also Fleet Foxes and Shearwater and Joseph Arthur and Port O'Brien and Madonna and Missy Higgins and Candy Butchers... I'm all over the place. I am thinking deep thoughts about a mix someone requested so I'll be poking about a bit until I get that done.

Posted by Duff at 10:10 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 23, 2008

Fantasy: Raven's Shadow and Raven's Strike, by Patricia Briggs

Yes, I'm on a bit of a Patricia Briggs kick (first the Mercy Thompson books, then the dragon books I read last month (known together as "the Hurog books"); these are known as "the Raven duology."

Reminiscent of Robert Jordan with the magic and the travelers and the sense of class/caste between magic(al) and not... As with the Hurog books, the characters in these books are so real and so easy to engage with, and the story becomes even more believable as it evolves.

The first book establishes the relationship that the second book gives you the payoff for. The enlargement of the magic world in book two is done just so, so well. Jess is my favorite (not just Jess, but the Guardian as well) but all the "orders" have their attractions.

If you like fantasy, you should be reading these. (And if you like "good literature" but haven't been reading fantasy because you didn't know which ones to read, this is a good place for you to start.)

Posted by Duff at 05:31 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck

I'll go back to my initial reaction: Welcome to the new generation of war novelists. Tactile and gritty and completely engrossing.

A bombed-out Middle Eastern city. An isolated military unit. Sand and desert winds and sweat and dehydration and confusion. The byplay between fear and confidence.

While it is what every good war novel is...it is also something of its own. Highly recommended.

Posted by Duff at 05:24 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

June 18, 2008

Best of May

The best movie I saw in May was Iron Man and it was fucking awesome and definitely the best movie I've seen this year (not that I've seen many) and it's so good that even the second time around when you go to a crap ass neighborhood theater and the projector breaks and you have to watch the middle 20 minutes in two-minute increments, it's STILL brilliant. Are you coming to Chicago? I'd be happy to go to it again!

The best books I read in May were the one-two punch of Dragon Bones and Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs. Magical and mysterious and yet so human and irresistibly attractive. If only I could have jumped into these books and become an auxiliary character (Another "cousin" for Ward? A romantic interest for Oreg?)... She ranks right up there with Elizabeth A. Lynn as my favorite current fantasy writers.

The best gig I went to in May was probably a tie between the Long Blondes (for actual "best") and Crowded House (for playing some of my all-time most beloved songs).

My favorite tunes in May....Honestly, I was soooo busy watching BSG over and over (see below), I really didn't do much listening in May. Which would be why I'm now working on listening to all the many many albums I bought but did not listen to in April, May and (thus far in) June all at once. Doh!

Random personal highlights: MDS&W, not the greatest, but I did get to see my peeps. I watched like* every episode of Battlestar Galactica. Twice. (Or more, depending on how much I loved the episode and how much screen time my Future Husband had ha ha ha ha ha.) I went to visit my nephews. Met my newest cousin! And I got many back/shoulder massages at physical therapy (but see lowlights as well).

Lowlights? Physical therapy: a) the need for it, b) the stretching and lifting and pulling, ow, ow, ow, c) the ice. Hate the ice!! Had to skip a concert (Avett Brothers). Continuing buttloads of stress at the secondary browsing location.

*like used purely for valley girl emphasis, and not to approximate any less than ALL.

Posted by Duff at 10:14 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 17, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Bing cherries. Yum! (1 cup = about 85 calories. Not bad!)

Making: Trying to finish the second sock of a pair started...a million months ago. Before I move on to finishing up Kysa's Friendship Star quilt, since I finished Ame's yesterday! Woot!

Reading: Just finished "Life Class" by Pat Barker (very good) and have moved on to "Lush Life" by Richard Price. It's good. But then again, what book of his isn't.

Watching: Just watched season 1 of Burn Notice on Hulu (Dear Hulu, how 'bout you try to get Everwood, seasons 1-4? Thanks!). Eh. I don't like the lead at all, I hate that everything he says in the voiceovers is in his smarmy, self-satisified tone of voice. But I'd love to be skinny, strong and sassy, like Gabrielle Anwar. So there's that. Since the insanely stupid Sci Fi channel is not going to show the rest of BSG season 4 until fucking next fucking year, I have to find something to watch this summer, before I die of fucking boredom. So I figured if I'm going to be stuck watching season 2 of Burn Notice, I might as well have watched season 1 first.

Listening: Listening to lots of Joseph Arthur (man of many recent EPs) and still obsessing over Meg Hutchinson's latest, as well as some singles from Tristan Prettyman and this very theatrical, dramatic album "Songs from the Deep Forest" by Duke Special that I picked up one day after reading Largeheartedboy's blog where he linked to an interview of someone who recommended this (Paul Weller? maybe?) but I can't remember who or where. It has a similar tone/feel to the soundtrack to "Spring Awakening" or the Buffy musical episode "Once More with Feeling".

Posted by Duff at 05:44 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 11, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Mixed Berry Chewy Spree. Which I'm sure are sour only to me, and holy crap they're making my face burn up. Could be allergic to them. Better eat 20 more to make sure.

Making: Still the blindstitching to go on Amy's quilt and so close to being done w/ an elongated Cloud bolero (ravelry link) although at this point I'm fairly convinced I'll never wind up wearing the thing. Everyone thinks I should wear it with a tanktop but in what weather conditions do a tank top and a wool lacey vest deal go together?

Reading: "The Farther Shore" by Matthew Eck which is really, really good. Welcome to the new generation of war novelists. Tactile and gritty and completely engrossing.

Watching: Battlestar Galactica (old and new) over and over again. And the one and only season of Standoff on Hulu. DAMN, it still pisses me off they cancelled that show. I love episode 2 possibly the best*, but the end of episode 3 is totally (romantically) awesome (Hello, Band of Horses), and also the ends of episodes 12 and 18, just so you know.

Listening: Listening to lots of Joe Purdy (as I may have mentioned), as well as Sea Wolf after seeing their brilliant show last week, (hmmm, which I thought I had written up but apparently not) and Meg Hutchinson. Have bought tons of new stuff; maybe I'll start listening to that over the weekend. I mean, if I can be unslackerish enough to roll off the couch and press play. I've got big relaxation plans going on over here.

*Am I the only one who loves things the "best" rather than the "most"? Where'd I pick that up? I know one of you is to blame. CCB, was it you?

Posted by Duff at 11:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

June 09, 2008

Fiction: War with the Newts, by Karel Capek

Our June challenge book.

Really sharp political/societal commentary. First section is really rollicking fun. Second and third, a bit darker. Sometimes very sad.

Poignantly predictable, in a way, given world history now in 2008, but probably less predictable and more predictive in its time (first published in 1936).

Loved it.

By the way, Capek is the dude who came up with (created? originated? whateva!) the word "Robot" (in his play R.U.R.). This is also the first book to cause some random stranger to come up and talk to me on public transportation IN MY LIFE and given that I have 5 yrs in Chitown and 13 yrs in NYC reading on public transit every work day, that's saying something.

Posted by Duff at 04:37 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin', Recommending

Short Stories: The Collected Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer

The May challenge book. I had the '96 Farrar Straus edition so we went off its TOC for what we read (Dad has the Complete vs. the Collected).

Very entertaining, really liked a lot of them. Intensely detailed, plotted down to the last moment (even when there's not much of a plot), really great dialogue, and lots and lots of crazy neurotics ("The Admirer", for example. nuts!).

That said, they were arranged (way) too thematically. I mean four or five stories into dybbuks and devils tormenting innocent jews (I really didn't realize there were that many devils in Judaic tradition) and they all start to seem a little too much the same (and you've still got another 20 on that topic to go). Then at the other end of the book, all the NYC stories were lumped together as well. Mixing the disparate types together might have made it an more enjoyable read (or I could have instituted my own mix and read out of order, but how was I to know they were grouped by type?) -- not that it wasn't enjoyable, but there were definitely stories where I thought "another one of these? just like the last four? really?".

When you get to the NYC stories, there are quite a few where you suddenly see the influence he's had on Philip Roth. "Old Love" for example shares so many of Roth's current themes and similar personal details on the part of the protagonist. Dad thinks Singer (rather than Malamud) is really the model for Roth's E.I. Lonoff (an elder writer who appears in some of Roth's Zuckerman books).

Posted by Duff at 04:14 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, Readin'

June 03, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for May.

Bought:

• Just One Look, by Harlan Coben
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child
  
• A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both, by Ben Greenman (stories)
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child (whoops)
  
• Sleeping It Off in Rapid City, by August Kleinzahler (poetry)
  
• Unmentionables, by Beth Ann Fennelly (poetry)
  
• Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Raven's Shadow, by Patricia Briggs
  
• One False Move, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Final Detail, by Harlan Coben
  

Read:

• Just One Look, by Harlan Coben
  
• Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child
  
• Slam, by Nick Hornby
  
• The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder
  
• Dragon Bones, by Patricia Briggs
  
• Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs
  
• One False Move, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Final Detail, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Collected Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer

Posted by Duff at 04:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

May 29, 2008

Best of April

Just in time for June!!

The best movie I saw in April was Leatherheads, which might seem like it's not saying much since how hard is it to be the best of only two, but on the other hand, I thought it was really really good. It's not its fault my lack of movie viewing didn't give it much competition.

The best book I read in April was Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos but Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Goff was also good and a bit more high-brow if that's what you're looking for.

The best gig I went to in April was Bon Iver. A beautiful album done even more beautifully live.

My favorite tunes in April.... You know, at this point I'm not sure what I was listening to then, probably stuff I bought in February and/or March. The memory, it ain't what it used to be.

Random personal highlights: The yearly trip to Portland, yay, including burgers, beers and brunch; trying out my new camera (Hasselblad, yo). Not much else good happened; it was a rough month.

Lowlights? Had the punes; which seemingly caused a mysterious shoulder injury (look for "physical therapy" in May's highlights); had a LOTLOTLOT of stress at the secondary browsing location. And, I'm sure, airport delays on the way to Portland because you KNOW planes are delayed in every direction if I am flying on them.

Posted by Duff at 01:42 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

May 24, 2008

Mystery: One False Move, by Harlan Coben

Burning through mysteries in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

The next in the Myron Bolitar series (after these). Still enjoying these, but not quite as much thanks to throwaway paragraphs with pedantic tones like this one:

"Win waited by Myron's car. He was bent slightly at the waist, practicing his golf swing. He did not have a club or a ball, of course. Remember blasting rock music and jumping on your bed and playing air guitar? Golfers do the same thing. They hear some internal sounds of nature, step on imaginary first tees, and swing air clubs. Air woods usually. Sometimes, when they want more control, they take air irons out of the air bags. And like teens with air guitars, golfers like to watch themselves in mirrors..."

Seriously? Do tell. Who is the audience for that? Or, better yet, who does the writer think his audience is that he needs to write that? You can, indeed, take dumbing down a bit too far.

Dear Harlan Coben,
There aren't that many Myron Bolitar books after this one. So I'm sure I'll keep reading them up until the end. Because I like Myron. And I love Win, despite the fact that he's a raving psychopath. (He makes Joe Pike look well adjusted.) But seriously? You can do better than that.
Sincerely,
who would've thought golf could be made more boring than it actually is,
CMS

Posted by Duff at 05:19 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Letters, Readin'

Fantasy: Dragon Blood, by Patricia Briggs

Burning through fantasy in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

The follow-up to Dragon Bones. Equally rewarding, if not more so for getting to spend more time with these characters.

She's currently my favorite fantasy writer and I cannot recommend these (and the Mercy Thompson books) enough.

Posted by Duff at 05:17 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: Dragon Bones, by Patricia Briggs

Burning through fantasy in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

I've recommended her modern day fantasy to you before. Now I can highly recommend her more traditionally set (you know that whole medieval-type, middle age-sort of world that so much fantasy is set in; similar to the worlds of Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, among others) fantasy as well.

LOVED this book. Absolutely loved. In love with Ward, with Oreg, completely sucked in by the myth and the magic. Beautiful. Some kinda icky torture (physical and psychological), that just makes you care even more deeply about these characters. Wow.

Posted by Duff at 05:14 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

Mystery: The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder

Burning through mysteries in the offhours while reading this month's challenge book.

Really erotic and sexy...but sometimes in a very icky way. Spooky premise, creepy surroundings, and a very messed up girl. Not for the faint of heart. Not to be read at night alone in the dark.

Posted by Duff at 05:12 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Slam, by Nick Hornby

A younger version of the main characters from "About a Boy" and "High Fidelity" (two very beloved books 'round here. Although you may remember, I do NOT love some of his others; and I only love the movie of ONE of those).

Easy, honest, open...with a wee little bit of fantasy future thrown in. Liked it, but didn't always love it, sometimes frustrated by it. As with all teenage boys, right?

Posted by Duff at 05:08 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child

Reading mysteries in the offhours while burning through this month's challenge book.

The latest Jack Reacher (or latest in paperback at least). Jack Reacher is my dream...everything he is in the books with Tahmoh Penikett's body, looks, voice, etc. Perfect!

Posted by Duff at 05:04 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Just One Look, by Harlan Coben

Since this month's challenge is back to short stories, I find myself breaking it up a bit with short&sweet mystery novels. I know, right? Bizarre.

Anyways....I was reading for the next Myron Bolitar book but couldn't find it on my way to the airport, so had to settle for a non-Myron Bolitar, the first stand-alone Coben I've read.

I liked some of the characters, I liked the "figuring it out" stuff. But I thought the main mystery was both too convoluted and too improbable to really work. Too many moving parts. Still kept you intrigued...but like an badly plotted action movie that wows you while you're IN IT, but is too easy to pick apart afterward.

Posted by Duff at 05:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: Fade Away and Back Spin, both by Harlan Coben

Books 3 and 4 in the Myron Bolitar series (1, 2). Still enjoying these.

In some ways, Win's character makes these much more violent than your average mystery (is that why I like them?). And the ongoing confusion of the Jessica situation also adds an intensity. But I'm not sure why temptation always has to be a part of it. The come-back scenario in Fade Away was really bittersweet.

Posted by Duff at 04:53 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: The Death of Virgil, by Hermann Broch

The April challenge book. Certainly the toughest read so far, for both Dad and me.

The language is rich, gorgeous and elegaic; much like reading Virgil himself (or Homer. or Ovid). It's dreamy and powerful and image-full. But...

Part 1: Interesting. Lovely imagery and prose. Nice.

Part 2: Interminable. Almost the death of ME, let alone Virgil. Sentences so long, you can't remember where they began or if anything has even happened in them. And what? Did he just suggest burning the Aeneid? WHAT?!?!

Part 3: Hey, there's some stuff happening again! Still a very high-toned literary experience, but now the drama with Octavian really pulls things along. Some very neat imagery, the landscape arising out of nothing (much easier to do in film than in prose). His yearning is so strong, you can really feel it. [According to Dad the slave boy and Plotia play a very similar role here to that of Jessica Lange in "All That Jazz." I was then castigated for not having seen that recently enough to be able to agree (or not). p.s. just between you, world wide web, and me, I'm not even sure I've ever seen it all the way through!] Really enjoyable.

Part 4: Ugh, we're back to part 2-like process again. Dad: "It's like 2001 the Space Odyssey. At first it's kinda cool and then after a while you just get really, really bored." Me: Hard to know what's happening here, when he's actually dead, what is dream sequence vs. reality vs. post-mortem? (And in this part, hard to care. If this was written like Part 3, I'd be all over it!)

Glad to have read it, but certainly never going to need to read it again. Definitely a challenge.

Posted by Duff at 04:41 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin'

Fiction: The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff

Bought this one in an airport due at least partly to its paper-cut-out looking cover (Yo, Chicken, you would LOVE it, have you seen it????) and its Stephen King blurb.

Definitely fits into that "damaged girl comes home, solves mystery" genre (like Sharp Objects but a little less dark).

I have some misgivings: some of the characters made me a little crazy; I'm not sure the historical stuff ever really found its way IN to the story / didn't quite coalesce; and there's at least one character who I, and I would assume many readers feel this way, still have outstanding concerns about as the book ends.

But I liked the tone, I liked the focus on academia, the almost, but not quite, high-browed literariness of it. And I loved the contrast between the unmonstrousness of the actual monster and the metaphoricness of the Monsters of the title. Some stuff really well done. Very textured and tactile.

Posted by Duff at 04:33 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos

The second in a (somewhat loose) series about Cornelia (and, now, Teo). I liked the first book, but didn't love it. I LOVED this one.

Less Claire in this book, although still importantly part of it. Dev was a great character, scenes with him really shone.

Easy, natural conversational tone that just sucked me right in, I could barely put it down. Laughed with it, cried with it. Ouch. Friendships, families, what makes them, what breaks them. Many similar themes to the earlier book. But, in my opinion, much better written and handled. Definitely a step up.

Recommended.

Posted by Duff at 04:29 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

May 02, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Loads of crap-ass horrible-for-you but oh-so-good-tasting food.

Making: Not a motherfucking thing.

Reading: Finishing up "Slam" by Nick Hornby so I can move on to the May challenge book before Dad gets too far ahead of me!!! (Finished April in the nick of time but haven't written it up yet.)

Watching: This week's episodes of: Bros & Sis (middling); Bones (eh, stupid babies); Gossip Girl (hmm OK); How I Met Your Mother (awesome); CSI NY (lame); CSI (awesome); Lost (motherfucking awesomely awesome!!!!!!!!!!!); The Office (pretty good); 30 Rock (eh); Grey's (sucked ass). Did I watch anything else this week? I just can't remember.

Listening: New albums from The Weepies (yes!); Madonna (some!); Fleet Foxes (LOVE!); and lots of other stuff (check several recent Tunes posts).

Posted by Duff at 10:20 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for April.

Bought:

• A Plea for Eros, by Siri Hustvedt
  
• Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos
  
• The Philosopher's Apprentice by James Morrow
  
• Seven Notebooks, by Campbell McGrath (poetry)
  
• Fade Away, by Harlan Coben
  
• Back Spin, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Last Kashmiri Rose, by Barbara Cleverly
  
• The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder
  

Read:

• The Watchman, a Joe Pike novel, by Robert Crais
  
• Drop Shot, by Harlan Coben
  
• Belong to Me, by Marisa de los Santos
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff
  
• Fade Away, by Harlan Coben
  
• The Death of Virgil, by Hermann Broch
  
• Back Spin, by Harlan Coben
  

Posted by Duff at 09:47 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

April 24, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Ginger ale and saltines and that's about it. I expect that to change over the weekend though. Look out Moody's, here I come.

Making: Nada. Been shootin' some film.

Reading: Dad's and my March challenge book for the month "The Death of Virgil" by Hermann Brach, the first to really be a fucking challenge to read. Abstractly, it is beautiful and elegaic and almost like reading Virgil himself. But the act of reading it...is tough. Not always what I want on the El, my main reading time. Dad was struggling too...until he burst ahead, read the last 40 pages and called me to crow! Dang! Have taken a few breaks for some others, but now I've really got to buckle down. Month's almost over!

Watching: Fresh TV. Ah. As welcome as Spring. Bones, I've missed you. Also obsessively watching both NEW and VERY OLD CSI. I know, right? Catching up on season and rewatching whatever season (2003?) is currently showing from about 4-7 on SPIKE TV. Watching it so much, DNA is all I can think about, everywhere I am, everything I touch, "whoops, just left a little DNA right there, hope no one gets murdered on this corner later..." Oh and season 1 Battlestar Galactica. Fuckin' awesome. Helo is my fave. Season 2 better get here lickety split (if you think I didn't leave the sickbed to go feverishly, deliriously hunting for it in the 'hood the other night, you are way wrong).

Listening: Dang, I've been watching so much BSG and CSI, listenin' has had a tough time staying in the game this week. I haven't even listened to most of the CDs I bought in Japan, as someone just reminded me! That said, I'm loving the new album from Meg Hutchinson I bought at her show the other night. And by loving I mean ouch, my heart just broke into 100 pieces but play it again, would ya? Also loving two recent EPs by Joseph Arthur, one all distorty and dark and the other less dark but as melancholy as always (and love it so). Got a lot of new stuff waitin' in the wings. More to say soon! Seriously!

Posted by Duff at 01:18 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Currently, TVTVTV, Tunes

April 18, 2008

Best of March

Ah, March, I barely remember you... Ha! Kidding!

The best movie I saw in March was also the only movie I saw (Be Kind, Rewind), so good thing I enjoyed it.

The best book I read in March was definitely The Complete Stories by David Malouf. Really wonderful stories.

The best gig I went to in March is harder to pin down. I was excited to finally see Matt Nathanson and (separately) Dan le Sac. I thought the Raveonettes sounded great. I probably enjoyed Griffin House the most as he was all sassy and laidback and it was a really fun night.

My favorite tunes in March were lots of stuff I was already listening to from February, like new albums from Missy Higgins, Nada Surf, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Bon Iver, Mike Doughty and the Raveonettes; but also stuff I bought in March like new albums from Jesse Malin "Glitter in the Gutter" (which I lovelovelove), Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks and Gnarls Barkley (DangerMouse can do no wrong)!!

Random personal highlights: Hmmm, let's see, nine-day trip to Japan, I guess that was kind-of a highlight (I guess! Ha!); my newest/youngest cousin was born!: Clark and I had a joint party; and I had a great long Saturday with Carlos and Shei getting back into shooting film (vs. digital).

Lowlights? Long, long, long airplane rides.

Posted by Duff at 10:15 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Best of..., Books, Flicks, Tunes

April 13, 2008

Mystery: "Drop Shot" by Harlan Coben

And another little break...

The second in the Myron Bolitar series. The fact that Myron is a sports agent and lawyer rather than your more typical PI or retired cop/military just soooo works for me in these books. But of course Win is my favorite character (Joe Pike but without conscience? Or questionable conscience?). I did figure out one part of the mystery a lot earlier than Myron, and not sure if I like being the one to figure it out, I am happy when the book fools me to the end sometimes. Still very enjoyable.

Posted by Duff at 03:10 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Watchman" by Robert Crais

Taking a little break from the "big" book I am reading [I'll do a "currently" post soon]...

Subtitled "A Joe Pike Novel" which makes me hope (HOPEHOPE) that implies an entire series focused on Pike.

I thought the Elvis Cole books were draggin' a little, getting too caught up in Elvis' personal life and not enough focus on the mysteries. This was a refreshing change; Pike is such an engimatic dude. The only comparable character for me is Jack Reacher and I would actually run off with Pike first if given the choice.

He's fierce and fearless and smart and determined and crazy ass cool. I keep warning my dad I am soooo tempted to get matching deltoid arrows...

Posted by Duff at 03:07 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fantasy: "The Tourmaline" by Paul Park

Second in the series I started in March.

Some really dark and twisted stuff in here, in such a cool way. All spicy and bitter with emotion and imagination. I am enjoying them a great deal. [Another one already bought and in the TBR pile!]

Posted by Duff at 03:05 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Murder at the Vicarage" by Agatha Christie

Another English language pickup in Kyoto, I was really getting desperate for reading material there at the end. (And you know I had to save something for the plane!)

The first Miss Marple, when she's just annoying as hell and only one person in the story even seems to realize that although annoying, she's probably right. (You know, versus later on, when she's still as annoying but people heed her advice because of her track record.)

Posted by Duff at 03:01 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Nonfiction: "Let's Talk About Love; A Journey to the End of Taste" by Carl Wilson

Part of the 33 1/3 series (details here or here).

There is much more to this book than you might think. Truly a philosophical treatise on not just Celine and her music (and importance or not); but on personal taste, crowd reaction, social commentary... The level of research was pretty impressive and the combination of sarcasm and thoughtfulness had a nice smooth tone. Doesn't make me anymore interested in listening to Dion's music, but that's not really the point.

Posted by Duff at 02:57 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Naming of the Dead" by Ian Rankin

Not really sure where I am in this series, I may have skipped ahead a few books to read this one, but I was out of reading material and this was the only thing in the "english books" section of that particular store in Kyoto that I wanted to read.

Rebus is still the same disreputable mess as always, but the byplay between him and Siobhan here is great, felt very refreshing and upbeat from the last one I read. And the ins and outs of the mystery here were really well done.

Posted by Duff at 02:55 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Fiction: "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" by Winifred Watson

Charming, fun, lively, light. Great dialogue. Engaging.

Posted by Duff at 02:54 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Mystery: "The Hunt Ball" and "The Hounds and the Fury" by Rita Mae Brown

Two more in the Sister Jane Hall/Jefferson Hunt Club series (got started a few years ago with an Xmas present).

I liked both of these for the things I've liked before: the intrigue and details of the mystery, the awesome dogs and horses and the foxes (I love the foxes) and their reactions and relations and really vital role in the story. Man I love reading the scenes with Cora and Dasher. The hunt scenes are really wonderful and atmospheric, take you right into the thick of things.

And I didn't like the same stuff that bugs me in each of these books: Sister Jane's incredible self-satisifed-ness and the "how to be upstanding and moral" lessons that crop up throughout. Often has a very pedantic feel. Too preachy and often those paragraphs aren't even in any particular character's voice so they really throw you right out of the action.

Posted by Duff at 02:50 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin'

Short Stories: The Complete Stories by David Malouf

The March selection in Dad's and my reading challenge. I had read a few Malouf novels so this was one of my suggestions.

LOVED it. [Both of us did.] Had no idea going in, but the dude is a MASTER of the technique and these are certainly some of the best stories I've ever read, and probably the best overall collection. [Dad might not be QUITE as nutty about them as I am.]

Seems he can write from any angle, any point of view: young boy, middle-aged woman, loner, popularity queen, happy, sad, criminal, just. The atmosphere is rich and vivid (and reeks of Australia, I could feel myself there again). The language is thick and layered and sensual [reminded Dad of D.H. Lawrence stories]. Really beautiful. In many stories, a BIG event has taken place "offscreen" (never to be known), with the focus on the human reactions and following chain of effects.

My favorite stories were: "Every Move You Make", "The Domestic Cantata", "Sally's Story", "Great Day", and "A Traveller's Tale".

Highly recommended.

Posted by Duff at 02:42 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

April 01, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for March.

Bought:

• The Death of Sweet Mister, by Daniel Woodrell (used)
  
• The Great World, by David Malouf (used)
  
• The Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf (used)
  
• Confessions of a Recovering Slut, by Hollis Gillespie
  
• Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois
  
• The Fatal Gift, by Alec Waugh (used)
  
• A Spy in the Family, by Alec Waugh (used)
  
• The Ballad and the Source, by Rosamond Lehmann (used)
  
• The Music at Long Verney, by Silvia Townsend Warner (stories) (used)
  
• The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin (in Japan, no access to my bookshelves!)
  
• The Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie (in Japan, no access to my bookshelves!)
  

Read:

• The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist, by Richard P. Feynman
  
• The Complete Stories, by David Malouf
  
• The Hunt Ball, by Rita Mae Brown
  
• The Hounds and the Fury, by Rita Mae Brown
  
• Ms. Pettigrew Lives for the Day, by Winifred Watson
  
• The Naming of the Dead, by Ian Rankin
  
• Let`s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, by Carl Wilson
  
• The Murder at the Vicarage, by Agatha Christie
  
• The Tourmaline, by Paul Park

Posted by Duff at 03:30 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

March 18, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Enough food to feed a third world country and that's what I'm eating for every meal. Just STARVING lately but presumably due to STRESS.

Making: Absofuckinglutely nothing. Made a little progress on Ame's friendship star beginning of last week. Since then: nuttin', honey.

Reading: Dad's and my March challenge short stories "The Complete Stories" by David Malouf which are breathtakingly good. Best short stories I've EVER read? I'm thinking so.

Watching: LOST which is fucking rocking my world. And other shows that really aren't as good: Jericho (OK, not great); New Amsterdam (really kinda bad but the dude is so watchable, what can a lonely girl do?); How I Met Your Mother (I do not call last night's episode returning with a bang, sorry kids) and some DVDs to help me out during the 2008 CD Reorganization Project, I'll try to pop in and tell you about them before I take off. Have had many plans to go to U2 3D over the past few weeks. All have fallen through. I hope it's still playing when I get home!

Listening: Obsessively to Jesse Malin "Glitter in the Gutter" which is in CONSTANT rotation, I just can't stop playing it. Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago" and Matt Costa "Unfamiliar Faces" are close seconds. Also getting to know the new Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. A bit rougher/less produced than Malin but pretty damn good. Have been introducing other slackers to Nada Surf "Get Lucky", The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (self titled) (FUN!), Mike Doughty "Golden Delicious" and Missy Higgins "On a Clear Night". Going to see The Raveonettes tonight although I haven't gotten through the entire new album yet; everytime I start listening something else gets in the fucking way!

and p.s. thanks to Fuel/Friends and the LaBlogotheque Concert à Emporter of Stephen Malkmus, this morning I am listening to Reckoning (yes, that's R.E.M. to you young'uns) which has not been listened to full on...in many years. So many good songs on this album.

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March 10, 2008

Books I Didn't Buy at the "New" Bookstore the Other Day.

(But still want to consider/remember):

• Beginner's Greek, by James Collins
  
• The Fiction Class, by Susan Breen
  
• Lady of the Roses, by Sandra Worth

Shortly after that, I wound up at the used bookstore where I did buy three books that day and five or six more a few days later. But you'll have to wait for March's "Hornsby-esque" to find out about those.

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March 06, 2008

Best of February

I know the rest of you complain about it, but February is my favorite month, even when it's one day longer than usual...

The best movie I saw in February was probably There Will Be Blood, but I actually liked Cloverfield better. And honestly, why is no one going to see it? Monsters! Mayhem! New York mashed up! So much to enjoy there.

The best book I read in February was The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek, a rollicking tale of a misfit, fumbling soldier's sojourns. But I did LOVE both the sci fi/fantasy books I read this month as well (here and here).

The best gig I went to in February was a tie between Jason Isbell and Griffin House, both of whom havewho has serious stage mojo and far more rockingness than you can hear on theirhis studio albums. Isbell was fiery and intense and rocking out; House was sassy and sarcastic and living it up. [I'm an idiot, Griffin House was in March! Doh!]

My favorite tunes in February were Bon Iver "For Emma, Forever Ago" (never found a copy of the 2007 release, could barely hold my breath waiting for this one and it was soooo worth it, absolutely gorgeous heartaching music); Missy Higgins "On a Clear Night" (husky and gorgeous); Nada Surf "Lucky" (awesome and rockin' and leading off w/ my favorite single from last year); and Clare Bowditch & the Feeding Set "The Moon Looked On". Also loving some previews of new tunes by the Counting Crows (featured on Fuel/Friends). Enjoying, but still getting to know, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, new Mike Doughty "Golden Delicious" ("I wrote a song about your hips!" Yay! first heard in 06, finally on an album!). Bought a few others but haven't listened enough to have an opinion -- hopefully soon!

Random personal highlights: French movie night resurrected (and thanks for chili, Carla, and the Tarte Tatin, Jess!); long weekend in Vegas visiting Monica and Charlie (and Buddy and Ella!); annual milestone passed successfully; meeting Baby J for the first time (Curious George #1 recipient).

Lowlights? Not really a "lowlight" per se, but man I have been eating like crappyassola for at least a month. Gotta get back on track before my pants don't fit! Not that I regret having sour cherry pie for breakfast and molten chocolate cake for lunch on the same day. Not at all!!

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Best of January

The best movie I saw in January was Atonement, which was both really beautifully costumed and filmed AND the most faithful screen adaptation I think I've ever seen of a book. Lovely.

The best book I read in January was a tie between You Must Be This Happy to Enter, by Elizabeth Crane (short stories), who I've read and enjoyed before but this time I felt took the bar even higher, and Native Guard, by Natasha Trethewey (poetry), an xmas gift from my pops, really beautiful and entrancing poems about her personal history as well as civil war history.

The best gig I went to in January was Bon Iver. It was the only gig I went to in January but it was really, really good (and I'm going to see him again in April! And you know I only go see the same artist again that soon if I LOVED it).

My favorite tunes in January were Cat Power "Jukebox", Matt Costa "Unfamiliar Faces" (quirky and fun!), and an old album Chris Bell "I Am the Cosmos", which I picked up in San Fran. Bell (now deceased I believe) was in Big Star, who I started listening to last summer thanks to Rob Sheffield (yes I am a loser and didn't know about them back in the day). Also enjoying tunes from Zoey Deschanel and M.Ward (as "She & Him"), Crowded House offspring Liam Finn's debut I'll Be Lightning, and another San Fran purchase Tracy Johnson (which to me is good old-fashioned female-vocaled pop music!).

Random personal highlights: Brunch in Chicago with Carrieoke and Cathy!!!; dinner with Cinnamon; rainy weekend in San Fran visiting Ms Silvia.

Lowlights? A month and a half later, I don't remember any so they must not have been that bad!!Oh, I know! Four to six hour flight delays in both directions. Fuckin' airports = hell on earth.

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March 05, 2008

Mystery/Suspense: "The Faithful Spy" by Alex Berenson

Cool setup/scenario. Nice spy/action stuff. But reads more like a screenplay than a "novel" really; when's the movie coming out??? :) Good airport book!

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Essays: "The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist" by Richard P. Feynman

Science reading for non scientists. Great conversational tone / these are "transcribed" from three lectures he gave; there were a few spots that in person/out loud were probably very funny although a bit dry on the page.

Really, really enjoyed the first two sections / the third is (as he announces at the outset) a bit of a ramble and it lost my attention a few times. But worth reading nonetheless.

Thoughtful and concise and ready to converse. Written in '63 (if I recall, book's not next to me) but still very relevant today.

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Fiction: "The Good Soldier Svejk" by Jaroslav Hasek

The February book in Dad's and my reading challenge.

Eastern European classic, Dad bought it years ago based on a Kundera recommendation. Total farce, hilarious comic novel. Bumbling anti-hero, a miserable idiot...or is he? Really a lot of fun to read. The never-ending "Well that reminds me of" stories and the contretemps...just indescribable. We both loved it. Humbly report, sir...

Somewhat in the tradition of Don Quixote or Tristram Shandy, although Svejk is a bit more self aware than DQ.

Posted by Duff at 10:35 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Challenge 08, DadReaction, Readin', Recommending

Fantasy: "A Princess of Roumania" by Paul Park

Bitter, dark, magical and mysterious. Couldn't put it down!

Fans of Justine Larbalestier or Margo Lanagan would like this, I would think, although Marrije said she couldn't get into it the first time around.

Posted by Duff at 10:13 AM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

March 03, 2008

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for February.

Bought:

• The Watchman (A Joe Pike Novel), by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole gets his own spinoff!)
  
• The Odyssey and The Iliad, Homer (buying the Robert Fagles translations, my other ones are Lattimore)
  
• The Faithful Spy, by Alex Berenson
  
• The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff
  
• The Priory, by Dorothy Whipple
  
• Saplings, by Noel Streatfeild
  
• Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winifred Watson
  
• The Tourmaline, by Paul Park
  
• The White Tyger, by Paul Park
  
• A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray
  
• Dark Roots, by Cate Kennedy (stories)

Read:

• Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs
  
• A Princess of Roumania, by Paul Park
  
• The Faithful Spy, by Alex Berenson
  
• The Good Soldier Svejk, by Jaroslav Hasek

Note I am not including books I received as gifts (Bonus!) of which there happened to have been quite a few in February (Yay!).

Posted by Duff at 04:35 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Hornby-esque, Lists

February 20, 2008

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am...

Eating: Potbelly turkey on skinny wheat, no cheese, just a little mayo. How can a plain turkey sandwich be so stinkin' good? Also chocolates from Moonstruck in Portland (thanks to Melanie) and Charles Chocolates in San Fran (thanks to Silvia). Because it's everyone's goal that I be the fattest girl in the world.

Making: Very very weak attempts at the daisy-stitch handwarmers I told Amanda I'd make her. Ugh, what an annoying pattern, the K3tog, yo, K3tog into the same 3 stitches was way too annoying on wooden needles -- talk about hand cramps! Will try again with addis. Lots of THINKING about the quilting I want to get done in the next few weeks, but given I was just out of town for a few days, nothing done on that front.

Reading: Dad's and my February challenge book "The Good Soldier Svejk" by Jaroslav Hasek (Svejk pronounced Shvayk). It's hilarious. Total farce. Along the lines of Tristam Shandy. With a few random other things thrown in here and there, particularly in airports, but those are all finished now.

Watching: The same movies over and over (hello Juno, I've seen you before. A few times.) with yay! a few fresh episodes of TV (Bros&Sis, Terminator, Jericho, Lost, Eli Stone) thrown in. It's almost like a season in full swing. Almost!

Listening: For several weeks, all I listened to were the new albums from Nada Surf, Missy Higgins and Clare Bowditch and the Feeding Set. Now I've got a few others thrown in including the beautiful Bon Iver (oh did you just hear my heart break?) released yesterday, just for me I like to pretend; a new Mike Doughty, because you can never go wrong with Mike Doughty; the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, based in Chicago, not Britain; live sneak peeks of tunes off the upcoming Counting Crows double album... There's a lot going on all of a sudden.

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February 14, 2008

Fantasy/Mystery: "Iron Kissed" by Patricia Briggs

This is book #3 in the Mercy Thompson (mechanic, shape shifter) series and I am just LOVING these books. Loving, I tell you. (I told about the first and second ones last year.)

The mystery is a little bit closer to home. The relationship situation comes to more of a head. Things are fiercer and gentler all at the same time (the mutual realization in the car was just handled so so right) and I'm just chomping at the bit to read more, more, more about these characters. Not a false note anywhere. Now where will the final decision take her? Write the next book soon please, Ms. Briggs, because these three are going to be threadbare by the time that one comes out and I'm ready for it now!

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Short Stories: "You Must Be This Happy to Enter" by Elizabeth Crane

I've told you about this author before. She was in my favorite books of 2006 and you'll find brief reviews of her two previous collections if you search for "crane" on this page.

This collection shares some qualities with the previous two (her writing is still "breathless" and "exhilarating" as I mentioned there). Some of the stories still feel like they take an experience and just pinpoint EXACTLY how it feels: as if she reached right into your life and wrote down for everyone what you were thinking but couldn't put into words.

But I think there's an evolution here as well (and I mean that in a good way). They're less in a girls' world (or one girl's world in the case of the second collection) but more "a girl out in the world" if you know what I'm sayin. There's some spot-on societal criticism (the reality show digs are priceless!). There's a bit more fantastical-ness than there was before (I'm thinking of "Manny" and "Blue Girl", they feel imaginative in a different way). There's a letter that is, indeed, all the best things you would want to say to an yet to be born and/or adopted child. And there are relationshps that, while being just as insightful as in her previous collections, have some sense of growth, some sense of "who you are, even while in a relationship, that is not defined by that relationship" in a way I didn't notice before.

When you're reading someone who's published 30 novels and been well chronicled and gone through their different paths to the road they're on, it's a different feeling. You know "oh now I'm reading from THIS time in her writing" or "oh yes this is when she tried out THIS". It's not quite as revelatory as when you're reading someone who's early on in their writing career, still somehow fresh and new, and you start thinking "hey, wait this feels....different. this feels....further on." Years from now, I think I'll look back and say "oh yes, the third book. That was a different place. A new path." Or, an evolution. For this reader, anyway.

I particularly LOVED "Donovan's Closet." And "Blue Girl." And "Promise" just leaves me completely heartbroken with the beauty of it. But again, in the good way.

Posted by Duff at 07:40 PM | E-Mail | Comments (0) | Permalink | filed under Books, Readin', Recommending

February 09, 2008

Fiction: "Tree of Smoke" by Denis Johnson

A big whopper of a book, for which the reviews are either enthustiastically postive (almost anywhere you look, and it also won the National Book Award) or soo soooo negative as to be completely comical.

I fall somewhere between. Not the best book I'll read this year: it's sprawling and sloppy and segues awkwardly. Not the worst book I'll read: it's descriptive and evocative and critical and inquiring.

I thought the beginning was kinda confusing, as one event in the 1963 chapter flashes forward to 1967, and a lot of characters get introduced in offhand ways, leading me to create a flowchart (that I stopped needing after a bit) of who knew who an