February 2012
1 post
"A" is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
My mom has been reading this series since before I was born. They’ve always been on our shelf, but it wasn’t until now, when I’m 24 and don’t live at home, that I finally read one. Logically, I started with “A.” I think I appreciated this much more that I’ve put in a few good years of murder-solving TV shows.
Here’s what I liked:
1. Short. I...
January 2012
2 posts
"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I always get The Secret Garden and A Little Princess mixed up. Probably because they both start have something to do with India and because they were written by the same person. I had only seen the movies until I read my awesome threads version of The Secret Garden.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The imagery was fantastic. I want to live in a 100 room house that backs up to an English...
December 2011
3 posts
"Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell
I’m not a horse person. What I mean by that is that I’m scared of horses - for the most part. I grew up with sheep, had cows behind our house, went to plenty of rodeos, 4H shows, and farms - but I think I’ve only ridden a horse once. It’s not that I don’t like them, they’re just so big! Anywho, I’m glad I read Black Beauty because it really does...
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
There are few things in this book that aren’t magical. In fact, pretty much all of it is. If you’ve seen Disney’s animated Peter Pan, much of it is the same. If you’ve seen Hook or the live action Peter Pan - put them all together and you’ve pretty much got it. One thing that I believe isn’t in any of the movies is the meeting between Peter Pan and...
October 2011
4 posts
Great Books That Make Great Movies - Harry Potter
I’ll go ahead and say it - if you don’t enjoy Harry Potter, there’s something wrong with your imagination. I am an admitted Harry Potter super fan. I love the books and I am one who LOVES the movies. Some would beg to differ. I think those people are crazy. I couldn’t be happier with the way the movies turned out. They didn’t lighten or sugar coat what is...
"Good Stuff" by Jennifer Grant
I was SO excited to read this book. Cary Grant is one of my favorite people of all time. I’ve watched my copy of “The Philadelphia Story” so many times that it’s about to wear out. I hadn’t read other Cary Grant biographies, mostly because with someone who lived their lives so privately, I don’t want to just read conjecture. I came across Jennifer Grant...
"Swann's Way" by Marcel Proust
First, I will admit first that I bought this book soley on the awesomeness of the cover. I figured that it being a classic made it worth the purchase. Second, you’ll notice how long it’s been since my last book. That’s how long it took me to finish this damn book. I can’t necessarily blame the book. Sometimes when you get interrupted by too many things, you lose...
May 2011
2 posts
"Villette" by Charlotte Brontë
I read Jane Eyre in the ninth grade. Not for an assignment, but for fun. That’s the kind of teenager I was. I remember there was a day where I didn’t come out of my room for probably eight hours because I was reading it all day. I probably killed almost 200 pages, if not more in one sitting. I loved that book. If my life today were as flexible as it was in ninth grade, I may...
March 2011
2 posts
"This Side of Paradise" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I had to read The Great Gatsby in high school. Despite the situation of 11th grade English class, I quite enjoyed it. We all know I love the 20s - I should’ve been a flapper. Once when I was at the 2 Buck bookstore waiting for my laundry to dry, I saw a $5 (again, false advertising) copy of This Side of Paradise. So I gave ‘ol F. Scott a second try. By the way, unfortunately,...
February 2011
1 post
"Smaldone" by Dick Kreck
I like to tell people that my Grandpa was a bartender for the Capone gang. I’m not really sure if he ever met Capone, but I do know that he almost got popped during prohibition for not letting someone into the bar. Totally badass.
In the spirit of my 3 +/- degree of separation from Al Capone, I was super excited to read about the crime family who used to own the very neighborhood I...
January 2011
3 posts
"The Real Wizard of Oz" by Rebecca Loncraine"
This is a belated post. Poor L. Frank Baum got lost in the fray. Better late than never though. I saw this book in one of the Smithsonian bookstores when I went to visit Jimmy and ended up hanging out in museums by myself all day. It was like thirty bucks. I passed. THEN, back in Denver I was in Tattered Cover and saw it on one of the bargain racks. TEN BUCKS. Sold.
I love the Wizard...
"My Booky Wook" by Russell Brand
Ahh… how refreshing. I happily finished Russell Brand’s Booky Wook ready to read “My Booky Wook 2.” I very much like Russell Brand. He’s hilarious, and so was this book. I knew he was a recovering addict (of all shapes and sizes) but these stories are incredible. He is legitimately a badass and proves it in this book. There’s a chance that anybody can...
December 2010
1 post
"Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence
I unfortunately do my laundry in a laundromat about two miles away from my apartment, in Aurora. Annoying. The upside is that there is a $2 bookstore next door owned by a cute little Jewish fellow. One day during my 32 minute wash cycle, I browsed the “Classics” section. I like to keep up with the classics so as to uphold my smarty-pants façade. I came across “Lady...
October 2010
1 post
"Girl Sleuth" by Melanie Rehak
Who doesn’t love Nancy Drew? Well maybe some people but not me. I heart her. This book was quite fascinating. Being born about forty years after the first Drew Mystery was published, I had no idea that it was done by a ghostwriter. Rehak did her homework. This is a complete history not only of the Nancy Drew series but of the world in which it was written.
If you’ve never...
September 2010
3 posts
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca...
I picked this up after finding it on one bestsellers list or another. I’m not one for science, but this was fascinating. And it’s really not about the science. The book is about the family of the woman whose cancer cells have now lived longer than she did. Rebecca Skloot did a great job of telling all sides of the story while vividly presenting all characters involved....
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
I was apparently very out of the Terry Pratchett loop. This is the first of many novels based in the Discworld. It’s very much like Middle Earth on acid, meaning more fun and full of sarcasm. This particular story follows Rincewind, an unfortunately bad wizard who has stumbled upon an out-of-towner named Twoflower and his loyal Luggage. Rincewind and Twoflower end up accompanying each...
August 2010
2 posts
"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
I’m always a little skeptical about phenomenon books. I wonder if they’re really worth the read or if people are just pretending to love it because everyone else in the world says they love it. So I’m always so excited when I find a bestseller to be worthy of the title.
The Help is another one of my audiobook adventures and I’m so glad that’s the route I...
David Sedaris & a Belated Update
I’m so very behind in my Summer book updates. It’s a long story that involves making horror movies, moving, getting a full time job, etc., etc. But now that the movie is shot and Jimmy has left me for three months, I am finding myself with lots of free time.
I have a few belated book reviews. I’ll be honest that I don’t exactly remember how many David Sedaris books...
July 2010
1 post
"Enchantment" by Donald Spoto
Enchantment is a biography of Audrey Hepburn. This isn’t the book cover, obviously, but this one is better. Enchantment held a lot of great stories about Audrey. There’s definitely much more to her than this book but it definitely went from start to finish. Combined with some other good Audrey books and of course her collection of films, this biography was worth the read....
May 2010
2 posts
"Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim" by...
My new job gives me the pleasure of a forty minute bus ride twice a day. I’ll be honest, reading on the bus makes me nauseous. And I am far too tired and irritable in the morning to listen to music on my iPod that I don’t like anyway. But did you know that there are people who read books TO YOU!? They’re called Audiobooks (formerly known as “books on tape”) and...
"Juliet Naked" by Nick Hornby
I added another Nick Hornby novel to the list a little while ago. “Juliet Naked” is the latest Hornby novel. The story focuses on two people in their 40s who have been living together for around 15 years and discover that maybe that’s not what they want anymore. The catalyst of their demise is a long forgotten (except by a few) rockstar whose music and recent anonymity have...
April 2010
4 posts
"Fallen Skies" by Phillippa Gregory
I cannot believe how much I enjoyed this book. Phillippa Gregory is most known for her novels based on the women of the royal family, i.e. The Other Boleyn Girl. I read The Boleyn Inheritance, and though I enjoyed her writing style, those stories just don’t have quite as much excitement as I like. So I was stoked when I saw that she’d written a novel based in the 20s, my favorite...
March 2010
17 posts
Great Books That Made Great Movies: "Riding in...
I did this one backwards. I saw the movie, then read the book. Totally okay either way. I am a Drew Barrymore fan all the way, and she shines in this movie. The cast is great, including the lovely Brittany Murphy, Steve Zahn, Sara Gilbert, and Peter Facinelli. I really enjoy memoir stories like this. I think that Beverly Donofrio has a great sense of humor to mix in with some serious...
Great Books That Made Great Movies: "The Hours"
This will be the first of a few Michael Cunningham recommendations. The Hours is, by far, his best. I read this book hours before I saw the movie (no pun intended). This story is beautifully crafted with heartbreaking characters. There’s a reason it won the Pulitzer Prize. And I could not have asked for a better adaptation into a movie. Nicole Kidman absolutely deserved her Oscar for...
"A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby
I’ve never seen a Nick Hornby written movie I didn’t like…seriously. So while I was browsing the library I decided to try out his novels. This was the only one on the shelf at my little library, but I’m not disappointed. I was glad to read one of his stories that I’ve never heard (though I would love to read High Fidelity or About A Boy). Now this is not a...
Jane Austen this. Jane Austen that.
For anyone who enjoys reading Jane Austen novels and pretending that they are living in 19th Century England, gallivanting at parties and turning away suitors left and right, here is a list of a few Jane Austen related things, besides the novels themselves, that are worth checking out. In no particular order…
1. Pride & Prejudice: The BBC Mini-Series (1995) starring Colin Firth as...
"The Years" by Virginia Woolf
I went through my Virginia Woolf phase in high school. I bought up a bunch of her books and tried my best to read and understand “Mrs. Dalloway.” I enjoyed that phase, but it didn’t go any further as I found her to be a bit of a complicated, sometimes confusing read. Luckily I decided to end my streak recently by picking up “The Years.” It turned out to be...
“You don’t have to read every day. Just on the days that you eat.”
"Born Standing Up" by Steve Martin
This book is great, and I’ll tell you why. Even if you’re not a Steve Martin fan, (though I don’t know how that could be true) you will be after reading this book. It’s an autobiography written about his life up until the day he quit doing stand-up. It’s the dirt. Stories of working at Disneyland, being poor in San Francisco, dating famous people (and not famous...