Cannonball Read - Book 43

I read Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield about three weeks ago, while I was on vacation in California. And I read it really fast, because it didn't belong to the people I was borrowing it from and I didn't want to take it home with me. So I can't write a decent review because it didn't stick with me too much, and I didn't savor it, and it's been a while since I read it. So here goes: it was good, and it was sad, and I'm struck by how much just a couple years' difference in age makes when considering cultural references, particularly in regards to college radio. I hadn't heard of a lot of the bands Sheffield loved, which removed me a little from the story. But man, I got the sad parts. Rob, I hope you're doing OK.

Love is a Mix Tape - B

Cannonball Read - Book 42

When the hubs ventured to our favorite used bookstore a couple days before our vacation, I asked him to pick up a Jodi Picoult book. I read My Sister's Keeper about a thousand years ago and remembered liking it OK, and thought I'd give her another shot.

Here's the back-of-the-book description:
"Fourteen-year-old Trixie Stone is in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father, Daniel's life - a straight-A student; a pretty, popular freshman in high school; a girl who's always seen her father as a hero. That is, until her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. Suddenly everything Trixie has believed about family - and herself - seems to be a lie. Could the boyfriend who once made Trixie wild with happiness have been the one to end her childhood forver? She says that he is, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a seemingly mild-mannered comic book artist with a secret tumultuous past he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back to protect his daughter."

Having read My Sister's Keeper and just having a feeling that Picoult is somewhat formulaic, I got pretty much what I was expecting in terms of character, plot, and significant event that changes the course of action near the end of the book. But I also got two things I wasn't expecting, one good, one bad. The nice surprise was the excerpts from Daniel's graphic novel (or was it a straight-up comic?) that closed most chapters. Yes, the father in the book is a comic book artist, but I didn't expect to actually see his drawings. It was kind of cool. I have to give major credit to Dustin Weaver, the artist who drew "Daniel's" drawings. Nice job, Dustin. I also wasn't expecting to get hammered over the head with symbolism of hell and references to Dante's Inferno. Please, Jodi, give me some credit as a reader.

The Tenth Circle - B-

Cannonball Read - Book 41

I've been reading a lot, right? And I've been reading quite a few things that people have heard of - not every selection, but a lot of them. I look over the list so far and I see things that I'd heard about a long time ago and hadn't gotten around to reading, or things that someone else recommended to me that I thought I should take a look at.

But every now and then, I read a book that even I haven't heard of - and Walking in Circles Before Lying Down is one of those books. I found this on the shelf at my boss' house when we were having an off-site meeting, and the description on the back of the book made it seem like something I'd like:

"Dawn Tarnauer's life isn't exactly a success story. Already twice divorced, the young Californian is too busy job-hopping to start a career, her Life Coach sister provides perpetual interference, and her eccentric parents need parenting. Dawn's only source of comfort, it seems, is Chuck, a pit-bull mix from the pound. So when her boyfriend announces that he's leaving her for another woman, a despairing Dawn turns to Chuck for solace.
"'I should have said something sooner,' she hears Chuck say, consoling her. 'Couldn't you smell her on his pants?'
"Dawn is stunned. Suddenly she can hear not just Chuck talking, but all dogs - and man's best friend has a lot to say. Doubtful of her own sanity, Dawn nevertheless considers that in the ways of life and love, it might be better to trust Chuck's doggie instincts instead of her own." Talking dogs and parents that need parenting? Sign me up!

Unfortunately, WICBLD didn't live up to my expectations. I've determined that talking dogs are tricky things. You don't want to make them sound too stupid, because there's definitely something going on in there, but you can't make them sound too smart, either. When I put words in my dog's mouth, he sounds like a precocious, foul-mouthed toddler. Wash says things like "Put me down," "I'm hungry," and "NO!," but he also says "Fuck off, that's my bone." He speaks in complete sentences, but I wouldn't say they're complex sentences. Chuck, the doggie hero of WICBLD, is WAY too loquacious. Here's a portion of one of Chuck's lengthier passages, after he's returned from being missing for a few days:

"I figured I'd be safe as long as I followed my instincts. But the problem with instincts is they only really work in the absence of opportunity."

OK. If Wash ran off, the words in his head would be "Smells! News smells! I smell poop! There's some trash! Uhhh... where's Mom? Where the fuck am I?" None of this "absence of opportunity" business.

Long story short: you wanna see a good talking dog? Watch Up. WICBLD had a great concept, but tried too hard and ended up falling short.

Walking in Circles Before Lying Down - C

Vacay, Part One

I am back from part one of my two-part vacation, and I would like to share the highlights with you.

1 - I (via my SIL, Senora Fuerte, participated in Worldwide Knit In Public Day! And we kicked some ass in bar trivia, and I drank some big beers... which, to be frank, ended in Tears and Shame in Public Day, followed by Laundry in Private Day. I'll let you deduce what happened, and you'll probably be right. That's enough about that.

2 - I had a delicious cupcake from Sprinkles, the world's first cupcake bakery. Yum. Read more about that here.












3 - I had a couple bites of this muffin. I know, right? He's a total dreamboat.

4 - I read three books, bringing my Cannonball Read total up to 43. Reviews coming soon!

Good times, good food (particularly the beans-and-rice at Beach Mex), good family. And vacay's not even over yet! Keep tuning in for regular updates part two - fewer babies, more evening gowns.

vacay - A+

Cannonball Read - Book 40

Let me start by saying: finally. SO happy to have finished another book.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen was making the rounds as the It Book several years ago - isn't this the one that Oprah wanted to endorse but he said no, to uphold the book's integrity? I think it was a good choice - I think lots of excellent books have been exposed to the masses via Oprah, and I'm glad that more books are getting read, but maybe some things shouldn't belong to the masses.

I digress. The Corrections is yet another tale of a dysfunctional family from the Midwest, parents growing older, siblings growing apart, and one last family holiday. And it's intense, no doubt about it, but it was very hard to get into. Once it grabbed me, it grabbed tight, but it didn't have a good grip for at least the first fifty pages. But now that I think about it, maybe it's beacuse the characters are so unlikeable - I grew to care about what was happening to them, even as they stayed unlikeable, but it took a while to get there.

One other thing: a lot of stuff that happened seemed far-fetched (of course, I won't tell you what that stuff is, because you should read it for yourself and I don't want to ruin it for you), and I have a problem with that. But the problem comes from the mundane parts. The plot points that were so real were outstanding, but the ones that were extreme left me wanting more of the mundane, more of the "real" that pulls families together and pulls them apart.

The Corrections - B

Cuppies

There's a new blog in town, and it's going to knock your socks off - Cupcakes Are So Hot Right Now. Me and my buddies JJack and Big Bri will post commentary on our favorite cupcake flavors as we embark on a six-week taste test of all the offerings at Cupcake Station, just down the street from our place of employment. See, we discovered that they have this promotion every Wednesday, where it's buy two, get one free. AMAZING! So we're gonna take turns buying the cuppies, and try to work our way through the flavors... perhaps with an ultimate winner? Also, even though the name of the blog won't change, we may also right about other culinary delights that pass through the doors of our esteemed business establishment. Yee-hah!

Click here to read more.

Cupcakes Are So Hot Right Now - B+ (points off for being the new kid)

Tony Award Predictions

UPDATE: I kicked the Tonys' ass! Out of 27 categories, I got 21 totally right, and one half-right (who was expecting a tie in the Orchestrations category? not me!). So, with 21.5 out of 27, that's 79.6 percent - better than I've ever done at the Oscars. And my co-worker only got 35.2% (sorry, Brian, I can't give y ou credit for choosing Matthew Warchus, since you didn't pick which play you wanted him to win for... loopholes), so free lunch for me!

I bet not many of you are planning on watching the Tonys tonight. But, I'm in an office pool, and the loser buys lunch, so here it goes:
Best Play - God of Carnage
Best Musical - Billy Elliot
Book of a Musical - Billy Elliot
Score of a Musical - Billy Elliot
Play Revival - The Norman Conquests
Musical Revival - Hair
Special Theatrical Event - Liza's at the Palace
Actor (play) - Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Actress (play) - Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Actor (musical) - David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot
Actress (musical) - Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Featured Actor (play) - Roger Robinson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Featured Actress (play) - Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Featured Actor (musical) - Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot
Featured Actress (musical) - Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Scenic Design (play) - Derek McLane, 33 Variations
Scenic Design (musical) - Ian McNeil, Billy Elliot
Costume Design (play) - Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart
Costume Design (musical) - Nicky Gillibrand, Billy Elliot
Lighting Design (play) - David Lander, 33 Variations
Lighting Design (musical) - Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot
Sound Design (play) - Russell Goldsmith, Exit the King
Sound Design (musical) - Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot
Direction (play) - Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests
Direction (musical) - Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
Choreography - Peter Darling, Billy Elliot
Orchestrations - Martin Koch, Billy Elliot

Thanks to Time Out New York for the help with my predictions. Stay tunes to see how I do.

Cannonball Read - Book 39

I'm quite behind in my reading. There's three big reasons for this: I am ridiculously busy at work; I'm trying to read The Corrections and I can't get into it; because I can't get into it, I've been re-reading the Anne of Green Gables books to pass the time. But I did manage to finish Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout. It's a mother-daughter tale, so you know it can't be good. Wait, that came out wrong. I mean that fictional mother-daughter tales usually involve heartache and strife, not that the book itself is bad (although sometimes that's true, too). Isabelle, the mother, has some secrets, and when Amy's (the daughter) sexuality causes some havoc, Isabelle's pain resurfaces and it's all downhill from there. And, it's set in a mill town - which also can't be good. Books set in mill towns are always bleak affairs.

Overall, a pretty solid read, with one absolutely tremendous scene. Good choice for the ladies.

Amy and Isabelle - B

It's Very Beautiful, And Very Cold...

and it's for sale!

Click here to see the listing.



buying Cameron's house - B+ (points off because it's DAMN expensive)

Let Me Tell You About My Band

One of my favorite things in this life is to hear a funny phrase and say "That's the name of our band." I don't know why, but I've loved doing this for YEARS. Sometimes, a person will just say a couple words that you don't hear next to each other very often, and it just makes me think of a band.

My very first band, formed my freshman year of college, was Pagan Racecar (I think some of my former bandmates read this blog - shout-out, homies!). I'm currently in a band called Styrofoam Twister - but my off-shoot solo project is One-Day Dirty. There were probably others.

Also, once I'm in a fake band, if another funny phrase comes up, I say "That's the name of our album."

Is this weird?

fake bands - A-

(photo disclaimer: this is my friend Kim and her fiance Justin, and one of their gorgeous engagement photos... but it also looks like an album cover... something bluegrass-y, with fiddles)

Tradition!

I laughed so hard I cried:



The bandana slays me.

Izzy the dancing dog - A

Good Times.

Exactly one year ago:

this happened.


Happy Anniversary to us - A+

Cannonball Read - Book 38

I mentioned this book briefly in my last post, but this makes it official.

Sleep Toward Heaven was quite good, actually. My friend Tim the Librarian says that stories with intersecting lives are "hot right now," and Sleep Toward Heaven tells the tale of three women: a convicted serial killer awaiting execution, a doctor in Manhattan running away from her life, and a librarian (not Tim) mourning the loss of her husband. How these three women connect and how their lives are changes by their interactions with each other form the backbone of the book, but each woman lives her own story (unlike this book, where each woman lives everybody else's story, and it falls flat). Quick and interesting.

Sleep Toward Heaven - B

The Last Supper

The other night, I watched the "Last Supper" episode of Top Chef; about two weeks ago, I read this book called Sleep Toward Heaven, some of which takes place on Death Row and features a section on inmates' final meals (I'll review the book one of these days). Needless to say, that's a lot of last supper-ing, and I got to thinking: what would I choose as my final meal?
Today, right now, I'd choose a traditional Helga family Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with giblet gravy, green beans (although my preference is a mushroom gravy-based green bean casserole, we didn't have that on turkey day very often), and plate after plate of cornbread dressing. I would make sure to have the family favorite Styrofoam Pie (chocolate mousse filling in a meringue crust, amazing), but I'd also like a hot apple crisp and a dish of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. I can't think of any meal I'd like better than this one, but in the next breath, I think I'd like to have a hamburger right off the grill, with cheese, mustard, ketchup, onion and lots of pickle, and seasoned fries and an icy cold root beer. Maybe it depends on what time of year I get to eat my final meal.
I can't believe those schlubs on Top Chef - really? A roast chicken? Shrimp scampi? Seems weak, if you ask me. But I probably shouldn't blog while I'm hungry.

So tell me - what would you choose?

Thanksgiving dinner - A- (points off for doing the dishes)

Cannonball Read - Book 37

I love The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I think it's beautiful. But I've tried to read Sebold's memoir Lucky a couple times, and it never really grabbed me - but since I'm on this 100-books-in-a-year quest, I figured now was a good time to give it another shot. And yet again, it didn't move me. If you don't know the story, Sebold was raped at the end of her freshman year of college, and naturally, it changed her life. It affected her relationships with her family, her friends, and with men, and how she felt about herself. And one might think that this would be a book I would like. I like memoirs very much, and I like woman-centric stories. But this one was very disjointed, bouncing from the rape scene to a scene from Sebold's childhood, then to a scene at the courthouse. And even though this is a memoir, something happens that is sort of unbelievable. I believe that it happened, for sure, but it took me out of the experience of the book and made me say "Come on. Really? No way." Not the reaction you want to have when reading a memoir. Unless it's by James Frey.

Lucky - C

WHAT!?

A casino down the road from me has a new game: Chick-Tac-Dough. You can play tic-tac-toe against a real live chicken. And it's not just this one casino. Apparently, chicken tic-tac-toe is the hottest gaming promotion in casinos across the land. And just think - you could be the proud owner of an "I got beat by the chicken" t-shirt!

stupid casino promotions - D-

Cannonball Read - Book 36

I think that Abigail Thomas had just finished Where The Heart Is and Diary of a Mad Housewife when she started writing An Actual Life. It just didn't have that spark of originality, that newness that makes me think "wow, I've never read anything like this before." An Actual Life tells the story of Virginia, a young married woman completely unprepared for marriage and motherhood. Her husband is still in love with his high school girlfriend and her parents are soulless and uncaring. So no, not a feel-good tale, but that would be forgivable if it were a compelling read. It's not.

An Actual Life - C-

Cannonball Read - Book 35

Oh. My. God. What was I waiting for? My zombie-loving husband read World War Z by Max Brooks at least two years ago, and I've pooh-poohed reading it, even though he said it was OFF THE HOOK. But really, I was just saving it for this big read-a-thon. Ahem.
Well, it was so worth the wait. This book is incredible. Brooks has written a collection of first-person accounts of people who survived the decade-long war against zombies. And before you start laughing, saying, "That's preposterous!," let me tell you that this shit is real. No, I don't mean a zombie attack. I mean the telling of this story. This book makes you feel like it actually happened. There's a super-creepy section about feral children, kids who survived the attack but whose PTSD is so severe, they have to live in institutions - and by contrast, there's a section about the K-9 soldiers who went into battle on behalf of humans. Since I brought my own little pichu home, I've become quite tender-hearted toward dogs, and this section broke my heart a little. But it was followed by images of cracked skulls and frozen zombies re-animating after a long winter. Truly terrifying.

I could heap a bunch of words on it (awesome! amazing! unbelievable! not-to-be surpassed!) and it still couldn't do this book justice. By page THIRTY, I was saying "This book is really good." And ZLH only said "I told you so" once.

World War Z - A+

Cannonball Read - Book 34

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt was not what I was expecting. Originally, I thought it was some sort of fiction mystery/horror novel. Not so - turns out it's a combination travelogue/true crime story. Yep, that's a weird combo, but this book is really pretty amazing. This writer goes to Savannah, Georgia, and meets some wacky people, but then there's a murder (I can't say more, because that would be too revealing) and then things get REALLY weird.
I'm very behind in my blogging, and have read several books since I finished MITGOGAE, so it's not as fresh in my memory as I'd like as I write about it. But it's stuck with me, and I think it'd stick with you, too. Definitely one to check out.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - A-

Cannonball Read - Book 33

I think that "beach read" is a negative term. The books I take to the beach (or my equivalent of the beach, since the sun and I don't really go well together) are not deep, complicated pieces of literature that stick with me for weeks and analyze or discuss with friends. No, my beach reads are light, simple, silly, and usually very girly.

And that's where The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodrgiuez comes in. It is the quintessential beach read. Even though I read most of this book on my couch, I felt like I was lying on the sand, sipping a marg. DGSC had lots of overlapping stories but very little substance, a couple sex scenes, some fashion, and lots of drinks with friends. If that's not a beach read, I don't know what is. Fun, easy, frothy.

The Dirty Girls Social Club - C+