Something about music

The thrill of the mystery swept me into the novel The Lola Quartet. It's really interesting that the simplest thing can set off so many people's internal alarms. I loved the mystery and the quiet unraveling of events, but I was completely thrown by the abrupt ending to the climax. I wanted to see things get worse for everyone, before things got better. There wasn't a single innocent character in the bunch (well, except maybe Chloe,) and I'd hoped for a little more exciting ending. So I'm leaving this novel a little disappointed: 3/5 stars.

Pi in 3D

"Very pretty," is what I took from the film version of Life of Pi. I was impressed with the quality of the 3D effects, and I was please with the tasteful handling of some of the more graphic incidences. Unfortunately, the film on it's own doesn't leave a lasting impression that one would get from reading the novel, which is a pity.

My sister joined me to see this movie; she had not read the novel, so lucky for her, she could experience the drama with virgin eyes. After viewing the film, I doubt she'd want to tackle the book format. "It's LONG" was her main comment. There was also a sigh, and she said she didn't understand where the movie was going about half-way through. Then we both trail off and start making comments and questions with reference to Richard Parker. "Where are you Richard Parker?" and "Where do you want to go now, Richard Parker?" and "RICHARD PARKER!"

Though the movie does follow the novel quiet closely, (of course cutting out some of the less colorful moments at sea,) the film is missing that existential experience. As it stands, Life of Pi is far from a short film, and I walked away feeling exhausted and barely amused. The 3D experience was nice in the beginning of the movie, but the 3D-ness is only obvious in a couple points throughout the remaining film. That seems to be the gimmicky trend in all of Hollywood, and would someone please make it stop? The film is well done, imagery-wise, but it somehow misses that feeling of enlightenment which makes the experience of this particular story necessary. 3/5 Stars.

The Book Thief

Sidebar: Considering my numerous quote and book information searches, one would think that I would have no problem spelling the word T-H-I-E-F by now. It's hit-or-miss. The Book Thief itself is a wicked hit. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

My hope is that this novel will catch on with schools, and begin reading this along side Alicia: My Story and Anne Frank's A Diary of a Young Girl. I have to confess I've never read Anne Frank's Diary. (It just never came up in our school's curriculum). It was even discussed in John Green's The Fault In Our Stars, so I feel like I'm missing out on something there. Though Alicia and Anne's stories are memoirs, Markus Zusak's novel feels so authentic, it should not be passed up. It has love, pain, humor, tragedy... what more do you need?

I think this is a novel that's still making it's way through everyone's reading lists. The novel itself, (unless purchased... or stolen,) is nearly impossible to get your into your lap. I really wanted to read it, so I was cornered into the audio-version. If it weren't due back at the library, I would have just started all over for a second run - it's really that entertaining! So much so, that I've taken to calling family and close co-workers Saumensch (F)/Saukerl (M); an insult from German loosely translated to the word "pig". From the context of the novel it comes off as a term of endearment. 5/5 Stars and also thanks for the new swear words!

Lost in... uh, just lost

There are a bunch of funny moments in the novel. Mostly quiet funny, but funny nonetheless. This is another one of those movies I had higher expectations for. I'm pretty sure the majority of the funny point of the film are glamorized in the film trailer. Now the soundtrack I taken aback by... very good sound surrounding this film:

I think that I would re-watch this movie/give it a second go-around if someone were wanting to watch it for a first time. I enjoyed it, but it's very quiet. I was expecting a gut-buster. 3/5 Stars.

Teenagers I actually liked

Here's a novel I think may be destined to be a classic. I'm stepping away from this novel feeling the same way I felt after reading Catcher in the Rye. For me, you cannot ask for better teenage characters in a novel revolving around teens. Maybe they are a little too mature for their age, but they just have the best personalities. The Fault In Our Stars is and is not a cancer book. It is at times a tear-jerker. I can only describe it as witty, realistic and honest.

This is my first novel read from the John Green collection. I will peruse other novels in the future. 5/5 Stars.

In which we go on a literary drug trip

To start, I would like to paraphrase the first chapter:

The Green Wind bursts into September's bedroom and says "would you like to go to Fairyland, little girl?!" To which September shrugs and says "Sure!" She jumps onto the Wind's Green Leopard and out the window they fly (minus one of September's shoes). The following chapter progresses with the Green Wind reciting the "Do's" and "Don't"'s of Fairyland.

Again, just paraphrasing, but yeah - this novel is pretty trippy! Valente's novel is easily compared to the works of Lewis Carroll, in that "did I eat some psychedelic mushrooms before my read'n time?" way. For me, this novel was very slow going in the beginning. It took me several weeks, in fact, to get through the first few chapters because it was really that odd and thick with weirdness. Once September and A-Through-L officially get into Fairyland I was hooked (yeah, that's the "dragon's" name.... but that's not a dragon, he's a Wyvern. Yep! Learn something new every time I picked up this book!)

This novel is... something else! I can hardly wait to keep progressing into Fairyland with the next book in the series. I'm also curious about Catherynne Valente's other works. 4/5 Stars.

Nick and Norah

I was lured in by the supposed Infinite Playlist. Adorable, funny and yes, a good playlist. I'm actually surprised I've never seen this movie up until now. Cute is the word for it, but it is riddle with obnoxious teenagers with no curfews, no issues with "carding", and an unlimited tolerance for travel. So did Nick's band finally decide on a band name? I would probably watch this movie again, if not just for a listen, but it wasn't a big winner for me. The obvious target audience is my junior: teens, maybe early twenties. 3/5 Stars.

I could pretend I never saw this....

But then it wouldn't count towards my 50/50 Leisure Challenge. So I'll confess, I was hoping for a cute, witty, dark romantic comedy. It was long winded somehow. I was bored throughout. Sadly, there's a LOT of silly/humorous directions this movie could have gone in, but they just died... or perhaps they committed suicide? Hah... Nah, Damsels in Distress is lacking. I would not bother again: 2/5 Stars. On paper this sounds like a movie I would get a kick out of, but it fell very short.

When does the world end again?

I felt it was only appropriate to watch this movie before the "world ends". Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is a mixture of cute, creepy, and whimsy, with a dash of obvious morbidity. Sad, but honest. I enjoyed this movie very much, as well as it's soundtrack. 4/5 Stars.

Stop picking on Rowling

I was forewarned into going into The Casual Vacancy, that J.K. Rowling's novel was "uninspired" even though she's been quoted by stating that this is the novel she just had to get out. This novel is for fiction-fiction readers only. If you find yourself favoring Romance, Sci-Fi, Horror... really any other genre, don't waste your time.

I have to say that I really liked this book! Rowling is perfect for character development. Every person sculpted from this novel is both loved and hated at some point. What's funny is that the entire novel revolves around a deceased man, whom the reader is never meets outside of the first chapter.

If you expect to pick this from your library anytime soon, you're most likely going to have to wait a while. When I got my hands on The Casual Vacancy, there was an 8-month wait list. The audio book format had a much shorter hold list, so I listened to the cd's in my car. To my American ear, this did make the book feel whimsical and light-hearted at first, but I got over that by disk 3 or 4. The novel is dark, revolving around gossip, local politics, drug abuse, and some other shady topics. I only recommend this to readers who genuinely enjoy ordinary people, having ordinary fiction lives. 4/5 Stars.

Wait... WHERE is Bernadette?

Oh Bernadette! You're awesome, but misunderstood. And funny. Yeah, you're funny.

For a novel that's written almost exclusively through written communications between characters (i.e. fax, letters, invoices, emails, texts, articles,) I got a concrete sense of the personalities of every character in the novel. The confrontation (via transcripts) of Bernadette's "intervention" was one of the highlights of this novel for me.

Things I didn't like so much: The finale, (in fact I think I've forgotten how it ended,) and Bee's sudden personality change once she went off to boarding school. Everything else made the novel worth the long wait list at the library: 4/5 Stars.

Finally a little Wes Anderson

I'm a Wes Anderson fan. The quirkiness of all his films delights me the way most films cannot. Religiously (by this I mean maybe twice a year,) I revisit The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Favorites! Both of these films in particular I sat back and watched and thought "I like this movie!" I was hooked on the second viewing.

I can already see Moonrise Kingdom being added to the list. It's currently gauging a 4/5 on my star rating, but I foresee this movie being added to my favorites list. To be honest, it's already creeping its way into there. I can hardly wait to re-watch this film:

Dark Funnies...

Oh, come on! Tell me you didn't laugh at the BALLS Scene, too:

Of course I have a terrible sense of humor... but at the time of this rental, I was most certainly looking for something that would make me "ha-ha". What pains me most about Dark Shadows is that we can easily expect a sequel. Oh yeah... more balls! I like Johnny Depp and all too, but this is obviously not one of his greatest achievements. This wasn't the split-the-gut sort of humor I was expecting, but every now and then a good zinger comes through. 

It's worth at least a single watching, but yes, the film isn't GRAND. My original reaction after watching this movie was a solid 2, but the memories festered, and it was bumped up in rankings. I wouldn't be surprised if this movie crept into my personal DVD collection. If it helps, get a little tipsy before watching, you should have a blast! 3/5 stars.

People Like Us

I think I had higher expectations of People Like Us. Honestly, I can't tell you now what I was hoping to see, but this movie was most certainly on my WATCH list. The premise of the film is good... interesting. It's also kinda creepy because Sam is essentially flirting with his half sister through a nice chunk of the movie. I think what I found so off-putting is Sam himself. The beginning of the film feels rushed and throughout the entire film, we're stuck following around this scumbag.

There are a bunch of pros to this film:

1. The treatment of the camera is great (kudos Mr. Kurtzman).
2. I have no idea what the actor's name is... but the kid. He's witty while still punchable.
3. Elizabeth Banks
4. Michelle Pfeiffer (although I don't think she appears to be old enough to pull off being Chris Pine's Mother!
5. The ending made me clutch my heart and say "AWwwwWWW!

If asked, sure I'd watch this film again, but it's really one of those watch it once and I'm good to go movies. 3/5 Stars.

Speaking of funny....

I'm really fascinated with memoirs of comedians. Let's Pretend this Never Happened by the Bloggess herself, Jenny Lawson. I wasn't a fan of The Bloggess before reading her memoir, but I've been keeping up with her posts and Twitter feed since finishing her book.

I have to admit that it took me a while to really get into. The humor was feeling forced, but I rode through it. Jenny loosened up, and delivered an incredibly comical story of growing up with an eccentric father, obsession with taxidermy, living with a social anxiety disorder.... among other ailments. I was won-over by the chapter "Jenkins, you Motherfucker"... nearly wet my pants!

There are a couple heart-breaking chapters which truly humanizes the comedienne. I identify with her morbid sense of humor and thought-randomness. I've passed the book onto my mother, but I'm not so sure she'll be able to get past all the cursing. There is a lot of cursing, you Motherfuckers! 5/5 stars.

Expect humor and sadness

Limited interest in every other movie rental option brought me to this newbie film: What to Expect When You're Expecting. It's alright. Some of the humor of the movie just completely fell flat, and then there are moments when you just cry "Oh! Poor Anna Kendrick!" The brightest and most hilarious points usually Rebel Wilson as Janice.

This movie is enjoyable, and sometimes split-your-gut funny. This didn't strike me as a movie I'd want to watch over and over again, but it's most certainly worth a watch. I didn't expect liking it as much as I did. Cute and funny, but not GRAND: 3/5 stars.

Bossypants

The only real qualm I have about Bossypants, is that I want MORE. Tina Fey's autobiography is quite short, but not lacking!

As a young female, I identify with Tina's life story, though I don't think my personal life story would be quite as witty or interesting. The other difference being that I too (a nobody) am slowly, but surely trying to write a memoir, it is 100% about my scar. Fey may never divulge in her scar story, and why should she? That's not what her life is about. Bossypants is about Fey's (hilarious) climb to her celebrity status. It's about taking charge. It's also about being a new feminist: elegant with a spit of humor and attitude.

What's in her bio is awesome! I also listened to the audio-format for this book and I think more people should hear the way Tina says the word "awesome". That too is AWESOME. What holds me back from absolutely loving Bossypants is the need for more content. I walk away from this book thinking I want to hear more about Tina Fey. 4/5 Stars.

The life of tolerance

Potential film interest lead me to read the novel before hand... well, not so much READ as "digest" again, via cd's while I tore through my bedroom assembling pieces for my illustration portfolio. I would pass this book on the table at Barnes and Nobles, marked as a "Must Read". You've passed it too - it's sitting on that table year-round. I thought it was a lot of hype, as a lot of people approaching the text. Upon reading reviews of this novel, many say "Believe in the hype!" this note is true.

This isn't a novel for the weak stomach. The Life of Pi is incredibly stunning while also very graphic (blood and gore-wise). This is also another Elegance of the Hedgehog style philosophical read. There's a LOT more visually stunning narrative in Martel's book, as opposed to Barbery's novel. One can't compare the philosophy and religious tones of Life of Pi to Elegance of the Hedgehog, but I can't help but point out that they are both rich with existential content. That's really all the two books share in common, so I'll end that thought here. (If one is considering a comparative essay, it would be easy to compare and contrast the workings of God, or caste systems of France & India, or even survival tactics.... just some ideas.)

Though about 70%-75% of Life of Pi exists adrift the Pacific Ocean, Martel's novel is hardly quiet or lacking in colorful activity. Before Piscine is stranded on the life boat, he has an incredibly rich growth through religion... or rather Religions. From the very start I was swimming in the theme of tolerance. Piscine's experience pushing the thought: We are all the same; we are of the same God. "Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat wearing Muslims."

That's what I take with me from Life of Pi: We are all struggling to survive as people and animals. Though we be different, it is all the same struggle. Whether you're a hyena, injured zebra, or a petrified young man, we're all in this together. 5/5 Stars - Read this! Also, I highly recommend as the audio-book format, as this is one of the best I've crossed.