Wreck It Ralph

Ah! Disney you got me! Wreck-It Ralph is a clever flick. It was also just as I expected for it's awesomeness :-) Loved it not just for the animation and plot, but the integration of... nostalgia. 5/5 Stars.

Gatsby

Viewed twice, despite other skeptical reviews. I loved The Great Gatsby. I think viewers who go and don't like the film were actually those who've had never read or enjoyed the book.... so yeah, there's some bias to this review.

I first read Gatsby back in high school and re-read it a couple summers ago, just out of a whim. I liked it then, I still like it now. The only thing I couldn't get past was the music. It's far too modern for the era, and it didn't fit well to begin with. I'm told that's good ole Luhrmann. Too bad he has a bad ear for sound. 4/5 Stars.

Argo

There isn't very much I can say to Argo - it is a very smart film. It's impressive. 5-Stars.

Invisible Monsters

It's been a while (maybe 8-ish years) since I've picked up a Palahniuk novel. My friend recommended and loaned me Invisible Monsters based on the "model in a car accident" theme from Look At Me, which I also loved. Obviously VERY different books - this novel is a bit more graphic and is filled with twists and turns and "I didn't see that coming!" 4-Stars.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

I really enjoyed Exit Through The Gift Shop. I have to admit I have little to no fascination with street art, but I am intrigued with some of the concepts. Where I live, you don't get to witness too much of the Banksy-style installations... more just sad-sad tags. I will be heading to LA later this summer, so I've promised myself to really keep an open mind. 4/5 Stars.

Chicken With Plums

You've got to have a slightly dark, but light-hearted sense of humor to really like Chicken With Plums. I adored this film! I'd been hankering a Jean-Pierre Jeunet style film for some time now, and this was an excellent substitute. 5/5 Stars.

I'm Leaning, Ms. Sandberg

There isn't a whole lot I can say to Sheryl's book, which would heighten anyones urge to read it. I recommend starting with her TED talk, which will give you a rough idea of the book. Just as everyone else rushing off to read this book, I was pulled in by Sandberg's NPR interview. If you're a library dweller, such as myself, it may still be a bit hot right now, so just be prepared for a long wait list. The facts darted throughout are actually very upsetting (to me,) so I did walk away from my read feeling small - hence the 4/5 Star rating.

Never Let Me Go

I had a difficult time getting into Never Let me Go. It was vague and continued to be so for like 40 pages. I was shocked a bit and then returned to feeling slightly bored. The novel is classified as "dystopian" but it is quite in this variety. Eerie but still quiet. 3 Stars.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Also attending the recent New England chapter SCBWI conference was the talented Grace Lin. This novel is very fascinating in the fact that it was published with some color on the interior. At least, I found that interesting. The story itself is wonderful as well. Thankfulness is a great theme which I think we overlook at times... maybe more-so in adult literature. 4-Stars.

Walk Two Moons

Since Sharon Creech was scheduled to speak at the New England SCBWI conference this spring, I thought the least I could do was read one of her books. This Newbery winner was worth the read... yes I cried a little in the end! I don't know how the novel would pan out with today's Middle Grade audience just because it pre-dates mass consumable cell service, and even I thought once or twice "why don't they just call... oh yeah." 4-Stars.

The Lady and The Panda

So here's another audiobook I indulged in during my trips here and there. The Lady and The Panda is based on Ruth Harkness's book of the same title. If you can find a printed version of either books, I recommend that over this audio-format. I spent the majority of the time imagining Lorna Raver reading the book to a microphone while holding a martini in one hand, cigarette in the other. The occasional pauses were to sip from the martini, or light a new cigarette. 

The impression I got from Harkness is that she was very full of herself. Well how hard could it be to get a panda out of China and keep it alive? (Sarcasm). She kept running on expeditions to prove... something, I suppose. 3-Stars.

Milk

I don't have a whole lot to say to Milk. The cinematography was really what won me over for this film. 4-Stars.

Middlesex

There's so much I wish I could talk about for this novel. Eugenides is incredible, is probably the overall theme. I actually took this novel to an audiobook format just because I'd hoped I could listen to it while I worked... it took me 5 renewals to get through due to my sudden time constraints. This novel is so great, but I don't recall why I rewarded it 4-Stars instead of 5.

A great quick read

If you find yourself in need of a book to plow through in maybe an hour, pick up Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses. The only flaw I found in Koertge's short story/prose/poetry collection is that I'm left craving MORE. Many of the stories are quite morbid, but they all take off on faery tales from childhood, so the familiarity makes them quite funny. Andrea Dezso gets 5-Stars for the uber awesome illustration spots and cover. Book: 4-Stars.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

I have added this film to my growing list of favorite movies. Hilarious! :-) 5-Stars.

Schindler's List

How could I gone all these years without ever seeing Schindler's List? Incredible... with a "but": I doubt I'll want to see this film again. It's heartbreaking and at times very difficult to watch. 5-Stars.

The Trip

I did not like The Trip. I was expecting to be swept off my feet from funnies, but it's essentially 2 actors reviewing B&B's, eating a lot of scallops, while also doing movie impressions. 2-Stars.

This is why you lost a star

The reason one should read Why We Broke Up is simply for the illustrations. I kept spotting the spine all over the place and I thought, "Sure! Why not?!" Maira Kalman's illustrations really completed this novel.

I didn't really like this book - I couldn't get past the protagonist's voice. She just wasn't authentic to me. She also seemed a little too perfect to me, since she's so different from all the other girls. Unfortunately, all teen girls think they're different from everyone else, even those who blend in with the "It" crowd. Bits of the novel were cute, but the voice was just too old/worldly for me. 2-Stars.

Graphic Design Inspiration

On Goodreads, I believe I gave this 4-stars. Despite the decade time difference, all the essential design premises are still the same. Some of the designs crossed as dated, which is be expected in this field. I liked Martin's book for the most part. Unfortunately, nothing really stuck with me and I read this nearly 3 months ago? It lost a star: 3-Stars. Sorry!

I should probably update my progress

I really should be updating my progress as I go. Sorry It's been months since I last posted :-(. I've been keeping close to track with READING and movies... we're about so-so.

So here we go!

The Art of Beatrix Potter

I picked this book up for the illustration animal studies. Who'd be better to idealize than Beatrix Potter for animal drawings? I did review the book on my Illustration-y blog just a few minutes ago, but I am counting it towards my 50/50 leisure challenge, so I felt it was fitting to post a Part-2 here. To bullet point the pros and cons of The Art of Beatrix Potter:

• Mainly color plates of Potter's studies. Very nice to see.
• Some of the reproductions were obviously re-produced... I took some blurry pictures of the book, but there really were a few illustrations that were fuzzy.
• Some detail about Beatrix Potter, but if someone were looking for a biography, this would NOT be the book for you.
• I really appreciate the side-by-side sketch drawing and full color illustration reproduction plates. It's cool to see which details were left off and what was changed for her final paintings.
• Wow on the interiors!
• WOW on the fungi and magnification studies!
• I am very glad I was not the one to decipher her letters. I ended up skimming most of the final letters, but I was incredibly fascinated with their corresponding illustrations.

So I grant this book 4/5 stars, because it was precisely the kind of book I was looking for at the time. For biography detail, I would give it like a 2. The book is about her ART, therefore the 4. If someone is looking for a glimpse of Potter's biographic details, the film Miss Potter is really sweet, and comes highly recommend (from me).

Germinating a Business

Why yes, I AM striking out as a freelance illustrator. Officially. As of the month of March. I feel that this would be the most fitting way to start my thirties. I've wanted to start up since graduating college, but never really knew how, and every attempt had been a smashing failure. There are a load of things which have frightened me from becoming a legitimate business of my own. For starters:

• What do I do about taxes?
• How do I handle taxes?!
• Will anyone really hire me?
• What if I strike a bad month?
• What if I can't support myself?
• Do I WANT to be freelance 100%?
• What do I do about insurance?
• What if I get injured or sick? 
• What about a family?
• What about my family?
• OSHA is scary - how do I deal with them?
• Am I going to have time for everything?
• How much is this going to cost me?
• Can I afford to start up?
• Do I have to get a loan?
• How do I determine my budget?

... And many, many, MANY more questions to follow. So there's been a lot of self-doubt. I've thrown all that aside and thought I can't just wish and dream to make it happen. It's time to get to work. So I'm getting a post office box, filing my DBA (Doing Business As) with the NH Secretary of State, and working on my brand as I send out my first batch of postcards. Honestly, what's holding me back today is that I haven't quite settled on my business name - I know it's minor, but it's important to me. 

Kari Chapin's Grow Your Handmade Business has been a helpful tool to get me started. Between this, Holly DeWolf's Breaking Into Freelance Illustration, all literature by Steven Heller, the NH Small Business Development Center, and networking, are helping me get through all the scary parts. As it turns out, there's not so "scary," they're just some things that need to be taken more seriously than others. Chapin's book I grade 4/5 stars.

Establishing my "Minor"

Today I am announcing my first "Minor" in the fifty-fifty challenge: for books, I will be minoring in Catherynne M. Valente. This would be book #2 of her selected works for this year (the first being The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.) After completing Deathless, I wanted to immediately move onto A Dirge for Prester John collection, but accidentally requested book #2... and now we wait to clear the queue again.

Anyhow, Deathless (and the Fairyland series) have me incredibly fascinated with Velente's writing. Her style is so captivating. The only "flaw" I find is that I have to slow down to absorb the words. Every other sentence is so thought provoking. She's most certainly opened my eyes to a new genre that I've often avoided in the past - fantasy. Though I'm not sure if "Fantasy" is a properly fitted genre, either. (I'm going to say folklore-ish.) The novel here about Koschei the Deathless and Marya Morevna, is certainly out of my norm of "novel reads". A very different style of fantasy that I imagined. Like The Lion Witch and Wardrobe is slapped with communist politics. 4/5 stars.

Where Humor Meets Drama

Humor meets drama at precisely the Mexican/American boarder. Staring Tommy Lee Jones.

The biggest drawback to The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is the ending. I had hoped for a different ending, but it's rich with hope, nonetheless. This is a very interesting movie which I recommend, but it's not one that I'm going to scramble to see over and over again: 4/5 stars. Please don't ask me to pronounce the title.... I will go on the record now to say I cannot.

A small subtitle warning

... But no worries - there's barely any dialog, so the French shouldn't be so obtrusive.

I view The Fairy about a week ago, and it's really taken me this long to plug a number to the rating. It is cute and funny, as to say if one at The Three Stooges, a sampling of Wes Anderson films, Disney's version of The Little Mermaid, added a dash charming comedy, and then threw it all up. I liked this film, but I didn't adore it as much as I'd hoped. Usually by now, a film of this bizarreness will cling to my mind and make me feel a little better about it. Not so the case here: 3/5.

The corny history of the first vibrator

I'm torn with rating this film, so I'm going to write myself into a number. Cute, but silly-cute. Awkward is a good word for parts of Hysteria. Entertaining, but in a corny way. You think a story about the invention of the first electric vibrator, that's going to be graphic or hilarious, but it was neither.

So the movie is about giving old women orgasims, and Maggie Gyllenhall's character flaw of caring too much/being too charitable. It tried, and fails to push upon women's issues: "hysterical" women, (ie., women who are overworked/under appreciated/tired of feeling like slaves/under "loved") seek medical treatments for getting through their ruts. The movie sounds dirty and the R-rating certainly marks it as naughty, but it's reserved. 

Hysteria's entertaining, maybe even cute, but not great. It does lightly push women's suffrage in a quirky manner. So... cute. It gets a 2/5.

Let's just hope it doesn't come to this

So we meet the Orwellian-like novel The Handmaid's Tale.  I'm creeped out and frightful of what could come of us (women). It probably doesn't help that I picked this novel up just after the elections. I'd probably swear off men if I'd started reading Atwood's novel while Romney and Ryan were on the podium! 

The Handmaid's Tale is most certainly an important read for women's literature. What fascinates me is that this is a novel from the 80's. Aside from the notion of women running around in red habits, nothing about this novel really struck me as dated. It's that timelessness that make it an Atwood (winky-face).

I couldn't justify giving this a 5 because the epilogue threw me. I appreciate the hand-held understanding of the "study" of this society, but it also felt like an "Idiot's Guide to the book you just finished." I felt the novel should have ended, where it ended; no explanation necessary. The sudden shift in the tone was too... sterile? Academic? Something... Whatever it was, it disappointed me. All I could think was "alright... the book ends like this?" (4/5 stars).

"DO NOT STEAL QUEENS"

I was blessed to read Catherynne M. Valente's The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making quite recently. If that title doesn't grab you, shake you up a bit, and make you crave a little more information, you have limited imagination. Now onward and outward to the next book of the series: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.

Again, another 4-star rating, which is nothing against Valente's super-magical, quirky writing. Same compliments as with the previous novel: slow start for me - I'm new to fantasy, so I'm not used to all the ... "stimuli". The story builds and builds, making the novel so enticing. Again, "trippy" but incredibly fun; essentially a modern Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. The text is so bright and colorful (despite being in the underworld/shadow world,) which is unexpected. One thinks "oh, shadows = dark and grayscale". Nope.

I look forward to the next novel in the series - Actually, I can hardly wait to hear the next title! Before I toddle off too far into "withdrawals", I'm starting in on more of Cat's work. Next in line is Deathless.

No more Room please!

You will learn everything there is to know about Dora the Explorer, whether you want to or not.

Room is tough to rate, by the way. It's very well spoken (since 5 year-old Jack speaks more like a 7 or 8 year-old), but it's also a little overwhelming to have such a young narrator for an adult themed book. The language is distracting, but it also makes this voice so believable. The writing is much more of a 4/5, but I think we spend too much time with Jack in the second half of the story. The novel just becomes "The Day in the Life of Jack".

This is my first completed audiobook of the year. The read-though is excellent, but if you're not a fan of children, you're not going to like the audio-format... stick to the text version. 3/5 Stars.

I Am the Messenger

I was really looking forward to this book, since adoring The Book Thief. I had to re-visit Markus Zusak, as soon as humanly possible. Unfortunately, my go-around with I Am The Messenger wasn't the same experience. Treading on my last library renewal, it took me a while to really get into the novel (however, this book has one of the best opening scenes, no doubt about it!)

The plot and premise behind the book are great. Basically it's a "dude's" sorta version of the film Amélie, only not as do-goodery. (This may be stretching it a bit on some of the people/addresses on Ed's list.) Basically, Ed is running around his city trying to "deliver messages" which change people's lives. The novel is described as "... a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love." Not just some fists, lots of fists! This guy takes so many beatings, I found it distracting. Speaking of which, I still don't understand what he was supposed to accomplish with the Rose boys. 3/5 Stars.

A New Year

A New Year and a new challenge! Armed with my Netflix account re-activation and a list of books to sort I'm taking the 50/50 challenge again. Last year at this time I was a little more pessimistic about accomplishing the challenge. With good reason, I knew movie watching would be a battle of it's own. It still will be tough, but I think I can wade through the films this time.

The root of taking this challenge was to encourage myself to read more. One could consider this a resolution, but I'd prefer to consider it as building a healthy habit. For example, when I do in fact return to the gym, there's no grand finale goal; I go for my well-being. I don't expect to weigh X by the end of the year. I do hope I can read at least 50 books by the end of the year, but if not (as with 2012,) I'll just keep going.

The final tally is as follows: I came super close to completing the book portion of my challenge (or my GoodReads Challenge) with 45 books complete. Films came to a tally of 35. Though I was nowhere nearly as close to the films as I was with books, I think I'm more flabbergasted by how many movies I managed to sit down and watch. I watched THIRTY-FIVE movies last year; whoa!