tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62883245398252368292024-02-18T21:45:03.899-05:00A Hoyden's Look at LiteratureA Swashbuckling Romantic's reviews of the literary, the not-so-literary, the great fun, and the truly awful.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.comBlogger310125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-84167708138568478032016-04-03T13:45:00.000-04:002016-04-07T07:34:07.171-04:00March 2016 - Roundup<b><u>Books Finished: 9</u></b><br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite March 2016 Read: </u>A tough call, I had a number of enjoyable reads this round, but I think I most enjoyed Battle Dress - about a young woman who gets away from her difficult home life and joins West Point as a cadet, where she goes through the sometimes brutal summer training program known as the Beast, and has to learn to deal with her insecurities. I just wish this had been a series and we had been able to follow Andi through her years at West Point.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWk3CCKCg12-wAL0LtcoZLHd5aOSumKmoF4zNxGyJSoVnO08L4AUAlZ5RyByxud-1StFRYL0xOwqx5Fn9upQp8u68_1KfDxT_ROHlfxvAR7SkJMOGMt86rbhBi2or4vZ1pRxGUfX0oWQ/s1600/Efaw+-+Battle+Dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWk3CCKCg12-wAL0LtcoZLHd5aOSumKmoF4zNxGyJSoVnO08L4AUAlZ5RyByxud-1StFRYL0xOwqx5Fn9upQp8u68_1KfDxT_ROHlfxvAR7SkJMOGMt86rbhBi2or4vZ1pRxGUfX0oWQ/s320/Efaw+-+Battle+Dress.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Books Read:</u></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Maisie Dobbs - Jacqueline Winspear</li>
<li>The French Promise - Fiona McIntosh</li>
<li>A Swift Pure Cry - Siobhan Dowd</li>
<li>Cracked Up to Be - Courtney Summers</li>
<li>Battle Dress - Amy Efaw</li>
<li>Leviathan Wakes - James S. A. Corey</li>
<li>The Cosy Teashop in the Castle - Caroline Roberts</li>
<li>Dauntless - Jack Campbell</li>
<li>How to Run with a Naked Werewolf - Molly Harper</li>
</ol>
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<b><u>Performances:</u></b></div>
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<u style="font-style: italic;">Immortal Tango</u> - a fun dance show (though I could have done with a little less musical interludes and a bit more Argentine tango). My favorite numbers were the ones with a bunch of young ladies with their dragon of a governess trying to fend off several ardent young male admirers. Entertaining - and it's always amazing to see the legs and feet fly about in the Argentine tango!</div>
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<i><u>Miss Atomic Bomb</u></i></div>
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So. Miss Atomic Bomb sounded like it would be fun (beauty pageants to drum up tourists in Las Vegas using nuclear blasts as tourist attractions) - I'm not somebody who much cares that the musicals I go to see are deep, and I love silly puns and flashy dance numbers, so I wasn't overly concerned about the critical pans. But I have to admit, I agreed with them. Miss Atomic Bomb was just...bad.<br />
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There were bright spots: I thought Catherine Tate was hilarious (especially when insisting she couldn't go back to the sheep farm over and over), as was the lead's brother and Vegas hotel manager (played by Simon Lipkin) desperately seeking customers for his hotel (to avoid being shot ny mobsters) - their number together is one of the few that I remember anything of a few weeks later (other than the epic WTF moment of realizing they were actually including a song entitled "Where There's Sheep There's Hope").<br />
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But for the most part, the plot didn't make ANY sense (and not in a fun screwball, we're going to roll with it way) and hinged on a love story that I tried desperately to buy into but was based on absolutely nothing - and though the leads sang purty, there just wasn't much there for them to work with, I expect, as we are meant to feel empathy for cardboard cutouts whose defining characteristics seem to be a willingness to wallop everyone and "stand her ground" (Candy) and running away (seriously, Joey has a whole song where he basically just sings that he runs away - it even gets a reprise). For all the critics' ire about Tate's accent, hers didn't bother my American ears, but I couldn't figure out why no-one mentioned the lead's meandering (and painful) attempts at an accent (which sounded suspiciously like she had watched Laura from ANTM's short season and mashed it up with what Brits think is "Southern") - which made no sense for a character meant to be from Nevada or Utah depending on the scene. And some of the referencing just didn't seem to work (the Javert-inspired evil loan collector springs immediately to mind).<br />
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I wouldn't bother...</div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite March 2016 Flick: </u> Much as I love The Fifth Element (which is a lot), I'm going to have to award this one to Despicable Me 2 - if for nothing else than for the excellent bit where Gru is practicing asking Lucy on a date and the minion stand-in COMPLETELY shuts him down (okay, THET'S not hellpink!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuYPKqvS2CT8QvJIvgdXqr_TN0QqxSqZCEI4OBME4LnSt78hyphenhyphenBhSC-ayXW0phXZatpeEb9612PaiijSjydKTvvXKSZP3W1vIgV55YFng-AnlVh3RVsbuf9isQD0aewTYKvWHMyjpPGVc/s1600/Despicable+Me+2+%25282013%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuYPKqvS2CT8QvJIvgdXqr_TN0QqxSqZCEI4OBME4LnSt78hyphenhyphenBhSC-ayXW0phXZatpeEb9612PaiijSjydKTvvXKSZP3W1vIgV55YFng-AnlVh3RVsbuf9isQD0aewTYKvWHMyjpPGVc/s400/Despicable+Me+2+%25282013%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Movies Watched:</u></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>The Fifth Element (1997)</li>
<li>Despicable Me 2 (2013)</li>
<li>Miss Congeniality (2000) - watched as a direct result of Miss Atomic Bomb (as I needed to see something silly and funny and involving a beauty pageant).</li>
<li>Dance Camp (2016)</li>
</ol>
</div>
Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-70173964721269535362016-03-01T03:36:00.001-05:002016-03-01T03:36:19.594-05:00February 2016 Roundup<u style="font-weight: bold;">Books Finished: 6</u> (really 5 1/4 as Infinity is a tiny little thing)<br />
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It's been quite a slow reading month as things have taken a real upswing at work. Late nights and a lot of flights where I have to work the flight rather than read haven't left me a lot of time to enjoy my reading.<br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite February 2016 Read: </u><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMniwMLxN_EyV1oI0_kaLRcoanPjbyq4WClzzu_zn6-E8JnDqKeV0nhyphenhyphen4QuOUviOph6cp89V5wlujoepFvjcKLj9cg4vy6w_39AqU-3nnfaMYXAb6adWbdl5xvTrNjOmJwU8DWQ6Xsw4/s1600/LaZebnick+-+The+Trouble+with+Flirting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFMniwMLxN_EyV1oI0_kaLRcoanPjbyq4WClzzu_zn6-E8JnDqKeV0nhyphenhyphen4QuOUviOph6cp89V5wlujoepFvjcKLj9cg4vy6w_39AqU-3nnfaMYXAb6adWbdl5xvTrNjOmJwU8DWQ6Xsw4/s320/LaZebnick+-+The+Trouble+with+Flirting.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">One of the author's YA retellings of Jane Austen novels - in this case </span><u style="font-size: medium; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Mansfield Park</u><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> set at a theater summer camp. This is a lot of fun. </span></td></tr>
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<b><u>Books Read:</u></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald - Therese Anne Fowler</li>
<li>The Trouble with Flirting - Claire LaZebnick</li>
<li>One Tiny Lie - K.A. Tucker</li>
<li>Finding Colin Firth - Mia March</li>
<li>Level Up - Cathy Yardley</li>
<li>Infinity - Sarah Dessen</li>
</ol>
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<b><u>Performances:</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sPGDktTtifc6wVx2D2A2Tf279THpgRCimbo3v-SZoGLUE30iXFumB7vHiAiOX3IJxasKI5khxlpteT3OTJ5S2asMv6sTgOHCn2S56yR0kaD86QFXMiKHoeJToV_M6vBykvBy7ua6LYU/s1600/Mrs+Henderson+Presents+%25282016%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sPGDktTtifc6wVx2D2A2Tf279THpgRCimbo3v-SZoGLUE30iXFumB7vHiAiOX3IJxasKI5khxlpteT3OTJ5S2asMv6sTgOHCn2S56yR0kaD86QFXMiKHoeJToV_M6vBykvBy7ua6LYU/s200/Mrs+Henderson+Presents+%25282016%2529.jpg" width="166" /></a></div>
<u style="font-style: italic;">Mrs. Henderson Presents</u> - Based on the Judi Dench movie, the show follows eccentric widow Mrs. Henderson as she buys a theater on a whim and then comes up with a grand scheme to fill the seats - a nude revue - if only she can get it past the censors. Set against the backdrop of WWII and the Blitz, the show has its share of poignant moments (when the stagehand enlists and Mr. Van Damme's number when his hometown in the Netherlands is overrun), but misses some of the most heart-wrenching moments of the film (Maureen's storyline and Mrs. Henderson's reasons for the show) in favor of a comedian/narrator (which I didn't think worked) and more light-hearted comic scenes surrounding the nudity question leading to a (much) happier ending. I quite enjoyed the show, which was a bit of frothy fun and its attempts at equal-opportunity nudity - but sadly there weren't any particularly catchy musical numbers that I find myself wanting to listen to over and over.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcuiOu-qp2CanmOnhAhfo4d7j9Phw9VzPfCgDVgIPWX19BIi4G-sekzfcFDTvg9DhtkSJL-AeANFxaJx4DdLluiaacaSlTNzTu7hqSqLce8jjHDT_sR7X6Lhh87HxX7A6pUWK99AGlW4/s1600/Nell+Gwynn+%25282016%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcuiOu-qp2CanmOnhAhfo4d7j9Phw9VzPfCgDVgIPWX19BIi4G-sekzfcFDTvg9DhtkSJL-AeANFxaJx4DdLluiaacaSlTNzTu7hqSqLce8jjHDT_sR7X6Lhh87HxX7A6pUWK99AGlW4/s200/Nell+Gwynn+%25282016%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<u style="font-style: italic;">Nell Gwynn</u> - Gemma Arterton truly shines from the very first moments of this show as the titular Nell Gwynn - one of Charles II's favorite mistresses, his pretty, witty Nell. There are bawdy songs, witty banter, a giant hat and an adorable spaniel (audiences love a dog). The woman playing the laundress turned reluctant actress Nancy is wonderfully funny and the script is both poignant and fun.<br />
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<b><u>Favorite February 2016 Flick:</u></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4ppn9sU-BosuA0uL9yu5qreAJOyy6lxubcjYW2h5-pACKrDTKhdbtS36tXhZvF4WxbmI-QtGgkckXB4IOeaMrYJXljCcZ7gelU4pyYOezu4TNklami6PxP7tkTZUQHD-THhYCnL1vMI/s1600/Midnight+in+Paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4ppn9sU-BosuA0uL9yu5qreAJOyy6lxubcjYW2h5-pACKrDTKhdbtS36tXhZvF4WxbmI-QtGgkckXB4IOeaMrYJXljCcZ7gelU4pyYOezu4TNklami6PxP7tkTZUQHD-THhYCnL1vMI/s320/Midnight+in+Paris.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A funny nostalgic film that will have you playing a literary and artistic who's who guessing game of Paris' Lost Generation leading lights. I find the main character irritating, but the trailer is right - Paris at Midnight is magical.</td></tr>
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<b><u>Movies Watched:</u></b><br />
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<ol>
<li> <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2204371/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Somm </a>(2012)</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> - </span>A documentary about four young men attempting to pass the Master Sommelier exam - a notoriously difficult exam that tests wine theory, service and most difficult of all a blind tasting where the candidates must identify a flight of wines. The documentary takes the viewer into the crazed study sessions and test tastings of our four candidates as they prepare for one of the most difficult exams in the world. The year in question 50 candidates took the exam. 6 passed. An interesting look into the world of wine - I'm always in awe of the amount of information a trained sommelier can extract from the nose of a wine. While I certainly don't expect to ever pass any similar exam, I do envy their ability to discern so much from a glass of wine. While the documentary certainly impresses with these guys' ability, I would have liked a tad more actual education of the viewer about wine and what all the esoteric terms actually mean, but on the whole it was an enjoyable watch - and one I had with a particularly charming Vouvray in hand (because watching a documentary about being a sommelier without any wine would just be wrong).<br /></li>
<li><i style="text-decoration: underline;">Midnight in Paris (2011)</i> - A frothy fun movie about a Hollywood hack who is bored churning out scripts for the movies and desperately wishes he could live in 1920s Paris - who one night, as the clock strikes midnight as he strolls the city, gets his wish and meets his literary idols. While I never warmed to the main character - who is bumbling, inconsiderate and "romantic" in a 'divorced from reality' sense, I loved watching the kaleidoscope of literary references swirl about the screen. Well worth the (re-)watch.<br /></li>
<li><u style="font-style: italic;">Barely Lethal (2015)</u> - Ultimately pretty forgettable - Agent 83 has always yearned for the life of a real teenager - or at least the life of a teenager from a high school comedy (10 Things, Clueless, Mean Girls), so when a botched mission gives her the chance to lay low, she snatches it and pretends to be a Canadian foreign exchange student. From there the usual hijinks of both action movie and high school comedies follow - crushes, school humiliation, made-up words, rivalries, showdowns, buying pretty dresses, drunken parties, car chases. Hot guy who turns out not to be as swoonworthy as we were supposed to thing (he never really held any swoon power for me anyway), geeky guy we're meant to root for because he is "sweet and shy" which he demonstrates in exactly one scene before basically being a petulant jerk because a girl he likes is interested in something else but he is NICE so he DESERVES HER or something. Bleargh. Meh, there are some funny bits but nothing memorable - I wouldn't waste my time.</li>
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<b><u><br /></u></b>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-70419284845994974702016-01-31T08:20:00.001-05:002016-01-31T08:21:08.756-05:00January 2016 Roundup<b><u>Books Finished:</u> 10</b><br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite January 2016 Read:</u> Not a great reading month for me, really, nor a great reviewing month (as the sad one link below testifies), but I'm just pleased to be back on this blog at all. I think my favorite read this month was probably from the Queen of YA herself:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiD4uicEw8qNSC3DmG4am9bU8y98h0zcs4omsaOBSazqnLF6B9TRbJxeQfl6Alv8-bkSliVMTpQOi3XBpiB9j4XFSe33b5VwGQZQmVsBjKfFpeEfR_coyPFn1fRXkX04SilJlMdnlj24/s1600/Dessen+-+Just+Listen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKiD4uicEw8qNSC3DmG4am9bU8y98h0zcs4omsaOBSazqnLF6B9TRbJxeQfl6Alv8-bkSliVMTpQOi3XBpiB9j4XFSe33b5VwGQZQmVsBjKfFpeEfR_coyPFn1fRXkX04SilJlMdnlj24/s200/Dessen+-+Just+Listen.jpg" width="133" /></a>Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - A story about a young woman trying too hard to be the peacemaker between her older sisters, dealing with her mother's depression (and her desire to ward off anything that might trigger it again), her odd friendship with a loner at school and losing her best friend who blames her for leading on her boyfriend. There's a lot to process here - in some ways it's overwhelming - but that's also the point. Taking on too much, taking responsibility for things you can't fix or prevent, being scared of rocking the boat. And through all of that, it remains a very relatable read.<br />
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<b><u>Books Read:</u></b><br />
<ol>
<li>Hex and the Single Girl - Valerie Frankel</li>
<li>Just Listen - Sarah Dessen</li>
<li><a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/review-ripped-at-seams-nancy-krulik.html">Ripped at the Seams</a> - Nancy Krulik</li>
<li>Little Beach Street Bakery - Jenny Colgan</li>
<li>Blowing My Cover - Lindsay Moran</li>
<li>The Lavender Keeper - Fiona McIntosh</li>
<li>A Little Bit Psychic - Aimee Avery</li>
<li>To All the Boys I've Loved Before - Jenny Han</li>
<li>Last-Minute Bridesmaid - Nina Harrington</li>
<li>Empress of the World - Sara Ryan</li>
</ol>
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<b><u>Performances:</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6olnZdmwbg8ddtfoihMSj5uviCvnE099Az_53T1jjMTJ3PRGncr85SEqqHvV4_ric4HalStu6ba8B1Af6vp3EfaoaaLHLxAbexZeTh_kNNe9TJxuQTWspuqnRaCKnmQzz7zoDdgeREbg/s1600/Crosstentatious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6olnZdmwbg8ddtfoihMSj5uviCvnE099Az_53T1jjMTJ3PRGncr85SEqqHvV4_ric4HalStu6ba8B1Af6vp3EfaoaaLHLxAbexZeTh_kNNe9TJxuQTWspuqnRaCKnmQzz7zoDdgeREbg/s200/Crosstentatious.jpg" width="142" /></a><u style="font-style: italic;">Crosstentatious</u> - We managed to go see the improv comedy troupe <a href="http://austentatiousimpro.com/">Austentatious</a> in their one-night-only charity event in which the boys dressed as girls watched the girls dressed as boys perform an Austen show (or something like that). At any rate, it was extraordinarily funny - I have never heard a stranger Massachussetts via Texas and Georgia accent, nor have I ever seen a more hilarious "Dance of the Single Veil". Though perhaps the best bits were when the "gentlemen" insisted on standing "like men" and the "ladies" flitted about "like delicate ladies". I may have cried a little from laughing so hard. If you happen to be anywhere near them performing, you should go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_nH5fT5ulNUP_aJbEF7rNC2ZpYiqpR6cbnW12MOkmRPSqU6-ZwWZhC8atlw7_HCzjFIM5VJ0NTxFnLSweeGRxqdCEio16UPKx1GiyAUcVF2RfiQDrCGXtWH1Dt8jDoAnvnVzCcI9tmA/s1600/Guys+and+Dolls+%25282016%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw_nH5fT5ulNUP_aJbEF7rNC2ZpYiqpR6cbnW12MOkmRPSqU6-ZwWZhC8atlw7_HCzjFIM5VJ0NTxFnLSweeGRxqdCEio16UPKx1GiyAUcVF2RfiQDrCGXtWH1Dt8jDoAnvnVzCcI9tmA/s320/Guys+and+Dolls+%25282016%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a><u style="font-style: italic;">Guys and Dolls</u> - Our other theater trip this week was to go see the current production of Guys and Dolls with Jamie Parker (of <u style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464049/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">History Boys</a></u> fame) as Sky Masterson (though he had the weirdest accent I have ever heard) and Carlos Acosta as choreographer which resulted in some very impressive dance numbers. This was such a fun production, very upbeat, I spent most of the evening with a grin on my face, singing along to the catchy tunes - I particularly love the eponymous <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-KTNf3MyA">Guys and the Dolls</a> (which is probably not the song you think it is...) and the sweet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVaTPJR4ldM">I've Never Been In Love Before</a>.<br />
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<b><u><br /></u></b>
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite January 2016 Flick:</u> This was a tricky category this month as I enjoyed all of the movies and didn't have a clear front-runner. Ultimately my love of all things bubbly determined my decision:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gm-aN9hsINlcX8-E77nozsq3DnCLITojHP4bK6b3DOu-LVpoOUliR8VhwepkwwVMyaf92gThCWJ-AWcgz313IMz7MpOMBldc2isRU-ngc-CjtmXgHsw5kN1ztmagSnSXKcxWCxLQqCE/s1600/A-Year-in-Champagne+%25282014%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gm-aN9hsINlcX8-E77nozsq3DnCLITojHP4bK6b3DOu-LVpoOUliR8VhwepkwwVMyaf92gThCWJ-AWcgz313IMz7MpOMBldc2isRU-ngc-CjtmXgHsw5kN1ztmagSnSXKcxWCxLQqCE/s400/A-Year-in-Champagne+%25282014%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Beautifully shot, interesting and about one of my favorite things!</div>
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Movies Watched:</u></b><br />
<ol>
<li><i style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.balletdocumentary.com/">First Position (2011)</a></i> - A documentary that follows six (and a half) young dancers competing in the rigorous Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition hoping to win medals, scholarships to prestigious ballet schools and, for the older dancers, job contracts. A nice documentary (with perhaps a somewhat rosy outlook on the competition aspect) showcasing very talented kids dancing absolutely beautifully. </li>
<li><i><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06t3w73">Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia (2015)</a></i> - After seeing one of her most famous works, <i><a href="http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museodicapodimonte/thematic-views/image-gallery/OA900251?searchterm=gentileschi&set_language=en">Judith Slaying Holofernes</a></i>, Michael Palin heads to Rome, Florence and Naples to speak to art historians, archivists (and a novelist) about the Baroque art world's pre-eminent female artist.</li>
<li><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042650/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2">Kon-Tiki (1950)</a></i> - An Academy Award winning documentary about Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his crew (including for at least part of the way the charming Peruvian parrot Lorita) as they set off across the Pacific on a balsa wood raft to prove Heyerdahl's theory that it was possible for Pre-Columbian South Americans to travel to the Polynesian Islands by traditional raft. Their remarkable voyage was filmed on board the raft christened Kon-Tiki and from a rubber dinghy they brought along. </li>
<li><i><a href="http://www.ayearinchampagne.com/">A Year in Champagne (2014)</a> </i>- a thoroughly delicious documentary following a number of vignerons in champagne through the difficult harvest of 2012. The shots are lovely, the characters passionate and it reminded me thoroughly of our lovely trip to the Champagne region last year.</li>
</ol>
Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-90499302418313362172016-01-10T13:36:00.000-05:002016-01-10T13:46:38.416-05:00Review: Ripped at the Seams - Nancy Krulik<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq5A8BO3sjXtAqxgHbH-zd864tRzaSqEAZEWgbN0nlMgc7vof0tTzvBkSXsuu7Txrr9PzLa5ay152RM9G4R3L4erCtTzGUo3k9M9JgAN37XNzQiAJtKdXX0x2XD1OurRYcVKM9Wer3B8/s1600/Krulik+-+Ripped+at+the+Seams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq5A8BO3sjXtAqxgHbH-zd864tRzaSqEAZEWgbN0nlMgc7vof0tTzvBkSXsuu7Txrr9PzLa5ay152RM9G4R3L4erCtTzGUo3k9M9JgAN37XNzQiAJtKdXX0x2XD1OurRYcVKM9Wer3B8/s1600/Krulik+-+Ripped+at+the+Seams.jpg" /></a><br />
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<i>** 1/2 - This one left me a bit confused about who its intended audience was supposed to be as it seemed to whiplash between a sweet and simplistic Disney-esque plot and almost misplaced-seeming adult elements (like working in a lingerie / adult novelty store), and the mix really didn't work for me.</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>
<b>Series:</b> None<br />
<b>Source:</b> Personal collection<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">Naïve Midwesterner Sami Granger heads to the big city to become a designer armed with a few hundred bucks and her portfolio. Luck (and a bit of unauthorized snooping) help her get her foot in the door - even if it is only as a receptionist, for now... </span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;"><br /></span>
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<b style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;"><br /></b>
<b style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">Fieldnotes:</b><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Overly Naïve Aspiring Designer</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Scary Big City</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">2 Very Bad Boyfriends (Not Simultaneously)</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">3 Stolen Designs</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Well-Placed Punch in the Nose</span><br />
<br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;" />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Model Best Friend</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Very Friendly (Handsome) Neighbor</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Excellent Boss (Mentor Variety)</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Lingerie Store</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">Custom Designing</span><br />
<br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;" />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Pregnant Best Friend (Meddling Variety)</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">1 Disapproving Dad</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">The plot on this one is predictable, which wouldn't be a problem if it made me smile (couldn't we have her intern for a kooky fashion designer making unreasonable demands or something?). But for a romantic comedy, there wasn't much that was funny about this one, nor was there actually much romance - just the boy next door pining after her, and at times the story took a weirdly preachy tone (such as when Sami "realizes" how "selfish" she's been by focusing on her own budding career instead of calling her pregnant best friend from high school all the time to listen to her insist that she will never be happy unless she has a man, because an unattached 18-year-old is too dreadful to contemplate...). Maybe that last bit of gloss comes from me... </span><br />
<br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;" />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">While I certainly don't mind books about teenagers who date around, here, too, the book seemed a bit odd. In a short novel billed as a romance, it was pretty painful to have to watch Sami cycle through two pathetically awful boyfriends (one after her designs and the other after media attention with nary a redeeming quality to explain her naivete to be seen - except I guess sexual attraction as evidenced by the fact that she almost sleeps with him on a conference table at work scene which came out of NOWHERE) while insisting on friend-dating the one decent boy in the whole book. </span><br />
<br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;" />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">So - not much romance, not much comedy, a lot of family/friend drama since Sami snuck away from home without bothering to so much as let her father know she was alive because he would disapprove of her going to NYC (which wouldn't have been uncalled for since the first place you moved into housed PROSTITUTES and was the scene of a MURDER). Plus her best friend is having a troubled pregnancy and there's a prolonged guilt trip about how Sami is a terrible friend and makes it all about her rather than discussing her friend's pregnancy (when she is carrying SAMI's BROTHER's BABY, which seems enough reason to be uncomfortable discussing the whole situation). </span><br />
<br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;" />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;">And to top it all off, we have a small-town-girl-from-the-Midwest-breaks-in-big-on-the-NY-fashion-scene-with-no-contacts-and-no-experience-through-sheer-unexplained-talent. Also because men's button-down shirt inspired nighties are the new craze (which wouldn't be such a bad thing, I could get behind a comfy lingerie movement). Which if the rest of the book had felt more Disney-esque I could have gone along with (it sounds like a Disney Channel movie), but the roller-coaster tone and unclear audience made this one a definite dud for me.</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;"><i>Interested in other opinions?</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.4px;"><a href="https://suloknitessa.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/reviewthoughts-on-ripped-at-the-seams-by-nancy-krulik/">Sulok ni Tessa</a></span>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-60821352612341586022014-02-10T17:09:00.005-05:002014-02-10T17:09:53.568-05:00Review: Distant Waves - Suzanne Weyn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_ykmM3aOIrDwxEe22VfXrJs0ChgD1B4N5qSYHQ3WY6dUy9M-iQyY7NY5aV-Tb3luWoq2_VDuwpq7nvkjB4D_mPnLoiIABrZfM1exsi5mesGbFco4OJdnbLK_WkBMSGGfarLlkQTaPec/s1600/weyn+-+distant+waves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_ykmM3aOIrDwxEe22VfXrJs0ChgD1B4N5qSYHQ3WY6dUy9M-iQyY7NY5aV-Tb3luWoq2_VDuwpq7nvkjB4D_mPnLoiIABrZfM1exsi5mesGbFco4OJdnbLK_WkBMSGGfarLlkQTaPec/s1600/weyn+-+distant+waves.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><i><b>***</b> - </i></span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><i>For a book that centers around the Titanic disaster, we actually spend incredibly little time on the Titanic and even less during the disaster. </i></span><i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"> Strangely - for a book that I picked up </span><b style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">because</b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"> it was about the Titanic, I enjoyed it </span><b style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">until </b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">the characters ended up on the Titanic...</span></i><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><b>Series:</b> None</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><b>Source: </b>From my own personal collection</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><b>Fieldnotes:</b></span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Psychic of Dubious Abilities</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Spiritualism Conference</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">2 Telepathically(?) Connected Twins</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">3 Prophetic Forebodings of Disaster</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">3 Stowaways</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Shipwreck</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Eccentric Scientist</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Handsome Assistant</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Science?!</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Gilded Age Celebrity Name-Dropping</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Hastily Dropped Racism Subplot</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Budding journalist Jane Taylor grew up in an unconventional household. Her mother is a prominent medium in Spirit Vale, a town dedicated to communing with the dead. Her sisters are fairly evenly split on the spiritualism question with the twins Emma and Amelie true believers (who show signs of powers themselves) and her eldest sister Mimi and youngest sister Blythe of a more skeptical persuasion. Jane herself is agnostic on the question - while she's definitely seen instances of her mother's trickery, she also has seen moments that she's not sure how else to explain. </span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Since a terrifying encounter during an earthquake when she was young, Jane has been fascinated with the life and inventions of Nikola Tesla. It's only natural, then, that when she has a chance to enter a journalism competition, she travels to New York to ask him for an interview. And this is the very trip that sets things in motion - Jane encounters Nikola's handsome assistant, Thad, and Mimi meets Benjamin Guggenheim's mistress Ninette who invites Mimi to travel with them, and who is eventually responsible (at least in part) for the family's trip on the ill-fated Titanic. Because, of course, we have to end up on the Titanic - it's in the subtitle, it's on the cover, and it's foretold!</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">So let's get my most significant gripe out of the way at the very beginning - for a novel billed as being about the Titanic (including several references and foreboding prophecies), we barely spend time aboard, and we spend even less time with the sinking due to a bit of a weird plot twist that didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story for me. This was most disappointing because I was interested in several of the themes of the novel - some of which I found new and unusual based on my reading about the disaster thus far, and which I would have enjoyed seeing play out during the course of the disaster.</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">First off, we have a character (Thad) who has a serious chip on his shoulder when it comes to "people who have money" - possibly stemming from his parents' days as a missionary in China. Or it may have something to do with Tesla and his trouble getting the funding he needs for his projects because of his determination to circumvent the capitalist agenda and provide free(!) power to the masses. Either way, Thad is pretty convinced that anyone who has money can only be a selfish jerk and has no qualms about approving of Jane because she obviously doesn't have money and because she's not fawning over those who do. This makes both her and me uncomfortable - there are plenty of instances in the Gilded Age where the downright shameless excesses of the rich in contrast to the abject poverty of most is truly shocking. But, Thad, you are NOT a bad person if you would like to have a lobster dinner, drink champagne and sleep in an incredibly fancy hotel room for once - and it would have been nice for his preconceptions on this to have been challenged in some way (Molly Brown, for instance?). </span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Regardless of this, I would have thought that the sinking of the Titanic, with the steerage passengers kept locked below while the ship filled with water and half-empty lifeboats being sent off so there was no class-mixing, would have been a great way to drive this point home - but class differentiation is only lightly touched upon and we spend next to no time dealing with the consequences of the iceberg due to the aforementioned odd plot twist.</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Another theme that is raised, but promptly relegated to the background, is the issue of race, especially in Gilded Age America. A significant character turns out to be of Haitian descent - though the character's light skin allows this heritage to remain hidden unless revealed. The character struggles with a sense of identity and whether there is a need for deception in some scenes, but for all this bravado, spends most of the book passing as Caucasian and therefore avoiding any problems. And even once it is revealed, those who know about it seem remarkably fine with it given the rampant racism at the time. This and the assertion that Spirit Vale "isn't racist" seemed strange given that the author included this plot thread at all. It is noted that neither the US nor the UK offices of the White Star Line would allow tickets to be sold to black passengers - insisting that they were sold out (which was an appalling fact that I was unaware of). But the lone(?) Haitian man on board (and married to a white woman, no less) is only mentioned in passing and there is no real discussion of whether he finds life aboard difficult or whether he is treated poorly. I think this could have been a very interesting plot line and was disappointed to find it dropped. </span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">While I enjoyed the spiritualism and/vs. science spectrum included in the novel and to a certain extent liked the ambiguity regarding Jane's mother's powers, others may not enjoy the twins' much more intense powers (which seem accepted and indisputable in the context of the novel). I think I would have enjoyed this more had the question been left more ambiguous (as it was through most of the novel until the odd climactic scenes). And while I enjoyed seeing Stead's (fictional) spiritualism conference, I grew weary of Gilded Age Celebrity Name-dropping - the Astors, the Guggenheims, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, not to mention Tesla. I was fine with one set (the spirtualists/skeptics) or the other (Gilded Age high society), but Jane getting to meet both and have a chat with all her heros just seemed over-the-top to me. Not to mention the fact that nobody seemed to notice her loitering about the higher classes despite it being clear that she didn't belong. Surely someone would have noticed them?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Ultimately, though, I was most disappointed by the cop-out (in this reader's opinion) of not actually having anyone experience the horrors of the shipwreck. Despite the fact that Tesla, Jane and Thad are all pushing their way down into the rapidly filling hold, there is barely a mention of all those trapped in steerage. And there is little discussion of the bodies in the water, the ridiculously empty lifeboats or the trauma of survivors' guilt. I know that some may consider these aspects "done to death", but it seems to me a novel billed as about the Titanic that simply glosses over all of these points is doing the inherent drama of the setting a disservice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><i>Interested in other opinions?</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://boxesofpaper.com/2013/02/08/review-from-jill-distant-waves-a-novel-of-the-titanic-by-suzanne/">Boxes of Paper</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://thereadinghedgehog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/review-distant-waves-suzanne-weyn.html">The Reading Hedgehog</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://www.respiring-thoughts.com/2012/09/08/book-review-distant-waves-by-suzanne/">Respiring Thoughts</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://hillbookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/suzanne-weyn-distant-waves-novel-of.html">Mrs. Hill's Book Blog</a></span></span>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-85064831157177937452014-02-08T18:38:00.000-05:002014-02-08T18:38:07.264-05:00January 2014 Reading Roundup<i>Ahoy Internets, and welcome to the (belated) January 2014 reading roundup here at A Hoyden's Look at Literature! I know it's been quite a while since I've been active here, but I'm hoping to change that over the coming months. As you may be able to see below, I've actually been reading quite a bit over the past month and am hoping to get more caught up on reviews. (I can dream big, right?) </i><br />
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<i>But for now, ON TO THE ROUNDUP:</i><br />
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Books Finished:</u> 12<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0Ev6ZSXtqc2-Qb4AQ0yUzQPHX2GG3zNLQrsUpmODBffd-ANo9GOVU25RR22nmVgLhNAEp0Wr1a5dZWh2R2Q3LNBOJuORRycXnjzPeeZA8DNWI6_N5gfJxMZUgcJiztbARZWBqUWxyOM/s1600/Barnes+-+Naturals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0Ev6ZSXtqc2-Qb4AQ0yUzQPHX2GG3zNLQrsUpmODBffd-ANo9GOVU25RR22nmVgLhNAEp0Wr1a5dZWh2R2Q3LNBOJuORRycXnjzPeeZA8DNWI6_N5gfJxMZUgcJiztbARZWBqUWxyOM/s1600/Barnes+-+Naturals.jpg" height="200" width="135" /></a><br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite January Read:</u> <a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/review-naturals-jennifer-lynn-barnes.html">The Naturals</a> by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - a really interesting teen ensemble thriller mystery with teens that have innate abilities that help them FIGHT CRIME!<br />
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<b><u>Books Read:</u></b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Music and Silence - Rose Tremain</li>
<li>The Naturals - Jennifer Lynn Barnes</li>
<li>Distant Waves - Suzanne Weyn</li>
<li>Redshirts - John Scalzi</li>
<li>Burn for Burn - Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian</li>
<li>Dance Upon the Air - Nora Roberts</li>
<li>Lost for Words - Lorelei Mathias</li>
<li>The Smile - Donna Jo Napoli</li>
<li>The Fantastic Mr. Fox - Roald Dahl</li>
<li>Firespell - Chloe Neill</li>
<li>Lord of the Nile - Constance O'Banyon</li>
<li>The Round House - Louise Erdrich</li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xZ8t6FkY_joV9i9V-Mlb3dJJklP6TAjDbx5iwTjL0WVVKtdtAqVKBeOGlEuiu6ot9e2TMWcuTz4D5_JncIVmz_LuSLA3wm5f2w0zBPto4Vu4lm7KnlAB4DUxW5BF2gUt_AHyHY0o9ds/s1600/Bletchley+Circle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0xZ8t6FkY_joV9i9V-Mlb3dJJklP6TAjDbx5iwTjL0WVVKtdtAqVKBeOGlEuiu6ot9e2TMWcuTz4D5_JncIVmz_LuSLA3wm5f2w0zBPto4Vu4lm7KnlAB4DUxW5BF2gUt_AHyHY0o9ds/s1600/Bletchley+Circle.jpg" height="320" width="248" /></a><u style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite January 2014 Flick:</u> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/program/bletchley-circle/">The Bletchley Circle (Season 1) (2012) </a>- Former codebreaker Susan believes she's spotted a pattern in a series of killings being reported on the wireless. When the police turn up nothing, she enlists some of her colleagues from Bletchley to help her track down the killer - bold and brassy Millie, mousy Lucy with an eidetic memory and no-nonsense Jean, who has access to all kinds of restricted information. </div>
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I found these quite by accident but devoured them in the space of an afternoon. I loved that the ladies focused on code-breaking style insights (timetables and railway stations) and a smidge of something like profiling - but they definitely considered what it was they could do and their role (vs. that of the police). Very much worth watching and I am incredibly excited about Season 2, which should be out this spring! </div>
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<b><u>Movies Watched:</u></b><br />
<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1589511/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" style="text-decoration: underline;">Tutu Much (2010)</a> - </i>a documentary following nine young ladies through the audition and rigorous summer school program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet - a program that, in addition to improving the girls' technique, serves as a four-week-long audition for a place in the professional division of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. I enjoyed watching the dancers (some more than others - I loved Carmen who works part-time at her parents' store while attending) and they really focused on the determination and dedication this kind of lifestyle takes.<br />
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<u style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112471/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Before Sunrise (1995)</a></u> - Jesse (<i>Ethan Hawke</i>) meets the lovely Celine (<i>Julie Delpy</i>) on a train from Budapest the day before his flight back to the U.S. Not ready to say goodbye when they reach Vienna, Jesse convinces Celine to spend the night wandering around Vienna, drinking it in, talking and falling in love. There's not much of a plot to this movie - the two have "deep" early 20s conversations and it's charming and a bit silly. My main complaint? Vienna is SO beautiful, and I didn't feel like I got a chance to see any of it on screen...Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-79914613948655926482014-02-08T17:52:00.000-05:002014-02-08T18:05:50.620-05:00Review: The Naturals - Jennifer Lynn Barnes<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0Ev6ZSXtqc2-Qb4AQ0yUzQPHX2GG3zNLQrsUpmODBffd-ANo9GOVU25RR22nmVgLhNAEp0Wr1a5dZWh2R2Q3LNBOJuORRycXnjzPeeZA8DNWI6_N5gfJxMZUgcJiztbARZWBqUWxyOM/s1600/Barnes+-+Naturals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0Ev6ZSXtqc2-Qb4AQ0yUzQPHX2GG3zNLQrsUpmODBffd-ANo9GOVU25RR22nmVgLhNAEp0Wr1a5dZWh2R2Q3LNBOJuORRycXnjzPeeZA8DNWI6_N5gfJxMZUgcJiztbARZWBqUWxyOM/s1600/Barnes+-+Naturals.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jenniferlynnbarnes.com/naturals.html">Jennifer Lynn Barnes' website</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i>**** - Think Barry Lyga's </i><i style="text-decoration: underline;">I Hunt Killers</i> <i>meets a very private not-school version of Ally Carter's <u>I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You</u>. (I hear tell it's like teenaged Criminal Minds, but I haven't seen that, so can't really judge). Anyway, it's an AWESOME premise, and I'm really looking forward to the next book.</i><br />
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<b>Series: </b>The Naturals, Book 01<br />
<b>Source: </b>Purchased with my own hard-earned monies.<br />
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<b style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Fieldnotes:</b><br />
<i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">5 Innately Gifted Teenagers (with Troubling Backstories)</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">2 Field Agents in Charge of Corralling Them</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Serial Killer </span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Relevant Cold Case</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Several Profiling Lessons</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">1 Love Triangle on the Backburner to Focus on SOLVING CRIME</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">The FBI has set up an exclusive secret training program designed to recruit "Naturals" - teenagers with innate abilities useful to FBI investigations (reading emotions, systemizing data, deception, profiling) to solve cold cases. Cassie Hobbes is one of these Naturals - a born profiler whose talents were honed in childhood by helping her fraudster mother pretend she was psychic during her shows - until the day Cassie returned to her mother's dressing room with information gleaned from the crowd only to find it empty and covered in so much blood splashed around the walls that law enforcement insists there's no way Lorelai could have survived. But no body was ever found.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">Cassie does her best to figure out the emotionally guarded other four teens living in the house as FBI profiler Agent Locke teaches her and fellow profiler Natural Dean the ins and outs of slipping into the heads of criminals and victims. But soon Cassie tries to test her skills on one of the agents' active cases - and turns up what may be a connection to her mother's case...</span><br />
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<b><u>Roll Call:</u></b><br />
<b>Cassie</b> - profiler, her father's family is loud and welcoming - but she just doesn't feel she belongs anywhere since her mother's murder<br />
<b>Dean</b> - profiler, but afraid of the ease in which he slips into the minds of killers, kidnappers and other bad guys<br />
<b>Michael</b> - the flashy loudmouth, Natural at reading others' emotions, expert at playing on them<br />
<b>Lia - </b>Natural at deception and therefore a human lie detector, the troublemaker of the group with a surprising soft spot for Dean<br />
<b>Sloane</b> - socially awkward systemizer of data and statistician. Don't leave your clothes unattended and don't give her coffee...<br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">I have always been intrigued by profiling (I pondered it as a career choice in college for a bit, but decided it would take too great a toll emotionally - also, I was reluctant to be part of psychological experiments which was a requirement for basic psychology courses in college, so opportunity lost...), and have read a few of the profiling memoirs out there (specifically </span><a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/whoever-fights-monsters-robert-ressler.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(100, 12, 149) !important; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_top">Whoever Fights Monsters</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"> by Robert Ressler and </span><a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/mind-hunter-john-douglas-mark-olshaker.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: rgb(100, 12, 149) !important; cursor: pointer; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_top">Mindhunter</a><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"> by John Douglas, the latter of which, coincidentally, the author references as part of her research), so the premise was right up my alley. And I found myself really enjoying the execution as well - Cassie's talents are both innate and were honed during her early childhood helping her mother play psychic. Her inexperience in profiling from objects/crime scenes rather than from actual people's body language and behavior is refreshing (she may be a Natural, but she has to struggle with those aspects that she had no reason to practice), and I really liked her interactions with Dean. I especially enjoyed the "I/you" discussions as Cassie learns the tricks of the trade.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">There was a bit of a love triangle with Michael and Dean both clearly interested in Cassie (but Michael at least with an on-again/off-again situation with Lia to fall back on), but happily there was very little angsting about who to make out with next (and what there was seemed relatively maturely handled) and a lot more focus on solving crime. Mostly, I'm looking forward to the next book to see this unlikely team of kids gel into a crew of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117060/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3">Mission: Impossible</a> or <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240772/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Ocean's 11</a>-style awesomeness. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;">More please!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><i>Interested in other opinions?</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://www.beautyandthebookshelf.com/2013/10/review-naturals-by-jennifer-lynn-barnes.html">Beauty and the Bookshelf</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://crunchingsandmunchings.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/teens-with-special-abilities-im-in-the-naturals/">Crunchings and Munchings</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.400001525878906px;"><a href="http://goodbooksandgoodwine.com/2013/11/the-naturals-jennifer-lynn-barnes-book-review.html">Good Books and Good Wine</a></span></span>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-42868559627554716302014-01-18T05:57:00.002-05:002014-02-08T14:47:31.316-05:00Review: Music & Silence - Rose Tremain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QQp5RoR8N9Z0cQBwaysW1Lay59fZ8rVyJr9NYJPowjnV049aPXqAFwM03bIfUmJTtuJ-AV6uhDv7XcOkkxtRbtfC1_NdNc3YjrIOcwH4yIqY2hyBOyxacHA0gOaOZ5V0Iq2foYoGOXc/s1600/Tremain+-+Music+&+Silence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QQp5RoR8N9Z0cQBwaysW1Lay59fZ8rVyJr9NYJPowjnV049aPXqAFwM03bIfUmJTtuJ-AV6uhDv7XcOkkxtRbtfC1_NdNc3YjrIOcwH4yIqY2hyBOyxacHA0gOaOZ5V0Iq2foYoGOXc/s1600/Tremain+-+Music+&+Silence.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">** - This wasn't my cup of tea at all. There was a lot of depth to its themes, but ultimately, I didn't like any of the characters and felt melancholic returning to their machinations.</span></i><br />
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<b>Series: </b>None<br />
<b>Source: </b>Personal Collection<br />
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<b style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Fieldnotes:</b><br />
<i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">1 Angelically Beautiful English Lutenist</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">1 Tragically Bankrupt Kingdom</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Several Bouts of Madness, including:</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">1 Indeterminately Insane Monarch</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">4 Scheming Ladies</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">3 Very Bad Spouses </span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">2 Mistreated Children (1 a Magical Plot Moppet)</span><br style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;" /><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">1 Failed Silver Mine</span></i><span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><i>And a Lady-in-Waiting with a Pet Hen</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Music and Silence is a historical novel, set in 1629-1630 in Denmark at the court of King Christian IV - who is depressingly short on money and spends much of his time trying to come up with get-rich-quick schemes that tend to go horribly wrong. He also has nightmares and general hang-ups from his youth and requires the constant presence of his musicians - who he keeps pent-up in a freezing wine cellar that they might pipe seemingly magical music into his throne room unseen. His new favorite is Peter Claire, the golden blond English lutenist "angel", who reminds him of his boyhood friend (whose fate remains troublingly uncertain throughout much of the novel). We also follow Christian's sex-crazed selfish wife Kirsten and her infidelities, her lady-in-waiting Emilia (who catches Peter's eye), Emilia's family back in Jutland who is dealing with a similarly sexually manipulative stepmother and her odd (magical plot moppet) little brother Marcus who can imagine himself into the being of animals (or something). Occasionally we also glimpse Peter's former lover, an Italian lady married to a music-obsessed Irish count, King Christian's scheming mother, Kirsten's scheming mother, King Charles I of England and the fates of the villagers near the failed silver mine.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">In short, true to its title, Tremain weaves different strains of story to create a whole meditation on insanity, power struggles, happiness and selfishness and gender politics. And I just didn't like it. I didn't care for any of the characters who all seemed painfully self-centered and uncaring of their actions' effects on others - unless they were reveling in the pain they caused. I found the blatant sexual manipulations by both Kirsten and Magdalena incredibly distasteful, and neither of them showed much in terms of redeeming qualities. Kirsten's efforts on behalf of Emilia and her affection toward her were based solely on the condition that Emilia give up all other interests and obligations in her life to cater solely to Kirsten's whims - her incredible spoiledness reminded me a bit of the accusations hurled at Marie Antoinette. Magdalena's storyline was just... is there a word for something so pathetic and broken and messed-up that you feel only a certain amount of contemptuous distaste? - wretched maybe? And the women's use of sex as a tool was echoed by men's casual contemplations of rape as an imposition of their rightful power and violence (sexual or otherwise) as an attempt to subvert and take back the power the women gained through sex. And it was just...ick. Not something I want to voluntarily return to.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Even Emilia, who was the closest of the main characters to being sympathetic, lost me when she cannot be roused from her self-pitying contemplation of suicide but is stuck in this rut of misery rather than rousing herself to the very happiness she has been awaiting for so long. The only stories I actually enjoyed reading were Charlotte's (for the most part) and Francesca's (after the end of her husband's crazed violence). But even in each of these storylines were warnings of the dangers a woman faced if she bowed to the societally accepted role of wife and mother (even for love) - as she becomes completely dependent on him and his continued goodwill. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">So I started off the year with a literary melancholy contemplation of power dynamics, the role of women, the nature of love and madness. And I am now firmly convinced that it is time to return to my 'happy' books as my forays into the literary world always seem to leave me unsettled and irritated.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><b><u>Thoughts on the cover:</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Taken from Caravaggio's <a href="http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/fcgi-bin/db2www/descrPage.mac/descrPage?selLang=English&indexClass=PICTURE_EN&PID=GJ-45&numView=1&ID_NUM=2&thumbFile=%2Ftmplobs%2FSC0HX1HZYNP6XKFE6.jpg&embViewVer=last&comeFrom=quick&sorting=no&thumbId=6&numResults=6&tmCond=caravaggio&searchIndex=TAGFILEN&author=Caravaggio%26%2332%3B%26%2332%3B%28Michelangelo%26%2332%3BMerisi%26%2332%3Bde%26%2332%3BCaravaggio%29">Lute Player</a> (currently in St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum) - it's a very apt selection as Peter is, in fact, a lute player and King Charles I (a brief character referenced in the book as the nephew of the sometimes crazy King Christian IV) was a great fan of Caravaggio. Last but not least, the theme of the painting (according to the Hermitage site linked above) is love that fails - symbolized by the cracked lute.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmpBz1gy1sJ5JSO7W9cEHhGnpZ_z7JXnrWtvZS7RJ8SusiyhtiLhE7Ty9kpJUM_jBTcu__Ek8jhpDGZJUulfTuhyV38gWguqc0lKfds6QFH6t-iFnJwIoQ_KyYPrcifZicYb_Rc3SoaE/s1600/Caravaggio+-+Lute+Player+(1595).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmpBz1gy1sJ5JSO7W9cEHhGnpZ_z7JXnrWtvZS7RJ8SusiyhtiLhE7Ty9kpJUM_jBTcu__Ek8jhpDGZJUulfTuhyV38gWguqc0lKfds6QFH6t-iFnJwIoQ_KyYPrcifZicYb_Rc3SoaE/s1600/Caravaggio+-+Lute+Player+(1595).jpg" height="250" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><i>Interested in other thoughts?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><a href="http://laurasmusings.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/review-music-silence-by-rose-tremain/">Laura's Musing</a>s</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><a href="http://edwardsexbyisaninja.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/review-music-and-silence-by-rose.html">The Researcher's Tal</a>e</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><a href="http://bookblog.winpro.com/2010/08/10/rose-tremain-1999-%E2%80%93-music-silence/">Books of Note (or Not)</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><a href="http://unreadauthors.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/music-and-silence-by-rose-tremain.html">Unread Authors</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-57584869655999913822013-11-08T17:12:00.001-05:002013-11-08T17:13:20.838-05:00REVIEW: Glass Houses by Rachel Caine<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidfK_wPlCVe9uOxzkZqTIDPgW8Amh-eUCGd4G9hyphenhyphen1kmqF8SiVbOwICUIdO4TkQIpJv7YYqyqUT2p4eFDL2NfIcEwRowmAGccE5HPTn7WaLpQINlSQG0fnRY7IefgPqbla5MPZN9UP2LRE/s320/Caine+-+Glass+Houses.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="197" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://rachelcaine.com/page6/page7/page30/index.html">Morganville Vampires - Book 01</a></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rachelcaine.com/page6/page7/page30/index.html">Morganville Vampires - Book 01</a></div>
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<i>*** 1/2 - I'm on a bit of a paranormal kick right now, and this suited my current reading mood perfectly. It's fast-paced with relatively little world-building and largely traditional vampire lore. Claire's a character easy to root for and I was flipping pages until I got to the INTENSELY CLIFFHANGER end. Must acquire next book!!!</i><br />
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<b>Series: </b>Morganville Vampires, Book 01<br />
<b>Source:</b> my very helpful local library<br />
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Nerdy Claire Danvers couldn't have been more disappointed when her parents decided she wasn't ready at 16 to go away to any of the <i>real</i> colleges asking her to attend. Instead she's stuck at Texas Prairie University - a dead-end school in the small, creepy town of Morganville. And as if her academic career wasn't already enough jeopardy, Claire's smart-aleck remarks manage to make the most popular (and most powerful) girl in school her enemy. And not just in a "dump your laundry in the trash" kind of way, but in a downright psycho-bitch enemy sort of way. To escape Monica, Claire moves off-campus to Glass House and quickly begins to bond with her charming (but bizarre) housemates, all of whom have a reason to protect her from the local dangers, which are even more frightening than Monica, you see, Morganville is controlled by vampires who are out for anyone not under someone's Protection...<br />
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<b><u>Meet our protagonists:</u></b><br />
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<ul>
<li><u>Claire</u> - 16 year old academic genius; plenty feisty, but altogether too good at stirring up trouble and enmity that will put her in danger</li>
<li><u>Eve</u> - cheerful Goth chick; her very dress sense waves a red flag at the vampires she despises</li>
<li><u>Shane</u> - currently "between majors"; Shane left Morganville for a while after a family tragedy which gives him plenty of reason to thwart the vampiric powers-that-be</li>
<li><u>Michael </u> - talented musician and owner of the house; only seems to come out at night</li>
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I absolutely tore through Rachel Caine's Glass Houses and I'd be reaching for the next book in the Morganville Vampires series even if it didn't end on such a <u style="font-weight: bold;">RIDICULOUS CLIFFHANGER</u> (of course, the cliff-hanger sure does make getting my hands on <u style="font-weight: bold;">Dead Girls' Dance</u> more urgent...). </div>
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Claire was an easy heroine to like - she's smart and gutsy and wants to help and protect her friends at least as much as herself. Her initial skepticism regarding the vampires running Morganville makes sense given her scientific background (loved her TA-sponsored breaking and entering), but quickly gives way to her asking (rather scientific-type) questions about the rules/methods of weakening or killing them. My main issue with Claire is her refusal to listen to anyone's concerns for her safety. On the one hand, I understand - it wouldn't have been much of a story if she'd let Michael or Shane lock her in the house and not leave her room. On the other, I'm not really sure why on Earth she seems to think that class attendance trumps the whole 'staying alive' thing. Especially given her track record of getting beaten up and generally having dangerous things happen to her, I thought her common sense was pretty painfully lacking. Seriously, I cringed at some of the things that happened to her...</div>
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To be honest, I was a bit bemused by the sheer levels of cruelty being visited on Claire without more than a fairly flimsy pretext to explain the enmity incurred by Monica. I mean, Claire made Monica look dumb in front of hot boys and Monica's a nasty spoiled brat used to always getting her way and being the center of adoration. So the laundry trick, I understand. But even at the beginning, when Monica throws her down the stairs and then leaves her unconscious without seeming concern is a whole new level of psychotic that just isn't satisfactorily explained by the narrative. At least vampire Brandon's wrath (and toying with Claire) seems more in keeping with what he sees as provocation.</div>
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I generally liked all of her housemates, even though I could have done without the immediate pairing up of all of the members of the house (in fairly obvious couples) - but hey, at least it wasn't yet another young adult love triangle. Shane seems sweet, though perhaps a bit chuckle-headed, but I was most interested in Michael (for reasons that are a bit spoiler-y, and were pleasantly unexpected). I'm looking forward to seeing how his plot line plays out. </div>
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The main plotline in Glass Houses revolves around Claire trying to protect herself and her friends by making a deal with the vampires - but first she has to find something they want (which plays into her research skills) and then she has to figure out how to offer it to them without getting embroiled in a deal with too many loopholes that will negate her purpose. The villain was an interesting choice, I thought, unexpected enough to be interesting but not completely un-sign-posted. I will note that the main plotline wraps up in this volume, but there's a bit of an aftermath to the climax that results in the <u style="font-weight: bold;">CLIFFHANGER</u> ending (are you warned enough about this yet?) </div>
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<i>Interested in other opinions?</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2011/08/review-glass-houses-by-rachel-caine.html">Fangs for the Fantasy</a></div>
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<a href="http://laurynapril.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/review-for-glass-houses-by-rachel-caine.html">April Books</a></div>
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<i>Did you review this? What did you think? Drop me a comment!</i></div>
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Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-90781682678357768532013-09-29T11:19:00.000-04:002013-09-29T11:19:29.643-04:00REVIEW: The Shadowy Horses - Susanna Kearsley<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYO0bwQDOUfdpeMmL9c6gSyBM7YJSzHVX5O8-AU5AIjBPLMUJny-yyy48qaToyxXJiOWLYgVGlvsNeDu3azNnbkGUX5oWrdB_LG6pwBNklSLdRVoyH4DGIhrVnMzCWV3pXj7XUyc4LMCg/s1600/Kearsley+-+shadowy+horses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYO0bwQDOUfdpeMmL9c6gSyBM7YJSzHVX5O8-AU5AIjBPLMUJny-yyy48qaToyxXJiOWLYgVGlvsNeDu3azNnbkGUX5oWrdB_LG6pwBNklSLdRVoyH4DGIhrVnMzCWV3pXj7XUyc4LMCg/s320/Kearsley+-+shadowy+horses.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.susannakearsley.com/horses.html">Susanna Kearsley's website</a></td></tr>
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<i>**** - Kearsley's </i><u style="font-style: italic;">The Shadowy Horses</u> <i>is a lovely mixture of an archaeological/historical mystery, some paranormal elements and a bit of a love story, all wrapped up in an atmospheric Scottish small town. It pretty much screamed LANA, BUY ME, LOVE ME. So I did. </i><br />
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<b>Source:</b> I went and bought myself a treat as this looked right up my alley.<br />
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<i>Archaeologist Verity Grey is being offered a job she thought she could only dream of when she left the British Museum- excavating a Roman site in the picturesque atmospheric Scottish Borderlands for more than generous pay. The catch? Her eccentric boss Peter Quinnell is convinced this is the final resting-place of the Ninth Legion and all on the say-so of a small boy who claims to see the ghost of a Sentinel patrolling the site.</i><br />
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My first brush with archaeological mysteries came when I was a kid who happened to pick up a book about a young woman named Sibyll who helped out on an archaeological dig in Wales and had to sort out an evil sorcerer and a Celtic princess Bronwen. I've been looking for books that feature that kind of touching of time - a way to stretch from now into then with a little bit of magic and/or a little bit of Indiana Jones-ing - ever since. And I've found another one in Susanna Kearsley's <u>The Shadowy Horses</u>.<br />
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I enjoy very much reading about archaeological digs, particularly when you both get a feeling for how the work actually goes (a lot of meticulous sketching and categorizing pottery shards) as well as a bit of the Indiana Jones thrill of discovery, and Kearsley delivers on both. I believe that her professionals are just that and not simply grubbing around for treasure. But it also never bogged down in the tedium of the work. Both the subject of the dig (the Ninth Legion) and the interpersonal dynamics of the team make sure of that. We have Verity (in charge of finds), Adrian - an ex-boyfriend of Verity's who handles the surveying, Quinnell's beautiful but sullen granddaughter Fabia who is a photographer, and Davy who generally helps oversee the work being done.<br />
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I first heard of the mystery of The Ninth Legion and its disappearance in Rosemary Sutcliff's The Eagle of the Ninth, a happy find during a browse of my local library a good long while ago, and I was interested in how their history (and the evidence suggesting the legion had moved to the continent) was presented. But what ultimately sucked me in to Kearsley's novel were the characters. I enjoyed Verity's skepticism and how she dealt with Adrian's irritating ego, Peter's charm and the hunky Scottish archaeologist working part-time while lecturing in Edinburgh - who, it will surprise no one to learn, is the love interest and not the insufferable Adrian.I thought Robbie, the psychic young boy, and his family were incredibly interesting to read about and I liked the locals easy cameraderie. And I liked the atmospheric old house with the comfortable sitting room and the cats full of personality. Everything seemed so vivid and colorful - I can see the room bathed in lamplight in my imagination now.<br />
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I also liked how matter-of-factly a lot of the paranormal elements were dealt with. Verity is very skeptical of Robbie until several instances finally convince her that there is some merit to his claims. I loved the thought that Robbie can't understand the Sentinel when he speaks (as, of course, he only speaks Latin) and how the dog reacts to the ghostly presence. The only bit I found strange were the "shadowy horses" of the title, taken from Irish mythology and a <a href="http://www.poetry-archive.com/y/he_bids_his_beloved_be_at_peace.html">William Butler Yeats poem</a>, arriving to carry someone off to the land of the dead. I just wasn't sure how these fit into the rest of the story - the Sentinel made sense to me, ultimately, and I was prepared to accept Robbie's gift. But I'm just not sure where the connection to Yeats and the horses came from.<br />
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All in all, though, that's a truly minor quibble in a book that I really enjoyed reading. I tore through the pages to see Davy and Verity's next quip-filled interaction, to spend more time with Robbie's fearsome grandmother and to listen to Peter Quinnell tell yet another fascinating story. I was sad to see the story come to a close, though it wrapped up very satisfyingly, and I'm glad I'll get to spend a little more time with Robbie in <u>The Firebird</u>!<br />
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<i>Interested in other opinions?</i><br />
<a href="http://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-b-reviews/b-plus-reviews/review-the-shadowy-horses-by-susanna-kearsley/">Dear Author</a> - I can't just say "what she said", can I?<br />
<a href="http://bookofsecretsblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/book-review-the-shadowy-horses-by-susanna-kearsley/">Book of Secrets</a><br />
<a href="http://agoodstoppingpoint.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/the-shadowy-horses-by-susanna-kearsley/">A Good Stopping Point</a><br />
<a href="http://www.burtonbookreview.com/2012/10/the-shadowy-horses-by-susanna-kearsley.html">Burton Book Review</a>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-30787074484172213272013-03-30T10:56:00.000-04:002013-03-30T10:56:40.946-04:00Review: Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://madwomanintheforest.com/youngadult-speak/"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRwIcJwIf7GY7xEROisdL0LGQvoX7EY_tgOaWYo-33t7CsTcf-Cocqje3UbcSQxJQnMcAIBkH45DH3H5Rm5U9UouzEKPSndb1mGe5B0EeLgMtHYOrCNOKHTMDWrdx44nau_qre_y661Q/s320/Anderson+-+Speak.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://madwomanintheforest.com/youngadult-speak/"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Mad Woman in the Forest - Laurie Halse Anderson</span></span></a></td></tr>
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<i>**** - a strong story about the importance of speaking up for yourself & for others. Though Melinda's pain echoes on every page, Anderson does not exploit it, but shows her protagonist regaining strength and agency (despite the lack of help from those around her).</i><br />
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<b>FTC Disclosure: I purchased this novel with my own hard-earned money.</b><br />
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<i>Melinda Sordino has only been at high school a few moments into freshman year, but she's already an outcast. Her unwillingness to speak brands her a freak in her classmates' eyes and is dismissed as a nuisance and irritating adolescent histrionics by her exasperated parents. Shunned by those who used to be her friends and hated by her new classmates for breaking up a party over the summer by calling the cops, Melinda wanders through school trying to keep to herself - without letting the dark secret of what really happened that night leak out.</i><br />
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Melinda knows there is no way she will gain acceptance in any of the cliques, not after her reception on her first day. Her observations about the separation of the student body into cliques as well as the general "lies they tell you in high school" capture perfectly the conformity and power of the 'popular' students aided and abetted by the petty tyranny of teachers, the selfishness of adolescence, and just how easy it is to fall through the cracks. She even captures the desperate attempts to instill enthusiasm (though, personally, I enjoyed algebra) of some teachers, and others' utter disregard for the subjects they're meant to be teaching in order to further their personal agendas - and how grades depend on falling in line and parroting their prejudices.<br />
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I loved the scenes with David Petrakis', the over-driven Ivy League wanna-be struggling to decide between pre-law and pre-med, who is a consummate know-it-all and who won't stand for Mr. Neck's xenophobia and who has interesting thoughts on suffragettes, probably because he reminded me a bit of me in high school (though much cooler).<br />
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Melinda's art classes - great theme, by the way, Mr. Freeman - were a beautiful opportunity for Anderson to explore Melinda's slow journey towards healing in a way that was full of symbolism (of the same kind the kids insist Hawthorne didn't mean to include in his books, so why make it up?) without beating the reader over the head with the process.<br />
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The best part, I thought, about reading <u>Speak</u> was Anderson's subtlety and her willingness to make her readers work to piece together the story rather than spoon-feeding it to us. As the story unfolds in brief descriptive passages - almost like the essays Hairwoman forces the kids to write in the journals they are meant to keep for English class - the reader slowly works out what led to Melinda's unwillingness to speak and her depression but also sees her regain her strength and begin making steps towards recovery. The tragedy of the novel is that those around her dismiss her as irritating, attention-seeking, jealous or just plain weird. Even her parents, while lamenting the changes in her are never patient enough or clued in enough to reach out, and Melinda fights an internal battle trying to open up but afraid of rejection and shame.<br />
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For all the pain and depression Melinda suffers, I never found the novel difficult to read; I was drawn into her life and didn't want to leave her to put the book down. I found the writing beautiful, subtle and effective and the protagonist engaging, but I didn't find this book quite as powerful as much of its audience. (For me, <u style="font-style: italic;">The Perks of Being a Wallflower</u> packed a bit more of a punch). Still this is a book I would certainly encourage people to read - it's got a ton going for it, the not least of which is the fact that Anderson has written a sensitive, complex and clever novel about a difficult subject without once talking down to her intended YA audience.<br />
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<i>Interested in other opinions?</i><br />
<a href="http://lisamm.wordpress.com/2009/05/01/review-speak-by-laurie-halse-anderson/">Books on the Brain</a><br />
<a href="http://sweet-tidbits.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/review-laurie-halse-anderson-speak.html">Sweet Tidbits</a><br />
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<i>Have you reviewed it, too? Love to read your thoughts - leave a link!</i>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-40287706645450036102013-03-04T03:25:00.003-05:002013-03-04T03:25:48.973-05:00Review: Codename:Dancer by Amanda Brice<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amandabrice.net/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSH0-PTSKZy7dPLrbBFDvOWBQyLZPTkYaBC4MtL2A2HntkNoHIpiB4ahhG1KqavNWtIgLRvwwXNHtnQEOgmDN3jjwb4otpt3lWJtdWmllPljnsW1jL5mNsfo1fv0CEyYcU1pXD_S6flA/s320/Brice+-+Codename+Dancer.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://amandabrice.net/</td></tr>
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<i>** 1/2 - a quick and breezy middle-grade mystery set at a high school for dance. The descriptions of the dancing are lovely, but the mystery didn't work as well for me. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Dani Spevak wants nothing more than to dance, so when she finally convinces her parents to allow her to attend Mountain Shadows Academy in Arizona, she's thrilled. Even better, when she auditions to participate in Teen Celebrity Dance Off, she lands a part dancing with teen sensation Nick Galliano. Life couldn't be much better...except for the jealous other students, the petition to shut down the show, and the ugly mishaps that keep putting dancers in the hospital. Now Dani and her new friends are snooping around to see if they can catch the saboteur - who seems to be intent on catching Dani...<br />
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Codename: Dancer was a quick, fun read following a bunch of dance students as they switch their usual toe shoes for ballroom and billed (not inaccurately) as "a Nancy Drew in toe shoes". The scenes of dancing and auditioning are lovely (though I would have liked a description or two more of regular class as well) and intriguing and Dani's chemistry with Nick is great fun. The mystery, on the other hand, is very obvious (although perhaps not unlike a Nancy Drew) and the villain very much a moustache-twirler with a large dose of crazy. In addition, towards the end of the book, the author shoehorns in an "issue" which is rather quickly dealt with (though thankfully not fully dismissed and never heard from again). While important and relevant, as its placed, its development felt inorganic.<br />
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And while I understand that Dani requires a certain amount of independence for the story to work, the amount of sabotage (including a bomb scare!) that happens which then never gets communicated to her parents just seemed hopelessly unlikely - not to mention that, while realistic, I found Dani's whining that she could take care of herself and investigate a bomb at age 14 irritating.<br />
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All told, this was a read I tore through in the space of an afternoon (it's quite short), and while I'm not itching to read the next one, I may pick it up in due course - there's dancing involved, after all!<br />
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<i>Interested in other thoughts?</i><br />
<a href="http://sharingsoda.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/review-codename-dancer-by-amanda-brice.html">Secrets & Sharing Soda</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/ruby-release-spotlight-codenamedancer-by-amanda-brice/">Ruby Slippered Sisterhood</a> (with author interview)Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-62937914429151411992012-08-30T05:33:00.000-04:002012-08-30T05:33:12.855-04:00Sorry!Sorry about the weird formatting and font and colors and whatnot. I noticed that my template went horrifically wonky and randomly threw something together so that the blog was still vaguely readable. I will fix soon!Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-85234452086663901532012-05-13T12:53:00.001-04:002012-05-16T05:17:41.379-04:00REVIEW: Notorious Eliza - Barbara Monajem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIyXqjY2UG-3ZhBiNspwryuRnc8GAJy6oV7JfUITh6TrDp57E9qPK8-KcStB891UNz6kTSzUs0_MwvQqVsnliyMHuUAZG7gqleM8ygN9OibndkODhZEyXyPohutbJ_a6F9cFHvFqH5zyM/s1600/Monajem+-+Notorious+Eliza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIyXqjY2UG-3ZhBiNspwryuRnc8GAJy6oV7JfUITh6TrDp57E9qPK8-KcStB891UNz6kTSzUs0_MwvQqVsnliyMHuUAZG7gqleM8ygN9OibndkODhZEyXyPohutbJ_a6F9cFHvFqH5zyM/s320/Monajem+-+Notorious+Eliza.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
*** - I have a definite weakness for painters as heroes/heroines, and while not really the focus of the story, I enjoyed seeing the heroine as an artist.<br />
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<i>Eliza Dauntry is a notorious widow shunned by 'polite' society because she uses her artistic talents to paint nude portraits of the ton's mistresses and courtesans - all to support herself and her young son after her husband died. Now she has been summoned to cover over naughty scenes at Lord Landsdowne's estate, where she encounters her husband's old friend Patrick Felham - who just so happens to be looking for a wife and mother to his daughter.</i><br />
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As so often happens with these snack-sized Harlequin Historical Undone! stories, I find myself wondering how lovely this story could have been if it had been a bit longer. But of course, it makes no sense to lament over what might have been. And I did enjoy <a href="http://www.barbaramonajem.com/Home_Page.html">Barbara Monajem'</a>s <u>Notorious Eliza</u> a great deal.<br />
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I believed the old-simmering attraction between Eliza and Patrick from when they had met before, and I very much enjoyed the fact that both Patrick and Eliza had had prior, happy and healthy relationships with their (unfortunately now-deceased) partners. None of this angsty, I've never had good sex in my life or hating all women, or having waited for you forsaking all others nonsense. Patrick had a lovely, though reckless, wife who died in an unfortunate accident. While Eliza is annoyed with her husband for having gambled away their money and having left them in dire straits (to the point where she must continue to paint nudes after his death to support herself), she still has fond memories of their relationship and has had no desire to seek out other men - until she meets Patrick again.<br />
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And their relationship, especially the physical one, I buy completely. What I don't understand is when they fell in love. I wish we had at least gotten a scene showing Patrick actually protecting Eliza's son James from the nosy busybodies of the ton or showing in a similar way that he genuinely cared about them and wasn't afraid to throw his weight around, damn the consequences. While this is hinted at in the narrative, it would have been nice to see. Because as written, I'm not sure why the two of them are getting married other than it would be convenient to have an extra parent for their respective offspring.<br />
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Nonetheless, I found this a nicely spicy and entertaining read, worthwhile not least because of the novelty of a heroine painter with a talent for nudes.<br />
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<i>Interested in other opinions?</i><br />
<a href="http://achickwhoreads.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/ebook-review-notorious-eliza.html">A Chick Who Reads</a><br />
<a href="http://goodbadandunread.com/2010/04/02/review-notorious-eliza-by-barbara-monajem/">The Good, The Bad and The Unread</a>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-36320460564203244862012-05-09T16:43:00.002-04:002012-05-09T16:43:28.383-04:00Review: Lucky Break - Esther Freud<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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** 1/2 - I went into Esther Freud's Lucky Break expecting a little more grown-up version of fame. Drama students with big dreams; backstage cameraderie, blown auditions, lucky breaks, stage fright. But while I got that...I didn't get it the way I wanted it. And ultimately this book just didn't work for me.<br />
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<i>Esther Freud's Lucky Break is an episodic novel following the lives of young drama students (three in particular) from their first day of classes at the prestigious (and fictional) Drama Arts school in London over the next fifteen years of their careers. Our main protagonists, whom Freud focuses on in turn, are:</i><br />
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<i>1. insecure, dumpy Nell who seems destined to play the maid, not the leading lady, because of her looks if not her talent. </i><br />
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<i>2. effortlessly beautiful mixed-race actress Charlie, promiscuous and easily bored; and </i><br />
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<i>3. Everyone's golden boy Dan, who has his sights set on Hamlet, Olivier...</i><br />
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There's really not much else to say about the plot - the main characters end up with varying degrees of success, make poor decisions about their sex lives - a string of falling for co-stars, adultery, casual why-not-try-it-out that leads to resentment, an ill-conceived almost-homosexual tryst. But it's all barely sketched there and none of it amounts to much introspection. For a group of people so self-absorbed, they don't even seem to spend much time 'using' their experiences to 'hone their craft'. Everything seems to more or less roll of them like water off a duck's back in their single-minded striving for fame.<br />
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And to be honest? There were a few anecdotes I enjoyed, some I found funny, some touching. But so many seemed cliched. The inevitable casting couch, the nude scene dilemmas, the jealousy 'holding back everything'. More were just strange and not terribly believable - a meeting with the Royal Family? That whole conversation? And for most of the novel, I was a bit bored. Just waiting for something interesting, different, intriguing. A glimpse of the glory of the spotlight, the rush behind the drive.<br />
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On the whole, the novel seemed too scattered. Important events in the characters' lives happen off-stage and we jump between them when they're barely connected (even in their stormy drama school years) that it seemed gimmicky rather than coherent. And when I only barely liked one of the characters - and I really <u>didn't</u> like much of her behavior, the novel wasn't terribly engrossing. Too much shallow self-absorbed navel-gazing by unlikable people doing unlikable things.<br />
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A pity. I wanted to like it much more than I did. And if you like fiction of a more literary bent (I well and truly do not), this may suit you better than it did me.Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-61446162546199127942012-03-04T09:00:00.004-05:002012-03-05T03:01:14.593-05:00TV Roundup - Feb 26 Week<i>Yet another instalment in what I watched this week. Please note that there may be spoilers for any individual episodes below, so please take care while reading (or skip the recaps if you haven't yet seen and wish to remain unspoiled). On to the television!</i><br />
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<strong>Smash (1x03) - Enter Mr. DiMaggio</strong><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvrAnPGiDgkmGvlbkBEXxGIU5S9_eZCC4z2LNfZ0_HTsR4pDotAi6jKyyNnE-dyYD_2ajWZwID2vZlI5AqADxw_xWkZip9F3NOk1xJnAJsdXJ7_ONRnV3QdzhOu20Rd2mJldSnOrNXks/s1600/Smash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvrAnPGiDgkmGvlbkBEXxGIU5S9_eZCC4z2LNfZ0_HTsR4pDotAi6jKyyNnE-dyYD_2ajWZwID2vZlI5AqADxw_xWkZip9F3NOk1xJnAJsdXJ7_ONRnV3QdzhOu20Rd2mJldSnOrNXks/s320/Smash.jpg" width="219" /></a>In a rather disappointing episode, Ivy's gotten the part of Marilyn but goes all insecure when she thinks she may just have gotten the part because she was sleeping with the director Derek. I like that they're having her show some vulnerability, but this is a bit annoying. After all, hi, of course you have a better chance after sleeping with the director. I'm just surprised that he's stuck around long enough for there to be a 'boyfriend' label applied. Tom, of course, finds out after having been asked out on a date by Ivy's nasty little backstabbing BFF (which he somehow doesn't find as inappropriate) and flips because of course Derek is a terrible person besmirching his precious innocent Ivy Lynn. WHATEVER, TOM.<br />
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Eileen is having trouble finding backers for her workshop once people realize her slimy soon-to-be-ex Jerry isn't in the picture; there are definitely still feelings between the two of them. Complexity rears its head. Eileen also continues the trend of throwing her drink in his face whenever he shows up and is obnoxious and it seriously NEVER GETS OLD. Another favorite moment is when Dev turns up to be inappropriately possessive of Karen during her meeting with Derek. They play the British pissing contest game pinpointing accents, comparing schools and generally sizing one another up. The funny part about it? I have SO HEARD this conversation from Brits over and over and over again. Anyway, Karen goes home to her friend's baby shower and has a heart-to-heart with her parents, this one ending with them being more supportive. Her dad is really sweet.<br />
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Meanwhile, Michael Swift - the star they've got an eye on for Joe DiMaggio is being very coy about working on Marilyn. His wife is perplexed. Julia is being very iffy on whether he'll even be interested. It comes as absolutely no surprise that the two of them hooked up on their last project. Julia decides to tell Tom (WHY?!) and obviously sneaky assistant Ellis - who has already stolen her project notebook for inexplicable reasons - overhears. They have a brightly venomous exchange about who has more influence over Tom and I kind of love Ellis' sunshiny evil whilst hating it. Hmmm.<br />
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Basically, to the extent that we got to see Karen, Eileen and Derek, I was happy. I continue to be bored/annoyed at all Tom/Julia/Ellis story lines. Plus the Mr. and Mrs. Smith number is just...rather dull. I was hoping for more wistfulness, more recognition that the idyll is impossible, more poignancy. More anything really.<br />
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<strong>Smash (1x04) - The Cost of Art</strong><br />
SO MUCH BETTER, Y'ALL! So this episode really sold me again after a lackluster third episode. The story? It's the first day of the workshop and Karen's pretty excited to be there until all of Ivy's minions (how is she friends with every single ensemble member?) start being bitchy to her because she acted like every single other up-and-coming Broadway wannabe and *auditioned* and *came to her callback* and was *good*. So she *almost* got their beloved Ivy's part. WHAAAAAT? Anyway, they're all horrible to her. Ivy is playing Diva Extraordinaire and getting Karen kicked out of each of the numbers for drawing focus (a fair enough criticism, but lay off, Ivy!). Karen's ticked that Ivy is sleeping with Derek. Dev is super busy (yet still delicious) being important at the mayor's office. So Bobby - who seems shaping up to be Karen's new ensemble BFF and friends stage a fashion intervention, get her into dance class (why is she not in dance class?) and tell Karen off for pulling focus in a much-needed You're In The Chorus Now speech. Not sure how well it takes since Karen ends up dancing in the front and singing, but I'll take it.<br />
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Derek's hosting a birthday party for Broadway wunderkind Lyle West (Nick Jonas) and Eileen ends up hitting up the kiddo for an investment when she can't unload her gorgeous Degas sketch (maybe too much commitment, darling!) because of a provenance/bill of sale issue. Lyle agrees if he can see a number so Tom gets brought in from a blind date his mom set him up on (who turns out to be pretty dreamy, Yay Mom!), they call in Michael Swift and Ivy is there of course and they do a swing-y number (the USO number) called "I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl". After Ivy freaks out because Derek was doing some hands-on flirting with another guest and she's feeling all vulnerable; he tells her to put on her starlet panties and grow UP. Being a star isn't about feeling SAFE. I've been itching for somebody to tell off Little Miss Diva all episode and Derek's clearly been itching to do it. Yay!<br />
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<strong>Glee (3x14) - On My Way</strong><br />
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Blah - ok, ummm. Sebastian threatens to post photoshopped pictures of Finn with a tiny wang if Rachel performs at Regionals. Rachel and Finn have a vague argument about it that's barely even yawn-worthy. Rachel is self-absorbed. They decide to move up the wedding in some sort of weird carpe diem move. Rachel gets her way and Regionals once again turn into the Rachel show (though this time less pained faces). Sue offers (genuinely?) to help with the New Directions - blame it on the pregnancy (what?!). Karofsky gets bullied by the football kids and tries to commit suicide in a montage with a Blaine number 'Cough Syrup'. The whole thing felt a bit like a 90s music video, though. Sebastian sees the error of his ways and dedicates the Warblers' performance to him. Kurt and Karofsky decide tearily to be friends in an actually kind of touching hospital scene (though really, he's still in the hospital from an attempt at suicide and one tearful 'It Gets Better' speech and all's well?). Quinn tries to rejoin the Cheerios (why?) is judgmental about anyone ever wanting to take their own life because she can't imagine anything ever getting that bad because she never considered it. I'm with Kurt - have some compassion, lady. But there's no time for that as she gets hit by a car while texting on her way to Rachel & Finn's wedding. Don't do that kids. On the whole? I know it was meant to be emotional, but I can't help but think the whole thing was just as flat as the Regionals win and the performances. Fine but not memorable. Blah.<br />
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<strong>How I Met Your Mother (1x04) - Return of the Shirt</strong><br />
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I've just begun to watch HIMYM, and I'm really amused so far. In this episode, Ted finds a shirt that he didn't really like (um, so why did he keep it?), but which suddenly suits him. So he decides to try again with a girl he used to go out with. After an amusing recap of some of Ted's Past Dating Disasters, he settles on Natalie (<em>Anne Dudek</em>) whom he broke up with because he wasn't yet ready for commitment (in a complete jerk move on an answering machine. On her birthday! I'm with Lily on the hitting-of-Ted). Meanwhile, Barney convinces Robin to spice up her fluff pieces on Metro News One by saying certain phrases. A cute, but not terribly memorable episode.<br />
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<strong>The Amazing Race (20x01) - Tears of a Clown</strong><br />
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An all new season of the Amazing Race has started! I've become a bit more wary of this show (though I still love to watch the challenges) because I feel like I've found fewer and fewer teams to truly cheer for - especially since the double-Cowboys fiasco. But I love to see the gorgeous places they visit and imagine competing in each of the challenges. So onward!<br />
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<u>The Teams</u>: The following is probably shallow and unfair to the contestants as actual human beings. But it's reality TV.<br />
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<li><u>The Clowns</u> - I mean, they're clowns. They didn't do anything terribly memorable except that Clown Wife started crying about being in last place halfway through the first leg. Aside from contributing the episode title - meh.</li>
<li><u>Bubba Gump</u> - Two Kentucky boys from 'the other side of the tracks'. They're in it for the money. They're underdogs. I want to like them. There are so many reasons I SHOULD like them. I don't really like them.</li>
<li><u>The Golf Girls</u> - I tried to like them. They just kept doing ridiculous things like driving off the side of the road into the sand and having to be rescued. Or running the completely wrong direction because they seem to have lost the use of THEIR EYES. </li>
<li><u>Big Brother</u> - I really just don't like it when contestants (and even more so winners) from other reality shows come on The Amazing Race. It seems greedy. Also annoying. I don't care about Big Brother. I don't watch it for a reason. If you were a freakin' Top Chef contestant or something, maybe I would be entertained. But you sat around a house and backstabbed and gossiped for the titillation of the viewing public. Boo on you. It does not help that I already find Rachel incredibly annoying and the drama only seems to be building.</li>
<li><u>The Meatheads</u> - They describe themselves as 'guidos'. One of them is styling the epithet "Fitness". I think I just threw up a little bit. Also, if your mom tells you to practice driving stick before the race, it would be a good idea to listen to her. Just so you know.</li>
<li><u>The Feds</u> - Two tough women from the FBI. I'm not sure that the race will be "like cake" for you, ladies. But I am looking at you to STOMP the sorry excuse for border patrol & the meatheads. Do NOT let me down.</li>
<li><u>G.I. Joe and Woo-Girl Barbie</u> - Not much to say here. He's the strong silent type who has not yet done anything to irritate me. Her constant devil horns and leaping about whilst squinting through too much eye make-up annoys me. She's definitely a Woo Girl.</li>
<li><u>Rock 'Em Soc 'Em Twins</u> - One's a rocker in a band. One is a soccer player. I am giggling at my own cleverness. So far they seem pretty. Hopefully they will not fall in the pretty dumb category. We will see.</li>
<li><u>Dixie Chicks</u> - Self-described Daisy Dukes in short shorts. I was worried when Stacy (who's afraid of heights) seems too freaked out to jump, but she turned it around when she decided she didn't want her kids giving up. *cue heart-warming*. My current favorite (as in least obnoxious, not really as in most likely to win) team.</li>
<li><u>Crazy Stalkers</u> - lots of on-again off-again marrying and divorcing and dating and anybody who describes their own relationship as 'stalking' one another complete with maniacal laughter really freaks me out.</li>
<li><u>The Border Patrol</u> - Dune-buggy riding border patrol agents who beg for doughnut jokes. They also don't seem to have figured out that The Amazing Race is going to require RUNNING, as they seem really out of breath after a not-so-brisk jog. Unimpressive.</li>
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Ok, with the long intro out of the way, on to the show!<br />
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<em>Santa Barbara, CA </em><br />
Teams have to search through a vineyard with 100 balloons to find their next clue, directing them to<br />
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<em>Santa Barbara, Argentina </em><br />
<u>Roadblock</u>: "Who's got a great sense of direction?" - that person has to find the NotIt! team member after they skydive 10,000 ft. Once they've found one another, they'll receive their next task.<br />
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<u>Task</u>: Make 120 empanadas (60 meat, 60 cheese) with different dough patterns. Everyone seems to figure this one out pretty quick with one team member watching each of the demonstrators. <br />
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Winner (and express pass) - G.I. Joe and Woo-Girl Barbie. <br />
Eliminated - Golf Girls in a bizarre twist when they literally ran SO CLOSE to Phil, stared around frantically and proceeded to turn around and run the other way. Everyone looks utterly perplexed. Phil doesn't know what to say. I don't either. Except D'OH!<br />
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<b>The Amazing Race (20x02) - You Know I'm Not As Smart As You</b><br />
<i>Cafayate Town Square</i> - wait for the chasqui (courier) to give them their next clue at sunrise. There's some cute footage of a stray dog playing with rocks, the Feds sticking with lying that they're kindergarten teachers (really?), Dave The Clown is a two-time cancer survivor and a lot of waiting around before all teams storm the horse. I have to say, I foresaw carnage. GUYS, DON'T STAMPEDE A FRICKIN' HORSE! Those things have Flying Hooves of Death when scared! Luckily, this was the most chill horse EVER. No one was brained. Not even the Big Brother team.<br />
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<i>Salta, Argentina</i><br />
<u>Detour:</u> Boil My Water or Light My Fire<br />
Boil My Water involved putting together a solar oven based on the pictures on the side of the box and then waiting for a kettle of water to boil. Light My Fire involved gathering firewood and clay and transporting it a mile down the road by donkey. DONKEY. Unsurprisingly, due to the aforementioned donkey variable, all teams but the Border Patrol chose Boil My Water. While Border Patrol get themselves a bit lost and start snapping at one another, the other teams aren't having such a breezy time of it with the solar oven assembly. Both Team Bubba Gump and the Dixie Chicks ace the putting-it-together portion despite other teams' vocal disbelief in their abilities. The Dixie Chicks make the mistake (in my opinion) of helping the Meatheads who present the offer as mutual but really just mooch while making superior comments about how the "girls can't build" while managing to cut themselves on the solar panels. Yeah. About that. Great building skill there...<br />
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Team Big Brother flails about helplessly with Rachel setting my teeth on edge by whining that she's sooooorry she's useless, she's just a GIRL. REALLY? Because you're a GIRL? That's a sorry excuse. As if you weren't ticking me off enough before. I've begun to well and truly hate you Rachel. The Clowns show equal ineptitude as they've managed to miss the picture on the side of the box...wow. They also pull the inevitable but dumb "watched pot never boils" joke and turn their backs on their kettle. Cutesy. Also gag.<br />
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<i>Buenos Aires </i><br />
<i>A mysterious shattered window on the road delays the second bus so it comes in last - giving the Feds and the Dixie Chicks a leg up.</i><br />
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<u>Roadblock:</u><i style="text-decoration: underline;"> </i> Where's the Beef?<br />
One team member has to go up to a cattle auction, note down the total weight of each lot, count the number of steers & calculate the average weight per animal and bring their answer to a gaucho before the auction (with the inevitable shouting of numbers) ends. No calculators allowed.<br />
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JJ (of the Border Patrol) and Woo-Girl Rachel (of G.I. Joe) decide to team up to work faster and keep Big Brother Rachel from getting the answer. I still think Border Patrol is too volatile for their own good and should have done more prep running, but I hate them less. It turns out Mark from Bubba Gump has a bit of an advantage as he used to work in a cattle-yard and he's "good at figgerin'". I have to admit, they're growing on me. Big Brother Rachel descends into crying hysterics. As usual. She "doesn't know anything about cows" (it's basic third-grade math, not a cow trivia competition) and "she's really bad at math". She continues to throw a tantrum even after Mark tells her he's good at math and Brendon has basically shouted at him to help her. DON'T DO IT, MARK! Helping means that Mark does the math and the legwork and Rachel stops snivelling like a two-year-old. I suppose that's something.<br />
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Team Big Brother gets into a spat about going back to check for their taxi or something? She turns on the waterworks because he's blaming and he promised he wouldn't do that. Cry Cry Cry. Brendon resorts to insisting that she's right and trying to stop her from more hysterics in the middle of an Argentinean street, molly-coddling her and asking her to get her head back in the game while she whines that she's soooooorry she can't do things under preeesssure also, he has a booger on his nose. She seethes, he apologizes. Her faux-cutesy emotional manipulation is really incredibly irritating.<br />
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Third bus to depart (second to arrive) gets in and both Team Fed and the Dixie Chicks solve the problem in short order.<br />
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Second bus turns up - Jersey boys seem to think it's funny that they've never seen cows before. Seems pretty lame to me. Stalker Girl manages to pull it together on her own (despite Stalker Boy's insistence that she's horrible at math because she's an English major). Then The Soc' Em Twin and Meathead decide to team up to beat the already down-trodden clown with no math skills. Seems unnecessary to me as they've hardly shown themselves to be the most competitive. Plus it makes me listen to another Tears of a Clown line.<br />
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<u>Pit Stop:</u> <i>El Gomero in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires</i><br />
Winner: G.I. Joe and Woo Girl Barbie<br />
Eliminated: ClownsLanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-32721215050206910482012-03-02T07:13:00.001-05:002012-03-02T07:13:27.877-05:00February 2012 Roundup<em>I've been in a bit of a reading slump this month. Mostly I was flitting from book to book without finding anything to really settle down into. A few chapters here, a few chapters there but nothing that really caught and kept my interest enough for me to stick with it. Also (as evidenced below), I owe y'all reviews - books AND movies. I'll do my best to catch up! </em><br />
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<em>You might see a little bit of a French theme coming out below - it would show more if you also knew I've been reading (and am almost done with) The Alchemy of Murder by Carol McCleary set in 1889 Paris. This is because for my birthday this month I took myself off to Paris. I hope to do a wrap-up post of that (with pictures!) as well.</em><br />
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<strong><u>Books Finished:</u></strong> <strong>6</strong> <br />
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<strong><u>Favorite February 2012 Read:</u></strong> I Wish That I Had Duck Feet</div>
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<em>I know! It's a re-read. It's a children's book. It took all of ten minutes. And yet, everything else was more or less blah.</em></div>
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1. Everything I Know About Love, I Learned From Romance Novels - Sarah Wendell</div>
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2. French Milk - Lucy Knisley</div>
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3. Love Story - Jennifer Echols</div>
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4. The Keepsake - Tess Gerritsen</div>
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5. Talk to the Snail: Ten Commandments for Understanding the French - Stephen Clarke</div>
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6.<a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.com/2007/05/i-wish-that-i-had-duck-feet-dr-seuss.html"> I Wish That I Had Duck Feet </a>- Dr. Seuss (re-read)</div>
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<strong><u>Theater:</u></strong></div>
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<strong>Cosi Fan Tutte at the Royal Opera House</strong> - Two young men go away to war but return in disguise in an attempt to prove to their cynical old friend Don Alfonso that their fiancees will remain faithful to them. Needless to say, a lot of inadvertent fiance-swapping and hijinks ensue. An enjoyable evening full of masquerades and music in a modern-day plot (I loved the addition of the Single Ladies' Dance), but I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not that much of an opera fan. And, Mozart/Don Alfonso, honey? Women aren't all the same...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx96UlRQEzpYsVKiconGT6jHR7t8fCTI0sZnVug8f5Oo_zALZvl7zolanbQ0J7B7or5jIrHvw-zXbCRz6Oa9MAX6K3r-fHADvpLcfMxkGgTrgprE2rRXEIedjxCUyxR60jYRmIPSCb36M/s1600/Singin+in+the+Rain+%25282012%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx96UlRQEzpYsVKiconGT6jHR7t8fCTI0sZnVug8f5Oo_zALZvl7zolanbQ0J7B7or5jIrHvw-zXbCRz6Oa9MAX6K3r-fHADvpLcfMxkGgTrgprE2rRXEIedjxCUyxR60jYRmIPSCb36M/s200/Singin+in+the+Rain+%25282012%2529.jpg" width="135" /></a><strong>Singin' In the Rain</strong> - A stage musical based on the MGM movie - on the whole this had difficulty living up to the movie version. After all, it's awfully difficult to compete with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000037/">Gene Kelly</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001998/">Cyd Charisse</a> or the acrobatically hilarious Make 'Em Laugh number featuring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0640307/">Donald O'Connor</a>. I absolutely loved the Singin' in the Rain number - done on stage with rain pouring from the roof and Don Lockwood gleefully splashing the audience, but the rest of the numbers didn't quite measure up to the infectious joy of the original movie.<br />
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<strong>Wicked</strong> - A rewatch for me, still good, but not as breath-taking as the first time I saw it (then again, how could it be). I still love the ever-hilarious "Popular" and the delicious "As Long As You're Mine". *happy sigh*<br />
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<strong><u>Favorite February 2012 Flick:</u></strong> Casablanca!<br />
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<strong><u>Movies Watched:</u></strong> <br />
<ol>
<li><em><u>Possession (2002)</u></em> - one of my favorites. The intertwined stories of two Victorian-age poets and a set of scholars researching them. It sounds dull, but I'm still entranced by the historical story in particular. A quiet, thoughtful sort of movie. </li>
<li><em><u>The Muppets (2011)</u></em> - I had seen this over Christmas with my dad and re-watched. Love the "Muppet or a Man" song (though I do not think Walter is a very manly muppet at all - perfect opposite human casting, though). Watchable enough, but lacking a certain something (despite the meta moments and the traveling by map) that would have captured the same Muppet magic.</li>
<li><em><u>Casablanca (1942)</u> </em>- my Valentine's Day treat. I love this movie, and it was great to see it on the big screen (with champagne). Play it, Sam. For old times' sake. </li>
<li><u><em>Man on a Ledge (2012)</em> </u>- Escaped convict Nick Cassidy stands on the ledge of a high-rise hotel while a police negotiator tries to talk him down - but Nick has an ulterior motive as he's providing a diversion for a heist. This wasn't great, I saw the big reveal coming and there were definitely times the pacing dragged. I wasn't hugely interested in the police corruption angle and wanted more of the heist (yay heist!). But overall, it was a fun couple hours.</li>
<li><em><u>Ever After (1998)</u></em> -Another favorite of mine, we watched this on the trip to Paris (it's vaguely French themed!). This is a lovely re-telling of Cinderella set in Renaissance France with a feisty strong and intelligent heroine, a charming man-boy prince and featuring Leonardo da Vinci as a mentor/fairy godmother. </li>
<li><em><u>The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)</u></em> - A very British movie that's not quite a comedy (though it has some of those wryly funny moments that I love) and not quite a drama about a group of British retirees 'outsourcing' their retirement to Jaipur, India for various reasons and how they cope with the unfamiliar setting and relationships. It's a quiet film and a bit meandering - but like your favorite grandparent sitting you down to tell a story. I was thoroughly charmed.<b></b></li>
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Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-7472159235913284792012-02-19T05:10:00.000-05:002012-02-19T05:10:31.620-05:00TV Roundup - Feb 12 Week<br />
I'll admit it, I haven't found much time for reviewing books lately - I've been reading, but I've been hard pressed to sit down and find something to actually SAY about them. I blame February blues and not feeling so well. Anyway, I hope to do better about that, but in the meantime - here's what I've been watching this week:<br />
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<strong>Smash (1x01) - Pilot</strong><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvrAnPGiDgkmGvlbkBEXxGIU5S9_eZCC4z2LNfZ0_HTsR4pDotAi6jKyyNnE-dyYD_2ajWZwID2vZlI5AqADxw_xWkZip9F3NOk1xJnAJsdXJ7_ONRnV3QdzhOu20Rd2mJldSnOrNXks/s1600/Smash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvrAnPGiDgkmGvlbkBEXxGIU5S9_eZCC4z2LNfZ0_HTsR4pDotAi6jKyyNnE-dyYD_2ajWZwID2vZlI5AqADxw_xWkZip9F3NOk1xJnAJsdXJ7_ONRnV3QdzhOu20Rd2mJldSnOrNXks/s200/Smash.jpg" width="136" /></a>I have long been awaiting the (much-hyped) new TV show <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825133/">Smash</a> and I have to say, the pilot really wowed me. A pair of musical writers throw together a number on a whim for a possible Marilyn musical they're toying with. The number gets posted on YouTube and is an instant sensation - producer (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001378/">Anjelica Huston</a>) </em>picks it up and brings in a brilliant jerk of a director (<em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202603/">Jack Davenport</a>). </em>Now all they need is a star - and it's soon narrowed down to ensemble-veteran Ivy and fresh-faced newcomer Karen (who has a lovely supportive boyfriend whom I adore already).<br />
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I loved the numbers - particularly the fun Chicago-esque baseball number where the view switched between the rehearsal and what the finished version would look like. Fantastic. Plus, even when he's sleazy, there is something about Jack Davenport that I just can't resist. Katharine McPhee has a lovely voice, the original numbers were good, the dancing was great fun to watch - oh the baseball number. I have really high hopes for this one.<br />
<br />
<b>Smash (1x02) - Callback</b><br />
The second episode deals with the callbacks (dancing/acting) for the role of Marilyn. Ivy has a strong team of supporters - a dancer-spy and particularly Tom, who swans about in a pre-teen drama queen fashion doing everything but sticking his fingers in his ears and singing LA-LA-LA during Karen's auditions. Karen, on the other hand, has Derek in her court (sort-of) but also working her really hard and certainly not holding back with the snark. There's also a continuation of the Chinese baby adoption sub-plot for Debra Messing's character Julia, but I really don't care.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed the 20th Century Fox-Mambo number, but it's going to be desperately difficult to beat the Baseball Number. I continue to love how supportive Karen's boyfriend Dev is (even when he's angry with her) - I am with her Mom (MARRY HIM!) and I have absolutely no idea how things are going to move forward with this show. One thing it certainly hasn't been is predictable. Though I wanted a bit more motivation/background for Ivy.<br />
<br />
<b>Castle (4x15) - Pandora </b><br />
Castle and Beckett are on the trail of a ruthless killer - a man who insists (frustratingly correctly) that all they have on him 'is going away'. When the body and the suspect disappear, the pair find themselves in the midst of a government operation and the shady world of espionage with one of Castle's former muses, CIA agent Sophia Conrad - a development that leaves Kate none too happy.<br />
<br />
I always love Castle - though I wish we had a bit more of the old will-they/won't-they (or heck just a whole lot of will they) back between Castle and Beckett. This one does a bit better in that regard with Beckett getting jealous over Sophia (not to mention with the two of them locked in a car trunk again). But they've really let the tension drop, which is a shame. I liked Alexis new internship and Castle's jealous guarding of his turf. And the cliff-hanger is killer. I can't wait for next week.<br />
<br />
<b>Whitechapel (1x01) - (<a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/whitechapel/guide/season-1/episode-1/">official website</a>)</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXTGvl9H2hF3zmlbRsJqnplQhqzq1lW0qL4dJ4OcRZfDX_2dHy8KLB3ZvWODJccAKfx7viL7JG9YQej16r1j0hoLOfo88gI0PrCadq9srFabX_4VGvrhStt0GbdTimDJ30ahoB-HgWBs/s1600/Whitechapel+(2009).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXTGvl9H2hF3zmlbRsJqnplQhqzq1lW0qL4dJ4OcRZfDX_2dHy8KLB3ZvWODJccAKfx7viL7JG9YQej16r1j0hoLOfo88gI0PrCadq9srFabX_4VGvrhStt0GbdTimDJ30ahoB-HgWBs/s200/Whitechapel+(2009).jpg" width="140" /></a>I picked this up on the recommendation of <a href="http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/2012/02/what-i-watched-12-february-2012.html">Irish at Ticket to Anywhere</a> originally found on <a href="http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/2012/02/name-of-star-by-maureen-johnson-audio.html">her review</a> of Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star. Whitechapel is about hotshot political DI Chandler (<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0672303/">Rupert Penry-Jones</a>) </i>who takes on a murder case in Whitechapel (a woman found with her throat cut) as a stepping-stone for his next big promotion with no experience whatsoever in solving homicides. His new squad includes the experienced (and not a little resentful) DS Miles, who gives absolutely no credence to the fact that the murders may be the work of a copycat - but the timing and means of death show a frightening resemblance to Jack the Ripper's famous murder spree.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed watching Chandler try to impose control and order on his new team, with an emphasis on tidiness - which the men neither respect nor appreciate. A battle of wills for leadership of the group emerges in this first episode, and while it was good to watch, I hope Miles starts showing some respect (however grudging) in the next episodes or their hostility could grow stale. I appreciated the eerie camera work (including some interesting camera angles) that certainly added to the creepy atmosphere as well as having ominous shadowy figures walking through shots (Ripper? Not Ripper?), but I could have done with fewer shots of the Gherkin, please.<br />
<br />
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<b>Bedlam (1x01) - Cohabitants</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6Mv_TzuKYJiKlO_j5a1B9fO2uXPdGGDfmnIjFxBzTL5IK6vLc3rcZjxSJv9uVyTBvbI1Kmaohs0929fHInc3077HLlORHoFJxs2QwYJWPITcD5T5rH0iBiwzVtLMEJLBcaWX7jJ9lcs/s1600/Bedlam+(2011).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6Mv_TzuKYJiKlO_j5a1B9fO2uXPdGGDfmnIjFxBzTL5IK6vLc3rcZjxSJv9uVyTBvbI1Kmaohs0929fHInc3077HLlORHoFJxs2QwYJWPITcD5T5rH0iBiwzVtLMEJLBcaWX7jJ9lcs/s200/Bedlam+(2011).jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
Jed (<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3772243/">Theo James</a> - also known as everyone's favorite Downton Abbey Turk Kemal Pamuk)</i> sees dead people and how they died. And he's only just been let out of the mental ward because of it. When he receives a series of cryptic text messages instructing him to Save Kate, he runs to help his bitchy manipulative cousin, who just so happens to be living in a building of luxury flats her family are renovating housed in an old mental asylum. An asylum shut down for abuse of patients. An asylum that is most decidedly haunted.<br />
<br />
Another recommendation from <a href="http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/2012/02/what-i-watched-12-february-2012.html">Irish at Ticket to Anywhere</a>. Deliciously creepy (I'm a wuss, but I had to watch this in smaller chunks because it freaked me out too much to watch at night after work), though with relatively low-budget effects (water running down the walls). The horror aspect definitely worked best for me with the eerie music, sounds of water dripping and the flashes of the ghost in mirrors. I really don't care for Kate at all (though I do like both of her flatmates(?) Ryan and Molly), but while I didn't need everything tied up in a bow, I didn't like how certain plot-lines seemed to be completely dropped (like the disappeared friend who thought she was being watched). We'll see if those are picked back up in the next episode.<br />
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<b>Glee (3x13) - Heart</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2XMWYYJP62ZKDXWs-ubd1RP80Wtlno3qMutL410qIDXobUV4LDsdSVSmLfCtOHYQnkHExNf4qsam08DGCQSdAg8sVUckch9SfJ7RvbpuITmyeLBskO9htFa_ECwwslQ-phUfijrdpGA/s1600/glee+season+3+(2011).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2XMWYYJP62ZKDXWs-ubd1RP80Wtlno3qMutL410qIDXobUV4LDsdSVSmLfCtOHYQnkHExNf4qsam08DGCQSdAg8sVUckch9SfJ7RvbpuITmyeLBskO9htFa_ECwwslQ-phUfijrdpGA/s200/glee+season+3+(2011).jpg" width="135" /></a>Finn and Rachel's parents have found out they're planning on getting married. Kurt is receiving Valentine's gifts from a Secret Admirer. Somebody complained to Figgins about Santana and Brittany kissing in the halls - and now the Jesus club (including newest member Joe (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4511271/">Sam </a>from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1816993/">The Glee Project</a>) at McKinley has to decide whether they're ok singing to gay people. Mercedes can't be with Sam (though she will Always Love him) because she's a confused cheating cheater. And there's something about Rory and Artie competing to be Sugar's date to her Valentine's Day party.<br />
<br />
I think it's official - Glee and I are breaking up at the end of this season. Other than Mercedes' gorgeous (and well-timed) rendition of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You and the cute L-O-V-E (more Tina and Mike, please) I was mostly just bored. Rachel and Finn getting married is too ridiculous for words. He needs O-U-T of that relationship. I hate that they glossed over the very real fact that she wants him around as a fall-back fan to hold her purse and is giving absolutely no thought to Finn as a person. Somebody really needs to smack that girl for being the most self-absorbed and selfish person on the planet. Ugh. Also, I can't get over the fact that they just can't seem to figure out what to do with Rory other than have him play the homesick card over and over again in his numbers but not actually ever say anything of substance during the show. Boooooring (and trust me, I loved that kid on The Glee Project).Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-40165820612271260152012-01-28T11:12:00.000-05:002012-01-28T11:12:15.133-05:00Definitely, Maybe (2008)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0832266/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvSM8natI7OrbYjiRzJLdetWAcq9RbNQcbqsuvkqJTfeB0-YtGnKCfH9cpos-CDZwpC6vfxHrMW1pclnHjAlpx9BWTbMzL6Rr76K-mo0JrJZpKVk4dpwxdKD3zd6fyFshRBd1Y7uSdcI/s320/Definitely,+Maybe+(2008).jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<i>*** 1/2 - Inspired by<a href="http://dearauthor.com/features/film-reviews/friday-film-review-definitely-maybe?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dearauthor+%28Dear+Author%3A+Romance+Novel+Reviews%2C+Industry+News%2C+and+Commentary%29"> the post at Dear Author</a>, I decided to pick this one up. I've been dying for a romantic comedy lately, though. And while this was far from the typical romcom, I came away from it satisfied and smiling - plus with some really great quotes.</i><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<i>"I don't think anyone imagines on their wedding day they'll be part of the 46% that doesn't live happily ever after."</i></blockquote>
And thus the unconventional romantic dramedy of <u style="font-style: italic;">Definitely, Maybe</u> begins with William Hayes (<i>Ryan Reynolds</i>) being served divorce papers. And his life doesn't get any easier when he picks his 10-year-old daughter Maya (<i>Abigail Breslin</i>) up from school and she demands to be told the story of how he and her mother met and fell in love.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"What? Do you think I'm going to tell you the story and it's going to make everything better? It doesn't work that way."</i></blockquote>
But Will relents -under one condition. He is going to change the names and facts and his daughter will have to work out for herself which of the three women in his life eventually became her mother - in Maya's words: "Like a love story mystery".<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"What's the boy word for slut?"</i><i>"They still haven't come up with one yet. But I'm sure they're working on it."</i></blockquote>
<b><u>The Candidates:</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVE4VBpinlmULWbwsN4WbInhxG170JutEhg7XwPi0P2kIwiSVx9Kv4-JG3OAsoGv01dm90NHMuDXVBzMrZU2cVj9g-FOkQsEuHeakxQZXeBw4MKuqqjgQAl24kqzmqB-p6ejCfPI-C6s/s1600/Emily+-+Def+Maybe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVE4VBpinlmULWbwsN4WbInhxG170JutEhg7XwPi0P2kIwiSVx9Kv4-JG3OAsoGv01dm90NHMuDXVBzMrZU2cVj9g-FOkQsEuHeakxQZXeBw4MKuqqjgQAl24kqzmqB-p6ejCfPI-C6s/s200/Emily+-+Def+Maybe.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily (<i>Elizabeth Banks</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><u><br /></u></b><br />
<b>EMILY:</b> College Sweetheart who stays at home when idealistic young Will heads up to New York for a few months to work on the Clinton campaign.<br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>"Everyone knows the girlfriend at the beginning of the story gets dumped."</i>
<br />
<br />
<u>Favorite Exchange:</u><br />
<i>"You're drunk."</i><br />
<i>"You're beautiful."</i><br />
<i>"You're horny."</i><br />
<i>"You might be right."</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5jyFzcj2i2QKN0RA0eA2GmoVwVBbenph9qIcEhxq0mHXLsB-SfxO0fnaxW7Gzl0M62UdnuVN9rSi5O2vj6Bwke8Gl6gByP2vcOiV2iINAToJYdhZelmg7AqPPhbpCuD95RpH_gwXcgA/s1600/Summer+-+Def+Maybe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5jyFzcj2i2QKN0RA0eA2GmoVwVBbenph9qIcEhxq0mHXLsB-SfxO0fnaxW7Gzl0M62UdnuVN9rSi5O2vj6Bwke8Gl6gByP2vcOiV2iINAToJYdhZelmg7AqPPhbpCuD95RpH_gwXcgA/s200/Summer+-+Def+Maybe.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer (<i>Rachel Weisz</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>SUMMER: </b>The Journalist, whom Will brings a "diary" from college that Emily sent with him. Also whom Will meets upon awakening from a serious drinking session with her bearded alcoholic boyfriend, the brilliant acclaimed writer Hampton Roth (<i>Kevin Kline)</i>.<br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<u>Favorite Exchange:</u><br />
<i>"Boyishly handsome?"</i><br />
<i>"Yeah, you know, I originally wrote 'William Hayes has seductive eyes and the intriguing look of someone whose clothes you want to rip from his very body, but my editor made me change it."</i><br />
<i>"There's just no room for truth in journalism."</i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rH-WwWymgBkvM8GoaGtp_NCCNBfGAZstf8SqpzWgV6286q-5jyyJ0kZSRc6h0f3VdSG_MrwTfG16-C-iqkZTKNEYYDiAu2rY4F9AfDjrH_P8r55jB6UorgV3byT5mEGwTVsKTubKAKA/s1600/April+-+Def+Maybe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rH-WwWymgBkvM8GoaGtp_NCCNBfGAZstf8SqpzWgV6286q-5jyyJ0kZSRc6h0f3VdSG_MrwTfG16-C-iqkZTKNEYYDiAu2rY4F9AfDjrH_P8r55jB6UorgV3byT5mEGwTVsKTubKAKA/s200/April+-+Def+Maybe.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April (<i>Isla Fisher</i>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>APRIL: </b>The Copy Girl working at campaign headquarters but as part of a money game rather than any sense of political idealism.<br />
<br />
<u>Favorite Exchange:</u> during a practice proposal<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Will you, um, marry me?"</i><i>"What do you mean 'will you ...um...marry me'? You haven't seen me in weeks! You don't look happy or excited at the prospect of our marriage. You're asking me to give up my freedom - my joie de vivre! - for an institution that fails as often as it succeeds. And why should I marry you, anyway? And why do you want to marry me aside from some bourgeois desire to fulfill a need that society embeds in us from an early age to promote a consumer capitalist agenda?</i></blockquote>
<i><br /></i><br />
Will has nice chemistry with all three of his potentials (although I think his daughter's dismissal of one of the women as a bitch was unnecessarily harsh under the circumstances, as I found Will's actions far more at fault for their break-up than hers). I loved his sweet romantic gestures: buying CDs with the song that Summer sings for him or the way he checks old editions of Jane Eyre for the copy April lost with her father's inscription. After all, what bibliophile's heart doesn't go pitter-patter at that? (Although, did that remind anybody else of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240890/">Serendipity</a>?)<br />
<br />
And to be honest, I rooted for each of the women to be the one Will married, and each seemed plausible for a while. And ultimately, the movie ends on a tentatively happy note - a sense that Will is embarking anew upon romance and with his daughter's support and blessing.<br />
<br />
Plus for all the readers out there, one of the parts that sticks with me was April:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"I read it (Jane Eyre) every year or two. Each time it's different. It tells me different things."</i></blockquote>
So many of us have a book (or a few) like this that just resonates. Off the top of my head, I have two:<br />
<u>The Song of the Lioness</u> quartet by Tamora Pierce that <a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.com/2008/09/tamora-pierce-and-alanna-of-trebond.html">I've loved since I was eleven</a>; and Anne Gracie's <u>The Perfect Rake</u>.<br />
<br />
What are yours?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<b><u>Official Trailer:</u></b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5qNWjfUtbg?rel=0" width="640"></iframe>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-19930234908915217062011-08-28T07:31:00.009-04:002011-08-28T11:32:54.332-04:00The Invention of Lying (2009)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqTPM1OX2RY09xOb5omq7vGHFl-4zrXdmkkNgXcYVUTI0m5DbElsQlv6H6Y8IgU6DUdjhjtqp4c361aUUwWxn1L_Pf6EUpighVJUdWYQMH7VrYvahIK2zfRf_CZiyXfZsIIbw4AAPxxo/s1600/The_Invention_of_Lying_poster.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 216px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuqTPM1OX2RY09xOb5omq7vGHFl-4zrXdmkkNgXcYVUTI0m5DbElsQlv6H6Y8IgU6DUdjhjtqp4c361aUUwWxn1L_Pf6EUpighVJUdWYQMH7VrYvahIK2zfRf_CZiyXfZsIIbw4AAPxxo/s320/The_Invention_of_Lying_poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645868665768043698" /></a>
<br /><div><i>*** - A fun concept (or rather several), but there's not enough of a plot or a struggle for the characters to really become invested in. Still a pleasant enough way to spend an afternoon.</i></div><div><i>
<br /></i></div><div>Mark Bellison (<i>Ricky Gervais</i>) is a bit of a loser - by his own admission. He's a struggling screenwriter about to be fired, he's broke, chubby and absolutely out of his league on a date with his dream girl Anna <i>(Jennifer Garner) </i>and everyone knows it. And as the movie is set in a world where everyone always tells (and all too often volunteers) the complete truth, no one hesitates to tell him so to his face. Despite the fact that he is hardly Anna's best genetic match (that would be Mark's obnoxious and inexplicably jealous co-worker Brad Kessler), once Mark discovers, quite by accident, that he can lie - he turns his new-found skill to become rich and famous, hoping that this and their blossoming friendship will be enough to win Anna's heart.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The concept of the movie (including Mark's inadvertent creation of religion) is quite funny, but after the original set of clever quips are exhausted, so is much of the film's momentum. After all, there simply isn't much in the way of plot driving the characters forward. The whole movie is more a bunch 0f loosely strung together more-or-less comedic episodes rather than a cohesive storyline. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Some of the writing is snappy and really clever, some merely sentimental and some falls flat - most notably most of Tina Fey's scenes, which was both unexpected and disappointing. That said, there's a hilarious cameo with the corrupt traffic cop (it took me a bit to recognize him - the voice was the giveaway), and Jennifer Garner played even her bitchiest comments with a disarmingly naive frankness that definitely had me giggling, though I did wish there had been more depth to her as a character - heck, to any of the characters.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>That's the real trouble (along with a conspicuous lack of plot): We're never given any particular reason as to why Mark wants Anna so much, no plausible explanation (other than vapid shallowness) why Anna insists that marrying Mark is such a terrible idea when she has already confessed (quite anti-climactically) that she loves him. With no discernible obstacles or actual struggle to be seen, while I wanted Anna and Mark to get together (hey, I like happy endings), I wasn't particularly invested in either of them or the pay-off. </div><div>
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<br /></div><iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a-H2dNfx-Uw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-74314459262509094762011-06-14T01:03:00.004-04:002012-03-22T06:27:24.859-04:00Mad About the Duke - Elizabeth Boyle (review)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga8u-vY3fcva89HfwdI0GG0Sg09Y_68MefijjRvoBUxT4Yc5cHqz6svM0vu9NdNDqG_SoZ7mg5U3-UbsQNl6V_J3tjhhPKYkDZGDhq5KIcngZyMyc3akZOxT-KK51VlNQ_hhJ0-7_s3s/s1600/Boyle+-+Mad+About+the+Duke.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617939507094376178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiga8u-vY3fcva89HfwdI0GG0Sg09Y_68MefijjRvoBUxT4Yc5cHqz6svM0vu9NdNDqG_SoZ7mg5U3-UbsQNl6V_J3tjhhPKYkDZGDhq5KIcngZyMyc3akZOxT-KK51VlNQ_hhJ0-7_s3s/s320/Boyle+-+Mad+About+the+Duke.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 198px;" /></a><br />
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**** - <i>Honestly, I wish more Regencies were funny!</i> </div>
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I first fell in love with Elizabeth Boyle's writing style when a friend handed me Something About Emmaline and explained the plot to me (the hero invented a wife (a very Wildean Bunbury) in order to avoid matchmaking mammas - imagine his surprise when he suddenly begins receiving bills from the modiste etc. in the name of said fictional wife - go read it! You're Welcome!). </div>
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At that point I was reading almost exclusively paranormals and the occasional contemporary (I love you, <a href="http://katiemacalister.com/">Katie MacAlister</a>!) because what I wanted most out of a romance was a good laugh along with my swoony moments. But Elizabeth Boyle got me well and truly hooked on historicals. Long story short, when I was looking for something to read on the flight to Istanbul that would properly scandalize my boss and assorted other fellow passengers, I picked up <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780061783500" style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;">Mad About the Duke</a>. And it certainly served its purpose. I giggled out loud on multiple occasions, and so will you, I mean:</div>
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<i>James Tremont, Duke of Parkerton has always been the sensible one of the madcap Tremont family. Indeed his scandalous brother Jack (yes, ladies, Mad Jack of </i><u style="font-style: italic;">This Rake of Mine</u><span style="font-style: italic;"> fame) might even insist he was stodgy. But all that changes when he encounters the widow Lady Elinor Standon - who mistakes him for a solicitor and insists he help birth a litter of puppies in her linen closet. Thanks to his brother's sartorial shabbiness and Felicity Langley's Bachelor Chronicles, James is soon hired to glean what knowledge he can of eligible dukes as matrimonial candidates for the lovely lady. Only to discover that he himself didn't make the list!</span></div>
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Mistaken identities! A masquerade! Picnics! People spilling tea on one another in an attempt to keep them from spilling the duke's identity! A duke endearingly bad at driving constantly stealing his brother's carriage! This book - it has all kinds of things that I adore. I loved that Elinor falls for James while she is convinced that he's a solicitor - and therefore can't marry him because she needs a lord to stand up to her sister's guardian. And that he can't simply 'fess up to being a duke because he's been burned before by a relationship - but not in your typical historicals "OMG all women are EVIL because one I had a thing for hurt me and I WILL NEVER LOVE AGAIN" way. In fact, he's quite the opposite. James never expected to fall in love again, and he certainly never expected it to turn his life topsy-turvy and have him behaving like the rest of his crazy family. But when he meets Elinor, he's intrigued, he's smitten and he's giddy as a schoolboy rather than angsty. And I LOVED it. It was sweet and happy and funny and full of sparking sexual tension. And the whole book just felt like summer to me (despite the dark-seeming cover). Hmmmm, and now I am struggling not to break into an off-key rendition of Grease's "Summer Lovin'". But I think you get the picture. </div>
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This book. It is not angsty. If you wish for angst, seek elsewhere. This book is fun and frothy and bubbly and sweet. If it were a cocktail, it would be a Bellini. And I LOOOOOVE Bellinis (in cocktail and in book form). </div>
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<i>Interested in other opinions? Linky-love below:</i></div>
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<a href="http://elizabethboyle.com/blog/2011/04/by-the-way/">Elizabeth Boyle</a> - <a href="http://www.elizabethboyle.com/books/mad.php#excerpt">excerpt</a></div>
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<a href="http://sidneykay.blogspot.com/2010/10/mad-about-duke-by-elizabeth-boyle.html">Kay's Blog</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.loveromancepassion.com/review-mad-about-the-duke-by-elizabeth-boyle/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ReviewRomanceNovel+%28Love+Romance+Passion%29">Love Romance </a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/Reviews/Aemelia-reviews-Mad-About-The-Duke-by-Elizabeth-Boyle.aspx">Night Owl Romance</a><br />
<a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/abduction-of-julia-karen-hawkins.html">Romanceaholic</a></div>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-17778293527836870932011-05-30T05:55:00.004-04:002012-03-22T06:24:35.223-04:00The Abduction of Julia - Karen Hawkins<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64pH1_pA-rW8xAVDV1VOBWoM5AjgWoKKxnWgcu7IClNAAEPWDKALNYTuHkdCV6fYurE5kufRAJmoAkJiy5SbN4zkK-VUL81ks_Tk8rdN5m0hed5Y1wHfT80PGWmTMeQIQ8yNDkK20FnI/s1600/Hawkins+-+Abduction+of+Julia.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612510567033086882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64pH1_pA-rW8xAVDV1VOBWoM5AjgWoKKxnWgcu7IClNAAEPWDKALNYTuHkdCV6fYurE5kufRAJmoAkJiy5SbN4zkK-VUL81ks_Tk8rdN5m0hed5Y1wHfT80PGWmTMeQIQ8yNDkK20FnI/s320/Hawkins+-+Abduction+of+Julia.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 194px;" /></a><br />
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<i>*** 1/2 - A fun story and intriguing enough of a first effort that I am anxious to pick up the Sequel-Baiting friend/cousin's stories. </i></div>
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Alec MacLean, Viscount Hunterston is in a devil of a fix. In order to inherit an absurdly large fortune (and keep it away from his devious cousin and rival), his grandfather's will stipulates that he must be married by his next birthday - in two hours time. So when it turns out he has eloped not with the Incomparable toast of the ton Therese, but with her frumpy, goody-two-shoes American cousin and chaperone (nicknamed the Dragon), he has no time to do anything but make her an offer - half of his fortune in exchange for a year lived free of scandal.</div>
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<i>But given the chemistry between them, two scheming money-grubbing cousins and Julia's less-than-wholesome pet charity projects, that might be more difficult than expected.</i></div>
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<u><i>The Abduction of Julia</i></u> is a fun marriage of convenience story, sweet, but not really intriguing enough to make my keeper shelves. The story of Alec and Julia is one I felt like I read before -Spoiled Handsome Nobleman marries Frumpy Governess who is secretly in love with him to gain a fortune. They promise not to consummate, but their attraction to one another makes that increasingly difficult. Jealousy over a Big Misunderstanding surrounding Some Other Man rears its ugly head, but all comes right in the end. Which is not to say the story is boring; it was just rather comfortably familiar rather than inspiring and fresh.</div>
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I liked Julia slowly blossoming into the beautiful woman she could be - while not losing sight of her ambitions to continue to do good. But at the same time, I was a bit exasperated by her seemingly complete selflessness. I mean, she doesn't want to go shopping for nice clothes at all? She doesn't want to put her domineering petulant cousin in HER shadow for a bit? She doesn't enjoy being the center of not only Alec's attention (whom she has had a crush on for years), but also of his delicious (though dastardly) rival and cousin? Really? She may be just a bit too Goody-Two-Shoes for me. Particularly when even a five-year-old child could see that her plan to populate London's servant halls with reformed wayward women is BOUND to cause a scandal...</div>
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Anyway, what saves the book for me is some nice tension between Alec and Julia and the secondary (and sequel-baiting) side characters that completely stole the show over and over again. There's Gorgeous-Damaged-Misunderstood Sequel-baiting Nick (whom I really liked, actually). Wry and Teasing Studly Best Buddy Lucien Devereux (hi, his name is Lucien, he is DESTINED for a sequel). Bumbling Fashion Disaster Edmund, who just tries SO HARD. His Aunt the Formidable Battle-Axe of a Woman (who would put Dame Judi Dench to shame). Muck, the Incredibly Homely Urchin withOUT a heart of gold and with a distinct Fear of Baths. And let's not forget Burroughs, the butler who without fail brings Alec a glass of warm milk before bed. A collective 'Awwwwwwww', if you please.</div>
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The best part about Karen Hawkins' debut is the introduction of another (unfortunately scarce) author who writes humorous historicals. I love a good romantic comedy - hijinks and masquerades and mistaken identities make me oh-so-happy. But they're even harder to find in historicals than contemporaries (which is difficult enough!). So when Hawkins had me chuckling over Edmund's deplorable fashion sense and Lady Birlington's insistence that he fight a duel with a chimney-sweep in the middle of the road...well, I knew I would be reading on in this series. And so I am certainly looking forward to <u style="font-style: italic;">A Belated Bride</u> (Lucien) and possibly even more so to <u style="font-style: italic;">The Seduction of Sara</u> (Nick). Let's hope there is just as much giggling in the next!</div>
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<i>Interested in other opinions?</i></div>
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<a href="http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2010/10/abduction-of-julia-by-karen-hawkins.html">Outlandish Dreaming</a></div>
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<a href="http://romanceaholic.com/2011/abduction-of-julia-harper-collins-karen-hawkins/">Romanceaholic</a></div>
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<a href="http://withoutabookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/09/book-review-abduction-of-julia-karen.html">Girls Without a Bookshelf</a><br />
<a href="http://romanceaholic.com/2011/abduction-of-julia-harper-collins-karen-hawkins/">Romanceaholic</a></div>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-48158132382735909972011-05-02T14:48:00.005-04:002011-05-02T17:25:53.306-04:00Girl's Guide to Witchcraft - Mindy Klasky<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFcCXkZ3MhH1ayb_WLCzXbrCPDVNv8crfinEc2zbE-gFnEzgEWjOIH1aOv1R_J4A1LIOx9gywDtef1J82SdrV-WfV4NT0tV0KHM6h8Z9O0DRYT2rm8b65ioIZDffD0j4lFwEatTTaOZU/s1600/Klasky+-+Girls+Guide+to+Witchcraft.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFcCXkZ3MhH1ayb_WLCzXbrCPDVNv8crfinEc2zbE-gFnEzgEWjOIH1aOv1R_J4A1LIOx9gywDtef1J82SdrV-WfV4NT0tV0KHM6h8Z9O0DRYT2rm8b65ioIZDffD0j4lFwEatTTaOZU/s320/Klasky+-+Girls+Guide+to+Witchcraft.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602219863476780450" /></a><i>**** - really fun paranormal chicklit - I loved her best friend's baked concoctions, mojito therapy and Neko (who is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD40NkmZ7ow">sorry about the fish</a>)</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><b>Summary:</b> <i>Nothing is quite going right for reference librarian Jane Madison. Her mother has made a surprise reappearance after decades of Jane believing she had died in a car accident. Jane's boss has decided that the library staff will now have to appear in period costume - and how is a girl supposed to catch the attention of handsome professor Jason Templeton dressed in hoop skirts? And to top it all off, instead of a raise, Jane has to move in to the caretaker's cottage on library grounds, where she finds a cache of magical books and a disturbingly feline familiar that land her in even deeper trouble. </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>For all my deep and abiding love for romance novels, I often have trouble getting into chicklit. I often find the heroines painfully shallow, dense or unlikable. But none of those descriptors apply in the slightest bit to Mindy Klasky's heroine Jane Madison. Even though she's prone to building up relationships based on wishful thinking and overanalyzing - who can't relate to that? And she's aware of it, which makes it endearing rather than irritating. And I actually liked how she tried so hard to make grand romantic gestures (the dinner based on Jason's research? So SO sweet). </div><div><br /></div><div>I also loved Jane's strong relationship with her Gran - who is always making her promise the most random things (don't lick toads, dear, promise!) as well as her friendship with Melissa, which seemed blessedly normal. Also can I be best friends with Melissa, too? Mojito therapy and her penchant for delectable baked goods make her part of my fictional friend posse any day!</div><div><br /></div><div>For paranormal chicklit, there was actually relatively little in the way of magic. But I very much enjoyed what there was - particularly Jane working with crystals was really interesting, and I'm hoping to see more of Jane's magic in future books. While I found Neko the cat-man familiar quite entertaining, I actually liked him best when he was being serious and helping Jane cope with her magic (although I loved his notes about the fish). I actually was a bit annoyed with his character otherwise; not because he causes trouble, but because he is so incredibly stereotypically "gay" stock character from chicklit central casting that it annoyed me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Those quibbles aside, however, I really enjoyed watching Jane learn to cope with the demands of her job, her magic and her relationship woes, and I've got the next in the series on order already!</div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Interested in other opinions?</i></div><div><a href="http://bfgb.wordpress.com/2007/12/06/girls-guide-to-witchcraft-by-mindy-klasky/">Blogging for a Good Book</a></div><div><a href="http://www.bittenbybooks.com/1472/girl%E2%80%99s-guide-to-witchcraft-by-mindy-klasky/">Bitten by Books</a></div>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-85912212717500146692011-05-01T12:19:00.010-04:002012-05-17T12:40:21.473-04:00Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnAeC34lXt6qlM0NVBfN_lVdUennr6YG_wMDbJgmRpEndAwy9tJioiihezHwKm_pIGXyXIJSpF8hyhXuX5yRsrsKH2ISXp07a5L9UzMt0bJbAqSST8bRpSjCYo4Ly1VpbWRs7FMA9tlg/s1600/Marsden+-+Tomorrow+When+the+War+Began.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601788268919668898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnAeC34lXt6qlM0NVBfN_lVdUennr6YG_wMDbJgmRpEndAwy9tJioiihezHwKm_pIGXyXIJSpF8hyhXuX5yRsrsKH2ISXp07a5L9UzMt0bJbAqSST8bRpSjCYo4Ly1VpbWRs7FMA9tlg/s320/Marsden+-+Tomorrow+When+the+War+Began.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 215px;" /></a><br />
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<i>*** 1/2 - Despite a slow start and my lack of patience for Ellie mooning about her (admittedly rather realistic) love triangle, I really enjoyed the fast pace and the difficult decisions once the sabotaging and exploding started. I'm psyched to see the movie (because film explosions are just that much cooler - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz5dbs5zmo">provided you don't look at them</a>). </i></div>
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<i><b>Synopsis:</b></i></div>
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<i>When Ellie and her friends go camping for a week, they don't realize that their situation is about to become permanent. But when they return to their homes, they find desolation - their families gone, their animals dead and dying, and all the streets empty. Before long they realize that Australia has been invaded by an unknown army, their entire town has been captured, and that they are some of the last ones free to do something about it if they can muster the courage.</i></div>
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I'm not sure why exactly, but I love a good survival story - and survival stories with added sabotage and guerilla warfare? Sign me up, please! Which is why I'm a bit mad at myself for having taken this long to cotton on to the fact that John Marsden's <u style="font-style: italic;">Tomorrow, When the War Began</u> offers me all those things. Shooting, pilfering of heavy machinery, explosions - plus Australia and a hidden cache of historical documents of questionable relevance that lead to some soul-searching and serious smooching? WHY did I not read this before now? WHY?</div>
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Enough with the recriminations, though. Suffice it to say that once we got through the first fifty pages of the group camping and carefree and generally being hormone-filled, junk-food gorging lazypants (which, hey, I'm not judging! I'd be the same...it's just Not Terribly Interesting, when you know there's going to be An Invasion and you're just flipping pages going - WHY HASN'T ANYTHING EXPLODED YET? Or maybe that was just me...), this book takes off with a vengeance. There are some serious action scenes, but perhaps the best part about it is that Ellie and her friends are conflicted. </div>
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They're not sure whether to fight back, whether to surrender, whether to hide. They're scared and angry and they just want to know whether their families are ok, but they have no real way of finding out. They're quick-thinking and resourceful in ways they never thought possible when everything is on the line, and I love their transitions from thinking like school kids to thinking about tactics, strategies, supply lines, cover (and back again). Despite the shooting and the explosions, these kids are never action heroes. Things go wrong; they feel guilt and horror at some of the things they've done. They get on one another's nerves and pull each other through dangerous situations. It's a world of tough choices and makeshift family and little room for sentimentality. And I'm really interested in seeing what happens next - I'm running off to buy the sequel ASAP.</div>
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The one thing I found a bit off-putting was Ellie's descriptions of her love triangle. While the triangle itself didn't actually bother me because it was a messy tangled whirl and therefore realistic rather than the typical two-hot-dudes-both-want-me-woe-is-me-nice-guy-or-bad-boy dilemma, the fact that Ellie was acting as a scribe for the group irritated me. I mean, you KNOW your friends are going to read it, this isn't your personal diary, OMG WHY ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT THIS?! Know your audience! Posterity is not interested in a tally of which of the boys you would rather shag at any given moment! Or maybe it is, because Posterity is a snoopy voyeuristic little snot, but your friends will not love you for discussing this in such an open fashion! They will all be Mad At You and you will have No One to Blame but Yourself! Don't say that I didn't warn you!</div>
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<i>Interested in other opinions?</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/2010/11/26/do-you-come-from-a-land-down-under-where-women-glow-and-men-plunder/">Forever Young Adult</a> (also the <a href="http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/2011/03/16/tomorrow-when-the-movie-began/">Movie Drinking Game</a>)</div>
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<a href="http://www.thehopelessbibliophile.com/2011/03/re-read-tomorrow-when-war-began.html">The Hopeless Bibliophile</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.persnicketysnark.com/2009/09/review-tomorrow-when-war-began-john.html">Persnickety Snark</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.iwanttoreadthat.com/2009/09/tomorrow-series-by-john-marsden.html">I Want to Read That</a><br />
<a href="http://www.tickettoanywhere.net/2012/05/audiobook-review-tomorrow-when-war.html">Ticket to Anywhere</a> (audio)</div>
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<b>Also - this has been made into a really cool looking movie - trailer below!</b></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601790967957023394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0ArSDIm_N76iwvUXoaCkfWnZA9SuKwlLBKcJzfNo_Ev1BLinmPcnwU1x4hzQrS-09wdwajKumqChddIatpb9xnh6-9f40MleJ0YyKTAUyjvNH5i7ZDKyWtmlARm-2oeXEjLR9RHt1nY/s320/Tomorrow+When+the+War+Began.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 217px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></div>
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<br /></div>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288324539825236829.post-44476956802117723412011-01-09T08:05:00.013-05:002011-01-09T12:55:47.973-05:00Sunday with the Bard - The Tempest (Act I)<div><br /></div><div style="direction: ltr; "><i>For this Sunday with the Bard, I bring you my thoughts on Act I of The Tempest in preparation for the very exciting new version of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1274300/">The Tempest</a> starring Helen Mirren (though I'll have to wait until March to get a chance to see it).</i></div><div style="direction: ltr; "><i><br /></i></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4nCxK7STBP3znkBMM8yNuUrYgrWG-Ikdv5aFW7VPsofy-AqHxYV_I1NLCznrsyNkjCE7T0LUA68RlmoEMNSbTXUEBufAUeuXjeE910cxGDvU8FIooTp2U-Rn0Xv6cxUoxp1ZEIe-8hs/s400/Waterhouse+-+Miranda+-+The+Tempest+%25281916%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560190853739246514" /><div style="text-align: center;">(John William Waterhouse - Miranda: The Tempest, 1916)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="direction:ltr"><br /><b>Plot re-cap</b>:<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" valign="top" style="direction:ltr; border-collapse:collapse;border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width: 1pt"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><b><u>Act I </u></b></p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><b><u>Scene I</u></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Boatswain:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Dear sirs, I understand that you're incredibly important people with ruling experience and whatnot, and that you therefore think you can add valuable input in any given situation, regardless of your lack of particular expertise, but THE BOAT IS SINKING IN THIS GIANT HURRICANE SO GET OUT OF THE FRICKIN' WAY!</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Assembled Noblepersons:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><i>*don't*</i></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><b><u>Scene II</u></b></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Miranda:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Umm, dad…could you stop it with the tidal waves and lightning? All this humidity is doing dreadful things to my hair! Also the scared people screaming? Not cool. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Prospero:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Eh, I didn't kill anyone, get off my back. It's all part of my clever plan to regain my rightful place from my usurping jerk of a brother (whom I actually handed all my power to run off and study sorcery, but that's beside the point). And now, young whipper-snapper, let me tell you how we ended up on this god-forsaken island…</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Miranda:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><i>*out like a lightbulb*</i></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Prospero:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Hey Ariel, did you sort out that ship like I asked you to?</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ariel: </p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Yup, I separated out the young hot one for you, though I have to admit…that's a little bit weird, master…and since we're on the subject of 'keeping promises', are you going to free me anytime soon?</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Prospero:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ummmm…no, instead I'm going to threaten to imprison you in an oak tree for a dozen years or so, how's that? </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ariel:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">…You suck…</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Prospero:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Oh, Miranda, wake up! Let's go torment the indigenous, deformed, would-be rapist Caliban! Because this doesn't say anything at all creepy about colonial attitudes...</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Caliban:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">*cursing and whining* You know how you're so ticked off at your usurping brother? What does it say about you that you show up on <span style="font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline">my</span> island, are nice to me just long enough to figure out how not to get dysentery or poisoned by berries and then start smacking me around magically and using me as slave labor…what's next? Smallpox blankets? USURPER! OW - quit it with the magic hitting! Big people don't hit!!! OW!<br /> <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>*exit*</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ferdinand:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Oooh, following the invisible iPod (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqmQUzvubAY">Ariel's Song </a>) was a good plan. Look at the hot chick over there! So, baby, I'm a king's son…you got a boyfriend?</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Miranda:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">No. There's nobody on this island but dad and the Indigenous Deformed Would-Be Rapist, neither of which is suitable boyfriend material (ew!). You, however, are unrelated to me and walk upright. That so equals hot in my teenaged hormone-soaked world. I luuuurve you!</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:1.1201in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Prospero:</p> </td> <td style="border-style:solid;border-color:#A3A3A3;border-width:1pt; vertical-align:top;width:6.3805in;padding:4pt 4pt 4pt 4pt"> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Awesome! Now I get to enjoy the one perk of being a teenage girl's dad - tormenting the boyfriend with threats of violence!</p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><br /></div><div style="direction:ltr"><b>Quotes:</b></div><div style="direction:ltr">"Go make thyself like a nymph of the sea" (I,ii, 301)</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqqXRR3qH-JT7nPhIC54wJmTIq9uMmCDqGSLpKH3ZOW-lw1xs4ZPC7TrYy6l3wP_wUyHoiO7QAKGLrmwUeHuz05kq25aMOhWajGnL_pjSDr_k_hJl0PCtWvkbMH1qEUbJfBe8jKkjseI/s200/Friedman+-+Sea+Change.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560188972088385474" /><div style="direction:ltr"><br /></div><div style="direction:ltr">"Nothing of him that doth fade,<br />But doth suffer a sea-change<br />Into something rich and strange." (I,ii,396-399)</div><div style="text-align: right;direction: ltr; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><i>(which reminds me: I have Aimee Friedman's <a href="http://www.aimeefriedmanbooks.com/bookexcerpts.php?book=seachange">Sea Change</a> on my TBR pile)</i></div><div style="text-align: right;direction: ltr; "><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><b>Thoughts:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; ">What struck me most about this first act? The many facets of Prospero - in one short scene, we are shown Prospero as the powerful sorceror who conjures up a powerful storm to shipwreck his enemies; the puppetmaster of those around him who bewitches a prince to fall for his daughter; the wronged ruler, usurped by his own brother - but we also see (though Prospero doesn't) that Prospero neglected his realm and his people in search of esoteric knowledge. </div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; ">We see Prospero as a downright spiteful master to Caliban quick to punish, and one who continually promises Ariel his freedom in just a few days (how many times do we think Ariel has heard that before?), but we also see a father who dotes on his daughter as "a cherubin thou wast, that did preserve me!" (I,ii,152-153) and who fears losing her attention and his importance in her eyes as she grows up, especially now that he's brought another man to the island. Just look at how often he feels the need to assure himself that she is paying attention to him, listening to him. </div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; ">It's this bit of vulnerability, this tenderness towards his daughter, even as he keeps her isolated from the world, that keeps me interested and intrigued by the character even as I'm a bit irritated by his meddling with Miranda and Ferdinand, and a whole lot irritated by his treatment of Caliban (however creepy he may be, it's difficult to feel that his treatment is justified when we've only ever seen him in pain - which leaves him bitter, resentful and lashing out.)</div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; ">And I love to read Ariel - because just as I picture Susan Cooper's Nat Field as Puck every time I read A Midsummer Night's Dream, he is also my Ariel. Because I recall that line in <a href="http://caramellunacy.blogspot.com/2007/04/king-of-shadows-susan-cooper.html">King of Shadows</a> where Shakespeare says to Nat: "<span lang="X-NONE" style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><i style="font-size: 12pt; ">Th'art a sprite, an aerial sprite, born of the air. One day I shall write thee an airier Robin Goodfellow." </i><span class="Apple-style-span" >and, of course, that can only be Ariel.</span></span><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: normal; ">A promising beginning, though not, so far, surpassing my favorites. Tune in next week for more!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;direction: ltr; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>Lanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05727580109068393725noreply@blogger.com2