I finished a few days ago the fourth book in The Southern Vampire Mysteries ... it was one of those books you find yourself tapping your foot to. I wanted it to end! But then when it did, I was sad that it was over so soon. Strange how some books can pack all of that action into the last few pages and as soon as the drama picks up again the book stops dead. Time to move on to the next one? Not so soon.
Scott picked my newest book for me off of our hanging bookshelves. His choice? Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling. I started reading the book on Thursday night, and as of this morning I'm already over 200 pages into it. At first I hated the book. It introduced so many characters at once and the plot was not entirely clear. The book focused on a small English town's reaction to the death of Barry Fairbrother, a very popular man (to some) who died suddenly at the golf club from a brain aneurysm. The story then takes off from the couple who went to the hospital with him and wife relaying the story to their parents/in-laws ... and thus the gossip begins.
Once the largest issue that divides this town is revealed, the plot picks up and you start to gain a more thwarted insight to the lives of these townspeople. Some people are despicable, some you hold sympathy for, but all of them at some point take on the very human quality of despair. Their dark longings and wishes, as well as their family members, hold them back from being truly "authentic." Even if authenticity is the thing they strive for most.
The book is not over yet, but I am entirely engaged with it. It's surprising to read an adult novel from the Harry Potter creator, Ms. Rowling. The novel is stacked from the first page to (what I'm assuming will be) the last with hatred, drugs, sex, teenage longings, bullying, politics, death, reactions to death, love (of some kind), and truly grotesque inquiries into the human soul.
This brings me to update you on my life. People are truly grotesque. They are selfish and greedy, and an incident in my family has led me to believe that some people don't know how to trust or love, and will stab anyone who gets too close to them in the heart. Life is short, and family is dear. Hold them close, unless they substantially (SUBSTANTIALLY) give you a reason to back off. Pettiness, jealousy, conceit and rash decisions are the worst of all grotesque features that people carry.
Scott and I will be heading off to see a movie this afternoon, and then I'll be home to grade some papers and get ready for tomorrow. I like escaping into the world of books and movies ... it makes me feel better to witness other characters struggle with the complexities of their surroundings - it makes me know (solidly) that I'm not alone. Yes, movies and books may sometimes be fictional, but usually the greatest fiction is founded on some basic truth. I need to continue to work on myself, and stop some of my own grotesqueness from seeping out, to be better for those I love. I encourage everyone who might be interested in my ramblings to do the same. Keep working on yourself to be better for the ones you love. Use the stories that you love so much to inform you, educate you, and to give you that escape that sometimes you just need so much ... Life is hard. People are hard. But we're here ... so let's keep trying to make it all matter.
Hope that makes sense. Keep reading.
Love, Britt.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Southern Vampire Mysteries
So as I mentioned before, I'm reading the "True Blood" books. They are very different than the HBO series (of which I own all seasons available on DVD and am happily/eagerly awaiting the fifth season to come out). The books provide a basis for the show, but the show itself definitely has a life of its own that roughly follows the same overarching plot lines. Scott bought me the first 8 books for Christmas in a set, and then I bought the last 4 on a whim, and the final books comes out this May.
I keep asking myself ... Brittany, why do you like these books? They are simple reads - I can usually finish one in couple days (roughly around 300 pages), and they definitely feed into one another. No book has a clear ending, and oftentimes you simply HAVE to pick up the next one to find some sort of closure on what the heck just happened (she just got stabbed by a stake, and almost got eaten to death, and her vampire boyfriend just cheated on her ... and WHAT? It's the end!!?? Oops gotta read the next one now I guess). It's almost like drugs, they get you hooked, but you still haven't reached your "peak" yet so you have to keep trying. Or at least that's what I imagine drugs to be like? Eh, now that I've ended that tangent, let me try again to explain the conundrum of these books to you. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character. She can read people's minds (but she hates having that ability). She falls in love with Vampire Bill because guess what? He's dead. He is dead and therefore she cannot read his mind which makes her happy, and apparently having sexual relations with vampires is awesome, so that's a perk too. Here's the catch. Since meeting Bill, Sookie's life gets turned topsy turvy, and she often finds herself getting hurt in pretty horrific ways, and as much as she wants to quit loving her vampire and quit getting involved involuntarily in nasty vampire/supernatural dramas ... she just can't give up the peace of not having to invade someone's thoughts... nor can she give up the good sex. And so she keeps getting pulled into all this crap, and it makes for a pretty entertaining, often very funny, and somewhat perverse story line.
Oh ... probably should have mentioned that the whole reason vampires are out and about in common society is because the Japanese invented a synthetic blood that satisfies vampires' nutritional needs and therefore they no longer need to munch on humans, which in their eyes made it safe to "come out of the coffin" and let humans everywhere know that "HEY! We exist!"
Should you start reading this series? I would say if you like the TV show then yes, you should. Generally people who enjoy also enjoy the books, although beware that there are some major differences between the two Sookie Stackhouse stories. HBO's skips some of the love affair business that the books dwell on, and some characters that are prominent on the TV show barely exist in the books. If you can love each on its own merits, then take a risk and go for reading the books. I saw the TV show first, and that's what piqued my interest in asking for the books. Also, be aware that there are quite a few novels, which is awesome because the story is prolonged - so if you like it, there's lots of it. The bad thing is (as I was saying) that once you get started it's hard to stop because each book ends in a cliff-hanger.
Overall, these books are not sappy like the "Twilight" books are, and they're not nearly as dark as Anne Rice's novels, but they stand on their own as an entertaining and ridiculous set of events that change a girl's world forever - not necessarily for the better, but definitely for the more "interesting" ... her life is yours to balk at, laugh at, dream of, and smile at. Enjoy (if you dare)!
Book Four - Dead to the World
I keep asking myself ... Brittany, why do you like these books? They are simple reads - I can usually finish one in couple days (roughly around 300 pages), and they definitely feed into one another. No book has a clear ending, and oftentimes you simply HAVE to pick up the next one to find some sort of closure on what the heck just happened (she just got stabbed by a stake, and almost got eaten to death, and her vampire boyfriend just cheated on her ... and WHAT? It's the end!!?? Oops gotta read the next one now I guess). It's almost like drugs, they get you hooked, but you still haven't reached your "peak" yet so you have to keep trying. Or at least that's what I imagine drugs to be like? Eh, now that I've ended that tangent, let me try again to explain the conundrum of these books to you. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character. She can read people's minds (but she hates having that ability). She falls in love with Vampire Bill because guess what? He's dead. He is dead and therefore she cannot read his mind which makes her happy, and apparently having sexual relations with vampires is awesome, so that's a perk too. Here's the catch. Since meeting Bill, Sookie's life gets turned topsy turvy, and she often finds herself getting hurt in pretty horrific ways, and as much as she wants to quit loving her vampire and quit getting involved involuntarily in nasty vampire/supernatural dramas ... she just can't give up the peace of not having to invade someone's thoughts... nor can she give up the good sex. And so she keeps getting pulled into all this crap, and it makes for a pretty entertaining, often very funny, and somewhat perverse story line.
Oh ... probably should have mentioned that the whole reason vampires are out and about in common society is because the Japanese invented a synthetic blood that satisfies vampires' nutritional needs and therefore they no longer need to munch on humans, which in their eyes made it safe to "come out of the coffin" and let humans everywhere know that "HEY! We exist!"
Should you start reading this series? I would say if you like the TV show then yes, you should. Generally people who enjoy also enjoy the books, although beware that there are some major differences between the two Sookie Stackhouse stories. HBO's skips some of the love affair business that the books dwell on, and some characters that are prominent on the TV show barely exist in the books. If you can love each on its own merits, then take a risk and go for reading the books. I saw the TV show first, and that's what piqued my interest in asking for the books. Also, be aware that there are quite a few novels, which is awesome because the story is prolonged - so if you like it, there's lots of it. The bad thing is (as I was saying) that once you get started it's hard to stop because each book ends in a cliff-hanger.
Overall, these books are not sappy like the "Twilight" books are, and they're not nearly as dark as Anne Rice's novels, but they stand on their own as an entertaining and ridiculous set of events that change a girl's world forever - not necessarily for the better, but definitely for the more "interesting" ... her life is yours to balk at, laugh at, dream of, and smile at. Enjoy (if you dare)!
So ... to wrap up ... I'm currently on book four - I will let you know (whether you want to know or not) how the rest of the books add up. And as you can tell by the HBO pictures and the book covers ... it seems the books are meant to be taken a whole heck of lot less seriously than the show itself (even though the show does have its humor). The show takes the books' plots and makes them deeper and darker, but still thoroughly enjoyable.
Book Four - Dead to the WorldSunday, January 13, 2013
Gangster Squad
Granted this is not a book, but who can resist writing an amateur review on a Ryan Gosling movie? At least I can't. Gangster Squad asks the question, "how far would you go to maintain justice in the city of angels?"
Gangster Squad. A movie that will make you flinch, laugh, cry, and want to see it again. Josh Brolin is a star as the leader of a squad commissioned to take out the gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). Penn is, as always, a formidable character - someone who has a certain mystique that's inevitably charming, but still carries the sting of a character you don't want to mess with in any capacity - romantically, sexually, or any type of business partnership.
Within the first 30 seconds of the movie you see a man with his hands chained to one car and his legs chained to another. Within the first minute of the movie he is torn apart and his guts are left in the middle of the scene while Cohen looks over the situation as calmly as a child goes to sleep. This sets the tone for the movie. A group of men are determined to take down a threat (Cohen) that they believe will forever tarnish the future of their beloved city. They are willing to put their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, on the line so as to take down a man with no morals - just goals and ambitions. Mickey Cohen pledges his allegiance to himself, while the men destined to take him out pledge their allegiance to their badges, to their country, and to the future of their children. The movie features strong women, vulnerable children, and men struggling between what must be done to stop evil and what means are acceptable to stop that evil. If in the process of stopping a bad man, do you become a bad man yourself?
Overall, I wish this movie put in a bit more details concerning the romance between Ryan Gosling's character and that of Miss Emma Stone, because let's face it ... who doesn't want to see that gorgeous man romance a woman and potentially take his clothes off? Besides that little fact, this movie featured a lot of humor, and some definite cringe-worthy moments of violence. All of the actors were spot on in their performances and I would recommend this movie to people who are fans of the traditional gangster films. The film begs the fundamental question of what makes a hero a hero? Watch the movie to find out and judge for yourself.
Gangster Squad. A movie that will make you flinch, laugh, cry, and want to see it again. Josh Brolin is a star as the leader of a squad commissioned to take out the gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). Penn is, as always, a formidable character - someone who has a certain mystique that's inevitably charming, but still carries the sting of a character you don't want to mess with in any capacity - romantically, sexually, or any type of business partnership.
Within the first 30 seconds of the movie you see a man with his hands chained to one car and his legs chained to another. Within the first minute of the movie he is torn apart and his guts are left in the middle of the scene while Cohen looks over the situation as calmly as a child goes to sleep. This sets the tone for the movie. A group of men are determined to take down a threat (Cohen) that they believe will forever tarnish the future of their beloved city. They are willing to put their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, on the line so as to take down a man with no morals - just goals and ambitions. Mickey Cohen pledges his allegiance to himself, while the men destined to take him out pledge their allegiance to their badges, to their country, and to the future of their children. The movie features strong women, vulnerable children, and men struggling between what must be done to stop evil and what means are acceptable to stop that evil. If in the process of stopping a bad man, do you become a bad man yourself?
Overall, I wish this movie put in a bit more details concerning the romance between Ryan Gosling's character and that of Miss Emma Stone, because let's face it ... who doesn't want to see that gorgeous man romance a woman and potentially take his clothes off? Besides that little fact, this movie featured a lot of humor, and some definite cringe-worthy moments of violence. All of the actors were spot on in their performances and I would recommend this movie to people who are fans of the traditional gangster films. The film begs the fundamental question of what makes a hero a hero? Watch the movie to find out and judge for yourself.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Dark Places
Emily, Scott's sister, bought me Dark Places by Gillian Flynn for Christmas. About four days after getting it, I finished it. It follows its main character, Libby Day, who is somewhat despised throughout the book for accusing her brother of murdering her family in a massacre when she was just a little girl. Years later as an adult she realizes she has no money, no motivation to get a job, and becomes willing to subject herself to the critical eyes and inquiring minds of the Kill Club.
The Kill Club is a group of somewhat pathetic creatures who are obsessed with murders of the past and present - but most specifically the murder of her mother and sisters. The catch is, most of these people (particularly the women) don't agree that Ben (Libby's brother) is the killer. Therefore Libby becomes the most hated person in their midst - she is the little liar who put her brother away for life - but the catch is ... her brother has his own secrets to hide, and Libby doesn't really know what exactly she saw that not long ago in Kansas.
Dark Places describes the places we are unwilling to go to in our lives. For Libby that dark place is the night her family was killed, and the thought that maybe her brother is innocent after all ... or maybe not. Her brother had a tormented and weird adolescence; ashamed of his family and their poverty, as well as the embarrassing nature of having to live with a household of women. He found solace in his friendships with people who had a dark nature to their personalities, and who thought of him as a loser to say it simply. Ben had his dark places, and Libby's mother had her dark places with trying to keep her family afloat. These dark places make for an interesting plot line that shifts abruptly, almost painfully from the present misery of Libby Day to the pasts of all members involved in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas."
This novel is excruciatingly inviting, horrifically deep and painful, but most of all it's purely uncomfortable and gritty. It draws you in, even as your nails are streaking down the pages trying to tear it apart so you can get out.
The ending was only slightly lackluster for me after all the buildup, but it's definitely worth a good hard read. It's an introspective and scarring version of the classic "who done it?" tale. This book will make you "feel" something ... it will make you feel guilty, and questioning, and dirty. It will leave an impression on you for sure.
Currently I'm going back and forth from my new books to the Southern Vampire Mysteries which provided the basis for the HBO hit "True Blood." They're great, and moderately short, so they're a fast read, but they really make you want to keep reading about Sookie Stackhouse and her torrid love affair and relationship with the vampires (and other worldly creatures) of the southern United States. It's an erotic twist on our deepest nightmares and fantasies. Definitely also worth a read. After I finish the third book in that series I plan on switching back to yet another Gillian Flynn novel. Flynn is definitely an author to keep your eye on, based on what I felt after reading her book Dark Places.
Keep reading and look forward to my next entry!!!
Thanks all,
Britt
The Kill Club is a group of somewhat pathetic creatures who are obsessed with murders of the past and present - but most specifically the murder of her mother and sisters. The catch is, most of these people (particularly the women) don't agree that Ben (Libby's brother) is the killer. Therefore Libby becomes the most hated person in their midst - she is the little liar who put her brother away for life - but the catch is ... her brother has his own secrets to hide, and Libby doesn't really know what exactly she saw that not long ago in Kansas.
Dark Places describes the places we are unwilling to go to in our lives. For Libby that dark place is the night her family was killed, and the thought that maybe her brother is innocent after all ... or maybe not. Her brother had a tormented and weird adolescence; ashamed of his family and their poverty, as well as the embarrassing nature of having to live with a household of women. He found solace in his friendships with people who had a dark nature to their personalities, and who thought of him as a loser to say it simply. Ben had his dark places, and Libby's mother had her dark places with trying to keep her family afloat. These dark places make for an interesting plot line that shifts abruptly, almost painfully from the present misery of Libby Day to the pasts of all members involved in "The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas."
This novel is excruciatingly inviting, horrifically deep and painful, but most of all it's purely uncomfortable and gritty. It draws you in, even as your nails are streaking down the pages trying to tear it apart so you can get out.
The ending was only slightly lackluster for me after all the buildup, but it's definitely worth a good hard read. It's an introspective and scarring version of the classic "who done it?" tale. This book will make you "feel" something ... it will make you feel guilty, and questioning, and dirty. It will leave an impression on you for sure.
Currently I'm going back and forth from my new books to the Southern Vampire Mysteries which provided the basis for the HBO hit "True Blood." They're great, and moderately short, so they're a fast read, but they really make you want to keep reading about Sookie Stackhouse and her torrid love affair and relationship with the vampires (and other worldly creatures) of the southern United States. It's an erotic twist on our deepest nightmares and fantasies. Definitely also worth a read. After I finish the third book in that series I plan on switching back to yet another Gillian Flynn novel. Flynn is definitely an author to keep your eye on, based on what I felt after reading her book Dark Places.
Keep reading and look forward to my next entry!!!
Thanks all,
Britt
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Favorite Books from 2012
2012 was a big year for me. It's hard to believe that last January I was sitting in my dorm room with my three male roommates, celebrating the new year, having already passed my senior theater keystone course, and wondering what the hell I was going to do when I graduated.
My senior year in college flew by way too fast for my personal comfort. I miss the feeling of writing lengthy research papers, acing terribly difficult sociology exams, and standing in a theater. As a senior I had access to the Augsburg theater's keys and I loved that feeling of being in there and working, just me and my actors when I was directing, or as a stage manager closing up for the night, or even as a bitter actor ... knowing that my love for performing was withering away with the politics of theater and the mistakes I felt our department was making. Either way, those last few months were filled with nostalgia and fear.
In February, I applied for Teach For America. After months of interviews and applications, I was finally accepted and sent off to Oklahoma where my teaching experience starting in Tulsa as an Algebra II teacher. Now in Oklahoma City, and halfway done with my first year, I am learning that life in college was blissful and I miss it terribly. Being an adult is far less glamorous than I had hoped, but I'm enjoying my life with Scott and our adopted dog, Ike.
Some of my favorite moments now come from prolonged visits to Barnes and Noble, and/or books ordered online while I impatiently await their arrival to my apartment building. During the summer I enjoyed reading on our balcony on my orange bistro set, overlooking our vegetable garden. Now I enjoy reading anywhere I can - in bed, at school at my desk, on our futon, in our chair, on the floor, in the bathtub. Here are my favorite books from 2012 (or some of them anyway).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky ~ This book was recommended to me my friend here in Oklahoma whom I originally met in Cannes, France. She said it was one of her absolute favorites, and after reading it I can fully understand why. At first the book was slow moving for me, and I was lackadaisically interested. The letters to a random unknown correspondent seemed unnecessary and depressing to me, but soon I came to see the main character as a champion, as a hero, as a boy trying to survive a life that moves to fast for him to get through. The book is poignantly touching, and all at once I started to see how this boy's life is beautifully damaged. When some friends take a risk on him, he starts to realize that he can live life as opposed to just floating through it alone and unnoticed. The story is surprising, as well as secretive and revealing all at once. I would recommend this story to people who always wish that their life was a little more moving ... a little more infinite. This book will inspire you to hold on to those you love, and move past the dark things in your life that hold you back from finding those you love.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald ~ Can you believe I've never read this before? Scott bought it for me for my 23rd Birthday. It was perfect and small and smooth and brilliant. The way I see books is this - they are special treasures. I love the way the pages smell, and the way the covers feel. I love the artistic choices of the cover pictures, and the descriptions on the back. Gatsby is filled with fickle characters, none too smart, who are so enveloped in their lives that they forget to care about each other. They are greedy, and reckless, and it's poetic and beautiful.
One Breath Away, by Heather Gudenkauf ~ I saw Scott's mother, Jody, looking at this book in Target when she and the rest of his family was visiting us in Oklahoma. She didn't purchase the book, but it intrigued me and after reading the summary on the back cover, I bought it impulsively. She asked me to let her know how it was and I still haven't, but here I'll let you know that it was a great read, although not at all what I had expected it to turn out like. The ending was too simple for my tastes, but it's worth the journey to get there to that point. As an elementary school teacher I was struck by the plot line that a gunman is stuck in an elementary school somewhere. After recent current events this book made me feel a bit morbid reading it (as I was about to the end when the shootings in Connecticut occurred). The book is a basic tale of who is the man in the school and what does he want? It focuses on particular characters and their different roles in surviving the school holdup. The characters range from a young girl, Augie, stuck inside the Iowa school building trying to find her brother, her mother laying in a hospital bed from grease fire burns in Arizona, her grandfather trying to get his grand-kids out, and the female police officer trying to find the identity of this unknown man, and finally the veteran teacher whose classroom he is occupying.
Finally, this is my favorite book of the year that arrived to me in one of those long awaited packages from Barnes and Nobles. The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. I found this novel incredibly powerful with bright, bursting images of Paris, Chicago, and Canada and the torrid romance between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. I deeply connected with Hadley and her descriptions of the love she felt for her husband, who was a dark man with unfocused eyes, and a deep passion for writing that was violent at best. Her ups and downs with her husband are real and visceral and I deeply encourage everyone to pick up this book to gain a glimpse of what this woman, the first Mrs. Hemingway, endured during her life with Ernest. She was his rock, and his inspiration, and finally she was the woman willing to let him go and live his life - as torrential and dangerous as it would become. This book captivated me from start to finish - I enjoyed it and cherish it as a piece of literary mastery. Here is the book's website. Check it out!!!
http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/paula_mclain/book/
My senior year in college flew by way too fast for my personal comfort. I miss the feeling of writing lengthy research papers, acing terribly difficult sociology exams, and standing in a theater. As a senior I had access to the Augsburg theater's keys and I loved that feeling of being in there and working, just me and my actors when I was directing, or as a stage manager closing up for the night, or even as a bitter actor ... knowing that my love for performing was withering away with the politics of theater and the mistakes I felt our department was making. Either way, those last few months were filled with nostalgia and fear.
In February, I applied for Teach For America. After months of interviews and applications, I was finally accepted and sent off to Oklahoma where my teaching experience starting in Tulsa as an Algebra II teacher. Now in Oklahoma City, and halfway done with my first year, I am learning that life in college was blissful and I miss it terribly. Being an adult is far less glamorous than I had hoped, but I'm enjoying my life with Scott and our adopted dog, Ike.
Some of my favorite moments now come from prolonged visits to Barnes and Noble, and/or books ordered online while I impatiently await their arrival to my apartment building. During the summer I enjoyed reading on our balcony on my orange bistro set, overlooking our vegetable garden. Now I enjoy reading anywhere I can - in bed, at school at my desk, on our futon, in our chair, on the floor, in the bathtub. Here are my favorite books from 2012 (or some of them anyway).
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky ~ This book was recommended to me my friend here in Oklahoma whom I originally met in Cannes, France. She said it was one of her absolute favorites, and after reading it I can fully understand why. At first the book was slow moving for me, and I was lackadaisically interested. The letters to a random unknown correspondent seemed unnecessary and depressing to me, but soon I came to see the main character as a champion, as a hero, as a boy trying to survive a life that moves to fast for him to get through. The book is poignantly touching, and all at once I started to see how this boy's life is beautifully damaged. When some friends take a risk on him, he starts to realize that he can live life as opposed to just floating through it alone and unnoticed. The story is surprising, as well as secretive and revealing all at once. I would recommend this story to people who always wish that their life was a little more moving ... a little more infinite. This book will inspire you to hold on to those you love, and move past the dark things in your life that hold you back from finding those you love.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald ~ Can you believe I've never read this before? Scott bought it for me for my 23rd Birthday. It was perfect and small and smooth and brilliant. The way I see books is this - they are special treasures. I love the way the pages smell, and the way the covers feel. I love the artistic choices of the cover pictures, and the descriptions on the back. Gatsby is filled with fickle characters, none too smart, who are so enveloped in their lives that they forget to care about each other. They are greedy, and reckless, and it's poetic and beautiful.
One Breath Away, by Heather Gudenkauf ~ I saw Scott's mother, Jody, looking at this book in Target when she and the rest of his family was visiting us in Oklahoma. She didn't purchase the book, but it intrigued me and after reading the summary on the back cover, I bought it impulsively. She asked me to let her know how it was and I still haven't, but here I'll let you know that it was a great read, although not at all what I had expected it to turn out like. The ending was too simple for my tastes, but it's worth the journey to get there to that point. As an elementary school teacher I was struck by the plot line that a gunman is stuck in an elementary school somewhere. After recent current events this book made me feel a bit morbid reading it (as I was about to the end when the shootings in Connecticut occurred). The book is a basic tale of who is the man in the school and what does he want? It focuses on particular characters and their different roles in surviving the school holdup. The characters range from a young girl, Augie, stuck inside the Iowa school building trying to find her brother, her mother laying in a hospital bed from grease fire burns in Arizona, her grandfather trying to get his grand-kids out, and the female police officer trying to find the identity of this unknown man, and finally the veteran teacher whose classroom he is occupying.
Finally, this is my favorite book of the year that arrived to me in one of those long awaited packages from Barnes and Nobles. The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain. I found this novel incredibly powerful with bright, bursting images of Paris, Chicago, and Canada and the torrid romance between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. I deeply connected with Hadley and her descriptions of the love she felt for her husband, who was a dark man with unfocused eyes, and a deep passion for writing that was violent at best. Her ups and downs with her husband are real and visceral and I deeply encourage everyone to pick up this book to gain a glimpse of what this woman, the first Mrs. Hemingway, endured during her life with Ernest. She was his rock, and his inspiration, and finally she was the woman willing to let him go and live his life - as torrential and dangerous as it would become. This book captivated me from start to finish - I enjoyed it and cherish it as a piece of literary mastery. Here is the book's website. Check it out!!!
http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/features/paula_mclain/book/
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Welcome!
Hello to all my lovelies,
Two years ago now I went on the adventure of a lifetime to the south of France - Cannes. I lived there in peace, tranquility, drama, homesickness, happiness, etc. for four months. Outside of my window was the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, hazy blue mountains in the distance, and palm trees. My orange and beige colored room enjoyed the sounds of people living their lives joyously outside, and Fred the seagull often came to my open window to terrify me. But what I did most in Cannes was read books. On the beach, in my room (as I bathed in the sunlight ... this usually led to naps), on planes and trains, in town, etc.
I love to read. I love to read in new places - at new campgrounds, different countries, different states, different buildings, different parks. In 2011, I read a book from the Dexter series on a beach in Cannes; IT in Greece; Memoirs of a Geisha in Paris, among others. Coming up will be a post about my favorite books from 2012.
With 2013 being a new year, with Scott and I in a new place (Oklahoma City, OK), I have decided to start a new blog about new book adventures. I'll be reviewing books that I've read this year (2013), and letting you all know what I think of them (if you care to know what goes on in my head). I hope you enjoy!
Love,
Britt
Two years ago now I went on the adventure of a lifetime to the south of France - Cannes. I lived there in peace, tranquility, drama, homesickness, happiness, etc. for four months. Outside of my window was the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, hazy blue mountains in the distance, and palm trees. My orange and beige colored room enjoyed the sounds of people living their lives joyously outside, and Fred the seagull often came to my open window to terrify me. But what I did most in Cannes was read books. On the beach, in my room (as I bathed in the sunlight ... this usually led to naps), on planes and trains, in town, etc.
I love to read. I love to read in new places - at new campgrounds, different countries, different states, different buildings, different parks. In 2011, I read a book from the Dexter series on a beach in Cannes; IT in Greece; Memoirs of a Geisha in Paris, among others. Coming up will be a post about my favorite books from 2012.
With 2013 being a new year, with Scott and I in a new place (Oklahoma City, OK), I have decided to start a new blog about new book adventures. I'll be reviewing books that I've read this year (2013), and letting you all know what I think of them (if you care to know what goes on in my head). I hope you enjoy!
Love,
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