Still Here...With Birthday Books

This has been a crazy couple of months!  I apologize for my long-winded absence.  It's the same old tired excuses--if it's not work, it's getting a bad head cold; if it's not a head cold, it's pulling something in my neck that's been niggling at me off & on for a few months (I applied heat to it last night and appear to be cured at least temporarily...wish I had thought to do that earlier!); and if it's none of the above, it's the randomness of life throwing things at you.  *Sigh*  But never fear...for I come bearing news most bookish :)

So...my progress of the past couple of weeks is thus: I finished The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, successfully catching me up with the rest of the world on the Millennium series.  A good end to the trilogy, though The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo remains my favourite of the three.  I've only reviewed Life Itself by Roger Ebert and have a few other reviews in the wings, so please bear with me.  I'm starting a new book today: Pygmalion, the play by George Bernard Shaw that was adapted into a movie and then later into another, more recognizable (and pronounceable) movie My Fair Lady.

And now for the birthday book loot.  My family knows me so well and got me some lovely books for me birthday (sorry...transformed into Eliza Doolittle for a second there).  And wouldn't you know it?  Some of them are for the reading challenges I'm participating in ;)

Coraline- Neil Gaiman--I liked the movie and heard all good things about the graphic novel.

On the Origin of Species- Charles Darwin--I went with the Penguin Classic cover (because it's coooool)

Persuasion- Jane Austen--I'm making this my next foray into Austen.  Can't wait!  I went with the Penguin Classics hardcover edition.  Lovely green leaves on the cover.

Cloud Atlas- David Mitchell--Have no idea what I'm getting into with this one but sounds interesting

Contact- Carl Sagan--The movie is highly underrated and so perceptive about the state of the universe and its inhabitants...you know, besides us.  Fascinating subject matter.

Last Night at Twisted River- John Irving--I loved Garp and Owen Meany, liked Cider House Rules, and am coming back for more Irving.

Shades of Grey and The Eyre Affair- Jasper Fforde--I see these on so many book blogs, curiosity kil...made the cat go out and buy the books :D

And...drumroll please...

Sense & Sensibility- Jane Austen
YES!  Am awaiting my order of the pretty pretty Penguin Classics hardcover edition.

The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas
Unfortunately the Barnes & Noble leatherbound edition isn't for sale in Canada :(   But I have the Everyman unabridged (thank goodness) one on order.  Now I can actually read the entire story!


I also got a few DVDs: 

Tangled--I think this is the best Disney "princess" movie released in ages...so fun!

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street--Ahhh....Johnny Depp.  Let's just say I pause this one a lot to enjoy the view ;)

Inception--Twisted, tangled awesomeness

Panic Room--This is one of the smartest thrillers I've ever seen.


I will try my best to get a review or two up over the weekend and get back on some kind of track.  I also hope to go back through all the posts in my Google Reader to catch up on what you've all been reading.  Wow...that'll take a while.  Must get busy...This will take a record-breaking amount of coffee.  Almost as much as Stieg Larsson's characters drink...anyone else notice that they all seem to consume "coffee and sandwiches" wherever they are?

Happy reading :)

Life Itself- Roger Ebert



Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  2011
Pages:  436
ISBN:  9780446584975
Genre:  Nonfiction, Memoir

Started: Dec. 25, 2011
Finished: Dec. 30, 2011 (6 days)

Where Found:  Xmas 2011 gift
Why Read:  I enjoy Ebert's movie reviews and more often than not agree with his opinions, and was interested in learning how he became one of the most revered movie critics worldwide.

Summary:  A reflection of childhood, his start in journalism, interests in reading, travel, memorable interviews and encounters, and his influence by and on the movies.

Review:

Roger Ebert has an inside view of the film industry unlike any other.  He isn't a filmmaker, an actor, or a studio executive, yet he is just as respected, opinionated, and central to the world of movies as those who run the cogs of the machine called Hollywood.  Ebert isn't pounding the pavement but is the one who brings it all together: he watches the finished product, scrutinizes what worked and what didn't, and makes a conclusion that millions of moviegoing public recognize as the inside scoop on the best answer to the inevitable question: "Is there anything good playing at the movies?"

Ebert has a refreshingly honest tone in his memoir, writing as if he has nothing left to prove or hide, which he readily admits when the book comes to the time when Ebert underwent treatment for thyroid and salivary gland cancer.  He starts as all good stories do from the beginning, recounting his start in journalism, encounters with both the famous, including an interview with Lee Marvin and a road trip with Robert Mitchum, but most memorably with the not-so-famous, his stay at the Eyrie Mansion, and his friendship and working relationship with Ebert's complete and utter opposite Gene Siskel.

His transition from Catholic childhood in the chapter "How I Believe in God" fascinated me most and, similarly to myself, a thankfulness for its simplest moral values of honest, kindness, and humility, but not its theology. His bibliophiliac chapter "Books Do Furnish a Room" would make a great book on its own.

The movies don't play as much of a part in this memoir as you would think, but they crop up occasionally.  This book is less about the movies and Ebert as a movie critic, and more wholistic in scope with Ebert's experiences as a journalist and a traveler.

Rank:  (B)- Very Good, Recommend

December & January Wrap-Up

So...it's been a crazy couple of months, but hopefully February will start the ball rolling for a smooth 2012.  If the past month is any indication of what the year will bring...yikes!

So...I neglected to post a wrap-up for the month of December, but maybe this will make my microscopic reading progress in January look better if I put them beside last month :D

So...*okay, that's enough of that*

DECEMBER
Read:  (4)
Bag of Bones- Stephen King (A+)
The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History- John Ortved (B)
Life Itself- Roger Ebert
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret- Judy Blume

Reviews:  (6; see 2 above)
The Count of Monte Cristo- Alexandre Dumas (A+)
The Old Man & the Sea- Ernest Hemingway (A)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter- Carson McCullers (A)
It- Stephen King (A)

JANUARY
Read:  (3)
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Seriously...I'm Kidding- Ellen DeGeneres
11/22/63- Stephen King

Reviews:  (1)
Emma- Jane Austen

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

A weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey.

Ouch, two weeks later and I've just finished one book: 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  I've had no motivation to write any reviews, either.  Is this a slump?  Well, at least I'm still reading something.  It's a reviews slump :)

Read This Week:
11/22/63- Stephen King
Wow, this was a terrific read!  It was full of unexpected threads and he works the time travel yarn (get it? Threads? Yarn?  Ha ha) so well, it makes me want to not only re-read The Time Traveler's Wife but find more books in this subgenre.  Any suggestions?

Collecting dust on the nightstand but still hanging in there:
U2 by U2- U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.)
My Life- Bill Clinton

Reviews Coming Soon (I promise):
Life Itself- Roger Ebert
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret- Judy Blume
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Seriously...I'm Kidding- Ellen DeGeneres
11/22/63- Stephen King

Next to Read:
I'm finally going to get to The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  With the release of the movie The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I'd like to finish the book
series off.


Have a great week of reading :)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

A weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey.

Quick check-in post today...

Read This Week:  (1)
Seriously...I'm Kidding- Ellen DeGeneres
Sweet, breezy read.  Review coming soon.

Reviews This Week:
None...I'm behind again (by 4).

Currently Reading:  (3)
11/22/63- Stephen King--I love time travel stories and this one is getting good :)

U2 by U2- U2 (Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.)
My Life- Bill Clinton

Next to Read:Probably something shorter after the 800+ pages of 11/22/63 ;)


Have a great reading week :)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

A weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey.

Yay, I finished my first book of 2012!  It feels great to kick the new year off with a good one.

Read This Week:  (1)
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte (A)
I really enjoyed this one.  It felt like Jane Austen meets Rebecca.  Review coming soon!

Reviews This Week:  (1)
Emma- Jane Austen (B)
Currently Reading:  (3)
Seriously...I'm Kidding- Ellen DeGeneres
Before delving into Stephen King's latest, I'm dipping into the new Queen of talk's book.

U2 by U2- U2 (Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.)
My Life- Bill Clinton

Next to Read:
11/22/63- Stephen King
I'm hoping it lives up to the hype...


Have a great week everyone :)

Emma- Jane Austen

Purchase:  Amazon | Chapters

Published:  1815 (mine is the Penguin Classics hardcover edition pictured here)
Pages:  474
ISBN:  9780141192475
Genre:  Classics

Started:  Dec. 14, 2011
Finished:  Dec. 24, 2011 (11 days)

Where Found:  Chapters-Indigo
Why Read:  I love Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice, so when I spotted this copy (on sale to boot!), I snatched it up.

Summary:  A young lady successful (for the most part) at matchmaking struggles to settle conflicts interfering with her own love life.

Review:

Jane Austen is definitely master of the genre comedy of manners.  She is able to weave together complex social dramas with tongue permanently implanted in cheek.  Formalities and niceties aside, there are glimpses of social situations that are just as sticky to be caught in now as they were then.

Unlike Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice, I wasn't taken with any particular character in Emma but the story is fun and lively.  I found Emma very self-involved, and not very reliable or sympathetic, whereas the turmoils of Elinor & Marianne Dashwood and Elizabeth Bennet were at the heart of the other two novels.  Oh, Knightley...I wish there had been more of him!   He was a sweet, decent character, and I liked him better than Edward Ferrars (not as stuffy) but not quite as much as Mr. Darcy or Col. Brandon.  There is always a secondary character that provides comic relief from the tense romantic plot, and in Emma, it's the bubbly, constantly talkative Miss Bates, who is just hilarious, especially how she describes everything she notices as they walk from the front door to the dining room of the Woodhouse estate, including warning the person just behind her that there is a step down from the floor!

The best moments of Emma are where mistakes are either made or fixed surrounding a person's demeanor, and the humour comes from the extremities between what was once thought and what is actually true.  Judgment, especially about a person's physical appearance, behaviour, or past, is a recurring theme in Austen's novels, and it is especially important in Emma.

Not the best of Jane Austen, but an enjoyable romp.  Dive in and enjoy :)

Some memorable quotations:

"What did she say?  Just what she ought of course.  A lady always does."

"And with all her advantages, natural and domestic, she was now in great danger of suffering from intellectual solitude."

"Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised or a little mistaken."

Rank:  (B)- Good, Recommend

Xmas Book Gifts & Monday Check-In

A weekly meme hosted by Sheila @ Book Journey.

I'm baaaack!  Happy New Year!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  Mine was lovely, as usual.  I have an additional week off work, so I get to continue the relaxation and get some reading in.  December was a slow working month for me as the weather kept everyone healthy and no one needed a substitute teacher...Left me with lots of Xmas planning time :D 

I had to go back and edit my 2011 wrap-up post as I completed 3 more books before ringing in 2012.  Reviews coming soon for:

Emma- Jane Austen
Life Itself: A Memoir- Roger Ebert
Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret- Judy Blume

I'm currently reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, which I'm applying to two reading challenges.  This was a "book of the year" for a few bloggers last year, so here's hoping I take to it just as well :)

Judging by the posts I've read, Santa left some great books under your tree.  Wouldn't you know it...he did at my house, too :)

11/22/63- Stephen King
Highly anticipated! This is getting mostly good reviews. I love time travel stories :) I'm hoping to get to this next.

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret- Judy Blume
A YA classic I wish I'd read back then but am so glad I did now. A beautiful little book for girls about growing up.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings- Maya Angelou
Another classic I'm finally getting around to. Isn't it a gorgeous cover?

Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck
I didn't know how slim this book is! A classic I haven't gotten around to yet and my first Steinbeck.

Seriously...I'm Kidding- Ellen DeGeneres
Her show is so lively and never fails to cheer me up on a bad day. Sounds fun :)

Life Itself: A Memoir- Roger Ebert
I read this in just a few days.   Some fascinating stories.  Review coming soon.

...And I previously posted about some early bookish Xmas gifts.

I also got some DVDs: Glengarry Glen Ross, Matchstick Men, and was very surprised to get a rare (at least inexpensively) copy of a terrific movie, Charade, lots of iTunes, a couple of I Spy books for my closetful of children's books (now I just need a classroom to put them in!), Burt's Bees pomegranate lip balm, Uniball pens, hand cream, chocolate, and a calendar with bulldogs (awww, they're so cute).  And I got a plaque made from this picture in the Entertainment Weekly reunions issue from one of my favourite movies:

I got it done at Staples.  It was very affordable and it turned out so well, especially considering the crease in the middle.  It's barely visible on the plaque (that's not it pictured) and looks even better than the original.

Happy New Year!  And have a great reading week :)