The Long Vacation

...Very, *very* long vacation.

So I thought I'd come back and make up for lost time. Between a school, theatre, and work schedule things like this get put on hold, unfortunately.

Most recently I've been going for the not so classic novels. They are a guilty pleasure, these darn fast-reads, and I do find some enjoyable ones. Ann Brashares' The Last Summer (of You & Me) is indeed such a book. Over all, I really enjoyed it. It's gotten a lot of bad reviews simply because it's not The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but having not read any of those books this was my first experience with Ms. Brashares.

The opening chapter was a little rough. I had to re-read a few sections as she switched narrative and provoked a few flashbacks with little warning. However, once I settled in to her writing style I was able to dive in really well.

A warning: don't read it when you're looking for something lighthearted. It's not really dark, but it does start putting a cloud over your head, at least that was my experience. Also, I hope you don't mind the word "perverse" because it seems to be her favorite in this book.

A complaint: one of the main characters, Riley, seems rather underdeveloped in a way. It's not a huge complaint because it lends a certain angelic quality to Riley that ends up being purposeful, but I did feel like there was a lot of potential to a character that just came off as a person with layers of godliness and no real humanity.

Over all, The Last Summer was not the best book I've ever read, but it was definitely worth a shot and a good afternoon read.

I'll include another book here because I read it again for the third time and I am still impressed by it. Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar is not strictly literature, but it does reference to some good stuff. The book itself is about an out-of-place reader in his first year of high school. It's the basic "finding who you are" story, but it's at least done with a degree of entertainment.

Look for my next post! I'm currently reading about the history, practices, and cultural differences of obituaries and I can't wait to talk about it!

Odds and Bookends of Books

What? I thought it was clever.
*giggle*

Moving on! So, as someone who had never (and I do mean never)read any form of "self-help" books, I recently reached a point of "Are you freaking kidding me? There has got to be something better than this!" So I bought He's Just Not That Into You I was pleasantly surprise. (Plus I saw a book called "FU My Ex" by Ales Lluch, so if this doesn't work, I can buy a journal to work my aggression out on =))

I keep going back to read certain parts as needed, but over all, it was very entertaining and very useful. Honest, too. Like, brutally honest. But in a world where all is fair in love and war, you need someone honest who is going to wake you up to reality.

$5,000 And We Can Give Back The Monthly Gift

Mother Nature, you suck.

I know that you are sticking it out down here with us and according to the Weather Girls you will make it rain men at about half past ten, but there are things we could do without.

Humidity. I'd rather not breathe my eight 8 oz glasses of water a day, thank you.

Our female 'monthly gift.' Girls go through puberty and we end up with bleeding, thrashing insides that make us gain water and cry for the next 40-50 years. Guys go through puberty and a few voice changes and pimples later they are done. Justice please!

Honestly? More men lead wars, cheat, masturbate, become tyrants , dismember people and kill others by the millions and we go through 40 years of hell on earth? And the best answer anyone can give is because Eve ate a friggin' apple? Like Adam didn't eat the apple either.

Some argue that men have to deal with the woman when she is at this point of aggression, pain, and general state of crap. Bull shit. They run for the friggin' hills.

But hey. There is a light at the tunnel. Thanks to modern science, you don't always have to wait until you are past your child-bearing years. From anywhere between 2,000-10,000 dollars, you can return this blessed gift Mother Nature saw fit to give us. Isn't that...special? After all, we all have an extra couple grand kickin' around, right?

Oh...that's right. Shit.

Just make sure those men get here on time Mother Nature. You have some do-gooder work to do!

Oh, one more thing. We really could have done without the imagination of Vampire mythology if it was just going to lead to Edward. Just FYI.

When the Cold Sounds Appealing

Picture it: A story of love, hate, scholars learning the truth of men at the front of battle, death, boys becoming men, and forgiveness...all during the time frame of Napoleon's invasion of Russia.

You know what I'm getting at...right? What? Another hint? Okay, Mel Ferrer. And don't say that you've never heard of him. Another? Henry Fonda. And yes...he is related to the workout lady. Okay...I know you'll get it this time. Audrey Hepburn. Uh huh, see? Even if you don't watch her films, the name still catches some interest, right?

Fine, for those of you who aren't yelling at me to "get on with it!" I'm talking about "War and Peace." The movie. I wasn't brave enough to tackle the book first.

*shuffles and stares at feet shamefully*

Uh...anyway! It was 3 1/2 hours, but worth every minute I got to look at Mel Ferrer in an officer's uniform! But aside from the new (and totally bizarre) infatuation (Mel Ferrer, RIP 2008), it was truly an amazing film!

Thanks to it, I now have a new mission: to read Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" cover to cover. That's right. I'm going to take on this 1,225-1,475 page monster...and I have a feeling I'm going to love it! Well...I have experience with Lord of the Rings and The Once and Future King that have prepared me for this...but to be on the safe side, I am going to picture Mel Ferrer every time Prince Andrei comes up.

First!!

If you are on Facebook, than you know that so many consider being the first to comment on something, very important....I am not one of these people. Instead I start a blog so that I can have the power of labeling something "first."

Bwahahaha!

If you like blogs that stick to a certain subject matter....keep moving. I am not the type of person to stick to one topic AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! However, expect to hear alot about theater, books, music, and movies, as well as other oddities that tempt my interest.

So...sit back and relax. Then freak out and react.