Books & Movies

I've been reading a lot lately, but let's start with the Wall E movie review. Aside from being funny and cute, it was very interesting in that most of the movie doesn't have dialog. The story is told 75% visually. I highly recommend you add this to your list of movies to see.

Now to books! As I usually do, once I find an author I like, I get obsessed and read all their stuff. My latest author is Stephenie Meyer and the book that sucked me in was Twilight. I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I've been burned by several books written for younger audiences that have received overly-generous reviews. It's about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. Sounds cheesy but it's a very well written book and I enjoyed reading it...so much so that I read the three books in this series in four days (book two is New Moon and three is Eclipse. The next book, Breaking Dawn, comes out in about a month (please see my widget countdown on the left side of the screen). I can't wait for the further adventures of Edward and Bella!

Then I picked up the other book she wrote outside of the series called Host. This one doesn't fall into teen fiction since it centers around adults. It's a science fiction story about an alien species that uses human bodies as hosts for their parasitic life form. It's a good story because it focuses on people and relationships, and not too much on crazy sci-fi stuff. Definitely add this one, if not all of her books, to your reading list.

Book Review

Last week I finished reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. My dad passed this one along to me (I never would have picked this up on my own). The plot of this book is similar to the movie The Red Violin (an excellent movie, btw) in that the main story takes place in modern times, but then flashes back to various points in the object's history to learn about what was going on with the people at that time. It won a Pulitzer so it's a little heavier than what I normally read, but I enjoyed it.

This week I started a book called The Zero and I couldn't get into it so I gave up on it. I guess it's safe to say that if you read a book review on here that I liked it as I don't make myself read books that I don't enjoy.

Book Review: Heartsick

Heartsick, a murder mystery thriller written by Chelsea Cain, was a wonderful read. Our protagonist, Archie Sheridan, is trying to find a serial killer that's kidnapping and murdering teenage girls. The side story (and the most interesting part of this book) is that Archie makes weekly jail visits to a convicted serial killer, Gretchen Lowell (a la Hannibal Lecter). The sick twisted fun part is that Archie was Gretchen's last victim - not that Archie caught her. He was tortured for ten days during which he died and was brought back to life by his tormentor, and was then mysteriously released by what we initially assume is her mercy. It's a fun journey in the dark, tormented mind, body, and soul of Archie. Put it on your list of books to read.

A Lot To Catch Up On

I haven't been posting, but I've been busy. Let's start with the poll results. 50% of you were looking forward to the Indiana Jones movie, 35% the next Harry Potter movie, and 15% the next Batman movie.

Let's move to books next. I can now say I've read all of Jasper Fforde's book since I finished reading The Fourth Bear, part of his nursery crime series. I loved it, of course (see reviews of all his other books in my previous posts). The twisty-turny plot had me guessing how he was going to pull together an ending that involved Goldilocks, the Three Bears, giant cucumbers, seemingly random devastating explosions, and the Gingerbread Man. (Ever wondered whether he was a cake or a cookie? Read this book to find out why it's so important.) Like everything else he wrote, this is funny, witty, and spellbinding. I recommend you put all of his books on your reading list.

I also read a book called Lamb by Christopher Moore, a smart-ass of the first water. Lamb is the Gospel of Biff, Jesus' best friend. Mr. Moore weaves a funny and creative tale as he attempts to fill in the blanks of the first thirty years of Jesus' life. Put this on your list of books to read, too.

I just finished reading a chick-lit book called Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison. This isn't really my genre. It was a cute little no-brainer read. If you're looking for something fun that doesn't involve any thinking pick this one up.

Now on to movies. I have to start with my favorite movie so far this year, Young @ Heart. This incredible documentary follows a choir full of senior citizens for a few months as they learn contemporary songs (well, more contemporary that their generation) in preparation for a concert. The movie opened with one of the women performing Should I Stay Or Should I Go by the Clash. It was great! I laughed, I cried, and I was, most importantly, inspired by the zest for life these people have. I saw it at a local theater that tends to show independent films, so you may have to hunt for this one. It is worth it. I have six words for you: must see must see must see. If you're not convinced, search on You Tube for a few downloads from the movie. They made videos for a couple songs in the movie and, of course, someone put them on You Tube. But the movie is so much more than these videos.

I also rented Untraceable and Michael Clayton. The first one was decent. Rent it if want a scary movie on tracking down a serial killer. The second was very good, but make sure you're in the mood for a serious movie.

The last movie I have to report in on is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It's definitely worth seeing - who doesn't want to see Indy in action again - but I can't help but be disappointed. It's been 15 years and this is the best script Spielberg and Lucas could come up with in all that time?! If you want to read an overly-verbose review of the movie rife with spoilers on just about every plot point, check out my other blog I have with my friend. There's a link on the left side of this page to J and K at the Movies.

That's all for now. Don't forget to vote in my new poll!