More fun stats from my friends at Postcrossing:
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Hello Patricia!
In 2013 your mailbox was happy 41 days! in Postcrossing: |
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In 2013 you sent postcards to…
%7CU.S.A.+(11)%7CNetherlands+(6)%7CBelarus+(5)%7CRussia+(5)%7CUkraine+(4)%7CChina+(2)%7CTaiwan+(2)%7CBrazil+(1)%7CCzech+Republic+(1)%7CPoland+(1)%7C&chd=t:25.5,21.6,11.8,9.8,9.8,7.8,3.9,3.9,2.0,2.0,2.0&chco=FF0F00,FF6600,FF9E01,FCD202,F8FF01,B0DE09,04D215,0D8ECF,0D52D1,2A0CD0,8A0CCF)
In 2013 you received postcards from…
%7CU.S.A.+(6)%7CNetherlands+(5)%7CRussia+(5)%7CBelarus+(3)%7CTaiwan+(3)%7CCzech+Republic+(2)%7CUkraine+(2)%7CAustralia+(1)%7CAustria+(1)%7CBrazil+(1)%7CBulgaria+(1)%7CFinland+(1)%7CHong+Kong+(1)%7CJapan+(1)%7CLatvia+(1)%7CPoland+(1)%7CPortugal+(1)%7CRomania+(1)%7CSingapore+(1)%7COther+(2)%7C&chd=t:20.0,12.0,10.0,10.0,6.0,6.0,4.0,4.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,2.0,4&chco=FF0F00,FF6600,FF9E01,FCD202,F8FF01,B0DE09,04D215,0D8ECF,0D52D1,2A0CD0,8A0CCF,CD0D74,78293C,9870DB,FB99BA)
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I thought it was a travesty that the library didn’t have a copy of this movie, but upon repeat viewing, I realized the movie doesn’t hold up all that well. Freddie Prinze Jr. is rather wooden, the main character is uneven and changes too rapidly. The two things I remembered from my first viewing (the dad answering wrong answers to Jeopardy and the dance scene at the prom) were still good, but overall the movie was not.
Cost: free due to boyfriend going out of town and me poaching from the Netflix queue.
Where watched: at home.
Part two in the Paul Walker memorial retrospective. And yes, his character was not very nice.
Also! Dule! From West Wing!
All the main characters had very good arcs to travel this season and there were several memorable moments throughout. What will season seven bring? A good man for Peggy? Something new for Joan? A turning point for Don? Pete actually getting a clue? I’ve just realized that all those questions broke me three-sentence rule.
Cost: $8.00 (rented in four parts each costing $2.00 from Videorama)
Where watched: at home.
This movie should win some sort of award for men who talk so low and mumbly the audience needs to sit forward a bit and say, “huh?” a lot. Seriously, all four main guys could have used subtitles. It’s also fairly dark and Woody Harrilson plays a bad, bad man.
Cost: $3.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst.
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I love how the Postcrossing people not only facilitate the sending and receiving of postcards around the world, but they also enjoy stats as much as me. Sadly, these stats show it was a dry month for receiving postcards. Oh well, I guess more will come in January.
Hello Patricia!
In December your mailbox was happy 1 day! in Postcrossing: |
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In December you sent postcards to…
%7CGermany+(1)%7CRussia+(1)%7CU.S.A.+(1)%7CUkraine+(1)%7C&chd=t:20.0,20.0,20.0,20.0,20.0&chco=FF0F00,FF6600,FF9E01,FCD202,F8FF01)
In December you received postcards from…
%7CU.S.A.+(1)%7C&chd=t:50.0,50.0&chco=FF0F00,FF6600)
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Should your child ever ask you what it’s like to be high and you don’t really want them to ingest an illegal substance to find out the answer, might I recommend this movie as a passable substitute? It’s full of heightened sounds and tones and sort of dreamy and nothing much happens, and even when it does, all the emotions seem muted. It’s not at all a gripping way to spend two hours, but, just like being in a certain altered state, it’s rather pleasant.
Cost: $2.00 from Videorama. (I was attempting to have an Affleck Bros. double feature, but Ain’t Them Bodies Saints had been rented out.)
Where watched: at home.
Wrapping up the books read post we continue up the age spectrum to the grownup books.
Grownup books:
Attachments
Rainbow Rowell takes us back to 1999 and an Omaha newspaper newsroom. Eavesdrop in on two employee’s conversations via email. You won’t be the only one who is eavesdropping, and it’s fun to find out just what kind of a conundrum the book character is getting himself into by eavesdropping.
Signature of All Things
It’s very long and very good. Take a journey through the 19th century with the daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia merchant/plant importer.
Telegraph Avenue
Or perhaps you would like to take a very long journey (though a fraction of time compared to the previous novel) through current day San Francisco and a record shop owned by two longtime friends? Michael Chabon has a way with description and his characters don’t disappoint.
Love’s Winning Plays
Then there’s this brief bit of funny fiction. If you are into skewering college football and the princely riches that come along with it, this is the book for you. If you are could care less about college football and the princely riches, but enjoy hilarious novels, (as I do) this book is for you.
White Teeth
Another long book. It seems when I’m not whipping through YA in a day or two I enjoy a story that spools out over many pages. This time journey to London and catch some sharp observations.
Grownup–Honorable Mentions
Ash Wednesday
Glaciers
Nonfiction
The Cocktail Primer
Perhaps you would like a clearly written basic book of cocktails? This, my friend, is that book.
Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows
Check out this book of photographs taken over a few decades by a woman who worked as a nanny. They were discovered after her death and are incredible.
You Can’t Get There from Here
Gayle Forman and her husband traveled around the world for a year. They went to unique places, and Forman structures the book with each chapter exploring a different unique part of the world. In the interludes between unique parts of the world, and sometimes within each chapter, Forman writes honestly of how the trip is affecting their marriage.
Quality Graphic Novels
Bad Houses
Hang out in Failin, Oregon and see what some of the residents are up to.
Bluffton
Spend several summers with a group of Vaudevillians on vacation. One of them is a young Buster Keaton.
I love YA. I love that it explores the nooks and crannies of adolescence. I love that it’s even better written then when I was a YA. I love that I can read it quickly. Here are my top YA books I read this year, divided into two categories: A Top 10 (plus honorable mentions) of YA books that have romance as the main (or a large part of their) plot. I also include A Top 5 (plus honorable mentions) of YA books that do not concern themselves with romance.
As before, links will send you to the Goodreads page for the book, with all the information you will need to find the book.
Top 10 YA With Romance
(I should note that I like the romance part a lot, so some might quibble with me as to whether some of these stories are actually concerned with romance.)
Dodger
Maybe you want to catch up with the Artful Dodger? Terry Pratchett has a delightful bit of historical fiction for you.
Eleanor & Park
Both of the title characters don’t fit into their worlds in different ways. They find each other through a love of books and music and their connection helps one support the other. An incredible story by my new favorite author.
Fangirl
The same person who wrote Eleanor & Park also gives us Cath, the incredibly awkward college freshman who is a master at writing fan fiction. So. Funny. And also sweet and dramatic.
If I Stay / Where She Went
The first of this two-book series is gripping and incredible and I think you should just read it, instead of reading a synopsis. It will be that much better, trust me. The second book is also quite good. This is by my other new favorite author.
Just One Day / Just One Year
Man, sometimes a book just catches you and it becomes difficult to go to bed on time, or fix dinner or even go to work, because all you want to do is read. Just One Day was that book for me. And Just One Year was nearly as consuming.
Love and Other Perishable Items
It wasn’t quite as consuming as Just One Day, but nearly so. Having worked in a grocery store, I loved that perspective, and the twin unrequited loves the two leads felt were well written.
Openly Straight
Rafe is gay and out of the closet and fine with it. But when he decides to attend a boarding school for his junior year of high school, he decides not mention to anyone that he is gay. Very interesting setup.
Out of the Easy
What’s a daughter of a French Quarter prostitute to do with her life? That’s the question in this grand bit of historical fiction, set in the 1950s.
September Girls
Sam’s dad drags him to a beach house on an island for the summer and said island is populated with a ton of incredibly beautiful girls, who all seem to be very interested in Sam. The rest of the book doesn’t go the way you are thinking it will.
The Infinite Moment of Us
True confession: This is one of my favorites because it’s very explicit in its description of sex, and what comes before sex. However, that said, I like the way the characters experience sex and what comes before it.
YA With Romance–Honorable Mentions
All the Truth That’s In Me
Far Far Away
Hattie Big Sky
In the Shadow of Blackbirds
OCD Love Story
Top 5 YA No Romance
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
Leonard has plans to murder a classmate and kill himself. Not at all as horrifying as it sounds.
One Came Home
Aside from the title, which I hate, I loved everything about this book which has a little bit of everything in a not-overwhelming way.
Shift
Kinda mystery, kinda adventure. Good bicycle book.
The Different Girl
The kind of book that will probably stick with me for a very long time.
The Thing About Luck
Tragically funny in that way that books can be sometimes.
YA No Romance–Honorable Mentions
In Darkness
Winger
Just because you are over eighteen doesn’t mean you won’t love these books. Or maybe you have a young reader who is interested? The links in the title will take you to the Goodreads page for the book, which lists all the information you will need. If you are my friend on Goodreads, it will also be easy to see my review.
All lists are in alphabetical order.
Picture Books
A Long Way Away
Take a long journey through space. If you liked following that kid in the Family Circus as he wanders around the comic strip, this book is for you.
Mr. Wuffles!
Mr. Wuffles is a cat who spurns all toys except for one. But this toy is not like any other. Find out why.
Year of the Jungle
Suzanne Collins (she of the Hunger Games and the Gregor series) tells us about the year her dad went to Vietnam. Good capture of a child’s sense of time and making sense of what she can.
Tiger in my Soup
Fabulous illustrations and fun for all the little brothers out there. And the big sisters who might recognize themselves.
Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great
The title says it all. See the world through Goat’s eyes.
Picture Book Honorable Mentions:
Carnivores
Xander’s Panda Party
Juvenile Chapter Books
I’m not the biggest fan of these, so I didn’t even have five for my list. But the four I had were good.
Counting By 7’s
My library lists this as YA, but I put it in the “J” category because the girl is 12 and I think kids tend to read about children older than them, not younger. I loved this main character and how she just kept on chugging through her troubles.
Doll Bones
If your middle-school student (or you) likes to be creeped out by stories, this is a book for him/her. Also a good depiction of middle school kids being at different places in their maturity.
Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse
Great story told using poems. Perfect for introducing elementary school kids to different forms of poetry.
P.S. Be Eleven
Not a story set in a New York City Public School (P.S. 11) as I first thought, but a story of three sisters in Brooklyn in the 1960s. Very well done. It’s also the second book, so you might want to read One Crazy Summer first.
