Summer Reading: Twitterature (June 2014 Edition)

We've been slowly settling into Summer around here. The first week off from school I could tell that although the kids were mostly freed from obligations and routine, there was some slight agitation adjusting to the summer schedule. It's now mid-June already and we're just now starting to enjoy a little more relaxed schedule. It's the time for sitting on the deck late into the evening reading a good book. It's time for lemonade and strawberry shortcake. It's time for swimming and going out for ice cream at night.

I have some major house plans for the summer and I also have plans to shake up the kids' bedrooms again. Last year, I moved the four youngest into one big bedroom for a lot of reasons. We have a smallish house for seven people, but the biggest issue is the gender imbalance. I have four boys and one girl. My daughter, Tess didn't want to be alone in her own room anymore and I wanted my oldest son to have his own space as he was transitioning from homeschooling to being a high school freshman. I have three bedrooms for five kids and I really wanted to keep one of those rooms as a guest room. Well, I won't get to keep that guest room. Four kids in one room really didn't work out very well at all. It turns out that the twins just need to be separated. Tess and James are going to share a room and Sam and Liam are going to share as well. Luke, the lucky one, will continue to keep his own space. Moving kids around isn't easy. It's a super big pain, but I'm putting this chore off until early July!

I always get super ambitious about Summer reading as well. Honestly, I don't read any differently than I do during the rest of the year, but you know, Summer feels different. I always want to sink my teeth into a good beach read. I usually start to gravitate towards books with oceans and water and beaches on the cover. This year, though, I want to do this:

I heard about Reading Bingo on the Books on the Nightstand Podscast. They have their own Bingo Card.  It's going to be great fun. Doesn't a summer reading game sound delightful?

Well, I realized that most of what I have been reading is currently being adapted to the screen. There's something fun about reading the book knowing the movie version is coming to theaters.


If I stay// Gayle Forman

 


Life changes in an instant for Mia after a horrible car crash. An out of body experience helps her to decide her own fate. I'm not quite done with this one, but it seems I'm on a trend with dark and sad YA.

August:Osage County// Tracy Letts

Stifling claustrophobic family dysfunction. Deeply sad and tragic with flickering moments of dark humor. I saw the movie before I read the play. This is the first play I've read probably since high school.

The Best of Me// Nicholas Sparks


 

I can't find a movie poster for this one yet. So, I will settle for a movie still. Okay. Good grief. I'm SO not a fan of Nicholas Sparks. If you've read one of his novels, you've kind of read them all. I, however, find Sparks an easy audio book listen when I'm working around the house. This is one is no exception. It's generic even for Sparks.

This is Where I Leave You//Jonathan Tropper

I just started reading this one last night. I'm pretty sure I'm only reading it because both Tina Fey and Jason Bateman are starring in the film adaptation. It looks like more family dysfunction.


The Fault in Our Stars//John Green

I've read this one again recently in anticipation of the movie. I saw the movie last week and it's a truly faithful and wonderful adaption of Green's fine YA novel.

After reading the novel, I get to experience the story all over again at the movies. With popcorn!










 The Hurricane Sisters// Dorothea Benton Frank

Unlike the rest of the books I'm reading right now, The Hurricane Sisters doesn't seem to have a movie adaptation coming out anytime soon. I haven't actually  started this one yet, but I think this will qualify as my Summer beach read. It has does have the required beach on the cover!

Happy Summer Reading and do check out Modern Mrs. Darcy's Summer Reads as well.

Carpe Diem

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

25 Years! It's been 25 years since Dead Poets Society was released in theaters. Actually, I'm a little overdue with this post. Dead Poets Society made its official theatrical debut on 9 June 1989. I was just about to finish my junior year in high school when I went to see this movie. This is the movie that made me fall in love with New England (even though it was filmed in Delaware. Is Delaware even considered part of New England?). I already loved prep school literature having read A Separate Peace in my sophomore year. I wanted Mr. Keating to teach at my high school. I wanted to be inspired like that. Those boys got an adventure in their English class and I craved that adventure into words too. I will always remember the film's tag line:
                       He was their inspiration. He made their lives extraordinary.

I still watch DPS almost every year and I still find it very poignant even though, now that I'm 25 years older, I see some minor flaws in its theme and it's unnecessarily tragic and yet, Dead Poets Society still ranks in my top ten favorite movies. I am, however, still very disappointed to this day that DPS wasn't based on an actual novel. I was given a novelization of the screenplay as a consolation, but that only made me more disappointed that there was no novel to go read to experience the whole story all over again.

                               Well, it's time to seize the day and watch it again!

O, Captain! My Captain!

Drinking Diet Sprite alone

I went to see this movie last night and I have to say that Christian movies are getting better. Often, I find faith-based movies to be a little on the cheesy side. I mean, I still watch them, but I always feel that Christian movies feel like they aren't really real movies. Does that even make sense? That's not the case with Moms' Night Out. This movie is quietly adorable without being heavy-handed in the faith department. I mean, it's not too preachy, but I can tell that these film makers walk a fine line between balancing faith while also keeping it mostly light and fun.

 It's reminiscent of both Date Night (2010) and Adventures in Babysitting (1987) but Moms' Night Out suffers from a real lack of originality. Just watch the scene where Allyson almost loses it after the trendy restaurant doesn't have her reservation. I couldn't help but think about a similar scene in Date Night with with Tina Fey and Steve Carell. While the plot is a little forced in spots, Sarah Drew is delightful and I will always have a soft spot for Sean Astin from the Goonies (1985) and oh, yeah, Astin was also in The Lord of the Rings trilogy too!

Allyson, played by the perky and cute Sarah Drew, is a stressed out mom who desperately needs a night out. Her night away quickly goes awry. I've seen the criticism for this movie and I disagree that the underlying message is that things go wrong when moms leave the house. The thing is that things always get a little dicey whenever your main character is an unhappy stay-at-home-mom. Ultimately, Allyson comes to understand that her work is important and vital and that seems to make everything so much better for her. Did she not realize this before? Did she just need a little change of perspective? While I see that this movie honors mothers, it's a little simplistic for me. I mean, I live this life. I am Allyson (minus the cute bouncy red hair and cute clothes). I didn't expect this movie to have all the answers for a woman who chooses to stay home with small children, but then again, this movie is supposed to be light, funny, and even optimistic. Levity is in order here.

I did laugh out loud several times and that's worth a lot to me, but now I just want to watch Date Night again if only to hear stressed-out mom, Claire Foster (played by Tina Fey) lament how she just wants to drink a Diet Sprite alone. I think this is how Allyson feels in Moms' Night Out. 

Phil: You never fantasize about leaving me for another man?
Claire: No, never. No. Never. No, God, if anything, I fantasize sometimes about being alone.
Phil: What does that mean?
Claire: I don’t know. Just, there are times when I’ve just thought about, on my worst day, just, you know, leaving our house and going some place. Like checking into a hotel and just being in a quiet room by myself. Just sitting in a quiet air-conditioned room, sitting down, eating my lunch with no one touching me, drinking a Diet Sprite, by myself.



Ha! That line sounds so sad, but there are days that drinking a Diet Sprite alone sounds so good and I would never drink a Diet Sprite!

Being mommy is demanding and hard and sometimes plain old boring, but I never doubt for a second how important I am to the little people in my life and how worthwhile this choice is. Sometimes, you just need a little adventure to shake things up even if your plans all go wrong.

Friday Morning Book Post

Ahh, May. You've brought a lot of Spring snow. Tess built a snowman on Monday. Yup. In May. That's Colorado for you. She was in full snow gear building a snowman on Monday. Sam left for school wearing snow pants. By the end of the Spring Storm, we had nearly two feet of snow. I'm weary of snow, but I've learned something living here in Colorado. The seasons are always late to arrive. Spring is really Winter here. The only consolation of snow in May is the warmer weather makes it melt faster. Tess's snow man started melting yesterday. I guess I better go outside and collect our wooden carrot nose and hat.

We're full throttle right now headed straight for the last day of school finish line. Sam spent largely the first half of May in rehearsal for his theatrical debut in The Aristocats! Paul and I also spent a good chunk of our time helping out backstage and guess what? We both found that we really love getting involved with children's musical theater. I believe in theater. I believe theater offers all kinds of new brain skills while also building confidence. I almost wish I could get out there and perform too. After a full weekend of four performances of The Aristocats where Sam played both an alley cat and Private Vichy, the dog, he was exhausted.

Luke is heavily involved in digital audio production classes at school. He's just about to finish his freshman year and I can tell that he's passionate about film making. One of his collaborative film projects got nominated for an award this week. His film didn't win, but I think it was a big boost just to be nominated! He's learning to use all kinds of film-making technology and he will earn some college film school credits in high school as well.

So, life is full, busy, crazy, frustrating, and well, good, especially when I fill every tiny moment with books. A sentence here, a sentence there...

So, onto the books:

So, after I finished reading Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo to Sam, we took a few days off for a read-aloud break. I mean, he was busy with theater anyway. Flora and Ulysses is the current Newberry Winner, but I was kind of disappointed. It's quirkiness feels forced. I usually love DiCamillo's novels, but this one was just okay. I think Sam felt the same way. Anyway, after scouring Luke's shelves, Sam really just wanted to read the next Harry Potter. (A friend of mine bought me a British edition with the above cover). I was kind of eager to re-read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban too.

I was also pondering J K Rowling's revelation that she thought Harry and Hermione should have ended up together. I know this is old news already, but as I'm reading these books again, I just don't see what Rowling sees. I can't really get into Rowling's head to understand her reasoning, but I see Hermione and Harry as just too similar in personality making them kind of a bland match. I suppose there's some Myers-Briggs philosophy that could be applied here, but there's something so delightful and wonderful about Hermione and Ron being so different from each other. They make a vibrant couple. I'm glad that Rowling made the choice she did even if she isn't ultimately happy with it.

 As I read through Azkaban again, I'm going to especially focus and hone in on Hermione and Ron. I suppose the story could have worked either way, but I loved seeing Ron's emotional transformation especially in the final book. It may have taken him a long time to figure out how incredibly awesome Hermione is, but we all knew he'd get there. What do you think?

Ok, I read a lot of Jane Austen fan fiction. I can't help it. I like seeing her stories unfold in modern circumstances. Dear Mr. Knightley is a little different. It isn't a re-telling a of any of Austen's novels. It's more of an homage to Jane. This was a quick read, but after I was done, I was ready for another YA Austen-inspired novel. I'm on the look out now.

Maybe this? It's Persuasion, but you know, set in high school. I love it already. It's a Summer read for sure.

Okay, I don't know anything about this one. I just heard some initial buzz on The Books on the Nightstand podcast. Of course, I'm instantly curious. This might just shoot to the top of my reading list.

As for my other kids' reading: Luke is reading The Giver so that we can see the movie this Summer. I'm also reading a lot of Fancy Nancy to Tess. The twins are quickly growing out of our vast collection of board books. Liam really likes this terrible Strawberry Shortcake book that he chose at the library. I can't wait to return it.

I'm on Goodreads all the time. You can follow me there as I review every book I read.

Happy weekend!

The Artist

The other night, I watched the Oscar winning Best film of 2011, The Artist. I hadn't even heard of this movie before the  Academy Awards this year. I don't have very much patience for movies these days. I usually listen to movies while I knit. I look up now and then, but usually, I'm content to listen and knit. Well, I couldn't knit with this movie. The Artist is a silent film. There is no dialogue to listen to while knitting. The thing is I got completely absorbed in the film after adjusting to the lack of dialogue and the lack of color. It's a film that requires patience and attention. It's about an a silent actor in the early 1920s who has to adjust as silent films give way to the new "talkies". It's as relevant today as it was then. Change is really the only constant we can rely on. I really enjoyed The Artist and it's rare when I recommend a new movie. Give it a shot. Be patient. I don't think you will be disappointed.

An evening with Luke

In March, I told Luke that if he re-read Alice in
Wonderland, I'd take him to see the new Alice in Wonderland Movie. He listened to the unabridged version on his MP3 player very quickly in anticipation of a movie night with mommy. I had told him that I would listen to it as well, but I find Alice so silly and wacky that I was so easily distracted. I kept re-winding and re-winding. Finally, I realized that I could go no further. I finally just pulled the book off Luke's shelf, but I still didn't get very far. As a child, I was enchanted with the story of Alice in Wonderland, but it was a book I never finished. (I have clear memories of those books that I abandoned over the years. I always felt/feel that I'm such a loser when I let a book go unfinished. I'm not sure that I'll ever feel okay walking away from a half-read book.) Anyway, the movie is well, weird and weird in that Tim Burton way, but it wasn't until the credits rolled that I realized that this version is based on both
Alice and its unpopular sequel, Through the Looking Glass. Luke didn't read or listen to the sequel. I was determined to flip through the sequel when I got home, but even when I did, I determined that this movie is very loosely based on Lewis Carroll's books.

On the drive home from the movie, we did get to talk about books and movies in general. We talked about what we think about movies that have very little in common with the books on which they're based. He expressed interest in checking out Through the Looking Glass, but I can tell that Alice isn't going to be one of his favorite childhood books and that's fine with me. In the end, it's nice to see have an evening with just Luke every now and then. He's so interesting and he's getting so big and sometimes, I don't see it clearly when I'm in the midst of everything that makes up a full life. I need to make it more of a priority to spend time with just him more often. So, in the end, it's not just going to the movies together. It's a time to connect with my quickly growing and changing son.

The new Emma

At first, I didn't really think we needed a new film version of Emma. Actually, I still don't think we need another Emma, but I'm happy that we do have one. I went ahead and pre-ordered the new mini-series from Amazon and I rarely, if ever, buy movies. I figured that I'd want to have this one on hand for cold weather and cozy knitting and I was right. I watched it this last weekend and although I don't like it as much as the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version, I did like this one very much. It's so bright and cheery. There's so much color and I did like this new Mr. Knightley.

On a side note, I wonder why Mr. Darcy always gets so much attention when it's Mr. Knightley who's the most appealing man in all of Jane Austen's novels.

Overall, I enjoyed it immensely even if it's a little less funny and charming than the Gwyneth Paltrow version. Oh, I definitely prefer Ewan McGregor as Frank Churchill than the new Frank (I don't know his name.) By the way, does anyone out there prefer the Kate Beckinsale version of Emma? I think that one came out at nearly the same time as Gwyneth's, but I really didn't like it very much and I only saw it the one time while I've seen Gwyneth's too many times to count. Anyway, Romola Garai makes a fine Emma and it's immensely enjoyable. It's beautifully filmed and the color is just so rich. Just grab some tea and knitting and enjoy a cozy afternoon!

Further thoughts on Prince Caspian

I've had a week to think about the film some more and I've read several reviews all over the internet and it seems that most reviewers have the same things to say that I did. I found this cover image on Wikipedia to the first edition and I thought I'd post it. I think this image completely clashes with the movie poster's interpretation of Prince Caspian. The cover illustration suggests a gentle story possibly reminiscent of Greek myth. If I weren't feeling so sluggish and tired lately, I'd totally dig out my copy of Prince Caspian and re-read it right now. I don't want to be horribly negative about the film, but I keep thinking about those centaurs. I have to say that the idea of centaurs in general just creeps me out, but the centaurs in the movie are just so ugly and I mean unbearably ugly. There's just something ugly about the film's Narnia. I was enchanted with the ruins of Cair Paravel, but beyond that Narnia was just too dark and dismal. Perhaps this has to do with Aslan's absence (although had Aslan been more prominent in the film, it wouldn't have made the centaurs more attractive). I know that The Lord of The Rings films really set the standard for intense and epic battle sequences, but every fantasy story doesn't have to live up to that. Narnia is not Middle Earth and nor does it have to be. Narnia is exciting in its own way. Now, I only read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe when I was in sixth grade and since I wasn't really into fantasy, I didn't read on. I remember my school library's limited collection of books and I favored Laura Ingalls Wilder and books by Noel Streatfeild and checked out those books repeatedly while leaving books like The Hobbit and A Wrinkle in Time on the shelves. So, I would not venture back to Narnia until my early thirties when I began reading the series to my older son Luke. I was enchanted and I loved reading The Magician's Nephew last only to discover how that lamp post ended up in Narnia. If anything, the recent film Prince Caspian has got me longing for the true Narnia.

Inspring Impressionism and Prince Caspian

On Friday, we took Luke to the Inspiring Impressionism exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. I'd been looking forward to this special exhibit for a while and our friends, Jennifer and Donny generously offered us their extra tickets. I hadn't been in the new wing of the Denver Art Museum yet either. If you haven't seen it, it's a strange-looking building that for some reason reminds me of a futuristic icicle lying on its side. It's a jarring building that demands to be noticed. Anyway, the exhibit was beautiful and I bought a couple of prints with the hopes that I will actually frame them at some point. I do have a tendency to buy prints from art exhibits with the intention of decorating my house with all the beautiful art I've seen, but most of the time the prints stay rolled up unseen. I've always loved the paintings above and I got to see them in person! I bought the print of the painting on the left by Mary Cassatt.
On Saturday, we took the boys to see Prince Caspian which we had been eagerly looking forward to for over a year. (WARNING: Spoilers ahead) Luke really enjoyed it despite the differences from the book. I, on the other hand had a tough time with it. I understand that the film has to take some liberties, but I was annoyed. I read the book to Luke when he was about six so it's been a couple of years since I've read it, but we did listen to the Focus on the Family Audio Theatre version of Prince Caspian since. I guess it comes down to this for me. I'm battle-weary. After The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the first Narnia movie, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, I'm tired of all the battle sequences. Of course, this is exactly what Luke enjoys, but it's starting to feel like I've seen it all before. They all look the same to the point that I am starting to say, "that must be leftover orc footage." Now, that's my own issue and of course the film makers want to appeal to the Lord of the Rings fans. I know that the story of Prince Caspian is supposed to be one big battle between old Narnia and the Telmarines. I know that. Besides my own issue with unending sword fights growing tiresome, it also feels a little empty since Aslan is given very little to do in this film. Aslan, as the foundation of Narnia is almost cast out to the sidelines where he has become remote and somewhat powerless. Also, Peter is angry. This, I found almost too hard to take. The tension between Prince Caspian and Peter I know gives dramatic effect, but I wanted Peter to be more noble. I mean, he is the High King! It's obvious that Peter wants to make it clear that he is the High King and well, he is, but he should act like it and he has been called back to Narnia to help Prince Caspian. He seems not to know that his time as King is in the past and it's time for Prince Caspian's reign. Then, there's a hint of flirtation between Susan and Caspian. Okay, I can deal with this until the end where Susan kisses Prince Caspian right before she leaves Narnia for the last time. What????? Well, overall, the story is there, but it feels a little bare without the over-arching presence of Aslan. I definitely need to re-read the book and I still look forward to the adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader due out in 2010. I'm an optimist.

The Oscars

I used to host an annual Oscar party which I affectionately called Oscarfest. It was truly something I used to look forward to every year. I haven't had a party in a few years. I just don't have the same enthusiasm for the Academy Awards that I once had. I've been trying to figure this out. I know that in this stage of my life I don't see as many movies any more and it really takes a lot to wow me. Anyway, I watched the 80th Academy Awards last night and I wondered where all the excitenment has gone. Is it perhaps that I would never see a movie titled There Will Be Blood? Is it that out of everything nominated I've seen a cartoon about a rat than can cook and Enchanted which happens to be half animated as well. Well, I actually did see Atonement, but man, what a downer. Although I liked it, I didn't see myself rooting for it to win the Oscar.

I held my first Oscar party in 1998. It was a great year for movies. At least, there was a lot of excitement about the Academy Awards that year. Most of the nominees had general appeal. Titanic was huge (no pun intended). Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had garnered a lot of attention for the their little screenplay that could. Cuba Gooding, Jr made the phrase, "Show me the money!" part of our lexicon and well his accceptance speech for his supporting role in Jerry Maguire electrified the crowd.

Anyway, that year, my dear friends Steph and Krissy surprised me by making themed desserts representing all five of the best film nominees. Let's see there was jello in the shape of ships for Titanic and a sheet cake with a mathematical equation written in icing for Good Will Hunting, lemon bars somehow made into the likeness of Kim Basinger for L. A. Confidential, stick figure men sugar cookies for The Full Monty and I lament that I cannot remember what they came up with for As Good as it Gets, but you get the picture (again, no pun intended). The movies were fun and most of us had seen the films nominated. We had a great time. We continued the tradition for years even when we all didn't live in the same state anymore. A couple of years ago, Stephanie and I were in Boston visiting Krissy and we had a good time creating desserts for that year's Oscars. Somehow, they managed to design Neverland Island out of a pan full of brownies and some blue and green frosting. They made cookies in the shapes of planes to represent The Aviator. They are geniuses when it comes to themed desserts!

Well, This year, the Oscars just snuck up on me. First of all, we don't have TV. Since our antenna broke during that last snowstorm last May, we've been without TV. I don't really miss it (okay, I really miss The Office) although we are finally catching up on Season 3 of Lost on DVD, but that's another story. When the nominations came out, I barely even looked at the list. I wasn't excited at all. This year, I briefly thought about the best picture nominees and thought not only would I probably not see a movie titled There Will Be Blood, but what kind of dessert do you make for that? I don't know (although I know that Steph and Kris would have come up with something imaginative involving red icing). I have no desire to see No Country For Old Men which just happened to win the top honor of Best Picture this year. The point is something has been missing from the Oscars for a long time. Maybe there has been something missing from the movies and I have to say that the 80th Academy Awards were a total snoozefest instead of Oscarfest. Hopefully, this year will be better because I really do like movies, just not lately.

By the way, here are the best picture winners from the last 10 years. How many have you seen?

1997 - Titanic
1998 - Shakespeare in Love
1999 - American Beauty
2000 - Gladiator
2001 - A Beautiful Mind
2002 - Chicago
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (That was a good year!)
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
2005 - Crash
2006 - The Departed
2007 - No Country For Old Men

The Secret Garden

Recently, we finished listening to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I then checked out several film adaptations of the book and yesterday being a snowy day, we decided to watch the Hallmark Hall of Fame version. Let me just say that I have not really seen a truly good adaptation of this classic children's book. I like for Luke to see how film adpatations change things, add things or leave things out from the books. Now, I understand that film cannot truly capture a book because books and films are two very different mediums. There are very few instances in my experience where the movie is better or at least as good as the book. Well, this film opens with a grown-up Mary Lennox returning to her beloved garden and that's when I realize that this story will be told as a flashback. In this version, Mary Lennox and Colin Craven are not cousins. I wondered why such a big deal was made until I made the connection with the film's flashback device. At the end of the film, we return to the grown-up Mary Lennox enjoying the garden and then, the appearance of the adult Colin (played by a very young Colin Firth, by the way). Anyway, Colin then proposes to Mary in their garden and we learn that Dicken has recently died. I suppose the essence of the story is there, but I was still a little disappointed. Well, next up:
the 1975 BBC version of The Secret Garden. We'll see how they compare.

By the way,
Here's my pick for a superior book adaptation: Emma Thompson's 1995 Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet.

Now for a perfectly enchanting movie

After a long wait, I finally broke down and bought a copy of Miss Potter featuring Renee Zelweger and Ewan MacGregor. I had hoped that Paul would have been able to borrow a copy of the movie from the library, but it was just taking way too long. Apparently everybody read this post by Elizabeth Foss. When it comes to movies, usually I am extremely patient. I just don't have the zeal for film that I once did and more often than not, movies disappoint. Anyway, I loved this movie! I really didn't want it to end because I knew that it would be a long time before I felt this way about a film again. Even Luke liked it and suddenly he wanted to draw cute little animals too! As I watched, I remembered my mother buying me one little Beatrix Potter book. It was so cute and little. More than anything, I remember just how petite and lovely the book was. I fell completely in love with the Lake District in England and despite some true sadness in the film, I found it both uplifting and inspiring. Of course I had to run out and get a biography of Beatrix Potter right away! And seriously, who doesn't enjoy saying "Hunca-Munca"? I highly recommend the whimsical Miss Potter.

Do you remember this?

I mentioned in this post that I was excited to see Becoming Jane. Well, I did get to see it and overall it was enjoyable, but not outstanding. I came across this review
and it pretty much sums up how I felt about the film.

Finally! A movie I actually want to see