MIDSUMMER UPDATE: Okay, so I didn't pick up on what you were saying about "Louie," and I don't want to make that mistake again. How about letting everyone know what things you're reading, watching, listening to, or eating this summer that the rest of us ought to check out?
I agree about "When You Reach Me." Terrific book.
ReplyDeleteI saw the first season of Misfits because a friend caught it when it fell off the back of the internet. I'm super excited to catch season 2 on Hulu now.
ReplyDeleteDitto - although I haven't read as far as the t-shirt shops yet.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get people hooked by giving them the first two paragraphs (and if you're a PCHH listener, feel free to hear this read, as I did in my head, by Trey Graham):
"Start with the boy, Pyrrhus. Clambering on the the bar at the Escapade, swaying lazily with the music as he unbuttoned his shirt.
Pyrrhus was wearing his standard ensemble, the white oxford button-down and the pressed, snug khaki trousers. The other Golden Boys wore less - just cutoffs and a T-shirt, or maybe some kind of one-piece elastic number that disclosed the merchandise prematurely. Less starting out and less to shed, because hardly anyone tipped you till you had it all off. Yet Pyrrhus insisted on his incongruous straight-boy outfit. For someone whose job description consisted of the single word undresses, he was uncompromising about the crease in his trousers and the starch in his shirts."
I think I'm in love with that euphemism.
ReplyDeleteIf we're talking books (and we're not being judgmental): I'm devouring the "Desperate Duchesses" series by Eloisa James.
ReplyDeleteI just finished A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano, which takes Flannery O'Connor and her hometown of Milledgeville, Georgia and layers a fictional story on top of them. There were a couple of plot points that could have been cliche but the wonderful characterizations saved them from being over-the-top. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well written and moving.
ReplyDeleteI also read Doc by Mary Doria Russell, which is the story of Doc Holliday. Wonderful! And if you haven't ready any Mary Doria Russell, you should start with The Sparrow. It is sci fi that everyone can appreciate. (Her publisher originally marketed it as literary fiction.)
My response will probably be unhelpful. Reading: Slogging through The Count of Monte Cristo ("Now and forever on the Chuck night table . . . .") It is just okay, but I will eventually finish it. TV: not watching anything regularly except baseball.
ReplyDeleteWhen You Reach Me is one of the best books I ever read.
ReplyDeleteListening to Fountains of Wayne's new album, Sky Full of Holes. More rootsy than the last couple of albums, with less synth and more acoustic guitar, but still packed with brilliant lyrics and catchy hooks. (Planning to see them at World Cafe Live in Philly next week -- any locals want to meet up?)
ReplyDeleteWatching season 1 of Modern Family, having only jumped on the bandwagon partway through season 2. Interesting to see how characterizations and relationships have evolved across the seasons.
Inspired by a recent trip to Ireland, just finished reading Paul Murray's Skippy Dies -- a funny, touching, sprawling, clever, messy, and ultimately very satisfying story of students and teachers at a Dublin prep school. Includes perhaps the finest scene of mass vomiting ever committed to the page.
Oh - TV - I'm really liking Alphas a lot more than I expected to.
ReplyDeleteThe Spacehold docked at Donner Lake for a week this summer, so I read about the Donner-Reed party and their troubles crossing the Sierras. You would not believe what they ended up eating to stay alive.
ReplyDeleteCurrently re-reading Cryptonomicon, mostly because I had a thought a couple of weeks ago that if they could make a series out of Game of Thrones, a great HBO miniseries from Cryptonomicon would be easy. It's plot-driven, telegenic, and about right for 10-12 episodes.
Also, I ate up Night Train in about a day. The story of two boys in mid-1960s North Carolina, one black, one white, sharing a friendship and a love of James Brown in an adamantly segregated small town. The author, Clyde Edgerton, has a great ear for dialogue.
Oh, and also, Ida Maria put out a new album a month or so ago. Good stuff. The single, "Bad Karma," sounds like the old Ida Maria (melodic but also possibly unhinged) except with The Fratellis as her backup band.
ReplyDeleteThe film is old, but it was on the IFC channel last week and it was totally charming and wonderful- it's a French film called "My Best Friend (Mon meilleur ami)". A ruthless antiques dealer is told that he has no real friends, and makes a bet with his business partner that he can produce one. I won't ruin it, because the lengths he goes to are hilarious, but it's ultimately a really sweet look at friendship. I don't know if you have IFC, but it's streaming on Netflix.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb8gFrcpsIU
I just spent a week at the beach and read, <span>Bossypants</span> by Tina Fey and <span>Before I Go to Sleep</span> by S.J. Watson (mystery about a woment with amnesia who finds a note in her journal saying not to trust her husband). Neither was the best book ever, but both good somewhat engrossing beach reads.
ReplyDeleteI so love Clyde Edgerton.
ReplyDeleteJust finished "Too Big to Fail" which wasn't the greatest choice given recent events related to the debt ceiling...it only served to stress me out. But I'm a sucker for punishment because I'm following it up with Gretchen Morgenson's "Reckless Endangerment" - another financial crisis book. This post comes at a good time because I need some good fiction recommendations to balance this stuff out.
ReplyDeleteAs for TV, I too have been enjoying Master Chef this season - I find the combination of Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich to be oddly charming (well, mostly Gordon and Graham because Joe is a bit ridiculous). I also got sucked into a marathon of TLC's "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" (which was discussed a few weeks ago on the Extra Hot Great podcast). While parts of it are trashy, it's fascinating to see the perception of Irish Travelers in British society...
There are lots of movies I still need to see, but I really enjoyed "The Trip" - which is a bizarre little roadtrip/foodie movie with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. I would see it again just for the scene with dueling Michael Caine impressions.
I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy (just like Meghan!). My daughter read the first book and took the second book to camp, so I purchased Catching Fire for myself, and she and I "discussed" the book via emails and letters. I won't spoil anything, but I was teary at the end of the third book. I can't wait for the movie!
ReplyDeleteNow, on an entirely other note, I'm reading The Royals by Kitty Kelly. It's not current, but I guess in light of the new Princess, it's current-ish. I'm learning that the royal family is a bit crazy and everyone is related (I guess this isn't a big revelation).
My husband has been watching Falling Skies. He so rarely watches TV (besides news and sports and reruns of Star Trek), so for him to be hooked on a series is big news. I'm happy for him. Maybe now he'll appreciate my loyalty to all things Bravo (um, maybe not).
No movies of note, but my husband and younger daughter saw the Zookeeper. Apparently, it's not a keeper.
I just finished reading A Dance with Dragons and am now going back to finish up re-reading a Feast for Crows. I hope to finally finish The Girl Who Played with Fire that I lost interest in about halfway through. I have Boardwalk Empire and The Hunger Games on my Kindle to start reading, along with a couple of dozen (largely non-fiction) books on my Wishlist that I'd like to read.
ReplyDeleteTV-wise, I've been enjoying Breaking Bad, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Louie, Wilfred, and Futurama that are on currently and catching up on Friday Night Lights, Justified (getting to the end of season 2, which is excellent), Sons of Anarchy (I'm now up to season 3 and it's sad fastforwarding through the commercials for the then-new episodes of Terriers, which was one of the best series of last season.) I just starting watching Downtonn Abbey, which is more engaging than I expected it would be.
I also hope to get back to catching up on Deadwood, but that keeps falling behind (since I'm watching it on HBO GO, which isn't on TV and doesn't work without a internet access.)
I definitely feel a sense of queue obligation-- that there are all of these things that I want to watch and read and there's just so much that I have to get through.
(a) Mazel tov!! (b) loved The Hunger Games (though the third book was too bleak for me personally, even if accurate to how people would have felt) and am excited for the movie, post anything cool you see; (c) really liked Goon Squad, enjoy!
ReplyDeleteExactly! I've never been one for delayed gratification but it's just so worth it with these books.
ReplyDeleteBut I think my favorite line is when we realize that Tywin Lannister does not, in fact, shit gold.
The Last of Sheila is on my TiVo - have to ask, did you watch it because of Ken Levine's blog post about it? (Because that's why I TiVo'd it.)
ReplyDeleteThe Sparrow is one of my Ten Books I Will Recommend to Absolutely Anyone.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I waited this long, but I started FNL this summer.
ReplyDeleteI've also been doing the Twin Peaks re-watach that Dan Feinberg and Alan Sepinwall are doing/covering on their podcast.
Also on the recommendation of Glen Wheldon on PCHH--the podcast "Mike and Tom Eat Snacks" (aka, "matescast"). It is very entertaining--Tom Cavanaugh and Michael Ian Black select, eat, and rate a snack every week. In between is a lot of hilarious improv/banter.
In terms of books, I just recently finished "The Art of Racing in the Rain" which was really awesome, but very hard to read if you are a dog lover (it's told from the dog's POV).
Oops, that "Guest" was me.
ReplyDeleteSounds horrible to say, but I am really liking "Switched at Birth" on ABC Family. The characters are sympathetic and good-intentioned, the actors are good, and I love any show that has sign language on it because I tried to learn it for years. I totally have crushes on Daphne and Emmett.
ReplyDeleteLike Carmichael Harold, my first-run TV this summer is just SYTYCD and "Louie." but my TiVo picked up the pilot of "Aliens in America" last week so now I've got a season pass. It's a show from 2006ish that I loved, and apparently no one else ever heard of. Starred Dan Byrd (now of Cougar Town) and Scott Patterson and Amy Pietz, and it's a lovely, funny little show that I'm very happy to be seeing again.
ReplyDeleteAs for books, I'm almost done with Walter Moseley's Fortunate Son, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Strange book.
Summer, for me, is about watching all the movies I TiVo the rest of the year. So far this summer I have seen:
Strangers on a Train
Mildred Pierce (miniseries)
Godspell
The Lost Weekend
Sneakers
Cat Ballou
Slap Shot
An Education
Kings of Pastry
Georgy Girl
Muppets Take Manhattan
Catfish
Volunteers
Greenberg
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
A Face in the Crowd
Cyrus
I enjoyed most of them, but highly recommend A Face in the Crowd, Georgy Girl, Kings of Pastry, An Education, and Sneakers (which I've seen a dozen times, but was showing to a friend).
I am about 2/3 of the way through Dance with Dragons. Those twin moments every day when the PATH train pulls into NY and when the NJ Transit train hits my station (and I have to stop reading) are killing me.
ReplyDeleteI also recently read Emma Donoghue's ROOM, which is the best book I have read in, maybe decades. Absolutely gripping. Can't remember if it's come up here (probably has), but it's narrated in the first person from the POV of a five-year old boy who has spent his life in a one-room shed with his mother. Stunning stuff.
Breaking Bad is very happily back catching my attention, and I have discovered a reality show about a team of sand-sculpturers that my kids love/ So that's nice.
Musically it's been a quiet summer, although I am quite hooked on the Game of Thrones score.
Oh, A Face in the Crowd is such a great movie. And yes, Sneakers is one of those movies I can watch over and over.
ReplyDeleteMy watching list for the summer still contains Downton Abbey and rewatches of Mad Men S4 and The Wire S4. But I discovered Party Down (RIP) on Netflix and that moved everything down.
Lots of reading. Tina Fey's Bossypants is perfect if you have a sick day indoors, as I did recently. And this is probably not news, but Emma Donohue's Room is absolutely brilliant. I read it in a day and a half, rushing to see what happened next but loving the wonderful writing.
I would like to see the entirety of that list!
ReplyDeleteFinished both Song of Fire and Ice and Hunger Games, and this post makes me feel less late to the party so thanks for that. I also just read Portia de Rossi's Unbearable Lightness which was really good for a celeb memoir.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving Louie and Warehouse 13 (which is scifi cheese but I adore it) and liking Wilfred. Also catching up on Parks and Rec in large part because of this blog. Also the Inbetweeners on BBC. Because it is ridiculous and impossible not to do a snort laugh at least once per show.
As for movies I'd recommend Super 8 and The Beginners. Both completely different but I really enjoyed them both.
Spotify.
ReplyDeleteFinally watched the first season of Justified and LOVED IT. This summer is for the ridiculous combo of Childrens Hospital and NTSF:SD:SUV (or whatever it's called) which is fun as hell. JK Simmons! Kate Mulgrew in an eyepatch! John Cho with two metal thumbs! Each is 12 minutes of silly. I especially recommend the 70s episode of Childrens, wherever it's available.
ReplyDeleteCount me in as a Masterchef and SYTYCD regular also. I've finally taken everyone's advice and am catching up on Breaking Bad via iTunes. Just finished Season 2, and Season 4 is already taking up space on my DVR. I start Season 3 next week. For lowbrow, my Real Housewives addiction is as bad as ever. I hate those women, but I can't stop watching.
ReplyDeleteAs for books, I've been devouring Kate Morton's books this summer after every family member has read them and raved about them. The House at Riverton hit my Downton Abbey sweet spot, and I'm halfway through The Forgotten Garden.
I'm watching MasterChef as a guilty pleasure this summer. If you've already watched last night's episode, did you find Ramsay's virginity comment to be as horrible as I did?
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a lot of YA and middle-grade fiction. Highly recommend A Brief History of Montmaray, and its sequel (out this summer), The FitzOsbornes in Exile, by Michelle Cooper. Intelligent and determined teenage girls, castles, royalty of a very tiny island (plunked down in the Bay of Biscay, which is where I stuck an imaginary country when I was a kid), complicated late-1930s politics and milieu (with real-life people like Kick Kennedy cameoing), romance, writing in code, narrow escapes. Reminiscent of I Capture the Castle, but I like the Montmaray books better.
ReplyDeleteAlso have been enjoying various books that mix Regency settings with magic, beginning with a new book called Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis (middle-grade and up); Marissa Doyle's Bewitching Season and Betraying Season, in which young Princess/Queen Victoria makes an appearance; and rereading the Sorcery and Cecelia books, by Patricia Wrede and Catherine Stephenson, because they fit the theme. Also enjoyed Prisoners in the Palace, about Princess Victoria and the plot to control the future queen.
On the adult squad, I liked Goon Squad and also The Tragedy of Arthur, by Arthur Phillips, who makes himself a fictionalized character as a son of a forger whose father tells him he possesses an unknown Shakespeare play -- the play itself is included.
just finished "In the Garden of the Beasts" by Erik Larson. If you like "Devil in the White City," if you like Nazis (erm, reading about Nazis), and you like sexually liberated women in 1930s Berlin, that's the book for you!
ReplyDeleteAlso, "White Collar." What will happen between Neal and Peter's bromance? Neal and Mozzie's bromance? Will Tiffani Thiessen let those things air out a little? So many mysteries, and what cliffhanger will the season finale leave us with?
I read an interview with Sondheim a while back that mentioned it, and I had never heard of it, so I added it to Netflix. I'll have to read the Levine blog post. I really enjoyed watching a movie that revealed itself gradually, instead of in a giant info dump in the last five minutes.
ReplyDeleteNo judgment here.
ReplyDeleteThe Hunger Games trilogy was going to be my summer suggestion as well. I've just read the first two.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is taking the summer to catch up on Fringe so that he can watch with me when it returns this fall. I'd suggest that for any of you who haven't gotten on board yet.
I'm in a funk this summer. Aside from seeing movies, I haven't been doing much. There isn't much on TV that I'm interested in right now. As for reading -- I've totally lost my reading mojo. I'm about 400 pages into the ESPN book and have stalled. I read about half of Room by Emma Donahue and never picked it back up. Plus, I started A Visit from the Goon Squad and also have not been able to pick it back up. What is wrong with me? Y'all are making me sad and jealous with all your tv watching and book reading!
ReplyDeleteI've been media gorging this summer. Californication: Caught up. Mad Men: In Season 2. Unexpectedly, ST: Voyager hit Netflix and because Jacob from TWOP made an impassioned case about it one night, I am now doomed to watch it.
ReplyDeletePlatinum Hit has been my Rushmore this summer.
Me too.
ReplyDeleteAlso have been watching Falling Skies, and now hoping they end the season with a bang on Sunday because the last few episodes have been a little meh. And yes, Breaking Bad and Louie and Wilfred. And the Phillies. And my wife has recently gotten addicted to The Glee Project, which I watch against my better judgment.
ReplyDeleteWe caught up on Season 2 of Fringe earlier this summer and we're awaiting the Season 3 DVD release, with the goal of getting all caught up by some point in Season 4.
Otherwise, summer is the time when we catch up on what I'll call "recently current" movies. In the past week or so we've watched "Easy A," "True Grit," and a mostly fascinating little doc called "Marwencol." Aiming to watch a blink-and-you-missed-it-in-theaters horror flick called "Monsters" tonight.
Haven't seen The Last of Sheila in many years (and kinda thought I was the only one who had, besides Leonard Maltin), but I remember it being terrific.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching Switched at Birth too and was really happy to read that it's gotten a 22-episode pickup.
ReplyDeleteEmmett is utterly adorable.
I should just learn my lesson and do whatever Glen W. tells me to. Snacks is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteWho's airing Aliens in America? I loved that show and would totally watch it again.
ReplyDeleteI misread "Georgy Girl" as "Gregory's Girl" and got all excited. I watch Gregory's Girl probably at least once a year.
I couldn't figure out if it was a one-off horror, or if he's just a total absusive flaming idiot who is getting the "minorly abusive flaming idiot" edit. I love watching him give insincere goodbyes to people "please keep cooking, you're going to be someone, I'm keeping my eye on you, leave now - er, what was your name again?"
ReplyDeleteMust put in a plug for my friend Lev Grossman's book The Magician King, the sequel to the wonderful The Magicians (which you should start with if you haven't yet). The series is rad and I can't wait for book 3!
ReplyDeleteAdam C - let me know what you think of Monsters - it suffered from overhype by the time I saw it unfortunately, as it is impressive what the director did on a tiny budget.
I'm also reading those this summer. I'm onto book three, but got waylayed by some travel, family and weddings. Can't wait to fully dive in to Storm of Swords.
ReplyDeleteYay for baby #2!!!!
ReplyDeleteIf you like Goon Squad, and you will, you should also read The Imperfectionists. Great, great book.
I haven't watched it, but I was unnecessarily proud of myself for recognizing the dark-headed one in the promos as Luke's Very Nerdy Surprise Daughter April from Gilmore Girls. She's all growed up! Has her acting gotten any better?
ReplyDeleteEarlier this summer I caught up on "Sons of Anarchy," which was very enjoyable, with the third season not bothering me nearly as much as it did a lot of my favorite critics. Following that theme, I finally got into "The Shield," and am ready to start Season Six. Basically, I just think FX is the best, and if they were to bring back "Terriers," I think I would go ahead and pop the question. Only new TV I'm really watching is the Louie/Wilfred combo and The Challenge: Rivals.
ReplyDeleteOn the book front, it's been "A Song of Ice and Fire," because I loved the series and I knew I wouldn't able to not read spoilers. (So i'm reading spoilers, I guess?)
Is anyone watching Torchwood? Apologies if it's already been discussed here; I got all excited for it after hearing a review on npr, but somehow we haven't been able to make ourselves watch the first episode, even when there's so nothing on that we turn to reruns of Freaks and Geeks on Teen Nick. Should we start?
ReplyDeleteThere's no such thing as "there's so nothing on that we turn to reruns of Freaks and Geeks." That just means Freaks and Geeks is on and you should watch it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for recognizing that I meant Goon, not Good. Ha.
ReplyDeleteEh, I find her one of the weaker parts of the show. But Lea Thompson is knocking it out of the park, as is the young woman playing the deaf daughter.
ReplyDeleteI thought you were saying that Sondheim mentioned When You Reach Me, and I was about to explode with excitement. Ah well, I should still see this movie.
ReplyDeleteLove Lea Thompson, glad she's on a show and doing great!
ReplyDeleteI'm watching Battlestar Galactica from the 00's for the first time and quilting a lot which is interrupting my reading which was burning through Julie James novels and the first Hunger Games and starting to reread Thursday Next series.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Forgotten Garden, and I just bought The Distant Hours in anticipation of a road trip. I have a bunch of Chapters gift cards that I was give at the end of the school year by students, so I may go and buy the House at Riverton as well for the trip.
ReplyDeleteI'm working my way through Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Agent Pendergast series. The most recent, Cold Vengeance, came out yesterday but I'm only on Wheel of Darkness. I love these books.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who didn't love Room?
I highly recommend turning off the TV, computer, Iwhatever's and putting down the books for the evening. Do yourself a favor and take in a minor league baseball game on a lovely summer's night.
ReplyDeleteHere's the post. http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2010/11/trying-to-solve-30-year-mystery.html
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat - I have it DVR'ed but haven't been able to start watching it, even with the good reviews and the fact that I loved Children of Earth.
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the "I should be ashamed of myself" list on my TiVo: Real World/Road Rules Challenge (which is AWESOME this season) and the upcoming Bachelor Pad. I HAVE NO SHAME (but I clearly should).
ReplyDeleteDid you like Easy A? It's in my streaming queue and I keep passing it by.
ReplyDeleteWe're watching "The Glee Project" here, despite disliking Ryan Murphy pretty much every week. But the kids are talented.
(a) My husband is liking Torchwood a lot (I watch all the new Doctor Whos, but Torchwood -- British and U.S. versions -- passes my personal threshold of violence that I can watch and still find a show enjoyable). He thinks Bill Pullman and Lauren Ambrose have been terrific.
ReplyDelete(b) I really need to watch Freaks and Geeks, I guess? It's in my queue, haven't gotten there yet. Maybe I'll wait till the kiddo is old enough to watch it with us (my strategy for Buffy and Smallville). Early teen or mid-teen suitable?
OMG! You know Lev Grossman? Will you be my new BFF? I adored The Magicians (and am making a mental note to pick up The Magician King). Tell him he has a rabid fan in Texas.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, the list is now 12 books long. (For those who know me on GoodReads, you'll find them on my "all-time greats" shelf.)
ReplyDeleteThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Michael Chabon)
Bel Canto (Ann Pachett)
The Brothers K (David James Duncan)
Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut)
Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Sparrow (Mary Doria Russell)
Room (Emma Donohue)
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin)
The channel comes up on my cable as "UHD" - no clue what that is. It's channel 207 on Comcast Chicago. It's airing Friday nights at 9:30 CDT, so perhaps you can look for it. It runs in a block with Life on a Stick - I seem to remember someone here liked that show too.
ReplyDeletePerhaps UHD is the channel that will air my beloved Better Off Ted.
Having always lived in big cities (CHI,LA,SF, Denver) and just moving to Cedar Rapids, I took in my first minor league game in 35 years a couple of weeks ago. It's amazing how fast a game moves when they don't have all the commercial breaks. A 2-1 game, walk off hit in the bottom of the tenth, about 2:15 game time.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a good blog post - what are the TV shows that you can (and do) watch over and over? When your TiVo picks them up, you end up watching them even though you can practically recite the episode... For me, it's Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, F&G, West Wing, and Buffy. (If they aired Firefly and Sports Night regularly, and if I got ESPN Classic and could watch the FNL reruns, they'd be in there too.) Parks & Rec is likely to end up on the list. I can jump into pretty much any episode, any time, and be happy to watch it. That's not say that I don't have seasons I prefer (or seasons I'm less likely to bother with, like season 4 of Buffy or the Dani episodes of Scrubs) but if it shows up on my TiVo, it's hard for me not to watch them.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, shows I really liked but don't really enjoy in reruns include Seinfeld, Friends (except some of the very early episodes) and most serialized dramas, including Grey's and Lost. Others I can sometimes watch, like The Office and House, but the ones I can pretty much always enjoy are few and far between.
Bella, do not be ashamed for watching "Rivals." Only be ashamed if you're set to finish last in your "Rivals" fantasy league, like me.
ReplyDeleteEasy A is a solid B with grade inflation. Nothing special about either the idea or the execution, but one cannot say that it is truly dumb.
ReplyDeleteOMG, I'm loving Rivals. Even though I haven't watched RW in forever (I think the last season I watched was Austin), I still love the Challenges. I wish I could partake in a Rivals fantasy league!
ReplyDeleteI'm also finally watching FNL. Because of my work schedule, I don't get to see a lot of first-run TV, so I'm way behind on lots of things, but based on everyone's recommendations here, I've also watched all of The Wire (and am starting through again with Sepinwall's guide). Oh, and I've watched the first season of The Good Wife.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I've loved pretty much everything that is so highly recommended here and I rely on these threads for pointing me toward the books, TV and movies that I should experience before I die.
Haha - I will both be your BFF and pass the rave on to Lev. I basically forced him to be my friend after reading The Magicians...he's great and Magician King is SO awesome. You have to let me know what you think!
ReplyDeleteYou have a Rivals fantasy league? I'm so jealous!! I want to be in one!! And Renee, i agree - am totally over Real World (and Road Rules hasn't been on the air in 100 years) but I cannot tear myself away from the Challenges...
ReplyDeleteAnd if you like "The Imperfectionists," you should go see Page One!
ReplyDelete(If you like Goon Squad and The Imperfectionists, you should ... go read newspaper articles about punk rock?)
I'd probably give it a B+. Agree that there's nothing special, but I was amused. A good "it's Friday night and my brain is fried" kind of movie.
ReplyDeleteInteresting -- I have another friend who is friends with Grossman (although more with his ex-wife, I think). That guy has been trying to get me to read Codex for years now.
ReplyDeleteThe movie itself is solid, but they smartly got really good performers to sell the material (with a couple of exceptions--Badgley, Michalka).
ReplyDeleteYou people rock. The fiance and I are about to take a real vacation, and I'm totally up for stocking up on some more books to read.
ReplyDeleteAs for us: I introduced the fiance to Sports Night, and we both watched the first two seasons of Parks & Recreation. While I've been DVR'g SYTYCD, I've not been good about watching, so the only first-run shows we've been watching are Falling Skies and the Closer.
I zoomed through the Stieg Larsson books and the Hunger Games trilogy. Just started the latest Jasper Fforde. And I have a few books ready to go, including Bossypants.
Music-wise, this has not been a big summer for me. Dragged the fiance to see Sugarland (with opener Little Big Town), which we enjoyed. And I bought the new David Cook and Eric Church CDs and will be downloading the Decemberists itunes sessions as soon as I can get around to it. But otherwise, winter and early spring were better for me on the music front. Lots of great indie artists release their music early in the year. Summer? Not so much, at least from my perspective.
<p><span>I forgot:<span> </span>I recently read “Vortex,” the third book in Robert Charles Wilson’s sci-fi “Spin Cycle.”<span> </span>The first book, Spin, was really good.<span> </span>The middle book, Axis, was much less strong.<span> </span>I thought that Vortex fell between the two:<span> </span>like Spin, it offered a lot of intriguing thought experiments, but it had a much more narrow scope, and the end fell quite flat to me.<span> </span>Anyone else reading these?</span></p>
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Codex but it's on deck when I'm through a bit more of my work reading. The Magicians and the sequel are well worth it for anyone on this blog - feel like you all would enjoy. Matt can co-sign this opinion, i think...
ReplyDeleteI agree. Magicians is really interesting and captivating, though I felt like it was kind of two books each 2/3 done smushed together (the school stuff and the post-graduation stuff felt like they could have been separate). I'm looking forward to the sequel because now that a lot of the hard work of world development has been done, we can focus on story.
ReplyDeleteI've been getting tan. No, really, not kidding. I've been outside a lot but got a couple of books read: Elizabeth Street (Laurie Fabiano) - novel with some Italian-American history from the early 20th century
ReplyDeleteSkipping A Beat (Sarah Pekkanen) - good beach read
Bossypants (Tina Fey)- no explanation needed
I have Goon Squad, Henrietta Lacks and about ten others on my shelf for a quick grab when I run outside.
I've also been planning a trip to Hawaii for Feb.
And my guilty TV watching - Happy Endings.
I have been reading Kate Morton this summer too! I loved The House at Riverton and enjoyed The Forgotten Garden. I just started The Distant Hours over the weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteI liken my experience reading Bel Canto to Stockholm Syndrome. I didn't start out liking it but, by the end, I really didn't want it to end. If she planned that, then she deserves every accolade.
ReplyDeleteBeen reading Song of Ice and Fire -- am about halfway through Vol. 3. Without spoiling anything, I just want to note that Googling any character from this series can cause major spoilage just from the Google Search results. Still pretty darn good, although the levels of self-sabotage evident in many of the characters could keep a family therapist in gold dragons through the winter after next.
ReplyDeleteI saw them on Cee Lo Green's show a few weeks ago and now I'm completely digging Grace Potter & The Nocturnals.
ReplyDeleteEach summer I catch up on a series I should have watched years ago. Two summers ago I watched all of the Gilmore Girls series, last summer was Veronica Mars and this summer is all Buffy.
ReplyDeleteI love that film - saw it a few years ago and Daniel Autiel is sexy like a warm buttery croissant.
ReplyDeleteAgree generally with all the above re: Easy A. The DVD we got had some problems so we missed a bit of the exposition at the end, but that hardly would have colored my opinion. It was enjoyable and didn't commit the sin of trying too hard, Stone was pitch-perfect, and Tucci and Clarkson were a kick as her parents. And hey, nice to see Dan Byrd playing a put-upon high-schooler for a change (cf. Aliens in America discussion above).
ReplyDeleteI've seen, by now, probably three episodes of The Glee Project, and in each there has been a moment when I have turned to my wife and said, "Ryan Murphy's kind of a dick here."
I'm reading Before I Go to Sleep right now and I'm not really wowed by it. Finding it a bit slow. I'm assuming it doesn't improve? Bummer.
ReplyDeleteF&G, Buffy, and Undeclared leap to mind first. Haven't sought them out lately, but I'd probably add X-Files to that list (at least until whetever season it was that Duchovny left/curtailed his involvement). And Twilight Zone.
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of Switched at Birth fans. I'm hooked and I totally agree with Watts re: Emmett.
ReplyDeleteEasy A is great fun and, for me, earns that A on the strength of Emma Stone's charisma. She's great, and the fact that she's surrounded by some great/quirky actors in the supporting cast helps a lot. So yes, it's a perfect Netflix watch.
ReplyDeleteI just saw Crazy, Stupid, Love and liked it (except argh, that punctuation!) and she is good in that too. I was already a fan of the other three principals, and I am now of Stone too.
Ah, the Cedar Rapids Kernels! I used to go and see them play when I lived in Iowa City and it was such great fun. I loved that there was some act/contest/giveaway between most innings.
ReplyDeleteMatt, I hear that, and am happy to assure everyone that the second book is much more a cohesive whole, though it also broadens the world a lot...Cannot wait til other people read it so I can discuss with a group!
ReplyDeleteBooks: Currently reading Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. I'm not loving it but it's OK. I have The Hunger Games on deck to read so the sooner I finish this one the better. Just read A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Was thinking about reading something else by her but nothing looks as good. I am totally jotting down book/tv/movie recommendations from these comments. And since I have The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton sitting on my side table right now I think I'll bump it up on the to-read list based on the great reviews above.
ReplyDeleteTV: Watching Glee. I've watched on and off since the beginning but really want to see the whole Kurt/Blaine story develop from the beginning, so I'm just starting over and watching both seasons in order. Also watching Switched at Birth on ABC Family. I'm so glad they've ordered a full 22-episode season.
Movies: I've only seen a few this summer (Something Borrowed, Potter 7.5, The Smurfs) but I'm hoping to make up for it this weekend with Horrible Bosses, Friends with Benefits, Crazy Stupid Love and Page One if I can find it playing near me. I just watched Trust the other night. It was actually pretty good and, in my opinion, managed to avoid becoming a Lifetime movie. I'm a big Clive Owen fan so that was the draw for me, but the subject matter was so disturbing that I forgot I was watching him anyway.
Music: I've been hooked on Amos Lee since hearing him play at the DMB festival in Atlantic City at the end of June. I'm not sure how I managed not to hear his music before but I'm loving it now.
Theater: I saw Wicked this past weekend. I went by myself to a matinee because my friends are lame/cheap/busy with spouses and/or children, so I got some weird looks from people for being there alone but whatever - it was fun! I'm thinking about taking myself to see How to Succeed in Business while Daniel Radcliff & John Larroquette are still there, and maybe Jersey Boys and Anything Goes.
No D'Arcy I picked it up during an Amazon spree a few months back and really didn't enjoy it. It is not the writing that's the problem though I had some issues more the subject matter.
ReplyDeleteAnother TV thing--about a month and a half ago, Amazon had "The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete Series" for around $50 in the Gold Box. I picked it up and am slowly making my way through it. Some of it has aged very well (the inside showbiz stuff, Hank's buffoonery), and some less so (all the jokes that were au courant then, mostly Clinton-based), but you can definitely see how much that show has impacted modern TV.
ReplyDeleteI quite enjoyed Crazy Stupid Love, though I was annoyed by its reliance on keeping a major plot point from the audience till near the end--I'm wondering if the pieces fit together right on a second viewing. (Explaining more requires spoilage, and, much to their credit, they haven't spoiled this plot point either in promos or in reviews.)
I've been enjoying Switched at Birth as well. I think the writing has been really smart, the characters are really intriguing (and less cliche than most teen shows) and I love that it focuses so much on deaf culture. Not surprised at all that my ALOTTFMA community enjoys it as well.
ReplyDeleteIt kept me interested, I guess I just expected there to be more to it. Worth 12.99 for the Kindle edition I guess.
ReplyDeleteFringe! I watched the first two seasons on DVD and I'm so glad that haven't cancelled it now that I've finally caught up.
ReplyDeleteI try to cover my shame by only watching Rivals when I'm exercising, but with Love in the Wild, Love Bites, and Suits in the same category, I am having trouble keeping up!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear good things about Page One - it's been on my list of things to see and this motivates me to head to E Street this weekend to check it out.
ReplyDeleteMe too! I just started the third book.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I knew the list was up to 10!
ReplyDeleteWHALE WARS
ReplyDeleteGoon Squad is a special book. So glad it's been recognized the way it has.
Henrietta Lacks should be required reading for all humans. Not exaggerating.
bella, re: Monsters, I did manage to watch it last night and came away very impressed, not just grading on the scale of wow-did-that-look-good-on-a-shoestring-budget. Happy to talk in more detail via Twitter or email, but for purposes of general recommendation, the lead performances were believable, the story was compellingly and cleverly told, the stuff they got from the supporting cast (including a lot of non-actors who apparently were told they were being filmed for a documentary!) was pretty remarkable, and the SFX were seamless and even gorgeous. If you go in expecting the millionth version of a low-budget monsters-in-the-dark movie (or even if you don't), you will be very pleasantly surprised.
ReplyDelete"This Duchess of Mine" is one o fmy faves of hers. Although I am very partial to the Essex Sisters quartet too.
ReplyDeleteWell, I broke down and put Mockingbird and Cat's Cradle on it, because they really are the only "classics" that I feel that strongly about. Also, I came to them on my own, and not through school. Room is the only truly new addition - you should be aware of the presence of all the others on the list.
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge minor league basball fan. Right now, our big obstacle is the 7pm start time for most games - the kids just can't stay up late enough to make the trip worthwhile. But I expect that to be the core of our summer fun in a few years. Do yourself a favor - if you're anywhere closeby, check out the Clinton (IA) Lumber Kings. Fabulous experience.
ReplyDeleteGoing to see the Long Island Ducks on Aug 16 - can't wait!
I felt the exact same way. The first fifty pages took me a week. The rest took me a day to finish.
ReplyDeleteAdd me in the group insanely jealous that you know Grossman and especially that you got an early copy of the book. I'm looking forward to next Tuesday even more than the Dance of Dragons release. (DoD was great, but Magicians is one of my favorite books ever).
ReplyDeleteLove Easy A! Stone is great, as are Tucci and Clarkson. Definitely worth watching.
ReplyDeleteThanks -- that was good for a laugh today. I did scour the Internet afterward looking for analysis about the plot.
ReplyDeleteMe as well. It started out as a TV show to put on in the background, but the signing and subtitles forced me to watch, so I got caught up in all the emotion and body language of the signing/acting as well. I want to smack Luke's daughter.
ReplyDeleteTucci and Clarkson were fantastic in that movie. That breakfast scene with their son just killed me.
ReplyDeleteI tried to recommend Room to my book club, but explaining the plot immediately makes it sound really unappealing, but I think gripping is the right word. I couldn't put it down.
ReplyDeleteRacing in the Rain was the first book my book club chose last summer and I think it remains one of our favorites.
ReplyDeleteI want to be them as parents, and I think between me and my fiancee this sould be fairly doable (maybe not as consistently clever with the dialogue since we don't have a script writer)
ReplyDeleteI've liked the bits of larry sanders I've seen (mostly via you tube since a friend of mine who had a little mini arc about his work on the show--Tim Miller--was blogging about his anniversary of being on it (well and being denounced by senators and stuff) and that opened a bit of a rabbit hole beyond Tim's episodes into other ones. I imagine you will tell me I need to netflix this whole show?
ReplyDeleteInteresting, Adam. I think I was most disappointed that it basically ended at what felt like the midpoint of the movie for me. Just wanted more story...
ReplyDeleteThat's where I saw it.
ReplyDeletebella, to borrow a phrase, that's what the sequel is for! (I have no idea if there will be a sequel.)
ReplyDeleteRacing in the Rain was my Christmas day read last year to escape from family 'fun'. I laughed, I cried but I particularly loved that I knew from the beginning whether the dog would survive and the story was not about that fact. It was really the dog telling the family's story.
ReplyDeleteMegan - we need to talk. Sound like our book clubs are running on parallel rails. Another club member and I have just convinced the group to read Room. We gave very few details but told them it would make for great conversation afterward - especially since we are a group of moms.
ReplyDeleteIf so, a book I really enjoyed was Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. It's about a woman who has a traumatic brain injury and talks about her recovery and, although the book is not meant to be a comedy, some of the situations are giggle-out-loud funny. As I demonstrated in the Boston airport with tears running down my cheeks as my daughter commented, 'Perhaps this is not a book you should be reading in public.'
ReplyDeleteDidn't know you had an official list, Marsha! Glad to see I've read most of these - eight out of twelve. And I've been looking for some new - and good - books to read, so the other four are a great start.
ReplyDeleteI would personally add "Carter Beats the Devil" by Glen David Gold to this list (you know, if it were my list), which I never shut up about and recommend to everyone.
As for what I'm up to this summer (even though I'm a bit late to this post):
- Watching "The Glee Project," which is fun and a bit ridiculous
- watching "In Plain Sight," which has been great this season.
- just read "Commencement" which was a great plane/vacation book, a bit chick-litish. (Okay, a lot.)
- catching up on "Breaking Bad" (am now a few eps into season 2, so didn't catch up in time to jump into season 4 as it airs)
Yeah, Ryan Murphy comes off as an ass on The Glee Project. But the kids are great - interesting, talented, drama queens. And the challenges are fun, and I like the other "adults" who assist Ryan with the rest of the show much more than him.
ReplyDeleteDeanna - when you do that, what's your method? My husband and I are always debating: buy the season DVDs cheaply by buying used on Amazon? Netflix and do a few episodes at a time? Ideally, we'd do Netflix streaming, but the shows we most want to watch (Breaking Bad, The Wire) aren't on there. And I don't like to watch on the computer, so Hulu is out for me. Just curious how you do the multi-season catch up (if you're still reading this thread.)
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