Two More Books

So I bought a ton of books recently, because the local Borders is going out of business (sob!).  I've finished two of them.

I started Real World by Natsuo Kirino first.  It was described as a feminist noir, and was translated from Japanese.  Four teenage girls suspect one of their next door neighbors of murder, and then things get more complicated--or so the back of the book said.  It sounded really exciting and up my alley, but it was not what I'd imagined.

First of all, there's really no question that Worm, the boy who lives next door to Toshi, has murdered his mother.  Beyond that, though, I'd imagined that the girls would be trying to solve the crime.  Instead, they rather randomly, passively support Worm's efforts to get away.  And it's never really explained! I mean, I suppose they sort of justify some of their behavior, but I never, ever felt like Toshi and her friends were in any way like myself or people I've met.  I couldn't understand their motives, and what's more, I didn't care too much about them.  The reader is told differences between the girls (Kirarin is sweet, Terauchi is smart and sarcastic, etc.) but they're never really demonstrated.  It was like "tell, don't show" was the maxim.

The other book I read was An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison.  Dr. Jamison is a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins, and also has bipolar disorder.  An Unquiet Mind is the story of how she learned to deal with the disease, and how it's informed her work as a psychotherapist.  I find well-written books about psychological disorders fascinating, and this one definitely was.  It balances stories of what she did while manic or depressed, how the disorder is treated, and how it changed her life.  I appreciated that it wasn't just "here is messed up stuff about my life." She actually synthesized her experiences and reached important questions.

Whoa, I just saw my purple Donna Morgan dress on a Burlington Coat Factory commercial, on a woman loaded down with shopping bags from their fabulous sale or whatever.  

Cloud Atlas movie

Apparently the Wachowski siblings (who directed The Matrix, among other things) are going to direct a movie version of the book Cloud Atlas, which I adore.  Tom Hanks is set to star in it, but I don't know who he would play - Adam Ewing (from the first section) maybe? 

You can read the article here

Eagle Cam

My aunt just told me about a live camera feed on two eagles that have had some eagle babies recently.  Their nest is in Decorah, Iowa.  This particular couple has been together for several years and has already raised some kids together.  They seem to have a good thing going.  Bring home a dead rabbit, sit on the kids, fly around - it works for them.

Check out the cam!

A movie and a book

I watched the movie "Mystery Team" tonight.  It's about a trio of eighteen-year-olds who, as kids, started a detective agency in the Encyclopedia Jones mold, and are still running it.  People in town think they're weird, since they're now pretty much adults, but still try to solve cases like finding a missing autographed baseball or discovering who stole a carton of milk from the lunch line.  Then an eight-year-old girl hires them to find out who killed her parents.

Most of the jokes come from the juxtaposition of classic boy-detective tropes, like the enormous magnifying glasses or terrible disguises (mostly just a variety of mustaches), with the sight of nearly-grown men using them.  They're also, in trying to solve a murder, exposed to the seedier side of life, and are either shocked or simply uncomprehending (for example, they dress up in top hats and tails and speak with British accents when trying to sneak into a "gentlemen's club").

It was funny, vulgar, stupid, and entertaining.  My boyfriend said it seemed like the sort of movie that was spun off from a short bit of sketch comedy, and I agree.  But one of my favorite movies is "Wayne's World," so for me that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  The plot was very predictable and formulaic, but really I was watching it for the jokes.  I'd certainly watch it again, though I doubt it will become one of my faves.

I also finished the book The Vanishing of Katherina Linden by Helen Grant.  It's written from the perspective of an eleven-year-old German girl.  It was great. Pia, the heroine, falls in status at school after her grandmother dies by basically spontaneously combusting, making the other kids label her a freak.  (That bit alone didn't totally ring true for me.  Some children are cruel, but nearly ALL of them? And for such a reason? I don't know.)  She's left with only Stefan, the most unpopular kid in school, as her friend.

After girls their age start disappearing from town, Pia and Stefan are determined to solve the case. They're aided by Herr Schiller, an old man they've befriended.  As they learn more about local folklore from Herr Schiller and imagine terrible supernatural interference, real life intrudes from the troubles between Pia's English mother and German father.

I am not usually scared while reading, particularly during the day, but for some reason the end of this book just had me on the edge of my seat.  I said "Oh no!" out loud a few times.  Once I reached the climax, I committed to finishing the book and ignored my phone ringing and everything else until it was done.

I think things wrapped up a little too quickly - I would've liked a little more detail on how things settled for Pia.  But it was overall a great book.  If you like fairytales of the gruesome Brothers Grimm variety, and/or you like coming-of-age novels, you should definitely read this.

Holy Cow!

OK, I totally stole the joke in the title. This is an article about a cow that a sixteen-year-old German girl raised to be like a horse. Luna (the cow) and Regina (the girl) go on long trail rides (sometimes joined by horses), do jumps, listen to commands, etc.

Read about Luna

More Outfits

I thought I'd post some more outfits on here.  Again, they're all from lookbook.  I can officially say I'm spending too much time on there.

Must read more Aimee Bender!

I finished The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and it was wonderful the whole way through.  I felt it ended on just the right note--some closure, some happiness, nothing false or cliched or too happily-ever-after, nothing deliberately vague or downbeat.  I wish there was a series about Rose, the girl who can taste people's emotions, her genius brother Joseph and his kind, smart best friend George.  I don't want to let them go yet.

Read it!!!