Pop Culture Book Review

WHAM-O Super Book

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:17:00 +0000

Tim Walsh is a game inventor, documentary film maker, toy historian, consultant and author. His latest book is WHAM-O Super Book: Celebrating 60 Years Inside the Fun Factory. This book has lots of great stories behind Spud Melin and Rich Knerr's toy company WHAM-O and their "fun factory". You'll know this company for their famous inventions like the Hula-Hoop, Frisbee, Silly String, Super-Ball, Hacky Sack, Slip 'n Slide and my personal fav the Bubble Thing. Did you know that Play-Doh began as a wallpaper cleaner created by a soap company? WHAM-O once created a do-it-yourself bomb shelter? troops in Iraq might be using Silly String to detect trip wires? Thanks to this book, now you know. There are lots of interesting stories combined with tons of classic ads and pictures to inform you about all things WHAM-O. Walsh is witty and since he's reporting on a fun subject, he finds lots of exciting stories to tell. A section on the failed toys developed by the company over the years was particularly interesting. The WHAM-O company makes for fun stories and this book is a great showcase for some of the best and most fun toys lots of us played with when we were kids.

VOTE

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:46:00 +0000

Ok readers - if you haven't voted yet DO IT! Fulfilling your civic duty is important and chances are you'll get a fun little sticker you can wear when you're done.

Anxiously Awaiting Paper Towns

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Hey there readers, remember me? Since moving to Missouri, I have been quite busy. I keep meaning to update... Today is a new day though. I had an extremely successful trip to Target this morning where I got purple dress shoes and a wine rack for $10 each, now I'm at work enjoying a day filled with interesting reference questions. Plus, it's fall and gorgeous outside. I've been overtaken by a particularly good mood.

Let's get to the reviews:

Breaking Dawn, as you know unless you're not a Twilight fangirl, is the last book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I've read the whole series and even though I'm Team Jacob, I have enjoyed it...sort of. If I were 15, I know that I'd love this series, be obsessed and wish that I too had a sexy vampire boyfriend. Since I'm past that idealistic age, I get rather offended by the way the "love" story is portrayed and think it's more than unrealistic. The finale is a great wrap up and pretty much gives the reader everything they want to see. A big battle at the end secures the characters' futures just as they want them and no one is left disappointed or dead, like in the finale to Harry Potter, a far superior series. It will be interesting to see how the Twilight series does as movies starting with the release of Twilight next month.

My love for the Green brothers has been documented on this blog before. Next week sees the release of John Green's new book, Paper Towns. I am super excited for it and also excited that I will be able to attend a stop on John's book tour. Check out Paper Towns if you get a chance.

Lately, I mention television shows on this blog that I like. Since moving, I have a Netflix membership and have been enjoying various shows. I tried to get into Sports Night again, but just couldn't for some reason. I love Josh Charles because his character Knox from Dead Poets Society is pretty much my dream man. I also love Peter Krause because of his work in Six Feet Under and Dirty Sexy Money. The show just didn't appeal to me now; it might be the out-of-place laugh track or the 90s feel, but I just couldn't get into it. Instead, I've moved to Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller's first show Wonderfalls. It's really kooky, but fun and interesting. A 24-year-old slacker with a philosophy degree from Brown is working at a souvenir shop next to Niagara Falls. Small figurines start talking to her and if she doesn't do what they say, bad things happen. Her eccentric family and friends make the show interesting and I'd definitely recommend it if you're a Pushing Daisies fan and a Lee Pace fan. And come on, who isn't?

As the presidential election looms closer, I feel compelled to urge you to vote. Check out Project Vote Smart for information on the candidates.

Thanks for reading. I'll try to keep up better than I have been, but with a trip to WI and a conference in Orlando on the horizon; that may not happen. Best Wishes!

Many Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Hello dear readers. I haven't updated in a while and I'm sorry. I'm in the process of a big change in my life - I've moved from Madison to Missouri for a new job as an academic librarian. I'm getting settled in and so far I'm very happy here. Unfortunately, the public library here is lacking in books about popular culture. That's putting it very mildly; if I wanted to read Nicholas Sparks' The Choice, I could pick from any of their five copies, but I certainly can't find excellent books like I normally discuss on here. While I figure out how to change that, I'll leave you with some books I wish I could review and other things you may find interesting.

Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions by Christian Lander. Based on the popular blog of the same name, this book details the taste of white people. Some of my favorite entries: Scarves, New Balance Shoes, Graduate School and the best one ever - Knowing What's Best For Poor People. Oh white people...

When I moved, I had to cancel my hold on I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max. Apparently he expects us to believe that's his real name and he didn't just change around his first and last name to sound more fratty. Anyways, this book mostly consists of stories where Max talks about what an asshole he is. Mission accomplished, buddy. His website is similar and can be found here.

Speaking of so bad it's good, I saw Mamma Mia! last night. As you can tell by the exclamation point at the end of the title, this is a musical. It was wonderfully cheesy and there were plenty of times where I actually laughed out loud; most of these times occurred when Pierce Brosnan was singing. He was unintentionally (or maybe intentionally...hmmm...interesting tactic, Brosnan) hilarious. I was also quite impressed with Amanda Seyfried. She has a great voice and it was nice to see her play a character with depth, much different from ditzy Karen in Mean Girls or reckless Lilly Kane in Veronica Mars. Her acting talent in this movie makes me think I should watch more Big Love.

Lastly, Veronica Mars. What an amazing show. People always tell me I'd like it and in the last month or so I've burned through the first two seasons like it's my job. I LOVE it. The writing is so smart and Veronica is hilarious. Having a season-long mystery is a great formula; it keeps you guessing while not dragging on and on (LOST, anyone?). I scored the third season at the used bookstore in my new town for cheap so I'm currently going through that one. I'll leave you with one of my favorite lines so far:

Logan: Guess who I saw on campus today?

Veronica: Some girl going wild? As I understand it, it happens all the time in college. I'm on the verge of it right now.

Candy Everybody Wants

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:07:00 +0000

Josh Kilmer-Purcell's first book, memoir I'm Not Myself These Days was a great read. This summer marks the arrival of Kilmer-Purcell's first novel Candy Everybody Wants. This book starts in my home state; main character Jayson Blocher is growing up gay in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin in the 1980s. He describes himself not as gay, but instead as "a Phil Donohue guest". After filming his own soap opera, Dallasty!, Jayson's masterpiece is aired during a senior class party and his onscreen kiss with neighbor and friend Travis causes a major controversy. Jayson's mom sends him away to New York City to live with his father, a gay actor who has no idea Jayson exists. While there, the protaganist encounters a gay prostitution scandal, falls in love with a child TV star, gets involved in show business, escapes arrest, goes on the lamb and deals with homelessness. If that sounds like a lot, it is. This book packs in the drama and unlikely situations, but it's all fun. I did not enjoy this as much as Kilmer-Purcell's memoir, but it was a good summer read.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:26:00 +0000

A while ago, I read Dramarama by E. Lockhart and enjoyed it immensely. Her newest book manages to be even better. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is the story of a prep school junior who doesn't want to be known by her childhood nickname "Bunny" anymore. Frankie feels it's time for people to start taking her seriously. As the school year goes on, she grows more and more obsessed with the secret society her boyfriend Matthew has joined at school, the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. Instead of taking no for an answer when he acts like it doesn't exist, Frankie takes matters into her own hands. She starts sending emails to the group disguised as their fearless leader and ends up becoming somewhat of a criminal mastermind by making the Order carry out large scale pranks against the school, students and mascots.

I came away feeling like all teen books for girls should be written like this one. E. Lockhart perfectly captures the feelings of a female trapped in a male culture and puts a really interesting spin on the power dynamics. Her views on prep school were also interesting. A friend commented that the book "perfectly explained the annoying, rich boy sense of entitlement and security in one's superior social standing that made Logan and the last season of Gilmore Girls totally stupid." I couldn't agree more. Lockhart makes Frankie into the kind of feminist we should all strive to be and that makes this book excellent.

Attack of the Theater People

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:25:00 +0000

It's been a long time since my last post and I'm sorry. I could make excuses, but I won't. Now it's time to get back to the book reviews. I've got a few to get us started again.

When I first started this blog, I reviewed a book called How I Paid For College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater. Recently, I was lucky enough to read the sequel, Attack of the Theater People by Marc Acito. This novel finds our hero Edward Zanni let go from Juilliard for being too "jazz hands". In his usual madcap fashion, Edward ends up taking odd jobs around New York City to pay the bills. Working as a party motivator for bar and bat mitzvahs nets Edward a 13-year-old stalker and a few secret identities including one as a British MTV VJ. Not that MTV exists in Britain, but no matter for Edward as long as the kids are entertained. The same cast of characters from How I Paid for College is back: Edward's friend Paula is stuck at Juilliard playing the grandmother in every show and staying in character far too long after she exits the stage. Doug, Paula's ex-boyfriend, is the lead singer in a Bruce Springsteen cover band and their pal Natie is up to his philandering ways losing Edward's money in the stock market. It's the 80s in New York and the adventures are just as loud and crazy as the neon suits. I loved this book.

Unfortunately for Indiana Jones fans, the new movie has not gotten the greatest reviews. Although I have not seen it yet, I have become an expert in all things Indiana Jones thanks to The Indiana Jones Handbook: The Complete Adventure Guide by Denise Kiernan and Joseph D'Agnese. I now know how to handle awkward foods, escape if I'm entombed accidentally, handle poisonous snakes, use a bull whip (whip it good), run on top of a moving train and blend in when I find myself in unfamiliar surroundings. This book is a cool take on an adventure guide and I like the movie tie-ins. Although I'm getting to it late and the movie has already come out, this book is worth taking a look at.

Now for a few movie notes. My favorite movie of all time is When Harry Met Sally which I'm watching right now. It's been far too long since I've seen it and it's still just as wonderful as when I saw it the first time at age 13. Recently I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, it was great. It was funny, but also had a lot of heart. Plus, Jason Segel is adorable and his character is writing a musical. It can't get much better than that. On the other side of the spectrum, I caught the Sex and the City movie and totally hated it. I thought it was too long, not funny and generally misogynistic. I was a fan of the show, despite hating Mr. Big and thought the movie lost the wit and sassiness of the TV show.

I'm glad to be back and hope you're happy to read more. Thanks for sticking with me, dear readers. That means you, Mom :)

Go Fug Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:35:00 +0000

I've documented my long standing love for Television Without Pity in this blog before. Although most of the original crew have flown the coop since Bravo bought them out and their new interface is ridiculous, I do still love their site. When I first started reading, Jessica was the recapper for Dawson's Creek and she did a wonderful job documenting the hatred we all felt for Dawson. I still go back occasionally and read her recaps which contain wonderful sentiments about Pacey and Joey like, "And then he reaches up and kisses her. Aw. Aww. Eee! EEEE! Aw. Ahem."

Eventually, I found out that Jessica (Morgan) and Heather Cocks, another recapper, wrote the best blog ever: Go Fug Yourself. They post pictures of celebrities at events and make fun of them. It's awesome. As luck would have it, they've just written a book called Go Fug Yourself presents The Fug Awards. The first award is titled Girl, Please and it only gets better from there. Chloe Sevigny wins the Bronzed Uggs for the first award, and rightly so. Clay Aiken is up for Male in Most Imminent Peril and I must agree. He frightens me so very much; they describe his new-ish look as two parts Paul Reubens, one part k.d. lang. Indeed. Sadly, Rupert Grint is also nominated in this category. Oh Ron...you should have stuck with the sweaters Mrs. Weasley knit for you for Christmas. The book goes on to make fun of Tyra Banks' hair, Tara Reid's plastic surgery, Fergie's lack of fashion sense and also rag on their favorite targets. Bai Ling, Sienna Miller, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan all get their proper face time during the awards. The book is fabulously funny and some of the outfits are truly horrifying. And, as always, Heather and Jessica add their signature snide and snarky commentary that includes references to Dynasty and Passions. Oh Passions, I miss you almost as much as I loved this book.

Cheer!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 04:30:00 +0000

When I got my room assignment for my dorm my freshman year of college, I was so excited. Imagine my surprise when I moved in and my roommate proceeded to cover her half of the room with cheerleading memorabilia from high school. I got to help her practice for a try-out with the spirit squad and deal with the reaction when she didn't make it. I only knew about cheerleading from Bring It On and was not exactly prepared for the *clap* "Ready, OK?!" that came out of her mouth in normal, everyday situations.

Amazingly, my experience was nothing compared to the extremely dedicated college cheerleaders that appear in Cheer!: Three Teams on a Quest for College Cheerleading's Ultimate Prize. Author Kate Torgovnick follows the Memphis All-Girl Tigers, the Stephen F. Austin University Lumberjacks and the Southern University Jaguars in this well-written and extremely informative book. After a very interesting history of cheerleading, Torgovnick introduces the three teams at try-outs and follows them through to various National competitions. The author is clearly passionate about her subject and that shines through in her writing. Although readers may have many stereotypes about cheerleading, Torgovnick shows that this is a sport worthy of our attention. The drama is real because the stakes are high for these dedicated athletes. I really enjoyed this book and was amazed at how fast I got sucked in to the stories of the men and women on these three teams. It's always exciting to find a subject fascinating when you never thought you'd even like it.

Author: Seth Rudetsky

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:58:00 +0000

I have become such a huge fan of Seth Rudetsky. The more obsessed I become with Broadway, the more I realize that he's even more obsessed than I am and I love it. I think that Broadway needs people like Seth who keep the awe and love in their work.

Two days ago I got The Q Guide to Broadway: stuff you didn't even know you wanted to know about the hits, flops, the Tony's, and life on the wicked stage written by Seth Rudetsky who has more jobs than it seems is humanly possible: piano player extraordinaire, music director, conductor, actor, writer, comedian, host of Seth's Broadway Chatterbox, host of Sirius Satellite Radio's Seth's Big Fat Broadway and star of his own one man show. After finishing The Q Guide, I realized that this book is my new bible; I'm like Kathy Griffin with her Emmy Award. It doesn't hurt that I got it on inter-library loan from...wait for it...the Library of Congress! (You may know if you read this blog often that I am very anti-exclamation point, but when it comes to my two favorite things colliding - Broadway and libraries, it certainly deserves an exclamation point.) This book really does tell you everything you need to know and it was fun to read it after reading Seth's novel because you see similar stories in each. I enjoyed the cast recording recommendations, the show histories, the love for high belting leading ladies and the quizzes at the end of each chapter. Every once in a while I'd have to stop reading and go to YouTube to watching something mentioned in the book, it was super fun. My only complaint is that it was too short, I wanted more dirt and high Es when it ended.

Late last year, Seth's roman a clef, Broadway Nights: A Romp of Life, Love and Musical Theatre came out. It finally arrived at my library last week and I read it all last weekend. It follows substitute piano player Stephen Sheerin as he becomes the music director for a Broadway show called Flowerchild created by his friend Mason. The novel is written in the form of Stephen's diary that he's supposed to be writing for his therapist whose name is Monikah. Stephen can't quite get over the K in her name and makes fun of it throughout the book which is quite entertaining. The cast of characters in the novel include Stephen's friend Jackson and his annoyingly pompous boyfriend Ronald as well as Stephen's boyfriend Craig who has another boyfriend waiting at home. Once the show starts coming to fruition, the drama kicks in (ba da bum) and the book gets really good. It's filled with wonderful theatre stories and crazy things happening with the show at every turn. All ends well for Stephen, but you have to read to find out how... I just have to say:

Thank you Seth Rudetsky. (That's a musical shout out - anybody?)

How They Met, and Other Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:24:00 +0000

So I've come to the conclusion that I have hardly any time left to read after school, work, practicum, job applications and attempting to have a life. Because of this, I need to read fluffy stuff since not reading is definitely not an option. The nice thing about teen fiction is that it isn't fluffy stuff. A lot of Young Adult novels are wonderful literature that have fresh new ideas and I'm discovering more and more how much I love it.

A few weeks ago I reviewed David Levithan and Rachel Cohen's second book, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. David Levithan's newest book, written on his own, is How They Met, and Other Stories; a collection of short stories about love. Some of these stories are cute and funny while some are serious and deal with longing and loneliness. I really enjoyed this book and thought that all of the stories were really well written and some were surprisingly thought-provoking. I would recommend this collection to anybody and even though Valentine's Day has passed us by, it's still nice to read about love.

Shortcomings

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:31:00 +0000

First, I have to thank everybody who congratulated me on my 100th post. Steve on Broadway! He's one of the greatest Broadway bloggers out there and he wrote to congratulate me - how cool am I? My friends and coworkers who wrote in, thanks to you also. You're no famous Broadway blogger, but I appreciate you all the same :)

A few coworkers recommended the graphic novel Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine. It was great. Since it's a graphic novel, it was a really fast read which is perfect for my limited reading-for-pleasure time. The illustrations were incredibly well done and could sustain the story even when there was no dialogue. The story centers around Ben Tanaka and his girlfriend Miko who are weathering a separation when Miko moves to New York from the Bay area. Ben's friend Alice acts as his support system during this separation and her character really made the book for me. She was the perfect antidote to Ben's incessant complaining. The book looks at race with a really sharp eye, but manages to be on point about lots of pop culture issues and still made me laugh. Although I havent' been very eloquent in my review, I highly recommend this one and you'll agree when you read it.

Happy 100th Post!

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:41:00 +0000

I am happy to report that this is post number 100 on Pop Culture Book Review. I started this blog back in August of 2006 and I know that I don't update it nearly enough, but I love writing reviews and getting feedback from my readers. Thank you all so much for contributing to my longevity. For my super exciting 100th post, I'm going to discuss lots of stuff that I've come across in the last few weeks:

I read the very cute gay epistolary novel Almost Like Being In Love by Steve Kluger. This book was so much fun because it references lots of musicals while telling a love story in an exciting style that made it fun to read.

Urban Dictionary just released their second volume entitled Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined which is just as exciting as the first volume. It's both handy and funny - what more could you want? An aside: ridonkulous makes me think of the episode of How I Met Your Mother when Marshall goes to brunch with his law school friend Brad who describes the zucchini bread as ridonkulous. He he he. Also of note in How I Met Your Mother related news, the red-band R rated trailer was released yesterday for Jason Segel's movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall that comes out in April of this year and it's pretty funny.

Finally, I am super excited to get Seth Rudetsky's new roman a clef titled Broadway Nights: A Romp of Life, Love & Musical Theatre. I will let you guys know how it is once it finally arrives on hold for me. If you are a Broadway fan, I suggest watching Seth's videos since he is hi-larious. I especially love his rant about Barbara Walters and her musical stylings it made me laugh out loud.

So there you have it - hopefully you found something you liked and thanks again for helping me get to post #100. Here's to the next 100.

Author: Maureen Johnson

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 05:10:00 +0000

John and Hank Green's Brotherhood 2.0, which I've mentioned here before has been instrumental in my sudden obsession with YA lit. I know I've posted mostly reviews of teen fiction here lately, but I can't get enough. Maureen Johnson is an author who is also a nerdfighter (and has the same name as Idina Menzel's character in RENT, so she's bound to be awesome). Johnson's books, at least the three that I've read so far, are wonderful. I first read The Bermudez Triangle, a novel of three best friends who must deal with two of the girls falling in love with each other. I then read The Key to the Golden Firebird, the story of three sisters dealing with their father's death. Finally, I read Devilish, the story of a girl who sells her soul to the devil. Johnson has two more novels published and another one coming out this year. The best thing about these books is the characters, all of the young women find their inner strength and make it through tough situations. Not only are the girls strong, these books are funny and smart. The sub-plots are just as interesting and fun as the main plots and I would recommend any one of the above books as well as her others. Come into my teen fiction web...

The Daring Book for Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 22:38:00 +0000

I've missed you all, I've been horribly neglectful of my blog and I'm sorry. Readers, it's good to be back.

First there was The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn and Hal Igguiden, then the parody The Dangerous Book for Dogs by Rex and Sparky. Luckily, now the ladies get their due with The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. First of all, I'd like to say that I'm very happy this book isn't pink. Instead, it's something a hundred times better: light blue and sparkly. I know that's a small thing and you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but it makes me happy.

Say you wanted to know the rules for bowling, how to make a tree swing, how to be a spy, or a short history of women Olympic firsts. You could find out all of those things and more in this really well done and handy reference book. This is the book you needed when you and your friends were trying to figure out how to whistle with two fingers at your first basketball game. It's awesome and has lots of cool stuff in it that you don't even realize you need to know. Like, does anyone actually know how to play Jacks? I sure don't remember, but this book will tell me. Thanks to Miriam and Andrea for making all of us girls a bit more daring and more importantly, well informed.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:35:00 +0000

Rachel Cohen and David Levithan's first book, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist is currently filming the movie version starring the adorably awkward Michael Cera and superfly Kat Dennings. I had that book home forever and just never got around to it, although now I'll have to since I'm sure the movie will be excellent. Instead, I started with Cohen and Levithan's second book together, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. This young adult novel tells the story of a pair of extremely tight childhood friends and neighbors, straight beauty Naomi and gay legend-in-his-own-mind Ely. After a falling out that's caused by Ely kissing Naomi's boyfriend Bruce, their friendship seems to be over. This novel is in a format where each chapter is narrated by a different person, sometimes it's Gabe, the doorman who wants to date Naomi, sometimes it's Naomi's friend Robin (girl) or Robin (boy). Sometimes it's Bruce (the second, of the previously mentioned kiss) or Bruce (the first, a high school boy Naomi loves to lead on). Although this sounds confusing, it's not bad and the multiple narrators work to tell a great story. The separation makes both main characters realize what they may have sacrificed for their friendship and how that must change so that they can move on. I know I've been reviewing lots of YA lit lately, but it's all good stuff and my future-teen-librarian friend always has the best recommendations, so I gotta see them through.

I Love You, Beth Cooper

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 04:55:00 +0000

Larry Doyle's novel I Love You, Beth Cooper has been on my reading list for a while and is one of those books that I keep starting, giving up for something else (like the entire Twilight series) and then picking up again. This book is entertaining and harkens back to a high school life that is overblown, yet still recognizable. After all, someone sings Green Day's Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) at the graduation ceremony. The main character Denis starts the book by announcing in his valedictorian speech that he has been in love with popular, pretty cheerleader Beth Cooper all throughout high school. He mentions that it all started when he sat in the back of Spanish class, telling Beth and the whole school, much to their amusement, "I have loved you from behind.." This confession of love is complicated by Beth's large and emotionally disturbed boyfriend Kevin who spends much of the rest of the book trying to beat Denis up. Beth's friends aren't much help to poor Denis either. Ironically, Denis's best friend Rich, although endlessly entertaining, is too busy quoting memorable movie lines to assist his friend in matters of the heart. With lots of action, great movie quotes starting each chapter and extremely witty dialog, this book is worth checking out.

A Few Things

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:18:00 +0000

So I took last week off in order to properly celebrate Thanksgiving. I hadn't read anything good anyway and it was best to not bore you with a lackluster book review. Plus, I had to participate in the best family Thanksgiving tradition ever: tequila shots.

I'm going to mention a few things today. First off, I've started watching a new program that's being broadcast online in a few different places called quarterlife. It's by Marshall Herskovitz who produced one of the best shows ever, My So-Called Life. So far I've only watched 3 parts of the first episode but I'm hooked. It's about a magazine editor who really wants to be a writer and her video blog that exposes the secret desires of all of her friends. It's kind of trashy, but that's what makes it good. Plus, with the producers still stupidly holding their ground and the writers still (rightfully) striking, I miss television.

This past weekend I read the latest PostSecret book, A Lifetime of Secrets. It was basically the same as the last two books, some of the secrets I had seen before and some were new. The overall tone of the book was depressing; in fact, some of the secrets were almost unbearable. It's easier to take the blog that only posts 10 secrets once a week. A whole book of them was just too much.

A few weeks ago someone nicely commented on my review of Madlands by J. Allen Kirsch and mentioned that there was a sequel. I was not aware of this so I requested God's Little Isthmus immediately. Unfortunately, when I sat down to read it I was fairly disappointed. Everyone was so Madison: liberal, environmentally conscious and a do-gooder to the extreme. Now I like to think that I am all of those things, but in moderation. I'm not going to stop drinking a beer that I like just because it happens to be owned by the same company as another product that is doing something borderline bad. Maybe it was just my mood, but this sequel rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps I'll try it again some time, but right now, it's not for me.

The Beloved Son

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:59:00 +0000

I read Jay Quinn's gay fiction book Back Where He Started a few years ago and really liked both the story and the writing of this novel that details the break up of a long term relationship and what happens to the grown children in the process. Last year Quinn came out with another novel titled The Good Neighbor which I was not really a fan of, I thought it felt rushed and didn't think it was the same quality of story. That novel details the ever-growing relationship between one half of a gay couple and a neighboring husband and father. Despite not loving his last book, when I found out Quinn was coming out with another novel I got on the hold list right away for The Beloved Son. I figured that The Beloved Son would be written in a similar style, but it wasn't. Quinn still brought good writing to this story and I definitely enjoyed it, the difference was that this time Quinn employs a straight male narrator. The Beloved Son is the story of Karl Preston and his gay brother Sven's role reversal as they have the take care of their parents and deal with their mother's mounting dementia. I loved the family dynamics in this story and thought that Quinn dealt very well with presenting the story from both Sven, who lives in the same city and is a primary caretaker for his mother yet disliked by his father, and Karl, who lives far away and has only seen the "good face" of his family until the weekend during which this book takes place. Karl's wife and daughter join Sven, his partner and their parents for a big family get together weekend and the novel is divided into each day of the weekend rather than into chapters. In an interview, Quinn did mention that this book might appeal to a larger audience than his other books, and that's true, but that's not why I liked it. It was Quinn's fair and nuanced portrayal of a family in turmoil that made this a great read.

I Am America (And So Can You!)

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:20:00 +0000

I've been horribly neglectful of my blog lately. Lots of stuff is going on and on top of it all I'm sick which is really annoying. But, I'm back with a vengeance, a vengeance to take lots of Emergen-C, get better and of course read awesome books.

So Stephen Colbert...it's hard to come up with something original to say about him these days since he's already said it all himself. We all know the guy is his own biggest fan. I was lucky enough to get on the hold list early for his first book, winner of the Stephen T. Colbert Award For The Literary Excellence, yes that's right, I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. This book is a patriotic look through Stephen's eyes at issues affecting America such as race, science, sports, sex & dating, old people, immigration (No way Jose!), etc. All of the chapters begin with text in the shape of an American flag and this book includes my favorite book feature, say it with me, foot notes. It also includes margin notes that read much like The Colbert Report's famous segment The Word. I'll break it down for you now: this book is funny. Colbert is pretty great and even now, watching the video of the White House Correspondents Dinner, I want to make excited arm-pump gestures like Dwight Schrute. I hope he doesn't actually run for president because I think that's taking it too far, but otherwise, he's great and the book is an extension of his greatness. Just like he planned. I should stop gushing now, instead, I'll share some funny excerpts from the book.

Page 108: Things That Are Trying To Turn Me Gay and Their Success On A Scale Of One To Ten. Gay People get a 4 while Clive Owen gets an 8.

The chapter on seniors starts out in large print. Stephen then goes on to say on page 22 "Plus: Since seniors can't read this I can say whatever I want about them. They look like lizards. See? No angry letters.."

In the Media chapter, Stephen mentions on page 152, "Simple Question with a 'Yes' answer: Is the mainstream press too liberal? The answer is Yes. Need proof? Just look at some of the headlines I'm able to imagine." Included is the High Times headline "That's Right. This Magazine Exists!"

TV Show: How I Met Your Mother

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:31:00 +0000

Ok people, I'm busy. I'm in a wedding this weekend and I've got lots of papers to write this week for school. I don't have time to review a book so you're getting a quick TV show review (and you're gonna like it). I got into the CBS half-hour sitcom How I Met Your Mother last year and was able to catch up on past episodes. The third season just began Monday nights on CBS. It's good, it's witty and funny and Neil Patrick Harris is awesome. He's great as the ladies man and class clown Barney, plus NPH has had some excellent roles on Broadway, not to mention the best cameo in a movie ever. I love the relationship between Lily and Marshall, college sweethearts who tied the knot at the end of last season. Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan have great chemistry and make the couple seem very real and lots of fun. So yeah, you should all watch the show, you'd like it. I'll be back next week with a book review once the craziness subsides. Take it easy...and suit up!

Twilight

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:46:00 +0000

A coworker of mine is a big fan of the Stephenie Meyer Twilight series and after I waited on hold for a long time for the first book, simply titled Twilight, it finally came in last week. I had heard a lot of good things about this book and lately I've been hearing this series hyped as the new Harry Potter. Now I wouldn't go that far, but this book was good. Really good. It's a big book but didn't feel that way at all. I sped through this story about Bella, a higher schooler transplanted to the small town of Forks in the Pacific Northwest to live with her dad after her mom in Phoenix decides to follow her basketball playing boyfriend across the U.S. Bella soon meets her classmate, the mysterious Edward Cullen and is intrigued by his anger towards her and his manner in general. Their journey through desire and love is a unique one since Edward is a vampire and technically wants to eat Bella, although he is also very much in love with her. This book was very well written and the descriptions of vampiric culture and all that goes along with it were interesting and definitely plausible within the context of the story. Meyer's website is full of great information regarding the whole series and I'm now anxiously awaiting books 2 and 3 New Moon and Eclipse so I can read more about Edward and Bella.

I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:15:00 +0000

If you've never seen The Big Lebowski, something is terribly wrong. I remember when I first saw it during my first year of college thinking, this is weird...yet, AWESOME. You owe yourself at least a few viewings to properly appreciate it. Nobody knows this better than the organizers of Lewbowski Fest and authors of the book I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski and What Have You. Written by Bill Green, Ben Peskoe, Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt with a foreword by The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, this book has everything you ever wanted to know and more about the Cohen brothers cult classic film. Although I'm not really cool enough to be an "achiever" (the term Lebowski enthusiasts reserve for themselves), this book was more than enjoyable. There are so many excellent features, interviews with the cast, quizzes, pictures and possible religions represented by the film. One of my favorite features was the best lines from the Comedy Central version of the film. Since the characters utter almost 300 f-bombs, the book presents a list of the best-of dubbed lines from the TV version on page 35. Also enjoyable are the interviews with the real people on which the characters are based. Also, a bonus, this book has footnotes in the introduction. Sweet. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make myself a white Russian.

Author: John Green

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 01:57:00 +0000

Perhaps you've discovered Brotherhood 2.0 already, but if you haven't...it's amazing. Brothers John and Hank Green are spending 2007 communicating without text (email, text messages, letters, etc) and have recorded a video blog entry for every day of this year. Most loyal Brotherhood 2.0 viewers are nerdfighters, described as nerds who fight for the rights of nerd everywhere; John and Hank say they're made of awesome. And it's true. A friend and I were discussing today what we're going to do when the year is over and they stop making videos every day. Our conclusion: surely die. If you can only watch one, I'd suggest August 30th which is a rare occasion of John and Hank appearing together in a video. It also contains one of my favorite lines ever:

John: The nerdfighter happy dance videos are so crazy, sexy and cool, they could be a TLC album!
Hank: Word.

That was a very long introduction to the fact that John is, in addition to being a nerdfighter, an author of young adult books. His two books Looking For Alaska and An Abundance Of Katherines are both wonderful, well-written and funny. Looking For Alaska is about sixteen-year-old Miles and his experience at a boarding school. Miles tries to explore a relationship that is more than friends with Alaska, the mysterious feminist who enjoys Miles obsession with famous last words. Readers are led to believe that a momentous event is on its way as chapters are titled 30 Days Before and such. When tragedy strikes Miles and his prankster friends, they must figure out how to deal with what has happened. This book was very clever and witty while still managing to deal with intense subject matter appropriately. I loved it.

An Abundance of Katherines deals with genius and recent high school graduate Colin who is trying to devise a mathematical equation to explain why he's dated and been dumped by 19 girls named Katherine. When the book begins, Colin has just been dumped by Katherine the Nineteenth and is very sad. His best friend Hassan decides that the two are going to take a road trip and they end up in Gunshot, Tennessee of all places. They end up staying and getting jobs with Lindsey, a local whose friends make the summer interesting for Hassan and Colin. This book has my new favorite fun book special feature: footnotes. I've determined that only the coolest fiction/memoir-ish books have footnotes. This book, Paul Feig's Superstud and Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs all have footnotes thereby proving my point.

So yeah, John Green and his brother Hank are both pretty jokes. You should all check out Brotherhood 2.0. NERDFIGHTERS!

Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs

noreply@blogger.com (Emily) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 04:13:00 +0000

Chuck Klosterman established himself as a popular culture powerhouse with Fargo Rock City, Killing Yourself To Live and Chuck Klosterman IV. His collection of essays titled Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs deconstructs popular culture and the world we live in by explaining his various theories that relate to movies, music, sports, relationships, celebrities, and of course, sex, drugs and cereal. His essay about how The Real World has turned itself into a parody of itself is brilliant and so eloquently describes why I stopped watching regularly after Las Vegas (the let's-get-drunk-and-have-sex-on-the-first-night cast). That's not to say that I stopped all together though; let's face it, I had to see fellow Wisconsinite Landon once in a while in Philly. Another of my favorite essays documented Klosterman's hatred of soccer and explained why it appeals mostly to young kids. Hatred of soccer is certianly a sentiment with which I completely agree. When I studied abroad in France, my host sister came home from school one day and mentioned how her friend asked what she was doing that night. My host sister replied, "Well, if there's a soccer game on, my dad will watch it while the three girls sit around and read." Her friend said, "That's how it works at my house too." Although that's perhaps more a comment on gender roles, it also speaks volumes about how boring and lame soccer is. All the essays are awesome and make the reader more aware of popular culture and how it impacts their every day life as well as their relationships. Klosterman spends the first essay blaming John Cusack for Kosterman's failure to truly fall in love. My favorite quote from the book appears in the essay about the Left Behind book series in which the day of reckoning arrives and all the good people disappear to heaven, except Kirk Cameron who is apparently left behind to star in Left Behind: The Movie That's Supposed to Revive My Career...Or Not.

From page 230: "...Post-Rapture earth initially seems like a better place to live. Everybody boring would be gone. One could assume that all the infidels who weren't teleported into God's kingdom must be pretty cool: All the guys would be drinkers and all the women would be easy, and you could make jokes about homeless people and teen suicide and crack babies without offending anyone. Quite frankly, my response to the opening pages of Left Behind was 'Sounds good to me.'"

How can you not love a book with a quote like that?