This doesn't fall under the usual 'travelogue' type posts we normally do, but there's so much good stuff that I've been enjoying lately that's worth sharing! Here's what I'm loving at the moment:
Books
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - I'm a few years behind on the bandwagon of this book, but I LOVED it! The main character, a 9-year old boy named Oskar Schell, is precocious and precious and heartbreaking. It is so symbolic, playful and creative. If I ever write a book, I would want it to be similar to this
Plot Against America - I didn't love this book quite as much, but it's still really good (alternative history of America during WWII), and the main character is also a 9 year old boy, which seems like an unusual coincidence! Has anyone else read these books?
700 Penguins - My first coffee table book, this collection of 700 Penguin paperback covers combines my interest in design and my obsession with books.
Movies
The Thin Man - My family has been after me for years to see this movie, and now I know why! It's incredibly enjoyable, and the marriage portrayed between William Powell and Myrna Loy was groundbreaking. There's a whole 'Thin Man' series, I can't wait to see the others.
Arsenic and Old Lace - Hilariously entertaining Frank Capra classic, starring the inimitable Cary Grant, it's another Horstmanian favorite.
Michael Clayton - I've heard mixed reviews of this movie, but we really, really liked it - I think the intelligent dialogue was my favorite part.
TV
Flight of the Conchords - Now that Arrested Development is off the air, this is hands-down my favourite comedy. Brett and Jemaine are hilarious - if you havent seen it, you need to!
Brothers and Sisters - I absolutely love this show. It reminds my family a lot of ourselves, and it is so refreshing to finally see an amazing family drama again. For me, it's in the same vein as Party of Five and Life Goes On.
Music
Alexi Murdoch - I know nothing about this guy, but Andrew (my sister's boyfriend) gave us some of his music and I listen to it over and over - low-key/folky/soulful.
Those are the heavy-hitters at the moment. I would love to hear YOUR recommendations!
About Us
- Lauren
- Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Do you realise we've been here for 2 years? 2 YEARS! We didn't know if we'd survive 6 months...
11 comments:
What a great idea for a blog entry! I too love a good book and I will tell you that I plan to use my latest Borders certificate to go get your "loud and close" recommendation! Have you read A Confederacy of Dunces and/or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime? Because I'm hoping this new book is quirky like those. I can never get enough quirk.
I really enjoyed Michael Clayton as well. I thought Tilda Swinton was incredible and I'm glad she won the big Oscar for it. I think I like her because she has lots of quirk.
Other than that, I plan to download your music recommendations shortly...you Yanks are a wealth of knowledge!
Oh, and not sure you noticed, but you have been "tagged" by the Vileation Nation...no pressure but we might ship over some graham crackers and peanut butter if you participate!
Stay radical!
Nice post!
I also loved Extremely Loud and Indredibly Close. The book is so inventive and original and it was just so neat to read.
Megan and I both liked Michael Clayton, but as usual i think i liked it more than her. The script was so well written. Wilkinson was awesome and the beginning with his monologue was fantastic.
Im also exicited that i have lured someone else into my musical clutches.
Ooooo - I'm going to have to check out some of your recommendations!
I'm loving 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert. Quite a few of my female friends have also said it's a must read for late 20's early 30's soul searching.
Check out 'Juno' in the movie section. One of the most hilarious movies I have seen in a while!
Music - Ingrid Michaelson has such an amazing voice, and believe it or not Fergie has some great stuff on her album. The soundtrack to 'Juno' is also fantastic!
On Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Amy, this book is incredibly quirky, very much in line with Curious Incident... so I'm thinking you're going to really like it! (Speaking of books you like, Nick just read Blue Like Jazz and loved it). Andrew, you're actually the reason I read this book, b/c I saw it on your Shelfari shelf a while back and was very intrigued! You're so influential! Between that and your nefarious musical clutches, we're pretty much turning into clones!
Michael Clayton: I did think Tilda Swinton was fantastic, and I loved her Oscar acceptance speech, but I have to say that Wilkinson was my favourite - he was AMAZING, I thought he should have been nominated at least! Now that I think about it, he might be my favourite character actor...
And Laura, we JUST got the musical soundtrack, so I'll let you know what we think! And I've been intrigued by that book for a while, so if you're enjoying it I'll add it to my list!
Rolf Smedvig is an amazing trumpet player... May I suggest you listen to his Trumpet concertos. FYI he started the mullet in 1980's. Philip Roth's Plot Against America is set in New Jersey. Actually, right where I grew up. I loved the book because he mentions streets and places that I know. My guess is that he knew my father and uncles. LOVE your blog. Jan
I guess I'm not really into anything right now. Sorry we're so boring. Even the books that are on my Shelfari page are old; well, except for the "That's My ..." series. Evey is a big fan of those.
Did you guys realize that Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch was on Martha and Kevin's wedding CD I think? Or one of the CDs I got from Kevin....
I am slow to post... Yes, Alexi Murdoch is awesome! And Orange Sky is on our wedding CD. Great song :-)
Kevin just told me about a band called She and Him. They have an album called "Volume 1." It's all acoustic guitar and kind of folky/country. I like it.
I'm also really liking the "I am Sam" soundtrack right now. It's all covers of Beatles songs - most are good, but I especially like Sarah McLachlan's version of "Blackbird" and Eddie Vedder's "You've got to hide your love away"
I just read Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It's a novel about the battle of Gettysburg. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, but it turned out to be very good and painted the perspective of soldiers on both sides.
I'm gonna have to check out your recommendations. :-)
Oh no - don't listen to my recommendation of the I am Sam soundtrack. I must not have ever listened to the whole album before. The first 5 tracks are good, but the rest... I don't know about. Especially the covers of "Let it be" and "revolution" - they're just weird . Ugh! My bad!
Any chance you've read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves"? Just writing that sentence above made me wonder if my punctuation was correct. If you've not read it, I think you'd enjoy it. For quirkiness, she commonly refers back to similar examples to make a point. AND, it was a British best seller. It's a quick read, too. I need to get "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".
I really enjoyed 'Eats Shoots and Leaves', it was hilarious!
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