Weekend Update & Some Blogger Links to Share

Most of the book bloggers I follow are rocking the Readathon this weekend. I didn't have time for that, because I'm busy fulfilling my primary purpose in the universe, which is to chauffeur my kids around a five-county radius. :-)

I really shouldn't have bothered with college or grad. school -- once I had my ovaries and a driver's license, I was set.

Anyway, good luck to all the Readathoners! Here's my weekly round-up.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

FYI: There is still time to enter the drawing for a $15 gift card, which is part of the review of American Psycho I posted as part of Banned Books Week. Everyone who includes an e-mail address in a comment is entered -- the drawing will be held Oct. 31.


Posts This Week:

A Rambly Film Review of Bernie -- a snippet:

In my opinion, the true protagonist of this movie isn't Bernie -- it's the town of Carthage. This seemingly quirky, quintessentially Southern town is a character in its own right, and throughout the film, it takes center stage. Having lived all my life and having deep roots in the South, I appreciated this, despite the fact that the film's portrayal of small-town Texan life is, at times, way over the top. (Seriously ... how much taxidermy can they cram into one good ole boy's office?) I regret to tell you that we Southerners are not all as colorful and quirky as the folks you'll see in this movie. However, I saw recognizable shades of realism.

Liebster Award/Random Stuff About Me

20 of Our Favorite Coming of Age Movies (Part 1) - a snippet:

We're looking forward to The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I've heard nothing about good things about both the novel and film -- and the blogs I follow, including Film Actually, have been praising this movie. Once we shrug off some lingering prejudice against Logan Lerman for his role in the disappointing adaptation of The Lightning Thief -- I hear he's actually a very good actor -- and stop expecting Ezra Miller to come out with a crossbow and a menacing expression, I'm sure we'll enjoy the film. :-)

On this note, I've compiled a list of 20 of our favorite coming of age movies. In no particular order ...

Read This Week:

Genus by Jonathan Trigell-- a dystopian novel set in a futuristic London in which to be part of mainstream society you must be "genetically improved." Written by the author of Boy A. My review is almost finished and will be posted shortly.






Watched This Week:

Midnight in Paris  (Woody Allen)

MovieBuff25 Also Watched:

Eraserhead (David Lynch)

Some of My Favorite Blog Posts This Week:

Margaret at Cinematic Corner created a gorgeous post titled Autumn Gallery -- trust me, you've got to see this -- and shared her 10 Favorite Performances in film.

A thought-provoking post at Literary Omnivore titled Fifty Shades of Grey and the Devaluing of Female Sexuality 

Aarti reviewed one of my favorite novels of all time -- A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines -- at Book Lust

Josh shared his 10 Favorite Directors of All Time at The Cinematic Spectacle -- someday maybe I'll work up the nerve to compile a list like that of my own

Naida reviewed one of my favorite comedies -- Shaun of the Dead -- at The Bookworm

Alex  Withrow at And So It Begins released his short film, Earrings, with commentary -- I rarely like movies with director commentary, because they often seem rambly and pointless. But Alex's was informative and taught me some things about film making.