Sunday, October 7, 2012

It's Monday? What Are You Reading/Weekend Update

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




Posts This Week:

I recently watched and reviewed two terrific films, one a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old lesbian and the other a Norwegian film about drug addiction:
  • Pariah (2011) -- written and directed by Dee Rees
  • Oslo, August 31 (2011) - directed by Joachim Trier & written by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt, based on the novel Le Feu Follet by Pierre Drieu La Rochell
In the movie blogosphere, I participated in the Directors' Quotes Relay Race, initiated by David at A Taste of Cinema and handed off to me by Josh at The Cinematic Spectacle.

I shared an excerpt from The Siren of Paris by David LeRoy, a historical novel about the French resistance during World War II.

I participated in Banned Book Week with a Review of American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and a Gift Card Giveaway and a quote from David Cronenberg.





My review of American Psycho is also part of The Literary Others: An LGBT Reading Event hosted by Adam of Roof Beam Reader. You should definitely stop by Adam's blog and check it out.




I Also Watched:


The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) which I haven't reviewed yet.

Trying to Decide What To Read Next: The top contenders from my TBR list:


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.







January First: A Child's Descent into Madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield -- (from Goodreads) At six years old, Michael Schofield's daughter, January, was diagnosed with one of the most severe cases of child-onset schizophrenia that doctors had ever seen. In January's case, she is hallucinating 95 percent of the time that she is awake. Potent psychiatric drugs that would level most adults barely faze her.




The Invisible Boy (Madeline Dare Series) by Cornelia Read -- (from Goodreads) The smart-mouthed but sensitive runaway socialite Madeline Dare is shocked when she discovers the skeleton of a brutalized three-year-old boy in her own weed-ridden family cemetery outside Manhattan. Determined to see that justice is served, she finds herself examining her own troubled personal history, and the sometimes hidden, sometimes all-too-public class and racial warfare that penetrates every level of society in the savage streets of New York City during the early 1990s.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides -- (from Goodreads) The haunting, humorous and tender story of the brief lives of the five entrancing Lisbon sisters, The Virgin Suicides, now a major film, is Jeffrey Eugenides' classic debut novel.

The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence.


Or maybe after reading American Psycho, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Boy A, and a host of murder mysteries, I need to read something a bit lighter -- y'know not relentlessly bleak and/or sick and perverted. Hmm ... I can't decide.

Any Recommendations?

19 comments:

  1. y'know not relentlessly bleak and/or sick and perverted. Hmm ... I can't decide. <~~ I understand where you're coming from. Once in a while you need some literary sorbet to clear your mind ;)

    Have a great week of reading!

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    1. "Literary Sorbet" -- I love that! :)

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  2. I liked the Marigold Hotel book better than the movie.

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    1. I haven't read the novel, but I imagine it must be good. I liked the movie, but felt the characters were drawn a bit superficially and were somewhat cliched. One of the strengths of a novel -- vs. its movie adaptation -- is often richer character development. Maybe I should give this book a go.

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  3. I really enjoyed 'Marigold Hotel.' I just love Judi Dench and she's my favorite character in the film.

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    1. Judi Dench is magnificent, isn't she? This movie had a great cast.

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  4. Invisible Boy looks like a great read. And I love your second to last line. Literally LOLed at that one. :)

    If you'd like to stop by, here's what I'm reading this week.

    xo,
    JL

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    1. Thanks! It's nice when somebody gets my weird sense of humor. :-P

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  5. Oslo, August 31st will hopefully arrive from Netflix this week, so I should be seeing that in the next couple of days. I still need to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel too.

    I rewatched The Cabin in the Woods. It holds up very well, and I even liked it more the second time. While it probably won't make my top 10 of the year list, I'd give it a solid 4/5.

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    1. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of Oslo, August 31st -- I was quite taken with it. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was pretty good.

      And a solid 4/5 for Cabin in the Woods -- I consider that a high recommendation. ;-) And the blogging world would be deathly dull if we all had the same favorites.

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  6. I had no idea American Psycho dealt with LGBT issues. I have avoided it because I am not good with scary, lol. I think I have read maybe 2 horror books ever and almost as few movies. I need to try it out as Halloween approaches, though. In a very well-lit room, perhaps. Lol

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    1. It doesn't deal with LGBT issues, at least not directly. It's included in "The Literary Others" because the author is gay.

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  7. I want to see the Marigold Hotel too, it sounds like a good movie. I have read Genus and can recommend it (but I don't know what the other books are like). Whatever your choice, have a good week!

    Are you going to be doing the Readathon this coming weekend?

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    1. I am reading Genus and loving it so far. I didn't know there was a Readathon this weekend. Hmm ...

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  8. Ugh. I know what you mean about the twisted stories. I died a little inside when my work book club voted on Fight Club for our November read. Don't get me wrong...loved the movie and am interested in reading the book, but I need rainbows and fairies right now! Off to see your thoughts on AP.

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    1. I'm with you on loving the movie Fight Club and wanting to read the book, but yes, we need a break from the dark and twisted stuff from time to time. :-)

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  9. Those are some pretty heavy books. Though, not read any of them. Am interested to. I just started reading World War Z, more engaging than I'd have expected. If you haven't given it a go, I'd recommend it.

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    1. I want to read World War Z. My son was listening to it on audiobook and really liked it.

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