The Three Star Curse.

Often times when I'm looking for my next read I'll head over to goodreads to check out ratings. It may seem shallow, and as my best friend who is not fond of spoilers would say, a bit like cheating. I don't even bother to read the reviews anymore. I'm truly just there for those little red stars. Only I'm not looking for 5 of them. What I'm looking for is the variety, or, more accurately, how many people thought it was just "okay".

 One of my biggest bookish pet peeves are books that fall smack dab in three star territory. Those ones where they were pleasant enough for you to force your way through but aren't going to stick with you in the long run. I hate those books. I rarely give out three stars for anything, either I liked the book (four), I abso-bloomin-lutly loved it (five), I disliked it (two) or WHY DID I EVEN FINISH THIS I HATE EVERYTHING (one). Three stars are for no feelings, and not having feelings for something I've around a week to is unacceptable. Three stars are the reviews you read that spend more time talking about style than substance.

Maybe my time working on Camp or Crap has left me with a skewed perspective but I really enjoy picking apart "bad" things. I don't go out of my way to search out bad books, but when I find them it gives me licence to moan about overused words and cliche plots.

Do you do any research before picking up a book? Do star ratings effect you're reading choices? Let me know!

Back Story - David Mitchell (no, not the novelist)

For those of you who know of David Mitchell (no, not that David Mitchell) you probably think he's a tweedy posh nerd with OCD that couldn't get out three sentences without self depreciating, and judging from his Soapboxes, panel show appearances and work with Robert Webb you wouldn't be alone.  David Mitchell: Back Story will take those notions and while it won't put them to rest it will at least give you the full picture. Here you'll find stories of a David growing up in Oxford as a boy more likely to be playing Downton era dress up than kicking around a ball, cross dressing in school plays and in general worrying about life.

The celebrity memoir is a tricky thing. Too much detail and you risk appealing only to obsessed fans, too much time spent on a well adjusted childhood appears boastful and dull. Here is where David really shines. Using a long walk around London as a springboard for his memories he provides the right balance of childhood anecdote, high school pit falls and Cambridge living before going full force into the comedy life he so clearly wanted. The chapters on his early life in London and the second time meeting his future wife are particularly amusing and moving.

Now there's a man who knows how to live life. 

Overall: If You're not a fan of David Mitchell you probably wouldn't be interested in his life story, but even if you find him mildly amusing Back Story is a very funny quick read.

2012: The Year I Loved Books But Couldn't Seem to Read Them

Welcome to 2013. Hopefully you had a safe and fun night and didn't end your night by falling down some icy stairs, like I did.  The only way I can describe last year is stagnant.  I worked at a coffee shop all year, got a little to down on myself and didn't really do anything of much substance. This year I hope to change that. I start a new job next week. I'm making plans to visit friends both in Chicago and Dallas and am looking forward to reading a ton of new books!

Since I'd just graduated College and had nothing but free time (and oh so much coffee) I  made my reading goal for 2012 unreasonably high. It started at 75 before I knocked it down to 50 in march, and ended up with 27 and stretching my usual definition of  a book.

Here is the list of books I finished in 2012. Please don't be alarmed by the large percent Harry Potter takes up.
1. Illuminated - Orloff
2. The Joy The Baker Cookbook - Wilson
3. Hunger Games - Collins
4. Catching Fire - Collins
5. Mockingjay - Collins
6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Foer *
7. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - Kaling
8. Paris I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down - Rosecrans
9. The Great Perhaps - Meno
10. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone - Rowling*
11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling*
12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling*
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling*
14. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling*
15. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Rowling*
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling*
17. The Kingmakers Daughter - Gregory
18. Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
19. Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store - Solan
20. The Land of Stories - Colfer
21. Bossypants - Fey
22. The Fry Chronicles - Fry
23. Bartelby, The Scrivener - Melville
24. May Day - Fitzgerald
25. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook - Pearlman
26. A Series of Unfortunate Events - Bad Beginnings - Snickets
27. The Back In the Day Bakery cookbook - Day & Day

As you can see, a few short stories, a chunk of rereads and a smattering of cookbooks found their way into my usual style.

Hope you all have a fantastic year!

Like a Soap Opera, but with Crotchety Proper People - a Anna Karenina Update

I'm a month in and about halfway done with Anna Karenina! Okay, by half way I may actually mean 46% (thanks Kindle for reminding me how long winded Tolstoy is).  For the most part I've been pleasantly surprised by what an easy read Anna has been. My only real issue, besides the length, is the amount of time Tolstoy has spent talking about farming. I do not care about crops, cows or how wet the roads delivering the hay are, especially if I'm going to have to endure several chapters of nothing else.  Otherwise the characters have been compelling and there are enough different story lines to keep me interested.

Oh, and I keep humming Les Mis songs ever since I saw This Trailer during a brief reading break.  I know, I know, revolutionary France and high society Russia are nothing alike but my subconscious doesn't seem to care. Plus I Dreamed a Dream seems to fit Anna as a character nicely.

My partners in crime for this readalong are not fairing as well. Marty dropped after 10 pages, but promises to see the movie with me and was kind enough to let me recap 300 pages of intrigue and scandal to her at work yesterday. One of our regulars (we work at a coffee shop) interrupted us to say that Tolstoy just didn't get the Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll lifestyle. I think he missed the point.   On the other hand Kirsten is only a couple dozen pages behind and has plans to catch up soon.

In case any of you missed it Joe Wright and Company have released (number) new posters for Anna Karenina. I think they really capture what's at the heart of the novel, at least as far as I've read.

 

I am getting really excited for this movie. I am in love with the casting. Keira Knightly period pieces are easily one of my favorite things and the ensemble includes the likes of Matthew Macfadyen, Jude  Law, Domhnall Gleeson, Michelle Dockery and many more!

Are any of you excited for Joe Wrights Anna Karenina? Do these new posters sway you? Let me know in the comments! 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

(and Other Concerns)

Mindy Kaling

Back in college I was in love with the Office. It was the only show I would still go out of my way to try and watch. I couldn't wait to see what Michael and his gang of misfit paper salesmen would get into next! The longer I watched and the more time I put into my Screenwriting classes the more I probed into not just the overall show but the writing staff as well. From this I learned that not only did Mindy Kaling play the delightfully ditsy Kelly Kapoor but was a integral part of their writing team as well!

Imagine my delight when years later, when The Office has since lost my interest,I find that Mindy Kaling has written a book! Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me is a collection of essays about Mindy's life, from her childhood as the chubby daughter of Indian immigrants, high school friendships and the comedy worlds of New York and LA. It's not Shakespeare, but it is sure funny, easy to relate to and a little inspiring.

I recommend this book if you're looking for a quick, funny read. Or were/are a fan of the Office. Or want to know what it's like to pretend to be Ben Afflect. What are you waiting for? Netflix the Office, DVR The Mindy Project and buy this book!

Diving into Tolstoy

Today is Leo Tolstoy's birthday 184 birthday! Okay, he really died at 82 and if a 182 year old man tried to talk to me I'd run for the nearest church, but that is beside the point. Since the internet was kind enough to point out Leo's birthday to me today it also brought something else to my attention -  the fact that I have never finished a Tolstoy novel!
In my world of floor length bookshelves and addiction to all things European this is practically a crime! In response my good friend Kirsten and I have decide to do a three month read-a-long of Anna Karenina in the hopes that having another person to talk with will make will make Russian high society more accessible. We start tomorrow, and with a pace that will have us finishing around Thanksgiving (and just after the Joe Wright/Keira Knightly movie comes out) I should be able to get through a few shorter books as well!


Are any of you excited for the new Anna Karenina movie or currently reading the book? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Reading!

Reading for Comfort

I am one of those router-less twenty somethings. Those ones that pop up on the new's as cautionary tales. The unemployed, or in my case, underemployed. When looking for Big Girl jobs while staying positive and motivated becomes to much I turn to what I like to call comfort books. Comfort books are big for me because they can pull me out of a rut, brighten my mood and remind me of better, or at least more interesting times. My comfort books range from Tracy Chevaliers The Girl With the Pearl Earring, Pride and Prejudice and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which I wrote a similar entry about several months ago.

However, all three of these pale in comparison to Harry Potter. Sometimes when I'm overworked and just feeling down it just takes those first few words in Sorcerer's Stone to make me a 11 year old girl again. I love rushing through all seven novels feeling like I'm growing up with Harry again, and I love knowing that the next time I need a pick me up after a few hard months he'll be there, ages 11- 17, going through harder times than myself and always ready with a lesson.

 I think, for now, I've found a solution to a bookish dry spell and hopefully some new transpiration for the future, thanks to my number one comfort book. How about you? Do you have a favorite comfort book you go to when you're feeling down? Let me know in the comments!