Thankful Thursday

I found this wonderful meme idea on Ruby Bastille.  I thought it would be a great way to share my life with my readers.  So here we go with my first Thankful Thursday.

1) Complex Pool -- Our new home has a wonderful complex swimming pool that I use almost daily.  It's heated year round so I can swim any time.  I love it.  And it's helping with my attempt at daily workouts.

2) My bike -- J bought me a bike two weekends ago.  It has widened my scope of the neighborhood.  Now I love jumping on my bike and pedaling to the library or bank or grocery store or just around.  This has allowed us to get by with just one car.  Less bills!  and more exercise for me!

3) Our Apple TV -- I love being able to power up the TV and watch just about anything we have (which is a lot).  Right now I'm trying to finish Chuck.

4) Sunshine --  We used to live in the Midwest, where clouds cover the sky most days.  We have now moved to the town of Sunnyvale.  That's right, Sunnyvale.  This sunshine is just glorious.

5) Sunglasses -- Because of #4, I bought prescription sunglasses before we moved to California.  Thank goodness I did.  I never leave the house without these on.  Plus the extra coating helps protect my eyes.  Good things all around.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910

Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910

Author: Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill

Publisher: Top Shelf 2009

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 80

Rating:  3 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library Loan

The new volume detailing the exploits of Miss Wilhelmina Murray and her extraordinary colleagues, Century is a 240-page epic spanning almost a hundred years. Divided into three 80-page chapters - each a self-contained narrative to avoid frustrating cliff-hanger delays between episodes - this monumental tale takes place in three distinct eras, building to an apocalyptic conclusion occurring in our own, current, twenty-first century. Chapter one is set against the backdrop of London, 1910, twelve years after the failed Martian invasion and nine years since England put a man upon the moon. In the bowels of the British Museum, Carnacki the ghost-finder is plagued by visions of a shadowy occult order who are attempting to create something called a Moonchild, while on London's dockside the most notorious serial murderer of the previous century has returned to carry on his grisly trade. Working for Mycroft Holmes' British Intelligence alongside a rejuvenated Allan Quartermain, the reformed thief Anthony Raffles and the eternal warrior Orlando, Miss Murray is drawn into a brutal opera acted out upon the waterfront by players that include the furiously angry Pirate Jenny and the charismatic butcher known as Mac the Knife.

I admit absolute disappointment in this slim comic.  I had such high hopes after my enjoyment of Volume 1 and 2 of LXG.  Unfortunately, this one felt completely disjointed to me.  I didn't connect to any of the characters.  I had trouble to following the storyline.  I found the singing to be an interesting, yet ultimately distracting, storytelling device.  I don't think I will be attempting to find the other two Century volumes.

Quote Wednesday -- Montaigne

I have never seen a greater monster or miracle than myself. -- Montaigne

We humans have the capacity to create or destroy, to a superhero or a villain.  What will you choose to be today?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic 2003

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 870

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: HP; My Years -- 2003

How I Got It: Own it! (in pretty hardcover no less)

This one is a reread for me.  It's been awhile since I read the series.  I remember reading the first couple of books out loud to the boys when they were infants.  SO that's what, eight years ago?  I read the last few books as they came out, but overall it's been awhile.

Instead of doing a traditional review, I thought I would just give you some of my reread thoughts.  Things I noticed, things I loved, quotes I like, etc.  And then I will have a mini review of movie vs. book.

Book fun:

Favorite scene: This is so tough...  But I think I'm going to have to go with the big battle in the Ministry of Magic.  The way it's written, I am right there in the thick of the action.  I almost find myself ducking when spells are thrown.

Favorite character(s):  I have a few for this book...

• Dolores Umbridge -- A great villain.  In this case, we get a bureaucrat for a villain.  I just want to smack her every time she coughs.  Ugh!
• Luna Lovegood -- She's a great addition to the whole crew.  I love her weirdness.  And underneath she has a great way of looking at the world.  I especially love her for helping Harry deal with Sirius' death.
• Fred and George Weasley -- They are still my favorite Weasleys.  I love them every time they pop up.  In this book, they get to be more than just the jokesters.  Love them.

Other odds and ends:

• While I like the book, I think it's my least favorite of the series.  There are so many story lines that it seems very schizophrenic at times.  We are introduced to so many new characters (Grawp, Firenze and the centaurs, various Order of the Phoenix members) that I have a hard time connecting to all of them.  I think this book could have used a bit more editing to condense some of those storylines.
• I cry every time I read the chapter at the end where Dumbledore finally lets Harry know about the prophecy and his plan.  I want to yell right along with Harry at the beginning, but I'm always in tears by the end.  Very powerful section of the book.
• I do love the comeuppance that Draco, Goyle, and Crabbe get on the train ride home.

Favorite quotes: 

"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have." -- Hermione to Ron (pg. 459)

Movie fun

My favorite scenes:

• The scene with Luna and the thestrals is just beautiful.  I love their conversation among the Forbidden Forrest and the creatures.  I especially love the addition of Luna's lost shoes.
• As edited at the final battle is, it's still amazing looking.  I especially loved Lucius and Bellatrix, very sinister.  And the falling of the shelves is just a gorgeous bit of movie magic.

Things I wished to see, but didn't:

• More of Fred and George -- They're just amazing

Other odds and ends:

• Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge is delicious casting.  She is down right evil.
• The wall of educational decrees is an inspired bit of set dressing.
• They kept my favorite line from the book in the movie.  Hee hee!
• It makes much more sense to have Cho faultlessly out the Dumbledore Army.  It does help edit the various story lines and characters.

Harry Potter:

1. The Sorcerer's Stone
2. The Chamber of Secrets
3. The Prisoner of Azkaban
4. The Goblet of Fire
5. The Order of the Phoenix
6. The Half Blood Prince
7. The Deathly Hallows

Top Ten Tuesday - Future Classics

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

A great topic for this week!  For most of my teenage and adult reading life, I've been reading the classics.  You know, all those books you were supposed to read in high school and college, but probably didn't.  I completely ignored contemporary books.  I thought they were all crap.  I admit that I was wrong.  There are some great recently published books out there.  Here's my list (I fudged a bit on the publication dates, supposed to be the past 10 years, but I upped it to 20):

1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999) -- I adore this outcast tale.  I really spoke to me in high school.

2. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (2008) -- Really brings up some tough issues.  Great discussion starters.

3. World War Z by Max Brooks (2006) -- A beautifully constructed zombie documentary...  Can't wait for the movie.

4. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2002) -- Beautiful creepy little children's book.  I want this to be on every lower elementary student's bookshelf.

5. The Fables comic series by Bill Willingham (2002-present) -- I love this reimagining of the great fairy tales.  Fairy tales for grownups.

6. Sunshine by Robin McKinley (2003) -- Not just a vampire novel.  I see this as a coming of age story.  Sunshine ultimately finds out who she is after a frightening encounter with some vampires.

7. The Magicians by Lev Grossman (2009) -- In some ways a dark version of Harry Potter.  I see it as a J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis world.  I still need to read the sequel.

8. Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (2005) -- Another awesome children's series that all ages of adults can enjoy.

9. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (2004) -- Beautiful love letter to books and the worlds they can create.  The language in this book is like poetry.  And it's even a translation from Spanish!

10. The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (1996) -- Children's literature that just doesn't seem like children's literature.  The relatable subject matter makes this slim novel an instant classic.

James Bond Movie Month(s)

#12 on my Day Zero Project is to watch all of the James Bond movies.  I haven't seen that many of the old ones.  Thankfully, we own all of them.  I insisted that we watch them chronologically with regard to release date.  Originally this was going to take place during the month of January.  As you can see, that just didn't happen.  And so James Bond Movie January became James Bond Movie Months.  Instead of full reviews of each movie, I'm just going to list, comment, and rate them.  All in all, it was an enjoyable time watching Bond through the years.

1. Dr. No (1962) -- Set in Jamaica.  A great introduction to Bond and Mr. Connery.  Of course there are cheesy lines and improbably circumstances.  But I love all of it.  Extra points for Dr. No's unbelievably amazing island lair.  And that Ursula Andress, too perfect to look at. 5/5
2. From Russia with Love (1963) -- Set in Istanbul.  This one was more political and full of intrigue than the big action sequences.  There are action sequences, just not as many as Dr. No.  I really liked the slower pace and more twists and turns of this one.  5/5
3. Goldfinger (1964) -- Ohhhh... definitely a fun movie.  Great lines.  A great villan.  Even a great Bond girl.  Definitely one of my favorites. 5/5
4. Thunderball (1965) -- Not my favorite Bond movie.  Two bright spots: Bond villan Fiona and the big underwater fight scene at the end.  It's a bit ridiculous and not really practical, but crazy enough to fit into a Bond film.  Love it!  4/5
5. You Only Live Twice (1967) -- Set in Japan.  Volcano lair!  Awesome!  And we get Blofeld.  My only complaint is the women.  They try to not be eye candy, but it ends badly.  4/5
6. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) -- So incredibly cheesy.  Definitely not my favorite.  I doubt this is even going in the top 10.  3/5
7. Diamonds are Forever (1971) -- Loving this one...  Something about the plot or maybe the characters that I really enjoyed.  5/5
8. Live and Let Die (1973) -- The first Roger Moore Bond movie.  I love how he plays Bond, much suaver than Connery.  And yes, this really is the best theme song.  5/5
9. The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) -- Really loving the Roger Moore Bond.  He has a way of saying the cheesiest, creepiest lines and somehow they come off sexy.  Love it!  This one was great mostly because of Christopher Lee as the villain.  I could have done without Goodnight.  5/5
10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) -- Definitely not my favorite... there's just something about it (maybe too cheesy) that didn't sit right with me.  The only redeeming parts were Jaws and the giant aquarium set.   3/5
11. Moonraker (1979) -- Loved it!!!  So cheesy, but in a very good way.  And that space battle at the end was to die for.  And we get Jaws and the villan is uber evil.  5/5
12. For Your Eyes Only (1981) -- This one just didn't do anything for me.  No giant villain lair.  No great one liners.  A pretty boring Bond girl.  The only bright spot in this one was Topol.  Even Bond was looking a little old and tired.  It was 81, so we get some horrendous fashions.  The nail in the coffin: the horrible Sheena Easton theme song; definitely one of the worst. 2/5
13. Octopussy (1983) -- Bond's looking a bit old, but overall I like this movie.  The mystery woman is intriguing for a little while, but then she just feels flat.  And the chase through the Indian marketplace is too amusing.  3/5
14. A View to a Kill (1985) -- A fitting end for Roger Moore as Bond.  I loved the Duran Duran theme song.  Christopher Walken and Grace Jones as the villans were perfect.  And the final showdown on top of the Golden Gate bridge was full of suspense.  Extra bonus points for the "Bond drives an odd vehicle for the chase" scene was in a fire engine.  5/5
15. The Living Daylights (1987) -- Our first Timothy Dalton.  And I must agree with J on this one: I like the dialogue but the stunts are way too cheesy.  Dalton plays Bond a lot harsher than Moore, more like Connery. 4/5
16. License to Kill (1989) -- Uber cheesy Timothy Dalton.  I just couldn't take this one at all.  Glad we've moved on to something better.  2/5
17. GoldenEye (1995) -- Ohhh  Pierce..  Good but not quite as good as some of the others.  Although I really do enjoy this one.  And Sean Bean dies, who would have guessed?  Although I must agree with J that 006 would never have been a double agent.  5/5
18. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) -- Not as awesome as GoldenEye, but a respectable showing for Bond.  I love Christopher Price as a villain.  He has the right mix of crazy and evil genius.  And Teri Hatcher isn't bad as a Bond girl (probably because she gets killed fairly quickly in the movie).  But the best part of the movie is the soundtrack.  I love it!  5/5
19. The World is Not Enough (1999) -- The opening action sequence is just great fun, but then the movie starts to go downhill.  Once I started to suspect Elektra King, I just lost complete interest in the movie.  And then we get the introduction of Christmas Jones.  Ugh!  3/5
20. Die Another Day (2002) -- Once again, the opening action in North Korea is just beautiful.  The pacing is great.  The character are fun.  And more than anything, it's believable.  The sword fight with Gustav (Toby Stephens -- forever my Mr. Rochester) is a lot of fun.  Unfortunately the rest of the storyline is just blah.  I couldn't really get into it.  An invisible car!  Just kill me now, please. One upside: the use of The Clash's "London Calling" was just a great bit of fun. 4/5
21. Casino Royale (2006) -- Goodness I so love this one.  Craig has the best mix of sauve and rugged sides.  I usually don't like the Bond girls, but Vesper is a different sort of character.  Overall the movie has great pacing and action sequences.  The addition of Felix is a nice reminder of the old movies.  And the opening credits are just amazing. But the best part is the black and white opening sequence.  5/5
22. Quantum of Solace (2008) -- At first I didn't think I would like the "starting right where the last one left off" timeline, but this made sense with who Craig's Bond is.  I loved seeing Matthas and Felix yet again.  Fields is just annoying, but she serves her purpose and dies.  I do love the idea of an out of control Bond.  Very nice. 5/5
23. Skyfall (2012) -- Looking forward to this one...

My Bond rankings:

1. Sean Connery
2. Daniel Craig
3. Roger Moore
4. Pierce Brosnen
5. Timothy Dalton
6. George Lazenby

Music Monday -- 1984

As part of my ongoing celebration for my 30th birthday, I am highlighting some popular songs from throughout my years.  Songs were picked based off of a list of Grammy award winners and Billboard Top 100.  Then, I chose my favorites to highlight.

Year: 1984

Book: Unknown

Music Selections: Ah! Songs from early childhood.  The Cars is the only one I still listen to.

1. Yes "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
2. Cyndi Lauper "Time After Time"
3. Wham! "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go"
4. The Cars "You Might Think"

The Sunday Salon #12

Listening To: More iTunes.  I'm currently up to the Es.  This is going to take awhile.  But on a good note, I am rediscovering some great music that I already own.

Book finished: Something Borrowed, Wonderland, Kick-Ass, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

On the Nightstand: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein; The Sandman GN series by Neil Gaiman; Sirena by Donna Jo Napoli; Beauty by Robin McKinley; Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

MakingLists: The ever growing house needs list.  It just never seems to go away.  We got cord covers for the cables hanging all over the theater, but can't reach the ceiling.  So we had to order a ladder because one wouldn't fit in our car.  Argh!  

Around the house: More things are getting put away.  Now we're down to the nitty gritty and wall decorations.  We really need to decide what goes on the walls, what doesn't, and what needs to be framed.  At the last place, I lived there for almost a year and nothing was ever put on the walls.  Sad...  I really want this place to be different.

From the kitchen: Eating freezer meals as J spends most dinners at the office.  It is saving us food money, but I can't stand cooking and eating alone.  I did try a new recipe this week: chocolate avocado muffins.  I got the recipe off of a blog I follow and they were disastrous.  I have no idea what I did wrong, but they were inedible.  tasted just like flour.  Gross!  J got really excited that I was going to make them.  He came home and the first words out of my mouth were "don't eat the muffins!"  Oh well.  Better luck next time.

On the Web: Continue to follow the blogger plagiarism scandal.  I am just disgusted by how the plagiarizer has handled the whole affair.  Just disgusted!

Farmer's Market Finds:  None this week.  We slept in and did some house stuff.  With J eating at the office, I don't really need any extra food in the house this week.  And we won't be going next week as it is closed to make way for the Sunnyvale Food and Wine Festival.  It will combine my two favorite categories: food and wine.  Really looking forward to it!

Crafting: I'm still getting everything organized.  But I did manage to scrap about 16 pages for the boys' books.  Now they're up to January 2011.  Getting there...  Next week, I am going to a Stampin' Up catalog launch party Friday.  Very excited to see the new stuff and meet some area scrappers.

Watching: We've caught up on most of the episodes that we missed.  So, one to new seasons, new stuff, and some old stuff, but never seen, for me.  Episodes series two started.  I love me some Stephen Mangan.  I finished Chuck season four and started season five (the last season).  We moved through Stargate SG1 season five.  Goodness that got crazy at the end...  On to season six.  J also introduced me to the musical and comedy stylings of Tim Minchin and Bo Burnham.  I am so in love!  And I managed to convince J that I needed to rewatch Casino Royale so we could finish the James Bond Month(s).

Wondering: When our bookcases will arrive?  Had to order off of Amazon as they wouldn't fit in the car.  Once they get here, we can finish the boys' room and take care of most of the disaster that is the office.

From Nature: Cooler breezy temps (60s - low 70s).  Thank goodness the pool is heated year round.

Shopping Scores: Ordering pictures through iPhoto is friggin' awesome!  I finally got around sorting through the pictures on the computer to figure out what I needed to print for scrapbooking.  I ordered on Tuesday, they came on Friday.  The turn around was amazing.  Now I am closer to scrapping time.

Project:  Putting the office together.  I only took pics of my half of the office.  J's half is just a disaster zone of epic proportions.  Believe it or not, but my half is looking very neat and organized.  And I really need a chair.  That conference chair nonsense just won't cut it very longer.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Title: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

Author: Seth Grahame-Smith

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 2011

Genre: Paranormal; Alternative history?

Pages: 336

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Vampire; Support Your Library loan; Book2Movie

How I Got It: Library Loan

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

I love these mixes of history and fantasy.  I think I've found my second favorite genre (after zombies, of course).  This book reads like a historical biography.  Except in this case, Smith added the elements of vampires throughout the history of Lincoln's life.  If I didn't know any better, I would think this was nonfiction.  Every addition feels unnatural.  I loved the pacing, breaking his life into "boy, vampire hunter, and president."  Through it we get a sense of Lincoln (even if half of it is make believe).  I've never been a huge fan of Lincoln's; I prefer the Roosevelts and Jefferson.  But this book made me a fan.  I heartedly recommend!

Movie Review: 

I finally got around to seeing the movie.  A was pretty disappointed.  While the book has a gravity, the movie makes it too cheesy, too modern.  That ridiculous fight scene among the horses was almost too much to watch.  But I will admit that I loved the scene in the plantation.  It was a very modern fight scene done well.  The character of Will was a great role.  I loved the inclusion.  I was very upset that the movie excluded so much from the book.  We only got to see Abraham's struggle at the end, after the Civil War started.  Random note: How amazing was Alan Tudyk as Stephen Douglas!  An uncredited role, but so great.

Kick-Ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Title: Kick-Ass

Author: Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Publisher: Marvel 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 192

Rating:   5/5 stars   Movie: /5

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; Support Your Local Library; Books2Movie

How I Got It: Library Loan

Dave Lizewski is just an ordinary American teenager. Then an idea hits him: why not become a real life super hero.

J had me see the movie when it came out, but I had never gotten around to reading the graphic novel.  Amazingly, my local library had it just sitting there on the shelf begging for me to take it home.  And home it came.  I read it in one little sitting last night.  It's über violent.  It's über gorey.  But at the heart, it's a great little story about a nobody that starts a crime fighting revolution and sorta finds his way.  Plus, I was excited to actually get the references to other comic book characters and series.  I think I'm turning into a comic book reader.  Anyway, I really enjoyed Kick-Ass.  It's not light and fluffy.  It's gritty and nasty, but in an awesome comic book way.  And I read that Volume 2 is due to be released this June 2012.  I must keep that on my radar.

Movie:  

I'll admit that when J proposed watching this, I was hesitant.  I bloody, gorey action film about a comic book geek that want's to be a super hero.  I was worried that it was going to be cheesy.  But then I found out that Nicholas Cage was in the movie.  I'll see anything he's in, even the absolutely horrible stuff.  He's my movie kryptonite.  So we watched, and I'm glad we did.  I love seeing the interplay between Dave's regular life and his after hours fantasies.  It was an interesting take on the genre.  And Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist was perfect casting.  Hands down the best performance of the movie was Chloe Grace Moretz.  Her Hit Girl had all the vulnerability of a child but the strength of a superhero.  I loved seeing the interactions between her and her dad.  Best scene of the movie: where Big Daddy shoots Hit Girl to teach her to anticipate it in the future.  Disturbing but amazing.

Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew

Title: Wonderland

Author: Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew

Publisher: Disney Press 2009

Genre: Graphic Novel

Pages: 160

Rating: 5 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; A to Z -- K; Support Your Local LIbrary

How I Got It: Library loan

Among the numerous curiosities that have gone unexplained in the classic tale Alice in Wonderland, perhaps the most perplexing might be who, exactly, is the “Maryann” that the White Rabbit mistakes Alice for at the beginning of the story? Lewis Carroll first made us ponder this and, years later, Walt Disney again made viewers wonder who Maryann might be in his classic feature length film based on Carroll’s book.

Now, the amazingly talented folks at SLG Publishing, through a licensing deal with Disney, have finally answered this age-old question. In their beautifully executed comic book series, WONDERLAND, readers experience Alice’s fantastic world as they’ve never seen it before. Writer Tommy Kovac’s Wonderland is missing Alice herself, but it’s still populated by the other characters that make the world such a curiously exciting place. The Queen of Hearts is present, barking orders to lop off people’s heads, as is the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter and the rest of Wonderland’s beloved cast. And there are some new faces, too, including the book’s main protagonist, the mysterious Maryann herself. All are beautifully illustrated by Wonderland’s artist, Sonny Liew.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of my favorite books.  I love the fantasy element, the absurdity.  I was very excited to learn who Maryann is after all that talk from the White Rabbit.  All the characters from the original make appearances.  My favorite is still the Cheshire Cat.  Although in this volume, he's a lot more funny than creepy.  And we get some newish characters in the Queen and King of Spades found at the bottom of a treacle well.  We even get an appearance by the Jabberwocky.  A definite must for fans of the original Lewis Carroll story.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

Title: Something Borrowed (Darcy #1)

Author: Emily Giffin

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 2005

Genre: Romance

Pages: 322

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Semi-Charmed Challenge -- Bad Review; Mixing It Up -- Modern Fiction; Mount TBR; Book2Movie

How I Got It: I own it!

Rachel White is the consummate good girl. A hard-working attorney at a large Manhattan law firm and a diligent maid of honor to her charmed best friend Darcy, Rachel has always played by all the rules. Since grade school, she has watched Darcy shine, quietly accepting the sidekick role in their lopsided friendship.But that suddenly changes the night of her thirtieth birthday when Rachel finally confesses her feelings to Darcy's fiance, and is both horrified and thrilled to discover that he feels the same way. As the wedding date draws near, events spiral out of control, and Rachel knows she must make a choice between her heart and conscience. In so doing, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk everything to be true to yourself.

I picked this book up for $1.  It had been on my list for a while, but I had read a few bad reviews for it...  So I was unsure of whether or not read it.  Then some friends and I saw the movie version.  Now I had to read the book.  The reviews were right.  The entire time reading this book, I couldn't decided if I liked any of the main characters.  At the end I came away with the idea that cheating is okay if you do it with your "soulmate" or if the other woman is a narcissist.  I just didn't see it as an truthful exploration of relationships.  To me, it was a gimmick.  Plus, I didn't find Dex attractive at all.  He's just the lying, toying scumbag.  I thought every relationship in the book was unhealthy.  In the end, I read this as a cautionary tale.  Don't be friends with people like Darcy, Rachel, or Dex.

Movie

Hmmmm....  This wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either. The addition of John Krasinski's Ethan was an improvement.  But adding in the love quadrangle didn't work at all.  I've decided that I don't like Kate Hudson in anything except for Almost Famous.  Overall I came out of it feeling very blah and wanting some action or zombie fun to cleanse my palate.  Definitely not a movie that I need to see again.

Something (DNFed series)

• #1 Something Borrowed
• #2 Something Blue
• #3 Baby Proof
• #4 Love the One You're With
• #5 Heart of the Matter
• #6 Where We Belong
• #7 The One and Only

Quote Wednesday -- Freud

"Being entirely honest with oneself is a good exercise." -- Sigmund Freud

While I'm not a huge fan of Freud, this just rings true.  How often do we lie to ourselves about the hard things in life?  How can we be honest with others if we aren't honest with ourself first?  I challenge you to ask yourself a hard question and write the truth down.  Hard, but such a great challenge on the road to being a better person.

Top Ten Tuesday - Non Book Blogs

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

A great topic for this week! While having tons of book blogs, my GoogleReader does have some choice nonbook blogs buried in there.  Check them out...

1. The Mary Sue:A Guide to Girl Geek Culture -- must have for those geeky women out there

2. WWdN: In Exile -- Wil Wheaton's uber geeky life blog.  I am so in love with this man!  (Don't worry J, he's married)

3. GeekMom -- Something for every geeky mom out there.

4. Failbook -- Must read for a chuckle and sometimes a gasp and even a facepalm.

5. Cake Wrecks -- The Ultimate in Decoration Disasters.  My favorites are still the carrot jockey cakes.

6. xkcd -- Sometimes uber geeky, always hilarious.

7. Savage Chickens -- Cartoons on post it notes.  Zombie chickens...

8. Loop Looks -- Style blog from regular girl from Chicago.  I love that she shops at many of the stores that I do.  Practical style advice.

9. A Cup of Jo -- Blogger, mother, and wife living in Manhattan.  She always finds the coolest products.

10. A Turtle's Life for Me -- Definitely got some future craft project ideas from here. 

Honorable Mention

... This Week for Dinner -- Great easy recipes and meal plan ideas.

... Neatorama -- Round up of cool things, pictures, geeky news.

Music Monday -- 2001

As part of my ongoing celebration for my 30th birthday, I am highlighting some popular songs from throughout my years.  Songs were picked based off of a list of Grammy award winners and Billboard Top 100.  Then, I chose my favorites to highlight.

Year: 2001

Book: Unknown

Music Selections:

1. "Lady Marmalade"
2. Alicia Keys "Fallin'"
3. Poe "Hey Pretty"
4. Dave Matthews Band "The Space Between"
5. Linkin Park "Crawling" -- One of my all time favorites!
6. "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow"

Day Zero Project Update: Week 32-35

Instead of daily posts, I thought it would be a lot easier for me and you if I did weekly update posts.  These will track my progress each week.  I will highlight what I’ve done, what I want to do, and any interesting tidbits.  Sometimes I’ll add pictures and/or links.  Hopefully these posts will keep me accountable to me list…

What I Did

3. Listen to 26 new bands (one for each letter of the alphabet) (14/26)

• Zulu Winter "We Should Be Swimming"
• St. Vincent "Cheerleader"
• Walk the Moon "Anna Sun"
• GROUPLOVE "Tongue Tied"
• Imagine Dragons "It's Time"
• Punch Brothers "Dark Days"

5. Make a playlist of my favorite 101 songs -- I started sifting through my 9400 songs on iTunes.  I'm only in the Ds, so this will take a while.

6. Watch all the James Bond movies (20/22)

• The World is Not Enough
• Die Another Day

9. See 101 new movies (28/101)

• The Avengers

17. Reread all of the Harry Potter books (4/7) -- Finished Goblet of Fire, heading to Order of the Phoenix

24. Keep a journal for this project

26. Keep a “Six Words to Describe the Day” journal for 6 months -- Ongoing

28. Blog 1001 times -- 45 posts this period (367/1001)

30. Finish 100 creative writing prompts (1/100) -- I started a new notebook to collect all of my writing exercises.

33. Read my height in books -- 4 inches this period (50/68in.)

37. Pass 250,000 pages read for my 1,000,000 pages challenge (74,946/250,000)

54. Throw away all my underwear and start again

60. Try 30 new recipes (23/30)

• Pumpkin dessert
• Buttermilk chicken
• Orange teriyaki chicken
• Farmer's casserole
• Sloppy joes
• Clam chowder
• Lemony flank steak

What I Plan to Do Next Week

12. See all of IMDB’s Top 250 movies  (10/250) -- I really need to get moving on this.

16. Spend an afternoon in the park reading -- There are some great parks around here.  I need to start scouting.  And with a bike, it will be much easier.

32. Finish 30 reading challenges (7/30) -- Hope to knock out a few this next session.

35. Join or create a book club -- I found a couple on Meetup for the area.  I sent a join up email and am waiting to heart back.  I hope one of them is a perfect match for me.

72. Complete “50 Questions that Free Your Mind” (20/50)

Monthly Goal

My day in 6 words.  Ongoing for the next four months.

Overall Progress

12/101

Bout of Books Readathon 4.0 Day #7 and Finish Line

Today’s Progress:

• Books Read: 0.1
• Total Books Read: 5.1
• Pages Read: 40
• Total Pages Read: 1405
• Time Read: 30 minutes
• Total Time Read: 12 hour 38 minutes
• #todayinsixwordds: Epic fail for the last day!

Another readathon completed.  I was hoping to read more than I did, but 5 books is respectable.  House chores seemed to get in the way.  And the weekend just went downhill from there.  At this point, I think I need to carve out some time every day to read.  As it stands, I keep getting distracted...

My Goals

• Read at least 5 books √
• Read my required reading for the month (Shakespeare and Harry Potter) -- Epic fail of the week
• Review all books read √
• Participate in at least 2 mini challenges -- I only did one...  tried to focus on the reading.
• Read an average of 2 hours a day -- Close but nope

Books To Read

• Anthony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare
• Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The Frog Prince by Stephen Mitchell
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
• Paris in Love by Eloisa James
• The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
• Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin -- Started

The Sunday Salon #11

Listening To: Continuing with my iTunes collection.  I'm up to the Ds now.

Book finished:  The Frog Prince; Paris in Love; A Great and Terrible Beauty; Murder on the Orient Express; Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Reading: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

MakingLists: Projects for the house.  The spice racks are up, but there's really nothing else on the walls.  And we need to finish putting away the all the knick knacks, books, etc. 

Around the house: Waiting for my desk to arrive to finish putting together the office.  Supposedly it will arrive Tuesday, but we'll see.

From the kitchen: Last Monday, I made a huge number of freezer meals to last us for the next month or so.  I spent all day created at least 12 main dish servings, 10 dessert servings, and a complete farmer's casserole.  We are set.  And it is looking good.  I've already eaten one serving of the salsa shredded beef over the course of two days.  Delicious!

On the Web: Blog surfing.  I had a backlog of blogs to check out that's been sitting in my notebook for at least a few months.  I finally started getting to them,

Crafting: Nothing until my desk arrives and is put together.  I did join a few crafting Meetup groups.  Looking forward to some new ideas and encouragement.

Watching: The theater is up and running, so we've been catching up on a ton of shows.  Psych, New Girl, 30 Rock, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Once Upon a Time, and Eureka.  I also started to finish Chuck (I'm in season 4 of 5).  I finished the Pierce Bronson James Bond movies so now we only have the two Craig ones.  And J started me on a fairly recent show Fairly Legal.  I love it!  We're almost to the end of season one which will catch me up with J.

Wondering: Why the DMV is like what i imagine Purgatory to be?  I had to go get my California driver's license. After waiting almost 30 minutes I finally got my question answered.  What documents do I need?  Only be told a birth certificate or passport.  Unfortunately I do not have a county approved bc, but a decorative one.  I had to call my mom, ask if she had it, wait, and finally my dad went to get a copy.  It should have been sent yesterday.  I should be able to get my license next week.  Yippy!  More purgatory fun!

From Nature: It's been a bit chilly (for here) in the 60s, but sunny every day.  Just gorgeous.

Shopping Scores: I found a crazy dragon skull box for the boys' room for only $8.  It is going to look so great in their room.  I also ended up buying Ticket to Ride after watching the TtR episode of TableTop with Wil Wheaton.  Check it out on Geek and Sundry on YouTube.com. And finally I got a bike. It's a beauty and will be great to cruise around the neighborhood.  Very excited to break it in this coming week.

Project: Getting ready for the boys.  Plane tickets have been bought.  I'm making a list of camps to sign up for.  I've looked into taking them to Great America; it's only 10 minutes away.  And planning out a few San Francisco/beach days.

Farmer's Market Finds: J joined me this weekend at the farmer's market and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it. We picked up some lettuce, broccoli, sour baguette, white bread, duck sausage with figs (J's pick), fruit tart, and chocolate cake.  We ended up grabbing lunch while there. I had The Trinity (sausage, sauerkraut, onions, and mustard) and J had the Seoul Sausage (sausage, kimchi, and wasabi).  Yum yum!

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Title: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Author: Jane Austen and Ben Winters

Publisher: Quirk 2009

Genre: Jane Austen; Fantasy

Pages: 340

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fantasy; Mount TBR

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rogues to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? This masterful portrait of Regency England blends Jane Austen’s biting social commentary with ultraviolent depictions of sea monsters biting. It’s survival of the fittest—and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!

This is another book that languished on my TBR bookshelf for way too long!  Thankfully I came to my senses during the Bout of Books Readathon and added it to my immediate TBR stack.  I had high hopes after reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (and subsequent sequel and prequel).  I wanted it to be just as good.  It isn't, but only fractionally so.  This book blends Austen's story of two sisters (well, three, but Margaret is too young to be much of a character) looking for a place in the world.  Only this time, Colonel Brandon's face has tentacles, Willoughby is a treasure hunter, there is a pirate, Barton Cottage is on a mysterious little island, Bath is the Sub-Marine Station Beta on the ocean floor, and all manner of sea life want to kill humans.  Every day is fraught with perils, both from the sea and of the heart.  I loved the blending while keeping Austen's own words.  The twists at the end are fun, but wrapped up a bit too neatly.  Of course that is keeping with Austen's own works.  Maybe it's because I love zombies so much that P&P&Z holds a spot over this volume.  It was good, but not absolutely amazing.  There were some great illustrations and characters.  And that Lucy Steele, watch out for her!  I would recommend to lovers of Austen and monsters.  Great Saturday read!