Top 6 Books of 2012

First, a disclaimer. These are the top 6 books I read in 2012, with no regard to whether or not they were published in 2012. And yes, yes, I know that most "top" lists are of the top 10 but, while I read a number of very good books last year, these are my absolute favorites. I don't want to diminish their significance by throwing in 4 more just to round out the list. These are the books that I would recommend in a heartbeat if you asked me for something to read. They are also in no particular order, and this is all purely my opinion. You have yours, and I respect that, so please respect mine.

How to Archer by Sterling Archer
- I love the show Archer on FX. I was determined not to like it when my husband first started watching it, but I was quickly converted. The book is a hilarious extension of the show, and it's impossible not to read in H. Jon Benjamin's voice. As an added benefit, it's actually quite informative (it's where I learned the difference between valet (pronounced val-ay) and valet (pronounced val-et)).
**Update** I just found out about the Archer app, and seriously? Best. App. Ever.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
- I love Morton's writing and this story is intriguing. It took awhile to drag me into it, but once the plot picked up I couldn't put it down. I look forward to reading more of her work.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- Such a beautiful book. The story is magical, the characters are lovely...I just love this book. It's one I read while borrowing from the library, but I intend to buy.

Babyproofing Your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone
- So many good things are in this book. My feelings were validated, but the authors also made sure to explain the husband's side. Having a well-rounded idea of the trials both partners are going through when they become parents is invaluable.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
- This book was beautifully written and depicted a decade (the '20s) that I adore.

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
- It is very unusual for a non-fiction book (and a biography at that) to entertain me. Seabiscuit did to no end. I felt as if I was reading a novel, and the story pulled me along and had me rooting for the underdog.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Sucked in from page 1, I couldn't put this thriller down.

Tell me, what are the books you read in 2012 that you would push into someone's hands, given the chance?

*links are either to my own reviews or the publisher's or Amazon's website. Links are not affiliate.

My New Favorite Thing

Recently (okay, around Labor Day) I was the proud recipient of my very own Kindle. This is a gift I never would have bought myself (probably) but was the perfect gift from my husband. It was one of those things I had mixed feelings about. I liked the idea of the portability and not having to choose what book to take with me on a long trip, but I didn't want to give up the feel of a book in my hands.

Now that I have it, however, I can't imagine life without it. I still love the feel of an actual book, and if I love a book enough I'm going to buy the real thing. But this Kindle is a-mazing. I'm in love.

Here's a breakdown:

Pros: It's lightweight and I can read it in any position comfortably. It fits easily in my purse, which is a must for me because I take a book with me everywhere. I no longer have to wait in library hold lines or pay hardcover prices for new books. And the best part: tons of books are free!

Cons: It's not backlit (but neither is a book so that doesn't really count). The "locations" don't correspond to any page numbers so it's hard to reference a part of the book to someone who's read it in the physical format. I can't easily go back to a part of the book to re-read details that suddenly become relevant in subsequent chapters.

I will always be a fan of physical books, and I will not raise my kids on an e-reader, but this is one of the best pieces of technology I've had the pleasure to use.

New Moon

I left the theater smiling.

Last year, when Twilight hit theaters and I took a half-day from work and my mom drove 2 hours to meet me to see a late-afternoon showing, I was too excited for words.  But 2 hours later, I wanted to enroll in film school so I could be a director and do a re-make.  I couldn't understand how the main focus of the book (how Bella and Edward fell in love) could be nothing more than a few minutes of cut scenes and no dialogue.  I could overlook the horrible special effects and the not-so-good acting if only I could believe that Bella and Edward were in love and not just infatuated with each other.  In short, Twilight made me mad.

So why would I go through an almost-identical process exactly one year later?  Why have my mom drive down and go see New Moon on opening weekend?  Well, for one, I'm an optimist (actually, I'm more of a cynic, but I like to pretend I'm better than that).  I also knew that a new director had been hired (Chris Weitz) and so I was hopeful that most of my previous issues would be dealt with.  And finally, I really like the story, and I want to see it in living color.

I was not disappointed.

My hat goes off to Mr. Weitz.  While I know the larger budget helped (especially in things like fixing the terrible special effects when it came to the sparkles and the running - the wolves and the fast movement still needs a bit of improvement, but overall it was much better), it was his directing that pulled this saga around.  The characters were developed (and acted better!), the plot stayed true to the book, and it made sense.  Like my cousin Sarah, I like the addition of Bella emailing Alice so the information you would normally only get from reading the book was translated into the movie.  I also liked how they kept the passage of time after Edward left consistent with how it was in the book: the novel includes blank pages with only the name of the month written on it to indicate that Bella's life during this time was empty.  The movie incorporated that by spinning around Bella looking out the window, so you could see the passage of time by seeing the world change around her, and the name of the month was printed on the screen.  In fact, this movie kept so close to the story in the book, I think that sets some sort of record.

Of course there were some differences (there was more of a fight in Volterra, for instance), but it all flowed together so well that I really didn't notice.  And that, my friends, is how you keep the diehard fans happy.

In Love With All of These Vampires

So I'm thinking of adding more to this blog. I was doing a bit of reviews on here a while ago, and because I was doing so many (and I wanted to try out Wordpress) I started another blog just for my reviews. However, since I hardly update this blog on a regular basis, it's been even harder to update my second one in a timely manner. So I've thought about just adding reviews back to this one and seeing if I can keep up with it. Plus, it'll give you guys something more to read than just updates on my life (which I'm sure are thrilling). Maybe someday when I have more time I'll be able to keep two blogs going, but right now it's more of a chore than something I look forward to. So be looking for movie and book reviews here shortly!

By the way, have you seen the trailer for New Moon? I'm setting myself up for disappointment again, and I know this, but I just can't help myself. It looks really good. You have no idea how much I hope this one puts all my expectations to shame.

Props to those who can review better than I can

If I was going to write a review on the Twilight movie, this is exactly what I would have said. (Although I might have to add that a sci-fi movie needs a much bigger budget to get the special effects to look somewhat decent - making the vampires look like they're running on cartoon legs is not a good thing.)

Other than that, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! I'm looking forward to the food and family time, and especially a much-needed break from the day-to-day dreariness. Be safe, and have a good one!

Also, this might be an interesting gift.

A Random Update and a Small Review of Twilight

I really should blog more. It's not like I do anything. But the problem is, whenever I remember that I should blog, I have nothing important or interesting to say (take right now for example) but when that magic moment finally comes and I have the greatest idea ever for a blog post....there's no computer in sight. Which is rare, I might add.

Okay, so I know with all the posting and ranting and raving about Twilight around here you're all expecting me to review the movie. And I want to. But I don't. And here's why. Are you ready for me to stop with the short sentences? Okay. I didn't like it. And I don't want to ruin anyone else's perception of it through my negativity. So while I really (really) want to tell you how much this movie made me want to immediately enroll in film school and become a director so that I could re-make it, I won't. At least not in any great detail. Because I know that nothing ruins something you love more than someone else hating on it. So I'll stick to at least one good thing that I got out of the movie: Charlie's character was absolutely nailed. Billy Burke did an absolutely wonderful job of capturing all that is Charlie. He wasn't the only one that was good, but he was the best. And the others that were good (Rosalie and Esme, along with a few more) did not have, unfortunately, bigger roles. And I'll stop there so as to keep my negative comments to myself. Although I will say that now that I know what it's like, I could probably watch it again and be less disappointed. So that's a plus.

Moving on....only a three day work week this week! And then I get to be home for a few days and thoroughly enjoy myself (while not stuffing myself because, you see, I'm trying to take better care of yours truly) but it should be a fun-filled weekend, and hopefully also rather restful. I slept A LOT this past weekend, and it was beautiful. I can't remember the last time I slept that much. And, for those of you who are getting into the Christmas spirit already, there are only 30 more days until the big one! I can't wait to put up our tree (as soon as it's after Thanksgiving, of course) and put lights up in our house and just generally make the whole place a little more home-y and cozy. Oh! And Christmas songs! Yes, it's going to be a glorious December.

I Had A Catchy Title, But I Forgot It

You know what? I really wish I had something interesting to post about. As it turns out, I can't think of a single thing that I haven't already said. So I guess I'll just give you a bunch of randoms that you may or may not care about.

As it turns out, I really like the Twilight soundtrack (I know, I didn't think I'd like it, either). There's only one song I don't like and I don't think will grow on me, and that's the third track (The Black Ghosts - Full Moon). It's just not my style. However, I really like the Muse track (seriously, I never thought I'd like Muse, so I'm just as surprised as everyone else), and Paramore has really grown on me (even though I'm not sure I'd like much else they put out). As expected, I like the Linkin Park and Collective Soul tracks (hooray for Linkin Park not sounding whiny on this one!) and Mutemath has become a band that I should probably look into. Iron & Wine is also research worthy. Perry Farrell I could probably give or take, but the track fits nicely with the rest of them, as with Blue Foundation. Rob Pattinson (the guy who plays Edward) actually does a really good job on his song, Never Think, although I wish he would enunciate more - it's really hard to tell what he's saying sometimes. But he has a surprisingly nice voice. And finally, the track that I'm sure many fans bought the soundtrack exclusively for: Carter Burwell's version of Bella's lullaby. If you don't read the books, the lullaby is something Edward wrote (and played) for Bella and is a very romantic gesture that I'm sure many girls (and women) wish their men could do for them and have therefore taken a personal interest in the song. I would have to say that I was definitely interested in hearing it, but I knew it wouldn't be anything like what I had imagined. And I was right, to a point. I really need to listen to it again to really make a decision but my main critisicm is that it's not a piano solo, as it is in the book. Granted I'm sure the artist wanted to make it as complete as he could, but I think the song can really only be as beautiful and haunting as I pictured it if there is only the piano and it's in its rawest form. Then again, it's not like I'm about to try and create it, so I can't be too judgemental, can I?

Well, that got a lot longer than I expected it to, so I think I'll end this post here and remind you all that if you can make it through this week, you only have to make it through three more days next week before Thanksgiving!

Once

I just remembered that I forgot to post about the movie Once! I'll begin by saying it was nothing like I expected. IMDb says it's "A modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story." I think that's pretty accurate. I'd also like to add that during the very first scene I was sitting there just staring and thinking, "What did he just say?" So you might want subtitles. I managed to get along without them, but I know I missed a few things. Also, it's a bit different than what we usually think of as a "musical." The whole idea is this guy is a songwriter/guitar player and he meets a girl who can play piano. They start to play his songs with both instruments, which leads to a) them falling in love and b) him taking his music to a whole other level. They play a good soundtrack's worth of songs during the movie, and it's kind of like watching a long music video. It's definitely interesting and something you're not going to see in a mainstream Hollywood movie (I got the impression this was an Irish independent film, but since I don't really know that much about Irish movies and filmmaking, I might be wrong about that). It won an Oscar for Best Original Song, which I think is pretty cool. I think I would buy the soundtrack if I happened to run across it in a store. The music is really good and the movie is worth more than one watch (even if I haven't done that yet). In any case, if you're looking for something a little different from what you typically see at the theaters, it's a pretty cool movie to experience.

Food Review!

I forgot that I hadn't told you about St. Elmo Steakhouse yet! Keith and I both really liked it; we thought the food was cooked beautifully and the atmosphere was pleasant. The waiters are dressed in tuxes, but customers are "dress casual" so we didn't feel uncomfortable in khakis. We had been told, and I would tell anyone else who goes there, that you have to try the shrimp cocktail. It's expensive (as is all the food) but it is definitely different from any other shrimp cocktail I've ever had. They use fresh ground horseradish, and if you breathe in through your nose you will definitely regret it. Our waiter was nice (he was actually a very excellent waiter) and gave us tips and advice for eating it which we definitely put into practice.

If you go to their website you can get full details about their history, menu, as well as make reservations online (they even send you a confirmation email, which I really liked). It was definitely good, and definitely worth the price, although the price does make it more of a special-occasion-only meal. Since it was Keith's birthday, they provided him (and me) with an amazing, delicious complementary chocolate cake-like thing, complete with candle. It was very nice. :-)

Now, if you want to know where I rank it - above Cork 'n' Cleaver but below Catablu. I know I'm comparing an Indy restaurant to Fort Wayne restaurants, but that's about all I have to base it on.

Sing It With Me! Walk Hard....

Finally, I got around to posting another review on my Wordpress site. I've gotta say, Wordpress has made some changes since I last signed in. I think they're trying to make it easier on the blogger and have more "push-button publishing" features (i.e. trying to be more like Blogger) but I don't think they've quite hit the mark yet. I had a bit of trouble getting the picture to center, and ultimately had to end up doing what I used to do to get it centered: highlighting it and hitting the center align button at the top. Oh well. At least they're trying.

New Reviews

I posted three times in four days on my review site! I know, I'm pretty impressed with myself, too. Want to know what movie and two books I picked? Check it out!

New Review

You can read my review of The Rocky Horror Picture Show here. And if you haven't seen this movie, well, you should. Not because it's the greatest picture ever made, but because it's so incredibly unique and risque and the opposite of everything you would go to see a movie for. See it to broaden your horizons, or see it so you can feel confident in saying that your horizons don't need to be broadened.

Who else has seen this movie? What did you think of it? Comment here or on the review itself!

Another Review!

I finally posted another review on my Wordpress blog. I hadn't posted anything on there for over a month due to financial constraints keeping me from seeing anything and life constraints keeping me perpetually busy. But, at long last, my second review is now up! You'll have to go to it to find out what it's about!

Catablu

Keith and I went to Catablu last night, and the entire way home we couldn't shut up about it. Catablu is located on Broadway and I probably would have driven right past it if I had been, in fact, the one driving. Thankfully I wasn't.

From the moment we stepped in, I felt like I was in a classy place. The host was friendly and even checked our coats for us. I don't think I've been in any other restaurant that does that. Catablu was hosting a special that night, one that they say they only do in the off-season. It was a four-course meal (complete with surprises!) for $40. Supposedly, the meal is supposed to touch on every part of your palette, giving you an all-around tasting experience. Well of course I had to try this. I don't remember exactly what everything was and I would in no way do it justice if I tried to describe it. Let me just tell you that everything, everything, I tasted was absolutely delicious. It was the best meal I have ever eaten at a restaurant, hands down. And I've eaten at some really nice places, so don't take that praise lightly. The meats were cooked just right and paired perfectly with their sauces and sides. Oh, and the pineapple martini? Oh my.

I do believe at one point last night I mentioned how I would never be able to go back to "normal" food, like a hamburger and fries. Well, while I may not want to, I definitely will, seeing as how it's Superbowl Sunday and all. :-) Enjoy, everyone!