Children of Men

Wow. Very powerful but wildly depressing movie. Set in a dystopic England of 2027, this was a hell of a disturbing, all too easy to visualize future.

Women haven't had babies- anywhere- for 18 years. Terrorist attacks have destroyed most major cities. Britain is a locked down police state using constant surveilance to track and imprison illegal immigrants fleeing wrecked nations.

Clive Owen was amazing in this as Theo, and Michael Caine broke my heart in some of the tenderest scenes- I'm getting all choked up. Ack. Alfonso Cuaron directed the 1995 Little Princess and the 1998 Great Expectations, both of which I thought were wonderful, but I had no idea this would be so so heartbreaking and scary.

But seriously, this was HARD to watch- I paced around during a lot of it. Ouch.

Pretty Little Liars series, by Sara Sheperd

Well, I read the first of these (cover pictured) before I started this blog, but I just read the two sequels Flawless and Perfect. The fourth, Incredible, will be published on the 27th of May, so I guess I'll read it once it's out.

YA, obvs, and kind of I know What You Did Last Summer crossed with The Clique with a little more sex. Murder, blackmail, and mayhem. Who is A who is tormenting Hanna, Emily, Aria and Spencer?

Right now I'm guessing it's Melissa, but I am almost definitely wrong- I never guess the right murderer, even in Mary Higgens Clark, where the murderers pretty much are named Killer McStabby, so that should put Melissa in the clear, then.

The Railway Children, by E. Nesbit

This was lovely- I don't know how I ever missed reading it before! It was actually recommended to me by someone at the library, a lovely seeming Eastern European woman who asked for it in beautifully accented English. I am ashamed to say that I thought at first that she was looking for The Boxcar Children, and she had to tell me about the story. Well, she sold me on the book so much that as soon as I finished putting in her request for a copy of the book, I put in a request for myself!

Classic family story, set in an England of barges on canals, friendly station masters, Doctors who made housecalls, Russian exile writers, hawthorne flowers and buns with icing for special occasions. If there's a heaven, it will be that England, for me. I don't think it exists now, and maybe it never did, but should heaven be real, for me it will be a place with bunches of roses and tea and coal fired stoves and friendly bakers and parcels wrapped in newspaper.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Ooooh, FANTASTIC. Bourne kicks ass.

I really love the whole Bourne series- it's like an American Bond. This one had some darker stuff too, behind it- I don't want to be a spoiler, although I think I might be the last person to see this movie who wanted to. Anyway, super fantastic kick ass action movie.

Under The Tuscan Sun

Well, it wasn't much like the book! But it was, well, charming, and filled me with longing to rusticate in a European village drinking regional wine and eating olives, so I guess it was successful.

SuperTroopers

This movie was hysterically funny for about 5 minutes, then kind of long, stupid, and sophmoric, and then hystreically funny for the last 2 minutes. If the entire thing had been the troopers chasing those 3 stoners around, it might have been the funniest thing I've seen in ages. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

So Yesterday, by Scott Westerfeld

So Yesterday.

Scott Westerfeld rules. Smart, consumer-aware YA fic. I love it how he took the entire cool hunting viral marketing thing and made it read as creepy as it is.

Compulsive Acts, by Elias Aboujaoude

Ok book by a psychiatrist who treated some special cases of obsessive and compulsive behaviour- the saddest was the case of a gambling addict- a former statistics professor who had moved with his wife from rural China to Las Vegas in search of a better life. He ended up a suicide. She ended up a highprice call girl. So sad.

Fires in the Bathroom, by Kathleen Cushman

Well, this was kind of awful, I thought. It was aimed at teachers, with advice from high school students for how to relate and get better behaviour from them- for reasons I will not go into, I hoped that I might get some ideas for how to... well, I'm not getting into that!

But as well intentioned as it was, and as touching as some of the students comments were, it just seemed kind of useless to me. Most of the stuff in it was pretty high school teacher specific, and of that, a lot of it just reminded me that teenagers really are kind of aggravating and lack common sense. The kid who said if school was all about animals, she'd be interested, because she wants to be a vet, well, really? What about, um, kids who don't want to be vets? And obviously this girl will never be a vet if she doesn't get her head out of her...

Yeah. Anyway.

Guitar Girl, by Sarra Manning

Fun, pretty good YA.

Molly is being sued for 5,000,000 pounds.

The story of how she got there is funny, poignant, and rings true. Molly, Tara, and Jane decide to start a band- and despite only knowing three chords and one base line, the get to play a friend's party. They totally blow up from there.

The manipulation of image in rock and pop is pretty keenly covered here- the manipulation of the band members by unethical managers and uncaring roadies too.

Molly's voice rang very true here- enjoyable read.

Leaving Simplicity, by Claire Carmichael

Pretty great YA book!

Set in a near future where corporations work with the Ads-4-Life Council to ensure that every citzen is a productive consumer, Barrett is a freak- he was raised on an isolated compound by a 'cult' who rejected consumer society for a life of almost Amish spareness.

When his uncle there dies, he must leave Simplicity for the Chattering World, where his condition as an advertising virgin makes him incredibly valuable to the marketers who study the psychology of persuasion- including his aunt, who heads the Ads-4-Life Council and is hoping for a major presidential appointment.

Taylor, Barrett's cousin has always had everything- but is she who she thinks she is?

An exciting story that leaves the reader with a heightened sense of awareness of how close we really are to this dystopia, and how far away simplicity truly is.

Spellbound

Wonderful movie. Great documentary that covers the experiences of 8 kids trying to win the National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. Fantastic, must-see, gripping and entertaining movie. I got so worked up seeing this that I was spelling along with the contestants (and got some wrong!) and cried like a little girl in parts (not saying if happy or sad tears!)

Wonderful. Highly recommend.

Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room

Interesting if not thrilling flick about the fall of Enron.

Worth seeing just for the scenes of the Bush family interacting with the Enron people- fucking A, these people are sick sick sick.

It was really in depth and at the same time glossed over a lot of the actual hows of what exactly made anyone ever think Enron had a product worth selling - in many ways, the movie is a revelation in that no one anywhere actually seemed to think it was selling anything or had any assets other than it's hypothetical value.

Good but not great movie. I am surprised it was nominated for Best Documentary, because it really wasn't as good as others I have seen. I trust those people! I totally don't have time to watch a lot of movies so I'm kind of relying on that for advice as to what to watch.

Anyone know a better system for finding decent movies to watch?

The Man In The Brown Suit

Fantastic mystery. I've definitely read it before, but it ws such a treat to reread this one, because I had totally forgotten all the who-done-its.

Astonishing book, really- the heroine (in 1922!) (book published in 1924) makes her way to South Africa on her own, using all that is left of a small inheritace from her anthropoligist father, and upon getting to South Africa, promptly involves herself in all sorts of fun and frisky intrigue, up to and well beyond the point of social acceptability. She even surfs!

This is the kind of thing that makes me wish that English majors didn't focus so much on the "good" writers- like that bloody Virginia Woolf or that godawful Gertrude Stein. I mean, you want feminist literature from the 1920's? Look at Agatha Christie. Seriously- her female characters kick 40 kinds of ass, and there's no wan pining for "A Room with A View" from them- they go off to find a view, and if there isn't one, I bet they'd knock a hole in the wall to make one. And no "A rose is a rose is a rose" idiocy either. I do loathe that kind of pretentious crap. I do indeed.

Toast to Agatha Christie! (Who, may I point out, spent ages mucking about in what is now Iraq on archaeological digs at all the Tells. Nice going, girl!)

Six Degrees, by Mark Lynas

Good book, although I liked Lynas's High Tide better. He writes about the impact of each degree of global warming, and the changes across the world that would happen at every stage (6 degrees being the outer limit of what the IPCC is predicting).

The thing is, I think, that I've read so many of these books that even the most horrific consequences become kind of boring after a bit- like, ok, at 1 degree we lose Tuvalu and mountain frogs, and 2, that's it for polar bears and a lot of other mammals, at 3, the Amazon rainforests are dead and desert conditions reach up through Europe, and so on, until at 6 degrees, most of life is dead, and as well written as this book is, I don't think anyone gives a damn.

Howling into the void.

Exodus, by Julie Bertagna

Excellent YA futuristic sci-fi set in a drowning world. Climate change has left the highlands of Scotland isolated islands in a vast sea, and the sea is rising rapidly. Mara Bel must leave Wing, the only home she has ever known, and lead her village to safety.

This was pretty kick-a**. Good love story, too.

Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry

Oh, how I love this book. I loved this book when I was a child, and my parents, incredibly, actually took me to Chincoteague so we could see the ponies swim, and oh, I still can't believe how lucky I was! It was magic.

I've been almost scared to re-read this one, afraid that it would lose some of it's goodness, but I can say that it didn't- I still cried at the end, probably a good 20+ years after I read it the first time.

Best horse book ever, for me- knocked Black Beauty and Black Stallion out of the water entirely. Black Beauty was too Victorian-miserable and Black Stallion was just too... eh.

Misty was the horse for me, and still is.

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

"British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the cold war during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one." (Summary from IMDB)

Fantastic Cold War spy movie with a dazzling amount of twists and double crossings. Heartbreaking. I've loved the book for ages, and always think of the end of the story every time I hear David Bowie's "Heroes". The kind of twisty, flip-floppy movie that makes you realize that by the time you are doing things as bad as your enemy, you are as bad as them yourself- much like Paradise Now, in fact.

It was a great Unicorn Chaser to that ridiculous zombie thing.

I Am Legend

After seeing 3 incredible, wonderful movies, I just had to round out the weekend by watching something absolutely rotten, didn't I?

This was dreadful, manipulative, sentimental, unadulterated crap.

A kind of zombie virus has wiped out ost of the population, and one dude, played earnestly and with good effort by Will Smith, is living in NYC trying to find a cure, while fighting the zombies by night.

And so on.

Not worth my time, I can tell you that much.

Paradise Now

"Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv." (summary from IMDB)


One of the most intense movies I've ever seen, I think. I am still kind of reeling after watching it. Powerful look at the Palestine/Israel conflict. While I was watching it, a few times I couldn't even really process what was going on. I must look into why water filters were such a big deal. Really thought provoking, emotionally intense movie.

Sicko

"A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories." (summary from IMDB)

Wow- Michael Moore takes on health insurance. Some very powerful scenes, but mostly it made me wish I lived in France. And that the damned government would take care of the 9/11 rescue workers. And that America wasn't so screwed.

Winged Migration

"Documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents." (summary from IMDB)

Unbelievably beautiful documentary about migrating birds. Absolutely incredible footage, haunting soundtrack, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

The Saturdays, by Elizabeth Enright

Lovely, warm story of 4 children who pool their allowances so that every fouth Saturday, one of them can go do something splendid.

Randi goes to see an art exhibit, Mona gets her hair bobbed, Rush goes to see the opera, and Tim goes to the circus, in an episodical book- great for reading to a child, I imagine.

A lonely old neighbor turns out to be full of exciting stories and to serve tea with petit fours, and all in all it's kind of a lovely and dreamy book. Before I make it sound too dementedly sappy, let me say too that while reading it I was all lulled along, and thinking how much easier this world seemed, peaceful and trustworthy and safe, and then boom

"What was it like when the world was peaceful, Cuffy?"

"Ah," said Cuffy, coming up again. "It seemed like a lovely world; anyway on top where it showed. But it didn't last long. First there was a long, bad, war, and then peace like the ham in a sandwich, and now a long, bad bad war again."

Confessions of a Backup Dancer, by Tucker Shaw

This was (predictably) pretty bad, but it was interesting for one major reason- the protagonist was definitely kind of dumb, which is so refreshing after reading YA book after YA book where the protagonists have all these hidden depths and motivations, and in their diaries/letters/blogs/whatever use startlingly good vocabulary words and even their friends often end up being bright and articulate behind their shells. This girl, Kelly, the dancer, really just wanted to dance and help her brother, who, although he ended up being surprisingly bright and articulate under his troubled shell, still didn't turn around and be all strivey and complicated, he wanted to go be a forest ranger and fight fires. It was just different.

I imagine that writers, being writers, have a hard time creating inarticulate voices, and that's just what this Kelly was- a kinda dumb girl who thought about her hair and looked around and danced and when she didn't like her strippery costumes, it was because the boob tape itched or something, not because of any (even buried or inarticulate) gender politics, and who never questioned why Darcy (Brittney Spears, y'all) was a better selling pop star than her rival, the vocally talented but skanky Pashmina (Christina Aguilera, FTW).

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, by Amy Sedaris

Not funny, not amusing, not cool, not kitchy enough to be interesting, etc etc etc. FAIL.

See post below for a really fantastic how-to book with more flair than freakin' Sedaris will ever have.

Inventive Jewelry-Making, Ramona Solberg

Wow there was some strange, dare I say, fugly stuff in this book. It's from 1972, but that doesn't explain everything. I am tempted to do something I have never done before, to try to share the total weirdness of what was in this book. It was truly gratifyingly batsh*t.

Yup- I have to do it. I am going to take a picture of a page. There is no other way that I can startle you as much as Ramona startled me.

Yup. It really is a porno angel out of "inedible baker's clay". Rather, it is an "Angel pendant of inedible baker's clay by Vernon Koenig. In collection of Mrs. Spencer Mosely."

Really.

And while that was certainly the highlight of the book for sheer freakiness, other suggested projects were nearly as strange, such as an "Upper Arm Bracelet of Pasta", which was made using a tin can- "Tin can (tuna or small cat-food size), model-airplane glue (which I think Ramona might have used a little too much, if you know what I mean), and spaghetti.

There were others. Oh, there were many. In fact, this might have been one of the most entertaining damn books I've read in ages. I read spots off this book, I am tempted to quote it in everyday conversation, I wish I owned it, for it's pure, heartfelt sincerity. Unfortunately, this gem is out of print. Can't imagine why.

The Willoughbys, Lois Lowry

Very disappointed in this.

It was totally Lemony Snicket-y, and that's been so overdone.

Also, it gave away the ending to Little Women.

Shame on you, Lois Lowry. You're better than this.

Confessions of a Hollywood Star, by Dyan Sheldon

The third in the Lola Cep series. It was ok.

I read Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and My Perfect Life, too.

Pippi Goes On Board, by Astrid Lindgren

Indie Girl, by Kavita Daswani

A lovely, fun, but thoughtful story.

April 1, 2008
By
Alexandra Henshel - See all my reviews I very much enjoyed Indie Girl, and found the simple story of a girl who wanted to win a summer apprenticeship to a "West Coast Anna Wintour" had a surprising depth. Indira soon finds that Aarylin, her glamourous magazine editor boss, is only using her, and she must find the strength to deal with the loss of a hero, and the realization that hard work and talent don't always lead to success- that sometimes, life is unfair. Indie was a delightful heroine.

guess what- books!

Children's books
Betsy's Winterhouse by Carolyn Hayward

Adult Books
A Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton

Bad Kitty and Kitty Kitty, by Michele Jaffe

Bad Kitty , Michelle Jaffe

Kitty Kitty, by Michele Jaffe, is a riotous sequel to the fantastic "Bad Kitty". Jas is in Venice, where her father is writing the definitive history of soap, and she is trying to keep out of Trouble. Of course, Trouble finds Jas, and the murder of a friend leads her into an exciting and dangerous mystery. Jas's loyal and long-suffering friends Polly, Roxy, and Tom make appearances, as do the Evil Henches, and Jaffe's laugh out loud writing shines through this romp. From delicious gelatos to kitchy tourist shops selling glassware, Venice is alive and very much a character in the book, which is a treat in itself. Jas's misadventures make for highly enjoyable reading, and the talented Jaffe serves her fans well with this book.

Just Listen, Sarah Dessen

More suburban teen rape melodrama (why the hell are so many of these freaking books about the same freaking thing?) but better done than most.

Good playlists at least.

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood, by Jennifer Traig

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood

by Jennifer Traig

This was laugh out loud funny. Great. Loved the sister rearranging the wooden SANTA blocks to spell SATAN. Good stuff.

March 18

Children's books

The Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton - I love the Borrowers so much. Wonderful to read about them again. (re-read)

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (re-read)
The Long Secret by Louise Fitzhugh (re-read)

YA books
Bittersweet Sixteen by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White
It Had To Be You: The Gossip Girl Prequel by Cecily von Zeigesar

Adult Fiction
Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton
Death of a Prankster by M.C. Beaton
Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene
Malpractice in Maggody by Joan Hess (re-read)
The Clocks by Agatha Christie (re-read)


Adult Non-Fiction
Bill Bryson's African Diary by Bill Bryson
Coal River by Michael Shnayerson
Creating Wire and Beaded Jewelry by Linda Jones, Gillian Haslam, and Jacqui Hurst
Wire & Bead Celtic Jewelry: 35 Quick and Stylish Projects by Linda Jones


Movies ( a thrilling new feature!)
Network
The Family Stone
The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio
Girl With A Pearl Earring

World Made By Hand, by James Howard Kunstler

Rash, by Pete Hautman

Pretty fantastic YA book. In 2074, Bo is considered dangerous because he calls another guy names for hitting on his girlfriend, and skips his daily dose of anti-agitation tablets, and wants to run long distance without all the protective gear mandated by the Child Satefy Act of 2033- well, it goes byond your standard dystopia and into where gov't legislation crosses the line from protection to imprisonment. Cool extra characters come in the form of Gramps, who brews his own beer and remembers when football was legal, and Rhino , a buddy at the McDonalds prison camp Bo ends up at. Add in the world's last polar bears, a sadistic prison guard, and an AI impersonating a lawyer, and you have a pretty great read.

YA 19

Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture by Andrew Heath and Joseph Potter

I felt like I'd read this before- maybe I had? kind of overly academic writing for what was blurbed as a general appeal book.

How many books with people/barcodes barcode tattoos/etc covers will I read in a year? Only the blog knows, man. Only the blog knows.

House Lust, by Daniel McGinn

Fantastic book about the insanity that has made shows like "House Hunters" block busters and about how competitive consumption crossed with a twisted interpretation of the "American Dream" has led to people buying and obsessively remodeling and furnishing larger and larger houses.

This book was fun to read, gave pause for thought, and included one of my all time favorite bits of trivia, about Robert Toll of the infamous Toll Brothers building group, known for their monstrous and fugly McMansions.

"Despite a net worth that's measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars, company founder Robert Toll lives in a 1750 farmhuose with bedrooms that are smaller than the master bathrooms of the homes his company builds." (p. 34)

Hah! Delightful.

20 all

Some more books

Children's Books

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, by Jeff Kinney

Sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, still funny and very childish and mean, but funny stuff.



Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion, by Loree Griffin Burnes

Sad, and breezes over how we and the kids who read this are all doomed, but seriously, how do you write about this stuff for kids? good try.



Youg Adult Books

Alice Macleod, Realist at Last, Susan Juby

Sequel to Alice, I Think, and a great teen girl book. I like Alice so much that I wish she were real.



Adult Fiction

24 Karat Kids, by Judy Goldstein and Sebastien Stuard
Pretty awful NYC working chick lit- Dr. Shelly Green starts at a fancy Manhattan pediatrician clinic, and suddenly feels she has to change her image, meets a new guy, yadda yadda. Tired and blah. Also, I HATED the end.

Adrian Mole, The Lost Years, by Sue Townsend
Another Adrian Mole book- I think I've read them all now. I hadn't missed much with this one, though. Your standard Adrian Mole book. Pretty good, though- a bad Sue Townsend book is still a million times better than most books.

February 9, 2008

Adult Fiction
'Salem's Lot, by Stephen King, 20 adult
Stormy Weather, by Carl Hiaasen, 18 adult

February 1, 2008

Children's books
The Moffats, Eleanor Estes (re-read)


Adult NonFiction
The Art of Polymer Clay, Donna Kato
Bead on a Wire, Sharilyn Miller

January 29, 2008

Young Adult Fiction
Extras, Scott Westerfeld
The Finnish Line, Linda Gerber

Adult Fiction
The Lost Decade and Other Stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald (re-read)
And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (re-read)
The Devil in the Junior League, Linda Francis Lee
A Year in the Merde, Stephen Clarke

Adult Non-Fiction
Marketing and Selling Your Handmade Jewelry: The Complete Guide to Turning Your Passion into Profit, Viki Lareau
The Encyclopedia of Jewelry-Making Techniques: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Techniques, Jinks McGrath
The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson (re-read)
Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon, Joe Queenan (re-read)

Falling behind on this, I am.

Ok.

Children's books
Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 20
Tennis Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 19
Gemma, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 18
Traveling Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 19
Thursday's Child, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 18
Theater Shoes, Noel Streatfeild. (re-read) 19

Young Adult Fiction
Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr 14
Fresh off the Boat, Melissa de le Cruz 17
Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083, Andrea White 17
Rainbow Party, Paul Ruditis 12
Song of the Sparrow, Lisa Ann Sandell 16
The Alchemyst, Michael Scott 16
The Poison Apples, Lily Archer 16
Yours, Sylvia, Stephanie Hemphill 12

Adult Fiction
Shopaholic and Baby, Sophie Kinsella. (re-read) 16
Murder with Puffins, Donna Andrews 16
Dust, Martha Grimes 17

Adult NonFiction
The World Without Us, Alan Weisman 19
The Ecology of Fear, Mike Davis 18
African-American Gardens and Yards in the Rural South, Richard Westmacott 17
The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David Shipler 20
Neither Here Nor There, Bill Bryson. (re-read) 19

Ethan, Suspended, by Pamela Ehrenberg

Fantastic YA book. Ethan is sent to stay with his grandparents in Washington, DC, while the dust settles down after he is involved in a cruel bullying incident, and while his parents' work out their separation. After a rocky time adjusting, he becomes a much more thoughtful person- it sounds awful the way I'm describing it, but it was really damn good.

9Q + 8P = 17 YA

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, Donna Andrews

I like her mysteries, but this one was a little not as funny as usual. Still, like the Meg Lanslow character and the supporting cast, and even her worst books are better than many author's best books.

Q8 + 8P = 16 Overall

The House of Elliot, by Jean Marsh

Goodish fun read about dressmakers in 1920's London. Loved the sound of the clothes. Book was ok.

6Q + 6P = 12 Overall

Skating Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild

One of my all time favorite books that I was recently, and blissfully, reunited with. Thank you, Mom, if you read this.

Noel Streatfeild's books were my constant companions as a girl. That sounds so incredibly drippy and naff but it's the truth. I read them all, and loved them all hugely. Ballet Shoes, Tennis Shoes, Circus Shoes, Dancing Shoes, Theater Shoes, Traveling Shoes, Party Shoes, Margaret Thursday's adventures and Gemma's successes- I couldn't (and can't) get enough.

Skating Shoes is one of my favorites of these, though, because, I think, Skating Shoes dealt with something I knew nothing about (I had more of an idea what the characters were up to in the other books tennis, ballet, music- well, not the circus one or the Margaret Thursdays) but also, because Lalla Moore in Skating Shoes does something so bad it's shocking. Streatfeild's characters are almost all good, very good, and although there is competition in some cases (Nicky and Susan Heath, in Tennis Shoes are competitive, but never directly, and although Pauline in Ballet Shoes often experiences success at Winifred's expense, it is never, ever intentional, and Pauline and her sister Petrova even offer to give up a part in a play that Petrova has already won, so that Winifred might have it.)

Lalla Moore, however, really is willing to tank her friend Harriet's chances of having a career- and it wouldn't even benefit her directly. Interesting stuff, and that Streatfeild was able to bring in that level of complex moral dilemma and have the reader (me!) understand why Lalla did it and why Harriet did what she did- well, I honestly think that it was for me an introduction into reading on a new level.

I know that sometimes I can seem ornery and point to something that looks trivial or seem glib when I say Skating Shoes made me a deeper reader, or that Gossip Girl books are damn good, but I do mean it. I guess that's why it's nice to keep this record, so I have a place to try to make sense of it.

Skating Shoes (good luck if you can get it- the books are (criminally) out of print, and I feel so so thrilled to have a copy) Quality: 10 Popularity: 9 Overall 19 C/YA/All

Once Upon a Quinceanera, by Julia Alvarez

Good book about the tradition. Raised some interesting ideas, must read some of the referenced books, actually. Talks about a book called The Invention of Tradition, by Eric Hobsbawm that sounds good. Brought an interesting perspective to it, but (sorry- I really enjoyed the book, and don't want to harsh it at all) I think I expected a less personal book- I took it out hoping to hear Alvarez's amazing voice, but not so much about Alvarez herself. But still, damn good book. Only thing that bothered me really was that the chapter about posed quinceanera photographs being taken instead of having an actual quinceanera party as a way to save money, especially in Miami, was almost identical to Vendela Vida's section on quinceaneras in her super book : Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Initiations. I suppose there's only so much one can say on the topic, but it was so uncanny that it bothered me enough to make sure that Vida's book was listed in the suggested reading at the back.
Quality: 9 Popularity: 8 Overall: 15

Carpe Diem by April Cornwell

YA book. Pretty good. Vassar Spore goes traveling around East Asia with her grandmother, it changes her. I like this book a lot more than I think is coming across here.

8 Quality + 8 Popularity = 16 YA

Jennifer Government by Max Barry

Fanstastic action packed dystopian novel. In the future, everything has been privatised- Government, Police, etc. The major corporations are taking their marketing campaigns to deadly extremes- and it's up to heroine Jennifer Government to stop them. Fun, funny book- great map of the world in the future.


The world of Jennifer Government. Red countries are part of the US, blue ones are the affiliated countries, green ones are "socialist" countries and purple ones are fragmented markets.

Anyway, damn good fun book. It felt so so good to read adult fiction again. Yay!
9 Quality + 9 Popularity = 18 Overall

Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids by Murray Milner Jr.

Another book about consumerism and status systems among teens in the US. Much more academic and dry than the others, but interesting for a very formal analysis of group dynamics, status, and identity.

7 Quality + 5 Popularity = 12 Overall

Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Re-read. Bath book. Fun, funny, frothy, consistent in tone, I wish the US version wasn't dumbed down. Do they think we won't recognize Finnish? Jerks.

7 Quality + 8 Popularity = 15 Overall

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins

Re-read. One of my all time favorite books. Very different from the (equally wonderful) Cary Grant /Irene Dunn movie of the same name (based on the book). I love this book beyond words.

10 Quality + 10 Popularity = 20 Overall

Buried by Robin Merrow Macready

What on earth is there to say about this? It was all going along well and interestingly until the very last bit, when it disolved into the most ludicrous sort of soap opera melodrama implausible goofiness. Until that last chapter, it had me. With the last chapter, I was actually laughing and reading out bits aloud to my long suffering husband.
2 Quality + 8 Popularity = 10 Overall YA (popularity points for good cover)

Prom Dates From Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Buffy crossed with Veronica Mars. This one I actually enjoyed, although it felt terribly familiar, what with the wisecraking heroine slaying demons, etc, but well written and cute. Super PG though- for younger teens maybe? 8 Quality + 6 Popularity = 14 Overall YA

Happy Kid by Gail Gauthier

Happy Kid by Gail Gauthier
Fun, sweet and quick read. Definitely middle school, maybe younger. Not sure about the 'power' of the book and all that, but it was cute and harmless. Dreadful cover- I don't know who would pick it up.

7 Quality + 6 Popularity = 13 Overall YA

New Plan for The List

I am no longer going to write a full review for every book I read, it takes a lot of time! Instead, I am going to use this blog to keep track of what I read, and if I feel compelled to comment further, I will!

Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, by Jeanne Kilbourne

Re-read.

Fun, interesting, infuriating read about advertising. I think that this is one of my favorite books on the topic. This book differs from the others in that is is addressing advertising to adults, and on manufactured desires, but it is one of those books that you just can't put down.

Great use of images in this book too- ads and stills from commercials and movies add a lot to the book rather than distract from it, and that's a hard trick to pull off.

Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel

Quality: 10 Popularity: 9 Overall: 19

Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, by Juliet Schor

Fantastic, well written, passionate and detailed book about the ways marketers research and hunt their quarry- children and teens- in order to develop brand relationships that are in many ways as intense as relationships with humans.

Shor wrote a seriously good book here, and filled it with stories that outrage. This would be a fantastic book for anyone interested in the ways the experience of childhood has changed since the 1980s and how commodified the experience has become. From immersive marketing to alpha teen representatives, Shor dredges up the ugly in an ugly ugly business as lucidly as Upton Sinclair did with The Jungle.

I guess I'll say it here, I am a big fan of hers for not only this book, but for 2 of her other books I enjoyed immensely - The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need and Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure.

Born to Buy, by Juliet Schor

Quality: 10 Popularity: 9 Overall: 19

Kidnapped: How Irresponsible Marketers Are Stealing The Minds of Your Children, by Daniel Acuff and Robert Reiher

This was a pretty unbelievably awful book. Obviously, this is an area that I have read a lot in, and of course, much of it is somewhat repetitive, but I can honestly say that this book was so off point that I don't think it should be shelved near the other books on this seriously important topic- this book was so bad, in fact, that it was utterly original. Juliet Schor, Alissa Quart, Benjamin Barber, Thomas Hine - don't worry- these guys are not at your level of research, writing, or common sense.

With what seemed to me to be a thinly veiled "Christian" agenda, Acuff and Reihert vigoriously decry the overwhelming marketing messages targeted to children, tweens and teens, but despite the book being touted as coming from marketing insiders (and there making it unique in what is quite a crowd of books on the topic) the information in the book is dated and weakly presented.

Some parts were actually laugh-out-loud bad. Each chapter ended with side by side comparisons of the family that was raising "healthy teens" and the family whose kids were "kidnapped" by the consumer society. Let me share with you.

Ages 13 to 15 - Empowering Behavior (The Good Kids )
Sarah loves music and listens to her CDs of pop and soft rock on weekends mostly. She also plays the piano and lends her singing and playing talents both at school and at church. Dennis isn't into music much; he loves sports and spends as many waking hours as possible playing them. They both have approved music stations on in the background sometimes while studying or hanging out in their rooms.

Ages 13 to 15 - Disempowering Behavior (The Bad Kids )
Dennis listens to all sorts of music. His favorites are rap, hip-hop, and a lot of gangsta rap music with lyrical content that is quite violent and filled with sexuality- content way beyond his years. Sarah, along with most of her friends, is infatuated with female and male music stars, and they all try to emulate them in dress and attitude. Sarah's stereo is almost always blasting and the radio is almost always blaring in Dennis's room.

What the heck is this about? First off, Good Sarah, singing away at her church, maybe listening to a little 'soft rock' on the weekends, sounds like a total zombie, not a real teen, and as for the "approved stations" on the radio- well, what, exactly is the approval process? Parents censoring the music their children listen to isn't what I expect to read in any book about raising media aware teenagers. Bad Dennis likes "All sorts of music", especially black music - and this is portrayed as problematic. I believe that Bad Sarah's radio might be blasting all the time, but if Dennis is into music that has "lyrical content that is quite violent and filled with sexuality", it probably isn't making it past the FCC guidelines and therefore isn't on the radio.

Kidnapped: How Irresponsible Marketers Are Stealing The Minds of Your Children

Quality: 5 Popularity: 7 Overall: 12