Thank you Christine and Kara for the encouragement to continue.
Books: Just read a really good first novel, "The Drowning House" by Elizabeth Black. The main character returns to her home town of Galveston and to a darkness that has followed her for the past 15 years. Unresolved conflicts abound. For some reason it resonated with me, especially the difficulty she had in reaching back into her past, trying to remember details of events that necessitated her leaving home. It made me realize that there are so many blank spots in my memories, months of time I don't remember when my kids were young. Where did that consciousness go? Why don't I remember details that at the time seemed so important (I assume) and now are totally gone? Anyway, the book is good; there is a lot of discussion of the history of Galveston as well. The town was virtually destroyed in a hurricane in the 1900 and the book talks about its rebirth and growth. That part is interesting as well as the regular story line.
A non-fiction book: "One for the Books" by Joe Queenan. He is a dark humorist, I guess you could say, also a writer and a reviewer for the New York Times and other publications. This book investigates his love of books and the written word, and for me, also a lover of books, this was a treat. He doesn't like libraries because it means the author gets no royalties and he doesn't like reading devices like Kindle or Nook because, well, because it isn't a book! Queenan talks about books he loves and books he has read and books he will never read and the hundreds of books he owns. He has some great stories about book stores and interviews about book reviews. It's fascinating and funny and a totally enjoyable read. I now need to look up some of his other books and see what else he has to say.
Movies: Saw three movies in the past week! It's what you get to do when you are unemployed, of course. First, "Amour", a french movie about the power of love. It's really tough to watch; an elderly woman has a series of strokes and her equally elderly husband devotes his days to taking care of her. Her condition deteriorates, of course. She doesn't want to live but he wants to keep her comfortable as long as he can. He simply isn't strong enough to be a full-time caretaker and things must come to some sort of end. It is, as has been written, "an unflinching look at old age." Very unflinching. You don't want to watch it but you do, and it stays with you for a long, long time.
"Silver Linings Playbook" was a bit disappointing. I thought it would be heftier. It's a quirky little love story, nothing wrong with that. Two people, one sort of crazy, one very angry, meet, don't get along, then do, then fall in love. That's it. There are some funny parts but the whole redemption thing, the whole idea that committing to something like dancing will change your life, is a bit of a reach. I get the concept of getting over yourself and taking responsibility for your actions, but a miraculous personality transformation occurring in a couple of weeks is rather silly. But hey, it's a movie! The soundtrack is great. Bradley Cooper is good but the fact that he and Jennifer Lawrence are nominated for best actor awards is pathetic.
"Side Effects" takes on the pharmaceutical industry, at least in theory. In actuality it is a really good twisty movie, sort of like "Body Heat" from years ago where things are not what they seem. What seems to be happening might not really be happening. People have hidden agendas and they lie! Zut alors! I loved this movie for its noir-ish character. It is wickedly enjoyable, craziness abounds and some people get away with evil. Director Soderbergh always delivers intense, mind-challenging movies and this one is no different. Jude Law is perfect, he has grown out of the pretty-boy look and into a mature actor. No one does "slow descent into madness" the way he does. Two thumbs up, check it out. You will come out smiling and not really proud of that fact. Sometimes it is good to watch bad behavior.
OK, I have nothing on Food! or Art! I just put those in the title to get your attention. Thanks for reading.
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