mommy reads in 2011

i wanted to read more in 2011- so i took on the page to screen challenge over at reading extensively.  the goal was to read books that were turned into movies/tv shows and if you chose, to watch the corresponding movie/show.  i thought i could do at least 5- i definitely passed my expectations. 

so many people say that once they have a baby, they don't have time to read anymore...  baloney.  if you like to read- read.  you probably have the time.  i didn't read 100 books this year, but i read a few...  i think i did pretty well.

in 2011 i read...

1. the lovely bones - alice sebold
2. carrie - stephen king
3. BUtterfield 8 - john o'hara
4. the virgin suicides - jeffery eugenides
5. the accidental billionaires - ben mezrich
6. twilight - stephanie meyer
7. eclipse - stephanie meyer
8. new moon - stephanie meyer
9.  breaking dawn - stephanie meyer
10. between a rock & a hard place - aron ralston
11. something borrowed - emily giffin
12. the help - kathryn sockett
13. eat, pray, love - elizabeth gilbert
14. push - sapphire
15. dear john - nicholas sparks
16. water for elephants - sara gruen

not book challenge related, but i also read:
17.  garden anywhere - alys fowler
18.  your first triathlon - joe friel

and started in 2011, but finished in 2012... (19.) shutter island.

so i finished 16 books for the challenge!!! (!!)  pdg.  want to know what i thought of the books i read in 2011?  you can find it all right here.  now it's on to 2012....

wish list friday: things to read

i read a lot of books this year, which makes me very happy.  i want to get into more reading and less watching last year (which is probably why our dvr is full) and i did it!  i'll post more later on the books i did read in 2011 (which were all books made into movies).  this year i'm going to read whatever the heck i want.  i've gotten so many books in the last year or so, but i didn't read them last year because they didn't fit into the challenge criteria.  here's to reading about anything & everything!

5th avenue, 5 a.m. by sam wasson.  i just finished what i was reading and this is on my night stand ready to read.  this book is all about the making of breakfast at tiffany's from novel to film and how hepburn's portrayal of holly golightly changed women in film.  breakfast at tiffany's is one of my favorite films.

in defense of food by michael pollan.  dave got this for me last year and i still haven't read it.  i feel like i've made an improvement to how i eat, but i still have a long ways to go.

the hunger games by suzanne collins.  i've been waiting to dive into this trilogy... but i only have book 1... noooo!

drowning ruth by christina schwarz.  i'm not an oprah fan, but her book club books are usually wonderful reads.  i'm very excited about this psychological thriller!

frankly, my dear: gone with the wind revisited by molly haskell.  gwtw is my favorite movie of all time and i'm excited to read a little more about the background of the movie and book.

taste & see by john piper.  looking forward to starting this devotional.

is everybody hanging out without me (and other concerns) by mindy kaling.  i actually don't own this book yet, but i'm definitely planning on reading it.  love mindy on the office.

nice girls don't change the world by lynne hybels.  i received this book for mother's day at church last year or the year before... just haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot.  henrietta lacks died at the age of 31 in 1951.  her cells were taken from her body w\o anyone's persmission and became the multi-billion dollar foundation of modern science, yet her family had no idea and lived in poverty and poor health.  it sounds too crazy to be true, yet it is.  

organized simplicity: the clutter-free approach to intentional living by tsh oxenreider.  i'm dying to be uncluttered, and we're getting there very slowly, but there's always more that can be done.  

well, those are just a few of the books that i'm wanting to read soon!  have you read any of these books?  are you planning on reading any of these books?  what's on your book wish list- please share!

mommy reads: breaking dawn

since it's taking me for-ev-er to re-read epl, i thought i'd go ahead & do my review of breaking dawn since the movie just came out on friday.

i feel like it took me forever to read this book.  i enjoyed it, but it was really long, really, really long.  here's the rundown:  bella finally marries edward, they have sex, bella gets pregnant w\ a half-vampire.  vampire babies can't exist, the volturi comes to kill the vampire baby, there's a huge fight.  the end.  i enjoyed the book- long but solid.  good way to end it- you can't go on and do these forever.

dave & i saw breaking dawn part 1 at the midnight showing friday morning.  i know there are so many people who hate the books, movies, etc.  i look at it like this: there are books and movies you take seriously, and the rest are just for fun.  this is my just for fun.  i can read the book and feel like i'm on a little break for a couple hours a day.  i can watch the movie, enjoy it whilst laughing at the bad acting & silly dialogue.  do i enjoy the movies?  yes.  are they oscar-worthy?  never.

i really liked the movie.  dave hated it- that's to be expected.  it set things up perfectly for part 2 without leaving a cliffhanger that leaves you dying for the next year.  edward is a total hottie & bella's wedding dress is gorgeous.  this movie was basically a set-up for the final movie- and that's where the real stuff will happen.

did you see breaking dawn?

book 3/5.  movie 3/5.

mommy reads: the help

the help

sometimes after you have a baby you're a little late to the game of what is cool and what's not.  that was me and the help.  i had not even heard of the book until the movie came out, and i really didn't know much about the movie either.  dave & i were lucky enough to go on a movie date for our anniversary!  we weren't really impressed with anything that was playing, but we saw the help and dave said that was one that he thought he wouldn't mind seeing.  best choice ever.  so i saw the movie before i read the book- and i was in love with the movie.  my heart was just broken- i can't count how many times i cried, nor can i count how many times i laughed.  

the help takes place in segregated jackson, mississippi in 1962.  elizabeth, hilly & skeeter are the best of friends.  skeeter is home, fresh from ole miss with big plans for a career in journalism; while elizabeth & hilly left school early to marry & have babies.  they are now leading the "ideal" life of a southern woman.  aibileen & minny are maids for elizabeth & hilly's mother, respectively. after hilly comes up with the home help sanitation initiative, skeeter begins to grow uncomfortable with the way her friends treat their help.  she wonders how these women feel about working for white women while someone else raises their own children.  skeeter has the idea to write a book from the viewpoint of the help.  of course, this needs to be done in secret because of the times.  the book is split into stories from these 3 women, and each is told from their point of view.

all i can say is that you need to see the book, and the movie.  i know it's a fictionalized version of what was going on during the civil rights movement, but i'm sure there are elements of truth within it.  there are moments of sadness, and moments of joy.  just read it.

the movie is just as good.  there are little bits that are different, that were changed to make the movie flow better, but overall, it stays true to the book, and for that, i loved it.  

book 5/5.  movie 5/5.

oops...

i did it again... 

i've been a bad blogger... again...  i've probably lost what little tiny readership i already had going for me...  but i've been sooooo busy... reading.  in fact, we've all been reading day and night...

some of us have been reading in our sleep... 

mommy reads: the twilight saga- eclipse

i just finished eclipse heading into this weekend which puts me at 3 books in 3 weeks... and not just any 3 books, 3 somewhat long books.  i'm out of control... sorta like a newborn vampire- which is funny becaus eclipse starts off with seattle being hit by a string of murders- murders that the cullen clan believe are the results of newborns.  as far as the main characters go- eclipse picks up right where new moon left off.  edward has asked bella to marry him, but she's still torn between him (who she knows she really loves) and jacob.  i have to say, i wasn't really big on the love triangle aspect.  in fact, i'm pretty sure if i told my husband i loved him most and would pick him, but was still in love with someone else... i think he'd tell me to hit the road.  ijs.  so, i wasn't a big fan of that, but i did enjoy the further development of the story leading us closer to bella becoming a vampire- which included her high school graduation, and the ultimatum that she gives edward that finally brings them to an agreement over marrying/changing.  i ended up watching the movie before i started the book though, and i really enjoyed the movie as well.  is there a team jasper?  because, sign me up for that ish.  so overall, i loved both, but they just left me waiting on pins & needles for breaking dawn!  woot!

movie/book 3.5/5!

mommy reads: new moon

well, i am so relieved to know that i'm not the only 30 year old woman who is addicted to twilight in the movie & book form and drools over robert pattinson.  i mean, i could have a cardboard cutout of him in my guest bedroom, but i don't.... sadly.  ;)

i finished the 2nd book in the twilight saga- new moon in record time compared to the 1st.  i am averaging a book per week- and that is a record for me at this stage in my life.  i finished the 1st book, and immediately wanted to see the movie, and then i watched the 1st movie and wanted to see the next 2.  so i had a twilathon and then i started new moon.  i already knew new moon would be probably be my least favorite book b\c the movie is pretty depressing, because and robert pattinson isn't in the majority of it.  he's replaced in hotness by taylor lautner, but i'm definitely not team jacob, plus taylor lautner is still a teenager.  it just isn't the same.  so, i knew i had this to look forward to in the book....

new moon starts with bella swan crying doom & gloom over her 18th (omg, she's so old) birthday.  now she's officially 1 year older than her vampire boyfriend, edward cullen.  when she attends a party thrown for her by the cullens, she gets a paper cut while opening a gift and is almost attacked by edward's brother jasper, who is the newest to the vegetarian vampire lifestyle.  because of this, and his desire to protect her at all costs- edward lies to bella, telling her he doesn't love her anymore and that he has to leave with his family, and bella is just dumb enough to believe him.  bella becomes a walking ad for prozac, until she finally decides to become an adrenaline junkie with the help of her friend and soon to be werewolf, who happens to be in love with her, jacob black.  i'll leave it at that. 

i did enjoy the book, i just didn't enjoy it as much as the 1st.  it was a little slow-moving with poor bella being in her depressed state, and i was just thinking in my head the entire time- oh, just reunite with your true love edward already!  the book was a very dark time for bella- if you've had your heart broken, you may relate to how bella felt when edward left- especially if you think of it from the perspective of an 18 year old.  by the end, i was just ready to see bella (and edward) happy again and reunited.

regarding the movie.  you ask, how can you make a 2nd twilight movie with very little robert pattinson? well, taylor lautner finally sheds the horrible wig, shreds out some abs and loses most of his clothes when he joins the gang of jorts-wearing, shirtless werewolves.  his character helps carry the movie during the absence of rp.  overall, i enjoyed it, b\c i'm a twilight freak now.  le sigh.

book & movie: 3/5

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mommy reads: ::sigh:: twilight

yes, believe it or not, this is still melissa.  no one is holding my blog hostage in order to write an entry about twilight.  sadly, i read it myself.  if you know me very well, you know that i am not really into the science fiction/fantasy type stuff.  i am very anti- vampire/witch/wizard/zombie/your choice of scary entity here.  i have not read any henry porter books, nor do i want to.  i did not watch buffy.  i don't particularly care for lord of the rings.  nor do i see the appeal.  i have felt the same way about twilight from the get go.  laughing at it, and anyone else who liked it.  things were going so well in my twilightless life....

rewind back:  sunday, july 31, 2011.  dave & i had gone out the night before with friends for our birthdays.  ian stayed w\ dave's dad, so we stayed the night there too.  it was late when we got back, and didn't want to sneak into bed w\ ian sleeping in the pnp, so we decided to sleep in the basement.  dave had hockey practice the next morning, and the basement bedroom stays pitch black all day, so i was really shocked when dave called and it was after 10 and ian was still asleep.  we were going to meet dave's dad for breakfast, so i wanted ian to sleep as long as he could so he wouldn't be immediately hungry & cranky upon waking up.  i was bored and my phone doesn't have service on the nightstand.  there were a few books sitting there.  one happened to be twilight.  i picked it up and looked at it for a while, and thought, "i'll read this until dave gets here and then i'll hide it way and never touch it again."  so i read a chapter or 2 and dave was back.  i put the book down quickly, he comes in and this conversation ensues:

d:  what have you been doing
m:  nothing
d: what's that look for
m:  i've been reading twilight, and i like it, who am i?!

so, i read the book.  and i liked it.  and then i watched the 1st movie. and before you know it, it's thursday (today) and i've seen all 3 movies and have read 2 of the books.  seriously.  who am i?!  we've had this conversation every day this week.  have you ever had something that you really really loved, but you wanted to keep it a secret b\c you were embarrassed about it.  for me, that was nsync about 12 years ago....  now it's twilight.  gah.  you probably want a review at least... 

"i'm the world's best predator, aren't i?  everything about me invites you in- my voice, my face, even my smell.  as if i need any of that!  as if you could outrun me.  as if you could fight me off."

what can i really say about twilight?  the books aren't going to be winning a pulitzer for writing, obviously.  they are intended for young adults, and it's a story about young adults.  a romance story with suspense thrown in.  for me, i loved it, even if it hurts me to type that.  the story goes:  bella swan moves to forks, washington to live with her dad.  the first day of school she notices the most beautiful boy she's ever seen, but he seems totally put off by her.  she's intrigued.  they forge a reluctant (on his part) friendship and fall in love with each other.  one catch- he's a vampire, and she's "just his brand of heroin."  it sounds really silly typing it out, and it is, but i can't help it- the book was really enjoyable.  i enjoyed the book more in that it was detailed more than the movie, but i enjoyed the movie for its visual aspects.  i think you know what i mean (team edward).  this coming from someone who really doesn't find rob pattinson incredibly attractive. 

seriously, if i even say anything else, i'm going to need someone to slap me to make sure i'm still myself.  and that is a 30 year old with a kid.  not a 17 year old who is obsessed with vampires.  whatever.

4/5 stars.  only because i can't see edward when i'm reading the book.  same for the movie- only b\c it left out details and i kept having to stop & explain things to dave.  that's right.


*by the way, i get that twilight was cool like 5 years ago, so i'm way behind on that bandwagon...

mommy reads: the virgin suicides

i don't know what led me to want to read this book, but i'm glad i did.  i saw this movie back in college- but i fell asleep and i don't remember anything about it, so i guess i didn't see it...  

the virgin suicides is a story is narrated by an anonymous group of narrators- teenage boys, now adults who went to school and were neighbors of the lisbon family.  the story follows the year of the suicides among the lisbon girls and how their deaths affected their entire neighborhood.  

what i loved about this book is was the descriptive narration.  it really just made the book.  you actual felt like you were living in the neighborhood and apart of the tragedy.  i really enjoy it when you read a book and the book actually takes you there.  where you feel you're so much apart of the story that you can see the house the girls live in, and feel their silent pain.  

i'd definitely recommend this book.  it took me a little bit of time to get into, but i think that's mostly because we've been so busy around here.  i think anyone would enjoy it.  the book doesn't dwell too much on the morbidity of the suicides themselves, but there are still depressing aspects.  i can't imagine a person feeling so much pain that the only way out would be to end their own life, but it's obviously a way many people feel.  

4/5

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mommy reads: BUtterfield 8

elizabeth taylor is one of my favorite actresses, and i saw the movie BUtterfield 8 several years ago.  i felt it was a fitting tribute that i was reading BUtterfield 8 when she passed away.  i'm not even sure how i found out it was based on a novel- but i received the book recently and was really excited to read it.  i wish i could say my excitement followed me to the end of the book...  john o'hara based BUtterfield 8 on the death of ny socialite starr faithfull.  this book is definitely a character study, but sometimes it studied the wrong characters.  it started off soooooooo slow- i didn't think i would ever get into it.  there were characters that didn't have anything to do with the story, and it studied them in depth, and then you never heard about them again...  the main character, gloria wandrous is glamorous, yet promiscuous girl who gets involved with a married man, weston liggett.  the book follows their tumultuous relationship.  as i already said, the book was difficult to follow, especially when it was following characters that had nothing to do with the story.  also, BUtterfield 8 was mentioned many times in the movie, but never in the book, other than to explain that it was the name of the telephone exchange.  there isn't too much else to really explain about the book- it's considered an american classic, but it definitely had mixed reviews from what i could find.  

i saw the movie again after reading the book- it's definitely easier to follow than the book!  the movie has a really interesting back story though.  it was the last movie elizabeth taylor (28 at the time) made for mgm in order to finish fulfill her contract and allow her to move on to 20th century fox to make cleopatra.  eddie fisher, who plays gloria's best friend steve- had just left his wife debbie reynolds to marry taylor.  fisher & taylor hated the movie, calling it "butterball 4."  she hated it not only b\c she was being forced to make the movie, but because the american public saw her in the same light as her character gloria, after stealing fisher from reynolds.  although she hated the movie, taylor won the 1960 best actress academy award- which also wasn't without drama.  taylor nearly died while making cleopatra (which nearly bankrupted 20th century fox) and many people feel she received the "pity vote."  while making cleopatra, taylor began a public affair with her costar richard burton, which later led to her divorce from fisher.  

anyway, there's your movie history for the day...  as far as the book goes 2\5 stars.  movie 3\5.  

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mommy reads: carrie

go me.  i have finished yet another book.  which probably explains why i have had little time for anything else.  my email inbox is a mess, i haven't been reading my favorite blogs.  just books. 

carrie is probably my favorite horror movie.  i prefer my thriller/horror movies to be more on the side of creepy/funny rather than bloody/gutty.  and carrie has just enough unintentional humor for me to enjoy it.  

carrie was written in 1974 by stephen king- his first published novel.  it also is one of the most commonly banned books in school.  carrie was adapted into a movie in 1976- which is one of the most popularly watched movies by teens on halloween.   sissy spacek and piper laurie were both nominated for academy awards for their performances! 

ok, i'll say it now.  i enjoyed the movie better than the book on this one.  the book was a little hard to follow with its style of writing- which is written through narration + the use of book excerpts, magazine articles and interviews.  the movie stays pretty true to the book, but there are parts of the story that aren't included and new parts added in.  the biggest difference is in prom night.  surprisingly, the book is WAY more violent than the movie.  shocker.  i don't know if i didn't enjoy the book as much just b\c i already knew how much i loved the movie.  i guess it's scarier to see something than to read about it!  if you haven't read the book, you're probably fine either way, but you should definitely see the movie- even if you don't like scary movies!

book:  2.5/5.  movie 4.5/5