Summer Reading List

Although summer isn’t officially here until June 20th, Memorial Day weekend has always kicked off summer in my book. It seems like just a few weeks ago it was Christmas and just a short time before that I was still living and teaching high school in Texas. At 26, it amazes me how quickly time passes. Sometimes I wish it would slow down so that I could enjoy the moments more, but then again when i was younger, I always wished that I would grow up, so here I am. Afterall, you can’t have everything and we all eventually grow up!

With the onset of summer, I’m bringing out my summer reading list. A few of the books on my list are quite hefty reads, so I’m hoping that I’m not being too ambitious. My list contains everything from classics to biographies to NY Times best sellers, so here goes.

• Wicked: The life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
• Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• If I stay by Gayle Forman
• A grown up kind of pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

If I have extra time, then I’ll also try to read The Harry Potter Series, Books 1-7. If not, then that series will start off my fall reading!

Let the reading begin!

Siskel and Ebert

I can’t believe it’s already February 1st. The past few weeks have flown by and I have forgotten to post blogs! So, what have I been up to?? Seeing as it is awards season, I have spent my free time watching movies. No lie, Sunday alone I watched 4 movies, but only 2 of them were Oscar nods.

What I’ve seen since Christmas.

• Midnight in Paris – Good movie, but weird which I would expect from a Woody Allen flick. Loved the 1920’s art and literature aspect of the movie.
• Moneyball – Much better than I anticipated. I’m not that into Baseball, but it’s a good, true story and Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill both played their parts well.
• War Horse – Amazing movie. Hands down, one of my favorite films of 2011. As an animal lover, it was hard to watch some of the scenes. Bring a kleenex because you’ll need it.
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Colin Firth and Gary Oldman are in it so of course it’s going to be awesome. Great movie and unless you pay close attention you’ll never guess who’s the spy.
• Mission Impossible 4 – Too unrealistic. I mean overall it was a good non-stop action flick, but come on, the scene where he’s climbing up the outside of the hotel was a little too far-fetched.
• Contraband – Really good film that kept you on the edge of your seat and definitely kept you guessing. One of those films where you never knew what was going to happen next.
• Sherlock Holmes 2 – I thought this was a little disappointing. I liked the first one a lot better as I thought this film had a lot of dull moments.
• We Bought a Zoo – Cute, family friendly movie. Loved the animals and the story.
• Young Adult – Way overrated and too dark and depressing. Bad job Charlize. I’m sure there are quite a few people who enjoyed this movie, but I did not.

What I need to see:

• My week with Marilyn – Michelle Williams got an oscar nod again this year, so I have to see this because apparently she’s an A lister now.
• The Iron Lady – Who doesn’t love Margaret Thatcher? She is an icon for women. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this movie, but I need to see it for myself.
• The Artist – This looks really good even though it’s a silent film. Plus I love clothes from the 1920s…everything was classic back then.
• Hugo – I’ve heard Martin Scorsese does a great job with this film. The story I don’t quite get, but I’ll give it a shot.
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Yes it looks sad, but good. It will be interesting to see how the story unfolds.

Although they are up for Oscars, I will probably not see The Descendants as it looks too depressing and I will definitely not see Albert Nobbs. Albert Nobbs looks too weird – it’s like an Irish version of Boys don’t cry. No thanks.

Call me Siskel and you can be my Ebert.