Friday, February 22, 2013

Snowpocalypse breeds a new obsession.

Yesterday was a snowy day for which I had no plans other than a staff meeting at the newspaper in the afternoon.  I didn't have to work and because of the blizzard, I REALLY didn't want to leave the apartment until absolutely necessary.

So what did I do?  I decided to catch an hour of a miniseries I started a while back (but stopped because I got a bit bored with it).  I watched an hour, and then two hours, and then finished the entire miniseries before realizing I'd been sitting in my favorite chair for nearly the entire day, devouring this delicious romance.

It's called North and South, based off of the book by Elizabeth Gaskell, and it is absolutely wonderful.  If you're looking for a new obsession or just some angry man candy to drool over, than look no further and watch this RIGHT NOW!  It's on Netflix.  In my eyes, it's comparable to the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, so that means it's FANTASTIC.


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Love is in the air...and on the screen.

I love Valentine's day, even if it's only purpose is to give me an excuse to go overboard watching the romantic movies I love the most.  I love romance when it's done right in films...who doesn't??

Because it's the most romantic day of the year and because I just love love, I'm going to post some of my absolute favorite romantic moments in film.  Feel free to comment with your own favorites- I wanna hear 'em all.

Onward ho!!

BIG FISH: "They say when you meet the love of your life, time stops."




LES MISERABLES: "I am lost...I am found."




STRANGER THAN FICTION: "I brought you flours."




LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS: 




THE LADY EVE: "You really haven't the right to drag me off like this, Hopsy!"



JANE EYRE: "I ask you to pass through life at my side."




I better stop there, I'm getting a tad out of control here.  Don't forget to offer your own suggestions and have a happy, romantic Valentine's Day!


Monday, February 11, 2013

My Read of the Week!

So, I got a stack of amazing looking novels for Christmas (which, I must admit, is my favorite sort of Christmas gift) and I finally began this one by April Lindner:

You can only guess what it's going to be about, but for those of you that aren't picking up what I'm putting down (which is actually nothing...in all reality, I have not been dropping a lot of hints), Jane is basically a modern retelling of Jane Eyre.  


Now, what I'm about to tell you all may put me on some of your 'You're Dead to Me' lists...but this is my blog, and I'm going to be totally honest on here.  Basically, there are a lot of classic novels that I haven't read simply because they are hard for me to get through and hard for me to understand.  I haven't picked up Pride and Prejudice in years because in high school, I tried to read it several times and couldn't make it past the first few chapters.  I know, I know...I need to try again ASAP.  I'll keep you updated on that venture.  

Jane Eyre is one of those slow, difficult novels for me to get through, but I saw the recent film with Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska and absolutely loved the story (again, I know...I need to try Jane Eyre again soon).  So Lindner's novel really appealed to me right away.  

I'm only halfway through it, but this book is fantastic.  Instead of brooding Mr. Rochester, we have a brooding Nico Rathburn, a famous rockstar with a lot of famous exes.  He's got a daughter named Maddy who Jane- a recent Sarah Lawrence dropout- is hired on to care for.  Nico's hard to like, has a temper...but after a while, seems extremely irresistible   

The writing in this novel is wonderful for a YA novel (which isn't to say that all YA writers are bad- I guess for me, it's hard to find writers that can stand up next to greats like John Green).  The story makes sense.  The setting is sumptuous.  

Basically this novel is great.  If you're a fan of the original story, pick up Jane and give the novel a spin.  I give it the Madi Seal of Approval.  

That sounds awesome....I should make a literal seal of approval.....

Nope, too lazy.