Posts Tagged ‘help!’

BOOK HUNGRY: gone girl

May 23, 2013

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, blake leyers, karla nellenbachand myself. we pick a book to read. we discuss via phone. we post a review on our individual blogs the 3rd thursday of the month. click on their names above and enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is: 

GONE GIRL by gillian flynn

what it’s about from amazon: 

Marriage can be a real killer.
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

my opinion:

this book is SO not up my alley. it’s darker and seedier and more haunting and less laugh inducing than the books i normally choose to read. plain and simple, this book is unbelievably effed up and i hated the characters, but I FREAKING LOVED THIS STORY.

the characters are so vivid and unrelenting and flawed and malicious and wild and raw and not nice, but they remain entirely true to form throughout the whole book. it’s something i value — when the author lets the characters shine through which in turn blots out any hint of their own voice or agenda. these characters are mean and ugly and hideous and i’m sure they were delicious and horrible for gillian flynn to write. it takes some major guts to write characters that are this unlikeable and unrelatable. BRAVO, gillian flynn. BRAVO.

my very favorite part is the ending. it’s completely creepy, but absolutely spot on and exactly how the characters should/would/could have acted. i might have laughed* when it was over because i couldn’t believe flynn pulled off something this insane, this intense.

(*said laugh was of the menacing variety and also one born out of relief because if the book had gone on, it would have crossed a very dark line and i don’t know if i would have recovered from that.)

if you want a book that will take you on an incredible ride (from part II on), read this.

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nemo

February 8, 2013

at the time i’m writing this, the name nemo reminds me of this:

rather than this:

but by the time the day/storm is over that association may very well change.

in other weather news, this video is a lot like my reaction a few years ago when i was walking home from work in the middle of the blizzard and thunder cracked through the sky and my heart.

although, come to think of it, my response might have been a more of AAHHHH, THE WORLD IS ENDING as opposed to the sheer wonder that reporter radiates. i also might have used slightly stronger language than him.

if you’re also in the path of this fishy blizzard, may you be warm and cozy this weekend. if you’re not in the path of this storm, may your weekend be productive and fruitful and may you continue to associate nemo with a fish and not bucket loads of snow.

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out of shape

January 8, 2013

my lacrosse coach from freshman year (of high school) once said, “it takes two weeks to get into proper shape and only three days to get out of it.” after taking a month off from blogging, i’m finding that sentiment ringing in my ears because there are no thoughts in my brain to muffle it.

after a flurry of words in november and a lot of movement but very few words in december, my blogging/writing skills are rusty at best and stunted at worst.

lucky you, dear reader. lucky you.

you get a front row seat as i stretch and stumble, write and wobble, flail and fail, and generally try to remember how to ride this writing bike. it’ll be GOOD TIMES, even if it does look a little like this:

but then again, 2012 was a good year for that look. let’s see what i can do with it in 2013.

p.s. thank you to my nephews A & L for making me sit down and watch that video. it’s important to be hip to the trends, no matter if it is a 7 and 4yo showing me the way.

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check THAT off the list

November 27, 2012

there has always been this one thing on my life to do list that i hadn’t shared with many people since it’s, well, a loaded topic.

what was that thing?

shooting a gun.

no one in my family hunts or owns a gun (to my knowledge), so i’ve never been around a gun before. i don’t even really like action movies with too much violence, but for some reason, i’ve always wanted to shoot a gun. i mean, something other than that orange remote controlled duck hunt ninetendo game thing.

lo and behold, this thanksgiving, i found myself surrounded by a cop and a doctor, wearing protective eye and ear gear and standing in front of a target. before this moment, i watched a five minute safety video and got a quick rundown of the gun + its parts, and then, it was go time.

so THAT’S what the back of my head looks like

after holding the gun(s) in my hands, i understood why i wanted to try it in the first place.

POWER.

it was scary and nerve wracking and interesting and creepy and unlike anything i had ever experienced and exactly like i had expected though much, much louder.

the recoil was jerky and uncontrollable and confusing because from my time playing (or trying) almost every sport under the sun, the way your arm followed through generally determined the arc/angle/ending point of the ball/puck, and when the gun jerked up after the trigger was pulled, it shocked me the bullet didn’t travel a similar, uneven path and end up 12 meters higher than i aimed for.

not bad for a novice, eh?

having finally (and randomly) checked this off my life’s goals list, i want everyone to follow suit. i know this is usually the time of year we’re all reviewing what we did and planning for the new one, but instead of making resolutions, i recommend getting out there and doing them.

starting now.

but be safe! and follow all the rules! and surround yourself with experts! (i mean, hello, could one be any safer at a gun range than with a cop and a doctor? i don’t think so.)

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to my parents…

November 6, 2012

…and all those (still) affected by hurricane sandy.

Bent Tree in Storm Clouds & Light by TylerKnott

The storms will come and the winds will rise and the gusts will threaten to pull you from your roots.  Let the winds come.  Let them rage and know that you will not break in the breeze, you will bend.  Bend.  Always bend because you are made of more strength than you know, because you are better than the breaking.

(Source: treehousephotography.org)

p.s. i donated to the american red cross, did you?


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