Books I read in 2011

My friend Jessie suggested a couple years ago that we post what we've read throughout the year. I love seeing what other people are reading and am always looking for suggestions, so add your favorites to the comments section!

Side note: In the 2nd grade, my grandmother gave me a sweatshirt with patches sewn on that read, "Reading is cool" and "Books Belong". I wore it once, was made fun of, and never wore it again. If I still had that sweatshirt (and it still fit), I would wear it proudly.

Books I read in 2011
1. The memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
2. Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian
3. The Living Great Lakes: searching for the heart of the inland seas by Jerry Dennis (I read this book for book club and really loved it. I learned a lot about the history of the Great Lakes.)
4. Room by Emma Donoghue
5. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
6. Night by Elie Wiesel
7. Squirrel seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
8. Full Dark, no Stars by Stephen King
9. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
10. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
11. Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
12. Matched by Ally Condie
13. Bossypants by Tina Fey (Such a fun read. I think we can all relate a little bit to her childhood)
14. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
15. Sarah's Key by Tatiano DeRosnay (Heartbreaking. I thought they did a good job with the movie adaptation)
16. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
17. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
19. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
20. Palo Alto Stories by James Franco
21. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audry Niffeneggar (NOT as good as the Time Traveler's Wife)
22. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
23. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress bny Rhoda Janzen (Ugh)
24. Under the Dome by Stephen King (Believe it or not, this was my favorite of all the books I read this year. The character study and intense plot line made the 1,000 pages fly by. It was also cool to get all the Maine references. I just bought his new one 11/23/63 to read in 2012)
25. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
26. Before you Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
27. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
28. Admissions by Jennifer Sowle
29. Is Everyone Hanging out Without me? by Mindy Kaling - My second favorite book of the year. She is totally relatable, I laughed out loud several times and I want to be her friend.
30. Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah
31. Heat Wave by Richard Castle (I know, I know. But somebody took the time to write the actual book, so I took the time to read it. And it was free on my Kindle)
32. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (Jessie Jones lent me this book in July and it took me almost 6 months to finish. Not as quick of a read as Pillars of the Earth, but a great historical fiction account of WWI told from the point of view of several characters in different parts of the world. I can't wait for the next book in the trilogy)
33. Ape House by Sara Gruen
34. The Leftovers by Tom Perrota (I loved Election and Little Children and this new one from him was really cool)

Happy New Year everyone and here's to great reading in 2012!

Fall TV Preview

It's the most wonderful time of the year! As it gets colder outside and I start to go into hibernation mode, my DVR heats up and the fall TV season begins. In terms of new programming, so far I think I'm going to invest in The New Girl, A Gifted Man (I love me some Patrick Wilson) and Up All Night. I gave Charlie's Angels one episode. It reminds me a lot of Alias (especially with Victor Garber as Charlie), but as much as I like Minka Kelly, I hate that girl from Grey's Anatomy last season. No thanks. I'm also ditching a few shows this year. Don't judge, but I've been watching Gossip Girl and Desperate Housewives since they both debuted and I think I'm done. Surprisingly, I also decided to get rid of the Biggest Loser. It's just too long. I don't have two hours every week to watch ads for Jennie-O turkey.

Ok, let's break it down by day:

Sunday: I'm super into The Good Wife after watching the first two seasons on DVD over the summer. I've heard that Michael J. Fox is coming back this season too, so yay. The Walking Dead, Dexter, Homeland (new), Breaking Bad and The Amazing Race make for an exciting start to the week. I got through 4 episodes of Boardwalk Empire over the summer, but I just consider it too much of a "boy" show. Sorry Buscemi.

Monday: House without Dr. Cuddy is hard to imagine, but sending House to prison is a great way to break up the formulaic monotony of the show. I'm a little skeptical about the whole Charlyne Yi storyline, but have missed Dr. Crankypants over the summer. I've heard 2 Broke Girls is funny and may give it a shot. I don't watch singing or dancing reality shows, so don't try to get me to watch Dancing with the Stars or America's Got Talent.

Tuesday: I have enjoyed the first two episodes of Ringer and will probably continue with that. The fact that it's on the CW gives them a little more leeway with outrageous plotlines and it's about time Sarah Michelle Gellar was back on TV. I'll be honest. I'm only watching Glee this season to see the story arcs of "The Glee Project" winners and if they are all like Linday's performance last week, I'm in. I think Parenthood is one of the best shows on TV right now and can't wait to see what happens to the Bravermans this season. Is Michael B. Jordan leaving?

Wednesday: I loved Modern Family before they won every Emmy possible. That show is hilarious. Survivor: South Pacific is entertaining this season because the dragon slayer and a hippie version of Ozzy are back. If I can get through Top Chef: Just Desserts, Top Chef: Texas is starting in a couple weeks.

Thursday: I had to give up hosting trivia Thursdays to have time to watch all my Thursday shows. You think I'm kidding. Parks and Rec without a Ben/Leslie pairing is heartbreaking, but that cast is phenomenal and I'm sure this season will rock. I'm not so sure about the Office sans Steve Carell. It seems a little gimmicky, but I'm willing to go along for the ride. I hate having to wait until January to get my Liz Lemon fix on 30 Rock, but I'm sure the wait will be worth it. I'm also watching Grey's Anatomy and The Mentalist (I love a man in a 3-piece suit). I had been watching Project Runway over the summer, but may give it up.

Friday and Saturday: Now that my beloved Medium is over, I'm giving Patrick Wilson's a Gifted Man a chance, although I really can't stand that actress who played Rita on Dexter. And of course, SNL makes for good hungover Sunday morning DVR watching. It's not gay if it's a 3-way.

Time to wrap up in my Slanket and settle in for the long haul. What am I missing?

Farewell Tommy Gavin & 62 Truck

I was first introduced to Tommy Gavin and the rest of 62 Truck during the summer of '09. I think FX was starting the latest season of Rescue Me and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Since I am obviously too impatient to wait for Netflix, I went to Videoport 3 or 4 times that weekend and plowed through the first couple of seasons. The show follows one house of the NYFD in the wake of 9/11. Tommy Gavin, played by Denis Leary, lost his cousin and best friend on 9/11 and deals with it through alcohol, infidelity and numerous other self-destructive behaviors.

In the series finale, Tommy has a dream that leads us to believe that 5 firefighters died in the big warehouse fire, but we eventually find out that Lou is the only one who did. Janet has her baby at home in a matter of 3 minutes and Tommy wants to name him Lou, but Janet decides on Shea, which was Lou's last name. The final episode had a lot of the typical goofiness, but comes full circle when Tommy shows the new probies a banner with the names of the firefighters who died on 9/11 and tells them what it really means to be a hero.

Although the show dipped into the absurd a few times (mainly involving Sean's love life), there were some really touching moments throughout the seasons. It's fitting that the show wrapped up almost to the day of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Rescue Me gave us an insight to the guilt, rage and eventual healing that the firefighters of New York felt in the years following 9/11. I could have done without the actress who played Tommy's daughter, Katie. In fact, she was terrible, but guest appearences by Maura Tierney, Tatum O'Neal and Michael J. Fox more than made up for it.

All in all, an entertaining and inspiring show. I raise my glass to you, Tommy Gavin!

Why There Should Be A "Glee Project"-Type Competition For Every Show

I just now got to watch Sunday's season finale of the Glee Project. If you aren't familiar with this show, Oxygen network looked at 40,000 auditions and narrowed it down to 12 finalists competing for a 7-episode arc in season 3 of Glee. Each week, the contestants had a group song and music video featuring a theme (vulnerability, sexuality, etc). The producers would choose three contestants who didn't do so well to perform last chance performances for executive producer Ryan Murphy. His least favorite would go home. The downfall to the show is that Murphy ultimately chose the winner as opposed to audience votes (otherwise, Cameron would be the winner). While I think that Glee is fine on its on, I am way more excited to watch this season when I know Damian and Sam's back stories and know what they had to go through to get the role.

SO, imagine how fun this type of show would be for, say, House. Contestants would compete to replace Olivia Wilde when 13's character leaves this season. Challenges would involve tongue twisting medical monologues or seeing who has the best chemistry with Omar Epps. Or, how about a competition to find the next trainers for The Biggest Loser. Instead of sticking us with the "unknowns" like they did last season, let me decide before the season even starts whether I'll want to watch it based on the trainers' catch phrases and interesting training techniques.

As anyone who knows me knows, I always claim not to watch singing or dancing reality shows, but when the prize is a role on a show that I watch, I'm in! There's something about rooting for the unknown, little guy that I love. It's like we're in on a secret about the show and I always like to be in the know. So, as we head into the fall television season, let's think about this method for some of our favorite shows. Let's use the method to find the new boss for the office, a third lab tech for Walt and Jesse on Breaking Bad or a fifth douchebag to hang with Vince and his posse on Entourage.

Take The Money And Run

Maybe it's just because I'm well into season 4 of Alias, but the premise of the new ABC summer show, "Take the money and run" had me intrigued. Let's not mention what other ABC show I was watching when I saw the first preview for this show (Really? JP over Ben?). Anyway, I digress. This show totally plays into my current fascination with the CIA and covert ops. Basically, a team of two is given a  briefcase with $100,000 in it and they have one hour to hide it in their hometown. In the case of the premiere, two brothers have to hide the suitcase in San Francisco. The detectives and profilers have 48 hours to find the briefcase. If they do, they get the money. If not, the brothers keep it. All the detectives have to go on are the phone records from the hour the brothers had to hide the cash, the GPS coordinates from the route the brothers took, and any information gleaned from interviews while the brothers are in custody. It's amazing in this first episode to see how the brother Paul is completely breaking down despite the fact that he only has to wait it out for 48 hours before he and his brother can walk away with $100,000. He even talks about how they'd give some money to their mom, who had breast cancer. Toughen up, buddy!

I've never been to jail or slept in a jail cell, but I can't imagine that it would be that hard to lie to the detectives and wait it out. I guess the other part of this game would be having a partner you could really trust. You'd have to come up with a lie that you could both stick to. In this case, the brothers buried the briefcase in a park, which I think is brilliant. They then don't have to worry about any of the friends they called giving them up.

There are so many ways you could play the interrogation. To see Paul give up the location with only 18 hours left to go drives me CRAZY! It's a game! A TV show! For $100,000! The detectives walk away with the money. And the other brother is ok with it? Ughhh! This show is my new obsession.

Time To Give Up The Dream

I've been watching Alias on DVD. Not sure if you caught this gem from JJ Abrams that ran from 2001-2006 on ABC. The main thing I get from this is...working for the CIA is cool! Why couldn't I do that? How hard could it be to learn hand-to-hand combat techniques, be able to disable bombs, break any code out there in record time, wear cool disguises and travel all over the world? I'm in. Upon further investigation (going to the CIA website), I was disappointed to learn that I technically have no marketable skills to provide the CIA. First of all, the majority of field positions are available to people ages 23-27. Ok, so I missed out there. What about a linguist position? They accept people up to age 35. Despite the fact that I majored in French in college and can speak it fluently, even Michael Vartan who plays a CIA agent on the show is more bilingual than I am. And French isn't really the main language they're looking for today. They prefer that you be fluent in Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, Farsi and Kurdish. Come to think of it, I don't really keep secrets all that well. I think it's time to give up the dream...and live vicariously through Jennifer Garner.

Beating The Heat With Summer TV

With temps in the 90s this week, there is only so much outdoor activity I can handle. That's why I'm thankful for the return of some of my favorite summer shows. Breaking Bad, True Blood and The Big C are some of the good ones. And while I suffer through shows like Weeds and Entourage, it's still nice to see some familiar faces. I have decided to put up with Rescue Me (despite a few lackluster seasons) because this is the final season. And I suppose I have to see how Vince recovers from reahab and whether Mrs. Ari takes Ari back. And what a surprise to have new shows like Wilfred that are actually entertaining. So Nancy, Tommy, Walt, Cathy, Sookie and Lafayette...it's good to see you again!

To Stream Or Not To Stream

I have been a faithful Netflix subscriber since 2006. As mentioned in a previous post, I have about 126 movies in my DVD queue and 78 in my instant watch queue. I pay just over $10 per month for these services and with the Roku box, I can stream Netflix movies through my TV. Woo hoo! Imagine my surprise when I received an email from Netflix today stating that in September, I will have to choose between receiving DVDs in the mail or watching instantly. I can, of course, continue the same plan I have now, but it will cost me over $16 per month. I don't fault Netflix for this rate hike. I'm sure they lose money by having me as a member. In fact, thanks to feedflix.com, which calculates the amount you pay per DVD, I know that they do. I guess I am just wondering if I really need both streaming and DVDs in the mail. Most of the TV shows I want to watch aren't streaming yet (except for the odd gems like Arrested Development or Studio 60), but it is nice to sit back and choose from 78 movies to watch at instantly. Is the extra $6 per month really going to break the bank? Netflix adds new movies to streaming all the time. And I like getting those new movies in the mail the first day they're available. My bet is that I'll maintain the status quo and pay the extra money to keep my account as it is. What will you do?

A Lanaster Always Pays His Debts

I got HBO because True Blood was starting again. I can now catch up on all the shows I've missed over the past 6 months, including Game Of Thrones. I watched the 10 episodes over a period of 5 days and must say, I am spent. My first thought was that it reminded me a lot of Ken Follet's book "Pillars of the Earth". It's obvious from the beginning who the good guys and the bad guys are. And as someone pointed out, anybody could die at any time. I thought it was so ballsy to set it up as if Bran were going to die at the end of the first episode. I liked his character and was glad to see him live, but not all of my favorites were so lucky. Nothing was more devastating (and surprising) than the death of Ned Stark in the second to last episode. As my friend Terry said, "Joffrey is the new Malfoy." I totally agree. And how cool that there are dragons again? They are way cooler than the baby velociraptors from Jurassic Park. How long do we have to wait before the second season? I know that the show is based on a series of books. I'm tempted to read ahead to spoil the plot lines for myself. As you may know, I don't care for conflict in drama. If nothing else, at least I won't be so caught off guard when my favorite characters are beheaded.

How Many Is Too Many?

How many movies do you have in your Netflix queue? Currently, I have 127. Some of them have been there for over a year. In addition, I have 13 movies saved on my DVR. I guess I'm wondering if I should whittle the queue down to the 40 or so movies/TV shows that I'll actually watch. I guess there's no harm in keeping Repo Man on the list. I may get around to it someday. It's the movies like "Incendiary" or "Purple Violets" that I added because they starred someone I like and I have no idea what they're about. Is there such a thing as too many movies in your queue? My friend Gib had over 800 movies last time I checked, so I suppose 127 isn't so bad.

My "Survivalist" Mentality

Is it just me, or has television scared everyone else into thinking the end of the world is coming? I'm not talking about the news, or crazies who say the Rapture is upon us. No, I'm talking about shows like Jericho and The Walking Dead. For some reason, the writing is so good that I actually feel like at any moment a nuclear bomb could go off or a disease could turn everyone I know into zombies and I'd have to run for my life. I first noticed this when I found myself buying 36 bottles of water from Sam's Club. Why would I need this much bottled water? Well, for when I'm on the road trying to avoid creatures wanting to eat my flesh. And I've sort of put together a "go" bag with clothes, a first aid kit and non-perishable food items. Throw in movies like "The Road" and I find myself making sure my gas tank is always full...just in case. Of course, I'm sure it's good to have a disaster plan in place anyway. You can never be too prepared. When the zombies are banging down your door, contact me on your hand-held radio and I'll come save you.

A note about spoilers

I have always been the kind of person who wants everyone to know what I got them for Christmas months before the holiday. We all know I can't keep a secret very well. However, when it comes to television or movie spoilers, I actively try not to ruin it for other people, especially if they tell me not to. That being said, if you DVR'd the final episode of Lost but haven't watched it yet, or haven't seen the episode of Dexter where we find out who Trinity is, you probably shouldn't be on Facebook, or the internet in general for that matter. When I'm not able to stay up for the Survivor finale, I actively avoid all possible references to the show, including Facebook, Twitter and any of Michael Ausiello's TVLine posts. So, please don't get angry with me because you haven't caught up yet. Do what I do. Lock yourself in a room with your DVR'd program and avoid all other media until you are ready to discuss it. Thank you.

True Blood or True Disappointment?

Let's be honest, I watched the 8-minute preview of this season's premiere of True Blood last week and was SO confused. As a faithful Charlaine Harris reader, I have no idea where they're going with this season...witches other than Amelia? Sookie gone for over a year? Tara as a lesbian wrestler? Not so much in the books. And since when does Sam shapeshift into a horse? The one deviation I enjoy is keeping Lafayette around. He was killed in the first book, but is the most colorful character on the show. And Jesus isn't hard on the eyes either. I do love the Jessica/Hoyt storyline. And it's always nice to see Eric. Technically, I got HBO for True Blood, but I guess it's time to catch up on In Treatment, Game of Thrones, Treme and Boardwalk Empire.

Welcome to "We could talk or not talk"

I was sitting in front of my television with a glass of wine, typical for a Sunday night, or any night for that matter, and was watching "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World". I realize this movie came out last year, so instead of writing a random facebook status like, "If your life had a face, I would punch it" and hope that someone would recognize the quote and then comment on how much they liked that movie that came out 8 months ago, I decided to start a blog where I can discuss both current movies and TV shows and old ones that I'm just now getting to (like Alias). If this is anything like Twitter, I'll probably end up with 5 people who occasionally read and/or comment on my blog. But that's ok. I always wish that I had kept the ticket stubs to every movie I've ever seen, but at least now I'll have written documentation of what I was watching when, say, NY legalized gay marriage or the Real Housewives went to Morocco. So comment or don't comment, talk or don't talk. And if this takes away from my words with friends playing, I apologize.