Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley

I Was Told There'd Be Cake I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
When you’re past the halfway point and the book is still sucking, it’s time to throw in the towel and move on in your literary life. I originally didn’t realize this was a collection of short stories, which is not my favorite style, but I labored on under the misconception that maybe there would be some flashes of hilarity a la Laurie Notaro, etc. Not a one. I can’t pinpoint what my issue is specifically, but I just do not like the author. I have never had this happen before. After reading through some other reviews, I see I am not alone! The author comes off as insincere, ‘too cool’ and spoiled; a hipster with a book deal and the misgiving that she’s uproariously clever. She’s disconnected from the memories of her own life in a way that leaves the reader feeling, well, nothing. 2 thumbs way down!

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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Friday, September 11, 2009

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Fashion Plates

When I was little, I had this super cool toy called Fashion Plates, where you could flex your budding fashion designer muscles by creating sweet outfits.





I happened to see this beauty the last time I was in the toy aisle. I am pretty sure I'm asking for this for Christmas. Look how swanky it is! I bet Tim Gunn and his "clenched fists with mini thumbs up" had a lot to do with this. Look at all of the fabulous accessories! A PROJECTOR! Love it!



Tuesday, September 8, 2009

One Mississippi: A Novel by Mark Childress

One Mississippi: A Novel One Mississippi: A Novel by Mark Childress


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It was a bit hard to rate a book "Really Liked It" that ends the way this one does (I won't spoil anything for you, no worries); but the earlier portions of the book led me to say I did really enjoy it. I wrote down so many humorous quotes from this book and I really enjoyed the whole "Yankee-returning-to-the-south" theme and the way the author illustrated the 70's so perfectly through music, clothing and pop culture. This book was kind of manic to me in that I was expecting a humorous fish out of water/coming of age tale (since the reviews on the book's cover all tout it's hilarity) but it was chock full of serious, heart-breaking events. The author did a good job of injecting plenty of humor, but no amount could have made up for the semi-shocking (only semi b/c you felt something like this was coming) conclusion. I'm happy that I read it and will take away plenty of chuckle-worthy lines, although I caution anyone looking for a light-hearted/feel-good type of book to choose something else.

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Saturday, September 5, 2009

Where Not To Move

From ApartmentRatings.com > Nice find from Jason!!!

http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/GA-Decatur-Robins-Landing.html

Notable excerpts:

"expcept for like i said in the front of the complex it wasnt a big shocker for me because i am originally from ny n i am kind of use to police raids in the middle of the night and findin bodies in the stairwell...sad but true... but there was a man killed like 2 months ago but it was towards the front..."

"...and the insect oh my god its like they chilling with me."

Snap

I love humorous flow charts!


From http://fakeplasticnoodles.com/2007/10/16/flowcharts-that-dont-suck/

Friday, September 4, 2009

Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern

Eye Contact Eye Contact by Cammie McGovern


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was one of the best books I have read this year! I literally could not put it down! Well, really, I put it down twice because, much to my chagrin, I had to go to bed. Aside from that, it never left my hands! The narration of this book is what makes it so interesting; it is told from several different characters’ points of view and they all seem to have something to hide. I found it very interesting to read the narration told from Adam’s P.O.V., as a nine year old autistic child. This story focused a lot on the struggles the parents of autistic children face, which was very insightful for me since I had very little knowledge of this subject. This book is full of surprises and unexpected twists; the great thing is everything is revealed in the end so you don’t feel like you have any unanswered questions. I just finished this book yesterday and I’ve recommended it to 4 people already! Must read!

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