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Linking up with Hopeful Leigh to share what I was into in January!
Reading
I read Matilda, a children’s book by Roald Dahl. All of our kids read this book at various points, and they all recommended that we read it.
So, we did! I read it out loud to Mr. FG and we both loved it. Matilda is so hilarious and genuine, and parts of it were making me laugh so hard, I had a hard time reading. Also, Quentin Blake’s illustrations are just on point. Simple, but brilliant.
I don’t know if there’s a version out there with other illustrations, but if you read this, you really must make sure the illustrations are by Blake. Nothing else could compare. 😉
I bought the Kindle version, which, luckily, has Quentin Blake’s drawings included. Phew.
What else?
I’m in the middle of Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman (sister of The Nester). I actually bought this book, which is a rarity for me. Generally I see if something is available at the library and if it’s not, I just skip reading it. But this sounded SO much like something aimed at me, I bought a used copy on half.com.
I read Still Alice (a library book this time!). I think I heard this recommended on Anne Bogel’s What Should I Read Next podcast. It tells the story of a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s, and what makes it extra interesting is that the story is told from her perspective. The writing is great, and the book manages to be moving without being sappy or forced.
And then after that I read another book by the same author, Love Anthony. (from the library too)
The author has a PhD in neuroscience, and all of her novels deal with some aspect of the brain. This time it’s autism. I didn’t like this one quite as well as Still Alice, but I still thought the writing was strong, and it held my interest the whole way through. It just was maybe not as believable a plot line as Still Alice.
Watching
I watched Shadows in the Sun, a movie that was in our Netflix DVD queue. The Amazon reviews are largely positive, but I thought it was kind of terrible.
I mean, it wasn’t offensive, but it felt cheesy and predictable to me, which made it boring. Plus, even though a lot of the actors are fairly well-known, I didn’t think any of them turned in an amazing performance. I couldn’t get emotionally invested in any of them.
So, yeah…just not my kind of movie, I guess.
On a better note, I watched the movie version of Matilda with Mr. FG, Sonia, and Zoe. As book adaptations go, I thought this one was fairly good. But I was bummed it wasn’t set in England and I thought some of the casting was too far a departure from the book (most notably Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood).
Miss Honey and Miss Trunchbull were spot on, though, and Matilda was adorable.
I am just really, really difficult to please when it comes to books made into movies.
Listening
I usually keep up with some podcasts, but I don’t think I’ve listened to any in January at all! My podcast queue is probably all jammed up.
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What did you watch, listen to, or read in January? I’d love to hear!
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Victoria
Sunday 5th of February 2017
Have you watched Still Alice yet?!?!? My Mom read the book on vacation a few springs ago and we watched the movie this last fall. It is soooo good! I think you'll like it since you liked the book so much.
Do you read Emily's blog?!?!? I thoroughly enjoyed that book too!
Dahl is such a fantastic author! It's no wonder we're still passing his books around all these years later. I've been wanting to re-read Matilda!
Sorry the movie was less than enjoyable! I don't mind a super cheesy film, but there are some that take things TOO far.
What are some of your favorite podcasts? I'm off to poke around here and see if you've mentioned them before!
Lori
Thursday 2nd of February 2017
I haven't read Love Anthony, but I really enjoyed both Still Alice and Inside the O'Briens. I think I liked Inside the O'Briens better than Still Alice, actually, and I'd recommend it if you like the author's books. My only caveat is that I would not recommend them to hypochondriacs. ;) I had myself convinced I had early-onset Alzheimer's for a few weeks after I read Still Alice (I was obsessively tracking my times finishing the NY Times crossword, to make sure I wasn't experiencing cognitive decline). Thankfully I have zero genetic chance of having Huntington's, so I was able to read Inside the O'Briens with minimal stress.
At the very start of January I finished Dexter Palmer's Version Control, which was the best novel I've read in quite a while. If you like more literary sci-fi (and this is definitely more literary than sci-fi!), I'd highly recommend it. I also really, really enjoyed Welcome to Braggsville, which I read right after, but since then, everything I've read has been just okay.
I don't think I've seen anything very good all month! We watched Denial last weekend, which is definitely about an interesting subject (about the trial of an author who is sued for libel by a Holocaust denial) but just not that well-executed. The kids have been really into Annedroids on Amazon, which is a cute show about a homeschooled girl, who makes all of these awesome robots, and her friends, but IMO it doesn't have a ton of crossover appeal to adults!
Kristen
Thursday 2nd of February 2017
My goodness yes...reading Still Alice will have you getting all, "OH NO! I'M LOSING MY MIND." when you can't remember a word, or you forget why you walked into a room.
I feel you.
Stephanie L
Thursday 2nd of February 2017
I took my niece to see "hidden figures" about African-American women working at NASA in the 1960s. It was an amazing film, and so refreshing to see both strong female and strong male characters in the same story.
Right now I'm reading "the residence" about the staff that works at the White House. It's rather a fluffy read – more like a long feature magazine article. It's interesting, though, and with this being my busy season at work it's nice to have something easy and lightweight.
Sarahbeth
Thursday 2nd of February 2017
I'm pretty intrigued by Grace for the Good Girl. I may need to put that on my short list. Definitely sounds like it was written for me. Especially the part about how "the Christian life means hard work and a sweet disposition." I was raised by a mom who basically communicated to me that as long as I was "sweet" on the outside, not much else mattered. So I grew up thinking it was always wrong/unloving to speak my mind or disagree. It has been hard to unlearn that.
I'm still working my way through the Harry Potter books, which I have never read before. I was about 19 or 20 when the first one was published, but I've never read them or seen the movies. I'm in the middle of book 5 currently. I am vigilant about avoiding anything that might give any of it away. I like not knowing what's coming! And I can't WAIT to watch the movies when I finish the book series.
Next on my list is The Five Love Languages of Children.
Lori
Thursday 2nd of February 2017
Last year my husband, who had never read the Harry Potter series before, read the books aloud to our older daughter, and he got really into them! My older son and I were forbidden from revealing any spoilers to either of them, and it was really hard, because they kept wanting to talk about the books, and it's hard to talk about books you've already finished without giving away spoilers!
Annie
Thursday 2nd of February 2017
Watched "Seymour: An Introduction" on Netflix. Great documentary about a concert level pianist who decides to teach instead of performing. I love that he is a kind and gentle artist and teacher. Finally read all of the All-of-a-Kind Family books. I loved the first two when I read them as a kid, and meant to read the last three for years. Read "The Curated Closet" by Anuschka Rees. I have been trying to pare down my wardrobe and develop my own style, and this book helped me do that. My wardrobe is much smaller, but now I wear each piece more often and getting dressed takes much less time than before. I extended the same techniques to my makeup and accessories.