Stalker Music
For awhile now, I have thought that a lot of “love” songs are creepy and stalker like. If I were to make a mixed tape, it would go like this:
Song Title – band – when in the relationship the song occurs
Shiver – Coldplay… noticing, meeting
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me – The Supremes… the attempt at seduction
I Need You – LeAnn Rimes… the abrasive neediness, basically the act of stalking when there is no need to continue the behavior of a stalker because the person is indeed paying attention to you
Push – Matchbox Twenty… the actual (and somewhat abusive) relationship when the stalker continues to objectify the stalkee
Every Breath You Take – The Police… after the stalked party has left, and the stalker wont let go
Shiver – Coldplay… because the act of stalking is circular and continuous in nature
Please, add your stalky love song as a comment, I’m sure I missed a few.
Gloriously Symmetrical
As beautiful as The Time Traveler’s Wife is, Audrey Niffenegger’s Her Fearful Symmetry is awful. Every moment, every line is filled with mystery, sadness, and the terrible selfishness of humanity. I loved it.
People have described this second novel as disappointing. I feel as though it was done on purpose. I cried on page one, knowing that the rest of the book could not be even remotely as beautiful or as happy; and by the end I had been disappointed by every character so often, I merely settled into a sigh of understanding. Of course it ends this way, of course. The novel was gloriously backwards, in comparison to Niffenegger’s first book, just as Valentina is a backward version of Julia.
If you read it, I think you’ll understand my meaning.
If you liked it, I also recommend:
The Lovely Bones
The Mercy of Thin Air
Swan
I Can Do Brilliant Things With a Chicken!
Just one of my very many chicken recipes…
oven 350
in a pan:
skinless, boneless chicken
fresh garlic cloves
LOTS of honey
2 spoonfuls of butter
dill weed (of course, you can’t do a thing without it!)
cayenne pepper (another guilty pleasure)
chives
bake for 30 minutes and enjoy!
Cooking With Andi
So it looks absolutely disgusting, but I promise, it tastes oh so good!
In a crock pot mix:
Some diced up red potatoes
1 can of spinach
1 can of corn
some slices of bacon
some chicken bullion cubes (I think I used 4-5, I just kept adding them until it smelled right)
a bit of season all
ground red pepper (however much you can handle)
some tarragon
lots of dill weed
lots of chives
garlic cloves
melt in some grated cheddar cheese
cook on high until the potatoes are soft enough
it comes out a funky green color, but it is delicious
Have some honey-buttered toast for dessert.
First Book of the Year
Its 2010, I’m sure everyone is mentioning it, and I’m sure many have a hangover and a ton of resolutions. I don’t, on either count. I only had a bit to drink last night, not a lot, and I’ll carry on through 2010 pretty much as I did in 2009. I have goals, but they are not set because its a new year, instead because that is how I function on a regular basis – lists and goals.
So carrying on in the good old Andi fashion, I read a book today.
I re-read an old favorite from my school days, A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I remember everyone complaining about it in class and thinking that it was brilliant and amazing and wonderful. I thought reading it again over a decade later might somehow alter my views, but my ideas on the book are unchanged. I found the students at Devon just as fascinating and hurtful as before, I found Finny just as radiant, and Gene just as sad. I love their coming of age experiences every time.
Except now, I have a sequel to look forward to – something I didn’t have when I read the book for the first time twelve years ago because I was unaware of its existence. Now, I have a copy of “Peace Breaks Out” on my nightstand and cannot wait to see what life-changing stories Devon has in store for me!
What was your first book for 2010?
A Tale to Swoon Over
Claire Danes in the major motion picture of Stardust, based on Neil Gaiman's novel
Neil Gaiman’s Stardust is delightful. A lovely little fairy tale for grown ups, the adventure sucks you through a wall into a magical world of falling stars, unicorns, witches, spells, and flying ships. Gaiman provides all the adults in the room a Faerie romance we can swoon over without re-reading Cinderella and Thumbelina for the hundred-thousandth time. We get a handsome Romeo, a bit of a love triangle, true-love from the stars, and a happy ending (even if it goes out with a limp – literally). Stardust made for a wonderful wintery read by the fireplace this Christmas.
Journal Entries from Christmas Past
I’ve been going through my old journals, looking for scraps from stories that haven’t quite made it into my computer, pieces of characters for the books I’m writing that already exist on paper somewhere but are not yet official.
Instead, I find this:
Carlos said he’d grow his hair back if I’d be his girlfriend. I told him I can’t because I’m getting married, I’m just not officially engaged yet. Carlos has done nothing but proposition me since the day we met which makes me laugh because nothing will (or even would have aside from Jon) come of it. But he is a good guy, fun, and attractive.
Ironic, I don’t remember this. I vaguely recall the person I’m referencing, but I don’t really remember the particulars aside from a fleeting memory of him grabbing my hand at college and saying, “Let’s skip class and go make out instead.” I remember that moment because my ears burned red and I pulled my hand away, flustered, and said absolutely not. I can’t remember why not, but honestly, until the re-reading of my old journals, remembered it as a one time occurrence. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t.
How do we forget these things? How do we not know them in the moment. From my journals, I would tell my younger self that this was a man that was truly interested in something – maybe just physical – but something about me. Yet, in my journals it is also clear that I was perfectly unaware of it all and I wrote about him as though he was scenery.
What else did I miss?
Light Holiday Reading
Rebel Angels: Part II in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray
Delightful, though predictable, Bray’s second novel in her magical realms series was an exciting and fanciful Christmas adventure. The sequel is much more intriguing than the original piece. I found myself more drawn in to the lives of the girls of Spence while on their Holiday Vacation than I was with their previous escapades at school. Over all, well done and I look forward to Part Three in the trilogy.
The Act of Reviewing
I was reading a blog earlier this evening (http://anthropologist.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/limits-gardening-up-in-the-air/) about “Up in the Air” a story recently made into a movie by Walter Kirn. It caught my eye because I work at a bookstore and I was shelving a few books by Kirn the other day and thought, “Didn’t they just make that a movie? Splendid, someone will be looking for this soon.”
Anyhow, while reading this blog, I kept thinking how clever the author was to pull little quirks of her daily life into her reviews. It seems personable and fun.
I do no such thing. My book reviews are a few lines about the book and anything I was reminded of by that book.
Then I realized that I do no such thing, because I don’t exactly have a life to mention. I read at home, make lists of what I shall read, clean my house, love my husband, pet and feed the dogs, read some more. I go to work and shelve books all day thinking about what I will read when I get home, I even read for an hour on my lunch break. When I get home I clean the house, pet the dogs, love my husband, and read some more. When I’m done reading, I write. I write books that will probably never be published, but I am so engrossed in my own storylines I don’t care; and I write reviews for a blog no one reads.
Then, I put my laptop down and read some more.
I am not complaining. I think I lead a very adventurous life… In my head. But my lack of interaction, excitement, and deviation from routine causes a lack in my writing.
Now, I have much to ponder.
Except, I’ll probably post this, close my laptop, finish my book, journal, and write a review of said book. Because, for me, the act of reviewing is my only act… until a new whim hits me.
Unexpected Gem
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
The Reader is a touching coming of age novel that reads like a memoir. Reminiscent of McEwan’s Atonement in its themes of shame and intense raw humanity, Schlink constantly begs the question from his characters and his readers: “What would you have done?” The humility of illiteracy, ignorance, and confinement brought tears to my eyes. I found The Reader to be an unexpected gem.
Anakalian Whims 