It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

4 Stars

 

It’s Kind of a Funny Story is about Craig – a 15 year old boy whose greatest (and sometimes only) success each day is urinating. It’s the one time when he feels like he has actually done something. The rest of the time he “cycles” – his brain running a nonstop marathon from one thought to the next. School, friends, girls, extracurriculars, etc. overwhelm Craig to the point where he plans to ride his bike to the Brooklyn Bridge and step off. Right before he gives up, he makes a last-ditch effort to save himself by calling a suicide prevention hotline and is convinced to walk a couple of blocks to the nearest hospital for help.

If you know anything about me, you know I generally don’t watch movies until I have read the book. Obviously I’m a little late to the party on this one since both the book and movie have been out for quite some time. Better late than never, right? Since Zach Galifianakis is one of the stars of the film version, I am assuming the official synopsis (“A humorous account of a New York City teenager’s battle with depression and his time spent in a psychiatric hospital”) is a fitting description. The book, however, isn’t “humorous”. If you want some LOLz, move along folks. On the other hand, if you want some real talk about what it’s like to be depressed and spiraling and medicated and lost – this should be your choice. Vizzini's own hope for recovery is tangible through these words. A heartbreakingly honest 4.5 Star book that is losing half a point for lying to me in its description. I was prepared to read something that made me laugh with the crazy, not cry. Vizzini's personal story makes me sad enough : (

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

4.5 Stars

 

Is evil something you are? Or is it something you do?

Remember the first time you met Patrick Bateman?


If you were like me and it was through film, how quickly did you fall in love with this?


And then some, uh, stuff happened . . .



But you still kinda loved him anyway. Maybe while questioning “just what kind of sick freakin’ freak am I????”

Like everything else, Patrick Bateman eventually faded from your memory. Seven years later something even more horrifying was created – that something was called the “Kardashian”. You were introduced to this fella ...


And waited with bated breath for him to go American Psycho on this new abomination. Sadly, that never happened. Once again, thoughts of Patrick Bateman became few and far between.

Then you began hearing murmurs of an American Psycho musical. DELIGHTFUL! Until the cast was announced. Patrick Bateman played by?????


The beloved Doctor? You immediately stopped procrastinating and put the book on the top of the “to read” pile.

And here we are. Easily the most disturbing book I’ve ever read, but somehow impossible to put down. I continually questioned Bret Easton Ellis’ own sanity – not for writing about Patrick and the things he likes to do in his spare time, but for writing about food, clothing, music, etc. in such a meticulous manner. Anyone who can devote so much time and effort into a running commentary on Brooks Brothers attire from the 1980s cannot be all there. Like most books (Forrest Gump being the glaring exception) – it was soooooo much better than the movie. Deliciously twisted to the point that I ran to check out some other blasts from the past written by the author. Good thing I have a buddy to read them with . . .

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

5 Stars

 

I have been hesitant to re-read any more of the “classics” since my second go ‘round with A Separate Peace and The Catcher in the Rye. Boy to have a take-backsies on those and maintain my memory of them being such great works of art. Hindsight is truly 20/20 at times. With the release of the new Gatsby movie and the subsequent purchase of said DVD, I added the book back to the never-ending TBR and promptly decided to never watch the film until I read the book again. Ohhhhhhh, would the memories and fondness for my ill-fated Jay live up to my high school expectations???? Or would yet another classic somehow morph into a waste of time when given a second chance?

I can’t tell you how pleased I am to say that The Great Gatsby is a novel that really stands the test of time (and old age). The story of Jay and Daisy is still just as haunting and tragic as it was 20 (the number is not important ) years ago. I’m so glad I spent an afternoon revisiting this book and I’m equally glad that I can now watch the DVD that has been collecting dust for several months.

How to Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew Inman

 

3 Stars

 

If you are (1) a fan of The Oatmeal or (2) a crazy cat lady, then this is a book that someone should buy for you (Who has two thumbs and is a crazy cat lady? This gal - so hint, hint). It confirms everything that a person with cats already knows - we are their servants, and they would be okay with us being dead as long as we leave our rotting corpse behind so they can nom nom on our face.

A sane person would never live with a roommate who:


Undecorates their Christmas tree . . .


Engages in weird PICA behavior like eating holes every “green” bag in the house . . .


Steals their childrens’ toys . . .


Interrupts their reading time . . .

SUCKS at hide-and-go-seek . . .



Can't even bathe without help . . .



Or tries to smother them while they sleep . . .



I mean SERIOUSLY tries to smother them . . .

Somehow cats get away with all that and more. Probably because they are better than us.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen

3.5 Stars

 

Joey Perrone would have never guessed her husband would toss her overboard during their anniversary cruise. Mick Stranahan would have never guessed he’d pull a naked woman off a floating bale of marijuana while fishing. After their bizarre chance encounter, Joey and Mick team up to find out why Joey’s philandering husband would choose to kill her rather than ask for a divorce and to get some payback in the process.

Like all of Hiassen’s books, Skinny Dip takes place in the Sunshine State

and is filled with an abundance of bizarre characters and multiple plotlines.

I’ve seen a lot of reviewers say that Hiassen is obviously a woman hater. Since I haven’t seen him broadcast any disgusting opinions in interviews (*cough* Orson Scott Card *cough*), I have no idea if that is true. I do know that his female characters tend to be one-dimensional, but normally I don’t really give a poo. Hiassen is a man’s man and writes books that dudes would want to read. Unfortunately in Skinny Dip one of the leads is a woman. A woman who should have been a lot more awesome than she was. Luckily, he casts his books with eleventy billion other characters to pick up the slack. While not even remotely as brilliant as Bad Monkey, Skinny Dip was still a fun read.

Bully by Penelope Douglas

2 Stars

 

Simple synopsis:  Tate and Jared are neighbors and used to be BFFs.  Then he went away for a summer.  When he returned everything changed.  He spent the next couple of years making Tate’s life as miserable as possible until she had enough and escaped for a year by studying abroad.  Now Tate is back and Jared has returned to his bullying ways, but Tate has decided she isn’t going to be his doormat any longer. 

 

You can probably all guess where the story goes from there.  I call these books “palate cleansers”.  I’ve either read something really good or something really bad (or sometimes a combo of both) and need to decompress before diving back in to my to read pile.  That’s when I dig around for a little bit of fluffy nothing.  Light on plot, but somehow impossible to put down – these are my guilty pleasures.  They aren’t goooooood books by any stretch of the imagination, but they fill the gap between “real” books.  If you like New Adult, this one is probably a 5-Star. 

 

Oh, and I’m pretty certain there is a requirement when reviewing these NA books that you (i) have to have a minimum of 75 gifs or (ii) a pictorial casting of characters attached to your review. 

To fulfill said obligation, here’s my Tate:

 

 

and my Jared:

Happiness, Thy Name is Mitchell . . .

I love reading books, but never read blogs.  Except for Jenny Lawson's (thebloggess.com).  Jenny started making me laugh with a "Mommy Blog" she wrote for the Houston Chronicle about a billion years ago.  The Bloggess continues to make me laugh - as did her book "Let's Pretend This Never Happened". 

 

Jenny's obsession with grotesque taxidermy and her posts regarding the same are a surefire way to get some serious giggles from me.  I've joked for the past couple of years that if I ever found a rotted boar head it would HAVE to become mine and hang in my reading room.  My husband laughed along with the "joke".  And then we went to a local consignment shop a few months ago where we met Mitchell:

 

 

It was love at first sight.  I couldn't wait to get him home.  The only thing holding me back?  His hefty price tag would mean no food for my children for awhile.  After thinking it over, I decided not to adopt my handsome new friend.  Come the new year and the store advertised a sale on Facebook.  I just had to go and see if he was still there.

 

AND HE WAS!

 

But not for long.  With the realization that I am probably the only person in a 1,000 mile radius who actually sees the beauty in this beast, the shopkeeper dropped by price to 1/3 of what was on the tag.

 

Mitchell is now home - hanging on the wall where he belongs.

He's so happy.  Just look at that smile : )