Distractions 2004

Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood by Jennifer Traig: Traig's writing style is wonderful: relaxed, easy, and engaging. This memoir about her childhood embracing (to put it mildly) Judaism (which she knew very little about)in a form of OCD called scrupulosity is the kind of book I wish I could write (well, without having the OCD, of course). At times, the book skipped around chronologically making it a little difficult to place incidents, but this is a minor complaint. Others have compared her writing to David Eggers, but I found it to be more David Sedaris-like, which is a true compliment coming from me.

posted by Jenny @ 12/24/2004

You Can't Get There from Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World by Gayle Forman: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 12/20/2004

Saved!: Who would have imagined that Mandy Moore could act? What a quirky, wonderful little film. Despite some minor preachiness at the end (pun intended), this satire is really funny. Premise is born again Mary tries to "save" her Christian boyfriend from being gay by sleeping with him because Jesus told her to. Macaulay Culkin and Mary Louise Parker are great in their supporting roles.

posted by Jenny @ 12/18/2004

Alfie (1966): Who knew Michael Caine was so good looking when he was young? A thoroughly existential comedy about a total rake. It felt both dated and remarkably timeless and it's definitely worth a look.

posted by Jenny @ 12/13/2004

Citizen Girl by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus: What a convoluted story. Like The Nanny Diaries, the unnamed heroine is an everygirl, albeit an upstanding, morally superior one who strives to bring her feminist ideals to the world. She goes to work for a dot com but has no idea what her job is and is constantly battling a thick-headed ridiculous boss. While I applaud an unabashedly feminist protagonist, I wish the story was strong enough to sustain her. It's simply too ludicrous to be interesting.

posted by Jenny @ 12/11/2004

Elf: Lots of unfulfilled potential here, but a few good laughs nonetheless.

posted by Jenny @ 12/8/2004

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner: Not a real fan of her characters. Too flat. And I hate novels where you know what's coming. Too obvious.

posted by Jenny @ 12/5/2004

Admissions by Nancy Lieberman: I would have liked this better if I had a better understanding of the NYC school scene. I couldn't tell what was out and out farce and what was hitting its mark.

posted by Jenny @ 12/2/2004

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I really have never been a Jim Carrey fan before. And I'd only seen Being John Malkovich, which I was really not hot on. I didn't get what the buzz was about. Adaptation wasn't high on my list to watch, as too many people told me they didn't like it. So I was happily surprised to discover that I loved this film. It was cinematically beautiful. Well acted. Unfolded nicely. Good soundtrack. I found the concept intriguing and it was one of the few "gimmick" films I've seen that doesn't fall apart when you think about it. Definitely one of the best films I've seen in a long time.

posted by Jenny @ 11/26/2004

From Here to Maternity: The Education of a Rookie Mom by Beth Teitel: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 11/25/2004

Ultra Marathon Man: Memoir of An Extreme Endurance Athlete by Dean Karnazes: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 11/21/2004

Bowling for Columbine: I agree with pretty much everything Michael Moore has to say in this movie, and yet I find him annoying enough that I want to argue against him. Yikes! Overall, though, I found the movie interesting, but I can't say I learned anything new from it.

posted by Jenny @ 11/14/2004

The Incredibles: "That was totally wicked!" While it was no Monsters, Inc., the zenith of Pixar films, it was really a fun movie. I had no problems accepting the animated humans and I got sucked right in. What a great diversion.

posted by Jenny @ 11/13/2004

May and Amy: A True Story of Family, Forbidden Love, and the Secret Lives of May Gaskell, HerDaughter Amy, and Sir Edward Burne-Jones by Josceline Dimbleby: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 11/2/2004

The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes: : Someone recommended this to me because I was looking for a book in which the protagonist is not completely likeable. I think Keyes did a really great job of portraying flawed characters that the reader still has sympathy for. I had previously dismissed her books a trashy, and while I won't say this is literary by any means, it certainly deserves recognition above and beyond the normal chick lit set.

posted by Jenny @ 10/14/2004

Mean Girls: What fun this movie was! A sad commentary on what it's like in high school today, and unfortunately from what I remember, not that far off. Really a great flick.

posted by Jenny @ 10/10/2004

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel: I found this to be a refreshing alternative to all the attachment-parenting/be-the-perfect-mom books (a la Sears and the What to Expect Series). This book advocates "good enough parenting" but in a reasonable way. Using Jewish law as the basis of her parenting philosophies, she talks about instilling values in your children, teaching them respect, and how to let them advocate for themselves. I think Jews will find the most value from this, although the information is solid for anyone. This book wasn't real useful for this stage of my parenting, but it's one that I'll re-read as Doodles gets older.

posted by Jenny @ 10/5/2004

Confessions of a Bigamist by Kate Lehrer: Such great potential! I adore protagonists that aren't truly likeable. But it was flat. The ending, though, was somewhat satisfying for such a dull book.

posted by Jenny @ 9/29/2004

Garden State: What a refreshing film. The writing was clever, the acting dead-on, and the soundtrack perfectly moody. My only complaint is that the film dragged a tad in a couple of places--just needed some tighter editing. Definitely the better film of our Jersey movie weekend.

posted by Jenny @ 9/19/2004

Jersey Girl: Kevin Smith has really gone in a different direction here. The film was sappy, but pleasantly light-hearted. A nice diversion.

posted by Jenny @ 9/18/2004

Babes in Captivity by Pamela Redmond Satran: Thought it would be fun. Chick lit about moms. I thought wrong.

posted by Jenny @ 9/15/2004

Oldman's Guide To Outsmarting Wine by Mark Oldman: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 9/12/2004

Jaywalking with the Irish by David Monagan: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 8/29/2004

The Bourne Supremacy: Is it just me or was anyone else confused by the fact that Franka Potente's accent has practically disappeared since the first film? I spent too much time wondering if it was really her or not. A good action flick, but not as good as the first.

posted by Jenny @ 8/29/2004

Spider-Man: Exactly what I expected. Lots of fun, good action, looking forward to the sequel.

posted by Jenny @ 8/28/2004

Girl with the Pearl Earring: I read the book long enough ago that I could enjoy the film without constantly comparing it to the book. I thought it was beautifully shot but it somehow lacked emotion.

posted by Jenny @ 8/15/2004

Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul: While I strongly feel that a bad Naipaul is better than most other books, I was curiously disappointed by this novel. I so enjoyed his other fiction and nonfiction, but this book felt sketchy; there was so much more to mine in the character that was left untouched. I wanted so much more!

posted by Jenny @ 8/8/2004

My Kind of Place : Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean: read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 7/25/2004

Calendar Girls: What a delightfully fun, light-hearted movie. A sort of Waking Ned Devine meets The Full Monty.

posted by Jenny @ 7/15/2004

Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary: Interesting film of an interview with the secretary, Traudl Junge, who was with Hitler in his bunker at the very end. It's simply a talking head film, but then, I don't see how this could have been done any other way. The filmmaker tried to make it more interesting by showing Junge watching the film of herself and then commenting on it, but I felt that fell flat. The documentary itself is of course disturbing, hearing Junge's descriptions of what it was like, and trying to understand how unbelievable naive she was. While she expresses dismay at what was happening at the time, you can't help but notice the bit of pride she has in discussing her position and her closeness with Hitler. This is not a thrilling movie to watch, but for the story Junge tells, even in her roundabout way, it is interesting.

posted by Jenny @ 7/10/2004

Solaris: Confusing. Slow. And yet vaguely interesting. I'm not a fan of sci fi, but this was almost--I do say "almost"--more of a love story. The ending was disappointing, though, and didn't get into the motivation's of George Clooney's character.

posted by Jenny @ 7/2/2004

The ABCs of Love by Sarah Salway: Despite the trashy fiction title, this is actually a great little book. Salway dissects a relationship using these clever "mini" chapters that run from A to Z. In what could have been a gimmick, Salway creates a cohesive and interesting novel. The ending is a bit vague; one tiny move makes the reader wonder if she's really gotten it together, but it does avoid the sappiness normally found in "chick lit." I think this actually deserves better than chick lit categorization. A fun read.

posted by Jenny @ 7/1/2004

The 7 Stages of Motherhood : Making the Most of Your Life as a Mom by Ann Pleshette Murphy: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 6/29/2004

Sylvia: In high school, I was a big Sylvia Plath fan, as were most teenaged girls. I memorized "Lady Lazarus" and recited it to myself countless times. So perhaps my expectations for this film were too high. I read it was originally to be titled Sylvia and Ted, which would have been much more fitting, as this concentrates solely on their relationship. The title implies it's more about her and her life, but it never delves into her psyche or her past. And I just couldn't get past Gwyneth Paltrow. Never for one second did I believe she was Sylvia Plath. The movie wasn't terrible; I just wanted so much more.

posted by Jenny @ 6/27/2004

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella: I know, I know. I should have learned my lesson by now about these books. But this one was ridiculous. From silly to worse.

posted by Jenny @ 6/22/2004

Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut by James Marcus: It's very difficult for me to say whether this was a good book or not because 1) I knew James at Amazon and I always had such tremendous respect for him and 2) I knew 99 percent of the people and events he mentioned, so instead of having to use my imagination to conjure the things he mentioned, I just filled in my own memories. So as a recap of my own four years at Amazon, I thought it was a fabulous. Besides, how could I not love a book that mentions me? (Okay, it's just a sentence, but who cares? P. 212, if anyone wants to see.)

posted by Jenny @ 6/12/2004

House of Sand and Fog: What a horrible movie. I don't mean that it was a bad movie--it was quite a good movie, in fact, and I think the acting was superb. But it had to be the most depressing movie I've seen in a very, very long time.

posted by Jenny @ 6/11/2004

Lilla's Feast: One Woman's Story of Food, Love, and War by Frances Osborne: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 6/7/2004

Autobiography of a Fat Bride: True Tales of a Pretend Adulthood by Laurie Notaro: A collection of essays that mostly hit the spot (I like her style) but really don't gel well together into a cohesive narrative. And I found the skinny woman on the cover downright offensive.

posted by Jenny @ 6/1/2004

Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes: I know, I know, I said no more trashy reading, but I couldn't help myself after the New York Times Style section did a piece on gossip lit and the library got it in faster than I had thought they would. The main character didn't know what she wanted to be and the ending was too cheezy for words. Burned again.

posted by Jenny @ 5/22/2004

Having It and Eating It by Sabine Durant: Picked this up off the bargain book table at Brookline Booksmith (because how can you pass up the bargain book table at Brookline Booksmith?). I read it on vacation to Seattle and it was a decent vacation read. It's odd chick lit: All the normal cliches are in there, but it has an odd message and a rather likable main character although things, of course, fall apart in the end. Chick lit always falls apart in the end.

posted by Jenny @ 5/16/2004

The Good City : Writers Explore 21st-Century Boston edited by Emily Hiestand and Ande Zellman: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 5/11/2004

Love Actually: Not as cheesy as I thought. Cute. Happy (for the most part--Emma Thompson's suffering character bugged me). Adam fell asleep before the opening credits were over.

posted by Jenny @ 5/8/2004

Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America by Stephen G. Bloom: I read this book as a response to Rebbe's Army. While RA was blindly pro-Chabad, this book was equally stubborn in its disparaging of the Hasidic. I found Bloom's characterizations to fall quickly into stereotypes and his eagerness to distance himself--as a Jew--from the Hasidic to be both sad and a bit self-hating. Bloom purports to be writing journalism, but he seems anything but objective in this story and I felt intensely uncomfortable reading it. I'm still interested in reading a book on this subject that gives more of a middle-ground view; I'm sure there's both good and bad with these fundamentalist, but I can only find polarized views.

posted by Jenny @ 5/3/2004

Intolerable Cruelty: The Coen Brothers are hilarious. This film is hilarious. Heck, even Catherine Zeta-Jones is hilarious.

posted by Jenny @ 4/26/2004

Prime Times : Writers on Their Favorite TV Shows edited by Douglas Bauer: Read for work

posted by Jenny @ 4/21/2004

Spellbound: An incredible documentary about the national spelling bee (I know that sounds contradictory, but the film was captivating; I could even say it was spellbounding, but I won't). It's amazing what the kids go through. I found myself actually cheering for certain kids and hoping others lose, which afterwards made me feel a little bad. Make sure to watch the extras as there are three more kids featured. "Bee happy. That's b-e-e happy."

posted by Jenny @ 4/14/2004

Coupling: The Complete First Season: The British series was mildly better than the American one, but only mildly. I won't bother getting the other seasons unless I run out of things on my Netflix queue, which won't be happening anytime in the next few years.

posted by Jenny @ 4/4/2004

The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch by Sue Fishkoff: My grandparents sent this to me because I said I enjoyed a NY Times Magazine on this subject of the Hasidic and the Messiah. I found this book fascinating! I couldn't imagine that Fishkoff could keep the topic interesting for the entire book, but she succeeds beautifully. The Chabad-Lubavitchers are fascinating in their outreach and their methods and I had no idea how much they do and that they are so supported by Reform and Conservative Jews. From an anthropological standpoint, I think this book would be interesting to a broad audience, not just Jewish people.

posted by Jenny @ 3/24/2004

Mona Lisa Smile: Sappy. I had problems telling Julia Stiles and Kirsten Dunst apart. Cheesy and sentimental.

posted by Jenny @ 3/15/2004

How My Breasts Saved the World: Misadventures of a Nursing Mother by Lisa Wood Shapiro: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 3/15/2004

Lost In Translation: After all the hype, I didn't think I'd like it. And yet, I found the film to be quite powerful. It was so moody and surreal, yet it captured that feeling of being so lost. One of the better films I'm seen in a long time.

posted by Jenny @ 3/8/2004

Iris: Judi Dench is marvellous. Such a sad story. It felt somehow incomplete, and yet it was still quite moving.

posted by Jenny @ 3/8/2004

The War on Choice: The Right-Wing Attack on Women's Rights and How to Fight Back by Gloria Feldt: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 3/2/2004

Something's Gotta Give: Actually saw this movie in a theater without Doodles. What a concept. Diane Keaton was great in this, but I had problems with the movie overall because I couldn't see why any of them would want to be with Jack Nicholson. Ewww. I'm not a fan of Keanu, but he was hot in this film.

posted by Jenny @ 3/1/2004

Catch Me If You Can: Leo annoys me yet I still enjoyed this. Fascinated that it's based on a true story.

posted by Jenny @ 2/15/2004

The Remains of the Day: Why did it take me so long to watch this? It was fabulous!

posted by Jenny @ 2/5/2004

Honeymoon: A Novel by Amy Jenkins: Picked this up from the remainders table at Brookline Brooksmith. I confess I didn't look at it that closely and I thought it was going to be a bit more of interesting read. Instead, it was just more run-of-the-mill chick lit, with a particularly unlikeable protagonist.

posted by Jenny @ 1/31/2004

All Dressed in White: The Irresistible Rise of the American Wedding by Carol McD. Wallace: Read for work.

posted by Jenny @ 1/26/2004

Seabiscuit: I confess I've started this book, but haven't finished it, which I think went a long way in my enjoyment of the film. Because I've read the beginning of the story, I found the beginning of the film to be too condensed. But since I didn't make it very far, I was able to enjoy the film. The cinematography was wonderful and I thought the scenes of the horse races were superb. I'm sure if I ever get around to finishing the book, I'll find even more gaps in the film (and the film did leave a number of questions, I thought, unanswered). But as a stand-alone, it was exciting.

posted by Jenny @ 1/25/2004

Anything Else: Such a disappointment. Had this film been directed by anyone other than Woody Allen, I would have enjoyed it. But I expect more from Woody. Basically the problem is that Woody is too old to play Woody roles anymore, so he cast himself as a crackpot (and was interesting in that role) and Jason Biggs as the Woody Allen character. Biggs just couldn't pull it off. He seemed ridiculous saying lines that would come so naturally from Woody's mouth. I so wanted to see Allen doing that role with Diane Keaton or Mia Farrow or even Judy Davis in the Christina Ricci role. On its own, the film was okay. As a Woody Allen film, though, I just wanted so much more. And what's with the title? Could it be any blander?

posted by Jenny @ 1/17/2004

Moonlight Mile: I think I would have liked this better if I hadn't read The Dive From Clausen's Pier. The themes were remarkably similar, only the book did it better. Still, the movie wasn't as depressing as I had thought it would be and despite the cheesy ending, held my interest throughout.

posted by Jenny @ 1/2/2004