TV and Book - "Justified"

Due to enthusiastic recommendations from the Dwyer's and Damon Lindelof, I decided to catch up with the new show on FX, Justified.  It is super good!  A little procedural, a lot Western, smirky and engaging.  AND it gives me a new TV boyfriend to help with me with my soon-to-be-enacted Sawyer withdrawal and my enduring Don Draper hiatus heartpangs. 

Because I'm a little OCD, I decided I had to read the short story by Elmore Leonard, "Fire in the Hole," from which the show is based before tuning in.    Funny thing - the pilot episode of "Justified" is just about 95% word-for-word the short story.  Seriously!   I've never seen a truer page-to-screen adaption.  So don't feel like you have to read the story to catch any further insight - although it's certainly well written.  It can be found in Leonard's collection of short stories called "When the Women Come Out to Dance."

And as for "Justified" it's on Tuesday nights at 10pm on FX.   As of this post, we're between episode 6 and 7 now of the first season.    5 episodes are kept on Hulu, but as of right now you can still watch the pilot on FX's website. 

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Book - The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Any talk about the Twilight books being "potato-chip literature" can now be thrown out the window. I can't remember if "The Da Vinci Code" was written this incredibly poorly, but let me assure you that there have been "Choose Your Own Adventure" books with more linguistic nuance than Brown's latest page-turner. That being said, "The Lost Symbol" takes the reader on a fun and exciting journey into the real-life world of American Freemasons and Noetic Science.

You don't watch the "National Treasure" movies for the method-acting, and you don't read Dan Brown to build your literary chops. You do it for fun! And while at the same time you might find your brain getting squishy from reading the phrase So-and-So "did a double-take" or "it's so obvious! How could we not have seen it before?" over and over again, or when you realize that that man has been described as "elegant" enough times that you have to assume he's actually a swan, the book actually does teach you a little about American History.



Another interesting note about this book... I can't help but wonder if Dan Brown is throwing a middle-finger at the production studios trying to turn this into another blockbuster movie. There are a lot of aspects to this thriller that will make it difficult to translate to screen. For one, we need to be shocked about the powerful members in our society who are actually Freemasons, and that's going to be hard to do in a short period of time without actually casting prominent political figures. There's also a weirdo death and resurrection scene and perhaps most difficult for a movie adaptation, one of the most exciting chase scenes takes place in absolute pitch-black darkness. 10 minutes of looking at a black screen might make for a strange cinematic experience... Read more!

Book - A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Metta's husband recently leant me the book "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole, and I am so grateful he did! Although written in the 1960s, this book wasn't released until two decades later and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981. It tells the story of Ignatius, an over-educated blow-hard who's obsessed with Medieval philosophy but derives pleasure from being aesthetically assaulted by popular culture. Think Michael Moore, with constant gas issues and more infatuated with ancient European philosophers than capitalism or health-care. After enjoying many years writing furious screeds against modern society in his bedroom at his mother's house, circumstances necessitate that the 30-something Ignatius finally go out into the real world and find a job. On his journeys we run into a variety of other eccentric, well-developed characters who shape each other's lives in an elaborate web of interactions. This book is funny, smart, and impressively executed. Read more!

Book - The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold's debut novel was a huge best-seller a couple of years ago. Now more readers are looking at it with a more critical eye. Why? Because it doesn't really live up to the hype. The story is a bleak one: a 14 year old girl, Susie, is raped and murdered by her next-door neighbor. I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that, it happens in the first couple of pages. Susie then proceeds to heaven where she is able to look over her grieving family and have insight into their thoughts.

Don't be fooled: this is not a murder mystery. The story is not about the evil man getting caught and being brought to justice. Although Susie's father pursues finding the culprit, this novel is much more about how each member of the family deals with grief... and nothing really happens. They live troubled lives and suffer a bunch but nothing really progresses except time (the book spans about eight years).

Beyond the critiques of the narration "gimmick," due attention has been brought to the fact that the writing style is forced. There are some crazy similes, one of the worst being "Her pupils dilated, pulsing in and out like small, ferocious olives". THIS WOMAN wrote a hilarious and scathing review that is worth reading for other examples of the crazy language and just for a good laugh. However, whereas this woman would only recommend the book "to enemies" I would recommend it to anyone who can handle somewhat sappy stories. The book isn't all that long and the depiction of heaven is interesting and thought-provoking.

Even though this review is long enough already, it's still worth talking about the fact that this is going to soon be a major motion picture that has been cited as a possible Oscar contender. I have to say this is an incredibly ambitious endeavor. Let alone the fact that there is 14 year old getting raped and murdered at the get-go... half of the story takes place in heaven! There's also the fact that the story covers eight years (the younger brother ages from 4 - 12 years old)! It is also a book that depends greatly on the like-ability of multiple children and tweens (yikes! child actors!). And, without giving too much away, there is a bizarre, erotic, exorcism-type scene. So yea... should be good! I certainly want to trust Peter Jackson, however, this is also the director who decided it was okay to leave this as the final line of "King Kong": " 'Twas beauty killed the beast!" 'TWAS IT?! Read more!

Book and TV - The Stand and Lost

Damon and Carlton (Executive Producers and Head Writers for the show) have long cited Stephen King's "The Stand" as their main inspiration source-material for shaping the story-line of Lost. Therefore, I couldn't resist picking up this huge novel in an attempt to gain insight into one of my favorite shows. It also doesn't hurt that this epic-tale has been judged by many respectable sources to be King's magnum opus. So read on for my review of the book, my insights into how it might relate to Lost, and also some excerpts of interviews where Team Darlton discuss "The Stand."



"The Stand" is about a world where a super-flu epidemic strikes, killing almost all of humanity. Those that are inexplicably immune begin to have the same dreams pulling them together. King introduces the reader to a tremendous amount of characters (like Lost) who are all seeking some sort of redemption. Almost every character seems well-rounded and creates interest, also like Lost (although in The Stand, absolutely every character talks like Sawyer so they may grate on you a bit at times). And, many of the characters are similar (e.g. pregnant chick, rocker, stoic leader, even an impressive dog).

The circumstances faced by the characters in this novel and Lost are also comparable. The characters in King's work who have survived experience a mythological "pull" sensation that draws them together to start and shape a society. They all understand that they need some semblance of order and togetherness if they are going to survive, especially considering there is a village of evil Others not too far off in the West. And, not to spoil too much, the beginning of the end is marked by a big-bomb detonation.

So what insights can be gathered comparing these two works? I would say the main thing I learned about Lost after reading this book is that Team Darlton share King's sentiment that mythology should only be the background for a story about character-development. "The Stand" ended with a solid understanding that the characters faced their faults and gained peace in their sense-of-self. They were presented with opportunities to receive redemption, and those that embraced them gained comfort. The conclusion did not address any of the questions that arose from the mythological experiences. Why were these people the survivors? Who exactly are Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg? We have a sense at the answers, but much much much is left to interpretation. I fear Lost will end in a similar fashion, but I also think the fan involvement with the show will shape it in such a way that more questions will be answered than would be if King was at the helm.

As for which work I enjoy more, I am confidently in the camp of Lost, even though the show has yet to conclude and it could still spoil my affections. King's mythology is wrapped up in the same good versus evil debate, but there is never any question as to who is good and who is bad. WIth characters like Jacob, the Man in Black, Christian Shephard's ghost, and Ben (just to name a few!) Lost has not been so quick as to identify who we should be rooting for. There are many more shades of gray and a lot more ambivalence. Also, Lost has so many more elements to its mythology: Dharma, Hanso, Widmore, Time-Travel, and on and on. It's a much more complex-world and I like the complexity.

Anyway below are some excerpts which will allow Carlton and Damon to express their own opinions on how "The Stand" has influenced them:

Here is a snippet of the interview between the writing team and King that was conducted by Entertainment Weekly. The entire interview can be read HERE:

Carlton Cuse: For us, The Stand has been a model. Lost is about a bunch of people stranded on an island. It's compelling, but kind of tiny. But what sustains you are the characters. In The Stand, I was completely gripped by everyone you introduced in that story — how they come together, what their individual stories are, how they face the premise. That was such a good model for Lost.

Lindelof: The first meeting I had with J.J. about Lost, we talked about The Stand, and it kept suggesting ideas throughout the process. The character of Charlie was always going to be a druggie rocker, but when Dominic Monaghan came in to audition we started saying, ''What if he was a one-hit wonder?'' I said, ''Like the guy in The Stand! The guy with just this one song.''

King: Yeah. ''Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?''

Lindelof: His entire character sort of is constructed around that. The thing about The Stand is that there are all the archetypes, and we embraced the same thing. The strong, silent, heroic type. The nerdy guy. The techie. The pregnant girl. All those characters exist in The Stand, too.

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And here's another little comment Carlton gave Variety:

For both Damon and me Stephen King’s “The Stand” was the most influential model for “Lost.” Because “Lost” is not the tenth carbon copy of a medical, legal or cop show there wasn’t a clear roadmap for how to make it work for 100 episodes by looking at other TV shows. So instead we turned to “The Stand,” a 1,000-page novel with a high-concept idea at the core: most of the world’s inhabitants have been killed by a super flu. What we loved about the book was that what sustains the 1,000 pages is not the mythology of the super flu but the stories of the characters. The mystery of what was happening on this island had to be secondary to the mystery of “who are these people?”
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Book - The Wet Nurse's Tale

Erica Eisdorfer has written a lovely novel about the life of a wet nurse in Victorian England. Susan Rose is a bawdy scullery maid who ends up becoming a wet nurse after an unexpected pregnancy. Susan faces many heart-breaking challenges, but faces them all dead-on with vigor, spunk, and a tremendous amount of cunning. She acknowledges when she's acting immorally, but always provides a sympathetic excuse. As a Gypsy once told her, "you'll see to yourself, girl." Read on for more.




Eisdorfer's book provides a welcome glimpse into the world of nursing babies. I don't think you'd have to have the experience in order to find these passages charming, although the fact that I was actively breastfeeding my own baby while reading the story probably enhanced my perception of the novel.

The novel is interrupted periodically with little vignettes of women's reasons for giving their children over to a wet nurse (all of them customers of Susan's mother, a woman who wet nursed well into her 40s). There have been some complaints that these asides are distracting, however, I welcomed them. They were not only short, interesting stories; they provided insight into raising children in the Victorian era. There were no bottles and certainly no formulas during this time. If a woman couldn't nurse her baby, her healthy alternatives were limited. These anecdotes were informative and also prevented me from running with my original assumption that any woman who would give her baby over to a wet nurse was a monster.

If I were to have any complaints, it might be about the ending, where Susan's luck trumps her cunning. However, this is a super-fast, enjoyable, moving and funny read that I would recommend to anyone (particularly maternal females).
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Book - Frank McCourt

I meant to write this post several weeks ago upon hearing the news of Frank McCourt's death, but this is better late than never. Many may know of Frank McCourt's most popular memoir "Angela's Ashes." If you haven't read this book than you might be thinking of it like I once did - a very sad memoir best to be avoided unless one wants to feel depressed about poor Irish lads. However, you'd only be part right. Yes. McCourt had a very sad childhood - depressing on all fronts. However, Frank writes about it in an incredibly hilarious and moving way. I can't remember the time I devoured a (non-Harry Potter) book so ravenously.

When I finished "Angela's Ashes" I was so sad that I would no longer get to witness Frank's brilliant story-telling... but then I found out there was a sequel, and then yet another memoir about his teaching career. Please do yourself a favor and read not just "Angela's Ashes" but also "'Tis" and "Teacher Man." They are all incredible. Read more!

Books - Twilght Series Part Two

We've already discussed the issues in this series regarding abusive boyfriends and lousy writing. Putting both of those aside, it's time to discuss the weirdness that is the fourth book, "Breaking Dawn." Read on for a spoiler-heavy discussion.




The first three books fit together in a nice little trio. In the first book, Bella falls in love with Edward. In the second, she falls for Jacob. In the third, she makes her choice. And even though there are plenty of adventures and mythological backstories that are shared in these books, this love-triangle is pretty much what they are about.

So with the love-triangle seemingly resolved at the end of "Eclipse," what were we to expect for the fourth book? If you guessed "something bizarre," then you win! In this book not only does Meyer dedicate a whole third of the book to a change-up in narrator, she also takes on a much darker tone. Now there are blood-thirsty vampire babies! Delicious sippy-cups of O-negative! And a birth story that just might encourage the most eager of tween readers to keep their thighs together, even if Edward creeps along.

This book would make a lot more sense if it came along some 5 years after "Eclipse" was released and was the first in a new "So Bella's a Vampire" series.

However, I've got to admit: I liked it the best out of the series. I know Metta's going to slug me in the arm for saying that, but although I realize it is very different from the first three, I like it... maybe even because of the differences. It was so bizarre I was smiling way more than I did while reading any of the previous books, and I liked those, too.

Now don't get me wrong here: this book is still laughably offensive in its treatment towards Bella, and the writing stylings haven't improved in the slightest. There's also the fact that everything gets wrapped up in the prettiest of pretty packages, saving perhaps for the fact that poor Jacob will never be able to "get with" the love of his life (as she will never develop past a 7 year old's physique). But as I had already embraced most of these issues throughout my journey reading the first three books, I was along for the ride by the time I cracked "Breaking Dawn."

The real question is: how the heck are they going to make this into a movie? The first two books should adapt easily enough, but once you throw in telepathic wolves and boys who grow larger every time you see them you're getting tricky. Then with "Breaking Dawn" you have not just the wolves, but also the unsightly birthing scene, the incredible transformation in Bella's appearance, and the fact that the newborn baby will develop to look like a 5 year old by the time the books ends.

So that should be interesting! Anyway, I'm anxiously awaiting Metta's comments because I know she was not a fan of this fourth book in a major way. Perhaps my experience was enhanced by the fact I was spoiled to the fact that Bella would end up with Edward, and that she would have her baby delivered traumatically by edward biting through her uterus. Also - maybe there is something to be said that I read all four books in the course of 20 days? We shall see.

Of course - I think blog readers are used to the fact that Metta and I sometimes come down on different sides. She is a Jacob, I am an Edward. She is a Jack, I am a Sawyer. But I love her a lot anyways because that's just how awesome she is.

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Book - The Time Traveler's Wife

I joined a "Stay-at-Home Parent Book Club" the other day, and the book to be discussed was "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. Even though I read this book about 2 years ago, a lot of it has stayed with me and I was happy to hear others' reflections. It's a truly beautiful book that's more romance than anything else, but also plenty science-fiction to keep it cerebral. Even better - much of it takes place in Michigan (South Haven, Metta) and it is written gorgeously! The film adaptation of this book will be released in August of this year, starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. I strongly encourage you to read this book before seeing the movie. Read on for a bit more about this beautiful novel.






Henry is a man who suffers from a genetic disorder, later coined "Chrono-Displacement," that results in him being able to travel through time. He can only travel to other moments of his life, both past and future, and he cannot control when he'll travel and where he will land. The disease is much like epilepsy, brought-on by stress and/or flashing lights. This is a really interesting way to establish Henry's dilemma: much more believable then sometime truly sci-fi like "your mom was from Mars."

Another great element to this novel is that it embraces the time-travel theory that Metta and I both like best: pre-determinism. What happened, happened and there is no way to change the future. There are no parallel universes and Henry is unable to alter his life regardless of how he intervenes in his past and future. Not that he doesn't try. Henry visits himself at various ages throughout his life, and he visits his wife throughout almost her entire life, starting in her early childhood. (Would you visit an elementary school aged version of your partner? I would!)

There are several frustrations felt by both him and his love, Clare, regarding the seeming lack of free will. For one, how would you deal with learning who you were going to marry at the age of 6? Or when you were going to die? Would you be interested in meeting the child your wife was pregnant with when she was 10 years old?

Henry suffers greatly trying to control his disease, and Clare does, too. While he is thrown about time without any warning, Clare is left alone and sick with worry. It's sort of a modern-day version of the Odyssey in some sense. Anyway, it kind of reflects the trials of any relationship dealing with miscommunications and the fear that comes with separation. A truly enjoyable and thoughtful piece.


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Book - The Red Tent

My mother handed me "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant to read on a whim, only remembering that she had read it before and enjoyed it. However, this was such an appropriate book for me to read I can't believe I hadn't come across it sooner. No, not because I spend my "moon times" in a crimson tent with fellow females (although I kind of like that idea, in a weird way). I'll explain more in the Read More section, but for now, simply know that if you are looking for a moving book about mothers and daughters and like the idea of "woman's space," you might enjoy this very peaceful read. I certainly did.

Why was this book so appropriate for me to read? For one, it's "historical" fiction, taking a bible story and expounding on just a couple of lines of verse. Historical fiction is awesome, and if you have any recommendations for great books in this genre, please share in the comments. For another, this book is about Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, from the Book of Geneses, and I have been reading the bible off and on throughout this year. (Don't remember why I'm reading the bible? Here ya go.) And lastly, it has a slew of stories about midwives and birthing and I am an absolute birth junkie. If you are into any one of those three things (historical fiction, the bible, or birth stories) then this book would be worth your time.
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Book - Wordy Shipmates

You may not know this, but my family-tree can be traced all the way back to the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony. This discovery only added to my motivation to read Sarah Vowell's latest non-fiction work, "The Wordy Shipmates." In this book Vowell explores the lives of Puritans living in America during the 1630s. Although it couldn't compare to Vowell's "Assassination Vacation" (where she dissects the forced deaths of US Presidents Lincoln, McKinley, and Garfield) or her other historical and personal essays in "The Party Cloudy Patriot", I liked this book a lot and recommend it to anyone interested in exploring that weird time in American history, some 140 years before the Revolution, when Connecticut was the wild frontier. Read on for my further discussion.


Vowell is a tremendous font of knowledge (she is also a frequent contributer to "This American Life" and was the voice of Violet in "The Incredibles"). Her research is tireless, but she only passes-on the goodies. The way Vowell writes is incredibly approachable, bestowing incredible amounts of knowledge without ever insulting her reader's intelligence. That she is not teaching some AP History class in a struggling high school somewhere is sort of a crime, as she ignites a passion for even the dullest of subjects.

In this book, Vowell's passion for learning about the Puritans seems to be traced to her evangelical up-bringing, and also the frequent usage of the phrase "city on a hill" in popular American political discourse. We learn that John Winthrop used the bible phrase as a source for inspiration to those joining him on his quest to the New World. He had the highest of hopes for his soon-to-be home in Massachusetts Bay as he expounded on the colony's ability to set an example to the rest of the world on living a devout, Calvinist life. But how would his hopes compare to the realities of New England life?

The Massachusetts Bay gang have their share of trials in the 1630s. They have a fierce antagonist in Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. Through a refusal to send back their charter, they face the possibility of going to war with England, they suffer a brain-drain as Thomas Hooker leads many good parishioners off to Connecticut, and they go to war against the Pequot Indian tribe. With each trial, Winthrop drifts further and further away from his hopeful self and closer to resembling the oppressive King he had escaped just a few years earlier.

Vowell entranced me once again with her endless knowledge and witty anecdotes. Now I have to sit back and wait for the next historical moment to tickle her fancy, and then for her write all about it and share with me the booty of her patient research.

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Book: The Year of Living Biblically

I just finished A.J. Jacobs' "The Year of Living Biblically" and I loved it.  In this book, A.J. pursues living by Biblical law, attempting to obey every law printed in Scripture.  

The take-home is that everyone is a "Cafeteria Christian" (or Jew).  This is a common term used by fundamentalists to discriminate against more liberal Christians.  They pick and choose what rules to follow, and leave the rest on the table.  However, once you read all the rules the Bible truly presents, you understand that it is almost impossible to follow every rule and you'd be hard pressed to meet even the most die-hard Fundamentalist Christian who can keep up to code.  For example, they would not be able to say "Thursday" because that day is named after a Greek God, and you shall not mutter the names of other Gods.    And furthermore, if they did claim to keep to each law presented in the Bible, those laws are often up to an incredible amount of interpretation, and their adherence would be highly debatable.  

This book has inspired me to read the good-book, because I never have.  I'll let you know how that goes, too. 

In the mean-time, might I also recommend Jacobs' first book, "The Know-it-All," which is about his mission to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica series.   

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Book v. Movie: Revolutionary Road

Without a doubt, we have a dark subject matter here.  A couple struggles to hold it together as they deal with the monotony of suburbia in the '50s and the stifling of the creative spirit.   They shout and threaten.  They denounce affection and cheat.  This is not a pleasant experience! 

The book was a triumph.  Although your stomach twists into knots while agonizing through the battles between the Wheelers, the writing is incredible.   Yates gives a voice to every character, switching up the narrative styles frequently to shed light on each of their natures.  

The movie falls short.  I felt like I was being thrown into fast-forward, as so much was being told too fast and so much was being left aside to make room for progress.  Kathy Bate's character was greatly cheapened in comparison to how she was presented in the novel.  Frank Wheeler (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) was not given the time to show his true insecurities.  April Wheeler's character was denied further understanding by being given some shoddy filler-dialogue created in a great departure from the book.  Why not use that time to have her reflect on her parents, who played a major role in the development of her essence (as Yates so powerfully illustrated)?   

Some people say that this film should have received more attention by the Academy.  Although I think the performances were well-done, the story didn't settle well.   If it was able to flesh out the stories of all the players a little more, perhaps it wouldn't have just felt like a gut-twisting downer, but more like a moving character piece. 

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Book: Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott

My mother recently gave me the gift of the book Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott, as I recently became a mother to my son!   I highly recommend this book to any new mother.   I could completely relate to Lamott when she wrote of all her worries regarding her skills as a mother and her son's development.  Furthermore, she writes a lot about her faith, which is completely approachable and without piety.  

Even better, Lamott struggles as a mother.  She is a recovering addict of alcohol and drugs with some hints of psychosis, as well as a single mother with no help from the father.   She writes bluntly about her feelings towards the baby, even reflecting on the resentfulness and anger that comes with being around a newborn 24 hours a day.  These are raw, true emotions that often aren't allowed to be expressed in our culture.  Hearing her say the things I did not allow myself to think was refreshing.  And at sometimes there was a sense of shadenfreude where I gathered strength knowing I was doing better than Lamott (mostly thanks to the sanity of my husband). 

I loved this book, but I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that we were living the same life as new mothers with beautiful baby boys.   However, I think readers who were not in our same situation would also find this read enjoyable.  Lamott is a critically praised writer who sucks you in with her honest and witty language. 

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Book v. Movie: Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was originally a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The version I read I was just 26 pages long, and I read it in the bathtub.  The story was prefaced with a review of the piece: a letter to the magazine that first published Fitzgerald's work.  The review was not-positive to say the least, and I have to agree with that writer that this story was not well-written.  It was choppy and non-sensical.  The idea of aging backwards is a fantasy, but the movie succeeded where the book failed in making it seem, not plausible, but embraceable as a miracle. 

In the book, the baby was born with the mind of an 80 year-old.  He wanted to wear suits and was unmoved by kindergarten activities.  As he aged he seemed to forget his life's experiences, and died with the brain of a child: a blank-slate.  

This defeats the entire purpose of tackling the common theory that "youth is wasted on the young."

The movie succeeds where the book fails on this front: Brad Pitt's character has a child's mind that goes along well with his aged body.  By the time he is a young man, he has learned important life lessons and can use his youthful energy and agility to his advantage by appreciating love and traveling the globe.  

The film featured the adoption of Benjamin Button by Taraji P. Hensen's character, and an interesting dynamic between a regretful father reaching out to his son overtime.   In the book there was no-such adoption, and the book focused rather on the unpleasant resentfulness the father felt toward his son, and eventually the resentment Benjamin's own son felt toward raising his baby-minded father.  I much preferred the movie version's take on this element, as well. 

One concept that I will give to the book is how they captured the mind of an infant.  As a new mother, reading such beautiful and haunting descriptions of how the child's mind works, embracing only colors and emotions rather than thoughts, was fascinating and not something the movie was able to illustrate.  

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