Uninterested

Happenstance sounded promising - big cast, quirky French story, adorable lead.  Not so much though.  I felt pretty uninterested in all the players and in all the ways that one small thing led to another.  Yawn.  3/10.

Bzzzzzz

Love this.

Sublime

 

Savage Beauty is a gorgeous gorgeous book of Alexander McQueen's designs.  I don't love every piece but so many of them are jaw-droppingly amazing.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

So sad that he cut his career so short.  8/10.

Tuesdays

Tuesdays at the Castle is a pretty adorable YA read about kids who live in a castle that changes on a whim - adding rooms, stretching halls, tormenting inhabitants it doesn't like.  The character / location of the castle is a fun touch, but I really loved how some characters surprised the reader.  It was a really quick and enjoyable read and apparently the beginning of a series.  6/10.

Neckwear

MacArthurLane Ties has such pretty patterns and colors.

Right

I stumbled across the photo collection Right recently.  It's portraits of students at Patrick Henry College, and I was intrigued after reading God's Harvard.  I thought it was well done.  Sympathetic and enlightening. 

I'm about as far as you can get from the politics involved there, but I am fascinated by the culture.  6/10.

Slog

I love The Decemberists, and, when I spotted that Colin Meloy wrote a fantasy for middle schoolers, I was super excited.  So why has this book been languishing on my nightstand?  Wildwood feels like a mix of Narnia and The Labyrinth, but its so darn boring.  Boooooooorrring!  The book is 500+ pages long and I stuck with it for about 130 before taking pity on myself and tossing it aside.  The pace is so slow. 

It does have some pretty terrific illustrations, but that wasn't enough to keep me slogging through.  1/10.

Awful and fun

Friends brought this over to play the other night, and I laughed so hard.  Cards Against Humanity is awful and twisted and hysterical.  It's for grown-ups only and apparently hard to get your hands on.  Loved it!

Rhinos on the wall

Werner Herzog is an odd man.  I don't always follow his meanderings but I did appreciate the opportunity to see inside of Chauvet Cave.  Cave of Forgotten Dreams was weird but worth it.  5/10.

P.S.  I would love it if someone came and drew some rhinos on my living room wall.

Pretty adorable

 

 

I picked up Attachments after seeing it  suggested by Linda Holmes from Pop Culture Hour, and it was so worth it.  It's told in narrative from the lead guy character and via emails from the two female best friends.  The romance bit is sweet but the very best part is the emails.  The story is funny and sweet and touching.  7/10.

Excuses

I have been a bad blogger. My apologies! Excuses are just that, but I have them. It's been a long hot summer and I have been distracted by sweating, a horrible weeklong power outage thanks to the derecho, and then wrapping my mind around impending parenthood. Boy-o and I are expecting a baby in just about a month. I've been pretty mum online, but the day is coming fast. Thanks to Miss Lu for pulling me back. I doubt that I can be a super regular blogger, but there are some great books that I've felt bad about not sharing (ahem - Code Name Verity). I do not see me becoming a mommmy blogger, and hopefully this kiddo will allow me some reading time. That's my long-winded excuse, but I do promise to try to be a bit more sharey of lovely reads and finds.