Saying Goodbye to JR Ewing

I grew up watching the original Dallas with my mother and sister. I remember getting my hair done as they watched the craziness unfurl. I blame my desire/love for all things soapy on that early exposure to Aaron Spelling classics like Dallas and Dynasty. But, tonight everyone said goodbye to JR Ewing-the original Texas Badass--who was portrayed by Larry Hagman. Hagman passed from cancer back in November. When watching tonight's episode I felt like I was watching the cast say their goodbye to a beloved friend and they really honored the character by writing a fantastic episode filled with classic Dallas moments-unexpected hookups, a brawl, and Cliff Barnes being a weasily little asshole. We were also treated with how Henderson and Metcalfe would carry on the torch with thier ability to have each others backs even though they spend most of the time scheming to bring each other down, but family is family. Those boys aren't just related via adoption, but they are blood siblings (Sue Ellen's mother is Christopher's birth mother and the woman who shot JR). The episode didn't just say goodbye it ushered in another mystery--who killed jr ewing and what the hell does it have to do with Pam? Not Pamela Rebecca-Barnes, but Pamela Barnes-Ewing who supposedly blew up in a car bomb. But, with Victoria Principle insisting she will not reprise her role, how will they deal with this storyline? Maybe they should have made sure they could get the actress before plotting this episode and future ones at will. We saw Sue-Ellen lose her battle with sobriety and John Ross hookup with another inappropriate quasi-relative (and people through a fuss about Dan and Serena being step-siblings they clearly did not know anything about soaps).

So, with this I say goodbye to JR, one of the only bad boys I've ever enjoyed and television-there will be no one like him.

These Girls

Title: These Girls
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Summary: 

Cate, Renee, and Abby have come to New York for very different reasons, and in a bustling city of millions, they are linked together through circumstance and chance.

Cate has just been named the features editor of Gloss, a high-end lifestyle magazine. It’s a professional coup, but her new job comes with more complications than Cate ever anticipated.

Her roommate Renee will do anything to nab the plum job of beauty editor at Gloss. But snide comments about Renee’s weight send her into an emotional tailspin. Soon she is taking black market diet pills—despite the racing heartbeat and trembling hands that signal she’s heading for real danger.

Then there’s Abby, whom they take in as a third roommate. Once a joyful graduate student working as a nanny part time, she abruptly fled a seemingly happy life in the D.C. suburbs. No one knows what shattered Abby—or why she left everything she once loved behind.

Pekkanen’s most compelling, true-to-life novel yet tells the story of three very different women as they navigate the complications of careers and love—and find the lifeline they need in each other.

I have to admit I was ambivalent about this book at first. I found it on the for-sale rack at the local Giant Tiger-its kind of like a low-grade Canadian Walmart (we do actually have Walmart here). The characters pulled me in, but I became quickly disenchanted when I thought two of the girls were about to enter a love triangle. The story focuses on three girls-Cate, Renee and Abby. Cate and Renee work for the same fashion magazine. They are both plagued with self-doubt. Renee is by far the most charming of the three. What woman can't relate with weight gain and a general feeling of inadequacy. She is by no-means large, but the world she works in makes her feel as though being a size 12 just isn't pretty enough. She tries to hard with the resident heart-throb who really likes her as a friend. The book treads dangerously close to becoming cliche when Trey (whom renee is still gaga over) falls for Cate. Cate returns those feelings, but unlike most book characters she does the right thing and puts her burgeoning friendship first. It's sweet. Trey is a good guy. He doesn't want to hurt Renee, he is a good brother to Abby and a general catch, but its so refreshing to see Cate choose her friendship with Renee over a man. She doesn't know him well enough to have actually fallen in love. The bonds that form between Abby, Renee and Cate is what holds this book together.Sarah Pekkanen avoids the pitfalls of the genre by not running rough-shod over the friendships. This is not a traditional love story, but it still counts in my opinion. Love is not just a bond shared between family and lovers, but between friends and this novel illustrates how these bonds form. The end of the story really is just a beginning and I was sad because I wanted to know what was up next for these three wonderful girls.

The downside of the novel, is that its slow-moving. It gets mired down in the details of their past and doesn't really give you clear resolutions for some of the story. Renee's relationship with her new-found sister is still an unresolved part of the plot. It's almost as if the writer got bogged down in teh diet-pill story that she totally forgot about Renee and Becca.

Despite these flaws, this novel is well worth the read.

Anne gets a makeover

Anne of Green Gables has gotten a make-over. This is not the first literary makeover of a classic, but probably one of its most shocking. First we had the twilight-esque covers for Jane Austen classics which was bad enough. Now, they've decided to make Anne a buxom blonde in order to appeal to the new generation of readers. The problem with this new look is that Anne was never blonde. The fact that she was a ginger is part of what defined Anne. Anne without her characteristic red-hair is impossible to imagine. One might as well make Anne, Andrew. Her hair color helps to define the character because it is part of what makes her different. I for one am shocked and I wonder if the artist ever read a single page of the Lucy Maude Montgomery tale. Talk about reworking and redefining a big slice of Canadiana.

Black History Month: Black Authors that are a must read

In honor of Black History month, I've decided to try an devote as much as my blog space this month as possible to authors/artists of color. Over the years, I've read a number of books (both nonfiction and fiction) by notable black authors. Here is a short-list of my favorites.

1. Richard Wright-The Native Son. I think this book is definitely a must read because it is so complex and deals with the idea of repressed anger, the conflicted role of the supposed House-Nigger mentality and how black people view liberal whites. Are they just as culpable of racism? It's full of questions, but doesn't force-feed the reader answers. It forces you to come up with your own answers.

2. Wretched of the Earth-Franz Fanon: One of the most noted black authors on the subject of race and politics. This piece mostly focuses on the state of Africa post-colonization and argues that a new era of colonization is being entered. The state of Africa and Africans has not improved much since he wrote this book in the late 60s. It can be a depressing read, but its definitely interesting. It also was a big part of my personal awakening when it came to my own politics.

3. Walter Mosely-Devil Wears a Blue Dress. This book is not as well-known as its movie adaptation, but its a thrill-seeking ride into an unknown genre, black film noire. A bunch of books written by Mosley and Richard Wright (as well as other authors) comprised what was known as the Black exploration into the genre of film noire. These book dealt more with the seedy-underbelly of jazz clubs and the harlem social scene as opposed to detective offices in very white Manhattan. It was a new spin on an existing genre. There is a lyricism to the prose that makes one feel they listening to jazz as they read the text. It's definitely fun. Plus who can say no to a good murder mystery.

4. Lawerence Hill- To add a little Canadian to my list, Hill is a modern Afro-Canadian writer that has written many essays on the black experience in Canada, but it is his groundbreaking novel, The Book of Negroes that makes him truly stand-out. This novel recounts the slave experience from the point of view of a young Muslim girl who has been taken captive. It's a difficult read, but it is also a heart-breaking journey and well worth the read. This novel tries to tackle the historical issue of slavery by looking at the lives and identities slaves have left behind.

Divergent

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth

I picked this book up on the recommendation of a friend who mostly reads nonfiction and doesn't really read fiction nevertheless YA. A lot of my online book-loving friends have read and their reactions have been mixed. Many of them have not quite felt the book and felt it failed where Hunger Games succeeded. While I'm loathe to compare any two books in the same genre because I feel like each book should be judged on its own merits, I am going to have to disagree with my online book friends. Maybe it was the early diet of class dystopians like 1984, A Brave New World and Walden Two (this one is particularly creepy since its penned by non other than B.F. Skinner. If you want a trip to crazy town definitely check it out). The darker and harsher the world, the better it is to me. The dissatisfaction of not being able to overcome the evil over-lords in these books became an undercurrent for how  I judge modern dystopians. I am loathe to like books that don't make it difficult by exposing your O'briens. I wasn't happy with the Hunger Games until I learn district 13 was as fucked up as the President. One bad guy was simply not enough for me. So, while a lot of fans hate mockingjay, I love it for the very reasons they hate it--its dark undertones, the fighting, the rebellion and Gale turning dark. But, back to Divergent. It's like the first half of this book has this dark sort of improbable feel. The idea that you can choose your own faction is very nice, but you quickly learn that initation phase is horrible and if you fail you become part of the legions of have-nots or factionless. Tris inability to fit into one box--her natural divergence--is what makes her so compelling to me. She has an internal strength and she loves her family just as much, but her struggle is about her identity can be what causes her demise. The relationship with four unfurls slowly and is not something she runs from but in an odd way embraces. Neither Four nor Tris are afraid of love, but rather they need as the only good thing in a dark world. It's the darkness and Tris's desire to not show others her weakness and her desire to try to navigate the minefield of her identity that makes her so interesting. Who can she trust? Who knows she is divergent? Are their others like her? What does being divergent really mean and why are people so afraid of them? this book really brings to light the notion of conformity. The factions can be seen as a heightened version of high school cliques. Your losers--dauntless, your shy kids-abgenation, the nerd-erudite, the cool kids who tell it like it is-Candor, and the hippies-Amity all are a part of this landscape. If you take the politics out of the story you have a story of young people trying to figure out where they belong and finding a new home when where they feel they really belong. I am really excited to see where Tris and Four's adventures take them in the next book. It's definitely a must-read whether you like it as much as I did or you think it just isn't worthy of all the hype. My only complaint don't make it a movie. I hate when good books become movies. I like to live in my imagination. I don't want casting to ruin what I picture Tris and Four to look like.

Film Adaptations of Books

It's always a double-edged sword when your favorite book becomes a movie. You want to see it on the big screen, but you fear how much of the original story has been altered. Here are a few of my favorite and least favorite film adaptations of books I've read.

The Good

1. Sense & Sensibility- Ang Lee's version of this classic Jane Austen novel is one of my favorite film adaptations. The scenery is beautiful and exactly how I imagined it. The script didn't stray far from the original and the casting was perfect. Even Hugh Grant was well cast as Edward. The costumes were my favorite part of the film. They managed to capture the whimsy of that time and you felt like the novel had burst to life.

2. Charlotte Gray- While they altered aspects of the original book, I really liked the actors they hired and the cinematography was beautiful.

3. The English Patient- The film version is so starkly different that it works better than the novel ever did. They changed all the right aspects and the acting was spot-on. It's one of those oscar-nominated films I felt was worth all the hype.

The bad

1984- The acting was camping, the story had been cut to shreds that it lost any real sort of meaning and the directing was choppy at best. They should have just left it alone.

A hand-maiden's Tale- The movie was so bad that not even Robert Duvall could save it. 

So many books to read.

Books that I am currently reading:

City of Fallen Angels
Game of Thrones-Book 1
Harry Potter Book 4
Divergent
What about goodbye--Sarah Dessen

Books I want to read once I'm done with those:

DarkFever
Harry Potter Books 5-7

The rest of the Fever series (assuming book 1 is readable

I think my read-box will be so much longer this year primarily due to this blog.