Peacefield

Hey Frankie! Thanks for stopping by my lonely, quiet thread I have been super-busy in real life so my reading is pretty slow these days. I started a second job back in October which I work at on weekends and some weekday evenings, so when I DO have free time not as much of it gets spent on reading, unfortunately . That's what I get for having so many hobbies and interests that I like to keep up with! I miss coming to BCF though so I just need to make a point of spending a little more time here. Thanks for the other Matt Haig suggestions - I have definitely added him to my authors list of which I need to watch . Have you read any Matthew Pearl yet, Frankie? You'll have to let me know how you find the Poe Shadow. I don't want to discourage you, and I know we have differing tastes, but I wasn't a HUGE fan of that one. I liked it because I love Pearl, but his other two I felt were better. I'm still plugging away on The Radley's, but I'm off work Friday night and Sunday so I really want to finish it. Another update: my best friend's mom lent me 2 books recently that I'm itching to get to - The Genius by Jesse Kellerman and Before the Poison by Peter Robinson. Has anyone read either of these?

Thank GOD I'm still in the 31-40 bracket! I better make the most of it since next year I'll have to move and will probably start crying at the same time .

Hey there, Xander! Welcome to BCF and glad you joined us (null)

I saw it in IMAX on Friday and really enjoyed it. I did a lot of thinking about it over the weekend though and there were definitely some things that I felt they left out of the film that I really would've liked to have seen. I believe also that the action and suspense kept the book going along faster than it did in the film. With that being said, I loved Cinna and Stanley Tucci did a very hilarious and cringe-worthy Flickerman! All the actors were just terrific.

I definitely will, Weave! Half Price Books had a sale this past week so yesterday I picked up One of Our Thursdays is Missing for only $6.00! I was pretty excited.

I saw The Hunger Games over the weekend as well as re-watched Paul

Good to know, you guys! Why do films insist on perpetuating the stereotype that book-to-film adaptations are bad?! I managed about 2 pages of The Radley's last night before falling asleep, ugh. I work tonight and Fri/Sat/Sun so who knows how much reading I'll get done! Oh well...

Hold the phone! A new vampire book?? Ooooh this excites me. I need to take note of this one. Wasn't Monsters of Templeton great, Poppy? I loved the author's writing and I also loved the genealogy/ancestry aspect of the story.

Thanks, Chesil! Happy 2012 reading to you too . I managed to get in just a bit of The Radleys over the weekend but am still reading very swiftly compared to my last book. I realized that this year is excellent for new books I'm looking forward to! I'm expecting Matthew Pearl's The Technologists any day now, so I think that will be my next read. I also cannot wait to read Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, which comes out in July (she wrote A Discovery of Witches), The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe due out in April (Physick Book of Deliverance Dane author) and finally Arcadia by Lauren Groff, which I think is just out or is about to come out. She wrote The Monsters of Templeton, which is one I read last year and loved. What are you guys looking forward to? Any of the mentioned above?

I saw Midnight in Paris over the weekend and LOVED it! It was so good and so right up my alley. A wonderful film that I would highly recommend .

I read quite a good chunk of The Radleys while I was waiting for my car last night, and now I have to think if I've ever read any other Matt Haig because I really like him! Also this morning I ordered Matthew Pearl's new book, The Technologists, on Book Depository and I can't wait to read it!! I love his writing and the fact that he combines history and mystery is just my thing. I believe this one takes place at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) back during the turn of the century .

Great shows I'm seeing listed! I'll second West Wing and Gilmore Girls for sure. I'd also love to see Freaks and Geeks come back. The first thing that came to my mind is to see Spaced again, and maybe how it'd be fun to see where Daisy and Tim and the gang are now all these years later, but then I thought against it because if we caught up, it wouldn't really seem like the old show. I liked seeing them all in their 20's, acting crazy and irresponsible. Not like they couldn't be like that when they were older, but I think it'd just be weird. Saying that, I sure wish they would've had more than 2 seasons! Heck, I wish they had a full 22 episode season and not this 7 episode business. I wanted more!

Thanks for all the laughter and good lucks in my 2012 reading, guys! I loved the Shirley Jackson and agree, it's perfect weirdness! I hope the film of Cosmopolis is more tolerable, Paula! At least we'll be able to look at the Neck for a couple of hours, huh? Did you guys have Mr. Yuk in the UK or the equivalent? I remember so clearly when I was little seeing his face on bottles of stuff around the house that I was, under no circumstances, allowed to touch. It definitely worked! I love the Radley's so far, Frankie, and am almost halfway finished now! A certain side of vampires that I've not read before.

Ditto on several of the films already mentioned! I'll add: Get Low The Straight Story Stranger Than Fiction Zodiac

I saw and LOVED The Artist a couple days before the Oscars. I watched Lincoln Lawyer over the weekend, which was meh, just okay.

Oh my lord. I logged on today so I could update my reading list and it dawned on me that I don't think I created one for 2012! This is very sad indeed, since it's already March and does this mean I've only managed to finish 1 book in 3 months?! Ouch. Anyway, here's a bright new shiny thread . Over the weekend I finished The Assassani by Thomas Gifford and started The Radleys by Matt Haig, which I'm already about 90 pages into. I'm not sure if I already posted this in the general book activity thread, but I also finished listening to We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (loved it!) and disgustingly quit I mean returned without finishing Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo. I believe it was probably the most pretentious and annoying piece of fiction I've attempted to read in a long time and I just couldn't continue! I would have liked to have slapped a big ol' Mr. Yuck sticker on it before returning it to the library but I didn't .

I love Simon, Kylie, and I'm SO looking forward to reading it!

On Friday I picked up Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg at 1/2 Price Books, and last night my friend's mom lent me The Genius by Jesse Kellerman. I'm still making my way through The Assassani by Gifford and am a little over half way by now. I don't know why it's taking me so long, since I love the subject matter and the writing, but my book mojo hasn't been the highest plus my time is so limited. I will finish it though, I promise!

Tortilla chips and fresh salsa I made last night. I could have this for dinner all the time!

Good one, Inver! Love it

I watched The Help last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm not sure it should get best picture at the Oscars, but I'm really cheering for Octavia Spencer to win best actress. She was wonderful .

I have Netflix as well and use it quite often. I don't have cable TV but I do have wireless high-speed internet so Netflix is a good option for me. Everyone is correct in that there isn't a ton of new movies, but like you said Ben, you'll be watching a lot of older films anyway. Eventually the films that are new get added later when they are not so new. Like I have True Grit in my queue now and that was a 2010/2011 film. The free trial is a great way for you to test it out and see if you'll like it!

Oh yeah, it's SUCH a great film and musical! It's hilarious for one, and the story is just so touching. John Cameron Mitchell is the only Hedwig IMO and I remember loving him as Dickon in the Secret Garden broadway musical. I saw the show quite a long time ago and I don't know if he traveled with the production and played in my city, but I do remember his photo in the big book I bought there . Thank you for suggesting Strictly Ballroom, VF! I completely forgot about that one though I can't imagine why. Good job too on Glory. Such a fantastic film!