Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore

Moore's musical prose and looping, winding story capture and memorialize the ephemera of youth and its formative yet somehow mostly impermanent friendships.

Some choice lines put it nicely:

"I cried for everyone and for all the scrabbly, funny love one sent out into the world like some hit song that enters space and bounds off to another galaxy, a tune so pretty you think the words are true, you do!"

"It seemed even then a valedictory chorus to our childhood and stuck us deep in the brain and low in the spine, like a call, and in its wave and swell lifted us, I swear, to the ceiling in astonishment and bliss, we sounded that beautiful."

I finally gave in...

And I gave it three stars because I am ultimately really undecided on my feelings. While it was definitely compelling, I really didn't understand why it was the "it" book. Smarter than Da Vinci Code in some respects, it was truly too graphic and terrifying for my taste in others. Many times I caught myself thinking, so THIS is what everyone is reading on the Subway?!

I did think the swift and terse writing was very well done. Even though this is a translation, I felt the style matched the starkness of the setting and the emotional stoicism/frigidity of many of the characters. Bleak, but beautiful in some ways.

Jury is out on when I will start the next book. I think I will definitely read it, but not yet. I need a breather, but I find myself reading a book for book club in which the man starts to loose his toes to frostbite (The Unnamed... reminds me all too much of a male-friendly version of The Time Traveler's Wife!)


I know this a cliche book to make my return on. I'm fine with it as long as you are! I'm not going to review The Unnamed because I really did not like it and that is all that needs to be said (see my other feelings above.) 


Next up: Moose, by Stephanie Klein, author of Straight Up and Dirty (one of my favorite memoirs) and the blog Greek Tragedy. 

I Heart Jen Lancaster

Swamped!

I've neglected the blog again! Forgive me, the reading for school is literally piling up... this is what I get for taking 5 classes second semester senior year. It's ok, I"m enjoying them, but this blog needs to go on hiatus until a later date (spring break... or after graduation...eee!)

In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter! Thanks for your patience!

picture via pinklemonade blog

One of my favorite scenes from a recent movie... ever

and the reason I love Katherine Heigl despite how controversial she is (and I don't watch Grey's.) I saw this with a bunch of my friends in the theater and they were all very quick to point out to me the resemblance I share with her in this scene... but I act like this basically all the time, not when I'm doing shots like she is in the scene. Happy NYE and may you have as good of a time as this!

"Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed."-Elle Woods

Orange by collegeclassic featuring Tory Burch shoes

Items in this set:
Tory Burch Orange Reva Flats
Steal This Look: Sun Porch by Dale Saylor : Remodelista, $1,125
Bringing Home The Birkin: Bringing Home the Birkin and Barcelona
absolutely beautiful things: The Hermes Blanket
While I don't disagree that orange will never replace pink, I've recently become enchanted with the chicness and versatility of the color. My orange Revas are one of my favorite things to pair with a nautical striped shirt and jeans (blue or white denim) to add a little punch to the outfit.


Orange and blue isn't the only great combo of orange with another color... orange and pink can be a great departure from the traditional preppy pink and green (a la Tory Burch)... and pairing orange with pinks and whites avoids looking like a jack o lantern (I never wear orange with black...not even on Halloween, really!)


Of course, it's the classic Hermes color (how I would love to own one of their cashmere throws... I suggest picking up Michael Tonello's Bringing Home the Birkin for a fashion-obsessed twist on Eat, Pray, Love.) And it's the signature color of Veuve Clicquot (follow them on twitter here.) And of course the very Florida-esque color is a favorite of the one and only Lilly Pulitzer (a go-to for tailgates!)


I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect orange cashmere pashmina... but as a blonde I'm a bit weary of wearing the color in a block so close to my face. 


And who could forget... orange is the color of our trusty friend the blogger icon. I know it lights up my toolbar!

Merry Merry!

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

I finally found time to read this highly-anticipated second offering from the author of The Time Traveler's Wife. I bought it from Target a while ago, but hadn't had the time to read it until this winter break... I sped through it in 2 days!

This book is a Harry Potter-esque ghost story, full of historical accuracy and whimsy. Niffenegger lets the spirit of her British characters and settings shrine through, and she captures the essence of the culture very well... a rare feat for an American author, in my opinion.

She creates magical character with whom we can relate as well as marvel at. Each character is quirky-- a bit weird, a bit off, but this makes them that much more interesting! They are strange in a good way.

Like Lionel Shriver's characters (The Post-Birthday World and the forthcoming So Much For That), their relationships with each other are strained by their abnormal yet all together human complications-- obsessions, aversions and peculiarities govern the lives of these very particular people. Their oddness, however, is somehow entrancing and quite lovely, actually.

The plot is full of surprises and twists, but ultimately this book's characters are what make it a worth while read and accomplish a second success for the author. I can't wait to see the movie of her first!

Pat Conroy's South of Broad

Ok, so I read this book a realllyyyy long time ago. But I still remember how I felt when I read it: I'm glad I did, Conroy is a fantastic writer, his descriptions are unrivaled. But, as many of the reviews I read had pointed out, it seemed that it tried to cram too many important historical events of the past 50 years into one story. From Civil Rights, to AIDS, to celebrity-mania, these movements did affect people's lives, but they played such a large role in the book that it became distracting.

I had the opportunity to visit Charleston just before I read this (I actually read a bit of it there), so reading the story about the city was gratifying as I recognized many sites and streets and styles. If you've never read Conroy, I would suggest reading The Prince of Tides or Beach Music before you pick this one up. Would hate for someone to get turned off from such a fabulous author by this... it's not that bad but definitely not his best.

Hope it isn't 14 more years before his next release!

4 days til Christmas...

1. I used to be a newspaper junkie and peruse the news over my coffee every day, but now I read blogs.

2. I love reality tv. Favorites include Real Housewives, The City and The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I also love Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl and Project Runway. Recently I've been getting into Glee... it's great!

3. I love to read but to really relax sometimes I just need to watch a mindless movie or tv shows as mentioned above on my computer in my bed.

4. I could eat chocolate for every meal. I need it at least once a day. It sustains me.

5. I hoard magazines (mostly People) to read on the treadmill/elliptical. The idea is that I'll want to read the magazines and thus be motivated to go to the gym, but I have about 8 back issues right now... gotta get on that treadmill tomorrow!