Friday, April 15, 2011
Mister Pip
EarlyWord reports that Hugh Laurie, aka Dr. House, will play the lead role in the film adaptation of Lloyd Jones' novel Mister Pip. I wasn't a huge fan of this novel, but I think Hugh Laurie is the perfect choice for this role. Filming doesn't even begin until next month, so it will probably be a while before it gets to theaters.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
High on Books
I was browsing at my local Barnes and Noble recently, looking for books on urban farming and noticed a book about growing marijuana. I didn't think much of it until I began seeing more and more books on this topic as I continued to browse. There must have been about 8-10 different books on how to grow marijuana! It seemed like an unusually high number for this topic. Do we really have that much demand for DIY weed books in my suburb? Then I was catching up on back issues of PW and saw an article "Publishers High on Marijuana Books" in the March 14th issue. Apparently marijuana is one of the hot new trends in publishing. Here are just a few of the books you can expect to see soon: Growgirl by Heather Donahue. A memoir of her attempt at marijuana farming after her acting career ended. Marijuanamerica by Ryan Nerz. A look at the pot industry from a lifelong "marijuana enthusiast." Trimming Bud by Doug Grad, Heart of Dankness by Mark Haskell, Reefer Gladness by Michael Konik, War in the Woods by John Nores Jr. and James A. Swan, Pot of Gold and Stash by Greg Campbell. Growgirl sounds like it could be fun. It may be similar to some of the urban farming memoirs I have enjoyed. Don't worry--I'll stick to just growing veggies!
Friday, April 8, 2011
When Was The Last Time You Read About...
Conjoined twins??
Been a while huh? Yeah, me too. Until this week when I read The Girls by Lori Lansens. This fictionalized account of conjoined twins is set in Canada during the present day. Rose and Ruby are joined at the head and, approaching 30 years old, about to become the world's longest surviving craniopagus twins.
Rose is the largest of the twins and is the mobilizing force behind them as Ruby does not have functional legs. Ruby is known as the prettier and more outgoing of the two. I'm not sure how else to describe it but together they are able to function as individuals. They hold separate, part-time jobs and have individual hobbies. This requires the twins to be very patient with each other and yet they clearly still have a sisterly relationship including the occasional argument.
The Girls is told from the point of view of both Ruby and Rose. The majority of the chapters are told in the voice of Rose who has decided to document their lives in a memoir. This includes the background of their adoptive parents and the unique struggles the sisters have faced. Ruby's sections are not as frequent but tell the reader about their current circumstances and the reason they are writing the book. According to the story, neither sister is privy to what the other one is writing which allows them to discuss each other. Lori Lansens writing shines in these brief moments as the intense love they feel for each other is described in the most quiet of ways. It was refreshing to have an author describe feelings of affection between characters without being overly dramatic or gushy. I felt as though it gave the characters and their unique relationship more depth.
I've had The Girls on my "To Read" list for, literally, years. I'm not sure what compelled me to finally pick it up but I am so glad I did. It was an engaging story that managed to tell the story of two sisters in the most unusual circumstance without feeling gossipy or turning them into a circus sideshow.
I may be compelled to read Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss next to see if Strauss was able to convey conjoined twins as successfully as Lansens. I've heard good things...
Been a while huh? Yeah, me too. Until this week when I read The Girls by Lori Lansens. This fictionalized account of conjoined twins is set in Canada during the present day. Rose and Ruby are joined at the head and, approaching 30 years old, about to become the world's longest surviving craniopagus twins.
Rose is the largest of the twins and is the mobilizing force behind them as Ruby does not have functional legs. Ruby is known as the prettier and more outgoing of the two. I'm not sure how else to describe it but together they are able to function as individuals. They hold separate, part-time jobs and have individual hobbies. This requires the twins to be very patient with each other and yet they clearly still have a sisterly relationship including the occasional argument.
The Girls is told from the point of view of both Ruby and Rose. The majority of the chapters are told in the voice of Rose who has decided to document their lives in a memoir. This includes the background of their adoptive parents and the unique struggles the sisters have faced. Ruby's sections are not as frequent but tell the reader about their current circumstances and the reason they are writing the book. According to the story, neither sister is privy to what the other one is writing which allows them to discuss each other. Lori Lansens writing shines in these brief moments as the intense love they feel for each other is described in the most quiet of ways. It was refreshing to have an author describe feelings of affection between characters without being overly dramatic or gushy. I felt as though it gave the characters and their unique relationship more depth.
I've had The Girls on my "To Read" list for, literally, years. I'm not sure what compelled me to finally pick it up but I am so glad I did. It was an engaging story that managed to tell the story of two sisters in the most unusual circumstance without feeling gossipy or turning them into a circus sideshow.
I may be compelled to read Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss next to see if Strauss was able to convey conjoined twins as successfully as Lansens. I've heard good things...
Monday, April 4, 2011
Knit Your Own Royal Wedding
Didn't get an invite to William and Kate's wedding? Don't worry, now you can play along at home! Just Knit Your Own Royal Wedding. I found this hilarious book while perusing the new knitting books at Barnes and Noble.
They also had Knit Your Own Dog, which I was hoping would be great, but was a bit disappointing. Some of the patterns were great, but some not so much. The English Bulldog was a little unfortunate looking, so no knitted Bulldog for me. Then I found Yarn Bombing in the library. It's like graffiti tagging but with knitted things. Cozies for lamp posts and trees, etc. I don't know, but surely there is a more worthwhile knitting project one could do, like knitting blankets or mittens for the homeless. 
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