Book 002 - The House on Moon Lake

I like books and stories that wrap up nicely in the end. I've been told that both in my reading practices and my movie watching pleasures that that is an uneducated and unoriginal way of looking at things and I should work on appreciating the art of the alternative. Anyone who's spent time with me or pays careful attention to anything I write/photoshop/create/whatever will notice that I require symmetry or order. Sometimes one, sometimes both. I consider my need for an ending in a nice neat package my way having order to something I didn't have any control over; without the nice neat package, I find myself going a little crazy and having a strange sort of anxiety.

And that little side trip brings me to The House on Moon Lake written by Franchesa Duranti and then translated into English from Italian. I think I enjoyed the book. I'm not totally sure. Our story is about Fabrizio, a translator by trade, who stumbles upon a lost book by a completely unknown author who is considered to be awful. Fabrizio becomes obsessed with the book and alienates his quazi-girlfriend, his best friend and publisher, and eventually the world at large. Eventually he finds himself locked in a fantasy world that he created around the author's last three years of his life and his final mistress which he named Maria. As the story closes, although his girlfriend came looking for him, his captor kept him locked up and he decides that he will face the fate of dying in that house, the same house where his author and made up mistress spent their days.

The story closes around itself well enough that I'm almost okay with it, but at the same time...Fabrizio goes a little too crazy, and the craziness is not confined. In reality, he doesn't go crazy at all, just drives him sick by over thinking things, but the way the way the narrative is written it is hard to swallow that he just accepts his fate. So for that reason I'm left dissatisfied, and with a bit of an itch to rewrite the ending so I don't feel so tense and nervous without my symmetry.

This, my friends, is why I hate literature as a general rule. It usually makes me uneasy.

A Gaggle of Movies

Mamma Mia!
This film surprised me a little bit. I expected to like it because the very premise of the plot amuses me and I like ABBA songs enough to be interested. No one lied, Pierce Brosnan absolutely canNOT sing, but you know what? I didn't care. Every musical is allowed the one who can't sing, and I'm certainly not going to let that ruin a fun, silly little chick flick that includes some absolutely gorgeous cinematography of Greece. It, like Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, I think I liked just a little bit more than I would otherwise just because of the scenery. And it made me want to start saving for my fantasy Mediterranean Cruise. *sigh*

House Bunny
I was expecting a dumb comedy, but it's the kind of dumb comedy that appeals to me. So...I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone, as far as midnight shows go, it's got its value. I don't believe that any human being could truly be that dumb, but I like the color array of personalities among the sorority girls and you end up really wanting them to keep their house. Also, the nasty girls from evil!sorority are named Ashley and Courtney, which gives me great amusement.

Hancock
Not gonna lie, I almost didn't finish it. The first 45 minutes bored me and I decided if the movie didn't pick up that I was going to call it quits. Fortunately, the movie delivered FINALLY. I absolutely love the second half as the back story between Will Smith and Charlize Theron unfolds and starts to make sense. It was a different route that most movies don't go to that I've read a lot in books, but hadn't really seen on film. However, as a rule, I hate all films and Smallville episodes with superhero sex, so...well, I don't hate Hancock, but the superhero sex is enough to make me not ever want to watch it again. It doesn't humor me in the least. Blowing holes in the roof, breaking the bed through walls, breaking the bed itself, and most importantly EARTHQUAKES *wrings the neck of the writer responsible for that Smallville moment* are an automatic turn off.

He's Just Not That Into You
This movie is so true to life. I came out of it feeling a little giddy, a little vindictive, and really in love with Justin Long. Although that last one happens every time I watch an Apple ad, so I guess that doesn't really count. You could see where every one of the relationships were going, but you're okay with it because it stays so true to how things happen in real life that it's okay. I would recommend it for chick viewing, for sure, but I don't think guys should rule it out, either. I think guys could see their frustrations in the film just as readily as a girl could. But the movie takes it all with good humor and makes you smile readily. So, if you're looking for a escape, or a movie that can sympathize/empathize with you, go see it.

Book 001 - Battle of the Labyrinth

By the way, this is not really a review because a full review would mean spoiling this one and the other three.

I don't know if this should count since I started it in October, but then I had to return it to the library, so I just barely got to pick it back up again today, and finished it awfully fast. I was trying to remember why I didn't finish it while I still had it, and I realized that it was my usual 'don't want it to end' dragging. It's the same problem I'm having with Brandon's third Mistborn book. I don't want to say good-bye. It's really silly with Percy Jackson because we've got Book 5 still on the way, haha.

It's my favorite in the series, what can I say? I loved everything about it, there wasn't a part that dragged, all the new gods and goddesses were wonderful, as well as all the other new characters. I guessed a couple of things, but got an awful lot of surprises, which I love.

Obviously trying to read this one without the first 3 Percy Jackson books would be like trying to read Half-Blood Prince without the other 5, but of course I think you should do that, too, so...yeah. If you need a fun, entertaining, and easy read, do it.

Highlights: Calypso, the naiad at the river, and Poseidon's visit