Lately I’ve found myself drifting away from the books I generally read. I like "fluffy" books: those that are lighthearted, swift and funny. But recently I’ve felt a pull toward more substantial literary fiction as well as things in the fantasy and horror genres. I read two this week.
The first: Thirsty, by M.T. Anderson. In this strange little tale, Chris, a high school freshman, finds himself slowly turning into a vampire. As he struggles with the enormity of this change, as well as the difficulties in keeping it a secret, he meets Chet, an otherworldly being who enlists Chris on a mission to save the world. Chris reluctantly agrees, but things go horribly wrong, leading the the book’s surprising and abrupt ending. Weird but interesting.
The second was Holly Black’s Tithe, which I really enjoyed. High school dropout Kaye is wasting her life partying when she rescues a stange and beautiful man one rainy night. Realizing that he is a faery, she stumbles into a world of magic and strife, as two rival fairy factions struggle to gain control of their world. As Kaye is pulled in deeper, she discovers the surprising truth about herself, and begins a tumultous friendship with a faery knight who may or may not be trustworthy. Compelling and fascinating.
Sorry I haven’t been around for awhile, but it has been a crazy week. We’ve been redecorating, wrestling with the disaster that is Ikea, and there have been 2 bear capturings at nearby malls! For real. So between all this, plus my job, not only have I not had much time to write, I haven’t really done anything worth writing about. I read a couple of bo
oks (Leah Stewart’s Body of a Girl and Robert B. Parker’s Blue Screen) but those reviews will have to wait. I did do something interesting last weekend, though…
We were hanging out with some friends on Sunday, and they whipped out their DVD of R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet. Oh, lord, where to even begin with this? Essentially, this is the tale of Sylvester, Cathy, Rufus, Chuck, Gwendolyn, Tron, James, Bridget, and the midget (Big Man, because he’s so blessed in the pants). Kelly plays Sylvester, who cheats on Gwendolyn with Cathy, who’s cheating on Rufus, who’s sleeping with Chuck…well, you get the idea. And of course, this is narrated by Kelly, who is literally trapped in the closet. With a gun. Um…words fail me. Just watch this. And pay attention to the vocal inflection of Bridget, which is apparently Kelly’s impersonation of southern folks. Or, actually, it might just be his perception of how white people talk. Watch for inconsistent bleeping of the “F” word, random changes from first person to third (and back), and the most desperate rhyming I’ve ever encoutered. How does “dresser” rhyme with “baretta?” Or worse, how does “closet” rhyme with “closet?” It’s the same frickin’ word!
Oh, just go watch the thing. And remember that R. Kelly peed on a 14-year old girl. Wow.
Some of you (if, in fact, there’s anyone out there reading this) might have noticed the rather weird pattern of my blogging. I got going, disappeared for awhile, and then resurfaced with a vengeance. The reason for this is that I was off traveling.
My first trip was an unexpected emergency. I had to go to Louisiana (which entailed driving through Alabama twice in one day, ugh) to visit my grandfather, who was extremely ill and in the hospital. He seems to be improving, which is fantastic, but one of my cousins is now very sick, so I’m just hoping my family will get well, already.
My other trip was a vacation back home to Florida (check Flickr for the pics). Hubbers and I went to visit my parents for a few days and had a great time. There were pedicures, shopping, jet skiing, putt-putt, two(!) meals at Peg Leg’s… I also had the chance to attend Nancy LaNasa’s jivamukti yoga class at the Avery Center. It was the first time in 4 years that I had the opportunity to go, and it was amazing! Even though I’m still feeling it 3 days later, it was totally worth it, and I wholeheartedly recommend going if you get the chance.
I think I even returned home a little invigorated, which is good, since I have a lot of projects going on. We are redoing our office, which has thrown the entire house into chaos, plus I have a heavy workload right now (summer is busy at the library!). Things will only be getting busier-in July, my in-laws are coming to visit! (No sweat, we’ll have a great time.)
One of my favorite decorating magazines is Domino. By the creators of Lucky, the shopping magazine, Domino offers hip, generally affordable decorating ideas that are usually pretty easy to do. As someone who loves Mexican folk art (my kitchen theme!) I was thrilled to discover an article in the June issue that discussed throwing a Mexican-themed party (fiesta?). Many of the decorating suggestions were expensive, but I was interested in a website where some of the items were purchased: mexicansugarskull.com.
This website has a ton of funny, day-of-the-dead style skeleton art, including cake toppers, jewelry and papier-mache statues, as well as recipes, molds, banners, and fabrics. The site even offers brightly patterned oilcloth (sold by the foot) that would make great vintage style tablecloths.
Check it out. Skulls are all the rage this summer anyway.