Reason #142 Why You Shouldn’t Read Entertainment Weekly - Or Listen to R.E.M.

Once you read something you can’t unread it.  No matter how hard you want to delete it from your eyes.  The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes From a Life by Robert Goolrick was an incredibly disturbing memoir.  Loyal readers know I love a good cry at a true story, but in this case I didn’t cry.  Instead I gasped in horror and threw the book down in complete disgust.  I feel awful for this poor man, but holy crap what a thing to tell me in such detail.

I chose this book because I had read Goolrick’s rather smutty novel A Reliable Wife.  I figured a novelist writing a memoir was a good bet, and on the cover Entertainment Weekly claims the book is “morbidly funny.”

Listen here, EW.  I don’t care if some stories were amusing, when the bomb was dropped on the reader three-fourths of the way through the story, all mentions of humor are out.  Null and void.    Goolrick managed to completely shock and disgust a frequent reader of Holocaust autobiographies.  

I am not lending this book out, and will likely cover my eyes with my hand if it is ever mentioned in conversation. Including when R.E.M. plays on the radio.

Every Week Someone Turns 31 In Our House For The Last Two Weeks

Andrew is getting increasingly angry with this blog, 

due to photos such as this. 

Let the good times roll, birthday boy!

Last week, I read restaurant reviews.  After surprising me on my birthday, my 9 days younger husband wanted me to pick a restaurant and “surprise him with something he would love.”  Let’s just say, mission accomplished thanks to a large pork shank at Roosevelt’s, a new spot owned by the same woman that runs our favorite sandwich shop Garnett’s.  I give myself most of the credit, Style Weekly some of the credit, and a bit of credit to the actual chef.  Happy birthday, Andrew!

Bookworm Goes Back And Forth About Whether to Hate or Like Friends. Settles On Love.

This weekend I finished Wahoo Rhapsody by Shaun Morey, which was my first book read on the Kindle app on my iPad.  I heard about this book on a blog, back when I was doing a bit of research on how to make millions by blogging.  (For the record I have given up on this goal after much mockery and “don’t quit your day job” type advice for my blog-less and moderately witty but ultimately unsupportive circle of friends and family.)  

I found the plot to be a bit hard to follow. There were so many characters I had trouble keeping a few of them straight. I give this book a resounding score of “eh.”  Sadly, the main reason I chose to start Wahoo Rhapsody last week, was because after finishing my last book I didn’t feel like walking upstairs to get another one.  The iPad was just right there.  New laziness record set!

I have read a few books on the Nook app, and can now check off the Kindle app as well.  This was a hot question during some birthday gift opening this weekend, since Loyal Reader Phill didn’t know which device was my favorite.  For the record, my favorite device is Old School Books.  Preferably of the Lent By A Friend variety.  Even more preferably from the friends who don’t mock the blog.  But the ones that do I love anyway.  Especially when they surprise me for my birthday.

How can you hate a crew that gives you a Beer of the Month Club
membership for your birthday?
Surprise!
Photo Credit: Loyal Blog Follower Katherine

Let the Horn Tooting Commence

Looks like the British and the Bookworm see eye-to-eye on a certain Marc Jacob's ad.  Dakota Fanning's ads for the fragrance Oh Lola! have been banned in the UK for being to racy.  The hard hitting news site People.com did not mention the literary tie to the famous novel Lolita, but between this increasingly unpopular blog and kids being educated, most people probably got the connection.

Do Not Judge My Scrapbooking Years (RIP 1992 – 2005)

I decided in advance that I would love I Drink for a Reason by David Cross since Tobias Fünke is the second best TV character ever (from the first best TV show Arrested Development.    Job Bluth from the same show is reigning #1.) Plus I am a big fan of his Grammy losing stand-up album Stop Crying You Fucking Baby.  There are a couple of bits in that act that I have heard so many times that I quote them.  People hate that.  Mostly because my delivery is so bad that I burst out laughing before I get to the punch line, a trait that is unfortunately not unique to quoting Cross.  I really crack myself up.

Anyway, you probably see where this is going.  I was disappointed in the book, except for the chapter making fun of a scrapbook convention in Michigan.  He came off pretty whiny throughout, though I really want to like it since he said that all of his fans are smart.  But I guess I am just not that smart, since I thought he came off as what Eighth Grade Allison might call a “hater.”  Boy was she a big time scrapbooker.

Andrew Loves the Irish, I Love the iPhone

Notre Dame grads.
I think they are this excited because
we didn't travel to South Bend.  Oh wait, that was me.

This weekend the Irish took on the mighty Demon Deacons in Winston, North Carolina.  We went to the game with a crew from Richmond, including I-Don't-Get-Your-Blog-Emails Kristen and I'm-On-Page-80-of-The Pillars of the Earth-Jed.  (I should note that Jed is rapidly becoming my most dedicated reader, which is the least competitive accolade out there.  One of my closest friends recently said to me, "Oh, you are still doing that?"  Yeah, I am.)

Today was a gorgeous fall day and a perfect time to listen to the conclusion of our first audiobook from the library.  A classic case of getting what you pay for, our free book was probably my least favorite Ken Follett book so far.  Jackdaws was fine for the car, but I kept getting confused about which character was which.  This is probably because it was the abridged version, and I was scouting out top milkshake options on the way home this afternoon.  (I admit to actually calling an Arby's to consult with the staff on whether milkshakes were available at the South Hills, VA location.  They were, but we made a last minute decision to bolt across three lanes to get to the Sonic instead.  My banana shake was worth the risk.)

Andrew has asked that I note that the female voice talent for this book was excellent.  He has also asked that I stop mentioning him on this blog.  1 out of 2 isn't too bad.

In other news that only I care about, I got an iPhone this week and we are in love.  Below is a video taken today on the tail end of our drive.  Check out our entrance into Richmond and abrupt halt in front of the Garretts to pick up World's Best Dog Norman who had spent the previous 28 hours digging holes.