Two movies

Hello, family! I wanted to write a quick post about two movies I recently watched via this brand new cool movie renting service--Red Box. Everyone under age 35 is probably laughing now. Perhaps everyone over age 35 is as well, however, Ian recently introduced me to Red Box and there's one nearby in our little town of Philomath. (If you don't know what Red Box is, you can go online and search for a movie you want to rent, then drive somewhere close, swipe your debit or credit card, and for $1.20 it will pop out your selected movie). Keep it as long as you wish for $1.20 per day. Our Red Boxes are located at Circle K's and McDonald's. But, go on line, and you can find the ones closest to you.

I have digressed. Two movies I have recently enjoyed are 50/50, which is based upon a true story, and Moneyball. You've probably already seen them. But, if not, they're worth a view. I first heard the writer of 50/50 (the fictionalized protagonist) on Fresh Air. The interview was excellent, and I have always enjoyed Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so this was an easy choice for me. The movie loosely outlines a few years in Will Reiser's life, when he was diagnosed with cancer as a young man, and all of the joys and foibles that went along with it. I recommend this as not the best movie I have ever seen, but one that I enjoyed.

If you have not already seen Moneyball, I really enjoyed this one. It's another baseball movie....I know. But, it's far from "Field of Dreams." Again, this is based upon a true story...Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland A's, trying to compete against teams with much larger budgets for players' salaries. They lose all their best players to teams like the Yankees, with so many more dollars to spend. This is also based upon a true story, and again, I heard the writer interviewed on Fresh Air before I knew this movie existed. I may pick up the book, (Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game).

What movies do you have to recommend?

Here are some photos courtesy our family Poppi-razzi!

Tina books

Peggy sent Mom the book, "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier. This novel is about the character, Mary Anning, who finds fossils that no one else can see. Mom's grandfather, Corwin O'Neal, collected fossils and there is a museum that has his name on the fossil display: Iowa Historical Museum in Des Moines. I have not yet read the book, but Mom recommends it, and she hopes we will visit that museum in Des Moines someday! I wanted to include this in our blog so I can remind myself when I get home.

One of my favorite books is, "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256566.Everything_is_Illuminated

This book has a tough beginning. It seems so strange because it is a story within a story. It's a book about someone writing a book, and the person writing the book is also learning English. So, the opening couple of chapters are confusing because his language is strange. But, stick it out and you enjoy the various clever ways the author thinks. James recommended that book to me. I picked it up once and dropped it; but, I tried it a second time because James told me how much he really enjoyed it. I'm so glad I did.

I love almost everything by Louise Erdrich. I have not read her young adult novels, but I enjoy her adult novels. She usually writes about native American cultures mixed with some spiritualism. Two I particularly like are, "The Master Butchers Singing Club" and "Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Hope."

Movies, too

Let's also post good movies we've seen lately. Here are a couple of mine:

Never Let Me Go was also a very good 2010 movie, with a great cast. I recommend it.

We just saw J Edgar and thought that was great, too.

Any others??

I'll keep thinking.

Book Suggestions

Here is the list we developed regarding great books to read. Please add comments with further descriptions and specific suggestions should you feel so inclined.

From Warren...

-fiction AND non-fiction of Scott Turow

-To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

-Letters from Home, Carolyn Hart

-Nickeled and Dimed to Death

-Snow in August, Pete Hamill

-Seance in Sepia, Michelle Black

-The Smell of Rain & Lightning, Nancy Pickard

-Dead I Well May Be, McKinty (graphic)

-On Writing, Stephen King

Carl...

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card (easy read, best sci-fi novel of all time)

Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card (sequel to Ender's Game)

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Mark Haddon

Kurt...

Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro

Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan

Peggy...

Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro

Seabiscuit

Snow Falling on Cedars

Snow in August

The Hunger Games Trilogy, Suzanne Collins

Ape House, Sara Gruen

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

I am the messenger, Markus Zusak

Matt Bull...

Infinite Jest, David Forster Wallace

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, David Forster Wallace

Siddharta, Herman Hesse (short, easy)

The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky

Elegant Universe, Brian Green

The Bhagavad Gita

Dennis...

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Empire Falls, Richard Russo

The Human Stain, Philip Roth

The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell

Children of God, Mary Doria Russell

The Reader, Bernard Schlenk

There's a start. Please add more and elaborate. Happy New Year!!!

New blog for Bull family

Let's use this blog to communicate, share books, offer news, etc. We can avoid some facebook pitfalls, yet stay in touch.