B

Books:

Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow.
308 pages; last word - twilight
Don't let the fact that the final word of this book shares it's name with a particularly horrid children's book series deter you. Sharp Teeth is, in a word, amazingly good. (Yes, that's two words.)

The story is about werewolves in LA who form packs (or gangs) with each other, and then, just like dogs/wolves/gangs are wont to do...they fight over territory.
But there's a love story (or three) thrown in for good mix. And some mystery, as a local cop tries to solve some murders and track down people that have gone missing. And there's violence. Oh, how there is violence. (Werewolves, it turns out, are not generally a pleasant bunch. Who knew?)

On top of all this, there's the way that the story is written - it's an epic poem. Like the Iliad, or Canterbury Tales. (Except that the book is free verse, so it doesn't rhyme, so it's actually more Bukowski than Chaucer.) But still. The gimmick works, because by having the narrative told in this manner, it sets a pace and tone for the whole book that truly fits the setting that it takes place in. And it also helps that there are a large number of truly poetic lines. Especially between Anthony and the girl with no name. Their relationship is on par with Romeo and Juliet or Antony and Cleopatra or Brad and Angelina (heh).

The point is - I highly recommend this book. It's the type of werewolf book that I imagine Will would write. Or do a kick-ass reading of, if it were to be performed. (That's about the biggest compliment I can give it, to be honest.)
Seriously, if you like werewolf stories or love stories or poetry or violent gang wars? Check out Sharp Teeth.

Moving on...

Music:
23 by Blonde Redhead.
Meh.
I don't know. It was just kinda ...hauntingly there? The fact that I found the album cover to be the most memorable thing about this band speaks volumes.

Movies:

I picked up Book of Days for two reasons. 1) Wil Wheaton is in it.
2) The premise looked kinda interesting.
The movie is about a man (Wil Wheaton) who loses his wife (on their wedding day) to a car accident, and then receives, from a mysterious stranger, a book listing people's death-dates.
But then we tried to watch it.
We lasted 20 minutes. I dare anyone out there to go further than 30. I don't think it's possible. The acting, the writing, the directing, the music - EVERYTHING was really bad.
Fortunately (?), I also picked up Blackboard Jungle. I managed to watch the entire movie, but, wow, was that an eye-opener.
I knew that the 50's were conformist and oppressive time in American history, but just seeing it so blatant.... man. But it was amusing to see the "juvies" that were dancing before school started. I guess maybe they were members of the Sharks and/or the Jets...

As for the Cs - picked up Capote, and Elvis Costello disc, and two books that I forget the titles of right now.