Sunday, October 12, 2008

O

Books:

On a recommendation from Kirk, I picked up the Joyce Carol Oates book, Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart (405/part) for my "O" book.
The novel is about a small town in the 1950s where a murder takes place and how it impacts the lives of Iris Courtney, a white teenager who witnessed it happen, and Jinx Fairchild, a black teen who committed the crime.

This was the first book by Oates I've read, and I will definitely pick up more in the future, because she is a very talented writer. However, this novel did seem uneven to me. The parts that were good were really good, but certain characters [Leslie Courtney, and the entire Savage family at the end] just did nothing for me. What's amazing though, is that even during the sections that didn't hold my interest, the writing was top-notch. If that makes sense.
And as stated, the novel was overall quite good, so I'm glad that I read it. Thanks, Kirk!

CDs:

Both of the "O" artist CDs I got were actually good! What are the odds?
I grabbed a "best of" album from Oasis - Stop the Clocks is a 2 disc compilation of the Gallagher Bros' work, and was quite enjoyable. Although I'm a little peeved that neither disc had "You All Everybody" on it. ;)
The other disc I picked up was Blame it on Gravity by the Old 97s.
Awesome CD that, if I still had in my possession, would definitely be on repeat right now. Just a lot of fun. Also, someone needs to make a Chuck related fanvid to the song "Dance with Me". Seriously.

DVDs:
I picked up 3 DVDs, but only got around to watching 2. They say that's not bad, though.
The one I didn't watch was Off the Black, but it looked interesting. Some other time, perhaps.
I did watch The Out of Towners, which was a nice distraction. Jack Lemmon's increasing frustration through the film = LOLness.

I also watched The Omega Man, which ...man. The 70s were, in many ways, really messed up.
But, at least now I've seen all 3 movie versions of Richard Matheson's novel, "I Am Legend". Maybe I should read it someday.

2 comments:

Kirk said...

You should. (read I Am Legend)

I told you! (that The Omega Man was bad)

I'm glad. (you liked the Joyce Carol Oates)

Anonymous said...

I Am Legend is SUCH a good book. One of my favorites.