Somusing

This is a compelling and suspenseful first novel that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, amid tourists, modern-day witches, future-divining women and a group of relgious fanatics. There is something strange going on, and it's fun to try to figure out what it is.

Also interesting is the story of the book's rise to publication. The author and her husband decided to publish it on their own. First, they gave copies of the manuscript to a local book group and asked for feedback. After their self-publication and subsequent success due to word of mouth and a PR firm, the author found an agent (or the agent found her). A bidding war between various big publishers followed, and Berry got to take her pick. A nice story for a first novel!

Here's an interesting online book group featuring Brunonia Berry, if you're interested.

This is not great, but it's amusing and pleasant enough. I always like John Cusack.

I thought this would be a silly romantic comedy because Ryan Reynolds is in it. There are definitely funny moments, but it's actually kind of a serious story about family relationships. It's not the best movie in the world, but it has good messages about honesty and loyalty and (perhaps unintentionally) communication, and I like Ryan Reynolds' way of being funny, even if it doesn't change a lot from movie to movie.

Not only do the Bourne movies have the best sequel titles, they're also just good sequels. The Bourne Ultimatum did not disappoint. I'm kind of glad we waited to watch it on a TV, because it has the same jerky, dizzying cinematography that The Bourne Supremacy had, and that's much easier to take on a small screen. It's a good movie, although I kind of missed the romance of the first. (There is a very vague hint of a past romance, but that's all.) Otherwise, it's exciting and tense and has a pretty satisfying ending.

The special features on the DVD are some of the most interesting we've ever watched. When the camera shot follows Bourne as he jumps from a roof into a window in the next building, that camera was actually following him. They strapped a camera onto a stunt man who jumped after him. Pretty cool.

Several people said this was good, and I was surprised to find that they were right. For one thing, there's not much dialog, so when I watched it with the kids, their extra noise hardly bothered me at all. Otherwise, it's silly and over the top and very funny. I laughed out loud a lot.

One favorite thing: Willem Dafoe is hilarious as a self-important film director, and the screening of his new film at the Cannes Film Festival at the end of the movie is wonderful. I also enjoyed Mr. Bean saying "Gracias" to everyone while he's traveling in France.

This was just okay. I fell asleep a few times.

I really liked this movie as Jon and I were watching it (in a real theater!): the main characters were sweet but also funny and sarcastic; the music was good; it took place in a realistic, less glamorous New York that was refreshing; the romance was uplifting and believable; and it was just plain funny. But I liked it less after it was over, mostly because I'm a little old-fashioned, I guess. And maybe sheltered, too. Maybe in comparison to those raunchy rated-R movies that target teen audiences (which I've never seen), Nick and Norah is no big deal.

In any case, I got on my parental high horse after it was over and I thought of all the teens who will certainly see this movie. There are some good things about it--some straight-edge kids, who are clearly smarter and cooler than the friend who gets so drunk and lost and is truly ridiculous (but funny); the good kids trump the bad kids in the end; etc.

But why can't they just make out at the end? No, they don't have sex (or anything else that includes the word "sex"), but what they do is kind of weird and seems out of place. I applaud the sentiment for married couples, it was just weird for two kids who'd just met hours before.

I enjoyed this delightful modern fairy tale very much. It has a great message about learning to like yourself the way you are. Christina Ricci's character is sweet and pretty, even with her pig nose, and while James McAvoy is not immediately pleasing, he grew on me. I'd like to let the kids watch this, but there's some innuendo that was funny but not for kids. I guess there's a reason it's called innuendo, though; mine probably wouldn't get it. Anyway, I loved it.

Mira comes in with a handful of Corn Pops.

"What are you eating?" I say, just making conversation.

"It's poison blood," she says.

Of course.

I read this a long time ago, probably as a young teenager, and I loved it. This time around I got a little impatient with the speed of the narrative, which jumps years at a time and then gives lots of details about certain events, and with the constant self-sacrificing of the main character. I suspect that I'm being overly critical, and it's also possible that I'm feeling defensive because I don't give up everything for my kids, like this woman did. So, yeah, it might be guilt, because I live in a time when I can have a family and still do things for myself.

This is a book worth reading, though. You've got the story of the settling of Nebraska and also a life from childhood to old age. There's a lot to think about.