All of those who know me, know that I love making lists of all things! First I wanted to add a few songs to my summer playlist. "Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin is fabulous and perfectly fits the summer mood for me. I enjoy The Atari's cover of "The Boys of Summer" (as well as the original by Don Henley), and the title says it all. My friend Rae recommends the sexy "In These Shoes" by Kristy MacColl featured on Sex and the City and Kinky Boots.
And now here is the more definitive version of my summer reading list. Currently I am reading Little, Big by John Crowley, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt. That last one is for book club, and I will of course be reading the other works our book club chooses for the summer months. Here is the rest of my list:
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
White Noise by Don DeLillo
American Rust by Philipp Meyer
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
Let's Not Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Finally, I am looking for a good, light, beach read--any suggestions?
I know the list looks Herculean, but really it's nothing compared to reading lists of summers past. Of course, I never actually finished those. I have much higher hopes for this list. Wish me luck!
And finally, I present my list of the summer films I more or less wish to see. I fully expect I won't see a lot of them--I am desperately broke after all. But should time and money permit, I will hopefully see more and not less of the following movies.
The Informers (no longer playing at the Broadway?!) based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel.
State of Play now playing. It features several wonderful actresses: Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, and Robin Wright Penn.
Star Trek now playing. I've only heard wonderful things.
Little Ashes which may never come to SLC. *sigh* A biopic featuring such luminaries as Federico Garcia Lorca, Salvador Dali, and Luis Bunuel.
The Brothers Bloom with the incomparable Rachel Weisz.
Terminator: Salvation I have actually seen none of the Terminator franchise movies. I think it would be helpful to start with those. So I may not actually get to this one anytime soon.
Easy Virtue looks like a fun, breezy English dramedy. It also looks like Jessica Biel can actually act.
Up Do I need to say anything? I think everyone wants to see this latest Pixar.
Away We Go I'm super excited for this Dave Eggers movie starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. I'm also looking forward to performances from Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O'Hara, and Jeff Daniels.
Cheri is a period drama set in the Parisian 1920s with the phenomenal Michelle Pfeiffer.
My Sister's Keeper looks like a tearjerker based on the novel by Jodi Picoult. I could take it or leave it, so we'll just see what happens.
Whatever Works Woody Allen has been really hot lately with such films as Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona. This one features the lovely and talented Evan Rachel Wood whom I adore.
Public Enemies promises to be a major blockbuster with the talents of Christian Bale and Johnny Depp.
(500) Days of Summer looks like a fun, offbeat romantic comedy with the enchanting Zooey Deschanel.
All Good Things is, I believe, a detective thriller with Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, Kristen Wiig and Frank Langella.
Adam features my celeb-crush, Hugh Dancy, as a man with Asperger syndrome who falls for the lovely Rose Byrne.
Julie & Julia I can't even wait for this movie! I love Meryl Streep hardcore and I love the memoir by Julie Powell, portrayed by Amy Adams in the film. It could well be yet another major blockbuster for Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia!) who just keeps getting better and better.
The Time Traveller's Wife We read the novel for book club and it wasn't my favorite. But I could be talked into seeing the movie featuring Eric Bana as Henry and Rachel McAdams as Claire.
And that is the preliminary rundown of the movies I want to see between now and Labor Day after which I will be moving to Seattle to start grad school.
Oooh. I'm admiring your movie list a lot. I'd like to see Little Ashes, which may genuinely come to Omaha. I totally plan on seeing Star Trek. Even though I sort of saw the Terminator movies as a child, I really only got into the franchise with the Sarah Connor Chronicles, so I'm going to see Salvation. Also because I like Christian Bale. 500 Days of Summer looks awesome. I read The Time Traveller's Wife as an airport book and loved it, so the movie sounds pretty intriguing now.
ReplyDeleteI do like the Atari cover of Boys of Summer, too. Reading your lists makes me wish I was more cultured. Le sigh.
Yay movies!
ReplyDeleteStar Trek was wonderful (but I suppose you'll consider me biased). Not a lot of depth, but plenty of action and eye-candy, and nothing terribly stupid in the plot department. I enjoyed it immensely.
I'm thinking about watching all the Terminators before Salvation comes out. For some reason it has sparked my interest, so we'll see...
And I also really want to see Away We Go! I saw a teaser for it awhile back, and I said "What is that?!" and have gotten more interested since then. And I'm a sucker for Allison Janney. ;)
Loves!
Amber, I don't know how you could possibly think of yourself as uncultured! You are certainly more well-read than I am. And if you do see Little Ashes, you'll have to tell me how it is.
ReplyDeleteVal, I really want to see Star Trek a lot. Perhaps we should have a Terminator marathon to prepare for Salvation. And we should go see Away We Go together. Who couldn't love Allison Janney?
Yes to the marathon, and DEFINITELY yes to Away We Go, I feel that's one we'd appreciate even better together. =)
ReplyDeleteI want to see star trek. Kristen already saw it, so I'm on my own for that one.
ReplyDelete