October Reading Challenge: The 1/2 Way Mark

Can you believe that October is already halfway gone? It seems like just yesterday I was writing my kick off post for my first monthly challenge (i.e. read every single day). I'm proud to say that I have only missed one reading day, which is solely to blame on our participation in Oktoberfest activities at Der Biergarten and the consumption of two of these: 

These past 15 days I have noticed two factors that have lessened my thirst for reading that was so prevalent last year: 1) The iPad is a distraction and I find myself wanting to surf Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest when I get in bed. The main reason I got a Kindle was because it did not have distracting Internet capabilities, so I think I need to switch back to reading on my Kindle instead of using the Kindle app on the iPad; and 2) My new job has given me more time after work to exercise and prepare more involved dinners, which takes up a lot more of my time, pushes back my iPad goof-off time, and subsequently makes reading an easy thing to push aside.

I started off reading The Goldfinch, but oh my heavens that book was moving so slowly and really not inspiring me to read before bed. It was at the 200 page marker (and realizing that I had 500+ pages to go) that I decided to put down The Goldfinch and switch to a new e-book that I checked out from the Atlanta Public Library, I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman. I now recognize that fast-paced, mystery/suspense books are more my speed, so hopefully this book will draw me in a bit more and push me over the finish line at the end of the month. 

 

If you have any can't-put-it-down book suggestions then please send them my way! I've heard great things about The Husband's Secret, but I am currently #139 on the wait list at the library, which means that if every person before me holds the book for the permitted 21-day check out period, then I will get my hands on this novel in 8 years...sooo yeah.

Gone Girl and Fancy-Schmancy Movie Theaters

Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl is one of those books that people cannot stop talking about, and for good reason. Personally, I think there are two key elements that make this story a success. 1) A thrilling plot that is constantly evolving and does not get bogged down in superfluous nonsense; and 2) Flynn's ability to convey emotion and feelings through the written word is absolutely astounding. It's as if she enters the average person's head and extracts the non-sugar-coated version of what he/she thinks or feels. Even her descriptions of everyday objects and places left me speechless, as her words were literally exactly how I pictured the object in my own mind.

But would the movie be as great as the book...?

                                    

Here were a few of my thoughts before we saw the movie:

1. Ben Affleck annoys me and I'm not sure if he can pull off the like him one minute/hate him the next Nick Dunne role. I'm still irked that he is playing the new Batman because I can only picture him as the dweeby guy in Forces of Nature who hates to fly.  
2. Rosamund Pike (aka Amy Dunne) pulls off the neurotic beauty queen look quite well. 
3. How are they going to portray the powerful words of Amy's diary in a cinematic format? 
4. The movie trailers were suspenseful and creepy at the same time, and I had a feeling that this movie would leave me with an icky, "that was so messed up" feeling. 

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Ever since my first taste of fancy-schmancy movie theaters a year and a half ago, I have become a theater snob. Movies cost an arm and a leg for the bare bones anyways, so why not shell out a few extra dollars to view your movie from the comfort of an over-sized leather recliner while snacking on  gourmet goodies and sipping a cocktail. (An added bonus is that you can avoid the riff raff that hang around larger theaters on a Friday night. Quick shout out to the woman who once yelled at me during a showing of Sex and the City 2 for politely asking her to shut her trap. How rude of me to ask her to stop talking!) 

We typically go to the Phipps theater but for whatever reason they were not showing Gone Girl. So, we reserved our tickets at Cinebistro three days before our Friday showing, snagging one of the last remaining pairs of seats. 

We had actually never been to Cinebistro before, a theater where you can order food and have them bring a legit meal to your seat. Matt was running late from a presentation at school, so I wandered into our packed theater to figure out how the whole ordering of food and drinks thing went. We had not planned on eating at the theater, but there was no time for either of us to eat before the movie started. So, two beers, a BLT, a bucket of popcorn shrimp/chicken, and $43 later (not including the $30 we paid for tickets), we were ready for the show.

Here are my thoughts post-Gone Girl viewing:

1. I loved the score! The music was simple yet powerful and perfectly complimented each scene. 
2. Rosamund Pike nailed her portrayal of Amy. She was the perfect blend of beauty, grace, crazy, neurotic, psycho, etc. Oscar buzz?
3. Ben Affleck did a good job, but I felt like the movie focused more on developing Amy's character while in the book Nick's character development was just as important. 
4. We had trouble understanding some of the things the actors were saying. Was the music too loud in some scenes for anyone else? Should we go get our ears checked? Maybe Rosamund Pike was speaking softly because she was focused on covering up her English accent? 
5. Remember how I said that my biggest pet peeve is people who talk while other people are talking? Add people who talk during a movie to that list. The lovely couple next to us successfully remained silent for 5-minute intervals before the wife would lean over to explain what was happening. I don't care if you are whispering or yelling, I will throw one of my $13 popcorn chicken bites at you if you keep interrupting my movie.
6. The director beautifully portrayed the back and forth nature of the book, flipping between present day and Amy's words about the past. 
7. I could tell that people who had not read the book really felt the suspense of the movie, but I just didn't get that feeling. Don't get me wrong, the movie was great and did the book justice, but the suspense was not there for me seeing as I knew what was going to happen at every turn. 
8. I was right - the movie was totally messed up and pretty graphic (similar to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo which had the same director), but it did not leave me feeling as icky as when Matt made us watch There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men back to back (shutters to herself). 
9. Aww hell no! The chairs at Cinebistro did not recline and were actually pretty stiff.  This place is not worth $75 and I will be sticking to Phipps exclusively from here on out.
10. If you liked Gone Girl, then you really need to read the author's other two books: Sharp Objects and Dark Places (which have as equally disturbing plots but might be a notch or two below Gone Girl in the suspense level). Dark Places is coming to theaters next year and stars Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Nicholas Hoult (Jennifer Lawrence's ex-BF who was also the little kid in About A Boy!) so stay tuned...

The Monthly Challenge Challenge: October 2014

                                                               

I feel like most people (myself included) view January 1st as the only point in the calendar year where they can start something new, and that if they can't achieve something in the first month and keep it up for the entire year, then they have failed. They say that it takes 21 days to form a habit, and one month is obviously longer than 21 days, so why not find something new each month and give it a try? If it sticks, great. If it doesn't and you at least gave it a shot, then you get an A for effort and can feel good about yourself for beating the one month challenge. 

I'll admit, I am definitely too Type-A/OCD to start a one-month challenge on any day other than the first of the month. So, when I realized that October 1st was quickly approaching, I did not want to miss my small window of opportunity to try out a new recurring blog post entitled "The Monthly Challenge Challenge." The purpose? Try out a new monthly challenge each month and blog about how hard it is to do something for 28/29/30/31 freaking days great I am doing. I hope to keep up with the Monthly Challenge Challenge for at least six months (or until I run out of ideas) and maybe pick up some good habits along the way. 

So.....naturally the first step is to think of a challenge or steal one from someone else and get going. A dessert-free month? Hell no. Halloween is in 30 days and the month of October is strictly reserved for eating my weight in pumpkin flavored treats like every other American. Give up alcohol for a month? Ha. It is football season and we are headed to Charleston at the end of the month, a place known for its amazing food and drink scene. Also, pumpkin beer (see previous comment). A 30-day Pure Barre cleanse that will single-handedly annihilate our only-one-spouse-is-working-right-now-income? I wish, but pass.

This may be harder than I thought...maybe I should start with something easy, something that I actually have a shot at doing for an entire month. Then, when I conquer the month's challenge, I can run up the interior stairs of our condo building with Matt a few steps ahead of me, blasting the Rocky theme song from the iPhone he is holding as I make my triumphant ascent to the top.

                            

After some reflection, I decided that my first monthly challenge would be VERY simple: read every single day. Doesn't matter when or where or for how long, just dust off my Kindle and read. Last year I read all the time and was semi-addicted to seeing how many books I could finish by the end of the year (grand total: 21). Number of books read thus far in 2014: 7. Woof. No bueno. Though I can blame the Christmas 2013 acquisition of my iPad all I want, there are still many factors that make this lackluster reading year unacceptable: 1) I have 4 already-purchased books waiting for me on my Kindle; 2) I have access to 1 free book to keep and 1 free book to rent per month for being an Amazon Prime member; 3) I have an amazing library of e-books at my fingertips that I can check out for free from the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library; and 4) The Kindle app allows me to read pretty much anywhere as long as I have my iPad or iPhone with me.

I'm going to kick this challenge off with one of the books that I purchased months ago and never got around to reading: The Goldfinch. 

This book has gotten nothing but rave reviews and was described by one of my friends as being "Gone Girl good." Wow. That is high praise seeing as Gone Girl was probably one of the most page-turningly fantastic books I have ever read. Digression - I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE TO COME OUT! I hope it lives up to the hype or there may be a coup staged by all American women who read the book and subsequently turn up en masse and pissed off to host Gone Girl book burnings.

If you haven't read Gone Girl then don't worry, there is still time! The movie comes out in two days, and seeing as this book is highly addictive, you can definitely finish it by then if you start now. For those of you who have read it and want to watch the trailer for the 20th time, here it is:

           

My plan is to publish an update post midway through the month and then again at month-end to let you all know how I did. If you have suggestions for a monthly challenge then please leave a comment and let me know! 

P.S. If you like what you are reading, then please click the blue "join this site" button below the "Followers" section to the right to become an official follower of Generals and Gingers. Thank you for reading!

P.P.S. The calendar above was designed by a fellow W&L alumna, Inslee Haynes. Inslee's work is amazing, and you can purchase her 2015 calendar here.