I already loved George Saunders.

And then I read this quote about his writing process

“If somebody gave you a furnished apartment that they had furnished, your first impression would be, ‘Well, thanks, but this doesn’t feel like me.’ But then if you were allowed to replace one item every day for seven years with an item that you liked better, after seven years that place would have you all over it in ways that you couldn’t anticipate at the beginning. So, likewise in a story, if you’re doing hundreds of drafts, and each time you’re micro-exerting your taste, that thing is going to look like more and more of you. In fact, I feel like my stories are much more indicative of me than this guy here talking to you or even me on one of my best days. The story’s a chance to sort of super-compress whoever you are and present it in this slightly elevated way.”

and now I love him even more.

I highly recommend his stories. Wicked funny.

It’s possible I have never laughed so hard in my whole life.

Until I was an early teenager, I thought persecuted and prosecuted were the same word. So when there were signs in stores that said ‘shoplifters will be prosecuted,’ I thought it was like they would be treated like the Jews during WWII.
-posted by Peter on January 8, 2013 at 03:27 PM

You just must go read this post and all its comments. It will be 100% worth your time.

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for December.

Bought:

  • Thrall, by Natasha Trethewey
  • Morning Glories, Vol 1: For a Better Future, by Nick Spencer (12/2) (graphic novel)
  • Revival Vol 1: You’re Among Friends, by Tim Seeley (graphic novel)

Read:

  • Enclave, by Ann Aguirre (reread)
  • Mercy Thompson: Homecoming, by Patricia Briggs (graphic novel)
  • Morning Glories, Vol 1: For a Better Future, by Nick Spencer (graphic novel)
  • Revival Vol 1: You’re Among Friends, by Tim Seeley (graphic novel)
  • Outpost, by Ann Aguirre
  • Thrall, by Natasha Trethewey (poetry)
  • Looking for Alaska, by John Green
  • The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher (reread)
  • Sleeper: Season One, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (graphic novel)
  • Paper Towns, by John Green
  • Fox Tracks, by Rita Mae Brown
  • The Fighting Man, by Gerald Seymour
  • If I Lie, by Corrine Jackson
  • Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

A good month for reading…being that I had the last two weeks off work. 🙂 YAY FREE TIME.

Duff at the Movies 2012

  • Django Unchained (12/31)
  • Silver Linings Playbook (12/26)
  • Anna Karenina (11/22)
  • Skyfall (Bond) (11/10)
  • Arbitrage (10/27)
  • Argo (10/20)
  • To Rome with Love (9/17)
  • Looper (9/10)
  • Magic Mike (9/9)
  • Killer Joe (9/8)
  • The Bourne Legacy (9/7)
  • Celeste and Jesse Forever (8/18)
  • The Dark Knight Rises (Batman) (7/27)
  • Beasts of the Southern Wild (7/20)
  • People Like Us (7/6)
  • Moonrise Kingdom (6/29)
  • Rock of Ages (6/20?)
  • Prometheus (6/16)
  • Snow White & the Huntsman (6/2)
  • Battleship (5/26)
  • The Avengers (5/22)
  • Dark Shadows (5/11)
  • Cabin in the Woods (4/28?)
  • Hunger Games (3/24)
  • Friends with Kids (3/14)
  • Margaret (2/22)
  • A Separation (2/4)
  • Carnage (1/22)
  • The Artist (1/18)
  • Hugo (3D) (1/15)
  • Contraband (1/13)
  • Pariah (1/9)
  • Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1/8)
  • The Descendants (1/7)

Books Read in 2012

date refers to date finished; i.e., just b/c I finished two books in a given day doesn’t mean I read two entire books that day!

  • Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern (12/27)
  • If I Lie, by Corrine Jackson (12/26)
  • The Fighting Man, by Gerald Seymour (12/25)
  • Fox Tracks, by Rita Mae Brown (12/25)
  • Paper Towns, by John Green (12/24)
  • Sleeper: Season One, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (12/23) (graphic novel)
  • The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher (12/21) (reread)
  • Thrall, by Natasha Trethewey (12/20) (poetry)
  • Looking for Alaska, by John Green (12/19)
  • Outpost, by Ann Aguirre (12/16)
  • Revival Vol 1: You’re Among Friends, by Tim Seeley (12/16) (graphic novel)
  • Mercy Thompson: Homecoming, by Patricia Briggs (12/2) (graphic novel)
  • Morning Glories, Vol 1: For a Better Future, by Nick Spencer (12/2) (graphic novel)
  • Enclave, by Ann Aguirre (12/1)(reread)
  • The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides (11/25)
  • Little Red Riding Hood, by J. Grimm, illu by Trina Schart Hyman (11/10)
  • Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob Grimm, illu by Daniel Egneus (11/9)
  • The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate (10/29)
  • Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord, by Sarah MacLean (10/27)
  • Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (10/26) (graphic novel)
  • The Stranger’s Child, by Alan Hollinghurst (10/25)
  • The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater (10/21)
  • American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang (10/15) (graphic novel)
  • Emiko Superstar, by Mariko Tamaki (10/13) (graphic novel)
  • The Michigan Mega Monsters (American Chillers #1), by Jonathan Rand (10/12)
  • From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konisburg (10/4)
  • Any Small Goodness, by Tony Johnston (9/29)
  • The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke (9/27)
  • A Tale Dark & Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz (9/21)
  • A Wanted Man, by Lee Child (9/19)
  • The Book Whisperer, by Donalyn Miller (8/30)
  • Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech (8/29)
  • Far Arden, by Kevin Cannon (8/27) (graphic novel)
  • Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, by Hena Khan(8/27) (picture book)
  • Hark a Vagrant, by Kate Beaton (8/16) (graphic novel)
  • Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed (8/15)
  • Dragondrums, by Anne McCaffrey (8/9) (reread)
  • The White Dragon, by Anne McCaffrey (8/9) (reread)
  • Dragonsinger, by Anne McCaffrey (8/8) (reread)
  • Dragonsong, by Anne McCaffrey (8/8) (reread)
  • Dragonquest, by Anne McCaffrey (8/7) (reread)
  • Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey (8/7) (reread)
  • Kornwolf, by Tristan Egolf (8/7)
  • You and No Other, by Cathy Maxwell (8/5)
  • Broken Harbor, by Tana French (8/4)
  • The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss (8/3)
  • Blue Front, by Martha Collins (8/3) (poetry)
  • Life on Mars, by Tracy K. Smith (7/30) (poetry)
  • Strangeness and Charm, by Mike Shevdon (7/21)
  • The Road to Bedlam, by Mike Shevdon (7/19)
  • Sixty-One Nails, by Mike Shevdon (7/17)
  • Swamplandia, by Karen Russell (7/13)
  • Grave Witch, by Kalayna Price (7/11)
  • Horizon, by Sophie Littlefield (7/9)
  • The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness (7/6)
  • Shoot to Thrill, by P.J. Tracy (7/5)
  • The Pox Party; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation #1, by M.T. Anderson (7/4)
  • Ash, by Malinda Lo (7/3)
  • Silver, by Rhiannon Held (7/3)
  • Tell The Wolves I’m Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt (6/30)
  • Magic Without Mercy, by Devon Monk (6/29)
  • Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (6/27)
  • Niccolo Rising, by Dorothy Dunnett (6/23) (reread)
  • Taken, by Robert Crais (6/13)
  • Bolt, by Dick Francis (6/10) (reread)
  • Break In, by Dick Francis (6/10) (reread)
  • Fire, by Kristin Cashore (6/9) (reread)
  • Graceling, by Kristin Cashore (6/9) (reread)
  • Trickster’s Choice, by Tamara Pierce (6/9)
  • The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater (6/7)
  • After the War, by Carol Matas (6/5)
  • Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore (6/3)
  • Arcadia, by Lauren Graff (6/1)
  • City of the Beasts, by Isabel Allende (5/31)
  • Over Sea, Under Stone, by Susan Cooper (5/24)
  • The River Between Us, by Richard Peck (5/24)
  • Fair Game (Alpha & Omega #3), by Patricia Briggs (5/22)
  • Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli (5/21)
  • Icefall, by Matthew J. Kirby (5/19)
  • Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins (5/19)
  • The Lover’s Dictionary, by David Levithan (5/18)
  • Linger, by Maggie Stiefvater (5/18)
  • Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater (5/16) (reread)
  • Dead Iron; the Age of Steam, by Devon Monk (5/15)
  • Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (5/9)
  • Divergent, by Veronica Roth (5/8) (reread)
  • The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (5/7)
  • Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green & David Levithan (4/28)
  • Life: An Unexploded Diagram, by Mal Peet (4/27)
  • Tattoo (Ice Song #2), by Kirsten Imani Kasai (4/22)
  • Mountainfit: Fjällsommar, Fjällsjälv, by Meera Lee Sethi (4/10)
  • Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins (4/7) (reread)
  • Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (4/4) (reread)
  • Soul Thief, by Jana Oliver (3/27)
  • The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (3/26)
  • Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (3/24) (reread)
  • Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta (3/19)
  • The High King, by Lloyd Alexander (3/17) (reread)
  • Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan (3/16)
  • Taran Wanderer, by Lloyd Alexander (3/3) (reread)
  • The Castle of Llyr, by Lloyd Alexander (3/1) (reread)
  • An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (3/1)
  • The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer (2/16)
  • Magic on the Line, by Devon Monk (2/5)
  • Magic on the Hunt, by Devon Monk (2/4)
  • The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly (1/30)
  • The Looking Glass War, by John LeCarre (1/30)
  • The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by John LeCarre (1/22)
  • A Murder of Quality, by John LeCarre (1/13)
  • Call for the Dead, by John LeCarre (1/13)
  • Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes (1/9)
  • Everyone Remain Calm, by Megan Stielstra (1/4) (stories)

Sick Girl Likes Action Flicks

The only movies I find tolerable enough to watch right now as I drift in and out on the couch have been action movies.

(All rewatches):

Bourne 1, 2, 3:
I still get really pissed during the first movie how much they threw away (or actually DID WRONG) from that book, because it’s just a gloriously finely crafted book and not a very good movie. Movies 2 and 3 are very well done, although they basically have nothing to do with the books at that point. But I can enjoy them as movies in their own right, whereas the first movie just makes me mad. But I watch it anyway. Because Matt Damon is pretty.

Lara Croft 1, 2:
It’s hilarious to watch these movies and see Daniel Craig and Gerard Butler as Angie’s sidekicks, respectively, back before they really hit it big. I love how these movies combine some great fighting with the Indiana Jones mystical hoo-ha type stuff. And I could just watch training montages of Jolie fighting for a few hours and be pretty happy. 😉

Casino Royale:
It’s so interesting to go back and watch this after having seen Skyfall, because tell me that you, like me, did not forget how rough and tumble and just plain uncouth Daniel Craig was in the first of these movies. Yes they work it into the storyline, having him just barely having made 00 status as the movie begins. He’s just so much sloppier here. His clothes don’t fit, he gets muddy, etc. It’s an interesting evolution they’ve put him through, moreso than any other Bond I would think.

Duff Does Live Music 2012

  • Of Monsters and Men (12/17)
  • The Lumineers (2nd x) (9/20)
  • My Morning Jacket (2nd x) (8/11)
  • Band of Horses (2nd x) (8/11)
  • The Head & the Heart (2nd x) (3/8)
  • Drew Grove & The Pastor’s Wives (3/8)

À la Nick Hornby, books in/books out for November.

Bought:

  • Little Red Riding Hood, by J. Grimm, illu by Trina Schart Hyman
  • Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob Grimm, illu by Daniel Egneus

Read:

  • Little Red Riding Hood, by Jacob Grimm, illu by Daniel Egneus
  • Little Red Riding Hood, by J. Grimm, illu by Trina Schart Hyman
  • The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Slow month for reading. Mostly because I didn’t like the Eugenides very much so when I had reading time I didn’t necessarily use it. Also I wasn’t on public transportation almost all month which is my primary reading time.