As part of my attempt to live a more balanced life in 2013, I have given myself the assignment to watch 2 movies and to read 2 books each month. Here is my June report.
2 Movies
Life Happens – Smart + funny. In this comedy, Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth & Rachel Bilson star as three very different 20-something women who share a house in a hipster part of L.A. One of the roommates becomes pregnant and after the baby is born all three women try to continue to live their lives as before. Witty dialogue. Fascinating sets. Charming ending. Recommended if you enjoy laughing at the ups & downs of relationships, careers and motherhood.
Brother Rat – Wordy + dated. Set at the Virginia Military Institute, this uneven 1938 movie is a black-and-white classic. Three cadets try to keep one cadet’s marriage secret from just about everybody. Hijinks/whining/confusion ensues. The movie is best known for 2 facts: 1) it is Eddie Albert’s first role in a movie; & 2) Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman met while filming this. Half-heartedly recommended if you are curious about early films and stuck at home on a rainy day.
2 Books
Beautiful Ruins – Wonderful + memorable. This novel by Jess Walter is one of the best that I’ve read in years. Set primarily in Italy and Hollywood, it is a decades long love story between an Italian innkeeper and an American actress. It is alternately amusing, insightful, satirical and heartbreaking. The writing is smooth, the plot is flawless and the ending is just as it needs to be. Highly recommended to anyone who likes to read fiction.
The Year the Music Changed – Clever + sweet. This story is about a brilliant & lonely 14-year-old girl who sends a fan letter to a then unknown country singer named Elvis Presley. He writes back and they become pen pals telling each other their secrets and triumphs. Diane Thomas, the author of this book, does a marvelous job of weaving facts about Elvis into a warm, captivating story of self-awareness and the power of friendship. Recommended if you like coming-of-age stories and music history.
1 New Name
I cannot resist silly, pointless, time-wasting name generators. They call to me. I’m curious. I NEED to know. So when I found the Old West Name Generator, I knew that I had to find out what my name would have been if I had been born between 1860 to 1890.
And here is what I discovered. Back then you would have known me as:
Lily Jessamine Roush.
Pretty name, huh?
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
Guilford T. Kursman here – the pleasure’s mine, Maam . . . Word tell is you make the best pie in the Territory. I’d be much obliged.
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Guilford, you are one sweet talker. Charmed, I’m sure. I’d be right pleased if you would join me on Sunday afternoon for a piece of pie.
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Very pretty! I would have loved to have been one of those women travelling in the horse-drawn wagons across the Old Wild West. How romantic! Probably the reality was not so romantic, but it’s a dream I like to dream from time to time.
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Polly, it sounds romantic, I’ll give you that! But I doubt that I could have done it. I consider staying in a motel/hotel without room service to be akin to camping. Must. Be. Comfortable.
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Mom considered black and white television to be “roughing it.” Not sure how Dad talked her into tent camping at all.
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I don’t mind black and white tv– or movies. I do mind camping and other such nonsense– which leads me to think that traveling through the prairie & mountains would not have been for me. I’m not a roughing it sort of girl.
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Lily is a very popular name these days! Generally, I don’t like old movies.
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Margaret, I didn’t know that Lily was popular again. How cool am I? I like some old movies, but not Brother Rat. Now if it was a Nick & Nora Charles movie, I’d be very happy!
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My name is Carlotta Albertine Rosecrans and I come from San Francisco where my Papa made lots of money selling dry goods.
(Movie trivia- one of the reasons Brother Rat is so wordy is that originally it was a stage play. Most stage plays do not transfer to movie form that well.)
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Well hello there Carlotta! Nice to make your acquaintance.
I can see how Brother Rat would have been considered funny on stage. But as a movie, it was a trial for me to watch.
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Nice to make your acquaintance, too, Lily Jessamine. 🙂
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Arminta Bella Lloyd. All of that is awful. It reminds me of when I bought a Cabbage Patch doll for my future child. The doll was cute, but its name? Adora Harmonia. Ugh.
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nance, that is a dreadful name. You’re the first to get stuck with such a dreary one. Sorry. Try again?
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Malissie Elvina Hoye here. My father sells dry goods in Shasta, California. Some guy named Levi Strauss came by with some work pants that he wants us to sell. Not sure if we’ll do it or not.
I can attest to Lily being somewhat popular. That was my choice for child #2, which we did not have. And our next door neighbor has a baby girl named Lily.
I’m interested in your book review for ‘Beautiful Ruins’. I just started a new (to me) book, ‘Rules of Civility’. 2 people on Facebook highly recommended it, so it seemed worth getting from the library to me. I’ll let you know.
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J, I’ve never heard of the name “Malissie” so I’m going to proclaim you as having the most interesting name! As for Lily, I didn’t realize it was enjoying a resurgence; I’ve not met anyone with that name, but I like it.
I enjoyed the story line and the writing and the characters in Beautiful Ruins. I had read some positive reviews of it, so I got it sight unseen. The writing in the story is so smooth and effortless– just a delight to read, says the English major. Bet that you enjoy it.
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