Books, movies and nice weather

From Wunderground.com

This kind of ten-day weather forecast for the Pacific Northwest only happens in the summer. Some people don't think our summer even begins until after the Fourth of July, and you know, this is making a good case for that view. There aren't even any clouds in the forecast! That's very unusual. Anyway, it's good for me, since it looks like this coming weekend will be good for skydiving (and I'm going), and on Monday the Trailblazers will be having our first all-day-long adventure, a new hike for all of us. It's off the Mountain Loop Highway, quite a distance, so we'll be having dinner together as well.

I also wanted to share some movies I've seen recently. First of all, I went to see Ida after reading the reviews and having seen the trailer. It's filmed in Poland, with English subtitles. Everything they say about the movie is true: it's stunning in so many ways, but it's also not exactly uplifting: a young orphan in taken in by a convent and raised to become a nun. The Mother Superior wants her to contact her only living relative before taking final vows, so she travels to meet her. The movie is about what transpires, set in 1962 Poland. The young woman's journey is very vivid in my mind. Every movie I have ever seen about the Holocaust and its aftermath have affected me very deeply, and this one is no different. That's all I'll say about it, except (1) I'm glad I saw it, and (2) I wouldn't see it again. I felt the same way about "Schindler's List."

Judy and I also saw Words and Pictures, and we almost didn't go because the reviews were so uniformly bad. Well, the movie did have a hard time getting going, but by the end I realized I had enjoyed it very much. It's a story set in a high school, with Clive Owen playing an honors English teacher who has some serious problems. A new art teacher is hired, played by Juliette Binoche, who is crippled by serious rheumatoid arthritis. The movie is about their involvement, hence the "words and pictures" of the title. I would see it again; it's billed as a romantic comedy and fills that role quite well.

Now for some books: I got quite involved with the book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I couldn't put it down and finished it in one long day. My only problem with it is that I was really dismayed by the ending. I guess I like my books in the same way that I like my movies: lift me up at the end! I hear it's being made into a movie now, due out in October, and that the ending of the movie is different than it is in the book. Well, that alone will make me want to see it! Wonderful book, well written and memorable characters.

My sister introduced me to another writer,  JoJo Moyes. (The link takes you to her page that gives a synopsis of each book she's written.) JoJo is a British writer who grew up in London. She now lives with her husband and three children in Essex and has written eleven books. She has learned the technique of drawing very believable and unforgettable characters. She also knows how to write a page-turner of a novel. Norma Jean had just read Me Before You, a book that also captured my interest and wouldn't let me put it down. JoJo has a new book out, One Plus One, and I am on the waiting list at the library for it. One book she also wrote was in the library stacks, so I checked it out and read it: The Last Letter from your Lover. I enjoyed it, too.

Well, that's it for now. I simply must go out and do some work in my garden. All the lettuce has bolted and needs to be pulled up, and I've got to thin my beets. Plus all this warm weather coming means I've got to stay ahead of the unwanted weeds! Till next time.
:-)