Monday, June 21, 2010

Upside of my Downside


For the past week I've been battling some sort of infection, hacking up a lung, experiencing an allergic reaction to a round of antibiotics, you know, all things you don't want to be doing on summer break. The upside of my downside is that I'm able to catch up on my reading, writing and DVD's. In no particular order, here's what I've ingested in the past 7 days:

1. Trouble, a novel by Kate Christensen - a frothy novel about three women friends in their 40's who are all experiencing their own mid-life crisis. The author's earlier novel, The Great Man, won the Pen/Faulkner award and is next on my list.

2. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - this is a YA novel about a girl who's older sister passes away and how she comes to terms with it and the mysteries the sister has left behind. An odd, perky tone to this book about grief, but definitely a page turner.

3. All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab - another YA novel about a young woman's murder and the ex-boyfriend and cousin left behind to figure it out. I couldn't really get into this one and sort of sped-read to the end.

4. Season 1 of 30Rock - Late to the party again in my TV viewing, but I do love this series. At least one scene in every episode makes me laugh out loud. Dr. Spaceman. Need I say more.

5. The Wire - episode 1 - I don't think I had the patience that night for this complex series. I will give it another try in better health - so many people rave about this show.

6. The Chicago 10 - Filmmaker (and Crossroads alum) Brett Morgan tackles the story of the Chicago 10 trial in animation. An ambitious and artistic and long pie
ce of work.

7. Joan Rivers; A Piece of Work - Went with my mom to see the screening of this documentary yesterday when I was feeling a drop better - wow, this woman is funny, but oy, this woman is troubled. It was honestly a little hard to sit through watching that plastic surgeried face talk about the perils of aging, etc. Still, it's worth seeing. We should all have such energy when we are 75. Speaking of energy, I'm going to attempt a shower, a gargle, and a neti pot. Perhaps I'll climb back into bed with another book, or perhaps this is the day I'll reclaim my health!

2 comments:

alex_theCat said...

I challenge anyone who has seen the film to say that they don’t respect Joan Rivers. And to anyone who hasn’t seen it, that’s a shame. It’s not only a moving story, but a beautifully crafted film.

Melissa Clark said...

true-dat Alex -the cat.