Paint Brushes and Plot Lines

These last few weeks, I've sequestered myself in the house tapping away at the keyboard, clicking through a never-ending Netflix queue, making a pitiful brave effort at painting, and now, finally, I'm turning page after page. I had the highest hopes of plowing through a mountain of books this vacation but only just went to the library a few days ago. So, all I have to show for myself thus far is a review on The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw. Let me just say, I don't think I've ever read anything this beautiful in the form of prose. The language is exquisite and provides an artistic lens from which to view the dreary world in which the story unfolds. My complete review can be found here: Laredo Lit Examiner.

Next up on the list:
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Naturally, I also IMDB'd these books to find out if they're going to be made into films, and, much to my delight, two of them are! Never Let Me Go stars Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Andrew Garfield and has already been released on limited viewing in the US. I am patiently awaiting the DVD release so I can get my Mulligan fix. In the works, and starring another of my favorites, The Devil in the White City has been announced for release in 2013 with Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead. As I wait for these gems, I will continue to bounce my knees in anticipation of the film adaptation of Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, due this coming April (just in time for my birthday! Hoorah!). This had to have been my most favorite book that I read this past summer. Closely rivaled by The Hunger Games series - which is also being made into a film. (Another of my favorite reads from last year's check list, Into the Wild, is of course also available as a film. A pretty damn good film, I might add. Go watch it, because if you haven't, your life is incomplete.)

And if you will now excuse me, I must get back to the stack of books on my nightstand. I will resurface eventually. Til then, I hope your New Year has gotten off to a promising - and not just the happy shine induced by champagne, but truly promising and wonderful - start. Cheers!