Oscar buzz, or lack there of
8 March 2010
Well, apparently the Oscars were last night.
It’s strange. In high school , I always knew when the Oscars were. I knew what movies and actors were nominated. I had ill-informed opinions about who I thought should win. I even have a vague memory of owning a People post-Oscar issue.
But over the years I’ve become less and less interested. And then came this year, where I didn’t even know they were going on until last night when someone in our Bible study mentioned it. I can’t tell you a single movie or actor who’s nominated. (I’m guessing George Clooney is up for something. Maybe Up in the Air?)
Part of my lack of interest comes from how many of the movies nominated are often movies that I won’t watch. Simply put – I don’t do violence. I don’t have a moral issue with violence in movies, I just can’t stand watching it. Especially if it’s torture. We often see previews for movies where I say, “That looks like a great one. I won’t be watching it.” I’ve learned its not worth it.
Another reason I’ve lost interest is along that same vein – I haven’t seen many (or any) of the nominees.
I’ve found many of the things people say about parenting to be wrong, but one truth is that you don’t see many movies anymore. Particularly in the theater. Maybe you still watch a lot at home if movies are Your Thing, but since movies aren’t My Thing, they get shuffled to the back burner and sometimes shoved off the stove entirely.
In the last two years, I’ve seen four movies in the theater – Juno, The Proposal, New Moon, and Avatar. I’m fine with this. I’d like to see more, but it just isn’t in the budget – monetary or time – these days. I’d like to sign up for Netflix again, but we’ve been trying to find a time to watch The Time Traveller’s Wife since Valentine’s Day and that still hasn’t happened, so…
Hope whatever you wanted to win won. You’ll have to tell me what’s good, and I’ll get around to watching it in the next couple years.
Book Friday – Beguiled, Abigail, and A Distant Melody
5 March 2010
I finished a book this week, but it sucked so much that I won’t waste everyone’s time with talking about here.
Here’s what’s shown up in my mailbox in the last few weeks, and what I’ll be reading in the near future.
Beguiled, by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark BertrandRylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.
Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.
As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
Why I’m excited about this book: I read and loved A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist back in December of 2007. (I remember it very clearly because it was the last week before my daughter was born, and I basically read on the couch and read the whole time. Unfortunately, that won’t be an option this time.) Gist is a fabulous romance writer, and seeing her teamed up with a suspense writer is pretty darn exciting for me. And Charleston is an awesome town.
Abigail, by Jill Eileen SmithHer days marked by turmoil and faded dreams, Abigail has resigned herself to a life with a man she does not love. But when circumstances offer her a second chance at happiness with the handsome David, she takes a leap of faith to join his wandering tribe. Still, her struggles are far from over. How can she share his love with the other women he insists on marrying?
Abigail follows the bestselling Michal and continues Jill Eileen Smith’s rich story of David’s wives.
Why I’m excited about this book: There are few genres I love more than Biblical fiction. And I think a series following the wives of King David is a fabulous concept.
A Distant Melody, by Sarah SundinNever pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval—even marry a man she doesn’t love. While Allie has nearly resigned herself to that fate, Lt. Walter Novak—fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women—takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas.
Walt and Allie meet and begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt’s muddy bomber base in England and Allie’s mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart?
Why I’m excited about this book: One is that Sarah Sundin is an awesome lady. This is her debut novel, which is an incredibly difficult thing to get published, and it’s clear the publisher is 100% behind her. She had a 2 page spread in the Spring catalog, and is featured on the Revell web site. Go Sarah!
Hope everyone has a great weekend. I hope to log some reading time when I’m not working on the page proofs that just showed up for So Over It. The good news is, this means I’ll likely have the first chapter up on the web site pretty soon. The sad news is this is my last step on Skylar’s story, and it has me feeling a little blue.
The Loss of a Friend
3 March 2010
Yesterday, I received word that a friend of mine from Orlando, Christy Kirven, passed away.
Ben and I had lived in Orlando for a couple months when I saw a Beth Moore study advertised in the church bulletin. I thought it was my idea to join the group, but it was really God moving me into a situation that would forever change my life.
The study met at Christy’s house, which was in a beautiful and confusing neighborhood that didn’t believe in labeling all their streets. The foliage and feel of it was totally different than the rest of the city, and it became my sanctuary.
From my first meeting with those lovely ladies, I felt at home. Which is a little strange for an introvert like me. We met every Wednesday morning in Christy’s sunny family room to study and visit. I can still remember the special flavor of Christy’s coffee, some blend of her own that tasted slightly of vanilla. She told us how she made it, but I never tried. Somehow I think if I drank it outside of her kitchen, it wouldn’t taste quite the same.
My 22nd birthday happened to fall on a Wednesday, about 2 months into our Bible study. The ladies put together a lunch, ordered a cheesecake, and went in on a Barnes and Noble gift card for me. When I went home, I wept with gratitude. Leading up to my birthday, I’d feared it would be one of the hardest and instead it turned into one of the best.
Since my blog either won’t host pictures or I’m too stupid to figure it out, I can’t post them in the body, but these are two pictures of the group. The majority of these women had kids right around my age or older than me, but they never seemed to mind me joining them. Every once in a while, one of them would make a comment about why would some young girl like me want to hang out with “old ladies” like them? But rather I wondered why they would be so gracious to keep me around. As I grew closer to them, I grew closer to God, and closer to being who I was always meant to be.
About a year and a half after we’d started meeting, Christy was diagnosed with cancer. I still remember getting the phone call from her best friend one morning before church. Both of us were crying, and it seemed like my whole world rocked a bit.
During the last couple years, Christy battled Hodgkins disease, non-Hodgkins disease, breast cancer and finally, brain cancer. She went through a variety of treatments, from chemo to a bone marrow transplant. I had the privilege of being there for some of it, but we moved back to Kansas City about 2 ½ years ago and my involvement was “limited” to prayer.
Since receiving the e-mail with news of Christy’s death, I’ve been bombarded with memories.
How beautiful Christy was even when she lost her hair. She looked like the gracious, put-together Southern lady I’d always known.
Christy’s warmth when she met my mother for the first time, and how she requested that next time my mom was in town, they get coffee.
How Christy insisted that everybody come on Wednesdays, regardless of if they’d had time to complete all the homework that week.
The way Christy believed the best about everybody. Like if someone was running late, she always assumed they ran into traffic or received a last minute phone call.
How Christy could sympathize with anybody. She never seemed to mind if I griped about living in Orlando, even though she loved it there. I hope to be just as gracious to someone who might not love Kansas City like I do.
You’ll notice Christy’s name, along with several other women from that study, listed in my acknowledgements for Me, Just Different. Together, they were the living, breathing Amy Ross I wrote about in the Skylar books. I’m sad for Christy’s beautiful family, for her friends, for Discovery Church. I’m also grateful she’s no longer suffering, and that she’s in the presence of the Lord she loved and faithfully served all these years.