A Glance At…

My take on books, movies, and television.

A Glance at: The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich

11.02.2011
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The best thing about this book (and this book has a lot going for it) are the characters. You’ve got a psychic quiltmaker. And her ex-husband, who is now the owner of the art supply shop in town. And a woman. An adorable beta artist as love interest. Sisters who are all so individual. A mom who disappeared 17 years ago and suddenly comes home. There is a big cast. And they all contribute. And they’re all real, complex, fully-formed. And yet, they don’t overpower the story.

And, at it’s core, it feels good. There are messages about accepting oneself and forgiveness that are very personal and moving (mostly because you come to care so much for these people. Um, characters.).

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A Glance at: Red Riding Hood

04.04.2011
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The husband and I, we decided to go see a movie. Something we haven’t done since the first Transformers came out. You can thank my aunt, who bought us gift cards. “Now, you really use that!” As opposed to whatever else I was going to do with it, I suppose. Not a lot out right [...]

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A Glance at: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

09.28.2009
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I’m almost finished with this book, and I’ll probably update this post when I do, but I just wanted to jot down some observations about the book.  I’m not a reviewer, and there’s a good reason for that.  I’d have a hard time slamming a book even if it really deserved it (not that this [...]

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A Glance At: Real Women Don’t Wear Size 2

03.04.2009
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This book, by Kelly St. John*, broke several big rules. There was no clear antagonist. The majority of the book, the heroine and hero’s relationship doesn’t immediately progress to HEA simply because of a verbal misunderstanding and some insecurity and doubt on both parts. And the end? The black moment is based on a huge [...]

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A Glance at: Ex and the Single Girl

02.04.2009
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I finished Ex and the Single Girl.  This isn’t a review in the strictest sense.  I’d never call someone out to condemn work they killed themselves to do.  I’m not downing people who do, reviewers are important to us as readers.  But as a writer, I’m going to respect the work whether I like the [...]

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s

01.26.2009
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I just watched this, Saturday night, and I’m still so in LOVE with this story, and the characters–Holly Golightly, I adore you, and you’re crazy yet vulnerable way of living!  Paul!  Fred, Darling, I love that you’re a freaking manwhore and the hero–and you pull it off! I want to read the book, I want [...]

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Examining GMC in the Movie ‘Sabrina’

01.14.2009
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So I’m watching movies considered to be some of the most romantic movies for many decades. I’ve watched Gone With the Wind and An Affair to Remember more times than I’ve changed my clothes, almost, so I wanted to start with something new (to me). This is, technically, research for a character, who would’ve been [...]

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A Glance at: Mirror, Mirror

09.05.2008

I was reading Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire (he of Wicked fame, linked in the Sites to See section, fyi).  I don’t know what it is about these stories of his, but he manages to take a story that we know so well, it’s part of our psyche, turn it into something completely different, and [...]

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