I’m making the transition to an e-reader, and planned not to buy any hard copies of books for a while. I have so many on my shelf I still need to read, after all. I couldn’t help myself during my most recent visit to Half-Price Books in Seattle, though, because in the dog section, IContinue reading “Pack of Two: Someone else’s dog book”
Category Archives: criticism
Find strength in what remains behind
Last night, after a very inspirational writers conference, I watched an episode of It’s Me or the Dog that left me rather emotional. Not that the family in question underwent any moving transformation or anything. This crazy woman had rescued four dogs. One was “aggressive” and fought with another. Trainer Victoria Stilwell helped by havingContinue reading “Find strength in what remains behind”
If you liked The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, you’ll love Shadow and Bone
I mean that in the most sincere, best possible way. And I don’t mean that Shadow and Bone (written by my close, personal friend Leigh Bardugo) is irritatingly derivative of those young adult fantasy powerhouses. Rather, it is an incredibly original book that happens to share some of the qualities that make those books soContinue reading “If you liked The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, you’ll love Shadow and Bone”
Katniss, the best thing since Buffy
In my earlier post, Girls who kick ass, I disclosed my attempts to impersonate female superheroes. Last year, Rob and I listened to the audio book for The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, and actually, that’s when I decided to dress up as Wonder Woman for Halloween. But it depressedContinue reading “Katniss, the best thing since Buffy”
Anakin Skywalker: It’s Complicated
The original Star Wars movies are so firmly enmeshed in my childhood that I cannot write about them objectively. Generations of film geeks already have analyzed the series on so deep a level that nothing I can say could possibly be original. As Luke Skywalker says at the end of Empire, “It’s ImPOSSible!” Rob andContinue reading “Anakin Skywalker: It’s Complicated”
Polarizing Film: Drive
Many years ago, when I was a student of the cinema, I considered a couple of popular films to be litmus tests. You laughed hysterically at Flirting with Disaster? You’re a philanderer with a misogynistic sense of humor. Wept at The English Patient? You’re pretentious. Please, that film was bo-ring! The other day, we watchedContinue reading “Polarizing Film: Drive”
They used to call me Mr. Glass
M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable is highly underrated. When I saw it in 2000, it was the most realistic rise-of-superhero-and-supervillain that I had ever seen on film. A comparable film in theaters now is Chronicle. Both films answer the question, What would the world be like if superpowers were real? * Kick-Ass is a great film addressingContinue reading “They used to call me Mr. Glass”
The critical reader
I’m a harsh critic. I can’t help it. I will find fault with your book even if you are a soldier who rescued a little puppy from Baghdad. I’m probably supposed to make allowances for memoirs written by people who aren’t “writers,” but that’s what editors are for. You don’t get a free pass fromContinue reading “The critical reader”
I paid full price for @mindykaling’s book
Mindy Kaling is one of my comedy heroines. Right up there with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I always thought she was funny in her tertiary role on The Office, and was impressed when I noticed that she had a writer, producer and sometimes directing credit. I “liked” Subtle Sexuality on Facebook afterContinue reading “I paid full price for @mindykaling’s book”
What’s to eat?
I became a vegetarian in 2000, and now I feel bad about eating bananas. I’m reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I suggested it to my book club after we read a dystopian downer called The Windup Girl, which had something to do with food being an endangered species controlled by Calorie Companies. I didn’t care forContinue reading “What’s to eat?”
Kari Neumeyer 