The Hoax, 2006

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DVD CoverRichard Gere stars as Clifford Irving, a failed writer, who writes a fake biography of the mysterious and crazy Howard Hughes.  Alfred Molina is his friend and research partner and they sell this ‘book’ to McGraw Hill using forged documents for a six figure deal.  Marcia Gay Harden is his long suffering wife who will do what she can to help, even if it is dangerous and illegal.

This is based on a true story, although as Jason and I watched it we often asked ‘how true is it?’.  The connection between Hughes and President Nixon was an interesting one that I hadn’t heard before.  Clifford Irving was bold, reckless, delusional and also a world class liar.  I find it hard to root for liars and this was no exception.  I like Richard Gere and I hated hoping for his demise.

I thought the acting was good and the story was interesting.  I won’t give away what happens at the end, but there is a nice wrap-up to satisfy your curiousity.

This Writer’s Life in Writer’s Digest

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 I have a subscription to Writer’s Digest and occasionally read the magazine within the month I receive it.  There is lots of good stuff in there (how’s that for descriptive?) and not just for writers.  One of the bright spots for me is the hilarious Kevin Alexander column called This Writer’s Life.  The good news is that you don’t have to read the magazine to enjoy his writing.  He has a blog

http://blog.writersdigest.com/writerslife/

and you can check him out for yourself.  I think he will make you laugh even if you are not an aspiring author.  I’ll be adding him to my blogroll.

Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley

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Finished audio 8-18-08, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 1990

Easy Rawlings lives in 1948 Los Angeles and is a black man who is proud of owning his home and the little bit of land that surrounds it.  He has just lost his job at the plant and he is in his friend’s bar nursing the sting of being fired.  Mr. Albright walks in and is hoping to hire Easy to find a white girl, Daphne, who frequents black jazz clubs.  As soon as he takes the job Easy is thrust into the middle of a web  of lies, threats, and lust. 

I listened to this on cd and the reader, GC Simms, was wonderful.  His rich voice drew me in immediately and I’m pretty sure that he could have been reading anything and I’d have been entertained.  This book addresses the racial reality of the 1948, yet it feels completely current.  I’d recommend it.  I’ve got the movie waiting on my dvr, I’ll let you know what I think later.

Off to France

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Eric and Virginie have been our friends for over fours years and today they moved to Lyon, France with 10 month old Camille.  Jason and I will miss them and their friendship.  We wish them nothing but happiness and a house big enough for guests 🙂  We are already looking forward to our trip to France. 

“Don’t be dismayed at goodbyes.  A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.  And meeting again , after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.”     -Richard Bach

Camille saying goodbye to Max at our house.

The gals at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday.

The guys and Camille waiting for cheesecake.

When A Man Loves A Woman, by La Connie Taylor-Jones

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Cover ImageFinished 8-17-08, rating 3/5, romance, pub. 2008

Let me start by saying that I was sent this book to review for this blog.  I was curious to read it since I like romances.  This is most definitely a romance, but it was more than that.  Long after the romance had sorted itself out there was a mystery to be solved.

A.J. loved Vic and wanted nothing more that to spend the rest of his life married to her.  Vic was not willing to let her heart get broken again and resisted the urge to find love in his arms.  Their large families wanted them together as did A.J.’s twin daughters and A.J. was willing to use them to help his cause.  A car accident forced them into close quarters and into the middle of a police investigation.

This book has a lot to offer – A.J. is as close to perfect as a hero can get, Vic was a ‘hot’ size 14, there is a large cast of characters, and there is no shortage of action.  It was also wonderfully written.  That being said, some of these things were also a detriment.  I don’t trust a perfect man. Even in romance there should be no such thing.  And the extra storyline stemming from the car crash was a little too convenient and somewhat unbelievable. 

This was the second book written about the Baptiste family and I would recommend starting with the first one, When I’m With You.  Taylor-Jones plans to continue writing about this large family and another Baptiste brother in her next novel.  She is a talented author who received writing awards for her first book.  I don’t think that you will be bored or disappointed with this book.

I’ve been tagged!

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Don over at  http://donstuff.wordpress.com/ tagged me with this.  I’m so new at this that I’m not exactly clear on what I need to do, but here goes.

Here’s how it goes (by Trish):

My Friend Amy (actually Trish’s friend Amy according to Don) started the whole thing and said: I am going to list three categories of books. 3 MUST Read Books, 3 Keep Your Eyes on These, and 3 Look For These Soon. Keeping with the theme, I am going to tag at least 3 bloggers. They should put these same lists on their blog but SUBTRACT one book from each list and ADD one of their own. Then they should tag at least 3 more bloggers. It will be fun to see how the lists change as it goes around the blogosphere. Please come back to this post and leave a comment so someone can see how the lists are changing as they go around the blogosphere. Since this is Book Buzz…please keep your lists to titles released in 2007-2009.

 (Bold Blue is mine. Red belong to donstuff):

3 MUST Read Books:

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Testimony by Anita Shreve

3 Keep Your Eyes on These:

The Woods by Harlan Coben

Odd Hours by Dean Koontz
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

3 Look For These Soon:

Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You by Judith McNaught (5/09)
Bones: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (Heather’s note: The 12th and final book in the Wheel of Time series, coming in 2009 – I can’t wait!)

Now I’ll tag three, but if I didn’t tag you, feel free to participate anyway.

Becoming Jane

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Becoming Jane was released in 2007 and stars Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen (yes the Jane Austen of Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, etc.) and James McAvoy as Thomas Lefroy.  It is inspired by the real relationship between Jane and Thomas.  They meet, sparks fly, numerous marriage proposals are offered by more than one man, and obstacles to true love abound.  It was a fun movie, especially for those who like Jane Austen or 20th century English tales.

Hathaway and McAvoy were great.  James Cromwell and Maggie Smith also make appearances.  If you want to punish your husband for not taking out the trash or some other such thing, make him watch too.  Otherwise, open up a bottle of wine, invite your book club over and have a girls night.

Follow Your Heart, by Susanna Tamaro

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Cover ImageFinished 8-14-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1994

“As you grow up, you’ll often get the urge to change things, to right wrongs, but every time you do, remember that the first revolution, the first and the most important, has to take place within yourself.  Fighting for an idea without having an idea of yourself is one of the most dangerous things you can do.”   -December 22

This is the brutally honest letter a grandmother who is nearing death writes to the granddaughter she raised alone.  Her granddaughter is obviously a headstrong young woman who has moved to America leaving her grandmother in Italy heartbroken and alone. 

The grandmother can feel death coming and wants to leave her granddaughter a letter of history and hope for the future.  She pulls no punches.  She is not afraid to illuminate her own shortcomings as well as those around her, granddaughter included.  It is difficult to read that she did not think about her daughter for several years after her death  or that she did not love her daughter enough without your heart breaking a little.  This is a woman who was not going to spare her granddaughter the truth.

I was pulled in right from the beginning.  It was real and honest and a great story of three generations of women who all seemed to be fighting the past.  It is definitely a worthwhile read.  It was translated from the original Italian.

Reading

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Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~P.J. O’Rourke

It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it. ~Oscar Wilde