Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

A Book Report, "You"

"A chilling account of unrelenting passion, Caroline Kepnes's You is a perversely romantic thriller that's more dangerously clever than any you've read before."

I've read very few books that actually live up to the teaser hype. This book is one of the rare exceptions.

Boy meets girl in his bookstore. Girl flirts with boy and boy stalks girl. And I'm not talking the kind of innocent FB stalking we all occassionally partake. This is the watching from across the street, lying to the super to gain entrance in the apartment, hack into email and Twitter accounts, and steal the cell phone kind of stalking.

And yet, as creepy as Joe is, I found myself rooting for him! Trust me, no one is more surprised than me and I'll admit that I'm slightly bothered by what that might say about me.

Yes, there were things that I had to suspend my disbelief - the cell phone being the biggest hurtle, though Kepnes trys really hard to justify it. I didn't particularily find anything at all likeable about Beck, the object of Joe's obsession. And let's not get into the typical horror moviesque ending. (I mean, come on. Really?)

But I've got to tell you, as far as psychological thrillers go, this one is very different, fresh even. Joe is one of the most complex characters I've ever read. He's intense, creepy, a complete psycho and yet he has insecuries that we all can relate.

(I received an ARC of this from NetGalley for this review.)


Sunday, June 22, 2014

ILM

Chad and I spent the day in Wilmington wandering around the Cotton Exchange.

I bought this book from Two Sisters Bookery.


Chad acted silly.



And I bought some dog treats for Commander at Doggie by Nature. After visiting every store in the Cotton Exchange, we headed to Old Bookstore on Front Street. We spent two heavenly hours there - resting, relaxing and reading various books. I did end up purchasing this book.


Because we weren't able to get table the night before, we made early dinner reservations at The Little Dipper. It was our first time eating at a fondue restaurant. We had an outstanding waiter who walked us through each step. Dinner was delish and the experience was thoroughly enjoyable.




And we found a new favorite wine.

Friday, June 13, 2014

The Art of the Brick

 Ken, Samuel and I decided to visit the Lego Museum today. I wish Cade had been with us. I think he would have liked it too.

This is my favorite Klimt painting, The Kiss.
This is a 1:1 scale made with 18, 893 Lego bricks.


This is a 1:1 scale with 3,991 Lego bricks.


Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night
3,493 bricks


75,450 Legos!

(I forgot to get the number of Legos used.)


Degas' Little Dancer of Fourteen Years
Only 7,100 pieces.


An Artist's View
"Where does the real world end and the artist's world begin? Sometimes when I'm working, it can feel like the truth lies in the work itself and my surroundings fade away to grey."
11,561 Legos were used in this installation. It includes the checkerboard flooring!


Dinosaur Skeleton
"This is one of the largest sculptures I have ever made. It took an entire summer to build and nearly drive me crazy trying to make it work. After seeing so many kids flock to my first solo exhibition, I wanted to give back something and create a sculpture that children would enjoy. What is better than a dinosaur?"
80,020 pieces


Red Umbrella
4,628 pieces were used.


Flip Flops
Only 760 pieces were used in this.


At the end of the journey, we were instructed to write our names on a brick and add it to the wall. When the New York show is over Nathan Sawaya will use them in a new one-of-a-kind sculpture. 


Here's one he did previously.


All in all it was a very interesting exhibit. I absolutely admire the creativity it takes to build something out of Legos. Cade can get imaginative. I usually just follow the instructions that come with the Lego sets. 

Thursday, June 05, 2014

A Book Report, "The Fever"

I admit it. I can be a “book by its cover” kinda girl.

The cover to The Fever drew my immediate attention and the book’s teaser sealed the deal.

This is a book that touches on all the genres. Several of Deenie’s close friends are having terrifying seizures. Is this an epidemic plague caused by a polluted lake in which the girls dare each other to swim? Is it a bad batch of vaccinations for HPV which has been administered to the girls. As the aftermath of the outbreaks remain freakishly unexplained, is the cause more supernatural?

While there were definitely some slow and repetitive sections of the book, I remained true to my curiosity and read to the end. The resolution is somewhat disappointing, but it is a resolution nonetheless.

(I received an advanced reader's copy of this e-book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Still Pretty

Almost 2 weeks since I bought these flowers and they are still beautiful.

Monday, June 02, 2014

Goodbye, Nicky

My co-worker, Nicola, left US Airways on Friday. Today she begins a new adventure with BB&T. This posting is an homage to her.

This is an actual drawing handed to a flight attendant on a Quantas flight by an 8 year old girl. And while it wasn't Nicky who actually penned the letter, they certainly share more than the same name.

Sunday, June 01, 2014

2014 Goals - May Update

Here's how I did with my goals for May.

See a minimum of 5 Broadway shows 
  1. Once - The Musical (January 25, DPAC)
  2. The Book of Mormon (February 15, DPAC)
  3. Evita (March 15, DPAC)
  4. Peter and the Starcatcher (May 3, CLT)
Read 60 books for my Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge
- I read 6 books toward my goal this month:  Divergent, after her, Wonder, The Madman's Daughter, Insurgent, and  A Purple Summer: Notes on the Lyrics of Spring Awakening

- Total books toward my goal of 60 - 36 books. 

Read 3 books off the BBC Reading List
- None (yet). 

Attend 3 Festivals
  1. North Carolina Wine Festival (May 24, Clemmons)
Travel somewhere I've never been
- None.