Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I Can See Clearly...

Hey blog friends!  Thanks for bearing with me through the last couple of no-update weeks.  I had a few bumps (and ice) in the road, but I'm back.  And I brought specs-y with me.  (Sorry.)

The second collection from Warby Parker is now available!  These new frames just cause optical lust in many ways.  WP has also added a little feature where each frame's page tells you which face shape that style will work best on.  The prices have not gone up (about $95 for each pair), and they still donate a pair for every pair purchased. 

I'm going to keep rocking my Coltons most days of the week and spice it up with Thompson from time to time.  Has anyone else tried out Warby Parker? 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Magicians


The Magicians by Lev Grossman has been on my must-read list for about a year now.  When I moved to Nashville, it was one of the first catalog searches I did at the public library; much to my dismay, of the dozen or so copies they had across the various branches, all were gone.  They were also on hold.  All of them.  For a long time. 

This was a bittersweet recognition that people here actually read.  No offense to anyone from my hometown, but there was usually not a line on a book, unless it was the latest Harry Potter.  Hmm....speaking of which...

This book was a blatant rip-off of C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling.  I'm surprised he didn't sign his name as L.V. Grossman.  There's nothing new here.  Nothing.  Almost every aspect was apparently 'borrowed' from a highly known book or movie.  I am getting a bit ahead of myself, though.

This is the 400-page story of Quentin Coldwater, a bright high school student who is getting ready to apply to colleges.  His life takes a wild turn when he is accepted into the magic school called Brakebills.  It's a thousand wonders he was not a neglected orphan as well. 

As I mentioned, there's not really anything new here, but there was a bit of magic--at least for me.  It's a definite page-turner, but for this reader, it was more about getting down to when the real story was going to start.  Around page 357 or so, I realized that Grossman was running out of time.  I never got particularly attached to Quentin because he doesn't really seem to have many unique or redeeming qualities.  Maybe this was the magic?  I kept reading, despite myself.  It was a decent book, but it was mostly like Hogwarts with some f-bombs and alcohol thrown in for good measure.

Notable excerpt:

"...perfection is a nervy business, because the moment you spot the tiniest flaw it's ruined."

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

...still here

Hi all.  I'm still around.  Work has been insane in the membrane.  I've been putting in tons of overtime.  Please bear with me.  I have some ideas for some new lust lists, more food coming soon, and a new book review.

How have you been doing?  (Don't be shy.  I love a comment.)