Girl, Interrupted.

 

Bitch be crazy.

Susanna Kaysen is an eighteen year old girl. One who is told that she is crazy, though she has some doubts. In Girl, Interrupted, Kaysen recalls her year spent in a psych ward and what effect her diag-nonsense really had on her and at what point she crossed the thin line from sane to insane. 

I did enjoy this book, though it puzzled me. Kaysen never really seemed crazy throughout the entire story. In fact, the only real "crazy" episode she had was after being there for a few months, which makes me wonder if perhaps the medication they insisted the patients take in the 60's made them worse, not better. In attempting to make them more compliant, did they hurt them instead?

 

Kaysen often alluded to the fact that she didn't understand her diagnosis. This isn't such a surprise, since they kept it hidden from her for the majority of the time she spent in treatment. At the very end of the book, she goes to a bookstore to read the official description of her "illness" to see if she can understand it. She picks it apart sentence by sentence, comparing the generalization of the symptoms to the ones she felt best described her.

Honestly, the medical description sounded like every teenage girl I've ever met. The generalization seemed almost too general. Too simple. Everyone's crazy, according to that. Reckless driving. Casual sex. What? 

As for the book itself, I'm half-and-half. I liked Kaysen's writing style but often found myself lost. Reading the back, I saw a bunch of praise for the autobiography and couldn't really understand why. It was a fascinating account of her months in the ward, but what did it really accomplish? It didn't make me think any more or less of mental illnesses. Or maybe that's what Kaysen meant by it. She wasn't trying to make a best-selling novel, she was just telling her story. It seems like she didn't really care what others had to say about her book. She just wanted to say what she wanted to say.

3 out of 5 stars. 

Bodily Harm.

Why everyone should hate politics.

 Rennie Wilford is a twenty-something journalist who writes "lifestyle pieces." Simple articles, like fashion trends and where people like to travel. After learning she has cancer, her life begins to spiral downward. As though having cancer was not hard enough, she develops feelings for her doctor - who is married. Too married, as she puts it. The strain of losing her self-confidence and loving someone who shouldn't love her back affects her relationship with Jake, the man she has been living with. When he leaves, Rennie is alone. And being alone makes her easy prey. Though a close call scares her away, she treats the time as a vacation of sorts, writing an article on a small island in the Barbados. During a time of political unrest, Rennie has chosen a very bad time to travel.

I was very surprised that I enjoyed this novel as much as I did. It's not because I have negative views on the author, because I had no idea who the author was. I'm surprised because the novel is older, taking place in a time period when I wasn't even born. Most of the time, it's hard for me to understand why people can't just pick up a cell phone when I'm reading. Then I remember - there weren't cell phones yet. So strange. I know I probably sound like such a youngin' for saying all this, but I think it's important for some reason.

To start, the novel was written very, very well. It had this elegant ring to everything - even though some of the characters said the dirtiest, raunchiest things you could imagine. Dull moments didn't exist, and Atwood had you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Sometimes you were in suspense waiting to hear of character's fates. Sometimes you were contemplating whether or not the part you read was a flashback. Sometimes you had to decide for yourself when an event took place.

I loved the characters. They were fascinating in so many aspects. Rennie had so many layers, though she did seem a bit whiny during some moments. But how could she not? She's been put into a terrible position and she knows nothing about it. Politics go over my head; politics go over Rennie's head. In this, we match. To tell the truth, I had no idea what the hell was going on most of the time, but neither did Rennie, so that made me feel much better.

There's a possibility that I'm blowing this book out of proportion and giving Atwood more credit than a more dedicated fan would. Since I've only read two of her books (this being number two), I find it intriguing.

4 out of 5 stars.

Hallelujah.

I'm currently enthralled with a cover of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" as preformed by these three lovely ladies, Jodi, Alana, and Morgan. I don't know much about the girls, but the song has been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember.

See, I found this because my dad gave me an iTunes gift card for Christmas. Normally I don't buy anything off of iTunes because, frankly, Amazon is cheaper. But I was looking for a song that cost less than a dollar and I found this cover. I do think that this song can be sung by either gender (though it is considered a masculine song by some) and that it sounds wonderful from a well-trained female vocalist. And here we have three.

Shall I rate?
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Tudors.

Henry VIII, I am.

So I got Netflix, it streams to my Wii, laptop, and my ipod touch. I have to admit, I do love it a lot. Though I'm against ordering the actual DVDs (I know I'd just lose them), I use the instant streaming like a madwoman. It just so happens that The Tudors seasons 1 and 2 happen to be on Netflix. I was giddy like a schoolgirl. Why? Because I'm currently in a Tudor phase, caused by seeing the 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl. This followed by reading the novel encouraged me to keep learning. I'm not much of a history buff, but once I'm interested, I can't stop. I'm almost done with Phillipa Gregory's series, have finished the first 2 seasons of The Tudors, and am looking for other movies to watch and documentaries online. 

Back to the show, though. It grieves me that I have to order seasons 3 and 4, but I know that I will because of how much I loved the first 2. I know it's not historically accurate (most historical movies aren't), but it is interesting and definitely knows how to hold your attention. It's written more like a soap opera, but Showtime wasn't looking for a documentary. 

I thoroughly enjoy the acting, which is very good. The costumes are gorgeous. The characters are fascinating in both the show and history. What I like the most is that it prompts some people to actually research the history of Henry VIII on their own, and who doesn't love to learn about an impotent king with an anger problem? 

I don't like to give away the plot, so I'll make the description of the show very short and sweet. King Henry VIII is married to Katherine of Aragorn, who was married to Henry's brother, Arthur. Arthur died shortly after the wedding, and Katherine claimed that they never consummated their marriage, allowing herself to marry Henry and become Queen. Unfortunately, Queens don't have happy ending in real life like they do in Disney movies. Due to her inability to produce an heir, she's kicked to the curb for a younger, ambitious girl named Anne Boleyn. The Catholic church does not agree with Henry's decision to divorce Katherine and so he decides to split from them. And that's were all the shit started.

Obviously most of you know what happens after that. The show goes through all 6 of Henry's wives though the first 2 seasons only focus on two, Katherine and Anne. Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves (my second favorite), Katherine Howard (my favorite), and Catherine Parr are introduced in seasons 3 and 4.

With all that in mind, I bestow upon this drama a 3.5 star out of 5 rating. 

The pretty actors and gaudy costumes just can't make up for the fact that the show is not entirely accurate when compared to actual historical events.

Club Dead.

Sooooookie.

I've been dabbling in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mystery series for quite some time now. To some, they're just "Sookie Stackhouse Novels" or that show on HBO, True Blood. Frankly, the show has very little to do with the books after the second season. So don't think that you can get away with watching the television show and then pretending that you've read the books. It doesn't work that way. 

Sookie Stackhouse has not only has the uncanny ability to read minds, but she also seems to be a magnet for hostile vampires, werewolves, and even some downright mean shapeshifters. If they're ready to kill someone, Sookie is always conveniently that person. It probably has something to do with her vampire boyfriend, Bill - who just happens to be the cause of her grief this time. When Bill goes missing, Sookie must tag team with his egocentric (but attractive) boss, Eric. But what she finds is not worth the effort.

The thing about the Sookie series is that I can't seem to put them down once I start reading them, I can't stop. And even though I'm unconsciously picking out all the flaws in the storyline, I'm enjoying myself too. Because I just find these books hilarious. Her writing style reminds me of Janet Evanovich, who is another author I enjoy.

As usual, I praise the characters and their stunning personalities. Pam is still my favorite, and pink as ever and borderline mean. Eric changes a lot in this book, but it doesn't amuse me as much as I thought it would. I mean, he's a softie all of a sudden. That's not Eric, come on. Bill seems to have lost all his personality, which is understandable given his situation. Sookie develops a lot in this novel, and you see a less confident side of her that is realistic.

I like the quirky one-liners and often find myself skipping ahead to find where the characters start talking next in hopes of finding something funny to read. Bad me. Bad.

What I think is hilarious is the little "errand" the Queen sends Bill on. You spend the whole book trying to figure out what could be so terrible to get him kidnapped and tortured and then you find out what it is. And it's so ridiculous that you can't help but laugh and think, "Damn these guys are dumb." I know Harris was trying to make the task seem important, but it just seems like a waste of time to me.

Oh, Charlaine Harris, how you amuse me.

4 out 5 stars.