The Sound of …WHAT??!!!

I try to keep this blog as positive and uncontentious as possible, but sometimes an issue arises that is so controversial that I feel I must speak out.

This news item was pointed out to me yesterday: On December 5th NBC will be airing :” The Sound of Music Live!” starring Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer. If you don’t believe me, here’s the link:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/16/sound-of-music-nbc-carrie-underwood-casting-poster/

I ask you, is this really necessary? Can anything possibly be better than Julie Andrews  twirling in the Alps singing “the hills are alive…”? Or skipping through the streets of Salzburg singing “Doe,  a Deer”?

I have to say, I think Carrie Underwood is a very talented singer, but I feel no need for a replacement Maria (and yes, I know Mary Martin originated the role on Broadway, and many other talented people have portrayed Maria there.) The Sound of Music and Julie Andrews are an icon of my childhood – I wanted to BE Maria von Trapp.

Recently my husband saw an advertisement for the movie “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” and asked, “why did they have to make Lincoln a vampire hunter?” Good question, but i think the more important one is “why did they have to make Captain von Trapp a VAMPIRE?! I do realize that Stephen Moyer is an actor who portrays a vampire on “True Blood”, and it will not surprise me if I find out he is a decent singer (but to be honest, we don’t love Christopher Plummer as the Captain for his stupendous singing, do we?), but I know I will be watching him, waiting for the fangs to come out and bite Maria on the neck!

I also realize that I’m somewhat of a hypocrite. A movie I loved as a child (and still do!) was Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. But this is the one I watched and loved (many times!):

Following my theory of “Julie Andrew is the Musical Queen of the Universe” I should watch this one:

I have no defense except to say that perhaps if this version was available when I was younger, I would have watched it. (Note to parents with young children: The Sound of Music starring Julie Andrews is readily available on DVD and frequently on plain old TV!)

Which do you prefer?:

I

!

I know how I feel, but I’ll probably have the DVR set!

So long, farewell… Good -byeeeee!

“A Hundred Summers”

Wow! it’s been 3 weeks since book club and I’m just getting around to blogging!

And sadly, I had to look at my Good Reads account to see what the title of the book was!

I do remember that it was at Lauren’s house though! (and that’s good, because I couldn’t remember where the July meeting was and it was at MY house. Oh well.)

I thought this book was ok, but not great. It gave us a lot to discuss, given the choices that all the characters made. It was interesting reading about the historic storm to which the title refers. And we all agreed that “the right people died”, which in some books,  is all you can ask for in a happy ending.

A problem I ran into while reading this book was the fact that I had recently read “Tigers in Red Weather”. That book was also about 2 friends and yearly visits to a summer-house. I had a little trouble keeping them straight in my mind, but I admit I enjoyed “Tigers” more.

Also, I feel the need to apologize in advance for September’s book club selection. When I suggested the title “Fin and Lady” I did so because of an excellent review and the fact that a quote on the back cover which called it a “clever, frothy novel”. About half way through the book I wasn’t getting the clever or the frothy so I re-read the back cover to realize the book that was being described was “The Three Weissmanns of Westport” by Cathleen Schine. (Which I have also read and which fits the description of ‘clever & frothy” much better. it is a modern interpretation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”.)

I hope everyone brings suggestions to book club this week – I feel like I am striking out lately.  How do you choose books to read? I used to go to the library and just browse. Now I read book reviews, blogs, and rely on recommendations. Every once in a while a patron will return a book to the library and feel compelled to tell me how good it was. When they do I always give it a look. I recently listened to “The Last Original Wife” by Dorothea Benton Frank on a patron’s recommendation (good! clever & frothy!) and I just checked out “The Forgotten Waltz” by Anne Enright (haven’t started it yet).

Library Reads is  a new resource to learn about upcoming books. Each month a list is posted of   the top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love.

http://libraryreads.org/

October’s #1 pick is “The Rosie Project” bt Graeme Stimsion

I’ve had this book on hold for a while. I couldn’t resist this description:

The feel-good novel of 2013, The Rosie Project is a classic screwball romance.

Don Tillman is getting married. He just doesn’t know who to yet.

But he has designed the Wife Project, using a sixteen-page questionnaire to help him find the perfect partner. She will most definitely not be a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also fiery and intelligent and beautiful. And on a quest of her own to find her biological father—a search that Don, a professor of genetics, might just be able to help her with.

The Wife Project teaches Don some unexpected things. Why earlobe length is an inadequate predictor of sexual attraction. Why quick-dry clothes aren’t appropriate attire in New York. Why he’s never been on a second date. And why, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love: love finds you.

‘…the overall effect of The Rosie Project will be, if anything, to increase genuine understanding of Aspergers (or, as it will soon be called, the autistic spectrum) and to refute some common myths. It’s great fun, too.’ Jo Case, Australian Book Review