The Rory Gilmore Book Club discussion
Music, Movies, & Miscellany
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In the spirit of the year ending (Top 5 of 07!)
Here is my list:Books: My Friend Leonard, The Alchemist; East of Eden; The Meaning of Night: A Confession; and The Shadow of the Wind
Movies: Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix, Blood Diamond, The Departed, Flight 93, and The Illusionist
Songs: Nothing really.
Albums: Nothing really.
TV: The Sopranos, Life, 30 Rock, Family Guy and Friday Night Lights
Top 5 Favorite Books you read this year: Shogun, Ahab's Wife, Secret Life of Bees, Freakonomics, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
Top 5 Favorite Movies you saw (either at home or the theater, doesn't matter):
Transformers, We Are Marshall, Elf, Inside Man, Marie Antoinette
Top 5 Favorite Songs:
Can't think of titles. Pretty much the hits from the fave albums.
Top 5 Favorite Albums:
The Weepies, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Veggie Tales Boyz In the Sink, Relient K Christmas CD, The Killer's (Sam's Town)
Top 5 Favorite TV Shows:
Heroes (Season 1), Lost (Season 3), How I Met Your Mother, Food Network (but especially Alton Brown, The Next Iron Chef, Food Network Challenges), Project Runway, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Robot Chicken, Futurama, L&O Criminal Intent, NFL Network
Oh Sera. Did you see The Prestige? I loved that one. Haven't seen the Illusionist yet.
I can only comment on books, I'm afraid, so I'm going to list extras:Water for Elephants
Birth of Venus
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
March by Geraldine Brooks
Year of Wonders
Lying Awake
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Little Women
A Christmas Carol
Whew! I think I finally got that linking right!
Robbie - what did you like about Snow Flower? I read it this year too. I enjoyed it but found it utterly depressing and I can't decide if it's in a good sort of way.
OH! And I LOVED Birth of Venus too. I think I gobbled it up.
And Dee - where are your answers? hint hint
Meghan:I really enjoy reading books that teach me about other cultures, other points of view, other times, etc. Although much of the book was unpleasant emotionally, I found a lot of the information about foot-binding, arranged "best friend" relationships, parallel male and female communities, etc. quite fascinating. I also like it when I get a chance to see examples of two (or more) people thinking they are having the same conversation or experience, but they are interpreting things in completely different ways. That was something I liked about March, too. I actually read March *before* Little Women, and still gave it 5 stars!
Top 5 Favorite Books you read this year:the Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust (fantasy/detective series - if you don't like fantasy you probably won't be that interested)
Top 5 Favorite Movies you saw (either at home or the theater, doesn't matter):
best new movies i've seen this year: Knocked Up, Hot Fuzz, Live Free or Die Hard, 300, & Stardust. (overall i think there's been better movie years, though there's still a lot of 2007 films I haven't seen yet).
best movies i saw on dvd: The Three Colors trilogy (especially Red), Il Postino, Oldboy, Running with Scissors, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Fountain, The big Kahuna, A Love Song for Bobby Long, and The Legend of 1900.
Top 5 Favorite Songs/Albums:
I used to keep a better eye on the music scene, but I've been slipping since Aliera was born. so most of these are from early in the year:
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Norah Jones - Not Too Late
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
Elliott Smith - New Moon
Top 5 Favorite TV Shows (this season):
Gilmore Girls (just started watching it in September), Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Life, Chuck, Daily Show, Colbert Report. also watch Greys but it's becoming more and more of a guilty pleasure.
also, loved The Prestige - just got it recently on dvd - and I was going to ask how Snow Flower was, so I'm glad to hear what you all thought. :)
Yeah, informationally, Snow Flower is fascinating. But story-wise, I thought it was very sad. But I'm beginning to understand it is actually part of the Chinese culture. Many of their stories are quite sad. It is just something they live with or something. I can't quite put it into words.But if any of you are interested in the Chinese culture, I would recommend Snow Flower. My husband told me that footbinding was actually a practice that was continued until the Communist regime took over. I hadn't realized it was something that was practiced in this century. Although I believe it was something that was done more in the rural areas due to tradition. It took a long while for the change of views to filter out of the big cities into the farmlands and mountain areas.
Oh and Heather, thanks for mentioning 300. That movie was one of the greats for this year! I forgot or I would have included it on my list.
Mod
Books: Slaughterhouse Five, Blonde, The Big Sleep, A Clockwork Orange, Wicked, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde
Movie: No Country for Old Men; The Bourne Ultimatum; Sweeney Todd; Away from Her
I feel like most of my top movies for '07 I haven't seen yet. There's so many I want to see now.
Songs: Amy Winehouse: Rehab/You Know That I'm No Good; 1 2 3 4 (Feist); Makes Me Wonder (Maroon 5); Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's); Umbrella (acoustic/Marie Digby)
Album: Various and sundry mix cd's
TV shows: Ugly Betty; Dancing with the Stars; Grey's Anatomy; American Idol; Saturday Night Live
wow so No Country goes straight to the top, eh? must be really good. can't wait to see it.you should list the other four of each too. :p i'm curious what your choices are.
Meghan, you make Snow Flower sound like The Good Earth. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
300 was gorgeous wasn't it? great story well told too.
300 was amazing, and Gerard ain't half bad to look at either. Meghan! I edited my answers in :). And um, FoodNetwork is love, seriously.
I think I will just leave it with my books, shows and movies. I haven't really discovered any new music this year, so I am either trapped in 1935 or 1995 depending on my mood. Top 5 Favorite Books: 1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Middlemarch
3. Blind Assassin
4. Old New York
5. Tie between 1984 and Oryx and Crake
There is simply no way I could pick, as I have watched A LOT of movies this year. But among my top would definitely be these five! Top 5 Favorite Movies:
1. The Lady Eve
2. I Confess
3. Ball of Fire
4. All About Eve
5. Mildred Pierce
Top 5 Favorite Shows:
1. Project Runway
2. Weeds
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Sex and the City
5. L Word
Hi, Meghan. I did see the Prestige; although critics liked it better than the Illusionist, I think that the Illusionist was a far better movie.
Loved 300 and I would like to add that Lost absolutely rocked it this year. Also, did anyone see Damages? I would probably put it in place of Family Guy. What a cool story - I can't wait to see what happens in Season 2 - Glen Close and Ted Danson gave incredible performances.As for books, I technically read Water for Elephants in 2006 so it didn't make the list, but I love, love that book.
All About Eve is one of the greatest movies ever made. "There are very few moments in life as good as this. Let's remember it. To each of us and all of us, never have we been more close, may we never be farther apart".
Yeah, I love that movie. :)
'Damages' was insane. Seriously. So insane, I loved it. Glenn Close and Ted Danson were just, insane. I can't even describe how intense and dark and riveting that show was. It was bad ass.
Hate to be a pain, but could someone please post again how to make titles appear in bold? It bugs the fire out of me to type book titles with apostrophes around them.
for bold you just use html tags like < b > so < / b > but without the spaces.if you want to bold and link a book here on goodreads, you do this (again without the spaces, except those in title/author name):
[ book : Wicked ]
Wicked
it also works for authors:
[ author : Jane Austen ]
Jane Austen
>>I am made of awesome.yes, Dee, yes you are. :) LOL
I've heard really good things about both Once and Waitress. I'll definitely have to rent those sometime.
Mod
Mod
Bale was in Prestige with Hugh Jackman. not that Ed Norton and Rufus Sewell aren't eye candy enough. :)I liked both films, but prefer The Prestige because of the interesting moral issues it addresses.
Here are my 2007 favorites!"New" movies I saw this year:
1. Children of Men
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. The Departed
4. No Country for Old Men
5. Amores Perros
Honorable mentions:
The Science of Sleep, Stranger Than Fiction
2007 Favorites, continued:"Old" movies I saw this year, that were new to me:
1. Duck Soup
2. Bridge on the River Kwai
3. Thieves' Highway
4. I Walked with a Zombie
5. The Misfits
Favorite albums (keeping in mind, I haven't had a chance to listen to the new Radiohead yet):1. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
2. White Stripes - Icky Thump
3. Feist - The Reminder
4. Amy Winehouse - Rehab
5. Joan As Police Woman - Real Life
And, finally, my favorite books of the year:
1. What is the What by Dave Eggers
2. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
4. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
5. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
Only five? I don't know if I can do that! I'm such a biblio- and audiophile! But here goes:Books:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Alchemist
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Eyre Affair
Pride and Prejudice
Movies:
Enchanted
Sweeney Todd
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Holiday
Hairspray
Songs:
So Close by Jon McLaughlin, from the Enchanted soundtrack
Adore Her - Mandy Moore
Taking Chances - Celine Dion
Industry - Jon McLaughlin
I Just Love You - Five for Fighting
Albums:
Indiana - Jon McLaughlin
Wild Hope - Mandy Moore
Oh My NOLA - Harry Connick, Jr.
Continuum - John Mayer
the new Lifehouse one... forget the name!
TV Shows: This is the only one where I don't have five
Chuck
Heroes season 1
Veronica Mars
I'm not saying GG because I hated last season. Ditto Smallville.
Oh, yes - favorite TV shows of the year:1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Gilmore Girls
3. The Sopranos
4. Dexter
5. Weeds
Honorable Mentions:
Heroes
Dancing with the Stars
The Closer
Beth - some great choices in there. Duck Soup is such a hoot! and I loved Bridge on the River Kwai and Stranger Than Fiction too. and Icky Thump - completely forgot about that one! Also, glad to see another Dark Tower fan. :)
Yes, I'm listening to the fourth installment of the series now. Growing up, I was such a Stephen King fan, but I avoided the Dark Tower stuff because it seemed so different from his other books. I had this weird aversion to sci-fi/fantasy stuff, because my mother always said "That stuff is just pure trash!" Funny, she didn't mind me reading Danielle Steele or Sidney Sheldon! But, I love the Dark Tower books! They are amazing. I have read that King considers this series his masterpiece.
So here's another question:What were the top 5 LIVE performances you saw in 2007? They can be concerts, plays, ballets, etc.
1. Harry Connick Jr. Oh My NOLA concert
2. Young Frankenstein world premiere
3. Justin Timberlake concert (surprisingly good show. I'm not a fan.)
4. Van Halen concert
5. Movin' Out/Jersey Boys tie: Jersey Boys was much more fun, but my friend Kyle is the Piano Man in Movin' Out and it was so much fun seeing him.
Mod
I never thought I would like 300...but I may have to watch it now.
I love All About Eve, too. George Sanders is my favorite! He is so cold! He does my favorite Disney voice, too.
Books:My Sister's Keeper
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Three Bedrooms in Chelsea
Twilight
Size 12 is not Fat
Movies:
Hairspray
Transformers
Live Free or Die Hard
Breach
Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix
TV Shows:
CSI (vegas, miami, & ny)
Survivor
Kid Nation
The OC
Gilmore Girls
Oh Courtney you made my night (besides Sarah-heh). Margaret Atwood is one of my all-time favorite authors and Oryx and Crake is one of my favorites of hers. Most people don't like it because it's so "weird". But that's why I love it so. But that just says volumes about me, I suppose.
Dee - I agree too. You are totally made of awesome! And you are awesome just for saying it.Also, if you liked Tipping Point you have to read Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. It's way better and more fun. But I enjoyed TP. I want to read his new one, Blink.
Mod
I can honestly not remember what I saw live in 2007! That's what getting old will do to you. I know I saw The Lion King & Hairspray on stage. I saw a great band called Sea and Cake and The Fray (awesome)...is that it? I can't remember.
Blink is really good! Definitely worth the read Meghan. And I am searching Freakonomics right now. It sounds really familiar...And a thank you *bows*. Acknowledging that I am made of awesome, is part of my self affirmations < totally not true, I just liked the sound of it...I can't lie for shit, I always apologize and tell the truth LOL. Like when I was five, I told my mom I didn't really throw the jell-o in the kitchen, and two seconds later I burst into tears and showed her my green stained hands. Oye.
ANYWAY, Sarah! I agree! I'm a TOTAL music nerd so it was really really hard for me, so finally I just scanned my music thing and picked albums I liked a lot because I couldn't narrow it down too much. I would've stressed out!
Mod
As an adult I once had a guy over. He, my brother, and I were watching a movie. The guy was looking at some pictures around the room and when looking at one of my cousin whose only resemblance to me was that we both had blonde hair, he said that I looked so different. Without missing a beat, I said "Oh yeah, that was before the surgery." I saw out of the corner of my eye my brother go ridged and white knuckle the recliner, fixating on the TV so as not to ruin it. The guy bought my flippant comment, so I kept making the story more and more bizarre so he'd get it was a joke. But he never did. My brother was going to explode or die of atrophy for sitting so perfectly still! Finally as the guy was leaving I had to tell him. Seriously, I couldn't believe he believed the ridiculous things I was telling him. That's when I knew the power of my gift. LOL
Mod
OMG That's hilarious! Did you ever end up telling him the truth?I have my eye on you oh sneaky one.
Dee and Michele, you are so funny! The only story I have can't really compare with yours, Michele, but when I was in 5th grade at summer camp I befriended some twins. I looked enough like them that we were able to convince everyone at camp that we were fraternal triplets! Even some of the counselors bought it. We had people going the whole time.The worst part is, this was CHURCH camp! lol
I LOVE Bette Davis. Had I not previously dedicated my lifelong love and devotion to Audrey Hepburn, she would be my favorite actress with Audrey and Stannie very close. I have not yet seen Dark Victory because of a series of unfortunate events, but I have it on my amazon wishlist, so keep your fingers crossed.
I just saw The Bourne Ultimatum as well and was very, very pleasantly surprised. Why can't they make a decent spy or action picture anymore? This seemed like a fantasy it was so good in comparison to the other films this year.
Bette Davis is FANTASTIC. I recently got really into her, I went through a phase where for about a month or two, I watched all of her movies and that was pretty much all I watched. Awesome. Loved it. The Bourne movies are all really really good, easily one of the best trilogies ever. I'm a sucker for the Die Hard movies though, I was really upset at the studio for editing it to PG-13 for the theaters (of course I understand that it makes more money that way, more people see it blah blah blah) but the cursing and down right anger fueled obscenities Bruce Willis spits as McClane is what makes Die Hard, Die Hard. I mean, that IS John McClane. Needless to say, the unrated version on DVD, was freakin awesome. There's nothing wrong with a really good popcorn movie. I love indie flicks, and I love intellectual art dramas, don't get me wrong. But sometimes, I just love to see shit get blown up *shrug*. Sue me.
That being said, there's TONS of good movies coming out around now, and within the next two or three months. I'm excited for many a feature. I'm a total movie junkie. I'm a music junkie too though...I think I'm just...a junkie? No, that's not right. Oh well.
You guys need to stop me from rambling! SHEESH!
SARAH! You pulled that at church camp? That's seriously funny.
The Rory Gilmore Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Pillars of the Earth (other topics)Wish You Were Here (other topics)
The Saving Graces (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (other topics)
The Birth of Venus (other topics)
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These favorites don't have to have come OUT this year or were released this year, but you had to have well, had them as your favorite this year. Pretty self explanatory yes?
Top 5 Favorite Books you read this year:
Top 5 Favorite Movies you saw (either at home or the theater, doesn't matter):
Top 5 Favorite Songs:
Top 5 Favorite Albums:
Top 5 Favorite TV Shows:
I thought it'd be fun to see what every bodys favorites were through out the year.
Edit: So I totally forgot to post my own answers. LMAO. Yes, I am made of awesome. Here y'all go! And they aren't in any particular order...
Top 5 Favorite Books you read this year:
1. Courage to Heal
2. Man's Search For Meaning
3. The Pillars of the Earth
4. The Tipping Point
5. A Sentimental Journey
A few of the books I loved this year, I re-read, and originally read them a few years back.
Top 5 Favorite Movies you saw (either at home or the theater, doesn't matter):
1. Live Free Die Hard (Uncut Version)
2. Superbad
3. Once
4. Waitress
5. A Mighty Heart
Top 5 Favorite Songs:
1. Mary J Blige- Just Fine
2. Justin Timberlake- Lovestoned/I Think She Knows
3. John Mayer- Say
4. Alice Smith- New Religion
5. The Frames- Falling Slowly
Top 5 Favorite Albums:
1. Alicia Keys- As I Am
2. Timbaland- Timbaland Presents: Shock Value
3. James Morrison- Undiscovered
4. The Pierces- Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge
5. Lupe Fiasco- The Cool
Top 5 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Law and Order SVU/ Life (a tie I can't decide!)
2. Friday Night Lights (OMG SO GOOD)
3. Pushing Daisies
4. Weeds
5. Reaper/Chuck (it's a tie I can't decide!)