Reviews & Recommendations

I can spend hours in a Barnes & Nobel Store. It's peaceful, cool (sometimes a bit too cold, as I politely discussed with the Manager during my last visit), close to my office (great for lunch breaks)... and they are in the business of selling some of my favorite products: Books, CD's, Movies, and Coffee! This combination doesn't get much better.

After long days and weeks of training, my body asks for down time. Reading, listening to music, or watching a movie is the way to go. Well, I've been very pleased with my recent purchases... here are my reviews and recommendations:

BOOK
The Emperor's Children
I hesitate to evaluate books because I'm not a reviewer, I'm a reader. Nevertheless, I would like to counteract some of the bad reviews I found regarding this book. The Emperor's Children is suitable for someone who likes modern literary fiction. Those fans of Stephen King and Tom Clancy should probably not bother. Books like this are not about the 'plot'. They're about people, life, experiences, love, rejection, crisis, family, etc... The writing is exquisite. The characters are fully drawn and highly believable. If you like beautifully written, character driven literary fiction, you can't beat Messud.
*to note: it's also the 1st fiction novel I've read which depicts the events of September 11th (although, it's definitely not the focus of the book!).

CD (Soundtrack)
Miami Vice Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

"In the Air Tonight" - Nonpoint
"One of These Mornings" - Moby with Patti LaBelle
"We're No Here" - Mogwai
"Sinner Man (Felix Da Housecat's Heavenly House Mix)" - Nina Simone
"Auto Rock" - Mogwai
"Arranca" - Manzanita
"Ready For Love" - India.Arie
"Strict Machine (We Are Glitter Goldfrapp Mix)" - Goldfrapp
"Pennies in My Pocket" - Emilio Estefan
"New World in My View" - King Britt & Sister Gertrude Morgan
"Sweep" - Blue Foundation
"Anthem" - Moby
"Blacklight Fantasy" - Freaky Chakra
"Mercado Nuevo" - John Murphy
"Who Are You" - John Murphy
"Ramblas" - King Britt & Tim Motzer
"A-500" - Klaus Badelt & Mark Batson

GREAT soundtrack... some techno, a few Latin inspired tracks, some good instrumental pieces from the score, and more. I love a soundtrack for it's variety.

MOVIEYES! This movie is Amazing... can't believe it didn't get an Oscar nomination. Ok, ok... so it's no complex drama, but it is good. Maybe this is the "cheerleader" in me coming out. Am I the only triathlete who watches Center Stage the night before a race for motivation?

Recovering from a tough weekend, Peter and I sat down to watch a movie on Sunday night. This was my choice.... so, he pretty much made fun of it the entire way through - and that, in itself, was entertainment for me. After my blog about his poor dancing skills, I thought he would be eager to learn and improve. Not so much. But, seeing him try a pirouette... and come close to death, was priceless!

*and, another Great soundtrack!

ENJOY