i haven’t been this addicted to a book since harry potter
Image courtesy of Knopf publishing
I cannot speak with enough enthusiasm about Stieg Larson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I referenced it in a recent post, and I was already quite excited by it then. But as soon as I reached the halfway mark, it was nonstop from there. I finished it all in just a couple days because I literally could not put it down. I doubt I’ve ever recommended a book quite as strongly as this one. I honestly can’t even go into the plot or characters because I will get too wrapped up in it and give away too many spoilers.
I will say this: I can understand that it may not be for everyone. There’s a good deal of finance/business and media talk, especially in the beginning — the main character is, after all, an investigative finance journalist recently convicted of libel and at a struggling liberal magazine (Did I say I wouldn’t reveal too much of the plot?) — and I can see that bogging someone down if they’re not into it. It was also originally written in Swedish, and there are various Sweden references and names. But if you can get past that — and believe me, you will — I promise that it will be one of the most compelling novels that you have ever read. It reads like a well-designed mystery novel, but with the passion and intrigue of a narrative piece. Get it. Tell me how you like it.
1 comment July 14, 2009
Sadie sexcapade, vol. 1: fireworks on the fourth
I’ve decided that I’ve let the scandal of this site fall to the wayside a little too much. So I’m going to start a little series on my latest and greatest sexcapades with The Guy. I should warn you, these posts are rated R… or whatever comes after R. So only read on if this is what you’re into!
A few of us went to my girlfriend’s lake house in the Berkshires for the long weekend. My Guy couldn’t join us until last Friday night, so we had a bit of a ladies’ sleepover on Thursday night and spent much of Friday lounging around and sunning. My friend informed me that he and I would be sharing a room when he got there, in spite of my insisting that it was not necessary. I was a stupid girl to argue.
Add comment July 8, 2009
miniplaylist: soft tracks for a humpday workday
I am devastated. I left my iPod plugged in to the speakers at my friend’s house… which is three hours away. I’ve survived decently well over the last couple of days by getting good head way into my newest read, Stieg Larson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (which, by the way is absolutely fabulous and on its way on becoming a Sadie Fave — but more on that later!). But at work, I’ve had to suffer. However, I purchased an extra pair of headphones on my work to the office today so I could listen to my Pandora radio. Pandora’s always treated me pretty well as long as I know what I want from it, but this morning, I was a bit lost. Usually my Beatles station does the trick, and if not, Jason Mraz. At the very least, I can usually count on my Fleetwood Mac station. But not this morning. And then, for whatever reason, I decided to plug in “The Fray” and create a new station. Wow. Winner! I’ve picked out some of my faves to get you through your Wednesday at work…
- “Chocolate” by Snow Patrol (Final Straw – Limited Bonus Tracks Edition) – With the closing line of “I promise I’ll do anything you ask…this time,” this song is a true heartbreaker. I hadn’t really heard it before, but now that I have, I’m sure I won’t forget it.
- “Collide” by Howie Day (Stop All the World Now) – I know that this song got overplayed a few years back, but I don’t know if this is another album version or I just hadn’t heard it in a while, but this song is the sweetest! I’m always a sucker for simple acoustic tracks, and this one does it for me.
- “Boston” by Augustana (All the Stars and Boulevards) – All right, I’ll admit it: I’m obsessed with this song and will find any reason to put it on a playlist. But you can’t help your heart from breaking when listening to the poignant piano and plaintive vocals.
- “Dreaming with a Broken Heart” by John Mayer (Continuum) – I always think of Mia Michael’s “bed” choreography on last season’s So You Think You Can Dance, performed by the pair known as Twitchington. Even if you’re not a John Mayer fan, you’ll fall for this song.
- “Sympathy” by Goo Goo Dolls (Gutterflower) – I think this song was overshadowed by “Here is Gone,” which was the more popular single off the album, but I love the mix of sweet guitar fingering and more raspy vocals.
Add comment July 8, 2009
a bit of salinger for your commute
I recently finished reading J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey. I had the small, plain paperback lying around in my room at home for a while now, but never really got the time to pick it up. It was recommended to me by a family friend who said that it was Salinger’s best work, better than Catcher in the Rye despite being less widely known. I was a fan of Catcher, so I was curious to see what Franny and Zooey had to offer.
The book is made up of two part, both published separately in The New Yorker in the 1950s. The first is a short story and serves as a sort of prologue to the second part, which was originally published as a novella.
The first part introduces Franny as a sort of anonymous university student who is becoming disenchanted with the selfishness and inauthenticity she perceives all around her, in Salinger’s good old Holden Caufield fashion. The second part begins with Zooey, Franny’s older brother, in the bath tub. Salinger gives more background to the family, and a large bulk of the book is made up of their mother, Bessie, coming into the bathroom to convince Zooey to comfort his emotionally ailing sister. He does so, offering his version of sage advice.
I found this interesting tidbit on Wikipedia, and it seemed to sum up why I was so intrigued by the book:
Gerald Rosen, in his short 1977 book Zen in the Art of J. D. Salinger, observes that Franny and Zooey could be interpreted as a modern Zen tale, with the main character, Franny, progressing over the course of the book from a state of ignorance to the deep wisdom of enlightenment.
I’ve always been interested in schools of thought and universal belief systems. In fact, I had quite a lively discussion with Boyfriend over the weekend concerning religion. (Afterwards, I vowed to myself to never start such an argument with him again.) But this is one text that doesn’t necessarily give way to argument nor doubt. It’s really just a matter of thinking, in a more secular way, despite having the religious book The Way of a Pilgrim as its catalyst.
A very quick read, and highly recommended.
Add comment July 7, 2009
an apple a day, a canvas a week
Browsing the blogworld, I stumbled across the artist Sam Wagner’s blog. I really enjoy artists’ blogs, but Wagner’s has a great twist to it: He is creating one painting per week for a year. As a Sadie with a creative edge, I have dabbled here and there in painting and fine arts. (I’ve actually enrolled in a drawing class for the fall semester — more to come on that later!) While I am relatively quick, I could never imagine painting a piece a day, especially with the qualifications that Wagner set for himself:
My goal is to keep the work pure and minimal. These are some of my guidelines as I take on this [Project 52]:
- keep it small – 8×10
- gesso panel board
- reuse of materials
- painted paper
- unique paper
- few colors
Wow. No small feat. His work is intriguing thoughtful, with a noticeable style that signatures all of his work as part of this Project 52. I encourage you to take a moment to scroll through some of his work and take the time to give him some feedback. You don’t have to like his work, but the effort and commitment that he has put into the project is unarguably admirable.
Visit http://gfwagner.wordpress.com.
1 comment June 30, 2009
on the way to being a skinnier Sadie? we’ll do it together.
While shopping around for some sort of protein or diet shake, I realized that any smart Sadie knows to use one of her most powerful friends before handing over the credit card: Google. So I searched “Special K Shake” (it looked the most appealing) to see what would come up. I stumbled into Skinny Habits, a weightloss and healthy living blog run by a lovely Sadie named Jen. I was immediately drawn in by her deckline: “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” I’ll buy it.
Related to this, I have some advice for all Sadies: Question your size. Sounds a bit odd, I suppose. What I mean is this: When shopping, especially at a store that you frequent, never buy without trying on, and never try on without trying on a new size. Last week, I was about to buy a size 6 skirt at the J. Crew outlet store, but the line to the fitting rooms wasn’t long, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I brought a size 4 (what I thought would be a stretch, but just in case it ran large…) and a size 6 (what iI thought would be my actual size, considering the weight I surely must have gained from eating Mama Sadie’s homecooked meals for the last month or so. (I also threw in some fabulous navy shorts in hopes of the weather getting better.) I was shocked. I was swimming in the 6, and the 4 sat low on my hips rather than fitted at my waist. So back to the racks I went, with a bit of hesitation and a bit of excitement. On went the size 2, and to my delight (as well as Mama Sadie’s) — a perfect fit.
So now I’m back to my old size, pre-”sophomore 15,” but not yet back to my old shape. What happened to the cut triceps? The solid thighs? The flat tummy??? At least I now have a bigger rack and still have a rockin’ booty. But still. If I fit the size, I’d like to look the size too. Here’s the plan…
Add comment June 29, 2009
sometimes Sadie has to love the stupid laugh
Image courtesy twitter.threadless.com
Found this shirt while browsing Twitter ’s Theadless.com site. It’s not particularly clever — I’m more one for stupid Shakespeare or algebra come-on lines — but still, it’s a kind of cute commentary on the explosive popularity of social networking (Hello, Sexie Sadie blog, hosted by WordPress!)
If only textsfromlastnight.com made T-shirts. Well, maybe I wouldn’t want to wear something that said “(516): Apparently I look legit enough, cause the 3 bums next to me just got kicked awake by cops, and I was allowed to stay sitting here. That’s a plus, right?”
Or maybe, my personal guilty-pleasure favorite, awkwardbonors.com … Although they’re more of a billboard-friendly establishment.
1 comment June 23, 2009
new fare? no fair.
The cover story on today’s amNew York (the free daily tabloid that’s handed out like free candy outside of Penn Station every morning) reads: DOWN in the DUMPS. Although I generally walk to the east side to work from Penn rather than take the subway, I am still outraged that I was not aware of the fare increase (from $2 base to $2.25). A 12.5% increase is no small matter.
“The MTA voted to increase fares to $2.50 in March,” according to amNew York, “but softened the blow after state lawmakers came through with $2.3 billion in additional funding last month.” The article talks about a “tug of war over the bailout” — wow, so the guys up in Albany really can’t get it together, ever.
I understand that New York is a big state, and I know that there is a reputation of Manhattanites to be self-involved and selfish. Perhaps this is me playing to that stereotype. But let’s be real here: New York City is a big deal. Not just to New York, not just to the U.S., but to the world. You’d think that the drips up in Albany would step up and take ownership of this city that is their responsibility. A metro pass in Paris is 1 euro, equivalent to about 1.39 USD. As a tourist in Paris not long ago, I thought that this was absolutely fabulous and took advantage of the metro system at e very chance. If I was a tourist in New York — the little of them that still come in the first place — a $2.25 one-way MetroCard is looking bleak. Not to mention how it looks to a NYC commuter. And I thought the LIRR was a pain in the ass…
Add comment June 22, 2009
stila ain’t so stylin’
Continuing the never ending (but happily so) quest for the perfect lipgloss, I decided to try out Stila lip glaze, which has been hailed as “the best” by countless magazines, Web sites and even Sadies. Naturally, it had to be my next stop on this search. First off, here’s a bit of what they have to say about their own product:
…an array of delectable shades that add a splash of color and fabulously matching flavors and scents in one easy click of the famous pen. Cosmetics experts agree-this top seller is an essential addition to any beauty bag.
Sounds just as good as rumors say, right? Not so much. Although yes, the colors were fabulous, this lip glaze did not win me over. I tried it in “Sugar Plum,” a mauve-pink that they describe as “sheer nude plum.” Although it was a little too shimmery for me, I was very happy with the opacity of the color, but the consistency of the gloss itself just absolutely killed it. It was way too sticky, so although I got a really nice shine that at least lasted long enough, I didn’t care how well it lasted — I just wanted to wipe it off.
Product Review: Stila lip glaze in “Sugar Plum.” $22 at Sephora or stilacosmetics.com. A for rainbow of delicious looking colors for any type of sweet tooth; B- for teeny bopper-like sparkliness; C- for being sticky enough to repair my broken J.Crew headband.
Add comment June 17, 2009
miniplaylist: classic rock for a humpday morning
Well, I’m not going to lie, I actually put this together for my Monday morning playlist. But it’s a trio of classic tracks that are sure to put a little oomph in your coffee (unless you’re already tapping in the whiskey…). And who doesn’t want/need a little vinyl to take a break from Kelly, Britney and Taylor?
- “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison – It may have only just barely made Rolling Stone’s list of 500 Greatest Songs of All time, but this track by my personal favorite former Beatle (“If I Fell” gets me every time!). From his 1971 solo album All Things Must Pass, “My Sweet Lord’s” lyrics are primarily about Hindu God Krishna – makes the lyrics “I really want to see you, I really want to be with you,” a little less cute, right?
- “Last Train to Clarkesville” by The Monkees – The band’s breakout hit way back in ‘66, and it’s still going strong. Although I’m not usually the biggest Monkees fan, I do have a thing for how they pair an upbeat sound with much darker lyrics than you would think. You gotta love a Vietnam War protest song that makes you tap your feet like this one does.
- “Down on the Corner” by Creedence Clearwater Revival – I’ve recently gotten really into Creedence Clearwater Revival, a band that I hadn’t really been that familiar with previously. But who can resist? The problem is, I raise the volume so much whenever this song comes on my Pandora radio that I jump when the next track comes on with a power chord or a too-strong beat.
Add comment June 17, 2009
