Read to Me, Mr. Darcy!

Could anything be more glorious than Colin Firth reading you a story? Thanks to the profound wisdom of the folks at audible.com, the fabulous Mr. Darcy will read to you Graham Green's classic, The End of the Affair for a mere $7.49. I've never had any interest in the story, but perhaps now it's time give it a try.

There are other audio books that have readers so perfectly matched to the book that the experience of listening to the story feels better than reading it yourself. I won't create a "top 10 list" because there are so many great ones that I cannot pick who would fit better at each number, but I will list 10 titles that I will add to in time.

1. Dress Your Family in Courderoy and Denim by written and read by David Sedaris - Really anything by David Sedaris is fabulous, but there is something magical about him reading his work that makes it funnier, particularly when you hear him reading live before an audience. His interaction with the crowd and their response to his work is priceless.
2. Neverwhere written and read by Neil Gaiman - Again, anything he reads is worth listening to. There is something so enchanting about his quintessentially English fairy tale tones and rhythm that pleasure could be derived from listening to him read a parking ticket.
3. To Kill A Mockingbird ready by Sissy Spacek - The absolute perfect voice for this book. No remakes please!
4. Lolita ready by Jeremy Irons - I don't think I need to say anything here except that you might need to listen to this in private.
5. On the Road read by Matt Dillon - Matt Dillon was the only reason why I finished this story. He was perfect and you felt like you were listening to Jack Kerouac himself telling you his story. But let's face it, Kerouac is a dick, at least from a woman's perspective. Perhaps because I'm in my 30's and not a 17 year old looking to break free of parental bonds, I just want to flip him off! But if you have any interest in this story, listening to it with Matt Dillon is the only way to make this medicine go down.
6. Sense and Sensibility read by Kate Winslet - This combination of reader and story is so perfect that anything else is just silly.
7. Othello read by a full cast including Ewan McGregor - If you have trouble swallowing Shakespeare, try a dash of Ewan and see if doesn't taste any better.
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society read by a full cast - This is a good book, but the pleasure of listening to this story read by the perfect cast makes this one that I want to listen to again.
9. Bob Dylan's Chronicles ready by Sean Penn - If you're going to have anyone read from Bob Dylan's diary, for the sake of all of us, make it Sean Penn.
10. Get in the Van written and read by Henry Rollins - Like David Sedaris and Neil Gaiman, no one other than Henry Rollins should ever read Henry Rollins' work aloud. The magic would simply be lost.

Hope you enjoy the list. Feel free to post your favorites as well!

Moonrise Kingdom

I got a chance to see Moonrise Kingdom on the 4th of July, which also happens to be my birthday. This film was my husband's suggestion, and I think there is something so sweet about the fact that he recommended this beautiful little love story on the first date we've able to have in a while. Wes Anderson has created the most visually perfect and original fairy tale of a story since Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. As usual, there are film shots designed to look like the set of a play or like Edward Hopper paintings, where actors are so reserved and introspective that it feels as though they are posing for Hopper's tranquil universe rather than acting. Oh, and it's funny too! The combination of elements completely universal and outlandish make for fantastic story telling that remind us of our first loves and what it's like to be young. This film also makes us wonder how Wes Anderson always manages to up his quirky factor. Hipsters will love this film and will most certainly use it for indie validation. But I don't care. This was an all around fun and beautiful treat and was the perfect way for me to end my birthday. Better than fireworks any day.

Cookbooks as Literary Reading...because I said so!

Do cookbooks count as reading? I pour over the pages again and again and feel this obsessive studying of rustic fruit desserts or Nigella's fabulous hair have enriched my life and taught me something of the world. What the hell! I'm going to play my librarian card and use my biblio-authority to proclaim cookbooks a legitimate and profound reading experience!
I get so much from a cookbook that I don't get from the internet. It's like a privileged tour through the lives of the chefs, their homes, and their style as well as their tastes. I completely identify with Allysa Torey's aesthetic in At Home with Magnolia and feel that the only thing we don't have in common is that I am not a wildly successful baker with a fabulous farm house. And how adorable are The Farm Chicks?! Well, as I understand we are now down to one Farm Chick but the singular doesn't have the same ring to it.
My new discovery is The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. I'm not sure if anything gets better than this! The book perfectly captures the fantastic vintage looking bakery and food! I just about fell over when I saw all the aprons in the back that hang the way they do in my own kitchen. And the food...hang on...I need to clean up my drool. Well, you get the point. The bonus here is that I discovered a new place I want to visit in Savannah. And please tell me that if I'm ever lucky enough to visit that the retro-fabulous founder, Cheryl Day, will be there! In the meantime, I'll be baking her tarts.