Fifty/Fifty.Me: The Lover’s Dictionary

This week in an effort to participate in the 50/50 me project,(you can read more about it here) I read one book and watched 4 movies. I have a sneaky feeling I will finish the movie portion long before the books. I have watched 7 movies in 2 weeks and will likely watch a couple more this weekend. I wish The Avengers was out. May 4 needs to hurry up.

The Book

I was reading some book reviews here on WordPress and stumbled onto a review about a little book called The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan of 10 things I hate about you fame. After reading some heavy books of late, this was like a sorbet between courses.

This story was from the male’s point of view. I wasn’t a love story, but a relationship story. It wasn’t all romance, wine and candles. It was real. I could relate with the couple on several levels and was captivated with their story.

Because the book format was very unique,it was dictionary format spanning the alphabet from A-Z focusing on a key word that describes the moment in time that pertained to the relationship, the reader was never let into their couples lives on a daily basis. We we allowed to see snipets the dictionary definitions let us see. This chapter or definition under U:

unabashedly, adv.

We were walking home late from a bar- and the term walking is used loosely here, because you were doing something between a skip and a stumble – and suddenly you started singing out your love for me. My name and everything, loud enough to reach the top floors of all the buildings. I should have told you to stop, but I didn’t want you to stop. I didn’t mind if your love for me woke people up. I didn’t mind if it somehow sneaked into their sleep.

You grabbed my hand and twirled me around, two sidewalk sweethearts. Then very earnestly, you stopped, leaned over, and whispered, “you know, I’d get a tattoo with your name on it. Only I want you to have the freedom to change your name if you want to.”

I thanked you, and you resumed your song.

I liked it for its quick read factor. It was a lovely change of pace from the more intense, emotional reads I have been absorbed in. I did find myself wondering about the characters themselves and wishing I had more information about them. Then I realized I may not like the heroine as much. I was surprised by the emotions generated by the man. That was something I did not expect but did appreciate.

Each word and definition was it’s own chapter, so the book moved forward quite quickly. I recommend this book for two reasons, It is likely the most unique format you will ever read and it is interesting. If a book is not interesting I will not keep reading it. Case in point, The Hunger Games. I have read the first Chapter and have no desire to finish it in spite of the hoards of people telling me to keep it up, it gets better. It is not better NOW, that is the difficult part for me. I read so much for university, when I read for fun – I need it to be at least fun, interesting, relatable or riveting.

I was going to read Night Circus, but I read the first page and realized I was not in a Circus Mood. I flipped through the 145 books I have on my eReader waiting for me to dive in and I had a difficult time deciding. I need an easy read. I have a ton of research to plow through and a bit of fluff is what I am needing to turn my brain off. There are a bunch of gals in my reading group that rave about the Fifty Shades trilogy. With THAT said, my next book is 50 Shades of Grey. I understand it to be a Twilight type series for Adults without the stalker bits, vampires and werewolves. I do know it is erotica and not romance, something I havent read since pre-mommy days. I am NOT a romance type gal, so if it turns out to be sappy – I will be outta there! 2 chapters in and I have a feeling this will be … interesting. I may learn a thing or two to spice up my sex life in the process (Hi Mom! Hi Granny!) I will report back once I know.

Now…on to the movies!

The Movie

When I read that I hear ‘Let’s go to the mooooovies, Lets go see the staaaaaaars” from Annie the Musical. I did not go to any theatre this week, all my movies I watched were via streaming.

1. The Other Woman – mediocre – I hated the kid in the beginning but liked him in the end. I hated his dad too, so this wasn’t a stellar movie for me.
2. Hugo – How did this win best movie? Are you kidding me? It was too long, too boring and too slow. But it was pretty. The highlight of the movie was the mechanical man. He was in the middle not even the climactic end. Was there a climatic end? I can think of a billion other movies that should have won before this one…snore.
3. Water for Elephants – Book was better. This was too romancy and not enough of the circus adventure. Meh.
4. Cabaret – This would be my favorite of the 4. It is also on my top 100 of the 20th century bucket list movies I want to watch. I didn’t think I would like Joel Grey as the Emcee. I had seen Allan Cummings on the tony Awards and on The Rosie Show where he performed parts of his Tony Award wining role. I loved his raunchiness. Joel Grey was goofy. Both very different both excellent. I would have rather watched the Cabaret part instead of having to sit through Sally Bowles weird life. Liza Minnelli is NOT her mother. However, she has great pipes too and I could listen to he perform all night. Singing is her strength – not acting. The story was meh, the music was amazing! I loves me a good musical! With THAT said…let the flaming begin.

The next movie I plan to watch? Hmmm.   I think I will try Annie Hall. I have a had a hard time streaming it. I will keep trying. I LOVE Diane Keaton. I need to see this one. It is also on the AFI 100. That would bring me up to 55 on that list. I think Extremely loud and Incredibly Close is one I want to see especially now that i have read the book. Contagion is another movie that I really want to see. Although with my  Howard Hughes freakiness when it comes to germs, this may have me quitting my job as a preschool teacher. Too many wet orifices that leak. The plus side is Matt Damon is in it. Since I saw him run forever in The Adjustment Bureau, I have fallen deeply for him. He is a close second to my future ex husband George.

Related articles

• Book Review: The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan (whoopeeyoo.com)
• Joel Grey has busy day celebrating 80th birthday (pbpulse.com)
• Bob Fosse’s ‘Cabaret’ restored to original glory (pbpulse.com)
• Dish Read: The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy (dishranawaywiththespoon.com)