media musings

It's time again to catch up on the media I've been consuming ...

The Vow—I saw The Vow opening weekend with my sister and a friend. The story is about a woman (Rachel McAdams) who wakes up from a coma with no recollection of the last five years of her life—which included transforming from a conservative meat-loving law student to a free-spirited vegetarian artist and meeting and marrying an insanely handsome independent recording studio owner (Channing Tatum). It's a sweet love story with an ending I didn't predict. (The plot does bear a resemblance to Susan May Warren's book The Shadow of Your Smile, which I reviewed earlier this year.) Even more heartwarming than the movie, though, it the true story that inspired it. The Vow is very, very loosely based on Kim & Krickitt Carpenter. Reader's Digest wrote about the Carpenters in 1996, and they've reposted the story online. As much as I loved The Vow, I think I would rather have watched a more faithful adaptation of the story. The Carpenters also wrote a book about their experiences, and a new edition has been released to coincide with the film. It's available in paperback or for the Kindle for less than $10. I just ordered my Kindle copy ... I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it when I'm finished reading!

Downton Abbey—SPOILER ALERT! If you're planning to watch Downton Season 2 (or LOST) at some point in the future, you'll want to skip this section.

Downton Abbey had some major missteps this season (can we say burn victim Peter/Patrick; Lord Grantham's dalliance with the maid; and Lavinia, the sweet girl whose presence served only to keep apart Matthew & Mary and who we knew to be doomed from the start?), yet in my opinion, the truly emotionally satisfying ending more than made up for any ridiculousness. I call this the LOST effect. I know legions of LOST fans would disagree, but I found the series finale to be so emotionally satisfying that I could completely forgive the fact that seemingly thousands of questions remained unanswered. That the sideways world turned out to be in essence a purgatory that our Losties created for themselves did not for one second diminish my joy at watching them all discover who they really were and reunite with their loved ones. The same holds true for Downton. Give me one emotional, long-awaited marriage proposal in the snow, and I'll forgive all kinds of melodramatic nonsense. And when the season finale comes packed with so much Maggie Smith goodness, I can't help but love it! (My favorite interchange from the finale—and perhaps the entire season—comes 47 seconds into this video.)

Watch Downton Abbey: The Best Maggie Moments on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

Hulu Plus—Did you know you can now stream Hulu Plus through your Wii? It would be nice if plain old Hulu was available, too, but I guess it makes sense to only have that option for the pay version. Hulu is giving Wii users a two-week free trial to Hulu Plus (others can get a one-week trial), so I decided to check it out. Three days into my trial, I've decided I definitely need to cancel before my credit card gets charged at the end of the two weeks.

Pros: 1. FOX shows are available the day after air, rather than 8 days after air. This isn't a huge deal, I don't like waiting more than a week to watch Fringe episodes. 2. Some shows and movies that aren't available on Netflix are available on Hulu Plus. 3. Hulu Plus has the entire current season of many popular shows.

Cons: 1. Not all shows are available to watch on devices other than a computer. For instance, Psych's current season. 2. Speaking of Psych, Hulu Plus members have to wait 30 days to watch USA shows, just like regular Hulu users do. 3. Ads. That's right, Hulu Plus users still have to watch ads! Remind me again why this costs money?

Do I prefer watching Parks & Rec on my 32-inch HDTV to watching it on my 14-inch laptop screen? Yes. Do I love the (almost) instant gratification of watching Fringe the day after it airs? Of course. But is it worth $7.99 a month to me? Nope.

Netflix—Yes, I'm still a happy Netflix subscriber. And now I'm even happier: I just won a year of Netflix from SingleRoots! (If you aren't familiar with SingleRoots, check them out. I have them linked in my "Blogs Worth Reading" blogroll.) The Starz catalog is set to be removed from Netflix on February 29, but I don't think it will have much of an impact on my Netflix use. (I can't even remember the last time I watched a movie on Netflix ... I almost solely watch TV shows.) A full list of those movies and television shows that will disappear at the end of the month can be found here.

The Bodyguard soundtrack—Fun fact: The Bodyguard was the first R-rated movie I ever saw. Granted, it was on network television in the mid-90's, so it was pretty toned down. I actually got permission from my mom to watch it (which is impressive if you know my history of sneaking to the basement to watch all sorts of things of which she wouldn't approve). Anyway, Whitney Houston's recent death got me thinking about The Bodyguard soundtrack, which was one of my introductory cds when I joined the BMG Music Service in the late 90's. So I dug it out—I'd never bothered to copy it to my iTunes—and listened to it the other night. I'd forgotten just how phenomenal her voice was. Hungry for more Whitney, I headed over to EW.com, where they've put together a playlist of 25 of her best songs. Check it out here.

What media has caught your fancy lately? Now that Downton is over for the season, do you have any other shows—British or otherwise—I should check out?

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new and upcoming fiction

Believe it or not, I do occasionally read books I haven't agreed to review, and I have an extensive list of books I want to read when I'm not facing a review deadline. Here are a few books that either recently released or will soon release that I'm anticipating reading—whether I get to read them for "free" or not.

Longing by Karen Kingsbury. (Releases 11-22-11.) Longing continues the story of Bailey, Brandon, and Cody. (If you don't know who these people are, go back to the book that started it all—Redemption—and enjoy the ride!) I still haven't read Learning, the previous book in the Bailey Flanigan series, but my goal is to have it read before Longing arrives on my doorstep—which will be Nov. 22, thanks to Amazon's release-day delivery service. My friend Holly at The Bookshelf was able to read an advance copy, and you can see her review here. On a fun note—the people who play Bailey and Brandon in the book trailers recently got engaged in real life! If the pretend Bailey and Brandon can get married, can't the "real" ones? (Alas, I'm afraid Kingsbury isn't going to bend to my wishes on this one!)

Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn. (Released 10-1-11.) This is for all the Christy Miller/Sierra Jensen fans out there—and I count myself among them! I never actually read all of the Sierra Jensen books, but I did skim the last one ... I wanted to know if Sierra ended up with Paul, the "Todd" of her series. (If you're lost, it's okay, just indulge me!) I don't remember how the book ended, but I do remember being disappointed. Well, now Gunn is giving all of the Sierra fans the resolution they wanted way back when, as Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii is all about love finding Sierra! Here's hoping some characters from Gunn's other books make cameo appearances ... and even if they don't, I'm sure it will be a satisfying read.

The Accidental Brideby Denise Hunter. (Releases 1-3-12.) I am a big fan of Denise Hunter's books—I've reviewed one, and several others made my list of recommended books. The Accidental Bride is book two in Hunter's Big Sky series. It appears to be a twist on the "marriage of convenience" plot device, which is a favorite of mine. I'm hoping to get it free from Booksneeze, but if I don't, I'll definitely be buying it. 

Turnabout's Fair Playby Kaye Dacus. (Releases 11-1-11.) I have to give a big shout-out to Peter at christian-fantasy.com on this one. Had he not blogged about meeting Dacus, I wouldn't have known she existed—and I would have been missing out. I found The Art of Romance, book two in her Matchmakers series, for review on NetGalley, and I read it in just a few hours; I currently have book one, Love Remains, waiting on my shelf of "read when I don't have a deadline" books, and Turnabout's Fair Play is on my Kindle awaiting my attention. I love that Dacus's heroines—at least the ones in the Matchmakers series—aren't the normal young, thin, gorgeous women with multiple suitors found in so many modern romances. (Sometimes I feel like if I read about one more 22-year-old falling in love, I'm going to throw up.) I know these characters are fictional, but they give me hope—hope that someday, some man will see me for who I am and will love me for me. (I feel like I should instruct my mother to stop crying now. Mom, stop it.)

Beyond Hope's Valleyby Tricia Goyer. (Releases 4-1-12.) This release is a bit farther out than the rest, but I'm eagerly anticipating it, so I wanted to mention it. Beyond Hope's Valley is book three in Goyer's Big Sky series. I sometimes read Amish fiction because it's offered to me for review, but I wouldn't normally seek it out. This series, however, is worth looking—and paying—for. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: Goyer doesn't idealize the Amish lifestyle. She clearly shows its positive and negative sides—and I think that's because some of the characters in this book are based on friends of hers. Their journey to a real, living faith took them out of the Amish church. She interviewed these friends on her radio show a few months ago, and I just listened to the podcast.  If you're interested, you can listen here (scroll down to Thursday, 14th of April, 2011).

So there you have it: my top five "can't wait to read them" books. What books are you looking forward to?

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