Book Chatter

Family vacations, especially in the summer, are always near and dear to me. A time to re-group, spend time with the family and hopefully check out some new stuff along the way. This year we decided to tour a city that we have never been to. That city was…drum roll please…. Denver! We also decided to toss Boulder in there as well and even threw in Colorado Springs towards the end.

Once of the sights that I was most excited about, was The Tattered Cover bookstore. There are three locations in Colorado, but my favorite was the historic LoDo store. It is located in the middle of downtown, in a quaint, three-story building full of reading nooks and wonderful smells coming from the coffee shop. We ended up visiting the store twice.. The second time, I was lucky enough to snag a spot on the sofa so I could read to my 4-year old. It was also raining outside. It was so cozy!

I walked away with some books for the kids and a beautiful, hardbound copy of Anne of the Green Gables. Oh, I also picked up a literary magazine as well.

We visited museums, the aquarium and the zoo. We shopped, we ate.. we ate and ate. It was also my son’s 10th birthday that week so we celebrated with a trip to Water World and a nice dinner out. He said it was the best day ever!

All in all, it was a great time, but I was happy to come home. For one, it was cooler here in California than it was in Colorado, which I thought was rather odd. The locals said it was weird weather for sure! Now we are trying to figure out what we will do next year. I want a nice, relaxing vacation where I can sit and do nothing.. probably won’t happen with kids but any suggestions?

Anyone with young kids knows how hard it is to see a first run movie. The movies that I end up seeing in a theatre are usually G rated or educational such as the latest IMAX show at the museum. I am dying to see Mama Mia but that is a story for another time.

The other day I recorded Brokeback Mountain. I just love my DVR. I know, I know.. the movie debuted way back in 2005 but it wasn’t a kid movie and not a movie my husband would be interested in (so I thought), so I never ordered it from Netflix. Well, after recording it last week I have been watchng it in bits and pieces. I know, stolen moments between Spongebob and Phineas & Ferb. I have to say, I am riveted by the storyline and the cinematography is just beautiful. It’s directed by Ang Lee and stars the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie is based on the short story of the same name that can be found in Close Range: Wyoming Stories, by Annie Proulx.

Here is the synopsis from IMDb:

In 1963, two young men hire on as ranch hands in the Wyoming mountains. During the long months of isolation,an unusual bond starts to develop between them, one which they are only vaguely aware of–until one night when it rises to the surface in a passionate encounter. When the season ends,they part ways,only to realize the true depth of their feelings. Thus begins a decades-long affair that the two of them desperately try to hide from those around them–one which will prove simultaneously beautiful and devastating.

It’s a subject matter that is not normally touched on via the big screen, especially with two very established actors but if you are looking for a movie that will sweep you away… check it out. Seeing the movie makes me want to read the short story now.

Chatting with friends about books and life…