Day 13: Perks revisited…

This will be a quick one, as I have a ton of work to do today.

Here are some pictures of the building where they were shooting Perks a few weeks ago. Enjoy! (warning…these are boring, but I thought it might be nice to have a reference point when you are watching the movie 🙂 )

 

Oh how did that get in there?? 🙂

Isn’t he a cutie 😉

 

A new book or two, or four for Benji

I am slowly forcing my book obsession on my son. This weekend was employee appreciation weekend for Borders employees (which is one of the few reasons I work those 4 little hours every week,) So with my extra 17% discount I went a little book crazy[er.] I got myself a new copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, mine has long ago gone missing, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare which I have been fighting reading, and Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer–she’s an up-and-comer who is getting great reviews.  All these YA titles, I know, but summer is around the corner and I am gonna need some light reads to balance out the heavy ones we are doing in my book club.

Benji is the one who made out like a bandit. He got Little Quack, two new Elephant and Piggie Books, Time For Bed, and Otis by Loren Long. Otis the one  I am truly excited about. The artwork in this book is so beautiful and full of contrast that it easily holds Benji’s attention and the story of the little tractor and his best friend the calf is something that he will be able to enjoy and learn from well into his kindergarten years.

I was going to get the board book version of it simply for it’s sturdy build but after talking with a friend about it, she convinced me that this is a book that I am going to want to have in hardcover as a keepsake after he out grows it. She was right. After just one read through of this book, I am in love with it. It’s sweet and sad and uplifting and delightful to the eye and I think is a must have for any baby boy collection, although I think this a necessity for every picture book lover out there too.

Hello new friends!

So, I didn’t really want this to be my first post, but as the batteries are dead in my camera I was unable to take a picture of the my new star book on my shelf.  Instead, I am going to share the exciting news that they have begun filming The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie in the block that I work on. Emma Watson is cast as Sam, and I am pretty psyched about that…

“Perks” is one of those books that when someone tells me they are looking for a good book, I always recommend. Its unique writing style and relatable voice create this connection between the narrator and the reader that pulls you in and makes you part of the story. The story’s main character, Charlie, is telling a coming of age tale about his freshman year in high school, to someone he has never met but thought would understand. It is told through letters which creates this honest and personal voice for the narrator, who, due to the nature of the writing, is able to be more honest, it seems, than he would if he was telling these things to someone face to face, or to someone he knew.

Of course, the fact that the author is from my home town (Pittsburgh, Pa) and the story takes place here, does make it more relatable for me. There is a beautifully written scene in the book, when Charlie is coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnels and sees the city lit up at night.  I tried to find a photo to share with you of the view he describes, but there are none on Google, which says something. I am not sure what…but something. I can say, that if you have never seen it, it is hard to imagine, but Chbosky writes it so well that you can see it as if you were there.

The long and short of it is –I love this book, and I would recommend giving it a read–I am looking forward to the movie, hopefully they won’t bastardize it…

Well, I guess that is my first post…pretty exciting! Thanks for reading! Peace!