My 50/50 Challenge

1/27/12-challenge1

For 2012 I've taken on the 50/50 Challenge to read 50 books and watch 50 movies this year.  In this post I laid out my plan for a purposeful completion of this endeavor.  Feel free to join me, or send me suggestions, or tell me I should be training for a triathalon if I really want a challenge, not just sitting on my . . . couch . . . vegetating.  Check back regularly for updates.

BOOKS
Fiction
Bag of Bones by Stephen King -- It's not exactly high literature, but King once again takes an ordinary person and puts him into a situation that spins out of his control.  Sufficiently spooky as the protagonist tries to peel back all the layers of this town's secret to save himself.

The Unvanquished by William Faulkner -- I'm tackling what I had rejected in college.  Now I find Faulkner's language and images lyrical in this novel about the everyday violence in the life of Bayard Sartoris during and after the Civil War and how it shapes him as a man.

Writing Craft
Are You There Blog? It's Me by Kristen Lamb
We Are Not Alone by Kristen Lamb -- Both of these books are by the queen of social media for writers.  While WANA is a little outdated because it was written when MySpace was still alive, it still gives writers valuable information on creating an online persona.  Together these two books guide a writer, who's need and use of social media is different from commercial enterprises, through all the steps needed for creating an online audience even before his or her book is published.

Travel
Man Seeks God: My Flirtations With the Divine by Eric Weiner -- After a health scare journalist Weiner begins to question which spiritual foundation he wants to offer his young daughter.  He protests (sort of) at abortion clinics with Franciscan monks, twirls with Sufi dervishes, and cross-dresses at a Raëlian convention.  He even delves into the Jewish roots he had ignored most of his life.  As a “spiritual voyeur,” he takes us across the globe and deep into the questions of what we are looking for when we seek a spiritual life.  And he does it all with respect for the people he encounters and a wicked sense of humor.  Read it for the travel.  Read it for the laugh-out-loud humor.  Read it to find your own answers to the questions he asks.

MOVIES
Contemporary
War Horse -- The horse should get an academy award.  The movie shows the elements of war from a new perspective.

The Woman in Black -- A white-knuckled mystery/suspense Victorian drama starring Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe.  Scary.  Reminds me of Turn of the Screw.

The Artist -- Winner of the Academy Award for best picture and best actor, this movie breaks all the rules by being a black and white silent movie about love, faithfulness, and the coming of talkies in Hollywood.  A fantastic musical score.  After about the first ten minutes I didn't even notice that it was a silent film.

Wanderlust -- Meh.  Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd.  It is what it is.

Pre-1950
Double Harness -- A 1933 William Powell winner.  As always, he plays a smooth bon vivant who realized 1) he was tricked into marriage and 2) he can't live without his new wife.  Happy endings all around.

1 comment:

monicastangledweb said...

You seem to be doing well, keeping on track with the Fifty Fifty challenge. Way to go!

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