Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. I read this in anticipation of the Hulu series inspired by it. There are some essays I'd give 5 stars to, and other I didn't like as much, so for me it averaged out to 3.5 stars. She's a great writer and offers many thought-provoking points of view on various topics. The chapters about her exchange with Dan Savage and then her experience with stand-up comedy were most interesting (and troubling and infuriating). I had to admire how she persevered through it all.

I just finished the Hulu series, which I really enjoyed.  There were only six episodes.  The last episode about the troll that she talked to in person was better handled in the book, but it still drove home a point.

RENT Live! (Catching Up)

RENT Live! aired on FOX on January 27.  I think we were out that night seeing our favorite local band, so I recorded it and told my sister we could get together and watch it later.  We finally did that this weekend, along with two other friends.  This review a little late to the game, but here we are.

As it turns out, Brennin Hunt, the guy playing Roger, broke his ankle during the dress rehearsal.  As a result, most of the RENT Live! was actually a pre-recorded version of the dress rehearsal.  That was unfortunate.  They did the final scene live, and they included the original Broadway cast members, so that was exciting.  Everyone looked and sounded great.  Poor Brennin.  During that last scene, he sat on the table with his foot in a huge cast and propped on a chair, but he still sang the heck out of Your Eyes.  Way to persevere!

Overall, I thought the casting of Brennin as Roger and Vanessa Hudgens as Maureen was perfect.  The other cast members were good too, but these two stood out for me.  Both of them did so well in their roles.  Brennin is quite easy on the eyes and his voice was great.  (Incidentally, I just looked him up on IMDb, and he was a contestant on The Voice.)

There was some pitchy-ness in some of the songs, and some of the supporting cast members were off in pivotal songs like Will I? and Seasons of Love.  I had to keep in mind that this was a dress rehearsal and perhaps if they had really done it live, they would have been pitch perfect.

I noticed early on that some lyrics were changed, mostly due to cursing, so I figured that they'd probably change a lot in La Vie Boheme, and I wondered if they'd do the sex song (Contact).  In La Vie Boheme, Maureen did not moon the businessmen and they changed "dildos," but left in everything else including, "mucho masturbation," "to sodomy," "to marijuana!" and, "to S&M!" --that surprised me!  And they did do Contact, but it was condensed and didn't have all of the sexually suggestive choreography that the stage show has.

I've lost count of how many times we've seen RENT (maybe 20?!), but I'll add this one to the list.  Overall, I thought it was enjoyable.  I was glad to hear the music again, and I've been listening to the original soundtrack all week.  As we were watching the show, I told my friends that I was having a hard time controlling myself and not singing all the songs to them.  Now I sing away!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read part of this on my Kindle, but listened to most of it on Audible. I enjoyed both formats. The story is told alternately between a psychotherapist, Theo, and his (silent) patient's diary, so his parts are read by a man, and the diary is read by a woman. The writing is great and I don't want to say much more for fear of giving anything away. I look forward to more from this author.

*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***

Debbie, if there's any chance you're going to read this book, stop reading now.



Stop.  Stop now, I tell you!



Okay, you've been warned.

Here I go....

I'm glad I didn't read any reviews of this book before I picked it up.  As I read the reviews after the fact, people say things about the "big twist" and the "twists and turns" in the book.  Reading that kind of review, even if it doesn't tell me what the twist is, builds anticipation, so I'm just waiting for "the thing" to happen, and when it does, I'm often disappointed. 

Even though this is called a "psychological thriller," it's really not that.  I was glad to hear an interview with the author at the end of the audiobook where he says other people put that term on the book.  He was surprised by the word "thriller."  He thinks of it as a slow, suspenseful story.  The lady doing the interview points out that there's a real richness to the characters and their lives.  I agree with that.  It's not so much a thriller--there are no jump-out-of-your-seat moments, that I usually associate with thrillers.  Instead, it's more clever and I found myself grinning when all was revealed.  The author said he had Alfred Hitchcock in mind as he was writing it, and I can see that. 

And now a word about potential spoilers.  As you see, I didn't really give away any plot points here.  However,  I've written before about inadvertently spoiling something for my sister, hence my warning to her above. 

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've had this book on my shelf for at least 10 years but had never read it. This year, I kept seeing Kristin Hannah's name all over the place, because of The Great Alone, and I decided before I delve into that, I should read her book that I already own.

I started off liking Firefly Lane a lot. The story of two girls meeting in 1974 at the age of 14 and becoming best friends resonated with me and reminded me of some of my own childhood friendships. Then through 30 years of their friendship, it just started to drag and become unbelievable and clichéd. I disliked both of the main characters at different points for different reasons and it was difficult to believe they'd still be friends over all those years.

I can definitely understand the comparisons to Beaches, which I enjoyed a whole lot more. (However, I also read that 30 years ago, in my late teens, so maybe I'd feel differently reading it now.)

Nit-picky minor detail: If the girls met at the age of 14 in 1974, then presumably, it'd be approximately 1978 when they graduate high school and then 1982 when they graduate college. There's a scene right before their college graduation where they were listening to the Purple Rain soundtrack. That album didn't come out until 1984. As soon as I read that I was annoyed. And the annoying feeling, unfortunately, never went away as I read the book.

Despite all that, I finished the whole thing and even shed a few tears toward the end. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I liked it well enough and it didn't turn me off Kristin Hannah forever.

For what it's worth, I enjoyed the "soundtrack" of the book--the author makes notes of the songs they're listening to and I created a playlist that's fun to listen to.  Here's the playlist.