In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 1966

I found this book only a couple years ago after watching the movie Capote starring Phillip Seymore Hoffman 2005. The description said it was about the author Truman Capote investigating a murder and writing a book about it. The movie was on my On-demand channel and my husband was out on a boy's night. It looked like a film he would never watch with me, so I got it and was enthralled 10 minutes later. I was thinking, "holy cow what is this book?"  I had never really heard much about it. I had heard about Truman Capote only because of his smash hit Breakfast at Tiffany's. (He wrote that too.) So a week after I saw Capote, I bought the inspiration for the movie, In Cold Blood.

This story is about a family of four, the Clutters, who were systematically murdered in their home by 2 men, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith in November 1959.

First of all, (and most importantly!) he CREATED a new genre of literature. Just MADE it up. The world of literature is broken up into 2 very separate worlds, fiction and non-fiction. Every library, book store, and probably most homes, have their books divided like this. Capote wrote a non-fiction novel. He meticulously researched the town, the victims, and the murderers to write an extremely detailed account of actual events while writing in the style of a fictional novel. The amount of detail laid out in the first section of the book, "the last to see them alive", is creepy. It is all conversations that each of the family member had with friends and neighbors on their last day along with a basic background description gleaned from members of the community they lived in. What enhances the creepiness is that Capote does this for the killers too. You learn the horrible details of their childhoods, all of the reasons why they were so messed up. You get to see the paths the fateful paths of people who only met once and it ended/changed so many lives. It is like being a spectator watching a car crash from inside both vehicles. You know its going to be bad, but its so interesting to know why and how it happened.

This is one of the best organized and thoughtful books I have ever read. Everything is there for a reason, and you learn things in the exact order you need them for maximum effect. If you know anything about this story (or read the back of the cover) you know what happened and who the murderers are.  So the "who did it" is not the point of the novel. It most definitely is NOT a thriller, no twists in the story, no soap opera moments where everything turns on a dime. The way the plot was laid out, none of that was neccessary to hold your attention.

I think that the moral integrity needed to write a book like this is extraordinary. In the age of outrageous reality tv, lying politicians, and bankers just raping the economy with magical numbers, I don't believe anything anyone "famous or infamous" has to say. Public relations has turned us into a bunch of PC liars who will say anything to make a buck. Sorry, but I really belive that. In his time, Capote did not have the amount of PC garbage we have now, but he cold have made life easier for himself had he been more lax with the details. Capote did not add any flash or exagerrated details, he just wrote what happened to real people. That realness was his triumph and his downfall. No one minded him being so completely honest when the people he wrote about were dead, or genuine, simple people. When he decided to write another books in the same style involving socialites and hollywood big shots, he was inundated with negativity. He died not having any success even close to what he had with In Cold Blood.

The other point I have to make about this book involves the humanity of the killers. Capote goes to such great length into the past, every detail about their ultimate crime, and their two week spree following the murders. You can't help feeling a complicated mix of emotions about them. You can see their faults very clearly, but you can see their goodness too. They both had very, very hard lives in their own ways, which creates a boiling pot of rage and hatred when combined together. Had they never met, or been born today, maybe they would have been much better men, especially Perry. Capote felt deeply connected to these men, enough to witness their execution and purchase their grave markers.

Overall, this is a book everyone should read. A lot of this book is disturbing, but it should bring about some empathy for those less fortunate than you. Bad people do bad things to good people all the time, and it seems so insanely unfair. But if you take the time to examine a deeply flawed person like Capote did with Hickock and Smith, you can see how much a little help could have avoided so much pain. Hickock and Perry never saw value in life because their lives (through poor choices or shitty luck) had no value.

I'm including pictures of the people, places involved.

 



Riesling Icewine, Schmitt Sohne, 2008

For this Thanksgiving, my husband and I hosted a small (in numbers but not in food!) dinner with some very good friends who live in the area. Military families don't always travel for Thanksgiving because often we opt to see family for Christmas. Friends become family in a blink of an eye and you get to taste different recipes that have been passed down through families that you might not have been able to try otherwise. Pear Cheesecake is awesome! My friend Anu likes Rieslings and sweeter white wines, so I picked up an ice wine to go with dessert- awesome pear cheesecake! I have never tried an ice wine before but I knew through wandering around wine shops that they are usually the most expensive wine per milliliter. I spotted this small, tall, skinny bottle next to the organic wines at my local grocery store. This price was $19.99 for 500 mL, not bad, I can swing that. We had a fabulous traditional meal, broke out the awesome pear cheesecake, and popped the cork. I poured a small measure into my new champagne coupes. I think cordial glasses are the best option if you have them.

First impression is ohh, what a lovely golden-amber color. Pouring it, you can feel how much more thick and dense it is compared to non-ice white wines. That viscosity has a big drawback when you just ate a HUGE meal. At first sip, it didn't taste cold enough (even though it was as cold as the rest of the drinks from the fridge), and was WAY WAY too sweet for me. The heart of this dessert wine are golden raisins. Think of the juice from a thousand semi-chilled golden raisins squeezed into a glass, that is what it tastes like. Also, it has a really long finish. One glass is all I could do and it took me a long time to sip through it. After everybody went home, I wondered what the heck I was going to do with the rest of the bottle? I came up with a cocktail. One ounce ice wine poured into a champagne coupe, topped off with your favorite lemon/lime soda, garnish with a lemon twist or a maraschino cherry. The soda added enough brightness and effervescence to balance out the honey sweet wine.

Here is the description from the wine makers, Schmitt-Sohne from their website www.schmitt-soehne.com.
Eiswein (Ice wine) is produced from grapes harvested and pressed while frozen (not higher than – 7 ° C) to concentrate sugar, acidity and extract. Truly a unique and complex wine with an intense concentration of fruits like honey, caramel and raisins. Eiswein is the crowning jewel of German Viticulture.

Varietal: Mainly Ortega and Optima grapesRegion: Rheinhessen/Pfalz
Alcohol: 8,0 – 9,0 %
Total acidity: 7,0 – 8,5 g/l
Residual sugar: 140 – 160 g/l
Sizes available: 500 ml

Overall impression, glad to try something new, not going to buy this particular wine ever again.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I owe my discovery of this trilogy to my friend Ali. She heard about it from a friend, read the first book of the trilogy, and would not stop about it! So THANK YOU because I truly love this book. It is technically a trilogy of three books, but through my e-reader's Sony bookstore, I was able to buy it as a single continuous story of 805 pages. I recommend you do the same, it has three distinct story lines, but if you love the first part, you will not want to put it down until the end.  So have all three ready to go once you start.

Here is the basic premise of the novel. It is a couple hundred years in the future, and Collins does not tell you what year it actually is, either because people don't know, or (what I think) the author wants you to forget about every other "futuristic" novel you've read and discover how this future world works without any preconceived ideas. Panem is a post-apocalyptic country comprising all of current North America and it is divided (very strictly divided) into twelve districts. None of them have names, they are only known by numbers. (so interesting to me...) Katniss, the protagonist, lives in district 12, which is currently Appalachia. The government is a very strong dictatorship run by PRESIDENT Snow and requires the districts to send two children, one boy and one girl, between the ages twelve and eighteen to fight to the death gladiator-style once a year. The fight (called the Hunger Games) is televised and mandatory viewing for every person. The selection is through a lottery system, but of course is seen to be rigged by many. The first part of the trilogy is Katniss in the 74th Hunger games, the second part is the 75th Hunger Games, and the third is how the government and the people react after the 75th Games. I really don't want to spoil anything with more details than that.

I love the characters, the setting, the villains... EVERYTHING! It is an odd mix of Bladerunner, Little House in the Big Woods, and Saw. It is labeled as a young adult fiction series, but I was WAY too moody as a teen to handle this much struggle and strife without going into a deppression. If you're feeling blue about life in general, wait till things turn around a little to read it. Collins is awesome at creating a world with unique customs and triditions so very different than our own. But, she is able to connect with the readers by illustrating experiences common to so many- a little sister who adores a cat, a boy who appreciates lovely cakes, and a classic love triangle. What resonated with me so strongly was the human struggle for survival against our amazing ability to kill each other . Maybe because I'm still not sure if good will triumph evil in our world. I see President Snows out there and I'm just hoping a Mockingjay can stand up one day.

 It is going to be released as a movie in March 2012 and the trailers are already out! Usually, I am pessismistic about books becoming movies, but not with this one. I believe that they casted extremely well, especially Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch. The big screen will be able to show amazing juxtaposition (one of my favorite words!) of the extreme poverty of the districts verses the extreme opulence of  the Capital.

Read it! And tell me what you thought... I hope you love it as much as I do. May the odds be ever in your favor.

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler: A Collection of One Night Stands

Skinimax for readers!

I'm not the biggest Chelsea Handler fan. I watch Chelsea Lately occasionally but that's about it. I haven't seen any of her traditional stand up. She seems to have a dry sarcastic sense of humor which I have to be in the mood for. But, I happen to really enjoy her writing. She compiles books from a collection of chronological short stories. Each book is based on a theme, and each chapter is one story start to finish. It is the perfect type of book for busy people who only get a few minutes here or there. Its satisfying to be able to pick up your book, not remember what the last thing you read, and it not matter.

I call it Skinimax for readers because it is a little naughty, but completely harmless. I get to peek into a life that I never had and live a little through Chelsea vicariously. I have had a ridiculous few first dates and no one night stands, so I love to read about all the fun I missed in my youth. My favorite story is the one where she ends up trying to crawl through her kitchen window while wearing a giant green M&M costume (not on Halloween) SOMEHOW, an ex boyfriend finds her stuck half way, ass out, green tights, no panties.

It is a fun guilty pleasure book for ladies who don't like cheesy romance novels. If your favorite character in Sex & the City is Samantha-- Read this book!

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

I first discovered this author about four years ago when one of the guys I worked with brought in a book called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I thought it was a cool title and he said that it was a fun book, full of zombies, ninjas, and Jane Austen. Odd, but so are my some of my favorite books. I wanted to read it, but I didn’t give it much thought after that day, just telling myself that I would read it some day. Years went by and I finally read it- loved it! I wanted more of this creative author. Since I loved the book, Mary: Mrs. A Lincoln by Janis Cooke Newman, I was stoked to see he wrote one about Abraham Lincoln being one of the world’s greatest vampire hunters.

Overall impression—LOVED IT! Buy it, borrow it, check it out from the library. This is NOT a book about teenage lover boy vampires, but real freaking Bram Stoker vampires. One huge plus for this author is that he does not write for one gender. Both men and women can read his work and appreciate it for different reasons. History buffs will like that most of the people that were important in Abraham’s life, make their appearances in this book. Albeit, differently than you might think. People who were killed by disease and tragic accidents, meet up and close with vampires. These sad deaths shape Abraham’s life from early on to make him want kill every vampire in America. Seth Grahame-Smith mingles American history and Sci-fi perfectly, starting with one of America’s most intriguing mystery, the disappearance of the Roanoke settlers. For those who forgot, the first attempt at settling the new world did not go well and there is no confirmed explanation as to WHY. A group of people came over, set up a small community, and disappeared with no trace. There are a few carving in some trees, but beyond that—nothing. Damn vampires… Fast forward to Abraham Lincoln’s time, vampires have figured out a nice legal system to buy blood through slavery. They have made their presence known to some of the slave traders/owners in the south. The vampires bargain to buy slaves instead of hunting the owners and their families. So a few people (Lincoln and some of his friends), try to end slavery to dry up the blood supply.

Seth Grahame-Smith tries to keep the spirit that ending slavery was ALSO good for equal rights, but the book loses a little of the enormity of how awful slavery really was. Which in retrospection is probably a good thing since it is a huge bummer. The book has been picked up for a film, and in my opinion, screen writers, directors, and editors usually butcher a good book amazingly well. So until I see it, I promise to be hopefully optimistic. Please please don’t ruin it! Release date is set for June 22, 2012.

One big beef with this novel, and it is a BIG problem for me, is the engine for the entire novel, Abraham’s secret journal. The author has bits of journal entries from a secret journal containing all references to Abrahams vampire hunting- mingled in with the story. I’ve read some of Abraham’s speeches in school, and some of his biographies. He lived a long time ago, people spoke differently, wrote differently, and used different words that we do now. His journal in the book just doesn’t SOUND like him, so I lost some of enthusiasm when I got to those parts. There are tons of them too, sigh. Even with that, the author does an AMAZING job of mingling two genres together. It is his gift, and I can’t wait to read another of his novels, some day.

Jacob's Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2008

I tend to drink chardonnays and pinot noirs more than other wines. Chardonnay when I want a white wine, pinot noir when I want a red. I don't believe that only white goes with chicken/fish and red only with red meat. I switch it up all the time... Rules are meant to be broken!! Jacob's Creek is a wonderful example of a lovely, light chardonnay. I bought this one from my local grocery store, Publix, for under $15. I can't remember what the EXACT price was, but I remember being pleasantly surprised. I've bought a lot of California chardonnays, but my sister-in-law Melissa told me that she usually buys Australian chardonnays. I saw this one, liked the description of the front, and took it home. "Wow", was my first reaction, followed by "smooth."

Here is a little info from their website, www.jacobscreek.us

Region:

Adelaide Hills

Colour:

Brilliant pale yellow with touch of green.

Bouquet:

A genuine cool climate style. Restrained lemon blossom aromas and

tropical notes are definitely merged with classy French Oak which adds subtle toasty, nutty characters.

Palate:

Beautifully balanced with a taut lemony acid structure. The palate has

excellent length, weight and texture.

Release date:

May 2011

Alcohol:

14% alcohol by volume

On the whole, I agree with their assessment. It is well rounded, smooth, with enough acidity to keep it from being cloyingly sweet. It might be great with food, but honestly, I drink it by itself. For those who don't like buttery chardonnays, please try it. This would be a great wine for a first timer... Not too adventurous, not too plain. Plus, it has a metallic screw cap, instead of a traditional cork. Some might think that looks cheap, but there is good reason to use these new tops. First, they are MORE effective at keeping a good wine GOOD. They don't get dry and flaky if stored for improperly. I miss the "pop" from pulling a cork, sigh... but I'm happy for the poor cork trees.

Quotes I want on me forever...

I've been looking at tattoos online to decide what is next for me. I came across some lovely literary tattoos-- people LOVE Vonnegut's- So it goes. One of my favorite authors is Neil Gaiman, I will always think of my days in college when I read his books. A few people had some of his quotes inked on them, and one in particular is my favorite, "Could it be that the heart that you seek is no longer my own? ...I have given my heart to another." I might shorten it and put it on the back of my shoulder blade. I also found another that describes me better than anything else in all of the novels, poems, and short stories I've ever read, "He was painfully shy, which, as is often the manner of the painfully shy, he overcompensated for by being too loud at the wrong times." So true... I used to scare the pants out of my classmates in elementary school by practically yelling at them. I've gotten much better... I still get really loud when I get excited or tispy...