This Is Where We Live

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

Finalize

Passing time before I have to head into the Pacific Theater at the Northridge mall this yesterday. 4:30 showing of The Soloist starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx. (Go see it! Very touching and it's Robert Downey Jr.! I am not in a classical music binge lately because of it)

Roamed the mall a bit (have I mentioned how much I detest malls?) and refueled with an ice latte at Gloria Jeans Coffee. A man was sitting at one of the little tables with what looked like 3 or 4 coffee cups littered about. He is reading a book of medical terminology for a final he had today at Kaplan University. He didn't have much time to chit-chat because he was cramming but shares that he hasn't had time to read much of anything except books for class.



I know finals are coming up for many people. Read anything interesting in your classes this semester/quarter?

Happy 1st Anniversary

Well well well. I almost plum forgot that today is the blog's 1-year anniversary! 'Twas one year ago that I conducted my first interview. (Thanks Fidel). Surprisingly my replacement mini-biz-cards/bookmarks arrived today. They are like my mini presents! To old and new readers - thanks for supporting my lil' blog. It's been very exciting to see my readership grow and I appreciate every single visit! And I couldn't have done this without Sonya of People Reading for inspiring me to spark conversations with readers in Los Angeles.



In other news...


Over the weekend I made my way to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA. So happy that I made it out to this annual event. I decided to head on over on Saturday and got to roam the various booths. What a lovely day and it was even better that I got to revisit my old alma mater! Boy do I miss UCLA! I must confess that I did not really check the scheduling so I had no idea which panels were happening at what times. Once I got my little paws on a program I noticed that I had 5 minutes to make it to the Gore Vidal panel at the Grand Ballroom. I bolted over, saw a line, realized it was for the next talk with Ray Bradbury, and was told to rush up the back steps. Turns out I was sneaking into the Gore Vidal panel without meaning to! I didn't end up grabbing a ticket but happened to find my way inside and parked into a seat! A bit guilty, yes, because I saw some people in line outside the doors but I was really happy to have been able to see GORE VIDAL IN PERSON! He is a funny man indeed and I'm glad that I saw him. One of my favourite books happens to be The City and the Pillar which i highly recommend. Makes me want to re-read it! I also saw my first public Kindle reader at the shuttle stop. Alas, she declined an interview.

All in all a good time. Perfect way to spend my Saturday afternoon even though I was running on no sleep from the night before! Only live once, right?

Harry Potter is Phobulous

Waiting for his food to arrive at Absolutely Phobulous (the pho restaurant downstairs and next door to my office). Manuel (whose accent, by the way, sent me away!) sits at one of the tables outside under the shade of the giant umbrellas. He passes the time with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series. Manuel has read every single one of the Harry Potter books twice! This is his second go at this last book and he thinks this is the best out of all of them! It's because things get better and there are many twists and turns that make the plot more complicated and interesting. "The bad guys turn good, the ending is great, the wizards, witches and warlocks dynamics are wonderful, and it's like all the stops were pulled for this fairy tale!" Manuel loves finding new things in the storylines during his second read throughs. He noted that he doesn't re-read the books right away. Once he had finished the others he waited until he had another go at them.




Favourite book of all time has to be One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He's read the book in both English and in Spanish however he, like many others, feels the Spanish version is more beautiful. "The language is lovlier and alot of the beauty is lost in the translation. I recommend that people read the book in Spanish if they can so that they don't miss out in essence of it all." This book is the only Marquez book he's read and he has made a note to pick up Marquez's other works.

He sometimes recommends this book to friends but he feels his recommendations to friends vary depending on who they are, what type of person they are like, and what interests them. He, on the other hand, welcomes any and all book recommendations from friends. A great recommendation was for To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a book recommended by one of his customers. (Manuel works at Hugo Boss at the Beverly Center, right down the street). Another customer recommendation was The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd which he also really enjoyed. This book is actually one that I own but have yet to get around to reading. I had seen it for sale at a nearby thrift store for 50 cents so I couldn't turn that bargain down!

On the go he loves to carry around books like those in the Harry Potter series. "They are fun and entertaining, a great way to pass the time when I am waiting around and have some spare time to take in a few pages." I asked him about audiobooks, whether or not he's ever considered listening to them in place of reading books while he is en route and what not. He confesses that he has purchased an audiobook but has yet to listen to it. He's had and neglected it for so long that he can't even recall what book it is! He's made a mental note to listen to it in the near future.

If Manuel could write a book of his own it would be about immigration. Specifically it would focus on the misconceptions and misunderstandings of immigration/immigrants. He would also love to explore the difficulties immigrant women endure when crossing the Mexican border. "They go through so much abuse, are sold, are forced into prostitution, and, more often than not, are viciously beaten. Sometimes they are murdered." Manuel has read a few books on similar topics however could not recall the book titles.


Have you read any interesting books (fiction or non-fiction) that are about immigration or touch upon the subject matter? What book was it?

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Great news! I've stared a Facebook page for nosesinbooks.com on a lark! If you're on Facebook search for "noses in books" and become a fan of the page :) I currently have an image of a cat reading a book as the page photo until I can find someone to create an official logo. Plus, I love me some kitties...

Thanks for supporting my blog everyone! One year anniversary coming up -- very exciting!

The Coldest Winter on a sweltering day

It's only April and the sun burns my skin like it's August! I brave the stinging heat during my lunch break. It felt like I was walking down the Vegas strip at high noon. I noticed the man standing behind me in line at the nearby Chipotle holding a pretty hefty book under his arm. Minutes later, after finishing my vegetarian bowl, I make my way over to his table at the far end of the restaurant. Mike's reading the non-fiction work "The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War" by David Halberstam (yet another non-fiction reader at this Chipotle). It was a present and he's barely getting into it but is enjoying it so far. Mike was in the military and he tends to read alot of historical non-fiction. Mike doesn't necessarily have a favourite era/period, per se and would read about any and all if he could. He hasn't really had much free time to read for pleasure so it's been awhile since he's sat down for a good read. "I usually get reading in when I'm on vacation and like to bring along books that fall into the light-reading category. One doesn't like to think heavy thoughts while on vacation you know! So I read Stephen King books on trips. I really enjoy his stuff."


Growing up his mother would take him to libraries alot so he started to become very familiar with books at the early age of 4 and read alot as a child. He found himself intrigued with the Hardy Boys books, a staple of many of the readers I've encountered. His teen years led him to another fave (a book title I can't seem to read on my chicken scratch notes...but I can make out the first word "Handblown" haha)

It turns out that Mike has a dog pampering boutique called "Doggie Styles" in Beverly Hills. He absolutely adores dogs and if he were to write a book of his own it would be about the beloved 4-legged creatures. He reads tons of trade publications on dog breeds, training, grooming and the like. Mike owns 2 dogs himself - a 9 year old boxer and a french bulldog. Both are rescue dogs. Does he enter his pups into shows? "Oh no, not at all." Mike laughs. "They are work dogs...my shop greeters and product models on the site."


Edit: Mike was kind enough to email me about the book he mentioned during the interview that I could not remember for the life of me! His note below:

In case you lost any sleep trying to remember the other books I referred to during our conversation, they were the Horatio Hornblower works by C. S. Forester. These historical novels of British naval adventures follow protagonist Horatio Hornblower from his time as a midshipman to his appointment as an admiral. These books are set during the era of sailing ships when "Britain rules the waves." According to Wikipedia, these books were a favorite of Winston Churchill and of Ernest Hemingway alike.


Got a favourite book where the dog/s played a major roll in the novel? Makes me want to re-read Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows!!

On the Road

After finding out that my friend Margaret's fiance, Kevin, worked "closer" to me (he is now working in Glendale) we finally made plans to meet up for dinner, drinks and whatnots. I hadn't seen him (or her for that matter) for years so what better time than the present to catch up. A friend of his from USC was performing a slideshow standup this past Friday night. Beforehand Kevin and I met up for a sushi dinner. He still lives in Huntington Beach, about an hour or so south of Los Angeles proper. Oy with the commute everyday! How does he keep himself occupied? "I listen to lots of audiobooks! It's one of the ways to get through the long drive." I ask what books he's listened to lately and he admits that listening to audiobooks is what's finally gotten him into the Harry Potter books. "I didn't use to like them. I remember this girl I used to date swore by them. She would stand in line the night before the books came out in order to purchase her copy and she'd read each book within 24 hours. I'd find her staying up all night because she couldn't bring herself to put the books down!" We start to laugh and I share how my I'd find my co-workers in the parking lot before work, huddled in their cars trying to get through the books as fast as they could so that noone would spoil it for them.

"Yeah, my ex was the same way. She'd constantly try to get me to read the books. I finally gave in and 100 pages into it I had to stop because I couldn't stand it."
My eyes widen. I'm used to hearing about people who read the first few pages and decide the book isn't for them. But 100 pages or so?

"Yeah, my girlfriend at the time told me to keep on reading if I had gotten this far but I told her that if I can't stand these first hundred pages chances are I won't be able to stand the rest of the book. I was also reading the sci-fi Dune chronicles by Frank Herbert at the time, 'good' books I actually enjoy, so maybe I was a bit biased..."

Now here he was, many years later, face-to-face with good ol' Harry and friends. "I must admit that the books are actually really good! I've been listening to them and the stories are fun and actually well-written. And to hear the actors read the book, or at least I think it is them, makes the story even more compelling to consume and listen to. You start to get into the action." Next he wants to start listening to the Twilight series. This was when I made the confession of watching the movie during one of my "slumber parties" when the gals were over and how I actually kinda enjoyed the vampire flick. Now the books appear more intriguing to me because it just reminded me of how much I loved reading Anne Rice books growing up. Vampire lifestyle and the subtexts. NOW YOU ALL KNOW MY "SECRET" OF WANTING TO GIVE IN TO TWILIGHT. Soon enough. Soon enough.

@reading pt. 7

@greenlagirl gorgeous day -- reading the anti 9 - 5 guide on my balcony eating blueberries. nice breeze -- happy.



Los Angelinos - What you are reading outside on this gorgeous day?

Sara Quin (of Tegan & Sara) on her favourite novel

mixin' it up on a Saturday night

Out on the town attending my friend's birthday! Bren was having birthday drinks at The Griffin in Los Feliz so I hopped in a cab to share a few drinks, laughs, and vegan cupcakes galore. Upon arriving at the bar we had to stand in line for a bit due to capacity levels. One of the bouncers (dressed to the nines, I might add, in a dapper suit and slick hat) was leafing through his copy of the American Bartender's Handbook. Rico is a bar-back on Friday nights at the Griffin and is studying up on his drinks. He tells me he even gets alot of practice in at home. He doesn't have a full bar set up, per se, but he does have all the accoutrements to get the job done. I had to ask if he has perfected the bottle slingin' and the like. He laughs after I attempt to retract my silly question but explains that bar fare is important. People like to see that stuff so it's definitely important to try to give people a bit of a show while you're behind the bar. Adds to the experience!


His favourite drink to mix? Simple. A Manhattan. He's a whiskey and scotch man himself and he thinks a Manhattan is hands down perfect for anyone who appreciates a good drink. In honour of one of my darlings, Bryan Barnett-Woods, I had to ask Rico if he's ever made a drink with egg in it. He hasn't come across that yet, 'tis a rare thing nowadays. And how about some of the top requests are here at The Griffin? This would have to be the "Adios M*therF*cker". "Unfortunately we stopped making those here but people still keep asking for it." Another fave is the Alabama Slammer shot. I asked if they got requests for Mind Erasers often. "Not quite but we make a few of them every now and then." (I didn't get one last night...still need some time off from it. But I did finally try a "Nuts & Berries". I am still not sure what's in it - chambord and half/half, for sure - but my friend Bren kept ordering them and after a few sips I realized it tasted like rocky road ice cream. Me likey!)



As we were entering the bar to finally meet up with the birthday girl I had to squeeze in one final question: Favourite book growing up? This was an easy one - Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Rico fondly remembers this as the first book the really move him and had meaning. He even shed a few tears whilst reading it. He definitely got a few "awwwws" out of my friend Erica and I.

Read another interview involving a bit of mixology

I've been reading some Seth Godin and Marketing/Advertising Agency books lately to "study up" on the work-related this and that. What was the last book you've read related to your field of work?

Vote for our first book club read!

Friends! The time has come to pick the first read for our first book club meeting! Many of you had sent over your suggestions and I've included them below, so thank you!

What we've decided to do each month is alternate book suggesters. We will have that person suggest 3 books and the rest of us will vote on which book to read next. This first time around is a bit off because we didn't decide on the "voting" factor until after I asked for your suggestions.

We pick a book at the beginning of the month and will meet to discuss at the end of each month. We will also have different themes to keep things interesting. We can even plan the meet-ups to match up with the theme. (i.e Read an Indian-themed novel? Let's meet at an Indian food restaurant!).

Vote away! Voting will most likely end on Sunday, April 5th at 5pm so that we can get this party started.

And feel free to invite friends to our first discussion!



Poll Answers