Peachy Reads

Set in a distant Atlanta suburb characterized by brick ranches, sprawling asphalt parking lots, and kids with too much time on their hands, Suburban Gospel chronicles the upbringing of a son who squirms under the strict oversight of his evangelical parents. Attempting to raise a mountain boy in a citified setting, they seem to butt heads during episodes of his mild rebelliousness.   This memoir is a collection of vignettes, snapshots of the author's life as he matures and develops his own identity.  Some chapters like the account of his senior prom seem to be populated with characters from a John Hughes film (save with a southern accent). Other chapters take on a more serious tone with topics like the Atlanta child murders of 1979-81.  By the end of the book, the push and pull between the author and his parents ends in a kind of truce with each side accepting the other for what they are.  As perceived parental disappointment fades and is replaced by love, th...

During the lead-up to the Oscars we try to see the candidate movies for the best picture award.  This year I think we saw all except Mad Max .  I quite enjoyed Brooklyn with actress Saoirse Ronan ( Atonement and wanted to read the book. It’s sort of an old-timey BBC period piece of a movie, set in the 1950s when jobs were scare in Ireland and many took the trans-Atlantic route to NYC for better prospects.  Nick Hornby ( About a Boy, A Long Way Down, Juliet Naked ) wrote the screenplay based on Tóibín's book.  I really enjoyed the story and, and wondered if the book would be a bit different.  The tone was mostly the same, but there were small differences in plot development, more exposition possible in a book rather than a two hour film.  I enjoyed the movie, and enjoyed the book similarly.  I know it’s unorthodox to watch the film before reading the book, but it can frequently be rewarding.