50/50 Challenge: Halfway Mark

June marks the halfway point for the 50/50 Challenge. While I've been behind on regularly updating my progress, maybe it's better that I just do it now and then near the end of the year, I can see if 2015 is the year I accomplish my goal. 

I'm not doing awful, but I'm not doing great either. Since my last update, I've seen the following movies:

#23 - True Story

#24 - Adult Beginners

#25 - Welcome to Me

#26 - Insurgent

#27 - Pitch Perfect 2

#28 - Entourage

A little bit behind on the reading end, per the usual.

#11 - Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives - Gretchen Rubin

#12 - The Violets of March - Sarah Jio

#13 - Into into Wild - Jon Krakauer

#14 - The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League - Jeff Hobbs

#15 - The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron

#16 - The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

I wouldn't even be this far on my book reading if it wasn't for my book clubs and being on pace to read something in order to discuss it later. However, of the ones I've read recently, only one was for book club.

I don't know why I never was pulled into reading Into the Wild before now, but I'm so glad I did. Jon Krakauer did an excellent job of mixing journalism with storytelling. I'm eager to read more of his work. The story of Into the Wild reflects many of my own feelings towards "how to live life." I followed up that book by reading a few articles regarding criticism surrounding both Krakauer and Christopher McCandless (whose story the book captures). When someone takes a road that goes so strongly against the norm, it's a given there will be judgment that is mostly based on misunderstanding or non-understanding. These stories are important to tell whether they go against the grain of society or not. Honestly, they're important because they go against the grain of society.

But, I digress. Movies-wise, I'm good. I'll make it to 50 and beyond. I'm confident. Books-wise, it's going to be a struggle. I'm open to suggestions for any must see/must read movies and books.

50/50 Challenge: Books and Movies Update

image from Pinterest

Currently, I'm reading another John Green book. He's the author that wrote The Fault in Our Stars. I'm a fan of his writing style and how he seems to capture the voice of young adults. 

The book was turned into a movie and I just read that screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are adapting another one of his books to hit the screen this summer and more recently acquired Looking for Alaska. The writers are also working on screenplays for two other book club reads: Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and one my favorites Me Before You. 

On the list of movies I've seen since my last update was another book-to-screen adaptation. "Still Alice" was an emotional book and the movie (which Julianne Moore won Best Actress for) made me teary-eyed as well. 

"Whiplash" was one of my favorite movies that I've seen recently. I was very happy to see J.K. Simmons win the Oscar for his performance and "Birdman" was not nearly as weird as I had heard it would be. I rather enjoyed it.

"Shall We Dance?" is a movie I've been meaning to see for awhile because, I mean, Richard Gere. It's a fun, rainy day, flipping through cable kind of movie, and I love how in this movie they didn't follow a bad cliche of a man struggling in his marriage having an affair. Yay for Richard Gere's character putting the romance (and dance) back into his marriage!

#15 - Shall We Dance?

#16 - Kingsman: The Secret Service

#17 - Whiplash

#18 - Birdman

#19 - Still Alice
I've only read two more books:

#7 - It Was Me All Along - Andie Mitchell

#8 - Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness - Susannah Cahalan

Both of these books were interesting because they were based on real events of the authors. The one by Andie Mitchell follows her weight-loss journey in a sincere and inspiring way. Her honesty was refreshing. I received that book complimentary of Blogging for Books.

The book by Susannah Cahalan is fascinating. At times it can be too clinical because it discusses a lot of her medical records, but an interesting read nonetheless. I like the parts discussing her work life at The New York Post.

At the beginning of the year, I had thought I would update my review and book lists on Goodreads. If you couldn't tell, I have failed at this resolution. However, I am still dutifully keeping track and at this rate I predict having my movies covered by June and my books covered late December, per the usual.

Share any books or movies that you think I should put on my list!

Bye Bye, 2014!

Here it is, the end of another year. And it's been a great one, a prep one, I've been telling people. You know how you feel like you're preparing for something big? Maybe how an athletic team feels in a rebuilding year? That's how I feel about 2014. 

There was a lot of great things that happened this past year. I got engaged for one! How about that? I had never thought about marriage in a real way. Not that I didn't want it, but it was not on my 'things to do.' I thought it would happen or it wouldn't. 

I got to travel to some awesome places I've never been: San Antonio, Nashville, and revisit a few favorites: Chicago, NYC, and the Emerald Coast. There is something to be said about travel, the necessity of it and the fact that the more I travel, the more I want to travel. 

I barely missed my 50/50 Challenge goal, but feel OK about it because it's closer than I've ever gotten before. If you want the truth, this year in movies was kinda crap with a few gold stars. This is how my year ended: 

Movies

#46 - Mockingjay

#47 - The Big Wedding

#48 - Wall Street

#49 - Wild

#50 - The Pelican Brief

#51 - The Gambler

#52 - Big Hero 6

#53 - Unbroken

Books

#40: Mother, Mother - Koren Zalickas

#41: The Myth of Happiness - Sonja Lyubomirsky

#42: Still Alice - Lisa Genova

#43: Swim Back to Me - Ann Packer

#44: Not That Kind of Girl - Lena Duham

#45: Yes Please - Amy Poehler

#46: The Woman I Wanted to Be - DVF

#47: Flawless - Jan Moran

#48: The Happiness of Pursuit - Chris Guillebeau

In the coming year, I will probably be more active on Goodreads as that's an easier way to keep track of progress, but really, there are so many good books out there! I hope more people decide to read in 2015. I'm so happy to be part of a fun book club that makes reading even more exciting. Is that a geeky statement?

As it is now, I'm spending my final hours on a plane from the East Coast (Florida) to the West Coast (California) and thinking about the year ahead and how fantastic it will be. Tomorrow I will meet with my friends as they create vision boards and I create a specific list of goals of all the things I want to achieve in 2015. One of which is to update this blog more often and write more, in general.

So with that, I hope that your NYE is full of everything you want it to be. My personal goal is to stay awake until midnight, but why break tradition?

I write this in the air, after some Pinot Grigio, and a free viewing of "The Social Network." I hope 2015 treats you well. I'll be talking to you soon.

50/50 Challenge: Six Weeks to Go!

Six weeks until the end of the year, which means six weeks for me to read 11 more books and 5 -- it can be done!

The only movie I've watched since my last post is "Foxcatcher" which I'll be posting a review to on Examiner this Friday. It has Channing Tatum in it, but not like you're used to seeing him, that's for sure. 

I also technically read three new books, but since The Goldfinch was such a mother of a read, I am counting it as two. I think in the 50/50 Challenge rules somewhere, the fact that it's 771 pages counts. When I got to the end and it became front heavy, things got rough. 

So, to sum up my progress:

Movie #45: Foxcatcher

I'm hoping that #46 will be "Mockingjay Part I"!

Book #36: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Book #37/#38: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction)
Book #39: I Can't Make This Stuff Up by Theresa Caputo a.k.a. The Long Island Medium, who I met briefly and hugged at a Warwick's book signing.

So, not terribly great on my progress, but it will be done. I will accomplish my goal and treat myself to a whole cheesecake.