Bob, Luis, Sophie, Lena and Annie.

Partnachlkamm.

My 40th bday with Lena, Sophie, Lisa, Annie and Flori.

Pam's Picks '04

I thought I'd read more books this year. As of this date only 25 and some were YA or graphic novels. This is depressing. I've been trying *really hard* to read more fiction. My subscription for Entertainment Weekly came up for renewal and it was such a relief to cancel it. That thing comes every week and even my half-assed perusal takes at least a couple hours. The best book I read this year was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's got everything: family, history, race, culture and sexuality. Endless food for thought. I also enjoyed, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (odd, funny, after I started it I didn't think I liked it but by the time I finished I was won over) , The True History of the Kelley Gang by Peter Carey (from the pov of an Australian outlaw), The Ropemaker by Peter Dickenson (YA story with magic and impossible to sum in a few words without making it sound cliched and cheesy and it's not, it's super good) and The Night Listener by Armistead Maupin which I devoured in two days. It's got good twists but also it's about people who break your heart. Finally, you must read How I Paid for College by Marc Acito. It's about a high school senior whose Dad won't pay for him to go to Julliard so he goes to great lengths to get the money and it's totally laugh-out-loud hilarious and just the sort of thing you want to read on a rainy afternoon.

One thing about keeping these lists is I'm also reminded of all the incredible crap I read/saw and this year I saw a large number of horror movies because I was writing one and that story itself is a horror and won't be visited in this newsletter. Some of the best movies I saw this year: Big Fish (10 hankies!), In America (10 hankies!), Capturing the Friedmans (creepy documentary, sticks with you), 28 Days Later (excellent zombie movie, seriously), Triplets of Bellville (very strange animated film with frogs and bicycle racing), The Barbarian Invasions (10 hankies!), and Hero (about assassins with swords in ancient China, like watching a poem).

Now that we have Netflix and the world is so great to have TV shows on DVD, I can watch all kinds of shows that I missed the first time around and I am now doing an important community service and telling you that the best show EVER is called Freak and Geeks and if you accomplish nothing else in this lifetime, you should watch this show. It is a crime that this show died after 19 episodes. It's set in high school in the 80's and is hilarious and painful and everything that high school really is. You can watch the first episode and you'll know in the first 10 minutes if it's for you. It also resulted in the biggest laughs I have ever heard from my husband and is the source of the quote on this year's newsletter. Also, I have now watched (or re-watched) every moment of Angel including every commentary track and outtake. (Could this be connected to me only reading 25 books?) I'm halfway through season 2 (of 7!) of Buffy. Awesome. And, I have a new show: Lost which you should watch.

What's left? Music? Oh. This is so sad but I don't care that much about music any more. I downloaded 1 album (at least I'm in on the whole downloading thing) from the Apple Store which was Hoobastank. (They're from Agoura!) Bob had to help me burn the cd because I didn't know how to do it. I also enjoyed the cd that came with Nick Hornby's Songbook which should have been included above as it is a charming book about songs and getting through life.

Happy Holidays

That's it for this year. Wishing you a great holiday and all the best in the new year.

love, Pamela

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