“What if your best friend, whom you’ve always counted on to flounder in life and love (making your own modest accomplishments look not so bad), suddenly starts to surpass you in every way?
Wendy’s best friend, Daphne, has always been dependably prone to catastrophe. And Wendy has always been there to help. If Daphne veers from suicidal to madly in love, Wendy offers encouragement. But when Daphne is suddenly engaged, pregnant, and decorating a fabulous town house in no time at all, Wendy is…not so happy for her. Caught between wanting to be the best friend she prides herself on being and crippling jealousy of flighty Daphne, Wendy takes things to the extreme, waging a full-scale attack on her best friend-all the while wearing her best, I’m-so-happy-for-you smile-and ends up in way over her head.“
Women often have a difficult time finding a way to love and accept one another. In my book, friendships are much different than “close acquaintances” and I primarily attribute that to the fact that your true friends love you with an unconditional heart. Acquaintances, on the other hand, and no matter how close of one they may seem to be, maintain petty jealousies and will not honor your privacy. They will often spill your secrets to other women or their spouses. Why? Attention-Seeking? Insecurity-Ridden? I have no idea! But, it’s kept me away from developing closer relationships with women for a long time.
I have a small number of TRUE friends and can count them all on one hand. And, I do love each and every one of them truly and wholy. Their secrets are mine and vice versa. On the other hand, I can claim a bit more close acquaintances. If I’m being bad and being a bit of a gossip, I still try to remind myself to say the minimum possible and to also say positive things about them (along with juicy story I may be leaking). But, I know that I fall short and I’m sure I’ve said things that I shouldn’t have. It makes me think about men. Men spend so much less time with the gossipy dynamics and relate to one another, pretty much, on face value. I wonder if their friendships last longer…???
This book is about those things you say behind your friend’s back to your husband or to your other girlfriends. This book is about those jealous thoughts you have in your head when your best friend has everything you wish you did (because you’d never be so petty to admit them aloud). Our heroine in this book learned, the hard way, just how these words and thoughts could easily injure, if not destroy, a relationship. For me, this book was about jealousy being the downfall of friendship and how insecurity will send you into a useless orbit. If anything, this book reminded me just how precious my friendships really are to me.
The Rating
This book was a hybrid of Women’s Fiction and ChickLit. You had a bit of each in here, but I felt that it’s overall feel was more Women’s Fiction. The book starts out strong and it takes you a few chapters to get into a rhythm, but once you do, it’s a seamless read. I appreciated the multiple characters that the author provided and how they were intertwined with Daphne and Wendy. I loved the ending of the postscript of the book where I was able to discover the endings to each of the primary characters’ lives. I found the ending to be predictable, however it didn’t disappoint and I was pleased with the way that it unraveled. On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale,” I would rate this book a 7.5 out of 10.
Welcome to “The Score,” A Novel Menagerie’s weekly music feature. Each Thursday, I will share an artist and a song that I favor. Thereafter, the song will be available to you in my sidebar widget until the following week’s selection.
I welcome your suggestions for future artist spotlights.
Remember: If you are reading this post via email or Google Reader, you will need to click over to the post to fully enjoy the song of the week!
This week, I am highlighting an album that I was introduced to about a year ago. I’m a listener of a local radio program called Mark & Brian on KLOS Los Angeles. Mark and Brian had Glen Campbell on as a guest and I listened in to the interview and singing. Before this interview/performance, all I ever knew about Glen Campbell was his song ”Rhinstone Cowboy.” But, as I listened to him sing acoustically on the radio program, I was moved to purchase the album.
The interesting thing about this album, Meet Glen Campbell is that he is singing well known songs by other artists. Let me share the tracks on the album:
Sing (Travis)
Walls (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
Angel Dream (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
Times Like These (Foo Fighters)
These Days (Jackson Browne)
Sadly Beautiful (The Replacements)
All I Want Is You (U2)
Jesus (Velvet Underground)
Good Riddance (Green Day)
Grow Old With Me (John Lennon)
This album quickly became one of my favorites, for many reasons…. the smooth voice, the gorgeous music, and the unique twist on the amazing original songs.
Tori Spelling writes a follow up memoir to her first book, sTori Telling dishing on her marriage, pregnancy, friends, children, mommyhood, fame, and more about her mother in Mommywood. This book picks up right where she left off in sTori Telling and the readers get a glimpse of Tori’s attempts at being a “normal mother.” However, it’s just not in the cards for Tori because there is nothing about her life that would be considered “normal” or “average.” Finally coming to this realization, in this book she dishes on:
Her sex life
Poop in the pool
Halloween
Trying to blend into a new neighborhood and find acceptance
Her weight issues
The death of her beloved Mimi, the pug
Birthday parties
Family vacations
Life in the limelight
Being a stepmom to Jack
Trying to balance her career and family life
And, OF COURSE…
Her relationship with her mother.
The Review
I am a fan of Tori’s. I was a regular watcher of Beverly Hills 90210, however I wasn’t a big Donna Martin fan. There was something about Tori or her character that just didn’t click with me. I honestly became more of a fan of hers through her reality television show, Tori and Dean: Inn Love. It was through that show that I felt like we were getting to know the real person behind the celebrity. Plus, I just adored her relationship with Dean McDurmott. Despite their torrid past of breaking up both of their marriages to be together, they just seemed to work. Now, I’m not condoning extramarital affairs, it’s just that they do seem like kindred spirits that just met at the wrong time. They fit.
After being hooked on her reality series, I read sTori Telling. There was a lot of her pain exposed in that book about her childhood as well as her recent past. I believe she did give her apologies in that memoir and was brutally honest about her past mistakes. Despite her past, she seemed genuinely in love with her husband and son.
Because I watch her reality series and occasionally visit her websites, I was one step ahead of Mommywood and I felt as if I had already heard or seen much its content. That was my greatest disappointment in reading Mommywood. I wanted more juice that wasn’t already shown on Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. And, I did get some fun stories about their 4th of July and Halloween, but not as much as I’d hoped.
One thing that was constantly brought up in Mommywood, just as she did in sTori Telling, is the relationship that she has with her mother. The discussion her relationship with Candy Spelling just doesn’t seem to stop in this book. I believe that Tori really needs to enter into some strong professional counseling to work through her issues. She seems to still be trapped by her past and this relationship. She brings it up when she discusses her parenting abilities as well as her ability to bond with her children. It’s almost as if she’s got something to prove in that she will bond better with her children then her mother was able to do with her. The funny thing is, many of the family traditions that she complained about in sTori Telling are the same traditions that she has kept in place in her present family (i.e. snow in the backyard, absurdly large birthday parties, special cakes from bakeries, the dolls that she bought for Stella). She reiterates several times in this book about how she learned all of her parenting skills from Nanny (her nanny growing up) and her father. She purposely excludes her mother.
Now, I totally understand having a strained relationship with your mother. My mom and I are no longer close and we very seldomly communicate. But, I’ve done my work in therapy and I don’t live with that past haunting me everyday. I think that I’m more at peace with the kind of mother that I am and I don’t waste my energy comparing my mothering abilities to my mother’s. Likewise, I don’t compare my childrens’ happiness and childhood to mine. Well, except for when I’m trying to prove a point to them about getting good grades, etc. There is just a time in my life when I was ready to accept my fate and disconnect for the betterment of my psyche. Tori needs to either do that or mend fences with her mother in order for her to be able to find a more peaceful future. And, I realize that this is hard. It seems that it is the period of time just after you have your child(ren) that you want more of a connection with your parents. I understand that. But, for some people, sometimes that just isn’t meant to be.
I don’t find it to be a coincidence that Candy Spelling released her memoir, CandyLand, right around the same time as Mommywood. I’m sure that in some ways she feels attacked or misunderstood due to the press in the wake of sTori Telling and Tori’s reality show. There are two sides to every story. Now, I’m not taking sides or electing to find one version of the tale to be more true than the other. It just hurts me to see it because it’s obvious that there is still a lot of love there between them and I’d like to see them mend and heal.
One of the things that Tori brings up in this book is her relationship with Chelsea Handler (of Chelsea Lately). Apparently this is a friendship that has gone awry and Chelsea makes fun of Tori on her show. There is some bitterness and resentment on Tori’s side of this. So, apparently Candy Spelling made an appearance on Chelsea lately to push her book. Check this out.
So, it makes me a bit sad because she does apparently want to see her daughter. I know, two sides to every story.
Moving on, I wanted to add that I need a book like this in the midst of reading about history, war, disease, famine, tragedy and the like. I need a book to escape in and that doesn’t take 1,000 decibels of brain power to read. I’m a fan and reading this was just a fun little jaunt into Tori’s world.
Here are some photos that I found interesting that I wanted to share:
Tori with the kids: Liam and Stella. Get this… she ditched this stroller in a parking garage because she couldn’t figure out how to break it down and fit it in the car!
Tori with her parents: Aaron and Candy Spelling
Tori Recording Her Audiobook Version of Mommwood
Tori writing Mommywood while talking to her agent and trying to spend “quality time” with Liam
Tori, Dean, Liam & Stella at Mommywood Premier
Their “official” wedding photo
Tori and Candy
Tori and the entire family, including stepson Jack
Dean and Stella.. Doesn’t she look like him?
Tori & Stella at booksigning… Tori is so self-admittingly “A-Type” that they have to be color coordinated
On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”
So, this wasn’t a “riveting read.” In fact, I had hoped for more. But, I undoubtedly will continue to buy her books and watch her reality show until they are no more. I am hugely curious about the tabloid rumors about her weight issues and marital problems. I want to see her come out on top. However, like I said, I think some intense therapy will go a long way in helping her with her issues. Mommywood will receive my rating for the genre:Memoir, an 7 OUT OF 10.If you’re a fan, you know this is a must-have and Amazon.com just reduced the price. If you’re not a fan… I think my recap is enough “Hollywood Juice” for the day!
P.S. If you’ve got some extra time on your hands and you’re curious… there are sooo many websites, Tori’s, Oxygen’s, and Candy’s. Check them out!
1. Jillian could care less about Tanner P.’s foot fetish. She thinks the world of him and will defend him always.
2. Kiptyn became Jillian’s baby giraffe on the rope course. She fell for him even harder after he made her laugh so hard that she nearly “pee’d her pants.”
3. Ed is an adorable drunk.
4. Reid cannot dance, whatsoever.
5. Kip is big into his charity.
6. Jason and Molly are happy. Jason thinks he is the source of everybody’s happiness after being “the bad guy.”
7. Reid does not have a “former engagement.” The Bachelorette producers are lying.
8. Wes is chicken-sh$t!
9. The guys all feel that Jake pulled a “Mesnick” (aka crying over a balcony railing).
10. Jake is not perfect. He tells Sasha “F-U.” (well, I abbreviated.)
11. Man-Code is ridiculous, however David does look good with a beard.
12. Juan puts David in his place by simply saying, “In terms of this ‘man-code thing,’ to me ‘man code’ is being a gentleman, being a man, being an adult… If getting drunk and being belligerent and threatening people… that’s not to me being a man. Or, being inappropriate with Jillian and making her feel uncomfortable, who is our host, ultimately, and tugging at her n’ stuff, to me that’s not a man, so…” (*Good grief… take an English lesson!*)
13. David admits that perhaps his advances went awry and says that perhaps he went about it the wrong way. I feel bad for David because he became the punching bag in Wes’ absence.
14. Jake will always have feelings for Jillian and he’d be honored to be the next Bachelor.
15. If I never hear “Love.. It Don’t Come Easy” (by Wes) EVER AGAIN, it will be just fine with me.
16. Jillian is fine with her nose just the way it is today. Apparently, the nose job comments are too much.
17. Jillian was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof in front of the men… and it showed!
18. Mango-Mango is a real nail polish color and Jillian wore it for Tanner P.
19. Ed farted at a rose ceremony.
20. Reid does come back next week and is holding a ring.
21. Tanner compares Jillian’s feet to J-Lo’s butt. That’s ridiculous! My feet are much prettier! (*awww… I have such green eyes!*)
I invite everybody to participate in the weekly MEME and write about any movies, television or big screen, that you’ve seen over the past week and write about it. Please feel free to use the above logo photo in your post and/or link back to the site. I will post every Sunday Night or Monday Morning on the movie I’ve seen from the past week. I’m hoping that there are other movie buffs out there who will enjoy the MEME as much as I’m hoping to! The only small request that I have is that you rate the movie out of 5 bags of popcorn (so, 1 bag out of 5, 2 bags out of 5, and so on).
I really wanted to rent Australia, Revolutionary Road, Rachel Getting Married, or The Wrestler. The twins wanted to rent Push. Guess who won? Well, I figured if it has that psychic spin to it that I would perhaps enjoy it. But, I simply don’t enjoy action movies all that much. All that shooting and violence just bores me to tears. To me, it’s just a tremendous waste to put that in a movie. However, I really liked True Lies and that was an action movie. So, I guess what I should say is that I don’t like all action movies, especially ones with lots of continuous gunfire. Like, I hated Rambo. But, what’s strange about my taste is that I loved Scarface. So, how can I say The Godfather is good and bash other movies because of too much gunfire? I just don’t know. I think I’m plain, insane!
Now, all of this isn’t to say that Push was a movie filled with continuous gunfire. There were many fighting scenes when nobody even touched the other person to render them immobile. This is due to the powers of telekinesis, mind-infiltration, and loud screams that shatter glass and explode your brain. Maybe I should back up.
This movie is about a secret division of national governments that have been active since 1945 (days of Hitler’s genetic engineering). This secret division is creatively entitled, “The Division,” and they work on creating super-human tools of war. There are apparently different types of super-human powers that The Division is cultivating: The Watchers (see the future), The Pushers (send thoughts into your mind and brain-wash you), The Healers, The Shadows, and I don’t even know what the other ones are called. One guy even has the ability to erase your memories for a certain amount of time. So, these gifted humans are being grabbed up by The Division to make their natural powers supernatural. However, the injection that The Division puts in the special humans to “turbo-charge” their abilities has inevitably killed them all, except one. That one, Camilla Belle, escapes and heads to Hong Kong.
If you’re still with me.. here’s where the story heads… since everybody is psychic or has one, they know that the girl escapee is heading to Hong Kong. So, they head her off at the pass and harass Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning, who are both living/hiding in Hong Kong. They each have powers and have already come to the realization that they have to either shut down The Division or be killed themselves. They know that the escapee girl is in the center of all this and they have to use their collective powers to find her and save themselves. There is also some discussion about $6M being involved too, but I don’t remember ever seeing them get that reward.
Since I’m not big on action movies… what can I say that was positive about this one? Well, some of the special effects were REALLY good. Eyeballs turned black and then went back to normal, people flew back and were flung onto the ceiling, and a near dead person was brought back to life by having all the bones in his back re-morph back into shape. But, the twins loved this movie and thought it was great.
On the MPAA Rating… There was virtually no sex, almost no foul language, but I think it may have gotten the PG-13 due to violence.
On the actors… Chris Evans was cute. Dakota Fanning was her typical great self. Ming-Na was enjoyable because I’ve missed her on screen. Camilla Belle did an above average job. Djimon Hounsou scared the pa-jeebers out of me.
The twins would rate this movie between 4 & 5 bags o’ popcorn. However, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I was lost 1/2 of the movie and didn’t understand the motivation during the remainder. Out of 5 bags of popcorn, genre action... I give this:
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Commit to spending five hours doing something that you love. No compromises or interruptions. Five hours of exploring self, finding peace, and replenishing.
Author: Lucinda Rosenfeld
Women often have a difficult time finding a way to love and accept one another. In my book, friendships are much different than “close acquaintances” and I primarily attribute that to the fact that your true friends love you with an unconditional heart. Acquaintances, on the other hand, and no matter how close of one they may seem to be, maintain petty jealousies and will not honor your privacy. They will often spill your secrets to other women or their spouses. Why? Attention-Seeking? Insecurity-Ridden? I have no idea! But, it’s kept me away from developing closer relationships with women for a long time.
This book was a hybrid of Women’s Fiction and ChickLit. You had a bit of each in here, but I felt that it’s overall feel was more Women’s Fiction. The book starts out strong and it takes you a few chapters to get into a rhythm, but once you do, it’s a seamless read. I appreciated the multiple characters that the author provided and how they were intertwined with Daphne and Wendy. I loved the ending of the postscript of the book where I was able to discover the endings to each of the primary characters’ lives. I found the ending to be predictable, however it didn’t disappoint and I was pleased with the way that it unraveled. On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale,” I would rate this book a 7.5 out of 10. 
I am a fan of Tori’s. I was a regular watcher of 
One thing that was constantly brought up in 
So, this wasn’t a “riveting read.” In fact, I had hoped for more. But, I undoubtedly will continue to buy her books and watch her reality show until they are no more. I am hugely curious about the tabloid rumors about her weight issues and marital problems. I want to see her come out on top. However, like I said, I think some intense therapy will go a long way in helping her with her issues. 
Movie: 
I really wanted to rent Australia, Revolutionary Road, Rachel Getting Married, or The Wrestler. The twins wanted to rent Push. Guess who won? Well, I figured if it has that psychic spin to it that I would perhaps enjoy it. But, I simply don’t enjoy action movies all that much. All that shooting and violence just bores me to tears. To me, it’s just a tremendous waste to put that in a movie. However, I really liked True Lies and that was an action movie. So, I guess what I should say is that I don’t like all action movies, especially ones with lots of continuous gunfire. Like, I hated Rambo. But, what’s strange about my taste is that I loved Scarface. So, how can I say The Godfather is good and bash other movies because of too much gunfire? I just don’t know. I think I’m plain, insane!
Since I’m not big on action movies… what can I say that was positive about this one? Well, some of the special effects were REALLY good. Eyeballs turned black and then went back to normal, people flew back and were flung onto the ceiling, and a near dead person was brought back to life by having all the bones in his back re-morph back into shape. But, the twins loved this movie and thought it was great.
