The Enthusiast

I finished reading "The Enthusiast" by Charlie Haas

ABOUT THE BOOK

Henry Bay has his own America going. If there's an offbeat interest or extreme sport that's poised to sweep the nation, chances are there's a magazine for its enthusiasts, and chances are also good that Henry has worked there. He's a modern nomad, associate-editing his way from state to state, exploring the small worlds that make up modern America from Spelunk to Ice Climbing, to Cozy, The Magazine of Tea. But those are other people's interests — Henry's still looking for his own enthusiasm. He ends up finding more than he ever imagined.

My Best Friend's Girl

We watched the DVD "My Best Friend's Girl."

Synopsis

Dustin (Justin Biggs) an amiable guy, is in love with Alexis (Kate Hudson) a coworker. When she tells him she just wants to be friends, he hires his roommate Tank (Dane Cook) a fast-talking, amoral scoundrel who has a side business: men whose women have dumped them hire Tank to take their ex-girlfriends out on the date from Hell, to drive the women back into their old boyfriends' arms. He takes out Alexis who, against her better judgment, decides she needs some randy fun, so Tank is in a quandary: take Alexis up on her offer, or stay true to his friend. More complications ensue as the wedding of Alexis's sister approaches. Tank seeks advice from his father (Alec Baldwin) Dustin pursues Alexis, and questions of self-worth need answers.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

I watched the DVD "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Synopsis

Conventional Vicky (Rebecca Hall) who is engaged to Doug (Chris Messina) travels to Barcelona to spend her summer holidays at the home of their parent's friends Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and Mark Nash Kevin Dunn) She travels with her unconventional and open-minded friend, Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) While in a restaurant, the divorced painter Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem) flirts and invites them to travel to Oviedo with him and also to go to bed with him. The reluctant Vicky does not accept the invitation but Cristina agrees. Once in Oviedo, Cristina develops an ulcer so Vicky goes sightseeing alone with Juan Antonio. Vicky eventually falls in love with Juan Antonio and has sleeps with him. However, back in Barcelona, she does not say anything to her friend and Cristina moves into Juan Antonio's house, while Vicky marries Doug. When the unstable former wife of Juan Antonio, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) overdoses, the painter brings her to his house and their troubled relationship harmonizes with the presence of Cristina.

Killing Rain

I finished reading "Killing Rain" by Barry Eisler.

ABOUT THE BOOK

John Rain has a new employer, the Mossad, which wants him to fix a "problem" in Manila. And a new partner, Dox, whose good-ol' boy persona masks a sniper as deadly as Rain himself. He also has a new hope: that by using his talents in the service of something good, he might atone for all the lives he has already taken. But when Rain's conscience causes him to botch an assignment, he finds himself as the Mossad's next target.

Then She Found Me

We watched the DVD "The She Found Me."

Synopsis

A New York schoolteacher (Helen Hunt) hits a midlife crisis when, in quick succession, her husband (Matthew Broderick) leaves, her adoptive mother dies and her biological mother (Bette Midler), an eccentric talk show host, materializes and turns her life upside down as she begins a courtship with the father (Colin Firth) of one of her students.

The Scarecrow

I finished reading "The Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly. "The best of the best."

ABOUT THE BOOK

Jack McEvoy is at the end of the line as a crime reporter. Forced to take a buy-out from the Los Angeles Times as the newspaper grapples with dwindling revenues, he's got only a few days left on the job. His last assignment? Training his replacement, a low-cost reporter just out of journalism school. But Jack has other plans for his exit. He is going to go out with a bang — a final story that will win the newspaper journalism's highest honor — a Pulitzer prize. Jack focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer from the projects who has confessed to police that he brutally raped and strangled one of his crack clients. Jack convinces Alonzo's mother to cooperate with his investigation into the possibility of her son's innocence. But she has fallen for the oldest reporter's trick in the book. Jack's real intention is to use his access to report and write a story that explains how societal dysfunction and neglect created a 16-year-old killer. But as Jack delves into the story he soon realizes that Alonzo's so-called confession is bogus, and Jack is soon off and running on the biggest story he's had since The Poet crossed his path years before. He reunites with FBI Agent Rachel Walling to go after a killer who has worked completely below police and FBI radar—and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. What Jack doesn't know is that his investigation has inadvertently set off a digital tripwire. The killer knows Jack is coming—and he's ready.