I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: SHE & HIM-A Very She & Him Christmas (2011).

I love the packaging of this disc (the envelope with the Christmas letter/liner notes is charming).

I really enjoyed Zooey Deschanel’s singing in Elf, I thought it was really pretty and surprisingly unaffected.  So it’s not too surprising that she stared making records herself.  And M Ward seems like a perfect accompaniment to her slow, rather old school style of singing.

I have a hard time getting into the She & Him records though.  They’re just, yes, too slow for me.  The tempo is perfect for her voice, which is naturally very pure and clean.  And she even has a good crooning style, I just need the songs to be a little peppier.  Or like on “Run Run Reindeer,” I find her version is kind of abrupt, perhaps she doesn’t really hold her notes for very long which I find disconcerting.

I like the first two songs, “The Christmas Waltz,” and “Christmas Day” because they are songs I didn’t know already, so I had no expectations.  “Christmas Wish” is really nice with Ward taking lead vocals.   As for Zooey’s leads, I like “Sleigh Ride” quite a lot.  And their version of “Silver Bells” on ukulele is just beautiful.

This collection of songs is quite nice, if not a little too mellow.  It sets a mood and follows through all the way, which is good.  I really do wish I liked it more.

[READ: December 5, 2014] The Last Girlfriend on Earth

I love Simon Rich, but sometimes I lose touch with just how many books he releases.  So when he was on Seth Meyers the other night I learned that he had a new book out, which was great.  But then I also learned that I missed his last two books!  Jeez.  One is a novel and this one is a collection of short stories.

I have said before that I love Rich’s really short pieces–he is so good with a set up and punchline.  Most of these stories are longer, and they are pretty much all very funny indeed.

The book is set up in three parts: Boy Meets Girl, Boy Gets Girl and Boy Loses Girl.  And indeed, the stories in each section do match up to that general setup (it’s quite clever) although they are not connected to each other.  Several of these stories appeared in the New Yorker and it was fun to read them again and to see them in this new context.

Incidentally, they are making a TV show based on this book, airing in the new year on FXX, called Man Seeking Woman–I hope it’s good.

In Boy Meets Girl we see all the things men will do to get women.

“Unprotected” [New Yorker, July 23, 2012] is the life of a condom (hilarious).

“Magical Mr. Goat” is a creepy story in which a fantasy turns ugly.

“Occupy Jen’s Street” is a wonderful twist on Occupy Wall Street–when a protestor gets his forces to put pressure on Jen to date him.

“Dog Missed Connections” just what it sounds like.

“Sirens of Gowanus” is about the mythical creatures who lure local band members to their deaths.

“Cupid” 21st century cupid takes no guff from anyone, not even Zeus.

“Set Up” explores what would happen if you were set up with a troll–like, a real troll–and your friends were excited about it for you.

“Eureka” is about Charles Darwin.  The punch line is a good one.

“NASA Proposal” is a funny letter proposing in which a man proposes that his co-astronaut explore what it’s like to have sex in zero gravity.

“Archaeological Excavation Report: Ludlow Lounge” I’m not sure if Ludlow Lounge is a real place, but story this looks at what it was like to go to bars in the 21st century.

“Victory” has a hilarious premise–that everyone is super impressed that this guy was able to hook up with a girl in a bar just by talking to her.  Even the President is impressed.

“I Love Girl” was also in The New Yorker [December 10, 2012] and looks at love among Neanderthals.

In Boy Gets Girl the stories switch to people who are already together.

“Scared Straight” features a program in which men in relationships try to scare those who are about to become serious.  The examples are very funny.

“Center of the Universe” [New Yorker, January 2, 2012] even God has to deal with his girlfriend’s nagging.

“Girlfriend Repair Shop” wonders if it’s worth spending a fortune to fix your seemingly broken girlfriend.

“The Adventure of the Spotted Tie” even Sherlock Holmes can’t deduce that he’s being played.

“Celebrity Sexceptions” is a very funny premise with a great twist.

“Wishes” just what would you do with 50 wishes?

“Confidence” looks at the idea that you are most sexy when you are super confident–even hot alien women can tell.

“The Important Thing” wonders what dating Mother Teresa would be like.

“The Last Girlfriend on Earth” what if all the women in the world died except your girlfriend and suddenly everyone wanted her.

In Boy Loses Girl, all of those romances have come to an end.

“Is It Just Me?” In this story a guy discovers that his ex-girlfriend is now dating Adolf Hitler.

“The Haunting of 26 Bleecker Street” even the priest thinks this guy has to let go of the girl who dumped him.

“When Alex Trebek’s Ex-Wife Appeared on Jeopardy!” oh the answers that he gives you.

“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” takes the story to extreme extremes.

“Man Seeking Woman” in which a man’s personals ad looks suspiciously like what the woman is seeking.

“Invisible Man” is about an Invisible Man.  He is on a mission to save the world.  But he uses his invisibility to follow his girlfriend to see if she is cheating on him (she is).  The fate of the world rests on his jealousy.

“The Present” has perhaps the saddest ending of any Simon Rich story.

“Children of the Dirt” except for this one, which is also pretty sad.

“Trade” [New Yorker, May 23, 2011] brings the funny back.  This one is a clinical look at breakups and ends up being rather sweet.

Overall this book was really funny, I enjoyed it a lot and read it very quickly.  Obviously the last few stories were less funny, and, in fact, I didn’t really enjoy the last section as much as the other two.  I think it’s hard to do breakup stories without just sounding bitter and mean.  But he was able to successfully do a few of those.

I’m so glad to have discovered all of this new Simon Rich material.  I can’t wait to read his novel and the other new collection of stories.