it’s kind of a funny story giveaway winner

As is the way of the world, I’m forever late in posting giveaway winners. And this was a shiny contest with brand new Google Forms, too. It may have helped with efficiency overall, but it didn’t make me any more prompt. *sigh* That’s a problem for another day. Please join me in congratulating the winner of a paperback of Ned Vizzini's It’s Kind of a Funny Story and a CD of the film soundtrack…

Eva SB of Eva's Black Spot!

If you’ll remember, I asked entrants respond to this prompt: “What is one thing that helps you ‘cope’ when life gets stressful? If your life doesn’t get stressful (lucky you!), mention something that is calming or relaxing.” Eva SB answered with, “Nowadays it is my husband. If life is just getting [to be] too much I phone him.” I think that’s a lovely answer. I hope you’ve shared it with him!

Many thanks for all of your responses – I had a great evening cooking and looking them over. You’re a creative lot! And if you didn’t win this time around, be on the lookout for another contest very soon.

bringing things to an end

As usual, I’m a few days late in announcing the winners of my Married with Zombies giveaway. The upside? I get to announce the winners of the Dangerous Neighbors contest at the same time! Three cheers for consolidation!!! Wait…that’s lame? Right. Umm...let’s switch that for a lackluster “yay.” Seems more appropriate now, doesn’t it? In any case, the winners of a copy of Jesse Petersen’s Married with Zombies:

Nely of All About {n}

and Raelena of Throuthehaze

Nely answered the question “Of the people you see everyday, who would be the first to succumb to the zombie plague?” with “I'd say that the first one to succumb to a zombie plague would be ME. I am a klutz! I'm constantly banging into things and tripping all over the place. So I know for a fact that if I were to be running from a zombie I'd probably fall and start crying and well... aaaaaahhh ahhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhh {that's me, moaning as a zombie}. You catch my drift. ;)”

Raelena wrote, “Probably me. I would end up having an anxiety attack, and while I am out of breath and disoriented a zombie would come up and chomp on my brains.” Well, it’s unanimous. We’re all going to be the first person we know to turn. Lovely. *grin*

[i recently bought a copy of this print from the

holli etsy shop]

And the lucky new owner of an ARC of Beth Kephart’s Dangerous Neighbors:

Jasmine1485 of Nothing Too Fancy

For this one, I requested that readers respond to a prompt: “I asked Beth about ‘sisters in fiction.’ When you hear that phrase, what comes to your mind immediately?” Jasmine said, “My very first thought was of Little Women, which I read as a teenager but haven't reread for years. Even at that age I thought it was touching, I have a couple of sequels too, I'm not sure how many there were.

Oddly enough, my second thought was of Buffy and her sister. I didn't even watch that when it was on TV, and I don't know her sister's name, so it's an odd choice for my brain.”

Congrats, winners! If you haven’t yet, check out the giveaway for a movie tie-in edition of Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story and a film soundtrack. You can enter here. Also? Have a lovely week!

it’s kind of a funny story (+ giveaway)

I was at a job interview the other day in Alexandria, and the interviewer asked where I was from (Seattle, in case you’re wondering), and if I could live anywhere, which city I’d live in. I answered Washington, DC. I don’t think the interviewer knew what to do with that answer, especially on an over-warm day following the hottest summer on record.

Before you start listing the relative merits of your own town/city/village/hidey-hole, you must understand that there are a lot of things I hate about this area. I hate the super hot weather, the humidity, the unrelieved black (suits!), and the crazy cold days that seem to come straight out of the blue. But I love living in DC. I like being here because I have loads of friends all around me. An urban family, if you will. I love that they will all come to dinner at the drop of a hat. I love the tourists (yes, really). I love being within walking distance of all the major monuments, and not owning a car. I love the fact that I have the chance to see free films and art all the time. It’s glorious.

Moral of the story: for me it’s not so much the surroundings, but the people I’m with. If the majority of my friends up and moved to Texas, or Greenland, or somewhere even more remote, I’d think pretty hard about moving too. If the Book Depository shipped to wherever-in-the-back-of-beyond, that is! But let’s return to the free films bit – I went to a screening of It’s Kind of a Funny Story the other day (thanks, Filter Magazine!), and I want to share that experience with you.

Adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel, It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of burnt-out teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who checks himself into a mental health clinic citing exhaustion, and finds himself placed in the adult ward due to the fact that the youth ward has been shut down. Taken under the wing of fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the stressed-out 16-year-old attempts to endure his mandatory five days' stay without completely losing his mind.

What I wondered as I walked out of the theater: how many people feel exactly like Craig? Because his peripatetic, jumbled mind seemed to be an exact copy of mine during my years in grad school. A cycle of stress, freaking out, avoiding important things, more stress…it was a road into depression. I think that a lot of kids, young adults, and even adults are going to see this film and identify immediately.

BUT. There’s always a ‘but.’ While I was entertained by Bobby and identified with the protagonist, and liked the music (by Broken Social Scene), I also felt manipulated. Craig goes to a psych ward for five days. Five days…I know it’s enough time to change your life. Still, my cynical side won’t let me believe that it’s enough time to change everyone’s life. So I felt a little cheated. My built-in Eeyore mentality wanted more realism, and not a miraculous ‘everything comes together’ conclusion. But that’s just me.

In the end, It’s Kind of a Funny Story is hopeful and enjoyable, and it aspires to the label of cute indie-flick. It gets three quarters of the way there.

Recommended for: fans of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, people who wish deep down that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest had a happy ending, the usual complement of smart teens, hipsters looking for a reason to smile (is that a paradox or what?), and those with discerning musical taste.

CUE: Giveaway! If you’d like to win a movie tie-in edition of Vizzini’s novel plus a copy of the film’s CD soundtrack, see the instructions below. One winner will receive both items.

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To enter:

Fill out the FORM. Commenting here will get you an extra entry, but that will only work if you fill out the original form. Giveaway is open internationally, and will end on October 17 at 11:59pm EST. I will notify the randomly selected winner via email.

Good luck!