Make Time for a Movie & a Book Over Winter Break

Two weeks with no work and three young 'uns and a couple of national holidays thrown in for good measure sounds pretty divine to this mod mama. In my fantasy, we'll all sleep in every day, play quietly until it's time for lunch and then spend the afternoon playing board games, watching movies and reading books. Ahhh. Just don't tell my kids my fantasy. They'll laugh it all the way to the moon. But, maybe, just maaaaaaybe, you can squeeze in a new movie or a great book over the holidays. Here are some for your consideration:

In theaters:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, about a boy born as a an old man and ages in reverse. Should win some Oscars next spring.

Doubt starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the priest in question and Meryl Streep as the accusing nun. It was a Pultizer Prize winning play before it hit the big screen, but with such fine actors, you must add it to your must see list. The Catholic in me resisted seeing it because I thought it would be just another priest-as-pedophile drama, but it's not. In fact, that's the point. You don't know if the priest is or isn't, hence the title.

Revelation Road starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo diCaprio as a couple in the '60s who struggle with holding their marriage together. It's weepy, it's dramatic and it's proof that Leonardo and Kate are both ready to have Oscar babies together.

In bookstores:
I've read and loved so many books this year, both fiction and non-fiction - for full reviews, go to www.athenasbookshelf.com. Hit your local bookseller and ask for these if you're in the mood for:

Marriage on the Rocks Books:
Sleeping with Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner
My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher

Road Trip Book:
Driving Sideways by Jess Riley

Angsty/Emotional Books:
The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum
Falling Under by Danielle Younge-Ullman
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Joshilynn Jackson

Women in Transition:
Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison
Mrs. Perfect by Jane Porter
Dating da Vinci by Malena Lott

Smart Non-Fiction:
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Piano Girl by Robin Meloy Goldsby (Memoir)
Where Did I Leave My Glasses by Martha Weinman Lear
The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life by Kathy L. Patrick

I'll see you in 2009! Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year!