Better Than the Movies

 Bridget Jones's Diary is the first movie I owned on DVD; for a while it was the only one I owned, which meant I watched it alot.

I would have watched it alot anyway though because I've always been madly in love with Colin Firth. I still watch those movies* all the time, so it's no surprise that when I saw a YA novel that references Bridget Jones's Diary on the first page, I was hooked. I also love that her cat is named Mr. Fitzpervert (a nod to Bridget's leering supervisor in the the first movie).  . .Not to mention the adorable cover art that references the kiss at the end:

Better Than the Movies is the story of Liz Buxbaum, who was raised on romantic-comedy movies. Each chapter begins with a quote from movies such as When Harry Met Sally, Ten Things I Hate About You, Sweet Home Alabama, You've Got Mail and more, in addition to Bridget Jones.

When her grade-school crush moves back to town, she makes a bet with with her obnoxious (so she thinks) next door neighbor (who is of course, also adorable) that she can end up at the prom with her crush. Of course, as the pair begin faux-dating and think they are putting on a show for everyone, everyone else is seeing right through the act.

This book is perfect for fans of the To All the Boys I've Loved Before series, as well as anyone like me, who watches romantic comedies for comfort.

I read the entire 350 pages in one day because I couldn't put it down.

I alsways loved You've Got Mail, not just for the romance story but also because I envy Kathleen Kelly's charming children's bookstore in NYC; I'd give anything for a store like that, which stocks the best stories, where I could be the Storybook Lady and put as many twinkle lights up as I wanted.  .  .sigh.  .  .

          

* My personal ranking of the Bridget Jones movies:

1. Bridget Jones's Diary (the OG)

2. Bridget Jones's Baby (sans Hugh Grant, but Patrick Dempsey is a welcome stand-in, and the line "Sometimes you love a person just because they feel like home" is perfect)

3. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (definitely a sad narrative for Bridget, but still very true to her character and Hugh Grant returns)

4. Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason (as much as I love these movies, this sequel just seemed to recycle all the gags from the first movie, but in a more exaggerated way that overshadowed the original awkward charm of Bridget)

"The Soul of Little Golden Books"

 One of the things I love about Goodwill Buy the Pound is the bins full of books. I found this book recently, and for some reason, the face of the girl on the cover looked familiar. I couldn't quite place it, but obviously I had to find out, so I put the book in my pile.

A few days later when I had some time, I did a quick Google on the illustrator and realized that she hadf illustrated a number of the Little Golden Books, including one I specifically remembered from my childhood: We Like Kindergarten.

I don't have my copy anymore, but I immediately found one online and bought it, as well as a few of her other Golden books.

 I did have Baby's Christmas on my shelf so I pulled that down to look at it.

 Wilkin's style of illustration is like a romanticized realism; her children have apple cheeks, bright eyes cupid-bow mouths and wispy hair.

 

 Eloise Wilkin is also a Rochester, NY native! I had no idea but I was glad to find that out. She was born in Rochester, NY in 1904. She moved to NYC at the age of two, but spent many summers with relatives in Western New York, which was the inspiration for her idyllic pictures of family life.

  

She graduated from the Rochester Athaneum and Mechanics Institute, which is now the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), in 1923.

She opened an art studio in Rochester with a friend, but after struggling to find work she returned to NYC.

Over the course of her life, she illustrated a number of Golden books, and would re-do illustrations to reflect shifts in societal and family values. For example, her 1954 cover illustration for "The New Baby" shows a baby sleeping on its tummy, but she changed it for 1975 because of the increasing awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Similarly, the 1956 book My Little Golden Book about God only depicts white children,  but she re-did several illustrations for the 1974 edition to be more inclusive.

She also designed several baby dolls for the Vogue and Madame Alexander companies.

 

(Photos of dolls are not mine)

She died in 1987 and is buried in Holy Sepulchre cemetary, which is also where silent film star Louise Brooks is laid to rest. I guess next tie I am visiting home, I'll have to locate it.

Jane Werner Watson, author and editor of hundreds of Golden books, called Wilkin "The Soul of Little Golden Books" and I can definitely see why now; her colored pencil and watercolor illustrations reflect the quiet moments and gentle words adults cherish when they have young children in their laps, looking at books together.

I will leave off with two of my favorite illustrations from my new little collection.

The Unfortunate Consequences of Bleeding on a Tuesday

This YA book came up in my suggestions on Amazon recently, and I was immediately intrigued by it.

                                                                 

It centers on Delia, a teenage girl who is struggling with "part of growing up" as everyone likes to tell her.

They don't see the intense pain that she endures and they don;t know about her desperation to find a doctor who will a) actually believe her and b) find the cause of it.

Every doctor she goes to is dismissive, and only offer platitudes like "It's normal" "It's part of being a woman" "You just aren't used to it yet" "We'll keep an eye on it" etc

Why does being female equal the expectation to endure pain?

We are expected to endure menstruation (which starts younger and younger now), pregnancy, childbirth, perimenopause, menopause and it's just seen as 'normal.'

Don't even get me started on how the medical industry is antiquated when it specifically comes to pregancy and childbirth (I don't mean technology- I mean the mindset)

Not long ago, there was a big trend on TikTok and Instagram about women who had IUD procedures, and they were given the advice to "take some Tylenol" (or similar) and it was mind boggling to read the sheer amount of comments confirming that it's widespread and well-known.

We like to say that women's health is important, and there are all sorts of advances in technology and biochemistry available, and yet almost every female I have ever talked to can come up with at least one example when her pain (physical as well as mental) was ignored, or minimized.

Every teenage girl should read this book. And every teenage boy. And anyone with a daughter. And anyone in the health care industry.

AND (not OR) AND maybe we should just start believing women when they say they are in pain, or something feels wrong.