the virgin suicides (1994)

The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides)

i recall the movie as not being very engaging or interesting. however, reading the book makes me want to re-visit the film. the book is clearly more developed and it seems like eugenides' pulitzer (for middlesex) is well deserved. the story about a group of sisters who eventually all commit suicide is told from the perspective of the boys who admire and are enraptured by them. the book sucks you in from the beginning and eugenides' writing style is a pleasure to experience.

seven tattoos (1997)

Seven Tattoos: A Memoir in the Flesh (Peter Trachenburg)

the reason i picked up this book was because the author and i had the same number of tattoos. of course, his tattoos carry more significance, a bookful more in fact. trachenburg's book is more of a memoir and uses his tattoos to explore his life history and to muse on various related subjects. the writing is quite excellent and the book very absorbing. recommended for the tattooed and untattooed alike.

l.a. confidential (1990)

L.A. Confidential (James Ellroy)

i keep telling people to read the book -- which is a hundred times different than the movie -- but nobody listens to me. it's a pretty good movie but a great book. after you read it, you'll really gain an appreciation for the work that went into making the screenplay (oscar for "best adapted screenplay" in 1997). i hope to read all of ellroy's "l.a. quartet" and now's the time, what with black dahlia hitting movie screens.