Fangirl Friday: Feb. 17, 2012

Fangirl Friday is a feature hosted by Nancy Drew is My Homegirl. I’m nearly always late, though, because my work deadlines leave me pretty exhausted by Friday. But here are my week’s favorite pop-culture things.

1. I adore Adele, but I had a feeling she’d sweep the Grammys, so that wasn’t a huge surprise. The real treat for me from the 2012 Grammy Awards was the 60 seconds the producers gave The Civil Wars to introduce Taylor Swift. Joy Williams and John Paul White (who looks like the son of Johnny Depp and Jack White — were that genetically possible). “Barton Hollow” is one of those unforgettable songs, and their harmonizing is out of this world (I seriously thought they were together, but they’re just very good friends… married to other people!). Here’s them singing (and Joy bopping up and down to) the entire song:

 

2. I was sad about the death of Whitney Houston this week, but not because I still listened to her music (I don’t, but I always crank up “So Emotional” and some of her other hits whenever I hear them on the XM ’80s station)… It’s always sad when someone so talented falls victim to addiction. I’ve had to write about her several times this week, and her funeral made me get teary — especially when Stevie Wonder sang. “Love’s In Need of Love Today” might as well be a hymn, as far as I’m concerned.

3. The “I Choo-Choo-Choose You” Valentine my husband gave me on Tuesday. I was having one of those irrational “woe is me, my husband will never be as romantic as X, Y, and Z who do 1, 2, and 3 for their girlfriend/fiancee/wife on Valentine’s Day” moments, and then somehow, it all came together despite the last-minute nature of our evening. My (happily!) single friend watched the three kidlets for a couple of hours, so my husband could bring me yummy BBQ, a sampler (plus hot cocoa!) from a gourmet chocolatier, and his valentine. The card is an inside joke to any diehard “Simpsons” fan (the “I Love Lisa” episode, to be precise), and we say it all the time, not just Feb. 14. My husband, he’s a keeper, and I’m occasionally an idiot for wanting the holiday when I really just want him.
4. “Why We Broke Up” written by Lemony Snicket Daniel Handler with art by Maira Kalman. This is not a typical YA love story where we all get to swoon about the central couple’s happily ever after (or at least “happily until some time in college”). This is, like “500 Days of Summer,” the story of a break up. The book is about a box full of the mementos of a relationship that Minerva “Min” Green dumps (with a thunk) on the front door of her ex, Ed Slaterton. She encloses the items with an extremely detailed letter with the titular explanation: They “met at a party, saw a movie, followed an old woman, shared a hotel room, and broke each other’s hearts,” as the book’s Tumblr blog explains. The book was so captivating I fell asleep at nearly 4 a.m. to finish it… but I couldn’t, so I finished it in a museum parking later that morning. I will write a formal Editor’s Pick of the book, but needless to say, it was definitely deserving of its Printz Honor!

I highly encourage all of you to read it. Thanks, Jenn, for the initial recommendation.

 

5. I’m fairly modest about most things, but when it comes to my van’s (we call her Rosie) bumper, I’m incredibly vain. I have the coolest magnet evah, and today someone stole it! Boo! Hiss! It says: “I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie.” I can’t tell you how many people have stopped to ask me where I got it, or to tell me it’s awesome. And it is… it was, until whoever swiped it took it away. This is the risk you take with a magnet instead of a sticker, I guess. I’ve already reordered it, but Rosie looks naked without her beauty mark/my declaration of booknerd geekdom. And if you don’t get the reference, I feel a teensy bit sorry for you.