"The plot of the novel is woven invisibly under you, and pulled out just as you are settling in. It is one of the best novels about a young woman that I’ve ever read. These moments of transformation and epiphany go by unnoticed by the outside world, but we have the privilege of being in Portia’s mind with her as she’s trying to figure out exactly how the world is put together and why people do what they do."

"Close-up and Blow Out make a great double feature, mainly because their titles sound so cool together but also because you can’t find two better examples of wickedly smart and politically alive “self-referential” cinema that couldn’t be less doctrinaire. Also, because including Brian De Palma proves I’m not a total snob and allows me to plug one of the funniest and most intelligent books of film theory of the past decade, Chris Dumas’s Un-American Psycho."

"Close-up and Blow Out make a great double feature, mainly because their titles sound so cool together but also because you can’t find two better examples of wickedly smart and politically alive “self-referential” cinema that couldn’t be less doctrinaire. Also, because including Brian De Palma proves I’m not a total snob and allows me to plug one of the funniest and most intelligent books of film theory of the past decade, Chris Dumas’s Un-American Psycho."

"Right? So this is a love story about a summer fling. It incorporated music and dance into a story that rang of nostalgia and the world as it used to be, which seems so different, and yet the emotions that all of the characters experience — from the couple that falls in love, or the parents or the sister — they all ring with authenticity. It all comes together in a way that is both memorable and moving."

"One of the scariest, most pessimistic modern horror movies, dressed as a romance. Roeg never had the elements come together the way they do here. Pino Donaggio’s score is unforgettably lush, and a reminder of how vital a collaborator movie music is. Christie and Sutherland are chic in deserted Venice. One of the most shocking climaxes ever—dread-filled and bloody. One of Paramount’s big Christmas films of 1973—today you can only marvel at that."

"As any parent knows, preparing your kids for life after high school is a long and sometimes difficult journey. Tavenner—who created a network of some of the best performing schools in the nation—has put together a helpful guidebook about how to make that process as smooth and fruitful as possible. Along the way, she shares what she’s learned about teaching kids not just what they need to get into college, but how to live a good life".