I always celebrate Oscars Night. For one, I like movies. For two, and more importantly for me, I can pretty easily digest a whole year’s worth of pop culture by participating in only a few televised events per annum. For three, I rarely pass up a celebration which can involve traditional food (ahem, pizza rolls and sparkling juice). And four, it has been a personal tradition, since I was a girl. Whereas I can’t relive the fun of the Olympics without cable TV (and balk at at whole every-other-year thing), I can participate in the Super Bowl and Oscars festivities by piggy-backing on someone else’s party.

Here are my non-bookish thoughts on Sunday night:

• Ellen is really funny. I think we could hang.
• While Hollywood has been clinging to the classy glam thing for the last several years, I kind of miss people showing up in gowns made from things as far flung as credit cards and swans.
• Is it just me and my sister, or do the fashion reporters love to gush about the small things (like a color or a ring), but completely ignore the giant things that are making the rest of us gape unabashedly. Yes, she looked lovely most places, but the designer made her look like a 12-year-old boy in a gown!
• I am never left without the clear realization that the Oscars are extremely myopic. I mean, wouldn’t it be more fun if the awards celebrated many different areas (like the Nobel Peace Prizes) or even encompassed more arts or even were more inclusive of films? When one film takes home so much attention and honors, it becomes a groaner, for sure.
• Too much red carpet. Some of the people at the Oscar party I attended wandered off to do the dishes to escape the boring pleasantries and endless interviews. If they would just tech it up like everything else, you know, with clips and montages and info and history…
• Apparently the scene in Frozen where Queen Elsa sings “Let It Go” and magically makes a new gown out of ice and snow has had a much bigger impact on the fashion world than anyone is willing to admit. Seriously, how many Oscar gowns looked like they were made by Elsa?

My Oscars Month of reading is over. I only managed to get through two of the books. I flew through The Great Gatsby, but then juggled the behemoth of Anna Karenina with my very busy life for three weeks. It is finished. (Review forthcoming.) I am now moving back to my regular, Best Books TBR. But if you are interested in reading books with Oscar-lauded movies to accompany, see this post from early February. I’d love to hear about it so I can live vicariously through you.

Great Gatsby took both awards it was nominated for (costume and production), which makes one wonder what would have happened if it had been up for more. Everything else (sic) was split unevenly between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave. I spent the majority of the broadcast devising ways to get on stage after my novel has been co-adapted by myself and designing what I might wear so that I get highlighted in all the mags and don’t fall over while walking.