What are you reading?

[melwalton]

hi, Charlie.
Advice about seeing the movie, 'Catch 22'. One word, DON"T!.
Heller's book was great, the movie belongs on a worst picture list.
...... mel

[CharlieT]

Thanks for the tip, mel, but sometimes I need to watch a bad movie so I can appreciate the good ones more.

Finished Dark Inheritance and started The Fourth K by Mario Puzo.

[CharlieT]

Finished The Fourth K and am currently reading A Christmas Carol - I do it every year. Next on my list is The Dirty Dozen by E. M. Nathanson. This movie I've seen, so comparisons can come as I read it.

I may be the only one using this thread. If so, I'll see me sometime next year.

[mrsl]

Hi Charlie:

I love to read, and I read at least one book every two weeks but the things I read are all fiction. I love mysteries, and generational family books, similar to movies, but I doubt if anyone would be interested in the books I read. I don't read bios or auto bios by and about actors, directors etc. Right now I'm re-reading The Christmas Box which, I believe is one of the few, if only, TV movies Maureen O'Hara was ever in. It's a short book about a young family who moves in with an older lady and learns about her long dead family. It's very touching and I read it every year at this time.

Anne

[CharlieT]

Hi, Anne.

I prefer fiction, too. It takes a special type of author to make real life as interesting as the imaginary work of some of the well-known writers of today. I try to work in many different types of genres, but sometimes I get into a rut with the books that I pick up. I got 3 James Michener's that I haven't quite convinced myself to dig into yet. A couple of Arthur Hailey's, too.

You may not be a Tom Clancy fan ( he tends to appeal to male readers more), but Robert Ludlum has a very similar style. Ludlum wrote the Bourne stories made popular by Matt Damon's movies. Lately, I try to get my hands on anything by Michael Crichton.

I never get to read at home, so as long as I can get in a few pages at lunch at work, I'll keep on plugging away from one book to another.

[mrsl]

Charlie:

I'm not sure you know, but I am a 62 year old grandmother whose favorite genre of movies is western. I also love war movies, and action/adventure. So you see . . . I'm weird. You mentioned 3 of my favorite authors and granted, they are generally considered men's style, but then I prefer men's movies. My problem is keeping the books. I always have an open book in the washroom, one on my nightstand, and one in the living room for commercials, but you would be surprised how often when I have company, I go into my washroom after everyone has left, and my book is gone. I guess the gentlemen think I have them in there for them. To this end, I have not finished two or three of them, until I can find them at the used book store, or the Salvation Army store, which is where I get my books from.

My favorite female writer is Nora Roberts who writes terrific romantic mystery novels and family stories. Under the name of J.D. Robb however, she write great murder mysteries. One of her books is always around my house in the process of being read.

Anne

[vallo]

I also enjoy fiction instead of Non-Fiction. I agree with Charlie about reading at work. I also bring a book to the Laundry-Mat. it makes doing laundry alot better, and alot faster. I read Dean Koontz, Ludlum, Robert Parker and once in a while Steven King. I'm really getting into the "Odd Thomas" series by Dean Koontz. The character is great (he sees the dead) and he has a great blend of humor and suspense and Koontz is not as gory as King. People tend to think I'm a little crazy because I'm laughing at certain parts of the book while waiting for my clothes to dry. But there was a time when I never read. Now I'm going from book to book somethimes 2 or 3 books at a time. The best thing is, my 15 yr. old son is an avid reader also.

Bill (vallo)

[jdb1]

A glorious four-day weekend for me. The weather in NYC is not too cold, but damp, foggy and windy. After a bit of last-minute shopping this morning, I decided to stay in, do some reading, and just take it easy. I finished Matthew Kennedy's bio of Joan Blondell, "A Life Between the Takes." Seems to me that Blondell was pretty much the same woman in life that she was on the screen, and that's no bad thing.

I'm browsing through "Adaptations," compiled by Stephanie Harrison, which is a collection of many short stories from difference eras which were adapted for the screen. Cornell Woolrich's "Rear Window" a/k/a "It Had to be Murder," is a masterpiece of economy. It's so short, but paints almost as full a picture, in a different way, as does the movie which sprung from it.

Now I'm going through "Red Ryder Nails the Hammond Kid," Jean Shepherd's story, from which he made A Christmas Story. The short story deals solely with the "you'll shoot your eye out" aspect of the movie. The other incidents come from other anecdotes Shepherd told on his radio program. Just as the movie does, this story made me a little sad. I really miss Shep.

[melwalton]

You're not alone, Charlie. I read your post and it seems seversl others do too; reason I don't respond is I have nothing to say on account of I quit reading sometime ago as the print kept getting smaller and smaller. I read a lot and I mean a lot, years ago. Now I squint on the computer.
I read a lot of fiction, true stories, poetry, technical books. Want a laugh, I used to read labels.
You're lucky you can still read. Stay with it. ... mel

[jdb1]

Over the weekend I finished "Joan Blondell-A Life Between Takes," which I enjoyed. It seems that the woman behind the screen was very much the same woman we saw on the screen.

Two interesting bits of information:

First, the author, Matthew Kennedy, claims that William Castle originally intended Blondell to star in Straight-Jacket, a role that eventually went to Joan Crawford. I leave it to you to speculate on what the differences would have been.

Second -- If you read my thread about Mae Clarke, you may recall that Clarke was very put off by Edward G. Robinson, with whom she made one film. She thought him nasty, and a snob. Well . . . . . Kennedy relates that when Bondell and Robinson were working together on The Cincinnati Kid Robinson asked her "Was I a b*st**d when I was younger?" to which she replied that she was sorry to say he certainly was. So maybe Mae Clarke had something there.

Another point I found interesting was in relation to Blondell's divorce from Dick Powell. I remember reading in some Hollywood tell-all book about how Powell threw her out of the house after an argument during a party, saying "If you don't like it, you can leave!" "A Life Between Takes" relates Blondell's testimony during divorce proceedings, wherein she states that she and Powell were having words one day about all the expensive and bulky electronic and telephone equipment he had put in his home office, and he told her if she didn't like being in the office, she could simply leave it. The way Blondell told it, the incident was hardly the sensational and dramatic confrontation I read about in that other silly book.

[feaito]

Very interesting Judith, it sure sounds like a fine book!

[CharlieT]

Well, I had a little hitch in my reading plans. After finishing A Christmas Carol, instead of going on to read The Dirty Dozen, I was asked by my best friend to read the book I got him for his birthday.

He and I enjoy golfing together and he's a big Alice Cooper fan, so naturally, I bought him Alice Cooper, Golf Monster. He read it and wanted me to read it so we could discuss it. Anything for a friend - especially one you've had since you were 5 years old (over 50 years.) The book is an easy and interesting read and I'm about 2/3 of the way through it, so I should be back on track by Monday or Tuesday.

I'm also trying to figure out when I'm going to listen to my audio version of To Kill A Mockingbird narrated by Sissy Spacek that my wife got me for Christmas. It has 11 discs and lasts for about 12 hours. I may try taking it to work and see if I can maintain continuity while I'm doing my manual labor intensive job. Listening to music is no problem, but keeping focused on the spoken word may be a different story - no pun intended.

[Moraldo Rubini]

Another point I found interesting was in relation to Blondell's divorce from Dick Powell. I remember reading in some Hollywood tell-all book about how Powell threw her out of the house after an argument during a party, saying "If you don't like it, you can leave!" "A Life Between Takes" relates Blondell's testimony during divorce proceedings, wherein she states that she and Powell were having words one day about all the expensive and bulky electronic and telephone equipment he had put in his home office, and he told her if she didn't like being in the office, she could simply leave it. The way Blondell told it, the incident was hardly the sensational and dramatic confrontation I read about in that other silly book.

I finally saw Akira Kurasawa's film Rashomon the other day at a revival in a local movie house. Suddenly stories like the Blondell/Powell bout have a new resonance...

[Moraldo Rubini]

I'm currently reading Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire. The introduction of this beautifully written book from 2001 twists the arrogant notion that humans are in control of plants, and ponders how much control plants have on humans. From there, the book is split into four human desires -- sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control -- and tells the tales of four plants that feed those desires: the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato. The apple section if a fascinating history of the fruited tree and attempts to break through the legendary folklore of "Johnny Appleseed" to discover the real John Chapman. It might sound academic, but it's both amusing and interesting.

Moraldo, that does sound like a fascinating book, and your description reminded me of Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses , which blended a poet's eye with an appreciation for the truly awesome intricacy of science. One of my favorite books, which I'd like to reread soon, though I think I'll have to read Michael Pollan's book now too. Thanks for mentioning this one.

Michael Pollan came out with a new book this week: In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. It's all the rage here in San Francisco, but I'm behind and am just picking up his tome from last year, The Omnivore's Dilemma... In this book he follows the food chains — industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves — from the source to the final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating. He takes us from Iowa cornfields to food-science laboratories; from feedlots and fast-food restaurants to organic farms and hunting grounds. As a "foodie", I'm looking forward to this. Eating and watching movies -- ah, what a life!

[Lzcutter]

Over the holidays I was fortunate enough to read Betsy Blair's "The Memory of All That". Some very fascinating insights to Gene Kelly, Betsy Blair and many others.

Also, very much enjoyed Arthur Larentz's "Original Story"..

Especially liked his take on writing The Way We Were and what happened to the film's blacklist story line. Luckily we have the special edition DVD and in the documentary, there are the missing scenes. (A special thanks to Barbra S. for saving those gems)

The missing scenes certainly hurt the story. Don't know what the heck Sidney Pollack was thinking.

Also loved Laurentz talking about writing Gypsy and West Side Story and working with Jerome Robbins, Lenny B and Steve (do people really call him Steve!) Sondheim.

A very good read.