A Cineaste’s Bookshelf
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Top Ten Things Books Made Me Want To Learn
Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do or Learn About After Reading Them (I only have time to write about three today) Horseracing I was always pretty good with horses. After reading Seabiscuit, I became a little bit obsessed. I learned so much about bugboys and claiming races. I visited my family’s county… Read More »
Slightly Foxed
I recently received a lovely care package from the kind folks at Slightly Foxed. Based in London, they publish a quarterly literary magazine. “The independent-minded quarterly that combines good looks, good writing and a personal approach.Companionable, entertaining and elegantly produced, Slightly Foxed puts its readers in touch with a world of interesting and often forgotten books. Within… Read More »
ACCENT: THE HOUSE BETWEEN TIDES
After a great cover blurb and a zealous letter from the editor, I was ready to swept away by The House Between Tides. Its praise promised more than once to be like Rebecca, and the setting of a crumbling mansion isolated on a tidal island sounded like another Eel Marsh House. The set-up was good. Modern day… Read More »
REVIEW: THE WICKED BOY by Kate Summerscale
I think this is Summerscale’s best to date. I devoured this one in less than 24 hours. Two normal boys, not yet in their teens, play at truancy and go to Lord’s Cricket Grounds to watch a match. Harmless fun, really. The elder brother has just aged out of the mandatory school age anyway. What’s peculiar… Read More »
It's Monday - What are you reading?: July 11
I was in a local library lull for awhile (for no reason) but I recently picked up a big stack and have been working my way through them. I just finished Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton. I highly recommend it. It is short but deep and brilliant. Margaret the First dramatizes the life of Margaret Cavendish,… Read More »
ACCENT: THE LIGHT OF PARIS by Eleanor Brown
Light it is indeed. Using the tried and true format of alternating narratives, Brown links the lives of Madeleine and her grandmother Margie, and their quest for happiness. Madeleine seeks refuge from an unhappy marriage and a controlling husband in her childhood bedroom. Her mother is nearly as picky as the man she is trying… Read More »
Favorite Books with Fewer Than 2000 Ratings on Goodreads
These books have fewer than 2000 ratings on Goodreads, meaning they are, well, underrated. Here are ten that fall into this category that I’ve really enjoyed. Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris An absolutely stunning and amazing book. There were many overnight hours spent with a little light, awake and reading. Hustvedt demonstrates such thorough… Read More »
ACCENT: MY HOLIDAY IN NORTH KOREA
Travel writer Wendy Simmons had been to nearly 100 countries and finally obtained permissions to visit North Korea. This is something very few Americans have ever done. After a bizarre ten days in one of the most unknown cultures, Simmons returned and wrote this book. Structured as a travelogue, she outlines each day’s excursions —… Read More »
Ten books they should teach in high school (instead of the ones they do)
It’s kind of amazing that I became an English major considering how many books we had to read in high school that were either A) terrible, B) badly taught, or C) both. These are some ideas that I think would have been much more effective and enjoyable in high school. Maybe some of you were… Read More »
REVIEW: THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE by Thomas Harding
Do not be taken in by tranquil thoughts of a summer house by the lake. Though many hours of pleasure were spent in the cabin, it has seen far more distress and tragedy. Harding recounts the story of five families who lived in the house, including his own ancestors who built it. The house serves as… Read More »
REVIEW: THE ESSEX SERPENT by Sarah Perry
Cora is recently widowed, and not nearly as sad as her society dictates she should be. She decamps London, with son Francis and friend Martha in tow, for rural Essex. There she can pursue her study of fossils and lost creatures. She also soon learns the villagers believe there is a monstrous creature lurking in the tidal shoals -- just waiting to attack.Read More »
Books to watch for in fall 2016ACCENT: THE NEVER-OPEN DESERT DINER
Ben is a delivery driver, bringing sundry items to a forgotten stretch of road in the Utah desert. His days as a driver are likely numbered if he isn’t able to collect some of the money owed to him, but he can’t bear to pressure the odd assortment of people on his route. Walt is… Read More »
ACCENT: THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTO
In 1888, the wealthy business tycoons of Pittsburgh retreated to their summer “cottages” at a man-made lake that hung high above Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club counted among its members Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Elizabeth Haberlin, one of the book’s two protagonists, is the daughter of one of these monied… Read More »
Books for June
It’s June. Time to find a quiet beach and something to read. After a great college class about the history of religious movements in America, I’ve always been fascinated with the activity that grew out of the so-called “Burned-Over District.” And as a frequent volunteer at a Shaker Village I know there is a great deal to… Read More »