Doomsday dir. by Neil Marshal
This film really is utterly preposterous. Unbelievable in the extreme; plot holes every where. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It still kicks ass though. Hugely enjoyable. It is set in...
10 May 2008
Achilles by Elizabeth Cook
Two rivers. Flowing in contrary directions.
Two layers of water, each moving steadily, separate and self-possessed.
When I was thinking of books to read for the myth section of Carl’s challenge I did consider the Iliad, and the Odyssey too, so when I was wandering around the library and stumbled across this book it seemed perfect. And I’m so glad I picked it up; it makes for a really good read.
8 May 2008
Burma is a poor country and will need a lot of help to cope with a disaster of this scale
Am I the only person who is a little disturbed at how little coverage the Burma cyclone is getting? I mean I remember the huge coverage the tsunami in Indonesia got,...
7 May 2008
The hero with a thousand faces by Joseph Campbell
Whether we listen with aloof amusement to the dreamlike mumbo jumbo of some red-eyed with doctor of the Congo, or read with cultivated rapture thin translations from the sonnets of the mystic Lao-tse; now and again crack the hard nutshell of an argument of Aquinas, or catch suddenly the shining meaning of a bizarre Eskimo fairy tale: it will be always the one, shape-shifting yet marvellously constant story that we find. together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experiences than will ever be known or told.
I think maybe I’m just not in the mood for studious type books. At least, that’s the excuse I’m making for not really enjoying this book. Then again it may simply be that we’re all aware of these great themes that so many myths and fictions retell over and over again. Back in 1949 it was all original and new and so of course deserved all that attention. Now? Well the writing style is a little on the ponderous side and I think I’ve read most of these arguments before.
6 May 2008
The thistle and the rose by Jean Plaidy
ISBN: 9780099493259 Read with Historical Favorites See also: LibraryThing ; Literature Map ; Scandalous Women ; Susan Higginbotham In an apartment of that royal palace which recently, by the command of...
5 May 2008
The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford by Robert Hansun
He was growing into middle age and was living then in a bungalow on Woodland Avenue. Green weeds split the porch steps, a wasp nest clung to an attic gable, a rope swing looped down from a dying elm tree and the ground below it was scuffed soft as flour.
I think this is one of the rare cases where watching the film version improves your enjoyment of the novel. Maybe because for certain passages I could really here the narrator from the film while I was reading. I think that this might make an excellent audio book. Then again, I’ve never listened to an audio book, so what do I know.
23 April 2008
Trumpets blow
Well. So much for my much heralded return to blogging eh. Still, we can hope for better this week can’t we? There is always hope after all, unless you are busy...
22 April 2008
The Wars by Timothy Findley
ISBN: 0140050116 See also: The Stay at Home Bookworm ; Wikipedia Prologue She was standing in the middle of the railroad tracks. Her head was bowed and her right front hoof...
21 April 2008
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
ISBN: 9780330445320 Book 1 in the Quirke series See also: MetaCritic ; Grumpy Old Bookman ; PopMatters ; She was glad it was the evening mailboat she was taking, for she...
15 April 2008
Undecided dir. by Peter Greengrass
I’m still not totally on board with the new WordPress layout. I think long term it’ll turn out to be handy, but at the moment I’m still getting used to it....
13 April 2008
The Separation by Christopher Priest
ISBN: 9780575081154 See also: Grumpy Old Bookman ; Singling out the duplications ; Guardian Review ; Excessive Candour ; Sandstorm Reviews Jack and Joe are identical twins. Medal winners in the...
23 March 2008