This is reposted from my old blog. I’ve imported the whole post, comments and all, into a single space here. I’ve listed it here under its original date.
Hit (or Miss) List, September ’09
Saturday, October 3, 2009
I finally had a little more time for some reading and movie-watching. I made a little headway on my Fill in the Gaps list in September, which was fun, and also got to catch up on some other reading/viewing I’d left hanging for a while. And I had a lot of fun catching a few old movies on the MGM channel while I was unexpectedly back in Singapore for a week to settle matters for my China visa.
Here’s what I’ve been reading and watching for the past month:
Hit List
- •Quantum Lyrics (A Van Jordan) — see my review at Sloth Jockey
- •Velocity (Dean Koontz) — see my response at Fill in the Gaps
this was on my “Fill in the Gaps” list because I’d heard good things about Koontz’s writing; it was better than I thought
- •Macbeth (movie) — 2006 Australian version
- •Slipstream (movie)
this was something I’d picked up on DVD some time back, and finally got to watch; very, very good
- •Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury)
- •Dark Nebulae (John J. Dunphy)
- •The Mouths that Remain (Gavin Salisbury)
- •The Princess of Mars (Edgar Rice Burroughs) — see my response at Fill in the Gaps
- •The Fountainhead (movie)
- •Clean Slate (movie)
- •A Fish Called Wanda (movie)
- •Transformers 2 (movie)
- •Rip Van Winkle (Washington Irving) — see my response at Fill in the Gaps
Miss List
•Training Day (movie)
I’m not sure it was exactly a miss, but I really didn’t like it as much as I thought I would – too cliche, I guess
•The Aeneid (Vergil, a Librivox recording)
it’s not the text that was the problem, as I’ve always loved The Aeneid, but the recording; some of the readers just don’t read poetry well, especially Dryden’s rhyme and meter
Neither Hit nor Miss
- •The World is Flat (Thomas Friedman) — read my thoughts at Tai Shan
there were some good thoughts, for sure, but I probably waited to long to read it; it’s rather dated already
- •Director’s Cut (Alton Gansky)
So, what have you been reading and watching this past month?
And I’ve just finished ‘Rhyming Life and Death’ by Amos Oz. It’s a novella where we get to witness the writing process in action as we listen to the stream-of-consciousness narrative describing what goes on in an author’s mind. Next to no plot – and even some of the plot there is might well only be imagined – but I loved it.
Best of luck with your new book.
Malcolm
I read some of your comments here or there (or perhaps here andthere) about your reading of 2666. It sounds like a very intriguing read. I think I might enjoy it, from what you’ve said.
I have mostly only caught movies on TV or DVD for the past several months, though I actually really love seeing them on the big screen (how old fashioned is that???).
I’m reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell right now. It’s pretty good so far (about a quarter into it). It was recommended by a couple of friends, and I am hoping to finish while one of those friends is visiting me here in Shanghai next week. It’s always fun to discuss a book with the person who recommended it to you.
I’ll keep “The Madam” on my radar too, as well as Conroy’s work.
Malcolm
Thanks for picking up my book. I’ll look forward to hearing your feedback. I’m anxious to see what real live readers think of it.
I’ll be over to have a look at your list.
Shelly Bryant 