Ah, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Aside from celebrating a great American and getting the day off from work, we get UPS deliveries today (UPS lists this as a holiday "recognized but not observed," whatever that means). And Barnes and Noble, after failing us at so many turns, finally delivers.
We got the new Alton Brown cookbook, Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson, and Locas, which is a Love and Rockets collection and weighs about eight pounds (thank heaven for free shipping). The things that excite me, though, are The End of the Affair, which I'm excited to read now that I've learned that I like Graham Greene (I'd like to see the movie, too, eventually, though I can't imagine that Hollywood could do with a romance-based plot what I suspect Greene is going to do). I'd also like to read The Quiet American, and see that movie, I think. Though a book written about an American in Vietnam in the 60s can't be anything like a movie made out of the same plot in the 90s.
And Gilead. I haven't been so excited about a book I barely know anything about by an author I've never read in I don't know how long. And I will make this statement, for the public record (such as it were): if I don't get the book club pick in time to bring this to the table, I'm going to call a Renegade Book Club. I will bring together those who will rally to my banner, and together we will begin a new tradition, firm and bold in our faith that change can be good, and new beginnings are always possible.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
2 comments:
sharon, don't dismiss the film adaptations of end of the affair or the quiet american without giving them an honest chance at some fidelity and authenticity. both are by accomplished directors (ireland's neil jordan and australia's philip noyce) and both strive and achieve a very un-hollywood-ish mood and resolution. of course, watching it at home with mike will make end of the affair a more enjoyable or romantic experience than seeing it with your girlfriend and her grandmother (mine, oh the embarassment of sex scenes and gramma on your flank) and brendan fraser can act, albeit in a limited range, and benefits greatly from michael caine's presence. see gods and monsters, but not monkeybone.
npp--I'm not dismissing the movies at all--though I think you overestimate Brendan Fraser just a tad. I'm very excited to see both of them. I've wanted to see The Quiet American from the beginning, though I've only become interested in The End of the Affair since I realized a) it's Graham Greene, and b) I really like Graham Greene. But Mike and I rarely watch romantic movies, and I think you're right--it'll be great.
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