Finally finished up "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"...
Defoe's classic, A Journal of the Plague Year and Simon Ley's The Hall of Uselessness await claim
inside my UPS box. Mister Cairo's post convinced me to order A Journal, and, Hall is a replacement.
One of many I will purchase since my sister decided upon her own volition to rob my library when I was away,
donating two hundred books to the local library; including Foster's magnum Ossa Latinitatis Sola,
temporary insanity I attribute to little sister knows best syndrome. An incurable malady.
I'd be very frustrated were someone to give some of our books away. All but a few of them have all but no monetary value, but they mean so much to us. We do cull a bit each year and bring those books over to a Goodwill type place, but that's different than what happened to you.
Woolrich-a blast from the past, almost forgotten him. Believe he went out to Los Angeles to write
at least for a time. Along with Fitzgerald, a proven product but I thought him somewhat below the
varsity letters pecking order as compared to F-Scott.
Off-topic, bye-the-bye trapsing around YouTube and came across a few snippets of Ingrid Bergman
in Casablanca. Her beauty always overwhelms. What an exquisite woman, and my admiration for Rick
being able to do the right noble thing, all the more so. Films, like books that make a man think are priceless,
simply beyond mere mortal measure.
Recent water cooler talk about F Scott and Gatsby, comparing Redford to Leo what's-his-name?
Haven't seen the newer flick but Redford seemed to have caught the character well enough for my money
anyway. Haven't seen flick or read book in ages, long time no see Woolrich or any lost generation hacks.
Intriguing time in history but amazed the other day how Jay Gatsby is still alive and well despite his date
with a .38, or was it a .45?
Picked up this afternoon: Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year and ashamed to say eagerly looking
forward to it, will relish reading this classic.
I've seen both versions of the movie and, for me, it was the style differences more than the actors that defined the two efforts.
The '13 version was a super-amped-up mashup of a movie and a music video that, IMO, was style over substance. It was so loud, glitzy and frenetic, I'm not sure I'd have even followed the story in this version if I hadn't known it going in.
Conversely, the '74 version was so faithful to the book, it moved too slowly for a movie, but was impressive in its devotion to its source material.
There's also a '49 version out there, but I've never seen it. Hopefully, it will pop up on TCM or somewhere one day.