What are you currently reading?

[orbital]

I'm through reading Lolita. I absolutely loved it! It is written so well, in fact, that I did not even stop to consider what was really going on there -the moral consequences and all- and instead felt sorry for a doomed, hopeless (and platonic) tale of love and obsession.

Now about to start Beautiful Losers.

[Opus106]

P.G. Wodehouse is great. Reading him is sheer joy, even apart from the humour. I don't know how he does it, but his choice of words is exquisite and his sentences are immaculate.

Wodehouse -- I second the recommendation. You are in for a treat. Never fails to cheer me up.

(With due apologies to Ronald) I'm lovin' it!

[karlhenning]

Ah, Plum!

You can't stick lighted matches between the toes of an English butler. He would raise his eyebrows and freeze you with a glance. You'd feel as if he had caught you using the wrong fork.

[Opus106]

Ah, Plum!

I have a few favourites of my own. Maybe they are funnier if read in context but still...


W: You were talking with Chuffy, did you say?
J: Yes, sir
W: And he heard all that, too?
J: Yes, sir.
W: About me kissing Miss Stoker?
J: Yes, sir.
W: Did it seem to stir him up?
J: Yes, sir.
W: What did he say?
J: He mentioned something about scooping out your inside, sir.


Wooster, about Sgt. Voules: He always looked to me as if Nature had really intended to make two police sergeants and had forgotten to split them up.


Fry Hugh and Laurie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWnB0hQWGdI

[karlhenning]

He was a master of brilliant, hilarious dialogue, Thos!

[sound67]

Speaking of P.G. Wodehouse, does anybody now the Jeeves TV serial starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie? Is it worth the DVD investment?

Reading: Hammer Films: The Elstree Studio Years, by Wayne Kinsey.



A follow-up to Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years, by the same author.

Enjoying this enormously. You know, when I was a student, I'd watch the films that ezodisy likes, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and other directors who made "superior" movies that'll soon be forgotten. Now, into my forties, I just wanna have fun.

And Hammer films are a lot of fun!

Thomas

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

(With due apologies to Ronald) I'm lovin' it!

Another man of taste. 

Speaking of P.G. Wodehouse, does anybody now the Jeeves TV serial starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie? Is it worth the DVD investment?

I have watched the first two series - very very good.

[Opus106]

Speaking of P.G. Wodehouse, does anybody now the Jeeves TV serial starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie? Is it worth the DVD investment?

I just posted a clip in my last post. And there are plenty more where that came from.

[sound67]

Right. Very amusing indeed. Got to get those DVDs from England. Overpriced, but still. 

[Bogey]

Speaking of P.G. Wodehouse, does anybody now the Jeeves TV serial starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie? Is it worth the DVD investment?

Reading: Hammer Films: The Elstree Studio Years, by Wayne Kinsey.



A follow-up to Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years, by the same author.

Enjoying this enormously. You know, when I was a student, I'd watch the films that ezodisy likes, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and other directors who made "superior" movies that'll soon be forgotten. Now, into my forties, I just wanna have fun.

And Hammer films are a lot of fun!

Thomas

Thomas,
Never enjoyed the Hammer films.  Wanted to, as they seemed to be on most Friday nights when I was a kid.  Always went with Universal.....heck, even a Godzilla movie would trump these for me as an adult.  Now, there were those Vincent Price films that I enjoyed and those rarely seen (at least for me) RKO flicks mentioned by eyeresist in another thread.  But Hammer....just not for me.

[sound67]

Then maybe you'd like Losey's The Damned, Brian Clemens's Captain Kronos or Roger Young's Vampire Circus. All Hammer productions, but very un-Hammeresque. 

Like the Poe "adaptations" with Price, too. Too bad those Les Baxter scores were never released. A grandson of his contacted me once and told me that the master tapes existed. I think he fancied I had the money to make CDs out of them. Do you know Baxter's score for "Master of the World", another Vincent price starrer? That's fine film music, similar but superior to Young's Around the World in 80 Days!

The Val Lewton films from RKO are really great. Love those Roy Webb scores, too. Very advanced harmonically for 1940s Hollywood.

Thomas

[sound67]

I'd like to know: What are the books that people KEEP reading, i.e. the reference works they return to on a daily basis?

Two of mine:



Still my favorite movie reference guide, ahead of the more elaborate, but less consistent, Time Out Film Guide. Have bought the consecutive editions of Maltin's book since 1984.



Johnson appeals more to me than Parker.

Thomas

[Bogey]

I'd like to know: What are the books that people KEEP reading, i.e. the reference works they return to on a daily basis?

Ones that actually are starting to dog-ear from use:



and considering this one:



Also, various publications on military uniforms for referencing colors for thesmall scale figures I enjoy painting.

[SonicMan46]

I'd like to know: What are the books that people KEEP reading, i.e. the reference works they return to on a daily basis?

Yep, for movie books, the Maltin book & Videohound (really like their more detailed star etc. listings in the back) are the two that I usually use - in fact, we just ordered the newest '09 editions from Amazon -     Dave

 

[Bogey]

Outside of media:

[and others.

[DavidRoss]

I'd like to know: What are the books that people KEEP reading, i.e. the reference works they return to on a daily basis?

In keeping with the primary subject of this forum, I frequently return to Michael Steinberg's The Symphony and The Concerto.

[val]

Clive Stafford Smith:  "Eight O'Clock Ferry to the Windward Side"

The author is the lawyer of more than 50 prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. This book, with an obvious partial perspective, denounces the situation of those prisoners and the disrespect for their human rights.

Although I have serious doubts that those same prisoners ever had any kind of respect for other people rights - they left their countries to go to Afghanistan during the Taliban regime - that doesn't make them necessarily terrorists.

So, I would like now to read something that shows the perspective of the other side, the American authorities.

[ezodisy]

Enjoying this enormously. You know, when I was a student, I'd watch the films that ezodisy likes, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and other directors who made "superior" movies that'll soon be forgotten. Now, into my forties, I just wanna have fun.

Thomas

Well I'm not going to argue with that. The Time Out film guide is quite useful, the online entries at least contain reviews of certain films which are sometimes not covered elsewhere. They're always very brief however. Out of curiosity, does Leonard Maltin's guidebook contain an entry for Satantango?

[pjme]

Speaking of P.G. Wodehouse, does anybody now the Jeeves TV serial starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie? Is it worth the DVD investment?

Reading: Hammer Films: The Elstree Studio Years, by Wayne Kinsey.



A follow-up to Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years, by the same author.

And Hammer films are a lot of fun!

Fun : I do agree, but taken in small doses. Christopher Lee is the best Dracula ! And some of the films are totaly hilarious : The viking queen, When dinosaurs ruled the earth,Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde!!!

[SonicMan46]

Couple of new books just started in the last few days:

The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War, 1846-1848 (2008) by Martin Dugard - a bargain price from the History Book Club - mixed reviews on Amazon; but the subject is of interest to me - the West Point elite of the time serving together in the Mexican War, then 'splitting up' for the Civil War - just starting (and have found a few mistakes, so maybe some of the Amazonians are correct in their complaints?) - but, the historic background so far is interesting - I'll continue w/ my reading! 

Splendid Service:  The Resotration of David Tannenberg's Home Moravian Church Organ (2004) - short book of essays about this 18th century organ builder from Pennsylvania - just was at a concert (posted in the Listening Thread, if interested) where this completely restored organ from the installation date of 1800 has been completely restored - wonderful experience!