What Are You Reading

[Celia]

I'm reading Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher De Hamel, a journey through the middle ages through 12 medieval manuscripts.

It's a beautiful book with wonderful images of the manuscripts, and it is a joy to feel the author's excitement about the subject. It is wonderful that someone who has been working with precious manuscripts for most of his life, and may have handled more of them than anyone else in the world, is not in the least jaded and still feels such excitement arriving in a new library, opening a book for the first time and turning the pages. He does veer into the realm of wild speculation on occasion (and freely admits to it himself), but it is not an academic work and he has such fun doing it that it's easily forgiven. And it makes for a great read. There are some really interesting nuggets of information about medieval book production, handwriting and illumination, but also history in general, in the book as well. There's also a good bibliography at the end.

I have had the privilege of working with some old manuscripts myself (although not quite as old and valuable as these ones), so I can relate to the excitement of handling them, discovering little details and making new connections.

I'm only halfway through so far, but am really enjoying it. One criticism I do have, is that they should have hired a more thorough proofreader. There are just too many mistakes left in there for a book about books, which is a shame.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

As is my annual practice, A Christmas Carol, and with the Missus, Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter.

 

[DNO]

Finished Grecian's Devil's Workshop...not up to par with his earlier work, particularly The Yard. I have the next one in the series, Harvest Man, but I think I'll put that farther down the shelf for now.

On the other hand I just found a copy of The True History of the Black Adder by J. Roberts. Love the show...so I'll leaf through the book. Almost time to watch Black Adder's Christmas Carol anyway.

 

[Fading Fast]

As is my annual practice, A Christmas Carol, and with the Missus, Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter.

Read "Merry Christmas Mr. Baxter" for the first time last year (possibly on your recommendation) - a fun Christmas book, neither too sappy nor too cynical.

 

[Tommy]

Just finished my first Kerouac book Dharma Bums. Just goes to show me what preconceptions are worth - I thought it would be dense or especially broken up, but seemed a very cohesive and pleasant read.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Rereading Dennis Lehane's first novel, A Drink Before the War, from 1994. His male lead and narrator, Patrick Kenzie, seems much like Robert B. Parker's Boston private eye, Spenser, in his narrative style and his occasionally funny dialog. That resemblance vanishes as you go through the series. If you saw the film of Gone, Baby, Gone, directed by Ben Affleck, that's a perfect adaptation of the Lehane novel. Grim indeed.

 

[Fading Fast]

The first one I read was Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (second in the series), but I never did get around to reading the first. You could jump in anywhere, but I recommend reading one or two from the beginning. After that, I think it's pretty fair game.
Thanks!

Forgot to mention, I finished the first one in the series, "Bullet for a Star." It was good - and I really enjoyed the inside-Hollywood-of-the-'30s angle, but the story didn't fully sing to me. The lead character felt like a poor man's Phillip Marlowe and the plot was a bit too obvious. It was still fun and I might try one more - sometimes it takes a book or two for the author to get into the swing of a series.

 

[DNO]

Just found a copy of 'Do You Speak American?' by MacNeil and Cran. I thorouhly enjoyed their 'Story of English' so I'm looking forward to leafing through this one. I'm still reeling from the fact that the word 'run' has 120 meanings! I actually checked this claim in my copy of the Compact OED...they were right. What an amazing language.

 

[Julian Shellhammer]

Read "Merry Christmas Mr. Baxter" for the first time last year (possibly on your recommendation) - a fun Christmas book, neither too sappy nor too cynical.

As a dweller in the Big Apple, did the description in the book of mid-fifties New York ring true to you?

 

[Fading Fast]

As a dweller in the Big Apple, did the description in the book of mid-fifties New York ring true to you?

Yes it did. To be fair, I was born in '64, but am avid fan of NYC history and experienced it in the '70s (which had plenty of '50s NYC still extant) and have read many books, watched many documentaries and movies from that period in New York City history.

Based on all that, I thought it was a very fair representation.

 

[MisterCairo]

The Steampunk edition of Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

 

[Harp]

The Steampunk edition of Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

I love this tale, never tire of it. But I cannot decide whom I prefer as Scrooge: Sim, Scott, or Mister Magoo.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Lionel Barrymore.

 

[MisterCairo]

I love this tale, never tire of it. But I cannot decided whom I prefer as Scrooge: Sim, Scott, or Mister Magoo.

Could have added an animated Jim Carrey, whom we enjoy very much.

But, Sim, hands down.

 

[Harp]

But, Sim, hands down.

I learned yesterday that Patrick Stewart tried his hand as Scrooge, will have to catch this sometime.

 

[MisterCairo]

I learned yesterday that Patrick Stewart tried his hand as Scrooge, will have to catch this sometime.

Forgotten about that one! Haven't seen it. Was that one of the Muppet Christmas movies, can't recall.

Technically, Bill Murray's Scrooged is a take on Ebenezer, thought his character is not named such. Also one of our faves, I saw it during its theatrical release back in '88.

 

[LizzieMaine]

As a Christmas present to myself, I picked up a copy of George Seldes' 1938 study of the state of American journalism, "Lords of the Press," and oh what an immensely informative and entertainingly savage piece of work it is. Seldes, as always, suffers no fools in his deconstruction of the myth of the American "free press," by documenting very carefully who actually ran the mainstream American media in the 1930s, and for what purposes they used it. Hearst, McCormick and Patterson get what they deserve, naturally, but where Seldes really goes to town is his exposure of the allegedly "liberal" papers, which he points out were just as beholden to their commercial masters as the worst Hearstian rag in the gutter. The Scripps-Howard papers, and specifically the New York World Telegram, really get their muck raked good for their suppression and distortion of labor news to satisfy the demands of advertisers and the National Association of Manufacturers.

Individual journalists also get a going-over, and Seldes really lets the august, dignified, oh-so-very-liberal Walter Lippmann have it, dismissing him in a blistering attack as just another "plutogogue." The only journalists Seldes seems to have any respect for at all are William Allen White and -- perhaps sarcastically -- Walter Winchell.

Seldes, as always, writes from an unapologetically leftist point of view, but even within that perspective he provides very careful documentation for what he says, and this makes for a very interesting book, especially for those who still nurse the delusion that the media in the Era was in any way more honest, unbiased or reliable than that of today.

 

[Harp]

Forgotten about that one! Haven't seen it. Was that one of the Muppet Christmas movies, can't recall.

Technically, Bill Murray's Scrooged is a take on Ebenezer, thought his character is not named such. Also one of our faves, I saw it during its theatrical release back in '88.

The Magoo version might be easily dismissed as cartoonish but undeniably possessed Dickensian feel and meaning.
Sim portrayed Scrooge quite well though George C nailed down Ebenezer-accent minus notwithstanding.

 

[MisterCairo]

The Magoo version might be easily dismissed as cartoonish but undeniably possessed Dickensian feel and meaning.
Sim portrayed Scrooge quite well though George C nailed down Ebenezer-accent minus notwithstanding.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one (Sim v. Scott)!

 

[MisterCairo]

I had forgotten about Alastair Sim's other performance as Ebenezer: