tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176Wed, 25 Sep 2024 18:49:51 +0000booksmoviesmissygplistsalready readlawWhat Shall We Read Next?britsAFI Top 100Americanafilmforumre-readingtvBeginningsKafkaNFTaustenbergmancarygrantcoppolacoversdisappointmenteisensteinelizabeth taylorfailurelumetmissionstatementmusicnabokovnon-fictionpatronisinghighbrowpunsromcomrushdiescorcesesnobberytcmthe wiretolstoytrilogieswhybother?wind-upwoodyallenMeandering through the canons--literary, musical, and cinematic--of our age... and admitting fearlessly that yes, we have indeed never seen Citizen Kane.http://illread.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (pumpkin29)Blogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-5296276924173513772Fri, 27 Dec 2019 23:30:00 +00002019-12-27T18:30:32.560-05:00AFI Top 100movies Finally. Finally. My dream of starting a movie club where we watch classic movies that we've never seen before seems to have started. We watched Boyz n the Hood and, frankly, it stands up. It was extraordinarily good - touching, sad, funny, smart - just good. Cuba Gooding Jr. looks the same as he does now (i.e. he looked 40 then and does now), Lawrence Fishburne is amazing, as is Angela Bassett,http://illread.blogspot.com/2019/12/boyz-n-hood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-2970613451531619698Thu, 12 Jul 2012 01:28:00 +00002012-07-11T20:28:47.291-05:00booksbrits I am, finally, reading a book by Zadie Smith. There is a reason why it took me so long, which can neatly be summarized as "baggage caused by College-era envy and other complicated things."  Less neatly and concisely:  I went to the same Cambridge college as Zadie Smith.  When I arrived, I was told of her book deal's existence, even though I didn't knowingly lay eyes on her for http://illread.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-envy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-3612756719168792033Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:33:00 +00002011-02-13T15:41:47.115-05:00bookselizabeth taylorI can't remember where I first read of Elizabeth Taylor the author, rather than Elizabeth Taylor: Actress. I did a bit of poking around the internet, but appear to have misremembered my source so, alas, this will have to go without citation. Nevertheless, I have had several of her books on my "to read" list that I have accumulated on the NYPL website. I finally got around to reading one, Mrs http://illread.blogspot.com/2011/02/brutal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-6997154722615840922Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:08:00 +00002010-11-12T11:02:48.529-05:00booksdisappointmentmoviestrilogiesThere is something of the macabre involved in anticipating the finale to a series. Be it books, be it a trilogy of films, be it a tv show, there is a feeling of dread in approaching the end. That can happen with a single book or movie, particularly as so many often go downhill so quickly as the author attempts to wrap it up. But with a series, it is magnified due to the time and effort http://illread.blogspot.com/2010/11/anticipation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-3665764090397562023Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:45:00 +00002010-08-06T11:51:43.307-05:00the wiretvWhy does it take us (me and Cerebus, that is) so long to wind up to watch an episode of The Wire? We've had massive pauses between seasons, and even in the middle of some. I think it's because I know how brutal it will be, and how it emotionally blacks out everything else on tv. We just watched the first episode of the fifth and final season, and I'm already traumatised at this being the last http://illread.blogspot.com/2010/08/wired.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-3767226430753127609Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:04:00 +00002010-07-18T19:30:35.880-05:00AFI Top 100listsmoviesA couple of things got me thinking about the AFI Top 100 Movies. A work colleague with a much more pretentious (i.e. impressive and learned) taste in movies was talking about it, and then there was a question about how many movies the hosts of Answer Me This had seen. So, I've seen seven of the top ten, and overall, a paltry 41. Boo. Still, I'm pleased with my top ten results. And, of coursehttp://illread.blogspot.com/2010/07/afi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-4908678262673875642Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:12:00 +00002010-07-05T13:38:49.246-05:00snobberytvAs Cerebus points out, I have my own unique brand of snobbery. For example, I get very uptight about the I'm-smarter-than-you-art-so-I-have-to-point-out-everything highbrow stuff, as I have discussed previously on this blog. I'd much rather watch/read something supposedly "low brow" but completely unaffected than ever, ever have to sit through American Beauty again. On the other hand, the "lowhttp://illread.blogspot.com/2010/07/nadir.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-8033158921632244699Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:40:00 +00002010-04-05T10:00:13.094-05:00AmericanabooksmoviespatronisinghighbrowThere is a school of art - be it books, music or film - that I find excruciating beyond belief. It's a genre I like to call "patronising highbrow," and I would rather read/listen to/watch a million terrible "lowbrow" items before having to deal with this stuff.It's the type of prose that tells you that it is meaningful; that this observation is very important indeed and that it is telling you http://illread.blogspot.com/2010/04/thud-thud-thud.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-4259817466395156859Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:49:00 +00002009-11-17T18:51:03.096-05:00booksfailuretolstoyYes, I have once more got Anna Karenina out of the library and, once more, failed to even open it. I may never manage it.http://illread.blogspot.com/2009/11/once-more-defeat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-5799681271096265221Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:17:00 +00002009-08-31T18:18:57.027-05:00austenbooksre-readingWARNING: Spoilers if you have not yet read Pride & Prejudice. Even if your beloved other half bought it for you ages ago. And yes, that OH may not have read all your gifts, but this particular book might just happen to be one of the aforementioned O.H.'s favourite books of all time and if she could be anyone in literature, it would probably be the main character.Where was I? Ah, yes, after http://illread.blogspot.com/2009/08/something-old-borrowed-new.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-8005981224849954548Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:33:00 +00002009-03-22T20:37:43.015-05:00moviesI've been trying to buy some DVDs of classic movies, because recently we've been turning to classics when tired and stressed.  A few weeks ago it was Casablanca, and last night I watched the greatest music movie of all time - including even This Is Spinal Tap - A Hard Day's Night.  But what I really wanted to make sure we have are Top Hat, The Third Man, and A Night at the Opera.  Yet it's http://illread.blogspot.com/2009/03/price-of-quality.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-2742343586480998095Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:34:00 +00002009-01-30T10:56:04.955-05:00booksmissygpI finally read two books that I have wanted to read for a long time but have not yet managed.First, We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver. It won the Orange Prize in 2005. It is a deeply traumatising and utterly compelling book. It is not the book to read if you are worried about becoming a mother. I wondered often what it was like to read this if you do have children. I imagine for http://illread.blogspot.com/2009/01/getting-round-to-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-2667784606376026622Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:36:00 +00002008-12-29T17:56:16.697-05:00already readlawnon-fictionThis blog is generally about things that we have not read, and ways to make us feel bad about not having achieved them, but also good about finally getting through them. One thing that I generally don't do is read enough politically-motivated stuff, for several reasons, most of which boil down to not wanting to have to deal with it. If it's written from a perspective with which I agree I simplyhttp://illread.blogspot.com/2008/12/terrifying.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-1569913549086170584Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:56:00 +00002008-12-19T15:04:40.564-05:00already readbookslistsThis year, from the Observer's top 100, I have read (having not previously read):The Trial (# 49*)Lanark (#86)I also started Money and Scoop, but failed to finish them, having been thwarted by the NYPL and its ability to recall your books. Great when you want them, not so much when you have to return them when you've not got round to reading them. My problem is that I'm too greedy, and I want http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008s-reading-achievements.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-6044291061142658430Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:47:00 +00002008-10-02T09:05:47.181-05:00eisensteinfilmforummoviesNFTCerebus kindly gave me membership to the Film Forum for Christmas last year. We have very fond memories of being members of the NFT, which led to seeing many fabulous films and drinks on the river - one of my favourite things about London. Nonetheless, we have made a pitiful attempt to use this membership. I think the reasons are several. First, the location. It's not that far away from Cerebus http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/10/forum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-2755049964323452539Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:28:00 +00002008-09-14T06:50:28.374-05:00already readbooksbritsmovieswoodyallenThe six week trip from which I've just returned was not abundant with reading, but I certainly went through a fair few (almost making the almost certainly-mahoosive fines from the library worthwhile). The following were among those on my list:To The Lighthouse, Virginia WoolfThe Grass Is Singing, Doris LessingThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael ChabonI also managed to watch two http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/09/art-of-travel.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-7058529657439771048Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:51:00 +00002008-02-15T16:57:13.984-05:00KafkalawOur Prof in Law & Lit scoffed at us for our general dislike of The Trial, but I think he fails to understand the word "like." There were aspects I disliked (the treatment of women seems dubious), but that doesn't deny its many aspects of brilliance. This led to a rather heated discussion on the subway home last night - oh, how our fellow passengers must have loved us.K could not breathe http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/02/breathless.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-7610543933078396179Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:06:00 +00002008-02-11T10:24:35.865-05:00carygrantcoppolalawlistslumetmoviesromcomtcmThis weekend has been a monumental one for the viewing of classic movies. Hence the jumbled list of labels for this post below. I watched: Network; The Talk of the Town; It Happened One Night; and, finally in full, The Godfather.I'm not going to go indepth about these, but I stumbled upon a couple of things that made me think / leap for joy / pause etc.... that is, I reacted to them and wish http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/02/horses-and-happenings.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-1116273639958541471Tue, 29 Jan 2008 18:30:00 +00002008-01-29T13:46:22.727-05:00lawre-readingI first read To Kill a Mockingbird for GCSE English, so (ulp) a mere thirteen years ago. At the time, I thought it was very good, but with the caveat that it was hard to write about, when compared with the symbolism replete throughout Macbeth and Lord of the Flies, the other two major texts we studied.Re-reading it has been extraordinary. No wonder it is in the top novels that people re-read, http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/01/second-time-around.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-19456672680210441Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:07:00 +00002008-01-11T12:14:40.227-05:00bookslawmissygpI'm taking a course on Law & Literature this semester. The idea is to think outside the external, tangible and, fundamentally, legal, to try to think about the intrinsic, the intangible, the moral. To see how artists perceive our career choice, our system, but most of all, concepts of justice - both descriptively and normatively. It should be interesting. At least, our prof wants to make http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/01/legal-action.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-719547438530804820Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:39:00 +00002008-01-05T08:49:47.338-05:00booksbritslistsThe Times today has a list of the top 50 authors to come from the British shore since 1945. Well, to have produced their "most enduring works" since 1945. It is fairly interesting; some are utterly familiar to me (Dahl, obviously, Pullman, Rowling, Orwell), whereas others I know of but haven't read (either Amis), or haven't really heard of (generally modern poets). However, it's a useful guidehttp://illread.blogspot.com/2008/01/british-talent.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-4916937628732603854Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:18:00 +00002008-01-03T06:31:59.989-05:00filmforummoviesOne of the best presents I have ever received was my membership to the NFT. We saw many glorious movies; I fell asleep in at least two Kurosawa classics. Well, this year, we are attempting to recreate that through membership to the Film Forum in NYC. I have been taking a peek through the schedule for the upcoming months. Very excited about Anatomy of a Murder, which hopefully will be stellar http://illread.blogspot.com/2008/01/forum.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (GGA)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-8104007622554366741Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:29:00 +00002007-07-30T13:40:39.965-05:00bergmanmissygpmoviesSad news today, as Ingmar Bergman passed away. I think I assumed for a long time he was in fact already dead, and was surprised to find out not just that he was not, but was still working and being productive.We saw some of a great season of his works at the NFT. Those seasons are always interesting, and the NFT is one of the things I miss most about London.One of the things I find intriguing is http://illread.blogspot.com/2007/07/game-of-chess.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (pumpkin29)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-343922375252170506Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:50:00 +00002007-07-16T09:56:11.308-05:00coversmissygpmusicAnnoyingly, the Observer Music Monthly for July features a vote for the 50 Greatest Cover Versions of All Time (Ever Ever Ever - plus, no question it's All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, so a stupid thing indeed). This is akin to the Challenge (TM) set me by Cerebus on Thursday night - to get together a playlist of the most successful cover versions. By this, he and I mean to put together http://illread.blogspot.com/2007/07/preemption.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (pumpkin29)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7564149218269400176.post-7323186875130343286Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:40:00 +00002007-07-12T10:51:32.653-05:00AmericanamissygpWhat Shall We Read Next?I have just finished what is a fairly extraordinary book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It is my second Ken Kesey, and I have to say, I am now an enormous fan.This brings to mind the discussions Cerebus and friends have had about the "great" authors of the twentienth century, and how, as with visual art, this has shifted to the United States. For example, there is Kesey, Faulkner, Roth, http://illread.blogspot.com/2007/07/americana.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (pumpkin29)2