Stranger Than Fiction - Movie

Featuring Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Queen Latifah
Rated ★★★★

Karen Effiel (Emma Thompson) is an author writing her latest novel about an isolated man named Harold Crick (Will Ferrell.) What she doesn't know is that her fictionalized character is real. The real Harold Crick is an IRS agent who has lived a dull existence and one day begins to hear Karen's voice as she narrates what she puts on paper to what Harold has and is doing. Because of this Harold enlists the help of a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman) to find out what is happening and ends up changing things about his life including beginning a relationship with his IRS client, a government-hating bakery owner named Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal.) Harold, however, finds trouble when he hears that Karen plans to kill him.

The Lake House - Movie

Featuring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock
Rated ★★★


Paranormal light, this was a sweet, relaxed-paced, whimsical romance . When Alex Wyler moves into an unusual glass house on stilts over a lake, he discovers a note from the previous tenant in the mailbox--but no one's lived in the house for years. He replies and soon discovers that he's corresponding with a doctor named Kate Forster who's writing from two years in the future. Their correspondence turns romantic and their paths cross in unexpected ways, but when they try to truly connect, danger looms.

I really like Sandra Bullock even though the only thing I have ever liked her in was Miss Congeniality. This was a nice, light, fluffy little movie that was just what I needed yesterday. The end was way too pat but who expects something like this to make sense anyway.

33. Trinity

By Leon Uris
Rated ★★★★★

The first time I read this book in 1978 I read it through, start to finish without putting it down except for short naps and breaks for food and bathroom. Because I lived in Scotland at the time and the "troubles" were burning hot with riots and hunger strikes the book had an immediacy for me that I didn't have this time with time and distance. But it is still one of the most, if not the most powerful book I have ever read.

But time and distance notwithstanding, it's more than a book. Uris takes you firsthand into another life. He makes your heart ache with the characters as the Irish struggle develops. The characters, notably Conor Larkin, are with you every step of the way on your journey through British treachery. Although the book centers around this one character, a country of characters bump in and out of your heart, both protestant and catholic, and leave you impacted in a way that you will never forget. I was in tears at the end of the book and my heart still aches for these characters. I highly recommend this book. It is Historical Fiction at it's finest.

32. In An Instant, A Family's Journey of Love and Healing

By Lee and Bob Woodruff
Rated ★★★★★

In January 2006, the Woodruffs seemed to have it all–a happy marriage and four beautiful children. Lee was a public relations executive and Bob had just been named co-anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight. Then, while Bob was embedded with the military in Iraq, an improvised explosive device went off near the tank he was riding in. He and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, were hit, and Bob suffered a traumatic brain injury that nearly killed him.

Here are Lee’s heartfelt memories of their courtship, their travels as Bob left a law practice behind and pursued his news career and Lee her freelance business, the glorious births of her children and the challenges of motherhood.

Bob in turn recalls the moment he caught the journalism “bug” while covering Tiananmen Square for CBS News, his love of overseas assignments and his guilt about long separations from his family, and his pride at attaining the brass ring of television news–being chosen to fill the seat of the late Peter Jennings.

And, for the first time, the Woodruffs reveal the agonizing details of Bob’s terrible injuries and his remarkable recovery.

31. Alphabet Weekend

By Elizabeth Noble
Rated ★★★

This book was exactly what I needed. I read it while I was reading Trinity as an escape and it served it's purpose.
It was a light, fluffy little book that didn't make a whole lot of sense, and the scenario wasn't all that plausible. In other words, perfect.

The premise is that the main character' s Natalie and Tom, both childhood friends were also best friends. When Natalie was dumped by her boyfriend, Tom decided that they would do an activity every weekend based on an alphabet - starting with A and ending with Z. Tom thought that they could be more than "just friends" and decided that this "game" would help to distract Natalie from her breakup and at the same time proved to her that he could be a potential boyfriend. At the same time, Tom's sister-in-law, Lucy was attracted to her best friend's husband and might consider having an affair. In addition to all this, Natalie's parents, Anna and Nicholas, were also having problems of their own.

30. East of Eden

By John Steinbeck
Rated ★★★★

"Set in the rich farmland of California's Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families -- the Trasks and the Hamiltons -- whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel." - Blurb from library site.

I ended up feeling very ambivilent about East of Eden. There were things about it that I really liked - his ability to put me into the place and time so that I felt like I was right there - and also the fact that it was a big fat family saga because I really like big fat family sagas so that I wanted to give it a five star rating in my journal.

But then there were some things that really bothered me about it. I felt like he belabored the "Cain and Able" anology thing. Maybe it's because I am a glass half full kind of person but I thought he was pretty cynical about human nature and made everyone a little worse than they needed to be.

So if I just looked at that part of the book I could only give it a three. I think I am going to compromise and give it a four.

Patton - Movie

Rated ★★★★★

This is a movie that I first saw when we lived in Galveston in 1970. I was reminded of this movie recently when I was watching a History Chanel movie titled In the Footsteps of Alexander, a bio of Alexander the Great. I decided it was time for me to see it again.

George C. Scott's riveting portrayal of the General Patton is absolutely magnificant. I don't think I have ever seen a movie where an actor is more perfect for the role. In my mind, George S. Patton is George C. Scott. The movie opens with Patton taking command of the tank corp in Africa and moves on to the Sicely campaign where he commanded the 7th Army. The British and the Americans jointly invaded the island of Sicely and the movie gives an unflattering picture of he and British Field Marshall Montgomery locking horns, with each man trying to grab more of the limelight than the other.

It was in Sicily that on a visit to a military hospital that he slapped a soldier suffering from battle fatigue. Patton was relieved of the command of the 7th Army and was brought back to England where he cooled his heels for a while and then was given command of 3d Army, which spearheaded the spectacular sweep of U.S. forces from Normandy through Brittany and N France, relieved Bastogne in Dec., 1944 (see Band of Brothers), crossed the Rhine (Mar., 1945), and raced across S Germany into Czechoslovakia. But sadly, not even Patton's loyal cadre of staff officers can keep him from shooting off his mouth every time there are reporters around and he is once more relieved of command.

Karl Malden's performance as General Omar Bradley is every bit as good as Scott's, presenting a man whose personality is the complete oposite of Patton. I also liked the German intelligence captain who is an expert on Patton and arguably the only person in the film who really understands or respects the American general.

On intriguing aspect of Patton's personality is his belief in reincarnation. In the film he tells General Bradley that he has lived many times before, as Alexander the Great, Hannibal, A Roman Legionaire and French General at Watterloo and others. Remembering this bit about the film from seeing it in 1970 this is what made me remember it when I watched the film about Alexander the Great. Patton wrote the following poem

Through A Glass, Darkly
So forever in the future,
Shall I battle as of yore,
Dying to be born a fighter,
But to die again, once more.

Today Patton is now considered by many military historians as one of the greatest military figures in history. The only serious limitation that the man had was he inability to keep his mouth shut and be a little tactful.

29. Water for Elephants

By Sara Gruen
Rated Rated ★★★½

In a month where I find myself reading big and involved books this was a welcome change of pace. I took the following review from the book jacket.

"Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell." "Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival."--BOOK JACKET.

28. The Water Devil

By Judith Merkle Riley
Rated ★★★★½

This book is the conclusion to the Margaret of Ashbury series. I went over to amazon to read what others have said about this book and was surprised to read that most of the people who reviewed didn't like this one as much as they did the other two. The prevailing opinion seems to be that they liked the first book best and then rated them in the order they were written. Hmmmmm.

I am just opposite of that. I thought each book got progressively better than the one before. In this book Margaret's irrasible father-in-law plans to use Cecily, Margaret's daughter as a bargaining chip in a squabble with the owner of adjoining lands over the ownership of some property.

Margaret falls back on her friends who concoct a wonderful plot to save Cecily from being wed against her will. This is a sometimes funny, slightly melodramatic, love story with a perfect ending. Highly recommended

27. As The Night Ends

By Audrey Howard
Rated ★★★½

Driven by her idealism and courage, Alex Goodwin will make any sacrifice to win votes for women. Her despairing family, unable to rescue her from yet antoher dangerous prison sentance is overjoyed when Patrick O'Leary comes into her life. A hard-working oung surgeon, Patrick is a idealistic as Alex and loves her with all his heart.

Then they are separated, first by a quarrel, then by the terrible war which engulfs their world, and finally after a miraculous reunion, then again by another tragedy.

This book was the last in a trilogy and I thought it was the best of the three. But still it had problems for me. It went about one and maybe two tragedies to far. It started slipping into melodrama towards the end. Howard could could have used a better editor.

26. Hawaii

by James Mitchner
Rated ★★★★★

One of the best favors I have done for myself in a long while was to decide to go back and revisit some of the golden oldies (books, of course) from my past. I think it must have been Shogun that really was the decider for me. I discovered that my memory has apparently been completely erased as to the content of books I read thirty years ago and the only thing left is the vague sense that I somehow liked them.

This brings up a whole other thought about how one's brain archives stuff and have these books been permanently erased or is the information lurking in some remote and dusty corner of my mind? OK, I am digressing badly here.

I am currently reading Hawaii and am just loving it. There are odd bits about politics that are dry and somewhat boring but for the most part the story moves right along. Actually it is a series of stories that tells how each group of people came to Hawaii and how they managed to find their feet so to speak and eventually assimilate into who the Hawaiian people are today. Very, very good book.

I am looking at a copy of Tolstoy's War and Peace that I ordered from the library and trying to decide whether or not I want to attempt it. I already know I won't be reading this copy as it's a hard cover addition that's 1386 pages long. I think I am going to start it and if I decide it's a book I really want to read I will order a cheap paperback from half.com and tear it into thirds. My wrists will appreciate that.

But for what my next book is going to be, well I think it will be Judith Merkle Riles third book in the Margaret of Asbury series, The Water Devil and then perhaps I'll revisit Uris's book Trinity.

25. The Kommandant's Girl

By Pan Jenoff
Rated ★★★

After having said that I don't do Holocaust books here I am reading another one. But I did enjoy this one, probably because it came off as a more positive book than those that have distressed me so much in the past. The characters in this book were fighters, not just helpless victims so the focus of the book was their struggle. You know while reading that a story like this would not end well but still it is heart warming to read about people who are taking their fate in their own hands and even if their cause is nearly hopeless at least they are going down fighting.

Emma, a beautiful young orthadox jew in Krakow, Poland meets Jacob while working at the university library and met Jacob. He sweeps her off her feet, and they marry on the eve of the Nazi invasion. Jacob immediately leaves to join the Jewish underground, and Emma returns to her family, now locked in the Jewish ghetto. Jacob provides false papers, enabling Emma to become Anna Lipowski and move in with his Catholic aunt Krysia, posing as her niece. Krysia works for the underground while maintaining her status as a leader in the arts community. During a dinner party, Emma/Anna is introduced to Nazi Kommadant Richwalder. Smitten, he asks her to come work for him. She agrees, knowing such access will aid the underground, and even becomes intimate with the enemy to gather information.

Written in the first person, the author gives an insightful portrait of people forced into an untenable situation and succeeds in humanizing the unfathomable as well as the heroic

Movie - The Illusionist

Rated ★★★★★

Martin and I watched The Illusionist last night. I had been on a long waiting list for it at my library and it was well worth the wait. It was beautifully acted and beautifully filmed. Naturally there was a lot of it that I didn't get. But that's ok, I still liked it anyway.

Briefly - Sophy (a Dutchess) and Eisenheim a (poor peasent boy) become childhood friends. When thier friendship becomes known her family puts a stop to it. Eisenheim goes off to see the world and encounters an old man who teaches him magic. He returns years later to find that Sophy has become engaged to a Crown Prince. Eisenheim uses his powers so that he and Sophy can elope. The whole thing was kind of Gothic but in a fun kind of way.

Jeanette

24. Dolly and The Bird of Paradise

By Dorothy Dunnett
Rated ★★★½

The story starts in London with Rita Geddes a cheeky, punky makeup artist with multicolored hair and an attitude. She is called to a photo shoot by associate to make up a celebrity journalist. There she meets Johnson Johnson in whose apartment the shoot is being held.

Rita is offered a temporary position with the journalist to fill in for her close friend Kim Jim who is planning to retire. Because the money is so good Rita is soon off to the journalist's lush island hideaway where she is beaten up and knocked out. To make matters worse the friend who got her into this mess is found murdered. Rita is out to avenge her friend.

As I am no great fan of mysteries but I did enjoy this book. The tight writing, clever dialogue, delicious mahem, malaprops and misnomers make this a gem to read. She could have left out the french phrases and dialogue. I have never appreciated it when Dunnett does this but since I love her other books so much I forgive her. But I do retain the right to grumble.

23. War and Rememberance

By Herman Wouk
Rated ★★★★★


War and Remembrance covers the period from after Pearl through the surrender of Japan in August 1945. As he did in Winds of War the author sends his fictional cahracters all over the world in order to cover every aspect of the Second World War including the "Final Solution" thru the pov a Natalie Jastrow who married the youngest son on Victor Henry. When it got down to the nitty gritty for Natalie I skipped because as I said in the previous entry I just don't go there.

While I realise that Wouk needed to tell the complete story of what happened to the Jewish people in Europe I found parts of it too painful to read. I get caught up in the story and kept wishing I could reach into the book, grab Natalie by the shirt and scream in her face "get out of there you stupid twit. Leave while you still can."

The author has also included a fictional book within his book written by a German General in order to give the German pov. I thought this was very clever of him. The only criticism of this marvelous work I have is that the author's focus is primarily on the war in Europe, just skipping lightly over the war in the Pacific and giving no corresponding Japanese character to give their pov. Oh Well, it was still a wonderful read. I am very glad I decided to revisit these books.

22. Winds of War

By Herman Wouk
Rated ★★★★★

This is another book from my list of wonderful books I read years ago. It's books like this that make Historical Fiction my favorite genre as it's the easiest way for me to learn about history without having to read a bunch of dry history books.

The blurb on my library web site states that this book and it's sequel War and Remembrance capture all the drama, romance, heroism and tragedy of the Second World War. I agree with that statement. Also it's the last war that the United States flat out won so for that reason alone it's a unique achievement.

Wouk uses the fictional family of Naval Officer "Pug" Henry to spread out over the globe in order to give the story a unifying, human-level plot. But in order to make this work one has to totally suspend their disbelief at having the characters show up in every key situation and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

The only real problem I had with this book was with the parts that dealt with the Jewish daughter in law being trapped in Europe at the outbreak of the war. I recognized that Woulk was using this plot device in order to give the reader a clear picture of what happened to the Jews when the Nazi's came to power but I just can't do Holocaust stories. I am too much of a wuss and they give me bad dreams. So I just skipped that part of the story when it started to get bad.

Other than that it was an engrossing story and once again I had forgotten so much from my previous read that it was pretty much all new again. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period of history.