How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen—1997 - 75 Pages

 

"Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. . . . Yet of all the many things in which we recognize universal comfort—God, sex, food, family, friends—reading seems to be the one in which the comfort is most undersung, at least publicly, although it was really all I thought of, or felt, when I was eating up book after book, running away from home while sitting in a chair, traveling around the world and yet never leaving the room. . . . I read because I loved it more than any activity on earth.”—from How Reading Changed My Life

I spent a very pleasant two hours with How Reading Changed My Life by Anna Quindlen.

Quindlen’s memoir sings the praises of being a book drunkard and is critical of the notion that we should be reading solely as “a tool for advancement.” 

Quindlen, too, reads for pleasure. She shares her memories of the first book that “seized [her] completely by the throat”, so much so that she read it and reread it, believing that it was “the best book ever written.” Of course, now she admits it’s probably – critically speaking, at least – not very good, but still finds it “a good read, but no longer a masterwork.” All readers have a book like this in their personal canon..

"Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of many novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear" from the author's website 

The Last Tsar : The Abdication of Nicholas II and The Fall of the Romanovs by Tsuyosh Hasegawa. 2024 - 467 Pages

 

The Last Tsar : The Abdication of Nicholas II and The Fall of the Romanovs by Tsuyosh HasegawaThe Last Tsar -2024 - 467 Pages

Anyone with a serious interest in late Romanov history,  the Russian Revolution or World War One should seriously consider readingThe Last Tsar : The Abdication of Nicholas II and The Fall of the Romanovs by Tsuyosh Hasegawa.   

When Tsar Nicholas II fell from power in 1917, Imperial Russia faced a series of overlapping crises, from war to social unrest. Though Nicholas’s life is often described as tragic, it was not fate that doomed the Romanovs—it was poor leadership and a blinkered faith in autocracy.   

 

Based on a trove of new archival discoveries, The Last Tsar narrates how Nicholas’s resistance to reform doomed the monarchy. Encompassing the captivating personalities of the era—the bumbling Nicholas, his spiteful wife Alexandra, the family’s faith healer Rasputin—it untangles the dramatic struggle by Russia’s aristocratic, military, and legislative elite to reform the monarchy. By rejecting compromise, Nicholas undermined his supporters at crucial moments. His blunders cleared the way for all-out civil war and the eventual rise of the Soviet Union.  

 

Definitive and engrossing, The Last Tsar uncovers how Nicholas II stumbled into revolution, taking his family, the Romanov dynasty, and the whole Russian Empire down with him.

Tsuyoshi Hasegawa is professor emeritus in history at the University of California at Santa Barbara. The award-winning author of many books on Russian history, World War II, and the Cold War, he lives in Santa Barbara, California.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (La Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie)- 1972 - Directed by Luis Bunuel - 1 Hour 29 Minutes

 

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (La Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie)- 1972 - Directed by Luis Bunuel 

Available on Amazon Prime Video 

Buñuel’s 1929 short film Un Chien Andalou, which he co-wrote with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí, is perhaps his most famous work, notorious for its grotesque close-up shot of an eyeball. But The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, which was released in 1972 and won an Academy award for best foreign language film, is his most financially successful and among his most acclaimed. The film is less a story  than a scattered series of incidents involving a handful of hungry socialites including François (Paul Frankeur), Simone (Delphine Seyrig) and Rafael Acosta (Fernando Rey), an ambassador from a South American nation

Their dinner plans never come to fruition for a variety of reasons, spanning simple misunderstandings to out-of-this-world surprises. After arriving at the house of Alice and Henri Sénéchal (Stéphane Audran and Jean-Pierre Cassel) on the wrong day, a decision is made to relocate to a nearby inn. The group sit down and contemplate what to order – discussing the hare pâté and whether to drink red wine or martinis. But after hearing the sound of weeping coming from the next room where the proprietor is lying dead on a bed, they lose their appetite and call off dinner

Another attempt at a meal is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a group of army men – led by a joint-smoking Colonel, because why not – who consume all the food. Later still (this one’s my favourite) they’re seated at a table, everything finally looking like it’s coming together, two roast chickens brought out on a tray. But they discover … the chickens are made of plastic! Then a red curtain rises and it’s revealed that the diners are situated on a stage in front of a large audience. They are, it seems, for some reason or maybe no reason at all, now performers in a theatre production.

Attempting to rationalise what exactly is going on incorrectly assumes a degree of logic and a pathway to clear meaning. Buñuel’s most famous films have a curious relation to realism, often sustaining the moment-by-moment rhythms we associate with reality, then ditching rational or anticipated outcomes, or simply refusing to explain something essential.

The Soun̈d of Music - Directed by Robert Wise- Starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer -175 Minutes- 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director

 

The Soun̈d of Music - Directed by Robert Wise- Starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer -175 Minutes- 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director - Available on Amazon Prime Video 

The Sound of Music  is based on the real life story of the Von Trapp Family singers, one of the world's best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II. Julie Andrews plays the role of Maria, the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

The Sound of Music reigned for five years as the highest-grossing film in history. Its breathtaking photography and its many memorable songs, among them “My Favorite Things” and the title song, helped it to become an enduring classic. The nearly three-hour-long movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including those for best picture and best director.

The following day the captain leaves on a trip to Vienna. Upon learning that he will return with Baroness Elsa Schraeder (Eleanor Parker), whom he intends to marry, Maria determines to teach the children a song with which to greet the baroness. The captain and baroness return with their friend Max Detweiler (Richard Haydn), catching Maria and the children in a rowboat on the lake behind the house, which they overturn when they see the captain. The captain, displeased, fires Maria, but, when he hears the children singing for the baroness, he changes his mind. Max suggests that he enter the children in the upcoming Salzburg Festival, but the captain refuses. He does agree to host a ball, however. At the ball the baroness sees the captain dancing with Maria and realizes that they have feelings for each other. She tells Maria that she thinks that Maria is in love with the captain. Horrified, Maria packs and returns to the abbey.

The children are miserable without Maria, and the captain tells them that he and the baroness are to be married. At the abbey, the Mother Abbess tells Maria that she cannot hide from her feelings and must return to the von Trapps. After her return, the baroness and the captain break off their engagement, and the captain and Maria admit their love for each other. They marry in the abbey church.

Austria is annexed by Nazi Germany (the Anschluss) while they are on their honeymoon. While Max is rehearsing the children for the Salzburg Festival, Rolfe gives Liesl a telegram to give to her father upon his return. The telegram informs the captain that he is to report for duty in the German navy the following day. The captain and Maria decide that the family must leave Austria that night. However, Nazi troops led by Herr Zeller (Ben Wright) catch them pushing their car away from the house. The captain tells them that they are on their way to perform in the Salzburg Festival, and the Nazis escort them there. After the family performs, they escape to the abbey. The Nazis follow them there, and they hide among the catacombs. Rolfe, who is with the Nazi troops, spots them. He allows them to escape but then calls out that he has seen them. The von Trapps flee in the caretaker’s car, which the Nazis are following.

Germany (the Anschluss) while they are on their honeymoon. While Max is rehearsing the children for the Salzburg Festival, Rolfe gives Liesl a telegram to give to her father upon his return. The telegram informs the captain that he is to report for duty in the German navy the following day. The captain and Maria decide that the family must leave Austria that night. However, Nazi troops led by Herr Zeller (Ben Wright) catch them pushing their car away from the house. The captain tells them that they are on their way to perform in the Salzburg Festival, and the Nazis escort them there. After the family performs, they escape to the abbey. The Nazis follow them there, and they hide among the catacombs. Rolfe, who is with the Nazi troops, spots them. He allows them to escape but then calls out that he has seen them. The von Trapps flee in the caretaker’s car, which the Nazis are unable to follow because two nuns have sabotaged their cars.

Although The Sound of Music met with mixed reviews, it was an immediate and lasting hit with audiences, largely on the strength of the performance of Andrews, who had won the Academy Award for best actress for her role as the title character of Mary Poppins (1964). The movie had its genesis in the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949), by Maria Augusta Trapp. The book’s first film treatment was the West German movie Die Trapp-Familie (1956; The Trapp Family). It was reworked as a stage musical, The Sound of Music, with songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, which opened on Broadway in 1959 and won six Tony Awards. Director Robert Wise won praise for his lush adaptation of the musical to the screen. Noted “ghost singer” Marni Nixon made her on-camera debut in the movie as Sister Sophia.

The Shop Around The Corner - !940 - Directed by Ernst Lubitsch- Starring Margaret Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart

 

The Shop Around The Corner - !940 - Directed by Ernst Lubitsch- Starring Margaret Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart 
 

Ernst Lubitsch 

Born: January 29, 1892, Berlin, Germany - produces 65 silent films before moving to America

1922 Moves to Hollywood- Warner Pictures Signed him to a three year six picture contract

Died: November 30, 1947, Los Angeles, California, United States

Lubitsch directed two of my favourite movies, Ninotchka and To Be or Not to Be

Alfred Kralik, played by Jimmy Stewart,is the top salesman at a leathergoods shop in Budapest owned by the high-strung Mr. Hugo Matuschek. Kralik's coworkers at Matuschek and Company include his friend, Pirovitch, a kindly family man; Ferencz Vadas, a two-faced womanizer; saleswoman Ilona Novotny; clerk Flora Kaczek; and Pepi Katona, an ambitious, precocious delivery boy. One morning, Kralik reveals to Pirovitch that he's been corresponding anonymously with an intelligent and cultured woman whose ad he came across in the newspaper.

Kralik is Mr. Matuschek's oldest and most trusted employee, but lately there has been tension between the two. They get into an argument over Mr. Matuschek's idea to sell a cigarette box that plays "Ochi Chërnye" when opened. After their exchange, Klara Novak, played by Margaret Sullivan,enters the gift shop looking for a job. Kralik tells her there are no openings, but when she is able to sell one of the cigarette boxes (as a candy box), Mr. Matuschek hires her. However, she and Kralik do not get along.

Mr. Matuschek begins to suspect his wife is having an affair as she stays out late and requests money from him.

As Christmas approaches, Kralik is preparing to meet his mystery correspondent for a dinner date. The meeting is stalled when Mr. Matuschek demands that everyone stay after work to decorate the shop. Later Kralik is called into Mr. Matuschek's office and is fired. No one in the shop understands Mr. Matuschek's actions are related to his suspicions that Kralik is having an affair with his wife. Later, Mr. Matuschek meets with a private investigator who informs him that his wife is having an affair with one of his employees—Ferencz Vadas. Pepi returns to the shop just in time to prevent Mr. Matuschek from committing suicide.

Meanwhile, Kralik arrives at the Cafe Nizza, where he discovers that his mystery woman is Novak. Despite his disappointment, Kralik goes in and talks with her, pretending he is there to meet Pirovitch. In his mind, Kralik tries to reconcile the cultured woman of his letters with his annoying coworker—secretly hoping that things might work out with her. Concerned that Kralik's presence will spoil her first meeting with her "far superior" mystery correspondent, she calls Kralik a "little insignificant clerk" and asks him to leave.

Later that night, Kralik goes to the hospital to visit Mr. Matuschek, who offers him a job as manager of Matuschek and Company.

 Grateful to Pepi for saving his life, Mr. Matuschek promotes him to clerk. The next day, Novak calls in sick after her mystery man failed to show. That night, Kralik visits her at her apartment. During his visit, she receives a letter from her correspondent and reads it in front of Kralik (who wrote the letter).

Two weeks later, on Christmas Eve, Matuschek and Company achieves record sales. Kralik and Miss Novak, alone in the shop, talk about their planned dates for the evening and Miss Novak reveals that she had a crush on Kralik when they first met. After pretending to have met Novak's mystery man, Kralik puts a red carnation in his lapel and reveals to her that he is her mystery correspondent and they kiss.

The Shop Around The Corner, set in the 1930s, is a charming film. The characters are all very well developed.

The Wizard of Oz -1939- Directed by Victor Fleming - Starring Judy Garland - Run Time 93 Minutes

 

The Wizard of Oz -1939- Directed by Victor Fleming - Starring Judy Garland - Run Time 93 Minutes - Available on Amazon Prime Video 

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most beloved of all films.  The highly successful release of Wicked will bring a new set of viewers to The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy Gale,a Kansas farm girl who dreams of a land "somewhere over the rainbow." Dorothy's dream comes true when she, her dog, Toto, and her family's house are transported by a tornado to a bright and magical world unlike anything she has seen before.  The film while in Kansas is in black and white but upon arrival in Oz it is transformed into beautiful colors 

Unfortunately, she makes a mortal enemy of a wicked witch when the house falls on the hag's sister. Now, befriended by a scarecrow without a brain, a tin man with no heart and a cowardly lion—and protected by a pair of enchanted ruby slippers—Dorothy sets off along a yellow brick road for the Emerald City to beseech the all-powerful Wizard of Oz for his help to return home.

Winner of Academy Awards for the classic song, "Over The Rainbow" and for "Best Score," the family classic also received an Oscar nomination for "Best Picture." A special Oscar for "the best juvenile performer of the year" was awarded to Judy Garland.

Cast of The Wizard of Oz

Judy Garland ... Dorothy Gale

Frank Morgan.... Professor Marvel/ Doorman/ Cabbie/The Wizard of Oz

Ray Bolger ... Hunk/The Scarecrow

Jack Haley.... Hickory/The Tin Man

Bert Lahr.... Zeke/The Cowardly Lion

Billie Burke.... Glinda, the Good Witch of the North

Margaret Hamilton .... Miss Almira Gulch/ Wicked Witch of the West

Charley Grapewin.... Uncle Henry Gale

Clara Blandick.... Aunt Emily 'Auntie Em' Gale

Pat Walshe.... Nikko, the Wicked Witch's Head Winged Monkey

Charles Becker.... Mayor of Munchkin City

Mitchell Lewis.... Captain of the Winkie Guard

 Watch it alone or bring your family together to watch, The Wizard of Oz is a pure joy.

Blazing Saddles- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1974-Starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, and Slim Pickens

 

Blazing Saddles- Directed by Mel Brooks - 1974-Starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, and Slim Pickens 

Blazing Saddles is set in the American west in 1874.

 Slavery just ended a few years ago and railroad construction is opening the opportunity for new found wealth for those prepared to capitalize.

  The opening scene centers on a group of former slaves and imported Chinese workers laying track in 114 degrees Fahrenheit. When a Chinese worker collapses, the track forman says "Doc that Chink a days pay for napping on the job". Then he asks the black workers to "sing a good old nigger work song like when you were slaves"

When I first saw Blazing Saddles in the theatre 50 years ago I thought it was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Now streaming it on a tablet, I still think that. The racially abusive language is still a little shocking.

The plot centers on the efforts of Hedley Lammar, brilliantly played by Harvey Korman, to get control of the land where the railroad will go through, in the town of Rock Ridge and the efforts lead by Bart, Clevon Little is a complete success in the role, to stop him.

In the  American frontier  a new railroad under construction will have to be rerouted through the town of Rock Ridge to avoid quicksand. Realizing this will make Rock Ridge worth millions, territorial attorney general Hedley Lamarr plans to force Rock Ridge's residents out of the town and sends a gang of thugs, led by his flunky Taggart, to shoot the sheriff and trash the town.

The townspeople demand that Governor William J. Le Petomane, played by Mel Brooks,vappoint a new sheriff to protect them. Lamarr persuades dim-witted Le Petomane to appoint Bart, a black railroad worker about to be executed for assaulting Taggart. A black sheriff, Lamarr reasons, will offend the townspeople, create chaos and leave Rock Ridge at his mercy.

After an initial hostile reception in which he takes himself "hostage" to escape, Bart relies on his quick wits and the assistance of Jim, an alcoholic gunslinger known as the "Waco Kid", played by Gene Wilder, to overcome the townspeople's hostility. Bart subdues Mongo, an immensely strong and dim-witted, yet philosophical henchman sent to kill him, then outwits German seductress-for-hire Lili Von Shtupp at her own game, with Lili falling in love with him.

Upon release, Mongo vaguely informs Bart of Lamarr's connection to the railroad, so Bart and Jim visit the railroad worksite and discover from Bart's best friend Charlie that the railway is planned to go through Rock Ridge. Taggart and his men arrive to kill Bart, but Jim outshoots them and forces their retreat. Furious that his schemes have backfired, Lamarr recruits an army of thugs, including common criminals, motorcycle gangsters, Ku Klux Klansmen, Nazi soldiers, and Methodists.

East of Rock Ridge, Bart introduces the White townspeople to the black, Chinese, and Irish railroad workers who have all agreed to help them in exchange for acceptance by the community, and explains his plan to defeat Lamarr's army. They labor all night to build a perfect copy of the town as a diversion. When Bart realizes it will not be enough to fool the villains, the townsfolk construct copies of themselves.

Bart, Jim, and Mongo buy time by constructing the "Gov. William J. Le Petomane Thruway", forcing the raiding party to send for change to pay the toll. Once through the tollbooth, the raiders attack the fake town and its population of dummies, which have been booby trapped with dynamite. After Jim detonates the bombs with his sharpshooting, launching bad guys and horses skyward, the Rock Ridgers attack the villains with Lili singing with the Nazi soldiers.

The resulting brawl between townsfolk, railroad workers, and Lamarr's thugs literally breaks the fourth wall and bursts onto a neighboring movie set where director Buddy Bizarre is filming a Busby Berkeley-style top-hat-and-tails musical number. Then the brawl spreads into the studio commissary for a food fight and spills out of the Warner Bros. film lot onto the streets of Burbank.

Lamarr escapes the brawl and takes a taxi to hide at Mann's Chinese Theatre which is showing the premiere of Blazing Saddles.

 

Available on Amazon Prime Video