The Lush Garden Within

I had a great time in Vegas and I'll tell you all about that next post, but here's my March List of reading and watching.

March's Books and Movies

Books

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives by Frank Warren – 276 pages – My former boss lent me this book and it was quite fascinating to read what people will tell a complete stranger. The one that sticks in my mind was the woman who confessed that she only got married because she wanted to wear the dress. Egads.

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald – 282 pages – I quite liked this book, and although it reminded me faintly of The Catcher in the Rye, I found the protagonist a generally likable character. I also found the look into that particular period very interesting, from the scandal of getting a hotel room with a woman not your wife to the semi-cavalier way the death of a friend from drinking and driving was dealt with.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – 182 pages – I know I read this in high school, but I didn't remember it at all. I have the movie at home right now but haven’t had a chance to watch it. I like Fitzgerald's writing style. I find it easy to read and think he has great character development.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – 191 pages – I love Oscar Wilde and although I knew the premise of this story I had never read it and only vaguely remember seeing bits of the film. I think it's sad that some great literature is passed over by people just because they're considered classics and the general thought of classics is that they're dry and hard to read. I confess I'm guilty of this thought, but I don't think that would be an apt description of Dorian Gray.

The Portrait of Mr. W.H. by Oscar Wilde – 28 pages – That link will take you to the actual essay wherein two people discuss a portrait and how it relates to William Shakespeare. I confess that I have no clue about most of the mysteries regarding The Bard's life, specifically to whom the Sonnets are dedicated, but still found this essay to be an interesting discussion of art and ideas.

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald – 315 pages – This book broke my heart as it's considered to be fairly autobiographical and it was just a sad story, although it doesn't start out that way. I liked it better than This Side of Paradise, which doesn't really mean anything.

I also read "An F. Scott Fitzgerald Companion" which came with my Book of the Month Club F. Scott Fitzgerald series. It was 90 pages of bit and pieces of books and articles written about F. Scott by various friends, secretaries, etc. It was just enough to whet my appetite and make me want to search out biographies..


Movies

My Man Godfrey (TCM) – 100% – 1937 – I love William Powell.
Notorious (K) – 96% – 1946 – Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Raines – need I say more?
The Maltese Falcon (Old Redford Theatre) – 100% – 1941 – The quintessential Bogart film with Peter Lorre just for fun.
The Heiress (N) – 100% – 1949 – Olivia de Havilland and Montgomery Clift – she plays the heiress, he plays the gold digger. They made her appear very plain in this movie while Montgomery Clift is as handsome as ever. I liked the way they didn't make this a "Hollywood ending." And if they had I would have been ticked off.
The Illusionist (N) – 75% – 2006– I liked this better than The Prestige, as a "magic" movie. It has Edward Norton which is all good in my book.
That Obscure Object of Desire (N) – 100% – 1977 – Luis Buñuel's last film and I must confess that I didn't get it. I wanted to slap Fernando Rey upside the head for taking that chick back so many times.
The Prestige (N) – 74% – 2006 – Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale and Michael Caine? First off, I probably should have started that list with Michael Caine because I think he's a fantastic actor. There's a song by Madness called Michael Caine and I think it's probably my favorite song by them.