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  <title><![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]></description>
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        <name><![CDATA[Alec Guinness]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.11</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
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  <read_at>Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[Very repetitive, even though I acknowledge it's diary style. &quot;we gave lunch to...&quot;, &quot;We gave dinner to...&quot;<br/><br/>Perhaps the generation gap plays a part here, but Alec Guinness comes across as a curmudgeonly man. One from the old school definitely.<br/><br/>Personally I sa...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61729136">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
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  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 06 08:04:59 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 06 08:09:10 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I recently re-read this book (we had bought and read it first about ten years ago.)  It is so delightful!  Alec Guinness has a light touch in this year and a half journal of his daily life in 1995-1996.  There are reminiscences, details of lunches and dinners, flowers and trees in his garden, advent...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51676245">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51676245]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Ron]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
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  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <date_added>Tue Jan 20 14:35:03 -0800 2009</date_added>
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    <body><![CDATA[I quite enjoyed this. It's not earth-shattering, but I found it a very pleasant and quiet read.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43730807]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>71072042</id>
    <user>
    <id>1512686</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Larry]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 13 11:17:05 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Sep 13 11:17:49 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[A great insight into a wonderful actor!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71072042]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71072042]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <id>2417138</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Noria]]></name>
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  <isbn>3894872977</isbn>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Adel verpflichtet. Tagebuch eines noblen Schauspielers.]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6551343-adel-verpflichtet-tagebuch-eines-noblen-schauspielers</link>
  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jun 16 02:59:57 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 16 02:59:57 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Alec Guinness wrote this diary when an editior of the Sunday Telegraph asked him to do it and it covers the time from 1st January 1995 to mid-June 1996. He talks about everything: health issues, the weather, food, books he'd read, tv programms he's seen, paintings he's seen in galleries, journeys he...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59856596">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59856596]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/59856596]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>13262638</id>
    <user>
    <id>148474</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Algernon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Deming, NM]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <date_added>Wed Jan 23 07:51:39 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 23 07:55:49 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Compared to his memoirs <em>Blessings In Disguise</em> and <em>A Positively Final Appearance</em>, this book feels much more constrained.  The strict daily diary format limits the flow of reflections and anecdotes which moves so elegantly in his later memoir.  <br/><br/>With that said, much of his entries are still...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13262638">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13262638]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13262638]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
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    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 16 15:34:00 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 16 15:38:49 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this having been convinced it would be good by the stupendous reviews it received at the time of its publication. I found it a little too self-indulgent and wouldn't read it again.<br/><br/>Verdict: Not as good as it was hyped up to be at the time. The second installment was worse.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24653440]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24653440]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>54532730</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Guy]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Wed Aug 19 13:36:32 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Apr 30 17:55:54 -0700 2009</date_added>
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  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A diary - a year and a half long 1995 to halfway through 1996... As I suspected, old age has nothing to commend it and this book simply proves it. Too much name dropping and too much repetition. One or two funnies and that's it so far.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54532730]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54532730]]></link>
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 21 20:48:14 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 21 20:54:36 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Marvelously simple. Alec Guinness simply puts pen to paper to describe these late years of his life in which his greatest expectations are the weather, good food, the latest art exhibition or show and good company. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20696322]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20696322]]></link>
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      <review>
  <id>12661372</id>
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  <isbn>0140277455</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780140277456</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464m/590064.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464s/590064.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590064.My_Name_Escapes_Me</link>
  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 16 08:28:06 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 16 08:30:14 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A delightful autobiography that if you read, wanting to have a profound experience, you may be disappointed. But if you read it and watch for the little things you will find a view of life that is simple and refreshing.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12661372]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12661372]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>21113367</id>
    <user>
    <id>155526</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jess]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Canada]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/155526-jess]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464m/590064.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464s/590064.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590064.My_Name_Escapes_Me</link>
  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Mon Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2002</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 27 13:35:36 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Apr 27 13:35:58 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[page 1: I have kept a diary for over thirty years; a small, strictly private, almost illegible series of daily jottings, and I have left instructions for them to be destroyed at my death.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21113367]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21113367]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>15966493</id>
    <user>
    <id>928342</id>
    <name><![CDATA[David]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/928342-david]]></link>
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  <isbn>0140277455</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780140277456</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464m/590064.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464s/590064.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590064.My_Name_Escapes_Me</link>
  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Feb 20 22:49:39 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 28 11:24:39 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Interesting autobiography, but more of current diary of places he and his wife drive for lunch then any sort of real insights or deeper truths tackled.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15966493]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15966493]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>7938336</id>
    <user>
    <id>51289</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Montpelier, VT]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/51289-katie]]></link>
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  <isbn>0140277455</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464m/590064.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464s/590064.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590064.My_Name_Escapes_Me</link>
  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Oct 19 09:45:06 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 10 07:10:40 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A great book, but I just don't feel into it right now.  I'll pick it back up later.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7938336]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7938336]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20306209</id>
    <user>
    <id>1082341</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Grace]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1082341-grace]]></link>
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  <isbn>0140277455</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780140277456</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">13</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464m/590064.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464s/590064.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/590064.My_Name_Escapes_Me</link>
  <average_rating>4.07</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>69</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[This eighteen-month diary, from January 1995 to June 1996, from one of the most distinguished--and beloved--actors of stage and screen, reveals the octogenarian spryness of a civilized mind and a beguiling mixture of the meditative and the hedonistic. Sir Alec Guinness's interests and preoccupations recur: theater and film, of course, but also books and paintings; the church, sometimes held up for amused observation; food and drink, from fish'n'chips gatherings with fellow actors in Cambridge to solitary repasts at the Connaught; and the delights of being at home with his wife in the English countryside. Although the entries are written with a keen eye on contemporary events and culture, they also open to a past replete with fascinating memories and anecdotes from his long career. Inevitably, there is a strand of poignancy as friends die and memorial services are attended, but the pleasures and fun to be had with close friends such as Alan Bennett, Irene Worth, and Lauren Bacall form a strong backbone to this marvelously entertaining diary, which offers a glimpse of the private side of Guinness's often very public life.  ]]>
  </description>
  <published>1996</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 16 11:54:07 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 11:56:13 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very honest and personal, still very English. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20306209]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20306209]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>80868389</id>
    <user>
    <id>872494</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Tim]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[My Name Escapes Me]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176074464s/590064.jpg</small_image_url>
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