|
August 05
|
|
William
is currently reading:
Persepolis I and II (Paperback)
by Marjane Satrapi
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
William
gave
to:
Flowers From Hell: The Modern Japanese Horror Film (Paperback)
by Harper, Jim
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
William said:
"A freeze-frame a sudden shift into negative black and white, and it's all over.
This book looks at the development of Japanese horror films, and is so exhaustive in its scope that no matter how much you might think you know about the genre,...more
A freeze-frame a sudden shift into negative black and white, and it's all over.
This book looks at the development of Japanese horror films, and is so exhaustive in its scope that no matter how much you might think you know about the genre, you'll soon realise how much you don't. In that respect, it's very impressive.
On the other hand, whilst the author's seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge enables him to cover a huge number of films, at times the coverage of each film is a little too brief. It's great to read about so many films that i would otherwise never heard of, but i'm left wanting more than a brief synopsis of each. That would be pretty much impossible, i suppose, without writing thousands of pages...so perhaps i'm being a tad harsh. Still, for me, the book was far more interesting when looking more closely at the films i knew; there's a detailed analysis of Ring, for example.
Despite this, its a worthwhile read for those who have an interest in the genre and want to find out more about the dozens (hundreds) of films that haven't found themselves under the same kind of media attention as Battle Royale, Ring et al. As an overview of the entire genre, it's the best i've come across....less
"
|
|
August 04
|
|
William
gave
to:
Hamlet (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series)
by William Shakespeare
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in August, 2008
William said:
"But break, my heart, for i must hold my tongue.
I'm not even going to attempt to write a 'proper' review of this, because i'd end up trying to write a book on it or something. Besides, i'm not sure i can add much that hasn't already been sa...more
But break, my heart, for i must hold my tongue.
I'm not even going to attempt to write a 'proper' review of this, because i'd end up trying to write a book on it or something. Besides, i'm not sure i can add much that hasn't already been said about this, the most famous and widely performed play ever, and one of the most discussed pieces of Literature the world has ever seen.
Suffice to say, it's brilliant, and i say that as someone reading the text who has never seen it performed. Reading Hamlet's soliloquys over and again, i'm still finding more hidden deep inside each line, each word. And that's just a tiny (although important, obviously) part of the play... ...less
"
|
|
July 30
|
|
William
gave
to:
Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Methuen Modern Plays)
by Dario Fo
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
William said:
"I ought to warn you that the author of this sick little play, Dario Fo, has the traditional, irrational hatred of the police common to all narrowminded left-wingers and so i shall, no doubt, be the unwilling butt of endless anti-authoritarian jibes.
...more
I ought to warn you that the author of this sick little play, Dario Fo, has the traditional, irrational hatred of the police common to all narrowminded left-wingers and so i shall, no doubt, be the unwilling butt of endless anti-authoritarian jibes.
I've never seen this play performed, but from reading it i got the impression that it would be a fantastic mix of tone, being both a serious critique and a hilarious satire about police corruption and incompetence.
The events of the play are very cleverly done, with characters pretending to be other characters in turn pretending to be another, leading to the comic effect of utter confusion among the police officers. The core message is deadly serious (it was based on a real life event), but at times it borders on farcical.
The double-bluff ending is a great touch, too....less
"
|
|
July 29
|
|
William
gave
to:
Shakespeare: The World as a Stage (Paperback)
by Bill Bryson
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
William said:
"Hamlet alone gave audiences six hundred words that, according to all other evidence, they had never heard before.
This book seems remarkably slim, but after reading the first couple of chapters you begin to see why: rather than a definitive...more
Hamlet alone gave audiences six hundred words that, according to all other evidence, they had never heard before.
This book seems remarkably slim, but after reading the first couple of chapters you begin to see why: rather than a definitive biography of Shakespeare, Bryson's book is all about showing us how such a thing is an impossibility due to a lack of historical evidence.
The sheer amount of anecdotes Bryson presents to us about attempts at historical research is dazzling. It's really no wonder that so many conspiracy theories about the origins of Shakespeare's plays have come to fruition over the years.
It's an interesting read, with Bryson's usual accessible style being a blessing, and of course there's his trademark humour throughout. Ultimately, you'll finish the book with a sense of having learnt only that very little can be learnt for certain about one of history's greatest writers....less
"
|
|
July 16
|
|
William
gave
to:
In Xanadu (Paperback)
by William Dalrymple
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
William said:
"Perhaps i should have consulted a doctor; instead i went to a travel agent and bought a ticket to Jerusalem.
William Dalrymple's first book takes us across Asia, from Jerusalem to Xanadu, as he retraces the footsteps of Marco Polo. Along th...more
Perhaps i should have consulted a doctor; instead i went to a travel agent and bought a ticket to Jerusalem.
William Dalrymple's first book takes us across Asia, from Jerusalem to Xanadu, as he retraces the footsteps of Marco Polo. Along the way, he takes in the glorious sites along the Silk Road, searching for the remnants of towns described by Polo in his own writing. He does an excellent job of combining historical and travel writing, comparing the cities of the past with their present day incarnations.
My favourite part of Dalrymple's writing is the comedy aspect. Some of the stories he tells had me in stitches (i read most of it on a plane - no doubt the people around me wondered what was so funny), and the conversations he has with the locals along the way are bordering on absurd, and yet just what you'd expect if you've done any travelling yourself.
An excellent first book and the obvious place to start with Dalrymple's work....less
"
|
|
July 10
|
|
William
is currently reading:
Midnight's Children (Paperback)
by Salman Rushdie
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
July 09
|
|
William
gave
to:
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Paperback)
by Khaled Hosseini
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
William said:
"Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman.
I'm not really sure where to start with this one, other than by saying it is absolutely fantastic. I read through it very quickly, just an hour or two ev...more
Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman.
I'm not really sure where to start with this one, other than by saying it is absolutely fantastic. I read through it very quickly, just an hour or two every day for a couple of days, and yet it seemslike i've been reading it for a very long time. I feel like i know the characters intimately, almost as if they are friends even. I have learnt an incredible amount about the tragic past of Afghanistan, a country that, despite being on the news every day, most of us know little-to-nothing about. One that - sadly, it's all too easy to forget - is inhabited by real people, trying to get by in life, just like everybody else.
The novel covers over forty years, from 1959 up to around 2003, with the separate lives of two women being followed closely in the first half of the book, only for their lives to intertwine in the second half. They go about, trying to live their lives from day to day, struggling to survive as chaos constantly erupts around them year after year, the innocent victims of war. It's a tear-jerker of a novel (dare i say a heart-breaker); a brilliant story combined with a gentle but oh so necessary history of a deeply wounded country that to this day remains a mystery to millions of people....less
"
|
|
June 24
|
|
William
is currently reading:
The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East (Paperback)
by Robert Fisk
bookshelves:
currently-reading
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
July 02
|
|
William
gave
to:
The First Rumpole Omnibus (Rumpole)
by John Mortimer
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in July, 2008
William said:
"I was doing a long firm fraud then; a particularly nasty business, out of which i got a certain amoung of harmless fun.
Having never seen a televised episode of John Mortimer's series, i went into this book somewhat blind, having heard coun...more
I was doing a long firm fraud then; a particularly nasty business, out of which i got a certain amoung of harmless fun.
Having never seen a televised episode of John Mortimer's series, i went into this book somewhat blind, having heard countless references to the great Horace Rumpole from friends working within the field of law.
All i can say is...what a great character Rumpole is. Wonderfully funny, entirely admirable and oh so easy to identify with, he's the hero of the Bailey, the champion of Chambers, and his memoirs make for excellent light reading.
The only downside to this collection is the way in which some of the different stories cover the same ground, reminding us again and again of the most basic facts about Rumpole's life, such as the names of his family and colleagues. Obviously, this comes from the fact that these stories were originally separate, and fortunately it isn't enough of an annoyance to spoil things.
There's some great stories here, and best of all, the outcome of each trial is rarely clear until the end; unlike so many other famous lawyers, Rumpole's world is one in which things don't always go to plan!...less
"
|
