Jim Cherry's Blog, page 6
February 22, 2018
Book vs Movie: The Hustler
Movie vs. Book, the eternal question, which is better? Was the book better than movie? Was the movie better? Prevailing opinion usually sides with the book, but is that necessarily true? I don’t know if I can answer that definitively for every book reader or movie goer. In the end that may be a subjective preference for any viewer, or reader. Something that comes to mind as I write this, does it matter if you saw the movie or read the book first? Or if you know the movies as well as, or better than the books it can cloud your idea of the book? These may be questions to discover answers to as I write these articles. I’m planning this as a weekly or monthly series of articles. Let’s get started! “The Hustler.”
Read Book vs Movie: The Hustler on Medium
Read Book vs Movie: The Hustler on Medium
Book vs Movie: The Hustler
Movie vs. Book, the eternal question, which is better? Was the book better than movie? Was the movie better? Prevailing opinion usually sides with the book, but is that necessarily true? I don’t know if I can answer that definitively for every book reader or movie goer. In the end that may be a subjective preference for any viewer, or reader. Something that comes to mind as I write this, does it matter if you saw the movie or read the book first? Or if you know the movies as well as, or better than the books it can cloud your idea of the book? These may be questions to discover answers to as I write these articles. I’m planning this as a weekly or monthly series of articles. Let’s get started! “The Hustler.”
Read Book vs Movie: The Hustler on Medium
Read Book vs Movie: The Hustler on Medium
No Hustle, A Great Book
You probably know the story of “The Hustler” from the 1961 Paul Newman movie of the same name. It’s the tale of small time pool hustler Eddie Felson who wants to move from the small time to the big time by playing the best pool player, Minnesota Fats. He loses to Fats, falls for a woman, gets his thumbs broken, is taught how to win by gambler Bert, and has a rematch with Fats. It’s all there, the pleasure comes in the prose of Tevis’ writing.
The prose is sepia tinged as it should be for the world it’s conjuring for the reader. Tevis uses highly descriptive language, he‘s painting the words on thickly. I recently read Tevis’ “The Man Who Fell to Earth” which was written only about five years after “The Hustler” and he doesn’t use the thickly descriptive adjectives as he does in “Hustler.” It’s obviously a choice Tevis made in the writing.
The conclusion of “The Hustler” is a little more straightforward than the movie, and leaves you a bit more in limbo, because that’s where Tevis’ leaves Eddie, in limbo with Sarah. Are they made for each other? Are they both locked into their “contract of depravity” and they can only be with each other? After the second match with Minnesota Fats has Bert sunk his claws far enough into Eddie to keep him hustling for him?
“Walter Tevis’ “The Hustler” was an instant classic. It received critical acclaim at it’s publication and of course being made into a movie. Tevis’ may have been a bit out of step with his contemporaries in incorporating a more traditional writing style than Jack Kerouac or The Beats but Tevis’ style holds up after almost sixty years and still reads as freshly as the day it was written.
The prose is sepia tinged as it should be for the world it’s conjuring for the reader. Tevis uses highly descriptive language, he‘s painting the words on thickly. I recently read Tevis’ “The Man Who Fell to Earth” which was written only about five years after “The Hustler” and he doesn’t use the thickly descriptive adjectives as he does in “Hustler.” It’s obviously a choice Tevis made in the writing.
The conclusion of “The Hustler” is a little more straightforward than the movie, and leaves you a bit more in limbo, because that’s where Tevis’ leaves Eddie, in limbo with Sarah. Are they made for each other? Are they both locked into their “contract of depravity” and they can only be with each other? After the second match with Minnesota Fats has Bert sunk his claws far enough into Eddie to keep him hustling for him?
“Walter Tevis’ “The Hustler” was an instant classic. It received critical acclaim at it’s publication and of course being made into a movie. Tevis’ may have been a bit out of step with his contemporaries in incorporating a more traditional writing style than Jack Kerouac or The Beats but Tevis’ style holds up after almost sixty years and still reads as freshly as the day it was written.
February 19, 2018
Arrival For Duty - Final Version (hopefully)
As many of you may remember the short story "Arrival For Duty" I posted about 6-7 posts ago. Over the months I've been thinking about it and over this past weekend I went back over the manuscript and made those pages fields of red corrections, changes and all around emendations. This afternoon I posted on Medium the (hopefully) final version of Arrival For Duty so if you think you've read the story before (& if you have, THANK YOU!) here's the newest final version!
February 16, 2018
Cosmic Rock/Scattered Stories
Hello Goodreads Friends!
A new, and very cool interview with me has been published by the Cosmic Rock website. It has interviews, reviews, featured bands, a lot of stuff, give my interview the old once over, it's pretty good if I do say so myself (but I may be getting totally biased about things).
For the last few weeks you've heard me blathering on about Medium. Well, I've taken the next step and set-up a publication on Medium and I'm calling it Scattered Stories it features my short stories and novel excerpts. I have 4-5 stories up now and will have more in the VERY near future.
A new, and very cool interview with me has been published by the Cosmic Rock website. It has interviews, reviews, featured bands, a lot of stuff, give my interview the old once over, it's pretty good if I do say so myself (but I may be getting totally biased about things).
For the last few weeks you've heard me blathering on about Medium. Well, I've taken the next step and set-up a publication on Medium and I'm calling it Scattered Stories it features my short stories and novel excerpts. I have 4-5 stories up now and will have more in the VERY near future.
February 6, 2018
Medium Articles - Join Me!
Hi Everybody!
I've been experimenting with Medium for the past three weeks tomorrow, and I think it's going fairly well. I've posted articles on everything from the literary (Re)Discovering Walter Tevis which is admittedly a filled out take off on my last blog post here.
My own fiction Are You Safe?
Another I really liked and that did well is the non-fiction So You Want to be a Brand? which takes a stand against the popular advice to make yourself a brand, become a product, not an artist.
A music related one THAT really surprised me in that gathered a lot of attention and claps (the Medium version of a "Like") is Jack Kerouac, the 60's and Jim Morrison
Film critique in Star Wars: The Last Jedi Breaking the Mythological Mold
If any of these are enticing to you please give them a a read or if you want to see what other articles I have (or what I'll publish in the future) check out my Medium page see what's there, give me a clap or two and if you're a member there too I promise I'll follow you there!
Peace out!
Jim
I've been experimenting with Medium for the past three weeks tomorrow, and I think it's going fairly well. I've posted articles on everything from the literary (Re)Discovering Walter Tevis which is admittedly a filled out take off on my last blog post here.
My own fiction Are You Safe?
Another I really liked and that did well is the non-fiction So You Want to be a Brand? which takes a stand against the popular advice to make yourself a brand, become a product, not an artist.
A music related one THAT really surprised me in that gathered a lot of attention and claps (the Medium version of a "Like") is Jack Kerouac, the 60's and Jim Morrison
Film critique in Star Wars: The Last Jedi Breaking the Mythological Mold
If any of these are enticing to you please give them a a read or if you want to see what other articles I have (or what I'll publish in the future) check out my Medium page see what's there, give me a clap or two and if you're a member there too I promise I'll follow you there!
Peace out!
Jim
February 4, 2018
Going on a Reading Jag!
Okay, last night I watched the Paul Newman movie "The Hustler" for about the millionth time (I first watched it when I was a kid because my father liked the movie) and it's a great movie (academy award nom's for Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott) and I've known for maybe 20 years it was based on a novel by Walter Tevis, and since then it has been in the back of mind to read it. Watching it last night it really resonated with me (especially Laurie's performance). So this morning I went to Amazon and see if a copy of The Hustler
was reasonably priced. Looking through the books he wrote I discovered he wrote The Man Who Fell to Earth
(might have already known this). I also discovered an interesting novel Mockingbird, and a book of short stories. I ordered Hustler and Man Who Fell to Earth from Amazon (cool covers, right?) and went off to my local library to order Mockingbird and the short stories.
I went to Wikipedida and looked him up and he had a pretty interesting life but I was disheartened to find there's no biography of him (any would be biographers out there looking for a subject?) So, with the books on their way (Hustler and Man scheduled to arrive Tuesday) I'll be reading them right away (I read some of The Hustler on Amazon and it had some pretty descriptive language that I thought was pretty cool, so, after the books arrive the reviews will be coming!
was reasonably priced. Looking through the books he wrote I discovered he wrote The Man Who Fell to Earth
(might have already known this). I also discovered an interesting novel Mockingbird, and a book of short stories. I ordered Hustler and Man Who Fell to Earth from Amazon (cool covers, right?) and went off to my local library to order Mockingbird and the short stories.I went to Wikipedida and looked him up and he had a pretty interesting life but I was disheartened to find there's no biography of him (any would be biographers out there looking for a subject?) So, with the books on their way (Hustler and Man scheduled to arrive Tuesday) I'll be reading them right away (I read some of The Hustler on Amazon and it had some pretty descriptive language that I thought was pretty cool, so, after the books arrive the reviews will be coming!
January 22, 2018
Getting Excessive with Medium
I've really been working with getting a lot of articles up on Medium. I'm still getting the hang of the site, where it pulls pictures from and how successful the articles can be on Medium. I still haven't worked all the bugs out, but I'm working on it.
I've published a couple articles you may be interested in. One is an excerpt from a novel I'm working on The Third Day" which serves up the conudrum of what would you do if you discovered what would you do if you discovered you had to kill a childhood friend to save the lives of many other people?
The other article I think is rather good delves into film critique, I take a look at the implications of the backstory of the creature in "The Shape of Water" and I think it has some interesting implications. (Harry if you haven't seen this movie it does have some spoilers).
If you have a moment take a read!
Jim
I've published a couple articles you may be interested in. One is an excerpt from a novel I'm working on The Third Day" which serves up the conudrum of what would you do if you discovered what would you do if you discovered you had to kill a childhood friend to save the lives of many other people?
The other article I think is rather good delves into film critique, I take a look at the implications of the backstory of the creature in "The Shape of Water" and I think it has some interesting implications. (Harry if you haven't seen this movie it does have some spoilers).
If you have a moment take a read!
Jim
January 19, 2018
Medium/Star Wars!
Ok, I'm telling you this right up front, this is a total experiment! After hearing about Medium, and I decided to give it a whirl, and after one misfire I think I have the site all figured out.
I just published an article, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Breaking the Mythological Mold" (seems a mouthful doesn't it?) give it a read (according to Medium it's only a 7 minute read) and let me know how you like it. If you're on Medium please follow me and I will follow you!
May the force be with you!
Jim
I just published an article, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Breaking the Mythological Mold" (seems a mouthful doesn't it?) give it a read (according to Medium it's only a 7 minute read) and let me know how you like it. If you're on Medium please follow me and I will follow you!
May the force be with you!
Jim
January 4, 2018
Belated Seasons Greetings!
Sorry to be so generic in the titling of this blog entry but the holidays took their toll more than usual this year.
Last year, 2017 ended on a bad literary note but it seems that has passed and I've bounced back from the set-back, AND I've started 2018 off with a bang! I've sent out some submissions and even have a good feeling about them, here's hoping that feeling returns as acceptances! (I am a dreamer, aren't I?) Here's the things I've sent submissions into.
Rock and Roll Dreams A short story I wrote a while ago, but at the end of Dec discovered Coral Press which specializes in rock and roll themed books. They want to release an anthology of stories, poems and art, all rock and roll themed, this spring, so I spruced up the story a bit and submitted it. I also pitched them in republishing
in the hope they can get it to a wider audience. P.S. The Last Stage has a deeply discounted price on Amazon of $3.57 so if you'd like to check it out at a discounted price, its there!
Arrival for Duty A short story I wrote in Nov, and I believe you can find a rough draft in this blog. I had an epiphany on how to make the ending have more punch. It has a Twilight Zone feel to the piece so I submitted it to Asimov's Magazine.
The Last Stage Submitted it to the Illinois Library Association contest for self-published fiction authors. There's prize money, book readings and marketing events as the prize.
I have three copies of The Doors Examined
available (left over from an appearance) and if you would like a signed copy I get it to you for $20 in the U.S. signed, sealed and delivered! If you'd like a signed copy please message me for the details!
I've also been working on my novel The Third Day and it's up to 30,000 words and I have a really good feeling about it, just another 50,000 or so words to go!
And hopefully will have more coming soon! Well, that's about it! That is a lot. If you know of anyone who is interested in any of this please pass it along to them!
I was thinking about doing a blog on the things I liked and things I disliked about the new Star Wars movie. Seems like enough time has passed.
I hope things are going well for you in the New Year!
Jim
Last year, 2017 ended on a bad literary note but it seems that has passed and I've bounced back from the set-back, AND I've started 2018 off with a bang! I've sent out some submissions and even have a good feeling about them, here's hoping that feeling returns as acceptances! (I am a dreamer, aren't I?) Here's the things I've sent submissions into.
Rock and Roll Dreams A short story I wrote a while ago, but at the end of Dec discovered Coral Press which specializes in rock and roll themed books. They want to release an anthology of stories, poems and art, all rock and roll themed, this spring, so I spruced up the story a bit and submitted it. I also pitched them in republishing
in the hope they can get it to a wider audience. P.S. The Last Stage has a deeply discounted price on Amazon of $3.57 so if you'd like to check it out at a discounted price, its there!Arrival for Duty A short story I wrote in Nov, and I believe you can find a rough draft in this blog. I had an epiphany on how to make the ending have more punch. It has a Twilight Zone feel to the piece so I submitted it to Asimov's Magazine.
The Last Stage Submitted it to the Illinois Library Association contest for self-published fiction authors. There's prize money, book readings and marketing events as the prize.
I have three copies of The Doors Examined
available (left over from an appearance) and if you would like a signed copy I get it to you for $20 in the U.S. signed, sealed and delivered! If you'd like a signed copy please message me for the details!I've also been working on my novel The Third Day and it's up to 30,000 words and I have a really good feeling about it, just another 50,000 or so words to go!
And hopefully will have more coming soon! Well, that's about it! That is a lot. If you know of anyone who is interested in any of this please pass it along to them!
I was thinking about doing a blog on the things I liked and things I disliked about the new Star Wars movie. Seems like enough time has passed.
I hope things are going well for you in the New Year!
Jim
