The Ultimate Journey -- Take 2

I took a break in the middle of The Ultimate Journey: Canada to Mexico Down the Continental Divide to travel and work on a few other books, but I was eager to get back to it.

On the whole, I didn't enjoy it as much as The High Adventure of Eric Ryback, his first book.  Some of that might be because I wasn't surprised by it this time.  When you read a book that's written by the father of an old friend, you don't expect much from it.  When it turns out to be an eminently readable outdoor adventure (albeit a controversial one), it's a bit disarming. 

The second time around, I knew what to expect.  There was the added fun of having his little brother along for the adventure, but generally it was more of the same.  Which is not to say I didn't enjoy it, just that I expected it.

This book, unlike many of the others I've read this year, was part of my 2024 Reading Challenge, so it also has that going for it too.

Enduring Passion -- Take 2

I finished Enduring Passion, but I have to say that the first half of the book was certainly more entertaining.  The remainder still had some fun bits and I didn't not enjoy it, but it wasn't as amusing as the early chapters.

If you've got some time to kill, poke through the first hundred pages or so. I won't spoil her advice.

I do want to give credit to her occasionally incisive social commentary of the day: "The opinions of crudely material and base-minded men would not matter in the least if it were not that they have for so long been voluble and noisy and expressive in print and thus tended to create a degraded social outlook." Those bits of the book are quite sharp and funny.

What I'm Reading Now -- Greyfriars Bobby

I picked up a used copy of this book in, appropriately, Edinburgh.  We had seen the statute of the famous little Skye terrier, so this seemed an excellent souvenir. 

The story goes that this loyal little pup, after the death of his owner, guarded his owners grave until Bobby's own death 14 years later.  What's not to love about this?

I'll probably cry, that's what's not to love.

What I Read -- Fucking Apostrophes

S was wandering our local public library, as he is wont to do when he has some time to kill, and found this delightful little gem.  It's a grammar book, but it's a short and funny one and worth the twenty minutes or so that one must put into learning how to appropriately use an apostrophe.

Reading tip: do not skip the examples.  They contain such humorous pop cultural references as: "Miley Cyrus's father refused to comment," "Rihanna's and Jennifer's photos were all over the internet," and "Donald removed his hair and put it back in its cage."

For those Anglophiles out there (myself included), it's important to know that St. James's Park is a park in London, St. James' Park is the NUFC stadium, and St. James Park is the Exeter FC stadium.  Who can keep track of these things?!

What I'm Reading Now - Faster

Those who know my reading habits know that I typically only read one book at a time.  However, I recently found myself in need of a new read as I headed out of town.  I had two nearly-finished books (Enduring Passion and The Ultimate Journey), and didn't want to drag them both along in case I finished one and needed the other.  Plus, they're both vintage and a bit fragile.

So I needed a brand new one.  I picked one of my 2024 Reading Challenge books: Faster: How a Jewish Driver, and American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best.  It was an especially appropriate choice because I was headed out of town with the friend who loaned me the book. 

More thoughts once I have finished it!

What I'm Reading Now -- Enduring Passion

S and I were at a wedding on Saturday.  There was a touch of a library theme to the decor.  The seating assignments were printed on those vertical index-card-sized slips that you used to find in library books.  Among the decorations, they had rented some vintage books from a local thrift shop.

Browsing the selections, we found a book called Enduring Passion: Further New Contributions to the Solution of Sex Difficulties being the continuation of MARRIED LOVE.  (Yes, that capitalization is in the actual subtitle.)  This seemed like an odd selection to have on display at a wedding.  It turns out the bride and groom had not selected specific titles, but merely identified which color groups they were looking for; the shop made the selections.  I wonder if the shop owners had picked that one out specifically; seems rude, if you ask me.

It's one of those books -- published in 1928 (though this version was printed in 1931) -- that was advanced for its time but reads as comical now.  I had such a good time paging through it at the reception that I kept it so I could finish it up.  (Don't worry, I told the bride, and I offered to send the shop the $1.00 price that was written inside the cover if they desired such remuneration for this gem.)

It wasn't until we were on the way home the following day that I noticed that the author was a woman: Marie Carmichael Stopes.  She was quite an accomplished young scientist, earning D.Sc. and PhD degrees by the time she was 24 years old.  However, she had then what was a controversial position on birth control and has now a complicated history when it comes to other social issues, including eugenics and abortion.  I've no desire to do a full recitation here, but you can read about it on the interwebs if you'd like.

Regardless, an entertaining collection of pages to flip through ... especially at a wedding!

Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXVIII -- Based on a True Story

Wildflower was a winner.  It's certainly not the only movie about a family which is non-traditional in its own way, but it's one of the better ones I've seen, even as it edges toward the predictable.  Young Bea has two intellectually disabled parents who, against some substantial odds, have raised their daughter in their own way.  Families interfere, but love and understanding win the day, carried in no small part on the shoulders of the daughter.  If you were a Mad Men watcher, you'll recognize Kiernan Shipka, who played Sally Draper, as Bea.

The title character in Yara was a 13-year-old girl who went missing when she was on her routine walk home from her gym one winter night. Her body was found three months later, but it took years to identify a suspect and bring the matter to trial.  Though the crime is of course the center of the story, the real narrative is the doggedness of the investigator and the patience of the victim's family.  The movie is based on a real murder and subsequent criminal investigation.

Mutiny on the Bounty is one of those movies that everyone knows the name of.  I imagine only a small fraction of those people have actually seen it.  Until recently, I was one of those.  For my part, I watched the 1962 version.  (There are at least four other film versions, some now lost to history.)  Marlon Brando, young though he looks as lead mutineer Fletcher Christian, had been in major films for 10 years by the time Mutiny came out.  It's an old movie, so expect a lot of racism and sexism.  I didn't love the movie, but at least now I can say that I've seen it.

None of these movies are documentaries, but Bridge of Spies has gotten some flak for taking pretty substantial liberties with the real story, especially the timeline.  But, I love Tom Hanks, I love a good historical tale, and I love a war movie, so I don't really care. Hanks plays an American lawyer who, after he is tapped to defend a Soviet spy caught in the US, is sent to East Germany to try to facilitate a prisoner swap, exchanging his convicted former client for an American pilot.  His unwavering certainty about how to handle the negotiations is where the inspiration lies.

If you, too, think the idea of watching a guy whittle wooden keys for 90 minutes sounds as dull as watching paint dry, try Escape from Pretoria.  Real-life political activist Tim Jenkin is portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe.  When he is arrested in South Africa, along with his friend, for their anti-apartheid activities, Jenkin plots his - you guessed it - escape from Pretoria Prison. Surprisingly suspenseful.

Soccer fans may already know the story told in The Keeper, but I didn't. It profiles Bert Trautmann, a German POW who elected, at the end of the war, to remain in England rather than return to Germany.  He made a name for himself as an excellent football goalie, eventually guarding the goal for many years as the keeper for Manchester City.  The movie is pitched as a love story, but even immediately after concluding viewing I would have told you it's more about overcoming prejudice and building bridges through sport than it is a love story.  Upon reading a bit more about Mr. Trautmann's post-film personal life, I find that to be even more true.  Regardless, I enjoyed watching the impressive saves.

Movies -- A Recap -- Part XXXVII -- Comedies

Strays stars dogs.  Enough said.  (But in case you want to know more, a dog who's been abandoned decides to take revenge on his former owner with the help of some of his newfound friends.  It's crass but there were several laugh-out-loud moments, and the music selections were on point!)

I expected pretty much nothing from The Lost City, and it didn't disappoint.  In fact, though I wouldn't call it a good movie, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  I've seen Brad Pitt do comedy before (and do it well, as in Mr. & Mrs. Smith), but still I was surprised by how funny he was.  Channing Tatum was pretty funny too, and Sandra can hold her own, but Brad Pitt stole the show. 

I find it hard to believe, but I think Adam's Rib is only the second Spencer Tracy movie I've ever seen (with the first being Guess Who's Coming to Dinner). In Adam's Rib, he and Katherine Hepburn - together again - play a pair of husband-and-wife attorneys on opposite sides of case involving a woman who shot her husband.  Their witty banter and obvious chemistry carry the movie!

Enough Said started out funny and clever. There were lots of chuckles and a couple of hearty laughs.  Unfortunately the second half turns a little predictable.  But it was well cast, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus (whom I currently have a real-life crush on after discovering her podcast, Wiser Than Me), James Gandolfini, Toni Collette, and Catherine Keener.

If you like British people, Irish people, the post office, historical settings and costumes, swear words, or any combination of the above, Wicked Little Letters will amuse you.  A very proper British woman in a very proper British town is scandalized by the receipt of profane correspondence from an anonymous sender.  All eyes turn to the young Irish mother who showed up in town after the war.  A battle of swear words ensues.

 

 

I automatically give extra credit to any movie which is set in Great Britain or Ireland.  People We Hate at the Wedding is one of those. It's a 100% predictable story of wedding shenanigans, but if what you need is some brain candy with a few extra-funny zingers, it's not a bad pick.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Take 2

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy was not for me.

Initially, I didn't quite know what I was getting into.  The first 20 pages or so were pretty entertaining.  Then it just started to get weird and go a bit off the rails.  So I looked up a few things about it and came away with this summary: "nothing happens, it's pretty dumb, but there are some real gems in the prose."

My reading experience could not mirror that summary more exactly.  I really had to push myself to get through the pages.  I thought this one would be easy because it's so short, but the total lack of plot made it a real slog.  But every now and then I would either burst out laughing or come across a passage that was so spot-on that I had to go back and read it aloud to S.

Despite that, I don't expect I will be reading any of the other books in the series.

What I'm Reading Now -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I've been all over the place with my books this year, mostly due to travel.  But I am working on another book from my 2024 Reading Challenge.  I've skipped forward in time to get to my November selection: The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, selected for its ugly cover. It's a UK edition, and apparently a pretty rare cover because I resorted to taking my own photo of it!

So far it doesn't really seem like my ball of wax -- I like a bit of logical plot, typically -- but it's short and amusing, so I'm sticking with it.