What I've been reading lately

[blue_lotus13]

1. Thunder in my veins by Greg Scofield- Greg Scofield is a Metis poet from BC. His work is amazing, and so was his memoir, Thunder in my veins. This is an immensely painful read, as Greg did not have an easy childhood or life. He struggled with all kinds of family problems, and was beaten and shuffled around. However, this is a powerful book, and Greg is a great writer. I also found it interesting how as a child, he choose to identify with being Native as a source of strength. He later changed it to an identification with being Metis, and the section of the book where he takes his first trip to Batoche is heartwrenching. Reading this made me want to read more by him, and thank him for writing this the next time I see him. (Have seen him once, already)

2. Lemony Snicket 12- The Penultimate Peril- I don't want to spoil anyone, but I just don't know how Handler is going to tie everything up in this one. I didn't like this one as much as the regular books, for reasons that are discussed at the forums on http://www.chicklit.com But I did love the Library hotel.

3. Adventures in the Screentrade- by William Goldman- This book is constantly referred to, so I thought I'd read it. Goldman is an award winning screenwriter and novelist and has penned such wonders as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "All the Presidents Men" and "The Princess Bride." This is a pretty witty and funny book and should be a must read for anyone interested in writing and film and how they fit together. There are lots of good stories about actors, and "the business." I also found some of Goldman's comments relevant today, even though this book is almost 25 years old, and the industry has changed immensely since then.

First, Goldman talks about how the tv networks wanted to put someone's divorce on tv. I bet that he is loving the whole reality tv trend. Imagine if reality tv had started in the 80s...

Goldman also talks about how "Taxi Driver" lost out the Oscar Best picture in 1976 to the more conservative and mainstream "Rocky" and predicted that things would be different if that same battle were to take place in 1981. I say he's wrong, because all he has to do is look at 1994 when that piece of crap called "Forrest Gump" beat out the much better and more edgy "Pulp Fiction."

Goldman also comments on what he calls "comic book movies" (not based on actual comic books), which are fluff movies which don't have a lot of substance. He describes fluff movies vs serious movies. I think he'd be disappointed to see the amount of "comic book movies" in theatres today, compared to the more serious and thought provoking dramatic movies.

Comments

[sadie6.livejournal.com]

William Goldman is my all-time favorite writer. Not only is his non-fiction funny and smart and wicked, his fiction is as well. I can usually tell a Goldman screenplay or book a mile away. He rules. My only problem with him is that he hasn't really been writing novels since the 80s, mostly screenplays and non-fiction. It makes me want to cry.

One of my favorite things (rants, really) he says about the Oscars is that we should know the voting percentages, so we know exactly how one movie or person affecting the others' chances. He said without it there is no point, that it would be like turning on the TV on election night and all they say is "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, the new president is _____. Have a good night." Hilarious.

Anyway, I own a few of his novels (they are sometimes hard to find) and you are welcome to borrow them if you so wish.

[blue-lotus.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the offer, but my "to read" pile is WAY too big right now. I do appreciate it, though.

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I have been obsessively checking the library's availability of The Penultimate Peril because I like to listen to them on CD (Tim Curry is great and the Magnetic Fields perform the interludes between chapters) and I was so excited when I caught it right on the day it was posted, so I'm third in a line that will surely grow to the hundreds :)