pontalba

Yes! Also the same producers as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I just noticed that another Rapace is playing in the Wallanders...Ola Rapace. Neat. Henriksson is just as I pictured Wallander from the books.

I read that a couple of years ago, all the while picturing Peck. Good story. Last night we watched two movies at home. Narrow Margin with Gene Hackman and Anne Archer. ennh, the actors made a weak story worth watching. But first we watched Nothing But the Truth with Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett and Alan Alda. Based on the true story of a CIA agent that was outed by a Washington newspaper writer. The reporter spent over a year in jail for not revealing her source. The film differed in major motivations, but much was taken from fact. Good film. Oh, meant to add we also, a couple of nights ago, watched Henning Mankell's Wallander, Episodes 1 - 3. Whoa! This is the Swedish version, and the actors are fantastic. I've ordered the rest of the series from Amazon already.

I don't think I've posted about the Patricia Highsmith bio I'm reading. Beautiful Shadow, by Andrew Wilson. So well done. He has access to her life long diaries and boy oh boy does he ever write a thorough rendition of her life. Phew! She was a fascinating person, quite troubled, but her childhood was mean to say the least. If I have posted about it, sorry about that! Just arrived by way of UPS..... Matters of the Heart, A Creole Love Story by Mary M. Culver - Regarding truth in advertising, she is a friend that comes to the same poet's group we sometimes go to, and I've only read her poetry so far, which is excellent. Railsea by China Mieville Hedy's Folly by Richard Rhodes - Who knew Hedy Lamarr was an inventor!!? Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams The Queen Mother by Lady Colin Campbell

I've only read a little so far, but have been sidetracked several times. I suppose that is a product of the fact they don't really grab me, but not far enough in to really say yet. Will report back whenever I do read it.

Thursday night we went to see Hunger Games, and saw that Dark Shadows was the midnight offering. Sometimes they show something like that the night before it actually opens here. Anyhow, we watched both, and both were excellent. I haven't read Hunger Games yet, but husband has, and enjoyed it. He said it was fairly close to the book. Some diff of course, but not substantial.

ahhh, yes, of course. Amy it is supposed to be. That is a good cover, but not representative to my way of thinking. Even though Amy is very important, I like the dark trees, gives a creepy feel to the woods. It looks like the woods at the place "it began". Up north I mean.

Furry little heartbreakers indeed. For sure. But the pleasure and comfort they bring is worth it. I'm sorry you've lost him. My little buzzards are all doing pretty well. The oldest is 20 (can't find my book to prove it at the mo) and then have two that are 15, three that are also about 15, but a little younger than the pair. All found or dumped on us. The last two are 8 and 7. I can see some slumping in the 20 y.o. though just lately, and one of the 15 y.o.'s has to have a thyroid pill every day. That is always fun! lol not!

I have the hardback, bought it not too terribly long after it came out. I was not going to buy it, especially at Barnes & Noble prices, but husband knew I wanted it, and slipped it into the pile we bought that day. Such a sweetie. Here is a link to amazon to show the cover. http://www.amazon.com/The-Passage-Justin-Cronin/dp/0345504968/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1336407022&sr=8-1 Is that the same as yours?

I have my great grandfather's collection, about 200 books, dating between the 1850's and the early 1900's. He collected history and poetry mostly.

Due to a discussion of The Talented Mr. Ripley on another forum, I've picked up A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson. Fantabulous!! I'd read all 5 Ripley books a couple of years ago and enjoyed them quite a lot. Highsmith is (was) a fascinating person

Absolutely, keep going! There are some slow(er) sections, and you'll have your own favorite parts, but I loved the book. BTW, the cover I have is dark blue, with touches of gold on it, nothing like your posted cover. hmmmmm Haven't seen that one before. I have the sequel preordered already.

I'd added memory and a DVD player to it years ago, but it was slow as molassas in January the last year or so. This one zoooooomz! An added plus is that the keyboard and mouse are wireless, so I am able to sit back and type, easier on my back, not having to lean forward, I can rest my back and type. I believe it, the e readers have encouraged reading, in general. Plus for anyone that has any sort of physical disability, such as arthritis etc, it's wonderful. Ok, Charlton, we hear ya!!

I haven't seen it, but I'm happy with the plain kindles we have already. Honestly, I don't use it as much as I could. I still like the paper book in hand. I believe if we did get anything else it would be an ipad. But I want to wait till a couple more versions come out. Work out a few more of the kinks. We did enough buying last week in any case, with the new desktop, an all in one, touch screen. /happy sigh/ gorgeous. It was on sale too! In my defense, my old desktop was 11 years old.

Boy, now I know my brain is turning to mush. Kobo, not nook!

Have you seen Jolie in The Changling? She was quite good.

I suppose even my favorite authors have at some point been less than I expected, or hoped for. Vladimir Nabokov, John Banville, Diana Gabaldon, James Lee Burke, C.J. Sansome are some that I can say have not truly disappointed me. Maybe one of their books didn't come up to the rest IMO, but that isn't truly a disappointment. I guess Harlen Coben and Henning Mankell could be added to my list as well. Most of Paul Auster that I've read has been fantastic as well. I've liked the William Boyds that I've tried, not many true, the the 3 I think it is have been fine.

Hmmm, Define "classics". Just because they've stood the test of time, as it were, doesn't mean everyone will like it.. Taste is highly individual, so some will appeal, and some not. I don't think just because a book is classified classic everyone will either love or hate it. There is always that gray area. The styles are different, as is the prose. Same as any other time period, yes?

We bought a nook first, right before Borders went kapluey. But it wasn't that that turned me off of the nook, there were a couple of deals that they didn't make good that really annoyed me. I'm glad to hear they are being better now. I guess I can reactivate my nook, although we both have kindles and frankly they don't get enough use. /sigh/

You're quite welcome! Hope you enjoy it/them.

We watched The Ghost Writer, based on a book by Robert Harris. We'd seen it when it came out and bought the DVD to watch atain. Good story. Twist ending.

Thanks Julie! Yup, I've read quite a few of Banville's. He first came to my attention with The Sea. The front cover compared him to Vladimir Nabokov, probably my all time favorite author. It is a bit of a convoluted story (with several stories intertwining throughout 2 or 3 time lines) and won the Booker Prize in 2005. I've read all 4 of his books written under his Benjamin Black name, and what I call his "Freddie series", consisting of Book of Evidence, Ghosts, and Athena. The last three are not literally a series or sequels, but do carry the same character of Freddie, a murderer. Then there is The Untouchable, a fictional take on the Kim Philby spy scandal in England. Fantastic! Another is Shroud. Excellent! Birchwood was the only one of Banville's that I didn't care for that much. Parts were fine, and the prose throughout was, of course, wonderful. But he lost me for the last half. I believe that is all, including Eclipse just now, and I am reading another Banville at present, Mephisto. So far, so good. Let me suggest one more, non-Banville. The Last Child by John Hart. It's an extremely suspenseful story of a little girl that has disappeared, I believe a few years prior to the beginning of the book. Her brother still searches for her in spite of everyone telling him she must be dead. He will not give up, and goes around the countryside on his bike investigating, searching. Very suspense filled!

Finished John Banville's Eclipse. Not sure what is next, dithering.

Who are we? Who are we really? Do we even know the answer to that question ourselves? We all, to some small extent, act out for our friends and family. Not that we ordinarily attempt to hide our "true" selves from our loved ones. But to a greater extend we do hide from our friends, and especially those casual acquaintances and casual fly-bys we encounter every day in life. Some of us more than others of course. However for the protagonist, Alexander Cleve, the famous stage actor has a definite problem in that area. So much so he finally freezes during a performance and simply walks off stage into......what? To say Alexander is an unreliable narrator is the understatement of the century. However, who among us cannot be said to be an unreliable narrator of our own lives? John Banville presents in Eclipse a brooding, psychological story of a man hoping to find, at last, just who he really is. The prose is of course, hauntingly gorgeous. Highly recommended.

I just can't resist.....I agree as far as Tom Cruise being enough to scare anyone spitless...or, as my first husband was wont to say, "It's/he is enough to puke a buzzard". Sorry, maybe you can tell I don't like Cruise. heh It was indeed the Late Great Orson Welles that narrated the radio program of The War of the Worlds, he was absolutely fablous. and I don't throw that word around casually. I read it so long ago I don't remember most of it. But I do remember the first film version, I liked it pretty well. Gene Barry played the lead character. That didn't hurt a bit IMO.

Meant to write this the other day. We watched Suspect X, the film version of the book The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. It followed the book pretty accurately, only adding a few things that actually enhanced the visuals. The name makes it sound a bit far out, but it is actually an excellent, rather twisty sort of mystery/detective/murder mystery. The last twist, at the end was unexpected to me in the book.