Ruth

Just realised that I didn't actually say what the last film was that I watched! It was Stage Door, from 1937, starring Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn and (a very young) Ann Miller. Quite good, not brilliant. I do like to see Ginger in more dramatic roles though - she was a very talented actress.

I'm not sure I've ever been scared by a book. I've found some books very disturbing or even upsetting, but not scary. Well maybe American Psycho - I love this book, but it was the only book I've ever felt that I couldn't read in bed at night because it freaked me out. I think it's because I don't believe in ghosts and things like that, but American Psycho was about a man, and theoretically it could happen.

Audrey would look beautiful wearing a bin liner really, wouldn't she? That is such a great film and I adore her dance in the jazz club. It's one of those films that instantly makes me happy

That is an AMAZING film. I loved Moulin Rouge as well - difficult to pick between the two. Great film. William Holden was such a beautiful man in his day. Sadly he ruined his looks with alcohol, and died when he was only 63. He and Audrey fell in love when they made Sabrina years earlier, but she left him when she discovered that he had had a vasectomy - she wanted to have children. He tried to rekindle their romance while making Pariz When It Sizzles, but she was married by this time, and rejected him. He was devastated apparently. They are two of my very favourite actors

Gregory Peck: A Charmed Life, by Lynn Haney Gregory Peck was one of the 20th century’s most loved screen idols. Tall and handsome, he is forever linked with (and perhaps confused with) his most famous role, that of Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird (1962). This book chronicles his life, from his early stage career, through to his largely successful life in Hollywood and his humanitarian campaigns and activities. It also describes his private life, including his first marriage to Greta, his second marriage to Veronique, and the tragic suicide of eldest son Jonathan. I thought this book was clearly well researched, and well written. Lynn Haney apparently was a friend of Gregory Peck, and the warmth she feels for him comes through loud and clear. She does however manage to remain objective, and although she clearly holds Peck in high regard, there are constant reminders throughout that he was a man, not a god, and he had flaws and idiosyncrasies which made him all too human. It’s a shame that the book does not seem to have any first person interviews with Peck or any of his family. There are plenty of quotes from other interviews however. (Early on in the book, Haney mentions another biography of Peck, and notes that the author of that book never met with nor spoke to Gregory Peck at all; implying that she had spoken to him. As they were apparently friends, this is not surprising, but it does not appear that he had any part in the writing of this book.) Having said that though, it’s clear that Haney knows her subject well. The book discusses most of Peck’s films – the hits and the misses – giving anecdotes from the set, and offering glimpses into the actor’s interactions and relationships with colleagues. It does not shy away from discussing disagreements that Peck had with other actors, producers or directors, or his disappointment with the way some projects turned out. There is a saying that you should never meet your heroes because you will always be disappointed – you could broaden this saying and add that it’s best not to know too much about your heroes in case you are disappointed. I can’t deny that at some points while reading this biography I read things that did disappoint me somewhat. But I also believe that no man or woman on earth is perfect (whatever perfect is), and that all we can do is the best that we can at the time. At the end of this book, I was left with the impression that Gregory Peck had done just that…and he will always be one of my favourite actors. This isn’t the only available biography of Gregory Peck – it might not even be the best one around, but for fans, it is definitely worth reading.

I have Wide Sargasso Sea on my tbr shelf - I bought it after I read and loved Jane Eyre, and was after all stuff JE related (incidentally, I loved The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - you don't have to have read JE to enjoy it, but it probably does help). I will approach Wide Sargasso Sea with some trepidation!!

Well, he will always be one of my favourite actors, and he did speak out for equality and against racism (at a time when it wouldn't make one popular to do so) and for that he will always have my respect. But he did treat his first wife pretty apallingly really, cheating on her for two year and gallivanting around Europe with Veronique (who became his second wife), while Greta was at home raising their three young children. Having said that, he and Greta always remained on good terms, so if she was able to get past it, I suppose that's what really matters. Besides, I suppose if you expect your heroes to be perfect, you'll always end up disappointed. I still love watching his films P.S. Sorry if I have shattered your thoughts of him!

Has everyone read the last chapter yet? If not, you might not want to read ahead, because there are bound to be spoilers. I grew to really dislike Norah/Ned in this chapter. The men's therapy group in itself was a very strange set-up (what was with all the jumping over benches stuff, and drawing pictures of heroes, etc?) - I can only see it screwing people up even more, rather than helping them! Nonetheless, it was a therapy group for men, the very essence of which was honesty - being able to be completely and totally honest with other members, and expecting complete and total honesty from them. To lie about her very identity in such circumstances was arrogant (how dare she think it was okay to do that for the sake of her own little experiment?) and pretty much unforgiveable. I can't help wondering if it was guilt that led to her own breakdown as well - after all, she has lied to a great many people, a lot of whom deserved far better treatment than she afforded them. And as I asked with the chapter where she infiltrated the Monastery, I wonder what would have happened if a man had disguised himself as a woman to ilfiltrate a woman's therapy group? I suspect there would have been a lot more serious consequences. I'm betting that the reason that she didn't come clean to the men's group was because she feared repercussions.

Oh Rear Window, is brilliant! But be careful not to watch the remake with Christopher Reeve - it is truly dire. I don't like having to say that because I have such respect for the way Christopher Reeve lived his life with such dignity after that awful accident, but the only good thing I can say about the remake is that it probably (hopefully) made him some money. I actually believe Jennifer Aniston is a gifted comedy actress, although I agree that she should pick her films better; she is very typecast. I've always thought that Angelina Jolie is WAY over-rated in terms of both looks and talent.

Still reading Grgory Peck: A Charmed Life, by Lynn Haney. It's a very well researched, well written biography, clearly written with warmth for the subject. However, I am starting to suspect that it's better not to know too much about your heroes sometimes!!

Revisiting this thread has made me want to reread the book! As I said earlier, I really enjoyed it, although it is certainly not a comfortable read. I read somewhere that no-one enjoyed writing about failure more than Fitzgerald - and I can see that (not only in Gatsby, but in his other books as well). He pointed out the superficiality of the glamorous world that his characters inhabited.

Sarah Waters have never disappointed me; I've loved every single one of her books (I only have The Little Stranger left to read). Another author I have always enjoyed reading is Paullina SImons - obviously I have preferred some of her books to others, but I've never not enjoyed a book by her. Philippa Gregory - only read about 3 of her books, but loved them all. Andrea Camilleri - I love his Inspector Montalbano series. I always kind of know what to expect, but they are always a good read.

I watched a few films during a very lazy bank holiday weekend! Stealing Sinatra - low-budget movie, but it stars William Macy, who makes any film worth watching. It's based on events when Frank Sinatra Jr was kidnapped, back in 1963. The film is entertaining enough. Sylvia Scarlett - it pains me to say this about any movie starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, but this film is really just not very good. Grant has a terrible Cockney accent, and Hepburn seems to overact terribly (and both of these actors are favourites of mine usually). It's near the beginning of both of their careers, and worth watching if only to see how much they improved with classics like Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story. Mogambo - Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Grace Kelly get steamy in Kenya. Really enjoyed this film. Force of Arms - WWII movie with a romantic backdrop - or a romantic movie with a WWII backdrop; I'm not sure which this film is. But William Holden is in it, and he was such a beautiful man before alcohol ravaged his looks, as well as being an under-rated actor. I liked this - a lot.

Same for me. When I first started the book I expected it to be a real slog, but I adored it. The thing that puts me off a lot of celebrity biographies, is that - well, they aren't really celebrities. Someone who appeared on X Factor - and didn't even win! - writing their life story, at age 21 or something like that? That's just ridiculous to me, and a blatant attempt to cash in on the tv show (which I refuse to watch anyway). I do like auto/biographies of genuine celebrities though. I am currently reading an excellent biography of Gregory Peck, and earlier this year read a superb biography of Gene Kelly. I have Charlie Chaplin's memoirs on my tbr pile (I say pile, but really it's more of a mountain). I'm a bit 'over' chick-lit. There are some good chick-lit authors out there, but most of the time, I can predict exactly what will happen. Occasionally I might pick one up, especially if I've just read something particularly long or involved, but generally I'm not interested in the genre.

Ah! I KNEW I couldn't be the only person who didn't like The Curious Incident. I had heard so many good things about that book, that I really looked forward to it. Was totally disappointed!

Life gets in the way for me sometimes too . Hope everything is okay with you though

I read it last year, after putting it off for years because of the length of it. However, once I started it, it was a quick read - the story was so absorbing, and the characters were terrific. I know that it's a book I'll read again and again. The movie is great (Clark Gable always makes me swoon) too; I think they captured the spirit of the book perfectly, and it was so well cast. The makers of the film had real trouble casting Scarlett, and screen tested over 500 actresses for the part; some of the most famous and popular actresses of teh day were desperate for the part, but eventually they went for a British virtual unknown - and wasn't Vivien Leigh just perfect? I found the sequel 'Scarlett' in a charity shop and snapped it up for 10p. 10 PENCE!!!! The Margaret Mitchell estate commissioned Alexandra Ripley to write the book, and I know people say it isn't as good as the original - but how could it be?! There is some interesting trivia attached to the film - Hattie McDaniel, who was the first African American to win an Oscar - was not even allowed to attend the premiere because of the segregation laws of the time. Clark Gable was absolutely enraged by this, and said that he would therefore not attend either. He did attend in the end, but only because Hattie McDaniel persuaded him to. Gable also threatened to walk off the set because they had separate toilets for the black and white actors. He said that if the signs weren't taken down, and everyone could use the same bathroom, he would leave. Needless to say, he got his wish. I always admired him for that.

I love going to the theatre, although I don't get there as often as I'd like to. I used to be in quite a big theatre group when I was younger, and always wanted to end up on the stage professionally. Sadly I realised that I don't really have the talent or stamina for it!!! I've seen excellent productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and Rebecca, probably a few years ago. Earlier this year I saw The Taming of the Shrew, at the RSC, and it was FANTASTIC!! As a result, I joined the RSC, and have tickets to see Twelfth Night in September. I also have tickets to see Singin' In The Rain in February, at the Palace Theatre, London. I'm ever so slightly excited!!

I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. It's one of my very favourites; Jane was a woman very ahead of her time in many ways. I loved Rochester too If you like adaptations, I can highly recommend the four part adaptation starring Ruth Wilson as Jane, and Toby Stephens as Rochester.

I second both of those suggestions. I read Black Like Me last year, and thought it made its point very clearly. The Help is an excellent book too, and as VF says, the film is just out on DVD (I've been meaning to get hold of it myself).

It was a lot of fun - kind of Sherlock Holmes-ish, but more friendly! The author is American, but I think he studied in London; he certainly captured the atmosphere of the period well.

My thoughts exactly. I thought that she wrote about the characters as if they were stereotypical sitcom characters almost. I too had a hard time relating to this chapter, as it does not gel at all with my own work experience. Out of all the chapters, this was the least interesting one for me. I will have to give it some more thought and then come back and post about it further. I didn't blame her for not revealing the truth about her identity to them though. Not because of any possible repercussions - I doubt there would have been any - but because it was pretty obvious that the bosses really didn't care two hoots about their employees, who they were, or anything else, as long as they got results.

After the depressing Arlington Park - which I was glad to finish yesterday - I decided to read Gregory Peck: A Charmed Life, by Lynn Haney. Gregory Peck is one of my favourite actors, and although I only started this bio last night, it promises to be a good read

Arlington Park, by Rachel Cusk This book takes place over the course of one ordinary day, in Arlington Park, a private housing estate just outside London. The viewpoint switches between four or five female characters as they go through their daily routines, and captures their thoughts. Unfortunately, I found this book quite disappointing. There isn’t really a plot to speak of; this is very much a character driven story. This in itself would not be a problem, except for the fact that there wasn’t a single likeable character amongst the entire cast in this book! The book is populated by women who have nice houses in a nice area, are at least fairly well off financially, and have happy and healthy children. Now while I fully accept that having all of these things does not preclude someone from being unhappy or depressed, I would have thought that at least one of the characters might have been quite contented with her life. But unfortunately, all of the women in this book just seemed to be unhappy – and more irritatingly, they seemed determined to remain so. I ended up feeling frustrated with them, and wanting to point out how fortunate they were. There’s no doubt that Rachel Cusk can write beautifully – the scenes from a school literary club were extremely believeable, as were the few pages describing the park (of Arlington Park) just after school had broken up for the day. Cusk captures the minutiae of a mundane or ordinary day very well, and at these points, I did find myself nodding in recognition at some of the observations she made. The characters were also well fleshed out. I just didn’t like any of them! The other thing that bothered me about the book was the significance attached to the smallest things. For example, one wife spots a smear of butter accidentally left on the work surface by her husband. The author likens it to a small mark of (the husband’s masculinity). Well, it could be, I suppose. Or it could just be that the husband accidentally left some butter there. It felt as though there had to be some deep significance to everything that the characters saw, however trivial, however small. Overall, while I can certainly appreciate the writing, and the attention to detail, this book just didn’t work for me. It was too miserable, and the characters just ended up being unsympathetic and unlikeable.

Oooh, you bought The Art of Racing In The Rain. I'll probably never stop recommending this book to people; it's just lovely. Hope you enjoy it I'm still reading Arlington Park, by Rachel Cusk, but only have about 15 pages left, so will finish it at lunchtime. I won't be sorry to see the back of it. It's a character driven story, without a single likeable character. I do think that Cusk can write beautifully at times, but this book did nothing really for me.