Ruth

Hi Ben Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are just perfect in this series, and bounce off each other so well. There's something about Benedict Cumberbatch; he's not conventionally handsome, but he is so striking. He has something about him that makes you look twice. Very attractive man, even if I am jealous of his cheekbones!! Great supporting cast as well - Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs, Loo Brearley...all play their parts so well.

Carousel. I thought I would love it, because I am a big fan of musicals, but I actually really disliked this film Oh well, you live and learn!

Got it!! I mean it was a freebie, so it would have been rude not to (or so I keep telling myself)!

Thanks for that I have read some, but not all of the original stories.

I've been avoiding this thread, until I caught up with this series, and we finally watched the third one last night. Thought it was brilliant.

Racism always shocks me as well, and unfortunately even in these so-called enlightened times, it is still very prevalent. Homophobia is another thing that I have witnessed friends of mine suffering, and it shocks me. Sometimes I wonder if we are going forwards or backwards in our thinking! I love your attitude Vinay; my husband's best friend is Muslim - and he is also one of my closest friends. He come to our house every Friday night, and while he doesn't personally drink alcohol, he would never object to us having a drink in front of him. Similarly, he doesn't object to us eating pork or bacon when he is there, although we never would do, out of respect to his beliefs. I know what you mean - when we can communicate about such things despite being phsysically thousands of miles away from each other, what do books mean, and what can they teach us? I suppose though, that if we didn't have books to raise questions in our minds, we might not be discussing such things with each other. To me, books are often the key that opens the door to a subject. They raise my interest, which leads me to find out more. As for fiction - I think they can be just as useful as factual books, because they can make a subject more interesting. I never had any interest in say, the Tudor period in England, until I read Philippa Gregory's Tudor novels. While I appreciate that her work is heavily fictionalised, it does have a basis in fact, and reading those books made me look for more information about the period, because they are written in a more 'readable' way. Also, the dystopian novels like 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale (also, The Road - a book I loved and found intensely disturbing) make me think a LOT about the way the world could go. Like you, those kind of books scare me more than any book about ghosts or monsters. I love Stephen Kings books, but they don't scare me, because I simply don't believe that those kinds of things could happen. With regard to my thoughts on the death penalty...before I read that book, I didn't have a strong belief either way. If someone had have asked me my thoughts on it, I would have said that I was probably against it, but wouldn't have given the subject much thought. The book discussed the whole issue in much more serious detail though (it was a factual book, although the film based on it was a fictionalised account). The book really made me look at my feelings and examine them, and think about precisely WHY I am against it. I didn't really sympathise with the character (in the book, there were two men on Death Row who Sister Prejean befriended, but in the film there was only one). It is made clear to the reader that there is no question of guilt - they ARE guilty. So it's not a case for me of a potentially innocent man being executed. I'm against it for several reasons, which may be the subject for another thread(!) I am relieved that it is not an option where I live, and hope that it never will be. Re your last point: tiny change is still a step in the right direction, like you say. If a book - any book - can make a bigot question their beliefs, that can only be a good thing. Thank you for starting this thread It's very interesting to read and participate in.

Thank you - I hope you do too

What a great thread I would say that certain books have made me more interested in certain subjects. For example, I first read Dead Man Walking, by Sister Helen Prejean, several years ago. Although prior to reading it, I was still against the death penalty, it wasn't something that I gave a lot of thought to, but since reading that book, while my views haven't changed in principal (I'm still totally against it), I definitely feel a lot more strongly about it. When I read To Kill A Mockingbird (first time), I was about 14 years old. Until then I had never really been confronted with injustice and bigotry, having been brought up in a happy family - and I'd probably led a somewhat sheltered life, but that book opened my eyes and made me want to learn more about the persecution, injustice and ignorance that people suffer on a daily basis. Other books which have affected me are A Clockwork Orange, and The Handmaid's Tale. A Clockwork Orange made me question the ethics of certain treatments, and whether it is justifiable to (a) try and alter someone's behaviour using such methods as were used on Alex; and the whole issue of treating symptoms rather than the cause of a problem (relevant in today's society still). The Handmaid's Tale scared the heck out of me! And on a deeper level, made me realise the insiduous way in which authorities can make small changes, which people take no notice of at the time, until they suddenly realise that all their rights have been taken away. So I'm not sure if I've learned lessons from books - but some books have certainly strengthened my beliefs, or made me question them - or have opened my eyes to things I was not necessarily aware of. (Garbled a bit there - hope I made sense!)

I really enjoyed Hirschhorn's biography of Gene Kelly - unfortunately as it was written in the 1970s, it does not cover the last 20 years of Kelly's life, but it is still a well written and very well researched biography. Gene himself was interviewed for the book, as well as many other people in his private and professional life. Hirschhorn clearly has great respect for his subject, but was still able to remain objective. Despite a couple of errors (one being Kelly's date of birth - given here as 3rd August, when it was actually 23rd August; this seems like such a simple thing to have checked, that I can't help wondering if it was simply a typo that never got corrected), this is a fairly comprehensive biography, and is the first place I'd direct anyone who wanted to learn more about the life and/or work of Gene Kelly. I have just started reading The Einstein Girl, by Philip Sington. This is the book of the month for my f2f reading group, and I might not have picked it up if I'd seen it in a shop, but it does look like a good read.

It was AMAZING!

The photo was taken at the Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre (sorry, I can't spell it 'center' even though I was in America at the time). It's just outside Baltimore; we were travelling between from Washington to Philadelphia, and had a stop-over in Baltimore. It really was fascinating I love looking at these pictures - what a lovely bunch we are

Okay, well here's me...

Yes, I'm looking forward to those as well. I agree - not sure how they are going to make a film version of that story. DiCaprio is a terrific actor, but somehow I just can't see him as Gatsby, but I'll certainly give it a watch, and would not be surprised at all if he is perfect in the role! Not heard of Hugo, but always like to keep my eye open for new films, so am off to Google that now.

I've had this on my tbr for AGES. Glad that you enjoyed it so much - it's encouraged me to bump it up the pile a bit

I don't lend my books out. I feel bad about it, but I've lost too many in the past by lending them to people and never getting them back. However, if I've read a book and know that I won't read it again, I'm more than happy to give it to somebody else. I don't borrow books either, except from the library. I have so many books of my own to read, and if someone lends me a book I always feel obliged to prioritise it and give it back to the owner ASAP, and end up reading that when I feel that I would rather be reading one of my own. Personally I would drop it through her letterbox with a little note inside to say sorry for having it so long, and thank you for lending it to me.

We're off to America this year. It will be our fourth visit there overall, and the second time we will be there for an election. We have friends in Rhode Island, so will be going there (which we do every time), and we're also staying in Boston and Chicago. Been to New York City twice, and definitely want to go again. We've also been to Washington, Philadelphia and Baltimore (Washington in particular is amazing). Other places I love are Rome and Berlin. We went to Berlin on our honeymoon - fascinating place. We're not really beachy people - I'd much rather do sightseeing, see some famous landmarks, visit museums etc., and fortunately my husband feels exactly the same way.

The Artist! I'm so excited to see that film I'd like to see The Great Gatsby, although I'm unsure about Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby. I quite liked the Robert Redford version, but a really good (and overlooked) version is the one with Tony Stephens and Mira Sorvino.

Arrange my books?? I wouldn't know where to begin! They're just all over the house, in no sense of order at all. Very often I've fancied reading a particular book and had to hunt for it for half an hour or so

Might have to get this for the Kindle. I'm absolutely fascinated by the subject! Thank you for the heads up

Finished A Beautiful Blue Death, and really enjoyed it. It's the first in a crime series set in Victorian London, and I shall be looking out for the subsequent books in the series. For now though, my next book will be Gene Kelly: The Biography, by Clive Hirschhorn - a book I've been wanting to read for ages

I read this last year and loved it. I used to love psychological thrillers, but went off the genre a bit. So I wasn't really expecting to enjoy this as much as I did - it was brilliant. I was amazed at how well the male author portrayed a female point of view. Also - being a bit contrary here - I loved the uncertainty of the ending.

Ooshie, Lonesome Dove was made into a terrific mini-series If you can find it, I highly recommend it! Glad you enjoyed the book.

Will, I bought Les Miserables on Christmas Eve, and hope to read it this year. Also hoping to read The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo, both of which have been languishing on my tbr for far too long!

My husband is a big fan of Carl Sagan (I love the whole 'pale blue dot' speech). I don't think he has read Contact, but I know he loved Cosmos - both the book and the accompanying tv series. I didn't realise he wrote fiction - I'll keep an eye out for Contact Thanks for the heads up

My first read of the year is A Beautiful Blue Death, by Charles Finch, picked at random from my tbr shelf. (It's not a shelf really, it's an entire room!)