As far as blog posts go, this is most likely my last for a while. I will not be around in the summer or fall of this year. In the spring of 2009, I should be back at work. Provided that this blog is still operational, I will be back to posting then. I will continue to post on the Facebook page and continue to leave comments. This is my opening disclaimer for this post.
I have decided to make this a comment–oriented post. There are numerous books that I want to read in the upcoming months, but it seems that I can never get around to them. Sometimes I feel that I am being too ambitious and trying to read books that are too weighty for this time in my life, when I have a lot of things going on. But I think I will get around to reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. I have heard generally good things about this book, and it seems to be very popular for a work of ‘literary fiction.’ It has been made in to a movie starring Viggo Mortensen that will premiere at Cannes in May. Before I see that film I will try to read this book and try not to picture Viggo Mortensen as the main character. Perhaps this will add another dimension of difficulty to the book.
I also want to get around to reading, at least partly, some of Pauline Kael’s writings in her various collections of Film Criticism. Trash, Art and the Movies is her most famous essay; I don’t think I’ve ever gotten around to reading all thirty-something pages. I would like to read The Citizen Kane Book: Raising Kane, where she argues that Orson Welles deserves more credit than is necessary for revolutionizing cinema with Citizen Kane, and even in the creation of certain aspects of the movie itself. I have read with interest other writings by Pauline Kael that I’ve read (what fan of movies hasn’t?) and feel the need to dig in to more.
But I need some recommendations as well. What are other good books that Snell Library has which are worth reading? What about movies? What is a good summer read. i.e something that is sort of silly but interesting? I still have two and a half more months in Boston (before I go to New York for a spell) and still need to spend some time in the Snell stacks.
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts! Have a nice summer and we’re looking forward to seeing you next year! If you are looking for a quick easy summer read, I just finished Frank McCourt’s “Teacher Man” which tells about his experiences teaching in the NYC public schools. Makes me wish I had him for high school English! Pauline Kael would be fun, too, you could rent/borrow each movie, then read her review and see if you agree.
Oh, I’ve been meaning to read “Teacher Man”. I went on a WWII reading spree recently, and really enjoyed Resistance and City of Thieves. I’ve also been recommended Lavinia to anyone that will listen.
Have an excellent summer, too.
I just wanted to correct a couple mistakes, one frankly embarrassing, in my blog post:
1). I meant to say spring of 2010, at the time, although now I can say that I will be back this fall, certain.
2) I meant to say that Kael argued that Herman j Mankiewic (Kane’s co-screenwriter) did more credit than is necessary for Citizen Kane.
Must have written that post very quickly, sorry about that. Thanks for the recommendations though.
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