With spooky season almost upon us(a term that I’ve grown to like!), the time is ripe for TBR making in order to start the FrightFall readathon (hosted by Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading) this upcoming October. Scary books of all sorts are welcome and my theme for my trio of sinister selections is murder mystery.
While I do enjoy horror reads and movies, especially around this part of the year, the news headlines these days are terrifying enough as it is. Certainly enough to find a nice seemingly simple whodunnit to be quite the relief from reality there. While two of them are in the cozy category, one particular title promises to be engagingly ruthless:
In Deanna Raybourn’s latest novel entitled Killers of a Certain Age, a quartet of recently retired ladies are sent off on a cruise by their former employer as a reward for all of their hard work over the years.
However, the cruise turns out to be a ruse for doing them all in. While they’re not exactly best friends, all four of these formidable women find that they have no choice but to trust each other in order to discover who exactly wants them gone for good.
I love this concept as it reminds me of a pair of action movies featuring older assassins with Helen Mirren as a rather spunky hit woman. Imagine her and a pack of gal pals facing off foes together (particularly if someone makes this book into a feature film), now how fun is that?:
Meanwhile, my next pick is The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle, which is part of her Bibliophile Mystery series.
Bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright decides to spend some time with husband Derek Stone and her family at the laidback town of Dharma.
As it happens, Dharma is holding their first literary festival, along with a musical production of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, making Brooklyn’s visit feel like perfect timing.
Unfortunately, that good feeling doesn’t last long as a member of the festival committee is found dead with a prime suspect being local box wine seller Jacob Banyan who was arguing with Brooklyn’s mother Becky(who is running the festival) about having a booth for his lackluster wares.
Despite how obvious he seems to be as the killer, Brooklyn soon learns that the recently departed had quite the enemies list there. Can she catch the culprit and solve a theatrical dispute to save the festival from first time failure status?
This series is a lively as well as literary one and I love how Carlisle manages to highlight a classic book into every plot. With Little Women being a personal favorite of mine, this book is a total must read indeed!:
Fittingly, my last pick is Rhys Bowen’s The Last Mrs. Summers , a later entry in the Her Royal Spyness mysteries.
Our leading lady, Lady Georgiana is now happily married but with her new husband off on a secret mission, she’s in need of some diversion to keep from worrying about him.
An invitation from her flighty friend Belinda to visit a former beau of hers in Cornwall seems to be the thing. However, their host Tony Summers is having a bit of marital discourse with his new second wife, who is suspicious of how the first Mrs. Summers fulfilled the “death do us part” section of her wedding vows.
When someone on the household staff is murdered, Belinda is seen as the main suspect, leaving Georgiana the only one able to save her friend from an unjust fate and the rest of them from something even more deadly from beyond the grave!
The wink and nod to Daphne du Maurier’s Gothic thriller Rebecca here ought to be the perfect pumpkin spice flavor for this screwball comedy/mystery series and a chillingly charming one at that:
The FrightFall readathon starts on October 1st and ends on the 31sr, appropriately on Halloween (when my big holiday treat is going to be the latest booster shot!). Thanks as always to Michelle for giving us a reading reason for the season.
Murder mysteries seems to abound lately, with several PBS Masterpiece shows returning and movies such as the upcoming Knives Out sequel and recently released See How They Run out in theaters. Guess it’s like they say, eventually everything old does become new again!:
Welcome to Banned Books Week, folks and I hate to say this but every week of this year has felt like Banned Books Week!
With more and more challenges made to public and school libraries(plus even a Barnes & Noble store in Virginia) not only over such well known targeted titles such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Diary of Anne Frank but openly going after books meant to reach out to BIPOC and LGBTQIA readers in a clear attempt to enforce political agendas on young people, the need to fight for the freedom to read freely has become more vital than ever before.
To that end, my focus today for the start of BBW22 is a tribute to those book people on the front lines in this battle: the librarians.
With many local libraries out there dealing with severe budget cuts(or being shut down due to political pressure) , not to mention outright harassment at Drag Queen Story Time events(wish those were around in my day!), librarians are facing tougher times these days.
So, I thought that as a note of encouragement and emotional relief to highlight some fictional librarians who help save their communities with their keen literary skills:
Miss Phelps/Matilda: Most librarians do their best work by guiding others towards the right path of knowledge and Roald Dahl’s title heroine gets that assistance early on at her local library.
By allowing Matilda to choose her own books and offer crucial advice on how to best use the services of the library, Miss Phelps show her neglected young charge that there are good people in the world willing to help, paving the way for Matilda to learn to trust others and care for their needs. It’s a skill that we take far too much for granted, it seems:
Rupert Giles/Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
While Giles’ position as Sunnydale High librarian was meant to be a cover for his true calling as a Watcher to the latest Slayer, he really did care about books and learning.
Even after his official library job was over, Giles persisted that Buffy, along with her friends, use the knowledge learned from books as an important weapon to battle the forces of evil .
Many a time, his vast personal collection of books was the best source of information for dealing with the newest Big Bad and just as handy as a stake to the heart of an undead foe:
Barbara Gordon/Batgirl:
As the daughter of Police Commissioner Jim Gordon , Barbara was exposed to crime fighting early on and in her day job as Gotham City librarian, she used those research talents to enhance her caped crusader calling as Batgirl.
Even in later years when she became Oracle ( due to physical injury), a computer and tech consultant for the super heroine team known as Birds of Prey, Barbara’s library training was a key asset, not to mention representing many of the real world librarians out there in cyberspace.
It’s too bad a certain movie was canceled for tax purposes this year that might’ve shown this superhero librarian in action on the big screen. Nonetheless, her sleuthing skills persist as a fine example for fans everywhere:
Flynn Carsen and company/ The Librarians:
What first began as a series of made for TV films that chronicled the adventures of a new recruit to a secret order of guardians of such legendary objects as the Sword in the Stone and the Spear of Destiny, soon became a TV series in its right.
With Flynn Carsen as the current librarian and aided by experts in art history, technology and mystical skills, plus an undercover agent ready to kick ass, this bookish band of protectors strove to push back against the Serpent Brotherhood , a cult intent on misusing valuable items to dominate the world.
Although the show was ended after four seasons, it did inspire a solid fandom along with some tie-in novels and comic books that you might be able to find at a library near you. At the very least, this blend of library science and fantasy fiction is a fun way of encouraging people to keep those fortresses of knowledge aka public libraries a safe place for all to explore:
Banned Books Week runs from September 18 to 24 and as we head further into turbulent times, let us take the time to support our libraries and push back against those determined to prevent our society from becoming a better one for all of us.
Censorship is not a new battle yet it’s proponents often try to justify their cause anew by claiming themselves to be “patriots”. In my book, a real patriot wouldn’t be afraid of what young people learn in books or insist that ideas they don’t like or refuse to understand are the source of all of society’s problems.
Wars, both international and cultural, have had defenders of free thought who do their level best to protect not only books but access to them. May we all strive for true victory by being providers of insight and wonder as librarians ultimately are:
I know that this summer wrap up of my Series-ous Reading feature is a tad late but rather necessary in order to clear my series slate for fall reading.
So, let’s begin with my July selection, Jane and the madness of Lord Byron, which is the tenth entry in Stephanie Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries series. Here, Jane accompanies her recently widowed brother Henry to Brighton as a mutual means of relief from grieving the loss of his wife/Jane’s good friend Eliza .
During their journey , they wind up rescuing a young woman named Catherine Twinning who was being forcibly taken to Gretna Green by none other than the infamous Lord Byron, who was determinedly attached to her.
The rescue of Catherine back to her father’s house was not an improvement as he immediately blamed his daughter for what had occurred and became more determined to marry Catherine off to a much older clergyman. As much as Jane wishes to interfere, her role in this sad situation is severely limited.
By trying to avoid Catherine at a social gathering, however, Jane later feels that she should’ve gotten more involved as the poor girl is found dead in Lord Byron’s bed the next morning. Her cause of demise was drowning yet she was discovered sewn into a shroud made from the sail of Byron’s private boat!
This bizarre incident,of course, makes Byron the prime suspect but Jane has doubts about his guilt (even before she meets him) and with the help of Henry, uncovers a few secrets and secret passageways to find the real killer before the wrong man is punished for this crime.
What I do like about this series is how plausible Barron makes Jane’s detective skills by not turning her into some super powered figure of adventure. Instead, the reader gets a very relatable leading lady who not only fits her keen intellect into the norms of her time but manages to work her way around when need be in almost a modern fashion.
Although we do get some nice “what if” entertainment out of Jane meeting up with Byron( they didn’t in real life) and the equally bizarre Lady Caroline Lamb, who has a bit of a Helena Bonham Carter vibe to me.
All in all, this was a wonderful summer vacation read and I’m glad that I skipped ahead in this series to engage with both Austen and Byron on the fictional beach:
For August, it was time to visit with Maggie Hope in The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent by Susan Elia MacNeal.
Trying to physically and emotionally recover from her mission into WWII Germany, Maggie is a trainer of potential spies on a remote Scottish island. When forced by her superiors to take a little time off, Maggie attends a ballet in Edinburgh where her good friend Sarah is performing. At the end of the show, the lead ballerina collapses during the encores and dies before the night is over.
The cause of death is deemed to be poisoning and Sarah is seen as one of the suspects, vying for that spot on stage. However, Maggie notices the strange spots on both the victim and the other two suspects that are oddly similar to a dead sheep that she reported to the local vet back at the spy camp.
With Sarah’s life on the line, Maggie gets herself back into the game to find the source of the infection before it’s too late. As she’s regaining her momentum, a major shift on the international battlefield is about to add a new ally in the fight against Nazi Germany, an ally that will require Maggie to use her special talents to help secure their aid.
MacNeal is very good at balancing so many plot points and character arcs throughout her series while keeping her central lead firmly on the mark.
As Maggie finds her way out of despair and endeavors to be of use in such troubling times, she’s quite a good example to follow there. Granted, she’s not written as a role model for a campaign poster but her humanity in the face of personal woes and worldwide chaos is engagingly admirable nonetheless:
That takes us to September and sends me back to Jane Austen country with Jane and His Lordshp’s Legacy by Stephanie Barron.
The Lordship in this case is the late Lord Harold Trowbridge, who leaves Jane a rather personal inheritance just as she arrives at her new home in Chawton with her disagreeable mother in tow.
On top of that unexpected surprise, another shocker is found in the cellar as the body of a local workman is discovered. Dealing with such rapid changes as well as new neighbors eager for gossip is a lot to deal with but Jane is definitely more than up to the challenge.
I know my going back and forth in time with this series is quite wonky but it does help that I know enough about Austen’s life and times to keep my head steady (don’t try this at home, new readers!) at the helm , so to speak.
Soon enough, I will be fully caught with these books but that’s a tale for a future time indeed:
Well, I am happy to see you all this September as well as pleased to announce that my goals for this past High Summer readathon were met!
Yes, I finished all three books on my list, starting with Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain. Set during the Regency period in England, the title character is a well sought after gentleman in the marriage market. Pompous Julia Thistlewaite is in all confusion as to why he hasn’t asked for her hand yet or called upon her since their first outing.
Learning from her cousin that she failed to live up to one of the list categories, Julia vows revenge and enlists an old school friend, Selina Dalton to aid her.
Selina’s role is to make Mr. Malcolm fall in love with her and then reject him based on her own list of expectations for a suitable partner in life. Knowing only Julia’s side of the story ( and needing a chance to see a bit more of life), Selina takes up the challenge.
As it turns out, the former part of the plan is easy to pull off as Mr. Malcolm takes an instant liking to Selina and she begins to feel the same way. It’s the latter that leaves her in a quandary and Julia determined to get her way. Will love conquer all or allow confusion to reign instead?
This is a very delightfully written book and I can why it became a modest success at the movies this summer with its equally lively adaptation. I haven’t had the pleasure of watching the film yet but am in no doubt of the joy that awaits me there:
Next up was Raquel V. Reyes’ debut novel and first in a new cozy mystery series entitled Mango,Mambo and Murder.
Our leading lady is Miriam Quinones-Smith, who has just moved from NYC to Coral Shores,an upper class Miami enclave where her husband’s family lives.
In addition to dealing with her less than charming mother-in-law(who makes Marie from Everyone Loves Raymond look mellow) and keeping up with her sweet son Manny, Miriam is also being taken to all of the major social settings in town by her good friend Alma, a top real estate agent who lives for the next business connection.
It’s at one of those events where a troubled socialite named Sunny Weatherman suddenly dies that leads to a string of similarly strange deaths that Alma is accused of causing. Determined to help her unjustly accused friend, Miriam takes up the mantle of amateur detective and discovers that it’s a role she can excel at along with the other new changes in her life.
As this is the first book in what I hope is a bounty of new cozy adventures, there’s quite a bit of table setting going on as Miriam also takes on using her food anthropology skills to star as a cooking instructor on local TV and suspicions about what her husband Robert is up with his professional and private business.
However, once everything is properly laid out on the storytelling table, Reyes treats us to a tasty literary meal(complete with recipes!). I look forward to more of these savvy and savory stories from this new Veronica Mars(a nickname given to Miriam by a local police detective that suits her to a T):
Last but far from least, I finished up with Jackie Lau’s Donut Fall in Love.
Popular actor Ryan Kwok meets baker Lindsay McLeod in a very romcom way, by knocking over a fresh of matcha tiramisu donuts that she was putting out for display.
Despite that awkward first impression, Ryan asks for her help when he needs baking lessons in order to compete on a cooking show called Baking Fail. He’s doing this as a in between gig before his next movie but also wanting to win the charity donation prize in honor of his late mother, who loved baking shows.
Lindsay agrees to this private culinary tutoring and finds Ryan to be a good student in the kitchen.
She also knows what it’s like to deal with the loss of a parent (her dad passed away a few years prior) and adjusting to your new family dynamic, something that Ryan and his emotionally distant father are dealing with as well.
As the two of them become romantically involved, the issue of Ryan’s fame and social media following comes into play but what truly could divide them is a shared fear of loss of a loved one and the change that comes with it which makes forming new connections scarier than usual.
So, can they find a recipe for true love or Will their relationship be the ultimate baking fail? Despite the serious undertones here, this is a charming story of not just two people connecting but a whole host of others in their social orbit combining to make a strong emotional support system.
Some of the best parts of the book are Lindsay finding a way to bond with her new roommate Vivian and Ryan trying to crack his tersely amusing father’s shell(turns out Ryan’s dad has a flair for social media and becomes an online sensation!).
Lau creates relatable characters with engaging nuances that makes their situations entertainingly down to earth. If you’re in the mood for some delicious romance , Donut Fall in Love is a feast of heartfelt flavor indeed:
Thank you as always to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for setting up these great readathons and I hope everyone who took part had some fun in the bookish sun here.
Yes, I’m already making plans for FrightFall in October but this year, I plan on having a murder mystery theme(the daily headlines are horrifying enough). Some more along the lines of Knives Out rather than Nighmare on Elm Street , we shall see!:
For our finale in this Autumn in August film series, I welcome you to a book paradise lost that was once located at 84, Charing Cross Road.
This 1987 movie was based upon a play which was an adaptation of a memoir in letters by our leading lady Helene Hanff(Anne Bancroft), a writer and script reader in post WWII New York whose desire for affordable works of English Literature couldn’t be fulfilled by local booksellers.
Thanks to a magazine ad, she writes the first of many letters to Marks & Co, a London bookshop specializing in old and rare titles with a request for some of her most pressing literary needs. Fortunately, the shop manger Frank Doel(Anthony Hopkins) is most pleased to assist her and already appreciates her ready wit:
This exchange blossoms into a lovely long distance relationship that extends to other staff members at the shop, particularly when Helene starts sending care packages via Denmark due to the limited food rationing England was still going through after the war.
Of course, many such as Cecily Farr(Eleanor David) and Bill Humphries(Ian McNeice) write in private to Helene since Frank considers her to be his“special corespondent “ but they insist that he’s not stuffy.
Those little asides are nice to see as Cecily is happy to be able to bake her children a cake with her share of the parcels and Bill’s stiff upper lip great aunt is thrilled to taste fresh meat after so long, despite it coming from America by way of Denmark!
Frank also personally thanks Helene for her generous gifts and finds ways to kindly return the favor through books , of course such as a small volume of love poetry that “doesn’t slobber”, small enough to fit into a pocket and take to the park for spring reading:
What keeps this movie going is showcasing of Helene and Frank in their separate lives , she with her quirky energy and outgoing manners whether she’s helping a good friend or looking for some pepper salami from the local deli, contrasted with his quiet yet heartfelt lifestyle with his second wife Nora(Judi Dench) and their girls whether on a rainy seaside holiday or watching the coronation of the new queen.
While Frank and Helene maintain a long distance friendship, a possible romance between them is somewhat hinted at here but I suspect that even if they had met in real life , nothing of that sort would’ve happened. Although in another lifetime, perhaps…:
In a way, 84, Charing Cross Road was ahead of its time as folks exchanging stories about their lives and gifts to those they never met was not the norm. However, in this internet age, such bonds of friendship are made every day.
No matter what the time period, such real life tales of people reaching out to each other like this, based on mutual interests and just plain decency, are uplifting without being saccharine sweet.
This film was a labor of love for Bancroft, who had her beloved husband Mel Brooks produced it and she wound up winning a BAFTA(British version of an Oscar) for her performance. Judi Dench received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role and has said that was one of her favorite parts onscreen.
Hopkins also gives his role a subtle charm as well, making you wish he and Helene had managed to meet up somehow(spoiler alert, they never did). The balance between them in certain scenes is edited just right with one last letter exchange almost feeling like a direct conversation.
If you love books and bookstores (especially British ones), this is the perfect movie for you and as a bonus, Helene Hanff not only shared her life story in this set of letters but a couple of other books as well (I highly recommend The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and In Show Business). Plenty of good reading to be had here!
Well, thank you all for checking out this mini film festival and I’ll be back in blog business after Labor Day. Enjoy what remains of summer and let’s rejoice in the glories of autumn yet to come:
Now that we’re heading into cooler weather, our next Autumn in August selection feels especially agreeable as the 1992 adaptation of E.M. Forster’s Howards End is our next cinematic destination.
Emma Thompson , well before her sister act in Sense & Sensibility, plays older sister Margaret Schlegel who resides with her younger and more openly passionate sister Helen(Helena Bonham Carter), their younger brother Tibby(Adrian Ross Magenty) and lively Aunt Julie(Prunella Scales).
This eclectic family finds their lives changing due to contact with the more conservative Wilcox family, first by Helen spending time with them at the title country house owned by the quietly kind hearted matriarch Ruth(Vanessa Redgrave).
After a very brief romance with younger son Paul Wilcox (Joseph A. Bennett) that leads to a even briefer comedy of errors involving an engagement , Helen does her best to avoid the whole family. When the Wilcoxs happen to rent a house in London right across the way from the Schlegels, Helen goes out of town as does Paul (who is doing a residency overseas).
Margaret, however, pays a friendly call on Ruth and finds herself making friends, with the latter slowly but surely determined to show the former her beloved house , feeling that her new companion would appreciate it greatly:
Ruth is seriously ill as it turns out but before her passing, she writes a note that gives Margaret the house, a last request that now widower husband Henry(Anthony Hopkins) and his obnoxious children secretly agree to deny.
Margaret has no idea of any of this but over the course of consoling the Wilcox’s, finds herself falling in love with Henry and accepting his offer of marriage.
Helen, meanwhile, grows angry with Henry over a series of miscommunications that put a new acquaintance named Leonard Bast(Samuel West) in financial jeopardy.
While Helen feels responsible for his situation, her solution of dragging Leonard and his wife Jacky(Nicola Basset) to a family wedding to demand Henry’s help backfires in more ways than one.
The whole theme of the story is about class divisions and lack of true understanding as Leonard discovers to his increasing distress.
With all of Helen’s good intentions, her middling middle class methods of aiding Leonard, who longs for a more sophisticated life but lacks the means for one, makes things worse.
Henry’s casual callousness (not to mention personal hypocrisy) are worth being challenged yet both he and Helen feel entitled to put poor Leonard in the middle of their debate while Margaret tries to compromise with each of them.
Despite this story being set in Edwardian England, much of this emotional discord does have a strong reflection upon our modern times indeed:
Margaret does eventually chose a side, particularly when a major revelation about her sister becomes known.
When applying to Henry for simple permission to allow Helen to stay the night at Howards End(which is unoccupied), Margaret rightly confronts him on his two faced attitude about the entire situation and brooks no refusal here, pointing out the equal disparities between him and her sister accordingly.
While there is so much quality in this production, a classic Merchant(producer)/Ivory(director) film with a wonderful screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jbhabvala, one of the major standouts is the chemistry between Thompson and Hopkins, who later went on to another Merchant Ivory film , The Remains of the Day.
These two just seem to instinctively know which buttons to push to make the other character react more realistically in whatever circumstance they’re in. It’s like watching the perfect tennis match, although who the winner is by the end is not a happy outcome at all:
Our last entry in this Autumn in August festival follows Anthony Hopkins to 84, Charing Cross Road, where he plays a London bookseller in post WWII who happily deals with long distance customer Helene Hanff(Anne Bancroft).
This 1987 film is based on a play and book, written by Hanff who had a real life correspondence with the British bookstore Marks and Company as it was hard to satisfy her “taste in antiquarian books” in New York at the time. I must confess that this film is a personal favorite of mine and such a good excuse to watch this delightful bookish bond yet again:
Welcome back to another look at Autumn in August , where a good film can take us right to sweater weather even during a heat wave.
Our next selection is the 1995 adaptation of Sense & Sensibility , elegantly directed by Ang Lee with a screenplay written by one of the movie’s co-stars Emma Thompson (who won an Oscar for this bit of double duty).
What makes this film suitably seasonal here? Well, for one thing, the setting off point for the plot is the death of the Dashwood patriarch, which leaves his estate to his son from his first marriage and very little to the wife and daughters from his second one.
Unfortunately, the current Mr. Dashwood (James Fleet) has little inclination to honor his deathbed promise to his father yet doesn’t want to look stingy either. Lucky for him, his wife Fanny(wickedly played by Harriet Walter) is swift to slowly yet surely talk him out of it there:
That leaves the newly widowed Mrs. Dashwood (Gemma Jones) and her trio of daughters, Elinor(Thompson), Marianne (Kate Winslet) and young Margaret (Miriam Francois) in search of a new home as well as new futures to plan.
Much of the practical planning falls to Elinor, who gently but firmly tries to steer the limited family finances in the best direction. She also tries to do this with her own emotions but with difficult results which we’ll get to in a moment.
My main talking point for this look at S&S is to focus on Elinor and why the way her quiet character is portrayed in this film should be an example for other adaptations to follow.
No doubt, a good portion of any Austen fan’s conversation this summer has been about the recent Persuasion movie, particularly in turning the introverted Anne Eliot into a most talkative and at times awkward leading lady.
This issue isn’t just about that story, it’s more about film makers not knowing how to make any Austen heroine who isn’t Lizzie Bennet or Emma Woodhouse interesting to their audience. The few adaptations of Mansfield Park have had to deal with this too.
Since S&S was Austen’s first published novel and Persuasion her last, we can draw a fair comparison between Elinor and Anne. Both are sisters in a single parent household dealing with new circumstances that require guidance being given to their family.
Elinor is much more fortunate than Anne in this regard with a family that respects and loves her than the Eliots do Anne. One other thing they both have in common is dealing with personal sorrow privately.
The romance between Elinor and her brother in law Edward(Hugh Grant) begins with this scene as he comes across her quietly weeping as Marianne plays one of their departed father’s musical favorites.
His considerate approach and thoughtful way of encouraging Elinor to get some fresh air with him blossoms into a deep friendship that bodes a deeper connection to come. His polite affections suit her perfectly indeed:
Elinor is well aware that any such love match would be troublesome given the financial gulf between them, even before Lucy Steele(Imogen Stubbs) is on the scene.
Plus, it’s easier to hide her despair when Marianne’s love life is so dramatic, especially when the seemingly made for her Willoughby(Greg Wise) surprisingly breaks up with Marianne. Look at this whole scene where Marianne’s distress causes the entire household to go into an uproar.
While Elinor strives to keep her composure and try to figure out what went down, her mother launches into her own set of hysterics and even Margaret had a crying session Elinor is alone in the hallway by the end of it, with a cup of tea in hand, not at the center of the storm but rather the calm eye of the emotional chaos that is suffering just as much as the others are:
Even when Elinor’s true heartbreak is known, she does her best to see some good in the situation, hard as that is. When Marianne accuse her of being without a heart, it’s then that Elinor displays her inner anger and anguish in a speech that is all the more impactful for having been allowed to slowly build over the course of the story:
Of course, you might say “Emma Thompson did write the script, of course she made HER character interesting!” Thompson happens to be a Jane Austen reader which aided greatly when adapting the book to film and like many a good actor, didn’t upstage or undercut the other performers for her benefit.
In fact, she enhances several minor characters such as Margaret with her treehouses and comments about “we never talk about things!”and piracy being a viable option. Even the eternally grumpy Mr. Palmer(Hugh Laurie) gets a few moments of showing a nicer side to his character!
By giving the actor opportunities to use body language and writing their character into an arch that lets them showcase their inner strength in visible ways, it is possible to make such quiet leads like Elinor Dashwood,as well as Anne Eliot and yes, even Fanny Price from MP, be as compelling as their more lively counterparts can be.
It also helps a great deal to not only have read the source material but to also like it as well. Many of these productions seem determined to remake the leads to their own tastes rather than showcase the values of that character already beloved by readers.
Emma Thompson was a key factor in making this film work for both Austen fans and new viewers alike and others really should run where she walked artistically:
Speaking of Emma Thompson, she is also a co-star in our next Autumn in August film that has her being the sensible sister to a much more impulsive sibling.
Howards End was released in 1992 and set a century or so later than S&S, yet themes of class and romance do arise in both.
Her love interest here is not a youthful Edward Ferrars but more of a grimmer Colonel Brandon type in Henry Wilcox(Anthony Hopkins). Of course, Col. Brandon is a much better person than Henry Wilcox but that’s a discussion for another time.
As to whether or not Elinor Dashwood and Col. Brandon would have made a good couple, my hunch is yes but they both needed an opposite to complete them truly in the best sense. Meanwhile, we have Margaret Schlegel and her Henry to look forward to:
Welcome to our second year of Autumn in August , where we talk about movies that just have that fall feeling most of us crave by this point in summer.
As we prepare for yet another heat wave that will have folks batten down the hatches via the A/C of your choice, it’s only fitting to start this series off on the high seas with 2003’s Master & Commander : The Far Side of the World.
The length of the title is due to this film being based on two of the books in the acclaimed historical fiction series (known as Aubrey-Maturin) by late author Patrick O’Brian.
Set during the Napoleonic Wars, this set of twenty novels chronicles the nautical adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey(played by Russell Crowe here) and his good friend/ship’s surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin(Paul Bettany in his pre-Vision days).
The latter part of the film’s title is the basis for the central plot , placing Aubrey and the crew of the HMS Suprize in 1805, under orders to hunt down the infamous French warship called Acheron, a vessel that is much better equipped than their own. Nevertheless, “Lucky Jack” is anxious to capture this ship but their first encounter does not go well, to say the least:
Despite that initial battle, Aubrey and company head out in serious pursuit, facing a number of obstacles along the way.
Some of those include a long stretch of rough weather followed by a bout of windless sea which considerably slows them down. Tensions rise among the crew, leading to the harassment of a seen as weak officer that ends in a most sorrowful way.
Tensions also rise between Aubrey and Maturin , especially during a pit stop at the Galagos islands where Maturin hopes to gather samples of flora and fauna (he’s a pursuer of natural science). Other arguments deal with the growing resentment of the crew and how things should be run. Yes, Aubrey is in charge but listening to another point of view is helpful even if that advice is not taken:
The strongest parts of the film are when we are shown all of the daily living of all aboard from rank and file officers to regular sea men, making you feel as you’re one of them struggling to deal with the hazards of the ocean and the hunt for Acheron, which feels hopeless at times.
The main strength of this story is the bond between Aubrey and Maturin that Crowe and Bettany carry off amazingly well. Their ups and downs, alongside their mutual respect for one another, is the steady hand on the wheel that keeps this long story on course.
During this rewatch, I noticed how well both characters were reflected in separate ways by their dealings with a young officer named Blakeney(Max Pirkus, who made his film debut here).
Blakeney goes through quite a lot on this trip, from losing an arm in the first battle against the Acheron to helping out an isolated fellow officer that doesn’t end well to assisting Maturin with his nature studies.
As he grows up over the course of the story, the paternalistic connections Blakeney makes with both Captain and surgeon not only help him but his two unlikely mentors to boot,allowing each man to show a more caring side and at times, take a moment of humility:
It’s such a shame that they didn’t make any Master & Commander films other than this one. Director Peter Weir did an excellent job here with the movie earning ten Oscar nominations(winning two) and critical acclaim. However, the box office numbers, while respectable, weren’t high enough to get a sequel going.
There is talk of a prequel, focusing on the first book in the series, which is fine but such a project will have much to measure up to. For such a sweeping story to have the confidence to hit the cinematic ground running here is a feat not easy to achieve.
Much like the musical duets that Aubrey and Maturin treat themselves to, such perfect harmony is an act not instantly repeatable yet certainly worth the effort:
Now that this ship has sailed, our next stop for Autumn in August takes to Jane Austen country with 1995’s Sense and Sensibility. After all, M&C:TFSW takes place during Austen’s time(she did have brothers in the Royal Navy!) and it only seems fitting to visit the Dashwood sisters here.
This film did much to encourage the Austen revival of the nineties, along side the iconic P&P miniseries and gave us a truly memorable set of performances including the late great Alan Rickman as Col. Brandon who mastered many a heart with his steadfast devotion indeed:
One thing that you can rely on during the summer season is a heat wave or two(perhaps even more these days) to endure as best as you can. Said endurance can be made much better by having the perfect excuse to stay inside and read, preferably with a filled to the brim with ice cubes drink in hand.
To that end, Seasons of Reading will be hosting their High Summer Readathon this August(thanks to Michelle Miller). It’s basically a good time to catch up on relaxing reads in a beach free fashion. As always, I do have a trio of entertaining titles that should offer much refreshing amusement here:
Mr. Malcolm’s List:
Suzanne Allan ‘s romantic comedy of errors is set in Regency England, where Julia Thistlewaite is furious upon learning that the gentleman of the title has such a list of preferred qualities in a potential bride.
Angry that this set of standards caused him to break up with her, Julia plots revenge with the aid of Selina, a friend from the country. By making Selina become Mr. Malcolm’s ideal woman, she can attract his attentions and then brutally break his heart.
Since Selina has little opportunity to join in high society and believes that their target is worthy of such punishment, she goes along with this plan at first. However, upon getting to know him. Selina begins to question this whole scheme and may be on her way to truly falling in love with Malcolm. Yet, can this relationship really work out once all is revealed?
The film adaptation of this rather charming novel was released earlier this summer to rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. While it may be some time before I can this movie for myself, the book ought to do quite nicely indeed:
Donut Fall in Love:
We then head to modern day Canada, courtesy of Jackie Lau, where popular actor Ryan Kwok finds himself in need of baking lessons.
While his career in film is going well despite receiving more praise for his looks instead of his acting, Ryan is offered the chance to be a celebrity guest on the hit culinary series Baking Fail. Since his talents in the kitchen are not even good enough for a show about baking blunders, he asks local baker Lindsey McLeod for a few points about pastry.
Given that the first time they met was when Ryan knocked over a fresh batch of donuts in her bake shop,Lindsey is less than inclined to help out here.
In need of some positive distraction from her own problems , she decides to teach him enough to get by and finds that the two of them have more in common than they think. Will their time together create a recipe for romance or be more of a flaky fail than anything that cooking show ever displayed?
I do like stories about cooking competition shows and by stirring in some heartfelt flavors of love and friendship, you’ve got a tasty treat to dive on into. Plus, donuts just make everything better, folks:
Mango,Mambo and Murder:
This debut cozy mystery from Raquel V. Reyes introduces us to Miriam Quinones-Smith, whose move to Miami has caused her to delay getting her PhD in food anthropology.
Hoping to revive her culinary educational spirits, she takes a job as a food expert for a morning TV show which opens a few doors of opportunity to her.
Unfortunately, one of those doors proves deadly for a socialite at a luncheon Miriam attends, especially since her good friend Alma is seen as a main suspect in the growing number of unsavory deaths that follow.
Despite the claims on her time and talents, Miriam is determined to save Alma from such allegations but can she discover the true killer before another goose is permanently cooked?
Cozy mysteries are my jam, particularly with foodie themes and this one has gotten some great word of mouth praise there. Nice to get a first taste of what may be a feast of fun reading yet to come:
I do hope that many of you out there will take a dip in this literary pool and refresh your thoughts during this most heated time span of summer. Sign-up spots are still available and a thank you in advance to Michelle Miller for setting up this shady spot of reading.
My late summer plans are quiet ones, due to my Autumn in August movie series (which puts my regular Series-ous Reading posts on break until September) that’s starts with Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Quite the nautical adventure with perhaps a sea shanty or two to keep things on an entertainingly even keel there, we shall see! Stay cool, everyone and set sail for some calmer waters to come:
My apologies for being late with this Series-ous Reading review but as one of my comedians would say, things have just been crazy!
Nevertheless, I did finish my latest Sisters in Sleuthing selection in good time and did have fun along the way.
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen is the eighth entry in the Her Royal Spyness series and has our 1930s leading lady Georgiana “Georgie” Rannoch once again at financial odds.
While she is number thirty five in line for the British throne. Georgie has no independent wealth of her own and throughly discouraged from making her own way in the world except via marriage. While she is in love with Darcy O’Mara(who is a similar boat, money wise), marrying for love isn’t as simple as it seems.
In sweeps her mother, Claire , a much married woman and former actress hoping to snare a wealthy German into wealthy wedded bliss. She insists that Georgie accompany her to America to divorce her unsuitable current spouse in Reno.
They travel by cruise ship, where Claire meets Cy Goodman, a big time Hollywood producer who thinks that she would be perfect for his next major movie and Georgie is happy to run into Darcy, who is one of his secret missions onboard.
He’s in search of a jewel thief and suspects Stella Brightwell, famous actress and current paramour of Cy’s since she happens to be around whenever these robberies take place:
By the time they get to America, another theft has occurred but no proof that Stella was involved. Georgie does keep an eye out for trouble, which is not easy to do with her mother looking for some of her own, on and off the set of the movie that she’s co-starring with Stella in.
When Cy invites everyone to his elaborate country estate for the weekend(including a way too friendly Charlie Chaplin)more problems crop up as his estranged wife decides to make a surprise visit as well.
Things become truly out of hand when Cy is found bludgeoned to death in his library, possibly interrupting the theft of the murder weapon, a gem encrusted candlestick. Could the jewel thief that Darcy’s been after be here with ruby red blood on their hands?
I did enjoy this book as I have the others in this series as Georgie is delightful company and the screwball comedy vibes of these stories are well done. However I just wish that Georgie would take less nonsense from her self centered mother and stuck up for Queenie, her own lady’s maid who Claire cruelly mocks at one point.
Granted, Queenie is not the best at her job(she tends to iron delicate clothes, causing fabric meltdowns) but she is a dutiful soul and felt rightly insulted when Claire laughs at her clad in a red bathing suit(she was going to take a swim in the hotel pool during her off hours, another bone of contention there).
Georgie just let that happen and it lead to a brief separation between the two and yes, I knew they were going to make up yet I truly despise Claire, who only bothers with her daughter when it’s convenient for her to do so and is the worst kind of phony!
Perhaps in a future outing, Georgie will stand up to Claire but it was annoying to see her mother get all Emily Gilmore at poor Queenie there:
Anyhow, my next Series-ous Reading pick is Stephanie Barron’s Jane and the Madness of Lord Byron.
While I was less than thrilled with the new film adaptation of Austen’s Persuasion(the script has a big plot hole in the third act due to the omission of a certain character), it did at least give us all a good excuse to talk about Jane Austen and perhaps enjoy more creative takes on her work such as this sleuthing series.
This time around, Austen is visiting Brighton with her newly widowed brother Henry, hoping to ease their mutual loss at this popular seaside retreat. However, a run-in with the infamous Byron proves to be more than a one time encounter as his Lordship is accused of the murder of a young woman, something that not even the “mad,bad and dangerous to know” nobleman is thought to be capable of.
While they were contemporaries, Austen and Byron didn’t really run in the same social circles and yet it is still fun to imagine the two of them facing off. It’s a notion that Northanger Abbey’s Gothic novel fan Catherine Morland would certainly be frantically page turning by very late candlelight there:
Despite being more of a cat person, I do appreciate the dog days of summer when it comes to catching up on reading.
At the moment, my current reading rotation is a blend of new releases and backlist titles, starting with the former via Not All Supermen by Tim Hanley.
Hanley is a comic book historian who has written about such well known and yet under appreciated female icons in this genre such as Wonder Women, Lois Lane and Catwoman. The subtitle of his latest book, “Sexism,Toxic Masculinity and the Complex History of Superheroes “ explores even further into those topics with a broader range than his earlier works did.
From the beginning of the superhero genre where strong female characters were sidelined or meant to be arm candy for the male hero to the rise of the feminist movement that brought about reluctant change, Hanley shows us how even though superhero characters were intend to showcase the best in humanity, they also hold up a powerful mirror to our worst natures as well.
I’m at the halfway mark with this book and since I’ve read his other titles before, Hanley’s entertaining educational style is always engaging to me. It’s like hanging out with a cool teacher in a comic book shop for extra credit.
One on my favorite chapters so far draws comparisons between the classic Dark Phoenix Saga in X-Men to Teen Titans’ The Judas Contract, the latter being a story line that doesn’t get as much coverage in my opinion (plus, I do own a Terra/Tara Markov action figure!).
Not All Supermen is due out on July 15(I was lucky enough to receive a review copy) and I highly recommend it to not only comic book/superhero fans but to those interested in seeing how influential our ongoing debates about gender roles in society are showcased in such a public forum. Even Superman is as vulnerable to these cultural forces as he is to Kyptonite:
Meanwhile, my latest Book of the Month Club selections are from a couple of years ago but still very much on the forefront of the literary scene.
Along with Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore, I chose Angie Thomas’ On The Come Up, which is about to have the film adaptation be available for streaming very soon.
This YA novel stars Brianna “Bri” Jackson, who is determined to follow in her late father’s footsteps as a rap singer yet be seen as her own person to make her own mark upon the world.
That’s hard to do in so many ways as Bri discovers upon releasing a song online that grows popular and gives her a fan base yet gains negative attention from unwelcome corners. Wanting to also help her family out financially is another strong incentive but her mother prefers that Bri focus on school first, plus Supreme, her father’s former manager, offers plenty of career opportunities but at what artistic price?
I haven’t read Thomas’ The Hate U Give but did like the movie a lot and upon hearing that OTCU was about to on screen soon, I thought it would be good to read the book first.
The story is as engagingly energetic as a good song that you add to your permanent playlist is, with heartfelt characters that deal with real world problems as well as personal challenges along the way. I’m nearly finished with the book and hope to see the movie sometime soon :
For my summer library haul, I went with a pair of books by authors I haven’t read before such as Stacey Abrams’ While Justice Sleeps and Normal People by Sally Rooney.
The Rooney novel starts in a small Irish town where popular teen sports star Connell has a secret relationship with quiet upper class Marianne, a connection that he is more invested in concealing than she is.
When they part ways to attend college in Dublin and yet are thrown back into each other’s community, their social roles as reversed. Marianne is the one shining in the spotlight while Connell is standing on the sidelines ,uncertain of what his place in the world is truly meant to be. Can they find love again or is their time together a thing of the past?
I have heard nothing but wonderful things about Sally Rooney’s writing but was unsure of where to start with her books. Normal People seems to be a good setting off point here(did hear good word about the Hulu miniseries adaptation) and this story has a bit of a Jane Austen vibe, perhaps a modern day Persuasion if you will. Definitely worth a try:
Speaking of Persuasion, I am looking forward to seeing the newest entry on Netflix this upcoming weekend, despite the mixed reviews that have come out already.
While it does appear that my concerns about Anne Eliot being given a Bridget Jones makeover have been unfortunately well warranted, I still want to give it a fair chance.
There are very good actors in the cast and if this leads to other Austen adaptations that are more complimentary to the source material, it’ll be worth the fuss. Goodness knows, there are worse things to worry about outside of our silver screens so let us engage in lively yet friendly discussion on this front!:
Welcome back, folks, to the regular routine of LRG and while the world outside has been riff with chaos, the reading waters have been just fine.
Speaking of reading, the Sci-Fi Summer readathon hosted by Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading has ended and per my usual, I finished two out of the three books chosen for this challenge. Considering the amazing quality of this particular pair, this was a great achievement indeed!
First up was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow , the latest from Gabrielle Zevin. Yes. the title does refer to a Shakespeare quote but the overall theme is the resilience of friendship and video games as storytelling realms.
The center of the plot forms when Sam Madurai runs into Sadie Green during their college days, renewing a broken childhood connection, and upon playing one of Sadie’s prototype game, convinces her to team up with him to become video game creators together.
While they do make for a good artistic partnership, their goals in the field often clash, especially since Sadie’s talents are taken for granted by the male dominated industry and media.
Nevertheless, they do persist in part due to Marx, their mutual friend and business partner (who becomes more than a friend to Sadie over time). However, when an unforeseen event takes Marx out of that equation, can Sam and Sadie heal from this ultimate breach?
Zevin is a wonderful writer as well as a video gamer and it shows in the gorgeous geek prose when talking about that virtual world. One section of the book takes place entirely in a game that’s a cross between The Sims and Oregon Trail, which blends seamlessly into the narrative whole of the story.
This is the third novel that I’ve read by Zevin (Young Jane Young, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry) and so far, she does not miss a beat, book wise. It’s fair to say TATAT is one of the best things that I’ve read this or any other year:
I followed that up with Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility , another mind blower of a book to be sure!
While the plot points are stretched over different places in time, what connects them is Gaspery, a man of the future seeking out witnesses to a temporal event that could explain the true national of reality.
From an exiled British man in Canada of the 1800s to a writer living on a moon colony doing a book tour on Earth in the year 2203, this strange incident that these random people stumbled onto does haunt them in small ways. Yet it is Gaspery whose fate is truly bound by what happened and the answer he seeks is far from expected.
This may sound like a complicated story but it’s not at all. Mandel glides through these vast connections with a gentle ease that smoothly carries the reader along for an epic ride. The tender depictions of humanity are the strength of the book, making such questions about the nature of our world very down to earth and attainable.
We’re getting a lot of multiverse stories these days and while SOT is perhaps more of a time travel tale, it does hold some of those elements rather well. Definitely a best of the year read , especially if you like the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once:
Much thanks to Michelle Miller for setting the table for another readathon feast and hope everyone who took part in Sci-Fi Summer had as grand a time as I had with their books.
As I said earlier, we are caught up in serious troubled times these days but I do believe in radical hope in that we can still change things for the better. Staying true to our family and friends is a part of that, along with reviving our spirits with a good book or two.
With that in mind, the next readathon will be High Summer in August and I do have a trio of relaxing reads on deck for that occasion. Summer is meant to be a period of mellow relief and we should do that as much as possible for the benefit of all to gather our strength for what lies ahead:
