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Monthly Archives: September 2012
October Preview
Fall is definitely upon us now and October is looking like a great month for new releases. Just check out the books on the right and you’ll see quite a mix of talented authors.
Undoubtedly though Justin Cronin’s “The Twelve” has got to be the most hotly anticipated novel of the month. His Book Two of “The Passage” trilogy is sure to sell like hot cakes after all the acclaim and fanbase that the first book received. So don’t miss it.
Beyond that, good buzz is coming from the likes of James Meek’s new novel “The Heart Broke In,” Jami Attenberg’s “The Middlesteins,” and one I’m quite interested in, Joan Wickersham’s short story collection “The News From Spain.” Not to mention the buzz from Tom Wolfe’s return with his first novel in eight years.
As for October movies, two notable ones are likely to rule from the list at the left. First is Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” which looks to be a gripping thriller about the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. The second “Cloud Atlas” carries some weighty themes where everything is seemingly connected across time and place.
With a budget of $100 million, “Cloud Atlas” is apparently the most expensive independent film ever made. So it will be interesting to see how much it takes in at the box office on opening weekend.
As for October albums, two standouts have caught my eye from the list at the bottom left.
Notably Tift Merritt’s new one “Traveling Alone” is a must-get as well as Beth Orton’s “Sugaring Season,” which is the English singer’s first album in six years.
Moreover, I’m curious to hear Martha Wainwright’s “Come Home to Mama” as well as Iris Dement’s “Sing the Delta,” which is her first album in eight years.
All in all, October is a strong month for artistic releases. These are some of my picks. Which ones are you looking forward to this month? Continue reading
Posted in Top Picks
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Fall days
Happy fall colors! The photo above was taken yesterday while I was out biking. It was a beautiful day as has been most of September.
We’ve had a good week here (my bday week), mainly working on incorporating our new puppy’s schedule with ours. She’s learning quickly, especially on such important things as: potty training 101, how to sleep through the night, and how to be a good doggy in her car crate.
I did finish a book this week for book club (called “Snow Job” by William Deverell) but since it was popular-fiction-fare that I didn’t pick, I didn’t feel the urge to review it. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.
Instead I’m moving on to reading three on my list: “The Book Thief” by Australian author Markus Zusak (I know I’m the very last blogger to read this!), “The Passage” by Justin Cronin (I’m excited he’s releasing the second in the trilogy soon), and “Sweet Tooth” by Ian McEwan, whose novels I usually really like. So I need to rev up my reading over the next few weeks.
In movie news, I saw the Norwegian thriller “Headhunters” adapted from the book by Jo Nesbo. It’s in Norwegian with English subtitles but is easy to follow, and has a wild chase and twists. It’s about a job headhunter who steals paintings on the side in order to shower his wife with a lavish lifestyle. But when he tries to steal a valuable painting from a former mercenary all hell breaks loose. I’m sure he wishes he never got involved in that heist. I’ve never read Jo Nesbo’s books but obviously they must be fast-moving page-turners. This film captured my attention all right but turns pretty violent and contains a scene with an outhouse that you won’t soon forget. If you like thrillers, you might like it.
How was your week? And have you read the books mentioned above? Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies
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Puppy Love
We received a new addition to the family this week! She’s a 10-week-old yellow Lab, tentatively named Stella. She’s already a great joy to the household, so now we are just working on potty training 101 and getting her to sleep through the night. She is a quick learner so things are looking promising. Here she is below catching some zzzz’s.
In book news, I’m just reading a crime/thriller fiction novel called “Snow Job” by William Deverell for my book club on Tuesday. It’s a bit of a spoof on Canadian politics, involving an incident in Central Asia that leads the country to the brink. With colorful characters, it’s sort of just fun. More on it later. But so far, there’s nothing too deep book-wise this week as we have our hands full here at the moment.
What does your reading week look like? Continue reading
Posted in Daily Cue
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The Wettest County in the World
I’ve been up to my ears in moonshine so to speak. I just finished Matt Bondurant’s 2008 historical novel “The Wettest County in the World” about the bootlegging that went on in Franklin County Virginia during Prohibition and then I saw the new movie adapted from it called “Lawless.”
Although the movie is decent, the book, as usual, is far superior. It’s a story about three brothers (actually the author’s own grandfather and great-uncles) who illegally ran moonshine stills and distributed “white lightning” under the cover of their filling station. It was apart of the ’20s and early ’30s when moonshine activity exploded in the poor Virginia county amid the Blue Ridge foothills. “The Bondurant Boys,” as they were known, were like many of the residents there involved in the illegal liquor trade. The Bondurants came up against law officers who covertly demanded their cut of the bootlegging profits. What happened in real life was a bloody showdown.
“Wettest County” is a novel based on that true story, which the author pieced together from news articles and filled in the gaps with his imagination. His grandfather never talked about his moonshine involvement other than to confirm he had once been shot. The rest the author dug up and turned into a vivid and resonant account.
The descriptions and atmosphere are right out of Prohibition- and Depression-era times. It’s direct and often violent, comparable to some of Cormac McCarthy’s writings but perhaps with more hope and less darkness. The brothers overcome various harsh realities, including the early loss of their mother and two sisters in the flu epidemic, and the night the head brother, Forrest, is left for dead with his throat cut open by two rival goons.
The story is exceptional and well written, but the novel isn’t totally easy. Most of it’s from Jack, the youngest brother’s point of view, but one thread conjures Sherwood Anderson, the author, who covered the resulting bootlegging trial. It jumps in time back and forth from 1935 to earlier. It gets a bit confusing or distracting a few times and I lost some steam in my reading about half way through, wishing parts might be a bit shorter. But still I took away from it an interesting dose of moonshine history and a story forever etched in my memory. I’d be interested to check out Matt Bondurant’s latest novel “The Night Swimmer” as he seems quite a writer to watch.
As for the movie “Lawless,” prepare yourself for some uncomfortable violence. For me, the screenplay was missing some of the essence of the novel. It’s too bad because the cast is quite good, albeit the foothill dialect meandered a bit. It’s still pretty decent and might not be too far off from other such attempts at novels like “All the Pretty Horses” or “Cold Mountain” that were moved to the silver screen. Lyrical books are just hard to match in movieland. Continue reading
Posted in Books
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September Preview
September brings many veteran, big-name authors back to the forefront with new material. Check out the list on the right. It’s loaded!
Of course, as much as anyone I’m curious to see if J.K. Rowling’s first novel away from the Harry Potter series will be good. “The Casual Vacancy” at the end of the month is more than just a little hotly anticipated. I’m also looking forward to Salman Rushdie’s memoir “Joseph Anton” a bit, which should be interesting. He’s always got plenty to say, just look at his tweets. Moreover, this month sees the release of a few debut novels that are drawing high praise.
I’ve got my eye on Kevin Powers’s Iraq war novel “The Yellow Birds,” which I’ve read such good things about.
In other book news, it’s a good thing I’m now in Canada because Ian McEwan’s new novel “Sweet Tooth” is available in this country now but won’t come out in the U.S. until Nov. 13. So I definitely feel lucky to snap up an “early” copy by the master British storyteller.
For new albums in September, the list, below at bottom left, is also very strong. I think it’s got a musician on it for almost everyone. I’m curious about Cat Power’s new one as well as the new albums by Dave Matthews, Band of Horses and Mumford & Sons.
I’m also zeroed in on the singer-songwriter kind of stuff, and the new ones by Aimee Mann and Ryan Bingham should be great. Particularly I can’t wait for Mann’s new album “Charmer” to be released.
As for movies in September (see list at top left), I was a bit surprised that it seemed rather light or weak, not typical of fall movie viewing. You can see Clint Eastwood’s baseball movie “Trouble With the Curve” if you want, or perhaps his “empty chair” act at the GOP convention was enough for you. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis star in a school-reform drama at the end of the month that might be kind of good. But not too much else caught my fancy. Maybe the French WWII film, “War of the Buttons” might be the ticket, or else Richard Gere’s thriller “Arbitrage.”
These are some of my picks; what new releases are you looking forward to? Continue reading
Posted in Top Picks
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