May It Be

For Christmas, Lamplighter gave me "Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards" by Michael N. Stanton (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), addicted as I have been to The Lord of the Rings. In this book, Stanton treats the geography and history and themes of LOTR, along with (as the title implies) the races of Middle-earth, such as dwarfs, ents, and humankind. The book includes a long essay on the first part of the movie trilogy.

In his preface, Stanton writes:

"It always was and still is a pleasure for me to talk about and write about The Lord of the Rings, and I hope that pleasure shows through."

This is an accessible book even to non-fans.


During the holidays, I picked up the "Cambridge Guide to Fiction in English" by Ian Ousby (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) at a used books store for Php 40. This is a survey of the English-speaking countries, and the Philippines is included. Here is the entry for F. Sionil Jose:

"Sionil, F(rankie) Sionil. 1924- Filipino. The foremost anglophone writer in the Philippines, he has published novels, novellas and collections of short stories. His reputation rests on the 'Rosales Quinology', consisting of The Pretenders (1962), Tree (1978), My Brother, My Executioner (1979), Mass (1982) and Po-on (1984). Beginning in contemporary middle-class settings, the sequence goes on to chronicle more than a century of life in every sphere of Philippine society."


The book deals with genres of fiction, types of novel, literary history and theory, and trends such as modernism, naturalism, realism, and magic realism. There are summaries of major novels, suggested reading among resources and references, and a list of selected literary prizes.

Most entries are relatively short, but this is nevertheless a helpful study of fiction in English.


These two books have been on my reading load since the holidays. Here's hoping 2010 will be a very good year in books.

The One with the List-making

Here are three books I've been reading lately:

I've been going over the Greatest Films of All Time list from Blockbuster (the video rental store). In its second edition, released in 1991, it enumerates more than 800 titles Blockbuster considers most important. It indicates Oscar honorees, and covers movies produced up to 1989.

Another is Scorsese by Ebert (University of Chicago Press, 2008), in which the reviewer reconsiders movies by the director such as New York, New York, The King of Comedy, and Kundun. The book covers movies dating back to I Call First up to The Departed and Shine a Light. He lists five of Scorsese's movies which he considers his best, and re-reviews them. I absolutely agree with the inclusion of The Age of Innocence.

Scorsese himself writes the foreword, and in his introduction, Ebert notes his affinities with Scorsese. There is a lengthy interview as well conducted in Wexner Center, and we get a feel of the rhythms of a Scorsese talk. 

Another is The Reel List (Delta, 1995) by Lynne Arany, Tom Dyja, and Gary Goldsmith. It identifies some of the more popular subjects explored by the movies, including animals, sports, and holidays, and professionals such as teachers, butlers, and taxi drivers. It has literary adaptations and ways to kill your spouse (Double Indemnity, for one).  

Andrew Sarris writes an illuminating foreword in which he enlightens us on the rationale for lists. (Interestingly, the section on auteurs includes cinematographers and composers, and Sarris thinks the book is more Kaelian than Sarrisian.) He recounts an encounter with Pauline Kael in which she asks, "Why are you such a list queen?" He did not have a riposte at the time, but now notes that Kael was the only major reviewer he knew who did not draw up end-of-year lists of bests.

Essentially, Sarris contends that list-making is an endeavor engendered by differences in gender. List-making simply comes naturally to guys.

This, on the same year as the Friends episode "The One with the List." That's episode eight of the second season, aired November 16, 1995. Ross's dilemma here is who to choose between Rachel and Julie. Joey and Chandler try to help him out by making a list of what each girl is good for, and not. Rachel finds out about the list, so she becomes angry with Ross. 

Ross defends himself by saying that while there are many con's against Rachel, the one against Julie is "She is not Rachel." Rachel ends the episode by saying, "See, if that were me, there wouldn't be a list." 

Of course, the writers are on Rachel's side, but if Ross's crime was so unpardonable, they would not have permitted Ross to do that. They would not have allowed him do something so unforgivable that he would not be worth Rachel's time anymore.

It's just a matter of gender differences. 

So there. A list of books I've been reading lately.

Sharpening My Rapier

I know I have not been publishing movie reviews lately.

But it does not mean I have not been writing them. In fact, I have been writing five at the same time. They are long, and I'm still editing, so I hope you'd be able to read them soon.

You see, I'd be working 11.5-hour shifts again in the next two weeks. I know this is not normal, but call centers in the Philippines is not normal in the first place. I'm having two days off, and I'd spend them with my family and to catch up on my sleep.

I have also accumulated an indecent number of books I have yet to read. And last month I had already sworn off not buying books I don't think I can read with the little time I've got.

Here's three still sitting on my desk:

The Simpsons: One Step Beyond Forever (Seasons 13 & 14)

           edited by Jesse L. McCann; Harper, 2005

           I bought this in a bargain books shop in Sta. Mesa for 110 pesos. It's packed with jokes and colorful illustrations.

Reading Myself and Others by Philip Roth

          Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975 for P70.

          Essays by the author of Portnoy's Complaint. In the dedication page he wrote: 'To Saul Bellow, the "other" I have read from the beginning with the deepest pleasure and admiration.'

Notes on a Scandal screenplay based on the book by Zoe Heller

           Faber and Faber Limited, 2006 for P40

           with notes on the screenplay by the movie's screenwriter Patrick Marber (He also wrote Mike Nichols's Closer.)

The last two I also got in Sta. Mesa. Now if I could only find the time to read them.

Refuge

Monday last week, The New Yorker published a 1905 essay by Mark Twain, the first time it sees print.

In "The Privilege of the Grave," Twain writes:

"We have charity for what the dead say. We may disapprove of what they say, but we do not insult them, we do not revile them, as knowing they cannot now defend themselves. If they should speak, what revelations there would be!"

A hundred and three years later, and it still stands true. (I'm not about to attack this nugget of wisdom from Twain, you know.)

I'd try to publish here in this blog my thoughts on many things, and I would appreciate it if you would post a comment here and there. You may disapprove, you may puke, and that will be okay. You can save the respect for later when I'm gone. Much later. I'm not going to give you pleasure by going out early. 

"Now there is hardly one of us but would dearly like to reveal these secrets of ours; we know we cannot do it in life, then why not do it from the grave, and have the satisfaction of it?"

I'm very much here, so why not engage me? For questions, clarifications, violent reactions or flattery, make them known here or to my e-mail address: pages_screens@ymail.com