Name the book/movie/CD/news source that would improve the rest of us.

[shereads]

Everyone has a book, a film, or a Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum comic wrapper that they know would enlighten others if only others weren't so damn stubborn. What are yours and why?

On the off-chance that others in the AH will drop what they're doing (this, for example) and accept your recommendations, you're invited to advise us to read/watch/listen/study/report back on the best-ever

• Book/fiction

• Book/non-fiction

• Music CD/classical (yeah, I know, you have it on vinyl)

• Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too)

• Movie/contemporary*

• Movie/back in the day

• And/or...the news source that would make us all better informed






*You're welcome to recommend a Jim Carrey movie, but then you should go sit in the corner and be ashamed of yourself for a while.

 

[Dirty Slut]

The Movie:

Robin Hood; With Errol Flynn.

It has everything you need to know about life, and it's great entertainment too. And I just love seeing guys dressed in tights, don't you?

DS

 

[Weird Harold]

Everyone has a book, a film, or a Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum comic wrapper that they know would enlighten others if only others weren't so damn stubborn. What are yours and why?


• Book/fiction

The Noteboks of Lazarus Long By R. A. Heinlein.

At least two people have cited portions of LL's aphorisms in the Standards thread. (I, at least, was serious in proposing TANSTAAFL as a standard to live by.)

The genreal tone of the book is cynical and anarchistic, but almost everything in it makes you think about the topic.

 

[shereads]

Re: The Movie:

I just love seeing guys dressed in tights, don't you?

Yes, in the context of a film or ballet.

No, in the office or while dining.

 

[shereads]

You're entitled to an opinion on ALL of these categories. Good lord, what restraint you AHers have shown.

Haven't you ever said to someone, "You've never seen ____? Are you serious?" This thread could be your only chance to vent, short of being interviewed for a news story like this one:

AREA GIRLFRIEND STILL HASN'T SEEN 'APOCOLPYSE NOW'

AZUSA, CA—In a discovery prompting exasperated forehead-slapping and stunned expressions of incredulity, Mark Tillich learned Monday that girlfriend Brandi Jensen has never even seen Apocalypse Now.

http://www.theonion.com/onion3607/girlfriend_apocalypse.html

 

[minsue]

• And/or...the news source that would make us all better informed - Wait, wait, don't tell me! NPR News Quiz on Saturday mornings. Will keep you informed & amused.

 

[A7inchPhildo]

I have not turned on the TV, gosh must be 8 months now. In fact the last movie I saw was Star Wars and that was to bring my nephews. I read lots of books but I am sure it is not really a topic for the AH especially after the sex/religion thread.

I do read a certain Magazine "Men's Health" http://www.menshealth.com/cda/home/0,6922,s1-0-0-0-0,00.html
only because it is not filled with crap. It is a serious fact kind of magazine for health, love, finances, and style. The advice is supported with many references and it is always a step by step proceedure. Never leaving you with a question am I doing this right? If certain items are needed to accomplish something they tell you what you need and where to find it.

The web page is good, for example the sex page is cool to look at, but the magazine goes much further into each topic.

 

[shereads]

Wait, wait, don't tell me! NPR News Quiz on Saturday mornings.

I love that show, min. Also Car Talk, which comes on just before Wait Wait.

 

[minsue]

I love that show, min. Also Car Talk, which comes on just before Wait Wait.

LOL. I waste half my Saturdays listening to NPR starting (w/ Car Talk) while sitting on the computer. Luckily, my husband works 2nd shift so he usually doesn't wake up until about 1-2 pm.

- Mindy

 

[Guest]

A random assortment - Perdita

Book/fiction: First Love—Turgenev. Really a novella, exquisite narrative on love, men, women and sex.

Book/non-fiction: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families—Philip Gourevitch. First rate on-hand account of the Rwanda genocide and those directly or indirectly responsible (including certain first-world countries and the Catholic and other churches). The title is the beginning of a letter for hopeless aid from a pastor to authorities.

Music CD/classical: Brahms’ piano pieces (Ballades, Rhapsodies & Intermezzi) by Glenn Gould; or any piano recordings by Gould, but these should delight anyone.

Music CD/not so classical: blue is the colour by The Beautiful South, or any number of their recordings. On ‘blue’ my favorite song is “Have Fun”; on another album, “Don’t Marry Her (Fuck Me)” is a fave. Great lyrics and musicianship. Must cite Gauche for the recommendation; they're a Yorkshire group.

Movie/contemporary: Talk to Her by Pedro Almadovar. Exquisite narrative on love, men, women and sex; as are all of Almadovar’s films (in Spanish).

Movie/back in the day: In a Lonely Place, 1950, dir. Nicholas Ray; featuring Gloria Grahame and Humphrey Bogart. Desolate, utterly unsentimental story of a tragic love affair; the murder mystery is beside the point. Famous line spoken by Grahame: “I said I liked it, I didn't say I wanted to kiss it."

News source: Vogue. Been reading it since I was sixteen.

 

[Uther_Pendragon]

Lots of books would enlighten people.
Since we're writers, maybe I'll talk about the books I
feel are helpful for writing. Rather than the guides, I
find fiction about artists, actors, etc. encodes what the
feels is important about being an author. The classic in
this subgenre is "The Light That Failed" by Rudyard
Kipling.
|
When it comes to TV shows, I agree with a quote I read once:
"There is a tool found in any hardware store which attached
properly to your TV set will improve your educational level
and the educational level of any children in your household.
It's called 'wirecutters.'"

 

[AngeloMichael]

• Book/fiction: The fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. This is how epic story telling should be done. Intriguing plot with many twists, interesting and realistic characters that really draw you into their lives, plenty of action, subtle and not so subtle foreshadowing that always keeps you guessing at what's going to happen, and of course lots and lots of sex (for a non-literotica piece, at least ). Also Martin has a way of always showing many sides of a story. His characters are hardly ever black and white, they are mostly grey. You can be reading about one character and be completely rooting for them and then you start reading about a despised enemy and the next thing you know you see their side of things and you start to sympathize with them. It all goes to pulling you deeper into his world and chomping at the bit to learn how it will all turn out. There are villians in the story and you root for them to be totally destroyed, but it is surprising sometimes who the heroes turn out to be. He is an amazing talent.

• Book/non-fiction: "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. Just an awesome text that explains a lot of theories about our time-space continum.

• Music CD/classical (yeah, I know, you have it on vinyl) : I've always been partial to Beethoven.

• Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too) : Rufus Wainwright's redition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". If anything inspires me to write romance, it's that song.

• Movie/contemporary* : It's a toss up betwen "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Moulin Rouge". "Shawshank Redemption" is another brilliant piece of writng, this time along with acting and directing. One of my favorite movies of all time. "Moulin Rouge" is visually spectacular, a modern opera that is just artistically mindblowing and never fails to get my creative juices going.

• Movie/back in the day: Have to go with "Citizen Kane". Movies don't come much better than this.

• And/or...the news source that would make us all better informed: The internet.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

You're talking about books, movies, etc, that have changed us or enlightened us, right? Or just stuff we liked?

Back in the nineteenth century “enthusiasm” was considered a pejorative term, used for people who proselytize or go on about something to an offensive degree. I think they might have been on to something.

Maybe I’m just too old, but I would never recommend anything for didactic purposes. I would recommend things that I have enjoyed, or that have enlightened me, but I no longer think that they’ll affect anyone else the same way, and nothing paves the way for disappointment like a good, enthusiastic guarantee that some book or movie will change your life. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” had been recommended to me so many times that I’ve come to resent the book and doubt now that I’ll ever read it.

The things that have moved and taught me the most always reach me on a very personal level, and so I wouldn't expect them to have much affect on anyone else. It's kind of like telling people how great the woman you love is and expecting themn to fall in love with her too.

---dr.M.

 

[shereads]

The things that have moved and taught me the most always reach me on a very personal level, and so I wouldn't expect them to have much affect on anyone else. It's kind of like telling people how great the woman you love is and expecting themn to fall in love with her too.

How curmudgeonesque. What about a book or movie that you find amusing? I promise not to be enlightened.



Btw, how great is she? Would I fall in love with her too?

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Book Fiction: Watership Down. It isn't great literature or all that imporant. I don't think it teaches any great lessons about life either. But it is enthralling reading and very entertaining.

Book Non-Fiction: Evidence that demands a verdict: Josh Mcdowell. It's an very analyitical and intellectual approach to showing why we should all be Christians. You don't have to be a chritian to appreciate the breadth and scope of his research and you will get a lot out of it that has historical value even if you don't take anything spiritual from the work.

-Colly

 

[shereads]

Beautifully written, quick-read trash; "beach reading," some people would say, although I don't like to read at the beach because the pages wilt:

>>The Lost Girls, by Andrew Pyper

The best movie about being "downsized":

>>Office Space

(A laid-off programmer rigged unused computers in empty cubicles to play Office Space 24 hours a day at low volume. Our boss still hadn't noticed when the company moved to smaller offices three months later.)

The TV program I enjoy as much as The Simpsons and keep forgetting to watch:

>>King of the Hill

(Coincidentally, written by the writer of Office Space)

A movie I love for no particular reason:

>>Time Bandits

A book that makes Diet Coke spurt out through my sinuses:

>>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson

Best food to eat while watching television or reading something unenlightening:

>>Pistachios, lightly salted, no red dye; Diet Coke for flushing the sinuses

 

[MaxSebastian]

Okay, New Year's resolution... spend more time on the Lit boards, writing stories for Lit, et cetera... Healthy or not, here we come...

Love the suggestions - Shawshank Redemption's great, AngeloMichael, no doubt why it was voted greatest movie of all time by the UK television audience recently. Talk to Her is also absolutely fantastic, Perdita, I agree, although it is v. v. sad.

Here are my suggestions...

Book/fiction - Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. A must for any writer to read - every word is perfect, every sentence a joy. The characters are wonderful - eccentric but lovable - and the story is heart-warming beyond compare.

Book/non-fiction - Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman. A very entertaining look at the inside of Hollywood from the perspective of a successful screenwriter.

Music CD/classical - Ma Vlast by Bedrich Smetana. Magical orchestral piece.

Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too) - TwentySomething by Jamie Cullum. Great jazz/swing album, not a wrong note on it.

Movie/contemporary* Just one? Unfair! So... Dinner Rush directed by Bob Giraldi, starring Danny Aiello. A great drama with a hint of mafia complications, it pretty much all takes place in one restaurant in the course of a single evening, but it's very well written, well made, exciting with rich characters dining on mouth-watering Italian food.

Movie/back in the day - Repo Man directed by Alex Cox, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez. Anyone remember this one? It's about guys who reposess people's cars - full of fringe philosophy and comedy as well as a bizarre sci-fi twist. An eighties classic, as weird as it gets but great all the same.

And/or...the news source that would make us all better informed - BBC News Online (http://news.bbc.co.uk) - no better free online international news source in the world, paid for completely by the good British public. And I think the whole world could do with following everyone's news in a global context rather than only bothering with their own isolationist context.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

How curmudgeonesque. What about a book or movie that you find amusing? I promise not to be enlightened.



Btw, how great is she? Would I fall in love with her too?

Okay. If you insist.

Favorite book, which I urge you not to read because you’ll hate it, is Kerouac’s Dr. Sax. My childhood shares some elements with Kerouac’s, so it’s my story too, and this book taught me how a writer can tranform a dull and prosaic subject into something of great meaning and import through nothing but his humanity and his art. It taught me that the writer has huge and wonderful powers over life, and that only art can give life meaning. The poet is priest.

Books that have had the biggest impact in the last 5 years or so: Patrick O’Brian’s Aubry-Maturin novels. I’ve already gone on ad nauseum about them, but they’ve changed the way I write and the way I think about writing. The man is an absolute master, with tricks of technique so subtle and powerful that I’ve started using his stuff as manuals of style whenever I run into a particular prose problem. I know I’m obnoxious on the subject, so I don’t tell people to read them anymore. Many people just don’t like them.

Flick: I saw Kurasawa’s The Seven Samurai on TV by accident on a rainy Sunday night when I was fifteen and was entranced, despite the subtitles. (The first foreign movie I'd ever really watched). It’s violent, epic, and tragic, and above all beautiful to look at, even when he’s showing you raindrops falling in mud. The battle scenes show panicked men and samurai flailing away at each other, scared to death, very much like battle really is, and every movement had meaning. I went to school the next day ringing like a gong, a changed boy in a changed world.

Music: To this day, Bach gives me chills and makes me blubber like a baby: The Partita in E for Unacompanied Violin, The Prelude in G for Cello, Aire on the G String, all bring me embarrassingly to tears, even in public. They’re like fucking green krytonite to me, just render me helpless with their beauty, especially when you have one instrument singing alone in the darkness. I’ve had to leave places where I heard them start to play, to avoid a scene. Same is true of the Puccini aria, Un Belle Di from "Madame Butterfly". Can't even spell it, but just thinking about it gets me all verklempt.

For my musician friends, I urge them to listen to the Shaggs and the Porstmouth Sinfonia. I get a lot of indulgent smiles, because most people listen to these groups for their gag value—both groups are horrible musicians from a conventional standpoint—but when you stop laughing and listen, you find it redefines all you think you know about music. They are just brilliant deconstructions of musical form and expectation: music without melody, harmony or rhythm. Nothing left but musical intent, and they make you realize that that’s all that really matters.

But don’t blame me if you don’t care for any of these. As I’ve said, they are all intensely personal to me.

---dr.M.

 

[Weird Harold]

• Music CD/classical (yeah, I know, you have it on vinyl)

• Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too)

Classical: The Blue Danube, or any collection of Viennese waltzes/ Strauss Waltzes.

The thought occurred to me while enjoying the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's 2004 concert on NPR, and again on PBS, that it should be impssible to sit through that concert and remain depressed about anything.

Not so Classical: Days of Future Past, by the Moody Blues and London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Again, it's something that I can't sit through without feeling better when it's over.

Tubular Bells, by Mike Oldfield deserves an honorable mention here as well -- especially as "driving music" -- as something that you can get lost in and emerge in an upbeat mood.

 

[M.A.Thompson]

Movie/back in the day - Repo Man directed by Alex Cox, starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez. Anyone remember this one? It's about guys who reposess people's cars - full of fringe philosophy and comedy as well as a bizarre sci-fi twist. An eighties classic, as weird as it gets but great all the same.

Find one in every car... You'll see.

 

[shereads]

Re: Re: Name the book/movie/CD/news source that would improve the rest of us.

Tubular Bells, by Mike Oldfield deserves an honorable mention here as well -- especially as "driving music" -- as something that you can get lost in and emerge in an upbeat mood.

You drive listening to The Exorcist theme music?

:: Damie, why you do this to me? ::

:: Kill the priest! ::

:: Your mother darns socks that smell! ::

 

[raphy]

• Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too) : Rufus Wainwright's redition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". If anything inspires me to write romance, it's that song.

Can't argue here... One of the finest contemporary songs ever, to listen to, but especially to sing. It's almost impossible, IMHO, to sing this song without singing it with passion.

It goes like this, the fourth the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift

Raph, who absolutely loves singing this song.

 

[cahab]

• Book/fiction

Difficult choices.
'Stranger In A Strange Land', by Robert Heinlein for the philosophy, or 'The Martian Chronicles'by Ray Bradbury, because it's just so damn well written.

But I think it ultimately has to be 'The Disposessed' by Ursula LeGuin, merely because people, and americans in particular, have a very skewed idea of what socialism's supposed to be, and this book has the best depiction I've come across of a true socialist society, warts and all. Deserves to be accounted amongst the great political tomes, and inspired my dissertation.

• Book/non-fiction

The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins. A very complex scientific book written in a very straightforward way. Read it, it will change your perception of just about everything.

• Music CD/classical (yeah, I know, you have it on vinyl)

The four seasons, by Vivaldi. I know it's a cliche, but some people may not have it, right?

• Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too)

Again, I'm torn, but I'll plump for Definitely Maybe, by Oasis.

• Movie/contemporary*

Fight Club. Didn't think I'd enjoy that one at all. And genuinely didn't see the end coming.

• Movie/back in the day

How far back is the day? Either Little Big Man, or Network.

• And/or...the news source that would make us all better informed

Can I just recommend we watch slightly less of it? We are all paranoid enough already. Jeez. I recommend everyone reads the Guardian, you can do that online, and stops watching TV news.

No, really.

 

[raphy]

Okay, I was going to give this a shot - But then I realised that I'm a Gen X'er, a confirmed 80s kid and have a total and complete lack of interest in world events and anything outside 'contemporary' and decided that my answers would be, well, non-existent for most of this.

As an attempt, however ( I shall pale beside these other literary types)

Book, fiction: Most anything by Terry Pratchett, notably Carpe Jugulum and Thief of Time. You could do worse than life your life by the Way of Mrs Cosmopolite.

Book, non-fiction: Don't recall when the last time was I read anything non-fiction

Music, classical: Don't listen to it. Comes dangerously close to the heading of 'real' music played by 'real' musicians for a hack like me to stomach. Y'know, people that can actually, like, read music and stuff.

Music, contemporary: It Never Rains, dire straits. Open Secrets, Rush. Better Be Home Soon, Crowded House and Another Man's Cause, The Levellers.

Movie, contemporary: The Last Boy Scout. I live my life by the phrase, "When you're done feeling sorry for yourself, the front door's that way"

Movie, classic: Not a huge fan of classic movies.

News Source: I don't watch, read or listen to news, either world or local. I remain blissfully ignorant of global politics.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

• Book/fiction

All of the Harry Potter-books, by J.K. Rowling.

• Book/non-fiction

The Other Rules - Never Wear Panties On A First Date And Other Tips by Ann Blakely & Julia Moore.

• Music CD/classical (yeah, I know, you have it on vinyl)

Classical music? You mean, as in 80'ies? Well, most of it! Especially Madonna-tunes. She was much listening-friendly back then, before she "got in touch with her inner self".

• Music CD/not so classical (vinyl too)

Don't remember the name of the artist... but the title is Don't want no short-dick man

• Movie/contemporary*

The Harry Potter-movies. Great filming, great stories, close attention to details, nice computer graphics, talented actors, Brittish accent.

• Movie/back in the day

Most of the films made by Swedish moviemakers and geniuses Tage Danielsson & Hasse Alfredsson: especially Äppelkriget.

• And/or...the news source that would make us all better informed

The Leaky Cauldron (Temporarily unavailable.)