"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
Unsolicited opinions on books, movies, TV shows, consumer products
“It was that kind of a crazy afternoon, terrifically cold, and no sun out or anything, and you felt like you were disappearing every time you crossed a road.” J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir, by Gore Vidal Gore Vidal always was a name-dropper. A talented, even brilliant […]
“May the Force be with you.” — Harrison Ford (as Han Solo), Star Wars (1977) The Class (Entre les Murs) (2008) I don’t like teenagers and I’m not cut out to be a teacher, so I was prepared to dislike this movie. Curiously enough, I liked and disliked it at the same time . . […]
“The world breaks us all. Afterward, some are stronger at the broken places.” Ernest Hemingway, Farewell To Arms The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson A Swedish journalist delivers three manuscripts to a publisher. He then dies. The manuscripts are published posthumously, one by one. No, this isn’t some high-concept movie pitch, it’s […]
“Hey, don’t knock masturbation. It’s sex with someone I love.” — Woody Allen (as Alvy Singer), Annie Hall (1977) S. Darko (2009) I liked Donnie Darko, but I didn’t see much point in S. Darko, unless the point was to cash in on the the success of Donnie Darko. Movie producers don’t do that, do […]
Some reviewers dismiss Avatar as a 2 hour and 40 minute visual effects feast with 20 minutes of plot. Other reviewers slam it for having a plot based on exploitation and imperialism. Okay, Avatar is a long movie. But I was riveted to my seat the entire time, and not merely by the visual effects. […]
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer Several months ago a marketing director at HarperCollins read one of my book reviews. She contacted me to ask if I would read and review an advance copy of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, and of […]
When I started my banned books project in September, I didn’t realize that other people have done similar things. Searching the web for information on why John Irving’s novel A Prayer for Owen Meany (review below) has been challenged so many times, I stumbled upon a very nice site called Banned Books. Bonnie, the proprietor […]
When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he reportedly said “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.” It’s impossible to overstate the impact Uncle Tom’s Cabin had on mid-19th Century America, indeed the world. Lincoln was dead on. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a barn-burner, even today. What a […]