Knopf 100--Day 4

Yesterday Gianna talked about books she binge read that were published by Knopf. I second her binge-reading of the Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith. If you liked the movie version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, you'll LOVE the Ripley stories as a whole.

Back to our list of 100 Knopf books for the 100th anniversary of the esteemed publisher:

9. Me: Stories of my Life by Katharine Hepburn, originally published in 1991. I don't think I'd ever seen a single Katharine Hepburn movie when I read this book. It was one I found in the stack beside my mother's bed when I was in high school and was desperate for any books of any kind. I knew Hepburn was an actress but that was it.Me turned out to be the best kind of celebrity memoir--thoughtful, juicy, and about a life and career worthy of a full book. In the years since I've seen some of Hepburn's movies and I'm really good at Hepburn questions playing Trivial Pursuit even if I still haven't seen Adam's Rib. 


10. Dispatches by Michael Herr, originally published in 1977. Dispatches is the war reportage book to which all subsequent ones are compared. Michael Herr's reports about the Vietnam War brought to life the conflict and the humanity (and inhumanity) of what was then America's most controversial war. I originally read Dispatches for a college class, but twenty years later I still refer to it when I'm asked for a recommendation about the war.

11. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, originally published in 2006. You want gripping nonfiction that's also impeccably researched? Read The Looming Tower. This is the history of Al-Qaeda from its inception and leading up to the 9-11 attacks, and it's chilling. Who was Osama bin Laden? Where did Al-Qaeda come from? Want a better understanding of extremism and the current state of the Middle East? Read The Looming Tower. Lawrence Wright is a really great writer and there are multiple "holy shit!" moments in this book. It's no wonder it won the Pulitzer Prize.

12. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje, originally published in 1992. The movie was fine, but this is definitely an instance when the book offers so much more. The characters are richer and a few scenes are different (such as that romantic scene in the movie where Kip hoists Hana via pulleys into the rafters of the church to view the frescos; in the book it's a wonderful scene about art and the destruction caused by war and, well, not so romantic. Hana isn't even present). Ondaatje's prose brings to life the four characters staying over in the Italian villa, from the broken Hana the nurse to the dangerous American spy David Caravaggio to the sapper Kip to the mysterious "English" patient Almasy. I love these characters and this book. It's one I should reread more often and when my friendship with Gianna ultimately leads to my institutionalization, this is one of the novels I'll bring with me to the asylum (or prison).

Best Book of the Year So Far: Karin Barker's Pick

Karin Barker is one of the talented, well read booksellers working at The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado. The Bookworm is a store that loves matching great books with readers and if you're traveling in the Vail/Edwards/Eagle area of Colorado, it's worth stopping and shopping. Chat up the booksellers and you'll walk away with a stack of books you'll be dying to read.

Here's Karin's pick:

A Constellation of Vidal Phenomena

By Anthony Marra

WOW - this is one of the best books I have ever read!  It is an inventive, captivating novel about love, loss, resilience, and the unexpected ties that bind us together.  The setting is war-torn Chechnya, but it is not a typical Russian novel.  I was reminded of The English Patient, City of Thieves, and The Tiger's Wife. I found it brilliant and heartbreaking; gorgeous storytelling that shows the best and worst of humanity and the insanity of war.  It takes place over 5 days yet spans 11 years - the foreshadowing was perfectly placed.  This outstanding debut is why I LOVE novels and it exemplifies the power of literature.  A must read!

New Year, New 30 Day Book Challenge, Day 19

Someday Gianna will
understand what it is
to love Gus and Call.

Day 19: Favorite Book Turned into a Movie

Gianna:

This category is just one more chance for Liz to jump down my throat about Lonesome Dove! Some other great movies won't make my list because I never read the book, such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Princess Bride. Not that anyone asked, but I will note which I liked better, the film or the book. Here we go, my top ten books to movies. [Let me state here that it's selfish of Gianna to pick ten movies. She does this so that it's harder for me to pull alternatives out of my butt.]

Friday Night Lights – I think I liked the movie more, which may be unfair because I read the book after the movie, but man, I did really like the movie.

Atonement – The book, but what a great movie. In fact, I think I will watch it again tonight. [Sweet! Baked the cookies. I'm on my way over!]

The Silence of the Lambs -- I don’t want Jodie to think I don’t love her post-Golden Globes so I will say the movie. Well, I would say the movie anyway.

No Country For Old Men – See, now I am already regretting this list because this is tough. I think the book because it shocked me so much.

The Godfather – I thought the book was a snooze compared to the movie, but again, I saw the movie first. This is my favorite movie ever by the way (Leave the Gun. Take the cannoli. - Clemenza)

Drugstore Cowboy – This too, is one of my favorite movies ever and I do think it's better than the book. Author James Fogle was robbing pharmacies until he died last year at the age of 75. Well, technically he was robbing pharmacies until he was 74 and then went to prison.

The English Patient – I do think this movie was lovely, but it doesn’t hold up so in this case I pick the novel.

Misery –
I think Liz and I will agree on this one, the movie was better. ("God I love You" - Annie to Paul as she takes the sledgehammer to his ankles.)

The Hours – I feel the same about this movie as I do The English Patient, I loved it at first but after seeing it a few times it’s a bit blah. I pick the book.

Terms of Endearment – I adore this book, but the movie the movie the movie.
(“It's past ten. My daughter is in pain. I don't understand why she has to have this pain. All she has to do is hold out until ten, and IT'S PAST TEN! My daughter is in pain, can't you understand that! GIVE MY DAUGHTER THE SHOT!” –Aurora)

I guess it’s not great that I have liked more movies than books. Hey Liz, let's start a movie blog!

Liz:

Sure, let's start a movie blog. First, we're watching Lonesome Dove. For the love of god, what do I have to do to convince Gianna that both the book and miniseries are fantastic?

Here's another fantastic miniseries based on a book: Band of Brothers. It's my favorite war drama, and since I think the writer of the book was a hack and a disgrace to historians. But the miniseries is really great. Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, a Wahlberg, David Schwimmer as a jerk.

The Virgin Suicides is that rare thing--a Kirsten Dunst movie that doesn't make me want to vomit. Of course, she barely speaks and then she commits suicide, so it's like a little cinematic gift to me. Liked the movie...didn't hate the book.

The Wonder Boys--I liked both movie and book.

Seabiscuit--I think people have forgotten how phenomenal this book is, and the movie isn't half bad. I seem to have a thing for horse racing movies. I will stop and watch even though I know exactly what happens. Black Beauty, Seabiscuit, Secretariat--spoiler, they win in the end.

Stand by Me is based on
the novella The Body.

I think we just need to declare that Stephen King's works are better as movies. I'm basing this generalization on the relatively few Stephen King works I've read--The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, The Shining, Misery.


Ordinary People--It's that rare thing that rips me apart. If Gianna hasn't seen this movie, we're adding it to her must watch list.

To Kill a Mockingbird--Atticus Finch. 

Best of 2011 Countdown: #16

Sweet Sixteen!  I hope Gianna gives me a car and brings me cake.

Gianna:

The Devil All the Time
Donald Ray Pollock
Doubleday

Of course The Devil all the Time made my list! From the author of the crazy good and critically acclaimed Knockemstiff, Donald Ray Pollock’s new novel is jaw dropping; it's dark, bizarre, disturbing, and incredibly good.

 

Set in Knockemstiff, Ohio (where Pollock grew up) the novel follows several characters from the 1940’s (just as WWII is ending) up until the 1960’s. The cast of characters include (and this is just a few characters) a husband and wife serial killer team who drive the highways looking for male hitchhikers, a preacher who is essentially a spider handler (and who knew that would be creepier than a snake handler, by the way), and then the centerpiece to the novel is a tortured World War II vet Willard Russell who seems to be (according to his son), “fighting the devil all the time.”

Donald Ray Pollock

Comparisons to Flannery O’Connor can’t be denied; Pollock is that good (and you may know that I loves my Flannery). The Devil all the Time is as dark as it is beautiful. If you read just the prologue you will get the immediate sense of Pollock’s enormous talent and unique modern voice.  

Liz:

The Stranger's Child

Alan Hollinghurst

Knopf

Alan Hollinghurst won the Man Booker Prize for his last book, The Line of Beauty, so there was a lot of anticipation for his next work.  Luckily The Stranger's Child lived up to the anticipation.  Also, I love the cover.  Covers matter to me. 

Alan Hollinghurst

The Stranger's Child reminded me of books like Brideshead Revisited (a favorite), The English Patient another favorite), Atonement (love it!), and The Children's Book (God I love that book).  Right before World War I, George Sawle brings his college friend Cecil Valance home for a vacation at the Sawle family manor house.  George likes Cecil...and George's younger sister Daphne likes Cecil.  Cecil writes a poem in Daphne's autograph book before the guys return to school.  When the war breaks out, Cecil the poet is killed and he becomes the legendary dead poet; what he wrote in Daphne's book becomes the poem school children memorize for generations to come.  Mystery surrounds the poem, Cecil, and the Sawle family, though.

Here is a story about literary legacy, love, and remembrance.  Hollinghurst is at the top of his game and solidifying his own literary reputation alongside writers like Ian McEwan and Peter Carey.