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There have been about four versions made of Jane Eyre. The Orson Welles one was good drama, but not good Bronte - it was more about Orson and less about the heroine. A BBC version was truer to the book but rather long. I remember a movie of Dickens Christmas Carol with affection, as well as...

I guess it depends what you mean by entertainment. I like to read things that enlarge my experience. I just finished The Bookseller of Kabul, not for entertainment but get some feel for living within a traditional Afghan family. Sometimes ego is involved. After my two-month struggle with...

I haven't seen the 1992 movie you refer to, but there was an earlier film (1920s?) with Bela Lugosa. I can still here his accented voice intoning, "I am Count Dracula. I come from Transylvania." If you mention that the movie you are reviewing is not the first attempt to film the book, it...

I'm just now finishing The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad. This (female) journalist lived with the bookseller's family for several months after the Taliban were driven out of Kabul. It is an inside view of Afghan family life, and not at the lowest level either. The bookseller is an...

There are books and there are books. New, hardbound, never read - light, urgent scent New, trade paperback - crisper scent New, mass market paperback - slightly acid, low notes Garagesale find - outdoorsy, driveway tones Local library booksale - a little spicey with warm undernotes...

Try Shirley Jackson's Life among the Savages. (Helpful hint: the savages are her own children.)

As I understand it, some reviews appear only on the Internet, but you could print the Internet review for yourself. Others also appear in print. You might also check out the DailyKos blog referred to in the review. The comments there are interesting and sometimes cover matters which don't get...

I read both and usually have one fiction and one non fiction going. My book group reads a lot of fiction and we meet every two weeks so I make a point of keeping up. I read a minimum number of pages per night and then switch to the current non fiction. Right now I'm on a William James kick...

Good thing you had that sword. They shouldn't have booed - you provided entertainment. I don't care for the poem, since you ask, and have no idea what it is about. I don't get a picture, I don't understand the action, I don't experience a mood or emotion. Just a hint, from one who used to...

I keep a small notebook in my purse and write down the author and book title as I finish each book, starting a new list each month. At the end of the month, I enter them in a blog entry here with a brief comment. That's new for me this year - the past must remain gone and mostly forgotten.

My brother has published several books. I once saw one of them listed on eBay. An enterprising craftsperson had cut out the insides to make a small safe for valuables like jewelry. You put it on the shelf with your other books and no one knows what's inside. Except that along may come a burglar...

Philip Wylie - When World's Collide - not for the collision, but for the human reactions to it Aldous Huxley - Brave New World - the future Ursula LeGuin - The Dispossessed - a different future

Silver Season I inserted a Flickr picture but it doesn't display.

I haven't seen many German movies, but they have been impressive. Since seeing Das Boot I will never go down in a submarine. I enjoyed Fitzcaraldo - wild, improbably fun. And finally, the recent The Lives of Others I found very moving. I certainly didn't expect to feel sympathy for a...

I recommend Mary Renault's novels set in ancient Greece: The King Must Die The Bull from the Sea The Last of the Wine She really makes the times live.

I saw the Olivier movie a few years ago just after reading the book. They took at least one scene from the book and turned it 180 degrees. It had to do with misdeeds by Heathcliff in the book which were assigned to someone else in the movie to make Heathcliff look better.

I have only read two of the books on the original list, so am unable to do much ranking. You have already read one book by Ecco so you must have some feeling about him as a writer. The Name of the Rose is excellent (in my memory) with an intriguing plot and wonderful wordplay. The Good Earth...

I read most of the plays in college, on assignment, and enjoyed the lectures and discussions. I don't read him now for "pleasure." The play's the thing! I enjoy seeing the plays performed (local theaters perform one or two a year) or in movie versions. Then I may go back to read certain passages...

Perhaps it is not so astonishing. After all the first powerful person in your life was your mother - a woman! She was able to overcome all difficulties on your behalf. In Greek mythology the female gods are active and powerful, also intelligent and sly.

A good choice. And if they like Ursula Leguin they can try some of her other books. I liked The Lathe of Heaven very much.