What do you read?

[jazzbo]

Oh I agree, it's best read aloud and I've been reading about F W for a long time. One day I'll dedicate the attention that I know it needs. . . but probably not til I retire, honestly!

[BruceH]

Lately I've been reading Books Into Film (the Stuff that Dreams are Made of) by Robin H. Smiley. Each chapter is just two or three pages long; he writes about the book that a movie (or movies) is based on, then contrasts the film made from it: is it a good adaptation, are the changes justified, does it work well on its own terms, etc. There are famous examples like The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, but plenty of obscure things too. Fascinating. The Hustler isn't here, oddly, and you'll probably find other omissions, but it's an almost endless subject really. This is a collection of a column he writes for "Firsts" a book-collector's magazine, which is why each chapter ends with info about the first edition of the book in question. Here's hoping he does a second volume.

Chrome--I must have read that A.M. Holmes story collection! It was years ago, and the only story I have any memory of is the brother with the barbie-doll one. I'm not sure what that says about me...

[Chrome]

Ghost: I'll definitely have to keep an eye for both versions of "Nightmare Alley."

I still can picture that page in "City of Glass" that shows an empty space on the wall where a picture of the narrator's family used to be ... heart-wrenching.

I've read all of Gaitskill's stuff and love it ... did you see the recent movie "Secretary" based on one of her short stories? I rented it based on the Gaitskill connection but was pretty disappointed.

A.M. Homes, who I mentioned in a different post, has a similar kind of vibe.