What are you reading?

[JackFavell]

I do enjoy the kindle too, it beats not having any space to bring home another book. It's now making me want to read more and more, so I will go for some real books in between the e-reader from now on.

Small Island sounds so familiar, I'm thinking it got made into a movie perhaps?

[feaito]

Just a piece of information that might be useful to someone.

I do not usually write negative reviews, but I have to warn Cinema lovers:

I had for years in my Amazon Wish List a book titled "Silent Stars Speak: Interviews with 12 Cinema Pioneers" by Tony Villecco and was completely let down by the book.

Its list price is almost 40 dollars and it's a very thin, small, paperback book which includes small interviews with Anita Page, David Rollins, Jean Darling, Babby Peggy, Andrew L. Stone, Priscilla Bonner et al.

The interviews are very short in general, the questions that the author made are not listed, some of them were made over the telephone and I suspect that there was a pattern of similar general questions asked to everyone concerned; ie: about Rudolph Valentino, which sometimes seemed absolutely out of place since most of the interviewees did not work with him. The filmographies for each actor (and one director) are sometimes longer than the actual interviews and are not accurate (Anita Page's filmography does not include "Our Modern Maidens" (1929) and "Our Blushing Brides" (1930))

I can't understand how this book has glowing five-star reviews and I'm a rather "easy to please" customer when it comes to Cinema Books.....

[JackFavell]

Oh THANK YOU, fer! This is absolutely the type of warning we need here at the SSO. That's the type of book we are most likely to go for, and pay through the nose, expecting to get something really worthwhile. In depth interviews or something.

Is it possible to send it back?

[feaito]

Hi Wendy. Not really, because I bought it second-hand from a seller. Well, anyhow it still has some general and superficial reminiscences/opinions told to the author by some of the interviewees...

I'd say that in some way the most interesting interview would be that of David Rollins, of whom I did not know that much.

[JackFavell]

I don't even know who David Rollins is...

[feaito]

He starred in some Fox Collegiate films of the early sound period with Sue Carol and had a big part in Murnau's lost film "Four Devils" (1929).

[charliechaplinfan]

Thanks for the warning Fernando. It's really troubling that this book has 5 stars, I always take the time to write reviews on books that I've enjoyed, especially if they are well written and of limited interest, we know what labour of loves some of these well researched biographies can be and also how some other biographers can churn out work after work without any new research done into their subject. I read reviews avidly before ordering a cinema book, they're invaribly more expensive which I don't mind if I've bought a good book and leave reviews myself to encourage others to support a good biographers. However anyone can write a review on Amazon. I can only suggest selling it on Fernando, it's really easy to register on Amazon marketplace and there's no limit on how many items you list, I've had books on there for a couple of years which have eventually sold.

Small Island, perhaps it's has been made into a movie, I have so little interest in modern movies that these things would pass me by. I seem to have a real kick on reading at the moment, I think a dearth of things on the TV and a real liking of peace and quiet.

I've finished off a second installment of Call The Midwife (I'm sure glad I've had my children, I was thankfully very ignorant when it came to childbirth which in my case was a good thing to be) there's enough detail there without making my eyes water. Did you know that some ships had a ship's woman? A woman who serviced all men on board? This is just one thing I've discovered, shows your never to old to learn something new.

Now I'm reading a short novel (about 300 pages) based on the Bethnal Green tube station disaster in 1943 in which 173 people died as they crammed into a shelter for the night, the shelter was an unused tube station and the disaster caused by someone tripping on the steps going down into the station in the dark, that and a new weapon being tested close by that made everyone panic that the German's had launched a new weapon on them that night. Well written, factually researched some characters used to carry the story along. It was the biggest single loss of life in Britain during the war.

[JackFavell]

Something about going to sea that I can't tell the first graders in my little class ...

Isn't that crazy that a person tripping and then fear causing a huge disaster like that? What happened? Did they just trample one another? It sounds kind of like Inspector Foyle. Those shows make you realize how scared everyone in Britain was during the war, of course, they were only a hop skip and jump away from Germany. No wonder.

[feaito]

Thanks for your valuable advice Alison. I appreciate it!

[charliechaplinfan]

I've finished the novel now Wendy. London was expecting retaliation bombing after heavy bombing of Berlin a few days before, it was a clear night, the kind of night that was good for bombing raids. This particular night, the cinema close by decided to close instead of letting the patrons chose what they wanted to do which added a lot of people making their way to the shelter all at once. The steps were narrow and these wasn't a handrail in the middle, so a big crush of people heading down into the tube station, a lady fell near to the bottom of the second staircase and because of the dark people piled on top of her, the whole staircase was blocked 173 people in total,creating a big jumble of limbs and bodies meaning that they were stuck and soon suffocated. The wardens at the bottom couldn't get anyone out, so entwined so they perished, afterwards it took ages to seperate everyone but miraculously babies survived, it seems that mothers in their dying moments had sheltered them with their bodies and created air pockets around them. The dead suffered no broken bones amazingly and died very quickly.

Anytime Fernando, I've looked the book up on Amazon.co.uk, no reviews there, you can search the book but the search reveals very little.

[feaito]

Ali, as far as know, the book's only being sold and reviewed at Amazon.com (USA).

[CineMaven]

...I've finished off a second installment of Call The Midwife (I'm sure glad I've had my children, I was thankfully very ignorant when it came to childbirth which in my case was a good thing to be) there's enough detail there without making my eyes water. Did you know that some ships had a ship's woman? A woman who serviced all men on board? This is just one thing I've discovered, shows your never to old to learn something new....

I've had my theories about that when I think of the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Funny, a woman never came to mind. Well, I guess they printed the legend.

[charliechaplinfan]

So true.

Call The Midwife, a book I'm glad I didn't read before I had my children. I was better off thinking that nature would just takes it's course.....

It's being sold on Amazon.co.uk, Fernando but no reviews, yet.

[feaito]

I read two historic novels in a row: one about the rise of Trajan and another that deals with the legendary love affair between Alphonse VIII of Castile and Rachel, the Jew of Toledo. Both very, very good and page-turners.

Today I began reading Clara Bow's Bio "Runnin' Wild". I'm depressed after reading about her birth, childhood and adolescence. So sad, grim and poor. It's incredible she survived all those sorrows. She was a true survivor.

[knitwit45]

I read two historic novels in a row: one about the rise of Trajan and another that deals with the legendary love affair between Alphonse VIII of Castile and Rachel, the Jew of Toledo. Both very, very good and page-turners.

Today I began reading Clara Bow's Bio "Runnin' Wild". I'm depressed after reading about her birth, childhood and adolescence. So sad, grim and poor. It's incredible she survived all those sorrows. She was a true survivor.

What are the titles, Nando? The second one sounds like a great read for the long cold winter!