Reading Roundup: March 2020
Saints: No Unhallowed Hand: 1846-1893
I actually read this in February and reviewed it over at Segullah. I enjoyed this latest installment in the series and look forward to the next two books.
A Student of History by Nina Revoyr
I grew up in Southern California, but not in Los Angeles--a distinction I never really understood until I was an adult and no longer lived there. In this book, Los Angeles and its history form an essential part of the plot, and Revoyr is a skilled writer who conveys a sense of the importance of this history for anyone who has never lived there. I also appreciated her skill in helping the reader sympathize with a character who spends the entire book making terrible decisions.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
This was a fairly quick read, but still powerful and important. Two of my kids also read it and loved it just as much as I did. I thought the art and the story were both excellent; it also thoughtfully ties together Takei's experiences as a child with the rest of his life, and with our current political climate. Reading and discussing this with my kids helped us have some good conversations about history and current events. I highly recommend it.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I started it. The first part of the book is a collection of stories about various characters that don't seem to overlap. Then it moves to a more linear structure and the connections between them begin to emerge. As I write this, I realize that this mimics the trees and forests discussed in the book. There were some spots in the middle of the book where the narrative bogs down a bit, but the pace picks back up in time for a satisfying ending.
The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri
The title of this book feels a bit too calculated for attention-grabbing. However, I'm not sure what a better title could be, and if it gets people to read the book, then I'm grateful for it. In this book Nayeri balances telling the story of her journey from Iran as a ten-year-old refugee with reflections on the nature of storytelling, collective memory, and the current refugee crisis. She is a skilled writer and I still find myself reflecting on many of the things she said, especially her thoughts on storytelling.
One Hundred Poems by Seamus Heaney
When this book came through my area at work, I thought it seemed like a great fit for March. I read it in bits and pieces over the course of the month, and it felt like I spent the month in Ireland. Heaney is good at both vivid imagery and the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate ideas. He's not my favorite poet, but I did enjoy the time I spent on this.
Movies
Dan in Real Life
Apparently this movie is well-known and quite popular with some people, but I'd never heard of it until recently. Steve Carell is not a particular favorite of mine, but he was tolerable in this movie since it seems to play to his strengths. I didn't think it was a terrible, but mostly kind of boring. There were some funny scenes and a bit of tension, but it wasn't my favorite.
Meet the Patels
This movie does a great job of balancing a specific topic and universal themes. I learned many new things about Indian and Indian-American culture, but also found myself nodding in agreement a number of times as different people talked about family, love, and marriage. The quality of the film is a bit rough, but it was a lot of fun to watch and gave me plenty to think about.
The Five
I didn't realize that this was so long (it's a miniseries with 10 hour-long episodes) when I started watching it last fall. I wasn't really hooked by the first episode and decided not to watch, but then I was stuck at home for a while and decided to finish it. It's not as good as Broadchurch, but still quite a good show and kept me guessing clear until the end.
Ordinary People
This was streaming on Amazon and is a film I've read a lot about over the years. Some aspects of it are rather dated (especially the parts dealing with psychology), in other ways it holds up surprisingly well. The acting is amazing--and I didn't discover until partway through that it was Elizabeth McGovern's first film (she wasn't even 20 yet!). Not really a 'must-see', but worth a watch if you have time and are interested in films from the 80s.
Frozen 2
Although this was my first time, the kids had already seen this in the theater. They thought it was good enough to watch again, and I enjoyed it. Frozen is a movie that has grown on me with time (and with listening to the Broadway-version soundtrack quite a bit). It was interesting to see how this film tried to work out some of the plot problems of the first movie, while also moving forward with its own story at the same time. The plot was still a little confused and it dragged for a bit in the middle, but I enjoyed this movie and it was a great way to spend some family time when we really needed it.
Strictly Ballroom
When I was in high school this was one of my favorite movies. I haven't watched it for a long time and thought the kids would enjoy it as well. They weren't quite as fond of it as I was at that age--I think they are used to flashier films and they struggled a bit with the Australian accents. Honestly, it was a bit clunkier than I remembered it being, but I still had a great time watching it.
The Pianist
I missed this film when it came out in theaters and never go around to watching it. I'm also honestly a little creeped out by Roman Polanski and wasn't sure how much I wanted to support him. Turns out that this movie is an excellent example of how someone can be a terrible human being and still make transcendent art. Stylistically, this movie is amazing--the composition of the shots, the coloring, the pacing of the action, the sound. The acting is also incredible, particularly by Adrian Brody.
I actually read this in February and reviewed it over at Segullah. I enjoyed this latest installment in the series and look forward to the next two books.
A Student of History by Nina Revoyr
I grew up in Southern California, but not in Los Angeles--a distinction I never really understood until I was an adult and no longer lived there. In this book, Los Angeles and its history form an essential part of the plot, and Revoyr is a skilled writer who conveys a sense of the importance of this history for anyone who has never lived there. I also appreciated her skill in helping the reader sympathize with a character who spends the entire book making terrible decisions.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
This was a fairly quick read, but still powerful and important. Two of my kids also read it and loved it just as much as I did. I thought the art and the story were both excellent; it also thoughtfully ties together Takei's experiences as a child with the rest of his life, and with our current political climate. Reading and discussing this with my kids helped us have some good conversations about history and current events. I highly recommend it.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I started it. The first part of the book is a collection of stories about various characters that don't seem to overlap. Then it moves to a more linear structure and the connections between them begin to emerge. As I write this, I realize that this mimics the trees and forests discussed in the book. There were some spots in the middle of the book where the narrative bogs down a bit, but the pace picks back up in time for a satisfying ending.
The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri
The title of this book feels a bit too calculated for attention-grabbing. However, I'm not sure what a better title could be, and if it gets people to read the book, then I'm grateful for it. In this book Nayeri balances telling the story of her journey from Iran as a ten-year-old refugee with reflections on the nature of storytelling, collective memory, and the current refugee crisis. She is a skilled writer and I still find myself reflecting on many of the things she said, especially her thoughts on storytelling.
One Hundred Poems by Seamus Heaney
When this book came through my area at work, I thought it seemed like a great fit for March. I read it in bits and pieces over the course of the month, and it felt like I spent the month in Ireland. Heaney is good at both vivid imagery and the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate ideas. He's not my favorite poet, but I did enjoy the time I spent on this.
Movies
Dan in Real Life
Apparently this movie is well-known and quite popular with some people, but I'd never heard of it until recently. Steve Carell is not a particular favorite of mine, but he was tolerable in this movie since it seems to play to his strengths. I didn't think it was a terrible, but mostly kind of boring. There were some funny scenes and a bit of tension, but it wasn't my favorite.
Meet the Patels
This movie does a great job of balancing a specific topic and universal themes. I learned many new things about Indian and Indian-American culture, but also found myself nodding in agreement a number of times as different people talked about family, love, and marriage. The quality of the film is a bit rough, but it was a lot of fun to watch and gave me plenty to think about.
The Five
I didn't realize that this was so long (it's a miniseries with 10 hour-long episodes) when I started watching it last fall. I wasn't really hooked by the first episode and decided not to watch, but then I was stuck at home for a while and decided to finish it. It's not as good as Broadchurch, but still quite a good show and kept me guessing clear until the end.
Ordinary People
This was streaming on Amazon and is a film I've read a lot about over the years. Some aspects of it are rather dated (especially the parts dealing with psychology), in other ways it holds up surprisingly well. The acting is amazing--and I didn't discover until partway through that it was Elizabeth McGovern's first film (she wasn't even 20 yet!). Not really a 'must-see', but worth a watch if you have time and are interested in films from the 80s.
Frozen 2
Although this was my first time, the kids had already seen this in the theater. They thought it was good enough to watch again, and I enjoyed it. Frozen is a movie that has grown on me with time (and with listening to the Broadway-version soundtrack quite a bit). It was interesting to see how this film tried to work out some of the plot problems of the first movie, while also moving forward with its own story at the same time. The plot was still a little confused and it dragged for a bit in the middle, but I enjoyed this movie and it was a great way to spend some family time when we really needed it.
Strictly Ballroom
When I was in high school this was one of my favorite movies. I haven't watched it for a long time and thought the kids would enjoy it as well. They weren't quite as fond of it as I was at that age--I think they are used to flashier films and they struggled a bit with the Australian accents. Honestly, it was a bit clunkier than I remembered it being, but I still had a great time watching it.
The Pianist
I missed this film when it came out in theaters and never go around to watching it. I'm also honestly a little creeped out by Roman Polanski and wasn't sure how much I wanted to support him. Turns out that this movie is an excellent example of how someone can be a terrible human being and still make transcendent art. Stylistically, this movie is amazing--the composition of the shots, the coloring, the pacing of the action, the sound. The acting is also incredible, particularly by Adrian Brody.
Comments
I *just* got Strictly Ballroom out of the garage. Haven't watched it you, but this is further motivation!