Guns, gimlets, gumshoes, and yes, a very long goodbye ...

We talk all about this classic detective story by wordmeister Raymond Chandler. Nobody wrote 'em better.  Join Jesse, Seth, Maissa and me at SFFaudio for some hardboiled fun!

Worth a Thousand Words:

Ballet School. Jules René Hervé (French, 1887-1981).
Via Books and Art

Listen Up: One Podcast and Two Classic Books

These have given me a great deal of listening pleasure, so I wanted to be sure you knew about them.

Lanky Guys

A weekly attempt to draw some meaning and humor out of the sacred treasury of the Scriptures in the context of the liturgy.

Our deacon recommended these to me and I'm hooked.

Fr. Peter Mussett and Scott Powell get us ready for each Sunday by taking us through the scriptures. They read each one aloud and dig deeper into context and background about historical, scriptural and liturgical connections. They combine scholarship, humor, and joy which makes the time fly by.

You can pick them up at their website, Lanky Guys, or on iTunes.

Pride and Prejudice

I loved Pride and Prejudice all through my youth, but never explored any of Austen's other novels. Finally having filled that gap in my education a few years ago, Pride and Prejudice sank from favorite to mid-range enjoyment for me.

I have narrations of all except this one of Austen's novels because Juliet Stephenson inexplicably only did an abridged version of it. When Rosamund Pike's new narration came out it was lauded by so many, including Orson Scott Card, that I thought it might be the fitting reading to match the others I love so much.

It is all that and more. Pike's narration raises Pride and Prejudice to the level of the sparkling, delightful tale I loved so much when I was young. In some ways it is as if I was reading it for the first time. Highly recommended.

Around the World in 80 Days 

When I discovered the talented Jim Dale had narrated a new translation of this classic adventure, I began searching ... and was pleased to see that my faithful library had a copy.

I'm not sure if it is the narration or the translation or both, but it is as if this story has new life in it. No one does it better than Jim Dale or this translator. Also Listening Library added occasional sound effects and appropriate music. At first I found it distracting but later it enhanced sense of travel and adventure.

Worth a Thousand Words: In the Wild North

Ivan Shishkin, In the Wild North, 1891
via Arts Everyday Living

You know, at first glance, I could've sworn this was a photograph. Extraordinary!

Worth a Thousand Words: Exquisite Beauty

Exquisite Beauty
taken by the incomparable Remo Savisaar

Worth a Thousand Words: Sun and Moon Flowers

George Dunlop Leslie, Sun and Moon Flowers, 1890
via Arts Everyday Living

Fields of Wrath: A tough, fascinating mystery with spiritual implications

Fields of Wrath by Mark Wheaton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Following his ordination as a priest, Father Luis Chavez returns to the mean streets of his youth, hoping to put his past behind him. But the brutal murder of a worker in Ventura County’s vast farm fields compels Luis to return to his criminal roots in order to unravel a massive conspiracy. Teaming up with Michael Story, an ambitious Los Angeles deputy DA, Chavez goes undercover as a farm laborer to bring down an immense human-trafficking ring tied to one of California’s most prominent and powerful families.

Fighting to stay on the path of the righteous while confronting evil at every turn, Father Chavez finds himself in a battle of good versus evil, with the souls of hundreds hanging in the balance.

I picked this up as a Kindle First free for Amazon Prime. It was a wonderful surprise.

There is a nuanced look at different priests in a large L.A. parish. One of those priests is Luis Chavez, a former gangbanger who found God and wound up back in his home town. There is a Mexican man who was harassed by cops his entire life and took the unusual path of becoming an officer himself to do it the right way. There are desperate illegal immigrants, crooked lawmen, and scheming corporation managers.

They've all got their own problems in real life and on the job. In other words, these are more interesting and complex characters than I often find in a mystery, whether free or otherwise. The mystery is involved and the writing is good to boot.

Most of all I like the way the Catholic faith is represented through Father Luis. We see him in many encounters with various priests, believers, scoffers, and acquaintances from the old life. No one is neutral and many challenge him. Yet Father Luis never seems to hit a false note. He's sincere, honest, and nonjudgmental while somehow never being soft about the things that count. The author never makes the mistake of attributing too much to God or presenting a cynical or overly deferential view of the Church. This is really refreshing.

Come for the mystery. Stay for Father Luis.

Here's hoping there will be a second mystery featuring the good father.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

★★★★★

This was everything we hoped for. A return to the way the first Star Wars movies felt - adventure, excitement, romance (a bit anyway), and fun.

I liked the way the movie paralleled the first one, with little bits of the second two thrown in where needed, providing just enough context to see that one person's story is never quite finished. Also that it's always about families and friends, the people we love and fight while we're trying to accomplish bigger goals. That age old truth works really well here.

And it fixes the problem with the second trilogy. The new Darth's "issues" connect with us in a way that couldn't happen before.

I also like what Mrs. Darwin wrote about Finn and Rey's relationship. It wouldn't have occurred to me to think about it that way but I definitely agree with her. It was also refreshing, for one thing, to see a strong female who wasn't as pushy as Leia or as wishy-washy as Amidala. Rey was just herself, a natural product of her environment. Huzzah!

We were also thrilled to see John Boyega. We loved him in Attack the Block, one of our favorite movies, and it is nice to see his talent appreciated with this choice role. I also thought it was a genius move to show a Stormtrooper's point of view. They might be clones but they are still people and this acknowledges that.

I've seen various people complaining about different things but I think they are looking for something this movie is not meant to be. The Force Awakens made us feel the way we felt when we saw the original Star Wars. As young college students, my friends and I left the theater excited, happy, and thrilled to see an opening for a sequel. This delivered that same feeling.

Here's hoping the next one is as strong as The Empire Strikes Back. Well done, J.J. Abrams!

2016 Book Challenge

You can find my 2015 Book Challenge here, with the results recorded. I went off target about halfway through the year and yet that list prompted me to do some reading I'd never have done otherwise — like poetry — which was very rewarding.

This year, considering the lack of attention I paid last year, I thought about not doing a list. However, I realized I do actually have some goals for this year. They are fewer and more focused, which is all to the good.

1. Dante's Divine Comedy [done]
   I feel as if this is going to be my year of Dante. Last year my interest in Louis Markos' Heaven and Hell put Dante on my mind. I began reading Anthony Esolen's translation. I wanted to read through with as little use of notes as possible this time through.
   
   I read John Ciardi's translation my first time around.
   
   Once I finished the Esolen translation, I began listening to the Benedict Flynn translations which were done specifically for audio and read by Heathcote Williams. They were simply fantastic and added to my understanding of the book (at least on the surface level).
   
   And then I read it a third time for conversations at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. And a FOURTH for my Catholic women's book club! I didn't intend a Year of Dante but it turned out that way!  - Inferno (Good Story #135) - Purgatorio (Good Story #137) - Paradiso (Good Story #139)


2. Finish Dickens' novels: [done]
   
   • Martin Chuzzlewit — liked this despite expecting to hate it because Dickens' savages America in the middle. That part was so one-dimensional that it slid right off of me. 
   • The Old Curiosity Shop — there was more to this than I had been led to expect. And I liked it!
   • Mystery of Edwin Drood — read this one last. Liked it even though it was only half finished upon Dickens' death.
   • Hard Times — the biggest surprise of all was liking this book which I'd heard was dour, dark and ... hard. Loved it!


3. Reread Middlemarch — never did it
   I've been wanting to do this for the last half of 2015. It's time to let it happen.


4. Use my "To Read" list
   I have pages listed of interesting fiction and nonfiction titles that I never get to because something shiny distracts me to the latest new thing. No more! There is a reason I wrote those names down. I need to try them out!


5. Read the Bible in Chronological Order - ADDED IN APRIL
   Now I won't be doing this in a year, but it is a new reading goal, so I'm tossing it in here in case anyone else is interested. I'll keep track of what I've read here (fingers crossed I remember) — I actually have been doing this pretty regularly and enjoying the heck out of it. It has led to some surprising realizations. For example, did you know that when Isaiah was prophesying doom and gloom initially ... there were several other prophets also doing the same thing? And still no one listened. Oy veh! I'll be continuing this in 2017.

1. Use my "To Watch" list
   It's the same problem I have with books. So many reviews have prompted me to keep lists of movies and then I never use the list! No more!
   

Thank you, Nancy!

As my Book Challenge post will tell you on New Year's Day, I anticipate 2016 being my year of Dante's Divine Comedy. With that in mind, I planned to buy Ascent to Love by Peter Leithart as my January book purchase. (It's either limit myself to one book a month or be forced to move to a bigger house. Also, we would have no money.)

However, I was confused when I received an Amazon package this morning and this book was in it. Had I already bought it? I didn't recall doing that. But there was a last minute flurry of spending when I realized just how many people I needed to buy books for before Christmas. Did I do it then?

No. As it turns out, Nancy S. was brimful of the Christmas spirit and gave me precisely the book I wanted. I guess she was full of the actual Spirit also since she picked out precisely the book I wanted.

I lost her email but wanted to be sure I thanked her for the delightful surprise ... and precisely the right book!

Merry Christmas, Nancy, and thank you!

Memorable Books of 2015

My favorites from the many books I read this year.

Art: A New History by Paul Johnson

This took me a couple of years to leisurely work my way through. Now that I'm done I miss Paul Johnson's voice looking at history and art and the fascinating, creative people who are artists.

My only wish is for a companion volume that shows all the images that Johnson mentions. There simply wasn't room in this book for enough of the actual art.

I'll be putting this in my rereading stack. My full review is here.


A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

As with the best books, this surprised me in new ways the second time around. For one thing the ending is so powerful it tended to overshadow my memories of a lot of the plot. Also some characters were so unforgettable, like Madame Defarge, that they overshadowed others which I now appreciated much more, such as Monsieur Manette. And one feels as if the Revolution is taking place all around, which makes the beginning and middle fade when one is simply remembering rather than having read it recently.

I tend to say this about a lot of Dickens' books after I finish them, but this might be my favorite of his works. (My review after reading it for the first time is here.)

The Lord by Romano Guardini

How does one adequately review this magnificent book? I'm not really up to the task, though you may read my review here.

Romano Guardini set out to explore the life and words of Jesus in the gospels. He has a clarity and depth that often turns our view upside down to show the deep meaning of Jesus' words and actions. All with a completely reverent viewpoint that never leaves Catholic teachings but yet shows us something new and startling.


Terence Fisher: Horror, Myth, and Religion by Paul Leggett

"Please - I never made horror films. They're fairy tales for adults." — Terence Fisher, London Daily Telegraph, Nov. 27, 1976

Fisher's spiritual orientation is a mixture of myth, fairy tale and Christian doctrine. ... [he] remains one of the few directors in cinema history with a clear, spiritual outlook.

This book is simply fantastic as well as being extremely easy to read. My review is here.


Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

“Are they really gods?"

"I never worry about theological questions," said Nightingale. "They exist, they have power and they can breach the Queen's peace - that makes them a police matter.”

Better than Harry Dresden. Better than Odd Thomas. Not better than White Cat or Night Watch, but it would take a lot to top those.

This book did what I thought impossible: pulled me back into reading an urban fantasy series.

For a lengthier, good review that is a fair representation of what I thought, see what Lois Bujold said.

I read all the series at a dead heat, one after the other. The audiobooks are very good also.


His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik


The series takes the idea of "what if" there were dragons during the Napoleonic Wars.

I really loved the first five of this series (which I told you all about here, if you missed it the first time around).



The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker

"A pig is a pig," she said. "Whether he's public or private, he works for the same people."

"Next time you're in trouble," I said, "call a hippie."

Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

I encountered the Spenser novels in the early 1980s and became enamored. I'd never read anything like them.

Of course, I'd never read Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler. I knew of them from movies but hard-boiled didn't appeal as reading material or even, at the time, as viewing material. It took a smart mouth like Robert B. Parker's detective, Spenser, to delight me and pull me into that world.

Now, decades after I first read this book, I realize the legacy Parker was carrying on. Rereading this book after listening to The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler, I could really appreciate just how well Parker pulled it off.

I felt the same way about the next books in the series, all of which I reread: God Save the Child, Mortal Stakes, and Promised Land.


Heaven and Hell: Visions of the Afterlife in the Western Poetic Tradition by Louis Markos

An excellent overview of the stories that have influenced and shaped our views of Heaven and Hell from ancient times until now. I particularly enjoyed the author's exploration of the chain of influences that have connected all these stories and the way that they've been tweaked to express new ideas in the "journey to the other side" format.  It also made me begin thinking about rereading Dante's Divine Comedy. For my full review, go here.


Mockingbird by Walter Tevis

Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.

I've been jaded by the plethora of recent apocalyptic novels but this one is different. Perhaps the highest tribute I can give this novel is that when I finished I didn't want to read another book. To do so would sully what I'd just read before I'd finished thinking about it, as well as be unfair to anything that followed because it wouldn't be able to compare.

My full review is here. We also discussed this book in Episode 110 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

101 Famous Poems by Roy J. Cook

One of my 2015 Reading Challenges was to read a poem a day. This is such a great book that I had to buy my own copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and imagine that it speaks equally as well to those who are more acquainted with poetry than I am. I wound up reading through it twice this year.

Memorable Movies - 2015

Not necessarily new in 2015, but they were new to me!

Full reviews, where I did them, are linked to in the movie names.

INTOUCHABLES

Wealthy quadriplegic Philippe needs an assistant to help him with all the functions of daily life. Immigrant, ex-con Driss needs a signature on his application to fulfill unemployment requirements. Philippe hires Driss because the regular applicants are missing one important quality and the lives of both men are changed.

Sounds predictable.

Isn't.

CAESAR MUST DIE

Convicts in an Italian high security prison practice and perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In the process, we see how the play holds up as a real life reflection of not only the prisoners' experiences but of life in general.

The prison theater is being redone so practices are held all over the prison which not only gets us out of the "stage performance" aspect but connects the play more fully to the prisoners' reality. Sheer genius.

HER

In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every needs. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system.

This was a fairly astounding movie. It startled, shocked, endeared, and made us think. We're still talking about certain aspects, especially how it looked at men and women (the title is "Her" after all and there is more than one woman in it), while simultaneously thinking about how we interact with technology, AI, and aliens. The more I think about it, the more I admire it.

THE OVERNIGHTERS

This documentary focuses on Pastor Jay Reinke's ministry to homeless men who have flocked to Williston, North Dakota to work in the oil fields.

The congregation eventually becomes overwhelmed when the "Overnighters" program shows no signs of shutting down.

At first this looks like a straight forward case of Christian hypocrisy. However, no story is ever as simple as it appears on the surface. As the documentary continues we are shown further strands of the story which lead into challenging, thought provoking waters.

THE EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGE

What a find! This tells the story of Georges Melies, whose 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune left us with the indelible image of gentlemen in top hats exploring the moon. However, in order to tell Melies' story, the filmmakers wove the story of early cinema itself around the narrative.

It winds up following restoration efforts to the only hand-colored print of the film in existence.

INSIDE OUT

This movie works because we all recognize everything going on in this girl's life and in her head. If Pixar had taken a false step we would have felt it, because we all know the source material so well. They hit every note perfectly to tell a nuanced, complex story that made me laugh and cry (just a little), touched my heart and made me appreciate my emotions just a little more.

MAD MAX

In the first act of Mad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy’s Max spends more time than you might expect strapped helplessly to the front of a turbo-charged Chevy coupe, maniacally driven by a fanatic through a hellish landscape, an unwilling witness to the chaos ensuing around him.

Sitting in the theater, I felt about the same way, I think.

Then, as the movie continued, an improbable thing happened. Like Max, I slowly became a willing participant in the madness.

Steven D. Greydanus said it all for me.

I was left bemused by this movie, in large part because of the powerful, almost overwhelming images. A second viewing might change my mind but it was definitely memorable. In a good way.

TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL

Two hillbillies are suspected of being killers by college kids camping in the woods. The twist is that the hillbillies are kind, supportive, nice guys who are continually being misunderstood.

Fun, entertaining, and luckily I know enough to look away at the right time ... and that made all the difference.

What really surprises me is that my husband is a huge fan of this movie and  has brought it up many times. He isn't a horror film fan but this tapped into some entertainment vein that made him recommend it to a lot of people.

CHEF

Carl is celebrity chef whose cooking has become safe and boring. He’s divorced, with a 10-year-old son he never has time for. When an influential critic leads to his public humiliation, Carl reassesses his life. He launches a no-frills food truck and takes to the road. Carl’s path to redemption leads across the country, reconnecting him with his love of food, creativity, and his son.

Chef is an honest little, indie-style movie that gave me a great deal of pleasure. And sometimes that's all a movie needs to do.

In which we drop into the village of Binscombe to find out how they celebrate Christmas Eve.

Hint: we're not talking A Christmas Carol here. Think Twilight Zone. Join me for Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Most Men by John Whitbourn, Episode 295 at Forgotten Classics.

Worth a Thousand Words: Neon

Neon

Selection inspired by 99% Invisible's episode Tube Benders.

Well Said: C.S. Lewis on Writing in Books

To enjoy a book like that thoroughly I find I have to treat it as a sort of hobby and set about it seriously. I begin by making a map on one of the end-leafs: then I put in a genealogical tree or two. Then I put a running headline at the top of each page: finally I index at the end all the passages I have for any reason underlined. I often wonder—considering how people enjoy themselves developing photos or making scrap-books—why so few people make a hobby of their reading in this way. Many an otherwise dull book which I had to read have I enjoyed in this way, with a fine-nibbed pen in my hand: one is making something all the time and a book so read acquires the charm of a toy without losing that of a book.

C.S. Lewis, letter to a friend

Worth a Thousand Words: A Birthday Card for Theodore Roosevelt

Birthday Card, Howard Pyle, 1908
via Howard Pyle blog

It's not Roosevelt's birthday or Pyle's birthday or anyone's birthday who I know (at least as far as I know) ... I just liked the art.  And the friendship.

Well Said: Are you the woodsman or the wolf?

In all our actions we are either the woodsman or the wolf and God help us if we're the wolf, because there are so few woodsmen left.

Rose Davis, Double Exposure

Not that it's all about me, but I'd dearly love this blog to start up again. The reviews are real treasures. (And, yes, I'd say that even if Rose weren't my daughter.)

Well Said: Patron Saint of TV

When I asked my friend’s mother why there was a little statue of The Virgin Mary on top of their Sylvania, she corrected me in a tone which faintly suggested that her family were better Catholics than mine would ever be. “Oh, Honey, that isn’t the Virgin Mary. That’s St. Clare of Assisi– she’s the patron saint of television.”

I approached the plastic idol with what I hoped was a reverential pace to examine her more closely. She held one hand upward in a gesture of blessing and her face looked up to the heavens. Or perhaps she was simply keeping an eye on the antenna which was fastened to the roof directly above. It was impossible to tell. I tried to pick her up, but discovered that she wouldn’t budge from her place.

I’d heard of people having their eyes glued to their television sets, but never their feet. It was a day of firsts.

When I came home, I took my usual place at dinner– the seat farthest from my mom. It was the lowest position in the family pecking order, but it also happened to be the only chair at the table which afforded a clear view of the family room and the television in it, which was always miraculously turned on and which I always (just as miraculously) got away with watching. I could now tune out the conversation of my older siblings and tune in to early evening network programming knowing there was a new saint in my life who was watching over me as I ate in silence, just like (as I would learn many years later) the sisters of the Franciscan Order founded by her, The Poor Clares.

Michael Procopio, Food for the Thoughtless

Scott and I are going to record our Millions episode tomorrow morning. Anyone who's seen the movie will understand why this quote struck me as appropriate.

If you've haven't seen it, you're missing a terrific, little known Christmas movie. Read my review here.

Worth a Thousand Words: Snowfall

Snowfall
taken by Scott Danielson

Not that I'm jealous or anything but we're going through a cold spell of our own here. Should be down to the mid-50s. (aargh!)

Well Said: "Gentlemen, I am a Catholic ..."

Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day. This [taking a rosary from his pocket] is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell these beads every day. If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God that He has spared me the indignity of being your representative.
Hilaire Belloc, 1906 speech in Salford

This was his response to his Tory opponent's slogan, "Don't vote for a Frenchman and a Catholic".

He was elected.