Oxford Publications and Other Books ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

Oxford Publications

     In previous posts I have offered several other Oxford Publications from my shelves.  They publish some very beautiful reference works that fill up a bookshelf very nicely.  I particularly like this Illustrated Oxford Dictionary.  It's a monster of a book that is quite lovely.  My edition is a hardback edition from 1998.  I believe I got this as part of an special introductory promo offer to a major book club.  I've gotten a lot of books as a result of those introductory promos.

Organizing

       If there is one thing I should probably read about it's organizing.  I've got plenty of books on the topic but they are unorganized scattered willy-nilly throughout the house. I particularly like the look of Organizing Plain & Simple by Donna Smallin.  I wonder what's inside?  I should look so maybe I can start getting more organized.  I need the advice.

Organized Crime: An Inside Guide to the World's Most Successful Industry by Paul Lunde

     

        Well, I may not be organized, but crime is.  I couldn't tell you where I got this book or why I got it, but I got it.  Leafing through it the content seems pretty interesting.  Probably a good reference if I were writing something about organized crime.

Joel & Victoria Osteen

     Several years ago my wife and I started watching Joel Osteen on television  He was easy to listen to though not always theologically precise.  I just liked his speaking style.  His books are also easy fare. I didn't read Victoria's book (though my wife did) but I'm sure it's more of the same.  Their books can be quite encouraging.  Become a Better You is one of the books on our shelves.

O-zone by Paul Theroux

      Haven't read this yet, but what a great book for 'O'.  This is a futuristic science fiction novel by the same author who gave us Mosquito Coast.  I have that movie on DVD and it's pretty good.  This book came out in 1985.  Not sure how or when I acquired it.  Now that I realize what the book is about I think I should move it up higher on my future read list.

       

       

Out of Control by Leslie Cockburn

       Only vaguely do I remember buying this book in Missoula MT sometime in 1987.  There's a bookmark from the bookstore inside the covers.  This political piece of journalism was being talked about on television a lot at the time and that's where I heard about the book.  Since I was living on the road at the I didn't buy too many books, but apparently I wanted this one enough to get the new hardcover release.  I might read this again, but now it would be more history than current affairs.  There's enough crazy stuff going on in our times that maybe I don't need to read the political intrigue of 40 years ago.

Omnivore by Piers Anthony

         In 1968 I bought this book from the Doubleday Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club.   I'm sure that I read it at the time I got it, but that was over 50 years ago. Perhaps I'll read it again someday, but it's not high on my to-read list.  The book is still in decent condition considering all the moves it's made through the years.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac 

       Though I've been very aware of this book for most of my life, I did not read it until relatively recently--sometime in the past 10 years.  Finally, I purchased a copy of the book and set in reading it. Since it's a book mostly about road life it was definitely in my realm of interests.  This is the kind of book I might consider writing one day.  The book was written in my lifetime and takes place during the years right before I was born.  It's a bit of contemporary pop history which is something I really enjoy reading about.   Not the best book I've ever read, but well worth the read.

Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy

        Did I say that Cormac McCarthy is one of my favorite authors?  I know I already mentioned him in my 'M' post, but this book is well worth getting a mention.  Published in 1968, this was his second novel.  It's dark, creepy, and a bit disturbing--all the best of a McCarthy novel.  If you like Faulknerish fiction then you might like this one.  The tale is a story of incest, mystery, and a journey of finding the secrets of a hidden truth.

Collected Works by Flannery O'Connor

        Cormac McCarthy might be one of my favorite authors, but Flannery O'Connor is even higher on that list.  My collection has several books by her with some duplication in stories.  I love her writing as well as her demented sense of humor and wacky story imagination.  I was first turned on to O'Connor by my creative writing professor Dr. Robert Drake at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  He was passionate about her work and filled me with that passion.  Her body of work is relatively small, but it is powerful.  If you have not read anything by Flannery O'Connor and you consider yourself a writer then you need to get something by her and delve into it.  Her short stories are her best work.   Be careful as you might be offended by her seeming racial insensitivity, but it reflects the times about which she writes and the types of characters she writes about.  I'd suggest starting off with a story like "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" or "Revelation" which are two of her more well-known stories.  They're all good though. If you treat yourself to reading something by O'Connor, I hope you'll come back to my blog to tell me what you think.

Owen Fiddler by Marvin D Wilson

        Early in my blogging days I came across Marvin D Wilson's Old Silly Blog.  I'm not sure what happened to him, but maybe one of my readers can tell me.  The blog links that I have for him don't seem to work now.  I have two books by him on my shelves including the one shown.  You can read my Amazon review of this book here.   

     Anything in this list that catches your interest?   How organized do you tend to be?  Are you a fan of the literature of the American South?  

Magic, Music, Money and More ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

       Magic and music are two interests of mine so these topics are reflected in the books that I own.  Many of these types of books are packed away where I wasn't able to easily access them for photographing, but I managed to find a couple in these categories along with some other books to represent the letter 'M'

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold

        This popular historical mystery thriller novel came out in 2001.  Though fiction, the title character was an actual famous magician from the early 20th century and many historical figures make appearances in this story filled with theatrical glitz and political intrigue  Worth a read I'd say.  I enjoyed it when I read it several years ago.

Beethoven The Universal Composer by Edmund Morris

       I enjoy reading about the lives of musicians and composers.  Beethoven was one of the best so I savored this book about his life.  I should go back to reread this book while listening to Beethoven's symphonies one after another.  A great way to spend a bleak day when I've got nothing else to do (this sentence sounds like it could be a line of a song)(music thinking is always on my mind).

Money

       Back when I was working and bringing in a regular paycheck I used to buy various books about money and finances.  I probably should have read some of them and taken heed of what they had to recommend.  Now I've got little money, but a lot of money books.  Here are a couple big ones:

The Bottom Line Money Book

Making the Most of Your Money by Jane Bryant Quinn

     I didn't really get my money's worth from either of them.

Medical Books

       My mother always used to have medical books when I was growing up.  Not professional type books, but family friendly medical books that many people would have in their homes.  If you felt something coming on, you'd consult the medical book to see what might be going on.  When I'd research whatever I might be feeling, I was always sure that the worst disease was the one I had.  Sometimes I'd just read those medical books for fun and end up feeling sick.  I've continued my mother's medical book tradition by adding a few to my own library.

The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide  is a particularly handsome volume. It's a big ole book.  

Masada to Mexico and Beyond

Masada: Herod's Fortress and the Zealots' Last Stand by Yigael Yadin

The Oxford History of Mexico  by Michael C. Meyer & William H. Beezley

The World of the Ancient Maya by John S Henderson

 Memoir

        I like reading about other peoples' lives especially it comes straight from the source.  Memoir is one of my favorite genres.  Not only do I have several memoirs in my library, I also have several good books about writing memoir.  Most of these I ordered from Writers' Digest Books.  I haven't read most of them, but The Truth of Memoir by Kerry Cohen isn't a bad little book.  

The Moonshine Mule by Tom Fremantle

         If I recall correctly, this is another one of those books purchased through a mail order catalog from a book clearing service.  I got several nicely priced books in that haul.  This book particularly interested me because it's about a long walking trek.  I dream of taking a trek like that, but I think the days of doing a thing like this are behind me.  At least I can read about an adventure of that sort in this book.

You can read my review on Amazon here.

Meriwether Lewis by Richard Dillon

         Kind of a funny story about this one.  My friend Marvin in Tennessee and I were talking about the famed explorer Meriwether Lewis a couple weeks ago.   Why we would have been talking about such a thing eludes me now, but apparently Marvin had read something about Lewis recently that he found interesting.  I told him that over fifty years ago I had bought a book about Lewis from the Doubleday Book Club but I had sold it at a yard sale several years ago.  Well, lo and behold, I'm looking for books for this post and there it is plain as day on my bookshelf.   Guess maybe I'd better read this before I actually do sell it or something.  

Cormac McCarthy

      I first discovered the writing of Cormac McCarthy in about 1972 when I was attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.  This author had also attended there in the fifties and had lived around the area and this is where his earliest novels took place so I could relate to them geographically at least.  Since those days he has written several highly acclaimed novels, including some that have been made into movies.  Cities of the Plain  is part of his Border Trilogy.  This is but one of several McCarthy novels in my collection.  I'll be featuring others in future posts. Cormac McCarthy is one of my top favorite authors.

       Have you attempted to write any memoir?   Do you ever consult medical books to see what is wrong with you or someone else?   Are you familiar with Cormac McCarthy's work?

         

Books Made Into Movies Blogfest

Click here for list of participants

          Today I'm joining in on the Novel Films Blogfest which is brought to us by Madeleine at Scribble and Edit.  This is one of those types of blog events that I have a difficult time resisting.  Unfortunately my memory is often bad on things like these so my list will be short.  But no matter, I'm here for the fun of it and hope you enjoy it as well.

Here's the gist:

There's a lot of novels, comics and plays that have been made into films and TV dramas,BUT how many of them have you BOTH seen the film/TV drama and read the original book, play or comic story?
 Here's your chance to list the ones you have
To join in the fun:

• Leave a COMMENT below to let us know what you think

• Sign up
 to the linky

• On Monday 1st- Wednesday 3rd August 
POST UP your list of novels, comics and plays that you have BOTH read and seen the film/ TV adaptations

• Then check out the other blog entries on the linkey between 1st - 3rd August and leave comment.

          Since I'm so bad remembering movies and books my list will be relatively small--I'm sure some readers will welcome that.  I'm breaking this down into my favorites, a disappointment, and one that I disliked.  I'll include a couple of notes about each, but no in depth reviews or anything like that.

Here's the list:

David Cronenberg's Crash (1996) based on the novel Crash by J.G. Ballard (1973) --I read an intriguing review of this book in a literary magazine when the book was first released.  I was in college at the time.  Though I looked for this book over the years, I was never able to find a copy.   When I saw that the movie version was being released I was blown away.  Saw it, loved it.  Then I finally found the book version in a rereleased compilation of  three J. G. Ballard works.   The book version lived up to the review and the film did the book justice.

Deliverance (1972) based on the James Dickey novel Deliverance (1970)  --- I saw the film first and then immediately found the book copy and relived the film.    The film was spot on in recreating the novel.  It didn't hurt that James Dickey also wrote the screenplay.  The author even has a small role in the film.

Irwin Allen's The Poseidon Adventure (1972) based on Paul Gallico's The Poseidon Adventure (1969)-- I liked this film so much that  a few years later when I ran across the book version I immediately purchased it.  I had read other books by Gallico and enjoyed his writing.  I thought the film did a pretty good job of capturing the essential adventure of the book although there were some changes.

No Country for Old Men (2007)  based on the Cormac McCarthy novel No Country for Old Men (2005) is one of the best book to film adaptations I've seen.  Watching the movie is like reading the book or vice versa.

Heart of Darkness (1902) is the Joseph Conrad novella upon which one of my favorite films, Apocalypse Now (1979) was based.  The film deviates a great deal from the source material, but stays relatively true to the spirit and theme of Conrad's story.  

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (1922) is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that inspired  the 2008 film of the same name.   I loved this short story and I really enjoyed the film even though the two of them are different in many ways.

disappointments:

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976) is a novel by Tom Robbins that I enjoyed immensely.  I was very excited to hear that a film was going to be made based on this book.  The film of the same name was released in 1993 and I was hugely disappointed because it was bad--it was really, really bad.   The best part was a soundtrack by k.d. lang.

Hated this one:

I really disliked Robert James Waller's  1992 best-selling novel Bridges of Madison County.  Clint Eastwood's flim version (1995) is very true to the book, therefore I really disliked this film as well.  I'm a fan of Clint Eastwood and see all of his films, but didn't like this film at all.  Then someone convinced me that I should read the book because it was very good.  They loaned it to me and it was a very quick read.  Still, between book and film I invested way too much time in this treacly trash.  

                 Are any of these your favorites?   Which ones do you think I got wrong?    Is anyone else looking forward to the upcoming film version of J.G. Ballard's Concrete Island?


              The blogfest goes for three days so you still have time to join in.   More information and the linky list can be found HERE.  


               Be sure to come back on Wednesday when my special guest will be Shannon Lawrence from The Warrior Muse. 




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Favourite Book Challenge Blogfest

         Okay, I said I wasn't going to do blogfests for a while and now here I am doing one.  This one is from Teralyn Rose Pilgrim's A Writer's Journey.  What can I say?  It's one of those list-your-favorites type things that I couldn't resist.   Here's the scoop:




June 20-22nd - Favourite Book Challenge Blogfest

1. Pick your top five favorite books
2. Between Jun 20 and 22, write one line of what each book is about and then write one line of why you liked it. Think of it like a twitter pitch for other people’s work. Semi-colons are cheating, but you can use them anyway.
3. Go to other blogs and discuss the books.
4. If you do not keep a blog, put your challenge in the comments on the day of the event.

        I'm not including anything like the Bible or a dictionary  or any reference books to which I frequently refer.   My choices will strictly be novels that have influenced me in a significant way.  There are other books that I might like better and probably some I didn't think of.   But these are big ones for me.  Here they are:

       1.   The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 
            "A boy and a runaway slave have adventures along the Mississippi River as they each seek their own interpretations of freedom."


              An often absurd story with great humor combined with some very true insights and touching moments.

             

   


    2.  The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

         "Young man goes to war, finds out war sucks, becomes cowardly, then becomes heroic."


          This short book has a simplicity of style with an eloquence of plot and character development--an epic of a young man's personal growth.

           3.  A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway


                "War is hell and can really screw up a relationship."


                 It's a depressing story that's easy to read and has some pretty cool scenes.

       4.  Intra Muros: My Dream of Heaven by Rebecca Ruter Springer


           "Woman on her deathbed visits heaven then lives to tell about it."


            Idyllic read that is reflective and comforting like a story my grandmother might tell.


            

       5.  The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy


                                            "Cowboys who don't seem to know there's a Mexican border struggle with the modern era."


          Somber and weighty stuff that captivated me and took me to another place and time.


           

And those are mine.

You can find the choices  from the other participants at The Writer's Journey.

          Which of my choices have you read?   What was your opinion of those choices that you read?

          On Wednesday I will present five favorite non-fiction books.

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