List #6: A Few Seasonally Inappropriate Options for the Northern Hemisphere

July was very, very hot here. Disgustingly hot. If you've been having the same problem, here are some things to cool you off. (Click on the Rec. # links for more info.)


1. Last Night at the Lobster (Rec. #8), book by Stewart O'Nan: It's late December and employees at a Connecticut Red Lobster are working their last shift.

2. A Midwinter's Tale (Rec. #11), movie: An out-of-work actor stages a holiday production of Hamlet in a small village.

3. Northern Exposure (Rec. #35 and Rec. #161), TV series: In Cicely, Alaska, reluctant town doctor Joel Fleischman rails against rampant eccentricity.

4. Paris to the Moon (Rec. #39), book by Adam Gopnik: Read about the Winter Circus, French Christmas trees, and the Palais Royal in December.

5. Moominvalley in November (Rec. #109), book by Tove Jansson: Mymble, Toft, Fillyjonk, Snufkin, and others settle down to wait for the return of the Moomin family.

6. Death of an Englishman (Rec. #144), book by Magdalen Nabb: Marshal Guarnaccia can't join his family in Sicily for the holidays because there's been a murder, and everyone in his police department has the flu. Including him.

7. The Trouble with Harry (Rec. #145), movie: Nothing screams "autumn" quite like this deadpan Hitchcock comedy.

8. Smilla's Sense of Snow (Rec. #150), book by Peter Hoeg: Copenhagen, snow, young boy's death, snow, amateur investigation, snow, conspiracy, snow, snow, snow.

Rec. #165: Trust

What: In Hal Hartley's film Trust, Adrienne Shelly is a pregnant high school dropout who accidentally caused her father's death. Martin Donovan is a perennial job-quitter-on-principle who always carries a grenade. Both of them have terrible parents. Really, really terrible parents. But at least now they also have each other, and dialogue so dry it sticks in your throat.

And, hey, look! It's a brunette Edie Falco playing Adrienne Shelly's sister.

Comparable to: This is squarely in the middle of the deadpan oddball genre, right alongside Harold and Maude and Cherish.

Representative quote:
"Not because you love me or anything like that?"
"I respect and admire you."
"Is that love?"
"No, that's respect and admiration."

You might not like it if: You get jumpy around grenades, and the way they sometimes go boom.

How to get it: Through this weekend, at least, it's available to watch instantly on Netflix. The disc itself can be quite tricky to find. So I guess what I'm saying is, you might want to watch it on Netflix this weekend. (Oh, and don't confuse this with the 2011 film starring Clive Owen. That was directed by David Schwimmer, not Hal Hartley.)

Connections to previous Wreckage: Spend time with more deadpan oddballs in Cherish (Rec. #29) and Harold and Maude (Rec. #45).

Rec. #164 (abbrev.): The Blue Flower

What: Penelope Fitzgerald, novel, set in late-eighteenth-century Germany, Friedrich von Hardenberg (later famous poet Novalis), age of Goethe, besotted with a dullard, romantic era, eccentric family, the nature of genius, political turmoil, funny, sad, clever clever clever.

Representative quote: "Here among the table-linen, I am disturbed by Fritz Hardenberg's young sister. This is the sort of thing I meant to avoid."

Rec. #163 (abbrev.): East Is East

What: Manchester, England, 1971, comedy/drama, semi-autobiographical, seven children (six boys and one girl---Kalinda from The Good Wife), cross-cultural tensions, Royal Tenenbaums aesthetic vibe, very traditional father, rebellions big and small

Representative quote: "We should have a whip-round and get Dad repatriated."

List #5: 13 Out-of-Print Books to Get from Your Library

Often, libraries really are your best bet for books that aren't in print anymore.


1. The Undertaker's Gone Bananas (Rec. #16), by Paul Zindel: An undertaker goes bananas and two teen misfits solve the mystery.

2. Summer Half (Rec. #40), by Angela Thirkell: Teachers, schoolmasters, students (and their relations) enjoy an English summer during the interwar period.

3. I Married a Dead Man (Rec. #47), by Cornell Woolrich: Young couple killed, desperate pregnant woman, stolen identity, blackmail, murder = classic noir.

4. The Moving Toyshop (Rec. #60), by Edmund Crispin: A poet's discovery of a dead body leads to a romp through Oxford.

5. When the Messenger Is Hot (Rec. #73), by Elizabeth Crane: Basically a collection of short, extra-chatty monologues.

6. Ascending Peculiarity (Rec. #80), by Edward Gorey: In this collection of interviews, Edward Gorey shares his thoughts on cats, French symbolist poetry, yard sales, George Balanchine, soap operas, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

7. Crewe Train (Rec. #84), by Rose Macaulay: Denham Dobie adjusts to the social whirl of 1920s London.

8. Night at the Vulcan (Rec. #102), by Ngaio Marsh: A Golden Age mystery novel set in a British theater.

9. Open to the Public (Rec. #107), by Muriel Spark: Spark has fun with some rather bloodthirsty stories.

10. Come Up and See Me Sometime (Rec. #122), by Erika Krouse: Thirteen stories tied together by Mae West quotes.

11. Magdalena the Sinner (Rec. #124), by Lilan Faschinger: A woman disguised as a nun kidnaps a priest and forces him to hear her confession.

12. Tex and Molly in the Afterlife (Rec. #142), by Richard Grant: A couple who fell down a well find themselves in an afterlife quest to stop a corporate doer of environmental evil. In the manner of Tom Robbins.

13. Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle (Rec. #159), by Ellen Gilchrist: An excellent collection of short stories.

Rec. #162: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

What: Douglas Adams is best known as the creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in all its wonderful incarnations, but that is not all he created! He also left us with a private detective named Dirk Gently, who approaches his cases from a belief in the "fundamental interconnectedness of all things."

Comparable to: Remember the husband-and-wife team of existential detectives in I Heart Huckabees? It's a little like that. Except Douglas Adams never got into a screaming match with Lily Tomlin, not even once. And Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency has more murder. And time travel. And joyous farce. And literary allusions. And the pivotal (dis)appearance of a cat. OK, maybe it's actually more like To Say Nothing of the Dog.

Representative quote: "Richard had run into Dirk from time to time and had usually been greeted with that kind of guarded half smile that wants to know if you think it owes you money before it blossoms into one that hopes you will lend it some."

You might not like it if: You get impatient waiting for the introduction of the eponymous detective agency (nearly halfway through the book).

How to get it: The book is in print, and Adams also wrote one and a half sequels: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul and The Salmon of Doubt (unfinished). I know that there is a new BBC4 adaptation of Dirk Gently, but I have not yet seen it.

Connections to previous Wreckage: I previously recommended two other works by Douglas Adams: The Salmon of Doubt (Rec. #4) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Rec. #42). In many ways, Dirk Gently is similar to Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog (Rec. #100). And I should also mention that in the BBC4 adaption mentioned above, Dirk Gently is played by Stephen Mangan, from Green Wing (Rec. #110).

Rec. #161 (abbrev.): Northern Exposure, season 2

What: It's Alaska, it's the '90s, it's a critically-adored dramedy --- indentured NYC doctor, various eccentrics, once-a-year kleptomania, doc dumped by fiancee, visiting Russians, love, unexplained nightmares, lots of parkas, American Indian spirit guide, lost voice, death by falling satellite.

Representative quote: "It's 'Love Is Pain' day on KBHR. Music to soothe the shattered heart. Dedicated to you, Dr. Joel."

Bonus representative quote: "Well, spring sprang. We've had our state of grace and our little gift of sanctioned madness, courtesy of Mother Nature. Thanks, Gaia. Much obliged."

[both from Chris Stevens, host of "Chris in the Morning" and voice of Cicely, Alaska]

Also: Northern Exposure, season one (Rec. #35)

And: Today, an Alaskan winter sounds just fantastic to me.

List #4: 7 Mysteries from Authors Who Are Still Alive

You know that great feeling of finishing a very satisfying book? And you immediately think, "Yes, please, I'd like more of that," so you read other things by the same author, and then before you know it, you've read everything by the author, and you know there won't be any more because the author is dead? Yeah, that happens to me a lot.

So! Here are some enjoyable mystery novels by living authors. There's still the danger you'll catch up with their output, but at least you can hope for more from them.


1. Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson (Rec. #3): Private investigator Jackson Brodie makes a strong debut.

2. The Reaper, by Peter Lovesey (Rec. #21): A parish priest is not all he should be --- and is quite unrepentant about it.

3. Dreaming of the Bones, by Deborah Crombie (Rec. #55): Police inspectors Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James get caught up in a complicated investigation that begins with a cold case.

4. One Good Turn, by Kate Atkinson (Rec. #69): Jackson Brodie returns in a kaleidoscopic story that starts with road rage and ends with a hitman.

5. The Face of a Stranger, by Anne Perry (Rec. #91): A police detective loses his memory in Victorian London.

6. The Good Children, by Kate Wilhelm (Rec. #111): Four children become sudden orphans and try to keep it a secret.

7. Smilla's Sense of Snow, by Peter Høeg (Rec. #150): A young boy falls to his death in Denmark.

Rec. #160: Heathers

What: Every so often, it's good to remember that Heathers exists. We hold these truths to be eternal: Audiences root for nerds and rebels. We always worry about kids today being "kids today." Winona Ryder is the best. Christian Slater is dedicated to being Nicholson-part-deux. Truly good dialogue retains its bite. Everyone loves the question "How dark is too dark?"

Comparable to: It's the original Mean Girls.

8 representative quotes (because I could not narrow it down any further):

"Greetings and salutations... you a Heather?"

"People will look at the ashes of Westerburg and say, 'Now there's a school that self-destructed, not because society didn't care, but because the school was society.' Now that's deep."

"What is your damage, Heather?"

"I like it. It's got that what-a-cruel-world-let's-toss-ourselves-in-the-abyss type ambiance."

"She's my best friend. God, I hate her."

"Our love is God, let's go get a Slushie."

"Dear Diary, my teen-angst bullshit now has a body count."

"How very."

You might not like it if: One of the potential developments of a sequel/television show/musical version actually comes to fruition and kills the original deader than a Heather.

How to get it: Oh, just buy it. It's not played on TV nearly as often as you might think.

Rec. #159 (abbrev.): Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle

What: Short fiction, Ellen Gilchrist, slices of lives at different stages, Nora Jane, the southern U.S., domestic routine disrupted by violence, Rhoda, wry tone, twins, Freddie, San Francisco, nuns, brothers, Traceleen, earthquakes, 1989.

Representative quote: "No, she would never die. She was not the type."

Bonus representative quote: "It was only fate, the I Ching assured him. A fateful flaw that would cause disaster and ruin, but not of his own doing and therefore nothing to worry about."

Also: Nora Jane --- A Life in Stories (Rec. #25).

List #3: 5 Things to Read Before the Book/Movie/Musical Comes Out

1. If you haven't already, fall in love with Hyperbole and a Half (Rec. #7) now, because yay! she's writing a book. It's currently scheduled to be released in the fall of 2012.

2. Case Histories (Rec. #3) and One Good Turn (Rec. #69) are technically already out in the U.K. as part of the new series Case Histories. But you still have time before the show hits the U.S.

3. Tales of the City (Rec. #67) is now a musical. I am surprised it took this long to happen.

4. Catch up on all the content on the Hark! A Vagrant website (Rec. #95) before Kate Beaton's book is published this fall.

5. Read Cloud Atlas (Rec. #140) now. The film adaptation is coming out next year and, as I mentioned in my original post, you don't want to be the only one without something to say about how they got it wrong.

Planning Ahead

Hello to readers new and old,

Later this summer, I'll be doing a special week of recommendation lists for specific people. Although I'll have particular individuals in mind when creating the lists (no personal information will be revealed, but I'll make sure you know if it's for you), I hope they will be interesting and/or useful to many people.

If you'd like to make sure you're one of the people with a personalized recommendation list, let me know, and I'll see what I can do!

Rec. #158 (abbrev.): Cold Comfort Farm

What: Film adaptation, comedic satire, gloomy farm, Kate Beckinsale, urban chic vs. rural angst, Joanna Lumley, England 1930s, film czar, Rufus Sewell, various Starkadders, religious maniac, one devoted Lawrencian, Ada Doom, and woodsheds.

Representative quote: "Nature's all very well in her place, but she mustn't be allowed to make things untidy."

Also: Based on the novel by Stella Gibbons (Rec. #34).

Rec. #157: Eucalyptus

What: Murray Bail's novel Eucalyptus functions as a sort of One Thousand and One Nights, with a frame story and dozens of smaller stories within it. The premise of the frame story deliberately follows certain archetypes: A man in New South Wales with a larger-than-life background plants every variety of eucalyptus tree on his remote plot of land and sets a seemingly impossible task --- the suitor who can name every one of the hundreds of varieties shall win the hand of his beautiful daughter. While the frame story's challenge proceeds, a stranger finds the daughter wandering among the trees and tells her tale after curious tale.

Comparable to: Shares some territory with Peter Carey's books. Has some Gabriel Garcia Marquez-esque magic realism vibes.

Representative quote: "For the last seventeen years they had only spoken to each other through their dog."

You might not like it if: You find the fable-like qualities more odd than magical.

How to get it: The best availability is probably online and at libraries.

List #2: The 5 Most-Viewed Recommendations (So Far)

Because I was curious, and you might be, too:

1. Kamikaze Girls (Rec. #52): A movie about an unlikely friendship, complete with Rococo aesthetics, frequent falling down, designer knockoffs, and a motorcycle gang. Of course.

2. Wonderfalls (Rec. #2): Bryan Fuller's television show about animal figurines talking to a slacker in Niagara Falls. It is pretty great.

3. Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (Rec. #112): Steve Coogan stars as the actor Steve Coogan, who is starring in a film adaption of an unfilmable novel. Yup.

4. Hark! A Vagrant (Rec. #95): It's the web comics of Kate Beaton! History, mystery-solving teens, dead authors, a fat pony --- there's something for everyone.

5. The Undertaker's Gone Bananas (Rec. #16): A 1970s young adult novel by misfit-loving author Paul Zindel.

Honorable mentions include: Hyperbole and a Half (Rec. #7), Paris to the Moon (Rec. #39), Parks and Recreation (Rec. #119), and Cloud Atlas (Rec. #140).


Thus far in 2011, I've recommended 96 books, 43 movies, 9 television shows, 3 websites, 2 miniseries, 2 performance films, and 1 musical act.

Rec. #156 (abbrev.): Black Plumes

What: Golden Age mystery novel, Margery Allingham sans Campion, art gallery, an unpleasant pipsqueak of a man, respected family firm, slashed painting, detective in supporting role, scandal, "aged and indomitable" head of the family, fake engagement, man back from the dead, body stuffed in a cupboard.

Representative quote: "The funeral itself was one of those unbelievable pieces of picturesque nightmare which sometimes slip into real life to remind one that there is nothing so painfully absurd that it cannot happen."

Also: Margery Allingham's Sweet Danger (Rec. #133).

List #1: 10 Movies You Can Watch Instantly on Netflix This Weekend

It's a long weekend in the U.S. Why not skip the icky, sticky, sweaty outdoors and stay in watching movies instead?

Here's a start:

1. Brick (Rec. #62): High school noir at its high school noir-iest.

2. Charade (Rec. #97): Audrey Hepburn runs around Paris with Cary Grant, chased by baddies.

3. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Rec. #90): Not technically a movie, but it'll do.

4. Family Plot (Rec. #120): Alfred Hitchcock's final film.

5. Happy Accidents (Rec. #59): Marisa Tomei wonders whether Vincent D'Onofrio is crazy.

6. Harold and Maude (Rec. #45): Maybe one of the best love stories ever, with a quirky, happy/morbid vibe and some great suicide gags.

7. The Hudsucker Proxy (Rec. #106): The Coen brothers do Frank Capra/Billy Wilder.

8. The Lady Eve (Rec. #129): Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in a Preston Sturges farce.

9. The Palm Beach Story (Rec. #17): Screwball comedy with Claudette Colbert, Joel McCrea, Mary Astor, and the Wienie King.

10. Party Girl (Rec. #141): Parker Posey as a club kid/library clerk.