Horrors

I'm going to be without internet for a few days, so that year-end post that I promised is going to be more like a "Wow, remember 2011?" post in January.

Happy New Year!

[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #60: The Moving Toyshop

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Late one night, a poet stumbles upon the dead body of an old woman in a toyshop (as you do). When he returns the next morning with the police, the toyshop has vanished and in its place is a grocery store. (NB: Contrary to all expectation, this is not down to drink.) Mix in Oxford don/amateur detective Gervase Fen, a mysterious will, villains on bicycles, and some Edward Lear limericks, and you have a veritable romp through Oxford. This classic crime novel is much beloved, and with good reason. The first time I read it, I think I actually heard my brain say, "Wheee!"

Comparable to: Edmund Crispin's Gervase Fen resembles Margery Allingham's Albert Campion more than he does Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Roderick Alleyn, or Lord Peter Wimsey.

Representative quote: "I repeat --- I am getting old and stale. I act with calculation. I take heed for the morrow. This morning I caught myself paying a bill as soon as it came in. This must all be stopped. In another age I should have devoured the living hearts of children to bring back my lost youth. As it is . . . I shall go to Oxford."

You might not like it if: You are just not a fan of the genre.

How to get it: Oh, mes amis, it is very sad --- The Moving Toyshop is currently out of print. This is library and used book territory.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Another author from the Golden Age of detective fiction is Ngaio Marsh. Her Death and the Dancing Footman was Rec. #37.

[Originally posted 2/28/11.]

Friday Flashback: Rec. #49: The Fall

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: In The Fall, Lee Pace is a stunt man recovering from a career-killing injury in 1920s Los Angeles. In the hospital, he spends his time doing two things: telling an epic revenge story to a young girl who's lost everything, and planning for his suicide. (The Fall also features personal fave Justine Waddell. Lee Pace is apparently very comfortable working with British brunettes.) The film is absolutely visually stunning, but without the strong plot, dialogue, and acting, it would just have been a series of gorgeous pictures. With them, it's a powerful, moving piece of cinema. With gorgeous pictures.

Comparable to: What was the last dizzying, lush, surreal adventure story you saw? It's like that.

Representative quote: "You always stop at the same part, when it's very beautiful. Interesting."

You might not like it if: You are tortured by the idea that you will probably never get to see this on the big screen. (Unless you did. If you did, don't tell me.)

How to get it: It's available to watch instantly on Netflix and available to buy on demand from Amazon. But, really, watch it on the biggest screen you can.

Connection to previous Wreckage: We love Lee Pace for several things. One of them is that he played Jaye's brother on Wonderfalls (Rec. #2).

[Originally posted 2/17/11. The Fall is not currently available to watch instantly on Netflix. But! I was recently reminded of a very informative interview the A.V. Club did with director Tarsem. Read it here.]

Gift Idea Roundup

A quick reminder in case you need a last-minute push.

Gift Idea #1: Blackout/All Clear

Gift Idea #2: Hark! A Vagrant

Gift Idea #3: The Chicago Manual of Style

Gift Idea #4: Penguin Classics designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

Gift Idea #5: Parks and Recreation

Friday Flashback: Rec. #46: The Bowl Is Already Broken

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: The Bowl Is Already Broken is mostly set in the fictional Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. When the novel opens, one of the curators has just dropped an irreplaceable porcelain bowl, once owned by Thomas Jefferson, down the museum's grand staircase. Another curator is embezzling funds, the previous director is on an archaeological dig in the Taklamakan Desert, and the museum is under constant threat of closure. It all makes for a thoroughly satisfying story.

Comparable to: Author Mary Kay Zuravleff's style is similar to that of Mark Haddon. And the main character, Promise Whittaker, reminds me of Antonia (Tony) Fremont from Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride.

Representative quote: "Really, he did not seem suited for retirement, for he was always waking up thinking himself dead."

You might not like it if: Some people don't want to know what happens in the kitchen of a restaurant, others don't want to know what happens backstage at a theater, and you don't want to know what happens behind the scenes at a museum.

How to get it: Probably at your library, maybe at your bookstore --- just remember you'll have to go all the way to the end of the "Z"s.

Connection to previous Wreckage: I compared the writing style to that of Mark Haddon. Haddon's A Spot of Bother was Rec. #27.


[Originally posted 2/14/11.]

Additional connections to now-previous Wreckage: Mary Kay Zuravleff's debut novel was The Frequency of Souls (Rec. #174). I also make a comparison to The Robber Bride, which was Rec. #105.

Don't Miss Me Too Much

The (almost) Daily Wreck is going on hiatus for a couple of several weeks. But!

• I will still be posting Flashback Fridays.
• I will try to break the hiatus once or twice for new posts, if I can.
• I will have a year-end mega list at the end of the year. (Marvelous timing for that, yes?)

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the festivities of the season!

[Image taken from the "1,000 Frames of Hitchcock" section of the Alfred Hitchcock Wiki. It is fantastic; do check it out.]

Gift Idea #5: Parks and Recreation

What: While we wait for the holidays to finish themselves off (and for the reruns and cheesy movies to end), we can at least enjoy watching already-aired episodes of Parks and Recreation over and over and over again. This is a show that rewards multiple viewings, so take advantage of all of the sales going on all over the place to give someone seasons 1 (good), 2 (better), and/or 3 (best) on DVD.

Who to give it to: Someone who has this sense of humor, but just hasn't gotten around to watching the show yet. (Committed fans likely already own at least one season, and non-fans will probably be turned off if you gift this with the sort of zeal more often associated with fans of Community.)

Gifting tip: Pair a DVD set with a copy of Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America, written by Leslie Knope. And throw in a Knope 2012 button or shirt for good measure. Also, these iPhone cases are pretty cool.

Also: I considered including Parks and Recreation on my list of Things That Are Good for Wallowing (part 1, part 2). I've found, however, that the show always, always improves my mood, and one of the foundations of wallowing is that you do not want to be put in a better mood.

Rec. #217 (abbrev.): The Loved One

What: Satire from Evelyn Waugh, funeral business in Los Angeles, pet cemetery, British enclave in Hollywood, housemates, rebranding actresses, suicide, secretaries, Whispering Glades, cosmetician, Joyboy, senior mortician, Tennyson, Poe, Shelley, advice columns, Guru Brahmin, wooing, parrot, Mr. Slump, embalming chemicals, non-sectarian funeral pastor, Happier Hunting Ground

Representative quote: "They are a very decent, generous lot of people out here and they don't expect you to listen. Always remember that, dear boy. It's the secret of social ease in this country. They talk entirely for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is designed to be heard."

Friday Flashback: Rec. #35: Northern Exposure, season 1

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Remember when TV dramedy was in its heyday, Alaska meant quirky misfits, and John Corbett was Aidan Chris Stevens? It is definitely worth it to revisit Cicely, Alaska. The first season is only eight episodes, but it sets up much of what plays out in the rest of the series: Dr. Joel Fleischman reluctantly relocates to rural Alaska, Maggie reveals the curse that befalls her boyfriends, Chris Stevens meets Bernard, Holling and Shelly almost get married, Ed works on his movie script, and Maurice looks for a son to adopt. No one claims to be able to see Russia or to read all the magazines.

Representative quote: "It's the same with white people. They cleared the forest, they dug up the land, and they gave us the flu. But they also brought power tools and penicillin and Ben and Jerry's ice cream."

Also, lots and lots and lots of stuff that Chris Stevens says. Dude talks a ton.

You might not like it if: As someone who's lived exclusively in places with very cold winters, I yell, "Zip up your coat!" at the TV a lot. If you watched this with me, that would probably annoy you.

How to get it: You'll most likely find it in a set with season 2. Enjoy!

[Originally posted 2/3/11.]

[See also: Northern Exposure, season 2, Rec. #161]

Gift Idea #4: Penguin Classics designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

One of my good friends suggested I make some end-of-the-year gift recommendations. OK, thanks, I will! Previously: Gift Idea #1, Gift Idea #2, and Gift Idea #3.

What: Look at these clothbound hardcovers! They are gorgeous. Penguin has presented us with approximately 30 Coralie Bickford-Smith editions of many delightful books, including The Woman in White, Pride and Prejudice, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Tales of the Jazz Age, Oliver Twist, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Middlemarch. And even more are coming in April . . .

Who to give it to: Readers! Or design nerds who want to look like readers. Or people who aren't readers yet, but might be tempted by the pretty colors.

Gifting tip: Sure, yes, you can easily get these from Amazon. If you wanted to splurge, you could even get a boxed set! But, really, isn't this a prime opportunity to throw some cash to your local independent bookshop?

Rec. #216 (abbrev.): The Cabal and Other Stories

What: Ellen Gilchrist, short stories and one novella, town psychiatrist, cousins in exile in San Francisco, thirty-six gold Krugerrands, rugby player, cross-country pilgrimage, Dakota in Kansas City, letters in a safe deposit box, Miss Crystal cleans up, one for Darwin, the surcease of biscuits

Representative quote: "This is the story of a group of people who had a bizarre and unexpected thing happen to them. Their psychiatrist went crazy and started injecting himself with drugs."

Connections to previous Wreckage: I mentioned The Cabal and Other Stories during Personal Wreck Week (List #5). Other Gilchrist collections include Nora Jane: A Life in Stories (Rec. #25) and Light Can Be Both Wave and Particle (Rec. #159).

Gift Idea #3: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition

One of my good friends suggested I make some end-of-the-year gift recommendations. OK, thanks, I will! Previously: Gift Idea #1 and Gift Idea #2

What: When you give someone The Chicago Manual of Style, you give them the answers to the universe! What's the difference between "toward" and "towards"? When should you hyphenate an adverb? Why do people quietly mock you when you put two spaces after a period? This book knows!

Who to give it to: Grammar geeks or people who would like to become grammar geeks. Or, I suppose, people who want to be thought of as grammar geeks, even if they aren't. Also, people who like the robin egg blue cover of the latest edition.

Gifting tip: You could also purchase an online subscription to the website, which gives the user access to (and searching ability within) both the 15th and 16th editions. The website also features additional subscription-free content, such as the delightful "Chicago Q & A." The voice behind this editorial advice column, Carol Fisher Saller, also has a blog and a book (The Subversive Copy Editor).


Finally, a word of caution. Please tell the recipient of this gift that with great power comes great responsibility, and that the public at large generally does not appreciate uninvited attempts to correct its grammar.

Rec. #215: The Last of Sheila

What: Stephen Sondheim (yes, the composer/lyricist) and Anthony Perkins (yes, from Psycho) co-wrote this 1973 mystery film. In The Last of Sheila, a successful movie producer invites several people aboard his yacht for a one-week cruise that is actually an epic "Sheila Greene Memorial Gossip Game." The unpredictable host's game involves disguises, puzzles, secrets, and nightly scavenger hunts. As anyone who has ever read a mystery novel knows, parlor games inevitably lead to murder, and this game is no exception.

Comparable to: It's a classic Christie set-up with a '70s Hitchcock vibe and a sharp, jabbing streak of cruelty. It's also kind of like Deathtrap.

Representative quote: "Just enough time to get dressed as a Catamite, if I knew what it was."

You might not like it if: The borderline-campy tone means that the genuinely unsettling parts take you by surprise. And you don't appreciate being taken by surprise.

How to get it: Watch it instantly on Amazon, or rent it, or buy it.

Connection to previous Wreckage: James Coburn plays the multimillionaire/movie producer/yacht owner/game master. Coburn's threatening drawl is also a key feature in the Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant film Charade (Rec. #97). Also, when I refer to "a '70s Hitchcock vibe," I basically mean Family Plot (Rec. #120).

Two additional fun facts:

• The cast also includes Dyan Cannon, James Mason, Ian McShane, and Raquel Welch.
• The plot was inspired by the elaborate scavenger hunts Sondheim and Perkins used to arrange for their friends. (No one was ever murdered during these real-life scavenger hunts. As far as I know.)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #34: Cold Comfort Farm

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: I am currently snowbound, basically trapped in my apartment post-snowpocalypse. You know what would be worse? Being trapped on a farm with a religious maniac, an oversexed farm hand, a maudlin would-be sprite, and a ghoulish obsessive. Also someone named Urk. Such is the situation of Flora Poste for much of Stella Gibbon's comic novel. Somehow, though, our very modern heroine manages to tidy it all up with firm, calm, undeterred practicality.

Comparable to: It's a little like Mary Poppins walked into a D.H. Lawrence or Thomas Hardy novel and started telling everyone to pull themselves together, for goodness' sake.

Representative quote: "True, in Cheltenham and in Bloomsbury gentlemen did not say in so many words that they ate women in self-defense, but there was no doubt that that was what they meant."

You might not like it if: The whole thing just sounds kind of annoying to you.

How to get it: Penguin has all kinds of editions out there, including one for your Kindle. Oh, yes, there's a movie, too. It is not at all disappointing! You could even watch it first, so you can picture Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Ian McKellen, Eileen Atkins, Stephen Fry, Rufus Sewell, and the rest in the appropriate roles.

Connection to previous Wreckage: In Rec. #31: Don't Point That Thing at Me, I mentioned a sequel titled Something Nasty in the Woodshed. That phrase comes from, and is repeated often in, Cold Comfort Farm.


[Originally posted 2/2/11.]

Gift Idea #2: Hark! A Vagrant

One of my good friends suggested I make some end-of-the-year gift recommendations. OK, thanks, I will!

What: One jaunty little phrase, so much good stuff. There's Kate Beaton's new book, of course. But so much more! You could, for example, go to her website (also Hark! A Vagrant), find a comic that your recipient will like, and purchase a print of that comic. At Beaton's TopatoCo store, you can get other merchandise as well, including t-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies.

Who to give it to: Everyone loves Kate Beaton; that's not even up for debate.

Gifting tip: For extra gift-giving points, try some variation of a book/print/mug/shirt combo.

Example 1
A print of this comic
With this shirt
And this mug

Example 2
A copy of the new book
With this onesie
And a print of this comic

Example 3
Both of Beaton's books
Plus this shirt

You get the idea. (But let me know if you want more examples. I originally had about 10 combos, but decided that might be overkill for this post.)

Connections to previous Wreckage: Read about the Hark! A Vagrant website (Rec. #95) and the new book (Rec. #186).

Rec. #214: The Center of Things

What: As I've previously mentioned, author Jenny McPhee has a knack for delightful and unexpected combinations of themes and topics. In the already-recommended No Ordinary Matter, the combination is soap operas + musicals + private detection + neurology. In her debut novel, The Center of Things, it is tabloid journalism + physics + noir film history + obituaries.

Representative quote: McPhee peppers the book with sly quotes from the nonexistent films of a fictional starlet. A sample:

"I'm so in love with you I wish you were dead." Nora Mars, The Downstairs Room, 1966
"Try everything once, then live to regret it." Nora Mars, Dark Blue, 1965
"Reality is something you rise above." Nora Mars, The Labyrinth, 1973

You might not like it if: You get bogged down by the quantity of quantum mechanics.

How to get it: Library or used book seller.

Connection to previous Wreckage: I mentioned The Center of Things during Personal Wreck Week (List #2). McPhee's second novel is No Ordinary Matter (Rec. #9).

Gift Idea #1: Blackout/All Clear

One of my good friends suggested I make some end-of-the-year gift recommendations. OK, thanks, I will!

What: Blackout/All Clear is a gorgeous, award-winning, solid two-volume novel by Connie Willis that returns us to her world of time-traveling historians. I fell in love with this World War II story as soon as characters from The Importance of Being Earnest started blowing up tanks. I stayed in love with it until the end, even though it often made me so anxious I felt like vomiting.

Who to give it to: Connie Willis fans will be so happy to encounter Badri, Colin, and Mr. Dunworthy again. And WWII buffs will certainly have a good soak in the vivid period detail. Beyond that, you are probably the best judge about who among your acquaintance would most appreciate an intricate, clever, harrowing puzzle that is 1,100+ pages long.

Gifting tip: You know what would make you the best gift giver ever? If you made a little timeline for the recipient to scribble on while reading. Something with bimonthly intervals marked from December 1939 to June 1945. I cannot recommend this course of action highly enough for any reader of Blackout/All Clear.

Connections to previous Wreckage: You could also give Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog (Rec. #100) to anyone who hasn't read it yet.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #56: A New Leaf

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: In 1971's A New Leaf, Walter Matthau is Henry Graham, a supremely selfish man who's run through his family's entire fortune and finds himself completely broke. Of course, the obvious solution is to marry an heiress and then get rid of her. Unfortunately for Henry, the heiress he finds is Henrietta Lowell, a botanist whose complete lack of life skills eclipses even Henry's own. Henrietta is played by the genius Elaine May, who also wrote and directed.

Representative quote: "Excuse me, you're not by any chance related to the Boston Hitlers?"

Bonus representative quote: "Who do I know who's pregnant and a good sport?"

Bonus bonus representative quote: "He was an industrialist or a composer. Something like that."

You might not like it if: You don't like your comedies quite so dark.

How to get it: I wish you luck! It's not on DVD. (This is one reason I can't get rid of my VCR just yet.) If you do manage to will it into existence, please send me a copy. Thanks.

[Originally posted 2/24/11.]

[Update: It's still tricky to find, and I'm still intermittently desperate to own it. YouTube can only do so much. Please write to your congressional representative.]

List #13: 5 British Miniseries to Watch Instantly on Netflix

Here in the U.S., it is Thanksgiving. One thing I am very thankful for right now is the selection of BBC miniseries literary adaptations that are available to watch instantly on Netflix over the long weekend. If you have a few days off, there are worse ways to spend your time.

My top five picks within the BBC-miniseries-literary-adaptations-Netflix-instant-viewing parameters:

1. Bleak House (Dickens) (2005): A powerhouse cast strides purposefully through this surprisingly suspenseful story about the remorseless machine that is the Court of Chancery. Plus lots of people die!

2. The Buccaneers (Wharton) (1995): The soapiest option here concerns four American heiresses who travel to England to find husbands. The resulting marriages are mainly ill-fated. Plus lots of people die!

3. North & South (Gaskell) (2004): This is about the industrial North and the pastoral South in England. Nothing to do with the U.S. Civil War. (Lots and lots and lots of people die, but not in battle.) Now please excuse me, I come over a bit faint around Richard Armitage.

4. The Way We Live Now (Trollope) (2001): It's all about money and swindles and guys basically being pricks and some very shady financial dealings. The way we live now, indeed! (A fair number of people die, but, frankly, not as many as one might expect.)

5. Wives and Daughters (Gaskell) (1999): This is the most domestic, least political selection. Tortuous family dynamics lead to many, many secrets and much, much subterfuge. Oh, and lots of people die.


Connections to previous Wreckage: Elizabeth Gaskell's novel Mary Barton (Rec. #57) hasn't been adapted since the 1960s. It is time, BBC! Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend (Rec. #88) has a very good 1998 BBC adaptation, but it's not available instantly on Netflix right now.

I previously mentioned the adaptation of Wives and Daughters during Personal Wreck Week (List #3).

General warning: Be careful when choosing literary adaptations on Netflix! The DVD cover art on the site is not always for the right version. Proceed with caution.

Rec. #213 (abbrev.): The Partly Cloudy Patriot

What: Sarah Vowell, essays, Thanksgiving, presidential libraries, walking tours in Paris, teen cinéaste, Al Gore at Concord High, Pop-a-Shot, maps of California, voting, road trip to inauguration, nerds vs. jocks, Buffy, Rosa Parks analogies, Sports Night shout-out, "Tom Cruise Makes Me Nervous," guidebooks, twins, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, citizenship as argument not sing-along, asthmatic hopes

Representative quote: "I guess Gettysburg is a pilgrimage. And, like all pilgrims, I'm a mess. You don't cross state lines to attend the 137th anniversary of anything unless something's missing in your life."

Also: Take the Cannoli (Rec. #32)

Rec. #212: Ultraviolet (UK TV serial)

What: First, we need to clarify several things.

1. This does not have any connection whatsoever to the Milla Jovovich movie.
2. I mean, look at the DVD cover! They are very serious and British and are wearing so many clothes!
3. But, er, it is about vampires, actually.
4. But the word "vampire" is never, ever used. They are Code 5s, and they are rarely seen.
5. I know, yes, lots of vampire stuff around these days!
6. But this is from 1998, so ha.
7. And the focus is heavily on scientific methods and police investigation.
8. And each episode name is in Latin. Classy!
9. Also, no thinly veiled antiabortion rhetoric here.
10. Oooh, and there is Jack Davenport! We adore Jack Davenport.
11. And! You get to see Jane Bennet (Susannah Harker) and Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) work together!
12. Plus, someone from True Blood played a vampire here first.

Comparable to: It is kind of X-Files-ish. But British.

Representative quote: "Our free range days are over."

You might not like it if: You cannot stand one more vampire thing, ever, not even for Stringer Bell.

How to get it: You can watch it on IMDb and Hulu.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #2: Wonderfalls, season 1 and only

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Wonderfalls is 13 episodes of snarky quirk about Jaye Tyler, an overeducated, under-motivated store clerk who starts hearing voices after getting conked on the head. Animal figures (a smoosh-faced wax lion, a plastic flamingo, and a stuffed donkey, among others) begin giving her cryptic instructions. Somehow, writer/creator Bryan Fuller manages to make the talking animals neither cutesy nor creepy, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Caroline Dhavernas does a bang-up job as the sulky, sarcastic Jaye, using a heavily-nuanced lip curl to great effect.

Comparable to: Other television shows by Bryan Fuller. He takes the young-slacker-put-to-the-test idea from Dead Like Me and combines it with the candy-colored coating that ratchets up exponentially in his later series, Pushing Daisies.

Representative quote:
"Is this fun for you? Torturing a wayward nun?"
"Oh, yeah. This is a laugh-riot. There is where I would most like to be --- standing in the freezing cold being called a liar by a nun and coerced by a wax lion to commit crime. It's so much fun!"

You might not like it if: You are soooo not a fan of magic realism.

How to watch it: Buy it or Netflix it. You should probably buy it. It's only one season, after all. Plus, Fuller knew the series would be canceled, so you get closure at the end, something you can't always count on with an imperiled series (ahem, Pushing Daisies).

[Originally posted 1/1/11.]

List #12: Things That Are Good for Wallowing --- Part 2

[Start with Part 1 here.]

Still wallowing? Yes?

"Yes" is the correct answer. Here's more stuff for wallowing:

6. The Trouble with Harry (Rec. #145): Let Hitchcock soothe you with a nice, inconvenient dead body. Plus some beautiful autumnal cinematography.

7. Here Beneath Low-Flying Planes, Merrill Feitell (Rec. #151): These stories are quite short, which is nice, and they are neither too chirpy nor too gloomy, which is nicer.

8. Trust (Rec. #165): Hal Hartley practically does all of the wallowing for you. All you have to do is sit there and enjoy. You might have to smile wryly from time to time.

9. The Half, Simon Annand (Rec. #178): It's so easy to get lost in these gorgeous, eccentric, fascinating black and white photos. Spend ages flipping dreamily through the collection and then practice your Dramatic Wallowing face in the mirror.

10. Metropolitan Life, Fran Lebowitz (Rec. #188): You think you're bitter and out of sorts? Fran Lebowitz will show you bitter and out of sorts . . . with a jaded, world-weary smirk.

List #12: Things That Are Good for Wallowing --- Part 1

It is a tough time of the year! Everyone everywhere is stressed and bitter and kind of depressed. This is 100% true --- I have it on very good (anecdotal) authority.

Really, all anyone wants to do right now is wallow. So here are some things that are good for wallowing. More to come.

1. Don't Point That Thing at Me, Kyril Bonfiglioli (Rec. #31): Channel that bitter, slightly violent streak you have been nurturing lately.

2. Northern Exposure, seasons 1 and 2 (Rec. #35 and Rec. #161): It is TV, which is restful, but it is fairly smart TV, so you don't have to feel guilty.

3. The Princess and the Warrior (Rec. #71): If you don't speak German, you can always tune out the subtitles and just enjoy the pretty pictures. Even if you do choose to pay attention, you won't have to work too hard. The pace is generally brisk, but the plot is not complex.

4. The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup, Susan Orlean (Rec. #126): Are you sick of your own life? Here, have a look at some others.

5. Bad Machinery, John Allison (Rec. #138): It is a comic on the internet. You are practically reading it right now already.


[Continue with Part 2 here.]

Rec. #211 (abbrev.): More Tales of the City

What: More San Francisco adventures from Armistead Maupin, amnesia, chanting, binoculars, Babycakes, hit man, long-lost family members, roses, charming young gynecologists, Mouse, cruising on a cruise, ascending paralysis, tiny punks, Quaaludes, whorehouses in the desert, the eleventh floor, eccentric old bachelors, Birdsong, twins, cults, joints, nun's habit, anagrams, 28 Barbary Lane

Representative quote: "What's any of this got to do with transubstantiation?"

Also: The original Tales was Rec. #67, and I recommended the book/miniseries combo during Personal Wreck Week (List #2).

Rec. #210: The Mermaids Singing

What: Val McDermid's award-winning novel marks the beginning of the partnership between forensic psychologist Dr. Tony Hill and DI Carol Jordan that has thus far spawned seven books and a British television series. McDermid's prodigious literary talent elevates this above the quotidian police procedural that one might expect, while her complete lack of squeamishness means that descriptions of the book contain phrases like "sadistic, twisted yet intriguingly ingenious" and "graphic, psychologically terrifying."

Comparable to: Frankly, I am shocked (shocked!) that Showtime does not appear to be adapting this into a new series even as we speak (er, type/read). It fits perfectly with the channel's current aesthetic, without any need for the terrible, terrible, terrible Dexter voiceovers. (Sorry, Dexter fans! But those voiceovers are pretty terrible.)

Representative quote: "On the other side of the city, John Brandon stooped over the washbasin and stared glumly into the bathroom mirror. Not even the shaving soap covering his face like a Santa Claus beard could give him an air of benevolence."

You might not like it if: You have a weak stomach, but you read the more graphic parts anyway. I am not ashamed to admit I just skipped over some passages. Torture scenes? What torture scenes?

How to get it: The book is easily available (and Kindle-able). The television adaptation is called Wire in the Blood, which is the title of the second book in the series. Don't get confused and read that first.

(Incidentally, the television show is amazingly well cast --- Robson Green ftw! --- but later seasons do diverge very sharply from the books.)

Friday Flashback: Rec. #27: A Spot of Bother

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: A Spot of Bother is Mark Haddon's follow-up novel to the hugely successful The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Haddon broadens his scope to examine the inner workings of an entire family. We meet:
George, who is having a very polite mental breakdown;
Jean, who is quite enjoying her affair, thank you;
Katie, who is getting remarried;
Ray, the fiance whom nobody likes;
and Jamie, who neglects to invite his boyfriend to the wedding.

The result is quietly and consistently hilarious.

Representative quote: "The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely."

Bonus representative quote: "How did Ray do it? One moment he was dominating a room the way a lorry would. Next minute he was down a hole and asking you for help. Why couldn't he suffer in a way they could all enjoy from a safe distance?"

You might not like it if: These people are quiet and British, and that annoys you.

How to get it: Pretty easy to find, and --- bonus! --- most editions have excellent cover art. Also, the French made a film (Une Petite Zone de Turbulences) based on the book, so you can give that a try.

[Originally posted 1/26/11.]

Rec. #209 (abbrev.): Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring

What: French historical (melo)drama, two films, rural Provence, post-WWI, water, mountains, hunchback, property, water, inheritance, neighbors, water, carnations, poacher, water, altercations, rabbit breeding, water, schemes, elusive springs, eyewitness, dynamite, water, trickery, revenge

Representative quote (Jean de Florette): "What kind of man is he?" "He's a typical city-hunchback type."

Representative quote (Manon of the Spring): "Destiny doesn't exist. Only good-for-nothings talk about destiny."

Rec. #208 (abbrev.): Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)

What: Novel by Jerome K. Jerome (yes), self-diagnosis of overwork, boating holiday, misadventures, River Thames, barometers, mustard, Waterloo Station, bribes, fishing, pubs, bagpipes, camping, plaster of paris trout, food hamper, inns, the contrariness of teakettles, J., Harris, George, to say nothing of Montmorency

Meet J. (the narrator): "It is not that I object to the work, mind you; I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours."

Meet Harris: "That's Harris all over - so ready to take the burden of everything himself, and put it on the backs of other people."

Meet George: "George suggested walking back to Henley and assaulting a policeman, and so getting a night's lodging in the station-house."

Meet Montmorency: "Fox terriers are born with about four times as much original sin in them as other dogs are."

Also: Previously mentioned during Personal Wreck Week (List #2).

And: Don't forget To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (Rec. #100).

Rec. #207 (abbrev.): Amphigorey

What: Edward Gorey collection, The Unstrung Harp, The Listing Attic, The Doubtful Guest, The Object-Lesson, The Bug Book, The Fatal Lozenge, The Hapless Child, The Curious Sofa, The Willowdale Handcar, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God, The West Wing, The Wuggly Ump, The Sinking Spell, The Remembered Visit

Representative quote: "It was already Thursday, but his lordship's artificial limb could not be found; therefore, having directed the servants to fill the baths, he seized the tongs and set out at once for the edge of the lake, where the Throbblefoot Spectre still loitered in a distraught manner." --- first lines of The Object-Lesson

Also: Ascending Peculiarity (Rec. #80)

Rec. #206: Get Away From Me

What: Singer Nellie McKay's 2004 debut album is a double-disc set because when you're a precocious genius you can do things like that. Also, it takes that much space to allow for McKay's full scope of self-penned chamber pop, jazz, reggae, cabaret, hip-hop, and torch songs.

Comparable to: Every drooling review of Get Away from Me got a lot of mileage out of gleefully comparing McKay to such disparate musicians as Rufus Wainwright, Ethel Merman, Van Dyke Parks, Ani DiFranco, Randy Newman, Missy Elliot, Bob Dylan, Peggy Lee, Eminem, Julie London, Flight of the Conchords, and Doris Day. 

Representative lyrics:

When it says goodbye

You don't hear it sigh

Does that it mean
That it's gone far far away
Is this your day to
Buy a paper
Draw a mustache
Make the mayor a giraffe
Try and tempt fate
Get pneumonia
Recuperate with soy bologna

You might not like it if: If you don't like it, don't tell me. I don't want to know.

Friday Flashback: Rec. #12: The Tournament

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: Illustrious figures from the 20th century participate in an epic tennis tournament. This book gives the play-by-play, both on court and off, in a long string of inside jokes. The more you know about the participants, the funnier the book is. A few of the "players": Monet, Twain, Chaplin, Earhart, Benchley, Garbo, and Arendt.

Comparable to: Even though its subtitle is "A Novel of the 20th Century," Clarke's book is really more of a novelty collection, along the lines of Schott's Miscellany or John Hodgman's The Areas of My Expertise.

Representative quote: "Nijinsky continues to look fabulous, although after the match he described himself as 'The Supreme Being' and offered to describe how he created the world. Friends say this is not a good sign."

You might not like it if: It seems too gimmicky for you.

How to get it: Buy it or borrow it. I saw a copy in a used bookstore just this past weekend.

Connection to previous Wreckage: In the book, Alfred Hitchcock makes an appearance on Day 2 and is described as "the slightly eerie Fred Hitchcock." He first appeared on this blog in "Rec. #5: Rope." I did not use the word "eerie" in my post.

[Originally posted 1/11/11.]

Rec. #205: How to Steal a Million

What: How to Steal a Million is my very, very favorite Audrey Hepburn film. Before you get all outraged on behalf of Roman Holiday or Breakfast at Tiffany's, hear me out. In this caper, Hepburn gets a chance to show off her underrated comedic timing as a woman protecting her father, an art collector-cum-forger. "Society burglar" Peter O'Toole is her reluctant accomplice, and the two rub against each other delightfully, with much sparky dialogue (see below).

Comparable to: It's directed by William Wyler, who had previously worked with Hepburn on The Children's Hour and, yes, Roman Holiday. He also directed The Best Years of Our Lives, Ben-Hur, and Funny Girl. Dude got around.

Representative quote: "Okay. You're the boss. Just do as I tell you."

Bonus representative quote: "I want you to take a long look at the trees, the blue sky, and the river, all of which I personally loathe, which is why a juicy stretch in a French prison doesn't bother me at all."

Bonus representative dialogue: "There's the bathroom; take off your clothes." "Are we planning the same sort of crime?"

You might not like it if: Your eyes burn from the dazzle of Hepburn's ridiculous Givenchy wardrobe. Or you don't like witty, urbane heist comedies from the mid-'60s. Or you have an irrational dislike of boomerangs, which play a pivotal role here.

How to get it: Watch it instantly on Amazon or rent it or borrow it. But if you borrow my copy, be forewarned that the loan period for this one is very short.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Get more Audrey with Wait Until Dark (Rec. #26) and Charade (Rec. #97).

Rec. #204 (abbrev.): Uncle Dynamite

What: P.G. Wodehouse novel, the idle rich, 1948, articulate farce, England, financing a manor house, Earl of Ickenham, delicate domestic situations, Pongo, housemaids, impostors, baby-judging contests, Mugsy, constables, going incognito, Uncle Fred, nocturnal marauders, tea

Representative quote: "Bill, who had been staring dully at the beetle, transferred his gaze to his companion. It was a wide-eyed, gaping gaze, speaking eloquently of a mind imperfectly adjusted to the intellectual pressure of the conversation."

Also: Cocktail Time (Rec. #24), Jill the Reckless (Rec. #136), Much Obliged, Jeeves (Rec. #153)

Rec. #203 (abbrev.): The Blind Assassin

What: Tour de force novel from Margaret Atwood, multiple-award-winning, 20th-century spanning, sisters, roman à clef, button factories, pulp science fiction, wealthy industrialist, adultery, newspaper articles, suicide, Canadian history, bridges, dingy backstreet rooms, socialist agitator, dead husband on a sailboat, World War II, self-delusion, potboiler, story within a story within a story

Representative quote: "Herbivores flee before them, scavengers follow, wolves lope alongside."

Also: The Robber Bride (Rec. #105) and The Penelopiad (Personal Wreck Week, List #3)

Rec. #202: The Riches, season 1

What: In the short-lived TV series The Riches, a family of Irish-Traveller grifters con their way into a place in the affluent suburbs. After witnessing a car accident that leaves a wealthy couple dead, parents Wayne and Dahlia Malloy (Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver) decide to assume their identities. They and their three kids start a new life in a Baton Rouge gated community. But the past catches up with them. Of course.

Comparable to: The kinds of shows you expect to see on cable channels that cost more.

Representative quote: "The American dream. We're gonna steal her."

You might not like it if: You expect too much from season 2. It has its moments, but it doesn't really go anywhere.

How to get it: Available to watch instantly on Netflix and Amazon, if you're into that sort of thing.

Connection to previous Wreckage: He's a Serious Actor here, but you might know Eddie Izzard from his fanatically adored stand-up shows, including Dress to Kill (Rec. #152).

Rec. #200 and Rec. #201: Brat Farrar and The Ivy Tree

What: Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar and Mary Stewart's The Ivy Tree are two glorious examples of mid-century suspense. Each novel centers on a fiendishly clever scheme to impersonate a missing heir. But as Brat Farrar becomes Patrick Ashby and Mary Grey becomes Annabel Winslow, the plans start to twist themselves inside out.

Representative quote, Brat Farrar: "But then he had never been interested in other people's concerns: their sins, their griefs, or their happiness. And anyhow, you couldn't be righteous with a man whose food you were eating."

Representative quote, The Ivy Tree: "There has to be luck, certainly, and there has to be careful planning. But it's like murder, isn't it? You only know about the ones that are found out. Nobody ever hears about the ones that get away with it."

You might not like them if: You're not willing to be won over by some charming, gutsy impostors.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Tey also delved into psychological suspense in Miss Pym Disposes (Rec. #75). I previously mentioned The Ivy Tree during Personal Wreck Week (List #1).

Brief Interlude

We are well within pinching distance of Rec. #200! I hope very much to do at least another 200 and, in aid of that, I have a small favor to ask.

When you have a spare moment during the next few days, please let me know if you've enjoyed any posts in particular --- whether it was the actual thing being recommended or how the recommendation was presented. (You don't have to include any "why" if you don't want to. And you can comment anonymously! That's fine!) This will be a tremendous help in planning future wrecks.

Perhaps you'd like a refresher of some of the older posts? If so, here is a list of the first 100.

Cheers!


(P.S. Yes, you're right, that is a picture of Stephen Fry skipping. Because what says "brief interlude" better than that?)

Rec. #199 (abbrev.): Dressing Up for the Carnival

What: Carol Shields, collection of short stories, day in the life, meteorologists, narrative theory, mirrors, hotel room, biographer, steering wheel muff, hyperverbal compulsion, keys, book tour, window tax, flatties, curious strands of asceticism

Representative quote: ". . . for the first time she comprehends who her brother is, that deep-voiced stranger whose bedroom is next to her own. Today, for a minute, she is her brother. She is Ralph Eliot, age seventeen, six feet tall, who later this afternoon will make a dazzling, lazy touchdown, bringing reward and honor to his name, and hers."

Also: More Carol Shields, in novel form, with The Box Garden (Rec. #146).

Rec. #198 (abbrev.): The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

What: Sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, towels, Deep Thought, ghosts, Arthur Dent, humming, eccentric orbits, Vogons, publishing offices, Zaphod Beeblebrox, existential elevator, talking meaty quadrupeds, Trillian, nut trees, Marvin, supercilious green blur, desert sound system, Ford Prefect, dead for tax reasons, apocalypse with dinner

Representative quote: "The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

Also: Start at the beginning with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Rec. #42).

Rec. #196 and Rec. #197: Paul Schneider and the Real Girls

Sometimes I feel a bit bad for Paul Schneider because Parks & Recreation became widely and fervently adored right after he left the show. Sure, his movie career is doing just fine, thanks, but is it enough? Can it be enough, when he must see "Leslie + Ben forever!" scrawled on all the lockers of the metaphorical showbiz high school?

What: Amusingly (for me), Paul Schneider is in both Lars and the Real Girl and All the Real Girls. Both films are excellent, and he is excellent in them.

In Lars and the Real Girl, he plays a key supporting role as the older brother of Lars, a troubled and introverted young man whose new companion is a doll he ordered online. The movie does not go in for cheap laughs. It is careful instead of knee-jerk, thoughtful instead of facile, and generous instead of petty. (Also, Patricia Clarkson does a superb job and . . . whoops, she's been on Parks & Rec recently. Sorry, Paul.)

In All the Real Girls, he takes the lead as a womanizer who forces himself into sincerity when he falls for his best friend's sister. It is not a romantic comedy. (The currently overexposed Zooey Deschanel is also in this, but don't hold that against the movie. It came out in 2003.) (And, also, Patricia Clarkson is here, too.)

Representative quote from Paul's character (Lars and the Real Girl): [on what it means to be a man] "Like, you don't jerk people around, and you don't cheat on your woman, and you take care of your family, you know, and you admit when you're wrong, or you try to, anyways. That's all I can think of --- it sound like it's easy and for some reason it's not."

Representative quote from Paul's character (All the Real Girls): "When people from before come up, I want you to understand what they hate when they see me."

Connection to previous Wreckage: Paul Schneider played Mark Brendanawicz on the first two seasons of Parks and Recreation. And the show was very good! But season 3 was a-maz-ing (Rec. #119).