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).