Books self wants to read after digging into her pile of stuff and finding: a) The New York Times Book Review of Sept. 23, 2012 and b) The New Yorker of Oct. 8, 2012:
- This Is How You Lose Her, Junot Diaz’s new novel
- Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers
- Dancing to the Precipice by Caroline Moorehead
- Bring Up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
- A Strange Eventful History by Michael Holroyd
- War and Peace (all three volumes)
- Battleborn, a first story collection by Claire Vaye Watkins
- Double Indemnity by James. M. Cain
- The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
- Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain
- Subversives, a history of J. Edgar Hoover’s snooping chicanery, by Seth Rosenfeld
- The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, the third novel of Jonathan Evison
- The Thing About Thugs, a novel about a “young man from an Indian village,” a spinner of tall tales in 19th century London, by Tabish Khair
Stay tuned, dear blog readers. Stay tuned.
Jill Widner said,
November 15, 2012 at 7:46 pm
I was completely intrigued by an interview with PL Travers that I read in the Paris Review Interviews at the castle and, as a result, bought–though it’s still sitting on the table, waiting to be read–A Lively Oracle: A Centennial Celebration of PL Travers–essays on her and her work. I hadn’t known she was interested in the mystical, in that side of Yeats, and was a founding editor of Parabola.
anthropologist said,
November 15, 2012 at 10:33 pm
And who knew that the author of “Mary Poppins” had all this backstory? Fascinating! I love that you loved Edinburgh and Hawthornden, by the way. You and me both!
I should mention that the “Mary Poppins” and Caroline Moorehead books, as well as the two Hilary Mantel novels, and the Michael Holroyd book and “War and Peace” were all titles I scribbled from reading the “By the Book” interview with Emma Thompson in the Sept. 23, 2012 issue of the NYTBR. She is one smaaaart lady! As well as being a great actress!
Jill Widner said,
November 16, 2012 at 3:49 am
Thanks for the mention! Love Emma Thompson. Sometimes I watch The Remains of the Day and Sense and Sensibility, just to hear her voice, just to be in her presence.
I have more to say about Travers and Disney, whom she despised, all connected to being here in Friday Harbor, a place i first visited 40 years ago at the age of 18, where an old boyfriend’s parents had retired, the father, a Disney animator–the one who made things fly–Volkswagens and nannies up banisters–someone is even playing his part in a film coming out next year about Travers’ father, Mr. Banks, whom Disney apparently somehow identified with–can’t remember where I found all of this out–maybe the interview–Look for it–Saving Mr, Banks–you’ll never guess–with Emma Thompson. I swear I didn’t remember that until I checked the title. I need to write my own blog post!
Jill Widner said,
November 16, 2012 at 4:03 am
http://collider.com/?tag=saving-mr-banks
anthropologist said,
November 17, 2012 at 1:06 am
Thanks for the link! That’s quite a resemblance there, between Tom Hanks and Walt Disney (Ah, the wonders of movie make-up!)
I love knowing about all of this about Travers (and Disney) and Friday Harbor, and the flying Volkswagens . . . this isn’t a blog post, it’s a STORY!