Saturday, January 18, 2025

Week in Review #3

 


 The third week of the year I read and reviewed six books!

What I read:

4. Wolves at the Door. Steve Watkins. 2024. [December] 288 pages. [Source: Library] [MG historical, MG fiction, world war II, 5 stars]

Read this one if....

  • You enjoy historical fiction with a survival element
  • You enjoy historical fiction set during the Second World War
  • You enjoy books that are impossible to put down

5. Kidnapped From Ukraine Under Attack. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg realistic fiction, mg fiction, survival, war stories]

Read this one if...

  • You enjoy compelling, realistic reads
  • You enjoy war stories
  • You enjoy books that are impossible to put down
  • You enjoy survival  books

4. Mustache Baby. Bridget Heos. 2016. HMH. 36 pages. [Source: Review copy] 

Read this one if...

  • You enjoy picture books about babies
  • You enjoy humorous stories


5. Pizza and Taco #9: Coolest Club Ever! Stephen Shaskan. 2025. 72 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book, series book] 

Read this one if...

  • You enjoy series books
  • You enjoyed early chapter books in graphic novel format

4. Faith, Hope and Hilarity: The Child's Eye View of Religion. Dick Van Dyke. Edited by Ray Parker. Illustrated by Phil Interlandi. 1970. 153 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars] [humor]

Read this one if...

  • You enjoy vintage books
  • You enjoy a lot of humor with a little religion
  • Care more about a giggle than theology


5. Pilgrim's Progress in Today's English. John Bunyan. Retold by James H. Thomas. 1678/1992. 260 pages. [Source: Bought] [4 stars, christian fiction, christian classic, allegory]

Read this one if

  • You are looking for an easier to read edition of Pilgrim's Progress
  • You want a refresher course in Pilgrim's Progress
  • Enjoy allegories


What I watched (for my Century of Viewing challenge)

1920s

  • 1922 Daydreams is a silent movie with dark comedy vibes. He is madly in love with a woman, but her father wants proof that he can support her. He goes through various jobs without success and returns a failure... This one does feature him working with animals as a vet assistant. The SKUNK scene was great. But this one is VERY, VERY, VERY dark.
  • 1927 College is a humorous sports movie starring Buster Keaton. He is smart, smart, super-smart. He makes a graduation speech about how dumb sports are. His girl is offended and tells him that HER man must be athletic. He becomes determined to work his way through college--he can't afford it otherwise--and he attempts to become sport-y. Will he ever impress her? Buster Keaton is always awesome. I definitely enjoyed this one. It should not be overlooked.
  • 1927 Wings is a silent movie with some sound syncopation. It may appear to be a love triangle, but it is more a circle of unrequited love. It is set during World War I. Two pilots are "in love" with the same beautiful girl from their home town. The problem? She only loves ONE of them. The other is beloved by the girl next door. The girl he does not appreciate... This one has some heartbreak....
  • 1927 Chicago. This is a silent movie with some sound effects, I believe. It is based on a new play (1926) by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Roxie Hart stands trial for murder....will she be found innocent? The play (and subsequent movies) is loosely based on the trial of Beulah Annan. I really ENJOYED this one. It was interesting to see how the "justice system" works and the court hysterics. There were a few scenes that I thought would be GREAT gifs or memes.

1930s

  • 1930 All Quiet on the Western Front is a war movie set during the first world war. Told from the point of view of German soldiers--boys really--taken straight from the classroom to the battlefield.
  • 1932 The Death's Kiss was an AWESOME black and white mystery. The murder occurs DURING THE FILMING OF A MYSTERY MOVIE. The leading man is shot down with one of the prop guns--real bullet. As the police fumble through an investigation, a writer of detective stories has a go at solving the real thing. Again, like Chicago (see above) it was interesting to see how cases are "investigated." This one didn't make it to trial, so it wasn't really about court procedures. But the POLICE procedures were all over the mess sloppy and just horrid. No chain of evidence. No proper collection of evidence. No segregating witnesses. No true preservation of the crime scene. All this leads to the amateur detective being super smart.
  • 1937 Navy Blue and Gold tricked me. This James Stewart movie is secretly-not-so-secretly about football. I wasn't aware of that!

1940s

  • 1942 Roxie Hart is another adaptation of the play Chicago (see above). Ginger Rogers plays Roxie Hart a woman on trial for murder. This one is told within a reflective framework. A newspaper man is retelling about the "good old days" of Chicago and the most beautiful woman to ever stand trial. As he captivates the audience at the bar, pay attention to the bartender played by William Frawley! Again in this one we get to see the "justice system" in action. Would love to see some LawTubers react to Roxie Hart and/or Chicago.
  • 1944 Arsenic and Old Lace is a dark comedy. Cary Grant stars in this melodramatic comedy. Definitely worth a watch at least once.
  • 1947 Lured is a crime drama with thriller-ish elements. It stars Lucille Ball working undercover to catch a serial killer. It was FANTASTIC.

1950s

  • 1950 Harvey. James Stewart at his best????? Maybe. Maybe not. I absolutely thought this one so WONDERFUL and humorous. Movies with great dialogue shouldn't have gone extinct.

2000s

  • 2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past stars Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. He plays a jerk....and he is visited by three ghosts who are trying to teach him lessons to help him reform his ways and become a better person and find true love. It's all set over the wedding weekend of his brother.

2010s

  • 2018 The Great Buster is a documentary about Buster Keaton--his life and films. This one was great in that it pointed me towards his COMMERCIALS as well. I also learned that Dick Van Dyke did the eulogy for Buster Keaton's funeral. Overall, I enjoyed this introduction to his work. I'd already seen many of his silent films. Still haven't gotten to the later stuff.
  • 2019 Pilgrim's Progress is an animated adaptation of John Bunyan's classic. This one got the Polar Express treatment. I don't know WHY they went the direction they did. It took away from the theological value of the allegory and was just weird and scary.



© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

No comments: