Becky's Book Reviews: Week in Review #4

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Week in Review #4

The fourth week of the year I reviewed nine books!

What I read:

6. Chicago. Maurine Dallas Watkins. 1926 (December). 111 pages. [Source: Online] [play, classic] [3 stars]

Read this one if...

You enjoy reading classic plays
You have enjoyed the Chicago musical and are interested in the origins
You want to read the play that has inspired several films
You are a law nerd

7. All the Light We Cannot see. Anthony Doerr. 2014. 544 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, historical fiction, magic realism??? world war II]

Read this one if...

You enjoy historical fiction with a lightly magical element
You enjoy war dramas, particularly world war II
You enjoy fiction with dual narrators

8. Bluffton: My Summer with Buster Keaton. 2013. Candlewick Press. 240 pages. [Source: Library, 5 stars, graphic novel, historical fiction]

Read this one if...

If you enjoy historical fiction loosely based on true events (and people)
If you enjoy graphic novels for elementary and middle grade
If you enjoy Buster Keaton
If you enjoy stories about baseball and friendship

6. What-a-baby First Words Book. (Whataburger). Blue Star Press. 22 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, board book, novelty book]

Read this one if...

you enjoy Whataburger
you enjoy novelty board books
you are looking for a fun, silly gift for new parents

7. Lefty: A Story That Is Not All Right. Mo Willems. Illustrated by Dan Santat. 2024. [December] 40 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, picture books, nonfiction]

Read this one if...

you enjoy picture books with a heavy hand [literally] (This one the illustrations are mostly hand-related)
you enjoy nonfiction picture books

8. Silent Movie. Avi. Illustrated by C.B. Mordan. 2003. 64 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, 4 stars, historical picture book, immigration]

Read this one if...

you enjoy historical picture books
you enjoy immigration stories
you enjoy happy endings
you have an interest in silent films and early movie industry

1. Amplified Bible (1965 first whole Bible edition, 1978 seventeenth printing). God. Zondervan. 1485 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars (because all Bibles get 5 stars regardless of translation]

Read this one if...

you are looking for an additional resource in Bible reading
you are looking for more commentary than a strict translation as such
you love thesauruses

6. Across the Ages. (Timeless #4) Gabrielle Meyer. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [2 stars, christian fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, historical romance]

Read this one if...

you enjoy the premise of crossing time -- living two lives in one body
you don't mind ridiculously obvious love triangles
you don't mind if the characters are a bit simple-minded

7. Poems and Prayers for the Very Young. Martha Alexander (compiler and illustrator). 1973. Random House. 24 pages. [Source: Bought] [3 stars, vintage picture book, poetry]

Read this one if...

you enjoy poetry
you enjoy poetry collections
you enjoy poems with a focus on nature

What I watched (for my century of viewing challenge):

1910s

1918 The Cook features Buster Keaton but not technically in the lead role. He was sidekick to Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. This one features an incredible dance sequence that you may have seen clips of in other videos. One has been paired with Madonna's VOGUE. It is uncanny how well "The Cook" pairs with it.

1920s

1921 The Play House stars Buster Keaton--one of his shorts. It is many things. The first half features Buster Keaton in ALL THE ROLES. He easily is playing forty or fifty characters at once. Including the audience members, the orchestra, the theatrical performers, etc. You can marvel at the filmmaking or be offended at the blackface that is about 1% of the content. Your choice.
1922 The Paleface is a Buster Keaton short. He plays a butterfly/bug collector at the wrong place at the wrong time. He may just save a tribe's land from greedy oil men, however, only by accident. This one has hilarious moments, however, I could see some people feeling obligated to feel incredibly offended. The ending was fun. Again, a snippet that you might see clipped into other videos.
1923 Our Hospitality is a Buster Keaton feature film. It has a historical setting--feuding families. Buster Keaton plays a character--the last in his family line--and the other family has vowed to kill him....but they cannot kill him so long as he remains a guest in their house. Their sister has fallen for him. This one combines some intense scenes--dramatic stunts--and some comedic ones. Very enjoyable overall.
1924 The Navigator is another Buster Keaton feature. I loved, loved, loved, loved this one. It is a whole mood or vibe. Buster Keaton plays a character coincidentally trapped aboard a drifting ship with his ex girlfriend. Highly recommended.
1928 The Campus Vamp is a comedy set on a college campus. The blond trying to steal all the guys is played by Carole Lombard. This one features several scenes--including a baseball game at the beach and a school dance.

1950s

1956 Three Men In A Boat stars David Tomlinson, Laurence Harvey, and Jimmy Edwards. Not sure how faithful it is to the novel. I have my suspicions this one focuses more on girls, girls, girls than the novel does. But it was very funny in places--like getting lost in the maze, and opening (but failing) the pineapple can.
1957 Fire Down Below. Literally. This one stars Jack Lemmon--which is one reason I watched it. Two friends are torn apart by a woman on the run in need of a favor. This one has an INTENSITY to it once you reach a certain point.

1960s

1961 The Devil at 4 O'Clock stars Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy. I can't decide if I love it or hate it. Truly. I am so conflicted. What is it about???? Prisoners rescuing folks from a leper colony on an island with a literal erupting volcano. This one is DANGER-packed with a smidge of romance. A priest--the founder of the hospital for the lepers--has lost all faith...but it is restored during this dramatic/traumatic event through the heroism of those involved. There's a scene that gets an A+++++++ in terms of theological goodness. However, the ending was brutal.
1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. I'm beginning to see the world through Buster Keaton colored glasses. True he gets a brief cameo in this one. But the gags and stunts of this one just are so reminiscent of that kind of early comedy. I also was reminded of several Scripture verses about greed and money! This one is worth watching though lengthy, you might just love it. It is over-the-top in some ways, but it also stars just about everybody who was anybody.
1966 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. This is a slapstick musical comedy set in Ancient Rome. Buster Keaton is one of many in the cast. I'm trying to sum up the story and can't. It features two households--neighbors. One is a brothel of sorts--a man with many courtesans. The other is a family with a son. The son falls in love with one of the new arrivals and wants to run away with her...he enlists the help of a slave [a big troublemaker] who will do anything to get his freedom. The other [third] neighbor is Buster Keaton.

1970s

1971 Nicholas and Alexandra is historical drama with a tragic ending. You can *know* the ending is coming before you ever hit play, yet it still hits ROUGH. I am curious if this one was made because historical period dramas were "big" at the time or if it was a result of the popularity of such films as Doctor Zhivago.
1979. Hanover Street stars Harrison Ford and Christopher Plummer. Harrison Ford is a world war II pilot who is forced to protect an intelligence officer when the mission goes horribly wrong--the catch, he is the husband of his girlfriend. I could have used less adultery. But I adore Christopher Plummer. This one has some uncanny similarities to Star Wars IV.

1990s