Becky's Book Reviews: Week in Review #12

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Week in Review #12

This week I read nine books!

26. To Say Nothing of the Dog. (Oxford Time Travel #2) Connie Willis. 1998. 512 pages. [Source: Bought]

Read this if...

You enjoy TIME TRAVEL
You enjoy VICTORIAN ENGLAND
You enjoy mysteries/detective fiction especially that of Dorothy Sayers
You enjoy romance with banter

27. One Wrong Step. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2025. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, mg historical, mg action, mg survival, mg fiction]

Read this if...

You enjoy coming of age stories AND survival/peril stories
You enjoy historical fiction set in the 1930s
You enjoy adventure/survival stories, especially mountain climbing stories

28. Famous Last Words. Gillian McAllister. 2025. 336 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars]

Read this if...

You don't require thrills in your thriller
You like predictable twists and turns
You enjoy dull characters

26. I Have Three Cats. Michelle Sumovich. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, cats, pets, 3 stars]

Read this if...

You enjoy cats
You enjoy slow-thaw stories (the main character is grumpy towards the cat at first)

27. How To Make a Bedtime. Meg McKinlay. Illustrated by Karen Blair. 2025. 32 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, picture book, bedtime books]

Read this if...
You enjoy bedtime stories
You don't mind mixed families--BEARS AND HUMANS

28. The Baby Who Stayed Away Forever. Sandra Salsbury. 2025. 40 pages. [Source: Library] [picture book, bedtime book, humor, family, 5 stars]

Read this if...

You enjoy humorous stories about situations that are far from funny *if* you are still in the midst of them
You enjoy BABIES with lots of personality and spunk

25. Sing!: How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church. Keith and Kristyn Getty. 2017. B&H Books. 176 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Read this if...

You love hymns and worship songs
You don't love hymns and worship songs
You want ideas on how to incorporate singing into your home life

26. 8 Bible Stories for Early Readers (Adventure Bible) Illustrations by David Miles. 2025. Zondervan. 248 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars]

Read this if...

You don't mind MOSES' story being presented before Joseph's story
You are looking for an early reader Bible story book
You don't mind super-super-super stripped down and simplified Bible stories

2. The Holy Bible, 1611 Edition, King James Version, 400th Anniversary, Hendrickson Publishers. 1611/2003. God. 1536 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars]

Read this if...

You find the original spelling from 1611 charming, delightful, enjoyable to decode
You enjoy collecting early Bible translations

Century of Viewing Week 12

1910s

1916 Intolerance I am SO conflicted. On the one hand, there are several versions of this one to pick from. The one I watched was two hours and forty-seven minutes. So perhaps there were scenes missing that would have influenced my overall impressions? On the other hand, I can only speak to the scenes I did see. There are FOUR stories. The screen-time of each varied greatly. The significance of each time varied greatly. One of the four is during the life of Christ. Viewers see several scenes from his life--including the wedding at Cana, the adulterous woman (John 8), the Crucifixion, and perhaps one more? two more? These scenes might be weighted in significance. Perhaps. Perhaps not. But they make up a tiny-tiny-tiny fraction of screen time. The medieval France story also gets very little overall screen time. The 'big picture' of that story is Catholics vs. Huguenots. I am NOT to judge the movie that could have been or should have been. But part of me can't help *wanting* that one to be more fully fleshed. The Ancient Babylon story gets a LOT of screen time. They also got elaborate sets and costumes. And, I'll be fair when I can, the actress playing MOUNTAIN GIRL was great--absolutely fantastic in the role. If there's a single stand-out performance in the whole movie, it goes to HER. No doubt in my mind. This story line features a lot idolatry, idol worship, sacrifices to idols, pleasure-oriented 'exotic' lavishness. I could have sworn I saw some nudity. HOWEVER I have not been able to verify that. So perhaps the clothes were just on the side of sheer and immodest. The modern story also gets a LOT of screen time. For better or worse. Without the modern story, I'm not sure there is a film to be seen. For better or worse, however while the story is certainly something worth telling, I found the acting to be terrible. Dear One and The Boy are tolerable--but just just. There is nothing compelling about their performances. Just distracting over-the-top. You don't have to be *so, so, so, so, so, so* over the top to convey EMOTIONS and tell a story. Sometimes less is more. Sometimes a lot LESS is fantastic. The theme is conflicting as well. Because there's a thin line at times. Because it is 'good' to be intolerant of evil, of injustice, of wrongs. To tolerate immorality is intolerant. That being said, the story they "chose" to represent the modern times, of course, set the Reformers up to be evil (boo, hiss) and the good characters to be unjustly treated by the Reformers. And that's the story that plays out. I don't necessarily believe in legislating morality (this film was BEFORE Prohibition), but I don't believe in legislating immorality either.

1920s

1922 The Blacksmith What a difference watching a different, longer version makes! Apparently, the "Blacksmith" that is most commonly seen as being "The Blacksmith" was a pre-release copy and not its final edited form. (You work with what you got. And I'm just super thankful for what silent films *do* exist and have been saved. Especially Buster Keaton films. But this version was a more recently discovered, recovered "final" version found in Europe. So there are quite a few changes to the film. I like both versions. I do. But I *love* some of the scenes in this one. It works for me better.
1926 The General. This time I compelled my mom to watch with me. (Dad I compelled a few weeks ago). I won't stop until the whole world joins in. Joking. Not joking. I love this movie so much. Johnny Gray, train engineer, risks all to save his two loves--his engine (The General) and his girl (Annabelle).

1930s

1935 Palooka from Paducah is a Buster Keaton short film for Educational Pictures. Whatever you do, don't let this be your first Buster Keaton. Was it the worst thing I've ever watched? No. Was it entertaining? Not really. Could it have been better? Definitely. Could it have been worse? For sure. Let's start with the positive: Buster Keaton stars with almost his entire family--father, mother, and sister. (Remember this was in the midst of the Great Depression. Buster Keaton had fallen from his 'movie star' salary. (His wife literally took everything--everything, everything--in the divorce.) There was never not a time in his life--from age four on up--where he wasn't supporting the family. Joe Keaton has starred with his son in plenty of silent movies. No matter how horrible times were, Buster Keaton found a way. This script certainly was 'a way.' There were a few funny bits: namely the family playing horse shoes, passing food around the table, Buster getting clunked on the head by his brother's boots, all the snoring, dog howling. Tame stuff to be sure. Not outstanding humor. Moving onto the less positive: it was sports themed. And not in a good way like Battling Butler. This one had Buster getting knocked around (as a referee to a wrestling match) but no big victory for Buster. It was his "brother" in the wrestling ring who triumphed. The film-making could have been better. Most of the time dear Buster's face was completely blocked by the ropes of the ring. So there weren't even any possibilities for screen shots. Battling Butlers was all kinds of awesome. There was all this build-up and a fantastic boxing match. This was just....so far from entertaining.One *small* thing that could have improved this movie a tiny bit was to not have all the men wear those horrid fake beards to mark them as 'hillbillies.'

1950s

1953 Calamity Jane is a musical set in the Black Hills of Dakota. I adored this film as a young child. (Doris Day, Howard Keel). I still adore this film. I love the songs--most of them anyway. I love everything about this one.
1956 Trapeze. Do I like circus movies? Not particularly. This one stars Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster. I liked those two just fine. However, I didn't really care for the female character. The character is why the book of Proverbs exists. Seriously. Run far, run fast, avoid at all costs. I hated this character so much. And I can't say that the ending saved it. Yet what I enjoyed I did enjoy.

1960s

1962 Billy Rose's Jumbo Again do I like circus movies? NO. Not really. It was just chance that had me viewing two in one week--mere days apart. This one stars Doris Day and Stephen Boyd. And JUMBO of course (the elephant). A little amount of Jimmy Durante goes a *long, long, long, long* way. I enjoyed some of the songs of this musical. However, the film's main problem is that it is about ten to fifteen minutes too long. The last ten minutes or so of film are pure torture.

1970s

1972 Man of La Mancha is a musical. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE two of the songs. "Impossible Dream" and "Dulcinea" are among my favorites. Truly. Especially "Impossible Dream." The musical itself is rough around the edges. There's some BRUTALITY that is just tough to get through. Just raw, rough stuff. The musical is in a framework. I liked it overall, but some songs I loved.

1980s

1980 Coal Miner's Daughter. It has been a while since I saw this bio-drama of Loretta Lynn. I *probably* saw a somewhat edited for TV version growing up. Though I can't say for certain that it was. There are some brutal things about this one--though realistic, I suppose, if you are going to be true to life and not sugar-coat everything.
1985 Ladyhawke is something. I have categories by which I'm sorting/classifying movies. It doesn't quite fit in period drama, romantic drama, or speculative fiction. Or it fits slightly in all three. Regardless, MAGIC CURSES with fantastical elements in otherwise a romantic period drama. He is cursed to be a wolf (at night). She is cursed to be a hawk (by day). Their love is everlasting...but can the curse be broken. Enter baby Matthew Broderick. Not really. It's just I don't think I've seen him younger than this. (But what do I know???) I enjoyed this one. The soundtrack is "special" to say the least. Though it did tame way down by the end. It almost sounded like the composer was watching the actual movie instead of an aerobics class.

2000s

2008 Iron Man. LOVE the ending. LOVE the character--though it takes many films for him to become the man I love. I did notice--though this isn't surprising--is that silent movies *are* good for me. In that, silent movies *make* me pay attention to the screen. I can't rely 100% on my ears, on listening, on following the story based on one sense alone. I fall into a lazy pattern of doing mostly listening. Silent movies engage me in a way that require more work and are thus more rewarding. That being said, could I try to be more vigilant about talkies. YES. But I am all about the characters and very little concerned with all the action-y fighty bits. I don't see that changing.

2020s

2025 The Electric State. I don't know how many 2025 movies I'll get to. This one was okay. I've heard reviews that talk about it as being the worst movie ever. I wouldn't go that far. I've not heard anyone praise it as being awesome and fantastic. I don't think I will. It was okay for what it was. I liked the premise of the alternate reality 90s after a robot uprising. I thought it had potential. Not sure it lived up to the potential. But it wasn't painful.