50. The Knife of Never Letting Go. (Chaos Walking #1) Patrick Ness. 2008. 512 pages. [Source: Library]51. Rash. Pete Hautman. 2006. 256 pages. [Source: Bought] [5 stars, YA dystopia, YA fiction, YA futuristic; YA Sports]52. Prey. Michael Crichton. 2002. 507 pages. [Source: Library] [audio book, 5 stars, adult science fiction, adult thriller]53. The Best Bear in All the World. Paul Bright, Brian Sibley, Jeanne Willis, Kate Saunders. 2016. 115 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, audio book, Winnie the Pooh sequel]
54. The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins. Melanie Dickerson. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, clean romance, historical romance, Jane Eyre wannabe]
55. The Future of Us. Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. 2011. 356 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, YA fiction, YA science fiction, coming of age]
56. Paperboy. Vince Vawter. 2013. Random House. 240 pages. [Source:
Library] [5 stars, MG fiction, coming of age, MG historical, based on
true story]57. This is Christmas: Song by Song: The Stories Behind 100 Holiday Hits. 2023. 224 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, Christmas, music appreciation]
61. Pizza and Taco #11: Pizza and Taco: Scariest Sleepover Ever. Stephen Shaskan. 2026. 72 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, graphic novel, early chapter book]
62. One Mad Cat and the Missing Book. Vicky Fang. 2026. 64 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, early reader, early chapter book, animal fantasy]
6. New American Standard Bible 1995, New Inductive Study Bible. GOD. 1995. 2296 pages. [Source: Bought] [Bible, bible review, 5 stars]Century of Viewing #33
1920s
- 1921 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Silent movie. Starring Rudolph Valentino--well this was his first "big" role. The film is set during the first world war. One grandson fights for the French, three grandsons fight for the German. There's family squabbles before and during the war. There's the tango. There's wild and worldly affairs.
- 1925 Stage Struck. Gloria Swanson stars in this silent film about a waitress (Jenny) who is in love with a pancake flipper (Orme). Orme only has eyes for actresses. His bedroom wall is covered floor to ceiling with pictures of actresses in various poses. (He doesn't sound like a catch to me.) She is 1000000% committed and all he does is laugh and provoke. She's determined to be an actress so he'll notice her and smile--not just laugh. A showboat comes to town with actresses....and he becomes smitten with an actress. The showboat owner who for whatever reason is in love with a drum (yes) gives her a role in the show but tells her to keep it private. Turns out it isn't a role in the show so much as an opportunity to box with another actress. The crowd seems to enjoy the spectacle of two women trying to knock each other out. Orme is weirded out. After that FLOPS literally, she jumps into the river. Orme jumps in afterwards....and confesses his love....saying I could never marry an actress. The actress he'd been seeing was like AS IF I'D MARRY YOU. The two become engaged--possibly married--and somehow have their own restaurant/pancake house. The beginning and end sequences are shot in technicolor. Most of it is in black-and-white.
- 1931 The Front Page. I was familiar mostly with the story because it was remade as HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) (Which I love) and THE FRONT PAGE (1974) with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and SWITCHING CHANNELS (1988). One reporter is ready to quit journalism and move on with his life....and his fellow reporter (with whom there's always bickering) doesn't want to let go. It is a dark comedy. I didn't love this one. BUT I also wasn't in the mood to love it. Each adaptation offers a little something different. The 1974 one was FULL of profanity for example. His Girl Friday added a LOT of romance. Switching Channels I don't remember in too much detail--it probably had both profanity and romance.
- 1933 Top Speed. I watched this early romantic comedy/musical because of Joe E. Brown. HE'S great fun -- silly, over-the-top but fun. I thought the dialogue was good fun. The story is simple enough. Two guys pretend to be richer than they are to get rich ladies. There's a boat race. There's a little singing. Apparently there were a LOT of musical numbers recorded and then cut from the movie. It is fairly obvious to see when scenes are cut. BUT if your expectations aren't super high, this movie from early talkie days satisfies.
- 1958 House on Haunted Hill. This is a classic with eight bajillion screams in it. It was good. Or good enough. I don't know that it's so awesome that I'd watch it again-again. But essentially a rich couple rents out a haunted house or "haunted house" and invite strangers to spend the night. If they make it through the night....they'll be rewarded.
- 1972 What's Up Doc? I restarted this one so many times because my brain thought it a little too chaotic. However I persevered and it was SO, SO, SO worth it. This isn't quite slapstick, but, it's also not not slapstick. The plot, the stories, the characters I could easily see being done in earlier decades like the 20s and 30s! Some of the gags definitely felt like a tribute to comic greats like Buster Keaton.
- 1975 The Sunshine Boys. Is it comedy? Is it dark comedy? It is FUNNY. A vaudeville reunites for a television special...or are supposed to. If they can make it through rehearsals without going to war with each other. There's hard feelings but also brotherhood. But mostly there are GRUMPY OLD MEN.
- 1977 World's Greatest Lover. This is a parody/spoof of 1920s films. A movie studio is looking to find the next Valentino....and mischief results. Extremely very slapstick. Definitely not clean. So basic premise--a man's marriage is threatened by his wife's love of Valentino movies...especially when the two go to Hollywood for a contest.
© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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