.. title: Recent Reading and Viewing
.. slug: 2004-04-02
.. date: 2004-04-02 00:00:00 UTC-05:00
.. tags: old blog,recent reading,recent viewing
.. category: oldblog
.. link:
.. description:
.. type: text
Recent Reading
--------------
+ *A Gentleman of France*, by Stanley Weyman. Project Gutenberg,
October, 1999, Etext #1939. This was the first novel I read on my
wife's Palm m505, and I was surprised by how well reading on the Palm
(using Weasel Reader) went. The novel is great swashbuckling fun, too.
+ *The Cloud Atlas*, by Liam Callanan, Delacorte Press/Bantam Dell
2004. A very interesting work that doesn't fit comfortably into any
genre.
+ *Protector*, by Larry Niven, 1973. Books on Tape. 1998. This was just
as absorbing to listen to as it was originally to read. Niven's
interesting ideas retain their ability to enthrall.
+ *Celestial Matters*, by Richard Garfinkle. Tor, 1996. This is a
*very* clever novel. Well worth reading for the interesting ideas.
+ *Pattern Recognition*, by William Gibson. Putnam, 2003. An
interesting mystery, largely lacking the science fiction elements of
his earlier works.
+ *Dragon's Lair*, by Sharon Kay Penman. Putnam, 2003. A Medieval
Mystery. This is the third in her excellent series about Justin de
Quincy, after *The Queen's Man* and *Cruel as the Grave*. Interesting
characters and situations make an excellent historical mystery.
Recent Viewing (Akira Kurosawa)
-------------------------------
+ `Nora inu `__, also known as
*Stray Dog* - directed by Akira Kurosawa, and starring Toshiro Mifune,
Takashi Shimura, and Keiko Awaji. 1949. I saw this on a IFC Indie Pulp
showing; it's an interesting look at Japanese police and criminals.
+ `Dai-bosatsu tôge `__, also
known as *The Sword of Doom* and *Daibosatsu Pass* - Directed by
Kihachi Okamoto, written by Shinobu Hashimoto, based on a novel by
Kaizan Nakazato, and starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshiro Mifune, and
Yuzo Kayama. 1966. Another Samurui Saturday showing, this movie
completely avoids a normal ending. Apparently this is based on a well-
known story which is not all retold in the movie, and has been filmed
a number of times.