The Lord Of The Rings

I finally watched the last of the three movies tonight, and cried my eyes out!

I read the Hobbit and then the trilogy while in Hawai'i back in 1978. I had the good fortune to read all four books in one week, 7 to 8 hours a day, and I lived in "Middle Earth" while at the same time living in a paradise on earth, so to speak.

Over the years, many people tried to turn the Hobbit and the trilogy into movies and television specials, but no one did it like Peter Jackson did. He had a vision, and yes, it took three movies to tell the story that was in those four books. If you were able to get past the first 100 pages of The Hobbit, you were definitely into Middle Earth (because those first 100 pages are boring as shit!).

I still don't own the last of the three movies (just the first two) but am definitely going to finally purchase it, and one day, just for the hell of it, watch all three of them in a row.

I almost named my daughter Galadriel (the character played by Cate Blanchett), but I was afraid most people would not even know how to pronounce it.

What I Read Today

Many of my readers know that when I start a book, I generally finish it the same day I started it.

Today, Zaire wanted to go to McDonald's for lunch, the one with the playground. I find that when I go to Micky D's, and let him run around for an hour to two hours, it helps to have a book. I did try some People magazines once, that was joke. Hardly read anything in them, finished them up in less than half an hour, and then tapped my toes waiting for time to be up so I could drag Zaire off the playground and go home!

I started another Belva Plain novel entitled Crossroads. I read for about an hour and a half at Micky D's, got home at 4 p.m., read until I finished it about ten minutes ago, except for the half hour I took to make dinner for Zaire! The book was 322 pages, and like the other Plain novel I read in one day, Her Father's House, was exceptional. Having read two of her many novels, I am getting her "style," which involves the main characters saying things, and then in italics, their thoughts are written out. Of course, there are stories intertwined in each of the novels, but the writing style is beginning to be understood by me.

I tried to buy one of her books for a friend for Christmas, but at the only bookstore I had time to get to, Barnes & Noble, they only had her works in paperback, and I abhore paperbacks! Obviously, I am going to have to scour online book stores to buy any more Plain books, but it will be worth it.

Ever since I read that poll that said many Americans haven't read a book in two years, I've definitely increased my book reading, although, I doubt I'll ever be the book whore DJ Rix is (laughing!)

What Book I Read Today

Taking a page out of DJ Rix’s “what I read today/this week/this month,” here is an update on my most recent read.

First off, as I have noted on my blog before, I have this habit of starting a book and then not being able to put it down until it is finished. I can usually polish up a 350 pager in one day.

This book was entitled “Pursuit” by Karen Robards. The book revolved around the death of the wife of the president of the United States, lawyers, FBI, Secret Service agents, Washington elite, and whether the death was an accident or a murder. As I was reading, I could already see the movie, starring Harrison Ford as the Secret Service good guy, and Calista Flockheart as the really tiny lawyer who survived the crash that killed the president’s wife, the driver and another Secret Service agent. The book was fast paced, and you couldn’t really predict the ending. And just a scintilla of romance/sex.

However, since I tend to have the desire to finish off the books when I start them, I’ll have to give myself at least another week to recover from this recent read (especially since I didn’t go to work ... ha ha ha ... and read during the day!)

And What Book Did You Read This Week?

When I read Bob's blog, he's always talking about the books he is reading.

Last year I was alarmed by a report that came out that indicated most Americans had not read a book in two years. I was one of those Americans, despite having an extensive library at home with at least 100 or more books (not counting reference or coffee table books). I would go on book buying binges, and then maybe read one of them.

When I put my grandson into the art class at Barnsdall Park, I had an hour to kill every Saturday while waiting for him, plus another hour and half when we went to McDonalds for lunch afterwards (where he would play in one of those playschool contraptions they have for the kids).

The first week of his class was right when Paul Newman had passed away, so I brought along the People magazine and read it cover to cover, to kill the hour.

The next week, I brought a book. I looked through my shelves and shelves, and the book, Nights In Rodanthe, by Nicholas Sparks, caught my eye. I had no idea I had even bought it years ago, and now it was a movie, so I took the slim book and read that second Saturday. I finished it the following Saturday. It was a pleasing read, but I was not impassioned by it. When I get passionate about a book, I generally don't stop reading it until I finish it.

The next book I picked to read was entitled My Father's House by Bela Plavin. That one I started on the Saturday, but I actually had to read it to the end by Sunday. It was only 342 pages, so it was easy to finish it off in two days. The story was intriguing and it was a slow paced narrative, with a hint of mystery, impending doom/surprise/possible good ending around the corner.

Zaire's art class is over until I sign him up for new one in January. But, yesterday he wanted to go to McDonalds for lunch, so I looked for another book I hadn't read in my library. This time I picked Michael Palmer's The Society. Damn. I didn't even go to work today, so that I could finish it! It was 352 pages, an easy two-day read for me. When I read the acknowledgments about the people the author interviewed concerning managed health-care, a part of me wanted to put the book back. But, then again, I usually bought books for a reason, if I didn't read them right away. This book was very much like riding a roller coaster. Plot twists, fast paced, detective slash romance slash medical mystery, with an epilogue out of the movie Body Heat! The intensity of the storyline had me taking a Valium half way through (laughs).

There are, of course, many books that are just boring. The Nanny Diaries comes to mind.

I used to be a voracious reader. Between television and the internet, not to mention managing three blogs and having a full time job, and a weekend custody relationship with my grandson, reading books seemed to be a passion that subsided, especially given the many hours I would "read" the net.

I'm glad I read this new book, especially given the trepidation I had at reading the prologue and acknowledgments.

I don't have enough time in my day to really read, especially based on my need to finish the damn thing as soon as possible. But it has been fun finding time in my life to put reading back on the agenda.

Thanks, Rix, for the inspiration to read more.

Farewll To Michael Crichton

As a fan of some of his best work, Andromeda Strain, Jurrasic Park (although I never read those books, so I'm more a fan of the directors of the movies), and as a fan of ER for most of it's good years (face it, after Dr. Green's death, was there really life left for ER?), it is with sadness we mourn the death of Michael Crichton.

RIP