Monday, April 30, 2001
Flickers
by Philip Rock
I bought this one years ago from some sale bin. I had seen an enjoyable British miniseries on PBS called Flickers and thought this book was related. But instead of a novel about a film entrepreneur making good in the British film industry of the 1910's it was about a number of Americans making it good (or not so good) in the American film industry in the 1920's. Like a lot of historical novels, this Flickers does a good job of capturing the flavor of the times, coloring the background with the fads and fashions of the era. (At least it seems so to me. I can't help but wonder if someone who lived back then would find it very artificial.) It also captures the flavor of the era in which it is written, the mid-1970's. Just about everybody is dysfunctional and there's all sorts of sex going on. (Either young and passionate or kinky. The middle aged married people keep their clothes on.) Anyway, even for me, who loves tales of vaudeville and the early film industry, this book is definitely waiting room material. If you ever find a novelization or video of the television Flickers, however, let me know, okay?
LibraryThing link
I bought this one years ago from some sale bin. I had seen an enjoyable British miniseries on PBS called Flickers and thought this book was related. But instead of a novel about a film entrepreneur making good in the British film industry of the 1910's it was about a number of Americans making it good (or not so good) in the American film industry in the 1920's. Like a lot of historical novels, this Flickers does a good job of capturing the flavor of the times, coloring the background with the fads and fashions of the era. (At least it seems so to me. I can't help but wonder if someone who lived back then would find it very artificial.) It also captures the flavor of the era in which it is written, the mid-1970's. Just about everybody is dysfunctional and there's all sorts of sex going on. (Either young and passionate or kinky. The middle aged married people keep their clothes on.) Anyway, even for me, who loves tales of vaudeville and the early film industry, this book is definitely waiting room material. If you ever find a novelization or video of the television Flickers, however, let me know, okay?
LibraryThing link
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, April 15, 2001
Growing Up Fundamentalist
by Stefan Ulstein
I have to confess, I am a word junkie. I'll read anything. Cereal boxes, charity newsletters, junk mail, you name it. So when we received this book free from Harvest Logos, Seattle's most dangerous bookstore, I threw it on my stack to read. This book is a collection of brief, almost sound bite-sized interviews from people who have grown up in a fundamentalist Christian church and family. It asks them how growing up in that culture has affected them both then and now. All of the interviewees have rebelled to a degree from their upbringing, but most also have some positive things to say about the culture. The challenge for them (as for any person) is to separate the bad from the good, as much as that is possible. (Read Jaques Ellul's The Presence of the Kingdom if you really want to wrestle with that issue.) Anyway, I grew up in a conservative evangelical church, so I could relate in part to the stories told. There were a few nuggets of wisdom that I garnered from the book, so I guess even Harvest Logos' giveaways are a cut above your regular bookstore. Unless you have a great interest in the fundamentalist Christian culture, however, I would classify this as waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
I have to confess, I am a word junkie. I'll read anything. Cereal boxes, charity newsletters, junk mail, you name it. So when we received this book free from Harvest Logos, Seattle's most dangerous bookstore, I threw it on my stack to read. This book is a collection of brief, almost sound bite-sized interviews from people who have grown up in a fundamentalist Christian church and family. It asks them how growing up in that culture has affected them both then and now. All of the interviewees have rebelled to a degree from their upbringing, but most also have some positive things to say about the culture. The challenge for them (as for any person) is to separate the bad from the good, as much as that is possible. (Read Jaques Ellul's The Presence of the Kingdom if you really want to wrestle with that issue.) Anyway, I grew up in a conservative evangelical church, so I could relate in part to the stories told. There were a few nuggets of wisdom that I garnered from the book, so I guess even Harvest Logos' giveaways are a cut above your regular bookstore. Unless you have a great interest in the fundamentalist Christian culture, however, I would classify this as waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
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