End of Summer Reading Update | 8 Book Reviews

[@brandedone2003]

You do book reviews too? Sweet! Your channel rocks + keep it up!

[@Paladin12572]

Always a treat when you do a reading update.

[@matthewbianchini]

Love your videos, Jerome! Keep them up. They're so engaging, wholesome, old-fashioned, and informative--a rare "quadruple-threat" for KZbin content.

[@Weiselberry]

Thank you!

[@tonydeluna8095]

Hey Jerome, Thanks for your update on the books you’ve read! Happy reading!

[@Johnni0la]

I don't know why, but I always have to wave back at the end.

[@Navigator87110]

HAHAHAHA! ....yeah. I've always wanted to say that, but thought it would sound, uh, odd.

[@boxingfanmike]

I love the reading updates! My favorite JW content!

[@Weiselberry]

Thanks!

[@LiamMichael-zr1uz]

I can’t comment on the books you discussed, as I haven’t read any of them, ahem, so I just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed your reviews! I also loved The Relic, both the book and the movie. The Gun Seller sounds interesting. You are so thorough-I thoroughly enjoy your reviews! :)

[@winterburden]

Thanks for this neat reading update!

[@heitortroca]

Oh, Jerome, I just found your channel today seeking for any reviews about "It! The Terror From Beyond Space" and I was amazed by how sweet, direct and precise you were! Pretty happy to see you kept your work here until today (or better, yesterday hahahaha) Greetings from Brazil!

[@ErrolConner-p8p]

Appreciate your book and movie reviews. All a breath of fresh air.

[@Weiselberry]

Thanks!

[@WayneSchowalter]

Being relatively new to your channel, this is the first book review of yours I have seen. I truly enjoyed it. Your style of reviewing is so captivating, one feels as though you are truly talking only to them. Your humor is so good, too (I had several big laughs from this episode). Thank you for mentioning the Bradbury book. I did not know about it, so I will definitely read it. Again, thank you.

[@buzzawuzza3743]

Years ago I stuck with and finished novels that I now would just give up on. Very rarely back then was I rewarded for my patience. Thank you as always, Miss Weiselberry.

[@theniceorganization]

Hi, I know you probably don't need *more* recommendations, but I was listening to it as I was walking around today and then your video popped up and then I thought maybe you'd like it: The rather prosaically-named John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme Series 9 (which is a BBC comedy series, but might be available via audio books providers in the US. I know it's currently on BBC Sounds, if you can get that, because that's how I was listening to it). Series 1-8 are just comedy sketch shows (although very, very funny ones), but because of covid and lockdown, they couldn't have audiences or anything, so series 9 became a five-part story of one family from about 1890 to 2021. Each episode centres on one of the family members, and moves backwards through time. This seems tricksy, but works wonderfully, and it's delightful and funny and often a bit moving (as you find out why people are the way they are and say the things they do) and is one of my favourite things of all time. Anyway, it's a radio show, so at least you know the pictures will be good.

[@mayaadobe]

By the way, there’s a terrific British documentary on YT about Robert Donat . And what’s really interesting about it is seeing and listening to his son who looks and sounds exactly like his father. It’s intriguing in the same way that seeing Oscar Wildes grandson Merlin talk about his grandfather.

[@RedshiftDougal]

A relatively new subscriber here, saying hello and thank you. You’re a wonderful shot in the arm.

[@alexandermacdougall7873]

One of my favorite things about her reviews is that,even if she didn't enjoy the movie/tv show/book that's she's reviewing,she doesn't get overly negative. So many KZbin review channels these days seem to exist just to spew negativity.

[@Weiselberry]

Welcome to the channel! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. :)

[@dolobyte]

Great Job Jerome!

[@520Steelerfan]

Thank you for what you do!

[@ygstuff4898]

My local theatre company is putting on a presentation of "The Woman in Black" this season (2024/2025). Thanks for your review, and now I'm looking forward to the show.

[@wmbriggz]

Ray Bradbury is one of my personal and literary heroes…. Couldn’t find it for free so bought it used… thank you…

[@jefflivengood1860]

You are wonderful Jerome glad to see you again!❤😊

[@rivards1]

Glad to hear about you reading Bradbury. I always love his poetic prose, especially when looking for a dose of melancholy. Growing up in So Cal, I got to meet him a few times at local events. A very gracious and clever man. Other than Fahrenheit 451, his best known works essentially ARE short story collections, with a narrative or thematic thread connecting them.

[@quasimodo6264]

A constant source of edification to me.

[@deboracopeland4795]

I get it honey, I’ve given her books a break too. So many good books why support her. Too many young artists out there doing great work.

[@footytang]

you're my go too on book reviews. Sooo goood

[@yyyfffff33333]

Lifes too short to persevere with bad books .

[@russellfarina9099]

Good video. As usual. Informative. Thanks for relating the details on the story of anne perry. The creepiest parts of humanity will unfortunately continue to creep.

[@Paladin12572]

Glad you liked The Woman in Black. It's a perfect read for this time of year. The 1989 adaptation is almost as good as the book.

[@notatrueroute]

I will have to add _The Cradle Will Fall_ and _The Gun Seller_ to my list.

[@rktect78]

I just finished listening to Killers of the Flower Moon and learned a lot about events that I don't remember ever hearing about before. I haven't seen the movie that came out last year yet, but am interested to. I have found that I enjoy non fiction historical stories best.

[@itsmonday7450]

I am reading "Killing the Bordens" and I am enjoying it. The author clearly did a lot of research. I am also in the middle of "Rest is Resistance" for book club.

[@williamblakehall5566]

More Bradbury! I'm intrigued. Some of Bradbury's best writing has nothing to do with his original fiction, like his introduction to T. A. Heppenheimer's Colonies in Space. (It might make a good gift for someone -- my mind is already gearing up for Christmas.) Thanks, Rome.

[@rosezingleman5007]

I very slightly recall reading The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie after reading a bunch of Daniel Silva novels and it was too much of a shift in style, and all this time later I can’t even recall my opinion. I remember the news about “Anne Perry,” which is very strange. Francine Rivers’ books sound fun. John Huston really was kind of a monster, a force of nature. Katherine Hepburn’s book about her trip to Africa to film The African Queen is full of crazy stories too. Thanks Jerome!

[@Weiselberry]

@@rosezingleman5007 Ha, yes, style or genre whiplash like that can be a problem!

[@janeotoole2037]

Hi! I need to read that Ray Bradbury book since I love old movies. John Huston was once married to Evelyn Keyes and in her memoirs I remember a story about how he impulsively adopted a chimpanzee without consulting her and let it run wild around the house. Sounds like Huston was charismatic, self absorbed and often obnoxious, but maybe being around him helped Bradbury craft a script about loony Captain Ahab! It's fun to discover old radio dramas he wrote in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Some were sciences fiction stories, like Zero Hour, but there also straight up earth bound suspense stories, like my favorite, The Whole Town's Sleeping. I'm not super into science fiction, but The Martian Chronicles are just fantastic stories, and all the more so because they were written years before there was even a space program.

[@Weiselberry]

The Whole Town's Sleeping is one of my favorites too! Such a chilling story. I really enjoyed The Martian Chronicles as well, along with Dandelion Wine and Something Wicked This Way Comes (which I didn't think I'd like so much). For some reason, I've never been as keen on Fahrenheit 451, even though it's his greatest contribution to literature. The chimpanzee story is awful! Ugh, that would make me so angry. It also sounds consistent with Bradbury's tales, which inclines me to believe that more than half of what he wrote was true.

[@TheGoodTheBadandTheCheezy]

I just finished a book I won on a Goodreads giveaway. "How to Dump a Body at Sea and Not Get Caught" One of the authors writes the series "Wingman" which I love. Now I'm currently reading an anthology "Weird World War III. Enjoyable stores and will then start its sequels "Weird World War IV" and "Weird World War: China."

[@Lokster71]

I read The Gun Seller not long after it was first published when I was deep in my 'Fry & Laurie' love phase. I always thought it was well written and you couldn't help but hear it in his voice. I re-read it a few times too but haven't for a while. The same with Stephen Fry's 'The Liar' and 'Hippopotamus.' I think Laurie spent years trying to get a film version made but nothing seems to have come of it. I might have to re-read The Gun Seller at some point.

[@richardenglish2195]

To be honest, I preferred the 1989 film adaptation of The Woman in Black to the novel. To be fair, that's partly because I'm a huge fan of Nigel Kneale, but mostly due to the way he sustains the atmosphere and tragedy. It's hard to discuss it in depth here because I don't want to ruin the ending of either version, but the ending is key - and although Susan Hill's resolution has a genuine poetry to it, Kneale's vision has more, dare I say it, verisimilitude. But that's just my opinion. It is a great novel, though - glad you enjoyed it. Actually, amusing story, I used to work at a professional arts venue which hosted a touring version of the West End production. When you got to the 'jump scares', the audience would scream and start laughing at themselves for their reaction! I thought I was the only person who did this when I watch ghost/horror stories (well, I don't scream, but I smile broadly and often laugh in surprise), so it was reassuring to see over a thousand people respond the same way!

[@accursedimmortal553]

Book and Film reviews, those are my two favorite hobbies (along with some gaming). Some of the selections are obscure in my circle of interest, so it's good to be exposed to something I have no knowledge of. Hugh Laurie writing a book is shocking to me.

[@dansmith3085]

I've had some duds myself lately, Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X in particular. My favorite recent thing is the Penric and Desdemona series by Lois McMaster Bujold. It's a fantasy in which a minor son of a noble house becomes host to a "chaos demon". Demon in this case refers to an elemental being that exists in symbiosis with a host. Penric, who was betrothed to the daughter of a cheese maker, now has to contend with the demon, which he names Desdemona. He also inherits the echoes of all the previous hosts who were all fairly opinionated women. It's a light and often funny series that I recommend wholeheartedly. If possible, listen to the audio versions read by Grover Gardner.

[@peterconetta399]

Book by Ray Bradbury seems of real interest. Legendary director John Huston was quite a character really monstrous in many ways. The role he played in the movie "Chinatown" is sinister and frightening. Thank you.

[@richardgrenon3574]

If you have four-and-a-half minutes to spare I can highly recommend the review of the 1989 version of The Woman In Black over at Dark Corners, also on KZbin. As with all of that channel’s serious reviews (and quite a few of its off the wall ones) you come away knowing considerably more than you did at the start and feeling better for it. Incidentally, I saw the ’89 version on TV Ontario, about a year after it was made, and thought it was great.

[@terrylee6919]

Regarding John Huston, I highly recommend the excellent book White Hunter Black Heart by Peter Viertel. The film by the same name, starring and directed by Clint Eastwood, is also quite good, in spite of Eastwood’s poor acting performance. The story describes the on location filming of The African Queen.

[@stoakland24]

“Green Shadows, White Whale” is a great book! Surprised-and happy-to see it mentioned here.

[@only257]

Good 😊

[@trendtrader4010]

Cheers

[@grammardragon8425]

32K. Yeeeeeaaahhhhh!!!

[@bartolomeuomacduibheamhnad6855]

I was watching a show on channel Virgin Two earlier ( channel owned by Richard Branson ) titled Julia Bradbury’s Irish Journey, she’s no relation to Ray but thought it was funny. I always love your reading choices, I unfortunately have only read one, Green Shadows, White Whale and liked it a lot although it did feel like it was put together oddly. I’ve always been really interested in John Huston because I’m a fan of his films and we’d pass his house on the way to my grandparents, St Clarens, it was the home he bought after his stay in Courtown House in Kildare. It wasn’t owed by the Huston family when we’d see it though, it was John Huston’s then Merv Griffin’s and then a private owner. I remember reading somewhere, perhaps quotes from Lauren Bacall that Huston could make Bogart uncomfortable and would come across as a bully at times. I have a video saved on KZbin where Huston shows a television crew around St Clarens and I think it’s very telling on how he saw himself, he’s very performative. He talks about wanting to live in Ireland because it’s quiet and peaceful but there’s more to it I think, he may have liked the idea of appearing to others as old money, he had a large estate and lots of servants and organised dinner parties with esteemed guests with the ambition to impress them, I can see why he’d make The Man Who Would be King and think the idea of being an Esquire appealed to him, I’d imagine he could be a hard man to be around if you were a young up and comer like Bradbury. I wouldn’t be surprised if Huston had invited the crew and planned the evening around it lol. Robert Shaw had a small house not too far from St Clarens and lived an unassuming life. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q2K8ZHaueZZ3e68si=siHmWZbevy4IjbjV Angelica Huston is the patron of the Huston School of film and digital media in Ireland. I’ve had The Woman in Black on my reading list because I remember you mentioning that it was short lol, I put it off because I’ll tend to take a book to bed and continue reading for a few minutes and was iffy on the idea of dreaming about the woman in black, I obviously wouldn’t be scared by such a thing😬, not me😟 impossible! but why risk it? hahaha. I’ll read it and may do so in October. The Mésalliance and The Cradle will Fall sound like books I would like, comedy, romance and some maddening lol, some mystery in The Cradle will Fall too. I’ll add them to the list. The Lady’s Mine also sounds appealing, your description of it seemed familiar so wondered if it had been made into a TV film but it hadn’t, perhaps the image of a red headed woman in a western setting brought to mind some Maureen O’ Hara westerns or something like Dr Quinn. Sorry that you’ve been disappointed with the Pendergast books because I remember how enthusiastic you were about the earlier ones. I’ve seen Heavenly Creatures years ago and had no idea Juliet Hulme became a successful author under a different name :0 Anne Perry?? I’m stunned, I’d recommend avoiding the film if you want to continue reading her books, it doesn’t really tell you anything that you probably haven’t learned while doing research but seeing the act play out on film is heartbreaking and may ruin the enjoyment you’re found in the books. It’s such a strange story, both girls served so little time and if they were a little older they could’ve been facing the death penalty. I am curious about her books, Resurrection Row sounds good. The last couple of books I’ve been reading are The Irish Zorro by Gerard Ronan, apparently the legend of Zorro was inspired by an Irish guy :0 weird if true. A Myth in Action : The heroic life of Audie Murphy. Such an incredible life, it inspired me to rewatch a couple of his films again, I think his films were okay but it’s so interesting to watch him, he wasn’t a big burly guy like John Wayne or Gary Cooper and was usually a quietly spoken guy on screen but his real life heroics adds a fascinating ingredient to the stories. Really enjoyable reviews as always. ~ Happy Sunday and thank you Ms Weiselberry ~

[@Weiselberry]

Ah-ha! I wondered if you had read Green Shadows, White Whale or had any insight on the topic. Interesting video of Huston. Even more interesting are the comments singing his praises. As a director and an intellectual, the praise is well-deserved. But to the people saying they'd love to have dinner with him or spend a day with him, I wonder if they could really take it? He was certainly clever and colorful and intriguing, and his talent is undeniable, but as a companion, it sounds like he was more than a little overpowering, with a particular disdain for anyone, man or woman, who wasn't as gutsy as he was. I'd find it tough to hang out with someone like that. Haha, I had some reservations about reading The Woman in Black in bed myself! My dad read Audie Murphy's autobiography within the last year or two. I tend to agree that as a leading man he's kind of atypical. I wonder if he'd have had the acting career if his military exploits hadn't garnered so much attention. (If I read the book, maybe I'd get an answer!) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@bartolomeuomacduibheamhnad6855]

@@Weiselberry It’s the time to acknowledge actor Duncan Regehr again . :D Feliz cumpleaños.🦉 You’ve brought so much joy to so many people. I hope you have a wonderful day filled with happiness :)

[@Weiselberry]

@@bartolomeuomacduibheamhnad6855 Thank you! :)

[@kaylanash3588]

I posted a comment last night, but this morning I saw it had disappeared 😢. I wanted to ask you if you have ever read any books by Karen Kingsbury? A friend from Sunday school recently gave me a Karen Kingsbury novel as a birthday gift. I’m almost done with chapter two, and it’s pretty good, it really pulls you into the story. I also received a number of cozy mysteries for my birthday. I’m keeping a list of all the books I’ve read this year, and I’m almost up to forty.

[@Weiselberry]

Hm, I'm sorry to hear that. Nothing showed up on my end. I started a book by Karen Kingsbury once while on a road trip, but I wasn't able to get into it. I think it was the second in a series. I know she's a very prolific writer. Happy (belated) birthday!

[@smelisi]

Two things (apart from thanks for another fine video) 1) I adore Bradbury, but have always struggled with his (let’s call them) Ireland stories, of which Green Shadows, White Whale is really a collection of (along with the Huston stuff). I don’t know why this is, though, as I love so much of his fiction. I do much better with his Mexico stories (if I’m allowed to categorize a subset of his work by region). As a result, I had a difficult time with this book, despite my admiration of RB, Huston, as well as the Moby Dick they made. It certainly doesn’t work as a novel (I’ve always felt RB was weakest in the long form) but as a collection of tales, it’s hit or miss. As for Huston, YES, he WAS that much of a monster! Check out any bio of him and the tales abound. It’s often hard to love him and yet hard to hate him too, being so multi-layered a person, so talented, so charismatic. As for Banshee, such a great story. There’s an adaptation of it from The Ray Bradbury Theater TV show with Peter O’Toole in the Huston role that’s worth checking out. 2) Loved the deep dive into Anne Perry. I saw the movie in question when it came out in 1994, and fell hard for it. It also made me fall for Kate Winslet, who-on the strength of her performance in it, Hamlet, and Jude (both 1996)-got me to buy a ticket to Titanic in 1997, which I wasn’t going to see since, duh, I knew how it ended. (Ah, younger me.) That the woman became a novelist I believe I knew (there may be an outro of text about that in the film), but I never delved further. Your honest assessment of the situation was moving and appreciated (but I get why you advise folks to skip).

[@peterkarargiris4110]

Oh, ok, the film about Perry was 'Heavenly Creatures' (1994) I saw it back when it was released, when Peter Jackson was 'the flavour of the month' and I recall disliking it intensely. The mixture of obsession and quirky fantasy together with what is clearly mental illness was, I think, just handled poorly. Anne Perry passed away in 2023. Maybe review the film yourself one day and see what you think. Have a nice weekend. Cheers.

[@deboracopeland4795]

Yes I saw that, strange movie.

[@alandhopewell]

Good Evening! Your reviews are a real joy, especially your honesty and lack of guile. So many book series get lazy quite quickly, and that's a real turn off for me, especially when the first few books show a lot of promise. Also, if I find myself compromising my ethical/ moral standards for the sake of entertainment , I toss it aside. I had read some Anne Perry, and had discovered her story through Mr. Jackson's film; I did stop reading her work, partially because of that. As you said, redemption is what we're supposed to be about, but I was troubled. GREEN SHADOWS, WHITE WHALE was a fun read, but it's partially overshadowed by what's come out about Houston over the years. I haven't read THE WOMAN IN BLACK, but I did see the Daniel Radcliffe adaptation, which I found somewhat disappointing. Thank you for brightening my late night; have a blessed Sunday.

[@Ned_of_the_Hill]

Dear Ms. Weiselberry, Your reaction to finding about the past of Anne Perry/Juliet Hulme is understandable. I had the same experience, after reading a Marion Zimmer Bradley book, I looked up her Wikipedia entry and discovered horrible accusations by her daughter. It is a difficult thing to navigate the art versus the artist. A few novels I've read in recent months are: “Poets and Murder” (Judge Dee #11) by Robert van Gulik “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury “Beyond the Sea of Ice” (The First Americans #1) by William Sarabande (pen name of Joan Lesley Hamilton). I like a spooky read for October, though I've not read "The Woman in Black". I think I'm going to read "Dracula" this year.

[@stoakland24]

Yeah, Bradley's (true) story is shocking and horrific.

[@Weiselberry]

@@Ned_of_the_Hill Ooh, have fun with Dracula! I've read it a few times.

[@maxdewinter9472]

Thanks for these suggestions. I feel like I'm always having trouble finding books I want to read, but you've got some titles here that look worthwhile. I was reading a book by P.D James in August that I gave up on. I thought I had read a couple of her books years ago and enjoyed them, but I really disliked the characters in this one. They all had the same personality: cynical, immoral and self absorbed. The story involved a murder mystery in northern England, near a nuclear power plant. I had taken the book on a camping trip, but a big storm came through and blew our tent over. The book got soaked, so since I wasnt enjoying it anyway, it seemed like a good reason to set it aside. Right now I'm reading the complete collection of Eudora Welty's short stories, so I know I will be finishing this one. I'm not sure how we came to have this book, as it is marked 'WITHDRAWN' from our town's high school library, which seems a shame to me. I wonder what could possibly be better that would require eliminating Eudora Welty. As always, thank you for your high quality reveiws!

[@Weiselberry]

I think I tried a P.D. James mystery once a long time ago. I can't remember what my issue was, but I set it aside after a chapter or two. I don't think I'm familiar with Eudora Welty, but it sounds like you're giving her a ringing endorsement!

[@maxdewinter9472]

@@Weiselberry Yes, I am! Southern writer. Very well drawn characters. She also wrote about writing. Her book 'One Writer's Beginnings' was very helpful to me as a college student.

[@robertmcdonald2668]

Hi Jerome --- I'd like you to watch "Ring of Fire". It's on TCM Watch until October 22. Released by MGM in 1961, it stars David Jansen ( one year before "The Fugitive") and Frank Gorshin (the Riddler on TV's "Batman"). In my opinion, it's unique for a MGM film of that time; shot in color on location in the forests of Oregon, it's a low budget but well made film by the husband and wife team of Andrew and Virginia Stone. It's a brisk, well edited (by Virginia) crime/ adventure. It's not "The Third Man", but still an entertaining and unique 90 minute curio for it's time. I hope you can watch it and give a review. BYE . . Bob

[@robert2430]

Do you have a google doc list of books you’ve reviewed like you did with movies?

[@Weiselberry]

I do have a private list, which channel supporters get access to through my Ko-fi page.

[@andyspaintchannel4671]

Have read the book Where The Crawdads Sing & have you seen the movie?

[@Weiselberry]

No, I haven't read it or seen it.

[@davidearls1926]

Do you read Science Fiction?

[@Weiselberry]

@@davidearls1926 Occasionally, yes.

[@davidgianatasio5747]

Have you ever read any of the Martin Beck mysteries? Written by a Swedish husband-wife team from 1966 to 1976. Featuring the Stockholm homicide squad. The books use crime as a lens to view changing social and political themes of the day. The 4th book, The Laughing Policeman, is the standout, but they’re all great. (That one was also a good movie starring Walter Matthau.) Recommend! As always, truly enjoyed this roundup. You rock!

[@Weiselberry]

No, I haven't. Can the fourth book be read as a stand-alone?

[@davidgianatasio5747]

@@Weiselberry yes indeed

[@Jumpman67]

Have you ever read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury? If you like Bradbury you might find it interesting.

[@Weiselberry]

No, I haven't read that one. Does it beat Something Wicked This Way Comes as perfect October reading?

[@3rd_Doctor]

Loveliest person on KZbin!

[@Knee-JerkReactor]

Those 'Woman In Black' illustrations look a bit like Charles Addams'.

[@AJBell-dh6ry]

I'm the same way, I give up on books all the time. If it's an author I know I like, I'll often power through. But, other than that, I just move on.

[@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis.]

Regarding the one author which you mentioned, the Peter Jackson film based off of the horrible event, "Heavenly Creatures" is an excellent film, which doesn't sensationalise the events, nor is it graphic, but examines it in a sort of detached way making it more haunting in a sense. It looks at the personalities of the girls, their relationship and the behaviour of the murdered mother, it's obviously a grim subject matter, but the film itself is excellent and if made by anyone else could have easily been exploitative or as I said sensationalised. I own a copy on DVD and while I don't revisit it often, I feel that it is an important film which examines the background to the case and what led up to the killing. I hope that you'll consider watching it; yes, the subject is distasteful but it does give insight into things, and it might make you consider your view of the author. If you don't want to see it, I understand, I just wanted you to know how the director handled it so, you might not dismiss it out of hand.

[@Ruby_Kang]

I'm glad you enjoyed reading The Woman in Black. I can't really add anything more to what I previously wrote in the comments on your video for the 1989 TV adaptation. I got a sense that Susan Hill was very passionate about writing the story -- feels like a labour of love with all its texture and detail -- and it's a book I wouldn't mind reading again some day. My copy doesn't have the illustrations (published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, New York, 2011). On the subject of adaptations; tonight I've just finished rewatching the 1995 TV movie adaptation of Tennessee William's "A Streetcar Named Desire" starring Jessica Lange. It follows more closely to the original stageplay than the famous movie version. The full, uncensored story is focused much more on Blanche DuBois than Stanley Kowalski (the story is really about Blanche DuBois but the Elia Kazan movie with Brando kind of flipped that around). Jessica Lange (as Blanche) does an excellent job of conveying how internally broken and outwardly fragile the character is, and I also like the down-to-earth performance by Diane Lane (as her sister Stella), which she plays completely different to Kim Hunter in the 1951 movie. As impressive as the 1951 movie is with its dramatic cinematography and high theatrics, overall I prefer the softer, more naturalistic approach with this small screen adaptation. It was interesting hearing of your dilemma regarding reading books by the author who had committed such a monstrous act in her youth. I'm not sure how I would feel in that situation.

[@Weiselberry]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it first and piquing my interest! I'd wondered if your copy had illustrations. They didn't take anything away from the story, but given how descriptive Hill's writing is, and how effective one's own imagination can be, I don't think they were necessary. Thanks also for sharing your take on a lesser-known version of A Streetcar Named Desire. I've only seen the 1951 film where, yes, Brando dominates the picture. I did read a detailed synopsis of the play once, but I haven't actually read it and I've never looked into other versions. It would be interesting to see an interpretation so different.

[@onegin3000]

You should watch "Heavenly Creatures." Orson Welles and "The Third Man" are featured prominently in it. Its a strange film, but i remember enjoying it.

[@trendtrader4010]

Amazing !!

[@Brian_Boru]

I dig your vibe.

[@tessEnichols19]

Hello ma’am! I would love to hear your review, analysis, and expertise on the 1956 classic movie “Baby Doll.” Just an idea! Thanks so much!

[@dieterrosswag933]

So pretty

[@bobross9127]

What about a Glenn Cook book review.

[@News2morrow]

In my opinion, you might want to consider moving into a new phase of life. You enjoy reviewing other people's books (and you do it well) but I feel that you should begin writing your own novels. You seem to have a great vocabulary, insights & imagination, all potent ingredients for a successful author. And Amazon makes it really easy to write and publish your own books. Just a suggestion. Be blessed.

[@Weiselberry]

Thanks for the interest. When I had a fiction-writing phase years ago, I found I preferred writing short stories and novellas over novels. But these days, aside from weekly scripts for my videos, I have no desire to write or publish anything.

[@danbendix1398]

Earning a living by authoring books is no way to atone for the most grievous of sins. Living a life of constant service to your fellow man is atonement. Nursing at a leper colony for example.

[@freesheep0]

Please be my 90s nostalgic GF !

[@garyhart6421]

5 years then she ran away from it --- does not sound repentant.

[@PonyboyGarfunkel]

I finished "The Woman in Black" a few weeks ago. I loved the atmospheric town and watery road to the isolated haunted house. Afterwards, I watched both films. I like the 1989 version, especially the image of the woman standing on the lake. In the book, the solicitor was young and struggling, but he had already "arrived" in this film. The Daniel Radcliffe version could have worked, but I hate a couple of changes, particularly the silly ending and an absurd nighttime search for a body (Anyone would have chosen daylight for the task.). I have tried to read "Catch22" and "On the Road," each two times, and both times I quit.