The subtitle is “A young man’s thoughts on trains and tramping in America.” The book delivers just that. The young man is observant and fanciful enough to make it engaging, while keeping it low key, letting the dirt in his fingernails come through. He’s interested in lingo, and shares it in a way that retains…

None of us are sure if we’ll make this concert. Dad has all the tickets, Ann has extra work to do over the weekend, and Dad and Sarah are fighting off some kind of virus. When the evening comes, though, all of us make it Boettcher Concert Hall, find each other and our tickets, and…

The first surprise is that Brazil has a vast desert of sand dunes with isolated “lagoons” that provide enough water to support human settlers, just barely. The story follows three generations of women stranded in this area, unable to return to the outside world that goes on making wars and discoveries that become echoes in…

Watched this at Doug’s place, and I completely agree with his review. My personal reaction was one of great thankfulness that I quit working for a defense contractor. I had ways of excusing it at the time, but working in the bowels of the war machine just sapped my spirit. This movie is a reminder…

A French film that delivers pronounced but believable characters in polarized relationships. Fame in one character creates invisibility in another, dominance creates submission, desire creates rejection. Plenty of time is devoted to character development, which I always find a relief after too many American films. Referred by the preview

This is the third film in Deepak Metha’s Fire, Earth, Water trilogy. This time the story centers on the treatment of widows in India, with the cultural changes brought by Mohandas Ghandi during his fast providing the historical backdrop. All of these movies are at the same time gritty and romantic, and for me at…

Randy Newman is not afraid. I take my seat among a crowd that has a preponderance of gray hair. People are talking about Newman’s soundtracks to Pixar movies like Toy Story and Monster’s Inc. I hear someone warn their companion, “He also does some weird songs. We might be for an interesting night.” Then Randy…

My mom recommended this book as a way to learn something about my namesake. I’ve never been a hardcore Bob Dylan fan, never made a study of his songs, but I imagine some things in this book must come as a shock to those who have. Dylan definitely makes his musical development the center of…

We listened to this audio book on our drive also. I chose it because I have liked other books by Salzman. The subject of this one surprised me: it features a Carmelite nun’s struggles with epilepsy. The next surprise was that his presentation allowed me to truly relate to the character. Salzman has a knack…

We borrowed a recorded version of this book from the library for our drive to Idaho. I’d never read any Agatha Christie books, but they are excellent for driving. The intricate plot requires close attention, especially in audio format. I probably would have done a lot of re-reading in a printed book, but in the…