4 posts tagged “favorite”

So, did text books pretty much ruin history for you?  All those boring pages and pages of names and dates, with the same old bits repeated year after year (found American, Revolt, Repeat) until you got out of high school?  Well, what if those history lessons had a bit more intrigue to them? 

Rick Geary's Graphic Novels are devoid of superheroes or dream masters.  Instead, Geary uses his talents as a writer and as an artist to tell the stories from history.  His main series - Treasury of Victorian Murder - covers such classics as the Assasination of Abraham Lincoln, Jack the Ripper, The Lindbergh Kidnapping and Lizzie Borden. 


                                                                                Researched and readable, these books are great primers for
someone who wants an accessible version of the facts before diving into a 500 page book on the subject.  Part True-Crime novel and part history lesson, Geary's black and white ink drawings are simple enough in their style that readers unfamiliar with the graphic novel format shouldn't feel overwhelmed. 

I for one had no interest in reading about Jack the Ripper, but Geary's book (which uses the primary source of a London citizen's diary from the time to frame the story) was so easy to read, that I did find myself wondering about the mystery afterwards. 

So next time you're struggling to find a book, ask a librarian for one of Rick Geary's graphic novels.  You'll be able to finish the thing in one sitting and afterwards you'll have some extra bits of knowledge floating around in your brain.  And who knows, you might ignite a passion for history that you didn't even know you had. 

This is a classic.  There's no getting around it. Once you've experience the Hitchhiker's Guide radio series, you will probably never want to listen to another boring one-narrator audio book again.

The complete collection includes dramatizations of all five of the Hitchhiker stories.  The first two were the original series, done for the BBC radio back in the early 1980s, the last three were done later on.  It does show when it comes to the writing.  It's not that the wit/humor isn't there, it's more that the ability to write for this audio medium becomes more difficult.  I felt that the Quandary and Quintessential phases were the weakest when it came to portraying the story through clever dialogue and relied too heavily on the narrator for setting up situations. 

But, in the end, it doesn't matter.  They are forgivable sins because this series is so fantastic.  Having all 5 of these stories together, traveling the galaxy with Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, Trillian, and Marvin make it all worth while. 

It is important to note that the radio series has the Super-Mega-Happy-Ending that was not part of 'Mostly Harmless', the book.  It didn't really bother me, as I always felt the ending in 'Mostly Harmless' to be a kind of "Look, I am totally DONE with these characters" from Douglas Adams and insuring that no one could beg him to bring them back.  But the radio shows were produced after Adams' death, so it just feels weird that they changed the ending.  But that's entertainment for you.

If you've never experienced anything Hitchhiker's Guide related before, PICK THIS UP!  Buy it or borrow it from the library, but you MUST hear it.  It is a classic in radio production and in science fiction, and humor writing too!  So well done that once it's finished, you find yourself wondering when you can listen to it again....

I was obsessed with this movie when it first came out on video while I was in high school.  Every girl has her John Cusack phase, and this was the movie that started it for me.

So I was a little worried when I popped it into the VCR on Tuesday night.  Sometimes the movies we loved in high school turn out to be pretty bad when we rewatch them as adults.  Luckily, this was not the case with Grosse Pointe Blank.  Solid cast, solid writing, and a great soundtrack. 

Martin Blank is a professional killer.  As fate would have it, his next job takes him back to his hometown of Grosse Pointe, a few days before his 10 year high school reunion.  The town that he fled on prom night and had not been back to since.  The night he left his girlfriend sitting on the front porch while he had a less-than-a-quarter life crisis.  In the midst of his nostalgic visit, he finds himself followed by Dan Ackroyd's character, another hitman, who wants to form a sort of union for professional killers.  Martin has turned him down so he wants to get him out of the way. 

Okay, it is hard to describe, but you get the gist -- this is a dark comedy with lots of laugh out loud moments.  John Cusack at his best, in my opinion.  He's not just playing an adult Lloyd Dobbler, Martin Blank is a unique character.  One of his best comedies that deserves a little more attention.  If you need a rental for your next popcorn night, I totally recommend Grosse Pointe Blank.