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Mysteries, mania, and movies
Sep. 10th, 2014 02:03 pm Beatlemania to be precise. More books published for the 50th anniversary of their first US appearances
Days That I'll Remember: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono by Jonathan Cott
Jonathan Cott brings together his Rolling Stone interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1968 until just before John's death in 1980. He includes an interview with Yoko from 2012. These versions include material that never appeared in the magazine. There are some amazing insights into the couple's relationship and influence on each other. The introduction almost put me off the book, as he kept including lines from the Beatles' songs. The illustrations and photographs by John and Yoko are fascinating.
The Beatles in 100 Objects by Brian Southall
An enjoyable journey down Memory Lane (Penny (for your thoughts) Lane?). Lots of the items are from the early days, before they hit America and it was nice to read about them. The illustrations were glorious and the stories associated with each item were fascinating. I loved the stories behind the boots and the suits. It seemed well-researched and detailed.
Some readers call Louise Penny's series the Three Pines series. I think Quebec is the thread that ties them together - history, politics, and people. I haven't read the entire series but these two were mostly satisfying without the additional information from the whole series.
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Sixth in the series. This is not an easy read. I had almost given up on Louise Penny, but I'm glad I picked up this one. There are three separate plots going on. One is told in flashbacks while two are contemporary (but the flashbacks fit into the contemporary story). She ties them all together properly. The character development is strong and the stories are interesting though the ending will be hard to read. I learned a lot about Quebec's history. The separatist movement figures largely here. Definitely worth reading.
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Ninth in the series. Chief Inspector Gamache finally unravels the last mystery, Jean-Guy Beauvoir confronts his demons, and a thirty-year-old mystery is finally solved. It took nine books to get here, but we finally find out who the patient mastermind/Gamache's antagonist is. Quebec's separatist party figures largely here as well. Gamache's plan to counter the mastermind was set in motion months before and reading it play out is a thing of beauty. Penny makes you feel the cold, both internal and external. Well worth reading, but it will make very little sense if you haven't read any of earlier ones in the series. Brief note - I loved her story about Leonard Cohen in the acknowledgements.
And just for the heck of it:
I'd seen the movie Whiteout and someone told me it was vastly inferior to the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. So I finally read that. The novel was better - funny how that happens. I didn't care for the changes the movie made. The novel is worth hunting up.
