Bookworm

Hello my silent readers! I am slowly starting to get back into a normal(ish) routine here in Tennessee so I can take a few minutes and sit down and reach out to the blogging universe.

I started working at a used books store and boy oh boy do I work! This past weekend was like Christmas at the mall and I am not exaggerating on that. It was crazy. What is the plus of working here besides the fact that they pay me? One groovy discount! I have already been shopping three times because I can't help myself! On top of books we also sell movies, CDs, video games, video game systems, phones, vinyl...etc. I bought three DVDs: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with John Barrymore and Martha Mansfield, a TCM collection of Jean Harlow films (I already have one of the films, but oh well), and The Big Bang Theory (because I have become kind of addicted to that show). On top of the movies, I went to their tv/movie section and pretty much lost my damn mind and about cleaned them out. Let me share my new buys:

Hollywood Picks the Classics by Afton Fraser

This book is pretty cool because it has pretty pictures, and who doesn't love that? The movies are divided by chapters such as "Must See," "Screen Teams,"Film Noir," etc. It also has various celebrities naming their favorite classic films in the sidebars which, eh...take or leave. Each movie section has a little summary of the plot, cast list, award list, movie quotes, snippets about the stars, and behind the scenes gossip. I dig it :)

 

And You Thought You Knew Classic Movies! by John DiLeo

Man, I went through this one night and some of the questions really stumped me! Especially questions to do with the director, producer, and production type stuff. Stuff I don't really pay attention to when it comes to movies. I felt kind of dumb after this! But, definitely try out your movie knowledge on this!

 

Who Is That? by Warren B. Meyers

This book is just pictures with a little intro before each section, which is fine with me because you know how much I love looking at old movie star pictures. What the book basically is is a visual guide of character actors from the good ole days. I was looking through it and had a lot of, "Oh that guy/girl!" No biographies or info on said actors, but it is still a fun book.

The Stars by Richard Schickel

The title pretty much says it...a book of movie stars. It begins with "The Prototypes" of the cinema: Mack Sennett, William S. Hart, Theda Bara, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks. Which, can I just say how much I love when the early greats get the recognition they deserve? It is then broken down to the different eras up until the 1950s which I think is a great ending date because the movies get more modern when the 60s came about. One bad thing is that they have a comedian section and Chaplin gets like six pages devoted to him while Keaton, Langdon, and Lloyd get two. Sad face.

 

Love in the Film by William K. Everson

This book is kinda like the one written about the best romantic movies, but this one includes silent films so it is the better. Great synopsises and pictures and helpful if you are in the mood for watching a love story. For me, I have to be in the right state of mind. If I am in a guy hating mood, I can't watch a romance without screaming obscenities to the screen. Am I alone in this?

 

Great Lovers of the Movies by Jane Mercer

Yep, you can guess what this one is about. The men this chick adores and loves. The book of course starts out with Valentino but what is kind of annoying to me is that the author differs in the spelling of his first name. In the table of contents and in the heading of his chapter his name is spelled "Rudolf" but then later in the chapter, it is "Rudolph." I don't know......anyways! Other dashing gents include Ramon Novarro, John Barrymore, John Gilbert, Gary Cooper, Robert Taylor...you know, the real men? No Buster though...sad face. He will be my lover, that is fine by me!

 

Hollywood: The Pioneers by Kevin Brownlow

I can't believe it has taken me so long to have this book! Brownlow is one of THE silent film gurus! He should be worshipped alongside Anthony Slide! This book has amazing pictures from the earliest days of film making including behind the scenes and advertisements. It is incredible and definitely needs to be in your movie book collections.

 

TCM Classic Movie Trivia by Turner Classic Movies

Uh, this one....save your money. It is big and looks fancy but really what it is is a big book with lots of questions that are repeated throughout the whole book. I had one question that had already been asked on the previous page! I don't know if the editor had a migraine or was suffered from narcolepsy or what but this is not a product that TCM should be proud of having produced. I would say get the trivia book I mentioned above instead of this one.

 

** sorry that some of the pictures are rough. They are mostly from Amazon because I am too tired to take a picture of them with my camera/phone.