Literary and Cinematic Update

I finished Nabokov’s autobiography. I really enjoyed it. His lyrical writing made my heart flutter. Now, let’s talk about Henry James. I have bumbled my way through 30 pages of his Wings of the Dove. As far as I can tell, the characters are talking in circles. But I think I am just not getting it. I am going to keep at it, but I might have to abort this mission. The book is 400+ pages. I am enjoying the fact that I am reading a 1937 edition. The pages are thin and fragile; and a musty scent wafts up every time I turn a page.

I saw a stamp on the first page of the book: “Chamberlayne Junior College, Newbury Street.” I launched an investigation. Boston residents, here’s an interesting bit of trivia. Mayor Menino got an associate’s degree from Chamberlayne. The college was folded into Mount Ida College in the late 1980s, along with New England Institute of Funeral Service Education and the Coyne School of Technical Electricity.

My cinematic news is that I watched Treasure of the Sierra Madre the other night. It was fun to watch Humphrey Bogart play a crazy person. I always say that I am not a Western fan, but when I do watch them, I end up enjoying them. Maybe it’s just that I’m watching really really good Westerns. (This one won three Oscars.)

Oh, and I saw The Fighter last night. It was great. Great acting, great story. Melissa Leo and Christian Bale definitely deserve their Golden Globes. Apparently Mark Wahlberg fought hard to get this movie made; I’m glad he did.