Some Books

The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped A Nation by Jim Clyburn is pretty good. It concerns the first eight black South Carolina congressmen, written by the ninth. 

The author was once a history teacher, so he has some skills in particular to write about the subject. The style is straightforward and generally easy to read. At times, it got a bit dull. 

Among the first eight is Civil War hero Robert Smalls and Thomas Miller, who looked white, and appears to have been the grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The book helpfully places the eight into the context of the times.

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I recall reading The Princess Bride a long time ago. 

At least, I recall reading William Goldman talk about how (he takes this conceit quite far, including in later editions) the book is actually merely an abridgement of a much longer (nonfiction) work. 

The death of Rob Reiner led me to re-watch the film and read the most recent edition (it has "the first chapter" of a sequel) of the book. The book is quick reading with multiple asides. I read the over four-hundred-page book in basically two days. 

My edition had two anniversary introductions plus the intro to the main book. So, you read over fifty pages before getting to the main attraction. 

The book is mostly like the movie. The book adds a few things about Buttercup's parents and a "zoo of death," but the film and movie mostly overlap. 

It's enjoyable. I won't say it is GOAT material or anything. It is enjoyable.

I wish Buttercup had a more active role. She comes off as rather naive. As a satire of typical fairy tales, that somewhat makes sense, but still. 

The book also reminds us that these aren't great people. The heroes, after all, are criminals. Westley becomes a pirate. Pirates do some bad things. 

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I listened to As You Wish, written by the actor who plays Westley. It is basically a 25th Anniversary era celebration of the film. The audio included many people involved in the film. That was charming.

I am not a big books on tape fan, especially for longer works. This book isn't that long. I didn't seek it out. I wanted the book, and the audiobook is what came up.

(I'm listening to Selma Blair read The Diary of Anne Frank. She does a good job. The diary is longer, and I don't know if I want to listen to the whole thing.)

The last disc was corrupted, so I could not finish listening to it. That was annoying. 

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I also read The L-Shaped Room, an old British book about a woman who moves into a seedy apartment after she gets pregnant. The first time she has sex. 

It was okay. There was a certain artificial flavor to it, including how the main character never truly was at risk. For instance, her aunt eventually pays her to type a book, and then she makes money typing, allowing a means for her to make money after she is fired.

(The book was also at times somewhat tediously wordy. There were some interesting supporting characters, including a gay black musician and two prostitutes, each somewhat simplistically drawn.) 

The link is to a film starring Leslie Caron (more familiar for such works as Gigi), which I saw a long time ago and wish to see again. Nonetheless, the only DVD I was able to find was the wrong format. 

And, though TCM sometimes plays her films, they never air that one. Annoying. Checking the summary, the film changes the book somewhat, including explaining why a French actress is being used.