Topic: Book Reviews

[Dragonfire]

That Hitchcock book sounds wonderful.  So does On Set Off Guard.  I love when books show that sort of stuff..or when some of the extras on the DVDs show the cast on set.  Some of my Hitchcock movies show pictures from the sets during extras.  I love that sort of stuff.

I have a book about the making of Sweeney Todd, the one by Tim Burton.  There are pictures of the concept art for the sets and costumes..there are pictures of the cast on set.  One that I loved has Johnny Depp - in full Sweeney makeup - and Burton between takes laughing together about something.
There is a sketch in that book that Burton did years ago of his idea for Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett.  This sketch was done years before Burton started working on the movie...years before he even met Helena Bonham Carter.  The sketches resemble Depp and Carter. I just find stuff like that cool.

Ohh..in this Potter book, one of the illustrations is a reproduction of a sketch that Rowling did of the layout of the grounds for the production designer. 

[Dr. Hasslein]

I have this great book on film that full of news paper articles from when many major films were released.

[Dragonfire]

My mom has the 75th anniversary Edition of Gone With the Wind.  From what I remember, there are reproductions of some of the original press releases in the set...some pictures.  There is even a copy of the original budget.

My Wizard of Oz set has some stuff like that too. 

[Dr. Hasslein]

My mom has the 75th anniversary Edition of Gone With the Wind.  From what I remember, there are reproductions of some of the original press releases in the set...some pictures.  There is even a copy of the original budget.

My Wizard of Oz set has some stuff like that too. 

I gave my best friend The Wizard of Oz Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray and that came with a copy of the original budget.

[Critter]

’The Legend of the Golden Snail’ by Graeme Base



I received this book as a Christmas gift, and while some may find it strange for a 19-year old receiving a children’s picture book I can explain it by saying I am a massive Graeme Base fan. Unlike most children in Aus I actually didn’t grow up with Graeme Base books and my love for him developed later in my teen years. Sure I knew of his most famous books, everyone here knows Animalia but they weren’t books that were very prominent in my childhood.
Graeme Base is an artist that I have nothing but the highest respect for, I now try to collect as many of his books as I can purely for how beautiful they are, the fact that they usually tell fantastic little stories is almost an added bonus. As far as how this one holds up I think it may not be as famous and well-known in the future as Base’ other more well-known works such as Animalia or The Eleventh Hour but it’s still a lovely little story.

If anyone here has a young child, or even family or friends with young children then I highly recommend this as a great gift idea, the text is minimal so it’s great for even younger children and some of the plot lines are told purely through art instead of words. And the art really is spectacular, one image in particular of a giant crab the size of an island towering over the young boy is really a great achievement in scale. There is also an interesting feature with this book where anyone with a webcam can go to the official website and bring the book to life using augmented reality. I don’t have a webcam so have not had a look at this feature but I think it sounds interesting.

I have added below and example of how beautiful the art is and how it is up to Base’ usual very high standard.

[Najemikon]

That art reminds me of something you'd appreciate, Sophie. You know how certain feelings and reactions you have as a child might be out of context, but years later can still haunt you? I found a book the other day from when I must have been very young and flipping the pages was like a thunderbolt! The art is so incredible that I realised I could remember it vividly from the day I saw it.

Question is, is it still in print?   Please hold a moment...

No.   It's called The Magic Circus, by Wayne Anderson and Christopher Logue. Someone on Amazon has a small picture of it:

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Circus-Wayne-Anderson/dp/0224015559

Waterstones have it for a small fortune considering it is very thin: http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/wayne+anderson/christopher+logue/the+magic+circus/7257599/

A search on Wayne Anderson did reveal this though:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gatochy/191897781/#/

That Hitchcock book sounds wonderful.  So does On Set Off Guard.  I love when books show that sort of stuff..or when some of the extras on the DVDs show the cast on set.  Some of my Hitchcock movies show pictures from the sets during extras.  I love that sort of stuff.

You have no idea. I had a proper look through all the replicas today. They include:

Birth certificate/ Marriage certificate
Memo's from classification board telling him the changes required in Psycho and The Birds
Letter (in French and a translated version) from Francois Truffaut arranging the famous interviews they did
Copies of samples of his original storyboards
... and loads more!

Good grief, I'm having a nerd-gasm. This book is awesome! 

[Critter]

Hmm, I'm curious about that book now Jon. I may have to try and track down a copy, thanks for letting me know about it.

[Dragonfire]

Ooo...now I want the Hitchcock book.  That sounds awesome.

[Najemikon]

http://www.amazon.com/Hitchcock-Piece-Laurent-Bouzereau/dp/0810996014 

[Dragonfire]

It is added to my wishlist, so now it is just a matter of time....something else for me to blame you for

[Najemikon]

It is added to my wishlist, so now it is just a matter of time....something else for me to blame you for

When Karsten did the year end thread last year, I suggested we mention if we bought something based on a forum recommendation. I dare not suggest it this time for fear of your post!

[Dragonfire]

 

I believe I did mention that with some of the DVDs and Blu-rays I got last year. 

Maybe I'll just go start a new thread just for this. 

[Dragonfire]

True Grit by Charles Portis

After enjoying the 2010 movie version of True Grit and liking the 1969 version when I watched it, I was sort of interested in reading the book, but I wasn't really planning to pick it up.  Then I saw the book in Walmart one day..and I ended up picking up the book. 

I did enjoy the book and think it is well worth reading, especially for people who have liked the movies.  There are things that have been changed for both movie versions while they both manage to tell the same basic story.  The ending is a bit bleak in some ways, but it seems more realistic than what was done in the 1969 movie. 

Overall I really enjoyed the book and think it is worth reading.

I did post a longer review on Epinions.

True Grit by Charles Portis

[Kathy]

I just finished The Good Guy by Dean Koontz. Although he wrote one of my favorite books, Intensity, sometimes Koontz goes off track for me.

Not in this case. This suspense/thriller was really good. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a little more than a day. I definitely recommend this one.

[Dragonfire]

I haven't enjoyed some of Koontz's newer books ...but when he's good, he's really good.  I love many of his books.