tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post7518557991792727948..comments2024-02-10T01:22:29.316-08:00Comments on Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies: My Favorite Books of the DecadeKevin J. Olsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-44816556523768546662010-01-07T12:20:11.275-08:002010-01-07T12:20:11.275-08:00Thanks for the links, Jeffrey.Thanks for the links, Jeffrey.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-41715923571187392042010-01-07T12:04:12.986-08:002010-01-07T12:04:12.986-08:00Most of the time I subscribe to the French weekly ...Most of the time I subscribe to the French weekly magazine Les Inrockuptibles. It's probably my favorite French cultural magazine. Anyway, I thought you'd enjoy seeing their best of the year lists for books, films, and albums (even if you can't read French, I figure you'll be able to decipher the titles):<br /><br />BOOKS<br />http://www.lesinrocks.com/best-of-2009/detail/t/1262077201/article/livres-le-top-25-de-lannee-passee/<br /><br />FILMS<br />Scroll down for their list of the top 20 films of the year:<br /><br />http://www.awardsdailyforums.com/showthread.php?p=865553<br /><br />ALBUMS<br />http://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/musique-article/t/1262265781/article/nos-50-meilleurs-albums-de-lannee/Jeffrey Goodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464544798603030406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-73449014172231165002010-01-06T13:48:59.233-08:002010-01-06T13:48:59.233-08:00Oh I loved On Beauty.Oh I loved On Beauty.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-77778225966004154912010-01-06T13:05:19.854-08:002010-01-06T13:05:19.854-08:00Neil:
I'm honored. Evil Dead Junkie also nom...Neil:<br /><br />I'm honored. Evil Dead Junkie also nominated me for the award. I will link to both of you later today when I have some free time. Thanks for thinking about the blog.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-84091612164042687512010-01-06T12:59:38.339-08:002010-01-06T12:59:38.339-08:00Hi,
I've nominated you for the Kreativ Blogge...Hi,<br /><br />I've nominated you for the Kreativ Blogger award. Details here:<br /><br />http://misterneil.blogspot.com/2010/01/kreativ-bloggers.htmlNeil Fulwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14686296295535235988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-61532126026011689672010-01-06T12:46:25.182-08:002010-01-06T12:46:25.182-08:00EDJ:
Really? I think White Teeth is one of the m...EDJ:<br /><br />Really? I think <i>White Teeth</i> is one of the most impressive debuts I've ever read. It even got the Rushdie stamp of approval...which is no easy feat. I haven't read her collection of essays yet, but I look forward to doing so soon...maybe this summer? What did you think of <i>On Beauty</i>?Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-42861665096277410602010-01-06T12:43:09.758-08:002010-01-06T12:43:09.758-08:00I Love Zadie Smith, and hate White Teeth.
Its a c...I Love Zadie Smith, and hate White Teeth.<br /><br />Its a conundrum. <br /><br />Have you picked up Changing My Mind yet? Its good!Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-44008724540413872882010-01-06T11:08:35.975-08:002010-01-06T11:08:35.975-08:00Ed:
The Auster is pretty good, but not one of his...Ed:<br /><br />The Auster is pretty good, but not one of his best, and really it finds its way on the list because I just didn't do that much reading for fun in the last five years. I spent most of my time reading for school. Granted I discovered almost all of the authors on this list because of my undergrad degree, but it seems that authors like Swift, Amis, Rushdie, and Winterson were at their best in the 80's -- the height of postmodern literature -- and if I wasn't reading the modern classics then I was acquainting myself with the classic poets or Victorian literature...so I rarely had time to read new novels. <br /><br />Anyway...the list was fun to do. It's hard for me to write about books more succinctly, so that's why I just listed them alphabetically...but I really recommend you check out <i>Shalimar the Clown</i>, <i>Saturday</i>, <i>The Powerbook</i>, or <i>Darkmans</i>...all are absolute favorites of mine from the past ten years. <br /><br />I would love it if you tackled a "best of" for comics. I always have to go to my brother for advice on comic books, so it would be nice -- speaking selfishly -- for me to have another person that I could trust when it comes to recommending good comics. <br /><br />Thanks for the comment, Ed. Nice piece too on <i>El Dorado</i>. I'll make sure to link to it later today so that people will know we're still updating that site.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-30413819509785997902010-01-06T10:58:33.145-08:002010-01-06T10:58:33.145-08:00Samuel:
I like what you say about the McEwan and ...Samuel:<br /><br />I like what you say about the McEwan and Rushdie "transcending the melodrama of their closing pages". I think that's what separates them from other authors in my opinion: they are so in control of their writing that they can dabble in those rather ordinary melodramatic moments, but make it resonate more deeply than another author trying to do the same thing could. Rushdie's writing is on a higher tier than McEwan...meaning it's definitely not for everyone...while McEwan succeeds at appeasing both the masses and the aesthetes. He's the best. <br /><br />Thanks for the recommendations. I've written those titles down. I actually have the Roth novel on my bookshelf. I've just never picked it up. I'll rectify that soon. <br /><br />Thanks again for stopping by.Kevin J. Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17275402809912728035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-58934757933681828842010-01-06T10:57:17.292-08:002010-01-06T10:57:17.292-08:00Yikes, I've only read two of those as well, th...Yikes, I've only read two of those as well, the Roth and Ishiguro novels. I'm sadly not very up on current fiction at all. Those are both excellent choices, of course, particularly the stunning <i>Never Let Me Go</i>, which we've discussed a lot before. And Roth's book admirably follows in the lineage of PKD's <i>Man in the High Castle</i>, imagining a potent and terrifyingly plausible what-if scenario for WW2. Auster's a favorite of mine, but I haven't gotten to that one yet.<br /><br />This makes me think I should do a best-of-the-decade for comics, an area in which I'd have much more to say.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8785859730868628316.post-74065550120054729342010-01-06T10:37:41.130-08:002010-01-06T10:37:41.130-08:00Of these I've read Saturday and Shalimar the C...Of these I've read <i>Saturday</i> and <i>Shalimar the Clown</i>, both of which quite nicely transcend the melodrama of their closing pages. I'd recommend Orhan Pamuk's <i>Snow</i> and Roth's <i>Everyman</i> off the top of my head. As for "September 11" or "Age of Terrorism" fiction I'd also recommend Pat Barker's <i>Double Vision</i> and Ward Just's <i>Forgetfulness</i>. But you have yourself a pretty impressive list already.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.com