A Gentleman in Moscow

Three or four years ago, I enjoyed reading the novel A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. This work of historical fiction tells the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov. Not long after the Russian Revolution, the Count has his death sentence for being a social parasite commuted by a Bolshevik Tribunal to lifetime house arrest in Moscow's famous Metropol Hotel, where he was living at the time. The rest of the novel concerns the subsequent decades under Stalin's authoritarian regime and how the Count uses his flexible social skills and not inconsiderable charm to adapt by making friends, creating a family, finding meaningful work inside the Hotel, and ultimately thwarting his enemies.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of watching the 8-part miniseries made from this book (which is currently streaming on CBC Gem in Canada and, I believe, on Paramount+ and Hulu in the United States). The series does a marvelous job of bringing the novel faithfully and compellingly to the screen. Ewan McGregor stars as Count Rostov, with his real life wife Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring as Anna Urbanova, the Count's love interest. They are both outstanding in their roles, as is the supporting cast of actors. Highly recommended, if you get a chance to see it!

Do You Need a Fun Summertime Read?

Then I recommend the most recent novel by blogging buddy Liz Hinds (Finding life hard?). It's a cozy mystery about a crime solving young woman who runs a catering service called Tabitha's Table (available in paperback or Kindle format at fine Amazon websites everywhere). Here's its concise plot synopsis --

Rescuing a victim of trafficking.

On the run from a criminal millionaire.

She was only supposed to be making sandwiches

but now Tabby finds herself in a real life adventure,

with only her mum, a disgraced policeman,

a farting dog, and two homeless friends to help.

Like all of Liz's novels, there's entertaining, quirky characters galore plus lots of humour and light-hearted fun (despite the book's more serious plot elements). This promises to be Book 1 in the Tabitha’s Table Mystery Series.

And HRH recommends this book as well, DESPITE THERE BEING NO CATS IN IT but only the aforementioned farting dog. I think HRH took the catering motif too literally though.

A Tolkien Blog Party

This is my post for A Tolkien Blog Party hosted by Hamlette (Rachel) at The Edge of the Precipice book blog.

[CUE SCARY MUSIC]

I Was A Teenage Werewolf Book Snob

"No way," I said to my older brother who recommended The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a great read. "I'm not into that weirdo counterculture stuff like you and the other hippies are."

"No way," I said to my school friend who recommended The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a great read. "I'm not into silly fantasy stuff about elves and dwarves. Fairy tales are for kids. I prefer to read about Real Life."

But in the mid-1970s in university, I finally succumbed. I guess I had nothing better to read, so I thought "Okay, why not? I'll give it a try."

You know what happened, of course. I was hooked instantly and forever on this marvelous epic tale of Good and Evil and everything in between. I devoured all three huge novels in a frenzy of reading. And when I finished, I was left with that bereft feeling you get when a unique and profound book has come to an end. What was I to do now?

So of course, I immediately turned around and read the trilogy again. I read it for a third time about ten years later, when I was out in the workforce battling my own Saurons, Orcs and Gollums.

Those were the days when we had to rely on our own imaginations to picture the beloved Lord of the Rings (LOTR) characters. Merchandising was pretty scarce and no internet existed to connect the fandom. I had this classic 1976 poster by Jimmy Cauty on my wall and bought the occasional Brothers Hildebrandt illustrated calendar, if I could find one.

I went to Ralph Bakshi's terrible 1978 animated movie of the first two novels in the trilogy. It left no lasting impression on me. But Peter Jackson's early 21st century LOTR film trilogy established for me (and everyone else, I suspect) the definitive appearances of all our favourites. I enjoyed his Hobbit trilogy of films as well although, in my opinion, the story was unnecessarily padded out and enhanced with new characters and storylines -- i.e. milked for every last possible penny. One long movie or two shorter ones would have more than sufficed to bring that novel to the screen.

So, how about YOU?

Are you a LOTR fan?

Have you ever been

a reformed book snob

about this or another book?

TELL ALL in the Comments!

It's Reader Participation Time!

Okay, here's MY contribution --

"Call me Ishmael.

And then the dragons arrived."

Now it's YOUR turn!

We ♥︎ L.M. Montgomery Week

Rachel at Hamlette's Soliloquy is currently hosting a blogathon honouring Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables and other beloved books. 

Anne of Green Gables occupied a central place in my childhood growing up in the 1960s, not only because its protagonist/hero was a girl (a very rare occurrence in children's literature back then) but also because it was written by a Canadian and was set right here in Canada (also very rare in those days).

But most importantly of all, this book helped me become myself and who I was meant to be --

Anne To My Diana

In the mid-1960s, two-parent families were the absolute norm in our little one-horse prairie town. My friend "Tomboy" was the only kid I knew who lived in a single-parent family. Her Mom was a free-spirited artiste who did wild things that no one else's Mom did, like paint murals and pierce her children's ears (even the baby). The family lived in our town only for a couple of years and then moved on again when Mom found a new man.

But for those two years, Tomboy was the most wonderful girl I knew. She taught me how to jump off the roof of the back shed and how to cadge free chocolate milk from the creamery. She was confident and seemingly fearless.

We both adored Anne of Green Gables and spent countless hours acting out that book's adventures. Tomboy was Anne and I was Diana. My crush on Tomboy was so encompassing that I willingly assumed the second banana role, something I would never have done for anyone else. In our own private Avonlea, there was no Gilbert Blythe. We never missed him. We kindred spirits spent our time at the Lake of Shining Waters (which to everyone else simply appeared to be a culvert on the cemetery road).

When Tomboy moved away, she and I swore eternal friendship and gave each other a lock of our hair. I kept hers in my Sunday School Bible. We were faithful pen pals for many years.

Judging from photos she sent, Tomboy remained a very boyish girl until she graduated from high school. Then, completely out of the blue and seemingly overnight, she became a born-again Christian, a total femme and got married.

After that, I never heard from her again. It's like she disappeared off the face of the earth.

Alas, my first heartbreak!

Hurray For Libraries and Librarians!

Why are both so valuable?

Librarians are

so much more

than stereotypes!

 Librarians can be badass too!

And libraries are often

pretty magical places!

Let's end with a GROAN, shall we?

Writers of the World, Unite!

I know many of you out there are writers,

some with published books and

some with works in progress (WIPs). 

Since November is National Novel Writing Month,

here's a tribute to all you hardworking

and creative authors.

Wishing you every success!

Of course, writing books is not an easy job.

It is a long and difficult process.

Well, it's difficult for some writers

but not for others, HRH says.

Unlike cats, however, many human writers

can be plagued by the awful experience

of short-term or long-term writer's block!

Even worse than coping with writer's block, though,

is dealing with those picky assholes, editors!

However, despite all these

obstacles and annoyances,

don't despair!

Keep on writing!

Books Read in 2021

I only read one published book in 2021:

1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

I did also read an at-that-time unpublished book manuscript

(see my last post here) so goddammit, I'm counting that too:

2. InSanity by Robyn Engel.

Therefore, the count is TWO.

Two books read in 2021.

I started another couple of enjoyable books 

but I have not finished them yet, so hopefully 

they'll be on next year's list!

So just exactly HOW

have I been spending my 

reading time, you ask?

Well, we ALL know the answer

to that question, don't we?

Out of sheer idle curiosity,

I kept track of how many

Captain America/Winter Soldier

gay fanfics I read online in 2021.

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-EIGHT.

These range in size from

flash fiction, short stories and novellas

right up to huge, sweeping, full-book-length epics.

Writing styles range from

bad to mediocre to decent to

absolutely-wonderfully-written,

could-be-actually-published-if-it-were-not-

for-the-copyright-infringement-issue

literary works.

Feel Like a Good Read?

What better way to make it through January than by reading a funny and thought-provoking book? Blogging buddy Rawknrobyn of Life by Chocolate: Robyn Alana Engel's Blog has just published an awesome sequel to her first book of memoirs, Woman on the Verge of Paradise, which came out a few years ago.

Robyn's new sequel is entitled InSanity and I had the pleasure of reading it in manuscript form, so my recommendation comes from my own enjoyment of it. The book is a roller coaster ride of often humorous, sometimes poignant, vignettes from Robyn's life -- oddball boyfriends, weird roommates, WTF workplaces and colleagues, and deeper explorations of issues too often ignored in our society concerning mental illness and suicide. Robyn's writing style is delightfully colloquial, easy and fun to read, yet she deals with important and serious issues in a thoughtful and meaningful way.

Even Her Royal Highness the Cat recommends this book! And you know she never promotes anything except herself!

InSanity is available in paperback and Kindle format here on Amazon.

Writers Gotta Write

I know that many bloggers 

LOVE to write and are authors of 

novels, short stories, memoirs and poetry!

I applaud you all!

Say, are any of you 

participating in this month's 

NaNoWriMo?

If so, good luck with your novel writing!

Writing can be very, very hard, can't it? 

There are so many issues involved 

in the writing process --

 sapphicauthor

THINGS WHICH MAKE WRITERS ANXIOUS:

• not writing
  
• writing
  
• people reading their stories
• people not reading their stories

 kedreeva

• Editing
• Not editing

 cassmorriswrites

• Not having any good ideas
• Having too many ideas and not being able to decide which to write
• Having one really good idea and worrying they’re not a good enough writer for the idea

 nixedsims

• Not having the time to write
• Having the time to write
  

 meroko26us

Yeah.

And be careful not to fall prey

to stereotypes about writers!

The question which 

every writer must determine is:

what makes for good writing?

I wanted to be a writer when I was a kid. 

My first short story was essentially a fanfic 

based on the Arthurian Legends.

But alas, adult life and career demands intervened.

I did write as part of my career,

but only technical, specialized writing

like government reports and legislation.

And now I find I lack the imagination

to create fictional characters and plots.

So I'm depending on all of YOU

to keep me amused with your

creative writing!

I know you won't let me down!