My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)
A bit behind with this usual weekend post. But I wanted to share it before going away for a mini-vacation up to Northern California.
Bought:
Bookshop in West Portal hosted an author event with Forrest Leo and his paperback release of The Gentlemen. Part of his inspiration for the story was to create a magical fairy tale London. It was interesting to learn that his novel, started out as a play and was presented on stage. The novel adds on an airship to the story.
by Forrest Leo
-Historical, Humor, Fantasy
Amazon | Goodreads
OVERALL sounds like a fun and fantastic read.
Book Passage, Corte Madera, hosted an author event with Michelle Richmond featuring her latest release, The Marriage Pact. Michelle's fascination with cults brought about this particular story. Fun fact: "The Manuel" mentioned in the story is based on the Federal Criminal Code.
by Michelle Richmond
-Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
FOUND out that this story is set in my neighborhood - literally!
For Review:
by Alexa Adams
-Mashup, Jane Austen theme, Alice in Wonderland theme, Humor
Amazon | Goodreads
IN for some whimsical delight with this one.
Freebies:
by Julie Lawson Timmer
-Women's Fiction
courtesy of Amazon Kindle First (for July) -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
MUST catch up with my tbr pile of Kindle Firsts. This looked like a good one about second chances.
by Marc Levy
-Romance, Paris
courtesy of Amazon Kindle First (for August) -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads
TO satisfy the francophile side of me ;-)
OTHER things (kinda book-related):
Long List (details)
WITH the announcement of the long list Man Booker Prize nominees, I am inspired to add them to my reading list. Interesting to see The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead popping up yet again for another book award. I have it sitting on my shelf and must get around to it by year's end.
AND watched: in theatre
HONG KONG director, Johnnie To (pictured center), was present for the SF MOMA Modern Cinema film series - Johnnie To: Cops and Robbers. We were treated to a night a Q&A session with film clip presentations from the series. Johnnie has produced and directed over 70 films. Amazing body of work with most films done without scripts - intuition and improvisation.
AND watched: on DVD
Hak se wui (original title)
Director: Johnnie To
Writers: Nai-Hoi Yau, Tin-Shing Yip
Starring: Louis Koo, Suet Lam, Tony Ka Fai Leung
-Crime, Drama, Thriller, Hong Kong | imdb | my rating: 4
Rival gang leaders are locked in a struggle to become the new chairman of Hong Kong's Triad society.
PEEK into Chinese mafia dealings. That ending. Brutal. Whoa.
Dai si gin (original title)
Director: Johnnie To
Writers: Hing-Ka Chan, Tin-Shing Yi
Starring: Richie Jen, Kelly Chen, Nick Cheung
-Action, Crime, Drama , Hong Kong | imdb | my rating: 4
When an ambulatory TV news unit live broadcasts the embarrassing defeat of a police battalion by five bank robbers in a ballistic showdown, the credibility of the police force drops to a nadir. While on a separate investigation in a run-down building, detective Cheung discovers the hideout of the robbers. Cheung and his men have also entered the building, getting ready to take their foes out any minute. Meanwhile, in order to beat the media at its own game, Inspector Rebecca decides to turn the stakeout into a breaking news show.
LOTS of gun shooting with mass police vs. handful of bad guys.
Fuk sau (original title)
Director: Johnnie To
Writer: Ka-Fai Wai
Starring: Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Simon Yam
-Action, Crime, Thriller, Hong Kong | imdb | my rating: 4
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Hong Kong, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.
THIS had an interesting main character who had to work with his memory issues while trying to exact revenge.
* Johnnie To photo by Aberswyth NT
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently
:-)
