Lovely Books and Things - 11.29.20

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Thanksgiving leftovers with friends
2. Along with books, finding puzzles in the Free Little Library box
3. Pretty outdoor dining parklets popping up in town

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Library:

The Grand Budapest Hotel:
The Illustrated Screenplay
by Wes Anderson
Film tie-in, Historical, Comedy | Goodreads

Library: audiobook

Dune
by Frank Herbert
SciFi, Classic, Space Opera | Goodreads

Freebies: from Free Little Library

The Hardy Boys:
The Tower Treasure
by Franklin W. Dixon
Mystery, Classic, YA | Goodreads

The Complete Stories
by Flannery O'Connor
Short Stories, Literary, Classics, Southern Gothic | Goodreads


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Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passages
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write:
An Autobiography in Essays
by Claire Messud
Essays, Memoir | Goodreads

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AND watched: on Netflix

Over The Moon (2020)
Directors: Glen Keane, John Kahrs
Screenplay: Audrey Wells, Jennifer Yee McDevitt, Alice Wu
Stars: Cathy Ann, John Cho
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, China | imdb | my rating: 5
In this animated musical, a girl builds a rocket ship and blasts off, hoping to meet a mythical moon goddess.

LOVED learning about the story behind mooncakes.

AND watched: in virtual theatre

Beasts Clawing at Straws (2020)
Beasts That Cling to the Straw (original title)
Director/Screenplay: Yong-Hoon Kim
Screenplay: Keisuke Sone
Stars: Do-yeon Jeon, Woo-sung Jung, Sung-Woo Bae
Crime, Drama, Thriller, South Korean | imdb | my rating: 5
A struggling restaurant owner, caring for his sick mom, finds a bag of cash in a sauna locker, while a customs officer gets into trouble when his girlfriend runs off with money he borrowed from a loan shark.

LOVED how the "bag of cash" trope gets played in this tale.

Mascots (2016)
Director/Writer: Christopher Guest
Screenplay: Jim Piddock
Stars: Zach Woods, Wayne Wilderson, Sarah Baker
Comedy | imdb | my rating: 4
A look into the world of competitive mascots.

AMUSING. Who knew this existed?

AND watched: virtual theatre for Film|Neu Festival (here)

Lovemobil (2019)
Director: Elke Lehrenkrauss
Stars:
Documentary, Germany | imdb | my rating: 4
Picture this: on the side of the road, at the edge of the forest, mere steps from the speeding cars, the four-wheeled shelters are motionless, stationary. It is night-time, and neon letters and Christmas lights flash intermittently. Inside, women are waiting for someone to stop, alone. Some are lying on a bed, others are just bored, displaying themselves on the passenger seat.

On the remote countryside roads of Germany, the “mobile homes of love” serviced by newly arrived East European or African women are aplenty. We meet a few of them. One is putting make-up on, another is petting a dog, a third one is smoking. One thing binds them together: the wait.

Take Milena and Rita, for instance, respectively from Bulgaria and Nigeria. They wait to be able to put money aside, to find the courage to open up to a friend, to reunite with a brother, to find some peace. Their lives are in stasis, trapped in a vehicle that will not start, crushed by the vices of their clients, the abuse, the protectors, the fear of being beaten – perhaps even killed –, but also by the need to earn money, and the fear to lead a normal life, far from the only role they were ever given.

And then there is Uschi, a time-worn woman who smokes too much. Surrounded by her dogs, sporting extravagant clothes, she is the one who rents the mobile homes to the girls. Profiteer? Confidante? Or maybe she is a warning, a sign of how the girls will end up if they watch time go by like the cars, while others take decisions for them.

SAD and chilling. Felt like a sort of horror tale.

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* Cassava pic by Aber NT
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

*** THANKS to essential workers during these times ***
Shelter In Place - Day 258, Week 38, Month 8
Stay healthy! Be safe!

Thanks for stopping by :-)