Finished reading 1/29/09:

VIRGINIA HORSE RACING: TRIUMPHS OF THE TURF by Virginia C. Johnson, 2008.

Brief history of the sport of horse racing in Virginia from the founding of Jamestown to the present. Provides details of the foundation sires, noted racehorses, studs, and well known men (like John Randolph of Roanoke) who were huge in the sport. A good, short intro to the subject.

Finished reading on 1/25/09

PRINCE RUPERT: THE LAST CAVALIER by Charles Spencer, 2008.

Excellent biography of a Stuart era figure that is mostly forgotten now, but in his day was considered a superhero of the English Civil War. Grandson of James I, a son of Frederick V, the Elector Palatine, and Elizabeth Stuart, known as the "Winter King and Queen" of Bohemia, Rupert of the Rhine was gallant, courageous, forthright, and the epitome of manliness. Provides interesting details about his childhood, his participation in the war, his life after the war, including his voyages across the seas, family life, etc. Good serviceable bio, well worth the effort and time to read.

After about 25 years, I finally had the chance to watch Disney's "Song of the South" again. My children had never seen it before--only the "Zippadee Doo Dah" song on a sing-along tape--so I was glad for them to watch. I know that nowadays it is considered a very politically incorrect movie & that's why it isn't sold here, but the film was made in a different era and about a period in history that no longer exists, and putting aside the racial stuff, it is good storytelling and keeps alive those interesting Uncle Remus stories of Joel Chandler Harris. Harris painstakingly wrote them in the actual dialect, specifically to preserve that type of speech along with the stories themselves. Seeing this movie as a kid, it was one of my very favorite Disney movies. Having seen it as an adult more than once, it is no longer necessarily my favorite, but I still am fascinated and entranced by it. I enjoy the live action storyline of the kids and Uncle Remus and the adults (who don't quite understand), and the cartoon segments involving Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox are very colorful and fun. James Baskett is very believable as the storytelling Uncle Remus; the two kids, Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, are cute; Hattie McDaniel plays Sis Tempy as only she could; and it was wonderful to see the young Ruth Warrick in the role of the boy's mother. Yes, the racial stereotypes are there, but every era has its own stereotypes and that is not a good enough reason for me to ban an entire film, sorry. I am glad I was able to finally view this again and for my children to have the opportunity as well.

Finished reading:

ON/OFF by Colleen McCullough, 2006.
Not the usual sort of book for McCullough, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It's a suspense thriller set in Connecticut in 1965-66, concerns a serial killer. After body parts are found in a freezer of a noted research lab in Holloman, CT, Det. Carmine Delmonico, is assigned to solve these heinous multiple murders. Victims are all young 16 yr old girls who resemble each other and in how they are reared. Gruesome, terrible murders. Lots of suspects, and Delmonico becomes involved with Desdemona Dupre, who works at the institute. Plenty of suspense, red herrings, killings, family secrets, etc. I never guessed who the criminal was, and the twist at the end was a shocker to me.

Finished reading:

THE JEWEL TRADER OF PEGU by Jeffrey Hantover, 2008.
An interesting, well written story set in the Southeastern Asian kingdom of Pegu, 1598-99. The main character, Abraham, a Jewish jewel trader from Venice, arrives for a year long stay to trade in precious stones for his uncle's business. It chronicles his thoughts through a series of letters home about this very different culture, beautiful and lush, but with an undercurrent of brutal, swift violence, religion, and traditions that he doesn't understand. Through his native broker, Win, he discovers that because of his exalted position, he is expected to deflower young brides; the whole idea of this creates tensions and problems with his European values and his strong faith; under pressure, he submits to the local tradition. But after a tragedy befalls one bride, Mya, his life changes in a major way that he would never have expected, with far-reaching consequences. An excellent book for a discussion of multicultural values, Europeans in other cultures, and faith.

For some unknown reason, after I finished all my chores yesterday, I put on my DVD of "North and South", the TV mini based on John Jakes' novel. I don't know if I just wanted to hear the beautiful theme music, see the actors, relive the lovely Charleston, SC scenery--been there several times, actually walked the grounds of the plantation that served as Mont Royal--not sure what it was. But as soon as the theme began and the opening credits started rolling, I was transported. It is such a dramatic and moving story about the bond of friendship between two men through major trials and tribulations, including war (in this instance, the Civil War), and how true friendship and loyalty can transcend such situations. I got hooked again, watched the first two episodes, and want to continue through each series again. The trilogy of books by John Jakes were stories I could thoroughly lose myself in, not great literature, but vastly entertaining. The writers of this first series, at least, kept most of the original story (that of Orry and George) intact; other changes were made that I don't agree with that affected the two series that follow, but that's always the case with books made into film. I still find this mini excellently done and well worth the time to watch and re-watch.

Over the past few nights, we have watched Richard Lester's 1970's Musketeer movies. Hadn't seen any of them in ages, and other than myself, no one had seen "The Return of the Musketeers"(1989). That one was no great loss. The stars must have been in need of a paycheck to agree to it; very disappointing, especially in that George Macdonald Fraser, who wrote the scripts for the first two movies, also scripted this one. It was not worth the time we spent watching it. Taking place 20 years later, the main part of the story had Kim Cattrall playing a villainess who was the love child of Milady de Winter and Rochefort out for revenge on all the principals surviving the previous two pictures. It's also sad to note that Roy Kinnear (d'Artagnan's bumbling servant) died in an accident while making this film. None of my family was terribly impressed with this picture; mainly it satisfied their curiosity.

However, the two films previous, "The Three Musketeers" and "The Four Musketeers" are two of my all-time favorites. Love the story, the script, the cast, the direction, the humor, the drama and the action. Michael York, Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, and Frank Finlay are so much fun as the musketeers, Faye Dunaway and Raquel Welch are excellent (love the fight over the Queen's diamonds), and Charlton Heston is pure menace as Richelieu. The whole cast is great to watch, with much physical comedy, witty repartee, slapstick humor, making for a swashbuckling good time. I've seen the older versions and the newer (Disney) version, and they just can't measure up to Lester's versions. Worth watching again and again and again, as they are always entertaining.