84 Charing Cross Road
Recently I rediscovered the movie - 84 Charing Cross Road, and fell completely in love with it. Perhaps it's because it is a modern bonnet movie, see link below, or perhaps it is due to it's all star cast (Anne Bancroft, Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins.)But I suspect it's because like the main character in the movie- I too have a deep love of old books. And perhaps a small obsession with owning as many as my budget will support.
In the movie the main character sums up my feelings perfectly when she says:"I love the feel of them.... I love inscriptions on flyleafs and notes in margins. I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned and reading passages someone long-gone has called my attention to. "
It's exactly the emotions I get when pouring over my latest purchase The Book of Living Verse (published by Hartcourt, Brace and Company in 1939.) Thumbing through the yellowed pages reading Marlowe, Johnson and Donne the past few days has just been amazing; and it's only the begining!
And so with this small example of life imitating art I just had to blog about it. How about you? Are there any instances in your life where a movie or a book sumarizes that part of you perfectly?
Bonnet Movies:
According to Glennbeck (fyi- my mother's 2nd least favorite person ever, redeemed from being the first by Newt G.) a bonnet movie is defined as:
a. Any film based on the work of Jane Austen (fyi- due to my rather healthy collection of austen / austen inspired tomes Scott is not fond of this author. Thankfully he loves me and puts up with my dog eared copies of her works.)
b. Gennerally any film staring Emma Thomson or Kate Winslet in the lead role
c. Any movie that is muddy, pale, or difficult to understand.
d. Any movie that features: horses, English Mannor Houses, and/or effinate men with fluffy collars.
e. Virtually everyone is inexplicably wearing a bonnet.
f. These movies almost always take place in the 18th to 19th century.
In the movie the main character sums up my feelings perfectly when she says:"I love the feel of them.... I love inscriptions on flyleafs and notes in margins. I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned and reading passages someone long-gone has called my attention to. "
It's exactly the emotions I get when pouring over my latest purchase The Book of Living Verse (published by Hartcourt, Brace and Company in 1939.) Thumbing through the yellowed pages reading Marlowe, Johnson and Donne the past few days has just been amazing; and it's only the begining!
And so with this small example of life imitating art I just had to blog about it. How about you? Are there any instances in your life where a movie or a book sumarizes that part of you perfectly?
Bonnet Movies:
According to Glennbeck (fyi- my mother's 2nd least favorite person ever, redeemed from being the first by Newt G.) a bonnet movie is defined as:
a. Any film based on the work of Jane Austen (fyi- due to my rather healthy collection of austen / austen inspired tomes Scott is not fond of this author. Thankfully he loves me and puts up with my dog eared copies of her works.)
b. Gennerally any film staring Emma Thomson or Kate Winslet in the lead role
c. Any movie that is muddy, pale, or difficult to understand.
d. Any movie that features: horses, English Mannor Houses, and/or effinate men with fluffy collars.
e. Virtually everyone is inexplicably wearing a bonnet.
f. These movies almost always take place in the 18th to 19th century.