151 Best Movies You've Never Seen (2010)

 Film critic Leonard Maltin is probably best know for his annual reference guide to movies, which has been published since 1969. Now he has written a small paperback book to urge movie goers to experience some of the films he has enjoyed that have never gained the audiences they deserved.

With just a brief 2-3 pages about each title, the reader gets a sense of why the film was chosen by Mr. Maltin. Although films go as far back as the 1930s, others are as recent as 2009. Major cast members are listed.

Some of the titles were vaguely recognizable but there were only two that I had actually seen (Marvin's Room 1996 and The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio 2005). I can join in recommending these two. In the meantime, I now have a new list of thirty movies to see.

THE HELP begins filming in 2010

 The Help by Kathryn Stockett has been on my 'to read' list since it was published in February 2009, but just recently I discovered that it is being made into a film so maybe I won't have to read it after all.

The incomparable Viola Davis is expected to be in the cast, which makes it a must watch whether you've read the book or not!

Check out EarlyWord.com in general and read more about the upcoming film here.

Mark Twain 100 Years Later

Goodblood, a Boing Boing reader, wrote, "Just before he died, Mark Twain stipulated that his autobiography should only be published 100 years after he died, and that's now. Exciting!" Read more here!

Magic City (1997)

Magic City: A Novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jewell Parker Rhodes is the speaker this week at the Jackson District Library Word Wise Celebration. In preparation for her visit, I decided to read one of her books and chose "Magic City". Historical fiction isn't a genre I usually select but this book moved me.

The author took a terrible episode out of African American experience in this country and turned it into a story about people you came to care about. You'll wonder why you never heard about the Tulsa Race Riots of 1921 before but you'll never forget them after reading this book.

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