Categories
Archives
-
-
-
-
Recent Posts
- 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- “I don’t represent anything.” — Liz Phair
- “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- “Some syllables are swords.” — Metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
- “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- “All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin
- “As a cinematographer, I was always attracted to stories that have the potential to be told with as few words as possible.” — Reed Morano
- “Even though I’m writing about very dark material, it still feels like an escape hatch.” — Olivia Laing
- “It’s just one of the mysteries of filmmaking that sometimes you do something that you don’t even think it’s important, then it turns out to be.” — Lili Horvát
- “Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella
Recent Comments
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Scott Abraham on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- Mike Molloy on 2026 Shakespeare Reading Project: Much Ado About Nothing
- sheila on March 2026 Snapshots
- sheila on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- Jessie on March 2026 Snapshots
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Maddy on “I don’t really know why, but danger has always been an important thing in my life – to see how far I could lean without falling, how fast I could go without cracking up.” — William Holden
- sheila on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Helen Erwin Schinske on “To me, music is no joke and it’s not for sale.” — Ian MacKaye
- Joseph Pedulla on Susan Hayward Sleeps Raw
- sheila on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- P Nickel on “The realization of ignorance is the first act of knowing.” — Jean Toomer
- Melissa Sutherland on “For I am of the seed of the WELCH WOMAN and speak the truth from my heart.” — Christopher Smart
- Bryce on The Books: “Nine Stories”- ‘The Laughing Man’ (J.D. Salinger)
-
Tag Archives: Harry Potter
Year in Review: Running my mouth in 2014
I may write some magnum opus in the next two days, you never know, but here are links to some of the things I’ve written in 2014, here and elsewhere. I have worked hard to keep my site an eclectic … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Personal
Tagged Alfred Wertheimer, Anna Magnani, Austria, Carroll Baker, Christopher Hitchens, Claude Rains, Eli Wallach, Elvis Presley, Eminem, France, friends, Gena Rowlands, Germany, Harry Potter, Howard Hawks, Inherent Vice, Iran, Iranian film, Israel, Italy, Jafar Panahi, Japan, Jim Jarmusch, Joan Crawford, John Cassavetes, Juliette Binoche, Kristen Wiig, Kwik Stop, Lars von Trier, Lauren Bacall, Lester Bangs, Liv Ullmann, Lon Chaney, Love Streams, Mark Twain, Martin Scorsese, Nicolas Cage, Orpheus Descending, Palestine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Poland, Richard Linklater, Romania, Russia, Seth Rogen, Seymour Cassel, Sudden Fear, Supernatural, Sweden, Tennessee Williams, The Beatles, The Everly Brothers, Tommy Lee Jones, Trotsky, war, year in writing, Zac Efron
14 Comments
The Books: Arguably, ‘Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived’, by Christopher Hitchens
On the essays shelf: Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens Christopher Hitchens reviewed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final installment of J.K. Rowling’s series, for the New York Times Book Review in 2007. Recently, I’m not sure if you’re … Continue reading
Book QA
I got this from Ted! Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Strangely enough, I cringed from reading Harry Potter. Chalk it up to my contrarian nature. If there is a unanimous clarion … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, Annie Proulx, Harry Potter, Lives of the Saints, Mating, Shirley Jackson, The Shipping News
23 Comments
2007 Books Read
(in the order in which I finished them, understanding that very often I read many books at the same time). I count re-read books, by the way. I’ll include links to any posts or book excerpts I might have done … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged A Tale of Two Cities, A.S. Byatt, Anne Fadiman, Billy Budd, Bleak House, books read, By the Lake, David McCullough, Dean Stockwell, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dubliners, Elinor Lipman, George Washington, Graham Greene, Gulliver's Travels, Harry Potter, John Adams, John McGahern, Mary Gaitskill, Master & Commander, Michael Chabon, Never Let Me Go, Orson Welles, Philip K. Dick, Robert Kaplan, Scoop, Self-Help, Veronica
15 Comments
The Books: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (J.K. Rowling)
Daily Book Excerpt: YA fiction/children’s books: Next book on the shelf is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J.K. Rowling. A massive swooping book (which, broken record, I could not put down) – with a tragedy at … Continue reading
The Books: “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (J.K. Rowling)
Daily Book Excerpt: YA fiction/children’s books: Next book on the shelf is Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. Here’s the post I wrote directly after finishing the book. I was very taken by the cover … Continue reading
The Books: “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (J.K. Rowling)
Daily Book Excerpt: YA fiction/children’s books: Next book on the shelf is Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling. I had SUCH a blast reading this one in the series, in particular. Not sure why. I just … Continue reading
The Books: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (J.K. Rowling)
Daily Book Excerpt: YA fiction/children’s books: Next book on the shelf is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling. I didn’t know what excerpt to choose! The dementor appearing on the train? The patronus training? … Continue reading
The Books: “Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets” (J.K. Rowling)
Daily Book Excerpt: YA/children’s books: Next book on the shelf is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling. The books are so episodic that I found it hard to pick out an excerpt. Like – … Continue reading
The Books: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (J.K. Rowling)
Next Daily Excerpt: Children’s book shelf: Next book on the shelf is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. I need to post an excerpt from the first chapter. I’ll just explain why. This is a series, a … Continue reading