Books and Movies

The Book Thief is a movie I had been eagerly awaiting. I understood it respected the book and little had been changed. While this is generally so, I found it unemotional, the narrator - The Grim Reaper - had been reduced to a very minor role and the connections between Liesel 'borrowing' books' and the path this led to in her life seemed almost tenuous. Levels of emotion, philosophy, Nazis and their abhorrence of the Jews and others seemed to be an afterthought. Reality was so much starker than that portrayed in the movie. Was this due to box office demands, informal discussions with Germany or just the fanciful view of the producers who beliefs may be so different from that of the author. It is sad to be disappointed in a much anticipated movie of a loved book.
   

I have just started a new Kindle book and am unsure if it will meet my expectations.  
It is a collection of essays by someone described as the Casanova of reading. If this is so I am fascinated by his opening with Alice in Wonderland which is a book I have always loved. I will discuss this book further as I read it and discover how Alberto wends his way through literature and the reading habit.

My guide dog did not enjoy The Book Thief, this may have been in some part due to the unusual hour I went to the movies, the presence of a friend or just boredom after a long day. He is so much fun, but how he hates shopping. I tried on a couple of tops yesterday and as usual attempts to sneak out under the curtain had to be forcibly curtailed by me. Everyone wants to pat him and this does make every shopping expedition long winded.