Suggested Reading: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, Pt. I

I checked out the book 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die not because I have some idea that I must read certain books before I die, but simply out of curiousity about which great books--at least according to one bibliography--I've read and which I haven't. I did find a large number of great classic books that I may be wise to consider reading "someday." 

I'll be following up with other listicles based on my browsing though 1001 Books so you may expect to see several more parts to this blog series.  

Great Classics of World Literature (Victorian Era and before):

1. Thousand and One Nights

2. Candide by Voltaire

3. Don Quixote by Cervantes

4. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

5-6. Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

7.  The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

9. The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal

10. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Modern Classics (Victorian Era and after):

 1-11. Animal Farm by George Orwell

2-12. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

3-13. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

4-14. Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

5-15. Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

6-16. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

7-8-9-17-18-19. Bleak House and Great Expectations and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 

10-20. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

11-12-13-21-22-23. Finnegan's Wake and Ulysses and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

14-24. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

15-25. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

16-26. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

17-27. and 18-28. Jude the Obscure and Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

19-29. Kim by Rudyard Kipling

20-30. Lord of the Flies by William Golding

21-31. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

22-32. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

23-33. and 24-34. The Mill on the Floss and Silas Marner by George Elliot

25-35. Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

26-36. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

27-37. Naked Lunch by William Burroughs

28-38. Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham

29-39. Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

30-40. Nana by Emile Zola

31-41. The Quiet American by Graham Greene

32-42. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

33-43. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre

34-44. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

35-45. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

36-46. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Thurston

37-47. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

38-48. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

39-49. The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

40-50. The Long Good-bye by Raymond Chandler

41-51. Walden by Henry David Thoreau

42-52. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

43-53. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

44-54. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing 

Classic Erotica:

120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis De Sade

Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

The Story of O

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth

Problematic Possibilities (the "Definitely Maybe" of selections for reading):

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute (or just watch the TV mini-series if it's available)

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe (or, just watch the movie?)

Sister Carrie (instead of, or in addition to, An American Tragedy) by Theodore Dreiser

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (although the little bit of Hemingway I'm familiar with, I wasn't impressed with, and For Whom the Bell Tolls may be a more essential choice)

Hesse's Steppenwolf and Siddhartha (probably better to read, than to try and track down the movies)

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (may be too religious-oriented for general reading)

One Hundred Years of Solitude even though I wasn't that impressed w/ Love in the Time of Cholera

The Little Prince (usually considered children's lit) by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

13 Clocks by James Thurber (I'm not sure if it's a children's story, or a children's story for adults)

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (or just watch the TV mini-series if it's available)

I once tried reading Tristam Shandy but gave up, maybe I'll try again, or at least try and see the film version.

Emma by Jane Austin (1001 Books suggests this, which I haven't read--along with Pride and Prejudice which I've read--but perhaps I should read all of Austin's books, not stop with one or two)

Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass have been done as movies and plays (some family-friendly, some not so family-friendly, and one I even performed in), and as children's literary adaptations--some of which I've read, at least parts of, but of course we could read "the real thing" anyway.

Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter never appealed to me and I was always glad that I never got it assigned in school, but maybe I ought to at least see what it is anyway.

DVD Review: The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg

You know about how kids will try to get out of reading the book by seeing the movie, right? Well, you don't need to read a book about Allen Ginsberg, you can just watch The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg instead. If you still want more of Ginsberg, after this, then you must be a Ginsberg fan--not that there's anything wrong with that.

We spend our time with this documentary getting to know Ginsberg, his family, friends, and fans over the course of much of the tumult of the twentieth century. Great American poet Ginsberg was born in the 1920's, the son of another great American poet, Louis Ginsberg, and in the 40's and 50's became part of a circle of writers that also included Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, who all became collectively known as "the beat generation" and were often referred to as "beatniks," forerunners of the hippie movement of the 60's. 

This "deluxe two-disc set" DVD package from First Run Features includes the 84-min. documentary feature and six hours of extra footage, and all is well worth viewing. It's organized like book chapters, each "chapter" covering roughly a decade, Ginsberg reading "Howl" in the 50's, leading protesters in a meditation chant, "Ohm," as all Hell breaks loose at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968. He's interviewed by the conservative William Buckley in '68 and the more liberal Dick Cavett in '78. We continue to follow his life as he, although born to the Jewish faith, becomes heavily involved in Buddism in the 70's, joins protests against nuclear weapons in the 70's and 80's, and publishes a book of photography shortly before his death in 1997. We also get a taste of what it was like to be part of the LGBT community, as Ginsberg was, prior to the "gay revolution" of the 60's and 70's.

Although the documentary itself is only 84 minutes long, take time to watch the bonus material, too, which adds up to roughly six hours. See the "making of" bonus feature in which the director, Jerry Aronson, explains why he had to go to Europe to find funding, join Ginsberg and Bob Dylan in a visit to Kerouac's grave, follow the Buddist custom of watching over Ginsberg waiting for his "inner breath" to vanish after death, and virtually attend his memorial service that includes a tribute from Patti Smith. Hear in dozens of interviews, personal memories of Ginsberg, from sources that include but aren't limited to: Joan Baez, Bono, Beck, William Burroughs, Johnny Depp, Ken Kesey, Abbie Hoffman, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, Timothy Leary, and Andy Warhol. 

From the jacket blurb:  "For 25 years, Academy Award-nominated director Jerry Aronson accumulated more than 60 hours of film on Allen Ginsberg, resulting in this comprehensive portrait of one of America's greatest poets . . . This Special Edition contains the Director's Cut of the award-winning documentary that began filming in 1982" and ended with Ginsberg's death in 1997. The film was first made available in the early 2000's but remains relevant to the counter-culture of any period.

Available from First Run Features:  firstrunfeatures.com

Links to "Life After Mother" in Senior Reporter, May 2024-Feb. 2025

Below please find the links and PDF downloads to my most recent "Life After Mother" columns, featured in Senior Reporter of Orange County, May 2024-February 2025.

May 2024 (Marcia Gay Hardin), "The Emptiest Day" (p. 37): https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/may-2024-vol-50-no-5/

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-mgharden-may-2024.pdf

June 2024 (Jackson Browne), "Right to Choose Death With Dignity" (p. 37):  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/2024/05/

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-jbrowne-jun-2024.pdf

July 2024 (Shirley Maclaine), "Tragic and Fateful Day" (p. 37):  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/jul-2024-vol-50-no-7/ 

PDF Download: https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-smaclaine-jul-2024.pdf

Aug. 2024 (The Beach Boys), "Five to Ten Years" (p. 39) :  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/2024/07/

PDF Download: https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-beachboys-aug-2024.pdf

Sept. 2024 (Kathy Bates), "Pack and Leave" (p. 37):  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/sep-2024-vol-50-no-9/

PDF Download: https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-kbates-sep-2024.pdf

Oct. 2024 (Magic Johnson), "Grab and Go" (p. 37):  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/oct-2024-vol-50-no-10/

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-mjohnson-oct-2024.pdf

Nov. 2024 (Annette Benning), "Childless Cat Lady" (p. 37):  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/nov-2024-vol-50-no-11/ 

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-abening-nov-2024.pdf

Dec. 2024 (Bon Jovi), "Recycle Gifts the Right Way" (p. 37):  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/dec-2024-vol-50-no-12/

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-bonjovi-dec-2024.pdf

Jan. 2025 (Linda Ronstadt), "Chores by the Day, Week, Year" (p. 37):       https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/jan-2025-vol-51-no-1/

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-lronstadt-jan-2025%20.pdf

Feb. 2025 (Bruce Springsteen), "Keep the Memories, Lose the Clutter" (p. 37):   https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/feb-2025-vol-51-no-2/

PDF Download:  https://www.seniorreporterofoc.com/issues/senior-reporter-bspringsteen-feb-2025.pdf

DVD Review: Much Ado About Dying

 British documentary Much Ado About Dying by filmmaker Simon Chambers, 84 min. available as a DVD from First Run Features.

Great Britain's healthcare system is often praised as one of the world's best, but its failure to properly care for the elderly may be the biggest takeaway from the 2023 British documentary Much Ado About Dying by British filmmaker Simon Chambers. He spent more than four years reluctantly providing much of his uncle's end-of-life care, navigating his family's personal dramas and his country's public healthcare system that promises much but delivers little.

Chambers is in India, filming a documentary that goes unfinished, when his uncle demands he come back to London and take care of him, because the uncle, a former actor and teacher, refuses any help from Chambers' sisters, even though they're the family members living in London. Both men are gay but that is incidental to the narrative. So begins a film that starts a number of potential plotlines but rarely develops any, while the grouchy bull-headed uncle complains and argues his final years away. 

At least twice Britain's much-touted publicly funded healthcare system fails. A public-health nurse comes by for about a week and then disappears, never returns, is never replaced. Later, after the uncle is briefly hospitalized, the hospital promises to send a follow-up healthcare team--which never shows up despite repeated phone calls.

At some point the old man--who exhibits features consistent with hoarding--consents to have a friendly Polish-immigrant couple move in. They bring some order, and some joy, and that arrangement works for a while, but when circumstances change, it's no longer viable. One of Chambers' sisters steps up and gets the old uncle into a good rest home that specializes in caring for retired actors. Despite the old man's maddening eccentricities, he's at peace with the arrangement--but the cost, even in a country with a nationalized healthcare system, runs 1,000 British pounds per week. 

Such realities, similiar to what many families outside Britain face, are what make Much Ado About Dying a film worth seeing, especially for anyone facing the challenges of elder care, despite the fact that for much of the film's running time, we have to put up with the old man's complaining and arguing. We have to put up with it for 84 minutes. Imagine what putting up with it for several years would be like.

For more info:  firstrunfeatures.com

Reality Shows that Just Faded Away, Part 2: Utopia

Back in the summer of 2014, the Fox broadcast network--as opposed to the Fox cable networks--heavily hyped a new reality show, Utopia as fifteen pioneering Americans getting a chance to leave their everyday lives and live in an isolated, undeveloped location to build a new civilization--for an entire year. Not for a single TV season (which is typically around 12-13 weeks), not for a mere six months that would stretch from fall to spring, or over a summer--but an entire year. They'd live, we were promised, cut off from the larger world and be forced to develop their own Utopia during that time. 

In short Utopia was sold to the American viewing public as a year-long experiment in building a new community, a new kind of communal living experience. Besides the broadcast episodes, cameras would stream what was happening in Utopia 24/7 so fans could look in any time, similar to the very popular reality show Big Brother. There was even publicity about fans getting chances to visit the location and meet the cast members.

Then the show was off the air, with no explanation, after only a few weeks. There was no finale, no publicity about any "farewell to Utopia" close, the show and its hype and its streaming counterpart just vanished as if they'd never existed in the first place. A look at how the show's ratings went down week after week is probably a good explanation why.

Why the ratings went down, and down, and down, is probably easy to explain. What the hype promised and what the show delivered proved a classic case of "buyer beware." First off, the cast appeared to be chosen to promote discord, not harmony. Even people working together who share common values and agree on common goals often inevitably encounter conflicts, but this cast appeared deliberately chosen to provoke intentional conflict. A Christian pastor who wanted his ideal society to be one where everyone follows Jesus was mixed with cast members who disagreed with his view of religion, and that was just one example.

In a cast that was hyped as being made up of people with skills to contribute to building a new society, one of the first cast members introduced was an attractive young professional dancer whose skills and abilities seemed confined to being "polyamorous," who, upon entering the Utopia location, was shown kissing good-bye to "her boyfriend, and her other boyfriend, and her girlfriend." Her most likely contribution to this new community appeared to be the suggestion that she might engage in multiple amorous affairs leading to jealous spats breaking out, creating conflict that would last for the entire year-long experiment--exactly what's needed when building an ideal society, LOL.

Then came a scene that involved the cast discussing what they considered essential for life in their new community, and the woman who insisted that she must, absolutely must, have her bug spray because she was afraid of bugs and she'd scream if she saw bugs--when she knew she was expected to remain in the middle of an isolated rural setting for a year. Then why did you come on the show, Lady? Yeah, you wanted to be on TV, but who decided you were going to be confined to this rustic primitive community for a year, where bug spray doesn't grow on trees, and just what did you (and the production crew) intend to do when the bug spray ran out?

Then somebody thought providing the cast with wine to start life in this isolated, insulated community for a year was a good idea, and the wine-drinking led to a fist fight--great ideal society we've got going here--which meant one of the first duties for the cast was to devise a system to deal with an incident of assault and battery. Great way to build an ideal society, starting right from the intro!

Add the woman that almost immediately revealed a stunning secret--she was pregnant! It couldn't have possibly been a secret from the production crew--everyone would've had to pass a medical exam to get on the show--but it was treated as a big reveal. If she actually was going to be confined to this rustic isolated community for a year, she was going to have to give birth in it. On camera? On streaming service? 

Although one of the cast was promoted as a "holistic doctor" that's not the same as an OB. Didn't anyone question what might happen should complications to this "surprise" pregnancy arise? What about post-partum care of mother and child? The whole big-news-someone-is-pregnant story line appeared to be completely out of touch with the reality of what women experience in pregnancy. Plus she was supposed to be cut off from her family for a year while raising a newborn, that might need formula and medical care, and would definitely need a supply of diapers (and diaper-cleaning) and baby food? Really?

In subsequent episodes the entire premise of the show floundered. Turned out the concept of people living in isolation for a year wasn't what the concept was after all. People would be coming and going, not confined and cut off from the outside world. Two original cast members (including the Christian pastor) left for personal reasons, even before the twist in the much-hyped concept was revealed. Every few months, some cast members would be "nominated" for elimination (again, similar to the Big Brother concept) while new cast members would take their place.

Given how much the show that was broadcast differed from the show that was hyped, it's not surprising the ratings sank, and sank, and sank still more. No one even bothered to invent a finale, there was no "Utopia closes up and cast members return to their lives" build-up and closure. The show was simply on the air one week and off the air, permanently, the next.

Utopia was originally conceived to be an American version of an European reality show in which people lived in a rural commune. Somehow that original concept never got translated to the ill-fated American version. Someone, though, might make another attempt to bring that concept to an American audience. Cast a dozen or more diverse people, this time promoting a group who have dedicated their lives to working in harmony with others, and start with a less ambitious timeline--say, the length of an average thirteen-week TV season. The show could be extended to a second season--continuing exactly where the first season left off--if the show proves successful. If the show gets renewed for a second year, then start over with a new cast.