from the mom
Last week I checked out Books Children Love by Elizabeth Laraway Wilson. I had perused it earlier on the recommendation of a friend, but this time I did it with more purpose. Both Ben and Kyri can't get enough of books right now, so I wanted some title names to check out from the library. I hate the way the book is organized (by subject instead of by age group) but it provided me with about 100 new titles in the preschool age group. We check out 4-5 new ones every trip to the library.
M and I are reading Original Sin: A Cultural History by Alan Jacobs. I find it a rich, deeply fascinating story of one of the most important Christian doctrines. Jacobs is a beautiful writer and the product is wonderful prose and a thoughtful retelling of the controversies that have shaped this doctrine. It has driven me to contemplate some heavy things, especially with recent events that have shaped me.
We recently finished watching the 7-part mini-series John Adams. I am a huge fan of David McCullough on whose book on Adams this film is based.
Laura Linney was superb as Abigail Adams, one of my personal heroines. She clearly communicated the strength of the Adams' marriage while still showing the hard times the marriage endured. I can't make up my mind about Paul Giamatti, a fabulous actor. Maybe he was just too good at humanizing John Adams, and I don't like that. But at times I thought he overacted, overdramatized the role.
The film is gritty and real, a triumph of modern cinema. However, be warned. This is HBO, and it was quite startling at moments when things got graphic on screen. A man is tarred and feathered and as was the case, he is naked. Adams' daughter undergoes a mastectomy and that process (in all its early 19th century drama) is shown graphically. Still, this is an amazing film that gets to the heart of the early debates in our country that brought about some of our most important documents, and traditions. And more importantly, it communicated that our founding fathers were both very human and extraordinary men at the same time.
4 comments:
ok, you're about the eighth person who has commented vehemently on the awesomeness of the john adams series. i guess i'll have to start believing everyone! ;-) [clicks over to her netflix queue]
I really want your opinion, and especially what you thought of Giamatti's acting when you've watched it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Adams movie. I have wanted to see this and it's good to go into it prepared.
joel and i having been wanting to rent the john adams series for a few weeks now. i'm hoping this weekend we will finally be able to do it. thanks for the review!
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