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| Leslie Budewitz |
Leslie Budewitz: One of my favorite book blogs is Book Bound with Barbara, by Barbara Theroux, a former librarian and bookseller who founded and ran one of my favorite indie booksellers, Fact & Fiction, in Missoula. (Happily, it carries on without her.)
Last month, she started a series of posts linked to Lit Hub’s A Century of Reading feature,
identifying 10 books that have identified each decade of the last hundred years, plus. (The link takes you to the 2010s; scroll down a few paragraphs for the links to earlier decades.)
Reading that led me to this list of New York Times fiction bestsellers, by year.
And it seemed rather wonderful that the most popular book during the first third of the year I was born happens to have been Doctor Zhivago, one of my favorite novels AND movies. (Ahem; no, I’m not that old; it was published in English a few years after its first publication in Italy.)
I know what you’re thinking: The movie is never as good as the book. Or at least, that’s what we say when we’ve read the book first. I’m not so sure we’d all agree if we’d seen the movie first, because movies create such strong visuals. But I can’t think of a book and movie combo where I’ve seen the movie first. (Scratching my head—there must be one.)
I read Zhivago in Russian Lit class in college in about 1980. The movie happened to be playing downtown in a huge – HUGE – theater called, if I remember right, Cinemax, in its most max theater. It could have seated 600 or more.
There were four of us.
It’s a long movie, with an intermission, which is weird when there are only four people in the theater. The potty break doesn’t take long, and there were no lines for the popcorn or Junior Mints.
It is, of course, terribly miscast. At least if you recall the first line: “Yuri Zhivago was not a handsome man.”
I jest—you know that, right?
We love the movie and watch it every year or two, but only in winter, alternating with Laurence of Arabia (1962), Sharif’s first English-language film. I fondly recall my late mother curling up on the couch with me to watch it on a visit. And in January when the ice and snow build up around our house, either Mr. Right or I can be counted on to shout “Fa REE kee noh!” as if we were seeking refuge in an ice-bound country house, with the Red Army on our heels.
But this is about books. And while I think Dr. Zhivago is a great movie, so well excised from the book, the book still holds my heart. The scope is huge, so much bigger even than the movie, if you can imagine. It captured decades of change, but in the grand way that the Russian novelists did so well. It was Boris Pasternak’s crowning glory, and it caused him serious trouble in Russia, especially when he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
Turns out I’ve actually read most of the books on both these lists for the 1950s and 60s. Missed Portnoy’s Complaint, though I doubt I’ll remedy that. (I do remember the woman next door asking my then 20-something brother to return it to the library for her—she didn’t want her husband to know she’d read it.) The lists are, well, serious books. And you’ve got to be in the right mood, right? (Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don’t.)
What about you, reader friends? Is there a popular book from your younger years that you still adore? Something on these lists that you missed but went back to read? How did that go? A book that when the title comes up in party talk, you try to keep your eyes from glazing over and decide you really must have another deviled egg? (Bad example—who doesn’t always want another deviled egg?)
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| Available June 11th |
Leslie Budewitz blends her passion for food, great mysteries, and the Northwest in two cozy mystery series. Chai Another Day, her fourth Spice Shop Mystery, set in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, will be published on June 11. Death al Dente, first in the Food Lovers' Village Mysteries, set in Jewel Bay, Montana, won the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. She also won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction. “All God’s Sparrows,” her first historical fiction, won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives and cooks in NW Montana.
Find her online at www.LeslieBudewitz.com and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LeslieBudewitzAuthor More about Chai Another Day, including an excerpt here: http://www.lesliebudewitz.com/spice-shop-mystery-series/
When Seattle Spice Shop owner Pepper Reece overhears an argument in an antique shop, she finds herself drawn into a murder that could implicate an old enemy, or ensnare a new friend.
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ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new book, Leslie . . . I’m looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteBooks I still adore? I’ve read many on the list, Leslie, but re-reading Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” --- it’s like visiting dear friends . . . .
Mockingbird -- oh, my, yes. I admit, haven't picked up 451 since the first read eons ago, but it still sits on the shelf, like an old friend.
DeleteHave you seen The Princess Bride? Read the book? That's a case where I think the movie is definitely better than the book, although I do know some people who disagree with me.
ReplyDeleteMark, I so agree with you! I love this movie--but could make no sense of the book.
DeleteLate-comer to the movie, though I certainly did enjoy it, but never read the book. The humor, the fight scenes, so much fun! And -- Mandy!
DeleteI agree, Mark! The movie was better but it wouldn’t exist without the book so I’m grateful for that.
DeleteYes... Mandy certainly deserves a "sigh"!
DeleteSaw the movie Princess Bride, though I have not read the book yet. I still have the book.
DeleteThere is one scene in the book that is better than the movie - Humperdink's proposal to Buttercup.
DeleteI haven't seen or read Doctor Zhivago. Sounds like I am missing out. I saw Fried Green Tomatoes, which I loved, before I read the book. Now I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed the movie as much if I had read the book first. And congrats on your newest release!
ReplyDeleteI saw Fried Green Tomatoes and loved it, too. Didn't read the book until after I'd seen it and did not like it nearly as much!
DeleteIt's an impossible question, isn't? if we read the book first, we inevitably judge the movie by what's left out -- and if we see the movie first and it's well done, the book can really drag, esp if the characters aren't described the way we saw them on the screen. Two different beasts.
DeleteWaving hi to Leslie! Dr. Zhivago is one of my favorite movies, but I confess I've never read the book. For me, it was interesting when my sons were in high school to read a few classics I had missed earlier: A Tale of Two Cities, for example, and A Separate Peace. I basically never reread a book - there are so many new ones I must read, like Chai Another Day!
ReplyDeleteOh, you good Mom, staying current with the kids AND filling in the gaps! I confess to not being a big re-reader, either, unless I'm studying a book. Movies are easier to rewatch -- less time and brain-power required, plus it can be done with one's hunny!
DeleteSame here, Edith. Now I feel like I need to remedy that!
DeleteFirst, I never want a single deviled egg never mind multiple ones.
ReplyDeleteAs for a book that I still adore from my younger years, I'd go back to my youth and say The High King, the final book in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander still captures my imagination to this day.
I'm not one for reading books off anyone's list particularly since I'm mainly reading mysteries and thrillers these days. So I know I've likely not read many of the books on the lists included here. But that's okay. I'm good with reading what I like as opposed to what others think I should like.
I love the Chronicles of Prydain and recommend this series often. I remember reading The High King with all the emotions it stirred up, especially the tears ~
DeleteJay, don't worry about the deviled eggs. I'll eat your share. I confess to having missed the Chronicles, even in my bookseller days. And while I have a similar reaction to "you should read this" lists, I do find them interesting, in part to see the listmaker's slant and what *I* would add, I enjoy the "most popular" lists, like the ones I mentioned. Maybe that's another remnant of my days as a teenage bookseller!
DeleteCelia, I'm glad to see that there's another fan of the series. I even liked the admittedly bad Disney animated movie they made. I need to get a copy of the set of 5 books and do a re-read. I have the original copy of The High King that I bought so many years ago but that thing looks like it got in a fight with an in his prime Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
DeleteLeslie, have at my share of the deviled eggs. I'm sorry you missed out on The Chronicles of Prydain. It really was fantastic fantasy. It was geared towards the youthful (but not little kids) market but it was as good as any modern day fantasy series in my not so humble opinion.
Leslie, congrats on the new book--looking forward to the new series, too! I saw Dr. Zhivago in the theater and have never watched it again. The experience of seeing it on the big screen--I literally couldn't sleep that night--the images, the characters, the music--it was magical! And I did read the book much later.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Flora! And oh, gosh, yes -- it's such a panoramic movie, so beautiful. And all done with real people and no CGI -- although I expect there was a snow machine or an icemaker required for Farikino in winter!
DeleteThat was my experience with Lawrence of Arabia, which I saw in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Intermission and all. So sweeping, so huge. Wow.
DeleteOh, gosh, yes, Rick -- I still remember a 5th grade field trip to see Laurence. It had been out for years, but was making the small-city circuit. Grauman's -- you lucky dog!
DeleteWaving to Leslie! (Karen Maslowski here)
ReplyDeleteDr. Zhivago was epic! And Omar Sharif, swoon, and of course, the luminous Julie Christie, who was in everything back then. But yes, the book is so much more than the movie. When the sled arrives at the frozen-in country house I had no idea what was going on in the movie.
I so rarely go to movies that I am far more likely to have read the book, and never seen the movie. How does anyone get anything done if they do both?
The one time I think the movie was better was Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa. The story was changed slightly for the movie, but it made for a better narrative.
"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills." Oh, I loved that movie! Loved the book, too -- another good example of different formats creating different experiences, although like you, I give the movie an edge. Because I saw it first? Probably! Or because, Meryl Streep? Definitely probably!
DeleteFavorite books from my youth: anything by Ray Bradbury. He was the first sci fi/fantasy author I read and I'm still in love. My only regret is that I never got to meet him.
ReplyDeleteBooks I read or tried to read but can't stand: Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby. I keep trying to read the latter and I'm bored out of my mind.
Classics I love: Moby Dick and anything by Charles Dickens.
But, I must say, nothing will every compare to Ray Bradbury!
Oh, yes, Cathy, Bradbury rocked, didn't he?
DeleteA few years ago, my mother was in a book club that decided to revisit the classics and read Catcher, which like Edith with her sons, she'd read when I was in high school. Her verdict? It didn't hold up, because the world has changed so much since then, and because it really is best read by teens.
Leslie, when I put Catcher in the Rye on my Goodreads page I gave its own category: overrated drivel.
DeleteI have tried and failed to get through Dr. Zhivago the movie - the sheer length is too daunting - but the book, heavenly. That and Anna Karenina are annual reads for me. But then, so is Little Women.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the newest Agatha! Looking forward to Chai Another Day.
Don't you just love the scope of the classic Russian novels? I admire you, rereading both Zhivago and Anna every year -- not sure I could sit still that long!
DeleteAnd thanks -- my little teapot is such fun! I'll use it to brew a pot of chai on release day!
Kait, I reread Anna Karenina about every ten years. A great favorite of mine!
DeleteI usually don’t read a book more than once but made an exception for To kill a Mockingbird. I loved both the book and the movie. Another book/movie combination I enjoyed was MASH — the novel is by Richard Hooker. I read the book and saw the movie before the popular tv series started.
ReplyDeleteHi, Chris! Mockingbird is another rare exception, isn't it, where both formats -- and the stage play -- do the story justice. MASH is another book I remember selling, but never read. And you've thrown another format into the mix -- TV series! So many ways to tell a story!
DeleteHello Leslie- So glad you're here! I don't know why I've missed your series but I'm so happy that there's a new-to-me experience to enjoy. The summer reading pile has just grown!
ReplyDeleteI started reading John le Carre' when the Cold War was a very real thing. His book The Russia House just grabbed me so I was hesitant when the movie came out. But, hey, it starred Sean Connery so I wasn't going to miss it. I love both the book and the movie. They were like cousins, strong family traits in both but then, each with it's own personality. It's probably not on anybody's list of classics but it's definitely on mine.
Cousins! I LOVE that analogy, Lyda. And I'm with you on Connery, still my favorite Bond. (And no surprise, as you can guess from the title, but Bond movies actually do play a small role in Chai Another Day.)
DeleteI hope you enjoy the trip to Seattle, on the page, with me!
I liked Dr. Zhivago but Anna Karenina is my favorite Russian novel. I also loved Madame Bovary and The Scarlet Letter. I have a thing for fallen women, I guess!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see Chai Another Day out in the world!
Where would literature be without fallen women?
DeleteAnd even though Chai Another Day doesn't officially release until June 11, I hear tell that it's already been sighted on the shelves of at least one B&N...
While I have always loved the movie, I never read Dr. Zhivago until the La Jolla Playhouse began a Page-to-Stage production of a musical version. I say countless iterations of that musical and while none of them was completely sucessful, each had elements that I loved. And the music sticks with me, so there is that. (Alas, no Lara's Theme in the musical, which was a disappointment.) I don't recall if that show ever did make it to broadway, I think maybe it had a run, but I don't regret watching the various versions as it was created.
ReplyDelete"Somewhere my love..." -- oh what a lovely song! The page to stage process sounds fascinating, especially getting to see it evolve.
DeleteHi Leslie. I am going to be in Seattle in July I will look for Pepper at the Market ::smile::.
ReplyDeleteI was let into the Adult section of the library when I was about 11 years old. I still remember reading Jeb Ellis of Candlemas Bay by Ruth Moore. Of course I read all the available Christies, remembering The Hollow especially. Scenes from Andersonville, were so vivid and horrifying they stayed with me to this day. You have chosen 2 of my favorite movies for rewatching. Throw in Ben Hur, and I will show up with popcorn. Enjoy Chai's book birthday, and thanks for all you do for the writing community.
Forgot to mention, Congratulations on the Malice 2019 Award.
DeleteThank you, Coralee! (Somehow, I missed your note on my earlier rounds.) I don't think I've seen Ben Hur in, gosh, 40 years or more, but I did love it -- it always played on TV around Easter. Then for years, Mr. Right and I drove across the state to see my mother at Easter, playing the CD of Jesus Christ Superstar -- and singing alone -- as we drove. Ah, the things that stick in the brain!
DeleteAnd thank you for your kind words. Both of the Market spice shops continue to inspire me!
I'm looking forward to the release of Chai Another Day. I read Dr. Zhivago for the first time about 8 years ago, after having seen the movie several times. I liked both book and movie ~
ReplyDeleteThanks, Celia. I hope you enjoy the trip back to Seattle, on the page!
Deletecongratulations on your new release!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about Helen MacInnes lately, and found some of her books in the library system (Salzburg Connection, Venetian Affair, Double Image).
Thanks, Margaret! And Helen MacInnes -- pause to see what's on my shelves -- Salzburg, and Agent in Place. A woman ahead of the curve, for sure.
DeleteI just finished a re-read of most of her novels. Not dated at all, IMHO.
DeleteHi Lesley! Always lovely to see you. Of course your post sent me right to the list of the New York Times bestsellers for various years, which then sent me down a big rabbit hole of looking up the books. Somebody stop me! I guess the literary fiction that made the most difference in my life was Edith Wharton’s Custom of the Country, as well as Age of Innocence, which I didn’t appreciate until way after I finish school. Also Look Homeward Angel, And Marjorie Morningstar, although I do not think that counts.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jonathan‘s daughter, my stepdaughter, is named Lara. Guess why.
Hank! True, isn't it, that so many of those classics don't really hit us until years later. So it's another chicken and egg or movie versus book question -- we do need to be exposed to those big themes early, even if we don't fully grasp them until we've got a little more life on us, but would we grasp them later if we hadn't been exposed earlier? Oh, my; apparently, I need another cup of coffee. (It's still early-ish out here.)
DeleteSO agree, Leslie! I do think the early planting grows bigger...something. oxo
DeleteLeslie Leslie autoCorrect strikes again.
ReplyDeleteHi Leslie! Welcome to Jungle Reds and congratulations on your new book! I met you at several mystery conferences and we had interesting conversations about law school. I love your books.
ReplyDeleteI loved Anne of Green Gables, which was written way before I was born! I still love Anne of Green Gables. Right now I am reading Anne of Avonlea.
Diana
Hi, Diana! Oh, Anne -- thank you for reminding us of another treasured childhood read. Have you seen the TV series? Loved the Megan Fellows version; took a while to warm up to the more recent version -- Martin Sheen as Matthew? But it worked, of course, b/c he's so great. And do you know that there's a new novel called Marilla, re-imagining her life?
DeleteYes! I got an ARC for the Marilla novel and loved it! I wrote a review on goodreads. I loved the Megan Fellowes version. Interesting to see the version with Martin Sheen. In some ways, the characters were different from the MF version.
DeleteI still love PRIDE & PREJUDICE and adore the adaptation with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new book!
Yes, yes, yes. I made Mr. Right sit through a Jane Austen marathon a couple of years ago, and it's a testament to his good character that once he got over his surprise at the mores of the time, he enjoyed it tremendously.
DeleteAnd thanks!
You're brave. I learned long ago that if I want to watch Austen and enjoy it do not invite the spouse to sit it. He can't help himself. He has to make his snarky remarks.
DeleteI have watched more than my fair share of martial arts movies in return. :)
DeleteInteresting - I checked for my birth yearm and I have, in fact, read the three books topping the list - Hawaii by James Michener, The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, and Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger. The first I read out of my mom's books shelves; she was a huge Michener fan. The second I read from the Argyle Free Library whenI discovered historical fiction - I also happily devoured books by Thomas Costain and Rafael Sabatini that summer. The third I read in a lit class; I don't remember anything about it, other than it left me just as unimpressed as CATCHER IN THE RYE had.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, I checked the books that topped the list the year my oldest child was born - I haven't read a one of them! Goes to show the difference in reading time available...
Oh, Julia -- Michener and Stone! Writers for the ages, but of their own time, right? Sagas like those just don't fly these days, but when I was a teenage bookseller (sounds like the name of a TV series, doesn't it?), they ruled. Centennial, The Source, ... And I feel all warm and fuzzy just remembering those books, even though I doubt I'll ever reread them.
DeleteI read a lot of Michener too. But when I got to his tome, Texas, I got burned out. I never made it through the first section about the Spanish. Maybe I should have skipped forward to the good parts.
DeleteFranny and Zooey? I STILL think about it. And Catcher, too. Huh.
DeleteThe best selling book for my birth year was...wait for it...CAPTIAN FROM CASTILLE. Good Grief. I have read it, though, my mother had a copy, which may still be around here somewhere. (checking: yes I do and also LORD VANITY by the same author) Books that made a great impression on me as a youth? CHILDHOOD'S END by Arthur C. Clarke, TALE OF TWO CITIES by Dickens (also GREAT EXPECTATIONS), THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, and others I'm not remembering. Then especially Tolkien's the HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. Karamazov is really the only Russian novel I have much cared for. I also love and have reread BARCHESTER TOWERS. If there's a profile to be gleamed from that list of books I can't see it.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Rick -- you may get the prize for the most-popular-then, most-obscure-now book! And what a great list of youthful faves. The comment element? GREAT BOOKS!
DeleteI loved The Secret Garden when my fourth grade teacher read it to us. I have a copy somewhere. I read Catch-22 and enjoyed it. I thought the movie was a huge disappointment. Frank has read the book at least 3 times. My son has read it too. I think the book really plays into their military experiences.
ReplyDeleteI also read Doctor Zhivago after seeing that gorgeous movie. I honestly don't remember much about the book except that I thought the movie Dr Z was nicer than the book Dr Z. Anyone? That is kind of like seeing Gone With the Wind and then reading the book. The movie left out that she had a child with each of her husbands. I thought The Godfather movie was better than the book. The book had so much stuff thrown in that didn't advance the story. I really didn't care about the size and state of Sonny's junk. Still don't. I love A Tale of Two Cities. My favorite movie version stars Ronald Colman as Sydney Carton. I could watch and listen to that man all day. Sigh. I never read Catcher in the Rye and probably never will. Just can't relate. I read A Separate Peace in high school. It was interesting, but I still couldn't relate to a bunch of privileged preppies. I'm sure there was a lot more to the story and I'm sure I would see things differently if I reread it, but that's not happening. I read The Virginian back in junior high for pleasure. When Bill Pullman produced and starred in a TV movie I read it again. I enjoyed it a lot more this time than when I was a teen. I got into Tolkien hard and heavy when I was a teen. I wept when some characters died in the Lord of the Rings. I mean bawled! I tried to read the trilogy again a few years ago. I couldn't do it. I just could not get into it. From time to time I have tried to read Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. Again, I can't get into it. I feel like I'm reading a Hemingway parody. I like Scott Fitzgerald's style better, but his books make the lousiest movies.
Pat, I used to reread the Tolkien every three or four years, but have been too busy with all the other books out there to keep doing that. Still, I always found it pulled me right in and loved it.
DeletePat, I think you've identified a theme. Some books are right for us in certain times and places, but not in others -- which is why reading, or even rereading, Catcher or A Separate Peace as an adult doesn't carry the same significance, and can even be disappointing.
DeleteI loved Hemingway as a teen and still do, but good heavens, you have to be in the right mood for Papa.
Hi Leslie, how nice to see you on Jungle Red Writers. I'm so excited to read Chai Another Day. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI saw Dr. Zhavago when I was quite young and loved it. I have to admit, I've never read the book.
The book that I remember as the first book written for adults, that I read as a very young child, was Phantom of the Opera. My grandmother had a copy and let me read it and I loved that book! The mystery, the romance...it probably started me on a life long love of reading mysteries. I don't know what happened to her copy. Oh, how I would love to have it.
I still haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird, although it's on my list, but my son was in a local theater production of it a few years ago and I loved it.
So many great books over the years!
Is this Lana from Hood River? Waving! And if it's a different Lana, well, then, waving to you, too.
DeleteSo fun that reading Phantom connected you to your grandmother and got you started on a life of crime! Well, of reading crime. :)
Yes, it's me saying hello from Hood River! Waving back at you.
DeleteYay! Reds, Lana confesses to READING mysteries, but she's also a writer with a really fun WIP that I hope she hurries up and finishes so I can find out who did it! Plus, she has an amazing talent for making her grown son blush -- in a writing workshop, too!
DeleteDr. Zhivago
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn! Hi Leslie! Mark from Public Display of Imagination Podcast, here. I love this discussion thread and just have to comment... (then I have to fix my blog commenting ID, I think). When I think of books from yesteryear that I read and remember really getting caught up with, three titles come to mind. Childhood years - The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth. Middle School - The Old Man and the Sea by Hemmingway. High School - JAWS by Peter Benchley. Love them all. Have read them more than once.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mark! All excellent choices. Different books for different stages in life.
DeleteHi, Leslie. Thank you for highlighting the film version of Dr. Zhivago. I read the novel first and it was sobering, but the movie...oh wow. Such grand sweep and passion. Visually stunning. And Lara's Theme accompanying it all.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new book, and I bet you know that "chai" is the Russian word for tea since you studied the language. I think that's neat.
Thanks, KK! "Sobering" is exactly the word for the book, and while the movie is grim in places, that grand sweep and passion makes it as heart-warming as it is heart-breaking.
DeleteIn my college lit class, we read in translation, but happily, I have a good friend who is a native Russian speaker! (She's actually Khazahk.) As Pepper discovers in Chai Another Day, "chai" means tea in Hindi as well as other languages. So "chai tea" is like saying "java coffee." But yummy whatever you call it!
Thank you all for a delightful conversation -- it's been to hear about some of your favorite reads, and of course, to debate the perennial book vs. movie question.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to the Reds for another warm welcome!