My Big Fat Reading List (Summer 2011)

Currently Reading:

Film/Writing:

Making Movies - Sydney Lumet
A memoir-ish walkthrough of the various stages of film production, heavily laced with anecdotes from Lumet's filmmaking experiences.  Easy to read, honest, insanely practical and deeply personal.

Screenplay - Syd Field
One leading theorist's breakdown of how to construct a story from start to finish.  Represents one of several prevailing approaches, but a great starting point. (For fun, see Chris Huntley's "A Comparison of Seven Story Paradigms", in which he juxtaposes the story models of Field, Vogler, McKee, Linda Seger, and John Truby with his own ‘Dramatica’.) Side note: I was recently cautioned by Michael Baser against getting too enamored of those who teach but don’t write.  Point taken, but will let Mr. Field keep the floor till he's done.

Dreaming in the Rain - David Spaner
A history of Vancouver’s evolution into Hollywood North.  Just starting.  A bit dry so far, but hopefully it will pick up.

Fiction

The Confession - John Grisham
A man on death row for murdering a teenage girl a decade earlier has maintained his innocence all along, and his lawyer must beat the clock to save his client.  Can you say “The Chamber”?  Not his best, but not his worst either.  A good e-read whilst treadmilling.

Freedom - Jonathan Franzen
Just starting.  Loved The Corrections and heard this one’s better. Johnny, don’t fail me now!

Other

Too Big To Fail - Andrew Sorkin
A play-by-play account of events leading to the global financial disaster of 2008-10. Hands-down the most compelling non-fiction I’ve read in years. A richly-detailed political/economic expose that reads like a Shakespearian tragedy.

You: The Owner's Manual - Roizen & Oz
Undeniably, the mother of all how-tos on the subject of health and fitness.  Sassy, practical, and doing wonders for my bowels.
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Recently Finished:


Film/Writing:

Story - Robert McKee
Like Field’s “Screenplay”, a textbook-style exploration of screenwriting that borders on spiritual journey, made famous by Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, and McKee’s own perennial travelling workshop. My copy has been thoroughly defiled by all manner of pen and highlighter, and is still in once piece thanks only to scotch tape and sticky notes.  

The Writer's Journey - Christopher Vogler
Rooted religiously in the Hero’s Journey model of Joseph Campbell, I found this book by accident.  A bit choppy and disconnected, but hugely insightful and easier to apply than McKee’s Story, especially with respect to characterization and plot design.   

Al Pacino - Lawrence Grobel
You can never get enough Al, especially when he’s this funny.  A catalogue of intimate interviews spanning nearly four decades.  Always insightful to enter a giant’s thought process at multiple stages in his career.  

Fiction:

The Millenium Series (Stieg Larsson)
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo had me at hello.  I started the series pre-hype and with no idea what it was about.  Ignore those who say the first hundred pages are boring, that’s pure drivel.  My heart hasn’t raced like this since I met my wife.

The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen

Only Franzen could keep me spellbound in a three-page description of breakfast.  No one skips through space and time as deftly as this guy, except maybe Audrey Niffenegger (Time Traveler’s Wife).  The research alone required to write a book this big and broad and borderline prophetic should normally take two or three lifetimes I would think, so my guess is that Franzen is either an alien or the Son of God.