One Nightstand: What we read before we go to sleep
Can you read me now?
Even though Jess and I get a lot of info from the internet, we’re also still fans of books: you know, those things with the pages and the chapters and that crisp dusty smell. Here’s a peek at what we’re reading now:
Bound and Gagged: Pornography and the Politics of Fantasy in America
- Jess loves provocative subjects (Hello, Libidoland!), and this book was a logical addition to her nonfiction library. It’s possible that Jess read a story out of this book that caused Julie to totally miss an exit while on the way to EgoFest. It’s ALSO possible that it’s part of Jess’s research for a new project…
Bound (but not gagged) on the Libidoland set
CRITICAL THINKING How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World
- Jess the Teacher is helping her school implement critical thinking techniques. Last summer she attended a Critical Thinking conference in San Francisco; this summer she’s returning to that conference as a presenter. Yes – she is a smarty.
Jessica + San Fran fog
The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock
- My mom found a big musty hardback version of this at a garage sale and sent it to me, possibly because I had recently called her in a panic to find out if she, too, was alarmed at the ocean liner scene in Marnie. When I was little, she was always watching Hitchcock movies, and I don’t think I really appreciated them until just recently. Thanks, Mom.
Tippi Hedren ("The Birds") Barbie
The Five C’s of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques
- In case you didn’t know, Jess is in the process of learning how to do everything related to filmmaking (and pretty much everything else, too.) This book is one of her more recent finds.
How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer
- We heard the charming Roberta Munroe talk about her book on Film Courage, and we couldn’t resist snagging her book. So much good information. You can find Roberta on Twitter (@robertamunroe), and, if you’re lucky, you might catch her on #scriptchat…
Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution and Marketing for the Digital Era
- So, as indie filmmakers we all need to have this book, yes? We were lucky enough to win copies at EgoFest (thanks, @philontilt!) If you’re not already, follow author / filmmaker Jon Reiss on Twitter (@jon_reiss).
Ready for more? One Nightstand Part 2.
We’ve shown you ours; now we wanna see yours. What are YOU reading right now?
Definitely a diverse collection of literature!
The Five C’s is a great book – it’s loaded with tons of great information. Just started reading Think Outside the Box Office (thanks to Phil and EgoFest!) and there is so much great info, it’s almost overwhelming at times – but it will be a great resource moving forward.
Thanks for another interesting and informative post.
“One nightstand” — very clever
I am a huge fan of critical thinking. It’s one of the most under utilized tools we humans possess. It also comes in handy during no-budget productions! MADD KUDOS to Jess for implementing it in her school!
I read an except of How Not to Make a Short Film and realized that my first five films could have been used as cautionary tales in the book. You live. You learn.
smooches y’all
Much of of this list has been recommended to me by various sources esp The Five C’s of Cinematography. My amazon wish list is getting longer every day.
great post as usual!
You hit a chord – because reading is one of my biggest passions. You can ALWAYS find me with a book. I have tons of books on my iPhone, and I carry at least two with me in addition to what’s on my phone. It’s a lesson I learned many years ago, NEVER BE WITHOUT A BOOK. You can always pull one out when you’re waiting for a subway, waiting on line at the grocery store, or waiting for the dentist to perform torture on your mouth.
Since I’m currently blogging over at Barnes and Noble for their romance blog – I’m knee deep in what else? Romance novels.
But I too have a diverse book shelf and one of my favorite fiction reads is -
Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. A can’t put down book about three generations of women who survive the political maelstrom of China from the beginning of the 20th Century through the Tienanmen Square revolution. Really, I can’t recommend this book enough.
My most recent fiction read was –
The End of Marketing As We Know It by Sergio Zyman – while it was written in 2000 – it holds up today. The author was the Chief Creative at the Coca Cola company for many years – and he really understands the concept of how and why you market a product. Whether the product is you or your film – it’s worth the read, because there’s something to be learned between the pages of this book.
Ok, here is mine. I know I have a problem putting things back on the bookshelf. I also realize there are 2 dvd collections in there as well. I’m not exactly sure why. Anyway, here you go… don’t laugh. http://twitpic.com/1aaxyp
I just finished rereading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and am launching in to My Antonia by Willa Cather – 2 more for our BadGirlsBookGroup (BGs) where one-half of the group hasn’t read the book and the other half forgets to come. Of course, I LOVE the classics – next on my list is Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg OH.
Note on your comment about Jess & the critical thinking thing – it seems to me that 40 years ago when I first taught, that was an issue too. Thirty years ago the concept evidently was abandoned in favor of “teaching to the test.” A very SAD thing! I’m glad to find that it’s on a comeback & Jess is in on it.
I’m a book fiend. If it didn’t take so many damn words to write a novel, I’d be a novelist. I like pictures. Anyhow, here’s my “To Read” shelf.
http://sonofmultihyphenate.tumblr.com/post/244276369/to-read
So Phil and Tyler took photos of their books (BTW nice bookshelf Tyler) – I really ought to get into this picture taking thing, but believe it or not I’m not great with a camera. I think my digital is lying somewhere in a closet. You’ve inspired me to find it.
Wife saw me take the picture and said, “Now that you’ve documented it, can you finally put them away?”
Great post Jess & Julie! I have 3 types of piles on a make shift box next to bed. Not going to take picture like Phil and Tyler cuz like Maria, have to confess I ain’t great with a camera.
The 3 types of piles:
1. Books that have been in pile for over 5 years cuz I know I should read them but can never get through them – anything by Proust, Mishima’s The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum…
2. Screenplays that I read over and over – Chinatown, Apocalypse Now, In The Bedroom, The Verdict, On The Waterfront.
3. Latest books from library and books I re-read over the years – One Hundred Years In Solitude, Love In The Time of Cholera, House of the Spirits…
Cheers!
[...] Back in March we shared the books we were reading, but now it’s June, yo. New season. New books. [...]