Rose City Reader, I’m glad to have your comments on the site. I have been off the Booker Challenge since I finished this year’s longlist – I just haven’t had the desire to read a Booker book for a while. It’ll come back.

Kevin and workingwords, thanks for the recommendations! It doesn’t take much to persuade me, so I’m sure sometime soon I’ll be checking out your recommendations. You’ve mentioned Foyles’ War before Kevin, so I’m particularly anxious to see what it’s all about.

I enjoyed your review of a play.

It’s good to challenge the mind in many ways (First with your memories of the play, comparing the written play with what you saw, and just the act of reading a play.)

If you want to explore more about plays, borrow a 4 DVD set of Beckett’s plays from your library.

The cost of the set is still a tad over $100.00, so that’s a present I won’t get for myself for awhile.

If you do have the DVD on the British Bridie, make time to watch them twice. You miss a lot in the first viewing, pick it up in the second — and it is equally entertaining the second time through. I admit I knew the television version before I read the book — I was stunned when I did read the book that so many hours of television had come from such a short book. Of course, I was seeing things in reverse.

And if you do like that, move on to the Sword of Honor trilogy, both book and British TV version (which we have on DVD). Waugh had a lot of problems — but he was a wonderful storyteller.

If you don’t know about Acorn Media, check out their website. They are the American agency for great UK television. On nights that we don’t want to read, my wife and I decree “festivals” and, when you look at the cost of dinner our and even a movie, let alone theater, buying a DVD of something you like that you will watch three or four times becomes a worthwhile expense. If you accept that logic, check out Foyles’ War — even if you don’t, find season one at a rental store and then get ready to rent four more seasons. It is a book lovers wonderful television.

About Brideshead: I haven’t seen the movie and don’t plan to. I think every reviewer I respect said the movie was trash and an insult to a very good book and an already superb adaptation. That part about the good book and adaptation did spark my interest, though, and I got both. I’m almost through the book and have hours and hours of excellent acting to watch in the ITV adaptation.

I’d leave Invention of Love on the shelf — there is nothing to recommend the play. I can’t comment on Coast of Utopia — if I had the chance to see it, I probably would have, but I’ve never had the chance.

I do think your thoughts on Brideshead would be interesting, although the current dreadful movie might make them seem cheeky. It is a very good book and a think Waugh generally is worth reading right now.

It’s interesting that your grumpiness toward Stoppard began with Arcadia. I can’t say as I understood it when I watched and read it, and I can’t remember what I did get out of it, but I remember enjoying it nonetheless. The Invention of Love was one I wanted to like more, but I blamed myself for my indifference – I don’t think I quite knew what was going on most of the time. I actually pulled it down from my shelf thinking maybe I’ll get it this year, but I put it back. We’ll see if I pull it down again. I’m almost finished reading Brideshead Revisited and some of the early scenes between Charles and Sebastian made me think of The Invention of Love. Instead, I saw The Real Thing and revisited it. We’ll see if I get around to The Invention of Love soon.

Most of my enjoyment from Stoppard has also been with his early work. I have not seen Rock and Roll, and probably won’t. I also have not seen The Coast of Utopia, but mainly because I don’t have the time to do the leg-work to prepare myself for a play with a massive bibliography. From what I read, a Ph.D. in Russian history is almost necessary to get that play, though it’s quite fascinating once you get there. He definitely seems to have gotten much more erudite and obscure over the past two decades.

I don’t think I’m going to, however, because I have been very grumpy about Stoppard since Arcadia (which would mean 15 years now). I was quite excited about seeing The Invention of Love in London — it was excruciatingly bad. Rock and Roll was even worse — we left at the interval and we almost never do that. I do think Stoppard’s early work (including The Real Thing) was good, but I also feel he has lost his course. Your review does provoke me to remember his better work.