Tonight’s diary is going to be short, sweet, and at least somewhat useful.
That’s because I had a minor but still painful surgical procedure on Thursday and am still recuperating. It’s taken more out of me than I thought it would, so this is basically a list of gift recommendations, nothing else, and if you want to skip it, feel free.
However, I just say that it was an utter delight to have an anesthesiologist who had the “Celebrity Apprentice Trump Cabinet” gif bookmarked on her phone and gleefully shared it with me and my buddy Theresa just before the actual procedure. It made things much easier, knowing that the lovely, kind woman who’d be knocking me out for about an hour had her heart in the right place.
As for tonight’s diary, it’s my annual Ellid’s Holiday Recommendations list of books, movies/TV shows, and (sometimes) recordings that I came across this year, enjoyed, and thought the rest of you might like as well. Some are new, some are old, but all are things that I first encountered recently, so please keep that in mind when you think “but Ellid, that book is ___________ years old.” I can’t read or listen to everything when it first comes out, alas, so sometimes are simply things are new to me.
Then again, so is my car (and my house, and even the Double Felinoid, rescue kitties both), so what do I know?
That said, tonight I bring you ten possible choices to give to friends and loved ones: five books, two movies, and three classical recordings. Enjoy!
Books:
Hitler’s Monsters, by Eric Kurlander — dense, impeccably researched, comprehensive history of the occult in Nazi Germany. Kurlander, who teaches at Stetson University in Florida, has produced a truly definitive book, one that builds on the earlier work of Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke to produce a multi-layered look at the deep, profound influence of occult and supernatural belief systems on everything in Nazi Germany from meteorology to agriculture to actual weaponry. Not only that, it convincingly argues that it is only by acknowledging and taking this influence seriously that modern readers can truly understand the intellectual and — yes — spiritual underpinnings of the Third Reich.
The Adept Series, by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris — Kurtz, best known for her Deryni medieval fantasies, is in some ways an old-fashioned writer: heroes and villains are clearly defined, plots are well constructed, the action is comparatively bloodless, and the good guys always win. This may not be the most realistic world view, but it’s surprisingly comforting in today’s world, and this series amply fills the bill. The protagonist, Sir Adam Sinclair, is the head of a lodge of white magicians fighting evil in modern-day Scotland, and though his adventures aren’t as good as Kurtz’s earlier thriller Lammas Night, they’re more than enough to satisfy on a cold autumn night when the wind blows shrill and the leaves gust down the sidewalk in the dark.
Twilight at the World of Tomorrow, by James Mauro — enjoyable social history about the origins of the legendary 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair, intertwined with a series of unsolved terrorist attacks and the fate of two members of the NYPD’s Bomb Squad. Sharp pen portraits of the doomed officers, New York powerhouses like Robert Moses and Fiorella LaGuardia, and especially the all but forgotten Grover Whalen, “New York’s official greeter” who did as much as anyone to shape the image of New York as an exciting, brilliant, world class city.
Smoketown, by Mark Whitaker — wonderful look at the African-American community in Pittsburgh during the mid-20th century, when the Steel City could legitimately boast of a cultural and civic flowering in the Hill District and Homestead that rivaled the better known Harlem Renaissance. The Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords baseball teams...the crusading Pittsburgh Courier newspaper...jazz musicians like Lena Horne and Billy Strayhorn...”black Carnegies” like Cumberland Posey, Sr….white patrons of the black community like oil tycoon Michael Late Benedum...they’re all here, in a richly detailed look at an undeservedly neglected community.
Tapestries from the Burrell Collection, by Elizabeth Cleland and Lorraine Karafel — Sir William Burrell was a wealthy Scottish shipping magnate with impeccable taste, and his collection of medieval/Renaissance tapestries is one of the finest in the world. This stunning catalogue of the collection is the result of several years’ research, study, and conservation, and it is worth every penny of its $200 price tag. The color pictures of each tapestry are almost indecently lush, the scholarly discussion of each piece is flawless, and the conservation notes make it clear just how much work went into reweaving, repair, and maintenance simply to keep these treasures relatively intact over the centuries. Throw in the lists of exhibitions where each tapestry has appeared, the fellow collectors who bought and sold Burrell’s acquisitions over the previous centuries, and ample notes on tapestry production, dyes, and Burrell’s collecting process, and the result is a book that is a feast for the mind as well as the eyes.
Movies/TV shows:
Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Dana Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Leticia Wright, Andy Serkis, and Martin Freeman, directed by Ryan Coogler) — this stunning, flawlessly directed film deserved every accolade it got and every dollar it earned. Simultaneously a brilliant action film, an examination of the African diaspora, and a plea for the haves to share with the have-nots, Black Panther is simply one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, period. Michael B. Jordan is incandescent as the antagonist, Erik Killmonger, while Chadwick Boseman is majestic and truly royal as the newly seated King T’Challa. Throw in Leticia Wright and Danai Gurira all but stealing the film as T’Challa’s sister Shuri and his chief general Okoye, a memorable turn by newcomer Winston Duke as M’Baku, and magnificent art direction, set design and costumes, and the result may well be Marvel’s first Oscar winner.
Ant Man and the Wasp (Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Randall Park, and Michael Pena, directed by Peyton Reed) — brisk, hilarious, and beautifully designed mashup of a caper film, multiple parent/child character studies, and a superhero romp. A car chase through San Francisco involving a car that repeatedly changes size, a running gag about truth serum, and Randall Park’s FBI agent trying and failing to learn sleight of hand from an online magic school are only some of the laugh out loud funny moments in this slight but lovely film.
Music:
Brahms’ Piano Concertos (Helene Grimaud, soloist) — I’m not much of a Brahms fan, but the stunning French pianist Helene Grimaud has made me a believer, at least in his piano concertos. She all but attacks her instrument in the blazing finale of the the first concerto, and the rest of the movements aren’t far behind. Wonderful in every way, and even better? Grimaud is a conservationist who runs a wolf sanctuary when she’s not giving concerts. Definitely worth a listen.
Beethoven’s 2nd and 5th Piano Concertos (Evgeny Kissin, soloist) — Evgeny Kissin burst onto the classical musical scene at the age of twelve and has never looked back. One of the most technically brilliant pianists currently performing, his dazzling, perceptive interpretations of 19th and early 20th masters such as Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and Liszt are some of the best available. I’m particularly fond of his version of Beethoven’s magnificent fifth piano concert, the Emperor, where he combines flawless technique with magisterial command of the music. Truly epic, especially the first and last movements.
Ralph Vaughn Williams, Flos Campi/An Oxford Elegy/Magnificat/Fantasia on the Old 104th Psalm Tune (David Willcocks, Adrian Boult, etc.) — I love Vaughn Williams’ dreamy, sensual, quintessentially English music — the Tallis Fantasia is an all-time favorite — but this particular recording gets the nod because it includes a real rarity. Flos Campi is a lush, stunning, incredibly erotic piece for viola, orchestra, and wordless chorus inspired by the Song of Songs, and if you aren’t sighing for a lover at the end, well, it’s certainly not the composer’s fault. Just gorgeous.
Finally, and inevitably, works by yours truly if you’re in the mood for either medieval scholarship or sexy fun times, take your pick:
My own stuff:
As Lisa Evans, quilt historian and independent scholar:
"The Same Counterpoincte Beinge Olde and Worene": The Mystery of Henry VIII 's Green Quilt, in Medieval Clothing and Textiles 4 — my first published article, on how a single entry in Henry VIII’s death inventory may offer clues to his marriage, his relations with his first queen, and his divorce.
Anomaly or Sole Survivor? The Impruneta Cushion and Early Italian ‘Patchwork’, in Medieval Clothing and Textiles 8 — a description of a 1477 funerary cushion that proves patchwork has a much, much longer history than most people realize.
“Forward Into The Past”: Re-enactors and the Quest for Authenticity, in ”Can These Bones Come To Life, Vol 2. — how re-enactors and other practitioners of experimental archaeology can aid museum professionals, and vice versa.
As Sarah Ellis, purveyor of fine fantasy erotica:
”Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” in Spellbinding: Tales from the Magic University, ed. by Cecilia Tan — my first published short story is set at Collegium Sophia, the magical college hidden at my alma mater, Smith, in this anthology of stories inspired by Cecilia Tan’s Magic University quartet.
“White Horse Beach,” in Charming: Modern Erotic Fairy Tales For Gay Men And Those Who Love Them — a man’s husband disappears walking on the beach...but then a message in a bottle hints that maybe, just maybe, things are not as they seem. Charming was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards this year, much to my delight, and though we didn’t win it was still a great honor to be nominated.
“The Place Where Heroes Are Made, “ in What Happens at the Tavern Stays at the Tavern, ed. Jennifer Levine — Where do heroes come from? Where do they find their courage? And what happens to their bloodline, and the society that birthed them, if they sacrifice themselves before they leave an heir to carry on their legacy?
Happy shopping, and try not to get trampled at the Heck Piazza Howitzer-Busting Pre-Sale Sales in a couple of weeks if at all possible….
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