Book Notes: View Kubrick film at downtown library
The late, great filmmaker Stanley Kubrick made some of his best films by adapting novels: Anthony Burgess’ “A Clockwork Orange,” for example, and Arthur C. Clarke’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
One of Kubrick’s earliest such adaptations came in 1956 when he made the film “The Killing,” using Lionel White’s novel “Clean Break” as a base (and utilizing another noir novelist, Jim Thompson, to help shape the film’s dialogue).
“The Killing” will screen as part of a monthly Kubrick film series at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main St. The showing, which will be in room 1A, is free and open to the public.
Other films in the series include: Feb. 14, “Paths of Glory”; March 14, “Dr. Strangelove”; April 11, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Call (509) 444-5300.
Screen to page
Up until now, the typical path of a book has been from page to screen (either movie or television). Now, it seems the process is being reversed.
Bewilderingstories.com, a Moses Lake-based online publisher, has just gone literal by publishing a print book, a paperback version of the novel “Grim Legion” (239 pages, $12.95 plus $2 for shipping/handling) by Jack Alcott.
“Grim Legion” is a mystery set in 1830, the first term of Edgar Allan Poe’s short-lived tenure at the U.S. Military Academy.
To see a complete catalog, go to www.bewilderingpress.com/publications.html. For order information, call (509) 855-6654 or e-mail info@bewilderingpress.com.
Cheap reads
If you’re among the budget-conscious among us, then you may appreciate knowing that Patrick F. McManus’ novel “The Blight Way” (Simon & Schuster, 272 pages, $16.99) is available in paperback.
For Spokane’s McManus, best known for his humorous story collections (“A Fine and Pleasant Misery”), this is his second Sheriff Bo Tully mystery.
“McManus delivers a brisk, hilarious small-town cop mystery,” wrote a reviewer for Publishers Weekly.
To find out more about McManus’ books, go to www.simonsays.com.
Tracking the past
Bozeman author Sid Gustafson’s novel “Horses They Rode” (Riverbend Publishing, 286 pages, $24.95) begins with an intriguing sentence: “Wendel Ingraham slumped in the Spokane Amtrak Station.”
From that point on, Gustafson explores the life of a man as he searches his past to find meaning in the present. And hope for the future.
As Gustafson explained in an e-mail, “I am a minor regional novelist from Montana, a former Spokane resident and Playfair Racetrack veterinarian, and a Washington State University grad. … Much of the story takes place in Spokane, homage to Playfair and the heyday of racing in the ‘80s.”
As reviewer Anna Bjorklund wrote in the magazine Outside Bozeman, “By rail, by horse, and by mountain highway, Gustafson paints a magical landscape as his protagonist re-creates his life and connections with others, the land and himself.”
For more information on Gustafson and his books, go to www.riverbendpublishing.com.
More SJC
June Helle Summers, author of the self-published chapbook “Spokane Junior College, 1933-42: A Memoir,” called in a clarification about last week’s column: The printing of her book ran more than 60 copies.
Summers, who is interested in hearing from anyone else who attended the school, is selling the books for $10.95. You can reach her at (509) 483-4458.
Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public.
Book talk
“Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“The Memory Keeper’s Daughter,” by Kim Edwards), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.
“Auntie’s Evening Book Group (“History of Love: A Novel,” by Nicole Krauss), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
The reader board
“Pacific Northwest Inlander Fiction Contest winners, reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Becky Kemery (“Yurts: Living in the Round”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore.
“Kathy J. Ward (“Journal for a Better Life”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.