September Recap and 84 Charing Cross Road

I need to do some catching up. 

Here is the September - my 'Oh, To Be In England' month - recap:

Books Read - 9

Books returned to the library unread: 3 - Those crazy British cult mysteries by Kyril Bonfiglioli from the '70s. I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. I think I lasted about 20 or 30 pages.

Authors met: 0  - This is my fault. Pulitzer Prize recipient Robert Massie, author of Peter the Great, Nicolas and Alexandra (which I read ages ago) and most recently Catherine the Great, was here speaking at the library last week. I failed to get registered for a ticket and the event was 'sold out'. (These events are free but one must request a ticket.) In checking Mr. Massie's biography, I see that he was born not 90 miles from where I live.  Drats and double drats. Fortunately, there  is a podcast of his talk available which I will listen to this weekend. All is not lost, but I would have liked to have seen him in person. 

I also must report that Sunday night I watched the movie 84 Charing Cross Road which never loses its charm and appeal. I think I wept most of the way through it. The story means so much to me. How could it not? There are typewriters, cigarettes (OK, maybe not the smokes), a lovely dusty London bookshop, actual letters (not electric ones) sent back and forth across the Atlantic, history (there is actual footage of Queen Elizabeth's coronation!), characters that one would love to have tea with, books, books, and more books, and, even some baseball. 

I wish I could live in this movie.

I had forgotten that Judi Dench played Nora, Frank Doel's wife. And Ian McNeice played Bill Humphries, one of the clerks of Marks & Co. Nowadays, McNeice plays Bert Large on Doc Martin.