July 2022 Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

I apologize for being even later than usual. I let time get away from me.

Anyway, now that July is here, the summer is in full swing. I'll admit to the recommendations this month being last minute, but the book, at least, has some connection to a past recommendation. I hope that these'll keep you occupied and fill out the month.


Reading: The Moon of Gomrath (1963) by Alan Garner

This is the sequel to the ever-popular fantasy classic The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, continuing the story of the children Colin and Susan and their relationship with the wizard Cadellin. This time, after the elves take a mystic bracelet of Susan's in the hope of it being an asset in battles for their own lands, she is possessed by a strange force which renders her catatonic, leading Colin to discover the Old Magic of the world in order to save her. Things become stranger when the children unwittingly unleash the Wild Hunt, leading to another fight between good and evil on the plains of Alderley Edge. This would be the last installment in the story for several decades, before Garner would finally complete it with Boneland in 2012.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Gomrath-Alan-Garner/dp/0008248516/
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Gomrath-Alan-Garner-ebook/dp/B00DPZN3AG/



Viewing: Rope (Alfred Hitchcock, 1948)

Based on the play by Patrick Hamilton, this film is the first of Hitchcock's to be shot in Technicolor and is further significant for being constructed in such a way as to appear to be done in one continuous take. Ostensibly inspired by the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case, it follows two young men who strangle a classmate, hide his body in a trunk, and proceed to host a dinner party in the room with the trunk; everything goes according to plan until one of the main guests - the teacher who unintentionally inspired them to commit the murder - grows increasingly suspicious over the course of the evening. It's one of the more experimental films in the director's career, as well as his first collaboration with James Stewart, and should prove rewarding on multiple views.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Rope-James-Stewart/dp/B000ECX0O2/
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Rope-Blu-ray-James-Stewart/dp/B00BM7A1AO/
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Rope-Alfred-Hitchcock/dp/B002RPI2QK/


So that's July for you. Again, I apologize for the delay. I'll try to do better next time.