#Classic Balzac “Ferragus”
Good news: I could not believe one of my “GR friends” gave Ferragus by Balzac a score of 2.
I decided to read it and believe me it is a 5!
Gripping scenes between husband (Jules) and wife (Cle1mence, Mm. Jules) who he thinks is committing adultery!
Oh, her love for her husband was so misunderstood. Balzac’s cliffhanger ending is unbelievable! I must finish this series.
Good news:. Trilogy Sequence:
Ferragus (1833): Focuses on Jules’s suspicions about Clémence.
La Duchesse de Langeais (1834): Follows one member of the secret society (Les Devorants) obsessive pursuit of a noblewoman who flees to a Spanish monastery.
La Fille aux yeux d’or (1835): Explores forbidden desire and jealousy in Paris’s underworld, involving another member of the secret society.
Personal: Balzac is like olives…an acquired taste!
His writing is dense, at times going off on an ‘essay/manifesto’ about money, banking, ‘grisettes’ (demi-monde girls), funerals, Catholic Church…)
You just have to stick with it!
His cast of characters is vast…and demands patience.
But like olives….once you taste the “briny stories” you keep going back for more!
PS: all of Balzac’s books are available in English!
#Non-fiction: Essays on Art History
- Author: Kellie Jones
- Title: EyeMinded
- Rating: A+++
- Non-fictiion essays Art History (#BHM)
- Ms Jones is an art history professor at Columbia University.
- She explains the impact that black artists have had in art historical movements.
- Many of these artists have long been overlooked.
- I read 37 essays and selected 4 artists that made a lasting impression on me
- …leaving me at times speechless…their art and ideas are amazing!
- The other best essays were about concepts:
- Black aesthetic, how to define Black Art and Abstract Expressionism
- Conclusion: The book is easy to read yet scholarly and best read
- …a few essays at a time. I started on 04 Jan – 02 March 2026.
- I recommend it highly and look at some of the works of art
- …via Google Images for a first impression!
Best essays:
“Lorna Simpson”. (1960) She is a an American conceptual artist renowned mainly for her photography in which she combines the photo with text (language) to add a new layer for contemplation.
“David Hammons” (1943). An artist I have never heard of but will not soon forget! His “Spades in Chains” (1969) took my breath away. Simple elements and he created a power look at racism and racial stereotypes in USA. This work in now in MOMA.
“Dawoud Bey” (1953). This is the best essay I’ve read so far. Bey is a MacArthur Genius Fellow and his photography proves that he is a visionary! Progression from street portraits – landscapes and my favourites “split portraits”! Core message: capture the beauty of those who rarely find themselves illustrated in this way.These photos instill a pride in the existence of a “black self”.
“Marten Puryear” (1943). He is an African American sculptor and this left me breathless while looking up the works of art on Google. If a museum in your area has an expo of Marten Puryear…don’t miss it! (Now in Boston MFA until Feb 2026). Quick Look – see You Tube (13 min) “When Minimalist Art Collides.
Excellent discussion about the “Black Aesthetic” (BA) consummate aesthetic (CA) and aesthetic incarnate (AI)! Ms Jones scatters the word “aesthetic” around like confetti. BA: emphasis on personal and cultural narrative in black art instead of spectacle. It centers on heritage and resilience. CA: extremely skilled in creating harmony in form, technique. Example sculptor Martin Pruyear.
Excellent discussion about the concept of “black art” and how several artists define it. Should it be about COLOR and FORM? Should it be POLITICAL stance and SOCIAL realism? This essay was an eye-opener especially to learn about the British black artist and art intellectual: Sir Richard (aka Frank) Bowling (1934)! One of the best artists I’ve discovered in the book!
Excellent discussion about “Abstract Expressionism”. The New York School (Pollack, DeKooning, Newman, Rothko, Norman Lewis). N. Lewis… was known for his “black paintings”…able to use that colour to make political and social associations in a powerful way. Lewis’s core message: ” …don’t try to paint racial difficulties but try to excel as an artist first and foremost.”
Reading/Cleaning Update: Feb 2026
UPDATE:
- I have been MIA during February!
- I watched SO many Olympic events…and had no time left to read!
- I now have to get my reading and my bookcase organised,
- check on the ongoing book challenges ...that I have neglected, mea culpa.
READING: FEBRUARY 2026
- Dr Faustus – T. Mann – REVIEW #Classic
- 9 Times My work has bee ripped Off – R. Biesinger (NF) (Canadian Challenge) – REVIEW
- The Selected Works of C. Pavese – (novella) – REVIEW
- A Spy In Rome – P. Tompkins (NF) – REVIEW
- The Looking Glass War – J. Le Carré (Cloak & Dagger) – READ
- The New Gilded Aged – Editor D. Remick – REVIEW
- EyeMinded – K. Jones #BHM – REVIEW – 37 essays
- Toni at Random – D. Williams #BHM – REVIEW
- Ferragus – Balzac – READING (…I have to get back into French reading mode….)
- Africa is Not a Country – Dipo Flayon #BHM – REVIEW
- Nine Stories – J.D. Salinger – REVIEW
SPRING CLEANING:
- I used this handy “check list” and watch way too many videos on Instagram about
- …cleaning your house, how to do it efficiently and more importantly
- …how to STEWARD IT! (thank you Jinjer, Intrepid Angeleno for your post!)
- That was a new concept for me because I am a “irregular deep cleaner”!
- I clean when the cats start compiling about the mess!
- So I’ve follow the “golden rule” = get stuff OFF the floor….put everything in its right place.
- I decluttered drawers, kitchen cabinets and clothes closets
- I cleaned and defrosted the fridge and freezer. (…what a job!) and
- …invested handy storage containers to keep the fridge organised.
- So what is the plan now,…to keep the house clean?
- 1 x per week – I do a big clean = 2 bathrooms, kitchen floors/cabinets,
- …vacuum, dust and clean up the living room and declutter bookcases
- ...bedroom: clean sheets, vacuum.
- Daily: bedroom windows open….let fresh air in…and make the bed
- dishwasher, clean countertops, laundry check, cat litter box,
- bathroom: wipe sink/mirror, swish toilet, restock towels.
LESSON LEARNED
- ….learning to steward one’s home
- = learning to manage and care for it well
- …not simply ….. cleaned it once.
#TBR26In26 Cesare Pavese “The Beach”
- Finish date: 06.02.2026
- Genre: novella
- Rating: F-
- #TBR26in6
Bad News: I finished The Beach by Cesare Pavese (novella) and was bored out of my mind. Just a series of scenes of childhood memories, sunbathing on beach and rocks, swimming, café trattoria and dancing. Marriage seems to be THE topic and how to keep mistreses at bay. Berti the flirtatious 15 yr is mentioned 78 times! Why? He creeps around like a shadow and is just annoying to the narrator “…I cut the meeting short and closed the door.” (pg 49); “I told him…to leave me in peace.” (pg 55)…and me. This novella was such a slog…awful.
Good News: Well, it turns out Berti was there to do just that: he disrupts the fragile adult status quo. So that is the only plus point in the book. Pavese, mission accomplished.
Bad News: I had the The Selected Works of C. Pavese on my reading list this month but am not going to drag myself through 3 novels! Time to enjoy some great African American Literature during Black History Month. Better for my soul…
Personal: My pivot to African American literature for Black History Month…my soul will thank me after that Pavese drivel. February’s perfect for diving into voices that pulse with resilience, identity, and raw humanity.
#Classic Dr Faustus
- Finished: 01.2.2026
- Title: Dr Faustus by T. Mann
- Rating: D-
- #Classic
- I put everything aside today
- I will finish this book b/c I’m starting to hate it!
- The book is too long, wordy…boring, boring, boring.
- Why use one word when you can use two hundred?
- It was kind of like eating bran flakes:
- You know it’s good for you, and to some degree
- you enjoy the wholesomeness of it,
- but it’s not always particularly exciting.
- Honors to any one who can struggle through to the finish line.
NOTES:
January 19, 2026 –
8.79% “Long convoluted sentences that demand the reader’s attention at all times!”
January 21, 2026 –
11.59% “Ch 4: With this level of detail…this book is going to take forever!”
January 21, 2026 –
22.43% “Read ch 5-8: I will NOT give up and concentrate on every word.. Mann overwhelms the reader with endless chapters about the blend of solid music theory and reflections on musical beauty. I had to ask “AI” where did his musical knowledge come from? Mann immersed himself in musical specialist literature and intensive collaboration with T. W. Adorno, who was both a philosopher, musicologist and composer. Unbelievable!”
January 22, 2026 –
30.84% “Read ch 10-11-12. Don’t read too much of this book at a one time…it can overwhelm you. While this is not my favorite of Thomas Manns works, it might be his most important and personal.
Audio narrated by Scottish stage David Rintoul is the best way to read Dr Faustus. I keep an online version available just to check some passages. Rintoul does a masterful job bringing this very complicated material to life.”
January 23, 2026 –
39.25% “Read ch 13-14…dense digressions during Adrian’s theological seminars are smth you just have to get through. There is a lot of “blah, blah” but Mann wants to show us how Adrian is absorbing his studies but foreshadows at the end of ch 14 that A. is about to make a huge U-turn…towards his music. How theology, music, Adrian and the devil all mix together we can only guess!”
January 24, 2026 –
47.66% “Read ch 15-16-17 (90 min audio) – Ch15 was a metaphysical rant about art. Adrian (A) feels it is dependent upon the personality of the times. Heavy stuff before breakfast! Ch16 A. moves to Leipzig for music study sends letter to narrator Servenus (S) a/b apartment, city etc. Ch17 was S’s analysis of letter. TIP: A’s Faustian pact with devil symbolises Germany’s cultural descent into fascism. 29 more chapters to go!”
January 25, 2026 –
56.07% “Ch 20-21-22: What? Ch 20 is a dialogue b/t A. and the devil. I didn’t hear him come into the room. So beware, this is just a hallucination. Ch 21 What? SZ suddenly has a wife…so flash forward to 1943. Did not see that coming. Ch 22 Everything is a debate b/t A and the narrator (SZ): marriage, nature, music. Exhausting to read and probably just as exhausting to write!”
January 26, 2026 –
61.68% “Ch 23-24: Rather easy to read chapters….not “debates” ! Adrian has moved to Munich. Goes for a walk in the country and finds a lovely house perhaps rent it in the future? Ch 24 Narrator (SZ), his wife, Adrain and his friend Schildknapp vacation in Italy. (SZ) remembers that Adrian has been infected with syphilis years before…and begins to see his friend change: he abhors contact with others “Touch me not”!”
January 27, 2026 –
65.42% “You have to get through ch 1-24 …but the pivotal chapter 25 describing the devil, Adrain and the “demonic pact’s negation” is worth it! Devil explains the conditions, changes outward appearance 3 x (spooky) and seals the deal with: “Time you have taken from us, a genius’s time, …full 24 years. When they are finished…then you shall be fetched !”
January 29, 2026 –
76.64% “Ch 26-27-28-29 are relatively boring after the “Devil Chapter (25).
Adrian composes an opera, symphony and there is a love triangle brewing:
Dr. Helmut Institoris, Inez and Rudolph Schwerdtfeger (violinist). This is not the easiest book to read…I never see it on reading lists…now I know why.”
#2026 The Great Canadian Reading Challenge (2)
by Raymond Biesinger (no photo)
Finish date: 05.02.2026
Genre: NF
Rating: B+
#2026GreatCanadianReadingChallenge
Good News: Relatively short book but an interesting POV of a Montreal based Canadian illustrator and his informal guide how to prevent being exploited “ripped off” artistically. Great illustrations BTW….in the book!
Good News: Drawing talent is one thing, takes time to build your “style” as an illustrator. R. Biesinger gives us a look at what he has to do to NOT be ripped off. If this happened to me it would keep me up at night! Practical tips are good to know and how he has tried to regain control of his style.
Personal: As R. Biesinger says on pg 202: “…AI has graduated from a theoretical to an actual menace when it comes to ripping off creatives”.
The conclusion of the book hit a very small nerve in me. Book bloggers see AI scraping their reviews to educate the AI models. That feels and is unfair….(author mentions 261 of his images have been feed to AI models). A small book review usually just my opinion is peanuts in comparison to the beautiful art that Raymond Biesinger creates.
#InterestingRead
PS:
- Have you seen The Great Canadian Reading Challenge?
- Hosted by That Happy Reader
- Hashtag: #2026GreatCanadianReadingChallenge
- Goal: 12 books
#TBR26In26 The New Gilded Age
Finish date: 31.01.2026
Genre: 37 essays
Rating: C
#TBR26In26 @ Rose City Reader
- Let me shout it from the roof tops: I FINALLY READ THIS BOOK!!
- It has been on my TBR for 10 years.
- Mixed feelings about these essays:
- Some essays were good….but others felt so antiquated
- …even in the short period since 1994.
- E-commerce was a thing to be apprehensive about which is laughable now.
- Some essays highlights the real estate obsessed in New York City
- …now only the top 1% can afford an apartment there!
- The BEST essays always had a whiff of the autobiographical.
- EXCELLENT : 12/37
- AWFUl:/PUFF PIECES: 10/37
- GOOD…but not great: 15/37
- Favorite authors:
- Malcom Goodwell, David Brooks, Larissa Macfarquhar, John Cassidy, Arthur Krystal,
- Michel Spectre, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, John Updike, Connie Bruck and Adam Gopnik
- I read 1 essay a day and to be honest, that was enough.
- Here are my notes:
Start: December 27, 2025 –
4.83% “Read: 2/33 essays and am impressed by Larissa Macfarqyhar! Staff writer at the New Yorker since 1998 and is known for her sharp, insightful profiles. She interviewed Jason Calcanis (Internet entrepreneur. I’d like to find her essays on Hilary Mantel and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the magazine’s archive. NETFLIX docs (2025) New Yorker 100 years is excellent!“
December 30, 2025 –
13.66% “Read 4/33 essays:
The post enjoyable so far is Mark Singer’s essay 1997 “Trump Solo”. I had to laugh at one quote from Trump:
“Whatever complicates the world more, I do,”
Aint’ that the truth!”
December 31, 2025 –
26.26% “2/37 essays “The Gilder Effect” (about George Gilder, who?) and Hard Core Bill Gates Microsoft vs the Government trial.. Interesting at the time (1998)…but pales in comparison to the tech-bros of our times. The only thing that kept me awake were the ” Pre New Years ” fireworks that are currently exploding in my neighbourhood! 2025……If ever there were a year whose end could not come soon enough, this was it.”
January 1, 2026 –
29.2% “Read 7/33 essays – Reading Malcolm Gladwell “Clicks and Morters” is like reading ancient history. MG delights in the benefits of e-commerce (barcodes, internet web stores, tracking packages) but still wants to highlight that ‘people’ are still necessary for business. Poor MG he did not see AI chat customer service, robotics in warehouses and…drones …coming! Fun to look back to 1999, ancient history!”
January 2, 2026 –
31.51% “Read 9/33 essays: “Kids in the Conference Room” (1999) looks at management consulting jobs that were once a top aspiration for college graduates, prestige, high pay, fast-track career growth. By reading about the past I wondered if AI could replace these young people? AI reinvents consulting as higher-value..but does not make it obsolete. Nothing can replace empathy.”
January 3, 2026 –
34.03% “Read 10/33 essays: Today is a look at Mary Meeker (1959) “The Girl in the Bubble”. Who? In 1990s She was celebrated for her stock-picking acumen. Now, Mary Meeker digests vast amounts of data to highlight the unprecedented pace of AI adoption and innovation and how businesses can create an explosion of wealth. Mary just keeps on ticking…like the Duracell bunny!”
January 4, 2026 –
37.82% “Read 11/33 essays: “Marisa and Jeff”….how insider trading on Wall Street feels good at first …then turns into a hot mess. Most of these essays were written 25 years ago. So I wonder if employees using AI tools to plan or conceal insider trades…could escape detection? We’ll have to wait and see.”
January 5, 2026 –
39.92% “Read Essay: 12/33: “No Man’s Town” about Willard Rouse. Who??
Exactly…this was the MOST boring article I’ve read/skimmed in a long time. A recipe “how to boil an egg” is more interesting! Bah.”
January 6, 2026 –
44.12% “Read 13/33 essays: Today’s essay by Malcom Gladwell about Lois Weisberg (Chicago) …was the best read so far! This profile was the basis for his book The Tipping Point: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
EXCELLENT …writer M. Gladwell!”
January 7, 2026 –
47.27% “Read essays 14/33 “The Quarter of Living Dangerously (24.04.2000) by D. Denby. It feels that the world has shifted in 2000 to the “New Economy”. It produces “…a new kind of personality —the man or woman who is morally promiscuous, whose character has the liquid properties of cash..”
January 9, 2026 –
51.05% “Read essays 15/33: “Landing From the Sky” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc is the basis of her 2003 book “Random Family. Essay was a snapshot of an extended family in the Bronx as they navigate poverty, drug dealing, abusive relationships, teenage motherhood, and repeated incarceration over more than a decade. Excellent writing….”
January 11, 2026 –
54.83% “Read essay “Moby Dick in Manhattan”( 16/33). Nice read….about the author James Wilcox. It detailed his struggle to survive as a writer devoted purely to literary fiction in 1994.”
January 12, 2026 –
58.19% “Read essay (17/33) ” Sweat is Good” . This was a fascinating look at the garment district in NYC written 25 years ago. It is a narrative nonfiction, typical of Buford’s immersive reporting.”
January 14, 2026 –
59.03% “Read essay (18/33) “A Sense of Change” by John Updike. Updike was a poster boy for The New Yorker. He submitted 153 poems and 179 articles fiction (highest count) and reviews. His work spanned over 50 years, totaling nearly 850 pieces. This little gem (very short essay) was wonderful…bringing back memories of a childhood in which I was dazzled by coins, Buffalo Nickel, Lincoln Penny and remember the Mercury dime?”
January 15, 2026 –
59.03% “Read essay (19/33) “Metamoney” Adam Gopnik continues to write for The New Yorker as a staff writer, a role he has held since 1986. He’s a a real Duracell bunny…still ticking! Although this topic about US money the look of the bills…whose on what? dd. 1998…it is in 2026 a very entertaining read. Gopnik always gives his writing a engaging whiff of humour…I love it!”
January 16, 2026 –
62.39% “Read essay (20/33) “Display Cases” by Adam Gopnik. Pleasantly written, this article is easily read. Alas that is its only quality…
…empty, useless superficial chatter!”
January 17, 2026 –
66.18% “Read essay (21/33) “After Seattle” by W. Finnegan. This was a look at the early protest movement a/g I.M.F., the WTO., and the World Bank “the iron triangle of corporate rule”. Does anybody ever protest globalism these days? Yes, but it does not get amplified much on social media. Annual protests a Davos…ho hum…and if there is a protest it is usually linked to a local issue (Yellow Jackets in France). #Boring.”
January 18, 2026 –
69.96% “Read: essay (22/33) “They Like Me” by Connie Bruck. Profile of mob lawyer who became mayor of Las Vegas! Laugh moment: When FBI agents get the better of Oscar Goodman… he says…with a look and a tone that bespeak the company he has kept for nearly thirty-five years… “Drive safely” . Bruck is a staff writer at NY’er since 1989 and has won several writing awards. Profiles on… Newt Gingrich, Tupac Shakur.”
January 19, 2026 –
69.96% “Read essay (23/33) “What Would You Do If You Won the Lottery?” (Rebecca Mead, 24.04.2000). Very quick read, a puff piece. It was a soft focus anecdotal stories...about a “Mr Lucky” who won the lottery. He won a $45 million lottery jackpot in 1999 and opted for the annuity option, receiving payments over 26 years. I still think he is a millionaire but can’t confirm this!”
January 20, 2026 –
73.95% “Read essay (24/33) “The Inn Crowd”. Another “puff piece” about a restaurant (1978) in Washington, Va. (embattled outpost of gastronomy and the surreal impact on the townspeople) Difficult to enjoy it while I follow the “news” in Davos World Eco Forum on TV. The world is nervous b/c DJT arrives tomorrow. There’s no diplomacy with Donald Trump — he’s a T-Rex, you mate with him or he devours you.“
January 22, 2026 –
75.63% “Read: essay (25/33) “My Misspent Youth” by Meghan Daum. She is a young struggling freelance writer and describes her total financial mayhem trying to keep her head about water. Very entertaining and good news….Meghan is thriving in the literary world 2026.”
January 23, 2026 –
77.94% “Read essay (26/33) “A Hazard of No Fortune” by Adam Gopnik. Good writer but the essay is about looking for an apartment in NYC. Not smth that interests me. Lightweight, boring and difficult to enjoy after a night w/ just 5 hrs sleep. I guess the wrong essay at the wrong time but Gopnik remains one of my favourite New Yorker ‘s staff writers.”
January 24, 2026 –
79.83% “Read essay (27/33) Another ‘puff piece” about apartments NYC. (buying/selling). It feels like people in NYC are obsessed with real estate !
Article has only “local” appeal….I’d rather read smth with more substance.”
January 26, 2026 –
82.56% “Read essay (28/33)…almost finished!! “High-Heel Heaven” by M. Specter. It was a wonderfully informative and entertaining profile of the shoe designer Manolo Blahnik (1942). “What will happen to your brand when you stop? They’re just shoes. I’ll make as many as I can, and when I die I suspect the world will survive.””
January 27, 2026 –
82.56% “Read essay (29/33) “A Party for Brooke (Astor)” (21.03.1997) by Brendan Gil. Having a lot of difficulty reading the last few essays. There is so much happening in the world that I cannot get excited about another puff piece about the 95th birthday of a “grande dame” of New York society.”
January 28, 2026 –
85.29% “Read essay (30/33) “Conspicuous Consumption” by David Brooks. Who knew Canadians had such a great sense of humour? David Brooks is an exceptional writer and of all 30 essays…I enjoyed this one the most. It was short and laugh-out-loud funny! You can find essay/articles/opinion pieces by Brooks at The NY Times and The Atlantic.”
January 29, 2026 –
85.29% “Read essay (31/37) “Our Money, Ourselves” (19.04.1999) by D. Merkin. It was a frank autobiographical article covering family dynamics and wealth on Park Avenue. Very enjoyable reading and impressed with Ms Merkin’s vocabulary…really good!”
January 30, 2026 –
89.5% “Read essay (32/33) ” Who Speaks for the Lazy?” In these essays, Arthur Krystal (1947) finally reveals his cantankerous persona, and engages in an impassioned defense of the work he does…and doesn’;t do! Very good read…loved his writing style and kept reading waiting for the next great turn of phrase.”
January 30, 2026 –
90.76% “Read essay (33/33) !! “Restoration Hardware” by David Brooks (18.01.1999) .…delightful profile of the owner and the store: ransacked his childhood memories and turned them into nostalgic inventory. He sells the old classic Boston Ranger pencil sharpener (see Google images) , which you probably haven’t seen in decades. He sells vintage gyroscopes and the classic plaid thermoses. Loved this walk down memory lane!”
#Get Out the Popcorn! January-February-March Movies
MARCH:
- Frankenstein (2025) – nominated for 9 Oscars 2026! – I liked it…only a few ‘gory’ scenes! – very good…but not super!
- Sinners (2025) – Loved the soundtrack but I’m not a fan of ‘vampires’ etc. So I was not the target audience. – 16 Oscar nominations
- It Was Just an Accident – (2025) – I simply do not understand how this film got Palme D’Or and Oscar nomination… huge disappointment.
- One Battle After Another (2025) DiCaprio, best actor? I hope not! Movie was TOO long…and I did not see the ‘masterpiece’ qualities at all!
- Train Dreams – …just the kind of film we need for these troubling times…a beautiful film. Oscar for Cinematography? = EXCELLENT
FEBRUARY:
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (1979) – Wonderful series based on John Le Carré’ book – EXCELLENT
- OLYMPIC GAMES! – I was glued to the TV for two weeks….!!
JANUARY:
- Mr. Mercedes – (Netflix) – Love Brendan Gleason…but NOT in this. Turned it off after 3 episodes – disappointment
- Lost Illusions (Apple) – Movie only tells only part 2 of the book…does NOT do Balzac justice! – Bah
- Pluribus (Netflix) -I like Rhea Seehorn…otherwise I would have turned it off after episode 3 – boring
- Murder in Monaco (Netflix)- Sloppy production, boring and waste of my time. – boring – 01.01.2026
- Weapons (Apple) – Beyond bad…! Nothing remotely creative/intelligent …just a bunch of zombies. Bah. o2.01.2026
- A Real Pain (Disney) – Not what I expected…Culkin is too crazy…..and Eisenberg too stiff. 04.01.2026
- His Three Daughters – (Netflix) -..It was okay…not great. New York Times films 2024. 06.01.2026
- Man on the Inside (Netflix) – NOT funny…each episode felt like cringy …stopped after 5 episodes. 17.01.2026
- Cover-up (Netflix) – many memories about the news in 1960s – EXCELLENT
- The New Yorker 100 Years (Netflix) – my favourite magazine! – EXCELLENT
- Sunday Best: the Untold Story of Ed Sullivan (Netflix) – EXCELLENT
- The Holdovers – (Netflix) ….good feeling movie, loved it! – EXCELLENT
- Evil Under the Sun (BBC 2)..love Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith = EXCELLENT
- Documentary (Art History) “Basquiet: Rages to Riches”. (53 min)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23gz8pbPKOI = WOW…just WOW!
#BlackHistoryMonth 2026 Reading and Film Lists
Davie Hammons and Gustave Klimt
NOTE: If you want to learn more about DAVID HAMMONS … here is a LINK for article in NYTimes
#BlackHistoryMonth 2026 Reading List:
- Africa is Not a Country – Dipo Faloyin (NF) – REVIEW
- Toni at Random – Dana A. Williams (NF) – REVIEW
- 05.03.2026 – Parable of the Sower – O. Butler (SF) – REVIEW
- 04.03.2026 – EyeMinded: Living and Writing Contemporary Art ( 24/37 essays) – Kellie Jones (NF) REVIEW
- Misbehaving at the Crossroads – Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (NF)
- The Intentions of Thunder – P. Smith #NationalBookAward 2025 (poetry) – REVIEW
- I’m Still Here – A. C. Brown (NF)
- Four Hundred Souls – Ibram X. Kendi (NF)
FILMS: Outstanding directors
- Raoul Peck (Haiti): I Am Not Your Negro (2016) AppleTV (rent)
- Ava DuVerbay (USA): When They See Us (2019) Netflix (mini series 4 episodes)
- Spike Lee (USA): Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (2025) Netflix. (mini series 3 episodes)
- Dee Rees (USA): Mudbound (2017) Netflix
- Sir Alan Parker (UK): Mississippi Burning (1988) AppleTV (rent)…(one of my favourite movies…re-watching)
- Chinonye Chukwu (Nigeria): Till (2022) Prime and AppleTV (rent)
- George C. Wolfe (USA): Rustin (2023) Netflix
- Ryan Coogler (USA): Sinners (2025) HBOMax Southern Gothic horror – 16 Oscar nominations!
- Mike Leigh (UK) (2025 – Hard Truths AppleTV (rent)
- Malcolm Washington (USA) (2024) Netflix – The Piano Lesson
- Greg Kwedar (USA) (2023) – Sing Sing AppleTV (rent)
- Dawn Porter (USA) Luther: Never Too Much (2024) – AppleTV (rent)
- Minhal Baig (USA) (2023) – We Grown Now AppleTV (rent)
Untitled (Mother and Child) 1967 Tom Feelings
#National Book Award 2025 Patricia Smith
NancyElin.blog 