Recommended reading - Glengarry Glen Ross: A Play (1983):

Glengarry Glen Ross: A Play

By David Mamet.

Awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1984.

Published by Grove Press.

First published 1983.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0802130917

ISBN-13: 978-0802130914

Description:

Comic Drama Characters: 7 males.

2 interior sets.

“Who needs caffeine when you’ve got Glengarry Glen Ross? … David Mamet’s play about a dog-eat-dog real estate office in Chicago feels like having espresso pumped directly into your bloodstream…. Mr. Mamet hears American scheming with an exactitude and delight still surpassed by any other dramatist.” – New York Times.

Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as the New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best American Play and the Drama Desk and Tony Awards for Best American Play and the Drama Desk and Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play, Glengarry Glen Ross is one of the most celebrated and widely performed plays of recent years. It is a scalding comedy is about small-time, cutthroat real esate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land onto reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their fair share of the American dream. Here, Mamet is at his very best, writing with brutal power about the tough life of tough people who cajole, connive, wheel and deal for a piece of the action an existence where closing a sale can mean a brand-new Cadillac, but losing one can mean losing it everything.

“Wonderfully funny … a play to see, remember and cherish.” – New York Post.

Julia Alvarez, on books:

A book does not discriminate against any reader.

All are welcome at the table of literature.

– Julia Alvarez.

Recommended reading - The Name of the Rose (1980):

The Name of the Rose

By Umberto Eco.

Published by Harper.

First published 1980.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0063279630

ISBN-13: 978-0063279636

Description:

Italy, 1347. While Brother William of Baskerville is investigating accusations of heresy at a wealthy abbey, his inquiries are disrupted by a series of bizarre deaths. Turning his practiced detective skills to finding the killer, he relies on logic (Aristotle), theology (Thomas Aquinas), empirical insights (Roger Bacon), and his own wry humor and ferocious curiosity. With the aid of his young apprentice, William scours the abbey, from its stables to the labyrinthine library, piecing together evidence, and deciphering cryptic symbols and coded manuscripts to uncover the truth about this place where "the most interesting things happen at night."

First published in 1980, The Name of the Rose became an international sensation, beguiling readers around the world with its mix of history, humor, and intellectual heft. This beautifully designed modern edition, illustrated with exclusive original drawings created by Umberto Eco, will enchant a new generation of readers and entice old fans to fall under its spell once again.

Now available in a deluxe fortieth-anniversary paperback edition featuring never-before-seen illustrations by the author, the beloved internationally bestselling historical mystery about a brilliant monk called upon to solve a series of baffling murders in a fourteenth-century Italian abbey.

“Explodes with pyrotechnic inventions, literally as well as figuratively. Hold on till the end.” – New York Times.

“Whether you're into Sherlock Holmes, Montaillou, Borges, the nouvelle critique, the Rule of St. Benedict, metaphysics, library design, or The Thing from the Crypt, you'll love it. Who can that miss out?” – Sunday Times (London).

Recommended reading: The Ninth Configuration (1999):

The Ninth Configuration

By William Peter Blatty.

Commentary by Mark Kermode.

Published by Screenpress Books.

Published in 1999.

Paperback.

Screenplay.

ISBN-10: 1901680207

ISBN-13: 978-1901680201

Description:

“The finest large scale American surrealist film ever made” – People Magazine.

Towards the end of the war in Vietnam, an unusually high percentage of American servicemen suddenly manifested symptoms of psychosis. To investigate this mystery, the US government established a network of covert study centers.

They send the crazies to Center Eighteen. Men who think they can walk through walls. Men who want to stage the complete works of Shakespeare using dogs. Hudson Kane is plagued by nightmares and memories not his own. Only Hudson Kane is not an inmate. Hudson Kane is in charge…

William Peter Blatty – the creator of The Exorcist – directed this self penned script that quickly became a cult classic for its brave philosophic tone, remarkable visuals and endlessly quotable dialogue.

This is the first time that Blatty’s originally screenplay has been published. Fully annotated by acclaimed writer and critic Mark Kermode and illustrated with many previously unpublished stills.

This is the definitive edition of the script that its creator believes to be the true sequel to The Exorcist.

Winner – Best Screenplay Golden Globe Awards.

Recommended reading: The Ninth Configuration (1966):

The Ninth Configuration

aka Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane.

By William Peter Blatty.

Paperback.

Published in 1966.

ISBN-10: 0765337304

ISBN-13: 978-0765337306

Description:

Hidden away in a brooding Gothic manor in the deep woods is Center Eighteen, a secret military "rest camp" currently housing twenty-seven inmates, all officers who have succumbed to a sudden outbreak of mental illness. Have the men truly lost their minds, are they only pretending to be insane to avoid combat, or is some more sinister conspiracy at work?

Desperate for answers, the Pentagon has placed a brilliant Marine psychiatrist in charge of the base and its deranged occupants. A man of deep faith and compassion, Colonel Kane hopes to uncover the root of the men's bizarre obsessions. But as Center Eighteen descends into chaos, Kane finds the greatest challenge may be his own buried demons. . .

Born on this day – Clara Horton:

Clara Horton

Actress

July 29, 1904 – December 4, 1976

Credits:

A Bit o' Heaven (1915); A Friend in Need (1914); A Grim Fairy Tale (1923); A Jungle Hero (1916); A Puritan Episode (1913); A Son's Devotion (1913); A Soul's Tragedy (1915); A Wise Judge (1913); Action (1921); All Around Frying Pan (1925); Almost a Husband (1919); Animated Weekly, No. 68 (1913); At the Court of Prince Make Believe (1914); Auntie's Money Bag (1914); Because of Bobbie (1912); Bengal Tiger (1936); Beyond the Trail (1926); Big Hearted Jim (1913); Blind Youth (1920); Christopher of Columbus (1923); Clara and Her Mysterious Toys (1913); Coming Home (1914); Dolls (1912); Down to the Sea in Cabs (1927); Everywoman (1919); Fighting Blood (1923); Filial Love (1912); For Better or for Worse (1913); For His Child's Sake (1913); Gall of the Wild (1923); Girls on Probation (1938); Golden Shackles (1927); Grandfather's Romance (1914); Huck and Tom (1918); In an Old Trunk (1914); In the Days of Old (1914); In Wrong (1919); It's a Great Life (1920); Judy Punch (1923); Just Kids (1914); Just Off Broadway (1942); Kidnapping the King's Kids (1915); Makers of Men (1925); Making Uncle Jealous (1912); Mind Over Motor (1923); Nadine of Nowhere (1916); Nineteen and Phyllis (1920); Oh, Bridget! (1925); Outside Inn (1927); Over Here (1927); Penrod (1922); Playmates (1913); Prisoners of Love (1921); Sailor Izzy Murphy (1927); Shadows of the Harbor (1915); Sherlock's Rival (1927); Six Second Smith (1923); Some Punches and Judy (1923); Speed Madness (1925); Stepping on the Gas (1927); Taxi (1931); That Night (1927); The Answer (1915); The Banker's Daughter (1913); The Bonnie, Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond (1912); The Broadway Gallant (1926); The Crimson Cross (1913); The Darling of the Mounted (1912); The Detective's Santa Claus (1913); The Dupe (1914); The End of a Perfect Fray (1923); The Faith Healer (1913); The Fightin' Comeback (1927); The Fortune Hunter (1927); The Girl from Outside (1919); The Governor's Veto (1913); The Greatest of These (1914); The Heart of a Woman (1920); The Higher Impulse (1914); The Homecoming (1912); The Key (1913); The Knight in Gale (1923); The Knight That Failed (1923); The Light in the Clearing (1921); The Little Band of Gold (1915); The Little Mother of Black Pine Trail (1913); The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1920); The Long Shift (1915); The Motive (1922); The New Dress (1915); The Passing Parade (1912); The Plow Woman (1917); The Return of Lady Linda (1913); The Servant in the House (1921); The Slippery Spy (1914); The Sons of a Soldier (1913); The Spectre Bridegroom (1913); The Trail of the Hanging Rock (1913); The Trouble Chaser (1926); The Vengeance of Guido (1915); The Violinist (1914); The Wheel (1925); The Whirlwind Finish (1918); The Winning Girl (1919); The Wondrous Melody (1914); The Yellow Dog (1918); Thirteen at Table (1913); Three Faces West (1927); Time to Kill (1942); Tom Sawyer (1917); Two Stones with One Bird (1923); Under the Lion's Paw (1916); Up in the Air (1927); Us Kids (1916); When Gale and Hurricane Meet (1923); When Little Lindy Sang (1916); Who Is Hope Schuyler? (1942); Why Aunt Jane Never Married (1913); Willie and the Muse (1914); Winning the Futurity (1926); Wrongs Righted (1924).

On this day in astronomy history - Northern Lights Aurora borealis:

The view of the Northern Lights Aurora borealis, from our home on Friday, May 10, 2024.
I’ve always loved astronomy and I wish I had more time to dedicate to it.
It was great to experience this rare natural event with my wife.