Ataraxia

  Ringworld by Larry Niven is one of The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read, albeit it is ranked only 2203 rd on The Greatest Books of All Time site – you find thousands of reviews on books from both lists and others on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   8 out of 10   I have approached the Ringworld https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/06/ringworld-by-larry-niven-is-one-of-1000.html before, and I was not enchanted, giving it only 7 out of 10 then, now this is raised to 8 out of 10, and it might have been higher, the problem is mine, and it has to do with the inability to grasp the magnitude of the book   There are many aspects that I have found elating: take the fact that Louis Wu is…200 years and Teela Brown, his lover, is 20 , from this you might, I did, conclude that we have a bright future on one hand, on the other, this is not a Panglossian perspective, however much I like that ...

  The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout and Miled Swarthout was adapted for the big screen and that motion picture is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made; nevertheless, it does jot make it on my own Best 1,000 Movies list, because it is good, but not overwhelming for this cinephile…you find thousands of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other sites on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html     7 out of 10   John Wayne https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/12/rio-bravo-by-leigh-brackett-one-of.html was for many years the favorite actor of America, indeed, he was talented, and some of his roles belong to movies that are now classic features, mostly westerns, Red River, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo   Nonetheless, as a man, I think I would have disliked The Duke – that was his nickname – because he seems to have been a sort of ancestor of the MAGA cult, and if you look tho...

  Out of The Past by Daniel Mainwaring, James M. Cain and Frank Fenton is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, and indeed, it satisfied this cinephile, who might include this on his own list of favorites – meanwhile, you find thousands of notes on films from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   8 out of 10   James Cain https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/double-indemnity-by-james-m-cain-reader.html is one of the writers of the script of Out of The Past and I would say that we can see it, he was one of the best mystery writers, he has two books in the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time, he is also on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list   Robert Mitchum has the leading role of Jeff, we see him in the beginning, as he appears to be this gentle, settled man, ready to marry Meta Carson, the woman he loves, looking ahead at a quiet...

  Persuasion screenplay by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Jane Austen was the 1996 Winner of The BAFTA TV Award for Best Single Drama, it also won another four BAFTAs – incidentally, they have given the BAFTAs for 2026 the other day, and we had a little scandal, what with the fellow with Tourette shouting during the ceremony – the 1995 adaptation (there are more than five it seems) is also one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find thousands of notes on films from the NYT 1,000 and other lists, plus reviews of books from The GOAT and other sites on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html   6 out of 10   I wonder how it happened that I was so enthused about Persuasion https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/07/persuasion-by-jane-austen-10-out-of-10.html the first time I encountered the narrative and there are some answers, one would be that it was the book, or audiobook, all those years back ...

  Las Bizarrias de Belisa by Lope de Vega   What on earth (but I was tempted to say- the hell) does this lady want? -            Las bizarrias indeed! From the start, Belisa is not the kind of heroine that I like to read about. She rejects suitors for the flimsiest of reasons, this one has a beard, that one has a hair I do not like and so on. The title refers to Belisa’s manner of dealing with life and people. I listened to an adaptation which is called “Capriciile Fenisei”, with George Constantin in one of the roles. Having the greatest actor that I know in this play made me listen to a play that I would have otherwise stopped in its tracks. There may be some fun in it, for those who enjoy a farce and role playing. In fact, I need to correct somehow the last statement: -            We all play roles and games One of the classics of psychology is the book Game People Play by Eri...

  The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate was adapted into a film that is one of The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made – you find a multitude of notes on motion pictures from The NYT 1,000 and other lists on my blog https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html and YouTube channel   8 out of 10   This has reminded me of Anton Chekhov https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-shooting-party-by-anton-chekhov-we.html and his own Shooting Party, he famously said "One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn't going to go off. It's wrong to make promises you don't mean to keep." There are different versions of this   Indeed, the principle is respected in The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate: except there is not one gun, but maybe more than one hundred, ready to murder hundreds, probably thousands of pheasants, ducks and other poor animals – Sir Randolph Nettleby does offer a defense at some point, s...