2014 Summer Reading Challenge ~ Share Your Reading List

It's not too late to sign up for my 2014 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge! You have until July 15th to sign-up and until September 1st to read and write all of your reviews.

If you did sign up, please share your reading list! It doesn't have to be final and can include a variety of titles you are considering. Here is mine.

Back Street by Fannie Hurst
Dangerous Rhythym: Why Movie Musicals Matter by Richard Barrios
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Grandaughter by Sidney Poitier
A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson
Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme
Stella! Mother of Modern Acting by Sheana Ochoa
Steve McQueen: A Passion for Speed by Frederic Brun

Here are a few books that I'll be reviewing soon but won't be part of my summer reading challenge because I started/finished them much earlier.

Ann Dvorak: Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice
Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast by Patrick McGilligan
Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows by Ken LaZebnik

Share your list with me by commenting below! You can post your summer reading list on your blog or create a Goodreads bookshelf. I'll add your links to this post and to the main page for the book challenge.

2014 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge

I'm very excited to announce the second summer reading challenge!

2014 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge

Read a classic film book
Write a review and post it on your blog or Goodreads profile
Submit your review link here.
Repeat until you have read and reviewed 6 books!
Review 6 and be automatically entered to win a prize.

See details below. I included all of the details on a primary page on my blog header. Please use that as an easy-to-find reference point.

What counts as a classic film book?

• Biography/Interviews/Letters/Autobiography/Memoir of an Actor/Actress/Director/Other Cast or Crew Member
• Book about films – specific film(s), genre, film-making process, etc.
• A photography or art book related to classic films, fashion, style or an Actor/Actress/Director/Other Cast or Crew Member
• Film criticism or analysis
• 20th Century Novel that was adapted into a Classic Film
• Novel that is about a Classic film or an actor/actress from Old Hollywood

How many books should you read?

You can read one book in each category, 6 books in one category or mix it up. Read a book you’ve never read before or re-read an old favorite. The book can be brand new or long out-of-print. I'm flexible about what constitutes "classic film" and I'll accept anything up until the 1970s. Beyond that, please check with me before submitting your review.

Complete all 6 reviews by September 1st, you’ll be eligible to win the following prize pack: a set of four Vintage Movie Classics paperbacks courtesy of Vintage Books (a division of Penguin Random House). Learn more about these books here.

Books include: Cimarron and Show Boat by Edna Ferber, Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington and Back Street by Fannie Hurst.

How should you post the reviews?

You must review each book online and you can do this one of two ways. Post reviews on your blog or post reviews on Goodreads. Your review must be public somehow! Reviews on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other general social media forums do not count.

You also must submit your review to the form here. If you don't submit your review, it won't count towards the challenge.

If you have a blog, feel free to use this button!

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How do you sign up?
You have until July 15th, 2014 to sign-up! Fill out the form below with a link to your blog or Goodreads profile.



Many thanks to TCM! They called out the challenge on Twitter and they're encouraging participants to tweet links to their book reviews!

Like challenges? Check out @QuelleLove classic film book challenge at http://t.co/UWkEwjEnjJ. Tweet us links to reviews all summer.
— TCM (@tcm) May 19, 2014

Bachelor Mother (1939) at TCMFF and My Thoughts

Seeing Bachelor Mother (1939) on the big screen has been a dream of mine for a long time and I'm so grateful to TCM for making that dream happen at their classic film festival. I cherished every moment of this experience and I'm so grateful to have seen my beloved film on the big screen in Hollywood.

Comedian Greg Proops introduced the film at the Chinese Multiplex. He was hilarious and had us all in stitches. TCM posted part of Proops presentation:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bachelor Mother (1939) let me summarize the plot for you. Ginger Rogers plays Polly Parrish. She’s a sales clerk in the toy department of Merlin & Son Department store. Christmas is approaching and the store lays off some of their temporary help, including Polly. Despondent, she goes out for a walk and sees an old lady leaving a baby at the door step of a foundling home. Polly picks up the baby and the foundling home staff mistake her for its mother. They track her down and convince the son of Merlin & Son, David Merlin (David Niven), to give her back her job. But to her surprise the much needed job also comes with the foundling baby. David and Polly develop an unlikely romance and hilarity ensues when other characters including John Merlin (Charles Coburn) and Freddie (Frank Albertson) get involved. It’s a sweet film with lots of hilarious and heart-warming moments. 

 I remember the first time I watched Bachelor Mother (1939) was years ago on a VHS tape. I had recorded a block of “Bachelor” themed films on TCM. The line-up included BachelorApartment (1931), The Bachelor Father (1931) and Bachelor Bait (1934) among others. While I enjoyed the other films in that line-up, I remember being particularly enamored with Bachelor Mother. It was the start of a love affair that would only grow over time with multiple repeat viewings. I re-recorded the film on another tape when I temporarily lost my original. Then Warner Archive came out with Bachelor Mother on DVD-MOD and I bought it the instant it went on sale. Ever since then I’ve watched this film many times (I estimate around 30-40 viewings) and would watch it at least twice before New Year’s.

You might not know this about me but when I was growing up my family did not celebrate any holidays. It was partly because my parents are from other countries and didn't understand American traditions and partly because of my mother's personal beliefs. As an adult holidays often confuse me and I don't tend to celebrate them with the exception of New Year's. It's the only holiday I can get my head around and thanks to Bachelor Mother it's become my favorite holiday. I love that it's one big celebration of living through the year and starting fresh with a new year right around the corner. It's basically everyone's birthday. New Year's is a time for us to reflect on the events of the past year and to make plans for the future. Bachelor Mother influenced me greatly in this respect. For Polly, New Year's Eve is a pivotal point in her life. The coming year will bring with it lots of new challenges but also great hope for love, family and overall happiness. 

Carlos and I celebrating 2013 and ringing in the New Year!

I also really love the New Year's Eve scenes in Bachelor Mother. David uses his influence to get Polly all dolled up so they can go out to a fancy dinner in Times Square and ring in the New Year. Their class differences are set aside and they come together to celebrate and have fun. My husband and I dress up every year for New Year's and I always strive to recreate the glamor and the fun of those scenes from the film (sans the fake Swedish. Svell!).

I'm very grateful that I got to share the experience of watching Bachelor Mother on the big screen with my husband Carlos. He knows how much this film means to me and he even waited in the standby line so he could get in to the screening. I'm so glad he did and that we could share this moment together.

Carlos and I at the Bachelor Mother screening (with Trevor photo bombing!)