Interestingly, IMDB shows me that the director remade the film in 1997 with Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin, Lauren Graham and Nick Nolte respectively in the same (usually renamed) roles.
Saturday, 8 June 2013
Searching, always searching...
... for anything releated to Nordic Noir. This week, in the Morecambe branch of Poundland (a chain which is always worth a look, having supplied me with hardback Nordic fiction in the past) I picked up a DVD of the 1994 Danish thriller Nightwatch (not to be confused with Night Watch). While looking a trifle gorier than my usual fare, I justified purchasing by looking at the cast list: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Headhunters), Sofie Gråbøl (The killing),Kim Bodnia (The bridge) Lotte Andersen (The killing) and Ulf Pilgaard (Borgen).
Interestingly, IMDB shows me that the director remade the film in 1997 with Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin, Lauren Graham and Nick Nolte respectively in the same (usually renamed) roles.
Interestingly, IMDB shows me that the director remade the film in 1997 with Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin, Lauren Graham and Nick Nolte respectively in the same (usually renamed) roles.
Saturday, 1 June 2013
To Nook or not to Nook?
Okay, I'm a convert...
I've been known to espouse the value of 'real' books as opposed to e-books. Having bought a TouchPad and downloaded a couple of out-of-print Doctor Who books for the Aldiko app, I then experimented with the Kindle app. I know it's not supposed to be as good as a real Kindle but it seems adequate to me.
Then everybody started selling the bottom-of-the-line Nook (the Simple Touch) for around £29. No-brainer. Some more Nordic Noir based solely on price, plus the monthly Puffin Doctor Who 50th Anniversary publications (digital only).
More than happy with the Nook. Compared it with a friend's upmarket Kindle, and he felt the Nook had the better display but took longer to boot.
Two advantages I see for the Nook. Firstly, it used the epub file format, so I can buy books for, say, the Kobo, if they are not available for the Nook and use Adobe Digital Editions to download them to the laptop and then sideload to the Nook. (I've also added Nook and Kobo apps to the Touchpad. Secondly, you can add memory to the Nook (and, I believe, the Kobo) in the form of an SD card. I'm told that a 32gB card will hold 30,000 e-books. At my age, that would be over ambitious. Indeed at most ages...
So, I will still buy 'real' books in anywhere from Poundland to Waterstones. But I think the e-reader has a lot going for it.
I've been known to espouse the value of 'real' books as opposed to e-books. Having bought a TouchPad and downloaded a couple of out-of-print Doctor Who books for the Aldiko app, I then experimented with the Kindle app. I know it's not supposed to be as good as a real Kindle but it seems adequate to me.
Then everybody started selling the bottom-of-the-line Nook (the Simple Touch) for around £29. No-brainer. Some more Nordic Noir based solely on price, plus the monthly Puffin Doctor Who 50th Anniversary publications (digital only).
More than happy with the Nook. Compared it with a friend's upmarket Kindle, and he felt the Nook had the better display but took longer to boot.
Two advantages I see for the Nook. Firstly, it used the epub file format, so I can buy books for, say, the Kobo, if they are not available for the Nook and use Adobe Digital Editions to download them to the laptop and then sideload to the Nook. (I've also added Nook and Kobo apps to the Touchpad. Secondly, you can add memory to the Nook (and, I believe, the Kobo) in the form of an SD card. I'm told that a 32gB card will hold 30,000 e-books. At my age, that would be over ambitious. Indeed at most ages...
So, I will still buy 'real' books in anywhere from Poundland to Waterstones. But I think the e-reader has a lot going for it.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Arne Dahl and Nordicana
The Arne Dahl series on BBC4 gets better with each episode. Broadchurch was a nice diversion on ITV - Dorset noir!!
Would like to go to Nordicana in London as the tickets are really cheap, but the cost of travel and hotel accommodation is putting me off.
Should have been blogging more regularly but playing with my new toy - a cut-price Nook Simple Touch - is taking up far too much time! I also have apps. on my tablet for Aldiko, Kindle, Kobo and Nook so should be able to cope with the main ebook suppliers. Downloaded some free books along with cheap Nordic noir. Still buying 'real' books, though...
Would like to go to Nordicana in London as the tickets are really cheap, but the cost of travel and hotel accommodation is putting me off.
Should have been blogging more regularly but playing with my new toy - a cut-price Nook Simple Touch - is taking up far too much time! I also have apps. on my tablet for Aldiko, Kindle, Kobo and Nook so should be able to cope with the main ebook suppliers. Downloaded some free books along with cheap Nordic noir. Still buying 'real' books, though...
Thursday, 4 April 2013
Arne Dahl
The BBC4 Saturday subtitles slot will be occupied for the next few weeks by dramatisations of Arne Dahl's Intercrime thrillers about an elite police team - made up, naturally, of an ill-assorted bunch of individuals. Early previews have been mixed so it will be interesting to see how it works out...
Continuing to enjoy a short break from printed Nordic noir, alternating the second Montelbano novel with a Torchwood book written by ( and in this case, illegibly signed by, the Barrowman siblings...)
Continuing to enjoy a short break from printed Nordic noir, alternating the second Montelbano novel with a Torchwood book written by ( and in this case, illegibly signed by, the Barrowman siblings...)
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Arrow Films
Arrow, who specialise in Scandinavian DVDs of tv programmes such as Borgen, intend to distribute a magazine with future releases. The first one is available online:
http://share.snacktools.com/
http://share.snacktools.com/
Monday, 18 March 2013
Back home!
Arrived back very late last night from a cold but mainly dry Paris. In between visiting cultural hotspots such as the Musée d'Orsay, Opera, Notre Dame and the Hard Rock Cafe, I kept a look out for familiar faces from BBC4's Spiral. Alas, though agents de police, gendarmes and army patrols were evident, no sign of Laure, Gilou, TinTin, Sami or even Judge Roban...
And what, you might ask, was my choice of reading material for the trip on Eurostar? Not Nordic noir, I confess, but 'The shape of water' by andrea Camillieri. And very enjoyable it was.
And what, you might ask, was my choice of reading material for the trip on Eurostar? Not Nordic noir, I confess, but 'The shape of water' by andrea Camillieri. And very enjoyable it was.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Why I am here
This blog is a follow-up to a ten-week class I ran at the University of Strathclyde Centre for Lifelong Learning. The class looked at Scandinavian crime fiction in print, on tv and on film.
The idea is to allow class members to keep in touch; if any non-members wish to post them that is fine! However, this blog is does not emanate from, or represent the views of The University of Strathclyde.
The idea is to allow class members to keep in touch; if any non-members wish to post them that is fine! However, this blog is does not emanate from, or represent the views of The University of Strathclyde.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)