Oscar Wilde's obsession with books

Advantages: Full of fascinating information about Wilde's life and love of books
Disadvantages: None really, except maybe best enjoyed by those with some prior knowledge of Wilde

...The controversial Victorian playwright and poet Oscar Wilde, so the introduction to this book tells us, ?devoured and luxuriated in books?. He had a lifelong thirst for reading, so it?s not surprising to find that his house in Chelsea was packed with them. Not only was he an avid collector, but he was also an accomplished speed reader with a remarkable ? and to some extent photographic ? memory which helped him to absorb and recall instantly vast amounts of prose and verse. As a reviewer for the Pall Mall Gazette, he could master a book's content, plot or argument in minutes. (If only ciao had been around in those days as well). Maybe it is only fair to get the one major chink in his armour out of the way quickly. Once, when he was preparing a lecture on the poet Chatterton, most of his notes were made up of entire pages and paragraphs...

JOHNV 24.11.2009 · Read review
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Review of Oscar's Books - Thomas Wright

"Salami smells like dirty socks" says Oscar

Advantages: Entertaining story with great illustrations
Disadvantages: might give kids ideas!

...Oscar by Torbjorn Lundmark and Dana K. Lundmark ISN 0868962813 Published by Ashton Scholastic Yet another of my children?s books brought back with us from Australia in 1989 so it is quite an old book. It was actually a birthday present from a pre-school friend of my 27 year old daughter! It has been read to many classes of children in school over the years and my husband read it to our grandchildren when they stayed the night a few weeks ago. All enjoyed the story and appreciated the humour which is expressed in both the story and the illustrations. The story is about a nice, well behaved little boy called Oscar who hates salami (I question why anyone would force their child to eat salami) and his ingenious ways of avoiding eating the stuff. The illustrations showing Oscar?s hatred of salami are wonderful and I love the way hid huge...

catsholiday 25.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of OSCAR - Torbjorn Lundmark

Foxtrot Oscar - Sam Tyler wouldn't last a week.

Advantages: A lot of humour and great characterisation
Disadvantages: A bit of clumsy writing, gags petering out

...The 1970s, when everyone went to work on orange spacehoppers, and Slade were the coolest band in town. You could leave your front door unlocked as well. I might only have been born in 1979, but that's how it was, right? In the last couple of years, Life on Mars has reminded us that the decade was really about cops driving through piles of cardboard boxes and wearing brown corduroy. Although the policemen work hard, drink hard and swear like troopers, though, they're always on the side of the angels. Aren't they? Foxtrot Oscar by Charlie Owen tells the story of a police station in a troubled Manchester suburb (fondly known as 'Horse's Arse') during the long hot summer of 1976. The novel is a sequel to the recent Horse's Arse, and focuses on the exploits of a group of policemen with lurid nicknames like Pizza, Psycho, the Grim...

Olly_Plimsoll 19.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Foxtrot Oscar - Charlie Owen

And The Oscar For Best Director Goes To... Kirsty

Advantages: Gorgeous Host, Great Awards Ceremony Awarding Everyone In The Film Industry
Disadvantages: Long

...mThe Oscar for Best Director for the best film ever made goes to Kirsty F... wait; I?m getting a little bit ahead of myself here, that?s not going to happen for a few more years. As most of you know I do dream of doing something within the media industry, whether it?s directing, writing or editing, these awards are for everyone, most of the crew within a film are looked at for their creativity, their passion and most importantly the final footage that comes together, came together because of their brilliance. These awards are called The Oscars and this year in my opinion they were very special. The Oscars are integral part of the media industry, there is a season during January/February where all of the actors, actresses and everyone else in the media industry get dolled up and go to countless awards ceremonies, The Golden Globes...

DixieChick10 06.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Oscars 2009: How did you feel about this years winners?

Oscar Wilde's story of the victory of kindness.

Advantages: A story with a moral without being preachy.
Disadvantages: I personally feel the ending is a bit difficult to figure out for young children.

...the tree he is on. And from then the giant undergoes change of heart. The children are let in and the flowers bloom and the birds chirp. But the giant pines for that child who never comes again till it is just the right time for him to. A heart warming story. Oscar Wilde is one of my favorite classical writers. This one is a real good read for smaller kids. Buy it for them but oh please don't leave them agonizing over the end. Explain it to them....

urooj0691 08.04.2009 (09.04.2009) · Read review
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Review of The Selfish Giant - Oscar Wilde

A Picture by Oscar Wilde

Advantages: Brilliantly horrific and satirical, written with a sense of the beauty words can construct that astounds, this is simply wonderful...
Disadvantages: Age has not stolen it's power to disturb - this is no charming classic...

...Oscar Fingal O' Flahertie Wills Wilde was an author and playwright whose range covered just about every genre in the book, and in life he was both amused and pained that many thought this range suggested superficiality. That is one crime of which Wilde can never be justifiably accused. The content of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', a work which is almost semi-autobiographical, works on a multitude of levels. In short, this is the story of a man exposed, through literature given to him by one Lord Henry, to the darker side of life, the sins and pleasures of the flesh and the spirit. Throwing himself into these pleasures with vigour and enthusiasm, the once pure-hearted Dorian Gray becomes a black beast. He remains youthful, beautiful and saintly looking, while all the time the titular picture of him grows more and more repellent as...

RichardW 17.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

OSCARS EVERY PERFORMING ARTIST'S DREAM

Advantages: It proved that even low budget movies(like Slumdog)can make it big.
Disadvantages: Focuses on only the main positions of film making other important positions are sidelined.

...I am sure none of you reading this would deny my title.However OSCARS this year seemed pretty much unexpected,though being an India I frankly did not expect the movie SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE BAG 8 OSCARS,though I am happy about it but I am not proud about it.In the beginning Hugh Jackman the host of the evening was pretty much a pleasure to watch.There was a feeling of mutual admiration in the air in KODAK THEATER.Everyone was looking their best,fingers were kept crossed and everyone were in high hopes that their movie or work would be awarded.At the end some hearts were thumping with joy and some were filled with remorse.Overall the evening was a wonderful one,but however was getting monotonous at the end as all I heard or saw was SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE AND SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. In the Best Film Category Slumdog according...

anshalpatel 01.03.2009 (07.03.2009) · Read review
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Review of The Oscars 2009: How did you feel about this years winners?

Kate Winslet captured Oscar glory with inspirational grace

Advantages: Watch a moviestar establish herself in Oscar history.
Disadvantages: This speech will not be beaten in words or meaning.

...In my opinion Kate Winslet deservedly claimed the best actress Oscar for her role in 'The Reader', and her acceptance speech was as inspiring as her perfomance as the mysterious Hanna Schmitz. She profoundly accepted the award with such sincerity and humbleness that I found myself proud to be of similar roots to this English rose. I was spared the forced gratitude of her american predecessors, where tears were shed for show, and thanks were offered with theatric overtones. Instead I was greeted with the genuine gratefulness of an established moviestar that stripped herself of celebrity status to find her father in the crowd, where she found her glory in his proudness. Her words were honest and her elation contained with grace as she fulfilled a life long dream. On screen she appeared picture perfect, divinely epitomizing womanly beauty...

vickih190507 09.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Oscars 2009: How did you feel about this years winners?

The Oscars - Another Over-Rated Year

Advantages: Hard work honoured.
Disadvantages: All the fuss to the run up, then its forgotten come next year.

...First of all how many people would actually go and watch a certain film just based on the fact that it has won oscars? - I know that I wouldn't . I'm going to start off with the 'best actress' oscar for Kate Winslett - Personally I think that she got the oscar purely as a sympathy vote, everyone knows what happened in her last winners speech and she was totally humiliated. Every interview she took part in all she talked about was winning an oscar that now means we might finally not have to put up withlistening her waffle on. Going back to her previous speech, her second one wasn't much better to be honest what was the shampoo bottle speech all about? Second of all I will talk about Danny Boyle, I think he deserved all of his oscars - the film was brilliant! I couldn't fault it at all - I think It's a film everyone should go...

hollie1408 02.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Oscars 2009: How did you feel about this years winners?

And the Winner is.......

Advantages: Pant-wettingly funny
Disadvantages: Wet pants

...crash and killed various technicians and stunt men, but he is actually the director behind the timeless comedy classic 'Animal House', and Eddie Murphy's best movie 'Trading Places'. The Main Event. Centre stage is Sylvester Stallone as 'Snaps' Provolone, a 1930's Mafioso gangster, who has promised to fulfil his father's dying wish and become a legitimate businessman, which appears to be harder than staying one step ahead of the law when his daughter, Lisa, played by Marisa Tomei, comes home and announces that she is in love with the chauffeur, Oscar. Naturally, Snaps is none too pleased with the idea of his little girl marrying the hired help and sets about trying to 'fix her up' with more suitable candidates, a job made even harder when Lisa drop the bombshell that she is pregnant. Imagine trying to do all this whilst waiting...

GUMMO1471 27.09.2005 · Read review
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Review of Oscar