It's That Time Again!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed BAFAB week again. Buy-a-Friend-a-Book, that is, and I encourage you all to enter. For those who haven't come across this before, check out their official website. The idea is simple - you just add your name in the comments, and, at the end of the week, I find some ingenious method to award a winner. No word yet on whether or not Patch the Wonder-Dog will be resuming his masterful selection process. I think I'm going to continue to send a book from the heart of Stuck-in-a-Book - that is, the winner can select their free book from my 50 Books You Must Read... which currently stands at 14.

In unrelated news, I saw the film Paris, Je T'aime this evening. I'll confess, the main reason I wanted to see it was because subtitles = sophisticated, and I fancied a dose of self-improvement, however superficial. I don't know whether or not this illusory intelligence has lingered, but the film really impressed, amused and moved me. For those not in the know, this is a series of 18 short films, each named after an area of Paris and taking place there. The genres and styles vary wildly, and each is a complete entity, with unique directors and actors. Some duds, of course (no idea what the Elijah Wood + vampire bit was about - especially since I had my eyes closed for most of it) but some really beautiful gems. My favourite was an almost dialogue-less piece, following a nanny as she leaves her own baby in a creche, in order to care for the baby of her rich employer. Beautiful acting from Catalino Sandino Moreno. The most moving was the final one; an American tourist recounts, in appalling French, her lonely trip to Paris and the emotions it evokes. You begin be laughing at her silliness, but end by feeling deeply for her. The DVD isn't out in England yet, but I recommend you seek out this beautiful series of visual vignettes - a homage to humanity as much as Paris.

Oh, and don't forget to enter BAFAB!