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Jules and Jim (1962)
Jules and Jim (1962)
1962 | Drama, Romance
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I love that movie. I worked with him [director François Truffaut], but I remember seeing that movie long before. I didn’t even know it was such a fantastic film for everybody. When I saw it for the first time I thought, “I’m actually looking through a window back to the 1920s Paris.” Everything I love about that era. I met Truffaut and I was with him for about six months on Close Encounters and I realized suddenly that he had done 400 Blows which is really the story of my life as a child. I wondered who would make a film like 400 Blows, why? And then I met him. I love that one."

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Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1)
Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1)
6
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
After reading many reviews filled with praise for Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mystery novels, I finally decided to give them a look. The idea of a 1920s amateur sleuth in Australia was certainly a draw. That the sleuth is a woman was also attractive, particularly since I always loved Miss Marple, as well as Christie's books staring the adorable duo of Tommy and Tuppence. The question is could Greenwood's debut of this series live up to the creative twists mixed with charm and elegance that made Christie so famous and beloved. Find out in my review of "Cocaine Blues" here.
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/10/01/looking-for-the-next-agatha-christie/
  
Margaret Powell's memoir Below Stairs is growing up in a poor in money but rich in love with her family in a small village near London, England and her life in domestic service in the 1920s. It is simply wonderful. Her other memoirs Climbing the Stairs and Servants Hall and her Cookery Book are next on my list. It's more like listening to your favorite aunt sitting at the kitchen with you over fresh-baked cookies and glasses of homemade lemonade while retelling stories of her childhood and life in the early part of the 20th century. You HAVE to read it!. Julian Fellowes read her books and they were the inspiration behind the extremely popular BBC series Downton Abbey, that is watched by us in the states on PBS Masterpiece.
  
The fourth book in Donald Jack's Bandy series of novels, following a Canadian aviator through the early parts of the 20th century.

This is the first novel not set in (or related to) The First World War, as it is set in the 1920s, and follows the trials and tribulations of its titular character upon his escape from Russia and return to America: events that see him join (and then get fired from) the postal service, and eventually become an unwitting early Hollywood star.

While it's still fitfully amusing, I have to say I didn't find this as funny as the earlier books: maybe because it is set in America, and relates to events and characters that we (in the West) are not as familiar with as our American or Canadian counter-parts.
  
Just William (Just William #1)
Just William (Just William #1)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first in Richmal Compton's classic 1920s comedy series, about a young child who causes chaos wherever he goes, all the time whilst thinking that he is helping.

Yes, it's very much a product of its time - complete with clear distinction between the Upper, Middle and Lower classes and, yes, this particular entry (the very first) is really more a collection of short(ish) stories rather than having an over-arching plot but, for all that - and once you get into the right frame of mind - there is a reason these are enduring stories!

(Oh, and if you want to see the impact William has had on English literature? Try Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch and tell me you don't spot the similarities ...)
  
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Milleen (47 KP) rated How to Stop Time in Books

Nov 14, 2018  
How to Stop Time
How to Stop Time
Matt Haig | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
Matt Haig has written a variety of books for children and adults as well as a memoir that topped the bestseller list for almost a year. Now he has delved back into adult fiction and delivered a delightful novel that will leave you pondering. Tom Hazard may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been aging slowly over centuries. From Elizabethan England to 1920s Paris and further afield, Tom is forced to change his identity to stay alive. He is forced to abide by one rule, to not fall in love. Tom finally gets the ‘ordinary’ life he craves and finds work as a history teacher in a modern London comprehensive but how much longer can he keep this secret? ‘How to Stop Time’ is a bittersweet story about life, loss and change.
  
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Travis Knight recommended Yojimbo (1961) in Movies (curated)

 
Yojimbo (1961)
Yojimbo (1961)
1961 | Action, Adventure, Classics
8.4 (9 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"An utter masterpiece from the great Akira Kurosawa. Curiously, a Dashiell Hammet novel provided the inspiration for this film. I love that an American pulp novel from the 1920s was the spark for a staggering work of genius from Japan over three decades later. It demonstrates how art can transcend barriers across time, space, and culture and speak to us in a meaningful way. Yojimbo was remade as Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western classic A Fistful of Dollars, which I saw and loved long before I knew the original even existed. But when I discovered Yojimbo, it was like a gift from the universe. Everything else paled in comparison. Yojimbo is part western, part gangster noir, part samurai story, all awesome. It’s so good. Plus, if Kubo’s dad looks a wee bit like Kurosawa’s resplendent muse Toshiro Mifune, that’s not necessarily a coincidence."

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Awix (3310 KP) rated Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition) in Tabletop Games

Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 11, 2019)  
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
2014 | Horror, Murder & Mystery, Roleplaying
Latest edition of Chaosium's landmark horror RPG. Default setting is the 1920s and 1930s; default milieu is H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, as the title suggests - but the game has proven almost infinitely flexible, with published supplements set everywhere from the Roman Empire to a bleak Aliens-esque future. Emphasis is on investigation rather than combat - regular player character death and insanity come as part of the package.

This revised edition switches the whole system to a percentile basis, the first big change in many years. It's not a substantial alteration and most of the system is unchanged. It is still a little crunchy compared to some modern narrative-heavy games, and there are a few tricky questions you have to resolve if you want to play an extended campaign, but this is, as ever, an immensely engaging and enjoyable game when played with the right group.
  
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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Hidden in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
TH
The Hidden
Jo Chumas | 2013
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well you have to love it when you win a Goodreads giveaway, get sent the wrong book, read it, & are pleasantly surprised at your luck. That's just what happened to me with this book. I won another book called Hidden but was sent this 1 by mistake. It was better than the book I really won!
This book alternates between Egypt in the 1920s & Egypt at the turn of the century. It is told alternately from the perspective of Aimee & a journal written by Hezba a few decades before.
It wasn't hard to figure out the plot, but I am happy to say that it didn't make the book any less engaging even after I had its number. The story is very well written even though I wish I hadn't figured it out as soon as I did. The characters are fascinating & the plot moves along at a nice clip with just the right number of twists & turns. I hope Chumas continues writing like she did here.
  
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Amy Poehler recommended Away in Books (curated)

 
Away
Away
Amy Bloom | 2008 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"This is the story of Lillian Leyb, a Russian immigrant making her way in a new land, traveling through America in the mid-1920s. Her daughter was taken away from her during a pogrom in Russia, and she feels this unbelievable mother’s pull to search for her child that keeps her going—literally—through woods and snow and over mountains. From minute one, you root for Lillian’s success because she’s this plucky heroine. I felt as if I were on the journey with her, so there were a couple of moments when I would just want to throw the book across the room and yell, ‘Amy Bloom, if you make Lillian suffer anymore, I am going to kill you!’ This is a sweeping story of someone new to America who runs into the best and worst of people. The kindness—and the harshness—Lillian finds along the way represents, I think, the real experience of our country."

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