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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
"One of those days that has no rules - time passes too quickly, a lot of it one would like to rewind or re-do. But there it was - a great sprawling, hopeful splurge of a day.”
At the mention of Alan Rickman’s name, you cannot help but hear this actor's inimitable voice, voice that you do find here, in this recueil of diary entries. You also get the man’s concerns, his sense of humour, and how human he was.
“I hate it when my head, heart and aspirations are filled to the brim only with career. The rest of me hangs around like a jacket on the back of a doorknob.”
What is not 'normal’ to us was his fascinating acting life and corresponding circle of friends and acquaintances, most from the film industry and theatre, but also wider world. His professional life took him from one location to another across the globe, from one restaurant to another, in a never-ending life carousel. I especially relished the entries on the filming of favourite films, wanting ever more.
“To Shepperton for make-up and costume tests. Emma, Imelda, Imogen in the trailer - and Kate Winslet - first impression sweetness and steel.”
"Smacking the backs of Daniel [Radcliffe] & Rupert [Grint]’s heads - doubtless a fuss will ensue about corporal punishment.”
"Attenborough is an extra special man. Courteous to a fault, aware of every nuance in the room, and open enough to be excited by the idea of staying with Nelson Mandela. On an obsessive day like this he is an object lesson in how to live your life in all directions at once.”
If I had one complaint is that, due to the nature of these entries, you get a fragmented view. I would have loved to have had a ‘continuous' one, one where I could have followed Alan’s life through his eyes. He didn’t write this, and so I can only be too grateful we did get these diary entries, as well as the few drawings he penned. Glorious.
At the mention of Alan Rickman’s name, you cannot help but hear this actor's inimitable voice, voice that you do find here, in this recueil of diary entries. You also get the man’s concerns, his sense of humour, and how human he was.
“I hate it when my head, heart and aspirations are filled to the brim only with career. The rest of me hangs around like a jacket on the back of a doorknob.”
What is not 'normal’ to us was his fascinating acting life and corresponding circle of friends and acquaintances, most from the film industry and theatre, but also wider world. His professional life took him from one location to another across the globe, from one restaurant to another, in a never-ending life carousel. I especially relished the entries on the filming of favourite films, wanting ever more.
“To Shepperton for make-up and costume tests. Emma, Imelda, Imogen in the trailer - and Kate Winslet - first impression sweetness and steel.”
"Smacking the backs of Daniel [Radcliffe] & Rupert [Grint]’s heads - doubtless a fuss will ensue about corporal punishment.”
"Attenborough is an extra special man. Courteous to a fault, aware of every nuance in the room, and open enough to be excited by the idea of staying with Nelson Mandela. On an obsessive day like this he is an object lesson in how to live your life in all directions at once.”
If I had one complaint is that, due to the nature of these entries, you get a fragmented view. I would have loved to have had a ‘continuous' one, one where I could have followed Alan’s life through his eyes. He didn’t write this, and so I can only be too grateful we did get these diary entries, as well as the few drawings he penned. Glorious.
Cash grab. Family and friends should be ashamed.
For a book called Madly, Deeply, you'd expect some passion and depth. This series of diary entries rarely has anything more potent than a snarky Tweet. It has no teeth. Reading it is a reminder that who we are cannot be distilled into marginal notes.
Whatever Rickman's real plans were with this diary, be it as notes for future memoirs or just the therapeutic nature of journaling, you can't glean much from this other than that, here, even in the privacy of his scribblings, he hasn't revealed his inner world. He is still guarded, still afraid to say everything he means to say. More often than not he reminds himself, in text, to push away his judgments, his negative thoughts. This, rather than writing them down. We're given the impression, then, that he has an even private-er diary hidden somewhere else, one filled with his actual thoughts and feelings.
At least, that's what I want to think. The alternative is that he doesn't have anything interesting to say, even to himself.
In any case, this should neither have been published nor read. It's an embarrassing thing to muster up the courage of voyeurism, to peek into the private, secret thoughts of a person and see them nude. It's even more embarrassing when, after tearing your soul a little with that act, you find nothing of substance.
For a book called Madly, Deeply, you'd expect some passion and depth. This series of diary entries rarely has anything more potent than a snarky Tweet. It has no teeth. Reading it is a reminder that who we are cannot be distilled into marginal notes.
Whatever Rickman's real plans were with this diary, be it as notes for future memoirs or just the therapeutic nature of journaling, you can't glean much from this other than that, here, even in the privacy of his scribblings, he hasn't revealed his inner world. He is still guarded, still afraid to say everything he means to say. More often than not he reminds himself, in text, to push away his judgments, his negative thoughts. This, rather than writing them down. We're given the impression, then, that he has an even private-er diary hidden somewhere else, one filled with his actual thoughts and feelings.
At least, that's what I want to think. The alternative is that he doesn't have anything interesting to say, even to himself.
In any case, this should neither have been published nor read. It's an embarrassing thing to muster up the courage of voyeurism, to peek into the private, secret thoughts of a person and see them nude. It's even more embarrassing when, after tearing your soul a little with that act, you find nothing of substance.
21 August
New pillows, extra hangers, DVD player on its way.
22 August
4pm Riding lesson.
23 August
Day One, Perfume
I'm an hour into the audiobook and am bored to death! Please, tell me if it gets better because I can't take 18 more hours of this.
This is only diary entries very quick small snippets of Alans life from his personal view. I like that Alan talks about his wish for his entries to be published, along with his attempts at humor. Alan seemed to be a very complex and smart man hurt every time someone else passed in his life.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
sad
slow-paced
A really interesting book. As a diary it's slow and a bit of a slog but has some fascinating snippets of a life well lived and provides insights into an actor who is truly iconic.
slow-paced
At first, it is strange to read, as it feels like invading someone's privacy, which in a way you are.
The way that the diary is written threw me off guard, as I never knew that this list-like way of writing is a way to be direct with what's on the mind. Simplistic, yet his emotions do come across.
Obviously, because it is his journal, his reflections and thoughts are blunt. I did love the fact that he could really see through people. It was great seeing how passionate he was with his work, his professionalism, and how much he loved working with some of his coworkers.
This was also a bit sad, knowing that a generation will not know how amazing and cherished of an actor Rickman is.
The way that the diary is written threw me off guard, as I never knew that this list-like way of writing is a way to be direct with what's on the mind. Simplistic, yet his emotions do come across.
Obviously, because it is his journal, his reflections and thoughts are blunt. I did love the fact that he could really see through people. It was great seeing how passionate he was with his work, his professionalism, and how much he loved working with some of his coworkers.
This was also a bit sad, knowing that a generation will not know how amazing and cherished of an actor Rickman is.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I chose this book because it fit a few challenge prompts, and also because I was a fan of Alan Rickman. I was somewhat disappointed, as I was hoping it would be more of a memoir, but instead, it was literally 30+ years of his diary entries.
I learned a few things about Alan Rickman that I didn't know, that was pretty interesting. He wrote about some celebrities that were his close friends and I enjoyed that. I had no clue that he had cancer, much less twice, or that pancreatic cancer is what took his life. I also didn't know a man could have his prostate removed and function normally. Learning some behind the scenes things about Harry Potter was fun.
0/5🌶
0/5💧
I learned a few things about Alan Rickman that I didn't know, that was pretty interesting. He wrote about some celebrities that were his close friends and I enjoyed that. I had no clue that he had cancer, much less twice, or that pancreatic cancer is what took his life. I also didn't know a man could have his prostate removed and function normally. Learning some behind the scenes things about Harry Potter was fun.
0/5🌶
0/5💧
I’m not sure what I was expecting out of this but it definitely wasn’t what I read. Found myself skimming through pages with a lot of mundane information. Meh
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced