After watching the movie “Capote” back in December, I wanted to read at least a couple of Truman Capote’s books.  I decided on “In Cold Blood” to start, since that is really what the movie was about.  It is somewhat fascinating to compare the movie, which is really about Capote writing this book, and even more so about Capote himsel, at least at that point in his life, to the book, which is really about the murders that took place, and has nothing to do with Capote himself other than it is through his eyse that you see the story.  It is told almost as a documentary, with lots of interviews and quotes, along with research into this crime and others like it that had occured in the same era.   I love the movie — Hoffman did a great job portraying Capote — but the book is just so-so.  A good read for the story, but there isn’t anything beyond that.

After watching the movie, which I thought was great, I really wanted to read this.  Besides, two people told me I definitely need to read it after they saw my movie post.

I read it to Riley, and it was fun seeing how many differences between the movie and the book (of which there are plenty) Riley could see, and walking her through the ones she did not catch.

And it is not often that I say this, but I think the movie is better than the book as far as how the story plays out and the subtleties of the characters and of the character relationships.  I don’t want to put any spoilers here, so if you want to find out the differences, you can contact me directly, or just read the book and watch the movie to find out yourself.

I highly recommend both the movie and the book for parents and children.

This is a very technical (i.e. textbook-like) book.  I have learned a fair amount of anatomy from my knee journey over the years, visiting doctors, physical therapists, structural integration and rolfers, etc., but this book still had a ton of information about the knee that I do not know — not to mention the rest of the body.   It is probably more geared to yoga instructors than practitioners, especially those yoga instructors that really get into anatomy and working with those who have injuries and/or are trying to prevent injuries.  However, for those that are working towards their own practice, or to take their own practice to the next level, it would also be beneficial.  The nuances of muscle usage within each pose that is discussed is very detailed, so that you see how the slightest overuse of a muscle in a given pose, or rotation here or there, can have dramatic effects on other muscles and alignments.

I read the 1st few chapters in detail, and then started working through the poses.  But I quickly discovered that you really need to work each pose while reading — or read, then do the pose, then read a little more, then do the pose again, etc.  So that is what I now plan to do for many of the poses in this book.