Classics, A Very Short Introduction - Mary Beard & John Henderson

What I wanted from this was an answer to such questions as "What is the best source for the story of Hercules?". I still don't know the answer to that one, but I do now have a good sense of the parameters of classics as a discipline and why it matters, and a working knowledge of the Greek temple of Bassae (which provides the locus for the discussion).

The persuasive central argument is summarised as follows:

If Classics exists...in the gap between our world and the ancient world, then Classics is defined by our experience, interests, and debates as well as theirs.

The Ghost Writer - Philip Roth

This is one of Roth's earliest novels, and as accomplished as you would expect. In a shortish span, it delves into the identities we construct for ourselves and for others, the responsibilities of the artist and Jewish history. It's also the first of the Zuckerman books and what an unreliable narrator he turns out to be, to the extent that by the end the reader is left wondering which aspects of the story have been "real".

Making Movies - Sidney Lumet

Lumet seems to have constructed a hugely impressive body of work as a movie director without gaining the reputation of a Scorsese or Kubrick. On the evidence of this fascinating nuts-and-bolts guide to the film-making process from initial idea to release, this is probably because he is a craftsman who values the collaborative input of actors and technicians and disdains the auteur theory of the director as the sole author of a work.

I was struck by the sheer scale of the effort in making a movie - painting locations to fit the colour palette, the complexities of lighting, and the sheer tedium of balancing the sound mix and so on. I'm not sure the knowledge that the climactic interchange between Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb in 12 Angry Men was constructed with each character's contributions shot a week apart in order to accommodate lighting equipment adds to my enjoyment of the film, but it certainly adds to my admiration of it.

Gilgamesh - Joan London

An excellent novel about travel and the inevitability of change, I was quite taken with this. London is particularly strong on the temporary relationships one forms when in transit, at once intense and short-term. The writing style is sparse and it's not a long book, but by the end we have covered Australian frontier life, numerous relationships, Armenia during WW2, Babylonian poetry and even a touch of espionage adventure.