As You Wish by Cary Elwes

Attention all you fans of The Princess Bride, the beloved cult classic is now available to stream on Netflix! And another reason to rejoice: recently,  Cary Elwes, Westley himself, wrote a book about the production of the movie. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride is an oral history written with the collaboration of almost everyone with whom Elwes worked.

Written in roughly chronological order, Elwes first mentions that he had always loved the book, and director Rob Reiner expresses similar feelings, which led to Reiner telling the studio it was the next movie he wanted to make. The executives were hesitant, but fortunately author/screenwriter William Goldman had a good reputation in Hollywood for having written Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Goldman was a fan of Reiner's directorial efforts This is Spinal Tap and Stand by Me.

Cary Elwes was very nervous about his audition but was exactly what Reiner was looking for. He was excited to be working with industry giants Billy Crystal and Mandy Patinkin, and literal giant Andre. This leads me to my strongest criticism of As You Wish; it often feels like a fluffy DVD commentary in which the cast and crew gush about each other and how amazingly fun it was to make the film. That being said, I kind of like DVD commentaries so the book wasn't devoid of merit.

There are interesting anecdotes within, like the amount of effort Elwes and Patinkin put in to their swordfight, which Goldman's screenplay insisted be "the greatest sword fight ever filmed." Any time they were not filming, they'd practice the combat for eight hours a day. Elwes also recounts a story of Andre the Giant's flatulence ruining a take, and all the cast mentions how gracious the late wrestler was on set in general.

Those who haven't seen the movie won't get much out of this book, but it's a must-read for the film's loyal fans. After nearly three decades, The Princess Bride is still a go-to classic and Elwes' book is a worthy tribute.

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

When young people seek companionship in the twenty-first century, it's different from how their parents and grandparents had it. Today's technology and increased population make the options for romance occasionally overwhelming. In his first book, comedian and actor Aziz Ansari takes a good look at what modern romance really consists of.

This is not the typical book that you might find written by a celebrity. It's not a memoir or a quick cash-grab, it's a well researched look at love that Ansari wrote alongside sociologist Eric Klinenberg. At the same time it does contain numerous bits of the comedian's sarcasm and a few examples of his own struggles with finding a mate. Some of the topics that he examines come from conversations with audience members at his standup shows, such as when he asks them to show him their text message conversations.

Ansari and Klinenberg take a look at the paradox of choice that daters face. With the advent of online dating, there are so many options available that someone might worry that they're not with the "best" person possible. Ansari contrasts this to how his father had an arranged marriage, which he also addresses on his Netflix show Master of None. The authors took trips to Tokyo, Buenos Aires, and Paris to see how those countries handle dating, in comparison with how Americans do. Ansari found that in Tokyo men were usually too shy to approach women, while in Buenos Aires the males were perhaps too aggressive with their advances.

Aziz Ansari has a signature way of pointing out the absurdities of his generation's behavior while admitting he falls into the same habits. It seems that researching and writing this book gave him insight into not only other people's behavior in relationships, but also his own.

I recommend Modern Romance to anyone in their 20s or 30s who's curious about the subject and doesn't mind Ansari's sense of humor, as there are points when he'll exaggerate or go on a tangent for the sake of a laugh. A side note, the audiobook version has some added content at the beginning and end. At the start of the first CD in specific, Aziz berates the listener for being "too lazy" to read the text and lamenting that he has to "read it to you". That was a surprise that gave me a good chuckle.

To buy the book or learn more, go to book.azizansari.com. However, the site hasn't been updated since it still talks about preordering the book despite it coming out last June.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

In which Liz reviews a book

I read this book is because I really like Hayao Miyazaki's movie and I wanted to read it for myself. I think that the movie is a good interpretation of the book even with the differences; for example, in the movie, Sophie only has one sister while in the novel she has two; in the movie, Howl tries avoiding getting caught up in the war while in the book he tries avoiding the King's order to find Suliman and Justin and kill the Witch of the Waste.

I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle so much, I kept going in the series and listened to the sequels, Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways. I'd rate them in this order: Howl's was the best followed closely by House and bringing up the rear was Castle. I think that was mainly due to that Castle was narrated by a male character and, for me, it was more challenging to relate to his situation. I liked and identified more with Sophie (Howl's) and with Charmain (House).

Visit Diana Wynne Jones' site for more information about the author and how to purchase her book(s).

Hail, Caesar!

Joel and Ethan Coen have done a Hollywood satire before in Barton Fink, and they've made George Clooney act like a buffoon before (Clooney has called O Brother Where Art Thou, Intolerable Cruelty, and Burn After Reading his "idiot trilogy"). But there is no movie quite like the tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood that is Hail, Caesar!

Clooney's character, actor Baird Whitlock, isn't actually the main character in this, that honor belongs to Josh Brolin's Eddie Mannix. Mannix is a "fixer" at 1950s Hollywood studio Capitol Pictures, whose job it is to keep all his directors and actors happy and out of gossip-worthy trouble. When Baird Whitlock gets kidnapped off the set of the latest religious epic, Mannix chooses to quietly pay off the ransom. I won't mention who the kidnapping group turn out to be, as that reveal leads to some of the best material in this movie.

As many stars as there are on the Coens' poster, most of them don't show up for more than a scene or two, and relative unknown Alden Ehrenreich gets almost as much screen time as Clooney. Ehrenreich plays an actor who talents are well suited to stunt-filled westerns, but struggles when cast in Laurence Laurentz's (Ralph Fiennes) costume drama. Scarlett Johannsen is an Esther Williams type whose pregnancy throws Mannix into reputation-protection mode. Channing Tatum is a performer in a navy musical whose dance scene is truly stunning. Also among them: Tilda Swinton as twin reporters (one for a legit paper and one for a gossip rag), Frances McDormand as a film editor, and Jonah Hill in a cameo I feel I shouldn't say a word about. While Mannix is putting out fires all over Capitol Pictures, he's also being tempted to leave the studio and join the Lockheed Corportation.

I'm pretty confident that I haven't revealed anything that would take away from one's enjoyment of Hail, Caesar! because most of the humor comes from how these situations unfold and intersect. You might have to had seen movies from that bygone era to appreciate some of the jokes, but I think there's something for everyone. This isn't the best comedy the Coen brothers have made but that's a high bar; I do think it will stand as one of the funniest of 2016.

Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

You notice the cover right away because you admire the actor Neil Patrick Harris. Ah, the esteemed star of the Harold and Kumar movies and How I Met Your Mother, as well as, you're told, some doctor show in the early 90s, has written a book about himself. The cover has a design that looks familiar. Oh Choose Your Own Autobiography, based on the concept of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, you loved those! Now with your interest piqued, you open the cover and start reading.

What an unique concept for structuring an autobiography! You are told you will assume the role of Neil Patrick Harris, and choose a path through his life with a series of options at the end of each short chapter. You soon discover that while most of the chapters are true stories, some of them quickly turn into deathly situations similar to those in the childrens' books.

You have to admit that reading about someone else's life in the second person present tense takes some getting used to, especially when the book tells you that you're a proud gay man with a husband and two children. You are decidedly not a gay man, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Occasionally the book's choices direct you to magic tricks to follow along with, or drink recipes to imbibe. There is always the worry in the back of your mind that you might miss an important detail about Harris's life or one of the hilarious asides, so you always keep one finger or bookmark at the last page you left so you can read the path you didn't take the first time. Huh, that's probably exactly the effect that the author intended.

You greatly enjoy this book and you make sure to type out a post on your blog to tell everyone that it's well worth their time.

You can find the website for the book at nphbook.com, or follow Harris on Twitter @actuallyNPH.