So, I read quite a bit about film. I thought I'd start posting about various books I've been reading. Start it off with 10 I've read recently. Any thoughts anyone has are appreciated.

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - Steven Jay Schneider - Luke turned me on to this book, and I'll say this: When he's right, he's right. Even someone whose seen a ton of films over the years can find something interesting in this book. The writing is top-notch, and most of the films have accompanying stills which are of a great quality. With 1001 films, the selection is extremely varied, as you'll find everything from obscure art films to big-budget blockbusters. The price is high, but in my opinion, the book is well worth it. It's easy to waste hours simply flipping through the book, finding films you've never heard of and then seeking them out. Great, great book.

The Off-Hollywood Film Guide - Tom Weiner - This book isn't nearly as good as 1001 Movies. There are no stills, the writing about the movies is fairly sloppy and vague, the selection isn't as good. It's not a bad book if you're completely new to Independent or Art Cinema and looking for some essential viewing to start you off, but even then, I'd still recommend 1001 Movies. Unless you absolutely can't find anything else, I wouldn't recommend it.

TV Guide 2005 Film & Video Companion - I got this book as a Christmas present last year, and it's proved to be a great resource. I usually keep it nearby, so when I look at the upcoming listings on TCM, I can flip through the book and see a lot of detail about the film. Sure, there are a ton of questionable oversights, and it doesn't cover silent film or more obscure indie and foreign releases, but for its price, it's an invaluable resource to have at hand.

Images: My Life in Film - Ingmar Bergman - Images is a great book if you love Bergman's work. Written entirely by himself, Bergman writes about each of his films in his own personal way. He culls material from workbooks and diaries in order to show the reader the genesis and evolution of his films. The book is divided into separate chapters for each film, so you can easily skip past the films you haven't seen and focus on those you have. Great resource if you're a Bergman fan.

The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography - Ingmar Bergman - The Magic Lantern isn't your typical autobiography. Bergman eschews typical autobiographical narrative, instead choosing to spurn his own unique blend of memories in order to form a very Bergman-esque tapestry of his own experiences. He skips around quite a bit, covering huge events (his early years at Svensk Filmindustri, his Tax Evasion troubles) and the seemingly mundane (random encounters with relatives and friends) but it's always engaging in the same way that his films are. It reminds me of The Mirror, only with far more cohesion. You won't learn a whole lot about Bergman's work or even the important details of his life, but it's an interesting and insightful read.

Making Pictures: A Century of European Cinematography - I caught a glimpse of this gem while I was wandering around the 791. section of my library. The sheer size of the book as well as its unique cover caught my eye. It turned out to be an amazing resource. In all seriousness, this is one of the best books on film I've read this far. Focusing entirely on European Cinematography, it starts off with a few insightful essays from filmmakers and historians then jumps headlong into a full-on, in-depth history of European film. After this, a breakdown of work by country and time period. The meat of the book is the list of 100 films, each given at least 2 pages with a handful of high-quality frames. This book goes incredibly in-depth with these films, along with a great, varied selection. After this is a huge breakdown and history of pretty much every type of camera you could ever imagine. An incredibly interesting and informative book, one that anyone with even a passing interest in film should look into. The price is a bit steep, but check your library.

The Cinema of Orson Welles - Peter Cowie - A very good book on Welles. It covers all of his films in separate sections, giving a detailed breakdown of the plot, technique, impact and history of each film. Cowie gives a lot of insight into the technical aspects of Welles' work, too, and his writing is great, in my humble opinion.

The Films in My Life - Francois Truffaut - Some may not know, but Truffaut was a critic before turning to making films himself. That said, his writings on film are top-notch, very personal and make a very good read. The book seems to be a selection of various pieces he's written, most centering around one film or director in particular, broken down into chapters. Although he leans mostly towards French films and other not available on DVD (though, through no fault of his own, obviously), he does cover a lot of 40's and 50's Hollywood films, as well as films from all around the world. A very good, personal read.

Who the Hell's in it - Peter Bogdanovich - Bogdanovish has really been around, as he interviews mostly anyone who's anyone in the last half a century in Hollywood. Unfortunately, he summarizes a large part of the pieces, and his writing tends to be very dry, so I didn't particularly enjoy it. But, if you want to get a glimpse into the minds of some of the best actors to come out of Hollywood, give it a shot.

The Disappointment Artist and Other Essays - Jonathan Lethem - I was interested in Lethem's work mainly due to his essay on Criterion's DVD of The Killers by Robert Siodmak. Little did I know that he covers a lot of films in his essays. I think most people nowadays can relate to Lethem's work, as he tends to define his life in the context of the media he was into during events. I know that I do the same thing, as I can remember the music and movies I was into at certain periods in my short life. Lethem tends to be kind of obsessive over works he enjoys, seeing Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey 21 times apiece in the cinema, watching The Searchers many times over the years, simply trying to see what made it so good, and falling asleep many nights to Fripp & Eno's No Pussyfooting. Not that it goes into depth on film or anything, but it's definitely an interesting read and goes hand-in-hand with my own habits of film-watching, as well as most people reading this (I hope!)