Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

From a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright comes invaluable insights and practical instructions on the art of film directing. Mamet looks at every aspect of directing--from script to cutting room--and draws from a wide variety of sources to make his points.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

by Dave Eggers

The literary sensation of the year, a book that redefines both family and narrative for the twenty-first century. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his eight-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a... (more)

The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-hatred, and the Jews

The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-hatred, and the Jews

by David Mamet

As might be expected from this fiercely provocative writer, David Mamet’s interest in anti-Semitism is not limited to the modern face of an ancient hatred but encompasses as well the ways in which many Jews have themselves internalized that hatred. Using the metaphor of the Wicked Son at the Passover seder–the child who asks, “What does this story mean to you?”–Mamet confronts what he sees as an insidious... (more)

The Consolations of Philosophy (Vintage International)

The Consolations of Philosophy (Vintage International)

by Alain de Botton

From the internationally heralded author of How Proust Can Change Your Life comes this remarkable new book that presents the wisdom of some of the greatest thinkers of the ages as advice for our day to day struggles. Solace for the broken heart can be found in the words of Schopenhauer. The ancient Greek Epicurus has the wisest, and most affordable, solution to cash flow problems. A remedy for impotence lies in... (more)

No Exit and Three Other Plays

by Jean-Paul Sartre

4 plays about an existential portrayal of Hell, the reworking of the Electra-Orestes story, the conflict of a young intellectual torn between theory and conflict and an arresting attack on American racism.

Writing in Restaurants

by David Mamet

In these essays, playwright Mamet addresses many issues in contemporary American theater, such as the electronic amplification of live stage, the hidden politics of the theater and the proper function of the actor or playwright. PW called these pieces "short and hard-hitting." Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Oleanna

by David Mamet

"An ear for reproducing everyday language has long been David Mamet's hallmark and he has now employed it to skewer the dogmatic, puritannical streak which has become commonplace on and off the campus. With Oleanna he continues an exploration of male-female conflicts begun with Sexual Perversity in Chicago in 1974. Oleanna cogently demonstrates that when free thought and dialogue are imperilled, nobody wins."... (more)

A most secret war: A play in two actsKevin Patterson

Shelfari Book Activity

Tags: not as observant as one would expect

On Directing Film

by David Mamet

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

by Dave Eggers

The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Self-hatred, and the Jews

by David Mamet

The Consolations of Philosophy (Vintage International)

by Alain de Botton

No Exit and Three Other Plays

by Jean-Paul Sartre

Writing in Restaurants

by David Mamet

Oleanna

by David Mamet

A most secret war: A play in two acts

by Kevin Patterson