“Lars is played by Ryan Gosling, the Prince of Tics, whose idea of acting is to wait a few beats before reacting to other people's remarks, as if acting were merely a matter of adhering to the seven-second delay rule. Jack Nicholson has made a career out of doing this sort of thing, as did Paul Newman, as did Marlon Brando (who the other two learned it from), but they didn't do it all the time and they were more fun to look at... Lars And The Real Girl joins a number of other recent films in the category of motion pictures where the director doesn't know that his protagonist is unsympathetic.” PeopleIfsKnowsLooksMadeTwoIdeasRealMatterFilmGirlFunWaitingNumbersActingCareersDirectorsBeatsSevenCategoriesDelayRemarksReactingProtagonistsMotion PicturesBrandoNewmanNicholsonTicsUnsympatheticReal Girl Author:Joe Queenan
“People who prefer e-books...think that books merely take up space. This is true, but so do your children and Prague and the Sistine Chapel.” PeopleThinkingChildrenBookSpaceYour ChildrenChapelPragueSistine Chapel Author:Joe Queenan
“Electronic books are ideal for people who value the information contained in them, or who have vision problems, or who like to read on the subway, or who do not want other people to see how they are amusing themselves, or who have storage and clutter issues, but they are useless for people who are engaged in an intense, lifelong love affair with books. Books that we can touch; books that we can smell; books that we can depend on.” PeopleWantLoveBookProblemAgeValuesVisionIssuesInformationDependsIdealsAffairSmellIntenseUselessEngagedLifelongAmusingLove AffairSubwayClutterStorageLifelong Love Author:Joe Queenan
“Lending books to other people is merely a shrewd form of housecleaning.” PeopleBookFormLending Author:Joe Queenan
“People who need to possess the physical copy of a book, and not merely an electronic version, are in some sense mysteics. We believe that the objects themselves are sacred, not just the stories they tell. We believe that books possess the power to transubstantiate, to turn darkness into light, to make being out of nothingness.” PeopleNeedsBelieveBookStoriesLightTurnsDarknessObjectsSacredVersionsCopiesNothingness Author:Joe Queenan
