Wednesday Wonders 7
The world's best coffee machine, a new local bookshop, The Magicians, Hungarian stationery, Tony Curtis.
1. The Moccamaster
The Netherlands might not be your first port of call for great coffee (the real connoisseurs head to Melbourne, but London and New York are also great these days), but Holland is the home of Moccamaster, and this thing has been waking me up every morning for the past decade or more.
It's a handmade machine, and the design has not changed significantly since the 60s. It regularly wins every award going and, if you like to actually experience the full range of coffee flavour, this could be your most rewarding investment: https://www.moccamaster.eu/kbg-select
2. Muswell Hill Books & Parlour
A used bookstore just opened about thirty yards from our front door, which is deadly. Muswell Hill Books is an absolute treasure trove of everything from old paperback movie novelisations, to huge leather-bound first-editions.
I appreciate that this is very much a local wonder, but if you should find yourself in the area, you can lose hours in here: https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/25397803.new-second-hand-bookshop-open-muswell-hill/
3. The Magicians by Lev Grossman
As trilogies go, I don't remember ever enjoying one as much as this. A dark, twisted, contemporary take on Harry Potter and the Narnia books. The TV show was a real gem, but the books work very well independently of it: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Magicians-by-Lev-Grossman/9781804943205
4. Bomo Art, Budapest
Who here doesn't love stationery? This stuff isn't cheap, but the letter paper and envelopes are so exquisitely designed that they make you desperately want to get a pen pal. And I REALLY want to visit their bricks and mortar store. Salivate at: https://bomoart.com/en
5. The Sweet Smell of Success
"Match me, Sidney." A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece on directing for the Pro subscribers. Alexander Mackendrick, working from a Clifford Odets script of an Ernest Lehman book, exemplifies everything a director should be doing with this movie, which is one of the finest things ever committed to celluloid. If you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in a while, treat yourself.
There is a ton of behind-the-scenes info here: https://cinephiliabeyond.org/sweet-smell-of-success/