I just read "Bambi-vs-Godzilla", veteran screenwriter David Mamet's take on the movie business. I could have done without the crusty-old-geezer tone, but there were nuggets galore for storytellers in any medium.

I love lots of movies, but for me the ultimate test is that special feeling: "I wish I had written that!" The last to provoke that reaction was "Seven"?a tight and complex crime movie with a magnificently unflinching ending. I really do wish I had written it.

Before that, the movie "Days of Heaven" stands out for me, for the voice, not just in the stylistic sense, but literally, too: Much of the narrative is achieved by voice-over spoken by the heroine?s younger sister. Enchanting lines, enchanting delivery, unforgettable.

Musically I'm listening to "Dido Live" a lot, on the CD that comes with the concert DVD. Whatever you think of Dido (and I like her) her backing band is tremendous?those guys support her perfectly without once overshadowing her, just like the supporting cast in a book should.

The new James Bond movie sent me back to the Ian Fleming books?I just re-read "Goldfinger." It's dated, for sure, and sexist and racist, but you can feel the power that propelled a franchise through a half-century of success.