Monday, June 16, 2008
Love is free, Singleton hippie art 2008
LOVE IS FREE(c) Singleton 2008....... Technicolor snake,Coiled,Draped,A Lazy string ofCircus coloredIndian beads....I touch youand laugh....Love is free andyou don't scare me one little bit.....
Friday, June 6, 2008
Lewis Black Makes BEA Appearance
I got to see him in Vegas, where he was hysterical (and would have been even without the tall, fruity rum drink I had at his show), but missed his appearance at Book Expo in Los Angeles. But here's a promotional video for his new book, ME OF LITTLE FAITH. And, contrary to the article's author, I think it's funny even without a laugh track--especially his "ripple of evil" bit about the economic consequences of not buying his book.
And speaking of appearances, I'm about to disappear for a couple of weeks while I take a vacation. But I'll be back to blog again after June 21.
And speaking of appearances, I'm about to disappear for a couple of weeks while I take a vacation. But I'll be back to blog again after June 21.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Buy the Book at Murder by the Book
Mystery readers are a loyal bunch. And it's gratifying to see that independent bookstores focused on the mystery and crime fiction genre, such as Murder by the Book in Portland OR, continue to do business despite competition from the big chains. In fact, the store has just celebrated its 25th anniversary--no small feat for an independent specialty bookstore these days.
But then there are so many mystery authors who aren't major best-sellers and can't get their books into the chain stores. Which is why mid-list mystery authors and devoted mystery readers everywhere are so happy to read success stories like this.
But then there are so many mystery authors who aren't major best-sellers and can't get their books into the chain stores. Which is why mid-list mystery authors and devoted mystery readers everywhere are so happy to read success stories like this.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Interview with Lee Child
I had the opportunity to hear Lee Child speak at Sleuthfest a few months ago (even got to stand near him at a poolside cocktail party) and the description of him given in this article as "the sort of person who carefully outlines his replies, explaining that there are three reasons for this or two causes of that, [with] a mind that’s a midden of trivia" does capture Child's persona well.
During Child's speech, which included a good deal of historical information, I was struck by how well-read he obviously was and his amazing facility for remembering the obscure fact or two.
So he'd already made an impression on me when I read this article. Now, I'm all the more curious to read his Jack Reacher books.
During Child's speech, which included a good deal of historical information, I was struck by how well-read he obviously was and his amazing facility for remembering the obscure fact or two.
So he'd already made an impression on me when I read this article. Now, I'm all the more curious to read his Jack Reacher books.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Wil Wheaton at BEA!
Okay, I'll admit it. I didn't even read this short blurb about various authors appearing at Book Expo in Los Angeles. All I know is it's about books and authors and it has a photo of Wil Wheaton (who played intergalactic wunderkind Wesley Crusher in "Star Trek:The Next Generation") and, well, that's good enough for me.
I hope you enjoy the article, whatever it says.
And, Wil, the beard really suits you.
I hope you enjoy the article, whatever it says.
And, Wil, the beard really suits you.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Review: Moe Prager Series Ends Up 'Empty Ever After'
It seems fitting that EMPTY EVER AFTER (Bleak House Books 2008) starts in a cemetery and ends with the spreading of ashes, given that the book's theme is that of ghosts. Ghosts and secrets--the two things protagonist Moe Prager has been most plagued by throughout author Reed Farrel Coleman's series--along with his almost pathological inability to live with evidence that contradicts the results when a case appears to be solved.
Coleman has played out the arc of the Moe Prager series to its apparent end in this book. The ghosts in question are that of Patrick Maloney, his (now) ex-wife's late brother and her late father, Francis Maloney, a man haunting Prager by revealing (in a message delivered after his death) a devastating secret they shared about Patrick, thus effectively putting the postmortem kibosh on Prager's marriage.
A series of grave desecrations and some indications that Patrick may still be alive are what draw Prager into the mystery. With Patrick's voice showing up on ex-wife Katy's answering machine and someone who looks like Patrick making the odd appearance or two, is it any wonder that Katy starts to come apart at the seams and Prager's daughter, Sarah, is so worried about her mother she delays her return to college to look after her?
Bleak, moody, but still infused with Prager's ironic sense of humor, Coleman takes us through the investigation that asks who would do this to the Prager family and why? And, of course, when the puzzle seems to be solved, there are just enough pieces that don't fit to keep Prager going until he gets to the truth. As usual, it comes at a cost.
One character seems to sum up our hero's lot when he says, "Lost is what you are, Mr. Prager. You always have been and I sense you will always be so."
While it isn't absolutely necessary to read all the stories that came before this to understand what's going on, I would highly recommend it. The end is shattering, though not without its bright spots. And brings to an apparent close a wonderful series about a deeply-troubled man.
Coleman has played out the arc of the Moe Prager series to its apparent end in this book. The ghosts in question are that of Patrick Maloney, his (now) ex-wife's late brother and her late father, Francis Maloney, a man haunting Prager by revealing (in a message delivered after his death) a devastating secret they shared about Patrick, thus effectively putting the postmortem kibosh on Prager's marriage.
A series of grave desecrations and some indications that Patrick may still be alive are what draw Prager into the mystery. With Patrick's voice showing up on ex-wife Katy's answering machine and someone who looks like Patrick making the odd appearance or two, is it any wonder that Katy starts to come apart at the seams and Prager's daughter, Sarah, is so worried about her mother she delays her return to college to look after her?
Bleak, moody, but still infused with Prager's ironic sense of humor, Coleman takes us through the investigation that asks who would do this to the Prager family and why? And, of course, when the puzzle seems to be solved, there are just enough pieces that don't fit to keep Prager going until he gets to the truth. As usual, it comes at a cost.
One character seems to sum up our hero's lot when he says, "Lost is what you are, Mr. Prager. You always have been and I sense you will always be so."
While it isn't absolutely necessary to read all the stories that came before this to understand what's going on, I would highly recommend it. The end is shattering, though not without its bright spots. And brings to an apparent close a wonderful series about a deeply-troubled man.
Review: 'Lush Life' Paints a Picture in Lush Prose
Okay, so I start off reading this book, LUSH LIFE (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2008) by Richard Price, and right off, it's looking like a throwback to James Ellroy. Four cops in some kind faux taxi, all talking in clipped sentences, words blatting like from a squawk box in a squad car, surveying the street scene, looking for the lucky collar to wander along and what-not.
Next thing I know, I'm reading about this failed actor named Eric, who works in a deli called Berkmann's and seems like a nice (if disgruntled) guy. He goes in to work and sees this huge line of people blocking the entrance to Berkmann's, waiting to have a look at an image of the Virgin Mary on the door of a refrigerated unit in some convenience store down the street. Eric hooks up with a new bartender at Berkmann's, a guy named Ike, who proceeds to go see the image with Eric, then wipes it out by just opening the door.
Meanwhile, a couple of neighborhood homies from the projects are planning some kind of bad business--Little Dap, the more experienced one and Tristan, the newbie who wants to step up to the challenge and who ends up carrying the gun.
All this is told with a great deal of detail and loving description of the neighborhood, of Eric's disappointment at still working at the deli instead of acting and with an absent girlfriend who makes a study of kinky sex toys and practices, who's off on one of her frequent business trips, plus the scene inside and outside Berkmann's, interspersed with the plottings of the two homies. And that's where you are by page 32.
So I'm starting to wonder, where's this going, do I even like this book, with its intricate description of place and mental process, with it's occasional run-on sentences and close study of character? It's not what I usually read, but it's interesting and there's a promise of something coming, though at this point, I'm still not sure exactly what.
Then--BAM!--it happens. The thing I've been waiting for. The event that changes everything. The hook that digs in deep and won't let go. And I keep reading.
To say much more about the story would be telling, so I'll only say this. LUSH LIFE creeps up on you like an addiction. It hooks you and keeps you reading with its suspenseful presentation of a murder and its effect on the detectives investigating it and the hapless survivors (both of the crime itself and relatives of the victim), as well as the deeds and thoughts of the perpetrator in the crime's aftermath. The prose is lush (and I mean that in the nicest way), but the dialogue is spare and rings true, like the best Elmore Leonard). The description of New York is dead-on (as is the characters' inner dialogue), the plot is complex, but well-structured, and the suspense as to whether the bad guy will ever get caught just about kills you.
It's a great read. What more can I say?
Next thing I know, I'm reading about this failed actor named Eric, who works in a deli called Berkmann's and seems like a nice (if disgruntled) guy. He goes in to work and sees this huge line of people blocking the entrance to Berkmann's, waiting to have a look at an image of the Virgin Mary on the door of a refrigerated unit in some convenience store down the street. Eric hooks up with a new bartender at Berkmann's, a guy named Ike, who proceeds to go see the image with Eric, then wipes it out by just opening the door.
Meanwhile, a couple of neighborhood homies from the projects are planning some kind of bad business--Little Dap, the more experienced one and Tristan, the newbie who wants to step up to the challenge and who ends up carrying the gun.
All this is told with a great deal of detail and loving description of the neighborhood, of Eric's disappointment at still working at the deli instead of acting and with an absent girlfriend who makes a study of kinky sex toys and practices, who's off on one of her frequent business trips, plus the scene inside and outside Berkmann's, interspersed with the plottings of the two homies. And that's where you are by page 32.
So I'm starting to wonder, where's this going, do I even like this book, with its intricate description of place and mental process, with it's occasional run-on sentences and close study of character? It's not what I usually read, but it's interesting and there's a promise of something coming, though at this point, I'm still not sure exactly what.
Then--BAM!--it happens. The thing I've been waiting for. The event that changes everything. The hook that digs in deep and won't let go. And I keep reading.
To say much more about the story would be telling, so I'll only say this. LUSH LIFE creeps up on you like an addiction. It hooks you and keeps you reading with its suspenseful presentation of a murder and its effect on the detectives investigating it and the hapless survivors (both of the crime itself and relatives of the victim), as well as the deeds and thoughts of the perpetrator in the crime's aftermath. The prose is lush (and I mean that in the nicest way), but the dialogue is spare and rings true, like the best Elmore Leonard). The description of New York is dead-on (as is the characters' inner dialogue), the plot is complex, but well-structured, and the suspense as to whether the bad guy will ever get caught just about kills you.
It's a great read. What more can I say?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)