I'm that way when I read Sandford. Doesn't he do great dialog? He writes the way real people talk to each other. I have a novel I'm doing research on and I want to be able to do it that naturally. I liked his early "Prey" series books, he sets them out well. Then they got to be too similar. I'm liking the "Virgil (That fuckin') Flowers" series now.
I was disappointed with the TV series, frustrating as hell. Some of them were so totally different from the book they took the title from. The one about the guy who burnt his barn with the horses in especially. I'm glad I read "As the Crow Flies" after "Hell is Empty" Hell was hell and the book left me empty and skipping parts towards the end of the book. Yes I got the message, it was supposed to be an ordeal..... but Sheeesh! I think you'll enjoy 'Crow' especially the new indian cop. I finished "Another Man's Moccasins" the other day. That was a good read, third in the series I believe. Can't complain about the order the library sends them, at least they come.
Just put down the book "Lost" Michael Robotham Good London cop story, so many twists and turns you have to stay on point. So many read herrings you could have a kipper dinner. Lots of dead ends. I enjoyed his style and his dialog, humour and sarcasm without being silly. "Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz can’t remember how he got to the hospital. He was found floating in the Thames with a gunshot wound in his leg and a picture of missing child Mickey Carlyle in his pocket. But Mickey’s killer is already in jail. Add to this the blood stained boat found near where Ruiz was pulled from the water, and the pieces just don’t add up. Now, accused of faking amnesia and under investigation, Ruiz reaches out to psychologist Joseph O’Loughlin to help him unlock his memory, clear his name, and solve this ominous puzzle. Michael Robotham is one of the finest new thriller writers working today. Marked by vivid characters and full of unexpected turns, Lost is a hair-raising journey of vengeance, grief, and redemption through the dark London underworld"
read is past tense of read. English. gotta love it. red is the color of my true love's eyes, in the morning when we rise... it's the second one
In the middle of James Michener's 'Carribean'. Would make a strong recommendation to any readers who enjoy historical fiction and/or travel reading to give this sometimes overlooked and forgotten writer a read.
Finished Satish Kumar's Path Without Destination. Interesting story of a guy who was born into a Jain community in India, became a monk, left the order, became a Buddhist, started following some of Gandhi's followers, and eventually winds up in England as a small-is-beautiful type philosopher/ecologist. Most guys who want to save the world worry me only slightly less than people who want to conquer the world, but this was pretty good. Especially the accounts of his walks (from India to Washington DC by way of Moscow, Berlin, Paris, and London, with basically minimal assistance from vehicles) and a pilgrimage to the traditional holy sites of Britain. Now onto Gullhanger: Or How I Learned to Love Brighton and Hove Albion by Mike Ward. A decent book from the genre of soccer fandom. Thanks to Kevin Alexander in the "Essential Soccer Books" thread for pointing out that it was available free on Kindle. Also, A Talent For Genius: The Life and Times of Oscar Levant by the one-time husband and wife team of Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. Levant was a talented concert pianist, a decent composer, an actor in some major musicals of the era, and later, a talk show guest of no small repute. He was also amazingly loony. His mental illnesses would've crippled most people. With the help of his wife and family, friends and therapy, as well as his native wit, he managed to survive far longer than anyone would've guessed.
Interesting guy. While trapped in a rainy B&B with my parents and brother in high school, I came upon his memoir, The Memoirs of an Amnesiac. Although for the most part I had no idea who he was talking about, I would read passages aloud to my folks and they would howl with laughter. It was also pretty grim, as I recall, talking about his prescription med addictions (the first time I'd ever been exposed to such) and his time forcibly restrained in mental asylums. You might enjoy that one...
Thanks, but I read it already. I came across a reference to it in a biography of Jack Kerouac, written by JK's agent. He sent the book to Kerouac, telling him that Levant's writing is sloppy and that it jumps all over the place, so it's hard to follow and therfore no one will read it. Epic fail by the agent on two grounds: 1) Kerouac read it, loved it, and like you, read it to everyone who would listen (which at that stage of Kerouac's life, given how bad was his alcoholism, was basically his mom, his wife, and three drinking buddies), and 2) Memoirs of an Amnesiac went on to be a best seller. My wife and I are watching some mid-20th century American musicals. Levant is great in "An American in Paris," where he does some damn fine comic acting and plays a mean piano for real (and several other instruments not for real) when he performs the 3rd movement of Gershwin's piano concerto. Worth checking out on youtube. I have it in line for the A-to-Z Music Video thread should the alphabet work in my favor. Here are just a few of Levant's great quotes, for those who might be interested. And it doesn't include one of his most famous: "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin." http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Oscar_Levant
One of my faves from the "Dickens of Detroit". If you enjoy, try some of his earlier crime fiction from the 1970s or early 1980s. Unknown Man #89 is a hiddem gem. I also recommend George Pelecanos for realism and great dialog.
"The great silence" "The Great Silence: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn on the Jazz Age" by author Juliet Nicolson, a psychological portrait of a country in mourning — Britain, which struggled with death, disability and economic turmoil in the wake of World War I. Then toss in the pandemic 1918 flue. Seriously (well not) thinking about a hot bath and a razor. Grim times, everybody lost somebody often more than one and the ones that came home after 4 years in one piece, found it hard to assimilate. Well compiled and written. Have to look for her companion book. "The Perfect Summer" 1911 and the events leading to that war. The one to end all wars...!
I liked Michael Robotham's book so much I ordered the rest from the library. So! Wouldn't you know it, they all come at once!!! Well 4 of them. He has an interesting way with the lead in his books he takes a character who plays a secondary part in one book and plays that character as the lead in another, dropping the lead to the second place. Works for me..! Another fav author of mine did that, Sam Llewellyn. This way I hope 'not to become jaded' by reading 4 books on the trot. Finished this last night. "Michael Robotham continues his ‘almost-series’ with a 3rd thriller that simply reeks class. The Night Ferry thrusts the reader into the grim dark world of people smuggling and adds a further horror the spectre of an organised gang of baby peddlers operating throughout Europe. It’s a confronting story that compels you to keep reading with a plot that hooks you early and then slowly tightens its grip until, whenever you put the book down you almost experience withdrawal symptoms."
A Moment in the Sun, by John Sayles. Yes, John Sayles, the filmmaker, of Matewan, Eight Men Out, Lone Star and many other great independent movies. I was a little worried that maybe his writing wouldn't be as good as his filmmaking, but so far this is a great novel. It follows several different characters (all of whom are "regular folks" as opposed to politicians, generals, etc) from 1897 to 1903 as the United States enters the world stage as an empire. This is a 1,000 page novel, so I'll be reading it for quite a while. But on the first 100 pages I can recommend it to fans of historical fiction.
I've read his early works, Union Dues and Pride of the Bimboes. He's not a bad fiction writer. I've seen this new one in a couple of bookstores. I hope he can pull it off. And that you can, too. Make sure you lift it with your legs, not just with your back.