Something Good to Read

Publishers on Pinterest

2012-01-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

Random House Books has a fun Pinterest page. Check it out here.

Pinterest: Where things of interest flock together, like pelicans on the beach.

January Doldrums

2012-01-26T09:50:00.000-06:00

January is dragging on and on and on. Before I begin reading The Trinity Six, a spy novel published last year, I am trying to finish The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison which I began at the start of this month. The Skull Mantra won an Edgar Award in 2000. Although the year 2000 seems a lifetime ago, the book is still great; I am enjoying it very much. I am just having difficulty finding time to read.

I'm also on the lookout for a good novel outside the spy/mystery genre. I'll let you know when I find it.

The 2012 Edgar Nominees

2012-01-19T12:13:00.001-06:00

Check out the 2012 Edgar Award nominees here.

A Fun Read for Mystery Fans: "Bad Things Happen" by Harry Dolan.

2012-01-16T13:23:00.003-06:00

I just discovered Bad Things Happen, a fun mystery by Harry Dolan published in 2009. If you haven't yet checked it out, grab a copy. Dolan's writing style is cool, but the plot is hot with twists and turns all the way to the end.

The protagonist in Bad Things Happen is David Loogan (if that's his real name). Loogan lives a quiet life in his rented home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He works as an editor at Gray Streets, a magazine publishing mystery stories. Gray Streets publisher Tom Kristoll and Loogan are friends. That's one reason why, when Kristoll asks Loogan to help bury a body lying dead in Kristoll's study, Loogan helps out. A short time later, Kristoll is also found dead. Now the police are involved, and they have their eyes on Loogan. Loogan in turn is trying to unravel what is really going on. And, yes, more bodies turn up.

Bad Things Happen is a highly entertaining book, particularly for those of us who have read a lot of mysteries. I'm looking forward to Dolan's second book, Very Bad Men.

Any Kindle Fire Reviews?

2012-01-16T10:23:00.002-06:00

My Nook Color, featuring the new Flavia de Luce story.

Did anyone get a Kindle Fire as a holiday gift? If so, how do you like it? Ten months into owning a Nook Color, I still enjoy using it every day.

Up-date 1/24/12: Tablet ownership almost doubled from December to January. Check out the story here.

"Beat the Reaper" Author has New Book Coming in February.

2012-01-03T09:40:00.002-06:00

Good news for fans of Beat the Reaper (and that includeds me): Josh Bazell has another book coming out in February called Wild Thing. Wild Thing continues the story of Dr. Peter Brown. Brown, we learned in Beat the Reaper, packed-in quite a bit of living before turning to a career in medicine. He was Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwa, a hit man for the Mafia. Beat the Reaper is about how Brown/Brnwa got drawn into life as a hit man, and what happens when his life in the Mafia and at the hospital intersect. Check this link for my full review of Beat the Reaper.

I'm looking forward to reading another book by Bazell.

Book Report: "Silver Lies" by Ann Parker.

2012-01-02T08:13:00.002-06:00

I picked-up Silver Lies by Ann Parker on a bit of a whim and breezed through it over the holidays. Silver Lies is the first mystery in Parker's Silver Rush series. I recalled reading not long ago about Parker promoting her fourth book, Mercury's Rise. So when I chanced upon Silver Lies, I thought I'd give it a try.

Silver Lies turned out to be pleasant entertainment. Set in 1879, in Leadville, Colorado, the protagonist is Inez Stannert. Inez' husband is a gambler who has runoff. She operates the Silver Queen Saloon with her remaining business partner. After a local assayer named Joe Rose is found dead, trampled by a horse outside the saloon, Inez gets drawn into investigating the death. Was it an accident or murder? Parker uses Inez' investigation to show us life in Leadville when it was a mining boom-town with gambling, corruption, counterfeit currency, ladies-of-the-evening, as well as church-going families. It was a rough-and-tumble time and Parker makes the period interesting.

Silver Lies was fun to read. I will definitely check into the other books in this series.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:21:00.001-06:00

Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy, and peaceful 2012.

Photo: Birds Greet the First Sunrise of 2012. Arizona, near the Mexican border.

"The Hunger Games" is USA Today's Best Selling Book This Week.

2011-12-29T09:56:00.000-06:00

I read The Hunger Games last summer and really enjoyed it. This book is now number one on USA Today's best seller list. If you are looking for a good book to read this weekend, consider picking up a copy. It's an entertaining read for both adults and young adults. Here is a link to my review of it.

What was the Worst Book You Read in 2011?

2011-12-26T17:29:00.003-06:00

From About.com: Click here for Erin Collazo Miller's three worst/most overrated books of 2011. I read one of her picks, The Cut, and agree that it was a yawn; the book did not live up to its hype.

What about you? What was the worst book you read in 2011?

Happy Holidays

2011-12-25T13:11:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T11:13:00.000-06:00

The jury is out. It's a waiting game now. What will the verdict be: Naughty or Nice?

Mexican Wedding cookies baked this morning for Santa.

Holiday Gifts for Those Who Enjoy Suspense Novels: Reprints of Two Classics by Ira Levin.

2011-12-21T12:07:00.000-06:00

Picked up a genius idea today for a holiday gift: Two classic, chilling novels from Ira Levin, A Kiss Before Dying (first published in 1954) and The Boys from Brazil (published in 1976). Good books to give, and great books to read during these long winter nights.

A Reason to Read Nonfiction

2011-12-17T16:38:00.001-06:00

From Dwight Garner's review in the New York Times of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil:

"In this regard," writes Garner, "Extra Virginity is another reminder why subpar nonfiction is so much better than subpar fiction. With nonfiction at least you can learn something."

Author Christopher Hitchens has Died. The Guardian Has a Round-up of Some of His Memorable Quotations.

2011-12-16T10:01:00.001-06:00

Check out this link to The Guardian for Hitchens quotations, as well as links to tributes and reactions to his death.

Photo: "Farewell".

A Nice Mystery from Louise Penny: "A Trick of the Light: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel."

2011-12-14T06:55:00.001-06:00

Sometimes lightening strikes: Within days of reading NYT columnist Marilyn Stasio's list of notable crime books for 2011, I found myself browsing for books and spied a copy of the title she selected as her favorite cozy mystery, A Trick of the Light by Canadian author Louise Penny. I pounced on it! And after reading it over the course of a few winter evening, I absolutely agree with Ms. Stasio: It is a very good cozy mystery.

A Trick of the Light is book seven in a series featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Surete du Quebec. In this story, the Chief Inspector and his team are in the small village of Three Pines investigating a murder. Lillian Dyson is found dead - her neck snapped - in Clara Morrow's garden the morning after a large party celebrating the opening of Clara's solo art show. The pool of suspects includes the art world personalities gathered together in the isolated village. The back-biting and jealousy running rampant among them provides plenty of drama for the Chief Inspector to sift through. And as Armand Gamache unravels the mystery, Ms. Penny does an excellent job keeping us in suspense all the way to the very last pages.

For a cozy read on a winter night, A Trick of the Light is highly recommend.

Best Books List for 2011: Random House Collected Them All!

2011-12-13T16:21:00.000-06:00

Check out this comprehensive collection of lists of the Best Books of 2011 from Random House. Very nice!

Cookbook Shopping

2011-12-13T12:04:00.002-06:00

Remember Michael Pollan's advice? "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

If you, or someone on your holiday shopping list, are working on point three, or plan to in the New Year, here is an interesting list of vegan cookbooks from vegan.com. I would add to this list my favorites, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. You don't have to be a vegetarian - I'm not - to enjoy cooking with these books.

Gift brainstorm: A cookbook andproduce bags to keep veggies fresh. A nice combination.

Photo: ChicoBag Hemp-Cotton Produce Bags for keeping leafy greens fresh.

More Criticism of Kindle Fire

2011-12-12T11:24:00.001-06:00

An article, linked here, from the New York Times summarizes complaints about Amazon's Kindle Fire.

Photo: Grazing horse, east of Arivaca, Arizona; completely unconcerned about e-readers.

Music We Like: "This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark."

2011-12-08T09:13:00.001-06:00

The beautiful melodies and exceptional lyrics in the songs written by Guy Clark are showcased in This One's for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark. This collaboration, produced for Mr. Clark's 70th birthday this year, includes performances by Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, Suzy Bogguss, Joe Ely, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Shawn Colvin, and many more. These wonderful singing voices are front-and-center in This One's for Him, masterfully interpreting and displaying Mr. Clark's songbook, including Instant Coffee Blues, L.A. Freeway, Better Days and Desperadoes Waiting for a Train.

In addition to the great music and amazing performances, the packaging of this collection is very cool. Nice photos, notes, and of course the lyrics to every song. I also love the L.P. look given to the discs. In every detail, this is a first-class tribute to Guy Clark.

Good stuff. This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark

E-Reader Info for Holiday Shoppers

2011-12-07T09:13:00.003-06:00

A couple of news items concerning e-readers:

First, if you are shopping for a Nook Color, Overstock.com is selling refurburished units as well as accessories.

Second, if you are considering a Kindle Fire, be sure to read this article from PC World about possible problems with Wi-Fi connectivity.

Photo: Sonita Creek, Sonita, AZ.

A Gem of a Novel: "The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka.

2011-12-03T08:42:00.001-06:00

Everything about The Buddha in the Attic reminds me of a precious gem: Beautiful, intense, petite. The book itself is a slim volume, pocket-book sized, 129-pages long. In these few pages author Julie Otsuka whisks us along on a tremendous journey.

The journey starts in about 1900. Sailing to the United States is a group of Japanese "picture brides", paired to their new husbands via photos, letters and a matchmaker. These women narrate the book, not as "I", but in the first person plural, "we":

Most of us on the boat were accomplished, and were sure we would make good wives. We knew how to cook and sew. We know how to serve tea and arrange flowers and sit quietly on our flat wide feet for hours, saying absolutely nothing of substance at all . . . We knew how to pull weeds and chop kindling and haul water, and one of us - the rice miller's daughter - knew how to walk two miles into town with an eighty-pound sack of rice on her back without once breaking into a sweat.

This style allows Otsuka to provide, in a small novel, a great deal of individualized detail about the women and their new lives in the United States. The women arrive here hopeful. But hope turns into hardship as they find themselves married to a stranger in a society where the deck is stacked against them because of their race, gender, the language barrier, even their diminutive size compared to Americans of European ancestry. Otsuka shows us these lives by using words sparingly, but with maximum impact; her choices can knock the wind out of you.

The novel ends in 1942, with the internment of all people of Japanese ancestry who lived in the Pacific Coast area of the U.S. This is a turn of events that the women on the ship, sailing to their new lives in the United States, could never have foreseen.

The Buddha in the Attic is a wonderful writing accomplishment, unique like a valuable gem, and highly recommended reading.

Shop Amazon's 100 Best Books of 2011

New York Times Notable Books of 2011

2011-11-25T15:34:00.005-06:00

Here is the link to the books from 2011 that the Times determined to be most worthy of your attention.

I've read only two books on the list, In the Garden of Beasts and Blood, Butter and Bones. I've been slacking off, obviously. In any event, Blood, Butter and Bones is an autobiography by chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune Restaurant in New York. Of the two, I preferred Beasts to Blood.

Photo: Lake Monona Abstract. Monona, WI.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T08:52:00.003-06:00

The recipe for happiness begins simply: Start with a good measure of gratitude for what we have.

I am thankful for all of you! Happy Thanksgiving.

A Crazy Ride Through the Mississippi Delta: Ranchero by Rick Gavin.

2011-11-23T12:27:00.002-06:00

Folks, it's Wednesday. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and for many of us it is the first day of a four-day weekend. Set aside thoughts of turkey and shopping right now and ask yourself an important question: Do you have a good book to read?

A good book is essential for long weekends. It's a place to retreat to, a place to hide in, a place to happily pass the time while waiting for the next activity to begin. If you need something to read and would like something breezy and entertaining, then pick-up or download a copy of Ranchero by Rick Gavin.

Ranchero is set in the Mississippi Delta, which has been called "the most Southern place on Earth." The protagonist, Nick Reid, is a new resident of the area. He previously worked as a police officer all over the mid-South (Nick's key rules: "Never tangle with an irate teenage girl if you can help it at all; and thumbs might be opposable, but they weren't meant to get bent back."). Now he is doing some repossession work.

The story begins with Nick attempting to repossess a flat-screen t.v. from Percy Dwayne Dubois. He ends up getting laid-out with a fireplace shovel and tied-up. When Nick recovers from the beating, Dubois is gone, along with the t.v. and Nick's car: a mint, calypso-coral Ranchero he borrowed from his widowed landlady. Nick is determined to get the car back, and this mission sends him on a wild ride through the shady side of the Delta.

With the help of his friend, fellow repo man and guide to the region, Desmond, Rick concludes that the car has come into the hands of an area psychopath and meth dealer named Guy. Rick sets his sights on tracking down Guy, with the assistance of a group of quirky characters he picks up on the way.

Although Ranchero is a light novel, many of the characters are bitterly poor, drug addicted, mean, or just plain sad. Author Rick Gavin doesn't hide the problems of the Mississippi Delta, an area with a history of old problems - racism and poverty - and new problems such as obesity. Gavin lays out all of this. The book works in part because while Gavin's Nick Reid may have some wry observations about folks, he treats them all with dignity and fairness - even Percy Dwayne Dubois.

Ranchero is recommended reading.

2011-11-20T18:11:00.001-06:00

Blue truck in the high desert.

Sonoita, Arizona

A Good Mystery From Italy: "Death in August" by Marco Vichi.

2011-11-18T15:59:00.006-06:00

Death in August is the first in a series of books written by Marco Vichi that feature Inspector Franco Bordelli. This very enjoyable book is a gentle police procedural, almost - but not quite - a cozy mystery.

Death in August is set in Florence, Italy. It is the summer of 1963, and the weather is hot, humid and miserable. Everyone has left town for vacation; that is, every one except Inspector Bordelli. The 50-ish, single, World War II vet is sweating it out in the city. It's calm at police headquarters until one evening a wealthy, elderly woman is found dead in her home. Bordelli observes the scene, concludes the death is suspicious, and the investigation begins.

Bordelli's investigation is not a heart pumping thriller or CSI routine. He interviews people and works the case with his friend the coroner and his protege, Piras. But the bulk of the book is really about Bordelli himself, a likable, fair, and often funny man who has an eclectic set of friends and relatives. He reflects often upon his life and experiences in the war. Some of these reflections are disturbing, pushing the story outside the boundaries of the cozy mystery category. In the end, however, Bordelli's musings and interviewing solve the mystery. And along the way, we are well entertained by the delightful book.

Death in August was published in Italian in 2002. The translation into English by Stephen Sartarelli was published this year and released outside the U.S. For U.S. customers, it is available now on Kindle from Amazon, however the book itself has not yet been released here. As the new book was unavailable, I purchased my copy on Ebay.

However you get a copy, check out Death in August. It is highly recommended reading.

Shop Amazon's 100 Best Books of 2011

A Wary Turkey; And Rightly So!

2011-11-14T06:55:00.001-06:00

It's hard to believe it, but Thanksgiving is next week.

Veterans Day

2011-11-11T05:49:00.003-06:00

Today's post was first published on November 11, 2008.

Today is Veterans Day, a day specifically set aside to honor all those who have served in our military and sacrificed for the common good of our country.

Veterans Day began in 1919 as, of course, a commemoration of Armistice Day, the end of World War I - "the war to end all wars." The horrors of World War I have been expressed in some amazing, and well-known, literature. For example, Dalton Trumbo's 1939 classic Johnny Got His Gun. It is the story of a World War I soldier who awakens in the hospital with his mind intact, but his body destroyed, no arms, legs or even a face. Written as an anti-war piece, it is chilling and absorbing.

A famous poem from a soldier of World War I was written by a physician, Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae. His poem, In Flanders Fields, was one of my favorite poems to read when I was a kid, browsing through my mother's books of poetry:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Poppies have now become a symbol of remembrance for veterans. More poems of war and remembrance can be found at this about.com link.

Thanks to all who have served, and particularly my dad, who served in the United States Navy during World War II.

Music We Like: "An Evening in the Village: The Music of Bela Bartok" by Jake Schepps and the Expedition Quartet.

2011-11-10T06:48:00.023-06:00

Open the door to new music.

Musician Jake Schepps plays banjo. Hungarian composer Bela Bartok (1881 - 1945) studied, collected and arranged folk music. Bartok also wrote music with folk themes. In An Evening in the Village: The Music of Bela Bartok, Schepps transcribes and adapts Bartok compositions for performance with a bluegrass lineup.

The recording is not a country music version of Bartok's work. It is instead a selective number of Bartok's compositions played by banjo, violin, mandolin, guitar, and bass - plus a cello. (Don't you love the cello? I do.) There is a bluegrass vibe which sometimes bubbles, sometimes simmers, and sometimes is quiet. The result of this translation and reinterpretation is warm and wonderful music.

In fact, if you are assembling a holiday shopping list, put at the top of it An Evening in the Village: The Music of Bela Bartok. You will enjoy listening to it on snowy evenings throughout the winter.

Shop Amazon's Holiday Music Store - MP3

Michael Pollan Interviewed on The Corbert Report About His New Book "Food Rules".

2011-11-07T07:01:00.027-06:00

Amy's Food Rule No 87:
Apple: Good.
Apple Pie: Better.
Apple Pie a La Mode: Best.

Just in time for the eating season - that is, I mean the holiday season - author Michael Pollan has a new book available called Food Rules: An Eater's Manual. Pollan is the author of the best sellers In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma and previously distilled the essence of eating into seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Apparently we, the eaters of America, need more than this to drive the point home. To that end, Pollan recently appeared on the Colbert Report to talk about the new book.

During the interview, Pollan discusses the fact that (in the U.S. anyway) people eat for reasons other than hunger. He says if you are hungry enough to want to eat an apple, then you actually are hungry. And if you actually are hungry, eat an apple!

This is good advise and I'm going to check out Food Rules. Still, rules must have exceptions. I won't be following Mr. Pollan's apple rule on Thanksgiving day when, after the main meal is over and I am absolutely not hungry, I will still enjoy a big slice of homemade pecan pie.

Wilderness Books: Stay Inside and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.

2011-11-04T17:17:00.004-05:00

It's fall, a season of many rituals. For some folks, the fall hunting seasons are important annual events: getting together with family and friends and heading out into the wilderness.

For those of us unable to get out into the wild or looking for a good read in front of the fire after a day in the woods, Philip Connors at The Guardian assembled a list of his top ten wilderness books. Here's the link. His list includes A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. The reader comments to the story have more good suggestions of books where wilderness is the theme or adds a critical element to the story, including one of my favorites of all time: Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux.

To a list of recommended wilderness books I'd add A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean as well as The Outlander by Gil Adamson.

The Outlander is particularly interesting. Set in 1903, it is about a 19-year old woman who marries and lives an isolated life with her husband on the frontier. Her marriage and husband do not turn out as she expected. Depressed after she loses a baby, she learns that her husband is unfaithful. Irrevocable actions are taken and the young woman becomes a widow "by her own hand." She flees into the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies. Her husband's two brothers pursue her, seeking to bring her back to face justice. Her race through the mountains, efforts to survive in the wild, and the characters she meets, all make for an exciting story that is beautifully written by Ms. Adamson.

What books would you recommend in which the wilderness is a key character?

Follow Me on Twitter!

2011-11-03T16:36:00.003-05:00

Click the link to the right to follow me on Twitter for little bitty blasts about books, music, interesting reads in newspapers and periodicals, and more.

I'll follow; just give me five minutes here . . .

"In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson is a Fascinating Account of Both the U.S. and Germany in the 1930s.

2011-10-31T06:52:00.001-05:00

Instead of being stretched out on the couch reading, with a restorative beverage near at hand, I've recently spent many hours driving the highways and byways, attending to matters in far flung places that require attending. Fortunately, at the start of this intense travel period I snagged an audio copy of In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

In the Garden of Beasts is a non-fiction account of the experiences of U.S. Ambassador to Germany William E. Dodd and his family while living in Berlin in 1933-37. Dodd, born in North Carolina just eight years after the conclusion of the Civil War, was appointed Ambassador by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the time of his appointment Dodd was 63-years old and a professor of American history at the University of Chicago. He moved from Chicago to Berlin with his wife and two adult children, Bill and Martha.

Three points make this book an exceptional read. First, and if you've read the excellent Devil in the White City you know this, Erik Larson is very good writer. In this book he again pulls together historical facts and events and assembles a bright, compelling, and engrossing story.

Second, although much has already been written and said about World War II, Larson's book brings sharp perspective to ideas that don't typically get play. For example, Larson describes the politics behind Dodd's appointment as ambassador and in the workings of the foreign service. Dodd was an outsider to this community and at odds with with it, which became an added burden to him. In addition to the infighting on the U.S. side of the equation, Larson tells us about the infighting, often deadly and violent infighting, among organizations in Hitler's Germany, including the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS), and the old guard loyal to President Hindenburg and the new fanatical Nazi Party. These are but two examples of interesting elements in a book rich with information.

Third, there is the perspective on events in Germany offered by 25-year old Martha Dodd, the Ambassador's daughter. Oh, that Martha. She is enthralled with the Nazi regime, forging friendships with Party leaders and insiders. Martha has a very . . . active romantic life. Many times throughout the course of the book I thought, 'Martha, you foolish twit.' Nonetheless, her story is engaging and adds another layer to the picture of what is happening in Berlin.

In the Garden of Beasts is loaded with compelling facts, stories, and analysis as well as drama. It is a pleasure to read, or listen to while on the road traveling.

Shop Amazon's 100 Best Books of 2011

Enjoy Your Halloween Weekend!

2011-10-29T10:40:00.000-05:00

Spooky!

What to do if your e-reader is lost or stolen.

2011-10-21T06:18:00.000-05:00

Check out this nice post at Mashable Tech discussing what to do if - god forbid! - your Kindle, Nook or Sony Reader is lost or stolen.

Something missing?

Good Work Through Good Editing.

2011-10-20T09:55:00.001-05:00

Have you ever had the experience of reading a book with a compelling story, but nonetheless find that you are skimming through large chunks of it? When that happens I often think, 'this book needed more editing.' Good writing, be it a book, a legal brief, or a song, requires good editing. Recent interviews with two successful writers illustrates the importance of editing in the creative process.

First, the Wall Street Journal interviewed musician and composer Paul Simon, who is now touring to promote his new disc, So Beautiful or So What. Mr. Simon was asked "[w]hat's your success rate with songwriting? How often do you hit a dead end?" His answer:

There are not too many. . . Songs evolve over a period of time and I have the chance to edit and fix them, so I don't have to wait to the end to say no. But occasionally, I'll be in the middle of a song and drop it if it doesn't feel true. It's not a fun thing to do. You tend to fool yourself as you go along, because you're working hard at it. In a sense it's good, or competent, but it doesn't pass the test.

Mr. Simon's comments remind me of what I think of as "the second book phenomena": An author spends years writing a first novel and it's a huge success. A year or so later, seeking to capitalize on the recent success, a second book by the same author is rushed out and it is terrible, or as Mr. Simon might put it, "it's good, or competent, but it doesn't pass the test." It's in those situations where it seems like the author hasn't had sufficient time, or perhaps the experience, to really edit the work.

Allowing sufficient time to edit is illustrated by a second interview, one that I heard on NPR with Jeffery Eugenides, author of The Marriage Plot and Middlesex:

Eugenides tells NPR's Guy Raz that when he first started work on The Marriage Plot in the '90s, he had a very different story in mind — a story about a rich family preparing to throw a debutante party. "One of the daughters in that family was Madeleine," Eugenides says. "And as I began to write her section, which I had envisaged would only be three or four pages, I kept going with her and started writing about semiotics, her boyfriend trouble, and little by little I realized I had another novel on my hands."

Note that Mr. Eugenides started work on what would become The Marriage Plot in the 1990s. The book was published this year.

It's interesting to learn how Jeffery Eugenides and Paul Simon build their creative works, and to see the value they place on good editing. As the world of book publishing continues to change, let's hope that editing doesn't get lost. It is no fun to buy a book only to find yourself skimming through it.

The Repo Man Cometh: "Ranchero" by Rick Gavin.

2011-10-17T09:13:00.004-05:00

Up-date 11/24: Read my review of Ranchero here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranchero by Rick Gavin is being released next week. From its description, the book looks like it might be entertaining : Mississippi repo man Nick Reid attempts to get a flat screen t.v. back from Percy Dwayne Dubois, but instead Reid gets hit over the head, tied-up, and has his car stolen (along with the t.v. he is suppose to collect). A road trip to track down the perp ensues.

Check out the full description of Ranchero at the link to the book, below. And if you are looking for more stories from the world of repo, revisit the classic 1984 movie Repo Man staring Harry Dean Stanton. It is a great, great movie. In fact, I think I'll re-watch it this week myself!

Repo Man - the movie.

NYT: New Book from P.D. James.

2011-10-14T16:36:00.000-05:00

Move over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The NYT reports that mystery-master P.D. James has written a sequel of her own to the Jane Austin classic. Check out the story here. The mystery book is called Death Comes to Pemberley. Reportedly it will be available in December, conveniently in time for holiday shopping.

"The Informant" by Thomas Perry: A nice thriller with an old school vibe.

2011-10-12T11:42:00.001-05:00

In The Informant, a hit man is forced out of retirement after his location is discovered by Mafia figures who want to kill him in revenge for past deeds. The hit man, known in the criminal underworld as the Butcher's Boy, needs to make sure that those seeking to exterminate him will pay a steep price: their own lives. This sets up the first of two story lines for The Informant. The Butcher's Boy tears around America, from Washington D.C. to California and points in between, attempting to take care of his growing problem with his former employers, the various factions of the Mafia.

As the Butcher's Boy tangles with the mob, an agent at the United States Department of Justice attempts to convert him into being her informant. This provides the book's second story line. The Butcher's Boy uses this collaboration with the agent to further his own agenda. However, the relationship turns tricky: Will the agent continue to attempt to recruit the Butcher's Boy, or will she seek to have him arrested? Will he need her to completely resolve his problems with the Mob? What happens when she gets caught in the gunfire?

The main character in The Informant first appeared in a 1982 book by Perry, The Butcher's Boy. The style and ambiance created in The Informant continues to feel a bit like a book from the 1980s: The protagonist is a man alone against a hostile world, someone who easily jets around the globe while killing lots of people. Robert Ludlum wrote in this style as well (The Bourne Identity, for example). This old school vibe doesn't provide any new reading thrills, but it does provide a solid book to enjoy on a rainy autumn weekend. If you want something more contemporary, try Beat the Reaper.

The Falling Leaves

2011-10-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

"The Language of Flowers" Disappoints. On to "The Informant" by Thomas Perry.

2011-10-08T09:52:00.001-05:00

Although I haven't had much reading time recently, I did attempt to work my way through The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. While I initially enjoyed this novel about a young woman starting life after a childhood spent in foster care and group homes, the story lost its charm for me about halfway through. This was quite disappointing as author Diffenbaugh had a neat idea for what might have been a very special book: a young woman overcoming adversity with her knowledge of flowers and her special talent for matching flowers with people's needs. I hoped I'd be reading something magical like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake and When God was a Rabbit, but the author went in a different direction. Although I was ultimately disappointed with it, I suspect many other readers will likely rave about The Language of Flowers.

Now it's on to The Informant by Thomas Perry. The book is the third in Perry's series about a professional hit-man who's real name is unknown, but who those in the criminal underworld call "the Butcher's Boy".

"The Cut" by George Pelecanos.

2011-09-26T14:22:00.004-05:00

I like to read mysteries and crime fiction. I've read a lot of books in these categories. A lot.

Some years ago I developed a hypothesis that if a character was killed in the first three pages of a book (and preferably on the first), then the book would be exciting. If not, then the story would drag. In testing this hypothesis over the years it has sometimes been proven wrong, but many times it is correct. In the case of The Cut the hypothesis proved correct: No one died on time and the book dragged for me.

The Cut begins with the protagonist, Washington D.C. investigator Spero Lucas, meeting with his occasional employer, criminal defense attorney Tom Peterson. Peterson is defending a juvenile who is accused of stealing a car. He hires Lucas to look into the matter and find an angle for the defense. After Lucas successfully solves that problem, he subsequently accepts a job from the juvenile's dad. The dad is a large-scale marijuana dealer named Anwan Hawkins. Hawkins is in jail awaiting trial but still running his business. He asks Lucas to discover who has been stealing bundles of his product.

While Spero works on the case for Hawkins, he takes time to have dinner with his mom, visit his dad's grave site, talk to a school group about his experiences as a solider in Iraq, hook up with different women, go to bars, etc. This is not gripping reading material. It is, as they say, a yawn. And when the plot does ramp-up a bit later in the book it was too late for me.

The Cut isn't a bad book; it is an adequate way to pass the time on a airplane. However, I want more than that from mysteries and crime fiction. Life is short and reading time is limited. I want books to be absorbing, exciting, transporting. So with respect to mysteries and crime fiction, I'm going to keep looking for books that have word of a murder in the first three pages.

Morning on Lake Monona

2011-09-17T18:06:00.000-05:00

Cook Book Look: "Slow Cooker Revolution" from America's Test Kitchen.

2011-09-16T09:27:00.002-05:00

What is the 'revolution' in Slow Cooker Revolution? It is that, with effort, a variety of outstanding meals can be prepared using a slow cooker. Surprised? I was.

After owning a slow cooker for years, I had concluded that it is of limited utility in making good food. Yes, it worked great for certain cuts of meat. For example, in a slow cooker the large amount of collagen in a beef roast is slowly and perfectly broken down, allowing the meat to tenderize and develop delicious flavor. I've also successfully used my slow cooker to prepare apples when making apple butter, and in cooking certain side dishes such as beans. Experiments preparing meals in a slow cooker beyond these areas have resulted in unimpressive dishes. As a friend once remarked, "Everything out of the slow cooker tastes the same." Yes. And that sameness could be summed up in one way: Meh.

Enter Slow Cooker Revolution, produced by the fastidious team at America's Test Kitchen. This book offers an array of recipes, suitable for a slow cooker, that taste fantastic. I prepared four dishes from the book. The first, Chicken Bouillabaisse, was outstanding even with my substitution of a dash of vermouth for the quarter cup of pastis called for in the recipe. There were a few minor wrinkles in the preparation. For example, the recipe calls for various vegetables, including minced garlic, to be sauteed in a skillet for 8 to 10 minutes. Not only did the cooking time seem a bit too long, but in my experience minced garlic should be added only for the last minute or two of sauteing to prevent it from turning into burnt bits. Additionally, the recipe called for 3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. That is an enormous amount of chicken! I used one pound and kept the remainder of the recipe the same. It was great. (The other three recipes I tried were without such wrinkles).

As you may have inferred from my experience with the Chicken Bouillabaisse, there are more ingredients and more steps in preparing many of the recipes in Slow Cooker Revolution than are typically thought of in slow cooker cooking. The Chicken Bouillabaisse requires 16 ingredients, plus the sauteing and microwaving of different items before placing them in the cooker. The Italian Stuffed Bell Peppers, which were the best stuffed peppers I have ever prepared, uses 15 different ingredients and also calls for use of the microwave. Farm Stand Tomato Sauce - fantastic - needs 11 ingredients and use of a microwave. Even the Irish Oatmeal preparation calls for an added step: the oats are lightly toasted in a skillet with butter before being placed in the cooker. (Yes, the oatmeal was great). In other words, if your idea of slow cooker cooking is putting meat into the cooker, dumping a can of condensed soup on top, and then leaving for work, then this may not be the book for you.

However, if you look at the slow cooker as a tool, rather than simply a time saver, and are willing to put in more effort, then buy Slow Cooker Revolution. The recipes I tested produced great tasting food. I'm looking forward to trying more.

NYT's Marilyn Stasio Reviews "Black Diamond", a New Book by Martin Walker.

2011-09-07T05:45:00.003-05:00

Author Martin Walker has a new book available in his mystery series set in the French countryside and featuring Police Chief Bruno Courreges. The book, Black Diamond, received a brief review from Marilyn Stasio in her column for the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Get the link to Ms. Stasio's column here.

I've read and enjoyed the first two books in this series, Bruno, Chief of Police and Dark Vineyard and will definitely check out Black Diamond.

Read "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick Dewitt. It's dryly humorous, sad, and hopeful. Not bad for a Western!

2011-09-06T09:31:00.001-05:00

Think you won't enjoy reading a Western? Well, I think you'll like this one. Although involving violent characters, The Sisters Brothers is dryly funny and has a contemporary vibe. If you like the movie Fargo by Joel and Ethan Coen, you'll probably enjoy reading The Sisters Brothers.

The story takes place in 1851 and is narrated by Eli Sisters. Eli and his older brother Charlie are widely renown for their murderous ways. They work work for a rich man called the Commodore. The Commodore has directed the brothers to travel from Oregon City to the northern California area to find a gold miner named Hermann Kermit Warm. When they find Warm, the brothers are to extract from him details about his mysterious "formula" and then kill him.

Two elements make this murder-for-hire story offbeat and interesting. First, author Patrick Dewitt populates the brutal California gold rush scene with interesting, and often sad, characters who are swept into and under the mania. From miners gone loco by their isolation, to a booming San Francisco where merchants look to capitalize on the gold boom, Dewitt creates a memorable landscape.

Second, the relationship between the brothers is interesting. Eli and Charlie have each other's back, even while being sometimes brusque with, annoyed by, or just tired of the other. Eli is dissatisfied with their lives. He would prefer to be a store keeper, misses his mother, and hopes one day to find someone who loves him. "I am not any one thing," he says.

When the brothers finally track down Hermann Kermit Warm, Eli's changing view on what they are doing with their lives causes them to pause: Should they they finish the job, or do something else?

It's a good story that moves along at a brisk pace. The Sisters Brothers is recommended reading.

Sunday Poetry

2011-09-04T05:45:00.004-05:00

Sunday morning is a good time to read and contemplate a poem. Today I'm feeling a bit melancholy, thinking about ending-times, and the inevitability of loss and change. Theodore Roethke's poem The Waking fits my mood. It's a poem I like to read out loud: "I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I learn by going where I have to go."

Here's the link to the poem. What do you make of it?

August Visitor

2011-08-24T13:10:00.002-05:00

A new week brings a new book to read: "To End All Wars" by Adam Hochschild.

2011-08-22T11:57:00.001-05:00

This week I'm going to begin reading To End All Wars, a book about World War I by Adam Hochschild. I decided to get this book after reading a review of it by Christopher Hitchens in the New York Times. However, I've been interested in books about this period, 1914-1918, ever since 9th grade English when I read Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun. Hochschild's book looks like it will be very interesting.

An interesting and informative read that I recently wrapped-up is A Bitter Pill: How the Medical System is Failing the Elderly by Dr. John Sloan. Sloan, a Canadian, spent many years of practice caring for frail elderly. His insights and advise on caring for and living with the "old-old" are spot on. I highly recommend this book if you are caring for elderly folks - or are planning to become one yourself someday.

Finally, to provide relief from the topics of war and aging, I plan to return to reading about the California surfer scene with Don Winslow's sequel to Dawn Patrol, The Gentlemen's Hour featuring former cop, and now private-eye, Boone Daniels. I greatly enjoyed Dawn Patrol and am excited about this new book.

All this reading - and Brewers baseball to watch, too!

August Sunday Morning: Petals in the Pond.

2011-08-21T10:37:00.002-05:00

Crazy Week!

2011-08-19T18:38:00.000-05:00

This has been a crazy week, which had a number of good news / bad news events occurring. The bad news related to blogging was that my computer hard drive went terminal. The good news was that the extended warranty applied and a new drive was supplied by the manufacturer, along with a technician to install it. The related bad news was that all my files were gone; the good news was that I subscribe to Mozy and was able to restore everything I need.

The moral of the story is, I guess, that with respect to computers an extended warranty may be worth the price; and don't neglect to back-up your data.

Now, back to reading!

Book Snapshots: "Zoo Station" by David Downing.

2011-07-25T16:34:00.002-05:00

In Zoo Station, journalist John Russell is living in 1939 Berlin. The country is heading for war but Russell, a British citizen, wants to stay there as long as possible to be near his German son, who lives with his ex-wife and her new husband, and his German girlfriend.

Looking to earn much needed cash, Russell accepts an offer from a Soviet intelligence officer to write pro-German propaganda articles; articles, Russell assumes, that will be used to help pave the way to a Soviet/German alliance which will then push Hitler's territorial aggressions away from the Soviets. Russell subsequently puts considerable effort into keeping the Soviets happy, the Germans from being suspicious of what he is doing and in sharing with the British anything of import that he learns while on assignment.

Although it is a tense and terrible time in Germany, author David Downing's plot didn't sizzle for me until the very end. Don't get me wrong: the book is interesting and readable. The protagonist plays all the angles he can to to help people facing disappearance and death as a result of the Nazi's horrifying practices. Zoo Station is not, however, a stay-up-all night type of page turner. But it is a good story, and John Russell is an interesting character living in the strange and scary world that was 1939 Berlin. In the end, I liked Zoo Station and was sorry when the book was over.

Because it's Sunday.

2011-07-24T12:07:00.002-05:00

Check out this wonderful, short poem by Howard Nemerov called "Because You Asked about the Line between Prose and Poetry." Here is the link. What amazing command of language and imagery.

Author Lee Child Wins U.K. Crime Novel of the Year Award for "61 Hours".

2011-07-23T07:44:00.002-05:00

Speaking of good crime reads for the summer, The Guardian reports that Lee Child won the 2011 Theakstons Old Peculier crime novel of the year award for 61 Hours, Child's 14th mystery book featuring protagonist Jack Reacher. The award is given each year in the United Kingdom.

61 Hours was a good read. It is a good choice for a summer vacation or beach book. If, however, you've already read it, check out the other titles that were shortlisted for this year's Theakstons Old Peculier award:

From the Dead

Blood Harvest

Dark Blood (Logan McRae)

The Holy Thief: A Novel

The Anatomy of Ghosts

The winner:

The 2010 winner: A Simple Act of Violence by R.J. Ellory.

Check out this humorous short piece from author Jennifer Egan ("A Visit from the Goon Squad").

2011-07-22T19:10:00.000-05:00

Get the link here at The Guardian. It's like a New Yorker cartoon, written out.

Read "When God was a Rabbit" by Sarah Winman: It's a Wonderful and Original Novel.

2011-07-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

About one-quarter of the way through When God was a Rabbit, I was overwhelmed by how good this books is and wanted to immediately hand copies of it to my friends and insist they read it right away. While such a purchase is not in this blog's budget, I can urge you all to go out and get this book. I think you'll agree that it's terrific.

When God was a Rabbit is set primarily in the United Kingdom, with some key events taking place in New York around September 11, 2001. The main character, Elly, is born in 1968. The story follows Elly, her family and friends over the course of the next four decades.

In particular, the story looks at Elly's strong relationship with her older brother, Joe, and her best friend, Jenny. Over the years both good and very bad things happen to these characters - there are as many ups and downs recorded in this novel as there are in an electrocardiogram report. But through all of the gains and losses, there is a wonderful warmth, kindness and vulnerability in the main characters. There is also great humor and comedy, much of it dark, found particularly in the first half of the story when Elly is a little girl. Combined, these elements give this coming-of-age story a fresh tone and engaging atmosphere.

When God was a Rabbit is an exceptional novel, and highly recommended reading.

Book Snapshots: "Midnight Riot" by Ben Aaronovitch.

2011-07-10T17:03:00.000-05:00

I picked-up Midnight Riot after reading Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl's recommendation of it at NPR. The book is set in contemporary London where young Constable Peter Grant discovers he has a knack for talking to ghosts. Peter gets assigned to a unit of the police force designated to investigate all matters related to ghosts, gods, goddesses, vampires and the like, and where his education in developing magical powers begins.

I had hopes that Midnight Riot would be a bit of a Harry Potter-type read, something fresh and transporting. Sadly, it was not. But it was sufficiently entertaining that I slowly worked my way through the entire story. In my opinion, it rates two out of five possible stars for the reader interested in a breezy read about magical events and creatures in merry old London.

Because Every Girl is Crazy About a Sharp Dressed Man: "Icons of Men's Style" by Josh Sims.

2011-07-06T20:10:00.001-05:00

Do you want to read this book? Yes - just look at the great picture of actor Gregory Peck on the cover!

Enough said.

Read "Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead" by Sara Gran. It's fresh, interesting and completely engaging.

2011-06-30T10:47:00.000-05:00

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead is one of those rare and wonderful books that I hated to put down, and could not wait to resume reading. It is a mystery, but anyone interested in good fiction will thoroughly enjoy this excellent story.

Author Sara Gran has invented a modern private eye, Claire DeWitt. This Brooklyn-born P.I. follows the detecting methods set forth by a Frenchman, Jacques Silette, in his book Détection. Détection is mystical in a number of ways, and some of the methods it calls for are a bit magical (dreams are important and there are no coincidences). Certainly, unusual things happen to Claire. Nonetheless, in many respects she is as hardboiled as Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe.

In the story, Claire is hired to come to New Orleans and find Vic Willing, an Assistant District Attorney. Vic was last seen when Katrina hit the city and has been missing for two years when Claire accepts the case. Sara Gran is an elegant mystery writer and I appreciated the manner and pace in which the resolution of the case is revealed. But in addition to the story of what happened to Vic Willing, the book has two more important elements.

First, while working on the case Claire DeWitt's background is revealed. New Orleans is DeWitt's old stomping grounds; she lived there while studying the Silette-method of detection with her mentor Constance Darling. Stories of her earlier life in New Orleans and in Brooklyn are woven around the mystery of the missing attorney. Through these stories we learn how Claire was drawn to the life of a private investigator and how she became, in her words, the world's greatest detective.

Second, New Orleans itself is a major part element of the book. In a very compelling manner, the book's characters tell the story of this unique city before, during and after Hurricane Katrina and the flooding.

Sara Gran weaves all of these elements together to create an original and engrossing book. Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead is highly recommended reading.

Lake Superior at rest.

2011-06-25T17:00:00.000-05:00

Sunshine and Strawberries: It's Summertime!

2011-06-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

Tom Cruise cast to play Jack Reacher? Yuck.

2011-06-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

Reportedly, actor Tom Cruise is in line to play the part of Jack Reacher in a movie based upon Lee Child's book, One Shot. Sorry, but this is a poor casting decision. Mr. Cruise is too stiff and plastic to play the movie version of the rugged, resourceful, sexy character of Jack Reacher. Who would be better? Someone like Josh Brolin.

Father's Day Gift Ideas, v. 2

2011-06-09T06:16:00.001-05:00

I'm adding The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush to my list of Father's Day gift ideas. I'm currently reading this book by Howard Blum, and enjoying it. This just might be a good gift for your dad.

NPR Summer Reads for 2011

2011-06-08T08:52:00.002-05:00

Up-date June 26, 2011:

NPR asked three critics to recommend books for summer reading. Check out the link here to see what Laura Miller, Ron Charles, and Rigoberto Gonzalez recommend.

Original post of June 8, 2011:

At NPR.org, Maureen Corrigan recommends three books for summer reading, one of which I mentioned right here not long ago here.

One possible gem in Ms. Corrigan's recommendations: Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West. In this book author Dorthy Wickenden writes about her grandmother and grandmother's best friend, two women who left New York in 1916 for teaching jobs in northwestern Colorado. The book is grounded upon letters the women wrote to their families. This story sounds great! Nothing Daunted is scheduled to be released June 21.

Cookbook Look: "The Very Best of Recipes for Health" by Martha Rose Shulman.

2011-06-06T04:58:00.003-05:00

I greatly enjoy Martha Rose Shulman's recipes when they appear in the New York Times. However, I have mixed feelings about her new book, The Very Best of Recipes for Health. Let's look at the positives first.

On the plus side, there are tasty dishes to make such as Red Chilaquiles with Chicken, Couscous with Black-Eyed Peas and Greens, and Cauliflower Gratin with Goat Cheese Topping. Additionally, this lovely-looking book has great pictures and a fantastic index. Actually there is more than one index: The book has a general index and also a special dietary index which divides the recipes into categories such as gluten-free, high-protein, vegan, and more. This special dietary index is genius - a fantastic method to organize the material.

However, some of the material in this book, that is some of the recipes, were disappointing, such as multiple smoothie recipes, a fried egg on corn tortilla (Huevos Rancheros), and baked sweet potatoes. Recommending a baked sweet potato is just too close to recommending that I simply wash an organic carrot and eat it. Even with Ms. Shulman's little flourishes and healthy gloss on these items, I expected a bit more from this book.

But as someone who cooks, owns many cookbooks, and who long ago memorized the caloric content of a zillion foods, maybe I am not the right audience for The Very Best of Recipes for Health. I can definitely envision giving a copy of it to someone just learning to cook or learning to cook all over again because of new demands on their health.

In sum, for the right audience, The Very Best of Recipes for Health is a nice book with a wide-range of relatively simple, straightforward recipes that will taste good. It could definitely be a nice gift for a graduation, wedding, or housewarming.

Where there are peonies, there are ants.

2011-06-05T10:51:00.002-05:00

While noodling around outside this a.m., I must have come too near to a nest: a bird swooped so close to my head that I felt vibration from its wings and it made a noise that absolutely sounded like a Bronx cheer. I apologized and moved on!

Father's Day: Gift Ideas for June 19, 2011.

2011-06-04T13:57:00.003-05:00

Father's Day will soon be here, which means one thing: the dilemma of the Father's Day gift. I've always found it much more difficult to shop for my Dad than for Mom. If that is also your problem, then here are some items that may either fit the bill, or inspire another idea for a great gift for your Dad.

Books and DVDs

Seal Team Six by Howard E. Wasdin

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo.

Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine: 109 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style by Mark Oldman.

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple.

Tom Watson Lessons of a Lifetime DVD

Twentieth Century Fox 75th Anniversary DVD Gift Set

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough

The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush (added 6/9/11)

Stuff Dads Like

Fuego Element EP01AMG Portable Gas Grill

Western Digital Passport External Hard Drive

Thermos Nissan Drink Green Insulated Hydration Bottle

Leather Tie Case

Headphones

Last, but certainly not least, Amazon Gift Certificates always make awesome gifts. You can buy actual gift cards, or have the certificate emailed to Dad or even sent via Facebook! Hey, didn't you appreciate it when your dad slipped you some cash? Now give Dad some mad money via an Amazon Gift Card.

2011-05-31T08:24:00.000-05:00

NY Times 2011 Summer Beach Books.

2011-05-29T18:39:00.008-05:00

Up-Dated December 2011: Here is a link to the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2011 and the Times' Ten Best Books of 2011.

-----------------------------

This weekend Janet Maslin at the New York Times produces a nifty list of summer beach books. Why do I like Ms. Maslin's list? To begin, she states up-front that "[i]t's time to find new favorites." Yes. That is exactly the information we want from someone employed as a book critic for a major news outlet.

Next, Ms. Maslin leads by recommending a parody, The Girl with the Sturgeon Tattoo, something that sounds perfect for casual reading. This suggestion also gives her readers props for possessing some wit and for being sufficiently well-read to have delved into the Steig Larsson / Scandinavian book scene.

And for those who want more of that scene, Maslin transitions into recommendations for new Scandinavian crime-writing authors and then it's off to the races: Recommendations range from those offering suspense (Before I Go to Sleep), to spite (Gone with a Handsomer Man), and sports (Those Guys Have All the Fun). She has even gone through the avalanche of books that arrive each summer by well-established authors and recommends three.

Will you and I like all of these books? Who knows! What we do know is that Janet Maslin uses her professional judgment to produce a fine column that digs out new authors, books with fresh stories, and the best of the rest. Great work. I have already placed a bunch of her recommended books on my "to read" list.

For the complete story and list of books, check out the link.

Also, check out my all my recommended books at this link - lots of good reading recommendations there.

Shop Amazon's 100 Best Books of 2011

L.A. Times 2011 Summer Reading List.

2011-05-28T07:33:00.004-05:00

Up-Date December 4, 2011: Here is the link to the L.A. Times 2011 Holiday Book and Gift Guide.

----------------------------------

The L.A. Times published a list of 203 books to consider for summer reading. Check it out; it's fun to play with the web page created by the paper for this story. Quantity does not assure quality, however, and I found this list disappointing.

What's disappointing is that the list doesn't provide us with much help in finding hidden gems to read. For example, many of the books listed under the category "Page Turners" are by well-known writers with their own marketing machines. You and I could have easily found the latest Lawrence Block on our own (if, for some unimaginable reason, we would want to do so). The fiction list seems rather uninspired. Other titles are just nonstarters - Dick Morris? I don't think so.

Still, if you see a book on this list that you think looks good, let me know what it is and why. I'm keeping an open mind.

[For more good book recommendations, check out all my recommendations at this link!]

"The Terror of Living" by Urban Wait.

2011-05-24T08:34:00.000-05:00

The Terror of Living is an incredibly suspenseful novel by Urban Waite. Set in Washington State, along the Canadian border, law enforcement is chasing drug dealers, dealers are fighting amongst themselves, and one very sick and dangerous killer is in the middle of it all.

The Terror of Living is an exciting read. You'll be rooting for the good guys, be they in law enforcement or drug trafficking.

Books with a Paris Connection, Part 2: "The Greater Journey" by Historian David McCullough.

2011-05-23T08:01:00.000-05:00

Last week I wrote a post about books set in Paris. Today I'm adding another book title to those previously listed, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough. McCullough, of course, is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has previously published 1776, Truman, and John Adams as well as other works.

The Greater Journey is, according to the book's description, the "story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work."

For one opinion about the book, check out Janet Maslin's column from the New York Times.

A Lovely Sunday Morning

2011-05-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Summer Reading: Books for those who travel . . . and for those who stay home.

2011-05-19T09:51:00.000-05:00

For a holiday this July, my good friend S. is going to Paris with her husband. What fun! My own summer travels will occur closer to home. I can, nonetheless, celebrate her trip by reading books with a Paris connection.

Ideas for a few titles set in Paris can be found in this article from The Guardian where Malcolm Burgess sets down his list of the top 10 books set in the City of Lights. One of Burgess' recommendations, The Hare with Amber Eyes, received a great deal of buzz last summer; it has been on my 'to read' list for a while.

My own thought is that you can't go wrong with The Paris Review. I greatly enjoyed reading The Paris Review Interviews, and it might be time to check out The Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators and Waiting Rooms.

A good read, supplemented with a glass of French wine and a plate of artisan cheese, is no substitute for Paris but it is certainly something excellent to enjoy while staying at home.

Plucked from the Pages: Three Titles from the May 15 New York Times Book Review

2011-05-17T14:02:00.002-05:00

Finally today I've gotten around to reading the Sunday New York Times Book Review. Lots of interesting material in this issue, with three books standing out above the rest.

To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild

The first book is also the cover story of this weeks book review. Reviewed by the wonderful Christopher Hitchens the book is To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild.

Hochschild's examination of World War I is called a "moving and important book" by Hitchens; ". . . a book to make one feel deeply and painfully, and also to think hard." This is high praise from Mr. Hitchens. Frankly, no more need be said to get To End All Wars on my reading list.

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Second is a book discussed in a review written by Jane Smiley, author of A Thousand Acres and many other works. Ms. Smiley writes about Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. Brooks is also the author of March, a novel about the Civil War, as well as People of the Book, which I greatly enjoyed reading. The new book is set in 1660 and is about a young woman living in a Puritan community in Massachusetts. Smiley calls the book enlightening, involving and beautifully written. As with To End All Wars, this recommendation is more than enough to get me interested in reading Caleb's Crossing.

The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock

Thirdly, I am very intrigued by a book called The Paper Garden: An Artist (Begins Her Life's Work) at 72 by Molly Peacock. The book is about a woman named Mary Delany (1700 - 1778) who became an artist in her 70s, making collage portraits of flowers and plants. "Today the collages," according to reviewer Andrea Wulf, "reside in the British Museum." Sounds inspirational, don't you think?

So there you have it: Three book titles plucked from the pages of the New York Times Book Review. If you are looking for something good to read, check them out and let us know your opinion on these works.

Latest Additions to the Reading List

2011-05-13T15:27:00.000-05:00

Added a few books to the "to be read" pile. If you've already read any of these titles, let us know what you think of the book!

The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan by Bing West

The Terror of Living by Urban Waite

Vienna Twilight by Frank Tallis.

2011-05-10T16:45:00.000-05:00

What to Read Next: "Swimming" by Nicola Keegan.

2011-05-10T08:36:00.005-05:00

Swimming, a novel by Nicola Keegan, is about a girl named Pip, her troubled family, and her remarkable athletic talent. What makes this novel exceptional is listening to Pip tell us the story of what happens on the way from her home in Kansas to the Olympics and a big pile of gold medals. Pip is a young person with talent and Keegan wonderfully captures her voice: The vulnerability, resilience, impatience, know-it-all, emotional-roller-coaster ride that is youth.

Set in the late-1970s through the 1980s, the book opens with Pip's frazzled parents taking their infant daughter to the pool for aqua baby class. "I'm a problematic infant . . ." says Pip, "I'm nine months old and the longest I've slept at one time is one hour and forty-three minutes." Happily for everyone, Pip takes to the water and her course is set. Pip swims.

Initially, Pip's swimming is an interest she loves and pursues as she copes with a number of tragic events in her family; nuns and Catholic school; being a girl growing up; and having serious sugar jones. This first half of the book was my favorite part: I laughed, cried, underlined passages and jammed the book with numerous book marks. In my opinion, the book is worth reading for that portion alone, but you should read the whole thing because the story's second half is interesting, thoughtful, and appropriate.

As Pip gets older, her swimming talent is recognized by coaches. She begins the intensive training required for competing against the world's best, including Pip's nemesis from East Germany. Even as I enjoyed this part of the story I wondered, how will this end? And that is exactly the question Pip is left with after she wins her medals, grows older, and gets slower in the pool. What do you do after swimming?

Swimming, a thoughtful and funny novel, is a highly recommended read.

2011-05-09T09:34:00.000-05:00

"Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shteyngart: I'm not feeling the love.

2011-04-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

Gave up on Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart about midway through. It's set in the not-too-distant future where the US economy and political sphere are in decline and chaos, people are obsessed with social media, and love is tricky. (So what's new, you might be asking . . . ) The novel is clever and at times funny, but it has a real 1984 vibe and I'm not digging a dose of George Orwell right now.

Music We Like: "Chiaroscuro" by Ralph Towner and Paolo Fresu.

2011-04-22T17:32:00.001-05:00

Beautiful, elegant, jazzy music from acoustic guitarist Ralph Towner and trumpeter Paolo Fresu. Absolutely lovely; Chiaroscuro should be on everyone's playlist.

Royal Wedding Hoop-la. Bishops and Princes and Corgis: Oh, My!

2011-04-20T15:20:00.000-05:00

Although not nearly as exciting as a Packers v. Bears football game, the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton is fast approaching and the media buzz is building. You can keep up on the latest events by checking out this link at The Guardian.

As one would expect, authors and publishers are getting in on the royal wedding extravaganza and from some unexpected areas of publishing. Today, this book caught my eye: Knit Your Own Royal Wedding by Fiona Goble. The book includes patterns for everything needed for a royal wedding, including instructions on how to knit the archbishop of Canterbury.

For those eager to knit but not ready to commit to the buying the book, the Guardian has published a free copy of the Corgi pattern. Corgis are the Queen's preferred breed of dog. Check it out here. Stitch together a little dog and watch the events on YouTube; it will be almost like attending in person.

The WSJ's Terry Teachout Discusses Gilbert and Sullivan and One of My Favorite Movies: Topsy-Turvy.

2011-04-16T17:03:00.001-05:00

A remastered version of the delightful movie Topsy-Turvy is now available. In the Wall Street Journal, drama critic Terry Teachout uses the opportunity to discuss that movie, Gilbert and Sullivan, and a 1939 production of The Mikado which is available on DVD (and which I am going to snap-up!). Check out Mr. Teachout's column here.

Author Margaret George discusses the subject of her new book, Queen Elizabeth I, on Wisconsin Public Radio.

2011-04-11T11:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, April 10, Wisconsin Public Radio broadcast an enjoyable hour-long interview with author Margaret George. Ms. George has a new work of historical fiction available called Elizabeth I. During the program, George discussed the three greatest crises faced by the Queen during her reign from 1533 to 1603. Check out the podcast of the program here. It's a very interesting discussion which has motivated me to add the book to my reading list.

"Moonlight Mile" by Dennis Lehane.

2011-04-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

It is a sure sign that things are going poorly when, halfway through a book, you ask yourself, "why is this not good?" And that's exactly what I thought midway through Dennis Lehane's mystery, Moonlight Mile. The plot was a bit thin, which can be okay when the characters are interesting and witty. They were not, in my opinion. If I handed out stars, Moonlight Mile would get two out of a possible five.

A Unique and Suspenseful Novel: "A Man in Uniform" by Kate Taylor.

2011-04-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

A Man in Uniform is a terrific book. It starts quietly and builds into an exciting story so filled with suspense that it is at times both unbearable to continue reading and unbearable to stop reading.

The novel is set in France during the 1890s, the period between France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the start of World War I. Politics in France are tense and fractious when, in 1894, the French government is hit by a major scandal: The Dreyfus Affair. Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish military officer, is convicted of treason - providing military documents to a German attache - and placed in solitary confinement on Devil's Island in French Guiana.

The protagonist in A Man in Uniform finds himself investigating Dreyfus' conviction. Francois Dubon is a lawyer who, while politically active as a young man, is now middle-aged with a legal practice confined to estate matters, an aristocratic wife with family in the upper ranks of the military, and a full-time mistress. Into Dubon's carefully orchestrated and segregated life (his in-laws would be appalled to learn about the politics of his youth) comes a mysterious client, a widow.

The widow, an attractive woman, asks Dubon to assist her in proving the innocence of a friend's husband who has been wrongfully convicted of a crime. The man she seeks to help is Alfred Dreyfus.

Charmed by the widow, Attorney Dubon takes the case. His investigation leads him into the military's covert operations office, searching for the secrets that may help Alfred Dreyfus obtain a new trial. And as the plot unfolds, Dubon's work intersects with his personal life, uncovering new facts about his family, friends, and French bourgeois society - and murder.

A Man in Uniform is a suspenseful story set during an interesting period of history. It's a highly recommended read.

Gil Adamson's "Help Me, Jacques Cousteau" is a great read, beautifully written. What more could you want?

2011-03-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

You must read Gil Adamson's book, Help Me, Jacques Cousteau. The book's chapters read like linked short stories in which Adamson's protagonist, Hazel, tells us about her life from childhood to early adulthood, and about her off-beat family. This is a slim book which is fun to read, and it is impressive to see how much punch and plot Adamson gets from the lean use of well-chosen words. Highly recommended.

Books into Movies: "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.

2011-03-18T17:47:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite movies of the last year is Winter's Bone, which stars Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Ree in that movie, a young woman trying to hold her home and family together after her meth-dealing dad goes missing. Now, Lawrence has reportedly been selected to play the character of Katniss in the film adaptation of The Hunger Games.

I have to admit that I have not read The Hunger Games or its sequels, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. My defense is that they are books geared for young adults (an age I no longer am) and in the science fiction genre (books I don't often read). But I have read some of the reviews of The Hunger Games on Amazon, where the it has received almost 2,000 reader reviews and an almost 5-star rating, and I am intrigued. The story's plot seems to sound like this: In a future gone bad, can a 16-year old girl compete against a group of other teens and survive an annual fight-to-the-death contest televised to the masses?

Perhaps my summary doesn't capture the entire plot. Still, from what I've read this book sounds like a good beach read. It's going on my summer reading list.

If you've read The Hunger Games, please leave a comment below and let us know what you thought about it.

Getting Back in the Blogging Groove.

2011-03-16T17:37:00.002-05:00

Haven't had much time to read or blog over the past several weeks. Today I'm getting back in the groove and starting to read Swimming by Nicola Keegan. And I will post shortly about the few books that I have squeezed in recently.

Read a Great New Mystery: "Faces of the Gone" by Brad Parks.

2011-02-27T12:46:00.000-06:00

Reading Brad Parks' book Faces of the Gone is great fun. The book is engaging, fast paced, witty and wry; it is pure reading entertainment.

The story takes place in Newark, New Jersey. Four bodies are found in a vacant lot, each killed by a single shot to the head. Thirty-one-year old Carter Ross, investigative newspaper reporter for the Newark Eagle-Examiner, is told by his editor to "get to the bottom of what the hell happened". Carter, with the aide of his Facebook-obsessed intern, heads out into the street to do just that.

As Carter works the story for "the bird", as locals refer to the Eagle-Examiner, he tries to discover what links the murder victims together. While he snoops around for the story, we meet an assortment of characters: Small-business owners, gang-bangers, strippers, grandmothers, and newspaper folks. Carter's observations on the newspaper business and the characters who work in it provide an entertaining back story to his investigation of the murders. And as he dodges his editor's demands for copy, Carter discovers a criminal scheme that puts his own life in danger.

Faces of the Gone is a great read. Fresh, original, and highly recommended.

Wish you had a good book to read?

2011-01-29T12:52:00.003-06:00

Bored? Looking for a good novel or mystery to read? Check the link to The Good Stuff to find recommended books, music, and more.

Good books are hard to find. Let's talk about what books we like. I want to know your views, so post your comments on the books reviewed here. And join the Facebook group, comment there, and get more info on what I really enjoyed reading - and what I did not!

It's all about finding Something Good to Read.

Movies We Like: Sundance Winner and Oscar Nominated "Winter's Bone"

2011-01-28T18:38:00.000-06:00

Looking for a good movie to watch over this winter weekend? Then rent or download Winter's Bone, which was nominated this week for the best-picture Oscar. It's really good.

Winter's Bone, which won top prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, is set in the Missouri Ozarks. Seventeen-year old Ree Dolly must track down her dad, a meth cooker. After her dad's last arrest, he put up the family home and wooded acreage to make bond. Now he's gone missing and Ree, her two younger siblings, and mentally ill mother face the possibility of losing everything.

The plot is suspenseful. Filmed in the drab colors of winter, poverty and danger, Dee's determination to keep her family together and do what everyone warns her not to do - find Jessup Dolly - is a force on the screen. And actor John Hawkes, who plays Dee's uncle, does an outstanding portrayal of a man you should fear if you are smart.

Check it out this weekend: Winter's Bone.

Video on Demand:

The DVD:

Some Amazon Shoppers May Want to Up-Date Their Password.

2011-01-27T11:05:00.000-06:00

It's time to up-date your Amazon password if you have not done so in the past few years.

The Consumerist reports that some older Amazon accounts appear to have a flaw in their password protection powers. This flaw makes the account vulnerable to a brute force cracking attempt. According to The Consumerist, "For affected accounts, if you haven't changed your password in several years, and it's over 8 characters long, it looks like all people have to do is enter the first 8 characters correctly and they're in. Even if after the 8 characters they just type gobbledygook."

How to create a good password? Here is one strategy. Think of a sentence that you are likely to remember, and use the first letter of each word to form the password root. For example, the sentence "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" (from a Robert Herrick poem), creates the root "gyrwym". Now, toss in a couple of numbers memorable to you and you have a password: gyrwym21. For more password tips, check out this article from Lifehacker.

Patti Smith is Writing a Detective Novel

2011-01-26T10:41:00.001-06:00

Singer, songwriter and poet Patti Smith continues to undertake new challenges as an artist. Smith is reportedly working on a detective novel set in London. In 2010, she won the National Book Award in nonfiction for her memoir Just Kids.

Patti Smith is so talented. I'm looking forward to seeing what she does when working in my favorite genre of fiction.

"Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson.

2011-01-22T11:19:00.001-06:00

Sometimes events converge. This morning I see that Powell's Books posted a review of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, a popular novel from last year. Last week my friend (and sister-in-law) started this same book, which I read last summer. "Did you like it?"she asked. "Well, I finished it," I replied. This, as you may imagine, is not my most ringing endorsement for a novel.

I did finish Major Pettigrew's Last Stand because it is a readable and mildly engaging story about race, relationships, and community in a small, English village, but certainly not because it was lighting my reading world on fire. For me the book read like sparkling water gone flat: Acceptable, drinkable, but not what you hoped for.

Have you read this book? Let me know what you think about it: Fabulous or Flat?

Books into Movies: "Pride, Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Graham Smith.

2011-01-20T10:15:00.000-06:00

Reportedly there is a new chink in the chain bringing out a movie adaptation of Seth Graham Smith's book "Pride, Prejudice and Zombies." Various web sites are reporting that director Mike White has left the project because of scheduling conflicts.

On the positive, this gives everyone plenty of time to either read the book or read it again.

2011-01-19T20:30:00.000-06:00

Something Good to Read

Publishers on Pinterest

January Doldrums

The 2012 Edgar Nominees

A Fun Read for Mystery Fans: "Bad Things Happen" by Harry Dolan.

Any Kindle Fire Reviews?

"Beat the Reaper" Author has New Book Coming in February.

Book Report: "Silver Lies" by Ann Parker.

Happy New Year!

"The Hunger Games" is USA Today's Best Selling Book This Week.

What was the Worst Book You Read in 2011?

Happy Holidays

Christmas Eve

Holiday Gifts for Those Who Enjoy Suspense Novels: Reprints of Two Classics by Ira Levin.

A Reason to Read Nonfiction

Author Christopher Hitchens has Died. The Guardian Has a Round-up of Some of His Memorable Quotations.

A Nice Mystery from Louise Penny: "A Trick of the Light: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel."

Best Books List for 2011: Random House Collected Them All!

Cookbook Shopping

More Criticism of Kindle Fire

Music We Like: "This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark."

E-Reader Info for Holiday Shoppers

A Gem of a Novel: "The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka.

New York Times Notable Books of 2011

Happy Thanksgiving

A Crazy Ride Through the Mississippi Delta: Ranchero by Rick Gavin.

A Good Mystery From Italy: "Death in August" by Marco Vichi.

A Wary Turkey; And Rightly So!

Veterans Day

Music We Like: "An Evening in the Village: The Music of Bela Bartok" by Jake Schepps and the Expedition Quartet.

Michael Pollan Interviewed on The Corbert Report About His New Book "Food Rules".

Wilderness Books: Stay Inside and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.

Follow Me on Twitter!

"In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson is a Fascinating Account of Both the U.S. and Germany in the 1930s.

Enjoy Your Halloween Weekend!

What to do if your e-reader is lost or stolen.

Good Work Through Good Editing.

The Repo Man Cometh: "Ranchero" by Rick Gavin.

NYT: New Book from P.D. James.

"The Informant" by Thomas Perry: A nice thriller with an old school vibe.

The Falling Leaves

"The Language of Flowers" Disappoints. On to "The Informant" by Thomas Perry.

"The Cut" by George Pelecanos.

Morning on Lake Monona

Cook Book Look: "Slow Cooker Revolution" from America's Test Kitchen.

NYT's Marilyn Stasio Reviews "Black Diamond", a New Book by Martin Walker.

Read "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick Dewitt. It's dryly humorous, sad, and hopeful. Not bad for a Western!

Sunday Poetry

August Visitor

A new week brings a new book to read: "To End All Wars" by Adam Hochschild.

August Sunday Morning: Petals in the Pond.

Crazy Week!

Recommended Summer Vacation Reading: "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.

Book Snapshots: "Zoo Station" by David Downing.

Because it's Sunday.

Author Lee Child Wins U.K. Crime Novel of the Year Award for "61 Hours".

Check out this humorous short piece from author Jennifer Egan ("A Visit from the Goon Squad").

Read "When God was a Rabbit" by Sarah Winman: It's a Wonderful and Original Novel.

Book Snapshots: "Midnight Riot" by Ben Aaronovitch.

Because Every Girl is Crazy About a Sharp Dressed Man: "Icons of Men's Style" by Josh Sims.

Read "Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead" by Sara Gran. It's fresh, interesting and completely engaging.

Lake Superior at rest.

More Summer 2011 Reading: Crime Fiction and Mysteries.

Sunshine and Strawberries: It's Summertime!

Tom Cruise cast to play Jack Reacher? Yuck.

Father's Day Gift Ideas, v. 2

NPR Summer Reads for 2011

Cookbook Look: "The Very Best of Recipes for Health" by Martha Rose Shulman.

Where there are peonies, there are ants.

Father's Day: Gift Ideas for June 19, 2011.

NY Times 2011 Summer Beach Books.

L.A. Times 2011 Summer Reading List.

"The Terror of Living" by Urban Wait.

Books with a Paris Connection, Part 2: "The Greater Journey" by Historian David McCullough.

A Lovely Sunday Morning

Summer Reading: Books for those who travel . . . and for those who stay home.

Plucked from the Pages: Three Titles from the May 15 New York Times Book Review

Latest Additions to the Reading List

What to Read Next: "Swimming" by Nicola Keegan.

"Super Sad True Love Story" by Gary Shteyngart: I'm not feeling the love.