Sunday, August 13, 2017
Monday, August 7, 2017
Twelve Books That Made Me Happy
Good Housekeeping published a list today of 60 Books That Will Make You Happier and I found it a kind of strange list, full of books like Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and the ever-annoying Eat, Pray, Love. But that got me thinking about the books I've read that made me happy. Not necessarily happy I'd read them--almost any book does that--but a book that made me laugh or gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I read a lot of noir and horror; sometimes I need a warm, fuzzy feeling from my fiction. Here's a list I made:
1. Michael Malone's Handling Sin. This is a road trip book about a man chasing down his rascal of a father and discovering he has half-siblings. His full-of-life best friend comes along and it's all set in the south. And gets it totally right. Malone also writes wonderful mysteries.
2. Eudora Welty, The Ponder Heart. This is a novella and it's also very southern. Seems Uncle Daniel POnder, a confirmed bachelor, has married a young woman who spends all her time reading magazines and making "the kind of fudge anybody can make." This is a lovely take on small towns and families and will make you smile.
3. Cyde Edgerton, Walking Across Egypt. The first book of Clyde's I read was The Floatplane Notebooks, which is a family saga told from multiple points of view, including that of the kudzu vine wrpping the house. This is a quick read, a book about an independent old lady and her dog and a young boy in need of love.
4. Sharyn McCrumb, St. Dale. I am a huge fan of McCrumb's Appalachian Ballad es with their dual timelines. This stand-alone book is not a mystery at all, but an ensemble piece about a tour group visiting NASCAR sites as a summer vacation. It comes across like one of those multi-plot movies the late, great Garry Marshall used to make--New Year's Day or Valentine's Day, or a summer version of Love, Actually.
5. Joe Keeena, Blue Heaven (not to be confused with the 1990 Steve Martin movie My Blue Heaven). This is a rollicking novel about two dead broke best friends in New York who decide to marry for the wedding presents and other loot and the hijinks that ensue. There's a running bit about a character who fancies herself a designer coming up with the wedding dress that's hilarious.
6. Rita Mae Brown, Bingo. Again, a character-heavy novel set in the south. My grandmother lived with me when I was a child and the old ladies in this book remind me so much of her, especially in a scene where two woomen get so competitive in a game of bingo that they start attacking each other with their dab-a-dot markers. (They're apparently called Do-A-Dots these days, but if you ever went to a bingo hall with your grandparents, you know what I mean.) there are sequels! I love this book but hate Brown's super-sweet cozy mysteries.
7. Beverly Cleary, Beezus and Ramona. Actually, I loved all the books that Beverly Cleary wrote. She was the first "author" I followed. I remember going to the library to get her books. she's 101 years old!!! I loved the books because I had a little sister I loved and we had neighbors and the book seemed like the even-better version of my own childhood.
8. Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game. I love, love, love this book. It's a puzzle about a wealthy man who intends to leave his fortune to whoever can solve a puzzle. It involves multiple characters in various families and it's a wonderful story about friendship and families and expectations and dreams. Raskin wrote other, similar books (The Disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel) but this one is her best.
1. Michael Malone's Handling Sin. This is a road trip book about a man chasing down his rascal of a father and discovering he has half-siblings. His full-of-life best friend comes along and it's all set in the south. And gets it totally right. Malone also writes wonderful mysteries.
2. Eudora Welty, The Ponder Heart. This is a novella and it's also very southern. Seems Uncle Daniel POnder, a confirmed bachelor, has married a young woman who spends all her time reading magazines and making "the kind of fudge anybody can make." This is a lovely take on small towns and families and will make you smile.
3. Cyde Edgerton, Walking Across Egypt. The first book of Clyde's I read was The Floatplane Notebooks, which is a family saga told from multiple points of view, including that of the kudzu vine wrpping the house. This is a quick read, a book about an independent old lady and her dog and a young boy in need of love.
4. Sharyn McCrumb, St. Dale. I am a huge fan of McCrumb's Appalachian Ballad es with their dual timelines. This stand-alone book is not a mystery at all, but an ensemble piece about a tour group visiting NASCAR sites as a summer vacation. It comes across like one of those multi-plot movies the late, great Garry Marshall used to make--New Year's Day or Valentine's Day, or a summer version of Love, Actually.
5. Joe Keeena, Blue Heaven (not to be confused with the 1990 Steve Martin movie My Blue Heaven). This is a rollicking novel about two dead broke best friends in New York who decide to marry for the wedding presents and other loot and the hijinks that ensue. There's a running bit about a character who fancies herself a designer coming up with the wedding dress that's hilarious.
6. Rita Mae Brown, Bingo. Again, a character-heavy novel set in the south. My grandmother lived with me when I was a child and the old ladies in this book remind me so much of her, especially in a scene where two woomen get so competitive in a game of bingo that they start attacking each other with their dab-a-dot markers. (They're apparently called Do-A-Dots these days, but if you ever went to a bingo hall with your grandparents, you know what I mean.) there are sequels! I love this book but hate Brown's super-sweet cozy mysteries.
7. Beverly Cleary, Beezus and Ramona. Actually, I loved all the books that Beverly Cleary wrote. She was the first "author" I followed. I remember going to the library to get her books. she's 101 years old!!! I loved the books because I had a little sister I loved and we had neighbors and the book seemed like the even-better version of my own childhood.
8. Ellen Raskin, The Westing Game. I love, love, love this book. It's a puzzle about a wealthy man who intends to leave his fortune to whoever can solve a puzzle. It involves multiple characters in various families and it's a wonderful story about friendship and families and expectations and dreams. Raskin wrote other, similar books (The Disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel) but this one is her best.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
I'll be reviewing this upcoming novel for Criminal Element in a few weeks, but here's a mini-review. I liked the book a lot:
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a powerful book about race relations that does an excellent job of hiding the real secret of its mystery. Locke's mastery of character and dialogue is topnotch and she's pitch-perfect in creating this small Texas town. I've enjoyed her past books (BLACKWATER RISING particularly), but I think this is her best one yet.
View all my reviews
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica LockeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a powerful book about race relations that does an excellent job of hiding the real secret of its mystery. Locke's mastery of character and dialogue is topnotch and she's pitch-perfect in creating this small Texas town. I've enjoyed her past books (BLACKWATER RISING particularly), but I think this is her best one yet.
View all my reviews
Friday, August 4, 2017
Weekend SF and Fantasy Promotion
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Wesley Snipes' new Urban Fantasy
Imagine that everyone you have ever known or loved was forced against their will into a state of demonic possession and spiritual slavery. Imagine an unholy cabal of the world’s richest and most powerful men directing this sinister plan in order to cement their unbridled control of the planet.
Imagine two heroes emerging from that darkness to do battle with the forces of evil.
Set in the mean streets of Chicago, Talon of God is the action-packed adventure centered around the Lauryn Jefferson, a beautiful young doctor who is dragged into a seemingly impossible battle against the invisible forces of Satan’s army and their human agents that are bent on enslaving humanity in a mission to establish the kingdom of hell on Earth.
But Lauryn is a skeptic, and it’s only as she sees a diabolical drug sweep her city and begins to train in the ways of a spirit warrior by the legendary man of God, Talon Hunter, that she discovers her true nature and inner strength. Facing dangerous trials and tests, it’s a true baptism by fire. And if they fail, millions could die. And rivers of blood would flow throughout the land.
Imagine such horror. Such pain. And imagine what it would take to fight against it. For only the strongest and most faithful will survive?
Get ready. Armageddon approaches quickly.
Sounds like the beginning of a great new series to me!
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Books about books--a great list of suggestions
One of the things that's happened in the last few years is that publishers are starting to repurpose thier websites as content hubs. thus you have Macmillan's crime fiction site Criminal Element, which features numerous bloggers contributing articles and reviews, along with excerpts and contests and sweepstakes.Penguin/Random House is no exception. They have exceptionally engaging content, including their READ DOWN feature. One of the offerings today is a list of books about books. It's an eclectic list (Ink and Bone, The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars) and even if it is heavy on Penguin books, that doesn't take away from the suggestions.
Free books for the First of August
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