I finished For One More Day by Mitch Albom. Nice message about the enduring power of a mother’s love, but meh writing.
Also finished Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Better, but felt a bit padded, especially its extended discussion of baby names - including dozens of lists - and what impact the name of a child might have on later career success.
Just started my next Spenser detective novel by Robert B. Parker, A Catskill Eagle. Spenser’s ex-girlfriend Susan Silverman gets involved with a billionaire’s bossy, controlling son in California and, of course, Spenser has to help her. Pretty good so far.
Just finishing Grand Hotel, Vicki Baum’s 1929 novel, the basis for the all-star 1932 movie. The dancer and the jewel thief (played by Garbo and John Barrymore) take up far too much oxygen, but I’m enjoying the more minor characters, especially the business guy (Wallace Beery) and the dying man (Lionel Barrymore). Gotta watch the movie, now.
Beginning to pick and choose short stories in The Best of C.M. Kornbluth, mid-20th century SF. “The Little Black Bag” was excellent.
Coming in the mail: American Poetry in the Twentieth Century by Kenneth Rexroth. Kenny is the MAN. I’d read his grocery lists if someone published them.
Finished Napoleon: A Life, by Andrew Roberts. Very good and thorough. But he could have used a better editor, not to mention a better fact checker. For example, in one place he mentions a certain French officer was killed by bullet to the forehead, while in another he has taken a cannonball to the chest. But still worth a read.
Have started Gettysburg, by Stephen W. Sears, the history of the major Civil War battle of which my … I think it was my great-great grandfather was a participant, with a New York regiment.
Im nreqding the first Percy Jackson book, on recommendation of one of my students… who was just kicked out of our program (a reform school) and sent packing, which means shes been sent back east to live with her abusive mother. I’m having a real hard time with this as she is (was) my favorite student. It’s going to be hard to finish this one.
Once you’re done with that, I hope you’ll read The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer-winning novel about the battle, if you haven’t already. Good stuff.
Got Arthur Phillips’s newest book, The King at the Edge of the World, from the library today. Really looking forward to it. I didn’t much like Prague (didn;t finish it actually), but I thought Angelica was great, liked The Tragedy of Arthur even better, and LOVED The Egyptologist. This one is apparently about a Muslim doctor in Queen Elizabeth I’s court and Great Intrigue regarding the queen’s impending death-without-an-heir. High expectations.
While I was at the library picking it up I also found a novel called Curious Toys by someone named Elizabeth Hand. 1915 in Chicago, looks like sort of a mystery/suspense kind of deal. One of the characters is outsider artist Henry Darger, whose works I have some familiarity with. Could be wonderful, could be terrible; we shall see.
Elendil’s Heir: I liked Freakonomics when I read it a few years back, and then started reading their blog–gave it up after a while, though. Some of the things Dubner was posting in particular felt just a little too self-centered and off-topic, not freakonomics-y enough (not freak- enough and not -onomics enough either). Anyway, the blog did exist a while back and might be worth a look-at if you have the time and energy…
Finished Straight Outta Deadwood, edited by David Boop. I enjoyed many of these stories. I thought the best one was “The Stoker and the Plague Doctor”, by Alex Acks.
Now I’m reading Holy Grounds: The Surprising Connection between Coffee and Faith, by Tim Schenck. I picked it up in our church’s library mostly because I liked the title. I don’t drink coffee myself.
Just finished Robert B. Parker’s A Catskill Eagle. Not his best, with the somewhat-implausible involvement of the CIA, but also with the welcome reappearance of two characters from earlier Spenser books.
I’ll be returning shortly to Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith’s massive bio, Van Gogh: The Life.
I think I did, around the time it first came out (which I see was 1997), but I remember very little about it. I think my favorite Spensers are probably Looking for Rachel Wallace, Ceremony and Pale Kings and Princes.
Hey, I don’t know if I’m supposed to be telling y’all this ;), but Michael Koryta has a new book out under a pseudonym. It’s called The Chill by “Scott Carson”. Supposedly he’s going to write his supernatural stuff under this name, and his more mainstream stuff under Koryta. I plan to read all of it, but it’s good to know what to expect!
I had already rejected The Chill because I saw it had a blurb from Stephen King, but I’m adding it to the pile now.
I’ve read Block (my favorite book of his is nonfiction about writing, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit), Estleman, and Hammett. I still like Parker the best.
But when I get through some of my TBR pile, I’ll try one of the other authors you suggest.