RIP Reginald Hill, author of Dalziel and Pascoe mysteries
One of my favorite mystery authors, Reginald Hill, recently died at 75. His Dalziel and Pascoe series were always a treat. Funny, literary, thoughtful, compelling … they were fabulous. I didn’t read them in order, so allow me to recommend one from mid-series: Pictures of Perfection. I don’t know what it would be like to read this one first, but it’s one of my favorites of his. It’s a book that few authors could pull off: the central mystery is trying to figure out if a crime has even been committed. Reginald Hill taught me a few good things about writing Read more…
Here’s something e-books can’t do
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVcQnyEIT8?wmode=transparent] Speaking of fun videos about books … (this one is also from the stranger)
I saw some movies in the last couple of weeks …
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a really good action movie. Enjoyed it a lot. It's also better than Sherlock Holmes 2: Game of Shadows. SH2 had all the weaknesses of the first Sherlock Holmes, but fewer of the strengths. Young Adult features a very unlikeable character, but it's still a pretty funny movie. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was slow and deliberate. A little too slow and deliberate. (I read the book previously and enjoyed it.) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher version). I've now seen two movie versions and read the book. I've liked it in all versions. The American Read more…
Steve Jobs
One of the books I started and finished over the weekend in Portland was Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. It is a massive read, and I found it at times very good.There are a lot of stories I hadn't known, but the stories of most of the products–the iPad, the iPhone, I had picked up recently. Perhaps most interesting was the role Steve played with Pixar. I had no idea how active he was with the company, and some of the stories about the creation of Toy Story were really interesting (early on Disney kept pushing for more "edge," so Read more…
#booklust
I wanted all of these books at Powells, but the total cover price of the seven hardcover books (before any discounts) was $211. I ended up with Steve Jobs, 1Q84, and The Night Circus, which I felt pretty good about.
Some thoughts after the publishing panel
It was a great panel today at the Tacoma Arts Symposium. I learned a lot from the fellow writers I was on the panel with: Tom Llewellyn shared his experiences blogging a book with "Letter Off Dead" and his experience publishing "The Tilting House" with Tricycle Press. He did sustained self-promotion, telling bloggers about Letter Off Dead, and going to schools for his "middle reader" level Tilting House. Bill Kupinse talked about creating Exquisite Disarray, a non-profit poetry publisher here in Tacoma. He had some good stories to share about the different poetry books they've published and choosing a local Read more…
What a good day!
A recap. First, we got things started with a trip to the Zoo. 2,100 readers in Tacoma read 10 books this summer through the library’s summer reads program, and got free admission to the zoo for their reward. I got to welcome them to the zoo this morning. It brought together my favorite things these days: Books and Parks. But we couldn’t waste such a beautiful day. After that we went to the Proctor Farmers Market and hung out there for awhile checking out the booths. Then we came home and had a quick lunch on the deck. After that, Read more…
Some Recent Fiction Reads
I’ve read a few interesting books in the last month: I, Robot, Isaac Asimov. Asimov’s collection of short stories about artificial intelligence is more than 60 years old at this point. He created 3 Laws of Robotics that govern all robot interactions with humans–laws that are programmed into the robots, I mean–and most of the stories in the book are concerned with how those laws interact with each other and the quirks that result. Out of the 9 stories, I’d say 4 or 5 really worked for me. It was often too hard to get past where he had guessed Read more…
On Island Time
via patriciaspaulding.com Mary’s aunt wrote a book! Madeline Island is a beautiful island in Lake Superior. I’ve spent two 4th of Julys and a few New Years Eves there. It’s a really cool place and I’m looking forward to reading her book about it! Click through her to site for an excerpt and more about the book if you’re interested.
The Likeness
I posted about Tana French before, and her book In the Woods. The sequel, The Likeness, takes a major character from In the Woods and makes her the narrator and protagonist of this book. It is an audacious plot for a detective book about mistaken identity and undercover work. But French pulls it off very well. I've read two of her books, and both were quite quite good. I recommend In the Woods, and then quickly picking up The Likeness. Mary's started the next book, which takes a major character from The Likeness and makes him the narrator. It will Read more…
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