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Top 5 Saturday: Retellings That Have Stuck With Me

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On May 2, 2020

In Books, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Jim Butcher, News/Misc.

Top 5 Saturday Retellings

The Top 5 Saturday weekly meme was created by Amanda at Devouring Books.

Rules!

  • Share your top 5 books of the current topic—these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
  • Tag the original post (This one!)
  • Tag 5 people (I probably won’t do this bit, play along if you want)

The Upcoming Schedule Is:

5/9/20 — Books with a Number in the Title
5/16/20 — Books by Debut Authors
5/23/20 — Books about Plants/Flowers (Can be on cover, in title or plot)
5/30/20 — Books from a Male POV

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

A Retelling of: Hamlet by some obscure playwright

The reason I didn’t call this list “My Favorite Retellings” or something like that is this novel. I didn’t really enjoy much of this one. But man, it was gorgeously written. Before I started this blogged, I wrote a little about it on Goodreads: “Meticulously crafted, wonderfully and intricately written, fantastic characters, a world you’d love to live in, imaginative, creative, a concept so great, so well executed…aaaaaand I had to force myself to read it. I took 3 breaks from this novel, and had to drag myself back to it each time. I feel like I owe this book 5 stars because it deserves them, but I really want to give it 1.75 or so. There is no reason at all that I shouldn’t like it—people should love this work, actually. But I just didn’t.” Still, nine years later, this is the first novel that lept to mind when I started this list and I have vivid memories of a lot of the book. Can’t beat that.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi

A Retelling of: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper

An Avatar-esque story, that’s nowhere near as self-important and a whole lot more entertaining than the Cameron movie. Jack Holloway is a prospector on the planet Zarathustra who discovers a potentially sentient and language using species (that coincendentally are about the cutest things ever). Holloway has to figure out a way to keep the species from being wiped out by an uncaring corporation. This might actually be my favorite Scalzi novel.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

A Retelling of: Cinderella

A YA SF re-imagining of the Cinderella story featuring a young woman with a cybernetic leg who attracts the attention of a Prince trying to help his people survive a plauge. It launches an epic series (also featuing re-tellings I could have filled this list with). I don’t know that the entire Lunar Chronicles series really delivered on the promise of this book, but I had a lot of fun with it. If you’re going to do a re-imagining, this is the way to do it.

* Jim C. Hines’ Princesses series also comes to mind at this point…maybe I should have included one of them…

Re Jane by Patricia Park

A Retelling of: Jayne Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Brontë’s novel is one of my All-Time Desert Island Top 5 novels, and I’m a sucker for a retelling of it. This one is set in NYC in the late 1990’s. Jane Re, is a half-Korean, half-American orphan who is hired to be the au pair for a Chinese adoptee. It’s Jane Eyre and more. As I said when I posted about it, it’s a clever re-imagining, and/or a satisfying read.

The Graveyard Book

A Retelling of: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

I remember reading this to my kids years ago, and being very affected by it myself. It’s haunting, playful, creepy and heartwarming. A brilliant way to retell the story of an lone man-child in a very foreign atmosphere by beings not fit to raise one—and their efforts to help him fit in his native society.

Saturday Miscellany—5/2/20

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On May 2, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

Hey, it’s Saturday. Which looks a lot like every other day lately, but I’m sitting at a different computer than I was yesterday at this time. And I’m not typing nearly as quickly. How’re you all doing?

Odds n ends about books and reading that caught my eye this week. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
          bullet Independent Bookstores Get Creative to Survive the Long Lockdown: A business that relied on walk-ins and impulse buys has to find new ways to connect with customers.
          bullet Coronavirus: Library books rearranged in size order by cleaner—The strangest COVID-19 symptom yet. (Hat Tip: Mike Finn)
          bullet Fiction, fact and crows: How I wrote a zombie pandemic heist novel—Russell Day talks about the writing of his new novel, King of the Crows, and its strange publication context.
          bullet One Man Audiobook Drops in a Few Weeks—Harry Connolly comes to audio! One Man soon, and the Twenty Palaces novels soon after. Hopefully this helps a lot more people discover the work (and helps me decide how to use Libro.fm credits for the next few months)
          bullet SFF World Tour—Spells and Spaceships launched a series this week promoting “Science Fiction and Fantasy inspired by, set in and written by authors from every continent.” Cool series.
          bullet Welcome to Wyrd and Wonder—a month-long celebration of Fantasy fiction kicked off yesterday. I’d hoped to come up with a few things to contribute, but…Reality has set in and that’s just not going to happen. Check out this great-looking set of posts instead.
          bullet Why Read Fiction? 4 Common Reasons (and a New Rating System)—Blacksail Books wades into the choppy waters around rating/evaluating books with an interesting angle.
          bullet Does My Mood Affect My Ratings?—Obviously, the answer is a yes—but how many of us take the time to reflect on it?
          bullet How to Listen to Audiobooks!—a handy guide to diving into the medium (something I could’ve used a few years ago, turns out that I stumbled my way into a lot of these ideas on my own, would’ve been nice to avoid the stumbling though.)
          bullet Pacing: What’s Good, Bad, and in Between—I didn’t mean to grab 2 Blacksail posts in one list, but I had to share this one, too. Good thoughts on pacing—and citing Sepinwall on Breaking Bad‘s “Fly” is a nice bit of icing on the cake.

This Week's New Releases That I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:
          bullet King Of The Crows by Russell Day—I’m only 1/4 through with this, but I’m already stressing about how I’m going to possibly talk about it (thankfully, I’m not alone). But the essence will be: BUY THIS NOW. Don’t care how long your TBR is, make it your next read…click the link there, read the Day piece above. I’m really excited about this thing, and will probably talk about it a lot this year.
          bullet Critical Point by S. L. Huang—Cas Russell deals with the fallout from Null Set‘s revelations and tries to save a friend. This should be a blast.
          bullet Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn—a fantasy set in a Wild West-esque world, about family, love, loss and a magic that’s mined. I talked about it a bit earlier this week.
          bullet Firefly – The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove—hard to believe, but a run for Badger goes very, very wrong. River plays a significant role in this one, so it has to be good.

Lastly I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome tojyvurentropy and Om Prakash Khare for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding: BOOK VI., v.-viii.

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On May 1, 2020

In Fiction, Fridays with The Foundling, General Fiction/Literature

Fridays with the Foundling
Tom Jones Original CoverWhile the Westerns wait for Blifil to come to call on Sophia, her aunt comes in and the two talk a bit more about Sophia’s affections, each of them (still) talking about a different man. And just when I’m starting to think we’re in for 20+ pages of this misunderstanding, Sophia asks who her aunt is referring to:

…the Aunt cried, “Mr. Blifil—ay, Mr. Blifil, of whom else have we been talking?” “Good Heavens,” answered Sophia, ready to sink, “of Mr Jones, I thought; I am sure I know no other who deserves—” “I protest,” cries the Aunt, “you frighten me in your Turn. Is it Mr. Jones, and not Mr. Blifil, who is the Object of your Affection?” “Mr. Blifil!” repeated Sophia. “Sure it is impossible you can be in earnest; if you are, I am the most miserable Woman alive.”

There’s some nasty back and forth about how horrible the idea of Blifil is to Sophia and how horrible the idea of Jones is to all that is right and just with the world, and Sophia will do what she’s told, etc. In the end, they agree that Sophia will visit with Blifil that afternoon and get be nice about it, and they’ll see what happens.

They go their separate ways, Sophia unburdens her soul to her maid (who is good enough at eavesdropping not to need it, but plays along). Mrs. Honour tells her to speak her mind to her father, who’s a good man and won’t force her to do anything. In the meantime, she saw Jones down by the river not that long ago. Sophia rushes to go meet him, but misses him because she took too long choosing the right ribbons to wear. Fielding amusingly (at least to me) comments,

—a most unfortunate Accident, from which my fair Readers will not fail to draw a very wholesome Lesson. And here I strictly forbid all Male Critics to intermeddle with a Circumstance which I have recounted only for the Sake of the Ladies, and upon which they only are at Liberty to comment.

Blifil calls upon Sophia, and it does not go well. She’s nice enough, but she’s horrified at the thought of spending time with him, so she doesn’t say a lot and leaves early. Blifil is clueless enough (and enamored of himself enough) to interpret this as shyness—she’s so overcome by being alone with a guy as awesome as he is.

He leaves feeling really good about things and makes Mr. Western feel the same way about the way things are progressing. Sophia takes her maid’s advice and tells her father what she thinks of Blifil. He does not follow the script Mrs. Honourable predicts and flies into a rage, commanding Sophia to marry Blifil or he’ll cut her off.

She’s inconsolable, he’s in a fit and the two separate. Western runs into Jones and tells him about it all, and then asks Jones to go convince Sophia to go along. That’s not at all what Jones wants to do, but he agrees, because he’ll gets the green light to go off and talk to Sophia.

Neither of them come out and declare their love for each other, but the ensuing conversation allows them both to state their interest and their mutual despising of Blifil as a mate. It’s a sweet scene, interrupted by Fielding telling us that it may have gone on too long and is about to be interrupted by something of a very different flavor and so it’ll have to be taken up in another chapter.

Obviously, whatever that is (we’ll see next week) isn’t going to go in the couple’s favor—there’s almost another 700 pages to go, they’re not going to get too many sweet moments anytime soon.

I really like the pace of these last 8 chapters, and look forward to what comes next. I just wish people could have a straightforward conversation without flying off the handle so everyone could act in a reasonable manner.

Eh, where’d be the fun in that? Bring on the talking past each other!

April 2020 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On May 1, 2020

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

Well, this is more like it: 25 titles, 7290+ pages (there was one e-short story that I didn’t get a page count on)—three thousand more than March. My average rating for the month was 3.56, which isn’t exactly my goal—but it still means I enjoyed just about everything I consumed. I’ve made a more concerted effort to make time to read over the last couple of weeks—and it seems to be paying off.

As with just about every person on the planet, I have no idea what the next month is really going to look like for me day-to-day (and I’m not sure I could tell you what it was like the last month…), so I’m not going to pretend to have an idea what I’ll be reading/writing about. We’ll see, right?

So, here’s what happened here in April.
Books Read

Heartless A Bad Day for Sunshine The Time Traveler's Guide to Dating
3 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 3 Stars
Ice We Begin at the End Cheater's Game
2 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
The Poop Diaries Alive Caliban's War
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Identity Thief Fake Truth The Oracle Code
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Bethlehem's Brothers An Unwelcome Quest Apex Predator
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
TITLE Grudge Match The Sword-Edged Blonde
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
Song of Songs The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe Of Honey and Wildfires
3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Demon Born Magics Stardust
3 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars
Promised Land
5 Stars

Still Reading

Tom Jones Original Cover Institutes of Christian Religion vol 1 King of the Crows
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

Ratings

5 Stars 1 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 1 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 6 1 Star 0
3 Stars 8
Average = 3.56

TBR Pile
Mt TBR January 20

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 14
Self-/Independent Published: 11

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 0 (0%) 1 (1%)
Fantasy 4 (16%) 11 (14%)
General Fiction/ Literature 2 (8%) 5 (6%)
Horror 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 0 (0%) 1 (1%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 10 (40%) 30 (38%)
Non-Fiction 1 (4%) 4 (5%)
Science Fiction 3 (12%) 8 (10%)
Steampunk 1 (4%) 1 (1%)
Theology/ Christian Living 2 (8%) 6 (8%)
Urban Fantasy 4 (21%) 13 (16%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wroteotherwriting
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th)

How was your month?

The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe: Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street by Josh Pachter, ed.: A Collection of Short Pieces Celebrating Nero Wolfe

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On May 1, 2020

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin, Rex Stout

The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe

The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe: Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street

by Josh Pachter, ed.

Kindle Edition, 364 pg.
Mysterious Press, 2020

Read: April 15-27, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


Wow—2 chances to talk about Nero Wolfe in less than a month? Say what you will about 2020, there are some really nice things going on, too.

In the same vein as the 2018 compilation that he co-edited, The Misadventures of Ellery Queen, Pachter (with the blessing of Stout’s daughter), Pachter presents just what the title promises: a collection of short pieces featuring takes on Nero Wolfe (and, generally, Archie Goodwin).

There are three introductory essays—one by Otto Penzler; one by Stout’s daughter, Rebecca Stout Bradbury; and then one from Pachter (which served as a typical introduction). All three of these pieces were a pleasure to read, but obviously, Bradbury’s is the standout for sentimental reasons.

Then we move into pastiches, although some felt more like parodies to me—but why quibble? The first entry just didn’t work for me, and almost put me off the project as a whole. But, it’s Wolfe, so as much as I say “almost”—there’s no chance that’d stick. Thankfully, the second entry more than made up for it, as did the rest. A personal highlight came from Pachter reprinting the first chapter of Murder in E Minor, Robert Goldsborough’s first Wolfe novel—I appreciated the reminder that I did really like his work at one point. (I wish something from William L. DeAndrea’s Lobo Blacke/Quinn Booker books had made it in here)

The next section featured a handful of parodies. By and large, I enjoyed this part, but I would’ve appreciated a bit more subtlety with many of the works. The story “Julius Katz and the Case of Exploding Wine” was simply fantastic—I will be tracking down more of these stories by Dave Zeltserman as soon as I can (I have a browser tab open at the moment for an e-store with the collections).

The final section, “Potpourri,” was my favorite. It included things like a story about a circus’ Fat Woman doing a fine Nero Wolfe impression (and was a pretty clever story even without that); Pachter’s short story about a young man named for Wolfe, “Sam Buried Caesar,” which was utterly charming; and a scene from Joseph Goodrich’s stage adaptation of Might as Well Be Dead. The highlight of this section (and possibly the entire book) was a little story called “The Damned Doorbell Rang,” about a couple who used to live next to Wolfe’s Brownstone on West 35th (obviously on the opposite side from Doc Vollmer), who didn’t realize who they lived next to, nor appreciate the goings-on in the brownstone. An inspired idea that was executed wonderfully.

As with almost every compilation ever assembled, there were a lot of high highs and very low lows in this one—and most readers will likely disagree with what I’d put in either category. But I can’t imagine any Wolfe reader not finding more than enough in this book to consider any time spent with it a win. The writers all clearly had fun with the subject matter, and it’s infectious. Pachter has speculated about doing another collection of Wolfean tidbits. If he does, I know I’ll be more than ready to grab it.

For a lot more about the book—the background, more information about some of the entries/authors/whatnot—check out Episode 10 of Like the Wolfe podcast. It’s a fun episode.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

WWW Wednesday, April 29, 2020

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On April 29, 2020

In Books, Currently Reading, News/Misc., WWW Wednesday

It’s already the last Wednesday of April?? I’m not prepared for May…so while I go off to learn to read a calendar, why don’t you read this WWW Wednesday?

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Easy enough, right?
What are you currently reading?
I’m reading King of the Crows by Russell Day (which is amazing and mind-blowing) and am listening to Stardust by Neil Gaiman on audiobook .

King of the Crows Stardust

What did you recently finish reading?
I just finished Sarah Chorn’s Of Honey and Wildfires and Demon Born Magic by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator) on audio.

Of Honey and Wildfires Demon Born Magics

What do you think you’ll read next?
My next book should be Auxiliary: London 2039 by Jon Richter (because I was reminded Monday that I have a Book Tour Stop next week) and Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy, Eileen Stevens (Narrator) on audiobook.

Auxiliary: London 2039 Dumplin'

Hit me with your Three W’s in the comments! (no, really, do it!)

The Stay at Home Book Tag

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On April 29, 2020

In Book Tag, Books, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, News/Misc.

The Stay at Home Book Tag
I saw this tag over on this one from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club last week and figured I’d better join in the fun soon—our Stay at Home order is set to expire at the end of this month, and I may not get another chance.

Laying in Bed: A Book You Could/Have Read in a Day

This one gave me some trouble, honestly, if you’re committed, what book can’t you read in a day? But…I’m going to go with:

Not DressedNot Dressed

by Matthew Hanover
I didn’t read this in a day, but man, I could’ve. This book (like last year’s Not Famous) is effortless to read. When I started this book, it was late in the day and I thought I’d just stick a toe in the water, maybe read about 10% of it. Before I knew it, I was about a third into the book (and were it not for the time of day, I’d have probably finished it in one sitting!). It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s infectious, it’s engaging as anything I can remember. I cared about these characters and got invested in their lives faster than I typically do. It’s as comfortable as staying in bed should be.

In case you’re curious, here’s my post about it.

Snacking: A Guilty Pleasure Book

Pop Culture!Pop Culture! …Building a Better Tomorrow by Avoiding Today

by Dave Kellett
I’m honestly troubled by the idea of “guilty pleasure.” If you dig a piece of fiction, you dig a piece of fiction—why feel bad about it?* But, I ended up going with this collection of Sheldon comics. I love this strip and read them every time that Kellett posts a new one. I don’t let myself sit down and read through a collection (or part of one) very often, I feel like I should be reading “a real book,” or something I could blog about—or, you know spending time with my family, I guess. So, this is a pleasure that makes me feel guilty when I indulge (which I guess undercuts my opening line…oops).

* Note how I don’t go for the cheap Dan Brown joke here…

Netflix: series you want to start

The Shattered SeaThe Shattered Sea

by Joe Abercrombie
Abercrombie’s Norse-influenced YA trilogy has appealed to me since it was announced. Especially as it’s complete, there’s no good reason I can’t tackle it—the entire trilogy is about as long as some epic fantasy novels, I don’t know what I’m waiting for.

Dan Willis’ Arcane Casebook is also right up there. I hopefully will get to both in 2020.

Deep Clean: a book that’s been on your “to be read” list for ages

StilettoStiletto

by Daniel O’Malley
I loved O’Malley’s The Rook, but read it long before I launched this thing, so I didn’t write anything about it—and then re-read it so I could get ready for Stiletto, and took so many notes I couldn’t get through them all to write something. Anyway, this came out in ’16 and I heard so many lukewarm things that I haven’t been able to get myself to read it. It’s right there on top of my bookshelf, right where it’s been since July 2016 and I don’t know when it’s coming down.

Animal Crossing: a book you recently bought because of hype

The Last Smile in Sunder CityThe Last Smile in Sunder City

by Luke Arnold

A former soldier turned PI tries to help the fantasy creatures whose lives he ruined in a world that’s lost its magic in a compelling debut fantasy by Black Sails actor Luke Arnold.

Welcome to Sunder City. The magic is gone but the monsters remain.

I’m Fetch Phillips, just like it says on the window. There are a few things you should know before you hire me:

1. Sobriety costs extra.
2. My services are confidential.
3. I don’t work for humans.

It’s nothing personal–I’m human myself. But after what happened, to the magic, it’s not the humans who need my help.

Walk the streets of Sunder City and meet Fetch, his magical clients, and a darkly imagined world perfect for readers of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

How can I say “no” to that?

Yeah, this is on the list because of the hype, but when I went to find some examples of the hype that sold me, I could only find this one from Witty and Sarcastic Book Club, which was enough on its own, honestly. Still, if you’re reading this and I’ve just snubbed you. Sorry. Correct me and I’ll throw a link up here.

Productivity: A book you learned from, or that had an impact on you

How Not to DieHow Not to Die

by Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, Gene Stone
This is a book that was recommended to me as part of a medical program I’m in (in an effort to forestall any future cardiac events)—I’m not convinced by all of what it says, but it’s helped me make significant changes to my life—and will continue to do so.

In case you’re curious, here’s my post about it (the post is about the library’s copy of the audiobook, I have the hardcover now—it’s heavy enough I could probably organize an exercise regimen using only it as a weight.

Facetime: a book you were gifted

The Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe EditionThe Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

by Patrick Rothfuss, Illustrated by Dan dos Santos
My kids got this for me for Father’s Day in ’17—still one of my favorite gifts from them. A gorgeous edition of one of my all-time favorite books.

Self-care: what is one thing you’ve done recently to look after yourself

Ehhh…not much, really. This is the kind of thing I’m not good at.

Bonus: name a book that is coming out soon

Platonic ComedyPlatonic Comedy

by Ian Shane
Ian Shane’s Postgraduate was one of my favorites from 2019. If this is almost as good, it’ll be one of my favorites of 2020.

Ex-jock Rob and socially awkward Liz weren’t likely to become best friends, but they’ve had each other’s back since college. On a night both of their romantic lives implode, they make a pledge; if they aren’t married by Rob’s fortieth birthday, they would marry each other. With a year left before their deadline, Rob and Liz make a mad dash to find “The One,” while navigating a minefield of modern dating complications. They must deal with skeptical friends, faces from the past, and hidden jealousies and feelings neither one of them will ever admit to.

From Ian Shane, author of Postgraduate and Radio Radio, comes an unconventional one-in-eight-billion romantic comedy. Platonic Comedy is a contemporary When Harry Met Sally that is perfect for fans of Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and Matthew Norman.

As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.

COVER REVEAL: Anna by Laura Guthrie

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On April 29, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Welcome to The Irresponsible Reader’s part in the Cover Reveal for Laura Guthrie’s Anna! There’s a spiffy looking cover down below, but before the picture, I’ve got a few words to share about the book.

Book Blurb

Every cloud has a silver lining… doesn’t it? Anna is thirteen years old, lives in London with her father, and has Asperger’s syndrome. When her father dies, she moves to Scotland to live with her estranged, reclusive mother. With little support to help her fit in, she must use every coping strategy her father taught her—especially her ‘Happy Game’—as she tries to connect with her mother, discover her past, and deal with the challenges of being thrown into a brand new life along the way.

About Laura Guthrie

Laura GuthrieLaura Guthrie grew up in the rural Scottish Highlands (“I come from where the planes don’t fly”). Her creative influences include Nessie and the elusive ‘Caiplich Beast’, as well as some choice authors and their works.

She has an honours degree in biological sciences from the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in creative writing from the University of Glasgow.

And now…

The Cover


That’s a cheery image, isn’t it?

This book comes out in June, so you’ll have to wait to get your hands on it, but keep an eye out for it!



My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this reveal and the materials they provided.

Love Books Group

A Few Quick Questions With…Paul Levine

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On April 28, 2020

In A Few Quick Questions With...

Cheater's GameRemember last week when I posted about Cheater’s Game and I said that I’d hoped to have a Q&A with the author? Here it is. If you’d told me 20 years ago, that I’d get Paul Levine to respond to a handful of questions I asked him for a blog? I wouldn’t have believed you—but I’d think that was a great story. His series of legal thrillers, Solomon vs. Lord, is still one of my all-time favorite series.

According to his website, Levine ” worked as a newspaper reporter, a law professor and a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist. Obviously, he cannot hold a job. Paul claims that writing fiction comes naturally: he told whoppers for many years in his legal briefs.Paul Levine

His books have been translated into 23 languages, none of which he can read.”

And now, he’s wasting a little bit of time with me. For which I am very grateful.

 

Most authors have dozens of ideas bouncing around their craniums at once</i>what was it about this idea that made you say, “Yup—this College Admissions scandal is the perfect thing for Lassiter”?
The day the story broke last year, I knew I wanted to put Jake Lassiter into the middle of the scandal. My first thought: “Have those parents lost their minds?” Here were these well-educated, well-to-do parents cheating, bribing, and lying their kids into so-called elite universities. Call me naive, but I was astonished. I thought the moral implications interwoven with a criminal trial would be fascinating.
I’m sure even at this stage of your career, there are challenges and surprises to the writing process itself—what surprised you the most, or was the biggest challenge to getting Cheater’s Game written?
Legal thrillers almost always involve homicide trials. Murder is the crime that strikes the deepest emotional chord. Cheating to get into college, technically mail fraud, isn’t nearly as sexy. My challenge was to create a trial just as exciting with as many twists and turns as the “Witness for the Prosecution” or “Anatomy of a Murder.” Okay, maybe not quite as many, but you get the idea. Lassiter’s brain damage complicates the case. So does his inexperience in federal court and his anguish at having to defend his nephew.
I truly appreciated the way that Lassiter interacted with the federal prosecutor, Margaret Bolden—while adversarial, it’s not the typical depiction of prosecutor/defense attorney. What made you go this route?
I’ve created my share of prosecutors who are arrogant or self-righteous or mean-spirited or just automatons. But I have great respect for career prosecutors who are truly professional and treat opposing counsel with respect. Margaret Bolden is a savvy Assistant U.S. Attorney who’s tough but plays by the rules. She’s a good match for the wily Lassiter, who gets by on street smarts, rather than an encyclopedic knowledge of the law.
You’ve been writing Lassiter for a long time—is there part of you that has a hard time putting the character through this health challenge?
I lost a friend to C.T.E., the brain disease afflicting former football players. Like Lassiter, my pal was a lawyer and former player. It felt right that Lassiter, who made his living on the “suicide squads,” would be stricken. Obviously, for everyone’s sake, I’m hoping there’s a cure down the road.
Is this the end of the line for Lassiter, or does he have another case or two in his future?
Hah! Lassiter told me he retired after “Bum Deal” in 2018. But when his beloved nephew Kip gets indicted for taking other kids’ SAT exams as an imposter, well, what choice did he have but to get back in the courtroom? I suspect Jake has one more case in him.
This last one is purely selfish: I was a huge fan of the Solomon vs. Lord series, and I see they’ve appeared in the Lassiter books, any chance of them getting another novel, or are they just one more reason for me to go through the Lassiter backlist?
I get a ton of mail asking for another “Solomon vs. Lord” novel. Now, of course, they’re in some recent books. Lassiter defends Steve Solomon in a murder trial in “Bum Rap.” And Lassiter squares off against Solomon and Victoria Lord in “Bum Deal.” But a lot of readers are asking for the squabbling law partners (and lovers) to have a story of their own. We’ll see.
Thanks for your time and willingness to let me badger you with these questions—I really enjoyed Cheater’s Game and hope that it finds the audience it deserves.
Thank you!

Pub Day Post: Of Honey and Wildfires by Sarah Chorn: Love, Family, and Loss in a Western-Flavored Fantasy

By

On April 28, 2020

In Fiction

I have a lot of respect for those who’ve dumped the 5 Star Rating System—and I’ve often thought about it, but I’m too far into that rut to change anytime soon. But every now and then, I come across a book that I really don’t want to rate, because I don’t want the stars to distract from what I have to say. This is one of those (in case you wondered why I was blathering on up here).

Of Honey and Wildfires

Of Honey and Wildfires

by Sarah Chorn
Series: Songs of Sefate, #1.5

Kindle Edition, 3008 pg.
2020

Read: April 23-27, 2020

I will tell you this: Home is not a place. Home is an architecture of bones and a steadily thumping heart. Home is where dreams are born, and monsters are put to rest. It is where the soul can unfurl like the petals of a flower and find succor in the golden blush of each new day.

Home was my father’s arms. When I was in them, I knew nothing in the world could touch me.

This is a pretty plot-light novel, it’s more focused on what the characters experience than what happens to them—not that things don’t happen, aren’t interesting/compelling, or anything. It’s just a matter of emphasis. Anyway, here’s the blurb to get us going:

From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil.

What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths his father has kept hidden. In his hands lies a decision that will determine the fate of everyone he loves—and impact the lives of every person in Shine Territory.

The daughter of an infamous saboteur and outlaw, Cassandra has her own dangerous secrets to protect. When the lives of those she loves are threatened, she realizes that she is uniquely placed to change the balance of power in Shine Territory once and for all.

Secrets breed more secrets. Somehow, Arlen and Cassandra must find their own truths in the middle of a garden of lies.

The primary characters are richly drawn, complex, fallible, psychologically rich. And they feel. Oh, how they feel. Chorn describes these feelings in wonderfully composed passages that get the reader to feel what they do—not to know what the character feels, or to empathize with them—but to actually feel it.

These characters tell stories about home. About family. About love. About how fleeting, how ephemeral—yet permanent and fixed—these things can be.

Cassandra, for example, is left by her father to be raised by a solid, stable, caring family. But the whole community knows who her father is, so she’s ostracized, bullied, with few who show her any kindness at all. We watch her as she ages with only rare visits from her father, slowly making (and strengthening) connections with these few.

We don’t spend as much time watching Arlen’s life, we know him instead for a few intense days. The hidden truths he confronts change him, change how he thinks about his youth, his purpose in life, and his notions of family.

For both of them—we see varying strong and defining visions of fatherhood. Fatherhood—in healthy, successful or less so–depictions is one of the hearts of the novel.

I didn’t connect with any of the characters the way I think the novel wanted me to, or much at all, really. But there were scenes, events in each of their lives that affected me greatly. There’s death, there’s loss—there’s compassion and something like hope, too.

What makes me glad I read this is the prose. Chorn’s writing wowed me last year and is just as striking here. There’s a part of me that doesn’t care what the book is about or who the characters she writes are—I want to read it. I just want to soak in her language.

So, yeah, I didn’t like this as much as I wanted to. Many of you will wonder what’s wrong with me after you read it (a few of you will think I’m too generous). But I am glad I read this—it’s been a long time since I’ve read a book so carefully written as Of Honey and Wildfires—some of the sentences, some of the scenes are the best that I’ve read since…well, since Chorn’s Seraphina’s Lament. It’s raw, honest, open and beautiful. I didn’t love it, but I commend it to you.

Disclaimer: I received this novel from the author in exchange for this post and my honest opinion, I thank her for it.

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