The Irresponsible Reader - I Read (a lot) and then Rant, Rave and maybe Review

Saturday Miscellany — 12/13/14

On December 13, 2014

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

J.K. Rowling’s ‘Cuckoo’s Calling’ to Be Part of BBC One TV Series — looking forward to this.
Speaking of Rowling, Dear J.K. Rowling, Here’s What We Want for Harry Potter Christmas
As I predicted last week, a few more best-of-2014 lists
- Publishers Weekly Best of 2014
- Shelf Awareness’ Our Best Books of 2014 — blah
- Electric Literature’s 25 Best Novels of 2014 — blah
- Best mystery novels of 2014 — Oline Cogdill compiled a list of the best 15 mysteries, and 6 of the best debuts. Finally, a list I feel competent to comment on! I like a lot of his choices, and have added to my TBR list from the rest.
- Judging Books by Their Covers — 2014 Best Book Covers from Bookish
Author Of ‘Bridge To Terabithia’: Messages Are Poison To Fiction — I remember nothing about Paterson’s books, even Terabithia, I do remember being knocked for a loop by it. Anyway, really enjoyed what she said about messages here.
Bookish Things That Should Exist — A nice little list from BookRiot.
Lastly, I can’t remember who retweeted something that introduced me to the twitter account @CelebrityOxford, which surveys various celebrities about their stance on the Oxford Comma. Meanwhile, John Scalzi went on a little twitter rampage about Oxford Comma fans. Read a lot more yesterday about the Oxford Comma than I woke up expecting to.

I didn’t see a single new release this week that interested me, continuing the general sluggishness of the month, and giving many of us a chance to play catchup.

Categories: Books, News/Misc.
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Hostile Witness by William Lashner

By HCNewton

On December 10, 2014

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Hostile Witness

by William Lashner

Hardcover, 501 pages
Published May 1st 1995 by ReganBooks
Read: December 2 – 6, 2014So this summer, on the recommendation of a reader, I read Marked Man, the sixth book about Victor Carl, the unfortunately named Philadelphia lawyer. I wasn’t wowed by it, but I enjoyed it enough that I wanted to go back to the beginning and try at least one more in the series.

I’m not convinced that was such a great idea. It wasn’t until the last 100 pages that I cared about anything going on in this book — I even started to really like it, actually. But 80% of the way through a book is far too late for that.

My main problem with the book is the characterization of Victor Carl. He’s still at the beginning of his career, but not so fresh that he should be so naïve. For most of the novel, like an obedient show dog, Carl’s led around by his greed, ambition, and that part of anatomy not known for its thinking skills. It’s hard to watch someone who should be a bit more cynical to act this way. If he was truly wet behind the ears, if he was really that young, if he was Forrest Gump — it might be different. But a kid who worked his way up from his beginnings through law school and a few years of practice should know better. Even as fresh to the profession as he is, Victor comes across as too world weary to get taken in so easily.

The book is easily one hundred pages longer than it needed to be — if not more — but most of the extra time is justifiable, and I only noticed it because I wasn’t really enjoying things.

The sense of place is strong. I know next to nothing about Philly. Lashner’s writing at least makes me feel I understand it a bit. The way that (early) Parker, Lehane and Tapply helped me think I understand Boston. Or a few dozen authors make me think I understand parts of New York City.

Obviously, over the course of a long series things are going to change in a character — either because the author changes his mind/forgets something (Inspector Cramer chewing rather than smoking cigars, Spenser’s time in the prosecutor’s office changing counties) or there’s some sort of character growth. So it’s not surprising that Victor in book 1 would be different in book 6. I don’t remember his eyes watering whenever he’s in a confrontation from Marked Man, but it’s all over the place here. Did he grow out of it? Did Lashner just drop it? Is my memory bad? (I’m leaning towards “no” based on how often he’s mentioning it here, he’d have to mention it a lot then).

No matter what, I can’t begrudge the time spent with this book because it introduced me to Morris Kapustin — the elderly, Orthodox Jewish P.I. He’s funny, he’s easy to underestimate and overlook. Really funny to read. I’d read a Kapustin series in a heartbeat — I’d probably collect first editions of them. Sadly, something tells me that character won’t be around long.

This was good enough to justify the effort, but not so good that I could really recommend. I’m mildly curious about the new phase of Victor’s career, and how that gets him to Marked Man, but not overly so. I might be back for #2 if I hit a lull next year, but I’m not going to exert a lot of effort to pick it up.

—–

2 1/2 Stars

Saturday Miscellany — 12/6/14

By HCNewton

On December 6, 2014

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Unpublished Raymond Chandler work discovered in Library of Congress — and, naturally, it’s “a witty, Gilbert-and-Sullivan-inflected libretto for a fantasy-tinged romance”? Say what?
Don DeLillo’s Annotated “Underworld” — oh man, would love to spend a few days with this.
What Kids Want to Read: An Infographic — sure, you could spend a lot of money on a survey, or…I don’t know. Talk to just one kid. Really these the least counter-intuitive survey results ever.
It’s that time of the year, when people are looking for gift ideas, here’s a few:
- Literary Aces Playing Cards
- Some favorite gifts for book lovers that aren’t books — nifty ideas, but…wouldn’t books be easier?
- 16 Fantastic Gifts For Lit Lovers Who Have Enough Books — similar, but not the same list. And I’ve got the same substitute suggestion.
10 Reasons to Shop at Your Local Indie Bookstores This Holiday Season — keep this in mind this season — and all year long
It’s also that time of year for the making of lists. I imagine I’ll be posting a few more of these (and, I hope, making one of my own).
- 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards — Not all my choices won — actually, only two did. But I did okay, and am really only confused/annoyed by a couple of the wins.
- Best science fiction books of 2014 — According to The Guardian, anyway. There’s a distinct national accent to this list — which is understandable, and maybe deserved.
- The 22 Best Lines of 2014 — Familiar with the source or not, this is a fun list of lines
- Was 2014 the Year of the Debut? — a bunch of great debut novels
Four Things My Family Learned From The Boxcar Children Books — I dug these books so much when I was a kid — most of my kids dabbled in them, but they never were as grabbed as I was. Glad to see there are still some big fans of the Aldens out there.

Bryant and May and the Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler — the eleventh installment in the series featuring the weirdest batch of detectives you’ll run across in fiction.

The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

By HCNewton

On December 3, 2014

In A-F, Authors, Fiction, Fox and O'Hare, Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Job

by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Series: Fox and O’Hare, #3

Hardcover, 304 pg.
Bantam, 2014
Read: November 29 – December 1, 2014How is this only the third in the series? It’s a testament to the professionalism and craft of Evanovich and Goldberg that this feels like a series that’s been around for at least a half-dozen books, a well-oiled machine.

The hook to this particular case — someone posing as Nick Fox pulling off some major heists — was pretty fun, and a great excuse for Kate to go jet-setting around the world. That lasted just long enough to set up the major target for this novel: one of the biggest, baddest, most mysterious Drug Lords in the world. Thankfully, he has a pretty major Achilles’ heel that Nick and Kate were able to take advantage of. In just about any other series, I’d cry “foul” about someone like Lester Menendez falling for this implausible con. But it totally worked in this world — and would probably have worked if Nate Ford and the crew had tried it, too. Slick talking, fast work and a hint of danger (more from the psychotic bodyguard Reyna Socorro and her trusty AK-47 than from her boss) — and bam. The bad guy gets defrauded and sent away for a long time.

The major difference between this one and the previous two installments is that the rest of the team doesn’t have as major a role to play — don’t get me wrong, the usual players and some new faces are there and important. We just don’t spend as much time with them — it’s more heavily geared to being the Nick and Kate Show. They’re even restrained in their use of Jake O’Hare. I don’t have anything against the rest of the team, and really enjoy some of them — but I’m glad that they were put in a secondary position this time. As long as they get featured more prominently on a regular basis, I think focusing on the title pair makes sense.

The only suspense really is how far the “Will They/Won’t They” go (and so far, that hasn’t reached the point of being annoying). We all know that Fox and O’Hare will get their target, we may not be sure how — we won’t know how much fun there’ll be along the way, how much private property will be destroyed, and how many exotic (or domestic) locales will be visited along the way. And it’s fine that this isn’t a suspense-filled series. It’s a lot of fun. That’s what it promises, and that’s what it delivers — as long as we don’t look for more than banter, impossible cons and slick writing, we won’t be disappointed.

Not that the first two were slogs by any stretch of the imagination, but I raced through this — with a little more sleep, I’d have tackled this in one sitting, but I had to leave the last 50 pages for another day. The writing, the plot, the banter was just so smooth it was almost impossible to stop once I got started. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and already am looking forward to the next.

—–

4 Stars

Saturday Miscellany — 11/29/14

By HCNewton

On November 29, 2014

In Books, News/Misc.

First off, on this week of Thanks — I wanted to say thanks for everyone who has read, followed, and liked this blog. And to those who’s commented, retweeted, interacted with me about this here blog. Those authors/publicists who’ve made contact with me because of this? Mind blowing and I cannot thank you enough. Seriously, I am grateful.

Anyway, on to the small list of odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

title — Ursula K. Le Guin won the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters at the 65th National Book Awards last week, and gave this thought-provoking speech.
Why has the imagination been sidelined in literature? are some of the thoughts it provoked in Damien G.
Reading Together Even While Reading Alone — Bryan VanDyke gives us a look at his development as a reader and more.
8 Books To Read Before They Become Movies In 2015 — I’ve read one of these (The Martian), quit another one (American Sniper), and am undecided on the rest. Nevertheless, a handy list.
“Wisp of a Thing” — based on the wonderful novel by Alex Bledsoe, this song might as well have been written by one of the Tufa.

Endsinger by Jay Kristoff — Book 3 of The Lotus War — the YA Japanese Steampunk/Mythology mix. I’m looking forward to this, but something tells me there’s a lot of pain and suffering ahead for the characters (and country!).

The Reluctant Warrior by Ty Patterson

By HCNewton

On November 26, 2014

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Reluctant Warrior

by Ty Patterson

Kindle Edition, 313 pg.
Amazon Digital Services, 2014
Read: November 18 – 19, 2014A few months ago, I read the first volume in this trilogy and enjoyed it, while noting some real problems. The same thing could be said about this follow-up — the problems are still there, but they’re not as bad. Patterson’s improved — he’s better at what he was good at, and his bad isn’t quite as bad.

The character I liked most from The Warrior, Broker, moves to Center Stage for this one, hired by the FBI agent who made such a mess of things last time, Isakson. He’s been trying to take down an increasingly powerful criminal organization in New York, a gang called the 5Clubs. The problem is, there seems to be a mole in the FBI or the NYPD, and he can’t find it. Enter Broker and his impossibly good sources, software and assorted mercenaries — most notably, the Warriors.

Broker tries to improve upon the FBI’s own investigation, but it doesn’t work to well. So, he picks another strategy. He’s going to ask the 5Clubs, who the mole is. Which includes the bonus feature of taking out a good deal of their operations along the way to give them a reason to actually answer.

Mayhem, destruction, and vigilante justice ensues in a quite entertaining fashion.

There are some weaknesses, which I really don’t want to focus on — but these take me out of the action, take me out of the scene when I ran into them. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t talk about them. But when it stops me, I have to mention it.

1. There were far too many “Britishisms.” Mechanics from Ohio don’t talk to their kids about going on holidays, or use a “mobile.” Once the action got going in Part 2, it stopped being as much of an issue — things were moving fast enough that they were easier to ignore.

2. Similarly, Patterson could use a synonym or two for “gang” and “hood.” The repeated use of these two got to the point where they were grating.

3. When it comes to the inter-personal dialogue, Patterson’s improved, but not enough. You can tell when he’s going for banter between the team members, but it’s just a little wooden.

The problems detract and distract, but don’t ultimately ruin the experience of The Reluctant Warrior. It’s a solid action story and a good improvement over the previous installment, and I’m curious to see where Patterson takes it next.
—
Note: I was graciously provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for a review. Hope he doesn’t regret that.

—–

3 Stars

Saturday Miscellany — 11/22/14

By HCNewton

On November 22, 2014

In Books, News/Misc.

A pretty light load this week, it’s like there’s a holiday around the corner or something. Bet things pick up next month.

Still, there were a few odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

James Patterson: “Amazon could actually dedicate itself to saving books and literature in this country” — I’m not Patterson’s biggest fan. But his pro-bookstore, pro-reading campaign is pretty appealing.
Michael Connelly Takes Detective Harry Bosch From Page to Screen — a nice interview with Connelly about Bosch on “TV” and in print.
Authors Give Advice to Younger Selves — Over on Suvudu this week, several SF/Fantasy writers shared the advice they’d want to give to themselves years ago. Fun stuff.
23 Things I’d Rather Read Than Another Think Piece On What’s “Wrong” With Children’s Literature — This list would work for many thing, not just “what’s wrong with Kid Lit”, but it’s pretty good in that respect, too.

Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle by Kaja Foglio and Phil Foglio — the third novelization of the webcomic. I’ve only read the comics up through the 2nd novel (no, there’s no good reason for this), so this will be all new material for me. Looking forward to it.
The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg — Evanovich. Goldberg. Fox. O’Hare. That’s all I need to know.
Superheroes Anonymous by Lexie Dunne — looks to be an entertaining take on Superheroes

In Medias Res: Us by David Nicholls

By HCNewton

On November 17, 2014

In Currently Reading, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, In Medias Res

Us

by David Nicholls Typically, I use an “In Media Res” post to check in on a book I’m really excited about, usually about the halfway point. But, thanks to some poor time management on my part, I’ll check in here, as I had to take this back to the library today. I’m on page 120, just a couple pages into Part 2.

In a thumbnail, this is Rowell’s Landline from the male perspective, but without the magic phone. Similarly to Landline, we examine the beginning of the relationship from the protagonist’s present POV, as well as how things progress from the time that his wife tells him she thinks their marriage might be done. In a few months, their child will be leaving home, so she considers their work done — and maybe they will be, too.

This comes out of nowhere (as far as he’s concerned), and strikes poor Douglas like a load of bricks. He latches on to the probability she’s expressed rather than the certainty. He still has a chance, he just needs to make certain changes. He has no idea what those are, but he’s going to try to make them.

At this point, I can see why 1980’s Douglas would be attracted to 1980’s Connie, and maybe why he’d fall for her. I’m not convinced present-day Connie is worth that much effort (but I’m not married to her, so it’s hard for me to say). As for their work as a couple? On behalf of the people of Earth — you’ve done a lousy job. Albie is a questionable human being and a lousy ingrate of a son.

This is well-told — with heart, with wit (frequently a bumbling wit, but that’s Douglas’ charm). As much as I loved Nicholl’s One Day, I couldn’t finish Starter for Ten, so I was a little worried about dipping my toe into this one. But, I have every intention of plowing through this one, as soon as I climb back on top of the library wait list.

When I do, I’m sure I’ll learn to like present-day Connie a bit more, and find out what happened between 1980’s Douglas and present-day Douglas to turn him into someone Connie’s not sure she wants to stick with. I fully expect it to be understandable and may even result in my not liking Douglas too much for a bit. Will he figure out what needs to change and do so? Maybe. I’m not sure Nicholls is going for a happy ending. Who knows? I might even find a redeeming quality in Albie. That will come as a surprise, but I’m open to the possibility.

Good start — I can imagine this book getting 5-stars from me. Also can imagine it getting 3. Who knows?

Saturday Miscellany — 11/15/14

By HCNewton

On November 15, 2014

In Books, News/Misc.

Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

Some great news for Jim Butcher fans. This is enough for me for the week. The rest is just bonus.
‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ author R.A. Montgomery dies — And then some sad news. Yeah, the Choose Your Own Adventure books weren’t the greatest things I read — but growing up I didn’t know anyone, including all those kids who only read when forced to by a teacher, who hadn’t read a handful. I’m sure his cultural impact (for good or ill) is much more wide-reaching than any of us realize.
Goodreads Doesn’t Care If You Read the Book You Reviewed — from the “Things that Make You Go ‘Hmmm'” file.
33 thoughts on reading — One Reader’s Manifesto. Some good stuff here, things I should remember. #8’s a bit controversial, “I will not finish books I don’t like.” As seen here:
Reading Is Not A Chore: On Quitting Books — I’ve read a lot of people talking about this lately — quitting books they don’t enjoy — enough so that I know I’m not alone in feeling compelled to finish every book they start. I see their point.
I see their point, however, you’ve got things like Why I Finish Books — blah
or, the more developed: Finish That Book! — and for the moment, I can’t help agree.
One Man’s Diary of a Month-Long Library Closure — my local library is gearing up for a month-long closure as it moves into a new building. This one resonated with me. And no, I don’t know what I’m going to do for that month.
Rex Stout on You Bet your Life — haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet, but the NPR show “Tuned To Yesterday” features Rex Stout.
The Official Bosch Trailer — thought the pilot was great, love the source material…can’t wait for this one.

Sons of Anarchy: Bratva by Christopher Golden — I’m mostly over this show, but I’m curious about the tie-in idea, and this one features Trinity and Opie, so I’ll end up giving it a shot.

Pickles and Ponies: A Fairy-Tale by Laura May

By HCNewton

On November 14, 2014

In Fiction

Pickles and Ponies: A Fairy-Tale

by Laura May

Kindle Edition, 263 pg.
Kindle Direct Publishing, 2014
Read: November 1 – 3, 2014

Everybody knows that good princesses are always pretty, just like wicked step-mothers are always ugly and covered in warts: and Melodia was no exception to this rule. By this time she was nearly nineteen, and she was tall and healthy, with rather a wistful look to her. You probably want to know her hair colour as well, because you’ve heard how that impacts upon personality. Scientists all over Raduga (with the word ‘scientist’ being used somewhat loosely) have conducted several studies into the effects of hair colour. They’ve found that while it seems to matter very little for the princes of the realm, for princesses it’s quite the opposite. Blonde hair indicates beauty and fragility, while brunettes are supposedly street-smart and intelligent. Of course, these studies were all funded by the Prince of Hairdressers, who was allegedly running a hair dye cartel…

If Douglas Adams were to write a fairy-tale style story for a YA audience, it’d sound a lot like this. Which is at once the strength and the weakness of the book. Once you start with this voice, you’re stuck with it — it’s a commitment you have to follow through with. May does a fine job of that. But, unlike Adams, she sometimes lets her voice, her storytelling style, get in the way of the story.

But, while occasionally distracting and annoying, it’s not fatal. And if you read this in smaller chunks — I read it in two sittings — you might not even notice (at least not as much as I did).

This is a cute YA take on fairy tales, a tale of magic, friendship, and a search for true love in a land where everyone is a prince or a princess (if they’re not a King or a Queen). There’s really not much else to say. She’s not giving us fractured Snow White or Cinderella, etc. May’s working from a blank canvas — what’s happening in the castle to the right of Prince Charming’s.

Again, like Adams, I’m not entirely convinced that May’s world is really that coherent — but it doesn’t matter, the world she’s put this in is just a place for her to tell jokes and have silly things happen. Like this:

By the time nine months on the island had passed, Melodia was bored out of her wits and sorely lacking in company. She tried talking to rocks, but they were stoney in their silence. She tried talking to the moss, but it just wasn’t a fun guy. The trees asked her to leaf them alone, and eventually the princess was reduced to talking to her own reflection in the lake.

I laughed, I chuckled, I groaned, I was charmed — and I was entertained. What more could you want?

—–

The author was kind enough to provide me a copy of this book, providing me relief from the murder and mayhem I’ve found myself reading this year.

—–

3 Stars