Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Continuing the Books Update
THINGS I OVERHEARD WHILE TALKING TO MYSELF by Alan Alda
I had this one on audio as well, read by the author. Both his writing style and his spoken delivery carry a wry sense of self deprecation, which really added to my enjoyment.
Over the years, Alda has been approached for various speaking engagements - at his daughters' graduation ceremonies, and at a variety of other events. This book is largely a collection of those speeches, intertwined with the author's comments on what he had in mind as he drafted his remarks.
He includes short biographical sketches as well - revisiting the early days of his career and some rather poignant memories of his childhood.
BLUE LIGHTNING by Ann Cleeves
Cleeves' Jimmy Perez series is set in the Shetland Islands off the coast of the Scottish mainland. The small community there is close-knit and somewhat insular, yet curious and somewhat intrusive when outsiders arrive, either for a visit or to make the island home.
So an eccentric couple opening a bird watching center stands out, and when the wife is found murdered while Perez is home for a visit to introduce his parents to his fiancee, his cop supervisors instruct him to do his best to begin the investigation. A fierce storm will prevent them from joining him.
Working with a variation on the old "locked room" scenario, Cleeves has written a series that I am really enjoying.
FIRST THRILLS edited by Lee Child
This is a collection of short stories, written by newcomers to the suspense fiction field, with entries also included written several well known authors. I enjoyed the ability to "dip in" and "dip out" spacing reading them one or two at a time over a series of weeks.
KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Suspense fiction from Scandanavia is all the rage at the moment - Adler-Olsen is Danish and his works are only recently available in English translation.
In what seems to be a routine arrest, one cop is killed, another grievously wounded, and the third survives but with a pervasive ennui. In manipulative move to "kick him upstairs" his supervisors place him in charge of a newly funded cold case project, hoping to harvest the increased budget for the other sections of the department.
The only other staff member of the new cold case unit is an over eager immigrant to Copenhagen from the Middle East, and almost in spite of himself the cop begins to follow the threads of a mysterious disappearance of a prominent attorney.
The press release accompanying the review copy state that the author is wildly popular in Denmark. The story line in this one is very engrossing, and the eccentric duo working on the cold cases is a natural for a continuing series. I don't know a single word of Danish - but I had some reservations about the skill of the translator. I'm certain to follow at least of couple of titles to come - the press release promised they are on the way.
POISON MAKERS by Jimmy Olsen
About ten years ago, I read THINGS IN DITCHES by the same author - and wrote a favorable review which you can read by following the link at the top of the page to BooksnBytes.
A few months ago, I received an email from Olsen's new publicist requesting permission to quote from the review. I said "of course" and a few weeks after that exchange, here came a review copy of Olsen's new novel. He has been writing all along, and finally landed a publisher again.
His latest novel is very different from the first one I enjoyed so much - from cold Minnesota to tropical Dominican Republic; from an eccentric group of small town Americans to experts in voodoo and the lovely young daughter of a diplomat; from a local cop trying to keep his head above water to an independent investigator living just one step away from catastrophe in Santo Domingo.
The author's notes relate that he lived in the Dominican Republic for many years, and the book has a strong sense of place. He is an author few of heard of, but he's worth a little searching to find one of his books.
THE FALLS by Ian Rankin
I heard Rankin interviewed on NPR talking about a new series with a new protagonist. I have read one or two featuring Scottish cop John Rebus, and decided it was time to read another one. And I also put my name on the library holds list for the new title -THE COMPLAINTS - since it sounds like Rankin has done a 180 degree turn with his new character.
But back to Rebus - in THE FALLS a young woman has disappeared. Investigating her friends and lifestyle hoping to discover information to help police find her only brings up more and more questions as they work.
I'm regretting that I haven't read more books featuring John Rebus. Perhaps I can find a way to work those titles into my already rather grim TBR situation.
THE LONG FALL by Walter Mosley
Mosley is one of my favorites, and this is the first book featuring Leonid McGill, who will be a continuing protagonist. McGill by his own admission, is "crooked, not bent" and is trying to move closer to the straight and narrow. But he has an extensive list of acquaintances and former employers on the wrong side of the law in New York City, and he's finding it hard to stay clean.
I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE by Laura Lippman
As a teenager, Eliza was abducted and kept by her kidnapper for several weeks, traveling with him as a passenger in his car in a wide circle through Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia. During those weeks, he kidnapped another young woman, attempted to rape her and then murdered her. He was apprehended and in a complicated series of negotiations among the three states involved, was eventually sentenced to die in Virginia.
Fast forward to the present. Eliza is now grown woman, with a husband and family. When she receives a letter from her abductor sent from death row, the stability of her world begins to crumble.
I usually sit down with one of Lippman's stand alone novels and read it straight through, only reluctantly stopping to eat.
MIDNIGHT GUARDIANS by Jonathon King
King's protagonist Max Freeman is a retired Philadelphia cop, and now works as an investigator for a Miami attorney. A woman who works as a nursing assistant in a local home for the elderly is suspicious that her young brother has begun to work for a group working in a Medicare fraud scheme.
THE BUCOLIC PLAGUE by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
The author and his partner regularly escape New York City on the weekends. One on trip returning to the city, they spot a large mansion surrounded by farmland, notice a For Sale sign and somewhat impulsively, buy it.
The eventually have a large garden, specializing in "heirloom" vegetables; a small herd of goats; a thriving mail order web based business specializing in soap made from goat's milk; and more chores and obligations than they can manage easily.
When the financial implode of late 2008 finds them both unemployed, their commitment to the farm is in jeopardy.
Kilmer-Purcell's memoir is delightfully readable, with a wry tone of self deprecation at just the right moments, balanced by engaging reflection.
I was amused at myself as I read. In my writing classes, I've been studying memoir and personal narrative, and found myself noticing the author's use of all the techniques the leader of my writing workshop stresses on a weekly basis. It makes me wonder if I will ever read another memoir in the way I used to.
That's it for this catch up installment!
I had this one on audio as well, read by the author. Both his writing style and his spoken delivery carry a wry sense of self deprecation, which really added to my enjoyment.
Over the years, Alda has been approached for various speaking engagements - at his daughters' graduation ceremonies, and at a variety of other events. This book is largely a collection of those speeches, intertwined with the author's comments on what he had in mind as he drafted his remarks.
He includes short biographical sketches as well - revisiting the early days of his career and some rather poignant memories of his childhood.
BLUE LIGHTNING by Ann Cleeves
Cleeves' Jimmy Perez series is set in the Shetland Islands off the coast of the Scottish mainland. The small community there is close-knit and somewhat insular, yet curious and somewhat intrusive when outsiders arrive, either for a visit or to make the island home.
So an eccentric couple opening a bird watching center stands out, and when the wife is found murdered while Perez is home for a visit to introduce his parents to his fiancee, his cop supervisors instruct him to do his best to begin the investigation. A fierce storm will prevent them from joining him.
Working with a variation on the old "locked room" scenario, Cleeves has written a series that I am really enjoying.
FIRST THRILLS edited by Lee Child
This is a collection of short stories, written by newcomers to the suspense fiction field, with entries also included written several well known authors. I enjoyed the ability to "dip in" and "dip out" spacing reading them one or two at a time over a series of weeks.
KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Suspense fiction from Scandanavia is all the rage at the moment - Adler-Olsen is Danish and his works are only recently available in English translation.
In what seems to be a routine arrest, one cop is killed, another grievously wounded, and the third survives but with a pervasive ennui. In manipulative move to "kick him upstairs" his supervisors place him in charge of a newly funded cold case project, hoping to harvest the increased budget for the other sections of the department.
The only other staff member of the new cold case unit is an over eager immigrant to Copenhagen from the Middle East, and almost in spite of himself the cop begins to follow the threads of a mysterious disappearance of a prominent attorney.
The press release accompanying the review copy state that the author is wildly popular in Denmark. The story line in this one is very engrossing, and the eccentric duo working on the cold cases is a natural for a continuing series. I don't know a single word of Danish - but I had some reservations about the skill of the translator. I'm certain to follow at least of couple of titles to come - the press release promised they are on the way.
POISON MAKERS by Jimmy Olsen
About ten years ago, I read THINGS IN DITCHES by the same author - and wrote a favorable review which you can read by following the link at the top of the page to BooksnBytes.
A few months ago, I received an email from Olsen's new publicist requesting permission to quote from the review. I said "of course" and a few weeks after that exchange, here came a review copy of Olsen's new novel. He has been writing all along, and finally landed a publisher again.
His latest novel is very different from the first one I enjoyed so much - from cold Minnesota to tropical Dominican Republic; from an eccentric group of small town Americans to experts in voodoo and the lovely young daughter of a diplomat; from a local cop trying to keep his head above water to an independent investigator living just one step away from catastrophe in Santo Domingo.
The author's notes relate that he lived in the Dominican Republic for many years, and the book has a strong sense of place. He is an author few of heard of, but he's worth a little searching to find one of his books.
THE FALLS by Ian Rankin
I heard Rankin interviewed on NPR talking about a new series with a new protagonist. I have read one or two featuring Scottish cop John Rebus, and decided it was time to read another one. And I also put my name on the library holds list for the new title -THE COMPLAINTS - since it sounds like Rankin has done a 180 degree turn with his new character.
But back to Rebus - in THE FALLS a young woman has disappeared. Investigating her friends and lifestyle hoping to discover information to help police find her only brings up more and more questions as they work.
I'm regretting that I haven't read more books featuring John Rebus. Perhaps I can find a way to work those titles into my already rather grim TBR situation.
THE LONG FALL by Walter Mosley
Mosley is one of my favorites, and this is the first book featuring Leonid McGill, who will be a continuing protagonist. McGill by his own admission, is "crooked, not bent" and is trying to move closer to the straight and narrow. But he has an extensive list of acquaintances and former employers on the wrong side of the law in New York City, and he's finding it hard to stay clean.
I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE by Laura Lippman
As a teenager, Eliza was abducted and kept by her kidnapper for several weeks, traveling with him as a passenger in his car in a wide circle through Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia. During those weeks, he kidnapped another young woman, attempted to rape her and then murdered her. He was apprehended and in a complicated series of negotiations among the three states involved, was eventually sentenced to die in Virginia.
Fast forward to the present. Eliza is now grown woman, with a husband and family. When she receives a letter from her abductor sent from death row, the stability of her world begins to crumble.
I usually sit down with one of Lippman's stand alone novels and read it straight through, only reluctantly stopping to eat.
MIDNIGHT GUARDIANS by Jonathon King
King's protagonist Max Freeman is a retired Philadelphia cop, and now works as an investigator for a Miami attorney. A woman who works as a nursing assistant in a local home for the elderly is suspicious that her young brother has begun to work for a group working in a Medicare fraud scheme.
THE BUCOLIC PLAGUE by Josh Kilmer-Purcell
The author and his partner regularly escape New York City on the weekends. One on trip returning to the city, they spot a large mansion surrounded by farmland, notice a For Sale sign and somewhat impulsively, buy it.
The eventually have a large garden, specializing in "heirloom" vegetables; a small herd of goats; a thriving mail order web based business specializing in soap made from goat's milk; and more chores and obligations than they can manage easily.
When the financial implode of late 2008 finds them both unemployed, their commitment to the farm is in jeopardy.
Kilmer-Purcell's memoir is delightfully readable, with a wry tone of self deprecation at just the right moments, balanced by engaging reflection.
I was amused at myself as I read. In my writing classes, I've been studying memoir and personal narrative, and found myself noticing the author's use of all the techniques the leader of my writing workshop stresses on a weekly basis. It makes me wonder if I will ever read another memoir in the way I used to.
That's it for this catch up installment!
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