BOOKS THREAD

I've always sort of admired Chrissie Hynde. I heard her on Marc Maron's podcast a few weeks ago... and have to say, found her to be just totally unimpressive. She came across as little more than a name-dropping fangirl with very little to say. I'd have to think that memoir would be a real slog.

I'm maybe a quarter of the way through Elvis Costello's book and I'm really enjoying it. It's jarring the way it jumps all over, but I'm a big enough fan that I know just about every reference point he's hitting. Not sure how it would work if you're not as familiar with his career.

 

I kept turning the pages wondering when she would get to the fucking point. And then it ends after the band's second album and the deaths of Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott. I wonder if she has a sequel planned to take the band up to the present day.

I have the Costello book on hold at the library. Not as immersed in his career as you are but I'm gonna have a go at it. It has received some strong reviews.

 

I finished this last night. Author is an environmental reporter at the Austin American-Statesman, and went on a one-year quest to learn to dunk. Pretty entertaining stuff. I found myself rooting for him to dunk. And I'm not going to say whether he does or doesn't; no spoilers

Joe Bob says check it out.

 

Searching for Neil Gaiman's Duran Duran tome and stumbled on this instead. Loved it. Lots of great authors and great short tales.

 

King's new anthology of short stories dropped today.
Bazaar of Bad Dreams

A couple of old stories and some poetry, still I'm in.
Love his short stuff over his novels.

 

Few months? I'll let that pass.

Re-read Ragtime. Read it in high school and it escaped me. Only great, don't know what I had been thinking if at all. Having been doing lots of reading for book projects. Also waded through a bunch of books about PTSD (The Evil Hours the best of them) when I was ghosting a memoir for a former NHLer who was a victim of abuse. Reading Adam Johnson's short story collection. Binge-read George V Higgins and Ross MacDonald. Mary Karr's Art of Memoir which was scattered and I'm afraid a bit of a cash grab when up against Lit. Read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl when I was thinking about writing a YA novel. The Joe Mitchell biography was heartbreaking--I met him (through my friend's longtime lady friend who was empress of NY fact-checking) and had lunch with him a few times. That's sorta lately.

In other book news, the two mysteries I wrote a couple of years back were optioned by EOne and after a long gestation period, went into production last month. Working title is The Code, 10 episodes to air on Global TV in Canada. Lot of people from Rookie Blue and various other Canuck shows working on it. Jason Priestley stars and is involved on the production side. They actually were shooting on my street the first week. Priestley invited me on the set when they were shooting at a Yorkville hotel. Tedious going. Not planning to go back soon.

 

John Niven, "Straight White Male." A very funny read about a memorable main character: A 44-year-old writer who's made it big, but is also an alcoholic, womanizer and barroom brawler with looming money problems.

Oh, and he's lost at least 2.25 best-selling novels to the time he's spent "wanking" instead of writing.

Fun stuff with just a wee bit of insight about middle age problems.

 

As I mentioned up top loved Niven's Kill Your Friends which I read the other day was going to become a movie. Thought that book was a riot, even if the main character was thoroughly unlikeable - even if we did share similar music views.

Read The Second Coming and thought the first half was great, didn't care so much for the second.

 

I'm looking for that one next, Huggy. Niven (and his characters) are in their 40s, like me, and do have great musical taste.

My knowledge of whiskey and "swinging" women, however, falls far short!

 

I finished "The Life We Bury" I read the whole thing last night. It was a predictable ending, but I enjoyed the journey.

America's Bank, by Roger Lowenstein, a long tome about the formation of the what's become the Federal Reserve. It was interesting. For book about early 20th century politics, legislative figures, financial policy and banking, it kept my interest. Some of it was over my head, but in general it was easy, enjoyable read.
I think Lowenstein chose to either ignore or coat over the specter of corruption surrounding Sen. Nelson Aldrich and others. He's also obviously a fan of Woodrow Wilson.
It fascinated me to discover the neanderthal method banking used by the country at the turn of 1900 was centuries behind modern nations. It's also depressing to understand how much politics, egos and compromise crush and maim policy and legislation.

Based on the recommendation I plan to start on some of Niven's work next week while I'm at deer camp.

 

Just finished Franzen's "Purity". Meh.