Merry Generic Winter Day-Off With No Religious Content

[barely_legal]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
am I on ignore? She promised to read my books first. Save your typing strength.

I already read your book. Catch up!

I've now added another 5 books to my library hold list (shut up -- I would go broke if I bought every book I read and I'm too impatient to wait for paperbacks). I've added Folly, a Barbara Cleverly (which I also initially read as Beverly Cleary -- I miss the Ramona books) and a Walter Mosley.

Has anybody read Krakauer's book Into the Wild? I added that too. I didn't realize until after finishing Into Thin Air that he's the same author who write Under the Banner of Heaven. That was an interesting read too.

[barely_legal]

Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick
I also like Walter Mosely.

I would also recommend Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse. Not sure if anyone has mentioned him.

You might pooh-pooh this, but I also like Alexander McCall Smith, for travelling mainly. The 44 Scotland Street series I am reading now. Not mysteries (unless you count the Isabel Dalhousie stuff, and that's only quasi-mystery).

Hmm. Yoda-esque.

I have read some of the Colin Dexter novels, but I've read them out of order so I get kind of confused. Is there a website where you can find out what order these series that have been around for decades should be read in?

I've read the Ladies Detective Agency novels by Smith -- are the 44 Scotland Street series similar in style? They aren't very substantive mystery-wise, but the characters are well-written and interesting and they are easy to read and enjoy.

eta: after writing this, I checked out the blog that Anne posted and apparently it lists the authors' books in chron order. That looks very helpful.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by barely_legal
I LOVE the Vicki Bliss novels -- I recently bought Night Train to Memphis to re-read because I'm running out of books. I've read the entire series and would love to see another one. I also love her series that featured the well-traveled librarian woman. It kills me that I dont' like Amelia Peabody since I love all of her other books so I might actually give that series another try, if I can figure out the proper order to read them in.

Jacqueline Kirby. The murder at the romance writers convention leads me to believe that Peters (or more likey her Michaels alter ego) has been to a few of those. (On a side note, the similar Bimbos on the Death Sun, by Sharon McCrumb may be my favorite muder mystery of all time. Sci-fi convention geeks are so much fun to make fun of.)

Amelia has a website. If you start at the bottom and move your way up you'll have the order. They get darker (obviously) as they get closer to WWI, but lately they've been a little light again.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by barely_legal
I'm running out of books to read. I've been traveling a lot lately and reading more than normal and my favorite authors aren't writing fast enough to keep up with me.

I prefer fiction mysteries and thrillers and some of my favorite authors include Ruth Rendell, Martha Grimes (although she sucks lately), and Reginald Hill. I've read all of the Kathy Reich and Margaret Maron novels and I like series like that. I don't like the Dick Francis series or stupid series like "The Cat Who" crapola. I love the two novels I've read by Kate Atkinson. and I liked Minette Walters earlier books. I don't like books that Oprah likes.

If anybody can recommend books along these lines that I might like, I would appreciate it. I like some nonfiction as well, so I'll take those recommendations too (I would love to find a decent book on the Crippen murder -- I started Thunderstruck but was bored by all of the Marconi stuff so I didn't finishi it, but I'm interested in famous historic crimes). I finally got around to reading Into Thin Air this week and loved it so any books on similar subjects that are written in the same style would be great. I'm not going to read anything that is over 600 pages long, and 500 pages is a stretch so keep that in mind.

Thank you in advance for any help. NotBob, I love you but you shouldn't even bother responding to this, I think.

I haven't read it myself, but I keep hearing people rave about The Night Gardener, by George Pelecanos. A mystery set in D.C., no less.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by barely_legal
I've now added another 5 books to my library hold list (shut up -- I would go broke if I bought every book I read and I'm too impatient to wait for paperbacks). I've added Folly, a Barbara Cleverly (which I also initially read as Beverly Cleary -- I miss the Ramona books) and a Walter Mosley.

Can I just ship all my mystery books to you?

I had a friend in Dallas with whom I would exchange trashy romance novels, which cut down on costs and storage space. Alas, not so in LA.

[Adder]

Originally posted by barely_legal
I'm running out of books to read. I've been traveling a lot lately and reading more than normal and my favorite authors aren't writing fast enough to keep up with me.

I prefer fiction mysteries and thrillers and some of my favorite authors include Ruth Rendell, Martha Grimes (although she sucks lately), and Reginald Hill. I've read all of the Kathy Reich and Margaret Maron novels and I like series like that. I don't like the Dick Francis series or stupid series like "The Cat Who" crapola. I love the two novels I've read by Kate Atkinson. and I liked Minette Walters earlier books. I don't like books that Oprah likes.

If anybody can recommend books along these lines that I might like, I would appreciate it. I like some nonfiction as well, so I'll take those recommendations too (I would love to find a decent book on the Crippen murder -- I started Thunderstruck but was bored by all of the Marconi stuff so I didn't finishi it, but I'm interested in famous historic crimes). I finally got around to reading Into Thin Air this week and loved it so any books on similar subjects that are written in the same style would be great. I'm not going to read anything that is over 600 pages long, and 500 pages is a stretch so keep that in mind.

Thank you in advance for any help. NotBob, I love you but you shouldn't even bother responding to this, I think.

In the nonfiction category, the Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright was actually quite good I thought (although I can't really take credit for the recommendation). I also liked Barbara Tuchman's Bible and Sword (a broad view of the founding of Israel, focused on Britain's roll) and the Proud Tower (history leading up to WWI).

And although it is not by any means new, I recently read and enjoyed the Informant by Kurt Eichenwald, about the investigation of ADM for price fixing that was kicked off by a less than reliable whistelblower.

For fiction, if you have never read it, the Godfather is a great book (although perhaps that is obvious), and I second whoever mentioned John Sanford. I like his stuff for quick, entertaining reading. And, of course, he is yet further proof that nearly all good things come from Minnesota.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
I liked Kitchen Confidential by Bourdain.

You might like Heat, by Bill Buford. I just read it, and liked it a lot.

He wrote a profile of Mario Batali for The New Yorker, and used that as his entree to work in the kitchen at Babbo. Sooner or later I'll get around to writing something about it on the ol' blog.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Flinty_McFlint
It's like my wife and you are long lost twins. Except for the looking alike part. She just read Prep too. The only difference is that when we saw the seal gutting episode she yelled out "The eyes are the best part!"

Can you believe that grocery stores in other parts of the country don't carry fresh seal eyes? Imagine!

[barely_legal]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
Jacqueline Kirby. The murder at the romance writers convention leads me to believe that Peters (or more likey her Michaels alter ego) has been to a few of those. (On a side note, the similar Bimbos on the Death Sun, by Sharon McCrumb may be my favorite muder mystery of all time. Sci-fi convention geeks are so much fun to make fun of.)

Amelia has a website. If you start at the bottom and move your way up you'll have the order. They get darker (obviously) as they get closer to WWI, but lately they've been a little light again.

Yep, I've read all of McCrumb's novels too. I loved Bimbos, especially since I read it after going to my first (and only) sci-fi convention. Some of her books remind me of Peters/Michaels with the historical and archaelogical slants. She isn't writing very fast these days, though. And her Appalachian novels are getting less interesting.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
John Dunning.

Wind-Up Bird Chronicles is also good, but not really a mystery.

I hear Murakami has a new book coming out this summer, if you're into that sort of thing, which I am.

For additional inspiration, see this list of the top 75 unread books of 2006.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Adder
I also liked Barbara Tuchman's the Proud Tower (history leading up to WWI).

A big old 2 for this one. It's sort of the out-takes for The Guns Of August, which is also excellent.

[barely_legal]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
Can I just ship all my mystery books to you?

I had a friend in Dallas with whom I would exchange trashy romance novels, which cut down on costs and storage space. Alas, not so in LA.

yes you can, but I can't ship anything back to you since I buy only about 10% of the books I read. maybe you can send me stuff and I can cover shipping costs? or I can sponsor the board for a month and give you credit?

I used to have quite a stash of trashy romance novels (I loved Megan McKinley, Johanna Lindsey, Jennifer Blake and Susan Elizabeth Phillips) but I haven't been able to enjoy those for a while, with the exception of Phillips' Ain't She Sweet, which I loved. Do you still read that stuff?

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally posted by barely_legal
I already read your book. Catch up!

I've now added ... a Walter Mosley.

You should do 'em in order.

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/rawleasy.html

TM

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by barely_legal
Yep, I've read all of McCrumb's novels too. I loved Bimbos, especially since I read it after going to my first (and only) sci-fi convention. Some of her books remind me of Peters/Michaels with the historical and archaelogical slants. She isn't writing very fast these days, though. And her Appalachian novels are getting less interesting.

Oh, I was reminded of something else. I totally couldn't put Out, by Natsuo Kirino down:

Four women who work the night shift in a Tokyo factory that produces boxed lunches find their lives twisted beyond repair in this grimly compelling crime novel, which won Japan's top mystery award, the Grand Prix, for its already heralded author, now making her first appearance in English. Despite the female bonding, this dark, violent novel is more evocative of Gogol or Dostoyevsky than Thelma and Louise. When Yayoi, the youngest and prettiest of the women, strangles her philandering gambler husband with his own belt in an explosion of rage, she turns instinctively for help to her co-worker Masako, an older and wiser woman whose own family life has fallen apart in less dramatic fashion. To help her cut up and get rid of the dead body, Masako recruits Yoshie and Kuniko, two fellow factory workers caught up in other kinds of domestic traps. In Snyder's smoothly unobtrusive translation, all of Kirino's characters are touching and believable. And even when the action stretches to include a slick loan shark from Masako's previous life and a pathetically lost and lonely man of mixed Japanese and Brazilian parentage, the gritty realism of everyday existence in the underbelly of Japan's consumer society comes across with pungent force. FYI: This novel has been made into a Japanese motion picture.

Also, have you read any of the Perez-Reverte novels? I really liked The Flanders Panel, the Seville Communication, the Nautical Chart and Club Dumas. The latter was made into a movie with Johnny Depp and Lena Olin, and should not be held against the book.

[barely_legal]

Originally posted by ThurgreedMarshall
You should do 'em in order.

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/rawleasy.html

TM

yeah, I picked the one with the earliest publication date. Sometimes that gets confusing with multiple editions and paperback editions, but I got the right one this time. I will let you know what I think after I read the first one. The good thing about reserving books this old is that I should get them from the library very quickly.

and fyi, I hate books about war and the mafia. I don't know why, I just do. The only partial exception I make is the for the Maisie Dobbs mysteries, which take place after WW1 but deal very heavily with WW1 issues and events.