Books to Gift

Instead of a review, I thought I would recommend some books if you have readers on your holiday gift list. These are some of the books I've read this year - or hope to read next year - as well as a couple from writers I've become friends with online.

First on my wish list is After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman. Here is just one of the rave reviews:

“Lippman stretches a richly textured canvas that depicts, with wit and sensitivity, the wounded but tough women Felix left behind. As she traces the matrix of longing, jealousy, and betrayal that led to Julie’s murder, Lippman incisively explores marriage, Jewish family life, class distinctions, and the power and liability of physical beauty, thus creating an involving and elegant novel of the psychological ravages of crime.” —Booklist

 
From Harlan Coben I have two books on my wish list. First is Missing You, which came out last year and I missed, and his new book due out in March, The Stranger. That book is available for pre-order,so if any of my kids are reading this... hint, hint.

"Coben... has written another twisty ripped-from-the-headlines page-turning stand-alone that could be his best yet."  Library Journal (starred review)

My reading tastes vary and often I like to read a mainstream novel. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline was a terrific story. I did a short impromptu review last month when I was reading the book because I was so captivated by the story and the writing.

Another novel that I loved was Edward Adrift by Craig Lancaster. That is a sequel to 600 Hours of Edward, and while both books would make a terrific gift, one does not have to read 600 Hours first. I reviewed the book a few weeks ago: 

Craig's first book was one of my favorite all time reads, and I was delighted when I finally made time to read the sequel. Edward is a 42-year-old man with Asperger's Syndrome, who is trying his best to find "normal" in a world that does not conform to this way of thinking and operating. If you've ever wondered what goes on in the mind of someone with Aspergers, Edward can clue you in, and as he reminds everyone, "I'm not stupid, I'm just developmentally challenged."

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the books by Slim Randles, who is a frequent guest here. One of my favorites is Home Country which is a collection of his column of the same name. It has wonderful bits of humor and wisdom.

There are so many other books and authors I could recommend, but I don't want to write an epistle here. But you can check out books by Kathryn Craft, Terry Odell, LJ Sellers, Dennis Lehane, D.D. Ayers, John Sandford, Kent Krueger, and you won't be disappointed.


And of course I should mention a couple of my books. If you were to order the paperbacks or hardbacks for a gift, I would be happy to send a signed bookplate to the recipient. The newest book is Doubletake.  Boxes For Beds was released last year, and the two books in my Seasons Mystery Series, Open Season and Stalking Season came out just before that. There is a new version of my YA novel out in paperback from White Bird Publishing, and Friends Forever would be a nice gift for any girl between the ages of 9 and 13.

 "Friends Forever is a wonderful example of how a story can teach lessons, even change lives. The characters speak realistically and the other parts of teenage life that aren't part of the main story are told with accuracy. I was moved to tears several times, feeling the emotions of the characters, knowing how they felt. This is a must-read for every tween and teen. It is my hope that every young person...and us slightly older people too...can learn something from this wonderful real-life tale." One satisfied reader.

Friday's Odds and Ends

It's a cold, rainy day here in East Texas, so I thought I would start the day with a cup of tea and a biscuit. Care to join me? I can share.

 It used to be that we had political mudslinging and candidates acting like two-year-olds for about six months before a major election. Then we might have some political peace for a year or so. Now we just go from one verbal mess to another. The latest being insults lobbed at Texas state senator, Wendy Davis by a Greg Abbott supporter. Both Davis and Abbott are running for governor of Texas, and some time ago, Jeff Rutledge posted a Tweet calling Davis "retard Barbie." Instead of calling Rutledge on using such bad taste, Abbott simply thanked the man for his support.

Such nice guys.

A Texas resident recently noted a Medicare overpayment that was double what the actual bill was. When she called to report the error, a Medicare representative told her that it is now standard payment for some services, and the system automatically pays that amount, no matter what the billing amount is. The woman then asked why each bill is not paid according to the billing amount, and she was told that this the system that is in place and it all balances out in the long run. The reasoning is that some submitted bills are higher than the standard payment amount, so that cancels the overpayments.  

Oh, really?

I read a news report about a charter school in Houston that had a serious financial problem. It seems that administrators misused $5.3 million in federal funds for trips to Las Vegas and New York, as well as some cruises. The two top administrators also received salaries of $440,000 while enjoying all those trips and the perks that came with the trips.

It's been a while since I've done Literary Lessons, so here's one from Family Circus, a quote from Grandma:    "Making mistakes is okay if they're new ones each time."

These next two are from Harlan Coben's novel,  StayClose.

"Ken considered himself a disciplined man, but the truth was, human beings were not built for self- denial. It was why diets rarely worked in the long run."

"The measure of a man isn't how many times he gets knocked down. It is how many times he gets back up again." 

Now, for no reason other than I think the goat is cute, here is my Lucy, enjoying some treats I threw over the fence. The green stuff growing behind her is called goat weed, and she doesn't eat that. I've never known if it is called goat weed because goats don't eat it, or if Lucy is just too picky and all the other goats do eat it. 

Friday's Odds and Ends

Yesterday's blog hop was so much fun. I hope you had a chance to go visit some of the blogs and see where people went via the wormhole.

The big news for Roman Catholics this week is the election of a new Pope, Francis the First.   Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires was chosen on Wednesday, and reactions from most Catholics has been positive. There was some advance speculation that Cardinal Bergoglio was high on the list of favorite candidates, so there is not a lot of surprise with the choice. It will be interesting to see if he will take the church in a new direction, or it will be more of the same'ol same'ol.

In other news, the U.S. government is still grappling with setting a new budget. It is politics as usual with both parties looking after party interests instead of the interests of the people. And of course the items being cut, or under consideration for cuts, are programs that directly help the people. Nobody has talked about cutting some of the totally unnecessary items like portraits of cabinet secretaries and administrators. Big bucks are spent on those portraits. The Environmental Protection Agency spent nearly $40,000 on a portrait of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, while a painting of Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley will cost $41,200, according to federal purchasing records.

Didn't we just elect a president? Now there is already talk of who is running next. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush recently said, "I'm not saying yes. I'm just not saying no."

The city of Austin, Texas has banned the use of plastic shopping bags for some time now, and Rep. Drew Springer of Muenster, has introduced a bill to overturn the ordinance. He calls the bill "Shopping Bag Freedom Act." Okay, of all the freedoms being threatened in our country, is this one really that crucial?

Now for some fun from Garfield.  Jon is holding a door open for Liz, saying, "Allow me to get the door for you, Liz. I'm always the gentleman."

To which Liz responds, "That's the closet."

Garfield has one of his inimitable comments, "He said he was polite, lady. Not smart."

Literary Lesson: "Dreams never die. Sometimes you think they are dead, but they are just hibernating like some big old bear. And if that dream has been hibernating for a long time, that bear is going to wake up hungry and grumpy." A character from Harlan Coben's Fade Away

Book Review - Shelter by Harlan Coben

 Shelter
Harlan Coben
Age Range: 12 and up
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (August 21, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0142422037
ISBN-13: 978-0142422038

First I have to say that I am a huge Coben fan, and have read almost all of his books and enjoyed them a lot. I have always liked Myron Bolitar as a character and was intrigued when I heard about this book featuring his nephew, Mickey Bolitar.

The book was written primarily for teens, but it is promoted for adult reading as well. The basic plot revolves around Mickey, a sophomore in high school, moving in with his uncle, Myron. This happens after Mickey's father is killed in an accident and his mother is put in drug rehab. Mickey and Myron have never gotten along, so Mickey lives in the basement of Myron's house, interacting with his uncle only when necessary.

At the new school, Mickey meets a girl, Ashley, and decides that maybe this new school will work out after all. Then Ashley mysteriously disappears, and Mickey is compelled to try to find out what happened to her. He discovers that Ashley is not who she said she was, and the investigation leads to danger and secrets from Mickey's father's past.

A nice premise, but it doesn't always work. There were several times when things happened that were unbelievable. At one point Mickey, who is over 6 feet tall, is hiding from bad guys behind some pillows. Ummm. Those had to be really big pillows. (smile) There were other places where no logic seemed to be applied to the plot, which was a surprise to me as Coben is normally so good at weaving an intricate, plausible story.

Mickey is an interesting character, and for the most part his dialogue fits a teen, as does the narration, but in other places it is too adult-sounding. Two supporting characters, Spoon and Ema, are nicely drawn and just quirky enough to pull the reader in. They are a bit of a cliche, but not enough to turn a reader away. One problem I found with the "voice" in the story is that there are times the narration reads as if Coben was in the mind of an adult. The book is written in first person, so everything should read like it is coming from a teen.

On the positive side, the interaction between Myron and Mickey reads well, as do the scenes between the teens. Coben is a master of good dialogue, and that is true in this story for the most part. The first half of the book was quite good, which is why I kept reading. It was toward the end that the plot line started to unravel.

As I said in the beginning, I normally love Coben's books, but this one was not his best effort. Perhaps he should stick to what he does best and leave the YA market to others.  

Friday's Odds and Ends

This will be a short post, as I woke up not feeling well this morning. It is a cold, nasty day here in my part of the world, so I see hot tea and an afghan in my near future. Maybe not in a cup as pretty as that one. I'm more of a mug person. You can hold a mug close to you and keep warm with it.


Here is something to amuse from Mother Goose and Grimm:

Grimm is reading from a book, and Mother Goose is working with her computer. Grimm says, "See? Right here in this dog book, 'Dogs are owners' best friends.' We're loyal, faithful, devoted. The bond between dogs and owners can never be broken."

In the final panel, Grimm shouts, "So why did you unfriend me on Facebook?"

Literary Lesson from Shelter by Harlan Coben  "Evil exists. You can't have an up without a down, a right without a left - or good without evil."

So true.

Farewell to Robert B. Parker

As a fan of all the great stories penned by Robert B. Parker I am really saddened about his death.

Not only did I enjoy his stories, which were never intended to be great literature, only a good romp, I learned a great deal about how to write. As did many other writers.

Here is a great article about Parker that includes tributes from Dennis Lehane and Robert Crais, and a wonderful quote from Harlan Coben taken from a 2007 interview with the Atlantic Monthly. "When it comes to detective novels, 90% of us admit he's an influence, and the rest of us lie about it."

Early on in my career, an editor suggested I read Parker's novels to get a sense of concise writing and the best dialogue for the mystery genre. This was at a time when I thought it would be really clever to find alternatives to the dialog attributive "said."

My editor pointed out that all my attempts to be clever only emphasized the attributive and took away from the dialog. Parker, she pointed out, rarely used an attributive and when he did 90 percent of the time it was "said." Not "exclaimed" "growled" "muttered" "interjected" or any of the other words some of us used to consider clever.

Parker also rarely used an adverb to modify the attributive, putting the essence of how the line was delivered into the actual line. If a character was angry, the dialog reflected the anger. My editor challenged me to do the same, and there are times I give myself a refresher course and read another Parker novel.

We who have long respected and enjoyed his work will miss him terribly. But a little part of me is happy that he died at his computer doing what he loved. Not a bad way to go.

Writers--- were you influenced by Parker's writing?

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photo credit: Robert B Parker in in 2006. Photograph: Chitose Suzuki/AP