So far I've read or sampled quite a few. (Ever noticed how a book that fascinates at the library or bookstore dwindles to so-so when you read it? A few of those.) Among these tomes are:
The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo. I heard the author interviewed on NPR, so when I saw the book on the "New Arrivals" shelf I grabbed it. The true-life-and-crime story of a detective club of the world's greatest murder investigators and the cold cases they solve. Darkly fascinating - NOT a book to read at lunch or just before bed!
Though I enjoyed (not the right word somehow) the book, the writing... Stories were chopped up to add suspense and make you read another two chapters - which I found maddening - and the prose blushed purple at times, with a weird pulp-ish tone as it described the main characters' lives ... Nevertheless, an absorbing read.
the mesh by Lisa Gansky. A business/social trend book about businesses springing up where users share resources rather than each buying their own, businesses dependent on the internet and social media for their organization - like Netflix, Zipcar, or Kickstarter. Interesting, though I'm not quite sure how this is qualitatively different from the lending libraries Jane Austen patronized in 1800. Talking of tone - this book is written with that plain, flat, 'nilla wafer prose that bores me to tears.
Hollywood: a Third Memoir by Larry McMurtry. I'm kinda flipping through this for the Hollywwood writer stories. I'm not a big McMurtry fan. Even Lonesome Dove, which I came to love, took me 300 pages to get into.
The Elephant to Hollywood, by Michael Caine. Working through this one. A nice lively tone - I bet he'd be fun at a dinner party, though a bit thick with the name-dropping.
In between all this I've read a few scripts (so-so, one interesting) and reread The Unstrung Harp by Edward Gorey. It's worth hunting down! A hilarious take on the writing of a novel. One novelist I admire says she reads it after finishing each book and I see why - a perfect tonic for the artist in that frazzled-yet-elated stage when you've just finished a project. I recommend this book highly.
No comments:
Post a Comment