Friday, July 31, 2009

An Interview with George Pelecanos

Amazon's Omnivoracious has an interview and a video with George Pelecanos.

I'm tempted to post it here, but I don't believe in ripping off other folk's blogs. Even corporate blogs. But just for something to think about while you click and wait for the page to refresh, here's a quote:

We lock up more people in this country than any other civilized country in the world, and it doesn't do anybody any good. So what I'd like to see also is a reform of this drug war that is just destroyed neighborhoods and families all over the country, and decriminalization and legalization of marijuana would help. It's crazy to put kids in jail and adults in jail for marijuana use when you can drink all the alcohol you want and go out and beat your wife up or wreck your car, kill somebody on the highway.

The politicians need to stop being so cowardly and do what they know is right because they all came from the same generation I did.

I'm not sure about the legalization of marijuana; maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't. But politicians growing a set would turn this country around in a heart beat. Man. Imagine.

Black Riders & Other Lines - Stephen Crane

More poetry. I'd not read Stephen Crane outside of high school. It was nice recalling where I'd first read the lines: "Because it is bitter, And because it is my heart" and

Yes, I have a thousand tongues,
And nine and ninety-nine lie.
Though I strive to use the one,
It will make no melody at my will,
But is dead in my mouth.

Who said there is no beauty in truth?

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Tepper Isn't Going Out - Calvin Trillin

This week's book was Tepper Isn't Going Out, a novel by Calvin Trillin. It's an amusing little satire in which, in the end, you realize that things are not always what they seem. The realization makes the ride all the more enjoyable, though. It's a familiar gentleman-minding-his-own-business-becomes-a-folk-hero story with a twist: this gentleman (who also actually happens to be a gentle man) just wants to be left alone to read his newspaper in his (legally parked) car. In New York City.

While it won't have you rolling in the aisles, it will put a smile on you face and has its fair share of laugh out loud moments. Recommended.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Nine Horses - Billy Collins

I have difficulty reviewing poetry. I know what I like when I read it: the writer's talent for observation is numero uno; lack of pretention is numero dos. Billy Collins is well-deserving of his status as U.S. poet laureate. This very short little book is now listed among my favorites.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Five Skies - Ron Carlson

Five Skies is, at first glance, a simple enough tale: three men, near strangers, are hired to build a ramp to nowhere. It is a frivolous project, required for a stunt which will occupy mere seconds of a completely forgettable film.

As the project unfolds, however, so do the lives of these deeply wounded men. Five Skies is a quiet, understated novel. It is a glimpse at the violence our simplest decisions can do to our lives. It is a tribute, too, of the healing power of work and of friendships forged not by words, but by the simple act of being there, by the handling of a tool, by the shouldering of part of a load.

Carlson's writing is spare and deep as desolate and beautiful as the landscape he paints. Five Skies is the kind of book you became a reader for. It is a rare gem. Five Skies is five stars.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Sudden Death - David Rosenfelt

Sudden Death by David Rosenfelt. I was attracted to this series for the simple fact that the cover of one of the books featured a dog. I'm a sucker for books with dogs, no matter how slight the reference. In my defense, I checked out reader reviews before actually making a purchase. Even so, I find that I'm guilty of reading this series out of order, having read Dead Center first (which should have followed Sudden Death). I managed to keep track of everything just fine, however.

As with too many mysteries lately, I had the who-dunnit figured about mid-way through, but enjoyed the characters too much to care, Overall, the novel was pretty tightly plotted for what was still a "relaxed" read, with just the right level of humor and cynicism. I think this would make a decent TV series. A kind of Perry Mason meets Eureka, maybe.

Or maybe not.

Once Were Cops - Ken Bruen

This is my first Ken Bruen. I enjoyed the style: stark noir, without all the description. A number of scenes packed a real emotional whallop and surprised me, considering I was reading about characters for who I had no empathy whatsoever. My take is that Shea, Rodriguez and Kebar were all serial killers; Rodriguez and Kebar operated within the cover of the job whereas Shea didn't bother. Rodriguez killed Nora just to mess with Shea's head. I think Rodriguez is without doubt the most dangerous and unstoppable of the three: a sociopath who blends. Anybody read Martha Stout's The Sociopath Next Door? I've worked with people like that. No, I'm not in law enforcement--I'm in the automotive industry. LOL! Despite popular fiction, not all sociopaths kill; some enjoy other methods of decimating people's lives and enjoy watching them grieve their losses. And when sociopaths realize they've been recognized it can get a little eerie...

The ending felt somehow oddly rushed, however. I can't explain why, but it just felt it was simply, suddenly, over.If it were film, I'd chalk it up to the studio planning a franchise. Still, recommended.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Doorbell Rang - Rex Stout

I had this one laying about the house for at least a decade and finally got around to reading it. My first Nero Wolf, if you can believe it. Someone mentioned on 4 Mystery Addicts that the book that plays a lead roll in The Doorbell Rang, The FBI Nobody Knows, is, apparently, an actual book. I wonder if Stout fielded any heat about that, because the book is obviously damning to the FBI. I can't believe J. Edgar took it lying down. Anyhoo, I enjoyed the plot, loved the snappy dialogue. Loved the character of Archie. He can ring my doorbell anytime.

Downside? Thanks to this book, I've officially added lots more books to my To Be Read stack... And why aren't Stout's books available on the Kindle!? Scandalous!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

The Worried Citizen's Little Survival Guide - Stephen Windwalker

Okay, so the full title is The Worried Citizen's Little Survival Guide to the Greatest Financial Crisis of the Century (Understanding and Surviving the Domino Depression)

Man. Windwalker loves those long titles. Really. I own several of his books on the Kindle and have found he can be relied upon to keep his writing on track and useful without losing the novice or boring the expert, so when I found this little gem, I scooped it up. Or the Kindle-download equivalent of scooped, anyway.

I was not disappointed. Those you still buying the talking head's insistence that our current financial situation is a market "correction" need to pull your heads out of the sand long enough to read this one. I've followed the trail of our current global depression for a good while now, and I was impressed by how Windwalker managed to condense the history of the global meltdown into the financial free-fall of Iceland. The breakdown followed a similar course in many other nations, of course, but rather than bash us about the head with it all, he focused on one case in point.

This is a small book and a surprisingly quick read, but it's not light, by any means. In fact, it is gut-wrenching, but that is scarcely the author's fault: it's the topic. Windwalker manages to tie together hyperinflation, climate change, victim nations, weapons proliferation, terrorism, and financial violence and still keep us reading.

Of course, there is some political bias. Windwalker doesn't claim to be a journalist -- not that many journalists these days have a problem with flouting their own political views. But hey, if you can't read with your own filters intelligently in place, maybe you should just give up reading entirely. ::shrug:: Take up knitting or marksmanship. Personally, I prefer the latter, but I digress.

This is no tale for the shrinking violet. This is the end of the world as we know it. And, despite REM's assertion to the contrary, I don't feel so fine. Like most, I lost big time on my 401k. In fact, I no longer even have one. As Windwalker points out, after the crash of 1929, it was 1954 before the Dow rallied to its 1929 level. That's twenty-five years, folks. Some of us don't have twenty-five years to wait for the market to recover, let alone the number of years it will take for it to replace what we lost in 2008/2009. Some of us -- myself included -- will never recover what we invested, let alone what those investments earned. Barring a miracle, I'll die at my desk, despite whatever age I attain. Nope, I'm not feeling sorry for myself, just stating a fact.

The depressing part is, I'll have plenty of company.

Most of us now lack the money for stock investments. Bonds, which usually fair well in a bad market, are no longer a haven; they're just another hole. Unemployment and underemployment are leading to a quickly shrinking tax base and God knows who'll be funding these bailouts. Child abuse indeed. And we haven't seen the end, yet. The housing crisis may be leveling (please God) but the giant, bank-fed Ponzi scheme that is the looming credit card crisis hasn't yet hit us. That won't be pretty.

True to his word on "Surviving the Domino Depression," Windwalker does provide some hints on how to begin with the "man in the mirror" and make necessary changes in our lives. Those hints are pretty basic: downsizing our properties, taking a closer look at how we define our "needs" and generally re-writing our expectations. I'll tell you one of the biggest hints: remember that life is for living, not for spending. Get off the track that has fed this roller coaster for decades and remember: you're a human being. Not a human buying. Think about it.

Well done, Mr. Windwalker. This one needs to be on the best-seller list.

Friday, July 24, 2009

iScream

Well. For the second time in three years, Wordpress has managed to mangle itself and lose every post I have written. Yes, I did backup the site. No, the re-installed Wordpress does not recognize the file. No, I'm not a luddite. I've worked with computers since before the invention of the mouse and I've been building web pages for years.

So. Because I am a busy person. Because I have an actual life which involves me sitting for hours at a computer screen and I'm basically in no mood to voluntarily sit at one any longer than necessary, I've moved to Blogger. I don't have quite the level of control over the layout, but, hey, at least the data doesn't just disappear on a whim. Which is a Good Thing (TM).

At least that's what my blood pressure tells me.

Image courtesy of http://www.istyles.com/images/LS-SCREAM.jpg