I Love a Good Mystery

Good Books, Good Company

I'm going through a particularly rough time in my life right now, and I'm once again reminded at how glad I am that I'm a reader.  There's a lot about my life that's up in the air, and to say that I'm stressed would be an understatement.  Nevertheless, I still manage some time everyday to read, and that gives me a much needed break from worrying about my problems.  Of course, given the types of books I like to read, I end up reading about someone else's troubles, but that seems to work for me. ;)

I'll post full reviews later, but for now let me just say that Peter Robinson's PIECE OF MY HEART and Simon Kernick's RELENTLESS are terrific, compelling reads.   Next up is DYING LIGHT by Stuart MacBride.

Sunday Morning Rant

I recently picked up a book by a new (to fiction) Canadian author, and after reading about 70 pages, I got curious about the author's history.  I went online, searched on the author's name and found information about her on a literary agent's site.  I started to read, and before I knew it, the entire plot (with resolution) was explained!  I stopped reading as soon as I figured out that the summary included spoilers, but by then it was too late.

So here's a tip for literary agents: If you want to do your mystery-writing client a favour, don't give out the entire plot of a novel on a public website. Sheesh!

Happy Holiday Weekend

So far, my holiday weekend has been full of food, wine, time in the garden, and lots of crime (in the form of books and movies, of course).  Next up: prime rib, The Drummer (by Anthony Neil Smith) and Creep. 

There really should to be more long weekends throughout the year.

Sun Time (aka Not Tax Time)

The sun is shining, it's warm outside and I'm heading out to the backyard deck.  I've got my book (I Love My Smith & Wesson by David Bowker) and my iPod, and I plan to relax for the better part of the afternoon.

What's waiting for me upon my return inside? Tax forms, and lots of them.  Let 'em wait...I've got some lounging to do.

Negative Feedback to Authors

I have a small site that lists profiles of authors, and I often get some feedback (through that site) from people who think they're getting in touch with a certain author.  I've been quite surprised by the content of these messages.

Some ask for things (free signed copies, a meeting, etc.), but a large portion of the messages have been negative.  Just this morning I got a message from someone saying

...I couldn't get past page 63 of XXX due to your blatant anti-Christianity.  It went into the garbage can, and I won't be buying any more XXX books.

Why would someone send such a negative email? I know that standing up for ones beliefs is important, but I don't get why someone would take the time to send such nastiness.  (I won't even get into the hypocritical aspect of the message...I mean how 'Christian' is it to be so negative and throw a book into the garbage instead of at least donating it to a worthy cause? Okay, I guess I got into it a little bit.)

I also wonder what sort of response, if any, people who send those kinds of messages expect from the author.  Is the author supposed to see the error of his/her way and change accordingly for future books? Sheesh...

Memory

I'll admit it: I'm 35 years old and not happy about it.  I have noticed that body and mind have definitely changed over time, but my memory seems to be the latest casualty of this runaway train called aging.

I was okay with having to make lists and notes to remind myself of things, but lately my memory issues have crossed into my reading.  I can read a book I love, but months later I forget details.  I'm not just talking minor details...but sometimes whole scenes that I was enthralled by at the time of reading.

I read a fair number of books (about 10-15 a month, on average) and am wondering if that's affecting my memory. Can too many stories and characters start to meld into one another, so that the fine details of each one are lost?

Then again, maybe it's just my age.  If this keeps up, I don't even want to imagine what I'll be like in 10 or 15 years.

Valentine's Day Soundtrack

Seeing as it's Valentine's Day today, I figured that the music I listed to while working should be appropriate for the day. After listening to the playlist, I realised that I'm probably not much of a Valentine's Day traditionalist.

Playlist:

• Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths
• Your Ex-Lover Is Dead by Stars
• Super Orgy Porno Party by the Planet Smashers
• I Think I Love You by The Partridge Family
• Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
• Call in Sick by MxPx
• I'll Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler
• Read for Love by India Arie
• For the Moment by Gob
• Closer by NIN
• What I Got by Sublime
• I Want Love by Elton John
• I Would Walk 500 Milies by Less Than Jake
• Question by Old 97's
• I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher
• Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf
• Let's Spend the Night Together by The Rolling Stones

Message from the DVD Rental Gods?

I've been a little nervous about flying out to England in a month (for the Left Coast Crime convention), but so far I've been able to ignore those feelings because of the excitement of it all. 

I settled in tonight to watch a few movies that I received in Friday's delivery from the online DVD rental service I use.  What movies had been sent?  Flight Plan and Red Eye. 

Is someone trying to tell me something?

Clarinet Frustration

I have hundreds of books waiting to be read, and yet I'm obsessing about the one book that I don't have - Mr. Clarinet by Nick Stone.

Next month, I'll be attending this year's Left Coast Crime convention in Bristol, where the author will be.  I'll be able to get a copy of the book then, but that doesn't seem soon enough.

Excuse me...it's time to try to silence my inner petulant child who is running around yelling "Now! I want it now!".

The Tastes They Are A-Changin'

I'm always trying to push encourage my bf to read some of the many books I have.  He's got a thing about cars and driving, so naturally I handed him copies of DRIVE by James Sallis and THE WHEELMAN by Duane Swierczynski.  It turns out that he really liked the books...until the end.  Without giving too much away, I can safely say that these books don't end in a sunny field of butterflies and flowers. 

Now, I really liked the way the stories wrapped up.  Things weren't perfect but they seemed real.  In thinking about this, I've realised that my reading tastes have changed.  I used to like books that had storylines that wrapped up cleanly, where the good guys walked away and the bad guys got what they deserved.  The resolutions are full of black and white, with little in between.

As my interest in flawed characters has grown, so has my interest in good endings that are full of gray areas.