tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post8440676718247970208..comments2024-03-29T01:43:05.524-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Pageturnerspattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-72578961126817944972010-03-25T23:20:43.233-04:002010-03-25T23:20:43.233-04:00I just finished BOG CHILD by Siobhan Dowd and LOVE...I just finished BOG CHILD by Siobhan Dowd and LOVED it!Barriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04678698296265168217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-42746228913749951392010-03-25T18:06:46.823-04:002010-03-25T18:06:46.823-04:00Southland is good,too. Many shows at about the sam...Southland is good,too. Many shows at about the same level of "must see." Few command the DVR attention but more are "good" than five years ago. Perhaps. I miss THE WIRE, THE SOPRANOS, THE SHIELD.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-70145421057533756552010-03-25T18:03:28.772-04:002010-03-25T18:03:28.772-04:00Always found Thackery and Trollope to be dreadful ...Always found Thackery and Trollope to be dreadful slogs. And I was an English Lit major. I always find rereading Ross MacDonald, John D. MacDonald or Ed Mcbain to be good airplane books. While watching Justified I kept being reminded of Walking Tall. Not as excited by this show as I was hoping to be. Much prefer Southland.Steve Oerkfitznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-67334362451893305362010-03-25T17:33:28.028-04:002010-03-25T17:33:28.028-04:00I prefer to put myself asleep reading my own novel...I prefer to put myself asleep reading my own novels. A few pages and I'm snoring.Richard S. Wheelernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-80159310123858151022010-03-25T16:37:04.753-04:002010-03-25T16:37:04.753-04:00Dying to read Memory. I may have to walk to Border...Dying to read Memory. I may have to walk to Borders. <br />THE BOTTOMS is the bomb.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-55195154716361685872010-03-25T16:27:27.084-04:002010-03-25T16:27:27.084-04:00I particularly enjoyed Jeff Abbott's Trust Me ...I particularly enjoyed Jeff Abbott's Trust Me from last year although I don't think it's out in paperback yet.<br /><br />Any Hard Case Crime or Gabriel Hunt.Scott D. Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293540073601809197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-37507618877210140862010-03-25T15:54:01.038-04:002010-03-25T15:54:01.038-04:00Yes, Andre Dubus is a favorite, as is John O'H...Yes, Andre Dubus is a favorite, as is John O'Hara.<br /><br />Coben is also a good plane read. And you can't go wrong with Joe Lansdale.<br /><br />Jeff M.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-32384796415542395822010-03-25T15:39:22.206-04:002010-03-25T15:39:22.206-04:00Patti - Yeah sitting in screenings of the film is ...Patti - Yeah sitting in screenings of the film is pretty damn cool. I was sitting next to a woman once who was just balling by the end. I started to feel bad. Then it turned out she was moderating the after-screening discussion. She had to pull it together to talk about the film. Funny in hindsight.Eric Beetnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12504563937840205835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-40230207742366595422010-03-25T14:41:47.759-04:002010-03-25T14:41:47.759-04:00It was a bookgroup choice. None of us really got i...It was a bookgroup choice. None of us really got it. It was back when we still had lofty aspirations. Now we read--what all book groups read.I can well imagine that happening to a writer out of the bookstore setting.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-45188727369873781532010-03-25T14:25:10.409-04:002010-03-25T14:25:10.409-04:00Barry Malzberg tells a hilarious and typically Mal...Barry Malzberg tells a hilarious and typically Malzbergian story about introducing himself to a reader of one his books on the subway in NYC...and being dressed down for pretending to be himself by the skeptical reader.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-13609628379823196892010-03-25T14:19:30.285-04:002010-03-25T14:19:30.285-04:00I have the QPB version of that HBJ box, too.I have the QPB version of that HBJ box, too.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-57869925414424132262010-03-25T14:17:37.613-04:002010-03-25T14:17:37.613-04:00We are huge Sara Gran fans. I guess that's eve...We are huge Sara Gran fans. I guess that's every writer's best moment. Seeing their book in a stranger's hands. Have you ever gotten to watch someone watch your movie, Eric? That's something else you have to be very proud of. <br />Todd-actually I think there were four of them packaged together. I'll have to find them.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-43849493948877565012010-03-25T14:10:55.225-04:002010-03-25T14:10:55.225-04:00Well, INVISIBLE CITIES is also tricky, if less so,...Well, INVISIBLE CITIES is also tricky, if less so, as I recall, than WINTER'S NIGHT.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-91570353902021074492010-03-25T13:58:14.208-04:002010-03-25T13:58:14.208-04:00For small but riveting I like Sara Gran. Dope was ...For small but riveting I like Sara Gran. Dope was amazing and I actually read Come Closer on a plane. Both are nice and short and the books themselves are tiny. I've never seen a book that format size before but I love them. Come Closer is a horror-ish book and on a plane you can't get too scared :)<br /><br />And I'm so honored to be mentioned. I would just die to look across the aisle and see someone reading our book. That would be a real "I've made it" moment.Eric Beetnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12504563937840205835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-83266693902003170942010-03-25T13:57:46.539-04:002010-03-25T13:57:46.539-04:00I think I have Invisible Cities somewhere. I shoul...I think I have Invisible Cities somewhere. I should give it another try-expand my brain before it's too late.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-34645675036240018742010-03-25T13:56:28.691-04:002010-03-25T13:56:28.691-04:00Or even assiduous, or so it seems you were at one ...Or even assiduous, or so it seems you were at one time.<br /><br />Assidulous seems like what one might be if they are also redonkulous.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-13316990197702393232010-03-25T13:54:10.629-04:002010-03-25T13:54:10.629-04:00Ah. Well, IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELER-- ...Ah. Well, IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELER-- is one of Calvino's most complex books...ITALIAN FOLKTALES (too fat for your requested specs) and CASTLE are examples of a much less labor-intensive Calvino reads. And Borges, too, is very literal. Just has as much fun with that literalness as possible.<br /><br />But if you haven't tried Mortimer (!--as such an assiduious cozy reader?), you should. Not all his work is in the Rumpole mode, but his Rumpoles are pretty consistently good (the ones I've read).Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-20347276924769811282010-03-25T13:18:41.735-04:002010-03-25T13:18:41.735-04:00Paris.
I adore Reginald Hill. Thanks for the Dever...Paris.<br />I adore Reginald Hill. Thanks for the Deverell idea. That's a new name for me. <br />Short stories--I will definitely be taking one volume. So handy for the short ride on the metro. I have read Cheever and OHara countless times-they were the masters, weren't they. Oh, and William Trevor, Alice Munro, Andre Dubus.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-73657411771247767882010-03-25T12:56:45.585-04:002010-03-25T12:56:45.585-04:00Rumpole is a great idea-always meant to try him. A...Rumpole is a great idea-always meant to try him. A SIMPLE PLAN was great-that's a pretty near perfect pageturner. <br /><br />Jeff-I loved all those books thirty years ago. They just don't write books like that anymore. Although my book group is doing SOUTH OF BROAD. A few years ago I went to the Michener museum in PA. Quite an amazing writer in terms of research and story, wasn't he? <br /><br />I have THE COLD SPOT on my tbr pile-should take that one. I read Stephen's last book-love the setting and characters. <br /><br />I read the Calvino book If ON A Winter's Night. I think those two are too tricky for literal me on a plane flight. My husband likes Borges. <br /><br />Bringing up Coban reminds me, I could do one on CD. I hadn't thought of that. Last Coban I read was on a long car trip and very entertaining. <br /><br />But I am not sure what the arc is on Justified. Just coming home? <br />But whatever, I am very impressed so far. <br /><br />Maybe I will try to "write" a YA on the trip, Fleur. It seems like that's where the action is. <br /><br />George-thanks for the kind offer. Let me see if our local used bookstore has it. I like to give them business whenever I can. <br />Yes, <br /><br />Eric's book sounds fantastic. So many good books. Thanks!pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-11712792823776697702010-03-25T12:52:02.075-04:002010-03-25T12:52:02.075-04:00Not sure where you are going, Patti, or how long t...Not sure where you are going, Patti, or how long the flight is, but when I travel to England, I like to read a "thick" UK crime novel such as a Reginald Hill. If you haven't read William Deverell's Trial of Passion that won a Hammett Award. it will keep you engrossed on a long flight. It's a big favorite of George Easter, the editor of Deadly Pleasures. And I always recommend Randy Wayne White. Again depending on where you are headed, one of those city noir collections might work. I've recently been working my way through Dublin Noir edited by Ken Bruen.Kent Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834261948994921554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-57675049167974738102010-03-25T12:50:23.630-04:002010-03-25T12:50:23.630-04:00Short stories always do it for me. I'd suggest...Short stories always do it for me. I'd suggest the Rumpole, also the stories of John O'Hara, John Cheever, Ray Bradbury, any of Garrison Keeler's Lake Wobegone books (also a good bet for audiobook listening!), stories of Saki, and any story collection of Sherlock Holmes (the Conan Doyle ones).Richard R.http://brokenbullhorn.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-5278602062588017492010-03-25T12:42:10.154-04:002010-03-25T12:42:10.154-04:00You've already got some good recommendations, ...You've already got some good recommendations, with my favorite so far being Scott Smith's terrific "A Simple Plan". His second novel, "The Ruins", is almost as good. Harlan Coben's standalone novels are just about impossible to put down. My favorite is "Just One Look", but any of them would do.<br /><br />As for "Justified" I think we're going to get a season long (or maybe series long) story arc, but individual episodes can stand alone in a way they can't in a show like, for instance, "Damages". Clearly there are all sorts of unresolved issues with Givens and his ex-wife, his father, Boyd, and Boyd's sister-in-law Ava.MPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12515927050827397245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-17834991764784213122010-03-25T12:30:17.444-04:002010-03-25T12:30:17.444-04:00Another vote for Rumpole and his fellow travelers ...Another vote for Rumpole and his fellow travelers for travelers...good, well-written, without too much subtle subtext that can be lost while being jostled at the elbow or advised about upcoming turbulence.<br /><br />Might also be an opportunity to try those Borges and Calvino collections I FFB'd a month or so back, both slim books of mostly very short stories...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-73884030148103029422010-03-25T11:01:48.122-04:002010-03-25T11:01:48.122-04:00One Too Many Blows To The Head by Eric Beetner and...One Too Many Blows To The Head by Eric Beetner and Jennifer Kohl is a great page turner, if you haven;t read it.Paul D Brazillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12881642426845398389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-13789128117081882342010-03-25T11:01:26.765-04:002010-03-25T11:01:26.765-04:00George, Rumpole stories are always a winner! You r...George, Rumpole stories are always a winner! You remind me that I am long overdue for my regular rereading of the late John Mortimer's creations.R/Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07791522136032565027noreply@blogger.com