Baltimore and Indianapolis

Every year about this time I get interested in the Super Bowl. Next week the 41st will be played. And I was there at the very first one in Los Angeles (1967) - Packers vs. the Chiefs. Many empty seats and no one knowing that it would become the biggest sports event in the USA.
This year the Colts play the Bears. The player with the most hype is probably Peyton Manning (number 18 on the right), the quarterback. For me the Colt's quarterback will always be Johnny Unitas (number 19 on the left), who was part of some of my growing- up Sunday's. In case someone is missing the point about Baltimore and Indianapolis - they are the cities that have hosted the Colt's.
The Super Bowl is an appropriate preface to the book I have just finished. "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis. My son & I really liked "Moneyball", which was a gift from my father. So one of my Christmas presents was the new book. I really liked it and you can check out the NPR link for a little of an update on Michael Oher - one of the many left tackles mentioned in the book.
Another book I've recently read has nothing to do with football, but everything to do with bears (although not from Chicago). Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crime Division is back in "The Fourth Bear". We get Goldilocks, Punch & Judy, the Gingerbread Man and much more. Although I enjoy Jack Sprat, Mary, and Ashley I must say that I am looking forward to the coming Tuesday Next book due out sometime this coming summer.

Mark & Curtis, lower case novels

I just finished reading "a spot of bother" by Mark Haddon. I enjoyed the book, but it was not as remarkable as "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time", which I have probably given to everyone I know. But do read "spot", it is funny and tragic and luckily has a "feel-good" ending. Also check out Mark Haddon's web site. It is very well done. Another young author that has done well with her first book, "prep" is Curtis Sittenfeld. Although the book got lots of publicity I didn't come on to it until I read about it on a blog-site. Then I got lucky and found it in a used-book store. It was certainly worth reading and I will read the next book (but my library prefers translations rather than original language for this one - probably because of the probable age of the readers - young). Curtis does have a web site also (I guess everyone does these days), but I found an article in the Washington Post more interesting.
As the discerning reader may be able to understand I'm doing a bit of backlogging - trying to get my reading up to date. Maybe you understood that or you did not, doesn't matter much. Anyway two books that I should mention are "Creepers" by David Morrell and "The Oxford Murders" by Guillermo Martinez. The first was probably not worth buying, but I did so I read it; can't recommend it and it is going into my bag of books to be given to the Salvation Army. The second was more clever and an interesting read (reminds me a little of Numbers on TV). The author is a mathematician - Argentinian. Found info about it on a web site dedicated to Mathematical Fiction. The web site gives some clues as to one of the mathematical puzzels in the book.

We are not at home to Mr. F__k Up

I am currently reading Stuart MacBride's second outing - "Dying Light" - with detective Logan McRae who has been moved to DI Steel's squad. The group of misfits and screw-ups are led by one of their own ilk and every morning on completion of the daily meeting the entire squad chants together "We are not at home to Mr. F__k Up". Can't say that it seems to help, but I hope someone makes a movie or TV version so I can hear the squad cheer. The Aberdeen police with their cast of fictional characters makes a good detective novel fun to read.
Giles Blunt's fourth book about John Cardinal in the backwoods of Canada - "The Fields of Grief" - was one of the best of the four; but it doesn't have the comic relief of the special squad. Cardinal's wife is the target of the latest homicide and the story winds it way to the end in an interesting fashion.
One of my Christmas presents was "On the Run" by Iris Johansen. I've commented on her books earlier and can just restate the obvious, bubble-gum for the mind - but some days I just need that relief. Basic plot is trying to get awqy from the impossible and naturally working it all out by almost superhuman powers.
Another "filler" book was "The Inspector's Daughter" by Alanna Knight. Part of a series about Rose McQuinn, set in the very late 1800's . I don't remember a lot of the plot and probably will not return to this author, but it provided short term entertainment.

Emma Thompson & Michael Caine

Sometimes I don't read, I also go to movies. Each year we go to a film on Christmas day. This year we actually saw something better than the usual drivel. "Stranger than Fiction". Emma Thompson plays a writer whose latest book makes a different kind of impact. Her text, in the form of a narration, is heard by the main character. There was also a great song "Whole Wide World" - by noneother than Eric Wreckless (I freely admit never having heard of him). Dustin Hoffman shows that he can still act and my daughter commented that Emma and Queen Latifah should go on tour.
Michael Caine, who is also usually an exceptional actor, is in the title for the movie "The Prestige" - Two magicians in great rivalry. The movie keeps you guessing and the period sets are very good. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are also worth noting. And I've like all the films Christopher Nolan has done.
I have also seen "Marie Antoinette", Sophia Coppola's most recent film. The sets and clothes were incredible. But I had the feeling that I didn't really know what the point was when it was finished.
Another film I enjoyed was the new James Bond, "Casino Royale", with Daniel Craig who, in my opinion is the best Bond since Sean (but no one will ever be better). I missed Q, however, even though the gadgets were pretty good especially the medical equipment!

New York and somewhere in England

The net is a great place to get book tips. One site; Curled up with a good book; is a place I particularly like to visit. I found a review of Claire Messud's "The Emperor's Children" and lo and behold my library had it. It felt very real when I read it, my daughter got to it first and read it in just a few days - so the family recommends it. It has a 9/11 twist, but I saw it more as how we can plan our lives so carefully and think that we are covering all bases, but events beyond our control will wreck havoc with our lives in unexpected ways. In this book the 9/11 tragedy was also a beginning for at least one character; another twist of fate changes lives.
"The Killing Art" by Jonathan Santlofer (who is also an artist) is also set in NY. This is not great literature, but an enjoyable read with pictures! Clues are given in pictorial form (see examples to the left) and the reader can form their own opinions. I liked the book enought to order the other two with the character Kate McKinnon.
Somewhwere in England is a book by Sheila Quigley called "Living on a Prayer". This one I picked up to have something to read on a trip and although I did finish it the book will go into my give away bag. I will probably not buy another book by the author anytime soon.

Appalachians and Scotland

Danville, Virginia has historical claims, among other things it was the last capital of the Confederate States of America - 7 days in 1865. The reason I'm writing about it is that I have recently read most of the books in the Elisabeth Mcpherson series by Sharyn McCrumb and some of them take place in Danville where Eisabeth's brother Bill has his law practice. Elisabeth is enamored with her Scottish heritage and it leads her to adventures in Scotland (and parts south in the British Isles). Thanks to my daughter's collection I was able to read 7 of the 9 books over Christmas vacation.
McCrumb is best known for the Ballad Novels mixing Appalachian stories and folk music. She seems to only want to be known for this series as her home page is exclusively about these books. I guess I can understand as the Elisabeth novels (all 9 of them) can probably be characterized as rather light-weight. But they are rather funny and an enjoyable read; there is even some seriousness as Elisabeth tries to come to terms with losing more than one loved one. My favorite character is cousin Geoffrey. A close second comes the modern day, female A.P. Hill whose hobby is civil war re-enactments.

Kindle county, Edinburgh, L.A., and Haiti

Many years ago (1987) Scott Turow debuted with the novel "Presumed innocent". The story of Rusty Sabich of Kindle County put Turow at the top of the list as an author of legal thrillers. Through the years more books by Turow have been well worth reading. The latest - "Limitations" - is like a moral play reminding us that no matter how much we make of our lives there will always be those moral slipups (large or small) that will come back to us and make us feel guilty and ultimately give us pause as to our right to judge others; good lesson. Sabich plays a small role in the book and the reader that knows that Rusty probably has a much darker secret than the main character George Mason will think about choices made through out life that return to us as moral dilemmas. An unexpected Christmas gift certificate for books made it possible for me to read this book before paperback!
My wonderful library took me to Edinburgh via Kate Atkinson's "One Good Turn".
Jackson Brodie of "Case Histories" is back and he is as likeable as ever and the novel takes many turns and jumps back and forth between different characters.
The next stop was L.A. and the latest Harry Bosch book, "Echo Park", by Michael Connelly. One of my friends just recently discovered Harry Bosch and has been lyrical over the books - which is as it should be ; a thirteenth Harry Bosch is due this year and I hope my library will be as generous as usual and buy it early.
The last visit on this tour is Haiti in a book by Nick Stone, "Mr. Clarinet". This book was courtesy of the "pocket shop" (the great chain of bookstores found in train stations and airports in Sweden). The author has actually spent a lot of time in Haiti and writes interestingly about a very strange society. More books (past adventures) with the lead character Max Mingus are due in the future.

One bird, a spy, and more

The handsome young man on the right is Joseph Banks of Cook's first voyage. He is also a character of a lovely book by Martin Davies "The Conjuror's Bird". It is the story of a modern day search for the bird of Ulieta and the telling of how the bird ended up in Lincolnshire. The two parallel tales are nicely told. Lots of Scandinavian connections the Swedish student Katya, the Danish naturalist Fabricius. A very enjoyable read!
The spy is from William Boyd's "Restless". This book also goes back and forth between modern time and historical time. The setting is also England, for the most part; the historical time is the second world war; and the "heroine" is an unwed mother teaching English to engineers. I quite enjoyed this book too. Boyd is usually an interesting read.
My lovely library also provided me with George Pelecanos' latest book - "The Night Gardener" - another D.C. tale; click on the book's name and find a link to a review on Salon.
The library continues to be a wonderful source of what they do best - "loan books"!