It’s only the beginning of April, but I’m already thinking of what I’m going to read this summer. So, in no particular order:
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Shining by Stephen King
Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer
Moon by Tony Fletcher (reread)
Love Over Scotland by Alexander McCall Smith
Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
And a bunch of other things that catch my fancy, I’m sure.
Any suggestions?
Today I made the trip to my local library to go to the book sale. I like to go a couple of times a year to get inexpensive used books and support the library (my numerous fines and late fees notwithstanding).
I bought The Shining, On Writing and Captains Courageous for $1.50, total.
I’ll be set for about a week.
Today kiddies is a nice treat. This book doesn’t have too many pages. Heck, it doesn’t have too many words.
It’s a comic book.
Not just any comic book, mind you. It’s Michael Chabon Presents The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist (Volume 3). Like it’s predeceeding volumes, this is a collection of stories based on the character The Escapist, from Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
This slim volume, published by Dark Horse, is very entertaining. Each story is written by a different member of the comics community, like the late great Will Eisner (The Spirit makes a cameo). Also, each story has a different artist drawing it, so the look varies greatly.
One of my favorite parts of the book (apart from the art) are the pseudo-historical essays about The Escapist and his importance in comic book history. They’re a lot of fun, especially if you know a bit about that subject (I don’t know too much, but I did write an essay on the history of Marvel Comics that got me into college. True story).
Blogger’s block vanquished.
Today’s book is Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith, the second book in the 44 Scotland Street series. Like its predecessor, Espresso Tales is a collection of a Scotsman serial. The result? Short, bite sized bits about the people who live in the Georgian townhouse at 44 Scotland Street.
McCall Smith’s books are the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom of the outside world. The characters ring true, and the situations they get into are certainly entertaining.
I was happy to discover while reading this that Bertie, the over stressed hyper-intelligent six year old, is frequently featured in this collection.
What’s on the Bookshelf?
Lately I’ve been reading Dennis Lehane’s The Given Day. Unlike some of his better known works like Gone Baby Gone, The Given Day is historical fiction.
On my last trip to the library, I spotted this on display, happily chillin’ next to Chuck Palahniuk and Stephen King, quite the odd trio. Intrigued by the old photographs used on the cover, I picked it up and started to read it.
I’m roughly a third of the way through the 700 page behemoth, and I’m enjoying it. It certainly is taking a while to get through, and I’m a fast reader.
As can be expected with Lehane, the city of Boston is a character by itself, and he brings it to life very well.
As for the story itself, it involved the Boston Police Department, the Spanish Influenza and the Boston Red Sox, circa 1918. Not to mention the undercurrent of social unrest, plenty of anarchists, communists and other menaces to society. There are undercover cops, bar fights, deaths, Babe Ruth and more.
My assessment of the book might change as I delve further into it, but for the time being its an entertaining look back to a different time.
Ned Wolfe 