I am currently working to move my blog into a more traditional (and I hope more versatile) blog format. I hope to move my archives and everything else over in the very near future. I am a bit out of my comfort zone at the moment, but learning steadily, if not quickly. And since steady is half the recipe for winning the race, I’ll probably die with this half done.
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Here are a couple of blurbs for two recent novels that I am getting ready to read. The Joe Keenan book has grabbed me right away. I’m only a couple pages in and I’m getting a good feel. Journey Back has yet to arrive in the mail, but I expect it soon.
The fast track to fame is never an easy ride, but a hapless trio of aspiring screenwriters hits more bumps than most in MY LUCKY STAR (Little, Brown and Company; January 25, 2006; $24.95), Joe Keenan’s rollicking, hilarious new novel of Hollywood misadventure. Hard up screenwriter Philip Cavanaugh and his talented but relationship-impaired friend Claire Simmons are scraping by on the bedraggled remains of professional optimism when their shifty friend Gilbert calls with extraordinary news: he’s landed them all a gig on a major film project attached to the biggest names in the business. Philip and Claire have barely set foot in the glittering circle of Hollywood’s elite when it becomes clear that the job—turning a horribly maudlin World War II novel into Oscar fodder for the world’s biggest pair of movie stars—is as preposterous as the means through which Gilbert procured it for them. Fate, desperation, and not a little lust draw the luckless trio into an increasingly volatile situation between the tempestuous film star Diana Malenfant; her desperately closeted son, Stephen Donato, on whom Philip has a major crush; Stephen’s new and perfectly oblivious wife, Gina; and Diana’s siblings (and arch nemeses), Lily and Monty. Throw in a DA with a vendetta, a gaggle of call boys, and Gilbert’s scheming ex-wife, Moira, and our heroes find themselves drawn into an uproarious situation full of seduction, ambition, revenge, and the single most ill-judged sex act a married megastar has ever committed.Joe Keenan is an Emmy-winning writer and producer of Frasier, and MY LUCKY STAR exhibits some of the same intricate plotting, crafty wordplay, and lovably eccentric characters that made Frasier a classic.
 
When Richard Jones drives across the country from New York to San Francisco, he changes more than his name. Starting a new life as Mitch James, he forges a resume and fakes his way into a job as a reporter for an alternative magazine. Rich isn’t just fudging his credentials. He’s also running from a past filled with seedy characters, illicit drug use, and debilitating bouts of paranoid schizophrenia, which culminated in a dark obsession with his beautiful and eccentric girlfriend and landed him in a mental hospital.It seems as if life in San Francisco will be different – until Mitch learns about a series of secret experiments with BNG, a new drug alleged to have extraordinary effects, including allowing its users to re-experience past traumas and examine them with new insight. It is said to be particularly beneficial to alcoholics and drug abusers seeking to break free of their habits. In order to research the drug for a breaking article, Mitch must first become part of the experiment, living in an underground lab and research facility with a colorful cast of characters. Under the effect of the new drug, Mitch begins to relive and come to terms with his troubled past, journeying back to long forgotten memories.Filled with penetrating insights into human psychology, addiction and recovery, and the ever-present war on drugs, JOURNEY BACK is a fast-paced, page-turning debut by Dan Martin, a New Jersey psychoanalyst.
 
 
 
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The nature of the online used book business is competitive like all online business. There are a lot of players out there, and some playaz, if you take my meaning. There are even some playa-haterz, but I don’t even like to think about that. Now the plazzizzel hatizzels, on the other hand… Anyway, my apologies. (If you would like to see this site in Snoop-Dog-ese, click here.)Â
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Back to the task at hand.Â
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A couple of weeks ago, I did some book buying in Syracuse at some of the area thrift stores. The Rochester thrift store market is dominated by ABVI Goodwill, which has been steadily raising its prices on used books. There are still deals to be had, but they can be difficult to find. The Salvation Army runs some nice, large operations in the Syracuse area, and the books are reasonably priced. Some Goodwill merchandise is now sold online, so I am guessing that the price increase here reflects the growing demand for that product. A few years ago, I would walk out of a local thrift store with 25-50 books. Now I rarely leave with 10.
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Above you will find nine books that I purchased in Syracuse. People often ask me why I choose some books over others. Well, that is a difficult question and I’m not sure I am the best one to ask for advice, but since I have made rather than lost money over the past few years, here goes. The first thing that makes me look at a book is the title. I tend to favor fiction over non-fiction, because I have a better feel for the obscurity of the subject. Obscurity is important, because a title that is valued by only a few people suggests small print runs. Once I am thinking about a title, condition is very important. Finally price. I try not to spend more than a dollar for any book I plan to sell. That keeps the possibility of loosing a ton of money to a minimum. That rule has probably caused me to miss a few treasures, but it has also kept me from picking some lemons.
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In the end, I buy by feel. I am still just a hobbyist, but an enthusiastic one. I have learned quite a bit about certain authors and titles over the past few years, and that helps. But when I head to the checkout line, most of the books in my basket or cart are a bit of a mystery in terms of their monetary value. Of course, that is also most of the fun.
 
 
 
 
I’ve been having some site issues, but things appear to be worked out now. Here is a review of a book I have been meaning to post for a while.
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What does one do, when one is a psychologist being subtly stalked by one’s patient? What does one do when that patient begins to develop a relationship with one’s daughter? This is the opening conflict in the newest translated mystery novel, Pursuit, by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza featuring the formidable Inspector Espinosa. This is my second Espinosa novel and I gotta say I’m hooked. Garcia-Roza’s style is very well developed, producing an unexpected richness from a modicum of words. His writing is very tight. I like that. He is able to keep you on the edge of your seat using very common, everyday events. Espinosa’s interrogation of a young woman in the middle of a restaurant over uneaten pizza is absolutely riveting. I also enjoy his use of Rio as a backdrop. I’ve seen several professional reviewers mention this, but it bears mentioning again. The various neighborhoods are almost as much characters as they are setting.Â
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Perhaps it is just because I have been thinking about Peter Jackson’s King Kong (which was amazing), but I liked the breaking of the story into thirds. Like the recent monster flick, the guy you’ve been waiting to see doesn’t even make an appearance until the second third of the book. I couldn’t wait to see what Espinosa had in front of him as I started page one, and I was impatient to see him by page five. But by page ten, I was so engrossed in Dr. Nesse’s storyline that I forgot about the clever policeman to the point that I was almost surprised when he finally showed up. I also enjoyed waiting to see who the “villain” was going to be. Dr. Nesse and his patient, Jonas, are both in the running for most of the book. It was like waiting for the NBA finals in the 1980′s with Espinosa being the Lakers, and Nesse and Jonas as the Sixers and the Celtics. You knew the Lakers were coming out of the west, so while they were on vacation, you watched the play-offs in the east. That analogy is probably limited, but I’m going with it anyway.
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As in A Window in Copacabana, the other Espinosa mystery I have under my belt, the author provides a main character with whom the reader can connect. He is a perfect combination of how people want to be at their jobs and how they actually are. Espinoza is not a driven man, but he is thorough. He does not rail against the rampant corruption of the police, but he avoids it. He is measured and patient on the job, but occasionally troubled and unsure of his life’s direction. Plus he loves books and can’t pass by a used bookstore without temptation.
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I don’t know if anyone has the rights to this character yet, but I hope they make a movie out of some of these books. As I said in my review of A Window in Copacabana, I think I see Giancarlo Giannini in the role of Espinosa. He played the Mexican cop in Man on Fire, and I picture him as I read some of the scenes.
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If you like mystery novels, this one is a must. It is very much worth a Sunday afternoon.
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