The kind folks at Smart Pop occasionally ask me to write an essay for their nonfiction series, mostly on favorite TV shows.  I do, too, and announce those essays here. But what I don’t say is that then I get the contributor’s copy and read it cover to cover.  So this week, the kind folks at Smart Pop asked me to write a guest blog about my favorite essays.  I did, and you can find it–and the essays–on their website:

http://www.smartpopbooks.com/2153

Enjoy!

June was the longest short month in existence. Each day felt like it was two days long.  I have no idea why.

We traveled in June.  Dean taught. I did a lot of work. And I read.  And read. And read.  So it was a good month.

In fact, it was a spectacular month, considering how much of what I read I enjoyed.  This is a long list and I got a bit picky.  If I had a few reservations about a book, I didn’t recommend it.  An abundance of riches for once.

So far, however, July is starting slow…

Anyway, enjoy!

June, 2010

Balogh, Mary, A Secret Affair, Delacorte, 2010.  This is the book I was waiting for in the Huxtable series.  It featured the most interesting of the Huxtables, Con, who couldn’t inherit because he was born two days early.  He was a mysterious character in the previous books about the various Huxtables, and always the most fascinating whenever he was on stage.  The novel itself didn’t disappoint, although I worried it might at the beginning.  By the time we got to the middle, I was unable to put it down, and 75 pages from the end, I was in tears.  An excellent novel.  Now I want another.

Bowden, Mark, “The Professor of War,” Vanity Fair, May, 2010.  I’m always two months behind in my magazine reading, so as I read this profile of General David Petraeus, he was testifying before Congress (and fainted—which was a surprise).  The testimony made the article more interesting.

No matter how you feel about the various wars we’re fighting, you might want to look at this profile of the man running them.  He’s impressive (as you might imagine) and has a vision for what he’s doing, based on a view of history that is quite different from the view held by the so-called Greatest Generation.  That view alone made the profile worth my time.  I got a better understanding of the man and what he’s trying to do.  And the article itself challenged a few of my assumptions, something I adore.  I like being forced to revisit my own opinions.

Read this, if only to understand a person with a lot of influence in the world at the moment.

Brinkley, Alan, “The Time of The Lives,” Vanity Fair, May, 2010.  An utterly fascinating article about the start of Time Magazine back in the 1920s.  This is an excerpt from the book, which I’m going to have to order now.  You’ll see why below.  I love the history of publishing, and this is another wonderful example.  I didn’t realize the influence Time had on the language, let alone on publishing.  Take a peek, and see if you want the book like I do.

Chabon, Michael, “Imaginary Homelands,” Maps and Legends: Reading And Writing Along The Borderlands, Harper Perennial edition, 2009.  “Imaginary Homelands” is about writing, reader reaction, and the reactions of experts.  It’s also about the genesis of Chabon’s award-winning, bestselling novel The Yiddish Policeman’s Union.  If you like essays about a writer’s process, this essay is for you.

Chabon, Michael, Maps and Legends: Reading And Writing Along The Borderlands, Harper Perennial edition, 2009.  After reading last month’s Recommended Reading List, you knew the Chabon book of essays had to be on my list.  For the individual essays that I liked, see last month’s list, as well as the others that I liked in June.  This slight collection is well written and fascinating.

Chabon, Michael, “Secret Skin,” Maps and Legends: Reading And Writing Along The Borderlands, Harper Perennial edition, 2009.  A version of “Secret Skin” first appeared in The New Yorker.  I liked the essay when I read it then and I like the slightly revised version now.  The trade paper edition of this book includes the essay as an extra, and it’s a worthy extra.  The essay is about important things like Superman’s cape and superheroes and how necessary they are.  Pick up the book for this essay alone—but make sure you get the right edition.

Child, Lee, 61 Hours, Delacorte, 2010.  I devoured this book in an instant.  Okay—a night or two—but still.  It’s a Jack Reacher novel, set in the dead of winter in the Dakotas.  I felt the cold, and the hopelessness, and the sheer emptiness of the space.  I got angry at Child for doing something he needed to do, and I admired his skill at ending the book properly (something some other authors, trying the same thing, weren’t able to do this year).

I don’t dare say any more without ruining the book for you.  Suffice to say this is a spectacular Jack Reacher novel, and one you should buy immediately.

Dubé, Marcelle, On Her Trail, Carina Press, June 2010.  When I’ve said in previous months that I’ve read some wonderful unpublished fiction, and editors should get off their butts and buy it, I am often talking about Marcelle Dubé.  I’ve been lucky enough to read Marcelle’s work for years now.  Most of you haven’t had the opportunity.  Now you do.

Carina Press has just published her first novel. For those of you who don’t know about Carina, it’s an e-book only line started by Harlequin.  They’re taking some risks in this line, and one of the risks they’re taking is to buy exceptional books that aren’t easily marketed.

Marcelle’s novel, On Her Trail, is one of those.  I would call the story romantic suspense, but it also has ghosts.  It’s almost a gothic, but not quite.  What it is, however, is wonderful.  It takes place in Canada, and has the richness of place I’ve come to expect from Marcelle’s work, as well as excellent characters.  I couldn’t put the book (or the Kindle, actually) down.

You don’t need an e-reader to buy this book. Go to the Carina Press site and download a copy you can read on your computer.  Carina keeps its prices low, so you can check out a number of writers you’ve never heard of for very little money.  Marcelle’s book is selling for less than $4.  I finished the  novel in less than a day.  Now I can’t wait to read the next.

Garrett, Randall, “A Case of Identity,” Lord Darcy, compiled and edited by Eric Flint, Baen Books, 2004.  I’m rereading alternate history for an article I’m writing for a textbook.  I have adored Garrett’s Lord Darcy series since I first encountered the stories in 1983.  Eric Flint compiled all of them in this volume, doing us a great service.

For those of you who don’t know, Lord Darcy lives in a 20^th century alternate history world in which Richard the Lionhearted did not die in 1199 and founded the mightiest empire in history.  That empire uses magic the way we use science.  The Darcy stories are mysteries.  Darcy is a not-so-standard detective, using observation and magical deduction, to solve murders.

I thought I’d read all of the stories, but I hadn’t.  I’m going through them slowly as rewards for other work I have to do.  I read “A Case of Identity” first, back in 1983, and I loved it then.  I like it even more now.  It’s a great starting point for new Lord Darcy readers.  Enjoy.

Granger, David, “Don’t Kill A Tough Guy,” Esquire, May 2010.  David Granger clearly read Lee Child’s 61 Hours (see above) in galleys, so he didn’t see the offensive ad at the end of the book.  Because of that, he has written a thought-provoking analysis of the Jack Reacher books.  I don’t necessarily agree with Granger’s conclusions, but he sure made me think.

Hessler, Peter, “Go West,” The New Yorker, April 19, 2010.  Peter Hessler and his wife Leslie Chang, both Americans, spent most of their adult lives living out of the country.  Both writers, they finally decided to come home after years in China.  They moved to Colorado.

Those are the broad outlines of this essay, but the actual essay itself is so much more than that.  It’s about culture clash—written from the point of view of an insider-outsider.  The differences in life here and life in China are profound, and Hessler perfectly conveys both worlds.

If I were editing this year’s Best American Essays, I’d make sure to include this one.

Jack, Ian, “Five Boys: The Story of a Picture,” Intelligent Life, Spring, 2010.  Intelligent Life is a British magazine that I wouldn’t know about if it weren’t for an interview with The Daily Beast’s Tina Brown on NPR.  I then searched for the website, More Intelligent Life. Talk about a multi-media roundabout way of finding an article.

Fortunately, the search was worth it.  The article is about five boys in a classic British photograph, still used as an example of the class divide.  Jack explores the  history of the photograph, and then goes into the lives of the boys to see if the assumptions about the photo are accurate.  The photo is seventy years old, and most of the boys are now dead, their lives closed books.  A fascinating example of expectations and the misunderstandings that can come for a moment in time—or from appearances.  Take your pick. But look up the article.

Junod, Tom, “Hillary. Happy.” Esquire, May, 2010. I try not to write about politics on my blog, but when the topic is Hillary Clinton, it’s tough not to mention them.  So here you go:  I’ve admired Hillary since she came on the national stage.  The admiration comes not from her politics, but from her life.  This woman has raised a child, maintained a difficult marriage, and pursued her own career.  She survives setbacks better than anyone I’ve seen on the national stage.   She’s an amazing woman, no matter what her politics.

And this article explores all of that.  It also looks at Hillary now, the Secretary of State, the former Senator, and the woman still married to Bill Clinton.  Read this whether you like Hillary or not.  I can guarantee it will expand your view of this remarkable woman.

Larsson, Steig, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, Knopf, 2010.  The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest is the third in Steig Larsson’s “Girl” trilogy.  If you haven’t read the first two, hike to a bookstore and pick up the first, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, immediately.

I read this 563 page novel in three days.  It would have taken less time, but I didn’t have a full day to devote to the  novel itself. Still, I read it almost as soon as I got it.  And I was up late every single night devouring this book.  I probably would have stayed up all night the second night, except that Dean pulled the book from my  hands and demanded that I get some sleep.  (He was probably right, but jeez.)

Very different from the other two books and yet quite similar.  I read breathlessly, hoping for the best, fearing for the worst.  In addition to the rip-roaring plot and terrific characterization, the novel also had some fascinating insights into Sweden’s legal and governmental systems.  A lot of things that happen there couldn’t happen here because our system is more formal.

I loved all three books and recommend them highly.

Lepore, Jill, “Untimely,” The New Yorker, April 19, 2010.  Because the mainstream media believes that only five books are published every month, they tend to discuss the same work.  (Genres are beneath them, and so are “pop” histories, among other things.)  So I found myself reading about Alan Brinkley’s book The Publisher in two different publications in two days.  I’d already decided to order the book based on the Vanity Fair excerpt (see above).  Then I got to the “review” of it, in The New Yorker, which was more a navel-gazing example of the relationship between The New Yorker and Time.

For all the self-absorption, the article’s focus on the relationship between New Yorker founder Harold Ross and Time founder Henry Luce is fascinating.  I doubt the book focuses as much on that relationship as The New Yorker (apparently it’s still fighting eighty-year-old battles), so that makes the article even more interesting.  Real people are behind these iconic publications—real people who are as petty and visionary as the real people who toil in the genres the magazines ignore.  If you’re an sf fan, you’ll recognize Ross as a type we’ve seen in sf nonfiction publishing.  Worth reading.

Lewis, Michael, “The Mansion: A Subprime Parable,” The Best American Essays 2009, edited by Mary Oliver, Mariner 2009.  Michael Lewis, who lives in California, moved his family to New Orleans while he wrote his “latest project.”  He rented the largest mansion in New Orlean’s tony Garden District.  This essay discusses the problems he did not foresee with the rental—like the maintenance costs and the effects the mansion had on his children’s sense of self.  He uses this to explore the housing insanity that gripped America in the first decade of the 21st century, all the while recognizing that he really didn’t need such a huge home for such a short period of time.  Excellent analysis of what keeping up with those evil Joneses feels like, and an excellent self-examination as well.

Moore, Ward, “Bring the Jubilee,” The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20^th Century, edited by Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenberg, Del Rey Books, 2001. As I mentioned above, I’m writing an article on alternate history for an sf textbook, and I’m using it as an excuse to catch up on all the alternate history I’ve missed.  I’m having a blast.

“Bring the Jubilee” is one of those classics of the form that I’d heard about over the years, but never had a chance to read.  First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1952, the novella holds up beautifully.  In fact, it holds up so well that if I were still editing F&SF and Ward Moore were alive and he submitted the story, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.  It is, in my mind, the perfect F&SF story.

But that’s neither here nor there.  What is important is how it works as a piece of fiction.  Set in a world where the Union lost the Battle of Gettysburg, the story occurs in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s—as well as other times.  It believably incorporates time travel as well.  Moore’s history is impeccable, not just his speculations about the Civil War, but his extrapolation.  I can’t praise this story enough.  Find a copy.  You’ll be so happy you did.

Resnick, Mike, “The Incarceration of Captain Nebula,” Asimov’s, October/November 2010.  At least once a year, Mike Resnick taunts me.  He sends me a story that he has finished and informs me that if I were still editing The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, he would send that story to me.  As an editor, I have never rejected a Mike Resnick story, and so far, I haven’t seen one that I would reject.  Some are good, but many are just plain brilliant.

This one falls in the brilliant category.  In fact, I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t get nominated for a Hugo.  The story is short.  It’s space opera—or is it?—and it’s just plain marvelous.  If I say any more, I’ll spoil it for you.

I got to see it before the issue comes out.  The issue should be on the stands as you read this list, so go pick it up.

Sullivan, Brendan, “The Grandmother of Pop,” Esquire, May, 2010. Sullivan knew Lady Gaga when she was Stefani Germanotta, a go-go dancer and song writer who worked in the bar where he was the DJ.  This essay isn’t so much a shocker about Lady Gaga as it is a study of the way lives change when one member of a friendship becomes famous.  Anyone who works in the arts should think about some of the issues he raises here.

Wilkinson, Alec, “The Ice Balloon,” The New Yorker, April 19, 2010.  I plowed through this article as if it were a novel.  The article is more of an essay about S.A. Andrée’s failed hot air balloon journey over the North Pole.  The picture accompanying the article caught my eye: taken by one of the team, it shows the balloon crashed on an ice field.

The article begins with the 1930 discovery of a body on White Island.  The body held a diary of the expedition, all the way to its tragic end.  At this point, no one had known what became of Andrée’s 1897 expedition, and suddenly they had a record of it.

What a record. Dramatic, sad, and courageous.  Fascinating stuff—and yes, there were movies made of it and books written about it.  But now the assumptions in those publications are being challenged, and that is fascinating as well.

The essay was well-paced and compelling.  If you like stories of exploration on far-flung places, this will appeal to you.

In April, I deliberately read books that I thought wouldn’t suck me in (because the novel I was writing at the time wouldn’t let me get involved in other works, jealous novel that it was).  As a result, my recommended reading list for April was unbelievably short.

I more than made up for that in May, despite the fact that I was teaching a very intensive mystery workshop for professional writers.  Those writers each produced 20,000+ words of fiction during that week.  The stories in that workshop alone were better than almost anything I read in April.  Those twelve writers hit everything out of the park, and I can’t wait to see the stories/novels in print.

But I’ll have to wait to recommend them because you can’t find them yet.  (Note to editors: buy those stories!)  However, you can find the works below.  I read so many good books and essays and articles that I felt overwhelmed by the riches before me.  What a month! As I write this (on June 1), I’m midway through three other books I will recommend, with two more in the queue that I expect to love.  Let’s hope the next novel isn’t as jealous as the novel I was finishing in April…

May, 2010

Callahan, Michael, “Sorority On E. 63^rd Street,” Vanity Fair, April, 2010.  This article had a personal fascination for me.  The article, about the Barbizon on 63^rd and Lexington Avenue in New York City, gave me a window into my own past.  In December of 1990, I took my first solo trip to New York, and asked my then-agent where I should stay.  He recommended the Barbizon Hotel.  The rooms were tiny, but the lobby was impressive, and the restaurant was good. The neighborhood was better.  I felt safe there—and NYC in 1990 wasn’t the safest city in the world (the Port Authority Terminal scared the bejesus out of me—and that was my introduction to the city).

All I knew about the Barbizon was that it had once been a hotel for women, but was now co-ed. When I mentioned the hotel, my mother told me that my former sister-in-law stayed there when she went to an upscale finishing school in the city.  So I imagined my beloved former sister-in-law, who had been in my life since I was two, wander those tiny hallways, and I wondered if she had had my room.

I didn’t know that Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Joan Crawford, Phyllis Diller, Ali McGraw, and Sylvia Plath (among others) had stayed there as well, back when they were young as I was and as frightened of the city as I was and as green behind the ears as I was.  I wish I had known.  It might have made me feel better.

This article tells the history of the Barbizon—which is no more.  Brought back a lot of memories for me, and a question.  Did my then-agent, a man of a certain age, still think the hotel was a dormitory for single women?  I don’t know.  But it would have been just like him to watch out for me, poor naïve dear that I was.

Chabon, Michael, “Diving into the Wreck,” Maps and Legends: Reading And Writing Along The Borderlands, Harper Perennial edition, 2009. I’m still reading the essay collection that contains “Diving into the Wreck,” so I don’t yet know if I’m going to recommend the entire book.  If the other essays are like this one, I probably will.  “Diving into the Wreck” is a marvelous essay on the process of writing.  In particular, it’s a great essay about the process of writing a second novel, especially when the first came out to great acclaim.

Chabon went into his office with the weight of all that acclaim, the expectations of his readers, editor, and agent on his shoulders, and wrote—and rewrote—his second novel for five long years.  Then, while it was still unfinished, he started a third novel and…oh, you’ll have to read this.  But it’s worth the read.  Particularly if you’ve read his novel The Wonder Boys (or seen the movie with Michael Douglas and Toby McGuire).  Because there’s some autobiography in that story, and the autobiography gets explained here.  Any writer interested in how other writers work needs to read this essay.

Chabon, Michael, “Fan Fictions: On Sherlock Holmes,” Maps and Legends: Reading And Writing Along The Borderlands, Harper Perennial edition, 2009.  Chabon got a lot more out of reading Holmes than I did, but in this essay, he managed to share his enthusiasm without going over the edge that topples some Holmes fans.  The essay talks about the importance of Holmes to Chabon and to writing in general.  It also explores the history of Conan Doyle and the stories themselves.  A must-read for mystery fans, Holmes fans, and writers.

Chabon, Michael, “Kids’ Stuff,” Maps and Legends: Reading And Writing Along The Borderlands, Harper Perennial edition, 2009.  Chabon, who wrote The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is an unabashed comic book fan.  This essay, first written as the keynote speech for the Eisner Awards Ceremony in 2004, is a call for comic book writers/artists/publishers to return to the days when comic books were written for kids.  Not that Chabon wants comics to be dumbed down; he doesn’t.  But his complaint in this essay about comics is the same as mine has been about book-length science fiction.  We have lost the entry level works into our own genre.  He makes a strong case for “kids’ stuff” comic books, written from the perspective of someone who adores comic books.  It’s a manifesto worth reading.

Denby, David, “Out of the West,” The New Yorker, March 8, 2010.  My March 8 issue of The New Yorker arrived deformed.  Something happened in the printing process that pulled signatures (pages) out of order.  When signatures are out of order, you get weird pagination like 59, 26, 27, 62.  And the problems seemed to fall in the middle of this article.  Once I got everything put into place, I read a fascinating piece on Clint Eastwood, and his influence on film.

I’d read a biography of Eastwood years ago, and didn’t get as much out of it as I got out of these 5,000 words.  A great (if snobby) analysis of Eastwood’s contribution to American cinema.  Also worthwhile for artists out there who are struggling to follow their own vision.  Eastwood is a great example of someone who balances commercial and artistic.  Good stuff.

Feige, David, Indefensible, Little, Brown, 2006.  Indefensible is a stunningly written account of one day in the life of a public defender in the South Bronx.  Feige is that defender, and he chose the career over many others, including being a defense attorney at a private firm.  Terrifying for the horrors he deals with on a daily basis, but ultimately uplifting for the hope he still holds for humanity, Indefensible is one of the best books I’ve read in years on the criminal justice system—its faults and its strengths.  Highly recommended.

Goodman, Carol, Arcadia Falls, Ballantine, 2010.  It’s no secret that I like Carol Goodman’s work.  The fact that the books are falling into a formula—highly educated but down on her luck woman goes to a retreat/hidden school/academic program, discovers long-lost secrets, nearly dies, but reveals all in the end.  Goodman writes modern Gothics—very little romance, lots of strong women, lots of discussion of literature, art, theater, history—and they work.  These books are catnip for me, well written with great atmosphere, and excellent characters.

This time, she writes about a private high school in the made-up town of Arcadia Falls—where women occasionally fall to their deaths.  Not a safe or secure place, but an interesting one.  I liked the book enough to recommend it, although not as much as I liked her first The Lake of Dead Languages. Maybe I liked that one so much because it was my introduction to her work.  If this is your introduction, you’ll enjoy it as well.

Lewis, Michael, “Betting on the Blind Side,” Vanity Fair, April 2010.  Vanity Fair is doing the best writing on the financial crisis that led to our recession bar none.  I’ve been reading essays in places from The New Yorker to The Washington Post and Forbes, and I’m getting the most fascinating, frightening, and insightful information out of Vanity Fair.  Who knew?

This piece is an excerpt from Lewis’s book, The Big Short, which I have not read yet, about Michael Burry, a trader who figured out what was going to happen long before other “experts.”  Fascinating and frightening doesn’t cover the financial part.  It goes beyond both. Also interesting is Burry himself who happens to have Asperger’s Syndrome, and how that has benefited his career.  Worth reading.

Paretsky, Sara, Hardball: A V.I. Warshawski Novel, Putnam, 2009.  Hardball was my reward for successfully teaching a mystery writing workshop for professionals who want to move into mystery.  Critical voice on high, I went into this novel defensively, much as I love Paretsky.  And the opening was bumpy—I was afraid that I hadn’t remembered something from the previous book which I’d read years before.  But nope, she started this one in exactly the right place, and didn’t rely on the previous book at all.  It was my highly critical brain on alert that made the opening seem bumpy.

Once I was in, I stayed up all night to finish the damn thing.  I had forgotten how much I love Paretsky’s work.  Now I want her to write faster.  I want more.

If you haven’t read Paretsky, Hardball might be a good place to start. The novel is relatively self-contained and has an incredible emotional pay-off.  I loved it.

Seal, Mark, “Big Trouble at 11:35,” Vanity Fair, April, 2010.  I expect Vanity Fair to do well with celebrity reportage.  I also expect it to do well with upscale sleaze.  (Not the financial stuff [see above] but this stuff)  This article is like reading about a particularly riveting train wreck—the blackmail of David Letterman.  Whatever made Joe Halderman go off the deep end? Who knows? But the behind-the-scenes stuff is page-turning.

Turow, Scott, Innocent, Grand Central, May, 2010.  Let me state here and now that this is 7/8ths of the most brilliant book I’ve ever read.  I was nearly to the end and I couldn’t figure out why the reviews of the book came in mixed.  Now I know.  One of three things happened: Turow rewrote too much and decided his original ending was “bad”; Turow had too many “advisors” in the mix, and they told him to back off his original idea; or Turow couldn’t face what he was about to put his characters through.  I’m guessing it was #3.  He didn’t have enough courage, as an author, to go the distance with this plot scenario.

So why, if the book is flawed, am I recommending it to you?  Because it is 7/8ths of the most brilliant book I’ve ever read.  Just because it’s not the most brilliant book I’ve ever read doesn’t mean it fails.  It’s still a spectacular novel, just not as good as it originally promised to be.

What the novel actually is, once you get passed the  missed opportunity, is a meditation on growing older.  I think it’s no coincidence that the book begins with Presumed Innocent’s protagonist, Rusty Sabich, turning sixty.  Twenty years have passed since Presumed Innocent, and everyone’s lives have changed because of the events of that book, although some lives haven’t changed enough.

If you haven’t read Presumed Innocent, you must read it before Innocent.  You’re in for a treat.  Presumed Innocent is the book that began the modern legal thriller genre, and it’s a hell of a ride.  Innocent isn’t a ride—Turow hasn’t written a ride since Presumed Innocent—but Innocent is still a page-turner, keeping me up all night during a week when I actually needed the sleep.  The mystery is good, the characters excellent, the insights superb.

If you read Presumed Innocent twenty years ago and still remember it, I’d recommend that you not reread it.  Twenty years have passed in book-time as well as real life, and the events fade to memories, which is how they are in Innocent as well.  Turow does so many things right here that it’s a primer on how to write a mystery novel.   Because that’s what this is.  Not a legal thriller.  A mystery novel.  Something that looks at life as it is, and as we want it to be.  Maybe that’s what he was going for. Because life is never as neatly wrapped up as a thriller would have you believe.  Pick up the book.  It’s very good.

I spent most of April writing what I call a jealous novel.  When I write some novels, they don’t want me to imagine much of anything else—particularly in the  novel form.  So I can’t read incredibly good books, those books that make you disappear into the world.  I was left with mediocre to bad books or excellent short stories.  For some reason, short story quality can be excellent without getting in the way of the novel.

Finished the book a little after the middle of the month, so I could finally get to reading novels again. I also had a bunch of research I have to do, so the novel-reading started up slowly.

So…all I have for recommendations this month are a few short stories, a few articles, and one novel. Here’s hoping May will be better.

April, 2010

Costa, Shelley, “As The Screw Turns,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2010.  Wonderful ghost story.  Had I read the title before the story (did I tell you I got tired in April?), I would have realized that she was playing off Henry James, but I figured it out anyway.  A lovely mystery chock-full of ghosts, all of whom must solve murders. This one pulls the heartstrings, and introduces an afterlife that I hope Costa explores again.

Estleman, Loren D., “Get Sinatra,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2010.  Nice period piece featuring the young, and mostly unknown, Frank Sinatra.  So well written, in fact, that it made me break out the early Sinatra CDs.  If I say any more, I shall reveal too much.

Jones, Chris, “The Essential Man,” Esquire, March, 2010.  Fascinating article on the film critic Roger Ebert.  His cancer surgery took his speaking voice away four years ago, but he still communicates.  Good stuff in here on writing, movies, and enjoying life.  Highly recommended.

Kamp, David, “Sweet Bard of Youth,” Vanity Fair, March, 2010.  I love Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue, which comes out in time for the Oscars, but which I always manage to read in April.  I’m chronically behind on my reading. Ah, well.

Kamp’s article is about John Hughes, whose films I’ve always enjoyed.  I never knew much about Hughes himself, and this article remedies that.  It also provides a portrait of an artist who remained true to himself.  If you want to work in the arts or if you already do, check this one out.

Mockenhaupt, Brian, “Hood,” Esquire, March, 2010.  An article on Fort Hood, describing the community, the culture, and the aftershocks of last fall’s shootings.  Sad, interesting, well done.

Robb, J.D., Born in Death, Berkley, 2007.  Nora Roberts (whose sf pen name is J.D. Robb) writes faster than I can read.  She’s the only author I know I can say that about.

It’s not entirely true.  If I read only Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb, then I’d keep up easily. But I do get tired of reading the same author over and over, no matter how good the writer is—and Roberts is damn good.

I usually read the Robb books when I travel. That way, if I lose it en route, I can always pick up another copy.  I decided to try this one while writing the jealous novel.  It didn’t work; but I managed to get far enough to want to finish when I was done with my own novel.

Babies, childbirth, mystery, and murder are the themes of this Eve/Roarke adventure.  And it would’ve been an uncomfortable read if it weren’t for Eve’s shock and dismay over the way that human reproduction works.  I have (and still do) feel the same way at times, so reading her dialogue often made me laugh aloud in recognition.  One of the better J.D. Robb installments.

Weller, Sheila, “Once In Love With Ali,” Vanity Fair, March, 2010.  I didn’t expect to enjoy an article on Ali McGraw.  I was never incredibly impressed with her as an actress, possibly because I loathed Love Story.  The article, though, shows what a fascinating woman she is, and what an interesting life she’s led.  Made me want to see some McGraw films, which is danged unusual—and shows the power of print.

I read a lot in March. Much of it was student manuscripts.  Some of it was out-of-date or research material.  A lot were pretty mediocre novels that I couldn’t finish.  So while I racked up the pages, I didn’t finish much. Most of what I did finish isn’t worth recommending.

What is worth recommending from March? Some magazine articles and two books.  After my stellar January, March really was a disappointment.  (Although the student manuscripts were all better than expected—so no disappointments there.)

March, 2010

Blum, Deborah, The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, The Penguin Press, 2010.  First the title caught me.  Then the subtitle:  I adore the history of science, the  history of criminology, and anything about Jazz Age New York.  And of course the word murder.  I made a mental note: get this book.  But it wasn’t until I started seeing reviews that I realized I wanted this book now.

Reviewers have said this reads like a good thriller, which is a bit of an overstatement—thrillers have plot after all—but the book is immensely readable and fascinating.  Readers who lack strong stomachs might want to avoid reading this over meals. (I read it mostly during lunch; clearly, I have a strong stomach and high gag threshold.)  Poisons are nasty killers and poisoners are nastier than most.  The stories in here—the killings, the methodology, and the forensic solutions are wonderful.  One even (sadly) made me laugh out loud—the story of Mike the Durable, whose “pals” at a local bar decided to kill him for the insurance money, seemed like something out of a farce instead of an actual case.

Good stuff here, memorable stuff, and great writing.  The Poisoner’s Handbook is worth all of those weird looks you’re going to get if you read it over lunch.

Deaver, Jeffrey, Roadside Crosses, Pocket Books, 2010.  Normally, I buy Deaver’s novels in hardcover the moment they appear, but I didn’t buy this one right away.  I’m not a big fan of Kathryn Dance, the main character in these novels.  I love Deaver’s writing, but I knew there was a chance that this novel wouldn’t measure up to his other novels, and I didn’t want to risk my $25 on being disappointed.

It turns out that I needn’t have worried.  Roadside Crosses is a marvelous Jeffrey Deaver novel, not just a marvelous Kathryn Dance story.  It measures up to his other works and kept me reading.  Also, had I known beforehand what the subject matter—blogs, cyberbullies, online gaming—I would have been a lot more interested. But the hardcover edition didn’t emphasize that, instead emphasizing the crosses left on the side of the road before someone died.

Good characters, stellar plotting (as usual), an interesting exploration of a world I’m passingly familiar with from an outside perspective, and some fun additions.  Head out and buy this one; it’s absolutely worth your time (and your money).

Gladwell, Malcolm, “The Sure Thing,” The New Yorker, January 18, 2010.  Those of you who also read my freelancer’s guide might want to read this article as well.  Gladwell examines some high profile entrepreneurs and discusses how they really succeeded.  He blows the myth out of the water that entrepreneurs are gamblers and risk-takers, using example after example to show that high-level entrepreneurs are risk-averse.

These high-level entrepreneurs are also predators, willing to take advantage of weaknesses that they might perceive within the world around them, and willing to use those weaknesses to their advantage.  Fascinating stuff, which corralates with some of the things I have been writing.  He just said it better, clearer, and with a few high end examples.

Grape, Jan, “Interview with Tony Hillerman,” Speaking of Murder, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg, Berkley Prime Crime, 1998.  I can’t in good conscience recommend the entire book Speaking of Murder. Some of the interviews are more than fifteen years old, and talk about the mystery market as if it’s fixed.  It wasn’t then, and isn’t now.

But for pure enjoyment, as well as the proper attitude toward a writing career, read Jan Grape’s interview with Tony Hillerman.  I had known a lot about his history, and I hadn’t known most of this.  If you want to read the rest of the volume, remember that the book is out of date—although the interviews that deal with the craft of writing are not.

Packer, George, “Letters from Dresden: Embers,” The New Yorker, February 1, 2010.  Fascinating article about a city I only know of in conjunction with the phrase “the bombing of” out of World War II.  Packer has spent time there, and contemplates the city’s history here—and whether or not the city can confront that history.  I think that question can be asked of all of us, cities or human beings. But the question is particularly dramatic here, and the analysis, as well as the city itself, is thought-provoking.