Friday, March 20, 2009

Piccirilli's Sequel, Bernard Cornwell, Limey Convict, Gal from Minnesota

Fiction

Coldest Mile by Tom Piccirilli. Sequel to Piccirilli's brilliant novel Cold Spot. Chase left the criminal life when he married his cop wife. When his wife was murdered Chase called on his lifetime crook grandfather, Jonah, to help him out. Sociopathic Jonah helped Chase out on condition of payment, meanwhile Chase found out his soul-less grandfather had a pregnant girlfriend. Now, Chase plans to rescue the child from Jonah by making a score as a driver with dysfunctional crime family.

Shatter by Michael Robotham. Psychologist Joe O'Loughlin is trying to save a nude, suicidal woman from jumping into a gorge. Instead of listening to Joe the woman listens to the unknown voice on her cell phone and jumps. Joe is distraught until the woman's daughter convinces him she never would have jumped. Who convinced her to jump? Joe tries to find out.

Sea of Poppies by Amitay Ghosh. Pirates! A mix of Western and Indian sailors man a pirate ship into China's Opium Wars.

Pursuit by Karen Robards. Young lawyer Jessica gets sent by a senior law partner to meet the First Lady as a personal lawyer. When Jessica and the First Lady are in a horrific car crash only Jessica survives. Jessica cannot remember what happened but Secret Service Agent Mark thinks she is hiding something.

Large Print

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer.

NonFiction

100 Bullets by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso. "A provocative tale that's one part hard-boiled crime story, one part paranoid espionage thriller, all served in a highball with a Vertigo twist - shaken, not stirred!"

The Unforgiving Minute: a soldier's education by Craig M. Mullaney. Army Captain Mullaney went to West Point, Ranger School, and was a Rhodes Scholar. Combat in Afghanistan and the death of his men show how the seemingly disparate sides, Army vs. scholar, fit together and his Oxford history proves amazingly relevant.

I'm Sorry You Feel That Way: the astonishing but true story of a daughter, sister, slut, wife, mother, and friend to man and dog by Diana Joseph. Humorous tales of life including her retired auto body shop owning father, her NRA supporting son, her common-law-husband professor, and her weird dog.
Joseph teaches creative writing at Mankota State (or whatever it is called now). I wonder if she knows that Anthony Neil Smith guy. He teaches the same thing at a state school in southwestern Minnesota.

AudioBooks

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell. 13 CDs at 16 hours. Cornwell continues to document the history of Englishmen killing Frenchmen.

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny. Armand Gamache investigates a murder at a Quebec resort.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Tommy Lee Jones as Dave Robicheaux

DVD

In the Electric Mist starring Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman. Deputy Sheriff dave Robicheaux investigates some murders while dealing with a visiting film crew and a New Orleans gangster visiting town.
What can I say? The book, In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke, is quite good. Tommy Lee Jones is probably good casting. John Goodman is always good, although I imagine the book's fleet-footed character would have to change a bit for the movie. I usually do not get uptight about when a film based on a novel changes things around. I reckon the film makers have to do that to keep the story flowing and cap it at two hours or less.
Bill Crider watched this but I did not read his comments; I did not want his observations to color my own viewing.

Kid Movies

Escape to Witch Mountain starring [interchangeable Disney kids] and Eddie Albert. A new DVD release of the original flick to coincide with remake's release.

Wizards of Waverly Place starring [interchangeable Disney kids].

Ella Enchanted starring Anne Hathaway. A replacement for a lost or broken copy.