Collected Miscellany

If for some odd reason you are reading this blog and have not yet read Olen Steinhauer’s The Tourist please rectify that ASAP.

This may seem a tad pushy but, trust me, I am doing you a favor.

The paperback is out today (and you can buy an ebook as well) so you really have no excuse at this point.

As I said in my review:

What makes Steinhauer different from so many writers of international thrillers is his ability to write a suspenseful espionage plot and yet still have elements of the more literary aspect of novels.  The writing is tight and even graceful at times.  The characters are not cardboard cutouts and Steinhauer delves into their psychological make up and personality for more than just plot plausibility.

And Olen has provided some hand picked music to go with the release. So head over there and get your The Tourist iMix

So stop by your local bookstore or click on the link above and read The Tourist so you are ready when  The Nearest Exit comes out in May.

Booklist review of The Nearest Exit below.

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On this date, 65 years ago the Malmedy Massacre took place – this was when the Waffen-SS murdered 115 American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.

The following is an excerpt from World’s Bloodiest History: Massacre, Genocide, and the Scars They Left on Civilization by Joseph Cummins.   I plan on reviewing the book in a few weeks.

From the web page:

The C.S. Lewis Foundation has long envisioned establishing C.S. Lewis College in the U.S. as a fully accredited Christian institution of Great Books and Visual and Performing Arts. That vision is now about to become a reality as plans move forward to launch C.S. Lewis College on the beautiful campus in Northfield, Massachusetts, recently acquired for this purpose from Northfield Mount Hermon School. This property has been purchased for the use of C.S. Lewis College by Hobby Lobby, a privately held retail chain of arts and crafts stores based in Oklahoma City, OK.

Subject to securing all appropriate approvals, C.S. Lewis College currently plans to commence instruction in Fall 2012.

Video after the jump

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As I have whined about noted before, I am running rather behind these days.  As a result, I have just now started reading Alex Dryden’s new novel Red To Black.  And furthermore, I have just now stumbled upon the author’s recent appearance on the Craig Ferguson show.

But as I always say, better late than never.  So here is the clip for your entertainment:

I am not a big poetry person so I was a little worried about reading The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker.  The NYTBR review makes me want to read it however:

And let’s face it, stories involving poets tend to be hokey or, worse, excruciatingly literary. Maybe the spires of libraries rise darkly in the gloaming; maybe bookish amour unfolds amid bosomy fields laden with the fleeting fruits of summer. At best, the author follows the course Stephen King takes in “The Tommyknockers” and skims over his protagonist’s occupation in order to concentrate on the perilous effects of buried alien spacecraft.

Yet somehow Nicholson Baker has written a novel about poetry that’s actually about poetry — and that is also startlingly perceptive and ardent, both as a work of fiction and as a representation of the kind of thinking that poetry readers do.

I also like this quote about The New Yorker and poetry:

The New Yorker is a terrific magazine, but placing a poem there is like finding a hundred bucks in an old coat pocket: it’s great, but you can’t build your world around it. You build your world around what’s there for you on a daily basis, which for poets, famous or otherwise, means literary journals.

So The Anthologist is moved up a few notched on the towering TBR pile!

I admit I came late to the Neil Gaiman bandwagon, but I am a fan.  So I was interested to find this Barnes and Noble Meet the Writers video.  In it Steve Bertrand talks with the bestselling author of fantastical books like Coraline and The Graveyard Book about inspiration, motivation, and taking a long time to write.

Being a father the normal process would be for others to offer recommendations on books to buy me.  But as I am reading a couple of books that seem like potential Father’s Day gifts I figured I would share.  (The idea was to have read them by Father’s Day, but I might miss the mark)

–> Seeing how this is US Open week, what better book to get the golf loving father than Are You Kidding Me? by Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein:

Description

June 2008’s US Open produced one of the most unexpected and dramatic showdowns in golf history. Day after day the invincible Tiger Woods was challenged by Rocco Mediate, a respected journeyman. On Sunday, both ended play tied at par, forcing a playoff. Defying expectations, Mediate played Woods to yet another tie, losing only after forcing a sudden-death showdown.

Through it all, Rocco Mediate emerged as one of the most likable, open, and fascinating golfers. In ARE YOU KIDDING ME?, he tells the full story of these five life-changing days. With John Feinstein, whose insider knowledge of the golf world is unparalleled, Mediate relives one of sport’s greatest feats, how one man overcame every obstacle to challenge the game’s finest.

I am reading it this week in anticipation of another great tournament – this time at Bethpage Black with Tiger Woods looking healthy and dominant again.

A couple more below. Read the rest of this entry »