elkit in wonderland

What's Her Name Today?

Looking back at  my entry into the "What's in a Name?" reading contest, and checking what I've read so far this year, it turns out I am already halfway done.

Here is what I was going to read for each of the six categories:
- color: John Gray, Black Mass
- animal: Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
- first name: Hermione Lee, Edith Wharton
- place: Fritz Stern, Five Germanys I Have Known
- weather event: Jonathan Coe, The Rain Before It Falls
- plant: Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke

I am about a third of the way through the Edith Wharton biography, got about 25 pages into the Cormac McCarthy and decided to let it sit until summer, and have not read any of the other books listed, but I have read (and am linking to my blog entries):
- animal/color: Peter Spiegelman, Red Cat
- animal: Elmore Leonard, Cat Chaser
- first name: James Patterson, Mary Mary

I'll add the "What's in a Name" category tag to those entries too.

All I Can See Is Red Red Red Red Red Now - What Am I Gonna Do? (14/52)

Peter Spiegelman's Red Cat is the third in his series about private investigator John March, and the reason I started reading these in the first place - I saw a banner ad for this book, and was sufficiently intrigued by the noir imagery. I liked the first two novels, and waited patiently for the Red Cat paperback to come out (I am getting to be a cheapskate, trying to spend less money on books while still getting a lot of reading in). I liked this as much, maybe even more than the first two in the series. We learn more about March and the tension between him and his siblings when his brother is blackmailed by a woman he had an affair with. The story is plausible enough, including the workings of the police department, and how the detective comports himself in the midst of their investigation. I'm already looking forward to the next March novel. 

The Good Times Are Killing Me (12/52)

I couldn't find the right edition for this Elmore Leonard novel, Cat Chaser, on amazon.com, but you might not care. I got the audiobook from the libarry, and really enjoyed the narration by Frank Muller. He has just the right voice(s) for this hardboiled stuff. I always enjoy Leonard. Yes, lots of his books employ the same formula, but if you like the formula and the kinds of characters he writes about, you're in for a good time, and in good hands with his storytelling skills. In Cat Chaser, our hero is a former Marine who runs a beachfront motel in Florida. He fits the standard Leonard protagonist model: street-smart quiet guy who likes a simple, uncomplicated life, ends up in the middle of events he knows he should walk away from, but his sense of honor prevents him from doing just that. He outsmarts the bad guys, and yes, he gets the girl. The girls are another thing I like about Leonard's writing - they're every bit as clever as the guys, and just as likely to cause trouble, and just as likely to ride to the rescue. Good times all around.

She's A Killer Queen (8/52)

I picked this up in the "library" at work, a seating area with a couple of bookshelves, where people drop off books occasionally. Most of them seem to be thrillers, just like this one, Mary Mary by James Patterson, a prolific and popular writer. I realized in the first chapter that this probably wouldn't be one of my top picks of the year, but I read it anyway. I don't really get why the thrillers about the deranged serial killer sell so well. I hardly ever buy the premise, and most of them are completely predictable formula. Same with this one. Oh well. *shrug* Got my prejudice reinforced.

Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name?

Alright, I'm up for a reading challenge next year. Words by Annie proposes the "What's in a Name?" reading challenge, wherein you read six books in 2008 whose titles contain a color, animal, first name, place, weather event, and plant, respectively. Since Annie has confirmed that I can change my mind if anything else shiny comes along, I'll play.

Here are my picks for the "What's in a Name?" reading challenge:
- color: John Gray, Black Mass
- animal: Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses
- first name: Hermione Lee, Edith Wharton
- place: Fritz Stern, Five Germanys I Have Known
- weather event: Jonathan Coe, The Rain Before It Falls
- plant: Denis Johnson, Tree of Smoke