Not Every Day's a Party

August 23, 2008

Narraway looked up at Ryerson and something of the tension in his body softened and a burden inside him seemed to ease. "Seven Dials" by Anne Perry

I'm having a devil of a time with audio books. I think that I have abandoned 4 of the last 5 books before the ending. Since John Sandford will not be writing for the rest of my reading days, I need to find another author whose works I can devour (preferably in order, from the beginning of their writing career).

My book reading epiphany came from a Starbuck's cup. A quote from Nancy Pearl (a woman I might like to stalk emulate but would turn and run from if she tried to engage me in conversation):

"If you're 50 years old or younger, give every book about 50 pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading it, or give it up.

If you're over 50, which is when time gets shorter, subtract your age from 100 - the result is the number of pages you should read before deciding whether or not to quit. If you're 100 or over you get to judge the book by its cover, despite the dangers in doing so."

The Sara Paretsky/V.I. Warshawsky books made me freakin' crazy with wildly inappropriate and inaccurate police procedure - since when does a cop bring the father of a missing child to the home of the kidnap suspect while making an arrest? - and lame social ineptitude that I think was trying to pass for witty reparteé.

One of the Tess Gerritsen books was abandoned when I realized I was at the halfway point and nothing had happened yet. I'm sorry, but if I want to read a murder mystery, I would like to have a helping of murder and a dollop of mystery, please.

The most recent was a James Patterson early work. I like the Cross books, but this one didn't pass the 50 page/30 minute test. My Goodreads review started with "Blah, blah, blah, talk, talk, talk, whine, whine, whine." Uh, no thanks. That one will be back at the library tout de suite.

Fortunately, I've now got a good Peter Robinson book to listen to while cutting the aforementioned 1,188 2.5" squares...

All of these books and almost 29,000 more can be found at Stop, You’re Killing Me!. I really didn't want to go and find links these abandoned books - I've already spent too much of my life with them.

And a Nother thing. I've recently read the second book in the Dante Valentine series, by Lilith Saintcrow. (We've now moved from murder mysteries to shamans and demons and stuff [oh, my!])

Now, many women I know can get a good boo-hoo on by renting a Julia Roberts movie or snuffling into their lace hankies over tea and Jane Austen (yes, stereotyping, done for dramatic effect or something like that). Not me. Cold as a dead fish in an ice chest.

Me? Give me a Lilith Saintcrow novel. Or the Season Two Finale of Doctor Who, in the scene with Rose and the Doctor on the beach at Bad Wolf Bay. Or the ending of Armageddon, you know - that Bruce-Willis-Blow-Up-the-Asteroid movie?

Any of those things will have me not getting misty but full-on water works, bring me the whole damn box of tissues, I-can't-believe-I'm-crying-at-this AGAIN.

Go figure, eh?

Labels: babble

permalink 3 Comments:

At 8/24/2008 6:00 AM,  Bobbie Bentneedle Babbled Back:  

Have you tried the Alex Delaware novels by Jonathan Kellerman? Or the series (can't think of the name of the character) his wife, Faye Kellerman, does/did? I haven't had time for any lately but they have been favorites of mine in the suspense genre'!
Bobbie in Texas

At 8/24/2008 6:06 AM,  Bobbie Bentneedle Babbled Back:  

Oh, yes - I forgot to mention the Patricia Cornwell "Kay Scarpetta" novels. I guess I figured everyone who likes a good suspense novel would have already read hers. Must admit that the later books are getting a bit weird - maybe it's the whacky neice :0{
Anyway - that's my two cents

At 8/24/2008 7:53 AM,  Darling Jill Quilts Babbled Back:  

I love the Stop, You're Killing Me site!! What Tess Gerritsen book did you have to give up on? The last one was kinda lame, but I did listen to the end. Sort of a disappointment. It was set in 1830's and now.

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