What I’ve Been Reading

What I’ve Been Reading


February 28, 2016

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Raylan by Elmore LeonardRaylan was commissioned after the Justified series started airing on television, so the ideas in this book aren’t very fresh. If you have watched the series, you know pretty much exactly what goes down in the book. There are some minor changes, but it was kind of like reading the TV script. I still enjoyed it because Raylan is a fun character, and so are his backwoods Kentucky friends and enemies. But don’t expect any new shenanigans for Raylan Givens.

Hit the jump for more of what I’ve been reading.

One Shot by Lee Child. Even though all the Jack Reacher books have been optioned for film adaptations, this is the one book that made it to Hollywood. One of the reasons I became interested in the Jack Racher series in the first place is because of the movie, even though Tom Cruise was a terrible choice to play the lead character. I’m also stumped that One Shot was the lone book chosen, because it’s not his best effort. It does have an interesting premise, but it doesn’t seem as prone to being a good movie as a few of the others. One key change, too, is that while the movie took place in Pittsburgh – which is an important part of the setting – the book’s setting is an unnamed city in Indiana. Every other Reacher book has mentioned specific towns, locales, highways, etc., but this one could take place anywhere. It does involve a sniper shooting a bunch of civilians, so perhaps Child didn’t want to damage any one city’s reputation by implying that it was a perfect spot for a shooter to set up. Still, it was an odd choice. This wasn’t Child’s best effort, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

The Hard Way by Lee Child. In contrast to One Shot, I think The Hard Way could be made into a pretty great action movie. Reacher gets pulled into investigating a kidnapping, but the people he’s helping aren’t exactly upstanding citizens themselves. He has a bit of a moral dilemma to overcome, and the book ends with a scene that reads like a Hollywood movie. It might not be a revolutionary action movie, but it would get the job done. Unless, of course, the 6’5″, 240 lb. Jack Reacher is once again played by Tom Cruise.

Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane. Lehane has had some books turned into movies (Gone Baby GoneMystic River, etc.), but I don’t know how every one of his Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro novels has not been turned into fodder for Hollywood. Lehane develops his characters and builds on them from book to book, and he has some very twisted ideas for crimes and criminals. More so than most other novelists, I think he does a great job of creating an atmosphere where both sides of the criminal vs. crime fighter dynamic can be felt. In this one some of the crimes from Kenzie and Gennaro’s childhood in Boston come back to rear their heads, and it’s suspenseful up to almost the very end.

Dexter is Dead by Jeff Lindsay. I was a huge fan of the TV series, and perhaps less of a fan of the book series. Some of the books were a little hokey, and Sergeant Doakes was poorly developed and portrayed in the books. But this was a fantastic effort. Not only was it a good story, but it tugged at the heartstrings a bit. It was much more emotional without being sappy, and the ending is poetic. This is supposedly the final Dexter novel, so maybe Lindsay will move on to other projects. I just ordered Tropical Depression, which involves Billy Knight, a totally separate character from the Dexter series.

Tropical Depression by Jeff Lindsay. Okay, I ordered it and then read it before I got around to publishing this whole post. The main character, Billy Knight, is an L.A. cop whose career stops when his family gets killed. He moves to Florida and becomes a fishing guide. Then a big case in L.A. runs aground, and one of his old comrades from the L.A.P.D. gets Knight involved again. If you are familiar with Dexter is Dead or even the ending of the television show, you can see the beginnings of a Dexter-like career. This is particularly interesting to me, because Knight preceded the idea of Dexter. It’s almost like Lindsay finished this book and used it to launch into a better idea, but wanted to use certain elements of the Knight character. This isn’t nearly as witty or clever as Dexter, and while there is some occasional humor, it’s a lot drier. Don’t pick up this book if you’re looking for writing exactly like what you see in the Dexter series. Lindsay wrote a new Knight book, Red Tide, after he finished the Dexter series. I would like to read it eventually, and Lindsay has honed his craft since then, but I won’t exactly be scrambling to read Red Tide.

Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman. I’m not often a fan of reading autobiographical works of celebrities, but I thought a book by Nick Offerman might be pleasantly entertaining. In case you can’t place the name, Offerman is the guy who played Ron Swanson on NBC’s Parks and Recreation and has also appeared in a variety of other TV shows and movies. He didn’t seem like the type who would have shot to stardom based on looks or dancing ability, so it was no surprise that he worked his way up from a small town to a college theater group to a professional theater group and then to L.A. Offerman has a unique way with words and writes how he speaks, so it was mostly an entertaining read. There were some slow parts, though, as one might imagine for a guy who didn’t hit it big until he was middle-aged.

What have you been reading lately? Do you have any suggestions for me or other readers?

9 comments

  1. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Feb 28, 2016 at 8:32 AM

    I’ve been reading Ben Green short stories. They are quick, easy, sweet, non threatening, relaxing and fun stories about Green’s childhood education and early manhood spent as an itinerant, professional horse trader, where the creed was cheat or get cheated.

    I just finished Tubby Raymond’s “The Delaware Wing-T, An Order Of Football last night. There is some work involved in reading this book by virtue of the volume of information. But if I’m a professional football coach, which is to say a guy getting paid to coach football as opposed to a guy coaching professional football, I’m giving the money for this book, which I’ve seen priced as high as $380.00. It’s difficult to explain in a paragraph so suffice it to say that in a profession dominated by shrewd, clear thinking, detail oriented, likely control freaks, Tubby Raymond stands comfortably at the top of the heap. Throw in a demonstrable ability to communicate and evidently motivate in a very clear and easy to understand fashion, and it’s easy to understand how he came to attain such a high level of success.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 28, 2016 at 1:45 PM

      Ben Green? I’ve never heard of him. Unless you’re talking about “The Law Firm” BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

      • Comments: 1356
        Joined: 8/13/2015
        Roanman
        Feb 28, 2016 at 5:11 PM

        Ben K. Green. These are out of print mostly short story collections from the 60s and 70s which first appeared in a number of Western and Racing periodicals of that period which amount to recollections of Green’s depression era deal making in the horse business during his teens and twenties. “Horse Tradin'” and the artfully named sequel “More Horse Tradin'” made it through 17 or 21 printings. Most of them can be bought for not significantly more than their shipping cost from Abe Books and certainly Amazon, which was good for me, having blown a couple months book budget on ol’ Tubby.

        Green became a Veterinarian later in life although there is no record of him having ever attended any of the universities he claimed to have attended or of him having sat for the licensing exam in the state of Texas where he worked. Despite that he was a very in demand vet throughout western Texas and also wrote arguably the definitive book on horse conformation, form and function. Which book is still very often part of leg, racing and performance horse Vets libraries. That book is an honest to God text book. The short stories are fun.

        Guaranteed to neither make you mad nor ramp up your hormones.
        http://www.amazon.com/Ben-K.-Green/e/B001H6QCSA

  2. Comments: 92
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Klctlc
    Feb 28, 2016 at 1:20 PM

    Really glad you enjoyed Lehane. I agree 100%. His first four books were outstanding.

    I have read all the reacher books and I believe last time you read one of his I commented on Cruise and his physical mismatch for the role. I don’t hate Cruise, but I hate him in this role.

    I will give Raylan a chance based on your review. Thanks

    Finally, have you read any Robert Crais yet? Very curious on your thoughts. Remember the author believes LA Requiem is the book to start with.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 28, 2016 at 1:51 PM

      I couldn’t remember who mentioned that, but yeah, I agree on Tom Cruise. It’s not just that Cruise’s size doesn’t match Jack Reacher’s, but that his size is mentioned so often in the books and a big part of who he is. If the character were Patrick Kenzie, it wouldn’t matter because Kenzie’s size is almost never discussed. He could be 6’5″ or 5’8″ and it wouldn’t matter.

      I haven’t read any Robert Crais before. We seem to see eye-to-eye on a lot of books, so I’ll add him to my list. Thanks.

  3. Comments: 4
    Joined: 2/28/2016
    kaimundwiler
    Feb 28, 2016 at 3:40 PM

    Lee Child is great. Tom Cruise didn’t bother me as Reacher until after I’d seen the movie and picked up the first book. It’ll be interesting how they handle the next one (Never Go Back).

    Jim Butcher – Dresden books, skip the first two (even Butcher recommends it)

    11/22/63 by King is probably next on the to read list

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 28, 2016 at 9:16 PM

      I have several books to tear through before the new Reach movie comes out in October. I think I can do it, though.

      I think you may have mentioned the Dresden books before. I put them on my list of books to read, but I haven’t got around to ordering one yet.

      I’ve been thinking about reading the 11/22/63 book. I’m torn on whether to watch the show or not, because I want to read the book.

      • Comments: 4
        Joined: 2/28/2016
        kaimundwiler
        Feb 29, 2016 at 4:33 PM

        It’s only a 830 page book. Quick read right?

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Feb 29, 2016 at 4:39 PM

          Yeah, I’ll just tear through it on Wednesday.

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