(So totally not) My 2013 Category Challenge

Well, what can I say?

Here I go again complaining about all the different categories that I'll never stick to and the fact that I'd rather read unhindered by any plan. Let's also not forget that I never have any time, never get anything accomplished yadda yadda ya....

Yet, I still love discussing the books so much with you guys and have grown accustomed to doing so in these annual category groups I can't not participate.

For 2012 I already used a cop out a liberal interpretation of the rules for my Category Thread but even that ended up too much of a burden. Seriously, I think I repeatedly started miscalculating the ratio between books read/given and bought/received, yet no-one seems to have noticed as it doesn't really matter. What matters is the joy of discussing the books and literary discoveries of the year.

So for this year I'll simply make up the rules as I go along.

No preconceived categories or plans. Instead I will only know by the end of the year what my 2013 Category Challenge really had been.

For starters I will just read 13 books.

Given the 2012 speed of reading this may already take me the best part of three or four months (though I hope not).

Once I have read the 13 books I'll do something else.

What, I do not yet know. Maybe I'll look at the 13 books and see if I can see some common thread between some of those that I can build on. Maybe I'll do something else.

Either way, I am looking forward to another wonderful reading year in your company and to lots of new discoveries and recommendations.

I'll be in suspense until I find out what categories you will have! Here's to a great reading year!

Hey, you made it over to the group and set up your thread so the rest of it - the reading of books - is the easy part!

No preconceived categories or plans. Instead I will only know by the end of the year what my 2013 Category Challenge really had been.

Well, that is definitely an enticement to join you in watching your challenge "take shape"! Besides, It's always fun when you don't know where the next book may lead you...... ;-)

Looking forward to seeing what you read again. Hope it turns out to be a good year for you.

Thanks for all your comments. And before the year has started I will already put up a Gone Fishing sign as I will leave to Germany for a week for New Year and to celebrate my mother's 70th. I probably still have internet access but only limited so will likely start posting upon my return. Hopefully I'll manage a book or two while in the Fatherland.

Good to see you here! Looking forward to following along to see what you end up reading!

Back from Germany. Only read one book but as usual enjoyed reading all those German newspapers and magazines I don't generally read any longer. Also of course spent lots of time with friends and family and found the time to solve all the problems in my life.... in theory. :-)

I brought home a back breaking new book on the Edgar Wallace movies that I ordered to my Germany address in order to save on international postage and thanks to Christmas presents and vouchers also received a number of German language Sherlock Holmes pastiches and two Carlos Ruiz Zafon books.

The one book I got and read in toto was:



Hanns-Josef Ortheil: Schreiben auf Reisen: Wanderungen, kleine Fluchten und große Fahrten…

A book about travel writing. Different types of travel essays, journals and books. How to approach these genres. Each chapter finishes with a number of exercises that I gradually plan on approaching. A large number of those can be done at your doorstep as well as on an international journey and though it focuses on writing, this is also very much a way at looking at the world around you with different eyes and a new mind set, allowing us to use those insights in other forms as well. Quite handy as I also love to get more serious about (travel) photography over the coming months.

Book # 1

Sounds like you did well for Xmas then - one should always bring back loot! Welcome back home. :)

Theoretical problem-solving is better than nothing, isn't it? Nice to see you here!

Review of this book is from yet another blog of mine that I don't ever really update. ;-)



Joachim Kramp/Gerd Naumann: Das große Album der Edgar-Wallace-Filme

Shortly before Christmas German publishers Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf finally brought out Das große Album der Edgar-Wallace-Filme, a book that was 5 years in the making. Joachim Kramp, the original author, sadly never saw his project come to fruition as he had passed away a year previously. Kramp is known as one of the major Krimi- and Wallace aficionados and had previously written a number of other Wallace related tomes.

Though there have been other German books about the Wallace series Das große Album is especially of interest to an International clientele as it is primarily a lavish coffee table tome with little text. Other than some short introductory texts and forewords/interviews from Matthias Wendlandt, Peter Thomas, Joachim Fuchsberger, Karin Dor and Karin Baal the bulk of the hernia inducing hard cover is dedicated to the publication of 2000 Wallace related PR photos, lobby cards and behind-the-scenes shots. A good number of those have previously never been published before. A good chunk, however, already has. The 5-year wait has unfortunately diminished the rarity of some of the material. Especially the German lobby cards which make up a good portion of the book have in the meantime already been reproduced elsewhere. Instead of some of those I would therefore have loved to see a stronger focus on International promotional material, an area that to this moment remains largely unexplored. Still, this is a lavishly illustrated labour of love and something I am proud to have on my book shelf.

Even better.....

Prior to the regular edition that is going to be out later this year, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf have released four sets of 500 limited copies each with autographs by Karin Dor, Peter Thomas, Karin Baal or Uschi Glas respectively at no additional costs. My own is signed by Miss Krimi, Karin Dor, herself.... and so is pretty much everyone else's who has ordered a copy so it appears that the Dor version is likely to sell out very quickly.

The downside.... ?

Well, what can I say? It ain't cheap.

The book goes for EUR 99.95 and can be ordered from the publisher or from Amazon.de. Postage within Germany, Austria and Switzerland is free, within the rest of the EU consecutively higher and as a rule and due to prohibitive postal charges the book is not being sold outside that area.

Unless you ask nicely.

It appears that the publishers may ship to the US once it is requested by direct email request. Be, however, prepared to pay a shipping fee of around EUR 65.

Wanna get a good idea what the final product looks like? Head over here for a glance at some of the pages.

Book # 2

Errr.... don't know what's wrong with me. Can't find my reading mojo this year. Surrounded by unread books and feel there's nothing there to interest me. I recently even started a book that I just couldn't be bothered finishing and that shall remain nameless. The catch: It was written by a friend. So feeling pretty bad about this.

Still managed to read a wee little bit but most is informational literature. (Not that that can't be fun either.)

So for starters:



Lee Jones: Winning Low-Limit Hold'em

A couple of years ago I occasionally dabbled in playing low limit hold'em online.

And was atrocious.

But hey at least I didn't lose a lot cause it was low limit.

Recently started feeling the itch to get back into it again but this time decided to read up about the tactics first.

This book was recommended to me and appears to offer solid advice.

But I guess the proof is in the pudding and once I get around to playing a few rounds (and memorising all the tips), I shall know how good this really is.

Book # 3

Michael O'Donoghue/Frank Springer: The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist

Wow, that was a blast from the past!

As a teenager in the early 80s I remember that a friend of mine had a collected German language edition of this 1960s underground comic in his possession and even though I don't think I had previously read the whole oeuvre, I was familiar with at least some of the chapters.

Don't know what this says about me but after all these years I vividly remembered an awful lot of the imagery.

The story: Young socialite Phoebe Zeit-Geist gets kidnapped, eventually murdered and revived by various looney groups and individuals (Nazis, Necrophiliacs, foot fetishists etc etc). This is like a 60s style PERILS OF PAULINE serial. Totally gonzo and definitely not for everyone but I got a kick out of it.

Book # 4

Michael Port: Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling

For the last four years I have in various stages been involved in setting up my own range of services (primarily private German tutoring).

For three years I've been going it alone but for the last year I have also started wearing Corporate shackles again to have a guaranteed monthly income.

Ultimately, however, I really want to be able to do my own thing away from the Kosmokokkik Korporate World.

So this year I want to make the move away from a regular job back again to the pirate seas of freelancing and decided to read up about some marketing tips for this kind of field.

Must admit that this book had me hooked. None of the stuff is necessarily Earth shattering new but like the best books in this kind of genre it managed to fire me up and had me scribbling down notes with ideas in the wee wee hours of the morning.

Now following up on all these terrific ideas is as usual the biggest challenge.

Book # 5

Reading slumps can be difficult, as can not enjoying a book written by a friend! Nice to see your last book hooked you and has you motivated for a career move back into freelancing.

Cornell Woolrich: Four Novellas of Fear

Busy busy busy with life, work and everything so I really don't seem to find the time or inclination or read much this year. What I am reading lately is a bunch of short stories or poems here or there, whatever takes my fancy and all mainly part of larger compilations so I never really "finish" these books and they don't end up on my LT list.

I also recently got back into learning French again so have surrounded myself with exercise books and dictionaries, again material that won't all show up here anytime soon.

So it's probably indicative of my current reading trends that the first "proper" book I again finished is a collection of four Noir Novellas by Cornell Woolrich. For the most part I'd call them short stories but I guess the definition of what constitutes a novella can fluctuate quite a bit.

Woolrich is one of my favourite Noir authors. I am far from even scratching at the surface of his oeuvre but I like his motifs even when I come across them while listening to Old Time Radio shows like "Suspense" or when watching his stories or novels being adapted for screen or TV.

FOUR NOVELLAS OF FEAR is typical Woolrich fare: A paralytic, wheelchair-bound woman who can only communicate through the blinking of her eyes overhears plans for her murder. A dull man who never did wrong accidentally commits a killing, fakes his own death and falls ever deeper into a life of crime. An argument over the wife's baking skills leads to her running out of the house and the husband being accused of murder. Chasing up an unpaid wage check results into an unexpected killing spree for one of the victims of the Great Depression.

I don't think any of the stories would fall into my Top 10 of Woolrich stories but average Woolrich stuff is still better than most stories by other writers.

Book # 6

reminds me again that I must read more Woolrich...

Always a good reminder. ;-)

If you're not that familiar with him yet then either start with a good collection of his short stories (e.g. Nightwebs or one of his classic novels. In the latter case I'd recommend either Phantom Lady or Rendezvous in Black.

I love Cornell Woolrich and must get my hands on Four Novellas of Fear!

I've never read any Woolrich, but it's sounding like I should give him a try asap.

Anyone who is only remotely interested in Noir thrillers should read Woolrich.

Which reminds me of a question I am having. I am also currently reading Mickey Spillane and love classic Noir/hard boiled thrillers, yet only seem to come up with the following writers: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Cornell Woolrich, Fredric Brown and Mickey Spillane.

Surely there must be more classic Noir authors? Any recommendations? (Not talking Neo Noir)

Answering my own question: There are of course also Jim Thompson and James M Cain. Anyone else?

A couple of others which I keep meaning to try (but haven't so far) are David Goodis and James Crumley. It's probably not quite reached classic status yet but Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor series is definitely worth your time.

Great recommendations! Never heard of either of these authors before but especially David Goodis fits the time frame and wasn't SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER filmed in France with Charles Aznavour? The title seems to ring a bell.

And what's that I see: Ken Bruen is an Irish writer? Definitely need to check him out for that reason alone (even though he was only born when the other writers were already at the height of or even past their prime).

How about Dorothy Hughes? She's probably best known for In A Lonely Place which was made into a great Humphrey Bogart film, and Ride the Pink Horse, but she wrote many others as well.

Excellent recommendation and entered onto my My Read list. Thanks, DeltaQueen.

Mickey Spillane: Vengeance is Mine

I've said it before: Mickey Spillane's novels represent pretty much everything I despise in a person's worldview yet despite his misogynistic, homophobic, far right, gun loving heroes his writing by and large has me hooked that I can't help coming back for more.

His Mike Hammer is probably the most masochistic of all hard-boiled heroes. He would of course deny it but he undoubtedly seems to get a lot of pleasure about the beatings he keeps on getting in the course of all the novels. And much could be said about his sexuality given that the dames he sleeps with all end up dead, killed by either his enemies or by himself for betraying him. And poor Velda, his assistant needs to stay virginally pure regardless of how much she throws herself at him and how much it physically pains him to refuse her advances.

So when Mike Hammer wakes up in a hotel apartment, drunk as a skunk, with the feeling of sick in his mouth and a dead friend next to him, it will come as no surprise for the Spillane aficionado to discover who the true culprit behind the murder is.

What *will* come as a surprise is the ultimate revelation that will easily redefine the topic of "dodgy subtext in Mike Hammer thrillers" and bring it up to a new level.

It was only when I read that final reveal that I noticed that I had previously read the novel before... but so long ago that I am forgiven for not remembering this.

Favourite quote: "Tempus fugits fast as hell."

Book # 7

Carlos Ruiz Zafon: Marina

Zafon has only really come to prominence internationally with his SHADOW OF THE WIND and follow-ups over the last couple of years, yet in Spain his works were published since the early 1990s.

He first wrote novels for teenagers that I have not yet read (but hopefully soon will). MARINA in a way is a bridge novel between the early stuff and his later Barcelona novels.

Again set in Barcelona (and as far as I know for the first time in his books), the novel features two love stories, one set in the presence (well, late 1970s), one in the past. It also prominently features the city's architecture and is a coming-of-age story of a teenage boy in a boarding school in the city and his friendship with a young girl and her artist-Dad. Following the strange figure of a mysterious veiled lady at a cemetery, they soon become involved in a decades long secret that features murder, mystery, intrigue..... and Frankensteinian monsters in the city's sewers!

I really love those stories with overarching themes that span various time frames. Very atmospheric, gloomy and with dark topics yet a light touch. I dare say that if you enjoyed SHADOW OF THE WIND, you're bound to like MARINA as well.

Strangely enough this book (written in 1999) has yet to be translated to English but is scheduled to do so later this year.

Book # 8

Just noticed that in 2005 SHADOW OF THE WIND won the Barry Award for "Best First Novel". Groan...

Enjoying your noir reviews!

Guess that means I need to find another Noir again next. :-)

I think the only ones that I have lying around right now are books that I have previously read.... but probably half forgotten about.

It's harder and harder finding some of those second hand. There was a time not too long ago when it was pretty easy to find new (well: old) Noir paperbacks.

Great review of Marina and while I am struggling with the fact that it isn't currently available in English - Darn it all! - I will keep an eye out for a copy of the translation when it is released!

H Kliczkowski: Antoni Gaudi

Following up on reading Marina I remembered that I still had a little book on Gaudi lying around since my trip to Barcelona last year.

What fascinates me about this architect is the sheer breadth and scope of his work.

When you look at one of his buildings, you will soon realise that he didn't "just" design the outside but that you need to also look at the smaller details: the tiles, the door knobs, the chairs etc

He was never repetitive and ended up spending the last 40 or so years pretty much focused on one single project, the Sagrada Familia. That's an awful long time for just one project (it still isn't finished) and I admire his determination. No artist in these short lived days would ever even attempt anything as long term as this.

The book brought back many memories. It was one of these cheapo publications that are available everywhere in Barcelona with a little bit of info and lots of photos. As I was too mean to fork out enough for a coffee table book (one of these days!) I have only myself to blame if some of the pictures in it are simply too small to do the subject justice.

Book # 9

Gaudi would be worth a nice dear coffee table book - one of these days... :)

I seem to remember picking up that book when I visited Barcelona several years ago. The Sagrad Familia is well worth a visit, even if they haven't finished the stairs and coming down from the top is a bit of a hair raising experience!

Must admit that I only ever saw the outside of the Sagrada Familia as the crowds turned me off. (I don't queue.... ever.)

Love La Pedrera. That roof is just absolutely amazing. And of course the Park Guell. What an amazing talent.

>35 IrishHolger: yeah we did a Gaudi walking tour (self guided) when we were there, amazing stuff

Are you still seeking noir authors? Recently Elizabeth Sanxay Holding was described as "the Godmother of Noir." Her book The Blank Wall is in print.

Yes, definitely still looking for Noir authors and recommendations. Never heard of Holding before but she's on the list now.

Peter Tremayne: Nicor

I have previously read Tremayne's rather interesting Dracula Unborn and subsequently learned that he is also the author behind a series of Sister Fidelma mysteries based in Ireland, that his parents were from Cork (where I now live) and that he still seems to visit Ireland frequently. In other words: Tremayne (also known as Peter Berresford Ellis) is practically a local author.

Thus when I came across Nicor in a second hand book store my curiosity was piqued and I grabbed it straight away.

It's a straightforward and not very surprising middle-of-the-road animal on a rampage horror novel. When an oil rig accidentally releases a pre-historic sea monster all hell breaks loose. The thin plot is getting more stretched and diluted by a totally unnecessary and also not really surprising murder mystery on the mainland that is remotely linked to the oil rig.

Not really bad but most definitely not great either.

Book # 10

Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man

THE THIN MAN is the last of Hammett's novels as well as the last of his novels I had not yet read. His short stories are still awaiting me but over the years I had read all of the small number of novels that he had written but this one.

Must admit that he is an author that I always felt I should like but who I never really could warm up to that much. I often preferred the cinematic adaptations and the motifs that he represented but the stories as such never really seemed to hook me all that much and certainly never really lingered too long in my mind.

For various reasons I never got around to THE THIN MAN. Whenever I thought of getting it, it just so happened that it wasn't available in the book stores. I also never bothered too much in venturing out to get a copy as I liked the films - lighthearted screwball mysteries - but never really thought that Hammett would be the kind of author to to do lighthearted writing justice.

These days of course with the availability of the Kindle there are less and less excuses not to get a hold of a copy so when I finally managed some free time this weekend I quickly downloaded a copy and started reading.

And of course the novel is nothing like the films and contrary to my expectations this actually became my favourite Hammett novel.

Yes, it outwardly reflects the movie's initial character setup with Nick and Nora Charles, a rich socialite non-stop drinking married couple, solving a murder mystery, but that's where the similarities end. The mood in the book is definitely Noir and hardboiled with Nick being an ex-detective who has no intention of ever going back to crime solving again yet is constantly being dragged into a murder mystery he initially couldn't care less about. In actual fact much of the detecting from his side is often purely random by just being around when stuff happens.

In terms of cinematic history this would be considered "pre-code". I was totally gobsmacked at some of the scenes that very openly discussed Nick's philandering sex life pre-marriage as well as the errant ways of those of the other protagonists. One character, a disturbed young teenager is fascinated by psychoanalysis and constantly discusses topics such as incest or cannibalism as well as the desire to experiment with cocaine. Definitely an adult crime book that again shows that life in the 1920s and very early 30s in some respects may have been far more free wheeling than one would generally consider these days.

And did I mention the drinking? Noir characters are often described as hard drinking but none more so than Nick and Nora who seem to start their day with liquid breakfasts and then proceed with more. There are probably at least as many drinks consumed as this novel has pages.

Book # 11

Pan Book of Horror Stories: Volume 10

Bah, it took me nearly four weeks into the month before I finished just a single book.

Worse.... this was a book of short stories that I deliberately picked as I thought this might be a relatively fast reading experience given my limited fun time available for anything these days.

However, I soon figured that rather than finish this faster it probably took me longer to get through. With a novel I might steal 10 minutes and read away on it just to make some progress. Knowing that a short story may take half an hour or 40 minutes I actually needed larger chunks at my disposal before I made progress.

So was it any good?

I had often heard about those PAN collections but this is the first I ever read one.

The stories are generally pretty good and readable by authors I had never heard of. None of them were masterful strokes of genius but also none were awful. For the most part these were contemporary stories set in the 60s and 70s.

Great cover, mind you.

Book # 12

That is a brilliant cover!!

Stephane Hessel: Indignez Vous

This is probably the shortest book I will ever list reading with barely a dozen pages. But by jolly I need all the help I can with adding books to my count this year so as thin as it is: It surely counts.

I read INDIGNEZ VOUS in French which is also the only reason why I read it at all.

I am currently brushing up on my school French for a trip to Nice later this month. I was glad to see that I understood the gist of the whole and about 50-60% of the contents in particular.

This pamphlet took France by storm when it was first published two or three years ago.

Written by a 93 year old ex-Resistance fighter and one of the attendees of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he highlights the need to become "outraged" again. Society as a whole is seen as far too complacent and a return to the older rebellious ideals is seen as welcome.

This message obviously stirred a lot of notions in France. Given our current political climes pretty much everywhere there is indeed a point to be made about the need to become more outraged again. What surprised me, however, was how much of its feeble space was not dedicated to the issues at hand in France itself but to the likes of the Israeli relationship with Palestine. Seems like a wasted opportunity to me.

What can I say? This is a pamphlet and therefore not a type of text I am too keen on. But it's short and (not so) sweet and written (and more or less understood) in French so Mission Accomplished for me.

Book # 13

What's that I see?

I've read 13 books so far this year.

Major drumroll. (Spoken in a sarcastic tone of voice.)

Which means I finally passed my first reading goal:

"For starters I will just read 13 books.

Given the 2012 speed of reading this may already take me the best part of three or four months (though I hope not).

Once I have read the 13 books I'll do something else.

What, I do not yet know. Maybe I'll look at the 13 books and see if I can see some common thread between some of those that I can build on. Maybe I'll do something else."

Here is the complete list so far:

1. Hanns-Josef Ortheil: Schreiben auf Reisen: Wanderungen, kleine Fluchten und große Fahrten…
2. Joachim Kramp/Gerd Naumann: Das große Album der Edgar-Wallace-Filme
3. Lee Jones: Winning Low-Limit Hold'em
4. Michael O'Donoghue/Frank Springer: The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist
5. Michael Port: Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients
Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling
6. Cornell Woolrich: Four Novellas of Fear
7. Mickey Spillane: Vengeance is Mine
8. Carlos Ruiz Zafon: Marina
9. H Kliczkowski: Antoni Gaudi
10. Peter Tremayne: Nicor
11. Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man
12. Pan Book of Horror Stories: Volume 10
13. Stephane Hessel: Indignez Vous

So what to do next?

I am certainly glad that I didn't commit to far more than my vague reading plans this year.

So the next goal is simply to read another 13 books.

My most interesting reads so far and the most interesting part of the discussions here were about Noir thrillers. So in order to spice up the challenge a bit more I am planning to read a total of 13 Noir related books this year. Those 13 books will be included in the overall count so the following are going to be included in this new challenge:

1. Cornell Woolrich: Four Novellas of Fear
2. Mickey Spillane: Vengeance is Mine
3. Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man

Leaving me with another 10 Noir books to cover. Those Noirs won't need to be new to me, they just need to be Noir. I do, however, also hope to cover books from authors suggested to me over the last couple of months: David Goodis, Dorothy Hughes, Elizabeth Sanxay Holding.

F. Scott Fitzgerald: Tender is the Night

I am showing my age but it has been nearly 30 years since I first read THE GREAT GATSBY. It has since become one of my favourite books and although I have re-read that book a few times, it is surprising that I haven't read a single other novel by Fitzgerald until now.

TENDER IS THE NIGHT is just as stunning as GATSBY. Every page contains beautifully written phrases that are endlessly quotable and the attention to detail is compelling. Little wonder it took him so many years and re-writes before the book took on its present form.

I just hope it won't take me another 30 years to read another one of his works.

Book # 14

Just catching up, and I have to confess that I did break down and buy a Gaudi coffee table book when I was in Barcelona, along with another "cheapy" one that is probably an earlier version of the one that you read. I'm also one who only saw the outside of Sagrada Familia because of the long queues, though I have seen the inside on PBS shows/DVDs since then. It's a great city, and so walkable!

I've also only read Great Gatsby, and keep meaning to try another of his books. Gatsby was not one of my favorites (if I'm honest, it doesn't do much for me - sorry), but he is a great writer. Perhaps Tender will be my next one too?

Hope you're doing well!

I read Tender is the Night last year and felt is was nearly as fantastic as Gatsby. Certainly as well-written.
That Pan cover is horrifying!

My favorite noir author is Jim Thompson. The majority of his stories take place in Texas or somewhere west. I can recommend The Killer Inside Me, Pop. 1280 and Savage Night. Also, I loved The Big Sleep and anything by James m. Cain is great. I hope you discover some good noir reads this year!

Congrats on finishing the first 13! And good luck with the next 13! :)

Thanks for the congrats and the comments. Has it really been three months since I last posted? Oh my.....

I have read a few books since (not many) but didn't have any time to post about them. Over the next few days will need to quickly pen a few comments about those books.

What have I done? Well, generally far too much work. Need to do something about it.

On the fun side, however, I have also visited the South of France as well as Monte Carlo and last month came back from a two-week trip on board the Transsiberian Express.... so I guess I shouldn't complain too much about my lack of reading time. ;-)

Gerard de Villiers: S. A. S. Versus the C. I. A.

Malko Linge is a James Bond style hero of a long running French pulp fiction paperback series. In France you can still buy current and back issues without any problems. In the 70s some of his adventures were also translated into English (in the UK and then separately the US). He also proved very popular in Germany where his exploits over a long period of time were sold primarily in train station book stores as ideal action fodder to while away a few hours on a journey.

This book was the very first to be translated into English in 1969 and only the second in the original French series. Later editions would make a bigger deal of the character's name on the cover. Here he is hidden under his title S.A.S. (Son Altesse Sérénissime - His Serene Highness) as our eponymous hero is an Austrian prince who takes on espionage work in exchange for money to pay for repairs for his crumbling castle.

As is often the case with pulp paperback covers, the model here bears no resemblance to anyone in the book. The most fascinating aspect of the story is that it plays in pre-revolutionary (i.e. pre-"Argo") Iran and involves a plot to kill the Shah. I can't remember ever seeing the country being portrayed as a Western friendly hotbed of intrigue!

Book # 15

Well, if you haven't been around because you've been traveling, I have a hard time faulting you for that. Hope the casino was nice to you! :)

Good to have you back with us. Hope you enjoyed your trips.

Trips were fab. But now I will need to make LibraryThing my home away from home again. Planning some changes in my life to ensure I may end up having more fun and reading time for myself. Let's see how this works out.... ;-)

The Walking Dead: Compendium Two

Continuing my journey through the original WALKING DEAD comics. This edition now covers material that has not yet been covered by the TV show but I don't feel as if I read spoilers simply because the style and plot lines vary so much between comic and TV version. (A bit like the DEXTER book and TV series.)

Book # 16

Welcome back!

> 50 - Hum, James Bond meets pulp fiction.... interesting. How does it hold up to the test of time since you mention it was first translated in 1969? I actually like that cover and could see it being used on a more current day read, probably on a book of the same genre but not overly dated.

->54 IrishHolger:
The two don't converge too much - you can easily follow both without getting spoilers for one or the other.

> 55 Well, what can I say? I have a soft spot for the Malko series as I remember some of those as a teenager in Germany and found them quite daring. Hell, I even watched the movie adaptation with Miles O'Keefe. So for me these are re-discoveries but if I have to be honest..... they're just OK. The original Bonds are holding up much better.

One shouldn't forget that the Malkos are practically factory produced: first by the original writer Gerard de Villiers, then by a group of writers under his name. It's an impressive feat to see such a long running pulp fiction series that few people outside of France have heard of but high quality should probably not be expected. They are quite entertaining on a basic spy/pulp level.

Mind you: I did buy one of the French language Malkos during my recent visit to France and hope to one day read it just to practice by school French.

> 56 I agree. It's great to be able to get enjoyment out of both the original material and the adaptation.

Robert Greene: The 48 Laws of Power

This is one of those books that I always enjoyed browsing through when at my local book store. Y'know read a page here and a little snippet there. It felt wonderfully amoral to read about historically proven ways to manipulate people. Nothing wrong with the occasional bit of Macchiavellian exploitation.

So I finally caved in and bought the actual book.

What can I say? It probably is better off in smaller doses. As a whole it soon gets monotonous and repetitive. I didn't dislike it and still get a kick out of the concept but definitely should have kept to reading bits and pieces in Waterstones.

Book # 17

Dashiell Hammett: Who Killed Bob Teal? and Other Detective Stories by Dashiell Hammett…

I recently finished the last of the Dashiell Hammett novels. Not too difficult to do given that he only ever published a small handful. In actual fact it was probably a bit of a surprise that it took me so long. But then again I can't really say that I really "get" Hammett. He is mildly entertaining but hasn't aged as well as some of his Noir colleagues.

This book features a bunch of his short stories and is available for just $0.99 for the Kindle so a good enough reason to indulge my Noir journey a bit further.

Some of the stories are belonging to his Continental Op cycle. They're all OK but less noirish and more standard Whodunnit.

The stories, however, that had me far more engrossed were all non-Continental Ops e.g.:

NIGHTMARE TOWN - a stranger arrives in a town in the middle of nowhere and stirs up trouble amongst the less than respectable citizens. Total havoc ensues. Noir story with a quasi-Western feel.
RUFFIAN'S WIFE - an adoring wife gradually gets to learn more than she had ever wished about the true nature of her world travelling husband with a mercenary streak
SECOND STORY ANGEL - a pulp fiction writer saves a dubious damsel in distress and hopes to incorporate her character in a number of new stories. But there's a catch. This story is nearly post-modern with its self-reverential pseudo-autobiographical nudges.

Book # 18
Noir Book # 4

Carlos Ruiz Zafon: The Rose of Fire

Well, what can I say?

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

And this book/short story was free.

So far Carlos Ruiz Zafon never managed to disappoint me but there is always a first time.

This is meant to be a prequel to the series of books dedicated to THE CEMETERY OF FORGOTTEN BOOKS and to describe the origins of the Labyrinth.... except it doesn't. It gives a bit more back story but that's it.

The story itself is short so one doesn't waste too much time. The plot is thin and really neither here nor there.

Looking forward to reading the author's proper next novel as that really is his chosen metier. From now, however, on he should stay clear of short stories.

Book # 19

David Markson: Epitaph for a Tramp and Epitaph for a Dead Beat: The Harry Fannin Detective Novels

One of my favourite new literary finds of recent times. Up till about a month ago I hadn't even heard of the Harry Fannin hardboiled beatnik Noirs, now I wish there'd have been more than just those two.

The novels were originally written in 1959 and 1960 and are about a hardboiled private eye in the tradition of Philip Marlowe who solves murders in Greenwich Village amongst the resident beatniks. In some of the subject matters the book is often quite daring for the time it was written in (open promiscuity and drug taking for starters with occasional dollops of taboo topics such as incest). On practically every page you seem to get endlessly quotable lines of dialogue.

There is quite a postmodern feel to it with liberal references to all kinds of books, authors and composers (Kerouac, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Mann, Bach, Wagner etc etc) and David Markson later on apparently became quite a well known experimental writer. Just by reading those two books it is easy to see that this was no ordinary common garden pulp author.

In the first book Fannin needs to find the killer of his estranged nympho wife, in the (slightly even better) second book he is involved in a "proper" murder case that is not related to him.

This really is a little known Noir masterpiece that lives off the confrontational interaction between hardboiled P.I. and the then-current new wave of bohemian beatniks. If you like these kinds of stories, this is now officially a Must Read.

Book # 20, 21
Noir Novel # 5, 6

Well darn on the Rose of Fire book. I loved The Shadow in the Wind when I read it and was realing looking forward to learning more about the origins of the Labyrinth.

At least your second book was an improvement over the Zafron book!

Judge for yourself. The Zafron work hardly qualifies as a book. It's a short story and can be read in a quarter of an hour.

Carlos Ruiz Zafón: Der dunkle Wächter

1937. France.

Recently widowed Simone takes up a position in a mysterious mansion at the sea belonging to a solitary toy maker and populated by his ingenious machinery. Her teenage daughter befriends a local boy and they soon uncover a decades old mystery and haunting shadows that threaten the lives of her entire family.

After the relative disappointment of Zafon's short story THE ROSE OF FIRE I decided to approach another one of his early novels and was very totally enamoured again with his writing.

Originally published in 1995, THE WATCHER IN THE SHADOWS is the third part of his Trilogy of Fog. I have not yet read the previous two books but they only appear to be loosely connected and based on this work can easily be read in any order. They don't seem to have an overlying story or character ark and I suspect that they may just be connected by a general Gothic mood.

His early work is generally described as being aimed at Young Adults but this already bears the hallmarks of his later works and though very much focused on teenagers on the brink of adulthood, it can comfortably be read by adults as well.

This is a gripping and very atmospheric novel with realistic characters and a genuine sense of fear and dread. The first half provides ample scope for character development so that by the time the cliff hanger style threats start developing in the second half the reader can properly root for them.

It's a very cinematic style of writing and time again throughout my reading I was thinking that this could make a great film.... though it could also turn into a CGI debacle and may just better be left alone in book form.

I just wish that this would actually be read by Young Adults (and not only by adult fans of his Cemetery of Forgotten Books) just so that they can see that fiction aimed at teenagers does not need to be TWILIGHT style garbage.

Ah well, one can only dream.....

Book # 22

Loving the Zafón reviews!

I wasn't aware that Zafón had written any YA - yes, adding to the wishlist.... :)

>66 lkernagh: Thanks. Just noticed that this is indeed my third Zafon review this year as I had also read MARINA a while back.

Hmmm, maybe I should finish the remaining three books as well in 2013: The Prince of Mist, The Prisoner of Heaven and The Midnight Palace. I believe after those I would be up to date with his entire oeuvre.

Chris Guillebeau: The $100 Startup

Just noticed that I had forgotten to write up this book that I finished last month half way through my trip on the Transsiberian Express. (Ah, those memories....)

Chris Guillebeau is the guy behind The Art of Non-Conformity, featuring "unconventional strategies for life, work and travel". Though he is only in his mid-30s he managed to finish his 10-year journey to visit every single country in the world with a visit to Norway earlier this year. That alone has him in my book of coolest guys I ever want to meet.

THE $100 STARTUP sums up his theory of setting up businesses that require little financial outlay with no need for a business plan.

This is the kind of idea that I have been working on for the last five years with various degrees of success. The most successful attempt is working as an independent German tutor here. So anything that'll tickle my brain in that regard is welcome stuff.

Reading this book gave me a couple of good ideas. Some of his stuff is already familiar territory for readers of his blog but it's good to see it all distilled in one single work. It heavily features case studies of people that have managed to make a career out of low budget startups. The title is a bit misleading as some of the folks clearly spent more than $100, but none of them really spent a lot so I am clearly nitpicking.

Book # 23

62 oo beatnik noir :) book bullet severely lodge in my brain. Thanks!

I just looked at The $100 Startup at work yesterday! Perhaps I'll check it out on Tuesday when I go back to the real world. Your travels sound drool-inducing. Any pictures you feeling like sharing with the rest of the class? :)

Sure! Most of the Transsib pics are on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/17968688@N08/sets/72157635077838773/

I think I am in two of them. LOL

Lee Child: 61 Hours

I've read a couple of other Jack Reacher novels before and by and large liked them. They sure aren't great literature. They're not even terribly original thrillers. But they are great airport novels that you can easily digest when on the road and need to switch off your brain. Quickly read and quickly forgotten but with an enigmatic hero that every male reader feels like emulating.

61 HOURS, unfortunately, is by far the weakest Reacher novel for me so far.

It has this terribly annoying habit of counting down the clock from 61 down to 0. It doesn't take long before you're tired of reading: "Five minutes to eleven in the evening. Fifty-three hours to go."

Even worse, however, is the fact that the countdown indicates when the main event will happen which means that we as readers know for sure that prior to that nothing much will take place.

So we have a prison riot that is just a false alarm. Lengthy security checks that lead nowhere. Threats that are just imaginary. Etc etc.....

Ironically when we finally reach the end of the countdown the showdown feels totally rushed.

This is a very average action thriller with a surprise reveal that everyone but the most moronic reader must have seen coming hundreds of pages in advance.

Book # 24

James Bond: The Paradise Plot

Compilation of two of the James Bond newspaper comics: THE PARADISE PLOT and DEATHMASK. Average stories but unusual plots, at least for 007, as they have certain apparently supernatural elements in them: one about a messianic cult, the other about viral murders that totally deform the victims' facial features. Worth a read for a James Bond Fan but altogether not too memorable.

Book # 25

Walter Mosley: Devil in a Blue Dress

A modern Noir about a black Private Eye in 1948 involved in an ever more complex investigation featuring mysterious murders, racial prejudices and more than its fair share of paedophile/incestuous relationships.

I always heard great things about the Easy Rawlins series of books and was curious whether I'd find a new series to explore.

And though I found this to be a quick'n'easy and overall enjoyable read I did feel that it lacked the certain je-ne-sais-quoi that I'd associate with most of the better Noir novels. Take away the African-American angle and you'd have a well written but pretty bog standard crime feature.

The Kindle edition also featured a short story, CRIMSON STAIN, that was pretty uneventful if it wasn't for the fact that Easy Rawlins now has a girl and (adopted) kids and that his stories are obviously not just set in the late 1940s but instead cross a number of decades.

If I happen to come across some of the other books in the series I'll probably give them read but I can't say that I am going to be actively venturing out to locate them.

If at all I am actually far more intrigued to now explore This Year You Write Your Novel: a how to write a novel book by one of the most successful recent crime writers. Sounds worth a look.

Book # 26
Noir Novel # 7

I could have sworn I had a Mosley on Mt. TBR, but it seems to have gone on a walkabout. Need to add one in, absolutely.

Great review of Devil in a Blue Dress. I have had my eye on that one for some time but I think I will watch the film adaptation starring Denzel Washington instead of reading the book.... of course, that decision is a no-brainer considering I always enjoy Denzel Washington films! ;-)

Good review of Mosley. Have the second on my tbr but a lack of enthusiasm.

I watched the film right after finishing the book and it's a pretty much by the numbers adaptation that changes some of the motivations behind the killings and a number of the book's more disturbing scenes were discreetly ignored or quickly glanced over which makes the adaptation far less gritty than the novel.

Jennifer Beale's character is not on the scene long enough to truly shine and remains two-dimensional. What became the novel's probably most important reveal is here presented midway and completely loses its impact.

Still, an OK adaptation worth at least one look but IMHO just an OK adaptation of a good but by no means great book.

I just noticed that with Book 26 I had also finished my second 13 Book challenge. Before the end of the year I hope to finish at least another 13 books but oh, what a disappointing year this is numbers-wise. There was a time when I could easily read close to 50 books..... and that would not have included the kind of graphic novels I had started to make count against my overall tally this year.

Or 20 page pamphlets.

Ah well, it is what it is.

Will also need to work on finishing at least another 6 Noir books.

And given that the comics have kept the overall figures look somewhat better I also hope to at least finish reading a total of 13 graphic novels by the end of this year.

So far I had read:

1. Michael O'Donoghue/Frank Springer: The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist
2. The Walking Dead: Compendium Two
3. James Bond: The Paradise Plot

So just another ten to go to reach the goal. And four unread ones are lying next to me. So it could be achievable.

Robert Tinnell/Neil Vokes: Flesh and Blood, Book Three

If you're wondering about the kind of writing approach here..... This review was posted from my blog where you'll also be able to see panels and explanatory links.

I. Have. Returned.

Well… kind of.

After too long a time spending far too many hours working too many jobs, I have now simplified my life, quit the corporate world and am focusing entirely on my own projects, meaning predominantly working away as a private German tutor in Cork.

If you want to pick up some tips and tricks on learning German, please feel free to visit my Facebook page.

Oh, and I also give lessons through Skype.

What that means is that I should also finally have more time at hand to again focus on this dangerously abandoned blog of mine. I am not putting any undue pressure on me as to how often I might post again, but you should definitely see an upsurge in new posts over the coming weeks and months.

And for starters I would like to draw your attention to Flesh and Blood, Book 3.

If you remember, I was quite ecstatic about the first issue of this new 4-part horror comic series and had also featured an interview with the creators, Neil Vokes and Bob Tinnell, who had succeeded in creating a unique Gothic induced comic book world that was obviously influenced by the imagery of Hammer’s classic production without ever resorting to a simple rip-off of their tropes and themes.

BOOK 2 had finished with a tantalizing hint of a time travelling Victor Frankenstein and BOOK 3 kicks off about half a century into the future in the late 19th century, a period of more than a passing familiarity for us Hammerheads.

Rather than being an all-encompassing demon slasher monster mash, the current issue focuses predominantly on Frankenstein and his attempts to regenerate a certain Dr Jeckyll who passed away while being possessed by his evil Alter Ego. He transfers Jeckyll’s persona into that of his final female victim and, hey presto, Frankenstein Created Woman and Dr Jekyll becomes Sister Hyde!

Just like in the previous parts, Tinnell and Vokes both manage to create a slice of genre comic that is clearly inspired by the magic of the Hammer Horrors, yet do it in such a unique way that this remains a genuinely new and unique piece of story telling.

With its new focus on the Jekyll & Hyde story and moving away from the Carmilla/Dracula/Werewolf angle of the first two books, BOOK 3 could easily be read independently by those readers who are not yet familiar with the FLESH AND BLOOD universe.

And a proper universe this is soon becoming as theoretically nothing should now be able to stop Mssrs. Vokes and Tinnell to further expand on these topics and set them up with any new monster and at any possible period of time. Kind of like what CAPTAIN KRONOS may have become had that film turned into a series.

In addition to the main graphic novel, we also get the continuation of two other far shorter comic books stories written by Tinnell (Baron Frankenstein drawn by Adrian Salmon and Operation Satan by Bob Hall). Tom Savini provides the foreword and with it one of my current favourite quotes: “The more you do, The more you get to do!” And an article by Michael H. Price with an overview of horror comics rounds up the entire oeuvre.

What can I say? It's good to be back.

Book # 27
Graphic Novel # 4

Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl

I have recently started volunteering in one of the Oxfam Charity book shops and always knew I would have to make sure I don't end up becoming my best customer. The ultimate plan is of course to get rid of a number of books on my book shelf, not to accumulate more.

Needlessly to say: This didn't work.

Gillian Flynn's GONE GIRL was my first Oxfam purchase after I finished one of my weekly 4-hour shifts. Been meaning to read this ever since I first heard about it and there are always cheap copies in store so how could I resist?

Nick Dunne's wife goes missing on their 5th wedding anniversary. The mystery behind her disappearance is slowly unravelled by various diary style entries written by both husband and wife and telling a completely different picture of their life together.

These different styles of writing are what made this book so popular and are indeed the most interesting aspect of the work. Trouble is that this is soon becoming a bit repetitive and try as she might: Flynn is no Kurosawa and GONE GIRL is just a poor man's RASHOMON.

It's an entertaining read but as a thriller just very average and overall pretty predictable. There is a mid-book reveal that's been telegraphed in advance by an annoying bit of important clue that Nick inexplicably for his character decided to constantly ignore.

Which of course in the world of thrillers could only mean that it was very important.

If you come across this book in your charity shop, go ahead and buy it, then read it, be mildly entertained and do what I will probably do and return it back to the store as this is not the kind of stuff that needs a pride of place on my ever expanding shelves.

Book # 28

"simplified my life, quit the corporate world and am focusing entirely on my own projects"
That sounds fantastic!! Congratuwelldone on that! :)

Thanks, Eva. Let's talk again in about a year as to how great that idea truly was but so far everything is going well and I can't complain.... for the first time in a while. ;-)

Excellent - I'll keep my fingers Xed! :)

The Savage Sword of Conan Volume 4

Forth collection of the black and white Marvel Conan comics from the 70s and 80s that were written and drawn for a more mature audience than the regular Conan comics at the time. In other words: a bit more violence, some small nudity.

The centre piece is the multi-part adaptation of CONAN THE BUCCANEER.

At the current speed (one Conan album/year), it'll be another decade before I am finished with that comic saga. No harm.....

Book # 29
Graphic Novel # 5

Harlan Coben: Just One Look

My first Harlan Coben book and more than likely not my last. Just came across this by chance: a friend got this from a friend and wanted to get rid of it so thought I may like it. I in turn had it lying on my TBR pile and half forgotten about it until I was in need of a thrilling new discovery.

Hadn't expected all too much but was really immersed.

It's a very simple concept that ends up going into all kinds of bizarre directions: A woman by chance discovers an old teenage photo of her husband. And then the shit starts hitting the fan.

Impossible to reveal more without spoiling it but suffice it to say that I was hooked. For a while I thought that the author just may have forgotten to close one of the major open questions of this novel but when he then did he totally blew me away with his final revelation.

Of course, step back from the book and all becomes quite preposterous but for the duration of the ride Coben has you so intrigued you don't even dare to question some of the twists and counter twists.

Book # 30

I'm not much of a thriller reader, but I have to admit, I'm very intrigued by this: A woman by chance discovers an old teenage photo of her husband. And then the shit starts hitting the fan. Might have to check it out!

Oh, do, Christina. I was really pleasantly surprised about the way this turned out. Is it realistic? Probably not. But a lorra lorra fun.

After mentioning this on my FB account I noticed that a number of my buddies seem to be Harlan Coben fans. I had no idea that he has all those loyal readers. Seems like there is something about him that takes a simple idea and turns it around successfully.

Harlan Coben has been on my potential authors to check out at some point in time list but so far (due to the already groaning weight of the tbr shelves) I've not got around to picking up any of his books. Looks like I will have to give him some greater consideration in future.

Seconding what Dave said - Coben has been on my Potentials-list for a long time.

Britt Nini: Ursula Andress

An older French language biography of Ursula Andress that finishes with CLASH OF TITANS which in all fairness is also pretty much the last time this Swiss actress has participated in anything larger scale.

Is the book any good?

Errr, it's average at the very best. There are a large number of poorly replicated black and white pics of the lady who once was known as the most beautiful woman on Earth. The text itself reads as some kind of fan rambling. Most of the contents are quotes lifted verbatim from an abundance of magazine articles or other publications. The author herself admits that this is meant to present us with a series of impressions about the actress but it just comes across as lazy writing.

Most importantly, however, this is in French! And given that I have recently started getting back into that language I am trying to soak up as much as I can. And this book was ideal for that. The language is basic enough and I am more than familiar with her life and films that I found reading it quite manageable and probably grasped about 60-70%, enough to give me a somewhat overly exaggerated feeling of achievement.

Book # 31

Sixty to seventy percent is very good indeed! How do you handle words that you don't know -- do you look them up right away or make a note of them to look up later, taking a guess at what they mean in context so that you don't disrupt the reading flow? I've tried both approaches and still haven't decided which one is better.

My French skills are completely all over the place. I passively know enough from school that I can read a book like this one and understand most but ask me to hold a basic conversation actively without making some simple mistake and I am useless. Baby steps, baby steps....

I don't bother looking up every word that I don't know as this will get frustrating quickly. Mainly I work from context and if I don't understand every little thing, then so be it. However, if some words show up again and again then they are obviously important enough to know, and I will then look them up. There are also some expressions that I sorta kinda knew but forgot and I write those down in a little booklet. I do the same for French movies I watch.

Of course my favourite expression from this book must be the French translation of "What's new, pussycat?" = "Quoi de neuf, pussycat?" One never knows when one needs this. ;-)

60-70% is quite impressive. I took French in school for many years, but I've lost most of it - kudos for keeping it up!

Cornell Woolrich: The Black Angel

The first two chapters could easily be called "Stand By Your Man".

A cheated wife stands loyally by her husband who is accused of murdering his lover and faces the electric chair. All she can focus on is getting back with him again and proving his innocence.

As ridiculously door mattish as this may sound, these over-the-top declarations of eternal love for someone who probably didn't deserve much better work actually quite well as she is soon being confronted with a range of situations in search of the truth that put her face to face with a nightmarish vision of a world that she had previously never been forced to visit.

Every one of the potential killers gets one chapter of this novel. And every one of those chapters is like a little Noir novelette in itself introducing us to a range of broken characters and shattered dreams.

Absolutely wonderful piece of writing and reason enough - if ever there was one needed - why Cornell Woolrich is my favourite Noir author.

Book # 32
Noir Novel # 8

@ 96 -- That plot summary reminds me a lot of Agatha Christie's story "Witness for the Prosecution"! I'm guessing the two works are not actually that similar, though. :)

I have read a good number of Christie novels but not this one.... though I saw the movie. :-)

Based on previous books by her and based on the adaptation, these really aren't that similar though WITNESS could very well be Christie's darkest plot.

By and large I am not a huge fan of Christie. I used to read a lot of hers when I was a teenager and only over the last couple of years re-visited her books and I must say I find them overly contrived, not all that well written and they often haven't aged all that well. (Of course, Woolrich's books are also often pretty contrived but they ARE well written and they HAVE aged well.)

Saying that......

Just back from my weekly stint at the local Oxfam bookstore and came back with THE BURDEN, one of the books that she wrote under the Mary Westmacott alias. Not sure if I will ever read it but I really love those old 1970s paperback covers. (Darn, did I just call something from the 70s "old"?)

Gotta love those vintage (a polite synonym for old!) covers. I think I have some pulp stuck in my teeth...

Of definitely, "vintage" is so much more appropriate a term. Better remember that for the next time. LOL

I am another one who loves those vintage covers. Love the gothic look of that one!

The art, and it was an art, of paperback design has totally deteriorated. Modern mass market paperbacks are incredibly ugly and oversized. Seriously, who really wants to carry those monstrosities around? The Photoshopped images that make one book look just like the next, the yawn inducing golden mega-fonts with the authors' names......

As much as I genuinely like the feeling of books, anytime I hear someone mention this as a reason why they're not using an eBook Reader I feel like responding: Dude, when was the last time you actually really were able to appreciate the look and feel of a book? Not in the last 10+ years anyway.

>102 IrishHolger: I have to say, I completely disagree with you.

> 103 Care to expand on that? ;-)

hah. Well, since it's pretty subjectively opinion-based it's hard to really "defend" one or the other, but since you asked... :P

Personally I don't find my (very very many) paperbacks to be ugly. Sure, the occasional one has a bland cover/spine, but what does it even matter? I care about the content, not the looks. Regardless, I happen to find most covers pretty interesting and I'm always curious to see what they've come up with for it and whether it properly matches the content and so forth (just recently I discovered there are editions of Cat's Cradle, for instance, with a cat in a cradle on the cover. Talk about someone who has no idea the content!). I have a large number of paperbacks from the 60s-90s that have cover art that, as far as art in general goes, well it's nothing you'd ever choose to frame. So I really don't think the quality of it has changed much over time. Some is decent, some is brilliant, some is lacking. Nothing new. And I have to say, aside of books in a series, or publisher imprints, Pretty much none of my covers at all resemble each other. I've certainly never been confused and thought one was another. Also, skimming over my shelves, I'd say at least 80% (if not more) have the author name either smaller than or the same size as the title. The select few whose names are a little bit larger are namely a few of those who have many of titles under their belt (e.g. Nabokov, King, Heinlein).

I also don't think the vast majority of paperbacks are "oversized." I'm not sure if you refer to thickness or height/length, but the same is true in either case, in my opinion. It's a rare book indeed that I find too thick, and yes some are the larger format (~20-21cm tall as opposed to ~17/17.5cm) but it's certainly not huge and again, I personally don't find it to be cumbersome. I think that size is actually a bit nicer to hold & read.

Dude, when was the last time you actually really were able to appreciate the look and feel of a book? Not in the last 10+ years anyway.
Not true at all. You were speaking above of mass market paperbacks, so I don't know if you're continuing here to only refer to them, but I have a collection of B&N's recent leatherbound editions which I dare anyone not to appreciate the look & feel of. As for paperbacks, I already stated my opinion on their looks, and I certainly have no problem with their feel, either. Indeed, the statement you are refuting is one of the big reasons I hate ereaders. The tactile sensation of a book, and physically seeing it/the pages, including those books more recently published, are very very important to me and make me quite uncomfortable reading things electronically.

Of course, you are welcome to your own opinions, and I'm sure mine won't sway you, but just know there are those of us who definitely do not feel the same. :)

Thanks for the input. Yes, we all have different tastes but still always nice to hear what others think and why.

Yes, I was mainly referring to mass market paperbacks. There are some absolutely gorgeous specialised editions around that often cost me a bomb and that I would never consider getting in electronic format.

I should also mention that I live in Ireland and therefore by and large speak from a UK/Irish publishing point of view. The paperbacks in Germany e.g. are differently sized but over the last few years the average size of a paperback here has exploded. A large chunk of them are now the size of what used to be hard covers, absolutely enormous. You could kill someone with those. In Germany paperbacks are "Taschenbücher" as they are meant to fit into pockets and a lot of the current output would not go nowhere near a pocket.

Worse - at least IMHO - is the fact that these appear quite large but when you open them you are greeted by large swathes of white paper: lots of spaces between the lines, one chapter finishes, let's say, at the top of page 32 and the next continues on page 34, the font is ridiculously oversized and with some of the modern bestellers often having ultrashort chapters (both fiction and non-fiction) the amount of nothing inside those books is mind boggling.

As for the cover design: No accounting for taste but personally I feel the cover design by and large pretty overlit, dull and characterless.

Just for comparisons sake a quick LT check amongst the authors you mention and a comparison of editions then and now:







Admittedly the modern Lolita edition is by far superior (and the older one inappropriate) but with this being more of a "serious" work it doesn't really feature on my mass market paperback rant list. ;-)

In the other cases (more representative for my point), I wouldn't want to have either one of the modern editions on my shelf.... though just noticed that I *do* actually have the Heinlein edition (LOL) and again it is much larger in format than your typical 70s edition.

Typical examples of current non-descript bestseller covers are e.g. David Baldacci's or James Patterson's books. All look identical, none give me a feeling for what's inside or why I should bother.

Ah one point I definitely agree on is that some of them do have ridiculous margins. I just read a Koontz the other day and it was like half the page was blank, absurd.

Okay, I see what you mean with those thriller covers being fairly similar, but I don't know, I mean it's kind of like how chicklit covers are pink/pastels with curly text etc, which is how I know to stay far away from them! Same kind of thing here, I think, they go for a similar theme knowing the people who read them are apt to pick one up knowing the sort of content it has, you know? While you're saying "I don't know why I should pick that up," most thriller-lovers would be going "Oh look, a new title!" ;P

Haha, I had to refrain from commenting on chick lit cover design. ;-)

hahaha, even I will agree that those covers do tend to be awfully hideous. But that, too, may simply be personal taste. The folks who read them might think otherwise. :P

Love the cover design discussion! I am one of those readers that dips into chick lit, usually as a mindless read when I am sick in bed and those cover designs work for me but only from the perspective that I can spot a chick lit book from across the book store when the covers are on display! ;-0

The Black Angel sounds fantastic and I do need read more Woolrich.

Cool cover discussion. I think some genre publishers are doing well and standing out from the crowd, Angry Robot in particular. I guess it's how you want to market it as people say, do you want to be part of the crowd and shine above it.

I actually enjoy well-written chick lit, but I agree, the covers tend to be awful. "Oh, this book is aimed at women? Let's make it pink! And have a really skinny girl wearing stilettos on the cover! And use a swirly font!" It does make me kind of embarrassed to read them in public. :)

> 112 I was reaching for the like button when I read your reply. Wrong site, of course. ;-)

Haha, well, I appreciate the thought. :)

Fredric Brown: Night of the Jabberwock

Wow! Just... Wow!!!!

Though Fredric Brown these days is mainly known (if he is known at all) as a Sci Fi author I am primarily familiar with him as a Noir writer. I have read only a small handful of his books so far but every time I venture into his world I just know I need to read more of him.

NIGHT OF THE JABBERWOCK is a truly surreal and bizarre Noir novel, I dare even say one of its kind.

Doc Stoegler, the protagonist, is running a local weekly paper in a small town where nothing ever happens. For the last 23 years he has never published anything of any major importance news wise. Little does he know that this night he'll be immersed in some strange events that'll make him wish he'd never have hoped for any news to break.

It all begins when he receives a visitor with the unlikely name of Yehudi Smith. Smith has heard of Stoegler from some past publications about Lewis Carroll and wishes to discuss his theory that Carroll's universe may indeed reflect reality and is based on some of Carroll's mathematical writings. He invites Stoegler to participate in a meeting of the Vorpal Blades, a Carroll society, who are planning some initiation of sorts that night in a deserted and apparently haunted house. From that moment on Stoegler is drawn into an ever more complex vortex of Wonderlandian references that'll get him involved in murder and intrigue. Never far from a bottle of whiskey he soon starts to question his sanity.

Did I mention that this is utterly bizarre? Can't really write much without spoilers but I can't recall another book that manages to mix up Alice's Wonderland in a Noirish context. All I was hoping was that Stoegler would not just all of a sudden wake up from a bad dream but I shouldn't have worried: Brown comes up with a very intriguing solution to the problem.

Two things I noticed from the LT entry:

Three of the four current reviews are non-English, two French and one Spanish. This is highly unusual for an American author who isn't remembered much in his native language. Could it be that he is still better known in some countries abroad?

And following up on the cover discussion: I read this as an eBook with neutral cover design. For this review I chose a cover image that is more representative of the book as a whole. Usually I stick to the cover image of the edition I own but as I don't have a physical edition, all is fair. There are, however, two other cover images out there that are really "out there" in their design but seem to have trouble figuring out what the book is about. Can't blame them as this is quite a unique publication. One makes this look like a horror entry (which it isn't), the other like a straight forward crime/gangster story (which it also isn't). Below all the main designs.



Book # 33
Noir Novel # 9

Ooh, Night of the Jabberwock is going on the wishlist for sure!

Intriguing review of Night of the Jabberwock and wow on the different covers that book has. Like you mention, each book really conveys a different impression of the type of story the reader may expect to find between the covers. I know the old saying is "don't judge a book by it cover'. There should be another saying "don't advertise the book as something different than what it is".

Oh I adore Frederic Brown's Sci Fi & now I am going to have to seek out his crime!

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Been meaning to write something clever about this book when I realised that someone else had already written an LT review of this book that was on the point:

"Haining puts together twelve more pieces of writing by Doyle and argues they should be part of the Sherlockian canon. But reading these it's clear why they're not in the canon: They're either (1) not about Holmes; (2) not by Doyle; or (3) not any good at all."

'Nuff said....

Book # 34

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 7

The Buffy Omnibuses collect various comic books that ran parallel to the TV show. The seventh and last one focuses on Seasons 5 and 6 and therefore deals with the aftermath of Buffy's death and her resurrection and the stories here are at time Buffy-free and concentrate on the Scooby Gang's emotions following Buffy's sacrifice.

Those collections are great for fans of the TV series. Only drawback is that some of the characters at times look a little bit.... off, I guess is the right word.

There were no Buffy comics for the seventh season so next in line (whenever I come to it) will be Season 8 stories that were exclusively created for the comic book medium and that are collected in a separate series of graphic novels.

Book # 35
Graphic Novel # 6

Modesty Blaise: Green-eyed Monster

This Titan collection of three Modesty Blaise stories is the first one to only feature comics by Romero. MB is one of my favourite heroines and especially the last story is a blast featuring a typically quirky setting: a group of ex-army commandoes in a medieval castle causing mayhem and challenging Modesty and Willie to rounds of jousting and some mildly Most Dangerous Game style challenges.

The other two are also worth a read. I am going through the Titans pretty randomly whenever I come across them and there are still a good number that I haven't read. So there is still a few year's reading up ahead of me. I have read all the MB novels and over the years have also collected three of Peter O'Donnell's Madeleine Brent books. Given that they are generally advertised as belonging to the romance genre I have been somewhat reluctant to approach them but they're in easy reach and may be some of my reading goals for the New Year.

Book # 36
Graphic Novel # 7

So where to go from here?

This year's challenge was the loosest of them all for me yet. Just wanted to read 13 books (but was hoping for more). I am now at 36 or 3 short of passing it three times over (not a reason for celebration as I had seriously hoped to read far more).

In between I had decided to include 13 Noirs and 13 Graphic Novels.

So far I have now covered 9 Noirs and 7 Graphic Novels, meaning I am short 4 Noirs and 6 Graphic Novels.

I should have the time for Graphic Novels.... but no spare ones lying around and had no intention of forking out all that Moolah for those before Year End.

The Noirs are easy to obtain.... but do I have the time? LOL

Let's see: I may just opt to exclusively focus on Fredric Brown for the rest of the month but won't stress myself out should I not reach the right numbers.

For 2014 I am opting for a more traditional style challenge that is still flexible enough to give me sufficient air to breathe. The selection can be found here.

I read all my GNs from the library. Does yours not have them?

Good idea. They may have some.... now.

Haven't set foot in mine in more than 15 years.

The library in my hometown (Duisburg) was tremendous. The one in my adopted city (Cork) on the other hand is absolutely abysmal. They never had anything I wanted. Choice was really poor.

At the time they didn't have any graphic novels. Even if they do now I doubt that they have what I need.

Maybe I need to drop in again some time.

15 years is a very long time. I would most certainly look into it.

"but won't stress myself"
Most important, I think!

Rolando Gomez: Posing Techniques for Glamour Photography

I recently got a little bit more into photography. Always was snap happy but now want to spend some more emphasis on composing better photos, not just snapshots.

One of the areas I would like to experiment on is portrait photography.

So over the last couple of weeks I got myself two willing victims - pardon: models - and done some portraits that all in all ended up way better than I initially anticipated given that I just have a camera and a tripod but no reflectors or extra lights and just the smallest idea on how to play with the manual settings of my camera and did I mention no experience whatsoever in staging any of that?

The first shoot was in a small corner of my friend's kitchen that was reasonably well lit and had a neutral background. Though a good number of the pics weren't impressive some showed her in quite a nice light and there is no way anyone would have even guessed in what surroundings the pics were taken. I guess you can call it Guerilla Photography.

I then met with another friend and shot outside at a cold and bristly morning which meant that I had less to worry about the light.



One of the major things, however, I discovered in those two sessions was how difficult it can actually be to handle the people side of things. Buildings and landscapes don't move all that much and look whatever way they look. People on the other hand are not used to standing in front of a camera, suddenly look insecure and don't know what to do with their hands and arms and faces. Communication was a MAJOR factor in both those shoots.

Prior to the shots I had downloaded some posing guides but quickly discovered a lot of things that weren't mentioned there. Such as: Wow, can hands look monstrous if you don't capture them at the right angle!

And as it happens I found this book when I was looking for answers that were amply provided here

Sure, it focuses on Glamour Photography but the points made are just as valid for portraits with a few extra bits of clothes on.

The emphasis is pretty much on all things posing and the author handles anything from head (or should I say: nostril) to toe as well as on the different types of shots that can be achieved (from head shot all the way to full-length pose) and even incorporates communication aspects (i.e. what to say and not to say.)

The book is full of nuggets that'll take me ages to digest so over the course of time this will probably become well thumbed.

My one major bit of criticism is his choice of photos: all were made with professional models and I'll be damned if a number weren't heavily edited. I would have preferred less heavily edited examples of work done with amateurs of all shapes, sizes and ages.

Still, this book is a mine of info.

One thing I am still on the look out for is info to help me with portrait photography on a very limited budget. The author also appears to have written a book about GARAGE GLAMOUR but according to an online review this is misleading:

The title of this book is a bit misleading. I purchased it in the hopes that it would be geared towards the photographer who has no studio to use, and has to work on a small budget. However, all but a couple of photos in the book are taken with the usual expensive, pro equipment. That being said, this book is loaded with lots of helpfull info, and discussion on how to build your own softbox. Its worth the read but has nothing to do with Garage Glamour.

So back to the drawing board with that quest....

Book # 37

Yes, portrait photography is much more about connecting with your subject than any lighting set-up. It gets easier with practice, though, I promise!

Pheew, that's good to hear. :-)

Anne McCaffrey: Dinosaur Planet

I recently came across this interesting blog post about the most prolific Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors of all times. Some of those I was familiar with, some I had heard of before and others were completely new names, yet all of them were known for an amazing body of work (at least quantity wise).

Needless to say just a day after reading this I came across a second hand book of Anne McCaffrey who was mentioned in the "Also Noteworthy" section. So I just had to check this out.

A mixed research team of various galactic races comes across a planet with an interesting flora and fauna. Which they track and catalogue. In depth. Then talk about. Then track some more. Then talk more about it. A page and half is spent discussing how best to wake someone up. Then jokes about how they woke him up. Then more tracking, cataloguing and talking. It appears that some other team must have come across that planet before in the distant past. Let's talk about this. Some of their team show disturbing signs of personality changes. They - shock, gasp - are starting to kill and eat animals for their meat. Talk about how disturbing this is. Track the wild life and discover something remotely interesting and worth talking about. A mutiny. Some more talk. Then the book ends to be continued in a follow-up book I have absolutely no intention of exploring.

This is one of the dullest books I have read in ages. Incredibly talkative (in case you haven't guessed) and none of that being witty or interesting in any shape or form with the only tension being created by the disgust expressed over some of the team members eating meat.

If that is typical of Ms McCaffrey's output I guess she should have definitely more focused on quality over prolificness. I really wanted to like this as she ended up living in Ireland and it would have been cool to explore more Sci Fi work by a writer based here but alas.....

Book # 38

"one of the dullest books I have read in ages"
Well, that one's not going on the wishlist! :)

I am not brave enough to tackle portrait photography but it sounds like the book offers some good tips!

>130 IrishHolger: - great review!

Thanks. Pity it's not for a more interesting book. ;-)

Another review from my Hammer Horror blog that I am slowly, ever so slowly have started updating again. The blog entry also has some accompanying pictures and links that may come in useful.



Wayne Kinsey: The Peter Cushing Scrapbook

Ever since I got my Kindle a little bit less than two years ago my reading and book buying habits have changed quite a bit.

Whereas previously I was a regular client with the local bookstores and often purchased normal paperbacks at normal prices, this has now nearly completely gone down the river. Unless I receive a book voucher, I generally don’t spend any money on bog standard paperbacks anymore.

I quickly learned that I can easily get the classics for free and when I want a current novel or non-fiction book I get them cheaply and often at a great discount in an eFormat.

I am also a great fan of classic pulp fiction, easily get bored with the cover design for most modern editions and regularly frequent the Second Hand book stores, again getting my regular reading fix from discounted second hand books.

On the other hand, however, I have over the last few years spent a crazy amount of money on some exclusive edition coffee table books that may cost an arm and a leg but that truly deserve a special place on my shelves.

Especially us Hammer Fans have over the years been able to reserve some of our shelf space for beautiful tomes on all aspects of Hammer.

Wayne Kinsey is one of the most prolific authors in this field and when his Hammer Films on Location failed to find a regular publisher he simply set up his own publishing house, Peveril Publishing.

The Peter Cushing Scrapbook is his second venture and limited to 2000 copies.

Printed landscape in an oversized scrapbook format this is a beautiful accumulation of Cushing memorabilia and a celebration of the life and career of the Gentleman of Horror who would have turned 100 this year.

The material is published on a film-by-film basis with short introductions provided by co-author Tom Johnson. None other than George Lucas has provided the foreword; the afterword is by Janina Faye.

The heart and soul of this work, however, are a myriad of pictures accompanying each chapter and generously provided by his secretary Joyce Broughton or on loan from a range of collectors worldwide.

These range from often rare and previously unpublished private and on-set photos to theatre programs, snippets of newspaper publications and most importantly countless reproductions of Cushing’s own copiously annotated scripts and sketches for costume suggestions as well as cartoons and phonetic rhymes created for his beloved wife Helen and other friends and colleagues. More than any written word can do, these give a wonderful insight into the true nature of Cushing, the man, and his vast range of interests and talents. Yes, we of course also get a good idea of all those scarves he designed, his toy soldiers, dollhouses and watercolours. And if you ever wondered what his well-travelled passports looked like, then wonder no more.

The most amazing insight into his professionalism as an actor comes from noticing the extent of notes he prepared in advance of any film shot, regardless how big or small the production may have been. Even lesser works such as The Uncanny or Hitler's Son had his full attention. No wonder he was incapable of ever providing a bad performance.

Those coffee table publications stand and fall with the quality of their printing and the reproductions here are faultless. I had no issue deciphering any of the script pages or other written material. The binding also appears to be made to last. The landscape format is unusual but ultimately a good choice for the subject matter.

This book is exclusively available through Peveril. When ordering it is also possible to purchase an additional DVD-R with some of the pictures in the book as well as a few others that didn’t quite make the cut. That DVD-R is not really essential but a nice extra to have.

As long as Wayne and some of the other authors will continue with their sterling efforts in creating those visual master-pieces, my book shelves will find a welcome space for those. No fear of me ever wanting to have these in anything else but a physical copy.

Book # 39