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The year's home stretch begins...
Dec. 1st, 2014 07:44 pmHere I sit, staring at my computer screen, with absolutely nothing to say, which is a far cry from the situation a few hours ago, when I was absolutely brimming (look it up in the dictionary... and there'll be a picture of me beside the entry) with ideas.
I've been reading, to keep my mind off of immediate concerns. Among recent books completed are Silent Night, written mostly by the late Robert B. Parker and completed by Helen Brann, and Assault Troopers, a space opera by one Vaughn Heppner.
The former was an enjoyable afternoon read that, frankly, reminded me of that period of Parker's career during which the books were of novel length, but offered little more than a nice, linear, predictable story and just enough chemistry between Spenser, Susan, Hawk, and other recurring characters to last until the next lightweight book.
The latter kept me turning pages, but this first installment in a multivolume series did not compel me to want to go find the next book (available for free under Amazon's "unlimited" plan). Maybe I'll feel different in a month or two, but not now.
Currently, I am reading something titled Binary, written by Michael Crichton (as John Lance) back when the author was in med school. I think I can see rough edges, here and there, and I'd like to think that means I'd do a better job, but without trying to mince words: Crichton wrote this story, I haven't written one yet. That makes the score pretty lopsided in Crichton's favor, even without considering his other output.
On impulse, I stopped by the B&N today, while on the way to an oil-change shop, to see what they had of Craig Johnson (who writes about Sheriff Longmire, of Absaroka County, Wyoming). The Half-Price Books over by NASA Road One and El Dorado had no titles of Johnson's in stock, which suggests either (a) they can't keep them on the shelf, (b) Johnson readers hang on to their books, or (c) I made a mistake looking in the mystery section and should have looked in the "Westerns" section.
I picked up A Dish Served Cold, and after the first few pages, am thinking the plot has been used in an episode of the Longmire television series. I'm not heartbroken, as this will give me an opportunity to both examine Johnson's use of language and consider how stories in books must change to be usable on the tube.
Speaking of what authors are on display, I took a quick look to see what of Agatha Christie's work is on sale at our local B&N, and I was surprised to find there to be more than half a shelf's worth (I'd estimate about 20-25) of books. This tells me the books must sell well, even if they do cost $12-$15 a pop these days.
Work came in, work went out, along with invoices. I also finally heard some reasonably good news from a doctor.
Excelsior!
I've been reading, to keep my mind off of immediate concerns. Among recent books completed are Silent Night, written mostly by the late Robert B. Parker and completed by Helen Brann, and Assault Troopers, a space opera by one Vaughn Heppner.
The former was an enjoyable afternoon read that, frankly, reminded me of that period of Parker's career during which the books were of novel length, but offered little more than a nice, linear, predictable story and just enough chemistry between Spenser, Susan, Hawk, and other recurring characters to last until the next lightweight book.
The latter kept me turning pages, but this first installment in a multivolume series did not compel me to want to go find the next book (available for free under Amazon's "unlimited" plan). Maybe I'll feel different in a month or two, but not now.
Currently, I am reading something titled Binary, written by Michael Crichton (as John Lance) back when the author was in med school. I think I can see rough edges, here and there, and I'd like to think that means I'd do a better job, but without trying to mince words: Crichton wrote this story, I haven't written one yet. That makes the score pretty lopsided in Crichton's favor, even without considering his other output.
On impulse, I stopped by the B&N today, while on the way to an oil-change shop, to see what they had of Craig Johnson (who writes about Sheriff Longmire, of Absaroka County, Wyoming). The Half-Price Books over by NASA Road One and El Dorado had no titles of Johnson's in stock, which suggests either (a) they can't keep them on the shelf, (b) Johnson readers hang on to their books, or (c) I made a mistake looking in the mystery section and should have looked in the "Westerns" section.
I picked up A Dish Served Cold, and after the first few pages, am thinking the plot has been used in an episode of the Longmire television series. I'm not heartbroken, as this will give me an opportunity to both examine Johnson's use of language and consider how stories in books must change to be usable on the tube.
Speaking of what authors are on display, I took a quick look to see what of Agatha Christie's work is on sale at our local B&N, and I was surprised to find there to be more than half a shelf's worth (I'd estimate about 20-25) of books. This tells me the books must sell well, even if they do cost $12-$15 a pop these days.
Work came in, work went out, along with invoices. I also finally heard some reasonably good news from a doctor.
Excelsior!
