November 14, 2012

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 1989
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Type: Fiction ~ Library Book
Pages: 562
Read: 11/12/2012
Rating: Was O.K.

This is the first John Irving book I have read and I have no doubt it will be my last. When I first started this novel, I asked some friends, “Why are John Irving’s books so fecking long!” I asked that because in addition to this book I had checked out The Cider House Rules which is also by John Irving and is also fecking long (640 pages per Goodreads). Somewhere along the way I figured out why the book was so long, on the way to finding out what happened to Owen Meany, we had to take side trips.

The book is narrated by John Wheelwright who is now a teacher at a girl’s school in Toronto. For a good part of the book we stay in Gravesend, NH, but then suddenly we are transported into Toronto, Canada. While that is not a problem at first, after a while we are spending a great deal of time in Ontario listening to John complain about the new Canon in the church, and Nixon and how newspapers will be the death of him until I felt that A Prayer for Owen Meany would be the death of ME. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what happens to Owen Meany but the book bored me and the ALL CAPS THAT OWEN MEANY INSISTED ON TALKING IN annoyed the spit out of me.

One of the reasons I kept reading was the breadcrumbs John Irving throws out, he would make a statement then say, “As you’ll see later.” That also began to annoy me, but it was a good devise to keep me reading. However, after I found out what happened to Owen, I was so relieved the book was over I can’t even tell you how it ended exactly. I know it ends with John in Canada, but other than that I don’t remember. Also, while I was reading the book I started to wonder if it was autobiographical, when I read a short bio of the author I could see parallels in him and the character John Wheelwright.

After all this, I don’t think of John Irving as a bad writer, I do think this book could have been 100 to 200 pages shorter and still been as good. Also, The Cider House Rules is going back to the library unread.

Posted by on November 14, 2012 in 2012, Fiction, Novel and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

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November 14, 2012

Check out this blog

Forgotten Bookmarks: “I’m a used and rare bookseller. I buy books from people everyday. These are the personal, funny, heartbreaking and weird things I find in those books.”

Posted by on November 14, 2012 in Uncategorized and tagged , , .

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November 1, 2012

The Best American Crime Reporting 2007 by Linda Fairstein

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 2007
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime ~ Library Book
Pages: 384
Read: 10/31/2012
Rating: Liked it ♥

This is another compilation of true crime accounts. Most of them are taken from Magazines and each is written by a different person. They cover crimes from all over and different types of crime. The only one I didn’t like was “Monster of Florence”, but then I didn’t like the book, so I may have been a little prejudiced coming into it.

Aside from that one, the accounts in here were very interesting, to varying degrees, there was another one that was kind of ‘yawn’, but each account is short enough that you can skim over ones that don’t interest you.

Posted by on November 1, 2012 in 2012, Non-Fiction, True Crime and tagged , , , , , , , .

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November 1, 2012

Brutal by Kevin Weeks

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 3/10/2006
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime ~ Library Book
Pages: 320
Read: 10/30/2012
Rating: Really liked it ♥♡♥

Kevin Weeks grew up in South Boston, a tough neighborhood where being able to handle yourself on the street was the most important thing. His ability to handle himself got noticed by James Bulger who ran the rackets, or mob in South Boston “Southie”. This is a first person account of his life and his experiences as an associate of “Whitey” Bulger. The shakedowns, the drug business, the murders, some committed by him, some witnessed by him and cleaned up after by him and some that he just knew about. Most of the time, they killed other criminals, some that were paying to be in business in their area, some that they felt couldn’t keep quiet about what happened, and some that were informants to the police.

After Steve Flemmi was arrested and before Kevin was arrested Kevin found out that Whitey had been an FBI informant. This information changed his whole attitude about who he needed to be loyal to. It resulted in him cooperating with the authorities.

This book is written in a very straightforward manner, like Kevin Weeks is sitting next to you having a conversation with you. The things he did are said very matter of fact, who they killed, why they killed. He appears to be remorseless, but this appears to be a coping mechanism. Since the people he killed were criminals, it was business and they knew the risks of doing business as criminals, he prefers not to dwell on the past. He regrets the time spent away from his children, and that his choices cost him his marriage.

He ends the book with a ‘Where are they now’ section and of himself he says, “Grateful for a second chance.”

Posted by on November 1, 2012 in 2012, Memoir, Non-Fiction, True Crime and tagged , , , , , , .

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October 31, 2012

Crime Beat by Michael Connelly

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 6/12/2007
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime ~ Library Book
Pages: 384
Read: 10/29/2012
Rating: Liked it ♥♡

Michael Connelly was a reporter before he was a novelist. This book is a collection of the articles he wrote, some for the Florida paper he worked for and some from Los Angeles. The first article he talks about how he became a reporter and what he learned that helped him when he started writing fiction. I have not read any of his novels, I’m sure they are very good. I am of the opinion that reporters write the best books. There are of course exceptions. Having read this book, I am sure I would enjoy his novels.

The thing to remember is these are newspaper articles and that is how they read, this is not like reading a story or something meant to be published in a book. That being said they are all very interesting. The book is divided into 3 sections: Cops, Killers, and Cases. He was allowed to ride around with the detectives, and to spend time in the squad room, this gave him insight into the personalities and coping mechanisms of police officers.

I would recommend this book to true crime fans.

Posted by on October 31, 2012 in 2012, Non-Fiction, True Crime and tagged , , , , , .

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October 31, 2012

Grant’s Final Victory by Charles Bracelen Flood

Ulysses S. Grant’s Heroic Last Year
Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 2011
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Type: Non-Fiction, Memoir ~ Library Book
Pages: 320
Read: 10/24/2012
Rating: Really liked it ♥♡♥

For some reason, despite the fact that the title is not “Memoirs” and the author is not named Ulysses S. Grant, I thought this was Grant’s autobiography and the description was telling us he wrote it in the last year of his life. That is totally not the case and makes me think I am either losing it or reading things too fast.

This is the account of Grant’s final year of life, the year he wrote his “Memoirs” and the struggles involved in doing so due to his ill health.

The account starts with Grant being swindled. Grant wasn’t the only one who lost money in the theft, he had persuaded other family members to invest with him and everyone lost everything. Grant was an honorable man, his mistake was in trusting the wrong people. Because he was honorable, he had many people willing to help him out. Since he was an honorable man, he was determined to pay these people back and also support his family. He was approached to write 4 articles about the war for a magazine and this led to the idea to write a book of his life.

Once again his family and friends rallied around to help, with gathering information and giving him the medical care he needed. There was a huge show of support from the country, people sent him money, they wrote him letters, many of those letters have been saved and are reprinted here, retired soldiers from both sides of the conflict showed their respect in many ways.

A very informative account, taken from letters, diaries and other published works. This was very interesting read that I recommend.

Posted by on October 31, 2012 in 2012, Biography, History, Memoir, Non-Fiction and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

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October 30, 2012

The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins

The Gilded Age Crime that Scandalized a City and Sparked the Tabloid Wars

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 4/24/2012
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime ~ Library Book
Pages: 270
Read: 10/19/2012
Rating: Liked it ♥

The body was found in pieces, first the torso and arms in the East River, then the legs in some blueberry bushes in Harlem, as the Detectives (and reporters) investigate they end up out in Long Island, where there is water runoff where there shouldn’t be any and the ducks are coming out of the water with red on their feathers.

The press of the day jumped all over this, the reporters were doing as much investigating as the police and there was a fierce rivalry between Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, one with an established but failing newspaper and the other his former protegee and becoming more popular. The reporters, followed leads, staked out residences. Commandeered pay phones, offered rewards for evidence found, at times helping and at times trampling over crime scenes and contaminating them.

Once the body was identified, the police were able to round up suspects, when two were finally brought to trial, the papers once again turned it into a circus.

This book has a great synopsis of the crime and life in the late 1800s in New York. We get a brief overview of the corruption of that time, also the dedication of the police officers and the forensics of the time. The author details the problems the prosecution had, the forensic scientist rumored to be attempting to poison his wife, the less than positive identification of the corpse, the defense claiming that the man their clients were accused of killing wasn’t even dead. The head was never found, and this was before anyone had even heard of DNA. They hadn’t even been convinced that fingerprints were a valid means of identification.

Still this is an extremely interesting book even with the extensive trial coverage. I would definitely recommend it.

Posted by on October 30, 2012 in 2012, Historical True Crime, Manhattan, Non-Fiction, True Crime and tagged , , , , .

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October 24, 2012

Real Girls, Real-Life Stories by Seventeen Magazine

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: 2007
Publisher: Sterling Publishing
Type: Non-Fiction, True Crime ~ Library Book
Pages: 128
Read: 10/14/2012
Rating: Was O.K.

These stories come directly from the pages of Seventeen magazine. Each one includes a lurid description of the crime, followed by the punishment meted out by the criminal-justice system. The opening story features a preteen murdered by her mother after she confesses to losing her virginity. This is followed by a selection about “lesbian killers” who brutally stabbed one of the girl’s grandparents and another entry about an eight-months-pregnant 14-year-old murdered by contract killers hired by the victim’s adult boyfriend. One of the more appalling aspects is not only how many of the victims are young girls, but also how many of the perps are.

There was nothing really special about these stories. This was a quick easy ready, written to ‘grab’ your attention. Quick overview of crime, most of the time not much of an investigation, and then the punishment.

Posted by on October 24, 2012 in 2012, Non-Fiction, True Crime and tagged , , , , .

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October 22, 2012

Seduced by Madness by Carol Pogash

The True Story of the Susan Polk Murder Case

Format: ebook
Pub. Date: 2007
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Type: Library Book
Pages: 384
Read: 10/14/2012
Rating: Waste of time

My summary of this case is this: Therapist has sex with girl (his patient) thereby destroying any chance the girl had of having any kind of mental stability, Therapist marries girl (this makes the sex alright, right?), many years later, because he can’t treat her and her mental instability just gets worse, she kills him. End of story.

The title of this book intrigued me. By halfway through the book I hated it but I was trapped, determined to finish it just to find out what happened. We are told that Felix Polk was obsessed with Susan, he couldn’t live without her (this is why, even though she threatened his life, and he was sure she meant it, he wouldn’t leave), we are told this over and over again. We are treated to a day by day account of her delusions until I was ready to scream, “I get it! The woman was nuts!”

The trial is recounted in the same way, from an accounting of every witness called, what Susan wore, the daily battles between Susan and the D.A., we just needed to know they happened, not how often or what was said each time.

This was a cautionary tale to therapists to not have sex with their patients. Beyond that I see no use for it. Avoid it.

Posted by on October 22, 2012 in 2012, Non-Fiction, True Crime and tagged , , , , , , , .

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October 22, 2012

Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith

Format: eBook
Pub. Date: February 2012
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Pages: 976
Type: Non-Fiction, Biography ~ Library Book
Finished reading: 10/8/2012
Rating: Liked it ♥

Working from interviews, letters and diaries Jean Smith has written a very detailed and complete account of Dwight Eisenhower’s life. He starts with Eisenhower’s parents, chronicles his actions to get an education, in order to be able to have a better life, how he got into West Point, his experiences in both wars and his tenure as president of the United States.

This is a complete and very detailed account of Eisenhower’s life. Smith has a writing style that is very readable. This is not a “this happened, then this happened” biography. He does not drag out situations but gives the reader enough to understand what was happening. He brings out Eisenhower’s strengths, such as his ability to get along with people, his understanding of military strategy, his political savvy. At the same time he does not gloss over Eisenhower’s faults or deficiencies, such as in some cases his lack of battle experience (that may have prolonged the war) and his affair with Kay Summersby, who was his driver in London and ended up staying with him until the end of the war.

Also explained for those of us not familiar with military life, is military life. The way promotions were done in Eisenhower’s time, what favors he asked for and why these were necessary for Eisenhower’s advancement in the Army.

Mr. Smith seems to have interviewed everyone who ever met Eisenhower, he includes excerpts from letters and diaries. The result is a biography that reads like a biography should. I liked this book and recommend it.

Posted by on October 22, 2012 in 2012, Biography, Non-Fiction and tagged , , , , , .

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