Since I don’t post on Saturdays this is the best you’re gonna get. But on the bright side, I am passionate about the United States and Americans. Yeah, I know it’s chic to knock both the residence and residents, but I don’t care, as Lee Greenwood might say, “I’m proud to be an American.” You can disagree, leave snotty comments, you can even scream, “Congress is full of shit.” And you know what will happen to you? Bupkis, nada, nothing, not even a dirty look. People can rant that we’re not free, that Americans are oppressed, that the government is screwed up. I think those people need to travel somewhere other than Canada and Virgin Islands. Yes, mistakes are made. People definitely face hardships here in the good old U.S. Our government’s decisions have adversely affected other countries. But look at the alternatives. Right now in Iran people are being imprisoned and killed for speaking out. But here, Americans can openly debate President Obama’s even-tempered, intelligent response to Iran and it’s pigmy, goat-faced president, who’s name I can barely say let alone spell.
In two days we celebrate he birth of a democracy which has seen the peaceful transfer of power from our first President -- who had many models of autocratic rule and some wanted to be made King -- to our most recent transfer, where people generally didn’t feel that way. In fact, even stories about the military takeover of the United States are generally considered science fiction.
Over the years I’ve heard people, famous and not, say that “if so-and-so is elected, I’m moving overseas.” If only these morons would follow through with their commitments. Where would the country be if people moved every time things got rough or we didn’t agree with who was in power? It’s sort of the opposite of a democracy. If not my way then I hit the highway. That is inspiring.
Things can’t be that bad here. About 6.6 million Americans live overseas and that includes military and Federal employees stationed in foreign countries. Yet there are about 33.1 million aliens in the country. If America were a ride at Disney, it would have long freaking line.
I’m not trying to be political in any way. I love America, I’m proud of Americans. A couple of weeks ago a young person I was speaking with compared the Nazi attempt to conquer the world with the U.S. I stared in disbelief. Could someone really be that ignorant of history? She clarified by saying that through the export of U.S. consumerism and culture others adopt it. Yeah, not quite the same thing. When I mentioned the comment to an older person I know who was a Polish displaced person and has lived in the U.S. since the late 1940s, he was outraged. His response showed me relativity. I was just annoyed at an ignorant dufus, but then again, I didn’t have my family killed, town destroyed and life shattered.
This is a rambling way of saying, I love America. My father fought in World War II. He had an appreciation for what things could be like and passed it on to his children. In two days I’ll take a moment while I watch fireworks and say a little thank you to everyone who risked their lives to defy King George, defend the country, work in the Peace Corps, teach in schools, work in a hospital, do social work, pick up garbage, save an wild animal or anything else that Americans tend to do.
What do you appreciate or annoys you about the country?
Believe it or not, I had posted a post, which is kind of like talking the talk -- and it vanished into cyberspace -- the dog ate my gigabytes.
So, since I leave on a very tiny book tour in a matter of hours, I will abandon the shameless promotion that was my earlier post (I'll bet Levine deleted it!) and give you a few wacky storylines for the week...
One is on pole dancing and a town trying to ban it.
The next is on the life of a wonderful writer, James Graham Ballard, who just happened to grow up in the same city I left (last week): Shanghai.
YES, WE READ OUR MAIL! John D. MacDonald once said that "writing is like dropping feathers down a well. Any echo is appreciated."
So, do writers read their mail? You bet. You never know what you can learn from an alert reader. About two years ago, I received an e-mail from a reader in Tennessee. He dropped a couple compliments about my "Solomon vs. Lord" series and asked about my next book.
I wrote him back with a quick summary of "Illegal," which involves human trafficking on the Mexican border and offers a sympathetic view on the plight of undocumented immigrants. The reader asked if I ever heard the Tom Russell song, "Who's Gonna Build Your Wall?" I hadn't. But after I listened, the song became a favorite of mine and of Jimmy (Royal) Payne, the hero of the book.
Russell also wrote "Tonight We Ride," a tale of good-natured violence. The song speaks longingly of scalping, whoring, horse rustling, and robbery. Needless to say, it is one of my favorites. Here's Rusell performing the son on "The David Letterman Show."
LIFE IN THE COOLER: Here I am, working away in the Dade County Morgue, 1994. Yes, those are real bodies. (Photo by Jim Virga, South Florida Sun-Sentinel).
MAJOR LEAGUE SMARTS: There are 750 major league baseball players and 30 managers. What's your guess as to the percentage of college graduates in that group? Twenty-five percent? Ten percent? Try 3 per cent, 26 out of 780. (Does this explain chewing tobacco?) I'm guessing there's a higher percentage of college grads in prison.
LEVINE'S BEHIND THE TIMES: I'm going to stop opining about the sorry state of daily journalism. Why? I just realized how far behind the times I am. When I started work at The Miami Herald, John S. Knight was chairman of the editorial board. One day, I wrote a feature story about Jackie Gleason, referring to the funny man as "The Great One." I received a handwritten note from Mr. Knight, informing me that "There is only one 'Great One,' and He is not Jackie Gleason."
NEWS BULLETIN: I have just discovered there is something called the "Jonas Brothers." I will keep you posted as events transpire.
Please welcome guest blogger Fran Fuller, one of the awesome booksellers at the Seattle Mystery Bookshop.
Fran is a former teacher who taught high school students English, drama, communications and various other literature-type studies. At a fork in her career path she decided to indulge her passion for books and went to work as a bookseller. She is an eclectic mystery reader and enjoys everything from cozies to humorous to historical to science fiction. She also enjoys discovering new authors.
By Fran
"I'm looking for a book. It's new and the cover's purple or something and it's set in the 1800's or so, and everyone says it's the best. About a girl named 'Sadie" or 'Janie" or something. Do you have it?"
"It's a true story about a crazy lady who blows up a school, and my friend said I need to read it, and she says I'll like it even though I don't like much violence. Or cursing. I don't like strong language. Do you know what book I mean?"
"It's about a lawyer, or maybe it's by a lawyer, and it's like that Grisham guy only not, because it's kinda funny, and the name sounds something like a department store. You know what I mean, right?"
"It's a mystery about finance. And it's not romantic at all, but I remember the cover was red. Or blue. And the hero's a guy. Or a girl with a guy's name. Where can I find that one?"
"I don't know what he writes, my friend said I had to read it. He co-wrote a bunch of books with this famous guy and everyone says his stuff is good on its own. It better not be fantasy stuff, 'cause I hate that, but if he's got something set, I dunno, in the city, or even in the country, that'd be okay. He's maybe a musician? Who is he, again?"
I'm sure by now you know who all these people are, but you're the smart one. You're the customer we love to see coming in the door, and we think you're the best possible person on the planet!
However, being a bookseller frequently means being psychic. And patient. Working in a specialty shop means that we have fewer totally clueless customers, but I have to say that there are times when I feel like I could use a Magic Eight Ball.
It's not the customers who wander in thinking that by "mystery," we mean "universal mystery." Those folks are fine. They want New Age stuff or religious stuff, and while we have New Age and religious mysteries, they generally just nod pleasantly and wander out again, and we wish them well.
But oh my, some of the questions we get!
"I want something for my dad, and he likes that Jim Grisham guy, but he doesn't like anything violent. He's read all the books by Jack Reacher and, is it Mallory O'Connell? But yeah, can you recommend something that isn't too, I dunno, mean because he doesn't like stuff like that."
Um. Okay.
Honestly, that does give us more to go on than "It's blue and has mystery in the title. Or death. Something like that," although we can work with that if we have to.
Because when you come down to it, people who buy mysteries are willing to experiment. They're willing to try new authors, new titles, simply because in general, mystery readers are voracious. They can read more than any twelve authors can write, and they can often do it in less than a week.
We love our customers. A lot. Even the clueless ones.
There was a young man who came into our shop and wanted the books by Sherlock Holmes. My co-worker at the time took him to the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle section, but he shook his head. No, he wanted the real stories, the ones written by Holmes himself, not the ones made up by Doyle. He was insistent. She was patient.
When it finally sunk in to him that Holmes was a fictional character, that he hadn't ever really been alive, she said she felt like the world's biggest heel. She wanted to give him a hug and a teddy bear, he was so completely devastated. His eyes welled up and he dragged himself out of the store, shoulders slumped.
That's a tribute to excellent writing, and that's part of why I love my job. Not because I get to destroy people's illusions -- that part's really the worst part -- but because the worlds that are created in the books written by the great authors around us and exemplified by the fine writers featured in this blog are so very real.
"I want a mystery with something strange in it. Like balloons. Or tarot cards. Or hurdy gurdies. Or accordians! Yeah, you got a mystery about accordians?"
Charlotte Armstrong has balloons.
David Skibbins has tarot.
Dorothy Gilman has a hurdy gurdy.
Accordians? Hold on, it'll take me a minute. . . Nancy Means Wright!
Now as to whether or not it's still in print, that's a whole 'nother question!
I come from a fairly matriarchal country – our Queens are far more powerful and effective than our Kings could ever hope to be (well, OK, we’ll skip over Queen Anne), and we had one of the first woman heads of state in the world. In the Middle Ages women were slaughtered throughout Britain and Europe, mainly because they were becoming the richest landowners – following all those wars and the inheritance that came when hubby copped an arrow in The Crusades – and also because men were getting interested in medicine and were beginning to cook up all kinds of drugs, and didn’t like the fact that the women had the market in curing people with the tinctures and potions they made from herbs. Thus it became expedient to call them witches and get rid of the pesky nuisances.
But from the earliest times, across the continents and cultures, there have been more than a few strong courageous women who have led nations, cared for the sick and the poor, who have taken up arms alongside men, and who have kept the farm from going under while those men were away – which is yet another reason why events unfolding in Iran, with women at the forefront of the demands for a more democratic way of life, should make us all sit up and watch. And this isn’t a matter of whether or not anyone wants to wear the veil and keep their arms covered (many women prefer such modesty, as they feel it gives them freedom from the prying eyes of men), but the sheer guts of women in Iran who are stepping forward and saying “enough” as they lead the charge is just mindblowing.
Last year I was a guest at the annual Santa Barbara Women’s Literary Festival and while I was there had the great pleasure of listening to a wonderful poet – Dima Hilal. She was there with her Irish husband – her family left Iran when she was a child, and they had settled in Ireland. She now lives in California. When she began to speak – she did not read her poem, she seemed to be part of it – I was absolutely transported by her words, so of course I rushed to buy the book in which Dima’s work was published: The Poetry of Arab Women, edited by Nathalie Handal. As I read some of the poems in the book, I remembered meeting another Iranian woman some years ago, who had shared her verse with a small audience. I said something about her being a thoughtful and sympathetic poet, and she blushed, saying that in her culture, to be a poet is such an honor, and it is such important work, that you would not readily refer to yourself as a poet unless you had written far more deeply and for much longer than she. In the midst of the rhetoric about the Muslim world and about Iran in particular, it is easy to forget that it was once considered to be a country of intellectuals, of writers, artists, poets, indeed, of seers and sages. It was a country where to have a voice was honored.
I think President Obama has done no more or no less than he should, in terms of a response to the events in Iran over the past two weeks. It’s a tricky position to be in, and one that must be handled with utmost care. But I wish there was a tangible and realistic way to stand up and support those – especially the women – who would give their lives for the freedom to have a their votes counted, for the right to a leadership of their choosing. As Tom Friedman noted in his New York Times column last weekend, there is only one Arab country with a history of demonstrating in the streets – and that is Iran. Some thirty years ago they ousted the corrupt Shah of Iran, and now they are trying to get rid of more oil-fueled corruption (he pointed out that the oil money keeps the leaders up on their pedestals). But these demonstrations took on the stuff of mythology when the young woman whose image in death was seen the world over after she was shot, has a name that means “Voice” in Farsi (and I am sure someone will correct me if I have that wrong).
When I read about this terrible event, I remembered Dima reading to us. Here’s a partial verse from one of her poems:
I hear the prayer of my family a tight canopy against the falling sky while you count mortalities, I see faces that look like mine
Let us give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy. Let us take a moment to reflect upon the women, in particular, who have given their lives, in one way or another, for that blessing – the freedom to be heard.
In Iran, Neda Agha Soltan, apparently not a particularly politically motivated young woman, stepped out of her car while in a traffic jam so that she could get some cool air. And she was shot. Neda may never have wanted to be a guiding light, but it makes you consider destiny, and why it was that a woman named Voice was chosen by the Fates to inspire so many who are clamoring to have their voices honored by the leadership of their country. I cannot imagine living in such a place.
And here’s a really funny thing. I tried to look up Dima’s website, so I could ask permission to quote from her poem (I probably don’t need it, but it seemed like the right thing to do). Instead of a home page, a Google warning came up saying that this site has “malicious software” and makes the point that it is unknown to the user but says that if I do open the page, basically the world will come to an end and no one will ever read my next book because, heck, it’s on my hard disk and I might not have backed it up properly and the cooties will leap off that site and have at my words with invisible ink. Well, it didn’t say all that, but the meaning was there. I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist, but I wonder ....
PS: And I am sure John Knox never imagined what he was doing when he wrote The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women in 1558 - he effectively created an advertising slogan that's been used for and against women for centuries.
I like the feel of a book. I’m not knocking the Kindle nor am I disrespecting those people who have shelled out a few hundred bucks for one of the electronic wonders. But of the three main forms of books, hardback, mass-market paperback or trade paperback, I have come to really like the trade paperback. I just went on a trip and needed books to read on the way. I bought a couple of trade paperbacks. One of them, Bernard Corwell’s The Archer’s Tale was recommended by Raymond Hinst of Haslem’s Bookstore in St. Pete, Florida where I was signing. Last year Raymond recommended The Road by Cormac McCarthy and as a result his recommending privileges had been suspended. The Archer’s Tale was so good Raymond’s recommending rights have been restored.
So here are some reviews based on format. Also, life too short to waste time on a book I didn’t like. I probably wouldn’t waste space on a negative review (aside from my jokes about The Road and Atlas Shrugged. But they can take it. At least Ayn Rand can). So here are a few books I liked.
One Second After by William Forstchen -- Hardback I liked the story so much that I overlooked the hard cover. That’s high praise. Forstchen, a real life historian and college professor has written some excellent alternative history books with Newt Gingrich. I’ve read them, all about the civil war, and I liked them very much. I’ve mentioned how much I enjoy alternative history but it has to be written by people who know the real history and are good writers. Forstchen knows history and writes well.
This is a simple contemporary tale of a college professor in North Carolina and how his life changes when an electro-magnetic pulse wipes out virtually all electronics. The isolated North Carolina town must weather the crumbling society, lack of supplies, roving packs of raiders and politics of where stranded refugees must go.
Forstchen really looks at issues that I would not have considered. The characters are direct and likable and the sense of doom grows page by page.
A very good novel.
The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell – trade paperback
This was my first Cornwell novel and it will not be my last. It has it all. History, adventure, politics and great characters. No muss, no fuss, just a good book. I’m hunting for the sequel, Vagabond, right now.
Thomas, in school to be a priest, loves bows and archery but his father is not happy about his son’s hobby. Then a raid on his small fishing village forces him to kill a few of the French raiders with his bow and finds his calling. His family dead he joins the English army.
I now understand how England dominated Europe with a small population and the Channel to negotiate. Arrows made the difference. The book explains it all.
The Big, Bad Wolf by James Patterson – paperback
I found this copy on the library sale shelf and picked it up a month or so ago. This is when Alex Cross has just entered the FBI academy and is trying to cope with myriad personal problems as well as searching for a Russian crime boss known as “The wolf”.
Patterson has someone in the FBI who knows his stuff and he gets the culture right. He also writes one compelling book. He keeps the reader turning the pages and that’s what it’s all about.
I’ve read several of Patterson’s books, including the young adult series Maximum Ride. I get why he’s so popular. Anything that gets people, especially kids to read, is a good thing.
Just my quick take on format and a few books. What about you. Which format do you prefer? Drop us a quick comment on a book you liked recently.
Shanghai: where you see more umbrellas when it's sunny, than when it's raining...
The Ties That Bind
(Written last week before we departed Shanghai. Now back in St. Louis preparing for Killer Summer publication next week. Tweeting on RidleyTheWriter)
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We mustn't ever lose track of friendship in our lives. As our family prepares to leave Shanghai after a year in residence, we are forced to say goodbye to two wonderful women who have made our life here so effortless and enjoyable. One, our housekeeper, has become such a member of the family that my wife and I are overly emotional at just the idea of saying goodbye. It is impossible to think we may never see this woman again. She has become that close to us.
As we looked to help her to someday visit us in the US, the impediments were many. Celebrate a free society, it's a real blessing. But it's just another in a long string of reminders these past few months of the human importance of friendship--how we so often take it for granted without meaning to.
So (to proselytize) take a moment today to call or email your friends and remind them how much they mean to you. Contact that cousin you've fallen out of touch with. Celebrate life. It is fleeting. And too often we look back and wish we'd had the chance to tell someone how influential or important or meaningful they are or were to us. Now is that chance. Now is that time.
Who knows? You may never get back to Shanghai...
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One last look down a lane (our lane) of memories (instead of memory lane...)
Our corner...
In case my Internet was occasionally spotty... here is a look at our phone and electric lines on the outside of our house:
And of course, a person needs a way to get the duffel bags to the corner. Our gate keeper loaned me the community carrier... (vintage 1940's by the way, and still going, like EVERYTHING in Shanghai).
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get. But on the bright side, I am passionate about the United States and Americans. Yeah, I know it’s chic to knock both the residence and residents, but I don’t care, as Lee Greenwood might say, “I’m proud to be an American.” You can disagree, leave snotty comments, you can even scream, “Congress is full of shit.” And you know what will happen to you? Bupkis, nada, nothing, not even a dirty look. People can rant that we’re not free, that Americans are oppressed, that the government is screwed up. I think those people need to travel somewhere other than Canada and Virgin Islands.
- to our most recent transfer, where people generally didn’t feel that way. In fact, even stories about the military takeover of the United States are generally considered science fiction.
countries. Yet there are about 33.1 million aliens in the country. If America were a ride at Disney, it would have long freaking line.
s, work in a hospital, do social work, pick up garbage, save an wild animal or anything else that Americans tend to do.
get. But on the bright side, I am passionate about the United States and Americans. Yeah, I know it’s chic to knock both the residence and residents, but I don’t care, as Lee Greenwood might say, “I’m proud to be an American.” You can disagree, leave snotty comments, you can even scream, “Congress is full of shit.” And you know what will happen to you? Bupkis, nada, nothing, not even a dirty look. People can rant that we’re not free, that Americans are oppressed, that the government is screwed up. I think those people need to travel somewhere other than Canada and Virgin Islands.
- to our most recent transfer, where people generally didn’t feel that way. In fact, even stories about the military takeover of the United States are generally considered science fiction.
countries. Yet there are about 33.1 million aliens in the country. If America were a ride at Disney, it would have long freaking line.
