Mark Stevens's Blog, page 38
December 31, 2015
2015: Top Books
Favorite reads from 2015 1. Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann 2. The Free by William Vlautin 3. Dry Bones by Craig Johnson 4. Missoula by Jon Krakauer* 5. The Spiral Notebook by Stephen & Joyce Singular* 6. Dry Bones … Continue reading →
December 27, 2015
Colum McCann – “Thirteen Ways of Looking”
I’ll take my Colum McCann on audio, thank you very much. I listened to the opening section of Transatlantic, “Cloudhsadow,” many times and read it in hardcopy, too. Opening line: “It was a modified bomber, a Vickers Vimy, all wood … Continue reading →
December 21, 2015
Francine Mathews – “Too Bad To Die”
Too Bad To Die is so brisk and light on its feet, that you’ll be sucked right in to this whirling plot involving British Naval Intelligence Officer Ian Fleming and the Tehran Conference of 1943. Told with fast-shifting points of … Continue reading →
December 13, 2015
Linda Joffe Hull – “Sweetheart Deal”
Sweetheart Deal is so witty and downright snazzy I forgot I was reading a cozy. It’s hilarious too, and at times touches near meta territory as our extremely self-aware protagonist, Maddie Michaels, a.k.a. Mrs. Frugalicious, analyzes her own predicament as … Continue reading →
December 11, 2015
Patti Smith – “M Train”
I liked Just Kids; I struggled to finish M Train. As others have noted, these are two very different books. Certainly Patti Smith completists will enjoy hanging out with her as she travels, as she kills time in hotel rooms … Continue reading →
December 7, 2015
Q & A #36 Margaret Mizushima – “Killing Trail”
It’s hard to imagine a better launch atmosphere for this week’s publication of Killing Trail, the first novel from Colorado’s own Margaret Mizushima. In a starred review, Publisher’s Weekly called it a “strong debut” and praised the “brisk plot” and … Continue reading →
November 25, 2015
Daniel James Brown – The Boys in the Boat
The Boys in the Boat is in that same feel-good zone with The Wright Brothers and Seabiscuit and Unbroken and name your big sweeping All-American, go-get-‘em, against-all-odds kind of saga underscored with a healthy dose of patriotism. Check the reviews … Continue reading →
November 14, 2015
Mike McPhee – Dana Crawford, 50 Years Saving the Soul of A City
When I was hired by the Rocky Mountain News in 1980, editor Michael Howard started me right out of the chute by assigning a series on the future of downtown Denver. No time on night cops or general assignment—he just … Continue reading →
November 8, 2015
Ron Carlson – Return to Oakpine
Return to Oakpine starts with opening up a room, a “classic, one-bay garage.” The room is “wooden frame, plank walls, wooden shingles, peaked roof, a one-paned window with a layer of dust on it thick as speckled paint, and a … Continue reading →
November 1, 2015
Scott O’Connor – Untouchable
Untouchable is unforgettable. Written with a rich and cool-eyed empathy for its two central characters, this is one of those books that lays down its own rules for story-telling and carries the same unwavering style from first sentence to last. … Continue reading →
