Mark Stevens's Blog, page 44
June 16, 2014
Joseph Wambaugh – “Fire Lover”
Surreal. “Fire Lover” is a true crime recounting of one of the most notorious arsonists in Los Angeles history. An arsonist who just happened to be a firefighter and arson investigator. The details are gripping and so is the pursuit … Continue reading →
June 2, 2014
Dave Eggers – “The Circle”
After finishing The Circle, I wanted to find a backwoods cabin high in the Rocky Mountains, sit on the front porch, and breathe fresh air. No computers, no like buttons, no comments, no ratings, no social media, no reviews. Like … Continue reading →
May 25, 2014
Gwen Florio – “Dakota”
Dirty oil, dirty politics, dirty deals. Desperation. And drugs. Dakota finds former foreign correspondent Lola Wicks up to her eyeballs in the oil patch. She’s a small-town reporter now, but her instincts still work. She wants to follow her gut … Continue reading →
May 15, 2014
Adam Begley – “Updike”
Reading Updike, by Adam Begley, I went in with a bias. As soon I realized that Begley would likely agree with me about Updike’s skills and talents, I found myself in pure savor mode. If you like the prose of … Continue reading →
May 13, 2014
Q & A with Adam Begley – “Updike”
As Adam Begley puts it, there is a “mysterious core” at the heart of a great artist. What are the key ingredients that makes a writer’s works rise above all others? If you read Begley’s powerful biography of John Updike, … Continue reading →
April 3, 2014
Michael Booth & Jennifer Brown – “Eating Dangerously”
You get what you pay for. You reap what you sow. As eaters who depend on the giant trough built by mass production and mass distribution and the notion of no seasons (strawberries in February, but of course), we are … Continue reading →
March 28, 2014
Nevada Barr – “Destroyer Angel”
Destroyer Angel is rock ‘em, sock ‘em from start to finish. Nevada Barr channels Lee Child. Anna Pigeon finds her inner Jack Reacher. Destroyer Angel is relentless. There is no mystery here, just Anna in a bad spot from the … Continue reading →
March 16, 2014
Davy Rothbart – “My Heart is an Idiot”
Well, I’m the idiot. I came across “Human Snowball” in The Best American Non-Required Reading-2013. And I thought it was fiction. “Snowball” was in there with other short stories in the anthology and not marked any other way. It starts … Continue reading →
March 2, 2014
Dave Eggers – “A Hologram for the King”
Listen to A Hologram for the King on Audio CD and you’ll hear the way-cool, matter-of-fact narration by Dion Graham. Graham embodied Spero Lucas, George Pelecanos’ most recent main man, in the audio book of The Cut and, well, I … Continue reading →
February 17, 2014
Q & A With Judy Nedry – “The Difficult Sister”
I don’t read cozies. The words “cozy” and “mystery” don’t even go together, in my book. Like jumbo shrimp. Which is it? My mystery reading started with Patricia Highsmith, James M. Cain and early Elmore Leonard. I like ‘em gritty … Continue reading →
