What are you reading?

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J.J. Walters
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Re: What are you reading?

#106 Post by J.J. Walters »

ConchRepublican wrote:I wasn't messing with Cujo!!
They actually have a small army of Corgi's. One of their current one's is affectionately called "The Thing of Evil"! Don't ask me how I know this, but I do. Corgi's don't look intimidating, but if you had four or five of them running after you, you'd probably run. ;)

Here's one from the cover of the paperback edition of his most excellent non-fiction book On Writing (2000)...

Image

MaximRecoil:

Yeah, I see what you mean about the accent. The "ah" is much more subtle in the Maine accent. It's not as pronounced as in the Boston version (Car, as in "CAAHH"). Has there ever been a Maine accent correctly used in film?
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Re: What are you reading?

#107 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

Styles Bitchley wrote:
J.J. Walters wrote:Those look like great books, Conch!
Is MacDonald anything like Spillane? I've real all the Mike Hammer novels. Would love to delve into something similar.
Hi Styles,
I too read all the Spillane Mike Hammer books. With 225 million books sold, he is on the short list of all time biggest selling authors in history.
He mined his hometown of Elizabeth, NJ for colorful characters whose monickers he slightly changed or left intact in his books as a homage. Shady joints, street layouts, named business places he transposed from Elizabeth to NYC.
He often came back for school reunions and to hang out with his old crew and eat at the old joints.
I get a big kick out of the scenes in the classic movie Marty when Ernest Borgnine's buddies are discussing a scene from a Hammer book, citing a spicy passage prompting Marty to shush them as his Ma is in the next room. It rings so true as Spillane was then a cultural icon and his books were instrumental in pushing the boundaries and rightly could be argued as key in starting the Sexual Revolution.
Too bad the Magnum producers didn't invite Spillane on to guest star. Mickey had starred in a few movies/tv and could act. Imagine him inter-acting with Luther Gillis and Magnum on yet another PI writing a book, crossing swords with Higgins, sporting a fedora and trench coat.
Last edited by Luther's nephew Dobie on Tue Sep 06, 2016 5:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: What are you reading?

#108 Post by MaximRecoil »

J.J. Walters wrote: MaximRecoil:

Yeah, I see what you mean about the accent. The "ah" is much more subtle in the Maine accent. It's not as pronounced as in the Boston version (Car, as in "CAAHH"). Has there ever been a Maine accent correctly used in film?
Not that I'm aware of. There aren't many famous actors who were born and raised in Maine; Rachel Nichols and Anna Kendrick being the most famous ones that I know of, and they both have neutral accents like I and many other Mainers do (Stephen King's accent is also pretty much neutral). Every movie or TV show I've seen which is set in Maine, complete with "Maine accents", feature actors who are not from Maine (AKA: "flatlanders", AKA: "from away") and are faking the accent, and like I said, I've never heard any of them sound believable.

Here in Maine, the person most famous for a Maine accent is Tim Sample (example: https://youtu.be/Ecg_WizWicQ), but his is highly exaggerated as part of his comedy act. When he speaks normally, e.g., in interviews, his accent is more or less neutral. "Eben", from Dexter, the singer of the "Mister Man" novelty song I linked to earlier, is another example of an intentionally exaggerated Maine accent.

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Re: What are you reading?

#109 Post by BWheelz54 »

HEY CONCH!

Let me say that first of all, I LOVE THAT YOU HAVE YOUR MAGNUM DIGS ON OUTSIDE OF MR. KING'S HOME! That is such a cool outfit, and it just screams to me that you're having a good time.

I thought I might post a book I just started this afternoon on the thread as I believe it's one a lot of folks on the forum might like. I just jumped into a book titled "River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey" by Candice Millard. It's a history book about Teddy's ill-fated expedition through the Amazon rainforest following his loss in the 1912 election. I'm only four chapters in, but seems like great stuff for history geeks. Here's a link to the book on Amazon if anyone might be interested.

https://www.amazon.com/River-Doubt-Theo ... r+of+doubt

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Re: What are you reading?

#110 Post by ConchRepublican »

BWheelz54 wrote:HEY CONCH!

Let me say that first of all, I LOVE THAT YOU HAVE YOUR MAGNUM DIGS ON OUTSIDE OF MR. KING'S HOME! That is such a cool outfit, and it just screams to me that you're having a good time.

I thought I might post a book I just started this afternoon on the thread as I believe it's one a lot of folks on the forum might like. I just jumped into a book titled "River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey" by Candice Millard. It's a history book about Teddy's ill-fated expedition through the Amazon rainforest following his loss in the 1912 election. I'm only four chapters in, but seems like great stuff for history geeks. Here's a link to the book on Amazon if anyone might be interested.

https://www.amazon.com/River-Doubt-Theo ... r+of+doubt
Thanks Wheelz!! It's getting to the point where the "aloha look" is my standard non-working attire (I have Chrismas shirts and my designated Palm Sunday and Easter shirts as well). Either that or a variety of Florida Keys bar t-shirts. :-)

That looks like a cool read. As a Teddy Roosevelt fan I may have to add this one to my list (gonna be a while to get to it, my reading time had shrunk, I've been working on IT for almost 2 months!). Very interesting topic that you don't hear much about.
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Re: What are you reading?

#111 Post by J.J. Walters »

Funny that you are reading IT right now, Conch, what with all these crazy scary clown sightings that are happening across the country right now. What a bizarre trend that is! It's unfortunate, because those people are giving legitimate clowns a bad name. I suppose the same could be said for Pennywise, but he's from outer space. It doesn't really count. But really, Pennywise aside, IT is really about childhood and friendship and the wonderful town of Derry, Pennywise is secondary. It's one of my very favorite books of all-time. "Hi Ho Silver, away!" :)

I'm currently reading the first book in the late 60's/early 70's adventure/spy series Operation Hang Ten (Hang Dead Hawaiian Style, paperback original, 1969) by Patrick Morgan. Wonderful escapist fun. It could almost be seen as an early prototype to Magnum. The back cover says it all.

Image
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Before that I read Blood of Victory (2003) by Alan Furst, the undisputed master of the WWII-era historical spy novel. He never disappoints.

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Re: What are you reading?

#112 Post by ConchRepublican »

So, finished up It. Good book but as great a storyteller as King is, he has a hard time finishing things cleanly. To me at least ..... after that was John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee in Bright Orange for the Shroud followed by Darker Than Amber, two very good tales.

I still have Dan Simmons' The Terror on the bench, something about reading an arctic book in cold weather that's not as appealing.

I'm rereading William McKeen's Mile Marker Zero in prep for a summer return to the Keys and have Randy Wayne White's next Doc Ford book, Mangrove Lightning on pre-order.

And yesterday, reinforcements arrived.

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Re: What are you reading?

#113 Post by ConchRepublican »

J.J. Walters wrote:Funny that you are reading IT right now, Conch, what with all these crazy scary clown sightings that are happening across the country right now. What a bizarre trend that is! It's unfortunate, because those people are giving legitimate clowns a bad name. I suppose the same could be said for Pennywise, but he's from outer space. It doesn't really count. But really, Pennywise aside, IT is really about childhood and friendship and the wonderful town of Derry, Pennywise is secondary. It's one of my very favorite books of all-time. "Hi Ho Silver, away!" :)

I'm currently reading the first book in the late 60's/early 70's adventure/spy series Operation Hang Ten (Hang Dead Hawaiian Style, paperback original, 1969) by Patrick Morgan. Wonderful escapist fun. It could almost be seen as an early prototype to Magnum. The back cover says it all.

Image
Image

Before that I read Blood of Victory (2003) by Alan Furst, the undisputed master of the WWII-era historical spy novel. He never disappoints.

Image
I never heard of Patrick Morgan before . . . interesting . . . thanks for sharing the good stuff JJ!
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Re: What are you reading?

#114 Post by eagle »

Back in junior high, I loved reading, but something flipped in high school and I quit reading. I didn't get back my love of reading until this year, more than 30 years later. So far this year I have read 6 books (Jurassic Park; a couple of Spenser novels; a Bosch novel; an essay called "As A Man Thinketh"; and a book called "Evangelpreneur.") It was probably junior high when I last read 6 books in a year, never mind doing that in less than 3 months.

In the queue now are -- in no particular order:
- Calico Joe
- Bosch 1 & 2 (The Black Echo, The Black Ice)
- Robert Ludlum's Bourne books
- The Leader Who Had No Title
- How To Win Friends & Influence People
- What Got You Here Won't Get You There
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

I do think I'll start with Calico Joe. It's a quick read and, with baseball season upon us, it just seems like the right thing to do.

I've found that I really like Michael Crichton, Michael Connelly, Robert B Parker, and John Grisham. Are there any other authors I should consider adding to that list?

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Re: What are you reading?

#115 Post by ConchRepublican »

eagle wrote:Back in junior high, I loved reading, but something flipped in high school and I quit reading. I didn't get back my love of reading until this year, more than 30 years later. So far this year I have read 6 books (Jurassic Park; a couple of Spenser novels; a Bosch novel; an essay called "As A Man Thinketh"; and a book called "Evangelpreneur.") It was probably junior high when I last read 6 books in a year, never mind doing that in less than 3 months.

In the queue now are -- in no particular order:
- Calico Joe
- Bosch 1 & 2 (The Black Echo, The Black Ice)
- Robert Ludlum's Bourne books
- The Leader Who Had No Title
- How To Win Friends & Influence People
- What Got You Here Won't Get You There
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

I do think I'll start with Calico Joe. It's a quick read and, with baseball season upon us, it just seems like the right thing to do.

I've found that I really like Michael Crichton, Michael Connelly, Robert B Parker, and John Grisham. Are there any other authors I should consider adding to that list?
You're doing well there! Michael Crichton is one of my all time favorite authors. The cores of his books are so interesting and I really like what he focuses on. I think Jurassic Park is a classic and those who know it only by the movies don't really know it at all.

I also like Dan Simmons. He's a genre jumper but everything I've read by him - horror, sci-fi, historical fiction - has been really good. Hyperion is his sci-fi stand out and I also really enjoyed Crook Factory.

Nelson DeMille is another, Plum Island is a good intro.

David Morrell, the father of Rambo I enjoy as well. His first book, First Blood, is a good start and, again, a bit different from the movie.

I'm a south Florida fan so these next two I really enjoy:

Randy Wayne White is kind of the heir to, or at least is aiming to be the heir to, John D. MacDonald. I enjoy his Doc Ford character - start with Sanibel Flats.

Tom Corcoran is more of a personal fave, he's been in and around the Key West scene from back in the 70s and lived an interesting life - he was basically the center character of the book Mile Marker Zero, a look at the 70s Key West scene. He served Jimmy Buffett his first beer on the island, co wrote a few songs with him and finally started writing books a few years ago. The Mango Opera is the jumping off point.

I can't mention John D. MacDonald without, well, mentioning him. Our Founding Father, J.J., is a big fan, and would be able to tell you other books by him, but you can't go wrong with Doc Ford's inspiration, Travis McGee. The first book is The Deep Blue Goodbye.

William Diehl is another, Sharkey's Machine and Primal Fear are standouts in a short, but very good, bibliography.

Allan Folsom's first novel, The Day After Tomorrow, blew me away at the time.

If you want to try the Fantasy genre, while I love The Lord of the Rings and have read it many times, Tolkien can be intimidating so I'd recommend David Edding's Belgariad series, which I think is a bit more accessable and a classic in it's own right.

Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series is an all time favorite of mine, another series I have read multiple times. Not fantasy, more sociological sci-fi with historical fiction elements ..... that's what happens when everyone who has ever lived is resurrected in a world encompassing river valley and Sir Richard Burton, Alice Hargreaves, Samuel Clemens, King John of England, Cyrano de Bergerac, Lothar von Richthofen, and Hermann Göring are main characters ....

I'll close out with a few different, but still favorite, entrys:

Mitch Albom - Tuesdays with Morrie
Robert Fulghum - All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
Neil Peart - Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road

That should keep you busy!
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Re: What are you reading?

#116 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

[quote="ConchRepublican"]
David Morrell, the father of Rambo I enjoy as well. His first book, First Blood, is a good start and, again, a bit different from the movie.

Hi Conch,
David Morrell is a member of the Yahoo Route 66 Group I am a member of. He usually lies in the weeds but if he likes your posting he will send you a note directly.
He is a great admirer of the Route 66 head writer/muse Stirling Silliphant, who won a Oscar for writing In The Heat Of The Night. There are a lot of professional writers in our Group as Silliphant was such a legendary craftsman that these scribes idolized him.
Over the years we regular schnook members have learned through them to appreciate the tremendous writing and acting on Route 66. I feel like we received an advanced college course in dramatic writing as they parsed various episodes.
The unfortunate side effect is they so increased our ability in the critical thinking department that I now automatically deconstruct new episodes of series tv and the vast majority look like crappola compared to Route 66 and Magnum.
Last edited by Luther's nephew Dobie on Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: What are you reading?

#117 Post by ConchRepublican »

Luther's nephew Dobie wrote:
ConchRepublican wrote: David Morrell, the father of Rambo I enjoy as well. His first book, First Blood, is a good start and, again, a bit different from the movie.
Hi Conch,
David Morrell is a member of the Yahoo Route 66 Group I am a member of. He usually lies in the weeds but if he likes your posting he will send you a note directly.
He is a great admirer of the Route 66 head writer/muse Stirling Silliphant, who won a Oscar for writing In The heat Of The Night. There are a lot of professional writers in our Group as Silliphant was such a legendary craftsman that these scribes idolized him.
Over the years we regular schnook members have learned through them to appreciate the tremendous writing and acting on Route 66. I feel like we received an advanced college course in dramatic writing as they parsed various episodes.
The unfortunate side effect is they so increased our ability in the critical thinking department that I now automatically deconstruct new episodes of series tv and the vast majority look like crappola compared to Route 66 and Magnum.
I have never seen an episode of Route 66 . . . :oops:

I need to remedy that?
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Re: What are you reading?

#118 Post by eagle »

ConchRepublican wrote:I have never seen an episode of Route 66 . . . :oops:

I need to remedy that?
I have not been successful in securing a copy of those DVDs.

If you get a hold of the DVDs, I'd love to borrow them from you. :magnum:

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Re: What are you reading?

#119 Post by ConchRepublican »

eagle wrote:
ConchRepublican wrote:I have never seen an episode of Route 66 . . . :oops:

I need to remedy that?
I have not been successful in securing a copy of those DVDs.

If you get a hold of the DVDs, I'd love to borrow them from you. :magnum:
It seems it's available for streaming through Hulu.

https://www.hulu.com/route-66
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Re: What are you reading?

#120 Post by eagle »

ConchRepublican wrote:
eagle wrote:
ConchRepublican wrote:I have never seen an episode of Route 66 . . . :oops:

I need to remedy that?
I have not been successful in securing a copy of those DVDs.

If you get a hold of the DVDs, I'd love to borrow them from you. :magnum:
It seems it's available for streaming through Hulu.

https://www.hulu.com/route-66
Cool, thanks. I don't have Hulu today, but maybe I need to remedy that. :magnum: :higgins:

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