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vamysteryfanElmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writing. Short, sweet, and to the point. Pithy advice for writers, with cute cartoons and writers who have earned the exceptions.
The Body in the Piazza by Katherine Hall Page. Nice descriptions of food, somewhat sketchy descriptions of ambiance and scenery. Which is odd because it's Italy after all. Nice puzzle though, so that gets bonus points.
Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri. A good entry in this series. Montalban is feeling introspective after an injury. There is a kidnapping but the resolution is telegraphed early. Still enjoyable t read the unwinding.
Dearie by Bob Spitzer. A biography of Julia Child. Nicely done. It explains some of her foibles, her relationship with her husband, but most of all how she wrote her cookbooks and created the TV shows. I didn't know she was somewhat homophobic but overcame it late in life. She had a complicated but good relationship with Jacques Pepin and she and Madeline Kammen had a lifelong hate going. I got a good sense of her joy in life too. The author sometimes used rather too colloquial words or jarring slang but that's a small quibble. I liked learning about her career with the OSS.
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. This purports to be the last book in the Sookie series (but I'd bet there will be some novelizations from the show). It ties up some loose ends. I thought it etter than a couple of her more recent entries. We revisit a few old friends to see how they ended up.
The Body in the Piazza by Katherine Hall Page. Nice descriptions of food, somewhat sketchy descriptions of ambiance and scenery. Which is odd because it's Italy after all. Nice puzzle though, so that gets bonus points.
Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri. A good entry in this series. Montalban is feeling introspective after an injury. There is a kidnapping but the resolution is telegraphed early. Still enjoyable t read the unwinding.
Dearie by Bob Spitzer. A biography of Julia Child. Nicely done. It explains some of her foibles, her relationship with her husband, but most of all how she wrote her cookbooks and created the TV shows. I didn't know she was somewhat homophobic but overcame it late in life. She had a complicated but good relationship with Jacques Pepin and she and Madeline Kammen had a lifelong hate going. I got a good sense of her joy in life too. The author sometimes used rather too colloquial words or jarring slang but that's a small quibble. I liked learning about her career with the OSS.
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. This purports to be the last book in the Sookie series (but I'd bet there will be some novelizations from the show). It ties up some loose ends. I thought it etter than a couple of her more recent entries. We revisit a few old friends to see how they ended up.
