Coincidence or not ?



I often have two books on the go at the same time, it helps to confuse me more. />


Anyway, as well as reading the book (proper book) mentioned above "An Innocent Man" by John Grisham, a factual account of a man wrongly convicted as a murderer and serving 11 years on death row for it, I was browsing the excellent Leeds City Libraries eBook loan selection and came across Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood", the true story (indeed he wrote it in a reportage style while the investigation was taking place, he and Harper Lee writing up thousands of pages of notes from interviews ) of a Kansas family who were murdered in their farmhouse home, a fascinating story all the more so because its true and because its written in a novelistic style yet still sticks rigidly to the facts, its still the second largest selling true crime novel. />


It was only when I started reading it that I made the connection to the other book laying by my bed, something deep inside just likes reading about murders I think...watch this space.

Coincidence or not ?



I often have two books on the go at the same time, it helps to confuse me more. />


Anyway, as well as reading the book (proper book) mentioned above "An Innocent Man" by John Grisham, a factual account of a man wrongly convicted as a murderer and serving 11 years on death row for it, I was browsing the excellent Leeds City Libraries eBook loan selection and came across Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood", the true story (indeed he wrote it in a reportage style while the investigation was taking place, he and Harper Lee writing up thousands of pages of notes from interviews ) of a Kansas family who were murdered in their farmhouse home, a fascinating story all the more so because its true and because its written in a novelistic style yet still sticks rigidly to the facts, its still the second largest selling true crime novel. />


It was only when I started reading it that I made the connection to the other book laying by my bed, something deep inside just likes reading about murders I think...watch this space.

Sequels are a blight on literature. The fantasy and SF genres in particular have suffered a calamitous drop in overall quality because of sequels.



Nowadays if you want to read something intelligent (or just well-written) you must either root out a specialist bookseller with a lot of floorspace (at best most genres receive no more than three floor standing bookshelves) or ride your luck with Amazon.



Whereas the small independents could be relied upon to split three small shelves half-and-half between serialised/movie-TV tie-ins and critically acclaimed/classics twenty years ago - now it's the former occupying 98% of space. />


To make matters worse, genre artwork (especially SF) - which was often the foremost reason for purchase by younger readers - has now been dumped by most publishers as they consider it stigmatises the "product". Which is why practically every SF book these days is neutral black, white or god-awful chrome. The exceptions to the rule being cinema/TV tie ins - as if we haven't already seen enough pictures of Darth Vader or Doctor Who ...

Sequels are a blight on literature. The fantasy and SF genres in particular have suffered a calamitous drop in overall quality because of sequels.



Nowadays if you want to read something intelligent (or just well-written) you must either root out a specialist bookseller with a lot of floorspace (at best most genres receive no more than three floor standing bookshelves) or ride your luck with Amazon.



Whereas the small independents could be relied upon to split three small shelves half-and-half between serialised/movie-TV tie-ins and critically acclaimed/classics twenty years ago - now it's the former occupying 98% of space. />


To make matters worse, genre artwork (especially SF) - which was often the foremost reason for purchase by younger readers - has now been dumped by most publishers as they consider it stigmatises the "product". Which is why practically every SF book these days is neutral black, white or god-awful chrome. The exceptions to the rule being cinema/TV tie ins - as if we haven't already seen enough pictures of Darth Vader or Doctor Who ...

Having said all that, and whilst I enjoy the American crime genre in a novel (just can't get interested in a crime novel set in the UK, and yes, I realise that Lee Child is British), after you have read a few you realise pretty quickly that there is a pre-set template for the crime novel and its hardly ever veered from to the point where at page 200 you're waiting for the false ending where everyone thinks the killer is behind bars now but wait, there's 50 more pages left so THERE MUST BE A FINAL TWIST !!!



Dipping into the genre once every few months is fine but read more than two back to back and you do wonder if you've already read this one - I love James Lee Burke as a writer but his novels are almost what used to be described as pulp fiction unless you leave a decent gap of several months between each one. />


Maybe thats why John Grisham throws in the odd non-fiction book every now and again ?

Having said all that, and whilst I enjoy the American crime genre in a novel (just can't get interested in a crime novel set in the UK, and yes, I realise that Lee Child is British), after you have read a few you realise pretty quickly that there is a pre-set template for the crime novel and its hardly ever veered from to the point where at page 200 you're waiting for the false ending where everyone thinks the killer is behind bars now but wait, there's 50 more pages left so THERE MUST BE A FINAL TWIST !!!



Dipping into the genre once every few months is fine but read more than two back to back and you do wonder if you've already read this one - I love James Lee Burke as a writer but his novels are almost what used to be described as pulp fiction unless you leave a decent gap of several months between each one. />


Maybe thats why John Grisham throws in the odd non-fiction book every now and again ?

I'm not a fan of creepy Tom, but I personally liked his performance as Reacher. While he clearly physically isn't anywhere close to the same, I thought he got close to the nuances of the character. I actually thought that the ending of the film was more in line with the character than the ending in the book. />


I've recently just finished "Personal" so I've read all the novels, but not the short stories. Heard an amount before reading it about its setting in Romford, but disappointed at the lack of Essex feeling! That aside, like a lot of the recent Reecher books, I thought the set up was good, but the ending unimpressive and almost rushed as if Lee Child didn't know where to take the story. />


Now onto Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series

I'm not a fan of creepy Tom, but I personally liked his performance as Reacher. While he clearly physically isn't anywhere close to the same, I thought he got close to the nuances of the character. I actually thought that the ending of the film was more in line with the character than the ending in the book. />


I've recently just finished "Personal" so I've read all the novels, but not the short stories. Heard an amount before reading it about its setting in Romford, but disappointed at the lack of Essex feeling! That aside, like a lot of the recent Reecher books, I thought the set up was good, but the ending unimpressive and almost rushed as if Lee Child didn't know where to take the story. />


Now onto Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series

Has anybody read my latest novel "Two Seasons" yet with its background of work, family, old friends and rugby league. I know quite a few people who have either bought a copy or had one bought for them as a Christmas present but as yet no one appears to have had any time to read it. />
As I await some feedback, I am combining starting to write my next novel with looking at three books which hopefully might give me some fresh ideas: Ray Gent's "Rugby League In Its Own Words", Mike Critchley's "As Good As It Gets" and Gillian Tetts "Fools Gold".

Has anybody read my latest novel "Two Seasons" yet with its background of work, family, old friends and rugby league. I know quite a few people who have either bought a copy or had one bought for them as a Christmas present but as yet no one appears to have had any time to read it. />
As I await some feedback, I am combining starting to write my next novel with looking at three books which hopefully might give me some fresh ideas: Ray Gent's "Rugby League In Its Own Words", Mike Critchley's "As Good As It Gets" and Gillian Tetts "Fools Gold".