Saturday, June 20, 2015
PimPage: An Occasional Feature in which I Call Attention to Books of Interest
Edwardian First Editions
AbeBooks: Edwardian First Editions: The Edwardian era began with Queen Victoria’s death in 1901 and stretched until 1910 when Edward VII died. A mere nine years hardly constitutes anything worthwhile but it was a period of immense change and memorable literature.
First editions from this era are plentiful and easy to find. First editions, complete with dust jackets, from this era are scarce and more expensive.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Concrete Angel -- Patricia Abbott
Concrete Angel begins with a murder. We know who's guilty. It's Eve Moran, whose life has been a series of small scams, thefts, and deceptions. She can't seem to help herself, and now she's in big trouble. Or she will be if someone else doesn't take the blame for her. That's where her daughter comes in.Christine Moran is 12 years old. She's pretty much been manipulated by her mother for her whole life, and she confesses to the crime, making it seem as if she was saving her mother's life from an attacker.
After that, things get complicated. Eve goes on to more and more complicated schemes, and it begins to dawn on Christine that she's become a partner in crime and might even become more like her mother. Then Eve has another child.
Abbott's writing is sharp and clear, and her characters are as real as your neighbors. Abbott has written a lot of fine short stories, and her first novel is a winner. Check it out.
Jaws’ 40th Anniversary: How It Changed Hollywood
Jaws’ 40th Anniversary: 10 Ways ‘Jaws’ Changed Movies Forever
Where I'll Be this Weekend
In a few minutes I'll be leaving for ApolloCon 2015 - Houston, TX - Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Steampunk Conference. I'll have limited access to the Internet and e-mail, but I should be able to check in now and then. I've set the blog on autopilot, so the regular stuff should be there. I'm on a couple of panels at the convention, and I'll be seeing some friends, so that should make driving to the far side of Houston worthwhile.
First It was the Thin Mints Melee
NY Daily News: Two workers at a Chinese restaurant stir-fried an irate customer with a stun gun after he claimed he was overcharged by 75 cents, cops said Thursday.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
FFB: Pay the Devil -- Jack Higgins
When Pay the Devil was published as a Berkley paperback in 1999, no information was given about its original publication. So I didn't know until I read Ben Boulden's review of the book a year or so ago that it was a reprint of an 1963 hardcover or that it was Higgins' seventh published novel. I mentioned in a comment to Boulden that the book was languishing on my "to be read again" stack, and I finally got around to it the other day when I was looking for some fast, entertaining reading.Clay Fitzgerald is a Colonel in the army of the Confederacy as the war is ending, and General Lee suggests that he and his men slip quietly away and go home. Fitzgerald has inherited the old family estate in Ireland and he decides to pay a visit there, sort of a sentimental journey, taking along his faithful retainer, Joshua. When he arrives, he finds a situation in which a brutal aristocracy treats the poor like animals, or worse. Rebellion is brewing Clay declares that he doesn't want to take sides, and then almost immediately takes sides, becoming a masked avenger known as Captain Swing. He deals out rough (very rough) justice to one particularly despicable landowner before getting involved in the complicated relationship between a couple of families on opposing sides.
There's a beautiful young woman, fast action (and lots of it), Higgins' usual fine descriptions of weather and landscapes, and a satisfying plot. This might not be a great book, but it's a lot of fun and a good way to spend a few hours in another time and place.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Rick Ducommun, R. I. P.
NY Daily News: Rick Ducommun, a comic actor best known for playing shlubby loudmouth types in '80s and '90s comedies like "The 'Burbs" and "Groundhog Day," has died at 62.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
John David Crow, R. I. P.
A&M Heisman Winner John David Crow Dies At 79: COLLEGE STATION (June 18, 2015) Texas A&M's first Heisman Trophy winner, John David Crow, has passed away.
10 Etiquette Rules Nobody Follows Anymore
10 Etiquette Rules Nobody Follows Anymore
This is a slideshow that I found amusing because Judy was a great believer in manners and etiquette. She's the only person I knew who still kept Amy Vanderbilt's etiquette book handy. If you wanted to know what was once considered right and proper (and was still considered so by at least one person), you could just ask her. If she didn't know, she'd look it up. She rarely had to look.
This is a slideshow that I found amusing because Judy was a great believer in manners and etiquette. She's the only person I knew who still kept Amy Vanderbilt's etiquette book handy. If you wanted to know what was once considered right and proper (and was still considered so by at least one person), you could just ask her. If she didn't know, she'd look it up. She rarely had to look.
Nelson Doubleday Jr., R. I. P.
The New York Times: Nelson Doubleday Jr., who shortly after taking over his family’s publishing business used it in 1980 to buy the lowly New York Mets and put the team on course to win the World Series in 1986, died on Wednesday at his home in Locust Valley, N.Y. He was 81.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Ron Clarke, R. I. P.
The New York Times: middle- and long-distance runner who broke 17 world records, some by huge margins, in the mid-1960s but never won an Olympic or British Commonwealth gold medal, died on Wednesday in Gold Coast, Australia, where he had recently been mayor. He was 78.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.
Free for Kindle for a Limited Time
Amazon.com: Dig Ten Graves eBook: Heath Lowrance: Kindle Store And also this one.
Two for the price of zero dollars and cents. You can't miss.
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