What are you currently reading?

[QualityBookReviews]

An open discussion on what everyone is currently reading. Make recommendations to others, discuss what is new, hot, bestsellers, anything and everything related to books and the authors.

[I. J. Parker]

How does this differ from Google? And clearly there's nothing we can do about pirating. If your e-books are in the publisher's hands, you can try to alert them. If they are your own, fat chance to get them to stop. What we need here is a class action suit. Where is that useless Author's Association?

[I. J. Parker]

Finished Lee Child's 61 HOURS. It's classic Child. A thriller with all its flaws, a strong setting, a great protagonist.
Jack Reacher is becoming an almost mythic creature. I liked that very much. And the bitter cold of a South Dakota winter is a strong element. As for the flaws: well the plot is entirely unbelievable and I knew who the killer was almost right away. Nonetheless, a good read. Turn off your brain. :)

[Kemosabe]

I'm afraid to try Child after my first experience. I know fiction has its license but it should be in little things that one can forget.

[Gaile Hughes]

I agree IJ, definitely turn off the brain. I tend to read him like a comic book, however Reacher IS special. And yes, the South Dakota winter was powerfully deployed, I felt cold for most of the read (To think I nearly married a teacher from South Dakota, now that's a chilling thought.)

I found the ending intensely irritating, what do you think, a not so clever marketing ploy for September? I thought it totally unnecessary, we'll blame the publisher...

I am also reading Lindy Cameron's 'Blood Guilt' her first Kit O'Malley mystery. Very upbeat and gutsy, I liked Kit after the first few pages, I am in awe of authors who can serve up an instantly likeable/dislikeable character within a few pages/chapters.

And, because the airport bookshop had a special 2 for 1, I am reading Jonathan Kellerman's 'Evidence'. If you like the duo of Milo and Alex it's an easy read. I abandoned Kellerman a few years ago, this seems to be back to his old style. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I like pulling on old and comfortable gloves.

[I. J. Parker]

I actually like the ending. That is what made Reacher "mythic" for me. You no longer know if he exists on an ordinary level. He pops up, fixes things, and disappears. Child has been moving into this direction for a while now, ever since Reacher left the service and became a homeless wanderer.

[Harley Sachs]

I tell pirates that I'm hiring Rentathug and ask what the priate prefers: kneecapping, arm breaking, or swimming in a barrel of concrete? The Nigerian scammers get a curse upon their children. When one of my publishers turned out to be nasty, I wrote a book about how the stable of authors turned on their nasty publisher and killed him. Sent him a copy. Got my rights back in a hurry. Not a threat, just a nudge. Book is "The Lollipop Murder" and the authors are all nuts. You have to be a bit crazy to be an author. Anybody who thinks they will get rich writing books is as goofy as someone who thinks he can fly and tries jumping off the roof. I was interviewed by a published scifi author who was writing three books at one gtime, each earning $7000, but $21k a year is not much of an income.

[I. J. Parker]

I've already made a snarky comment about this elsewhere. I just abandoned for good Martin O'Brien, JAQUOT AND THE WATERMAN. British author of a French police procedural series. As I mentioned, he's a good writer. It's the content that's objectionable. And I was quite serious about the abundance of carefully described pudenda of beautiful young prostitutes described in life and death in this book, as well as about their close examination in post mortems. This is simply pornography masquerading as a serial killer mystery. I have to believe that the author chose to do this in order to sell his product. The only other explanation is an unnatural preoccupation with violence towards women.

[Kemosabe]

That is a shame IJ because good writers are hard to find. I might give him a try. I’m not sure I wouldn’t like a little “pudenda” [and I had to look that word up} but anything can be over done. And one person’s pornography is…uh, uh, another’s…uh, uh, well, I hope you know what I mean. These proliferating serial killer mysteries are becoming a dime a dozen along with violence against women.

[Harley Sachs]

I find the serial killer books exploiting female victims repugnant. Why must all mysteries be about murder? When I wrote for the trade journals, each article was a story and it is a thrill for a manager when a promotion works, when a product sells, and a customer is satisfied. Many things in life are mysteries, but they don't have to be about grim death, mayhem, insanity, and blood. (Now where did I leave those car keys?)

[Christopher S. Tolley]

Harley - I couldn't agree more. I was just browsing on a site named after a large river in South America and someone spoke glowingly of an author who shall remain nameless. I jumped to the book and read the description. A serial killer who kidnaps mothers and executes them in front of their young sons. Hold me back! Quick, where's my credit card, I have to buy this immediately! (NOT) It's not interesting, it's not art. It promotes violence against women. No thanks.

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ctolley

[Kemosabe]

I agree Harley. It seems every time I pick up a mystery its about a serial killer killing women or children and I say to myself "Here I go again!" And you are right even about murder. A mystery need good characters, an active plot that moves and doesn't included page after page of inane dialogue and thoughts, and it needs conflict which doesnt always have to be physical.

[Harley Sachs]

The Norwegian translation I'm reading now is about a serial killer who lures prostitutes and bleeds the to death using a dildo fixed with razor blades. Sickening. And the author is a woman! This is not entertainmment and there is nothing edifying about it. I'm reading it for thesake of pracicing my Scandinavian language skills. I do not think some of the vocabulary will be useful in polite conversation, however!
I think I am a reasonably decent writer but am unknown outside my local area. Must update my web site www.hu.mtu.edu/~hlsachs
I write mainly cozy mysteries, no gruesome murders, no foul language, some humor, little sex, not erotis. Maybe that's a formula for failure?.