#3 - "Child 44" by Tom Rob Smith

I love books, and I'm always on the lookout to find something new to read. One of my favorite pastimes is to wander around bookstores, browsing through the stacks. I can easily find at least ten books that I want to read. Unfortunately, it's just not possible to read as fast as I can choose them. Child 44, Tom Rob Smith's first book was just published in 2008. I discovered it after I read a review on Pajiba, my favorite website when it comes to movie reviews and witty and wordy commentaries. I don't particularly remember the review, and mysteries are not usually my favorite genre, but apparently the review made the book sound interesting enough that I placed a hold on it at the library. There was a long wait for it, which I took as a good sign.

If you take the bare bones of this plot, it is about a man who is trying to solve the serial killings of many children throughout the country. If it were only that, then this book would have been a disappointment. The children were brutally murdered, which made the book kind of creepy and sometimes hard to read. I didn't really buy the motivation for the crimes besides the fact that the killer was crazy, and the ending summed everything up a little too neatly. In the bare facts of the story, it wasn't too different from any mystery by numbers novel that is fast paced and written well.

However, what made this book a really interesting read was that it was set in Moscow in 1953. The protagonist, Leo Demidov, is a high-ranking member of the MGB--the state security force. The way Tom Rob Smith portrayed Stalinist Russia with its power politics, paranoia, injustice, torture, and claustrophobic patriarchy added a fascinating element to the story. Now Leo was not just trying to find a murderer, he was trying to stay alive long enough to find a murderer in a state whose system did not allow for such western horrors as serial killers. The glimpse and clear portrayal of what it would have been to live at that time in the U.S.S.R. makes this a page turning and very entertaining read. And I don't know if the author was trying to make this point, but I especially found the "after the fact" justifications the state used for torture while seeing the incredible injustices stemming from it very timely.

#2 - "The Romance Writer's Handbook" by Rebecca Vinyard

All right, it didn't take long and here I am, already writing about a book that I'd rather not admit I've read. The Romance Writer's Handbook by Rebecca Vinyard and published in 2004. It seems pretty random and obscure, even for me. I guess I should just admit up front that I can be a sucker for some good romance. It's easier and more satisfying than reality, anyways. Classic romance novels such as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen I love, and I find a lot of enjoyment in some contemporary and well-written romance novels as well, even though the educated and elitist part of me finds that hard to admit.

I can't remember when this began, but I had a crush on some celebrity, which developed into a fantasy in my head of how I was going to meet him, which developed into an idea of a story. One day, years ago, I had some extra time and I was curious if it would be possible for me to actually write a romance novel and make some money off of it. Sadly, this whole endeavor stems from the fact that I don't want to have a real job, but it was kind of fun to do. And at this point, I have actually written an entire story, which I haven't even looked at in ages, but I'm pretty sure it needs some drastic help.

Now I'm at another point where I need to find a real job, but I'd really rather not, so the idea of publishing a book sounds awfully appealing. I figure I should at least give it a real shot, and if it doesn't work I can stop fantasizing, settle down and get a real job. And if it does, I'll still probably have to settle down and get a real job, but I'll get some experience and maybe even a little spending money. I know that I'm scared to really finish it and put it out there because if/when I fail, then that dream will be over. For procrastinators like me, it's satisfying to never really try to accomplish something in order to keep a sense of the vague possibility of success.

So, this book was a way of trying to force myself into action and being serious about trying to create a publishable work. Of course, at the same time, it was a way to procrastinate through reading about writing instead of actually writing. Anyway, I found that the book had some useful tidbits and I'm glad that I read it. But I guess now is the time for procrastination to stop. And I'll take a look at what I've written. Tomorrow.

#1 - "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett

Every year the city of Denver picks a novel for "One Book, One Denver." The city chooses a book, encourages the population to read it, and organizes events themed around the novel. I have no idea how many Denver city dwellers actually read the book, but I like the idea of trying to create a common experience among such a large, relatively diverse population. So when I discovered that The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett was the novel, I immediately grabbed it from the library and read it through.

The One Book, One Denver program was started in 2004, and I've only read one other "Denver" book, The Milagro Beanfield War and the choice from 2006 (which I will most likely write about at some later point because I enjoyed it so much). Even if I had read all five books from this program, I doubt I would find any kind of common theme. However, I was surprised that the book chosen was written in 1934 and the author is no longer alive, since the city's stated policy is to choose books where the author might be able to participate in some of the events.

To sum things up quickly, the story is about Nick and Nora Charles, a wealthy and married couple hanging out in New York City for Christmas and New Years. Nick had been a private investigator before he married into money, and he manages to solve a murder by the end of their stay and the end of the novel.

I'm glad that I read this book because I found it intriguing and different. I came close but did not figure out where Hammett was going with the mystery until the end and I enjoyed some of the banter and the glimpse of a life filled with constant drinking, parties, connections, and danger never taken seriously.

The language in the very first paragraph immediately brought to mind a black and white movie (I haven't seen any of the films based on this novel as of yet) starring Humphrey Bogart as he leans against a bar and drawls out the narrative of the novel:

I was leaning against the bar in a speakeasy on Fifty-second Street, waiting for Nora to finish her Christmas shopping, when a girl got up from the table where she had been sitting with three other people and came over to me. She was small and blonde, and whether you looked at her face or at her body in powder-blue sports clothes, the result was satisfactory.

The creative and sparse dialogue and descriptions as well as the nonchalant way the protagonist makes his way through the story make for an absorbing read. However, the lack of sympathetic and likeable characters does not make this novel stand out as a great read. I was vaguely interested in what was happening, but I was never drawn in. I was never particularly worried about any of the characters and I didn't particularly care if the murderer was found. But I still like the idea of One Denver, One Book, and I appreciate that it introduced me to something new.

Introduction

Having recently become unemployed, feeling a little lost, and on a quest for the Meaningful in life, I have decided to fall back on one of those constants that have always enriched and informed my life. Books. Inspired by my favorite neighborhood website, Pajiba, I have decided that I will read as much as possible, on any topic, and see what wondrous enlightenment follows, or at the very least read some good books. Some of these books I will undoubtedly be embarassed to admit I have read, but that's the wonder of the anonymity of the internet.