“… Although, if you’re hoping for tips about casting such spells yourself, Plotting and Writing A Suspense Thriller may sometimes make for depressing reading. Before you start bashing your laptop to mail me your objections … Any person who is remotely serious about his or her writing career must read both! In fact, you may opt to have both books within easy reach, while working on your latest novel, thriller, romance, drama.Ī word of warning: some find reading this book daunting, because Patricia Highsmith does not offer step by step, easy to ape instructions on how to write a billion-copies-selling-mystery. After reading his book and more recently Patricia Highsmith on writing, I prefer hers. Among her less familiar books is “Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction”. But due to “Carol”, still running at cinemas, there is an increased interest in Patricia Highsmith. The best known and most easily obtainable, is without doubt “On Writing” by Stephen King. Quite a few authors have written books to help and encourage starting writers.
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5/21/2023 0 Comments Mirrorshades cyberpunkRock On, by Pat Cadigan: Even when down and out, a singer refuses to compromise her dedication to Rock music.and by extension, Art. The author’s tendency to belabor the damaged state of his characters gets tedious as the story unfolds, and 'Snake Eyes' suffers as a result. Snake Eyes, by Tom Maddox: a former soldier finds himself tormented by the AI installed in his skull. While it doesn’t adhere very closely to the traditional cyberpunk tropes, 'Gernsback' stands the test of time as an imaginative and effective sci-fi story. The Gernsback Continuum, by William Gibson: a photographer finds himself having peculiar hallucinations brought about by documenting crumbling architecture in the Southwest. As editor Bruce Sterling states in his Preface, in selecting entries for the book he decided to go with lesser-known stories over more frequently anthologized selections.Īll of the entries first were published between 1981 – 1986, many in Omni magazine. ‘Mirrorshades’ contains stories that can be considered ‘First Generation’ cyberpunk. How does it hold up when examined again 30 years later ? I remember reading ‘Mirrorshades’ back in 1988 and thinking it was one of the better sf anthologies I’d ever read. ‘Mirrorshades’ first was published by Arbor House in 1986 this Ace Books paperback version (239 pp) was issued in July 1988. 5/21/2023 0 Comments Nightwood bookThat she herself never restored it to this version during her lifetime suggests she may well have been satisfied with the later editions. Barnes, for her part, was willing to do almost anything to get her poetic narrative into print. While Coleman, an early and steadfast advocate of a book rejected by countless publishers, was motivated by aesthetic concerns, Eliot feared the censor. Despite all the lists of emendations, textual notes, hyphenations, and historical collations, it's never very clear exactly what was taken out from Barnes's version by her friend Emily Coleman and her editor, T.S. Her apparatus-heavy edition, while definitive for scholars, will only confuse readers looking for a reliable text of what Barnes wrote. As the editor of this new version of Barnes's 1936 erotic classic avers, ``the story of Nightwood's composition and coming to print is an extraordinary story.'' Unfortunately, Plumb (English/Pennsylvania State) is not the one to tell it. 5/21/2023 0 Comments Case against empathyWe are at our best when we are smart enough not to rely on it, but to draw instead upon a more distanced compassion.īasing his argument on groundbreaking scientific findings, Bloom makes the case that some of the worst decisions made by individuals and nations-who to give money to, when to go to war, how to respond to climate change, and who to imprison-are too often motivated by honest, yet misplaced, emotions. It muddles our judgment and, ironically, often leads to cruelty. Far from helping us to improve the lives of others, empathy is a capricious and irrational emotion that appeals to our narrow prejudices. In Against Empathy, Bloom reveals empathy to be one of the leading motivators of inequality and immorality in society. Nothing could be farther from the truth, argues Yale researcher Paul Bloom. Many of our wisest policy-makers, activists, scientists, and philosophers agree that the only problem with empathy is that we don’t have enough of it. We often think of our capacity to experience the suffering of others as the ultimate source of goodness. 5/21/2023 0 Comments Homie poetry book“ Homie is expansive, big enough to hold a vast mosaic of emotion and style, of life and death, of survival and resilience, of pain and joy.” - Lambda Literary The ways in which Smith combines syntax, humor, reverence and irreverence are stunning, and this collection of odes is bound to be a widespread poetry favorite.” - Literary Hub Their language is always electric, and Homie is no exception. “ offers the opportunity to witness ‘the miracle of other people’s lives’ and will challenge you to consider how and why that miracle is dismissed in countless daily acts of racial aggression.” - Star Tribune (Minneapolis) “ is a collection that confirms Smith’s great talent.” - BuzzFeed “In these abundant, bighearted poems, Smith examines the psychic trauma of existing in a world of racism and xenophobia, as well as the ability of intimate friendships to deliver salvation.” - Esquire This is a book full of the turbulence of thought and desire, piloted by a writer who never loses their way.” - The New York Times “The radiance of Homie arrives like a shock, like found money, like a flower fighting through concrete. 5/21/2023 0 Comments The guardian jeffrey konvitzTheir complacent lives are turned upside down, however, when Faye discovers a burned and disfigured body in the building’s trash compactor.ĭue to similarities to the unsolved murders and disappearance of Allison Parker years earlier at the site of the former brownstone, the police consult with the now-retired Inspector Gatz, lead detective on the previous case. Their only cause for concern is the blind nun next door who never leaves her apartment, and never ceases her perpetual vigil at the window. More supernatural shenanigans ensue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, as clueless residents and Vatican agents battle against Satan for control of the entrance to hell, in this sequel to Jeffrey Konvitz’s The Sentinel.īen and Faye Burdett seem to be happy in their new high-rise apartment on West 89th Street, with a close-knit group of neighbors on the twentieth floor to provide them with the necessary support to raise their infant son. Jeffrey Konvitz | Bantam Books | 1979 | 293 pages 5/21/2023 0 Comments The innocents abroad first editionThe result is a hilarious blend of vaudevillian comedy, actual travel guide, and stinging satire, directed at both the complacency of his fellow American travelers and their reverence for European relics. In his account Mark Twain assumes two alternate roles: at times the no-nonsense American who refuses to automatically venerate the famous sights of the Old World (preferring Lake Tahoe to Lake Como), or at times the put-upon simpleton, a gullible victim of flatterers and “frauds,” and an awe-struck admirer of Russian royalty. The Innocents Abroad (1869), based largely on letters written for New York and San Francisco papers, narrates the progress of the first American organized tour of Europe-to Naples, Smyrna, Constantinople, and Palestine. The Innocents Abroad and Roughing It (sometimes called The Innocents at Home) were immensely successful when first published and they remain today the most popular travel books ever written. This Library of America volume contains the novels that, when published, transformed an obscure Western journalist into a national celebrity. Save $125 when you buy all eight volumes of the Complete Mark Twain Library. 5/21/2023 0 Comments Agent zigzag book reviewBased on recently declassified files, Agent Zigzag tells Chapman’s full story for the first time. The problem for Chapman, his spymasters, and his lovers was to know where one persona ended and the other began. Inside the traitor was a man of loyalty inside the villain was a hero. Instead, he contacted M15, the British Secret service, and for the next four years, Chapman worked as a double agent, a lone British spy at the heart of the German Secret Service. In 1941, after training as German spy in occupied France, Chapman was parachuted into Britain with a revolver, a wireless, and a cyanide pill, with orders from the Abwehr to blow up an airplane factory. He was also one of the most remarkable double agents Britain has ever produced. ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, The Washington PostĮddie Chapman was a charming criminal, a con man, and a philanderer. ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Entertainment Weekly compellingly cinematic spy thriller with verve.”- Entertainment Weekly “Ben Macintyre’s rollicking, spellbinding Agent Zigzag blends the spy-versus-spy machinations of John le Carré with the high farce of Evelyn Waugh.”-William Grimes, The New York Times (Editors’ Choice) But this latest, while a good wrap up to the series itself fell a little flat for me. She writes solid stories and I’ve read almost all in her latest series, Desperately Seeking Duke. This one was good, but not quite as engaging. Unfortunately, she’s also more and more certain that Will is keeping secrets that could break her heart. The more time she spends with Will, though, the more she likes him. She means to teach Will how to run the estate properly and love Carlyle as she does. but also, somehow, charmed.Ĭarlyle cannot be her home forever, but Philippa is determined to leave it in good hands. The horrified duchess wants to sack him on sight. William Montclair is handsome, brash, and scandalously bold. The arrival of a new estate steward should be a relief, but instead it threatens to upend everything. Preoccupied with the succession of the dukedom and the duke’s health, the duchess has left the estate in Philippa’s hands-and Philippa is determined not to let her down. Philippa Kirkpatrick has been raised at Carlyle Castle by her doting guardian, the Duchess of Carlyle. 5/20/2023 0 Comments Torn Avenger by Lea BronsenTorn Avenger Lea Bronsen ~ Torn Avenger The dark Viking romance Torn Avenger was published by the Writers in Crime in September 2017 It ranks as 2 on the Goodreads list MM Vikings and 3 on Viking EraĬustomer reviews Torn Avenger ~ Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Torn Avenger at Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users Torn Avenger Kindle edition by Lea Bronsen Romance ~ First let me start by saying this story is marked as a dark Viking romance In my opinion dark romances are gritty and shocking with heroesheroines that push the boundaries of expectations in romance novels With that in mind I would consider Torn Avenger to be on the mild end of the dark romance spectrum Are there gritty scenes Sure Torn Avenger by Lea Bronsen Goodreads ~ Torn Avenger As the second son of a Viking earl Alv Gunnulfsen wasnt meant to inherit a throne or avenge a murder But when his brother is slain during a raid and their father dies of grief Alv is expected to take command and claim the killers death |