Fall Reading

Officially, the tall season is a little more than a week away. However unofficially, Labor Day kicks off the beginning of fall in the arts. We read in newspapers and magazines about all the new films, television shows, theater, music and of course books that will be coming out over the next few months. Similar to what I did back here for summer reading releases here are some of the books currently on my list to read this fall.

Called a “third-rate reporter” and “not nice” by our now  third-rate and not nice President, NBC News Correspondent Katy Tur followed Donald Trump’s campaign from the very beginning. For more than a year and a half she was on the campaign trail with the Republican candidate who no one thought had a chance of winning. Tur, it would turn our, was there for the entire long strange trip. I just started reading this book and it’s already a fascinating look at the circus atmosphere that seems to encompass Trump wherever he goes. Available now.

If you read my summer reading post, you may remember I am a big admirer of the late Robert B. Parker. Author Reed Farrel Coleman has done an admirable job of taking over the Jessie Stone series.  The book was published earlier this month.

After introducing a new character, Renee Ballard, in his summer release, The Late Show, Michael Connelly is back with conflicted anti-hero, Harry Bosch, in Two Kinds of Truth. A must read! The book will be released on October 31st.

Harlan Coben is another of my favorite authors. He is a master of hooking you in, and then adding on one unexpected twist after another.  Coben barely comes out with one book a year, so it is always an event when a new work is out. Due on September 26th.

When you have a good idea, it always pays to follow up with a similar followup. Last Decemeber, Block was the editor of In Sunlight or in Shadow: Stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper. The book is a collection of short stories, by various authors, inspired by the works Edward Hopper. It’s a fantastic read that I highly recommend. Alive in Shape and Color: 16 Paintings by Great Artists and The Stories They Inspired sounds just as engaging. Lee Child, Jeffrey Deaver, David Morrell and Michael Connelly are a few of the contributors. Release date is December 5th.

I was fascinated  by author Douglass K. Daniel’s biography on film director Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood, The Blackboard Jungle, Elmer Gantry) and even had the opportunity to interview him some time back. You can read the interview here. Ann Bancroft was the rare combination of talent, beauty, brains and sexiness that is hard to find. That should be enough reason alone to read this. Available now.

The early years of Jann Wenner’s Rolling Stone magazine were exciting and revolutionary. Wenner and the magazine were in the middle of it all: the rock n roll music, the politics, and the battle between the youth generation and the older straight world. Along with Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone was the magazine/newspaper to read. Today, Rolling Stone is a pale shadow of its former shelf.  Still Wenner and Rolling Stone were those heady days of the late 60’s and 70’s. The book should be filled with plenty of backstage passes into those times. Due October 24th.