As usual, my reading in 2017 was dominated by novels in the crime/detective/mystery genre. Author wise, it was particularly abundant with the works of Michael Connelly. In total, I read nine of his books during the year, and still have some catching up to do.
Below is a list of my eleven favorite books read during 2017. They are in no particular order.
I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and found these new books in the recent arrivals section. Three newly published biographies of photographers: Vivian Maier, Richard Avedon, and Robert Frank. This is a holiday trifecta for any serious photographer. Photographer bios are rare enough, so to have three come out within weeks of each other is a holiday bonanza.
The paperback version of Devious Tales would make a great stocking stuffer for those friends and family who love short stories with a bit of a surprise ending. A collection of twelve dark short stories about revenge, lust, love, money and murder with a twist.
Available at Amazon.
Andre is back once again at my laptop pounding on the keys. I can only hope he is not writing his memoirs. If he is, I am in deep trouble!
While you are waiting for Andre’s tell all book to be published , you can check out Devious Tales available now at Amazon.
Today only, my eBook Murder with a Twist is free on Amazon. Here’s what author Carol Balawyder had to say….
The two short crime stories in this book read like hardboiled fiction. Like any good short story both stories in Murder with a Twist are tightly written and we jump into the action right away.
This deal ends at midnight tonight! Click here or here or here!
Reviews are appreciated: Amazon, Goodreads, Blogs, etc.
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. Continue reading “Fall Reading”
Dance marathons were phenomena that began in the 1920’s. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Horace McCoy’s 1935 novel is a dark tale of losers desperately attempting to hang on to impossible dreams. Just like in Nathaniel West better known novel, Day of the Locust the characters all have unreachable dreams of being in the movies. Continue reading “Depression Blues and the Dance Marathon”
Marilyn Monroe stars in the 1953 Henry Hathaway directed film Niagara. It will be on TCM Tuesday August 1st at 10 PM Eastern time.
Below is a short excerpt from my ebook, Film Noir at Twenty Four Frames Per Second. The book is available from Amazon.
Henry Hathaway’s “Niagara” opens with two great shots of natural beauty, first is the mighty Niagara Falls with millions upon millions of gallons of water falling with God given power. The second shot is our first view of Marilyn Monroe lying naked under a thin sheet in her motel bedroom. Light shines through the sheet giving us a silhouetted shape of her right thigh. In her hand, a cigarette dangles over the side of the bed. The look on her face is one of satisfaction making one wonder what she was doing while her husband, Joseph Cotton, was off admiring the Falls. We quickly come to learn this marriage is in trouble. When she hears her husband’s keys unlock the door, she puts out the cigarettes, rolls over, her back to the door. – Film Noir at Twenty Four Frames Pet Second.
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