Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” ―
Welcome to August…the home of International Mahjong Day, National Coloring Book Day and it’s National Underwear Day today! I can’t believe that I didn’t do a blog post about that special day but I haven’t. Maybe next year but based on my New Directions after Labor Day, probably not.
WHAT’s NEW IN BOOKS
Mary is not much of a fiction reader; her preference is for non-fiction, especially self-help books. But right now she is recuperating from joint replacement surgery and asked me to get her some books by Erin Hilderbrand. I had no prior knowledge of Ms. Hilderbrand who is a writer of romance novels typically set on and around Nantucket Island, where she lives. In 2019, New York Magazine called Ms. Hilderbrand “the queen of beach reads” As Mary is a bit of a “Beach baby” herself, I can see the appeal.
(Interesting, perhaps to nobody but me, I have a relative by marriage of Don Hildebrand, who married my cousin Marti, who was my mathematics tutor when I was a kid. She tried but I’m still not that great with math.) I reserved two books by Ms. Hilderbrand for Mary from the local library including The Five-Star Weekend and last year’s The Hotel Nantucket. Because she is 169th on the list for The Five-Star Weekend, I picked up a copy of The Perfect Couple at the library and she seems to be enjoying it, more than I might have thought.
Triumph Book Update
In my review of Triumph Cars: 100 Years, I mentioned that the last car bearing the Triumph name was built in the eighties. Now from Cool Material comes news that Makkina, a automotive design house based in London, has created a concept car design they designated as TR25 that uses carbon fiber construction and is built around the power train of a BMW i3S EV. One seat is available for the driver with a fold-out jump seat that’s hidden beneath a hard tonneau cover. Will BMW, who owns all the marques from the previous Rover group, including Triumph, build it? I wouldn’t think so but you never know.
An Obsession with Rex Stout?
My obsession with Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe books continues unabated so let me explain. Right now, my book budget is strained and it’s limited to library books and purchasing used paperbacks on eBay.
So I’m counting on the library to supplying me with new books. And while I’m waiting for such volumes as Flipping Boxcars by Cedric Kyles aka Cedric the Entertainer, what shows up from the library but a copy of Archie Goes Home. Robert Goldsborough is writing the continuation series of Nero Wolfe novels that to date number 17. Archie goes Home is one of the only two Goldsborough Nero Wolfe books the library has in book form. The other book, Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, I’ve also reserved.
If you’re a Nero Wolfe fan and I know that some of you—you’ve told me so—the big question is: Are these Goldsborough books any good? The short answer is they’re not bad but they are also not Rex Stout. You have to remember that Stout was a literal genius who wrote these books without editing; he typed and shipped the book to his publisher. And as the narrator of the stories, Archie Goodwin, has/had one of the most unique—and difficult to imitate—voices that I’ve ever read. The story behind Archie Goes Home, thus far is mildly engaging and I’m reading it mostly because I waiting for some Rex Stout books from eBay…
As I wait for some of the dozen or so books that I’ve reserved from the library to arrive, I ordered two used Nero Wolfe books from eBay: The first is a collection of Some Buried Caesar and The Golden Spiders. From the same eBay seller I also ordered Over My Dead Body. Both with free shipping. I’ll let you know how they look after they arrive. Most of my used book purchases on eBay have been pretty good, I’ve only been disappointed one time. Let’s hope my luck holds out.
Some Thoughts About Book Reviews
I don’t usually read book reviews about books that will be mentioned or reviewed here. I typically do not read reviews on Amazon where so many of them are just AstroTurf. (Excluding my own review of The Right Stuff Blu-ray, of course.) Finding real reviews there can be a challenge but some dependable ones show up from time-to-time because their are created by obsessed fans (that word gets used a lot in this post) who provide a detailed level of knowledge and criticism not typically found in professional reviews. For example. I read one review of Archie Goes Home which offered some back-handed compliments and so I (thought I) canceled my library reservation but evidently not because the book showed up. Since the novel was published by Mysterious Press, who has always been a trusted source of great mystery novels and there was a lack of new reading material, I started reading it.
Another case in point was the incredibly detailed reviews—there are two—of the expensive ($139.96) eight-disc Criterion Collection Godzilla, the Showa-Era Films I ordered this collection despite reading its, most;y bad reviews. I’ll suggest that Godzilla fans would be better served by Sony’s out-of-print Master Collection/Silver Case DVD editions that are superior in every way to the Criterion Blu-rays. These DVDs are available on eBay at affordable prices. If you want to know why I think they’re better, I’m working on a Joe’s Movie Club blog post about Gojira (the original name of the first Godzilla film) and Rodan. Look for it real soon now.
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