Monday, August 30, 2010
A Funny Book...by Guest Blogger Blue Alice
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Sheriffing in Sun Valley by guest blogger Steven Head
Pearson is no stranger to the mystery genre, having written over 20 novels, including the Lou Boldt series. At least that is what the dust jacket says. He has also written books for young readers as well as two books with Dave Barry, Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Thieves. But he was new to me so I looked forward to a western mystery adventure.
Pearson is a part-time resident of Sun Valley, Idaho, and he has decided to use this well known setting for his new crime series. In Killer Weekend, we are introduced to Deputy Walt Fleming, who starts the novel by saving New York Attorney General Elizabeth Shaler from an intruder with murder on his mind. Following Chapter One there is a fast forward eight years to find Fleming now Sheriff, and Ms. Shaler a candidate for President of the USA. She plans to announce her candidacy at a media conference surrounded by the rich and famous, but there have been threats against her life.
We quickly learn the identity and thought process of the attacker, and the level of violence and mayhem this person can create. The real mystery is who ordered 'the hit'. We know Ms. Shaler has enemies but little attention is given to potential suspects. Along the way we experience inter-agency rivalry between the Secret Service and the Sheriff's Department, the sibling rivalry of two brothers, the infidelity of the wife of an older rich man, and a gruesome murder set in the mountains.
Of course that only scratches the surface of this action driven mystery. Add in the gratuitous mention of Hemingway and film stars of the 1950's, one of Walt's deputies fooling around with his soon-to-be ex-wife, and tortured father-son dynamics to fill in the spaces around the mystery.
I could not stop reading the last 50 pages of this book. The level of action and tension interrupted my known ability to fall sleep anytime, anywhere. I will not reveal the ending of the book although it follows the prescribed formula, along with another dead body.
The comparison of Craig Johnson's Sheriff Walt Longmire series with Pearson's Sheriff Walt Fleming books is the difference between character driven and action driven mystery. By the end of a Johnson book you feel you know a cast of characters and want to see them again. In the Pearson book most of the characters are disposable, other than the Sheriff. They exist to serve the needs of the action, often having serious moral shortcomings.
I have a trip coming up at the end of September and I am hoping to listen to at least one Walt Fleming book on CD during the drive. The bubbling action and intrigue will keep me awake and concentrating on driving. (OK...honestly, it's not me...this blogger program is acting up again, and won't put spaces between this last few paragraphs. GRRRRR)
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Lure of the Kindle
Friday, August 6, 2010
It's Dog Blog Time!
Well, Dodsworth is a mole, I think, but he's still cute even if that is what he is. He likes to travel. Dodsworth packs his little suitcase, jumps in a taxi and goes places. In this book he goes to New York. He meets a duck at Hodges' Cafe, and the duck tags along with Dodsworth. Dods , as I like to call him, tries to hide from the duck, but the duck always finds him. What a hoot. I mean, just think about it...a duck following you to the movies, to museums, to the Statue of Liberty. Dodsworth is so nice that he won't just walk up to that pesty duck and say "Duck, this is my vacation, go away." that is exactly what I would do.
Hey, go see "Rumpelstiltskin" at UW-Manitowoc - Thursday at 7, or Saturday at 1:30 and 3:30.
Monday, August 2, 2010
A Nice, Big Commercial for Rumpelstiltskin at UW-Manitowoc
Thursday, August 12, 7:00..........Saturday, August 14, 1:30 and 3:30
Get tickets here at LaDeDa, at UW-Manitowoc, or at the door. Festival seating.
$2.00 for children under 12 $5.00 for adults
Here's a copy of the press release to local papers......
On a high mountain, at the end of the forest, where the fox and hare bid each other good-night, lives Rumpelstiltskin, a funny little man with the power to spin straw into gold! Children of all ages are invited to meet this whimsical fellow, and see him work his magic when UW-Manitowoc’s Continuing Education Department presents “Rumpelstiltskin”, an imagination play, 7 P.M. Thursday, August 12, and 1:30 and 3:30 Saturday, August 14.
Chuck Allger, Laurie Magyar, Corrie Skubal, and Scott Zahn, all seasoned Heart-A-Rama performers, along with Rick Oswald, an audience favorite from UW-Manitowoc’s productions of “The Taffetas” and “Honky Tonk Angels” have assembled to enact the traditional tale of the miller’s daughter who must spin straw into gold or suffer the consequences.
Children from the audience will be selected randomly to fill the roles of the king’s pages, and to act as assistant to Glady, the storyteller who must keep the miller from fainting from hunger.
The cast will be available for photos with children after each performance.
Kathy Palmer, Director of Continuing Education is the producer, Bev Denor is director, and Chris Lochmann is tech coordinator. Dawn Dabek, Maddie Hansen, Rich Hanke, Cindy Oswald, Arlo Temme, and Kris Zahn provide additional show support.
Tickets cost is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for children under 12. They are available at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc (683.4782) and at LaDeDa Books & Beans, 1624 New York Ave (684.7745). Profits from the show support Continuing Education theatre offerings and programming for children.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my little commercial. I hope you can make it to the show. You could make the weekend of the 12th a full out theatre weekend. Catch Peter Quince' "The Pajama Game" and Tome Drill's Showtime 2010. Really...you can get to all three! Such fun!
What am I reading? I just dug into T.C. Boyle's short sotry collection called Wild Child.