What we're reading, what we're not reading
What we are reading: 52 Pickup by Elmore Leonard
Yeah, yeah, I know. I've finished books three of the last four days. Yes, I'm still going out and being social. I'm just picking good books. Mostly.
Elmore Leonard, in combination with Charles Bukowski, has me wondering if writers give characters all their bad habits, or if they just want to live vicariously through their characters.
Leonard's protagonist, Henry Mitchell, drinks too much, smokes too much, shot down two allied planes during World War II (and got off because he said they fired on him), and runs his own manufacturing company.
He also single-handedly busts up an extortion ring that was trying to get him for $105,000 after he cheated on his wife.
Henry Mitchell is basically superman in a gray suit.
52 Pickup is a wild ride. I'm just not going to get too into it because, well, you should be reading Leonard's work. At this point, I've blown through at least a half dozen of his books, and all are quick, enjoyable reads.
What we're not reading: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
Tucker Max describes himself as an asshole. Specifically, he's a drunken, womanizing asshole, who also, through most of the episodes in the book, is a law student at Duke. So they were training him to be an entirely different kind of asshole.
I was assured by a clerk at a reputable shop that I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell is a fantastically funny read. She even called me, "my friend," in making her recommendation. That's usually a good sign.
I got through three chapters. There's not enough frat boy in me for those three chapters to be funny. At all. There are also enough writing errors to make me think that thanking his editor in the acknowledgments is just Max being an asshole again.
If you're entirely unlike me – that is, frequently truant punctuation doesn't bother you and you find waking up in your car without your pants and still over the legal blood alcohol content level somewhere between endearing and admirable – you'll probably like this book. I have a copy here with your name on it.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I've finished books three of the last four days. Yes, I'm still going out and being social. I'm just picking good books. Mostly.
Elmore Leonard, in combination with Charles Bukowski, has me wondering if writers give characters all their bad habits, or if they just want to live vicariously through their characters.
Leonard's protagonist, Henry Mitchell, drinks too much, smokes too much, shot down two allied planes during World War II (and got off because he said they fired on him), and runs his own manufacturing company.
He also single-handedly busts up an extortion ring that was trying to get him for $105,000 after he cheated on his wife.
Henry Mitchell is basically superman in a gray suit.
52 Pickup is a wild ride. I'm just not going to get too into it because, well, you should be reading Leonard's work. At this point, I've blown through at least a half dozen of his books, and all are quick, enjoyable reads.
What we're not reading: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max
Tucker Max describes himself as an asshole. Specifically, he's a drunken, womanizing asshole, who also, through most of the episodes in the book, is a law student at Duke. So they were training him to be an entirely different kind of asshole.
I was assured by a clerk at a reputable shop that I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell is a fantastically funny read. She even called me, "my friend," in making her recommendation. That's usually a good sign.
I got through three chapters. There's not enough frat boy in me for those three chapters to be funny. At all. There are also enough writing errors to make me think that thanking his editor in the acknowledgments is just Max being an asshole again.
If you're entirely unlike me – that is, frequently truant punctuation doesn't bother you and you find waking up in your car without your pants and still over the legal blood alcohol content level somewhere between endearing and admirable – you'll probably like this book. I have a copy here with your name on it.
Labels: 52 pickup, books, elmore leonard, fiction, i hope they serve beer in hell, non-fiction, tucker max, writing
posted by Josh at
06:45
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The thing is, I write great characters. Fantastic characters, even. People you'd want to drive cross-country with. People you'd want to hitchhike across Europe with. The kind of people you want to surround yourself with.
