Three of My Faves

This post is a bit late. I was out last night, enjoying the launch of Juliet Blackwell's and Sophie Littlefield's latest books. We had a fabulous time at A Great Good Place for Books in Montclaire Village, Oakland. I love this store! And it was so fun to hang out with the other writers cheering our favorite gals on: Rachael Herron, Steve Hockensmith, and a name you'll hear more about soon, Terry Shames. It was a lovely night, as is any night spent talking about books.

I can think of three recent, favorite novels.

Hammett rocks my world. And I don't care if some of the prose styling is out of date. Just try writing a tighter, faster plot than Woman in the Dark, an early work of his, recently  republished. If my novel were half that good, I would die happy.  It's not a perfect book. But whenever I need to clear out my head from my own over-complicated, under-tense plots, I read a Hammett.

Mystic River. A surprisngly successful mix of mystery, suspense, and literary fiction, Dennis Lehane tapped into something amazing here.  Plus reading this book makes me realize how incredibly easy life can be in California, compared to some parts of the Boston area. There's no denying the passion and clarity of the prose in this book. 

I'm also a huge fan of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. You see, my husband is a graphic novelist and long time comics fan. I am neither of those things, so Michael Chabon's book helped me understand his world a little better. I'm not surprised the movie is so hard to get through development. It's at least four different movies in scope. Hollywood, if you want help with any one of them, call me!

Of course, naming just three novels immediately conjurs the legions of other favorite books, classics and trash competing equally for my affection. Hammett, Lehane, and Chabon have recently influenced me, so there you have it.

Three (of my) Favorite Books.

Comments

[Staci]

Sounds like a fantastic time at A Great Good Place for Books last night, Mysti. Wish I could have been there!
And you've given me three more books for my to-be-read pile. I've seen Mystic River, but never read the book.

[Camille Minichino]

I just finished Lehane's new one, LIVE BY NIGHT, and liked it almost as much as MYSTIC RIVER, which is a high bar. The writing is as good, but IMHO, the story not at all as original or complex. Highly recommended, however!

[Mysti Berry]

Camille--that's going on the TBR pile! I haven't read the first book from his imprint, either. Very intereesting that he's doing that!

Staci--I saw the movie first, as well. The book just went so deep, and the wife character was much clearer to me, too. I love how he observes women characters, even if his male characters have no idea what to do with them :)