Paul
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Posts posted by Paul
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I haven't seen Vera, but if you want to see Blethyn getting her teeth into a really unlikable character, catch her in Little Voice. She's astonishing.
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Pretty sure this is it. I remember reading it couple times in the distant past.
https://codeysworld.com/viv/short-stories/days-of-silence.html
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On 10/1/2012 at 8:26 PM, Merkin said:
I am devastated to learn that Nexis Pas died sometime last week (9/16-22/2012) according to his blog http://nexispas22.blogspot.com/.
There's no post like that on the blog at this point, and posting appears to have continued sporadically until February 2020. Anyone know what's behind that?
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The announcement in Coming Attractions referred to it as a “makeover.” Does this mean the text is revised or rewritten or only that the title is changed?
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My advice is read the book first. It's going to be hard for a film to capture the mood and character of the book and especially the protagonist, who's hilariously snotty and sarcastic but basically an embryonic good person. Plus films always have to cut out lots from books lest they last 12 hours, and there's too much good stuff in this one to miss.
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My Macdonald is Ross Macdonald. I've read all of his Lew Archer novels and short stories and loved them all. Definitely mysteries, but made all the more gripping by his handling of the psychology and motivations of his characters.
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I've apparently read one John Dickson Carr (writing as Carter Dickson) mystery, And so to Murder, since Amazon reminds me I bought a Kindle copy for 99¢ in 2017. I'll try a re-read, but Carr seems to go for the puzzle and locked-room mystery, and that variety doesn't appeal to me.
Among those who wrote as Ellery Queen is Jack Vance, my all-time favorite science fiction and fantasy author, who did three EQ mysteries. I haven't read them, though.
There are a number of good blogs devoted to golden-age mystery, and one of the best, well-informed and entertaining, is The Passing Tramp.
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9 hours ago, James K said:
I think that is a forum update, you see it at the Gay Authors site, same provider, Powered by Invision Community.
Checking further I see the sidebar only infects threads with three or more pages.
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A sidebar containing essentially useless information has suddenly appeared in the topic "Golden Age" Detective Fiction in the Roamin' Reader forum. This causes the area in which the posts appear to shrink horizontally and leaves a wide blank space to the side, since the content of the sidebar is only at the very top. The Customizer doesn't offer an option to turn it off.
I've checked several other topics in Roamin' Reader, as well as those in several other forums, but so far haven't encountered the sidebar anywhere else. It's not a huge annoyance, but it is an annoyance. And I have to wonder how it got there (and also only there) and why.
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Any word of or from Colin recently?
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4 hours ago, Rutabaga said:
I, on the other hand, have reverted almost exclusively to e-books these days. It gives me a wide selection of things to choose to read at any moment, and eliminates the need to keep providing more and more bookshelf space.
I'm not a shill for Amazon, but I do use them for Kindle books, and it's the way I've read dozens of Bellairs mysteries over the past few years. Right now there I see there are 37 of them available as free reads if you have the Kindle Unlimited service.
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4 hours ago, Rutabaga said:
The other thing of note is that (and I say this after reading three Bellairs tales) we never learn very much about the lead character, Inspector Littlejohn. We know he is married and has a wife named Letty, but we get very little insight into him or her. Rather, he is an instrumentality for investigating, talking to suspects and witnesses, etc. We are told when he dislikes someone or some surrounding, but not why that should be.
The more of them you read, the more bits of Littlejohn's history and character you'll find, and also of his wife. There's also a side character who's a close friend from Littlejohn's past on the Isle of Man. He's a elderly cleric, and several times becomes involved in the cases that call Littlejohn back to the island. The cleric's protective housekeeper is a scream. But none of these side characters, or Littlejohn himself, get involved in any distracting, personal soap opera-type plotting, thank heavens; the mystery is always the focus.
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3 hours ago, Rutabaga said:
P.S.: Two other authors I am looking for are Margery Allingham and Edmund Crispin.
Crispin's Gervase Fen mysteries are pricelessly witty, with farcical moments and occasional forth-wall beakage. I've read all the novels and many of the short stories via Kindle editions from Amazon. Very re-readable just to immerse yourself in the world, the characters and Crispin's style.
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George Bellairs, Brit author active 1941-1982. His Inspector Littlejohn novels are more character-driven, often wittily so, rather than puzzles - no locked-room mysteries. Really entertaining. Lots available as free reads if you have Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.
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6 hours ago, Cole Parker said:
To me, it's very clear. Personal gun ownership isn't a right. You have to be in a militia. Be nice if they'd have defined that term. Maybe 'militia' wasn't as loose in meaning back then as it is today.
C
The big problem comes from the changing meaning of "regulated." Back then, it didn't mean some overseeing authority imposing limitations on gun ownership, but rather the sense of a systematic, consistent organizational model, rather than a rag-tag assembly of armed men. Gun ownership itself was a given, part of a person's everyday equipment for protection of their life and property - from animals as well as other people - in a world in which the concept of a governmental police force was still decades away, and in eary America where a standing army was still non-existent.
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10 hours ago, Talo Segura said:
Ah, thanks.
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What does the triangle made of three green arrows signify? Eco-friendly recycling?😁
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The first two chapters have engaged me. You're right about the excellence of the writing. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Though high school freshman Derrick is a top player in the school band, he's terrifically shy. Sensing this, and more, his visiting grandfather hatches a plan.
That doesn't give away more of the plot than the title does, but you find out something helpful about the protagonists and the situation. The reader can go into it knowing this isn't likely a melodramatic action piece, but relationship- and doing-life-oriented.
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Well, can you beet that. Now, orange you sorry you started this? I'd keep going, but I really gotta take a leek.
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I certainly find the kind of thing Talo is talking about very useful when browsing potential reading matter, regardless of source or genre.
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12 hours ago, tycho said:
I am trying to find a story it was about a group of men who take a young boy under their wing, and they have a party where one of the men shot off fireworks and the local police where called.
Driver's The Quarry perhaps?
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2 hours ago, Cole Parker said:
Did he want to have it visible to everyone?
C
Well, anyone reading Chapter 18 would also see a link to the Epilogue at the end of that.
Scan to donate
New Driver Story Now Finished
in Roamin' Reader
Posted
The latest chapter posted is 58, which has this at the end:
That's followed by a “continued” link that takes you to a page that's headed “Chapter 59” and “Coming Soon.” But there's an updated copyright notice that extends to 2023, so that might be reason for continued optimism.