I read a couple of new books in October and got a few more finished up before starting a new one that I think has been sitting and waiting its turn for quite a while.
Read:
The Hunted – Elmore Leonard
How To Write A Novel – Nathan Bransford
Making Comics – Lynda Barr
Beowulf: A New Translation – Maria Dahvana Headley
The Two-Bear Mambo – Joe R. Lansdale
Reading:
The Writer’s Little Helper – James V. Smith Jr.
Beowulf turned out a bit differently than I was expecting it to. But to be fair, while I was looking forward to it, I was going in without remembering a ton about previous translations. That could well be part of the reason I was looking forward to it.
It’s a solid, modernized read for anyone into that kind of thing.
How To Write A Novel had sat mostly read for a couple of months, when I got distracted by the advice he’d given and started to apply it to the novel I’m working on writing, and then other books came up and… well… life rolls on. I figured I should just finish it up, not only to get it off my proverbial plate, but also to take advantage of his advice while I’m writing instead of after the fact.
The Two-Bear Mambo is the third book in Landsale’s Hap and Leonard series. Lansdale has a very Elmore Leonard-esque style, with minimal description that still somehow paints a vivid picture for the reader (I have got to learn how to do that), and with usually short, punchy dialogue. This one had me laughing out loud early on, and has been a roller coaster of action and loathing some of the new characters since then.
Lansdale’s an expert at packing a lot into a little. If you like suspense books and don’t mind liberal swearing, I can’t recommend this series enough.