Red Mist

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell
If you mention Patricia Cornwell in conversation, the general consensus is that her earlier books were better. Agreed. I did not read her last 2 or 3 books but glad that I picked this one to start up again.
Kay Scarpetta and her group can interesting and they have some good moments in this latest book. It was a fast read, kept me turning the pages and I mostly liked it.
The ending felt too rushed and too tidy. Still, it was worth the quick read and I look forward to her next one.

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Page One: Inside the New York Times a film by Andrew Rossi

Andrew Rossi's film Page One explores the role of print media in a rapidly changing technological landscape.  The documentary goes inside the Eighth Avenue tower and we watch events unfold and become shaped into articles that eventually get delivered to our doorsteps. 

The Internet has redirected the way in which many people seek information and this proves to be a financial threat to the survival of every newspaper.  When Julian Assange's initial YouTube barrage is dropped on the heads of the public, the Times writers  not only have to think how to cover the event, they also need to ponder how it affects journalism on the whole.  The WikiLeaks organization may upload footage, reach millions of people in a matter or moments and have little accountability in how they present their broadcast.  The Times realizes that though they must follow the guidelines of responsible reporting, they still need to compete with this brand of information giving on some level.

Staff members are also profiled and followed around through the course of pitching and working on articles.  We go inside meetings and presentations, too.  David Carr, arguably the star of this film, is seen laying down the law in a meeting with Vice personnel, seeing his elderly father and giving a presentation on technology and media.  Carr and many of the staff on screen, discuss the role of technology and Twitter and other social media.

Though the advertising and subscriptions that power the New York Times are at all time lows, the paper continues to move forward.  Page One documents this tense, transitional period and shows the organization working on the fly to stay in the business.

Snuff

Snuff by Terry Pratchett

One Terry Pratchett Discworld novel is much like another, and I mean that as a compliment, the way I would about the Marx Brothers or P.G. Wodehouse.  Pratchett is reliably funny, satirical, detailed, and quick, coming at you from all sides (including footnotes).  In Discworld there are no sacred cows, and in this latest installment cows feature prominently since streetwise city detective Sam Vimes has been lured by his formidable wife to her country estate on vacation.
Pretty soon the deceptively sleepy village reveals there's more than manure to meet the eye, and Vimes is entangled in crimes and secrets that rival his usual pastimes in the metropolis.
Start anywhere; you won't regret it.

Talking heads Chronology [DVD]

Talking heads Chronology

An official retrospective DVD compilation of rare footage and performances from throughout the Talking Heads illustrious career. The footage spans chronologically from mic tests and rough 1976 black and white footage of the band in NYC to television and festival performances during the height of their fame in the early 80’s. As the quality of the footage improves, the band becomes tighter and more assured, adding members until it culminates in the art-house funk monster period of Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues. This development and gradual expansion of the band in style and number mirrors the sequences of Stop Making Sense, the bands epic masterpiece concert film, but also allows a rare live glimpse of the late 70’s Heads whose angular tightly structured charm was just as innovative for its time as their later afro-cuban funk explorations.  Talking Heads fans have waited for years without any significant “archived material” from the band and few releases outside of greatest hits compilations, and this release provides the perfect companion to Jonathan Demme’s 1983 concert film. The DVD is bound within a book with some great photographs of the band and extensive liner notes by Lester Bangs, who lets loose with his usual unrestrained hyperbolic blurt.

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson

A collection of articles originally written for a weekly British magazine chronicles Bryson's humorous reintroduction to life in America: "The intricacies of modern American life still often leave me muddled." From dental floss hotlines, to cupholders, to the abundance of trees in New Hampshire, Bryson entertains us with his laugh-out-loud writing.

Krazy Kat: the Comic Art of George Herriman

Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman

Krazy Kat was a remarkable and hugely influential comic daily comic. Found in newspapers around the country for over 30 years, from 1913 and 1944, it would influence comics greats such as Charles M. Schulz, Will Eisner, and Bill Watterson. Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman provides an overview of the life and works of Krazy Kat creator George Herriman, and includes a large collection of beautifully reproduced daily and Sunday Krazy Kat strips.

Herriman's astonishing Sunday Krazy Kats are reason to pick up this book alone. Giant, free form, brightly colored affairs, unconstrained by the rigid panels of today's strips, it is the surreal landscapes and innovative design of the Sunday strips for which Herriman is best know, and with good reason. (Fans of Calvin and Hobbes will imeadiatly recognize the influence of these strips on Bill Waterson's Spaceman Spiff strips.)

Krazy Kat is not particularly funny, but I love reading it. Krazy Kat is dreamlike and poetic, a little bit difficult, and very much worth your while. Full of characters and images you will not forget, this is a bit of comics history you should definitely check out.

A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney

A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney by Martin Gayford

Critic Martin Gayford has been interviewing David Hockney for many years and the two have developed a warm friendship that extends past their professional relationship.  In A Bigger Message, Gayford collects several conversations with the famed British artist.  Discussions range from new technology, photography, stage design, living in different parts of the world, various histories of classical art and Hockney's own process. 

Gayford frames each chapter with a theme that corresponds to the many phases of Hockney's career.  One very interesting segment discusses his attraction to creating work on an iPhone or iPad.  The book exhibits several of these small scale works that look very much like detailed watercolors.  

These pieces along with massive painted landscapes, stills of video installations and photographs of Hockney at work are weaved in and out of Gayford's brief biographical information and extensive dialog with the tireless artist.  Like many innovative, creative people, he is also very much a student of art.  Hockney, and here I'll sound redundant, is a thoughtful thinker and his meditations on artistic movements, motivation and life are extremely fascinating and inspiring. 

Christmas Wedding

Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo


Widow Gabby Summerhill invites her 4 children and their families home to Stockbridge, Massachusetts to celebrate Christmas together, their first holiday together since their father died 3 years ago.  Gabby announced in a video message to her children that she will be getting married on Christmas but the identity of the groom will remain a secret until the wedding.  While the book is not a typical James Patterson thriller, it has many emotional twists and turns.

Murder Your Darlings

Murder Your Darlings by J.J. Murphy

First in a new cozy series, Murder Your Darlings features Dorothy Parker and her Vicious Circle of friends at the Algonquin Round Table. Real people mingle with fictional characters in a historically-based setting. Not to worry, liberties are taken to make it more entertaining, and you don't have to be bothered with the facts unless you choose to read the historical note at the end.

When a drama critic is found stabbed with his own fountain pen under the legendary Round Table, Mrs. Parker and Robert Benchley, together with the police and a team of bootlegging gangsters, chase down the murderer while spewing sarcastic quips, puns, and one-liners all over New York. William Faulkner makes a delightful cameo. The parody is hilarious and my only quibble is that some of the punch lines are too obviously set up. Still, I'll be gleefully anticipating the next Algonquin Round Table Mystery.

East, West

East, west stories by Salman Rushdie

I love short stories and I've made a resolution to read more of them this year. With this in mind, but as I haven't yet read any new story collections this year, I've picked an old favorite for this post. East, West is a collection of stories by British Indian author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie's writing here is witty and colorful, and these stories, are quick, enjoyable reads. Rushdie draws inspiration from a variety of sources, both classic (Shakespeare, the life of Muhammad) and modern (The Wizard of Oz, Rambo, Star Trek). The plots are not particularly memorable (I've read the volume several times but can never quite remember how the stories unfold), but the flavor of the stories, and the voice of the author will stick with you. (I've found that to be true of much of Rushdie's writing—if you are going to enjoy Rushdie you probably won't mind this in the least.) A good introduction to this important author.

Winter's Bone

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Set in the Ozarks in the unforgiving winter. Ree Dolly, a 16-year-old who is the defacto head-of-household, has taken on the responsibility of raising her two younger brothers and caring for her mentally withdrawn mother. A knock on the door informs her that her father has skipped bail, and she will lose the house that has been in her family for generations unless he is found, dead or alive. This book is very atmosopheric, with the winter hanging over the story. It has an older feel, partially because of the poverty and living conditions that are treated as commonplace, until you realize that Jessup Dolly had been arrested for running a meth lab. Ree Dolly is a strong girl, old beyond her years, trying to fight for her family in an unforgiving landscape.