AGATHA CHRISTIE - The Queen of Psychology

Agatha Christie 

Boy did she know human nature. And, funny thing, is even after 50 or 75 years, her books still resonate because they are relatable. The characters act like modern day folk. They are motivated by the same kinds of things. It may be slightly less technical, but it's still people being people.

MURDER IS ANNOUNCED

Murder is Announced

I read this book late last year and commented that Agatha knows human nature. In this story an advert is taken out in a local newspaper (one with little content except local gossip). The ad says there will be a murder at a neighbours house at 6:30 on a Friday. Well, all the characters read the paper and of course are so curious (and nosey) that they just happen to show up at this neighbour's house on the said Friday at exactly 6:30. They have a variety of reasons from that once a year evening stroll to the letting the dog get loose and having to chase it down.

I could see that happening today. The ad might not be in a newspaper, but it would be on some social media platform. If I put a big old post of Facebook saying there will be a murder at my house on Friday I bet some people will come out of the cracks and happen to be walking by. People I haven't seen in person for years, no doubt. 

BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMB

By the Pricking of my Thumb

I just finished this eerie book and again the beginning scenes ring true. In this case the main characters have a cantankerous old Aunt in a nursing home. They feel guilty for her and plan the once a year visit. They let this old hag get away with being rude to the wife. Heck, they even applaud her for it - shows she still has life and spirit. Can't you picture yourself in the exact same position? The nursing home might be more medical, full of doctors and nurses instead of ill trained maids, but the same idea.

Her books may be old, vintage, antique almost...but the writing, the stories, the situations, the characters, even the murder methods, all still have a relatable feel to them. Christie's books are timeless. 

Buy Agatha Christie Books

DRAFT ONE - ANOTHER FANTASY TALE

 First Page Draft. 

The first step to writing is to actually take a first step. Duh? 

You know that saying, every journey begins with the first step (or something like that)? To me, it works if my first step is more like a frantic, run from the-man-who-is-calling-from-inside-the house, kind of run. Not pretty. Arms flailing, lots of slips and falls, clothes get ripped open (possible showing of chest), and I will finally get caught and be brought to a dead standstill...but it gets me from point A to point B. Which is writing down the most words I can down in as little time as possible. Like a run for your life, you don't care what happens, you just go with it. So I just vomit words and ideas as fast as I can type (or write). I've found that if I think about grammar, spelling, word choice, sentence structure...all those little details, then I stop moving forward. 

I do not get my ideas down on paper.

I do not write. 

What I find works, is just throwing shit on a page and typing until I'm fresh out of shit. 

Then I clean it up after. 

This first part is often so bad that I need to put a warning for any member of the grammar police - this may cause long term trauma. 

A quick glance over 'the mess' is usually enough to catch any extremely offensive language mistakes. 

First patch.  

What I do after that is bring out the space-aged technology! There is a handy little button on my computer that will Read-The-Text out loud. Hearing the words, instead of reading them, is an ingenious way to catch little tiny grammar errors, word repetition, and run on sentences that when read can seem okay because maybe they are full of important information but when heard out loud they just sound very long and badly written. Bring out the handy man and shore up these mistakes. 

With a solid base I move onto the detail work. This is where I go old-school - Tree killing paper and toxic chemical pens. 

Step 2) I print, actually print a physical copy of the words. Sometimes I try to be eco-friendly and print it small, two pages per sheet, low quality ink...that kind of thing. It's the actual object that I need. To hold it. Write on it. Doodle. List. Draw. Scratch. Arrow. 

This is where I go over every word...does it bring me joy? If not, I throw it out...unless I can upgrade the word choice, then it has a chance of staying.  

I can say I do not relish this step. A) It is time consuming. B) It is heavy lifting for the brain. 3) It's hard. No other way to describe it. It's hard! 

The payoff is worth it though. By the time I'm done I have created a piece of art. Oh, and the writing has improved, at least I hope it has. 

Here is page one. 

First draft includes notes, doodles, and a coffee cup stain

I just want to frame it and put it up on my wall. If I had a writing room and wasn't using my kid's old laptop while sitting at the kitchen table I would totally wallpaper the writer's nook with these editing pages. Ego much? 

Do you have a method to your madness?

NEXT UP - I DRAW A MAP 

James Bond - THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

 THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

The Spy Who Loved Me - James Bond was the spy

- Ian Fleming -

I get that authors might feel pigeonholed when they write a successful series, always writing the same character and story over and over. I get that they might want to try something new. It seems that Fleming tried to do something new with The Spy Who Loved Me... but, it also seemed like he wanted to hedge his bets and keep the Bond name attached. 

It was interesting to see Bond as a secondary character in a James Bond novel. However, it was the main character (not Bond but a nice young lady named Vivian) that didn't live up to the Bond standard. She was weak. There were hints and tales of this Vivian girl doing adventurous things in her life, in her past, in her spare time. But, when it came down to do or die, she almost died.

I think it was the authour's fault here. Fleming tried to tell the story from the point of view of a woman...and it didn't quite come across as believable. I get it. Fleming was a man of the fifties, wrote about macho men. He even seemed to believe that woman were frail and needed directing by a man. I give him grace though, he was trying something new. And it half worked. The story was interesting and I made it through the book at a good clip. It was just some of the descriptions, or the thoughts that this Vivian had were...not believable. 

Like I said, the book is good. I would say read most of the other Bond books before you pick up this one. But, if you are a die hard Bond fan, this is one to add to the collection. That's mostly why I'm keeping it. I have a bunch of Bond on my bookshelf right now. But, I can always find room for an early sixties printing of a Bond book!

MORE BOND REVIEWS - https://bookwormsfeastofbooks.blogspot.com/2017/04/dr-no-james-bond-novel.html

Book Haul - James Bond & Isaac Asimov

Book Haul

Our last trip to the thrift store was a real winner. Should have bought a lotto ticket that day b/c I was lucky.

First find - '67 printing of James Bond - The Spy Who Loved Me.

James Bond - The Spy Who Loved Me by Ian Fleming

I saw the PAN books logo on the spine of the novel. It was mixed in the 'F' section of the used paperbacks. There is no alphabetical order on the shelves at the Mission Store past the first letter of the last name. So, if you are looking for a Stephen King book. You would need to find the 'K' section, and then look through every single book in the 'K' section. 

I'm a bookworm, so this doesn't really apply to me since I look at every single book they have.

I was lucky, my eagle eye spotted the PAN icon. The spine is in rough shape - really creased up and hard to read. I love old pulp books like this, so I took a closer look. A James Bond classic!

The front cover is a map of northern NY. The Adirondack region. Isn't that strange?

Pan Book - The Spy Who Loved Me

The back cover is pretty sweet. You have the heart with a gun and 007. A nice pic of Fleming smoking a giant cigarette. And the price tag. The book is a real investment piece. Original cost was 60 cents. I bought it for 125 cents, and thought that was a smokin' deal. Imagine you had bought 1000 of these babies back in the sixties. You'd be looking at a nice return on your investment.

The Spy Who Loved Me - back cover

The next find was in the sci-fi / fantasy section. 

Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation

Asimov's foundation books. The first three, all lined up. Sitting there on the metal shelf, just waiting for a dork like me to come along and buy them all up. And, at 50 cents each...well I couldn't resist. Could you?

I've read them before, like all good sci-fi readers should. It was about twenty years ago. I remember having to order one through an inter-library loan b/c the local library didn't have them all. Oh, how nerdy is that?

While I was waiting for the book to come in I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy...I was fresh out of University on the job hunt. So I had a lot of time on my hands.

Asimov's Foundation Series

Overall a good haul. 1000 pages of pure pleasure for the low, low, cost of $2. That's why I love used books!

LINK TO PREVIOUS BOOK HAULS

Name that Wizard.

THE NAMING OF A WIZARD

I have been working on a new novel - an epic fantasy. You know, with wizards, goblins, dragons, and a magic sword?

Wizards love their balls - fireballs!

 

It's great fun using the old imagination to come up with a mythical world, magical spells, hideous beasts, and that sort of thing. What I'm having trouble with is naming my main character - he is a grumpy Wizard.

There are some great Wizard names that I could borrow from:

• Merlin - the old classic, maybe too old and classic
• Albus or Harry - the modern wiz names, too soon, can't go there
• Gandalf - that's like a retired jersey number, a no go

Maybe a mashup of some well known Wizard tags would work - Ganderlin sounds Wizardy. Or Albandorf? 

Orko wants to change his name

The thing is, Wizards are typically from a made-up land where names are also made-up...so perhaps I should make-up a name...not perhaps, I NEED to make up a name. This is a chance to add to the world building I'm attempting to do in the book. It just wouldn't feel authentic if this wizard's name was Gary. Even just switching a letter or two gives it the feeling of a name from another world. Garvin (close to Gary), now that's a Wizard's name (from the awesome MYTH book series by Robert Aspirin).

But what if I did name my Wizard Gary? It could add to the character's personality. He could be traumatized/resentful by being a Gary, when he should have a Wizardly name like Ganderhoff. He could be so embarrassed by it that he insists to be called by a title instead of a name, ie Wizard, or Sir, or Master, or Master Wizard Sir.

Gary the Wizard ... I'm still not convinced

Okay, I think I've convinced myself to go with Gary...and Gary has a friend named Ganderhoff.

What do you think readers?

THE REGULATORS - RICHARD BACHMAN

 THE REGULATORS

Richard Bachman - The Regulators

- Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King) -

I've been through a handful of Bachman books in the past year and I have firmly come up with my opinion of him - he is like Stephen King's backwoods cousin who lives in an isolated shack and was once neighbours with the Unibomber. It seems to me that some of King's books are 'out there', a good toss away from the crowd. But Bachman's...they are like a hail mary throw a hundred yards down the field. The Regulators proves no different.

A small, quiet street, in a small, quiet midwest town, is turned into a terrifyingly horrific bloodbath! A mysterious looking van (not the kind that offers free candy and puppies but much worse) starts the chaos with what seems like a random drive by shooting. After that, more futuristic looking vans cruise down the street shooting up people and houses. It doesn't take long before the death count is half the citizens that live on this tiny road. The houses are on fire or blown to bits and the survivors are barely surviving. The situation becomes more incomprehensible when they try to run away and realize they can't...the borders of the street turn into a vast unpassable desert (also full of crazy looking beasts). Then the houses start to transform. Soon everything resembles the Old West. There is a two pronged battle with the supernatural force that is playing havoc on this street - both a physical battle and a mental fight. I'll spoil the end of the book and tell you that the evil is sent away, but there is a heavy toll to pay. 

Even after the final battle it's not quite clear that the evil spirit / phantom villain is actually dead/destroyed. There are hints in a backstory, that this ghostly evil can live for thousands of years buried in the earth until it finds a host. Is the evil spirit cast away for good, or did it just pull a Voldemort and is now hiding away until it finds another victim. This opens up a whole new story - I'm thinking that Stephen King's book Desperation takes on this tale. 

Now stop reading if you don't like spoilers.

The thing I found interesting about this book was the idea of using the mind of a child to create a new reality. I loved the idea of the beasts in the desert looking like child drawn monsters, and the landscape too (complete with a smiley moon face). Bachman obviously perverts this idea of an innocent child's mind and turns it into a violent deadly killing machine. 

But, what if you took it the other way? Looked at the regular child's mind. It made me think, what would my Poplar Street look like if my mind was hijacked when I was eight?

I used to like to draw cars and airplanes. I'd decorate them with music notes and the suits from cards (spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds). My landscapes would be no more than a horizon line. Sounds cute.

What worries me is the toys I played with. What if they came to life. I was a big GI Joe fan. Lots of guns, bazookas, and vehicles with lasers. I guess my Poplar Street would be very similar to the one in The Regulators.

Is King trying to make a social statement in this book? A critique on the toys we allow our kid's to play with? Maybe he is. A sly crusade to bring attention to the violent games and toys we encourage our youth to play with, imagine with, normalize!

This is actually more horrifying than the novel!

WHY READ WESTERN BOOKS?

REASONS TO READ WESTERNS

Another western Matt? Another Louis L'Amour?

Correct. For some reason I really enjoy reading westerns, especially Louis L'Amour. I know they are not considered literary gems, they are usually very predictable, and not to mention filled to the brim with violence, however, they touch on so many basic human life points. I think that's what draws me to them.

If you think about it, we are a species who like to explore (strange new worlds...that's for you Star Trek nerds!), and these western stories are usually about heading west and settling a new land. They are full of the daily hurdles of taking on nature in an uncivilized world. Exploring uncharted lands and experiencing new places. Don't we all kind of wish for a piece of land of our own? And the satisfaction that would come along with overcoming all the challenges of building a new life, all with your bare hands, and maybe a horse. That is almost a basic human need right there!

We are a species that, on a basic level, can relate to a physical battle. These westerns are full of fights. It's easy to think of yourself in such a situation and imagine how you would react. It's again, one of the reasons to read - to explore worlds you would never experience in real life. Just like many other books and stories and comics, L'Amour tales are based around some sort of 'bad guy' who is taking advantage of the weakest members of society - and then usually one hero stands up for the good of the many. How can you not love a hero story!?

I know these books are from another era. Yet, surprisingly L'Amour does not always comply with the misogynistic tone of the time. Yes, the 'womanfolk' often wear frilly dresses and need a helping hand to get out of the stage coaches. But, many of the female characters are tough cookies! L'Amour often points out how hard it would be for the woman who travelled to the west. Often left alone to tend a house and farm while the men are out on a cattle drive or some similar work. The woman in these stories often fight along with the men, picking up shotguns and blowing holes in the bad guys.

Another hugely political topic would be the role of the native/indigenous characters in the books. Back in the day it would have been perfectly fine to place the 'Indian' as an uncivilized menace in the way of progress. Interestingly, L'Amour doesn't put down indigenous people in his books. In fact, he often places the local indigenous people, not on a pedestal, but definitely as the humans to look up to in order to survive what natures throws at you. Often the main character will mention living with the Apache, or other tribe, at some point and learning skills that make him a better person...and far better at surviving in the desert than your average white guy. In the latest book I read, The Tall Stranger, L'Amour even acknowledges that settlers are stealing the Indigenous people's lands. That's a big statement for the times. He's not perfect of course, but much, much better than many of the other writers of his era.

That latest book, The Tall Stranger, has a little bit of everything that makes for a classic (or you could even think 'standard') L'Amour book. We have some settlers heading West to start a new life. They explore a trail off the beaten path and find a hidden valley full of water and green grass. As they start building a new community everything starts to unravel because of one man. A power hungry shyster brings in a group of thugs and takes over the small village. Only one man will stand up to this bully - the Tall Stranger. As you can predict the Stranger fights them off, with fists and guns, and they all live happily ever after. You knew it was coming, but it's the journey not the last step that makes life worthwhile right?

And one last perk about reading L'Amour books - they are usually very inexpensive. I bought this book for 50 cents at a local thrift store. I bought 48 books in an action a couple of years ago for $4. But, don't let the price fool you. A cheap book, but a rich story.

THE HEAP - SEAN ADAMS

THE HEAP

What a great cover - THE HEAP

- Sean Adams -

Even though I thought this book would be more about the day to day activities of going through a gigantic collapsed building it turned out to be much more than that. It was all about deception.

The heap is a pile of rubble from a 500 story building that collapsed. Workers are sorting through the debris, sorting it all out, recycling, upcycling, selling, reusing, all of that. They are also looking for a survivor. There is still at least one survivor in this pile of broken building - he was the radio DJ when the building was standing, and by some luck his equipment is still in working order and he is broadcasting to the world. The phone line still works as well, so people can call him.

The brother of this DJ is on the site digging for him, holding out hope to find him, talking to him once a day.

The heap, however, is just a big pile of problems...

We join the story awhile into the dig - it could be months, or years - the initial excitement has died down and we are left with the long term diggers. These 'workers' are made up of mostly lazy, drunken, unmotivated people who are too comfortable to leave for better pastures. There is a lot of drinking, lazing on the job, and passing the buck. The heap is an enabler for this situation.

As the story progresses an advertising agency contacts the brother of the buried DJ and asks him to read ads when he calls into the radio show. Again the heap is the conductor that motivates terribly unethical behavior.

When the brother of the buried DJ refuses to read the ads then things get worse. Not only are there threats, but it escalates to a situation where the brother of the buried DJ is taken right out of the equation. It is because of this heap. There is a much bigger scandal going on around this 'clean up' involving organized crime. This nefarious business is unraveled by a couple of the main characters and comes to a riveting climax. By the end of the story you will be turned upside down by all the deception that has taken place throughout the book. It's a fun ride and makes you want to read it again to see all the clues along the way.

Adams also had more to say throughout the book. He used the heap, and the idea of a giant 500 story building (a small city enclosed in itself) to investigate human behaviour, community, and leadership. He makes you think...

Overall, I'd say The Heap is something you need to go through.

Book Haul - Christie, Bachman, Sagan, and L'Amour

Thrift Store Book Finds

One of the highlights of thrift shopping, at least for me, is finding awesome books at dirt cheap prices. Usually I'm feeling lucky if I come across a book or two...but, yesterday I found eight! EIGHT!

8 books = treasure

I'm always on the lookout for Agatha Christie books. I love them. Strangely, with millions sold they are a rare find at the thrift store. Maybe they are bought up quick? Maybe there are plenty of collectors out there who will not part with them. So, when I do see one that I haven't read before I scoop it up.

Today, An Overdose Of Death - 50 cents! It's not in the best condition, but I'm not that particular when it comes to Christie books - the story is the best part.

Agatha Christie - An Overdose of Death vintage

I've been on a science fiction reading binge for a few months now. One of the books on my to-read-science-fiction list is Carl Sagan's Contact. It's one of those classics that everyone who is into Sci-Fi has read and/or ranks on their best space reads.

Contact - 50 cents!

Contact - Sagan

Another authour who I often pick up used - that sounds bad - is Stephen King. His books are easy to find, but are usually marked up in price. Damn you market demand! However, sometimes the Richard Bachman books are put in the shelf at the Bibles For Mission Thrift store in the 'B' section...not the Stephen King section. They are also marked at a different price. Instead of the premium price of $1.50 that King demands, these books are only $1 or $1.25.

King / Bachman - The Regulators

This week I was able to stock up on Louis L'Amour books; add to my collection. I already have a good 40 or 50 of them, and I've read even more. This makes it tricky to buy more L'amours. First off, they are like the Agatha Christie books; millions sold, but few make it to the thrift store. I was extremely lucky this week. There were dozens of Louis' books for sale. It looked like someone dropped off their collection recently and I was one of the first to discover it. 

L'Amour - Crossfire Trail and Fallon

Out of the big stock of books I managed to find five that I haven't read and didn't have in my collection.

Doesn't this Tall Stranger look like a good one?

The Tall Stranger

The great part about these books is that they are marked at 50 cents.

I spent a total of $4.50 for all of these books. Amazing isn't it?!

DOUBLE THREAT - PAUL WILSON

 DOUBLE THREAT

Double Threat - Paul Wilson

- Paul Wilson -

My first Paul Wilson book...and it probably won't be my last, for a couple of reasons. One, I liked his writing and ideas. Two, this book ended with so many loose strings that there HAS to be a second book.

I think what I liked most about the book was that I couldn't really pigeon hole the genre. It was science fiction for sure, but a mix of some pretty hard medical science fiction and an attempt at horror...with some action/adventure thrown in, and a tiny splash of romance (more of a pinch than a splash maybe?). An interesting cocktail that I have never tasted before. While reading I had glimpses of Stephen King books, Dan Brown, Sagan, and a host of other authors that slip my mind at the moment...a mash up of some of my favourite writers.

Okay, enough about the writing style, how about the story? A lovable woman, with a criminal mind, has her brain infiltrated by a mystical/alien being. The life form bonds with her and takes up residence in her mind. Together they realize they have the power to heal people. For eg removing cancerous tumours from innocent children's brains. Paul Wilson is a doctor, so his knowledge of medicine really comes through in his writing. He doesn't dumb it down, which is something I really liked while reading. So, that's one story line.

The second story line is that a strange religious cult is expecting their god-like 'visitors' (aka Aliens) to return to earth...yet there is one person in the way. They believe it may be this mystical healing girl. There are a few members of this religion that are skeptical and / or rebel against this thinking...and they seem to be falling in love with this healing girl just to add to the conflict.

You can probably guess this will end up in a big old fight, both internal with the religious cult and external as they try to eliminate this healing girl. The book comes to a thrilling climax with a botched murder attempt...and then the story end. No real conclusion, just a bunch of pissed off characters and an open story line...

Which is why I'm expecting a second book.