Tim Hallinan’s The Queen of Patpong arrives in bookstores today and, come to think of it, so should you. Go ahead! Buy a few copies; get an early start on your Christmas shopping. Buy a copy for yourself, get one for your best friend, give one to your brother’s ex-wife’s sister’s boyfriend. Give a copy to your third cousin in Paducah. Or buy a box of them and hand them out to homeless people on a downtown street corner.
Seriously, The Queen of Patpong is a great, good read; Kirkus Reviews liked it enough to give it a star (getting a star out of Kirkus involves about the same amount of effort as squeezing river rock until it bleeds). If I gave out stars with my reviews, The Queen of Patpong would get five of them. Yeah, it’s that good.
Posts
As soon as I can track this down in my obscure neck of the woods, I will. What I did just now was look up his website - and bookmark his writing advice. I don't write thrillers or mysteries (although I adore Raymond Chandler), but no great advice is ever wasted, right?
ReplyDeleteOnly if it's ignored. :-| (That's me trying to say it with a straight face.) ;-D
ReplyDeleteI'll respond to your e-mail in a little while, but before I do I'm going to forward the two paragraphs in it regarding Tim to Tim; I know for a fact that he'll appreciate what you had to say. Thanks, Tarleisio.
I've been trying to read a lot more. But, goign into a B&N or Borders is sort of overwhelming. Any recommendations where I should start? I typically like Thrillers, Mysteries, ect. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi, Meso,
ReplyDeleteYou can purchase books online from Powell's Books or Amazon.com, and probably from many independent booksellers, as well. If online shopping is too convenient for you, you can always visit those small independent stores in person (in my opinion way more fun than B&N or Borders). If cost is an issue, perhaps you can source your reading material from a public library. I've also found that garage sales, yard sales and estate sales are, often, excellent sources of used books in good condition at super-affordable prices (would you believe a $400 set of Harvard Classics for $20?).