Ian Rankin and the Mystery of the Milk. And how he 'slightly worried' Edinburgh's galleries.
A review of the audiobook of Denise Mina's STILL MIDNIGHT. And a great article revealing that she still thinks she's a waitress.
A great blog post from Aly Monroe on keeping up the energy.
Apparently, Alexander McCall Smith writes like a wizard.
An article about the Play, Pie, Pint series at Glasgow's Oran Mor.
An interview with M C Beaton in which she reveals her five favourite cosy mysteries.
Lots of big name authors visit Chepstow Bookshop, including Alexander McCall Smith and Iain Banks.
And finally, an article in The Millions, about unlikeable characters in fiction. Personally, I love a nice, meaty, unlikeable character, and often find myself rooting for them at the end of the book - Ken Bruen's Brant, for example - racist, sexist chauvinist, absolutelyeverything-ist. He';s a great character, and I'd love to have him on my side if I had a problem. I'd also like to go and have a drink with him, but I'd probably end up throwing my drink all over him after about ten minutes. But what fun that would be. So, what about you, dear reader; do you have any favourite unlikeable characters? And what do you look for in a character?
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Bull O'Kane in the "Ghosts of Belfast". He was a real bad-ass kind of guy, but had a fatherly nature to him that I liked. I love stories that focus on the bad guys, not the law. Among the bad guys, there can certainly be ones that you root for. Guy Ritchie's crime movies have some of my favorite "bad" guy's in Lenny Cole & Bricktop
ReplyDeleteDonna, like you, I also really like Bruen's Brant, he's one I'd like on my side, and be ornery with for fun, and then when he made fun of me, I'd call him an ornery name. Off the top of my head, the first one that always comes to mind is Graham Hurley's Winter, he's one of a kind, and does it his way, but with (usually) great results--even had to leave the police because he was so independent etc. Maybe Joe Pike as written by Robert Crais, have loved him from the very start and he's bad and brutal and very unfriendly. And have you ever heard of the police force written by Charlie Owen whose first book was Foxtrot Oscar? Almost every single one of those coppers are downright criminal and disturbing..but for a reason..and I like them just fine. I am obviously not a cosy fan at this juncture...maybe later. :-) And when I think of more bad ones I like, I'll post again...I'm here to annoy you. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBobbie
thanks for the tip on the Portobello book fest, Donna. i went this afternoon for There's Been A Murder and it really worked well - great talent around the table, lots of insight and bucketfuls of entertainment. well worth my 45 minute queue as a non-ticket holder
ReplyDeleteHugh Heffner!
ReplyDelete