Thursday, December 28, 2006

The Last 10 Books I Bought (and why)

I'm taking a cute from Joe Konrath's blog and offering a list of the last ten books I purchased and why I bought them. Thought it might be an interesting look at why books get purchased. Or not.

THE CLEANUP by Sean Doolittle
Reason bought:

I've heard Doolittle's name several times as a writer to watch, and after this book got a good review in the New York Times I figured it was time to give Sean a shot.




OFFICER DOWN by Theresa Schwegel

Reason bought:


The book won the freaking Edgar. Plus I'm a huge fan of "The Shield," so the back cover copy sucked me in. I'm a sucker for cops toeing the line between good and evil, so this sounded like a winner on all fronts.


SUNSTROKE by Jesse Kellerman

Reason bought:

The last few years have been good for literary celebrity offspring (Owen King, Joe Hill), and while I was skeptical when this novel came out, the author's terrific pedigree (he's an award-winning playwright) and good reviews convinced me otherwise. I stopped in the Black Orchid the other day, where Jesse himself apparently told the owners, "If you read this expecting my parents, you'll be disappointed." So I had to check it out.

A PHOTOGRAPHER'S LIFE by Annie Leibovitz

Reason bought:

A gift for my Dad who's a huge photography buff. I had the chance to give it a read when I visited, and the pictures within are both stunning and heartbreaking, most notably in Annie's relationship with her parents as they age.



GREETINGS FROM E STREET by Robert Santelli

Reason bought:

Another gift for my Dad. Plus it sounded like one hell of a cool book and package, with reproductions of tickets and flyers from Springsteen's early days.



MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Jodi Picoult

Reason bought:


It's no secret that Picoult seems poised to cement her place atop the literary establishment, and few authors can match her combined commercial success and critical acclaim. Yet I'd never read a Picoult book, and after reading a piece in USA Today about her publishing celebrating the 1,000,000th copy sold, I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about.



THE BUSINESS OF DYING by Simon Kernick
Reason bought:
During another trip to the Black Orchid, this time for Duane Swiercyznski's signing, I asked Sarah and Dave to recommend a good crime novel. This was what they handed me. Bonnie and Joe approved.




ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz

Reason bought:

The ODD THOMAS series intrigued me, and after reading many positive reviews for the latest installment BROTHER ODD I decided to start at the beginning. Sometimes when browsing, I'll pick up a book and read a page or two to see if the prose elicits a reaction. ODD THOMAS has this doozy right in the third paragraph:

"In fact I am such a nonentity by the standards of our culture that People magazine not only will never feature a piece about me but might also reject my attempts to subscribe to their publication on the grounds that the black-hole gravity of my non-celebrity is powerful enough to suck their entire enterprise into oblivion."

If you can put the book back on the shelf after reading that paragraph, you are a stronger man than I.

THE WHEELMAN and THE BLONDE by Duane Swierczynski
Reason bought:
I went to Mr. Duane's signing at the Black Orchid, where he proceeded to beat me into submission lest I buy a copy of each of his books in hardcover.
Ok that's not entirely true. Though Duane did remark that I could have passed for his cousin, considering we're both pretty big guys and that day both happened to have enough beard growth to hide a small elk.

posted by Jason Pinter at 10:48 AM

3 Comments:

Blogger David J. Montgomery said...

I don't buy many books these days, but the last one I did plunk my money down for was Chris Miller's The Real Animal House. I bought it on the basis of a glowing review (by Chris Buckley in the Times).

I think I may need to buy a crime novel next, which I very seldom do (since I get them for free)...But it doesn't look like I have a copy of Charlie Huston's Caught Stealing and I want to read it.

I just read his first Joe Pitt vampire novel (Already Dead) and it was so damn good, I want to read his other series now.

1:42 PM  
Blogger Dave White said...

Officer Down is one of my favorite books from last year. I can't wait for Theresa's next...

By the way, I'm about 70% into Brimstone by Preston and Child on your recommendation and am really enjoying it.

Thanks.

3:41 PM  
Blogger Karen Olson said...

I liked Kellerman's book, and it really isn't like his parents' work at all. But I found it to be more a character study than a conventional crime novel.

10:31 AM  

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