Books read and other significant films and stuff
Sleepwalker's World by Gordon R. Dickson
This is sci fi from the 70's, a fairly surreal novel of the side
effects of beaming power to earth from space to power food factories,
which results in most people falling asleep. He accurately
predicts GPS guidance for cars, otherwise it's super talented good guy
takes on malevolent forces to save the world...
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich Being stalked by a homicidal maniac has never been so fun.
Find a Victim by Ross MacDonald. In
the classsic American PI tale, the detective usually loses
consciousness a couple times per book when a bad guy clocks him one.
In an Agatha Christie, this would be unthinkable. In both
of them, the clever investigator still doesn't understand enough to
prevent a second or third murder from occuring. And yet we are
surprised and entertained by the outcome...
The Chill by Ross MacDonald. I
love Ross MacDonald's writing, except I'm a bit of a bear with too wee
of a brain to keep track of all the characters he employs in his pithy
P.I. tales. He's generally described as the direct descendant of
Dashiell Hammett via Raymond Chandler. Anyway this novel has 3
murders over twenty years that are all surprisingly tied together.
Detective Lew Archer (name derived from Sam Spade's
partner) shows his human side as he doggedly pursues the truth.
The Alien Way by Gordon Dickson A
serious portrayal of the cultural differences between earth and a
potential invading stellar civilization, where an earth man gets inside
the head of the alien. As one reads, one wonders if he, like the
others suspect, is getting overly influenced by the alien thought
patterns.
Pro by Gordon Dickson An
amusing SF tale of a gung ho world manager bending rules to shake up an
alien world, and his comeupance from the amateur he replaced...
Film: Rings on her Fingers 1942. I've
always been fond of Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve, and only now
discovered he played a similar chump in Rings on her Fingers, but
with Gene Tierney as the con artist love interest. The link goes
to the movie, viewable free in the U.S. on Hulu.com. It was worth
it just for the jitterbugs...
The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman.
The original time machine book, by Jules Verne, was fairly
depressing in its portrayal of the future. So was this one, but
it had some nice romantic touches and time loop mystery to keep the
plot moving.
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovitch She
uses the local New Jersey mythology to make a sort of James Bond romp
in the Pine Barrens for ever intrepid Stephanie Plum. I haven't
tired of her formula yet, though 12 novels in a couple months may be
pushing it.
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