It's a hot day. I slept in. There's no swim practice today so why get up early?
By nine it was already on the way to boiling outside but the light looked pretty and soft coming through the thick white curtains, through the French doors.
The air conditioning was purring smoothly and the air in the house was cool and dry.
I made a big cup of coffee, settled into my favorite reading chair in the main room, and got to work reading the novel I just started last night.
Truth be told I didn't move from that chair for the next four hours. I was paralyzed by the tingly anticipation the story and the writing generated. Compelled to read to the end to see how everything turned out.
When I looked up after reading the last page it was two fifteen in the afternoon.
John Sandford had kept me enthralled and focused like a laser for half the day. It was that 2019 book of his; "Bloody Genius." His main character, Virgil Flowers is the guy we'd all like to have as a best friend. Smart, insightful, human and kind. And if I were really a writer I'd want to be just like John Sanford.
The whole process of getting lost in a fun, fast, great novel brought back to me memories of Summers in sleepy San Antonio, one of three kids in my parent's house spending most hot Summer afternoons glued to books. Stacks of books from the library. Getting lost in fiction. Discovering new worlds and making the acquaintance of people who weren't real but maybe should have been.
It's a quiet day here. The mercury has already scooted past 100. The humidity outside is like a scratchy wool sweater against bare skin.
B. has her book in one of the back rooms at the other end of the house. I only logged on here now to order another John Sanford book. The writing is more addictive than heroin..... It's going to be a long Summer.
Stay cool. Don't hold any fireworks too close to your face. Try to keep your fingers attached. Be traditionally patriotic. Be genuinely appreciative of whatever you've got. And enjoy your holiday.
Me? Firing up the Kindle.... chilling a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc for later.
6 comments:
If you like John Sanford I think you will also like John Lescroart. I just discovered his Dismas Hardy novels. He has written 19 of them; not as many as the Lucas Davenport "Prey" series, but a lot to look forward to, as I'm now just reading the 2nd one. Should take me through this long hot summer and well beyond.
Dick
Since JC is a regular commenter here, does he (or do you) have a suggestion for a good starting point for his books? The problem I have with serials is not knowing where to jump in and not wanting to start in the middle of the series and miss some key background. Thanks!
Ken
I'd say to choose a series like either the Lucas Davenport series or the Virgil Flowers series and go through your selected series serially (funny words!). Both are fun and exciting. I picked up the 2019 book without reading the three proceeding it and didn't have an frisson about missing texture. They read just fine on their own. Nice to have a sequential supply though. Especially if you are a reader prone to addiction.
And they read quick so you'll want to have a supply ready.
Props to that Sanford guy.
I very much enjoy the Virgil Flower series, But, probably through some f of my own, could never get in to Davenport.
Donna Leon for a series (Brunetti) set in Venice Italy, Martin Walker for a series (Bruno) set in the Dordogne region of France. Foodies be warned in both cases.
I recommend an old series by the late Michael Dibdin about Venetian detective Aurelio Zen. I think there are 12 books in the series, not sure about that though. Zen hates everywhere except Venice but they keep posting him where he doesn't want to go as punishment for solving cases that the powers that be don't want solved.
The series about Garda detective Matt Minogue set in Dublin written by John Brady is excellent. Very melancholic. There's a scene in one story in which he and a colleague are at a boring seminar so they text each other to leave and meet for a drink at a pub but they try to do it on the sly. The next day his boss gives him grief for that and he's surprised that he was discovered. His boss says something like, "There were 30 detectives in the room, did you think they were all idjits."
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