A fine art of The Art of Racing in the Rain

I just finished reading Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain, and I was very glad that this book was recommended to me by a fellow bookseller. Not that I wouldn't have eventually read it. The story just seemed like it might be another angst-fiction title that the market is inundated with at present. What got me intrigued was that the main character, the narrator, was a dog. That's right...a story told by a dog, a lab terrier mix named Enzo.



Don't get me wrong, this book is filled with much angst. But it has a sense of humor, provided greatly by Enzo's curiosity and views on humans, that lifts it up past the melodramatic trappings.



Another part of the story that helps create Enzo's world, and gives his master, Denny, an escape from his problems of the world is racing-European car racing to be exact. Denny and Enzo spend countless hours in front of the television watching videos of past races. Denny uses the footage to study and learn how the best have been successful, Enzo sees the races as a learning tool as well, for that one day when he will be reborn as a human who longs to race cars.



I might have gone into this book with apprehension, and yes I did shed some tears by the end of the story, but I came out a true fan in Enzo, and in Garth Stein.

King is still my king

Through the shrill thrill screaming of booksellers at The Rock Bottom Remainders concert last year at BEA, a recognizable figure steps to the microphone to sing us a tale about werewolves in London. This Warren Zevon hit is blasted out by my king of writing-Stephen King. This is the first time I have seen him in person, not with a pen in hand, just a Red Sox t-shirt and a voice behind the speakers.



I first delved into King with his collection of short stories in Night Shift. In those tales he got to the meat of the story and characters and took you along on a quick ride of terror. As I have read him over the years, and have been numbed by his pathos, I have come to discover that the man is an enigma of talent. You don't know why you tremble, why you shake, why you look under the bed as you read. If you really look at the characters, the real brilliance of writing, you realize they are you, your family, your friends, your world.



Stephen King is steeped in the culture of today. If you have read any of the essays in his column in Entertainment Weekly you have witnessed his acumen with what has been going on and what is going on. He knows what kids are listening to today because he is downloading the tunes as well. The man is hip to the jive, the downlow, the in and the out.



After traversing the landscape of New England intrique Stephen King has now headed south to Florida for his latest novel-Duma Key. I am looking forward to devouring this tale that has been touted as "vintage King". On this Valentine's Day I close this love letter with the appeal that any reader who has not yet given Stephen King a try to please do so. He knows how to scare, how to write, and how to share that with you.

Is it okay to not like a book?

Is it okay to not like a book? I found myself in this quandary after I finished Dean Koontz's-The Darkest Evening of the Century. I have not read Koontz in quite some time. I liked what I read then, and I liked the idea of what I was reading now, I just didn't like how the story was presented and ended. (Spoilers ahead.)



The characters were prime Koontz creations-people with a darkness in their past, and a hole in their soul needing to be healed. The protagonists were not the problem with this story for me, it was the antagonists that I grew more and more tired of reading. Moongirl, a needling voice on the phone to her ex as the story opens, becomes one of the most vile, dark, and unredeemable personas I have ever read. I took to skimming her dialogue and thoughts midway through the book because I found her so unbelievably dark that she would slowly, with exacting method, torment her own child, both mentally and physically.



At the center of this tale is Nickie, a Golden Retriever, that comes to the main character through great turmoil. Throughout the story Nickie is present as the one who can soothe the past and the heal the soul. The ending resolution is tied up neatly and Nickie is the almighty healer licking the fatal wounds of her people and preserving their lives as one happy unit. Blech!



Maybe I was in a bad mood. Maybe the storyline seemed a bit too contrived. Or maybe I expected more from Koontz. He is a gifted writer and a bestselling machine, and will probably contiunue to be so. Hopefully it is okay to not like a book. It won't stop me from reading Koontz, and it just might help me appreciate him a whole lot more when I do like one of his future books.

Saying goodbye to Kudzu

I received the sad news that Kudzu Book Traders in Atlanta is closing at the end of March. I have been a Kudzu customer for at least 7 years and I will miss their presence in the remainder world.

Estelle Davis and her staff helped me create and maintain a highly diverse inventory. I loved browsing the cases they set up at BEA every year, and shopping easily on their website.

I have treated remainders as if they were fresh from the printing press, and I try to display the books as a little store within a big store, with subject breakouts, and themed designs. And Kudzu always treated me as a welcome friend, with professionalism, ease of ordering, and prompt delivery.

The book market has morphed into a different animal since I began in '95. It is sometimes difficult to move on to the next chapter when the current one is so good.

The good word from the book of Blasphemy

I just finished Douglas Preston's Blasphemy and I have to say that I am believer...in the power of a smart thriller. I read an advance copy of this book in knowing only that Preston wrote it and that it involved physics and the possibility of talking to God.



The story centers around an uber-machine created to study the Big Bang theory by a small team of lab rat geek nerds so involved in their work, and so vulnerable to their own regrets, that they are prime to believe that God is talking to them through their machine. The science presented is simple enough to understand and it kept the flow moving, yet difficult enough to make it impossible to build one of these machines in your garage.



What is bold about this exercise in thrillerdom is that Preston has brought science and religion together. The outside world from this project is quick to raise the red flag of blasphemy as word of the researchers intent is leaked. Pastors are irked, disciples rallied and panic induced...prime ingredients for a great ending.



Hopefully this book will generate discussion, controversy, protests, armageddon, and new fans.

"No Country" best for the Coen's

I just saw the Coen brothers adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's No Country For Old Men and I even liked the ending...unlike the audience around me that did not.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD

The ending could not have been more perfect for the Coen's and for McCarthy. We want closure, we want the bad guy to be brought to justice and for the protagonist to triumph...and when we don't you get an audience of "That's it?" This ending was true to the book and true to the characters. This is an ending that should scare you more than frustrate you. The killer is still out there. This was only part of a bigger story that may or may not be told, or need to be told. We already know the outcome.

When Hollywood is churning out remake after remake and sequel after sequel, isn't it nice to have a movie presented that wants you to have to think about it well after the credits have rolled?

ARC's at my bedside

With this holiday season consuming my time after the normal work hours-overtime in giftwrap for the last two weeks-I look forward to dipping my toe in the ARC waters. The Advance Reading Copies that I have received from various publishers have been staring at me, daring me to steal away a moment from Santa's thunder.





I have been able to begin reading Douglas Preston's Blasphemy (due out January), pure escape fiction about uber-tinker toys that need their own zip code to exist. Others I look forward to reading are The Man Who Turned Into Himself by David Ambrose (due in April) , A Short History of the American Stomach by Frederick Kaufman (due out in February).





I also have two books about birds to read-The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Womans's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird-Bruce Barcott (due out February), and The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature-Jonathan Rosen (due out February as well).





I am also really excited to read the new young adult novel from my cousin, Kevin Henkes-Bird Lake Moon (due out in May). Hopefully when I wake up from my weeklong nap after the holidays I will be refreshed to journey forth.