tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post1507801265844862704..comments2024-03-29T07:29:32.276-04:00Comments on Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Benchmark booksJanet Reidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00615380335938685231noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-88856631498328863302009-05-26T03:46:27.399-04:002009-05-26T03:46:27.399-04:00Count me with Ricky Bush and Steve Ulfelder. Lones...Count me with Ricky Bush and Steve Ulfelder. <B>Lonesome Dove</B> is at the top of my list. Also there's <B>A Tree Grows in Brooklyn</B>, and <B>Peter Pan</B> (which I didn't read for the first time until I was in my 30's.) <br /><br />I'm always thrilled to meet someone who has read the astrological texts of <B>Evangeline Adams</B> and <B>Jeffrey Wolf Green,</B> because then we can talk shop.astrologymemphis.blogspot.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08094432734141490681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-32884249772581617002009-05-24T08:51:17.191-04:002009-05-24T08:51:17.191-04:00The Last Good Kiss is a truly iconic book. Been a ...The Last Good Kiss is a truly iconic book. Been a Crumley fan since 1988.The Rogue Chefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11133560910221856580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-91947218534011736912009-05-23T17:34:24.526-04:002009-05-23T17:34:24.526-04:00Wow, I'm mind-melding with Ricky Bush and Caroline...Wow, I'm mind-melding with Ricky Bush and Caroline! In addition to the stuff I mention above, LONESOME DOVE (my all-time fave and one of the very few books I make it a point to reread), Travis McGee, Russo and WATERSHIP DOWN are all touchstones. So I may as well throw in John Irving's amazing 4-book run that started with GARP and ended with OWEN MEANY (CIDER HOUSE RULES is my *other* all-time fave).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-47972126438936788302009-05-23T15:44:34.037-04:002009-05-23T15:44:34.037-04:00I would add One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...I would add <I>One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich</I> and anything by Clare Francis. In particular, I like <I>Wolf Winter</I>. She doesn't seem that well known on this side of the pond, so when I meet someone who has actually read her works, it's like old home week. Or, like meeting a fellow UCLA Bruin 2500 miles away from campus.Betsy Ashtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06871010122475160477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-75438611416797272792009-05-23T11:09:31.732-04:002009-05-23T11:09:31.732-04:00My choice would be Strange Piece of Paradise, a me...My choice would be <I>Strange Piece of Paradise</I>, a memoir by Terri Jentz. And quite possibly the best book I've ever read. Terri and a friend decided to bicycle across America, but one night, while asleep in their tent, a man drove his truck over them, and then attacked them with an axe. They survived - barely. And the book chronicles this event, and what it meant to her life, as well as, years later, her search for the would-be murderer who had never been found. If you liked Truman Capote's <I>In Cold Blood</I> or Norman Mailer's <I>The Executioner's Song</I> you have to read this book. It's better.Bryan Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09555071335245492790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-3825718846210029142009-05-23T10:14:36.304-04:002009-05-23T10:14:36.304-04:00"Straight Man" by Richard Russo;
"Johnny Got His G..."Straight Man" by Richard Russo;<br />"Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo; <br />"Watership Down" by Richard Adams. <br /><br />There are probably others, but those spring to mind. The Russo book because I was laughing out loud through most of it. The other two because they combine great writing with a powerful message.Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16687979843959717461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-508005786617384232009-05-23T10:04:59.807-04:002009-05-23T10:04:59.807-04:00Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" does it for me. H...Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" does it for me. His "All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers" hooked me back in the early '70s. THEN John D. McDonald's Travis McGee series grabbed me and when he passed, Elmore took his place. Anyway--Ricky Bushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15861574330175082978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-44624830672769062242009-05-23T05:50:36.280-04:002009-05-23T05:50:36.280-04:00When I run across another writer who groks Andrew ...When I run across another writer who groks Andrew Vachss' early Burke novels, especially HARD CANDY and BLUE BELLE, I know I've found a kindred spirit. Same goes for James Ellroy's THE COLD SIX THOUSAND; so many people *hated* that book that those of us who love it have a secret society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-46571309808240373822009-05-22T23:10:16.720-04:002009-05-22T23:10:16.720-04:00"The Solace of Leaving Early" by Haven Kimmel. An ..."The Solace of Leaving Early" by Haven Kimmel. An absolutely wonderful novel.Joanne Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02842031719126899384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-85214674055367956232009-05-22T18:34:35.282-04:002009-05-22T18:34:35.282-04:00the curious incident of the dog in the night-time,...the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Mark Haddon<br />Let Me In, John Ajvide LindquistAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-9861310271583005662009-05-22T17:28:30.431-04:002009-05-22T17:28:30.431-04:00Not quite the same, but one of the first things th...Not quite the same, but one of the first things that drew me to my boyfriend was that his username on the dating site was "dirkgently."Daisy Batemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10031425541717458261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-66802206067019369982009-05-22T15:56:54.218-04:002009-05-22T15:56:54.218-04:00@jnantz, I was going to say ENDER'S GAME too! Tha...@jnantz, I was going to say ENDER'S GAME too! That is a touchstone book among SF writers.Margaret Yanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06464624057491288244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-62123132301169428342009-05-22T14:52:26.759-04:002009-05-22T14:52:26.759-04:00I write thrillers, but I'm always stoked to find p...I write thrillers, but I'm always stoked to find people who really loved ENDER'S GAME. First read it years ago in High School, still love it today. King's THE GUNSLINGER and Connelly's THE BLACK ECHO are two others.Jake Nantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16637039507172446111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17040756.post-4030750328329946402009-05-22T12:18:25.694-04:002009-05-22T12:18:25.694-04:00I've always got my eye peeled for those books resp...<I> I've always got my eye peeled for those books respected writers admire in common.</I>It seems like Robertson Davies might apply under this category; I discovered him randomly in a bookstore, but he seems to get virtually no attention in U.S. classrooms and little from the lit media, but I often see writers mentioning him in passing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com