BTT: Detective qualities; and Coffee table books

Detective qualities (from Booking Through Thursday)

1. Do you enjoy reading mysteries?
2. What's your favourite kind of mystery?
3. Do you like plenty of blood and guts, or do you prefer the details to be left to the reader's imagination?
4. Do you prefer mystery stories based in the author's time or in previous centuries?
5. Do you prefer mysteries based in your own country, or in distant lands?
6. Do you like to figure out the solution, or do you allow yourself to be carried away with the story?

I am very, VERY picky about what mystery books I read.  As I've mentioned before (and will continue to do so until I take my last breath), I LOVE the Corinna Chapman series by Kerry Greenwood (btw, new book expected in October...still awaiting news).  I like what I call 'intellectual mysteries' like Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series and Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman series where the focus is mostly on solving the mystery and is adventurous but there isn't a lot of blood and gore.  I loved the National Treasure movies so I have the books (Gates Family mysteries by Catherine Hapka) on my TBR.  I have read some of the book-themed 'cozy mysteries' but I find them too fluffy for my tastes.

I have no preferences as to time period or locations.  I read "Blind Justice" by Bruce Alexander, which is the first in the Sir John Fielding mysteries, set in 18th-century London and the age of the Bow Street Runners.  I also have "Crocodile on the Sandbank" by Elizabeth Peters (first in the Amelia Peabody series) on my TBR and I've heard that that series is set predominantly in Egypt.  The Corinna Chapman series is set in Australia.  As long as the book is well-written, I'm usually capable of getting into it no matter what time period or location it is set in.

To the best of my knowledge, I have never solved the mystery before the end of the book.  I do try sometimes but I don't put too much effort into it, generally just enjoying the story.  I do like being surprised by an ending, but I hope for all the various plot threads to come together in the end.


Coffee Table Books (from Booking Through Thursday) 
1. Do you have any coffee table books?
2. Do you have one or two, or would you say you have a collection of them?
3. Do you keep them on your coffee table?  If not, where?
4. What are they about?
5. Have you read them?  All of them?  None?  Why?

I live in too small of an apartment to have a coffee table but if I did have one, I would have coffee table books.  It is because of the size of coffee table books that I don't buy them...yet.  If I have enough time when browsing in a physical bookstore, I eventually get to browse the coffee table book section.  I would like to buy coffee table books about astronomy, nature photography, travel photography, and tattoos.  I would love to have "The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World" by Jacques Bosser.  I would read them but in small snippets at a time.  But I think that the main appeal of coffee table books is the illustrations and photographs.

Read on,
Paula

Terry Fallis visit

Terry Fallis came to do an author talk at our library on July 4, 2013.  Having read "Up and Down" as a nominee for this year's Evergreen Award, I was so excited to meet him.  I was equally excited to get him to sign my copy of the book, which he did shortly before this photo was taken.

I found "Up and Down" to be very humorous.  I now know that that is because Terry Fallis is a humorous kind of guy.  Very witty.

He talked about the intricate engineering-oriented way he writes his novels, how he was inspired as a child watching the moon landing in 1969.  He talked about the plot of "Up and Down" and how he met with Marc Garneau (Canada's first astronaut and current Liberal Party politician) to make sure his story was accurate.

When talking about how he got his first novel published, he said that he posted it as a free podcast.  And he has continued to do so with his subsequent novels.  When I got home, I rushed to my computer and downloaded all of his books.  I briefly listened to the first track and discovered that his voice sounds much deeper in the audio than it does in person.  Listening to Mr. Fallis read part of "Up and Down" at the author talk reconfirmed my firm belief that authors are the best people to read their work aloud.  They know the work and characters far better than anyone else and can give the reading an inflection that no one else can.

Politics in general do not interest me, especially in my reading.  Having read the synopses of Fallis' first two books, "The Best Laid Plans" and "The High Road", I wasn't interested in reading political fiction no matter how humorous it might be.  However, hearing how other audience members had enjoyed the first two books and how much my friend laughed when she read "The Best Laid Plans", I now plan to read/listen to them.

I recorded the author talk on my BlackBerry and I was impressed with how effective it was.  My phone, sitting on a chair ten feet from the author, picked up not only his talk but also the questions and comments from the audience members as well.  I forgot to ask Mr. Fallis for permission to post the audio and so regretfully will not being doing so.

I greatly enjoyed Terry Fallis' author talk.  I loved the behind-the-scenes trivia about his life, his writing, and the book.  He was very entertaining and informative.  During our personal meeting, I found out that Mr. Fallis will be attending this year's The Word on the Street festival in Toronto, and has done so for many years.  I have attended for the last three years but have not met him before.  I intend to seek him out when I'm there this year and I look forward to seeing him again.

Read on,
Paula