"Mystery" movie DVDs in the library--

I appreciate that our library system has the various categories that it does for DVDs such as "classic," "drama," (the videos have been removed and maybe Blu-ray movies will come...???) and "mystery" is included.

While in the back work area recently, I spied an old movie from the 70s and checked it out that day. It was director Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye" starring Elliot Gould as Raymond Chandler's private eye Phillip Marlowe. I enjoyed the movie with its almost oddball detective who walks around nearly unaffected by his environment. And I hope it was a joke that Marlowe went through the movie with an ever present cigarette--usually lit--in his mouth and dressed in the same black suit.

The DVD cover (as found on Amazon) is cool too--good job by the marketing people.

Also, this is the movie with the surprise ending and I will give it that. And the Arnold Swarzengeer sighting is nifty too.

By chance, days later I grabbed foreign film DVD based on Harlan Coben's book of the same name "Tell No One." Now, it is a foreign film but it is a mystery story. I had mentioned this in the blog last year as a movie to look out for and it took me a while to get the dvd and watch it. It was a very well-done movie with its story moved from the U.S. to France. I watched the movie the first time in its original French language with English subtitles and then started watching the movie again with the English language dubbing. I preferred it the first time--I was good with the subtitles and the French language is nice to hear.

Heard on the TV News this morning that (Christmas book sales)--

Before dashing out the door to work this morning, I heard that this is the first Christmas in which sales for physical book were surpassed by the e-book. Taking a look on the web later, I read that Amazon claims this feat was due to the popular Kindle e-reader. There's a little more information here from InformationWeek but the future is here and now with electronic reading.

Getting into the nuts and bolts of the mystery novel--

I checked out a book recently and read about another just released one in USAToday which both tackle the craft of mystery writing--from different angles. The newer book is Talking About Detective Fiction by long-time mystery writer P.D. James. It gives an illuminating, big-picture approach to mysteries with information about the history of the genre in certain literature titles (i.e., Charles Dickins's Bleak House) to present day works with writers like Colin Dexter as shared in Amazon's product description of the book.

Click here to read additional information including a Publisher's Weekly review about this book which says it does cover British writers to a major although not exlusively degree. Look for attention focused on Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh and more. The book is 198 pages.

James has a great expertise to lend to her book while the other book The Lineup: the world's greatest crime writers tell the inside story of their greatest detectives gives a multiple voice approach. Edited by Otto Penzler, the book features 21 authors talking about the characters that they have created--the inspirations and what makes up the characteristics of the detectives. I skipped around and read the entries about writer John Harvey's Charlie Resnick and Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan. The book is 406 pages.

A Christmas wish for a DVD set--

Its Christmas time again and I enjoy receiving DVDs (or DVD sets) like many this time of year. My dream DVD set would be an old personal favorite TV show--a private eye series from the 1970s, "Harry O" starring David Janssen. Here's a googled pix of Janssen from the series.

The series only ran two years and that can be one reason it doesn't appear to be joining other shows on the DVD racks--sadly. I had hope it would make it as more shows were coming to DVD a few years back but the DVD television show glut has eased I believe. Still, Janssen's big TV hit, "The Fugitive" is released regularly for the interested to purchase in half season "chunks"--OK, DVD sets.

Anyway, I liked the nature of the Harry Orwell character with his wit and unconventional lifestyle of living on a boat on the beach. And to get around for a while during the series he would just take public transportation--the bus. Also Janssen's voice over segments during the episodes worked for me too.

On the other hand, I still have a paperback book based on the series simplyly entitled Harry O. It was the first book with a #1 in the top left corner and was published in 1975. So till my dream happens (a studio DVD television set), I'll keep check for upcoming DVD releases but I won't hold my breath. Finally, I'm including the opening for the show courtesy of YouTube. I'm including the first and second, the third is just OK.

Book Club discusses "An Incomplete Revenge" [October]

The book club discussed the fifth book of the "Maisie Dobbs" series by Jacqueline Winspear several weeks back during the October session. An Incomplete Revenge features psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs--a highly motivated woman who pursuits an education and opportunities to move to a professionally-recognized status from that of a house servant. This book series is set during and following the first World War.

Winspear's picture here comes courtesy of her website.

In this novel, Maisie Dobbs is employed by an old friend to check out the feasibility of a land purchase. The land is in a village outside London in Kent and peculiar news stories from the area raise concern for Dobbs employer--incidents of fires. She arrives during a harvest season and works to gain the trust of the locals, including a gypsy community with which she finds an affinity.

The truth of the mysteries lie in a community's hidden secrets and try as she might, Maisie is the outsider--the woman driving around the village in her MG car.

Some quick observations (shared here) included:

• Maisie attempts to fit a community setting by picking up on the language or terms used by the residents or setting
• Maisie has a young assistant who's also a working stiff type and family man, Billy, and she offers him some work with investigations but hasn't reached out to help him as a mentor
• Maisie has personal troubles that stop her from leading a cheerful life
• however, she has a warm relationship with her father
• incidents of community secrets (or shame?) include nearly the whole community.

New Mystery by Celebrity Author--

NBC's "Today" show weatherman Al Roker is stretching his writing talents with a new mystery book, The Morning Show Murders, co-authored by Dick Lochte. The author of previous titles about fatherhood and cooking, has a made a splash into fiction writing here. The photo of Mr. Roker comes courtesy of the"NBC Today Show" website.

Sticking close to what Al knows, the book, as the title suggests, deals with a murder mystery in a network TV setting. It begins as TV morning personality, Billy Blessing, a chef and restaurant owner, is suspected in the murder of a network head. The television executive has just dined at Billy's restaurant and dies after consuming poison in his meal. But who is the actual murderer? With his professional life snapped shut and on hold (no TV and restaurant work), Billy turns into a self-styled sleuth.

This is one of two new mysteries I remember from a recent book catalog at work (the other was the new Sue Grafton book).

Library System Gets a Pat on the Back

(Here's some big news from our Main Library:) The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (formerly the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County) and South County Regional Library have once again been designated a “Five-Star” library. This is a due in large part to the support and patronage we receive from you, the people of Charlotte. Thanks! Wondering what a Five-Star Library is? It’s the highest possible rating given out by the Library Journal, and it’s similar to the Michelin and Mobile guides used for restaurants and hotels. They’ve actually given it to use twice: first in February 2009, then again in November 2009.

You can read more on our website [link to http://www.plcmc.org/About_Us/in_The_News/releaseDetails.asp?id=407].
The Library Journal Index is based equally on four things: visits, circulation, program attendance, and public Internet computer use.

The Newest in a Loooonng Series

A co-worker smiled yesterday as she received the newest Sue Grafton alphabet mystery, U is for Undertow, before leaving for the day. She noted how the series is coming to end soon and marveled that she remembered reading the first book in the early 1980s. At that time, she was at a church sleepover with two of her children--then in grade school--reading "A" is for Alibi: a Kinsey Millhone mystery.

I'm impressed that Grafton is still going strong with this clever mystery concept and has carvered a unique spot in the mystery genre for herself. And as the new People magazine notes in a book review, private detective Millhone--reaching book 20 now--does that have the wonderful author blessing of not aging in natural years as all novels are still set in the 1980s.