Woodstock's Blog

Music of the Day

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Fri, 4 Jul 08 14:15:00 UT

I'm home by myself today for about another hour, until it's time to head for the stadium - and I got to looking through my CD collection.

And I got an idea. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but I'm going to try. I plan to pick one CD a day, the music suiting my mood of the moment, and mention what I'm listening to.

To start things off - THE HIGHWAYMAN by the iconic foursome - Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson. The title track is by Jimmy Webb, and the album also includes, among others, Guy Clark's DESPERADOS WAITING FOR A TRAIN; Bob Seger's AGAINST THE WIND; and Woody Guthrie's PLANE WRECK AT LOS GATOS. I can never listen to Guthrie's song, in any rendition by any artist without weeping. I hope (and I doubt) that day never comes.

It's a nice selection for Independence Day. Quintessentially American, with a pleasant mix of pathos, rhythm, humor, and nostalgia.

Read a Classic Novel

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Fri, 4 Jul 08 08:03:00 UT

I just finished FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury, and like most of my reactions when I read a book recommended over and over by dozens of commentators, I wonder why it took me so long

Bradbury first published this in 1953, and I found it remarkably prophetic. I do recall that more and more households had TV's in those years, but I also recall that my family didn't get one until 1955. With that in mind, I found his prediction of the future of TV to be remarkable. He portrays a world where all four walls of a room are devoted to large interactive screens. Programming features ill defined, raucous arguments/discussions from characters called "family" in which there is no common thread of sense or meaning.

I thought of the shows like Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, and the endless round of courtroom shows - Judge Judy and her ilk.

Political aspirants are evaluated by the clothing they wear, and the haircuts they display.

There is widespread denigration of the wisdom to be found in classical literature, and a depressing sort of anti-intellectualism is also widespread and seems to have the support of the government of the time.

The title, of course, refers to the temperature at which books will burn. All structures have been successfully fireproofed, so firemen devote their skills to incincerating caches of books located in the community.

The main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman and has a crisis of conscience when he encounters an elderly woman who will literally stop at nothing to be close to her books. His growing doubt and confusion provide the central thread of the story.

The version I read had an afterword by Bradbury, in which he contemplates the various subtle censorships his novel faced during the years, his tribute to Conan Doyle in the work (a large mechanical dog with the ability to attack and kill by use of lethal medications is modeled after the Hound of the Baskervilles) and his wry observation that Montag's name is also that of a brand of paper, and another character - Faber - bears the name of a brand of pencils.

In the end, I found the work to be ultimately hopeful and positive in outlook. One of the "book people" Montag meets late in the action compares the civilized world to a phoenix - facing destruction over and over again, but finding a way to rise from the ashes.

All things considered, a good reading choice for the week of the Fourth of July.

Coors Field Nugget Nine - learning the hard way

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Wed, 2 Jul 08 07:38:00 UT

If you arrive at the stadium and discover your tickets are back home in Ohio, the customer service office of the ticket department can usually help. The office is directly behind the lobby area where I work, so my coworker and I get involved in almost every request arising from a ticket problem.

We get a wide variety - print at home didn't work; forgot them; left them in a pocket and they went through the wash; kid in the back seat on the way to the game ripped off the bar code used to scan for entry; and so on. The people who arrive with a hard little lump of cardboard are always surprised to know that they are not the first to run the tickets through the washing machine!

So last night when a man arrived with tickets ripped into two pieces, we didn't pay a whole lot of attention, and sent him back to talk to the ticket staff. THEN here come two kids, one about 16 and the other about 11, saying their tickets had been stolen, and we sent them back to talk to the ticket staff. Turns out the two situations were related, and there was A LOT more to the story.

We pieced together that the man had 4 tickets altogether and had been on the sidewalk about 4 blocks from the stadium, attempting to unload two extras.* As he held two tickets up, two teenaged boys ran past him, and grabbed the tickets from his hand. They scuffled, and the tickets got torn. The kids ran away.

The boys' story was that THEIR tickets had been lost, they admitted they had probably dropped them, and they had jumped to the conclusion that they had found the thief. In a bizarre twist stranger than fiction, the boys were right, they had dropped the tickets. In a very unusual gesture quite early in our shift, two people came to the lobby, and gave us two tickets they had found on the sidewalk as they were walking over from the shuttle bus.

So NOW in another bizarre twist, they all ended up in the ticket service office at the same time. Things got heated, the man wanted to have the kids arrested, so we called the cops.

The lobby filled up with officers - it must have been a slow night, because we had ten of them in there, most of them just standing around, but I could tell it unnerved the kids. So, eventual outcome - (1) Dad on other end of a cellphone conversation confirmed that the lost tickets turned into us were the ones he gave his kids. (2) Man who had been trying to sell his extras was eventually dissuaded from pressing charges. (3) His ripped tickets were reprinted and he went into the game. (4) Cops agreed to release the tickets to the kid and they went into the game.

By the time it was over, the older of the two boys had a small (and probably embarrassing) track of tears heading down each cheek. The younger of the two sat still, stayed quiet, and looked scared.

Since this was a situation when it seemed to me that everyone was right to some extent, the only real problem was the kid jumping to the conclusion that he had found his stolen tickets. (The preprinted season tickets all have the same photograph on them, and a casual glance will not tell you the seat location) And all youthful swagger was gone when he realized how much commotion he was causing, all he wanted to do was talk to his dad. And who knows what Dad thought, but his help during the phone call was the factor which sorted out the confrontation, and got all three of them on their way to watch the Rockies remember how to play baseball and win over the Padres.

*This practice is not illegal in Denver, if all you want is the price printed on the ticket - in other words, you want to recover the $$ you spent for tickets you will not use. However, you cannot conduct this kind of transaction on the sidewalks immediately adjacent to the stadium. You have to be at least across the street. so the guy unloading tickets a few blocks away was within the law. The kids accosting him and grabbing the tickets were, technically, committing petty theft.

Coors Field Nugget Eight - Uniforms and Wardrobe

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Tue, 17 Jun 08 12:56:00 UT

Did you know that the home team pitcher chooses the uniform for the day? Usually in collaboration with input from the catcher, but the entire team has input.

I have received more than one call in the last couple of years from a woman who doesn't like black jerseys, and is quite offended when I tell her that the home team starting pitcher chooses the uniform of the day. I can not persuade her that I am correct in telling her who makes the choice. Her point is that black is unlucky. When I try to explain the history of baseball on this issue, she invokes her childhood in Brooklyn, and claims that she knows everything there is to know about baseball, since she dated one of the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers when she was young.

Did you know that on the last day of an away series, the team's stuff, jerseys, jock straps, shoes, socks, etc is packed up dirty and it's the job of the visiting clubhouse at the next stop to get everything clean? The "clubbies" in each visiting clubhouse get that job, and get tipped very well as a result. I think the tips are deserved when I stop to contemplate what greets them when they zip open gear bags to find yesterday's dirty everything.

Most clubhouse personnel work late into the night getting everything clean for the following day's game. The "clubbies" are, for the most part, young guys studying various types of sports management curricula at local colleges. The tips go a long way toward funding educations. However, the job makes college a much longer row to hoe because spring & fall class schedules will of necessity be part time, and summer school is probably out of the question.

Last October, at the team introductions before the first game in Boston, I spotted most of the Rockies clubhouse personnel in the line of support staff on the field not introduced while TV was live. I thought it was a very nice gesture (perhaps not unique to the Rockies) to take the clubbies along for the games away.

Coors Field has five or six huge washing machines and several equally monstrous dryers. The wardrobe department not only provides cold weather gear for game day staff which we can check out daily, (or "rent" for a season to the tune of a $100 deposit) but also performs minor repairs on team jerseys, adds names to jerseys for players called from the minors on a moment's notice, prepares all stadium photo ID cards and passes, keeps lost and found items related to stadium credentials and probably dozens of other tasks I don't even guess at.

A few tidbits for you to store away and bring up at the next appropriate conversation over drinks.

Books Update

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Tue, 17 Jun 08 12:50:00 UT

THE OMNIVOREâS DILEMMA Michael Pollan

On May 14, I wrote about my book discussion experience when my Tuesday night library based group tackled this one. You can read more about the book in that blog entry. Weâve read Pollanâs books before, and probably will again. His writing style is pleasant, clearly well researched, yet accessible and enjoyable for the most uneducated scientific neophyte.

WEST WITH THE NIGHT Beryl Markham

Another classic I waited much too long to read. This is a very entertaining combination of personal memoir, a meditation on the relationships between man and beast, a marvelous window into a time in Africa which has long since disappeared, and more than deserving of its place in literature.

WINTER STUDY Nevada Barr

This one wonât knock Barr off my âdonât missâ list of authors, but it isnât up to her usual standard. Park Ranger Anna Pigeon winters over on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. A kind of âlocked roomâ mystery in which there are a very limited list of suspects in the crime of murder. I think Barr missed an opportunity to provide interesting facts about the role of predators in nature. But not to worry, Iâll read her next one for sure.

THE COMMONER John Burnham Schwartz

Schwartz uses actual events from the lives of the current Emperor and Empress of Japan to construct an insightful âwhat ifâ scenario telling the stories of the Empress as a young girl coming of age in post-war Japan, her life after her marriage, and her failure to support her daughter-in-law. The book raises interesting, perhaps unanswerable, questions about what actions are justified to protect a vulnerable loved one.

VOYAGE OF THE BASSET James Christensen

A childâs book of fantasy, beautifully illustrated, with a wispy fragment of a story. The library book discussion group was in agreement that the artwork was worth the investment of time. Opinions on the worth of the textual material were divided.

CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE Jane Haddam

Haddam never misses an opportunity to take a swipe at various features of popular culture. In her latest Gregor Demarkian adventure, a group of young women, clearly lifted from press coverage of Paris Hilton and other women like her, converge on a wintry New England island. A couple of murders bring Demarkian into investigate. Haddam will always provide alternate chapters from the point of view of most of her characters which results in a pleasant guessing game similar to those presented classic detective fiction of a few generations ago.

ALICEâS ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Lewis Carroll

I reread these after too many years to count, in preparation for next weekâs book discussion evening. I had forgotten quite a bit, and found many memory cells affected by Walt Disneyâs concepts.

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH Jhumpa Lahiri

One of my nieces besieged every family member she could find after she finished Lahiriâs first book of short stories â INTERPRETER OF MALADIES - with a demand that we "read this book!" I was as enchanted as she was, and approached this new collection with trepidation â could Lahiri keep it up? Yes, she can. And in this collection, she expands her view to include main characters who are not Bengali. She is a treasure, if you havenât read any of her books, donât wait to put them on your âto be readâ list.

RESISTANCE by Owen Sheers

During a bitterly cold winter in Wales, in the late 1940âs, the Allied invasion of Normandy has failed, and Naziâs occupy Great Britain. One morning a group of farm women wake to find they are alone, their husbands and all other men in the area have left during the night. Presumably to join a resistance movement, but no one knows for sure. As weather conditions worsen, a local German officer offers the assistance of his small band of occupying forces. In a short epilogue, author Sheers relates that he constructed his alternate history based on the memories of an elderly man who recalled his wartime intention to volunteer for the resistance if Germany had managed to invade. In his story, Sheers does not answer every question of the reader, but provides enough small clues to provide sobering food for thought.

THE GIVER Lois Lowry

Another alternate version of reality. A group of seemingly well adjusted people live together in easy routine, but as the story unfolds, the reader realizes that a lot of what makes life interesting is missing. While there is no conflict, persons feel no deep emotions, sexual urges are medicated away, and children are regimented and pigeonholed into pre-established jobs as they reach the age of twelve. And, of course, one young person realizes what is missing, and moves to rebel.

HOLD TIGHT Harlan Coben

The latest fast, tense read from the best selling author. Coben always manages to dish up a story of ordinary suburban families, with ordinary concerns and activities, who get caught up in something they did not anticipate. Cobenâs notes at the conclusion reveal that this latest novel began as he discussed with a group of friends and fellow parents just how far they were willing to go to protect their children.

GANG LEADER FOR A DAY Sudhir Venkatesh

In the 1990âs, the author was a graduate student in sociology at the University of Chicago and began to do field research in a local high rise housing project. After some 8-10 years of study, he had a remarkable set of experiences â following a local gang leader manage a far reaching sales empire dealing in crack cocaine; and observing a tenant leader in one of the buildings as she both assisted residents and lorded over them. Venkatesh had a remarkable window on a large community of people, largely ignored and abandoned by the elected and appointed leaders of their community, who nevertheless found ways to organize and manage their lives.

LOOKING GLASS WARS Frank Beddor

Beddor is a Hollywood producer, with several successful films to his credit. He takes on the story of Alice in Wonderland and a battle for control between the Red Queen and Alice, to appropriate cinematic effect.

BLACKLIGHT BLUE Peter May

Mayâs protagonist Enzo McLeod is a forensic specialist who has accepted a bet to solve several cold cases which have baffled French police. In this third installment, his successes have gained him press attention, and a group of baddies decide to preempt his investigation of their crimes and take him out first. A very suspenseful pursuit ensues.

Maybe the Doomsayers are on to Something

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Tue, 17 Jun 08 11:09:00 UT

Last night, beginning about 6:30, two helicopters began buzzing downtown Denver. They were quite low, very very noisy, and easily pegged as military aircraft.

Repeatedly swooping in circles, hovering over one tall building, then another, then another. Then lifting up again to begin another go-around, each time seeming to come lower and rise up again. As the ballgame was winding down about 9 pm, they were still at it.

By then, my teeth were on edge and I finally called a local newspaper. "This is some kind of drill, in preparation for the Democratic National Convention. We've put a brief article on our website."

So, of course, when I got home, I checked the website. No local military installation would provide any information to the press, and the local Air National Guard base had stated that the copters were not based there, and had not taken off from that field.

This morning's paper has a different spin. It's now part of a Homeland Security drill of some sort, for terrorism combat training. Oh, goody. My home town is considered a likely spot for aerial combat teams to gain familiarity. Now it doesn't have anything to do with the DNC. Local military installations are still claiming that they know nothing. Right.

And this is the most disconcerting part - the drills are scheduled to continue for about a week. Although the head of local Special Operations command was quoted as saying these were Blackhawk helicopters; this was "routine;" the police department had been briefed; the press would not be allowed to cover anything or gain access to any details; and the populace should just relax. Or words to that effect.

Well, the head of Special Ops can believe his own press release if he chooses, but last night was more than unnerving. For about the first time in my years at the stadium, I was not envious of people living downtown. I was very glad to head the car west toward the suburbs and away from the buzzing engines and swooping helicopters.

Don't these guys who plan these things ever pay attention to the various theories about "black helicopters" which I have always dismissed until last night? I can't help but believe that someone somewhere was getting a sadistic kick out of spending the evening unnerving several thousand people.

A Dozen Little Yellow Flowers

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Sat, 14 Jun 08 13:10:00 UT

We used to have a vegetable garden, but let the project go a few years ago. That place in the back yard is currently filled with wildflowers. And we can get excellent fresh vegetables from local growers as the annual schedule of farmers' markets swings into high gear.

But, realizing that nothing beats a fresh tomato picked, sliced for dinner, and eaten in the space of about 45 minutes, we decided to try to grow a few things in containers on the deck. A friend who was cleaning out a shed on his dad's property gave us a couple of bushel baskets, and we installed two tomato plants. At first I thought that one of the two wasn't going to be happy in its new location, but it has perked up, and the second one was OK from the get go.

And while looking around the garden supply store, I noticed something called an "Earthbox" which purported to be a perfect environment for growing vegetables in a limited space. There's a kind of drainage system built in, and a cover which (I guess) retains heat and holds moisture. I got two cucumber plants - the pickling kind, which I like better for salads - and set them up. I could tell they had gotten bigger since planted, and this morning - they are both blooming!

Fresh cukes on the horizon!

Slumps and Streaks

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Wed, 4 Jun 08 16:22:00 UT

For about the last 8-10 years, I have read 2-3 books a week. I have kept a log in an extremely simple database since early 1999, and my pace has been remarkable steady, if I look at averages, based on that log. Sometimes, for example on a vacation involving long flights, or long periods of relative inactivity, I read about a book a day. At other times, less, of course.

But since early this year, I haven't come close to keeping up with 2-3 books a week. And various review submissions for CrimeSpree magazine just sit in corners and prick my conscience when I stop to notice the stacks of books.

Since about the middle of May, I've noticed a dramatic change. I'm back to 2-3 books a week, and perhaps even a little ahead of that pace. And I can't quite identify why. A couple of truly excellent recent novels becoming available on my library holds list certainly helped. And some strange lack of ability to sit quietly and concentrate has mysteriously abated. It's good news, of course. This feels more "normal" than the earlier reading funk, or whatever it was.

And of course, each morning's sports page has brought uncomfortable parallels between my reading accomplishments and the won-loss record of the 2007 National League Champions. {I hope none of you need to stop and think which team that was!}

Yesterday, Jeff Francis, one of last year's pitching stars finally won his second game as the team shut out the Dodgers. Today Aaron Cook picked up a win. That's two games in a row, and it seems surreal, after the beginning of our season.

The game day staff has had 11 days off - we'll be back to work on Friday of this week for a six game homestand.

I think I'm too cautious to think about a streak at this point. But I hope I will be forgiven if I tentatively begin to imagine the slump nearly over. Just like my reading slump seems to have faded away.

Accepting (or more precisely abdicating) responsibility

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Sat, 24 May 08 18:27:00 UT

This might be a Coors Field Nugget, but I think there are broader issues to contemplate. I probably can't say too much about the specifics, for fear of disclosing too many identifying details, but I feel like I need to write about this.

In the past 3 or 4 weeks, we have had two groups come in to the reception lobby at Coors Field, each with problems. The first group was nearly an hour late for the meeting time for an on field, pregame ceremony. I know from personal experience that people invited to this sort of thing get very detailed instructions on when to meet, and where. There is a little give in the scenario, but not an hour's worth. There are just too many people arriving, some larger groups must be escorted at all times while in the tunnel, smaller groups directed to the green room, and so on. The woman who brought the late arrivals refused to acknowledge that she was the one who had not met the deadline. Every thing involved was the fault of the Rockies and various staff levels. Her complaints escalated to tears, then cursing, then a loud and louder voice. Eventually the children in the group, including at least one preschooler, joined in the angry profanity. They were eventually persuaded to enter the stadium and watch what remained of the game. {The brouhaha had extended into the fifth inning.}

The second group was a ticketing mixup. Somehow, they had ended up with two sets of tickets; one which had been voided and reprinted; and the second set which was valid. The person holding the two sets of tickets got them confused, and distributed the voided tickets to his family, which included at least 12 people.

The complaints were more or less a repeat of the views of the late arriving group, including slamming doors, profanity, and personal insults delivered face to face to those who were trying to help and get the mess straightened out. Including yours truly. This group also included several children.

I came away from the whole mess each time wondering what would have been so terrible if someone from each group had said: "You know what? I goofed up pretty badly, how can I help get the situation back on track?" The fact is that being cursed and insulted does very very little to encourage the helpful side of my personality.

And, as I think each incident over, I wonder at what kind of lesson each set of kids was learning? Calmly admit a mistake, and cooperate in its resolution? Or pound the desk, scream, curse, and blame everyone in sight for a failing of your own?

Rant mode off!

Forgotten Books Friday

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Fri, 23 May 08 12:48:00 UT

Over on her blog Patti Abbott has a feature she calls "Forgotten Book Friday" in which she asks readers to recall and recommend a book which made a huge impression upon first reading, and which might not be familiar to many readers.

I'm going to recommend ALAS BABYLON by Pat Frank. First published in 1959, and recently reprinted in a trade paperback edition by Harper Perennial, Frank's book imagines life in a small rural Florida community in the months after nuclear war has destroyed virtually all of the existing US infrastructure.

Perhaps not strictly a mystery, the novel does have several close links to suspense fiction, as radiation sickness threatens several of the residents, and the protagonists must trace the source of contamination in order to protect the health of the tiny community.

Who else has a "Forgotten Book?"

My "oops!" for this week

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Fri, 23 May 08 12:40:00 UT

Yesterday I was recalling an early TV appearance by Elvis Presley.

Today I did a little more checking. The show was hosted by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, not Harry James, and was produced by Jackie Gleason, who called it STAGE SHOW.

Elvis first appeared Jan 28, 1956, and was on the show 5 more times. By February HEARTBREAK HOTEL was on the charts, and I imagine that within a few weeks of my enthusiastic report to my school friends that all the naysayers knew who he was, if nothing else.

Billy Eckstine

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Thu, 22 May 08 17:18:00 UT

I think I spelled that right. We were in the car a couple of weeks ago, listening to the oldies station, and BLUE MOON came on, and I'm sure it was by Billy Eckstine. Now how did I know that?

Probably from one too many impressions by Frank Gorshin and/or Sammy Davis Jr.

But it got me thinking about the music I enjoy. I think I'm extraordinarily lucky that my lifetime spans the end of the big band era, the beginning of rock and roll, and up to the present. I do confess, however, that when my daughter grew up and moved to make her home away from mine that I droppped out of the loop of a lot of contemporary "pop" music.

I'm positive I recall listening to the Weavers' rendition of GOODNIGHT IRENE on the radio in the late 1940's. And I'm also sure that the reason I remember it so clearly is that my given name is similar to the woman in the song, and at the age of 4 or 5, I was sure they were singing about me! But TZENA, TZNEA, TZENA is another song I'm confident I remember from those years. I've heard it many times since, of course.

I think my maternal grandmother enjoyed listening to the Billboard Top 40, and my memories date back to time spent in her house. Perhaps Becky remembers?

When I was 14, I usually tried to watch to a fifteen minute weekly (I think) TV show, emceed by trumpeter Harry James and his brother, the trombonist - what was his name? One evening, a young musician sporting long dark, wavy hair - with two or three others backing him, ran through a couple of lively numbers. I was excited at the performance. I tried to share my enthusiasm next day at school, and was informed that no one with a first name like "Elvis" would ever amount to anything. Well, we all know how that story ended.

This long history of music style, music appreciation, is a wonderful gift. It amuses me now to hear POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME by Def Leppard and recall the look on my then teenaged daughter's face as I predicted she would one day have to tune to the oldies station to hear it one more time. What did Mom know about music anyway?

One Singular Sensation

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Wed, 14 May 08 22:52:00 UT

The touring company of the revival of A CHORUS LINE opened its journey around the US in Denver this week. Mr Woodstock had never seen the stage play, only heard the music and seen the film (which didn't live up to the energy and spirit of the stage production, IMO). He's having a birthday next week, so guess what he got for a present?

The revival is just as good as the first time around, and it's hard to believe it opened in 1975. It seems just as fresh as it did when I first saw it some 28 years ago or so.

It was a marvelous evening and I loved every minute. Mr W did, too. I'll be humming the various songs for several days, I know I will.

No generalization is worth a damn

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Wed, 14 May 08 07:58:00 UT

"Including this one" goes the phrase attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Last night's library book discussion group took up THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA by Michael Pollan. The author is a journalism professor in California, an avid gardner, and the author of several books and numerous articles on botany, gardening, and a wide range of other subjects. Our discussion choice is divided into three main sections, one on the current US "industrial agriculture" and the resulting impact on food available for purchase in stores and fast food restaurants; a second section examining the "organic" movement; and a third section in which he plans a meal in which all the courses serve food he has hunted, foraged for, or grown himself.

Pollan's writing style is pleasant and easy to follow, never weighted down by the extensive research he weaves into the narrative.

So I was prepared for a pleasant evening. When the discussion began, a woman who had never attended before enthusiastically distributed several fliers about "natural" foods and sustainable agriculture and more or less proceeded to monopolize the first 15-20 minutes. She finally got a rise out of me when she announced that "no Iowa farmers have their own vegetable gardens anymore. THEY don't have room or time." Since I have several family members who currently live in Iowa or are less than one generation removed from living there, I challenged her on that comment. She disagreed, of course. And I continued to press her, and stated that I would not allow such sweeping generalizations to go unanswered.

She obviously came to the discussion evening, not to discuss the book, but to convert all of us to her cause. While I agree with much of what she had to say, I regretted that we didn't spend as much time as we usually do on the book itself.

As she and I continued to spar with each other, I noticed other regulars grinning at me from across the table and winking at me on occasion. So I didn't feel alone, at any rate!

Books Update

woodstockreviews@prodigy.net — Sun, 11 May 08 13:15:00 UT

This list contains the suspense titles I've read since Mid February

BLUE HEAVEN C J Box

With this stand alone, Box departs from his engrossing Joe Pickett series. Two young children, playing hooky and enjoying an afternoon trying to catch some fish in a mountain stream, watch in horror as a group of men gathered in conversation nearby suddenly turn on one of their number and gun him down. The kids quite sensibly run for their lives, trust no one they meet, and eventually earn the reluctant help of an area rancher with a multitude of his own problems. A real page turner. From his first Joe Pickett novel, Box has demonstrated a real aptitude for bringing realistic kids into his books, and this one is no exception.

L A OUTLAWS T Jefferson Parker

A modern day Robin Hood story, in this case Robin Hood is a beautiful woman, by day a teacher in an Orange County middle school, by night a thief. She makes a name for herself by leaving behind a calling card, identifying herself as a descendant of a famous California outlaw of the mid nineteenth century. Some of her bounty goes to local charities and soup kitchens; some supports an isolated ranch and an idyllic home for her three sons.

Greed gets the best of her when she intercepts a cache of valuable diamonds. In a plot thread reminiscent of THELMA AND LOUISE, a young honest cop ends up on her trail, hoping to prevent the inevitable tragic confrontation.

FRIEND OF THE DEVIL Peter Robinson

Detective Annie Cabot, one of Robinsonâs continuing characters in his Inspector Banks series, is called to the edge of a cliff where a woman confined to a wheelchair has been found sitting in her chair, with her throat slashed open. At the same time, Banks is called to a crowded alleyway, where a young woman has been raped and strangled, and left dumped on a pile of supplies for a local leather shop. The two cops will eventually learn that their cases are related, and that motive lies in a search for revenge for long ago abuse.

FORSAKEN SOUL Priscilla Royal

In the 13th century priory of Tyndal, a reclusive woman seeking refuge from the world; joins the community as an anchoress, a type of hermit who lived alone in a small cell, usually part of a religious complex where she (or he) provided advice and an uncritical listening ear to those who came to the window of the room. The presence in Tyndal of a new anchoress seems to be a catalyst for violence and murder. As in earlier books in this series, Prioress Eleanor and her associate Brother Thomas must deal with prejudice and ignorance while searching for a determined murderer.

SLIP OF THE KNIFE Denise Mina

Journalist Paddy Mehan is startled to learn that one of her close friends has been murdered, and even more taken aback when she is named as his sole heir. While I always enjoy Minaâs atmospheric stories set in Glasgow, I found it hard to track the motive for the murder which begins the book.

LUSH LIFE Richard Price

I heard the author interviewed on NPR, saw several enthusiastic reviews of his book, so I was looking forward to an engrossing read. The action begins with a casual, unthinking remark by a pedestrian on a New York street which leads to his murder during a mugging. And not much else happens for quite some time. Eventually I was hooked by Priceâs extremely skillful characterizations. And while most of the reviews I read concentrated on the nature of 21st century life on New Yorkâs lower East Side, I found myself intrigued by the side by side tragedies of two fathers, each central to the action. Each father has lost a lot, but one has lost everything, while the other has something left to cling to. If you pick this one up, itâs worth hanging in there. About midway through, Price had gained âcanât put it downâ status, and I took good use of several uninterrupted early shift hours at the stadium to indulge in the pleasure of reading a very, very good book.

CROSS Ken Bruen

Bruenâs Jack Taylor is a mess. He has been a mess for several books now. Yet there is an essential core of worth in this character to keep me coming back to read another installment. Bruen writes from the farthest edge of the darkest corner of the suspense genre, so if dark and getting darker is not your cup of tea, you canât say you werenât warned. But if you do like that sort of book, you have a real treat.

DEAD TIME Stephen White

Continuing protagonist Alan Gregory gets involved in trying to figure out the long ago disappearance of a young woman from the floor of the Grand Canyon. His quest takes him from Colorado, to New York City, to Los Angeles, and back. White throws in (1) surrogate pregnancies; (2) a long buried secret of an ambitious public figure; (3) a rogue Park Service ranger; (4) at least one gay character struggling with choices to come out or not; (5) a young boy recently orphaned; and (6) evolving marital tensions between his two main characters. Thatâs a lot to hang on a pretty strong hook, but Iâm not sure that the hook of the young womanâs disappearance was able to handle the weight. The eventual solution seemed murky, at best.