Coffee and a book ... my perfect day!

Coffee and a book ... my perfect day!

Recommended reading - The Black Eyed Blonde (2014):

The Black Eyed Blonde

By Benjamin Black.

Filmed as Marlowe (2022), directed by Neil Jordan.

Published by Picador.

First published 2014.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 144723670X

ISBN-13: 978-1447236702

Description:

A Philip Marlowe novel.

Raymond Chandler’s incomparable private eye is back, pulled by a seductive young heiress into the most difficult and dangerous case of his career.

“It was one of those summer Tuesday afternoons when you begin to wonder if the earth has stopped revolving. The telephone on my desk had the look of something that knows it’s being watched. Traffic trickled by in the street below, and there were a few pedestrians, too, men in hats going nowhere.”

So begins The Black-Eyed Blonde, a new novel featuring Philip Marlowe – yes, that Philip Marlowe. Channeling Raymond Chandler, Benjamin Black has brought Marlowe back to life for a new adventure on the mean streets of Bay City, California. It is the early 1950s, Marlowe is as restless and lonely as ever, and business is a little slow. Then a new client is shown in: young, beautiful, and expensively dressed, she wants Marlowe to find her former lover, a man named Nico Peterson. Marlowe sets off on his search, but almost immediately discovers that Peterson’s disappearance is merely the first in a series of bewildering events. Soon he is tangling with one of Bay City’s richest families and developing a singular appreciation for how far they will go to protect their fortune.

Only Benjamin Black, a modern master of the genre, could write a new Philip Marlowe novel that has all the panache and charm of the originals while delivering a story that is as sharp and fresh as today’s best crime fiction.

Praise for The Black-Eyed Blonde:

“Somewhere Raymond Chandler is smiling, because this is a beautifully rendered hard-boiled novel that echoes Chandler’s melancholy at perfect pitch. The story is great, but what amazed me is how John Banville caught the cumulative effect Chandler’s prose had on readers. It’s hard to quatify, but it’s also what separated the Marlowe novels from the general run of noir (which included some damn fine novelists, like David Goodis and Jim Thompson). The sadness runs deep. I loved this book. It was like having an old friend, one you assumed was dead, walk into the room. Kind of like Terry Lennox, hiding behind those drapes.” – Stephen King.

“Banville channeling Chandler is irresistible – a double whammy of a mystery. Hard to think anyone could add to Chandler with profitable results. But Banville most definitely gets it done.” – Richard Ford.

Recommended reading - The Name of the Rose (1980):

The Name of the Rose

By Umberto Eco.

Published by Harper.

First published 1980.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0063279630

ISBN-13: 978-0063279636

Description:

Italy, 1347. While Brother William of Baskerville is investigating accusations of heresy at a wealthy abbey, his inquiries are disrupted by a series of bizarre deaths. Turning his practiced detective skills to finding the killer, he relies on logic (Aristotle), theology (Thomas Aquinas), empirical insights (Roger Bacon), and his own wry humor and ferocious curiosity. With the aid of his young apprentice, William scours the abbey, from its stables to the labyrinthine library, piecing together evidence, and deciphering cryptic symbols and coded manuscripts to uncover the truth about this place where "the most interesting things happen at night."

First published in 1980, The Name of the Rose became an international sensation, beguiling readers around the world with its mix of history, humor, and intellectual heft. This beautifully designed modern edition, illustrated with exclusive original drawings created by Umberto Eco, will enchant a new generation of readers and entice old fans to fall under its spell once again.

Now available in a deluxe fortieth-anniversary paperback edition featuring never-before-seen illustrations by the author, the beloved internationally bestselling historical mystery about a brilliant monk called upon to solve a series of baffling murders in a fourteenth-century Italian abbey.

“Explodes with pyrotechnic inventions, literally as well as figuratively. Hold on till the end.” – New York Times.

“Whether you're into Sherlock Holmes, Montaillou, Borges, the nouvelle critique, the Rule of St. Benedict, metaphysics, library design, or The Thing from the Crypt, you'll love it. Who can that miss out?” – Sunday Times (London).

Jean Craighead George, on reading:

I love to travel, but when I really want to escape, I read a book.

- Jean Craighead George.

On this day in movie history - Bandit (2022):

Bandit

directed by Allan Ungar,

written by Kraig Wenman,

based on the book The Flying Bandit by Robert Knuckle and Ed Arnold,

was released in the United States on September 23, 2022.
Music by Aaron Gilhuis.

Cast:

Josh Duhamel, Mel Gibson, Elisha Cuthbert, Nestor Carbonell, Swen Temmel, Keith Arthur Bolden, Dylan Flashner, Olivia d'Abo, Michael H. Cole, Claire Bronson, Eric J. Little, Jessica Luza, Rachael Markarian, Leander Suleiman, Ian Hoch, Lorenzo Yearby, Chiara D'Ambrosio, Jacobi Hollingshed, Jason Vail, Ron Fallica, Cooper Thornton, Todd d'Amour, Christina Bach, Leslie Stratton, Dayna Beilenson, Jerry Ascione, George Adams, B.J. Winfrey, Greg Corbett, Megan Hayes, Charlie Sara, Ashley Dougherty, Hannah Celeste, Packer Morley, Viktoria Anske, Ava Anske, Peter Anske Jr., Peter Anske, Faisal Mahmood, James Bryan Lewis, Derek Severson, Clayton Landey, Burns Burns, David Garen, Spence Maughon, Sherilan Lane, Haley Webb, Mary DeMatteo, Harris Boland Hauser, Gemma Jean Young, Alyssa Alexander, Celeste Fianna, Jeremiah McClain, Helena Sadvary, David A.L. Venable, Buddy Watkins.

On this day in movie history - A History of Violence (2005):

A History of Violence

directed by David Cronenberg,

written by Josh Olson,

was released in the United States on September 23, 2005.
Based on the graphic novel written by John Wagner and illustrated by Vince Locke.
Music by Howard Shore.

Cast:

Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Peter MacNeill, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk, Kyle Schmid, Sumela Kay, Gerry Quigley, Deborah Drakeford, Heidi Hayes, Aidan Devine, Bill MacDonald, Michelle McCree, Ian Matthews, R.D. Reid, Morgan Kelly, Martha Reilly, Jason Barbeck, Bruce Beaton, Neven Pajkic, Brendan Connor, Nick Antonacci, John Watson, Don Allison, Brittany Payer, Mitch Boughs, April Mullen, George King, Shawn Campbell, Stephen Arbuckle, Connor Price, Jacob Rolfe, Evan Rose, Michael Stevens.

On this day in music history - Some Girls Do, by Lee Aaron (1991):

The album Some Girls Do,

by Lee Aaron,

was released on September 23, 1991.