Thursday Thirteen #48

A few weeks ago, after I had done a book list of one-word titles for my TT, someone (so sorry, I can’t remember who) suggested a two-word title list.  Well, I have millions of those.  But then I decided to whittle it down to make it a bit less easy, so it would be more fun searching them out.  First of all, no titles where the first word was a definite article.  And then I decided only to feature titles that consisted of an adjective and a noun.  Adjectives proper, mind you, not adjectival nouns. So, “Treasure Island”  and “Storm Warning” would not be eligible whereas “Rampant Thighs” would – always supposing that such a book existed and that I owned a copy. I have enough for several lists so, pausing to thank Hootin Anni for this weeks great header, I present

...............................Thirteen Books With Two-Word Titles

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“Absolute Power”   by DAVID BALDACCI   There was a film made of this novel, but as is usually the case, the book is much better. Anyway, a burglar robbing what he thinks is an empty house witnesses a man and a woman, both drunk, start to make love, then get into an argument. Complications: (a) the man kills the woman, and (b) the man is the President of the United States.  Obviously, our burglar can’t just report this to the police.  This is a novel of suspense as Mr Burglar tries to let people know what he has seen while staying alive himself, meanwhile the forces that protect the president try to find him and kill him. Good fun.   Buy it here

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“Buried Blossoms”   by STEPHEN LEWIS   As far as I can tell, this was published posthumously, after the author died at a very young age.  In spite of the sensationalist blurb on the front cover, this is actually a pretty good book, about a New England family’s descent into madness, and the attempt of one of the children to escape. Some very good evocations of small town Massachusetts in the early part of the twentieth century, and some exciting passages.   Buy it here

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“Wry Martinis”  by CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY   Buckley is one of the funniest writers in American journalism today, with several successful full-length novels under his belt.  This is a collection of his articles from several publications including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Esquire and many more.  Each one is but a few pages long; an ideal way of sampling what he can do.   Buy it here

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“Needful Things”   by STEPHEN KING   For this one we go back to the fictional town of Castle Rock in Maine, where King set several of his novels.  I have only read this once, so maybe a re-read is in order.  The title refers to a junk shop, pretty much, owned by a mysterious stranger who arrives in town one day.  The thing is, when you buy anything from him, he wants payment in deeds, not in cash. Not King’s best novel, but not bad either.   Buy it here

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“Dear Me”   by PETER USTINOV   Ustinov was a veritable polymath, with many strings to his bow.  He wrote this autobiography in the 1970s, when he still had about 30 years left to live, so there is a lot of his life that is not covered, but even so this beautifully written book is a fascinating account of his childhood, military service and his career as far as early middle age.  I was especially fond of him because we went to the same school (at different times, of course).   Buy it here

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“Forgotten English”   by JEFFREY KACIRK   This is not the only book by any means that deals with the subject of words that are no longer current in everyday English.  Since a word is a word, and does not lose its meaning even if it falls out of general use, the joy of books like this is finding words that one can use in one’s own conversation or writing, and possibly even help reintroduce them to common parlance.  In Kacirk’s book there are several that I think are not yet obsolete (flunkey, for example, and bibliophile).  Among the rest, I don’t think I shall ever need to use fixfax or fleam, but in my youth I was many times a fribbler, to this day I am on occasion farctate and if I am honest with myself I am sometimes a mumpsimus (Word spell-checker doesn’t like any of those. There’s a surprise!).   Buy it here

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“Rising Sun”  by MICHAEL CRICHTON   I almost didn’t buy this book, because when I am at a second hand store I try to avoid books that look too battered and used. But I did buy this after all and I’m very glad I did.  I think it is my favourite Crichton so far.   A woman is murdered in the conference room at the headquarters building of a multinational corporation.  One plot stream is about solving the murder. The other is about how Japanese companies are buying up America.  Unusually for a novel, there is a bibliography at the end, because Crichton is very keen that we should read the facts that he wove into his fiction.  The book was written in 1992.  I wonder how much of that information is now out of date.   Buy it here

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“High Adventure”  by DONALD WESTLAKE   I have never understood why Donald Westlake isn’t more widely known. His novels are consistently good, all of them with a certain sardonic humour.  This one is set in the central American country of Belize, involving a likable villain who is a smuggler, a local corrupt official, and various nasty characters who try to upset what has so far been a very profitable relationship for both men.   Buy it here

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“Black Ajax”  by GEORGE MACDONALD FRASER   I was very sad to read last December of the death of George Macdonald Fraser.  For one thing, that means that there will be no more Flashman novels, which are among my absolute favourites.  This one, though, is not part of that canon. It is the story of Tom Molineaux, who was a real person – a former slave who escaped from America to England and became a champion prize fighter in the days of bare knuckle boxing.  The central character was real but the others in the story are invention, though it does follow the known facts about the man.  Not as flamboyant as the Flashman stories, this is still an excellent piece of historical writing. Very entertaining.   Buy it here

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“Humble Pie”   by GORDON RAMSAY   If you’ve seen him on BBC America or the Fox Network, you’ll know that Ramsay is not one of life’s most humble people.  Passionate, loud, critical but never a bully, he has become one of the world’s top chefs.  This is the story of how he got there, and after you read some of the things he endured along the way you’ll understand why he takes a rather robust approach to his craft and the people who want to practice it.   Buy it here

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“Strong Poison”   by DOROTHY L. SAYERS   This is one of Sayers’s mystery stories featuring her amateur sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, from the days when Scotland Yard obviously didn’t mind letting interested members of the public have a go at solving crimes, collecting clues, questioning witnesses and suspects etc.  Here a woman is accused of poisoning her fiancé and old Pete sets out to prove her innocence. Lost of fun.   Buy it here

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“Pure Drivel”   by STEVE MARTIN   The “wild and craaazy guy” of comedy is also a very accomplished author and playwright.  He also contributes pieces to The New Yorker, and this slim volume (a smidgen over 100 pages) is a collection of some of those articles.  Some very funny ones among them.   Buy it here

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“Deep Cover”  by BRIAN GARFIELD   Another from the cold war days.  I expect we have all heard of sleepers, in the espionage sense – people who live in their enemy’s country for years or even decades, as full members of the community, waiting  until they are activated by their commanders.  Here we have a number of families living in small town America, near a USAF base.  Who are the spies, and how many of them, after so many years in these surroundings, will want to work for the triumph of the Soviet Union (anyone remember that?)?  This is a entertaining read even if some of the subject matter is obsolete.   Buy it here

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Comments

[Tink]

Your booklists are never boring! "Forgotten English" sounds interesting.
Thanks for visiting my inspiring people TT. No need to be embarrassed!

[Nicole Austin]

Another great list. Hey,anything involving books is good, in my opinion. Absolute Power is one of my favorite novels. Its one of those books that captures your imagination right away. I agree with you, the book is much better than the movie!

[The Gal Herself]

I've read Absolute Power and Pure Drivel. I enjoy Baldacci books when I'm reading them, but can't remember much about them when I'm done. Didn't remember it from the title, but I recognized it from your synopsis. Pure Drivel, though, was a pure delight! (Thanks for visiting my TT)

[chuck]

Ahhhh - wry martinis. I shall go out and purchase that one. Love them there drinks.

Happy TT!

[ellen b]

I really enjoy Dorothy Sayers. Now I'm going to ask the hubby to make me a martini or since I mentioned Sayers maybe I should make that a gin and tonic...

[marcia v]

I have read 2 of Steve Martin's and enjoyed them so much

[On a Limb with Claudia]

ha ha! A list where I've read exactly nothing!

Tapping foot.... I know it's all about ME after all! ;)

I don't know how you have space for all these books - as usual you inspire.

Cheers!

[Chelle Y.]

You must have an amazing mind! I feel so silly with my lists now. :)

[susiej]

Hmmm. You know, two word titles are kind of rare, now that I think about it... Just curious, how long did this take you? Or, did you already have the book titles swirling in your head?

[Ivanhoe]

What a great idea and cool reviews! Now I have a list to go to the library with next time. Thanks for sharing and visiting. Happy TT!

[Joely]

The only one I actually read is Rising Sun, but I really want to get that book on Gordon Ramsay. I'll add it to my wishlist. Happy TT!

[pussreboots]

I've only read Rising Sun and it was one of my least favorite Crichton books ever. It's so xenophobic! Happy TT.

[Danica/Dream]

These are great... you always come up with the most interesting titles.

[Lori]

And I thought I lived in the library (smile).

[Susan Helene Gottfried]

I don't understand why Donald Westlake isn't more widely known, either. I've only read two of his books so far, but both have stayed with me for a long time. He's really a fabulous writer.

[Hestial]

Fun list! I've actually read a few of them this time -- Pure Drivel was my first Steve Martin book, and I probably read Needful Things years before I should have been "allowed" to. "Wry Martinis" is going on my "to check out sometime" list.

(also, I went through my spam folder today, and I just saw your email. I have a very spotty knowledge of jazz, but I do love Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington and, of course, Louis Armstrong. Boyfriend and I just got into a debate over whether Billie Holiday belongs under Jazz or Blues...)

[Journeywoman]

Now a bunch of these I've read!

Happy TT.

[No nonsense girl]

Cool Nicholas. Happy TT!

[Lori]

Nope...havent read any of those books either. I guess we just dont have the same taste in books, do we?? lol...Happy TT.

[Briggie]

for a second there i thought i would end up commenting that i haven't heard of or read anything on your list, but it must be my lucky day - i have read Needful Things, Rising Sun, and I have Pure Drivel on my bookshelf but haven't read it. How was Gordon Ramsay's Humble Pie? I was thinking about getting it for my son for his birthday - he loves his shows!

[Xakara]

So many books, so little time.

I remember Needful Things and the idea of everyone trading for what they thought they wanted and being asked to do seemingly small things that ended up having big consequences. I only read it once though so I'll have to see if I own it and go back to see how I like it.

There was more I was going to say but I'm sleepy and need to hit some other blogs. Talk to you later. :)

~X

[Tasina]

Interesting list. Thanks for sharing.

[Robin]

I enjoyed both Rising Sun and Absolute Power, and yes, the second was much better as a big.

[Ann Bruce]

I'm getting WRY MARTINIS for its title alone.

[beeker]

I love Gordon Ramsey. I haven't read the others. I will have to check them out. Thanks for the Thirteen!