Thursday Thirteen #63

It seems ages since I did a book list for my TT, so here’s one now.  I had a look round my books to see how many had titles that were actual sentences – subject and predicate.  There were quite a few, so I expect I’ll be able to use this idea again.  Lots of them were autobiographies, for some reason.   Anyway, here are…...

 Thirteen Books With Titles That Are Full Sentences

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Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly   by DAVID NIVEN   That charming and most entertaining actor, the late David Niven wrote two best selling volumes of autobiography.  Less well know are his two novels.  One was written in the 1950s, and for his own reasons he never allowed it back into print. This, his second, he completed shortly before his death. It was less critically acclaimed than his autobiographies but I really enjoyed it.  Time to read it again I think.   Buy it here

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That's Me In The Middle   by DONALD JACK   Canadian author Donald Jack wrote a series of nine stories about Bartholomew Bandy, a pilot in World War One and afterwards.  I have read the first two (this is the second) and they are extremely funny.  I mean, funny as in giggling out loud to myself in public and hoping no one notices.  That leaves seven left for me to read, and I'm looking forward to them.  Buy it here

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I'm Not Really Here   by TIM ALLEN   Not so much a biographical work as a series of thoughts and observations about this and that, in the style of comedians these days.  Lots of subjects are covered, from bringing up children to male fascination with power tools.  And as we expect from Tim Allen, it's all pretty funny.   Buy it here

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Everything's Eventual   by STEPHEN KING   Another book of short stories.  As with a lot of King's work these days, there are hits and misses.  But there are enough hits in this book that most readers should be able to find something they like.  I expect they will all be made in to movies eventually.    Buy it here

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Nobody's Perfect   by DONALD E. WESTLAKE   I have praised Westlake in these lists before and I am delighted to do so again.  This is a very funny story featuring one of his recurring characters, the thief John Dortmunder, a stolen painting, and bungled attempts to recover it when the thieves lose it.  A delight to read.   Buy it here

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The Idiot Played Rachmaninov   by MICHAEL BROWN   I found this in a bargain bin in a grotty little sub post office in the Hackney Road many years ago.  It's an interesting variation on the story of a small isolated rural community standing up to a thuggish government hand in hand with big business interests.  And the whole thing is set in New Zealand, which for some reason I found very surprising.   Buy it here

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Woe Is I   by PATRICIA T. O'CONNER   I have to thank lovely Di for this.  After an exchange of e-mails, in which we both bemoaned the standard of English in the world these days (completely justifiably, mind you), she recommended this book to me.  Her word is my command, so I ordered it that same day, and I'm very glad I did.  Admittedly, anyone whose first language is English should know most of this already but it does no harm to be reminded, and there are perhaps several things here that are new, or at least surprising.   Buy it here

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Buy Jupiter  by ISAAC ASIMOV   This is a collection of twenty-four short stories from one of the best ever science fiction writers, written over a period of about thirty years.  Some a lot shorter than others, but all of them enjoyable.   Buy it here

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Now, God Be Thanked   by JOHN MASTERS   This is the first volume in a beautifully written, thoughtful trilogy about two families caught up in the Great War in 1914 onwards.  Multi-layered, intelligent, and written by someone who knew what he was talking about.  One of those books that has a wealth of characters, but the reader never loses track of who is who, but is caught up with each one   Buy it here

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God Is My Broker   by CHRISTOPHER BUCKLEY and JOHN TIERNEY   Monks in a monastery need to raise funds, so they consider who can best help them.  Apart from being a comedy about that set of circumstances, this is really a satire aimed at the so-called money gurus who offer us all useless advice dressed up as pearls of wisdom.  Some of them are even named by the authors.  A very amusing book.  Buy it here

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La Guerre De Troie N'Aura Pas Lieu   by JEAN GIRAUDOUX   This is a leftover from my schooldays, when this play was a required text for my French A-Level.  Written in 1935, it was very loosely based on the story of Troilus  & Cressida but it was mainly about the coming of war with Germany.  When that did eventually happen, Giraudoux, I understand, was something of a collaborator and German-sympathiser.  If you can speak French  buy it here.

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Long Live The King   by JOHN ROWE   An entertaining story about a young member of the Royal family who, though a sequence of events I won't go into, accedes to the throne and finds inevitably that his whole life has to change.  To help him through the initial upheaval, he finds himself taken under the wing of the Prime Minister, but the two men fall out and their conflict makes up the last part of the story.  All good fun!    Buy it here

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SWF Seeks Same  by JOHN LUTZ   There was a film made of this and I think it was one of those instances when the move was better than the book it was based on.  It's a story about what happens when you share an apartment with someone you do not know.  I can sympathise; in my student days one of my roommates ran away the day before the rent was due and another was arrested for armed robbery and carted off to jail one Saturday night.  Still, this book describes some much worse things!   Buy it here
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Comments

[SandyCarlson]

God is my broker. That's my new line. Loved this one.

[On a limb with Claudia]

did you put these together intentionally? It's a great conversation:

"Go slowly, some Back quickly. That's Me In The Middle. I'm not really here," he said.

"Everything's Eventual," she raised an eyebrow.

"Nobody's perfect. The Idiot Played Rachmaninov!" He said as if to justify himself.

"Woe Is I. Buy Jupiter" She replied.

"Now, God Be Thanked," He replied.

"God Is MY Broker," She laughed.

"The Trojan War will not take place," he said. He raised a finger to lecture, but laughed at the look on her face. "Long live the King."

She laughed again.

"SWF seeks same?"

Happy TT

[Gina's Public Diary]

Really interesting list. In fact, I looked at a lot of your blog and it is really good!

[Nicole Austin]

Oh, wow! How cool that the titles make a conversation. I never would have noticed that. Good eye, Claudia!

[Sue]

Tim Allen is an interesting fellow, he has a strong love of physics and I have found him to be very well versed on the topic, something I did not expect! And Asimov is always a great choice! Happy TT :)

[Sue]

Oops I posted in the wrong link. My TT is here:

http://urbanzoo.suedarroch.com/

[Julia]

Cool list, I might take a look at "The idiot played Rachmaninov" it sounds good.
Maybe you can stop by at my blog, cause I share a book list today as well :)

Happy TT and cu
Julia

[Michelle]

The Tim Allen book must of been interesting. I never did read single white female but I saw the movie. It totally freaked me out. I never wanted a roommate ever again. Happy TT and thanks for stopping by my place.

[Janet]

I love the cover of Everything's Eventual...nice!

[Lori]

Never read any of these, but I did catch the movie version of Single White Female.

[Lori]

Im not much into short stories but my DBF has been trying to get me to read Stephens Kings..I did read 1408, however, I thought the movie was better.Tim Allen, huh? Interesting..Happy TT my friend and thanks for stopping by. Yep, I did one:)

[SJ Reidhead]

Very good, interesting idea for an author looking for a title.

SJR
The Pink Flamingo

[The Gal Herself]

Interested to see what you thought of the Tim Allen book. Just because someone is funny on stage doesn't mean he can write for thepage, so I was reluctant to give it a try. But if it earned a place on your shelf ...

[Alice]

Interesting list. None of them are my type of book, I must admit, haha.

[Tink]

I remember the French play from school too. I've had 6 years of French, but I never read books. When reading French I'm translating to Dutch all the time. When I'm reading English I don't translate, I think in English.
Thanks for visiting my TT.

[Deanna Dahlsad]

Again, our book shelves are so different -- in titles, anyway. I bet the sag the same lol

[Lori]

Interesting selection of titles. Makes me want to go through my bookshelves and see what I've got.

[Qtpies7]

That is a great idea for a list!

[Lisa]

Oh my, I think I need to go book shopping and pick up a few of those titles!

Happy TT!

[colleen]

Some short sentences. Some remind me of six word memoirs. Hey, I just posted "Woe is me." Did I get the grammar wrong?

[Alice Audrey]

Buy Jupiter is excellent. I love Asimov

[Chris]

I've not read any of those, I'll have to check some of them out. Happy TT

[YummY!]

As usual King is the only one of those I've read. I think I need to broaden my reading a bit more.

[Celticlibrarian]

I think I'm going to have to place a hold on Woe is I now. It sould like a good read.

Happy TT!

[Joy Renee]

interesting list concept and what claudia did with it--wow. a whole new spin to the idea of books talking to each other.

thanx for visiting my list of authors most influential on my own writing