Thoughtful Thursday

One of my favorite gifts this past birthday was a gift certificate to a book store.

Because I am ca-RAY-zee for the books; they're shiny, they have that smell, when you hold them in your hands you can feel the potential hum between the covers. I also love that oh-so-satisfying "crack" when you break their spine - I feel very Hulk-like.

But before I went on my hunting/gathering foray - and because I know that this bookstore sells a variety of things other than the written word - I presented myself with a challenge.

"Self", I said (please note that the majority of conversations The Baroness engages in are either talking about herself in the 3rd person, or talking to herself)(so very easily self-amused is she), "Self - I dare you to go into that store and use that certificate for everything but a book".

"Self?" I shot back (because the Baroness is such a sassy wit), "you are on like Donkey Kong."

I almost did it.

Out of all embarrassment of riches I procured, I only got one book.

That is some kind of record. For me.

Interestingly enough, today's Thoughtful Thursday source is not from this book, but from an T'ai Chi DVD I scooped up.

The quote comes from one of China's preeminent poets, Li Bai, who literally roamed the earth from 701 to 762. It is said that he perished during one of his many artistic benders, when he went to embrace the reflection of moon while riding in a boat on the Yangtze River (let's be real here - hasn't this happened to us all at least once in our lives? Praise be the PFD).

I'm afraid I don't know the title of the poem, and my translation and punctuation from 8th century Cantonese might a a little rusty. But enjoy it as you can:

I take my body and breath
And I go to play
beneath the trees in the mountains
We are always three
Counting the sky
And my friend the nurturing earth

Happily
The sky
does not judge me
And the earth
gives me lessons

After class, students and teachers
go their separate ways
But this sadness
I do not know

When I go home
The earth goes with me
And the sky follows me.

And on this blustery fall day, these are just the soothing words I need to hear to appreciate the humble majesty that is the outdoors - the beauty I dare only see through a window.

Have a connected Thursday, everyone.

Wordsmith Wednesday

Felicitations, Congratulations, and a Huzzah, Huzzah to the Countess of YickYack, Countess Crystal, Mental P. Mama and Dale.

They are the lucky recipients of a copy of "Trunk Music" by Michael Connelly, the second selection from The Baroness Book Giveaway. Thanks to the lovelies at Hachette Book Group , too, for taking care of all of the administrative mumbo-jumbo. Been there, done that, dragged the inebriated boss out the local bar for her 4:00 pm meeting (silly cow)(her,not me), bought the designer t-shirt.

Believe me when I say that this is best left in the hands of professionals...

Also.

Believe me when I say, "But Wait! There's More!"

And I ain't talking no ginzu knives, people.

I have been advised that I am able to give away 50 - count 'em- 50 more books.

All at once. 10 titles; 5 copies each.

In time for Halloween - this shall be called:

The Baroness' "Spooktacular*" Book Giveaway
[DEAD-line:(hah!)(I kill myself)(hah again!!) is Friday October 31st, 2008, when the rooster crows at midnight]

(* I wish I could take credit for this particularly punny bon mot; sadly, I cannot)

Prepared to get your ghoul on - here they are, in their frightening fabulosity:
1. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent (*also available as an audiobook)
2. Isolation by Travis Thrasher
3. The 13 Best Horror Stories of All Time by Leslie Pockell
4. The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy Hoobler
5. The Myrtles Plantation: The True Story of America's Most Haunted House by Frances Kermeen
6. Ghostly Encounters: True Stories of America's Haunted Inns and Hotels by Frances Kermeen
7. The Terror by Dan Simmons (*also available as an audiobook)
8. Dracula by Bram Stoker (*also available as an audiobook)
9. When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits by Mary Ann Winkowski
10. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (*also available as an audiobook)

Easy contest question - favorite Halloween costume EVER?

Maybe you never did Halloween. Maybe, though, you've seen a costume that you would have like to have rocked.

This will do.

Usual Rules:

1. Contest entries go to my private Bat-computer (which I keep under glass, just like the BatPhone): Baronessvonb@gmail.com

2. Please include a mailing address (no p.o. boxes, please)

3. Contestants must live in either the US or Canada. No Transylvanians - cheaters!

4. Indicate, if applicable, whether you want the book or the audiobook.

Wordsmith Wednesday

(See book contest at the end of the post)

I may have mentioned once or twice in the past that I'm a little anal-retentive (which could potentially begin to explain this), especially when it comes to mystery writers.

When I hear of someone that I think I would like to read, I must start at the beginning of their works, regardless of where the authors currently are in their careers.

My justification of this is that I like to read/watch the evolution of the character over time. I find it is very revelatory about the evolution of the author as well.

I may also have mentioned once or twice in the past that I'm a little obsessive-compulsive.

So once I find a mystery author I like, I read their entire library. If I can't get a book in the series, I will stop reading the series until I find it. Sometimes, I won't even start. Even if I have book 1, 2 and 4, but am missing 3.

Some are easy to locate. Think Janet Evanovich. Think Lori Avocado.

Then there are the others; the ones that bookstores don't stock anymore - think the Spencer series of Robert Parker. Think the earlier Alex Cross series of Robert Patterson. So I have to hit either Amazon or our city's used bookstores. I'm usually successful. Sometimes though, I have to count on the kindness of the Countess of Yik Yak to go to the mystery mecca of Minnesota, Uncle Edgar's. What I need is always there.

Here's the thing. Faye and Jonathan Kellerman, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, Diane Mott Davidson - I pounce on any new book from them as soon as it's out;I've received my advance notice from the publisher, or checked Amazon for the tentative release date. I am like the prolific Serengeti lion in the high grass, just waiting for that meaty gazelle with the ingrown toenail.

In keeping with the lion analogy, I pounce and devour. And then, when I'm done in a day, I am left to wonder why these people can't be less selfish and more prolific and put out a book every 3 months or so. I am left at odds, waiting and waiting.

But now, by some magical intervention from the Hachette Book Group fairy, comes Michael Connelly and his book, Trunk Music. Here's a fellow who looks like a keeper. So much so, I am willing to be introduced to the main character mid-way through the series.

And let's talk for a minute about the main character. His name? Hieronymous Bosch. How can a guy with this handle be anything but interesting?

I don't know much about him, but what I do know is that he's had some nastiness happen earlier on, pre-story; he's just recently come back to the squad room to resume his detective duties. So, not only am I compelled to find out if there's any alluding to what happened to get Bosch suspended in the first place, but I'm looking forward to see if his current actions give away any clues as to why he might have got suspended in the first place.

Another thing I'm liking about Connelly is that I'm learning some new things. I've read my fair share of whodunnits; I would like to think that I'm pretty savvy in the procedures that go into both crime scene and forensic analyses. Yet here, there were some surprises. Something new and -pardon the pun- novel. I appreciated that.

One of the downfalls of a mystery writer, in my estimation, is the awkward articulation of romance that is usually thrown in to spice things up. Most writers, men in particular(again - in my estimation), fumble through this like a horny teenager.

Once again, with Connelly, I was pleasantly surprised. He kept the dialogue realistic, and his descriptions of intimate interplay was neither too florid, too fromage-y, nor too pulp-ish. The guy gets it; how A goes into B, and is able to deftly keep commentary current and moving along at a satisfying clip.

When I was waffling about reading someone new, and feeling a little like I was cheating on my perennial favorites, my friend Cormac Brown - a Michael Connelly fan - quickly snapped me out of it.

"He's not a difficult read", said the wonderful crime fictionalist Mr. Brown. He also added that Mr. Connelly is a disciple of Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald (while I shamefacedly admit to having read neither, I'm interpolating here that this means if one is described thusly, it is high praise indeed).

Cormac Brown - you are right yet again, sir.

This novel was compelling, and intriguing, and dammit - I could not figure out the ending.

And that is enough for me. Now, when I am alone in the tall grass, and getting some tummy rumblings, I have new prey to stalk - Michael Connelly and Detective Harry Bosch.

**********************************************************************
Baroness von B's Book Contest Giveaway
(courtesy of the fine people at Hachette Book Group USA)

Rules:
1. You must live in either the U.S. or Canada

2. Mailing addresses can not be a P.O. Box. Street addresses only, please.

3. DO NOT answer this in the comments section of this post - you must e-mail me your answer to the contest question at Baronessvonb@gmail.com. Be sure to include your mailing address, or your entry will be tossed to the bottom of the pile.

4. I will pick 5 of the best answers, and these winnahs will get a copy of the book, as well as having their answer quoted here for everyone to see.

5. Only one entry per person, please. Let's not ruin a good thing.

6. Contest deadline is midnight on Monday, October 27th, 2008 - winners announced on the 29th.

My work here is done. Here's where your work begins:

Trunk Music opens in a park just off of Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles; the title refers to a Mafiosa term for killing someone and dumping them in a car trunk. Those wise guys, such charmers.

I'm thinking riffing on this particular fact is a little on the macabre side - so I'll ask you this instead:

What would you pack in a trunk (car or Louis Vuitton),

if you were going to travel to Los Angeles, and why?
Tell me in the style of a mystery novel.

Surprises - The Good Kind

Let it be known that, control freak that she is, The Baroness is not so big on surprises.

Knowing that someone has been working in the background, with me blithely and fully unaware, is extremely vexing.

Because I would like to think, as a know-it-all, that I, well, know it. All.

And I don't.

This becomes more crystal-clear on an hourly basis.

(*Note to vonB children: There - Mommy's gone public. She does NOT know it all. I repeat - she does NOT know it all. So stop asking so many questions, already. Have you not heard of Wikipedia?)

However.

Sometimes, there are good surprises.

What makes these different from all other surprises? I guess it's the random, out-of-the-blue-ness of it all. For instance, like espying this in a window:

(Remember me? Aidez-moi? I'm still here - waiting for your assistance...)

Or this e-mail to me, from a Valerie Russo, Web Publicist for Hachette Book Group USA:

Hi, Baroness:

I saw your Alice Sebold post and was wondering if you'd lke to do an online giveaway of The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold now that it is in paperback. I have gratis copies of The Almost Moon to offer you for giveaway on your site.

Would you like to host a giveaway of the book?

Well, hellz ya, Miss V! Thank you so much for the pleasant surprise.

Here it is, thrown out to y'all. I have 5 - count 'em - 5 paperback copies of "The Almost Moon" to give away. This is a good thing because:

a) I just finished reading my own copy (which I had to pay for, btw) and found it absolutely fascinating. How Alice Sebold can take the unthinkable and make us want to think about it, I do not know.

Normally at this point, I would then begin the lending out chain (Can my friend have it when I'm done? Can she give it to her friend? Her cousin in Latvia? Her cousin's boyfriend? Girlfriend?
Third-cousin's parole officer?)

b) I love giving stuff, especially stuff like this:

randomly.

Because no one ever wants random stuff like this:

So, let me know if you want a copy for your burgeoning collections, and how Ms. Russo can get it to you in the mail (if the books free to me, I'm not about to pay postage either.)

(To the U.S?)

(What? Am I taking crazy pills?)

(The answer is yes, but that has nothing to do with this).

You can send me your addy's off-line at Baroness von B's Bookworm Hotline:

BaronessvonB@gmail.com

Operator(me) is standing by to take your call.

(Photo credit here)