Hey what not give it a chance? It might be fun!

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Block and Ellroy and Vachss OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever since I got a Kindle I have been buying books at a feverish pace. Not only new ones but old favorites. I want to have them on hand so if I want to dive into a new book I just have to click on it and start reading. So I have gone out and repurchased many titles that I already own in hardcover.

Block and Ellroy and Vachss OH MY!!!

I have been busy downloading the complete works of three of the all stars in mystery/detective/hard boiled writing for the Kindle.

You all know how I feel about the great Lawrence Block who it the reigning king of the mystery novel. I have just finished rereading all of the Matt Scudder books that I had downloaded after I had purchased his latest entry in the series "A Drop of the Hard Stuff." Rereading these books is like visiting an old friend. You can really get an appreciation of the talent on display when you read them one after another.

After our recent discussions with "J" on the evil blogger ladies blog I also started downloading some of my favorite James Ellroy novels. Ellroy is a manaic but one of the most talented writers around today. He is an acquired taste...sometimes he veers off into really strange places. Dark places. But there is a lot of substance there.
I am just jumping back into "White Jazz" and it is a crazy ride. Well worth you notice.

Finally I also downloaded a bunch of Andrew Vachss books about Burke. He is really dark and some of it is a tough go. But he is a much more linear writer than Ellroy even though they seem to touch on the same themes some of the time. The Burke series is one of the best hard boiled detective series out there and you really get a slice of low life when you read them.

So I can spend what little time I have this Labor Day Weekend reading some of my favorite books from some of my favorite authors.

What could be better than that?

Hey that gives me an idea for a poll!

Hey are you are calling a Cooley a Spade!

I came home to tapped-out momentum and DRAFT DODGER in red-bait neon. I received an unsolicited presidential pardon--my COWARD taint rendered it toilet paper. I became a vanishing act: BIG ROOM stints replaced by lounge gigs; national TV shots down-graded into local stuff. Fear and I played peek-a-boo--it always seemed to grab my balls and twist just when it felt like something inside me could banish all the bullshit forever.
I hit Victorville. L.A. radio had faded out--I'd been listening to shitkicker ditties. Apt: I pulled up to the Cooley ranchhouse soundtracked by Spade's own, "Shame, Shame on You."
The porch reeked: marijuana and sourmash fumes. TV glow lit up windows bluish-gray.
The door stood ajar. I pressed the buzzer--hillbilly chimes went off. Dark inside--the TV screen made shadows bounce. George Putnam spritzed late local news: ". . . the fiend the Los Angeles County Sheriff's have dubbed the 'West Hollywood Whipcord' claimed his third and fourth victims last night. The bodies of Thomas 'Spike' Knode, 47, an out-of-work movie stuntman, and his fiancee Carol Matusow, 19, a stenographer, were discovered locked in the trunk of Knode's car, parked on Hilldale Drive a scant block north of the Sunset Strip. Both were strangled with a sash cord and bludgeoned post-mortem with a bumperjack found in the back seat. The couple had just come from the Mocombo nightclub, where they had watched entertainer Buddy Greco perform. Authorities report that they have no clues as to the slayer's identity, and--"
A ratchet noise--metal on metal. That unmistakable drawl: "From the size of your shadow, I'd say it's Dick Contino."
"It's me."
Ratch/ratch--trigger noise--Spade loved to get zorched and play with guns.
"I should tell Nancy 'bout that 'Whipcord' sumbitch. She just might find herself a new pen pal."
"She already knows about him."
"Well . . . I'm not surprised. And this old dog, well . . . he knows how to put things together. My Ella Mae got a call from Nancy, and two hours later Mr. Accordion himself shows up. Heard you tanked at the Crescendo, boy. Ain't that always the way it is when proving yourself runs contrary to your own best interests?"
A lamp snapped on. Dig it: Spade Cooley in a cowboy hat and sequin-studded chaps--packing two holstered six-guns.

(Hollywood Nocturnes, James Ellroy)

Whenever "J" comments I feel like we are getting Dick Contino's blues. From the source.

J the mystery?

All I have is the will to remember. Time revoked/fever dreams-I wake up reaching, afraid I'll forget. Pictures keep the woman young. L.A., fall 1958. Newsprint: link the dots. Names, events-so brutal they beg to be connected. Years down-the story stays dispersed. The names are dead or too guilty to tell. I'm old, afraid I'll forget: I killed innocent men. I betrayed sacred oaths. I reaped profit from horror. Fever-that time burning. I want to go with the music-spin, fall with it
(James Ellroy, White Jazz 1992)

A bit more impressive than you, Hoosier Sodbuster. I can read and know that Raul's no Jeremy. He's .....a thespian! A Big Hoss-Hamlet for yr Log Cabin self, Hoosier-joto. Toe tap for it, HDI keep it somewhat real York--"Raul"'s only PC when it suits him. We're arguing for Galbraithnomics....not Romneyomics or Ahhhnuld. Adjustable sales and gas taxes--a sound idea. The Fed. does it with income, and....state could via sales
(J, Althouse blog, 2011)


The same guy or what? You make the call.