Book Tag

A week ago I saw a Book Tag at two blogs I read, NancyElin and Brona's Books. I am not usually successful at answering these types of questions, but I gave it a shot this time. I started with the ten questions that Nancy and Brona had used.

I added one last question that was from the longer lists at On Bookes and Howling Frog Books.


1. What book has been on your shelf the longest?

I am guessing that would be one of my Nero Wolfe novels by Rex Stout. I have had copies of some of those since I was in college (or before?) although I am sure I originally read them in library editions. 

2. What is your current read, last read and the book you plan to read next?

Current Read: Black Ice by Michael Connelly 

Last Read: Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr 

Next Read: I don't usually decide in advance but this month I have been cycling between lighter mysteries and the more gritty, violent mysteries. So I might opt for one of the vintage mysteries in my list of 20 Books for Summer.

3. What book do you tell yourself you’ll read, but probably won't?

Two books by Connie Willis:  Black Out and All Clear. From what I read at TOR.com, they are essentially "one book, conveniently bound in two volumes." Together, in the editions my husband owns, the books total 1100 pages. Quite a commitment. But look at the covers, aren't they gorgeous?

4. What book are you saving for retirement?

My husband has a lot of non-fiction books that I would love to read but just don't have the time or the patience now. In a few years, I may actually read Austerity Britain by David Kynaston (692 pages).

5. Which book character would you switch places with?

This may show a lack of imagination, but I really don't want to trade places with anyone. 

But, I would love to visit the Nero Wolfe / Archie Goodwin household for a while, so maybe I would do a temporary swap with Lily Rowan (although I don't know that she ever visits the brownstone) or maybe Lon Cohen (a journalist working for the fictional New York Gazette) when he is invited over for dinner. Or try being Theodore for a week or so and take care of the orchids.

6. What book reminds you a specific place/time/person?

Any of the books in the Nameless Detective series by Bill Pronzini remind me of when I suggested this author to my husband. He bought several of the books and he did enjoy his writing. He now has copies of all of the books in the Nameless series. 

It was decades ago in a used book store in Santa Barbara, now long out of business. I cannot remember if we were visiting Santa Barbara before we moved here, or if it was early in our marriage. Whichever, it is a very fond memory. The bookstore and the owner were both very nice.

7. Which book has been with you most places?

Same answer as for #1. I started reading the Nero Wolfe series when I was in my teens. I remember when I bought my first hardback book by Rex Stout when I had my first job. (That dates me.)   

I have reread them over and over through the years. I have multiple copies (paperback of course) of many of the books in the series.

8. Which book have you reread the most?

Fer-de-Lance by Rex Stout. Do you see a theme here? 

9. What book outside your comfort zone did you end up loving?

Under the Dome by Stephen King. I have not read a book by Stephen King in 30 years, probably longer. Most of his writing is too horrific for me. For some reason I got interested in Under the Dome but was dismayed to see that it was over 1000 pages. But I read it and enjoyed it a lot. Very dark in the end though.

10. Three bookish confessions?

I will buy books only for the covers and sometimes not even read them. 

I have over 1000 books in my TBR piles, shelves, boxes, etc. (physical hard copy books, not including those on the Kindle).

And I keep buying books anyway. 

11. Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?

This was a hard one to answer. Mostly, the answer is no. Often the book and the movie differ but still both have wonderful qualities. But I did come up with two. In both cases I had seen the movie before reading the book, which might have made a difference.

Vertigo, which was based on a book originally published in France in 1954 as D'entre les morts, by Boileau-Narcejac. The book was very, very good, but the film has been a favorite for a long time. The film is set in San Francisco, the book is set in France, but the stories are very similar. (My post is here.)

The Ice Harvest: The book, written by Scott Phillips, is the most noir story I have every read. It is unrelentingly bleak and grim. It is very good but I can't say I enjoyed reading it. The film follows the same story for the most part, but it is not quite so bleak, and I loved all the actors. John Cusack plays Charlie Arglist, Billy Bob Thornton is his partner in crime; Connie Nielsen plays the gorgeous femme fatale. Oliver Platt plays a friend who is now married to Charlie's ex-wife. (My post is here.)

Under the Dome: Stephen King

Summary from the back of the edition I read:

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day, a small town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener's hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts. No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if— it will go away. Now a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome. but their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn't just running short, it's running out. 

Why I read the book:

We started watching the first season of the TV series Under the Dome on June 30th. Once we started the TV series, I could see that this is the type of novel that I would enjoy, if it followed the various people trapped under the mysterious and impenetrable dome, and let us in on what they were experiencing. I knew that the book was very long, and that alone would normally stop me cold. And it is not crime fiction, which is my usual reading. I think one attraction was that it was clear that there was crime and mystery involved, even if it is labeled a science fiction novel. And it definitely is science fiction, even if that isn't clear until much later in the story.

Within a day or two of starting the TV series, I had investigated the book and found out that it was divided into chunks of smaller chapters centered on a character or an event. Knowing that I could read it in chunks and move back and forth between other reading, I decided to try that approach. I went to the local independent bookstore, checked out their Stephen King section, and found a huge trade paperback copy for $19.99, and promptly bought it. Within three days I had gone from zero interest in the book to buying it and starting to read it. I was sucked in immediately, but I did dole it out over many days. I think it took me 23 days to read it, while finishing four other books in the meantime.

How I liked the book:

Reviewing Under the Dome is difficult for me because I am not a Stephen King fan and thus I cannot draw comparisons to his other work. I mention this because I read several reviews by readers who do know a lot about his other novels, and that did inform what they had to say about this one. I have read two Stephen King novels, and both of them were earlier ones (The Shining and The Stand). The Shining I remember fairly well because of the movie; I remember nothing about The Stand.

Under the Dome has a map of Chester's Mill, the small town that is surrounded by the dome.  I love maps in books, and I liked that it had a character list (including dogs). And I really liked the structure of multiple sections of roughly 50 pages each, divided into brief chapters.

I found Under the Dome very entertaining, very engrossing. It was never boring. I thought the characters interesting, but I will admit that a lot of them were not that well-developed. If I had known just how different the characters in the novel are from the characters in the TV show, I might have been put off reading the book. However, once I had read the first 100 pages or so, I was hooked and had no regrets.

There was a large criminal element in the small town of Chester's Mill prior to the descent of the Dome, but it had been fairly well hidden up to that point. The mastermind running the criminal activities in the area is Big Jim Rennie and he is one of the town's Selectmen. People trust him, and when disaster falls, they turn to him. Some are under his power due to various business deals. Once the Dome puts the town out of reach of any law enforcement from outside, he moves to cause unrest in the town, in order to bring the majority of the population to his side and convince them that martial law is the only answer. Obviously, since the novel is over 1000 pages long, this description is very superficial and there is a lot more going on. But the end result is that this science fiction novel has more murder and mayhem than most crime novels I read. However, there is no real mystery element, other than .... how did the Dome originate? and what can be done about it? And, will Big Jim Rennie succeed?

Through it all my favorite part was the examination of how different people react to this shocking and scary situation, with no one to provide answers. There is a very nice portrayal of a newspaperwoman who is determined to write the true story of what is happening at all costs. My least favorite part was the view of most of the town giving into their baser sides when given the opportunity. I would like to believe that people are basically good. However, here Stephen King provides us with a picture of a small town as a hotbed of evil and secrets.

Comparison to the TV series:

At this point, we have watched only nine episodes of the first season of Under the Dome, so I can only make comparisons to that portion of the show. Most of the core characters are the same in the book and the TV adaptation, but often the things that happen to them or their backstory is completely different. There are many characters in the books that are not in the TV series, and vice versa. The connections with the outside world differ in the two versions. The book is very much darker than the TV series.

 -----------------------------

Publisher:   Scribner, 2009.
Length:      1072 pages
Format:      Trade paperback
Setting:      Chester's Mill, Maine
Genre:        Science Fiction
Source:      I purchased my copy.