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Monday, September 17, 2012

Genre Favorites Blogfest: Crime & Political Thrillers



Aloha,


Today is Alex's Genre Favorite's Blogfest, which I perchieve, perchance as a great way to kick off a Monday.

You can join, or find more details by clicking the Blue link.
 
My favorite genre, in any medium, is thrillers -- especially crime and political stories.

While this makes me appear to be one boring, Neanderthal-knuckle-scraping dude who lives in a mental Man Cave, I did once (!) have a romance-reading bone in my body... see below... (although I lost the desire to simply read about romance upon entering pub eatery.)

 

Stephen King (Credit: Shane Leonard)



Though some may scorn the commercial fiction works of authors such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King and John Grisham, it’s their books I (have) turn(ed) to when I want to escape to my imagination, whether aboard a U.S. Navy ship, under a drain in Derry or inside a Mississippi courtroom.

 









 

(Why anyone would want to escape to a raucous courtroom, a sinking submarine or clown around in a Maine drain is another tale...)
For crime thrillers, I love Dennis Lehane and his ongoing series with those wonderfully flawed characters Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro.

 

 
 
 

Now, when it comes to guilty pleasures, I love, love, love memoirs.
Partly, because WIP is a memoir I’m co-writing, but it’s also fascinating to hear the voice of other memoirists, and it’s very motivational for me to read about the struggles of others and know that Donald Braswell’s story is as important as ever.

Are we still on the guilty stuff?
We are?

I’m a voracious reader, so if there’s no book around, I’ve been known to read the ingredients on the shampoo and conditioner bottles and the toothpaste tubes (did you know how little fluoride is actually in a tub of adult toothpaste… less than three percent... it’s shocking :)
In that vein, one genre I used to read, (there was few other choices growing up in Ireland,) was my mom’s bodice-ripping romances, which led to me reading a *lot* of Catherine Cookson, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Jackie Collins.
Jackie Collins (L) and Ann Margaret

Those ladies certainly knew how to spin a tale and totally helped me ask many awkward “What does 'thrust' and 'moaned deeply' mean?” questions while at the kitchen table.

PS: Thanks, Alex for making me write about bodice-ripping and Catherine Cookson in one sentence…
Where do I go to surrender my ManCard?

 

57 comments:

Mark Koopmans said...

Hey Mark....

Word up, Dude!!!

Dude...

What?

You soooo missed the point of this Blogfest...

I did???

You. Did.

Oh.

People are going to cringe when they read about you and the bodice-ripping...

Oh... Oh no!!!

:)

Kyra Lennon said...

I think Catherine Cookson is definitely a "mum" thing! My mum loves her too. Or she used to - she likes Josephine Cox now instead lol. :D

Sarah Tokeley said...

I'd forgotten all about Jackie Collins and BTB - those were the eighties ;-)

PR said...

I've never read any of those books but I want some of that bodice-ripping action so will have to check them out! :)

Elise Fallson said...

No worries, I stopped reading after SK. I didn't need to read anymore. You're the man, keep your card. :P

Suzi said...

I did not cringe at bodice ripping. And I think you did a good job sounding manly with enjoying the courtroom dramas and sinking submarines. :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You just put your own spin on it, that's all.
I'll email instructions for the surrender of the man-card.
Thanks for participating in my blogfest!

baygirl32 said...

bodice ripping - well its a different spin :)

Tara Tyler said...

ha ha! coming out of the romance closet takes guts, you can eep your card =)

Unknown said...

Man-up... card must be turned into the proper authorities. What the hell!

Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]
Howlin' Wolf Records: On-Line Magazine

Yolanda Renée said...

Bodice ripping and Stephen King, yeah, you got it!

Melissa said...

I like your post. And - as long as you're the one doing the bodice ripping - you can keep your man card. :P

Lea said...

I've read some works of Stephen King, Tom Clancy (the 3-inch one, lol) and John Grisham. And... I read shampoo and toothpaste labels, too :)

Anonymous said...

I need to check out more Clancy navy books as I'm writing a major naval battle between the US and China.

And you can keep the Man Card. For now.

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hey dude,

We are ALL STRETCHING the "Man card" today! SO, what's wrong for a dude to have a little sensitivity AND have a guilty pleasure?

WE are HUMAN after all... LOL.

Tasha Seegmiller said...

Bodice ripping and unknown facts about fluoride in one post. Not only that, but in typing fluoride, I realized it was a weird u before o word and I never would have done that had you not commented. See, I learned stuff. Success!

M.J. Fifield said...

I too put romance in my guilty pleasure section...

I do love a good political thriller. Or a nice courtroom drama.

David P. King said...

You are incredibly well read, sir. I'll have to try my hand at a thriller sometime. :)

Nancy Thompson said...

Thrillers are my absolute favorites, though I prefer the psych kind myself. Legal thrillers are next. Love John Grisham. I must say, the whole bodice-ripping thing surprises me, but I have to admit, I read many of those when I was a very young woman.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Who would dare to scorn the great writing of Stephen King? The man is a legend. I know I certainly wouldn't. I would hate to have his mind though...dude thinks of some scary stuff. Too many voices in the head for my taste.

Annalisa Crawford said...

When you gotta read, you gotta read I guess... :-)

Brinda said...

Love, love, love Stephen King and I sometimes read the cereal box.

Demitria said...

Stephen King is definitely on my top list!!


New follower....http://demitrialunetta.blogspot.com

Morgan said...

*shakes head*

I am CRACKING UP. (Of course!) I SO want to meet your mom and ask her kitchen table stories! ;)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Mark .. great post - we all go that route .. mine were Angelique stories and Georgette Heyer ..

Cheers Hilary

Nicole said...

I almost spewed my drink envisioning little Mark caught up in the lusty confusion of your Mom's romance tales. ;)

J.L. Campbell said...

And here I was thinking I was the only person who reads the back of shampoo and bath gel bottles.

I gotta admit I grew past bodice rippers quite a while back. :)

Dani said...

Sometimes you do make me cringe but only because I'm the same way.

Oh... cringe.

We love you no matter what bodice is ripping.

Bryan Thomas said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bryan Thomas said...

Never read Collins and such but I did get hooked on Dallas and Dynasty in the 80s and still enjoy that melodrama. LOL And I LOVE me a good Grisham novel!

Allison said...

Stephen King is certainly many people's favourite. I've gotta read his Dark Tower series.

Allison (Geek Banter)

Jennie Bennett said...

Memoir's eh? Interesting. I haven't really read any so I guess I don't know what I'm missing out on :)

StratPlayerCJF said...

Well, I have to confess that unless there are actual bodices being ripped, I tend to stay away from it...

But I think the inclusion of King, Grisham, and Clancy allows you to keep your man card, my friend!

Fun post!

Christine Rains said...

Interesting list! Stephen King is one of the writers I most admire.

Tamara said...

Okay. So, I've been hopping around on this blog hop, looking at everyone's answers. You win for my favorite list yet. The awkward conversation at the table cinched it for me. That comment alone was enough to make me follow your blog. haha

And Stephen King is amazing. I've seen him mentioned a bunch of times today.

Mildred R Holmes said...

I remember running out of books considered proper reading and picking up my mom's romances. Awkward when both parents are giving one "the look" and one is left wondering "what did I say?"

Livia Peterson said...

I love memoirs too! I especially like the film adaptations! :)

LynnRush said...

Stephen King is brilliant. :)

Johanna Garth said...

I would NEVER make fun of you for loving John Grisham or Stephen King. Two of my all-time faves!

Jaycee DeLorenzo said...

Love the bodice ripping, nothing to be ashamed of there. Or the SK - IT is my favorite book of all time, I think. :D

Ciara said...

Love Stephen King! Nothing wrong with some bodice ripping. :)

Anonymous said...

I do watch a lot of crime shows on t.v., though I ran out of the theater during Psycho and never made it through Children of the Corn either, I'm afraid. I'm more of an adventure type myself, limit the gruesome details... that sort of thing...

Misha Gerrick said...

Hahahahahaha I think it's great that you shared your guilty pleasure with us. :-D

Unknown said...

I used to read those lovely ladies books as well. They all do tell a great tale! Judith Kranz was my favorite, oh and don't forget Danielle Steel ;)

Siv Maria's blog, Been there, done that...

Kirsten said...

There is a special kind of Man-Card for a stay-at-home dad, you know, involving lifetime induction I believe.

In any case, I think you're good with Tom Clancy, SK, and John Grisham, not to mention the U.S. Navy ship. :)

You crack me up as usual!

Libby said...

Did not take you for a memoir man. :)

Elizabeth Seckman said...

You get to upgrade to the gold man card. Real men can carry a pink purse...if they're man enough!

Beth said...

Haha! That's why clean romance is where it's at! Avoid awkward dinner time questions. ;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Melissa Sugar said...

Hey Mark. I think we should hang out , and not because I want more friends who live in Hawaii,LOL. I love thrillers in all genres as well. Political and legal thrillers are my favorite. I am with you in your thoughts on Grisham etal. I read so many critical opinions about Grisham and the litany of authors who write similar novels. So many of the so called critics complain that the writing is flat, the characters are flat, the plots are predictable. You know what? Call it what they may, Grisham, Turrow, and the likes know how to write page turning, unputdownable books that keep us up at night determined to read just one more chapter. Dennis Lehane is another of my favorite authors.

Have you read any of James Grippando's legal thrillers? If not, you should check them out. I know of another author who may interest you, but he is a one hit wonder. His name is Robert Heilbrun and he wrote Offer Of Proof and which won the Edgar Award that year (can't remember the year-it's been a while) for best first novel.

Good choices. Aloha. (that does mean hello and goodbye, doesn't it?)

Bonnee Crawford said...

Bahahaha ooooh I love the idea of kids asking awkward questions at the kitchen table :)

Nothing wrong with liking thriller and political and whatnot... and I'm not given much of a choice in reading the ingredients to products; my mum has bad eyesight, so I have to do it every time we go shopping.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Memoirs are big now. Nice you are working on one.

Happy writing,
Monti
Mary Montague Sikes

Julie Flanders said...

Hahahaha. I did cringe when I read about the bodice ripping. ;) Not really!

I LOVE thrillers and I can't understand why some bash commercial fiction. I read for fun and I don't see anything wrong with that. The authors you mentioned are all great.

Anonymous said...

Dropping by from the Genre Blogfest.

Ahaha, kudos to you for admitting that you've read romance novels. My husband wore a pink shirt when we first met and told me only real men wear pink (he's a self-proclaimed man's man).

Real men read romance! ;3

nutschell said...

Memoirs are my guilty pleasures too :)

Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

~Sia McKye~ said...

If reading thrillers make one a Neanderthal, well I guess I'll join you in the knuckle scraping, lol! At least it will remove any hair on the knuckles, right?

I'm not big on Stephen King--not real fond of horror, okay, I don't read it--yes I've read enough to know I don't like it. But I have read and enjoyed the other writers you mentioned.

Have read any of Stephen Coonts Deep Black series? Oh man, he writes some good ones! He's also former Navy. One of my favorites is, Deep Black: Arctic Gold. I have Sea of Terror but haven't read it yet.

When you love to read, you read whats available--which is why I read most of Louie LAmor's books. Dad loved him. Never could get into Jackie Collins books and although I read some of Barbara Taylor Calwell's book, I swear I've never seen an author who could write PAGES describing a leaf falling or a meadow. Good lord. so I tended to skip chunks of her books to get to the story.

While I do enjoy some auto biographies and biographies, memoirs in general aren't my favorite reading.

Sia McKye OVER COFFEE



James Garcia Jr said...

Hi, Mark. Good to meet you. I'm still working my way through the list, but had to stop and thank you for the Stephen King shout-out. Can't go wrong with Uncle Stevie!

-Jimmy
http://jamesgarciajr.blogspot.com/

mshatch said...

I have always loved Stephen King - even before I moved to Maine :)

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