Dastardly Deeds

Performing Autopsies on Great Bodies of Crime Fiction.

Dancing About Architecture

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by Jas Faulkner

author’s note: This is very, very late.  Late as in this should have gone live on Friday late.  Next week is the start of a new era at Bookshop Blog.  I won’t go into details.  Let me just say that I think you’re going to like what you see.  One change I can tell you about is that my columns will now appear every Thursday.  What else is happening at BSB?  You’re going to have to come back to find out.  Now, on with this week’s column…

Keith Richards’ “Life” gives a Glimmer Twin’s-eye-view of life as a Rolling Stone.

The date and time stamp thingie on the lower right hand corner of my screen says it’s 2:20 pm and the date is 8/3/2012.

Here is the list of top 20 best selling music biographies as of that moment on Amazon.com:

20. No Regrets by Joe Lyden and Ace Frehly

19. Bruce Sringsteen and the Promise of Rock n’ Roll by Marc Dolan

18. Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good by Corey Taylor (Slipknot)

17. Mercury by Lesley-Ann Jones

16. When I Left Home: My Story by Buddy Guy and David Ritz

Motley Crude: Sixx’s book pulls no punches when it comes to life in a hair metal band.

15. 1d in America parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 Special Edition (Niall’s unofficial diary)  by 1d Fans International

14. It’s So Easy by Duff McKagan (Guns and Roses)

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Sludged by By Their Covers

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by Jas Faulkner 

Is this the personal library of Roy G. Biv? Nope. Just a demo picture for purchasers of books-by-the-foot.

Many years ago, the University of Memphis* announced they would be temporarily closing the student store they ran in the basement of the UC so they could retool it.  Many of us could not see anything good coming from this.  As young as we were , we still hated change.  Aside from the textbooks and other required items for classes that occupied the back right corner of the space, there was a section for MSU swag, the equivalent of a small convenience store, a smallish card and gift shop, an impressive art supply section and what amounted to a miniature version of an 80s’ vintage mall bookshop, only better.  It might have been clunky, but that permutation was fine and dandy by us.

Actually, that wasn’t quite the case. In truth, no one was too terribly concerned about the possible loss of an on-campus place to meet all of our  our Doritos and Tigers shot glass needs. We were quite worried about losing our bookstore.  No, not the one with all of the ugly, only slightly useful tomes covered in “used” stickers.  The shelves in the front half of the store held the books we wanted to read and keep.  There were collections of classics in every discipline represented at the university.  For many of us who were away from home for the first time, it was a chance to begin building our own libraries.  Those of us who had grown up with rooms full of books wanted shelves of our own that represented who we were or at least who we thought we were.  We walked by the windowed half of the basement of the UC as the staff began to prepare for the temporary closing.

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Myth or Consequences? Posnanski’s Biography Of Paterno Is Problematic

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by Jas Faulkner  Joe Posnanski’s latest effort must have looked like a dream assignment to anyone with an interest in sports, especially college football. All he had to do was spend two years talking to a highly esteemed coach, his family, friends, coworkers, and past and present players.  His subject was lauded as someone who … Read more

Perry Mason As Played on TV

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I’ve been watching the Perry Mason TV series lately. Not the sad 80s one, when they brought back the surviving members of the cast and ran through the motions. The black and white Perry, with a slimmer Raymond Burr and prettier Barbara Hale. And I’ve noticed several things I hadn’t before, or maybe I would … Read more

The Book That Broke The Dry Spell

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It should have been an epic. A mind blowing cosmic revelation. A classic never read. Or at least a good mystery. Not even close. And yet, I began it, continued, and low and behold, finished the entire 320 pages. I should have been ecstatic. Thrilled. At a minimum, relieved. After all, it had been a … Read more