Bernadette

Thanks for letting us know, Bernadette. - Margot Kinberg

I wonder when all bloggers will have deserted Blogger? :) - Dorte Jakobsen

It won't likely be long if Blogger keeps getting in the way of, well, blogging. - Margot Kinberg

Sorry, Bernadette, not my cup of tea either. - Maxine

Thanks so much for the offer, Bernadette, but it's just not my thing. I don't think I'd be able to give it a balanced review. - Margot Kinberg

I suspect that most of our keenest e-format readers are at Crimefest.....;-) - Maxine

I slogged through two or three Roths but found him in that category of boring self-indulgent US male middle aged author (eg Updike, Richard Ford etc). I am wary of stating such views ever because of their legions of (US, male, lit/media establishment etc) admirers......The main character in the film American Beauty is one such. - Maxine

slog and Roth go hand-in-hand in my memory too Maxine. And he's a dreary speaker too - my sister-in-law dragged me to a talk by him once in the US - we paid something to be there (can't remember how much) and all he did was bang on about his back pain and how generally hard it was to be a smart, white, American. - Bernadette

Please don't get me started on people like that. Really. Please. But thanks, Bernadette, for that article. Interesting stuff indeed. - Margot Kinberg

I think I had better keep my opinion on who is the greatest living author to myself... - Philip Young

There isn't such a thing is there? Even one's favourites can have an off book ;-) (Ian McEwan, Solar, looking at you.) - Maxine

Although I am not a great fan of relativism, I suppose the only criteria that matters is "Which author has made the greatest impression on you?" I admire Roth's achievement, but none of his novels changed my life.That said, awards like this for Roth can, sometimes, bring to prominence writers of whom many of us were unaware; I looked up previous Booker International winners and became intrigued by previous winner, Chinua Achebe.... - Philip Young

If there is any value in making such lists, the most important must be "Which author has given you greatest pleasure..?" Or, "To which author are you most likely to return?" - Philip Young

True, Philip, though I've found that the stage of one's life is important too. For example, William Wharton's books made a tremendous impression on me aged early 20s (Dad, Birdy etc) but probably if I read them now they would lack the same impact. Cannery Row, now, I can always return to that, or Jane Austen (any). - Maxine

You are definitely right about stage, Maxine. It doesn't take a great writer to open the eyes of the inexperienced, but the experience is can be so powerful. This is also a good argument for and against re-reading! - Philip Young

I must admit I am afraid to re-read books I think of as favourites from when I was much younger, I suspect they might not hold up as well because I'm a different person than the one who read the books initially. - Bernadette

Think you're right Margot, far as I can remember. - Jose Ignacio

I am sure that is right, and I think there is also the other connotation that of "who killed cock robin" - the old nursery story/legend? I am afraid I can't remember the details either. The title and events in the book remind me of the sad fairy tale of the nightingale and the rose but that is just my brain as a nightingale is not a robin! - Maxine

Maxine - I'd forgotten that fairy tale until you mentioned. Hmm.. yes I agree about that similarity. - Margot Kinberg

http://bit.ly/jxdTYv The Hollywood script is going to improve on the book and change the ending. I can hardly wait. - Norman

Groan. Huge long interview with Eva G in The Times the other day - I found it repellant. - Maxine

*Shakes head.* Just *shakes head.* - Margot Kinberg

Afraid I've got one to review. Repellant publicity material - which is saying something as I generally expect lameness from publicity stuff. Wish they'd spare the trees - and me. - barbara fister from iPhone

makes you wonder how many best friends will crop up out of the woodwork... - LauraRoot

Good news! - Margot Kinberg

interesting, I assume they were just putting it out again with a snazzy cover, not a snazzy new translation!! - LauraRoot

Which poses an interesting question re eligibility for the Int Dagger :). Neil is retranslating Studio 69/Exposed, The Bomber and Paradise. - Karen Meek

Thanks for sharing, Bernadette. I see what you mean about the snarky thing, but I am as glad as you are that crime fiction is being discussed in this way. - Margot Kinberg

Yikes. Way over my head all that stuff but at least I know that Laurie Thompson is a he not a she... - Karen Meek

Agree with these general sentiments. Crime fiction, whether anywhere, limited to Scandinavia or Sweden, is such a huge canvas, much of which is necessarily ignored in this article. You can't judge total output on basis of two authors. You could come up with many counter-examples even sticking just to Sweden as here (eg Johan Theorin is a vastly different type of author to these two).... more... - Maxine

Henning Mankell's books make you think even if you disagree with 90% of his political ideas. He continues the tradition of the left in their unconditional backing of "freedom fighters" beyond the point where they become worse than the oppressive regimes they overturned. Two months after his Gaza Flotilla adventure he did call for Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit proving that he is both an idealist and an optimist. - Norman

Agreed Norman. I used to read Chomsky and Pilger et al when I was young, but they go so far left they come out the other side. - Maxine

Maxine watching Newsnight the other night I had the disconcerting experience of agreeing with Noam Chomsky about Libya. I quickly reminded myself of Chomsky's support of the Khmer Rouge and his other lunatic theories. You have only to sample a Chomsky sentence "The so-called Communist regimes are invariably enemies....not because they are founded on coercion and terrorize their populations..." and then watch a film like The Lives of Others to wonder does he really believe the nonsense he writes. - Norman

Yes, or "The Killing Fields". Nice chap, that Mr Pot. (not!) - Maxine

I will read this more carefully when I have finished Troubled Man but I am not impressed by the final paragraph which somehow promotes the moral purity of Söderberg, Moberg, Strindberg and Lagerlöf. Great writers all, but if we are to judge by political opinion, I would prefer to meet someone who made a wrong-headed reference to Cambodia than one such as Strindberg whose life was characterised by paranoid mysogeny. - Philip Young

Strinberg - quite! Miss Julie is such a horrid play, and one of my poor daughters had to study it at school. Give me Ibsen (A Dolls House etc) any day, though I suppose he did have his moments too, thinking of poor old Hedda G. - Maxine

August Strindberg isn't he The Next Stieg Larsson. - Norman

Oh very droll Norman! - Maxine

Actually, I think there's a Branagh sticker on the posters, Norman. - Philip Young

Funny discussion. I just got annoyed with the writer's conclusion that Scandinavians weren't writing proper literature anymore. Even Mankell writes straight-up novels. (Only read one,but I actually liked it better than his Wallander series, which has never been a favorite of mine.) Nor are all Nordic crime writers political. - barbara fister

have just read first few paras of WSJ article. Has the author not heard of wikileaks when taking the the mickey out of Stieg Larsson for writing about hackers/journalists etc... - LauraRoot

Well said, Laura. And agreed, Barbara - as mentioned in an earlier comment, Johan Theorin is an example of a very good Swedish author who does not write political thrillers (so far.........;-) ). - Maxine

Karin Fossum and Mari Jungstedt don't write particularly political fiction either. - LauraRoot

I don´t think any of these crime writers see themselves as new Strindbergs. Does Patterson see himself as the new Hawthorne or Ambrose Bierse? If one want a crime novel that is more literary what about Kerstin Ekman? - Dorte Jakobsen

Oh no, I gave it to Prof P for xmas, and as he is about to go off to do expts and wants a "plane read" (to accompany his current book, 1415, for more serious moments). I had better divert him and suggest Sansom's Shardrake#3 (as he has recently enjoyed #1 and #2, also xmas presents). Yes, that David Peace book left me an exhausted heap on the floor with my ears ringing! - Maxine

Well Amazon reviews are split so he he may enjoy it - if he likes tennis he'll be fine - a lot of it is about tennis. - Bernadette

Thanks, Bernadette. Will give it a go though next month's does not seem to be ready yet. Sigh, yet more books to read - but at least I know some of the blogs/reviews already! - Maxine

Maxine - the submit form is available and seems to be working - http://blogcarnival.com/bc... - Kerrie

Thanks, Kerrie, yes I found it - the link in the blogger's post does not work, but Bernadette's here in her comment does! It does say on the submit form that the next carnival is not scheduled yet, but in the hope that it will be I have linked to a review, and will add one or two more. BTW the rules say "no reviews on websites, only blog posts." - Maxine

I read this earlier today via an e-alert. It isn't a bad piece but I kept silently screaming at it "national net book agreement!" as that is what started it all off - they do finally get around to it about half-way through. I think it is grossly unfair to pitch the article as a blaming attack (in the main) on Waterstones, who are only doing their best with the market forces they are... more... - Maxine

Just read (via the same e-alert) another similar article but without the angle of the attack on Waterstones. Mainly focused on the potential death of the bricks-and-mortar bookstore: http://www.idealog.com/blog... - Maxine

One thing rarely mentioned as a game-changer is the amazing availability of almost-new used books via the internet - which makes having a a huge inventory of new books less of a jaw-dropping "oh, wow" experience. In the US independents can't make money on books sold cheaply at non-bookstores; they survive as places that curate good books, can help people discover books they don't know about, and provide a community hub for readers. - barbara fister

It seems to me that one service the larger retailers could offer would be a net-based home for the literary minded to oversee -- not solely reviews-by-consumers or lists around a certain author, but rooms (sort of like FF) with themes and administrators, where customers could go to enjoy a good discussion, muse about ideas, etc. - Mickey Schafer

Also, the whole e-reader thing still strikes me as unsustainable. There needs to be a monthly-fee-based subscription model where readers can dip into as many books as they like, pay $$ for permanent downloads. I still will not pay $9.99 per book when I can get it on paper for 1.99 plus shipping. - Mickey Schafer

I don't know about the US but in the UK it is common for bookstores to order books from Amazon (deep discount) and sell them to their customers for slightly more. (Dan Brown was 4.99 for a whole week on Amazon for example, cheapest you could buy in store was 9.49 (half price). Do the maths. This is why Amazon limits the number of orders! But it works as a business model for... more... - Maxine