Sunday, September 26th
At 3:00 pm
Tickets: $5
RESERVE TICKETS
A physician, humorist, storyteller and best-selling novelist, Ferrol Sams is the author of eight books. Most notable is his trilogy of novels in which an eccentric and quixotic hero, Porter Osborne Jr., mirrors Sams' own Georgia boyhood in Fayette County. All his works are rooted in the oral traditions of southern humor and folklore. With engaging and graceful prose, Sams' fiction celebrates love of the land, the changing Southern landscape, and what he calls "being raised right" in the rural South.
Centre for the Performing and Visual Art of Coweta County
1523 Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan, GA 30265
770-254-2787
Showing posts with label arts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arts. Show all posts
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
If Harlan Coben writes it... I will read it.
Sometimes you come across authors that snatch you up and carry you easily into their novels. Harlan Coben didn't snatch, he completely ensnared me. I have read every book he's written since finding the first one at our local Library book sale.
He can't write fast enough to make me happy.
I just finished reading Caught and it's definitely another Harlan Coben winner. I loved the twists and turns in this suspenseful book. He never seems to travel in the direction most authors would and nothing is ever what it seems. I always agree with his endings and like where he finishes up.
Caught is his 17th book.
In Caught a young girl vanishes from her home, people lose their reputations, some die, and some persevere. There is evil, some misguided, and good, sometimes accidental. The characters are human and react in ways that may surprise the reader. Things are never clear-cut in Coben's novels, Caught is no exception.
You get as much out of Coben's books as you're willing to put into them. You can read it as a straight mystery / thriller, or you can use it as a springboard to look into your own soul. What would you do to protect your family? What choices would you make if faced with a crisis in college? when established? How loyal would you be to your friends? Would you trust your instincts over the facts placed in front of you?
Life isn't neat and Coben's books show just how messy it can be, albeit for most of us we'll never, hopefully, encounter the situations his characters run into. We will probably judge others in those situations though. He develops the characters like building blocks, adding layer upon layer until you are inside their head seeing the world through their eyes.
I confess that I finished reading Caught in one evening. I stayed up until bleary eyed as I couldn't sleep wondering what would happen on the next page. Usually when I do that I end up reading the book again a few months later. I find it fun to re-read a book knowing the ending. I see all the little hints and nuances that lead to the conclusion.
It's not necessary to read Coben's books in order, although with some they build on past books. I started reading his books in the middle of the pack, then went back and picked up some earlier books, read some at the end, then back toward the middle. It didn't change my enjoyment of the books.
Shoot, I may have to start a hardback collection of his books. I usually read paperbacks because I am an abuser of books. I read them while cooking, while eating, and carry them stuffed into my messy purse. I turn page corners to save my place and break the spines when I prop them open with whatever is handy. I try to treat hardbacks a little better!
If you like mystery, suspense, thrillers, twists and turns, you'll love Harlan Coben's writing. I would love to have a Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III) in my life, character flaws and all.
www.HarlanCoben.com
He can't write fast enough to make me happy.
I just finished reading Caught and it's definitely another Harlan Coben winner. I loved the twists and turns in this suspenseful book. He never seems to travel in the direction most authors would and nothing is ever what it seems. I always agree with his endings and like where he finishes up.
Caught is his 17th book.
In Caught a young girl vanishes from her home, people lose their reputations, some die, and some persevere. There is evil, some misguided, and good, sometimes accidental. The characters are human and react in ways that may surprise the reader. Things are never clear-cut in Coben's novels, Caught is no exception.
You get as much out of Coben's books as you're willing to put into them. You can read it as a straight mystery / thriller, or you can use it as a springboard to look into your own soul. What would you do to protect your family? What choices would you make if faced with a crisis in college? when established? How loyal would you be to your friends? Would you trust your instincts over the facts placed in front of you?
Life isn't neat and Coben's books show just how messy it can be, albeit for most of us we'll never, hopefully, encounter the situations his characters run into. We will probably judge others in those situations though. He develops the characters like building blocks, adding layer upon layer until you are inside their head seeing the world through their eyes.
I confess that I finished reading Caught in one evening. I stayed up until bleary eyed as I couldn't sleep wondering what would happen on the next page. Usually when I do that I end up reading the book again a few months later. I find it fun to re-read a book knowing the ending. I see all the little hints and nuances that lead to the conclusion.
It's not necessary to read Coben's books in order, although with some they build on past books. I started reading his books in the middle of the pack, then went back and picked up some earlier books, read some at the end, then back toward the middle. It didn't change my enjoyment of the books.
Shoot, I may have to start a hardback collection of his books. I usually read paperbacks because I am an abuser of books. I read them while cooking, while eating, and carry them stuffed into my messy purse. I turn page corners to save my place and break the spines when I prop them open with whatever is handy. I try to treat hardbacks a little better!
If you like mystery, suspense, thrillers, twists and turns, you'll love Harlan Coben's writing. I would love to have a Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III) in my life, character flaws and all.
www.HarlanCoben.com
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Writing book reviews ain't easy!
A couple of us have been talking about writing book reviews. We're nice people, not like some of the nasty critics we read who seem to ignore a person's feelings. Think about it --- writing is a passion. It takes a lot out of an author's heart, soul and time. Most writers sweat every rejection and feel every negative comment, at least until they're swimming in dollars and quit reading reviews (we assume).
We know that if a book is bad, it's not going to sell. If it's really bad, it won't pass muster with a publisher at all. That doesn't mean that any book not being picked up by a publisher is bad at all! We know that with the proliferation of books being written it's impossible to print them all. Timing and a feel for what's popular are important. In our discussion on this blog / column we kind of "assume" that just like there are great musical artists singing in local bars that coulda, shoulda hit it big but just never got in front of the right people, so goes it with all the manuscripts being penned by Stephen King or Ayn Rand wannabees.
We have collectively decided that we will not write negative reviews. We may toss in a suggestion or two, but we're not going to attack an author just 'cause one of us doesn't like their work. We will only review books we like. Could be that one of us will like it, the other will think it stinks. You'll only read what the one who likes it has to say.
For instance, I just finished reading a book that didn't do a thing in the world for me. I read it all the way through hoping there was some redeeming quality to no avail. The characters weren't believable, I couldn't connect with any of them, some popped into major positions in the book but were left dangling without any character development... you get the idea. I ended up skimming much of the book. However, I got to the end. Bad ending, too <g>.
I took a look at the credits and read a bit about the author. Not one of the mega publishers, but respectable house. This was his twentieth novel -- his name was above the title, too. OK, someone is reading his books. Other people identify and like what he's writing.
Different books for different tastes. There are all levels of readers in the world and an unlimited number of reasons for reading books. It could be that my tastes run completely contrary to yours... obviously they run contrary to those who are buying and reading the book I alluded to above!
Well, now that's decided I'm off to read a new book of some sort. My tastes run toward mysteries, science fiction and the occasional political non-fiction book. One of our writers reads only non-fiction. We're waiting to discover what some of our other contributors read!
Oh, and one more comment on our reviews... none of us profess to be professional critics and some are not trained in the art of writing. Please forgive us if we're not always perfect in our grammar.
We know that if a book is bad, it's not going to sell. If it's really bad, it won't pass muster with a publisher at all. That doesn't mean that any book not being picked up by a publisher is bad at all! We know that with the proliferation of books being written it's impossible to print them all. Timing and a feel for what's popular are important. In our discussion on this blog / column we kind of "assume" that just like there are great musical artists singing in local bars that coulda, shoulda hit it big but just never got in front of the right people, so goes it with all the manuscripts being penned by Stephen King or Ayn Rand wannabees.
We have collectively decided that we will not write negative reviews. We may toss in a suggestion or two, but we're not going to attack an author just 'cause one of us doesn't like their work. We will only review books we like. Could be that one of us will like it, the other will think it stinks. You'll only read what the one who likes it has to say.
For instance, I just finished reading a book that didn't do a thing in the world for me. I read it all the way through hoping there was some redeeming quality to no avail. The characters weren't believable, I couldn't connect with any of them, some popped into major positions in the book but were left dangling without any character development... you get the idea. I ended up skimming much of the book. However, I got to the end. Bad ending, too <g>.
I took a look at the credits and read a bit about the author. Not one of the mega publishers, but respectable house. This was his twentieth novel -- his name was above the title, too. OK, someone is reading his books. Other people identify and like what he's writing.
Different books for different tastes. There are all levels of readers in the world and an unlimited number of reasons for reading books. It could be that my tastes run completely contrary to yours... obviously they run contrary to those who are buying and reading the book I alluded to above!
Well, now that's decided I'm off to read a new book of some sort. My tastes run toward mysteries, science fiction and the occasional political non-fiction book. One of our writers reads only non-fiction. We're waiting to discover what some of our other contributors read!
Oh, and one more comment on our reviews... none of us profess to be professional critics and some are not trained in the art of writing. Please forgive us if we're not always perfect in our grammar.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)