Framing the Dialogue

Archive for March, 2017

Play Dead

Play Dead is the first in the Elise Sandburg series.  Elise is a detective on the Savannah, Georgia police force.  She is a homicide detective and a very good one.  She is also rumored to be the daughter of an infamous “Root Doctor” from that city.  She has rejected that lifestyle for the more “legitimate” one…the more “real” one, but has a hard time outliving the legend of her deceased and very famous father and the wild stories that surround their lives.

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The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland

I was obviously attracted to this novel because of the title.  It didn’t take long to figure out that the title had absolutely NOTHING to do with President Grover Cleveland.  Nothing!

When you enter the world of The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland you enter a story about a bunch of broken teens at what can best be called a “summer camp” for kids with problems.  The novel has some very compelling characters…sad characters…frightening characters…hopeful characters.  This is not a light novel!  The interplay of the characters is both brutal and loving at the same time.

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Killing Hemingway

Killing Hemingway is noted as a “coming of age” novel.  That’s not generally my genre of choice, but it was also listed under humor and I need a little humor in my life.  Actually a lot of humor.

The hero in the story is a genius named Teddy Alexander.  Bored with the level of teaching at his school he decides to up the ante and “school” his ill-equipped teacher earning him a trip to the principal’s office.  Teddy’s poor behavior becomes the turning point in his life when the principal recognizes the gem that is Teddy.  The novel follows Teddy through his unusual life.

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God’s Middle Finger

I wasn’t sure when I started reading God’s Middle Finger whether the book was a novel or non-fiction.  As I read the Prologue I was pretty sure this was a fictional account of a writer’s journey “into the lawless heart of the Sierra Madre.”  The Sierra Madre mountain range is just south of the United States’ border with Mexico near Arizona.  The accounts of author Richard Grant are unbelievable except that they are believable.  One description of the Sierra Madre is that the rules of law and society have never taken hold.

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We Have Lost the Pelicans

Set in Great Britain sometime in the near future, We Have Lost The Pelicans, we find our “hero”, Howie, and his fiancé “heroine”, Britt, on the day before they are set to get married.  Both become part of separate adventures that threaten to interfere with their upcoming nuptials.  Howie is the spokesman for the newly elected “president” of Britain after the overthrow of the Windsor’s and Britt is an investigative reporter.

This is a light-hearted novel by Paul Matthews, about life in a world turned upside down by a revolution of sorts and competing factions looking to cause chaos.  The pelicans are just part of the scene and you’ll have to read to see what happens to these birds.

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Essentialism

“the basic value proposition of Essentialism: only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”

“There are three deeply entrenched assumptions we must conquer to live the way of the Essentialist: “I have to,” “It’s all important,” and “I can do both.” Like mythological sirens, these assumptions are as dangerous as they are seductive. They draw us in and drown us in shallow waters. To embrace the essence of Essentialism requires we replace these false assumptions with three core truths: “I choose to,” “Only a few things really matter,” and “I can do anything but not everything.” These simple truths awaken us from our nonessential stupor. They free us.”

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