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The Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald Sobol - I started reading these about 35 years ago, and still read through them once in a while. They are still wonderful. The Three Investigators series (which passed through two or three authors) - this series cemented my interest in mysteries at an...

I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. I was definitley, pleasantly surprised by how "smart" the film was - meaning that Mr. Nolan didn't seem to take the easy way out of a lot of the situations the plot engendered. (For instance, how to administer the "kick" in zero gravity.) But, I also was...

If you are looking for more recommendations, I'll add my own two cents: To my mind, detective fiction begins and ends with Rex Stout. Some of the Nero Wolfe mysteries are better than others, but they are all good. I also greatly enjoyed John Dunnings first two mysteries set in the world of...

I don't think that I've read Typhoon - at least, not in the last 20+ years. However, as I said, Conrad is one of the greatest writers to have ever lived, in my opinion.

Yes, you can classify Kurtzas a villain, but Conrad's stories are rarely as cut and dried as hero vs. villain. Or rather, it's truer to say that there is rarely a single source of evil.

Well, I hope you enjoy Victory. I have always thought that Conrad was one of the greatest writers to have ever lived. And, you make a good point about the serial killer vs. criminal mastermind dichotomy. I have no use for the serial killer genre, myself. One of the great things about...

An interesting question. Some of my "favorite" villains from fiction would include Arnold Zeck, from a series of Rex Stout novels (think Moriarty living in Upstate New York), Schomberg from Joseph Conrad's Victory , and the villain from Harry Crews' Body. I can't think of his name off the top...

If you are interested in fantasy, but would like to work your way out into other areas, I'd suggest the following books because they seem like good bridges between fantasy and other types of fiction: Little, Big by John Crowley - it's very close to the fantasy world, but also has snippets of...

Summerland by Michael Chabon It's kind of hard to define what it was, exactly, about the book. There's some sort of melding of things I remember from my childhood with larger ideas. It's about baseball and summer days and that sort of thing, but also about what many of those things represent.

I haven't read that particular book by Parker, but the couple of his that I have read (Double Deuce & The Godwulf Manuscript) were pretty good. In his best moments, he reminded me a lot of Rex Stout. However, I have heard around that his books are very uneven, and that some of the later ones...

I won't pretend to have read a great deal of "chick-lit", but I have noticed a worrying degree of what you describe in many of the books I have read. I can remember many years ago having a female friend tell me that I should read Fear of Flying to help with my understanding of women. Halfway...

A few who come to mind just now are: Rachel Nagy of The Detroit Cobras Margot Timmons of The Cowboy Junkies Natalie Merchant (mostly on the strength of her cover of Because the Night) Susan Tedeschi (she does a fabulous cover of Angel from Montgomery)

I've noticed, lately, the far more disturbing phenomenon of authors using incorrect words. For instance, one of the authors I am reading right now has been using "foster" in place of the correct "foist". As in, "Bill fostered his burden on Jill." when it should be "Bill foisted his burden on...

Novella, thanks for mentioning some of my favorites, and not making me feel quite so old. I'm right with you on REM, Floyd, Jonathan Richman, Old & In the Way, Hendrix, Counting Crows, and Bela. I'll also add: Uncle Tupelo (Neil Young & Crazy Horse meet Woody Guthrie - there moments of...

Well, if you look at the portrayal of probably the world's best known fictional defense attorney, Perry Mason, I don't think you'd find that level of vitriol. I mean, the worst he is accused of is bending the rules here and there. Maybe it's because, in defending his client, he inevitably...

Nick, If you are talking about Bram Stoker's original novel Dracula (as opposed to something based on one of the movies), you should be ready to deal with the dense and circuitous Victorian style of writing. That is, you should have any trouble with the plot and form of the book. Many of...

Sorry, I haven't read anything by Ross MacDonald, and am reticent to recommend authors "sight unseen". Maybe I'll have to give Mr. MacDonald a try.

Lots of stuff comes to mind: For more in the Chinatown vein, check out Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James Cain - these guys practically created the hard-boiled detective. For something more Holmesian, you should definitely try any of the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout. The prose is...

I have been buying books, steadily, for about twice as long as you've been around. I've spent a lot of time running around flea markets, thrift stores, used book stores, etc. However, I don't buy anything that I don't think I might want to read. I'll also warn you that relentless accumulation...

I know I have covered this ground before, but it may have been a while ago. So, to answer your question: I have no idea exactly how many books I have. The number is probably somewhere between 8 - 10,000. Needless to say, many of the big genres are represented - literature, mystery, sci-fi...