| Author |
Message |
Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Friday, February 01, 2019 - 7:14 pm 
Finished listening to A Desperate Fortune today. Excellent read - but that may partly due to my Scottish-loving bias! 
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, February 02, 2019 - 12:15 pm
I am reading To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidah Jenkins. At thirty, he decides to cycle from Oregon to Patagonia. His parents were the couple in the 70s who walked across America. It is fascinating and uplifting. He comes to terms with a lot in life including his sexuality. Loving it so far.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, February 02, 2019 - 1:11 pm
When did he do this?
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Sunday, February 03, 2019 - 9:37 am
Just a couple of years ago, Sea.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, February 03, 2019 - 12:47 pm
There are some countries where the risk can be high if you travel through, but a male on a bike would be safer than some.
I follow two female hikers (Fidget and Neon) who are walking from top to bottom ( or maybe the other direction) of north, central and South America and they are quite savvy in terms of what not to carry, or do, but it has been dicey in some areas.
His book sounds good!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, February 04, 2019 - 1:15 pm
I finished the Tiger bio.
I went up and down about him. He did go to rehab for sex addicts and he clearly was off the charts in that area. He and Elin tried to keep it going, in separate homes. Elin really wanted an intact family for the kids. But after all his confessions, the paparazzi came up with one more woman, who was the daughter of neighbors. Her friend sold the story. He didn't tell Elin and that was the final straw.
He continued to treat so many people coldly. No thanks for anything (his mother had told him since childhood he was the chosen one) and he lost his coach, his daddy and good friends.
He had several very serious surgeries on his back, insisted as he always had in pushing his rehab way too fast. And years of working out way beyond what a body could handle and bulking up in ways that hurt his back and good game, then going gung ho with Navy Seal training he was in excruciating pain and finally mixed the wrong combination of prescription meds and famously drove and honestly couldn't say if he was in Florida or California.. He finally went to rehab for that and paid fines, did the required driving school, community service and by the end of the book had started to be more human with others and with himself.
So I am back hoping he can keep it real.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Monday, February 04, 2019 - 9:30 pm
I'm currently in the middle of this New Yorker article about author A.J. Finn (real name Dan Mallory). It just keeps getting more outlandish! Had to take a pause to post here as my internal voice is screaming that my fellow TVCH'ers need to read this.
A Suspense Novelist’s Trail of Deceptions
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/11/a-suspense-novelists-trail-of-deceptions
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, February 05, 2019 - 3:44 am
That was something else.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Tuesday, February 05, 2019 - 8:55 am
Mind blown.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Tuesday, February 05, 2019 - 1:37 pm
Thank you, Rieann. I am thoroughly scandalized by every word of that article. And now this Twitter exchange I had with him (which I've reprinted from June 2017) makes me feel unspeakably queasy (and EMBARRASSED): 
______________________________________________
I thought you all might find this Twitter exchange between me and A.J. Finn amusing and/or interesting:
Ric Munoz @munoz_ric
#TheWomanintheWindow by @AJFinnBooks comes out in January. I read an advance copy: LOVED it! Mr Finn's debut is a spectacular thriller 10/10
7:49 PM - 18 Jun 2017
AJ Finn @AJFinnBooks
Replying to @munoz_ric
What a gent! Thanks for this -- so pleased you had a good time with it.
1:57 PM - 22 Jun 2017
Ric Munoz @munoz_ric
Replying to @AJFinnBooks
You're welcome! I expect the film adaptation will be of similar quality. Alas, the book, as you well know, is always better than the movie!
2:18 PM - 22 Jun 2017
AJ Finn @AJFinnBooks
Replying to @munoz_ric
I bet this'll be an exception. The movie's gonna make the book look bad. Just you wait.
2:48 AM - 24 Jun 2017
Ric Munoz @munoz_ric
Replying to @AJFinnBooks
You're in good hands! The #Fox2000 folks sure know how to improve a book as proved by classics such as #TheDevilWearsPrada & #HiddenFigures
8:15 PM - 24 Jun 2017
AJ Finn @AJFinnBooks
Replying to @munoz_ric
Oh, they're amazing. Life of Pi, Marley and Me, The Fault in Our Stars... And such lovely people there, too. I'm obscenely lucky.
5:48 AM - 25 Jun 2017
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Tuesday, February 05, 2019 - 2:36 pm
Rieann, thanks for the article link. I kept thinking the story would end and was surprised how it went on and on. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what's going on with people. Years ago I knew a pathological liar, and it took quite awhile to figure her out. I can see why some people got taken in by him.
Ric, no need for you to feel embarrassed by the twitter exchange. The fact is that the book did become a best seller. One of the most fascinating aspects of the story is that people kept letting Mallory get away with his disappearances, erratic behavior and obvious lies.
His book did keep me turning the page!
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Tuesday, February 05, 2019 - 7:49 pm
Finished "The Portable Veblen" by Elizabeth McKenzie. It was quite good.
Now I'm on to the second book in Nora Roberts Guardians Trilogy.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 12:24 am
Ric, nothing wrong with your assessment of what you read. That was genuine!
I am starting another bio by John Elder Robinson, who is austic and explains everything so well. This book Switched On: a Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional AwKening, is about his participation in a clinical trial of TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) .
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 7:05 am
I'm not sure why the Twitter exchange would make you feel queasy/embarrassed. If it's an entertaining book then it's an entertaining book. I'm looking forward to reading it.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 9:41 am
Ricky Actually I think it's kind of cool that you had that Twitter Exchange with Finn, ESPECIALLY now that he's notorious. Grin. No reason to be embarrassed whatsoever. Big hugs
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 11:05 am
Thank you, Tres, Sea and Mame.
Jim, the queasy/embarrassed feeling stems from the fact that the New Yorker article makes a somewhat compelling case that Mallory/Finn lifted a significant portion of the book's plot from a 1995 film titled, ironically enough, "Copycat." So I was raving about a book that quite possibly contains material stolen from another writer. 
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 11:59 am
Well you didn’t know that. I’m surprised that no one else has pointed this out. Copycat was a pretty well known and well received film. It stared Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter and Harry Connick Jr. (in an unexpected role). Here’s Roger Ebert’s review.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/copycat-1995
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 12:41 pm
That's true, I didn't. Maybe he thought no one would notice he was "borrowing" from such a relatively old film. I guess it's far worse for all the people in his professional and personal circles who've been duped by him.
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Tresbien
Member
08-26-2002
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 1:24 pm
I read The Woman In The Window and it sounds like an entirely different scenario from the one in the review Jimmer posted of Copycat. It seems to me that it's not so uncommon or awful for one work to inspire another as long as it isn't plagiarism or actual theft of intellectual property.
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 1:50 pm
I actually thought of Copycat when I read TWITW. Lol! I forgot about the doctor sign-in and playing chess part in the movie though. Mainly the agoraphobia and drinking. The rest is quite different. No need for embarrassment, Ric. Your exchange shows how humble he came across. Or maybe you were talking to "Jake". Haha.
Tresbien, I was fascinated by the industry's reactions as well. They just seemed to shrug him off. The relationship he had/has with the Agatha Christie writer is interesting. I cracked up at the working title she had for her book... Your so vain I bet you think this Poirot's about you. 😂
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Wednesday, February 06, 2019 - 2:03 pm
Argh! You're not Your in above post.
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Friday, February 08, 2019 - 11:36 am
Thank you, Rieann. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it had been "Jake" who responded. I have such zero tolerance for liars and cheats - this story is very upsetting and with the mountain of evidence I doubt it's at all inaccurate.
Last night I finished The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. I was turned on to it by the same co-worker who urged me to read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, so that was enough for me to try it. I was a little nervous when I picked it up from the library and saw its hefty 580-page length. Now that I've finished it, I wish it had been 5,800 pages long.
Oh. My. Goodness. Terrifically epic doesn't even begin to describe how good Mr. Boyne's book is. It's his 11th published novel (for adults) and it follows the life of Cyril Avery, from age 7 to 70, as he grows up in Dublin and eventually moves to Amsterdam and New York and then back to Dublin.
I'll be shocked if anyone who reads it doesn't absolutely love it - that's how much of a limb I'm going out on for this one. It's nothing like Eleanor Oliphant, but the quality of the writing is just as good. Interestingly, Boyne dedicated the book to John Irving and you can definitely notice Irving's influence with how Boyne structured the narrative -- I'm going to predict this will go down as Boyne's masterpiece. (And, yes, I want to read his other books!).
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, February 09, 2019 - 6:48 pm
Thanks, Uncle Ricky - just downloaded that for my Kindle on your recommendation.
I finished The Lamp of the Wicked by Phil Rickman and was surprised to read at the end that that particular novel was based on an actual serial murder mystery! I love his Merrily Watkins series, so it was fun to have one tied to a real situation.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, February 09, 2019 - 7:06 pm
Looks like a nice stack of his books await you, Ric!
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Uncle_ricky
Member
07-02-2007
| Sunday, February 10, 2019 - 4:45 pm
Alas, that’s a happy fact, Sea.
Teach, I will refund your purchase if you don’t totally love it.😜
This afternoon I finished History of Violence, the follow-up by Edouard Louis to his The End of Eddy debut. I thought it would be even better since it covers the true-life sexual assault he experienced in Paris after moving there from his home village in the north of France. He writes from multiples points of view and this creates unnecessary confusion for the reader. It was mercifully short, so the frustration of reading it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been. ☹️
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