Bookpusher

I was shelving books on Saturday morning and found myself picking up this book again and again. I don’t know if it was because I had just heard about the death of Paul Newman, who’s portrayal of Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler was one of his most memorable roles, or if it was because of the book’s arresting cover, showing legendary pool hustler Jersey Red leaning over a shot, glaring at the cue ball as if it killed his mother. I actually think it was because of the pool table my dad had in our rec room while growing up. I never got the hang of the game, but I would always love to watch my dad play. He was (is) a contractor, and works all day long dealing with angles in his head: managing multiple bank shots never was much of a problem for him.

The book chronicles the golden age of pool, starting with the career of Minnesota Fats in the 1920s, all the way through the sport’s down times in the 1950s and renaissance in the 1960s, due in large part to that film of Paul Newman’s I mentioned earlier. This is an excellent read: Dyer isn’t as much concerned about the sport itself, so you’ll read nothing about strategy, technique, or nuts-and-bolts of the game. Instead, this book is about the romance of pool – the shadowy figures, the backroom hustles, the short and long cons, the clashes between legends, and tournament triumphs and failures.

Dyer notes that there are two versions of the American Dream: one version is that a person will work hard, find opportunities, get a house and a marriage and a family and live happily ever after. The other version is that of the one person, alone, using their skills and wits and whatever else they can get their hands on, making their mark in the world, becoming respected and a bit feared by those around them. You can guess which one Dyer’s pool hustlers are. Living their lives from town to town, relying on their skill at the pool tables, each one chasing the dream through smoky backroom matches where people just might pull a gun after a loss than a wad of cash.

Well, TVBarn, actually.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Aaron Barnhart, the television critic for the Kansas City Star. He also has his own blog, TVBarn, which is a clearinghouse for his newspaper columns as well as tv-related news, interviews, podcasts, and other segments of his growing media empire. He graciously gave me the opportunity to write for his blog, so I’m abusing the privilege accepted his offer and my writings will pop up there from time to time. My first post, a cheat sheet about the remaining episodes of Bravo’s “Project: Runway”, is up now. And put TVBarn in your bookmarks or RSS feeds!

This post goes out to my buddy Colin, who called me out suggested I write about books, since this is, y’know, supposed to be a book blog and all. A while back when he was looking for something to read, I suggested he try out Michael Connelly, who is one of my favorite authors. He picked up Connelly’s first, The Black Echo, loved it, and away he went, tearing through the rest of the books. But now that he’s done, he’s encountering a problem: what should he read next?

If you’re not familiar with him, Connelly’s novels are usually set in the glittery noir world of Los Angeles. His main character is Heironymous “Harry” Bosch, an intense and relentless homicide detective who often butts heads with authority figures and the rich and powerful – people who want crimes covered up or treated with kid gloves. (Harry Bosch isn’t the only character featured in Connelly novels, but he is certainly his best and most popular.) Bosch is a cop who sees his job as a mission, and he has an avenging angel quality to them without stooping to lame TV cop cliches. Action, when it occurs, is usually quick, brutal, and emotionally powerful. Connelly started his career as a journalist working the cop beat and his novels reflect this, with sentences descriptive yet short and to the point. There is no emotional hand-wringing or wasted words. Almost everything by Connelly is extremely readable and highly recommended, and better yet, you don’t have to read his novels in order – you can jump in at any time.

Similar to Connelly is Robert Crais. His main character, Elvis Cole, shares a common background with Harry Bosch (Vietnam veteran) and common city (Los Angeles) but as Bosch is often grim and humorless, Cole cracks wise at the first opportunity, using humor as a mask to deal with the brutality and seediness of the things he encounters in his job as a private detective. His novels are a bit more action-oriented but just as well-written as Connelly’s. Elvis’ partner, the quiet and intimidating Joe Pike, has earned himself a starring role in a few novels as well. It’s fun as a fan to see Crais’ style evolve over time – Cole’s humor lessens over the course of the novels, but carries more of an emotional punch. Start with Hostage, a brilliant stand-alone novel that was made into a overlooked Bruce Willis movie, and go from there.

I’d also recommend Lee Child, who writes the Jack Reacher series. Reacher, former military policeman turned freelance, reminds me of Matt Damon from the Bourne movies in that he’s always a thinker first. Reacher’s asskicking skills are without question, but before he does anything, from rescuing a kidnapping victim to a fistfight with some thugs in a back alley, he plans it all out in his head first. It’s an unusual characteristic, but it works, and it makes Lee Child’s novels really stand out from the rest of the thriller pack. Reacher is a Shane-like figure, as he blows into town, finds trouble, takes care of that trouble, and moves on. Avoid his latest novel, Nothing to Lose, but everything else is golden.

(In my head is a post explaining why all the kindly, blue-haired librarians on my listervs who usually read nothing but mysteries involving knitting or talking cats go absolutely bonkers over Jack Reacher novels, but that’s for another time.)

Aaron Barnhart is the television critic for the Kansas City Star, and every year for the past three years he’s held a viewing of the first episodes of the best new shows of the season at the Screenland Theaters. Since I’m a tv freak and one can buy beer at the Screenland, I’ve attended every year. This year was a bit odd, since last year’s writer’s strike halted the production of new shows, so the pickings were fairly slim. Also, ABC has refused to send out any early previews of their shows, because they hate me, so I’ll have to sit at home and wait with the rest of you to see how the reboot of “Cupid” will turn out.

Anyway. What we saw, with thoughts, with some mild spoilers:

“Chuck”: One of my favorite shows from last season, “Chuck” looks strong again, kicking things off with the blend of charm, humor, and action that it had last year. This season’s premise is set up nicely: the CIA and NSA have nearly completed the new version of the intersect that’s in Chuck’s head, meaning he’ll become expendable very quickly. It looks great – can’t wait for this one.

“Heroes”: The ten minutes featuring Masi Oka’s character, Hiro, was fine, however watching the clip I couldn’t shake the feeling that “Heroes” will have another down season, just like last year. Put me in the ‘wait and see’ camp.

“The Mentalist“: Take the ‘con man who uses his skills to solve crimes’ shtick from USA’s “Psych”, remove the humor, and you’ve got the new CBS offering starring Australian actor Simon Baker. I wasn’t all that impressed with it, because what primetime tv certainly does not need is yet another cop/detective show. This one does looks good if you’re into that sort of thing – well-written, slickly produced, professionally made – but it’ll be off my TiVo list. (My parents, however, will love it.)

“Life” – Remember what I just said about the overabundance of cop/detective shows? This is the exception. A holdover from last year’s shortened season, this show about a Zen-spouting detective trying to put his life back together after being in jail for a crime he didn’t commit was a pleasant surprise and quickly became one of my favorite shows, filled with wit, likable characters, and nuanced acting. (Unusual for a cop show, I know.) This season contains some changes which I’m not too thrilled about – the maybe-evil captain has been replaced by funny schlub and noted showkiller Donal Logue. It seems an odd fit, and I may have to adopt the “wait and see” approach I have with “Heroes”, but if there’s one show that’s earned a fair shot, it’s this one.

“Boston Legal”: I hate this show with the heat of a thousand suns, and therefore was too busy trying to strangle myself with a Twizzler wrapper to pay much attention.

“Fringe“: Hey, always good to see Pacey from “Dawson’s Creek” picking up a paycheck. This show about a small FBI cell using fringe science to solve mysteries comes from the mind of J.J. Abrams and looks slick as hell, but I wasn’t enraptured with the clip that I saw. Probably one of those things where you need to watch the entire show to see it in context, but since J.J. was behind one of my all-time favorite shows, “Alias”, I’ll absolutely be tuning in.

“Dollhouse”: You had me at Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon, so before episode one I’m already this show’s bitch. We only got to see a preview trailer, not a clip, but it looks good.

“Worst Week”: For those who think that a television show cannot be good and family-friendly at the same time, this show’s for you. Wickedly funny slapstick about a guy trying to impress his girlfriend’s parents, “Worst Week” is like a cleaner and less cringe-worthy version of Meet the Parents, except funny. Worth checking out.

Brilliant But Canceled Watch: Every year I fall in love with new television shows; every year at least one of them gets shamelessly canceled. This year will be no different. The early money’s on Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” getting the axe because of his disasterous history with the Fox network. I think that the show will get a fair shot because of that history – they know good and well that there’ll be about ten thousand committed Whedonites ready to firebomb the Fox studio lot if “Dollhouse” gets a quick hook. No, I’m going with the quirky police procedural “Life“, which barely survived last year’s half-season because of the chaos caused by the strike. NBC had no idea how to market it, and I doubt they’ve given it much thought this year around. Expect “Life” to get shuffled around the schedule and a mercy killing in midseason, replaced by a lame rip-off of a Japanese reality show.