Section Three Books & Stories AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR ON LINE I spend much of my time writing, and watching movies on DVD or television. But the bulk of my time is spent reading. Mysteries, Westerns, romantic comedies, science fiction, historical novels, sea stories, plays, biographies, and other non-fiction, are all consumed with equal vigor. In addition to all the material I read in print versions, I am now spending some of my time surfing the Internet for novels and short stories that have been published there. Because no one can hope to read all of the great books and stories that are published every year, and you may have missed many of them, I decided to develop this section in Adventures On A Couch. A similar section appeared in StageFair under the heading of “Pageturners Or Doorstops.” Here I will com-ment on the books and stories I have read. As with my comments regarding the movies I’ve seen, or the audio recordings I’ve heard, I talk about the ones I liked, not the ones I didn’t, unless it is so poor in quality as to be, in my opinion, an outright theft of your time and/or money. Also, as with the other sections of Adventures On A Couch, you are invited to share your opinion of the books and stories you’ve read with my viewers here. I will publish your comments under your byline and with a link to your blog or website if you have one. Please put “Book/Story Comment,” in the subject line of your email, attach photo of yourself if possible, and send to: twamacker@gmail.com. a Thornedike Press Large Print ®Cloak & Dagger Series 1993 by arrangement with Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. At the Escondido Public Library this week I picked up my first novel by NANCY PICKARD, a Jenny Cain mystery titled, BUT I WOULDN’T WANT TO DIE THERE. I shall have to find more of her books as this one was quite enjoyable. Synopsis: Carol Margolis went out jogging one morning and ran straight into the arms of her killer. Now the community foundation she worked for needs someone to temporarily fill in and her friend, Jenny Cain, is just the right person. But small-town Jenny gets more than she bargained for in the Big Apple. She takes over Carol’s job and her murder case as well. The police think the murder is just a case of a Manhattan mugging gone wrong, but Jenny discovers that Carol’s life -- and death -- is full of dark and mysterious twists. The fact that Jenny’s husband has made it very clear that he really doesn’t want Jenny to take the foundation job, even temporarily -- he thinks he hates New York -- puts addi-tional pressure on Cain as she tries to solve the problems Carol left behind, and her murder, without getting herself killed, too. My rating: 4 of 5 Stars. a Thorndike Press® Large Print Mystery edition 2004 published by arrangement with Simon & Schuster, Inc. While at the Escondido Public Library I had the good fortune to come across an ED MCBAIN novel I had not read. A 87th Precinct yarn titled THE FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH, I started reading it on the way home (by bus) and didn’t put it down until I finished it three hours, twenty-five minutes and 444 pages later. Synopsis: Hip hop singer Tamar Valpariso is about to be a household name. Her expensive promo campaign has yet to launch, but Tamar’s album seems a sure thing. The cameras are ready to roll at the kick off party aboard a rented yacht...When Steve Carella shows up for the graveyard shift at the 87th on the night of Tamar’s launch party, he is promptly delivered a kidnapping case. None of the officers have heard of Tamar Valpariso, but they all figure that if she’s been kidnapped, then she must be someone big. Soon it becomes clear that someone wants Tamar to disappear before she can become that big star. My rating: 5 stars. At the same library on the same day I discovered another author who I had not read before. It is one of the Inspector Charlie Salter mystery series set in Canada by ERIC WRIGHT titled FINAL CUT. Synopsis: Inspector Charlie Salter never dreamed police work could be like this. Advising on a movie set certainly beat solving routine murders. Who could say no to such glamorous and easy duty? Not Salter. He is fascinated by the movie world. Nothing is quite what it seems -- on screen or off. But this movie is in big trouble. Somebody wants to stop production with practical jokes that are turning serious. A fake fire alarm, a missing can of film, a damaged sound machine, a actor sent to the wrong location, and another one mugged, all point to an inside job. While it’s true that universal love does not abound among the crew, actors and artistic staff, why would anyone with a vested interest in the film want to see it fail? Puzzling as the question is, somebody does -- and that somebody is determined enough to murder. My rating: 5 Stars.  CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION WEB SITES & BLOGS BY OR ABOUT SOME OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS / & BLOGS I FOLLOW. AUTHORS M.C. BEATON JOSEPHINE CARR AGATHA CHRISTIE DICK FRANCIS ED GORMAN LOUIS LAMOUR ED McBAIN JOHN D. MacDONALD LESLIE O’KANE ROBERT B. PARKER ELIZABETH PETERS ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH WILLIAM G. TAPPLY NERO WOLFE FANTASTIC FICTION (A marvelous site to check for the work of 25,000 outstanding authors!) BLOGS & WEB SITES THAT I FOLLOW Got a blog or website that relates to entertainment at home, writing (poetry and fiction or non-fiction) history, social issues, or personal development, then let me know about it. If I think it is relevant to the subjects above and would interest my viewers, I will put a link to it below. MEAM WYE (“Shining History: Medieval Islamic Civilization “) PIERRE LE ROUX (“Warfare: The Delightful and Dreary Sides of Gay Life”) PLEXUS (“Catawhampus) KARUANA (“Endless Magic”) Thanks for your visit. See you next issue, June 30, 2010. 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