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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Busy weekend, but still time to read.

It's a long, busy holiday weekend.  Yet even when the days are jammed with activities, there are still bits of time to squeeze in some reading.  As time allows, I'm going to start reading The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers and have Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan on deck.

The Yellow Birds was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award for fiction, and Sweet Tooth is on many lists of the best books of the year.

All in all, a very merry situation.

 

Put a Little Kick in Your Eggnog with Holiday Tunes from Matt Wilson.

We're starting off a jazzy holiday weekend by listening to Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O.



It is not your average interpretation of holiday music.  Check it out.



 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Music We Like: "Solo Guitarra" by José Luis Montón.

I highly recommend checking out the beautiful, rich, and accessible flamenco music from Spanish artist José Luis Montón on his new album, Solo Guitarra.  It is the perfect music to enjoy while sipping your Sunday morning coffee, or late at night in front of the fire.  Mr. Montón's expressive and skillful performance is amazing.

If you are still looking for a holiday gift for someone who enjoys music, this could be it.


Saturday, December 15, 2012

"The Darlings" by Cristina Alger: Because white-collar criminals have family, too.

The Darlings by Cristina Alger is an entertaining and suspenseful read.  Set aside your skepticism about reading a novel concerning a wealthy, society family brought down low by its patriarch's criminal involvement in a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme.  Set aside your skepticism about toting around a book called "The Darlings".  If you are looking for a good airplane read, beach book, or snowy-winter weekend escape, check out this novel.

Events in The Darlings take place in New York City over Thanksgiving weekend.  The Darling family learns that Morton Reis is dead. Morty, the book's Bernie Madoff figure, was the head of Reis Capitol Management and a close friend and business associate of Carter Darling.  Carter Darling and his partners run Delphic, a Wall Street investment firm.  Morty's death will, as Carter's lawyer cautions Carter, have fallout.  And indeed it does.

Carter's firm is deeply involved in Morty's phony finances.  With Morty gone, the scheme is over and Carter will inevitably face the consequences. The tension in the story builds as the Darlings' legal strategy develops over the weekend.

One person Carter could set up as a fall guy is Paul Ross, Delphic's General Counsel and Carter's son-in-law. Although Paul has worked at Delphic only for a short time, he quickly recognizes his jeopardy.  What he doesn't know is the scope of felonious behavior that has been going on.

Will the Darling family stand together or are the long knives out?  Who will be the first one through the door, cutting a deal with prosecutors and regulators?  This is the engaging story line in The Darlings, a novel that starts slowly but builds up steam, and has many surprising twists and turns all the way to the last page.




Thursday, December 6, 2012

Grammy Nomination for "This One's for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark."

 
One of my favorite albums has been nominated for a Grammy in the folk album category.  Here is my earlier post on the terrific This One's for Him:  A Tribute to Guy Clark.


Monday, December 3, 2012

Mystery Fans: Check out the titles submitted thus far for the 2013 Edgar Awards.

Here is a link to the list of books submitted thus far to the Mystery Writers of America for consideration as potential nominees for the 2013 Edgar Awards.


 
You gotta luv a mystery!