The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly; Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu; Batmanga: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 1 by Jiro Kuwata; Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson by Roland Lazenby; Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake; When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block; The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers by Mick Minas; Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon by Roland Lazenby; You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott; Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses – Jake Book Review

May 2024 Leftovers

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

Batmanga: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 1 by Jiro Kuwata

Magic: The Life of Earvin "Magic" Johnson by Roland Lazenby

Somebody Owes Me Money by Donald Westlake

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes by Lawrence Block

The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers by Mick Minas

Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon by Roland Lazenby

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping by Matthew Salesses

June already? Sheesh.

The Brass Verdict****
Ever since John Grisham lost his fastball in the late-90s, I’ve mostly forsaken legal thrillers. But I like the Bosch series and I wanted to read something LA-based and this delivered. It’s a fun plot with some legit exciting twists. Will probably go back to it at some point or maybe watch the show.

Interior Chinatown***
I wish I liked this one more than I did. The satire is razor sharp, the story is deep and the pain is felt, the plight of Chinese (and AAPI by extension) actors is well expressed…but the structure does nothing for me. It was endearing at first but it prevented me from getting engaged with the narrative. Still a readable book, worth your time.

Batmanga: The Jiro Kuwata Batmanga, Vol. 1***
I was hoping for more here as I had to read a manga and thought a manga about Batman would be fun. But this adopted the corniness of the 60s tv Batman and is really a series of sci-fi stories about the perils of technology, apparently a fascination in Japan.

Magic: The Life of Earvin “Magic” Johnson****

It’s not bad and it probably will be the defining bio on Magic but as with a lot of Lazenby’s work, it leaves me wanting more. It’s not exactly hagiographic but it’s favorable and, while Lazenby interviewed plenty of folks, he also drew heavily from the same few sources, including his own. Magic is a compelling person enough that it works but just barely.

Somebody Owes Me Money****

250 pages of pure early Westlake goodness. You can see the seams a bit from its original serialization but it’s still edited well and comes together. Touches on a lot of my favorite things (amateur sleuth, NYC, mob, comedy of errors) and has enough satisfying twists and turns.

When the Sacred Ginmill Closes****

I think this is the perfect Matthew Scudder book. It’s not “perfect,” nor is it the best Scudder book (though I’ll see if re-reading A Dance at the Slaughterhouse changes my mind. But it distills (no pun intended) the best of this series into a self-contained storyline. The New York City atmosphere. The hangout nature. The dangers of PI work. Great stuff. It may wind up being my favorite of the series, depending on how the rest of the re-read goes. I’m glad Block didn’t quit with its predecessor.

The Curse: The Colorful & Chaotic History of the LA Clippers****

More fun than I expected, more thorough than it needed to be. A humorous, brutal, uncompromising look at the worst franchise in sports. Captures its turnaround just in time, though I wish there was a postscript that included the Kawhi-PG Era and the impending move to the Intuit Dome.

Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon****

This one highlights the shortcomings of a lot of Lazenby’s books. The stuff on West Virginia and West’s upbringing is great and beyond that…eh? What was his life like with his first wife and kids, especially after the divorce? How did he handle the fallout from Kermit Washington’s suspension? What were some details of his work with Buss and Riley during Showtime? Anything at all on his work with the Grizzlies beyond a half page?

It’s clear Lazenby trades access for mostly favoritism and I get it but that doesn’t make for the best reading. I don’t need a hatchet job but a little more depth would’ve been nice.

You Will Know Me****

Another winner from the great Megan Abbott. This is one where you can probably guess what’s coming but whether or not you do, it doesn’t matter because the journey to get there is electrifying. Abbott is the master of building suspense and using internal monologue to craft an engaging tale. Great stuff.

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping****
A good book on rethinking craft in writing fiction, specifically liberating it from white-centered workshops while encouraging writers to keep a broader perspective in mind. It didn’t blow me away as it did other readers but it did make me reconsider my approach for future books.