DDR: Joe Country by Mick Herron

 

338 pages. Also a 15 page preview if the next novel, Slough House. 

Day 1 (DDRD 2,609) December 21, 2024

Read to page 30.

Have / Sorry to admit that as much as I've enjoyed Mick Herron's writing, I was getting tired of the "following a cat, rat, the sun, etc." opening and closing sequences. It's  like when you realize that every song on an album is structured verse verse chorus verse bridge chorus. You just start longing for some variation, some deeds of day wing do. I guess Mick heard my cries as they filtered through the time anomaly and took a different approach with the opening of Joe Country. We start with a disturbing scene of a barn burning, which closes by telling us that two of the all horses--a man and a woman--are dead. Say what? I can see I'm going to gave a hard time not reading this book the way a duck eats*: without chewing.

ADDENDUM: So...left the house at 7 am to pick up the kids. Brought them home and watched a movie (The Killer's Game) with Joe, then two shows, then did prayers and stories (from four different books) with Jacqueline, then went for a walk with her. Took the kids to their mom's house, came home and watched the Chiefs beat the Texans, did a load if laundry, ate dinner. Then thought: I really want to read some more of Joe Country. So I did.

Read to page 85.

"As for River, he was still young enough to take the knocks and stay standing, or get back on his feet afterwards. A nice trick, soon lost. River would learn." (68)

Another of the seemingly casual, throwaway lines that hits me in the heart.When I look at my life now, I see that I haven't been able to stay standing after the knocks that I've taken. I try, I struggle, but it's like I'm living with the gravitational pull of Jupiter pulling at me, making even the simplest tasks difficult. It's wonderful to think that you're Cool Hand Luke, that no matter how many times you're knocked down you'll still manage to stagger to your feet and raise your fists to continue the fight. But that's just a movie. That's just bullshit. "There are storms we cannot weather." 

* According to The Simpsons, anyway.

Barry Malzberg

 

Just found out that Barry Malzberg died yesterday. I know he was reviled by some...and perhaps rightly so...but what a great writer. He certainly peeled my young brain when I first read Beyond Apollo. I've been stocking up on his books in anticipation a Malzberg binge. Guess that is going to have to happen soon.

😕 

July 24, 1939–December 19, 2024

DDR: London Rules by Mick Herron

This time around, I'm going to pace myself. It's 30 pages per day. Not 200 like yesterday. 

So. 327 pages. That's 11 days. You hear me, Brother K? ELEVEN DAYS.

Day 1 (DDRD 2,606) December 18, 2024

Read to page 30.

Talking about how, despite being warned against it, undercover agents developed emotional attachments to the activists (or worse) they infiltrated, the narrator observes, "You couldn't betray someone efficiently if you didn't love them first." (17)

That stings. And I'm thinking of past relationships that align with this perverse concept: the first girlfriend who convinced me to join the army, then broke it off with me while I was in basic training. The older woman who took a phone call in bed after we'd fucked and made a date for that night. The wife who...well, enough. Betrayals of one sort of another are the way all of my romantic relationships have ended. And maybe the way all romantic relationships end? Okay...now I'm sad. Thanks, Mick.

It's nice to be reading an actual book again after two Kindle reading experiences. I am grateful to my Kindle...and to Internet Archive...for supplying me with Dead Lions and Real Tigers when free copies were unavailable elsewhere, but the inconveniences of IA (the book being taken back if you stopped reading for a bit, then having to fund your place again...and if you (I) hadn't noted the last page you'd read, to finding your (my) spot again proves mire than a but difficult) were frustrating. So yes, A book book. And I've got the rest of the series heading my way (courtesy of the LFPL, thank you very much) even as we speak.

But...um...I finished Today's Thirty... and I must say, "Please, Sir, I want some more."

Addendum: It's not my fault. After a CT scan, a quick stop at Joe's apartment, and a longish bit of shopping at Walmart, I decided I needed to see the 9;50 am showing of Queer. Which meant I had an hour to kill. And of course I'd brought London Rules with me, anticipating a wait for the CT business. But my appointment was for 7, I arrived (per instructions) at 6:30, and I left before 7 o'clock even rang its bells. So...I read a few more pages. 20. So far. But hey, look at this pretty word I found:

crèche

noun

ˈkresh  ˈkrāsh 

Synonyms of crèche

1: a representation of the Nativity (see nativity sense 1) scene

2: day nursery

3: a foundling hospital

4: a group of young animals (such as penguins or bats) gathered in one place for care and protection usually by one or more adults

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cr%C3%A8che

Right? Okay, still have 10 minutes before movie time. Gonna read a few more pages. 🤫 

ADDENDUM THE SECOND: Great movie. Disturbing movie. Daniel Craig was so impressive. If you only kniw him from Bond, watching Queer will give you enough whiplash to break you in too. 

And then I took my car in for an oil change, and that took some time, so I ended up readingto page 111.

😬 😬 ps.

ADDENDUM THE THIRD: 127. My final offer.

Day 2 (DDRD 2,607) December 19, 2024

Read to page...um...OK. 227. But hey, I had a long wait in the car so.... Well. Looks like tomorrow will do it, then doesn't it? Fortunately the next book (Joe Country) is already waiting for me at the library. 

237. I meant page 237.

Okay. Mañana.

Day 3 (DDRD 2,608) December 20, 2024

Read to page 327. The End. 

"You know why bad things happen to good people?"Lamb asked. "It's because of all the dickheads." (291)

Well, there's that one solved.

Hey, look what was waiting for me at the library:

And until September 2, 2025, when Clown Town comes out, that's it for the Slough House series. Sigh.

At any rate...on to Joe Country tomorrow. Unless.... No. ToMORrow.

P.S. This was the first Slough House novel that was new to me...since I'd already seen the shows based on the others. So I'm all set for Slow Horses Season Five. It should be quite a thrill ride.

DDR: Spook Street by Mick Herron

 

Another foray into Internet Archive, as the public library copies, real and e-, are out. Good sign for Muck, but I'd rather be holding a book in my hands right now. This time I am going to stick to 30 pages a day, so 341 pages, 11 days. Ok? Ok.

Day 1 (DDRD 2,604) December 16, 2024

Read to page 30.

As I was reading the previous book in the series (Real Tigers) I said to myself, "Self...you should keep track if the allusions Mick Herron makes in thus next novel." Hmm. Interesting idea. Being as I am not British, I'll no doubt miss more than a few, but let's give it a whirl.

Allusion 1 (A1): "Living for the Sunshine" by Third World (p. 4)

A2: "Something Like the Sun"--which seems to be a twist in " Nothing like the sun," from the first like if Shakespeare's Sonnet 130.

Mick gives us a pretty close idea of where Slough House is in London: "...hard by Barbican underground station on Aldersgate Street...."

Which looks like this:

Mr. DeMille?

So there's that.

A3: Keith Jarrett, Concert in Osaka, 8 November 1976 (pp. 11 -12)

A4: "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key." Winston Churchill on Russia. (p. 12)

A5: "horses, lions, tigers"--a clever allusion to the first three Slough House novels: Slow Horses, Dead Lions, and Real Tigers. (p. 12)

A6: Paul Pogba, footballer (p. 16)

A7: Nelson Mandela (p. 21)

A8: Elton John (p. 35)

A9: Bleak House --my favorite Dickens, btw (p. 51)

Hmmm. I've now read to page 100. (Yeah, I know.) Is it possible that there have been no allusions in 50 pages? Possibly. Or also possibly I was so caught up in the story that I whizzed right on by them. It is quite a captivating read, after all. In fact...I think I'll just go ahead and have a few more pages now.

A19: "It would be a far, far better thing...." Another Ducjens; A Take of Two Cities this time. (p. 108)

 A20: "Look on my works and tremble...." Not exact, but enough to animate the ghost of Shelley's "Ozymandias": " Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair." (p. 109)

Read to page 120.

Of course, it's still quite early (3:00 pm)....

Word Up:

gallimaufry

noun

gal·​li·​mau·​fry ˌga-lə-ˈmȯ-frē 

pluralgallimaufries

Synonyms of gallimaufry

: hodgepodge

 https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/gallimaufry

Read to page 142. That ought to do it for today, don'tchathink?

P.S. Holy shit...that's not far from half the book!

Day 2 (DDRD 2,605) December 17, 2024

Read to page 301. Which is (1) a lot more than 30 and (2) a mere 40 pages from the end...so I might as well go ahead and finish it, right?

A21: "Happy...Grumpy, Sneezy, Doc." Four of the seven dwarves. (p. 153) The other three are mentioned on the next page.

A22: "Once upon a time Charles Dickens wandered this area, doubtless taking notes." (187)

A23: "Spider-Man" (p. 201) Nite that Mick (properly) hyphenates it.

A24: Daffy Duck. Twice. (p. 205)

A25: Again, Keith Jarrett (p. 218)

A26: "Many a tear has to fall...." A line from "It's All in the Game." (p. 224)

A27: Grendel. Well, actually "Grendel's mother." (p. 244)

A28: "Is that Sartre?" (p. 256)

A29: "Darth Vader" (p. 277)

A30: "Buzz Lightyear" (p. 288)

A31: "the Lady of Shallots"--which should, of course, be Shallot, but that's the characters error, not Mick Herron's. p. 290)

A32: "Lady Guinevere" (p. 290)

A33: "King Arthur" (p. 290)

A34: "Sir Lancelot" (p. 291)

A35: "Sir Percival" (p. 291)

A36: "Sir Gawain" (p. 291)

A37: "Sir Galahad" (p. 291)

A38: "There was a fairy tale about the houses little pigs built." (p. 297)

A39: "Sir Bedivere" (p. 298)

A40: "Sir Kay" (p. 298)

A41: "Sir Tristan" (p. 299)

A42: "Sir Bors" (p. 299)

A43: "Sir Gareth" (p. 299)

A44 "Knights of the Round Table" (p. 332)

A45 "Galahad" (p. 332)

A46 "Lord of the Rings" (p. 332)

So...that seems like a lot of allusions. And I didn't even count all of the repeats. And I probably missed some, too.

And...read to page 341, The End. In two days. But that's it, man. Next time its THIRTY PAGES PER DAY. Okay?

Okay.

DDR: Real Tigers by Mick Herron

 

Well...here we go. My fourth Slough House Book. This one is 361 pages. Not even going to guess how long it will take, but I do NOT plan to continue at 90 pages per day.

Day 1 (DDRD 2,601) December 13, 2024

Read to page 38. 

Have to say that the last "novellas" in Standing by th Wall left a but of A bad taste in my mouth. They weren't BAD bad, but there were more than too many (one being too many) cute word plays, and the plots were gossamer thin. So it is with great pleasure that I say that 38 pages in, Real Tigers is back to good form, and I am not only anxious to read more, but I may well do just that in a few minutes when I hie me off to bed with my Kindle.

Hmmm. Just read the Wikipedia fine print, and..."Although not part of the Slough House series, Reconstruction, Nobody Walks and The Secret Hours use some of the same characters and provide some character backstory. In story terms, Reconstruction is set before Slow Horses, whereas Nobody Walks comes after The List and before Spook Street. The Secret Hours is set around the time of or after Bad Actors but includes a section set well before the series begins." (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Herron

So if I continue to intend to be a completist on this, I've got four more books to read, don't I?

ADDENDUM: Read to page 56.

Here's a lovely little exchange from 51 - 52:

     "And what would happen if we all did that? What would it be like if I was just not here all of a sudden?"
     Shirley seemed about to speak, but changed her mind.
     "It would be like Hamlet without the Prince," River suggested.
     "Precisely," Lamb said. " Or Waiting For Godot without Godot."
     Nobody touched that one.

Day 2 (DDRD 2,602) December 14, 2024

Read to page 191. Yowza--that's a 135 page day. So much for not pushing it. But this book is so absorbing...and reading on a Kindle is like greasing the skids. So there it is.

Still trying to figure out this sentence: "This might turn out to have to be quite good." (72) Ummm...what? Is it just a "to have" inserted where it doesn't belong? Should "to be" be "been"? 

Some massive changes were made for the tv version of this novel. Spider's role? (No spoilers.) Vastly different.

Came home after taking the kids to a movie, fixed them lunch, watched a couple of shows, took them back to their apartments, drove back home and dove into reading. Internet Archive has a new twist: if you keep on reading, your book self-renews. Much better than the pull the plug every hour (or maybe it was less?) former policy. 

" Victory...was about ensuring your opponent never again put head to pillow without thinking with hatred on your face. Tearney, who had never married, had thought thus over the too, but had little difficulty accepting it as one of Judd's credos."

Is that a sly dig at marriage or what?

"... belief was not about actually believing; belief was simply somewhere to shelve hope."  (190)

Day 3 (DDRD 2,603) December 15, 2024

Read to page 277. Sheesh, 86 pages, and it's only 9 am. Well, for one thing, there's enough difference between the book and the tv adaptation that I'm not sure what will happen next. For another...oh, never mind. I'll just read a bit more.

Shortly after being severely beaten, River is standing in the kitchen area: "He was drinking a glass of water, maybe checking for leaks." (205)

Oh, Mick...you so FUNny.

Read to 310. When I'm with you...I can't control myself. BA BA BA BA BA BA BA BA BA.

"The one in Whitney's tail trundle past her wheezing like Thomas the Tank Engine...."languaglearly Mick and I speak the same language.

ADDENDUM: Well it's not like I didn't do anything else today. In fact I picked up Jacqueline, drove downtown to see The Nutcracker with her, then we went out for dinner with her brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Then I drove her back to her apartment. Drove back home and watched the second half of the Bills / Lions football game. And then  finished reading this book.the I hadn't expected it to go that way. Tomorrow Spook Street.

Read to page 361, The End.

Btw...that's a 170 page day. Not bad for an old man.

Day 4 (DDRD 2,604) December 16, 2024

Read to page

Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves in, "O my prophetic soul!"

"It is a mistake...to suppose that the public wants the environment protected or their lives saved and that they will be grateful to any idealist who will fight for such ends. What the public wants is their own individual comfort." 

And so we re-elect Trump, a man who has already damaged this country and this world so much, because he makes empty promises about lowering the price of eggs. 

So it goes. 

DDR: Standing by the Wall by Mick Herron

 

Well, first things first: the title of this collection of Slough House novellas has got to be an allusion to David Bowie's "Heroes."

I...I can remember

Standing by the wall.

And the guns shot above our heads.

And we missed as though nothing could fall.

Second things second: there are five novellas in this 279 page book: 

The List

The Marylebone Drop

The Catch

The Last Dead Letter

Standing by the Wall

Third (etc.), there's also a 14 page excerpt from a non-stop ugh House nivel, Nobody Walks. I'm interested to have a look at that as well.

Fourth (still etc.), "The Last Dead Letter" was included as a bonus in the 10th Anniversary version of Slow Horses, where it was referred to as "AN EXCLUSIVE SHORT STORY"

which appears to be doubly untrue, but what the heck, I'll give it another read.  

So, without further ado, it's

Day 1 (DDRD 2,599) December 11, 2024

Read to page 105.

And today's first moment of Reader Bliss:

"She laughed what sounded like a smoker's laugh. Last time he'd heard anything quite like it, he['d] been sanding off the edge of a door." (30)

279 + 14 = 293 pages. Of which I've read 45 so far today, leaving 248. At my previous daily rate, that'd be an 8 day read. At my current Slow 🐎 rate, that'd be less than 3. Hmmmm.

But y'know, considering that this story focuses on a new and seemingly minor character (albeit with glimpses of Lady Di, Catherine,  and Lamb), I'm pretty intensely interested in finishing this first nivella today, which would mean putting down another 18 pages. Well shit, man...that's not even a challenge,  is it.

ADDENDUM: And now...another reason to love Mick Herron.

"With a red windcheater and jeans in place of a black cloak, and her dark-blonde hair pulled into the briefest of knots at the back of her head, she was a far cry from Meryl Streep, but still: there was no denying the inherent romance in the scene." (53)

Now, how many people are going to get that reference to The French Lieutenant's Woman, a (great) movie that came out 43 years ago? 

Speaking of which, I'm about due to watch that one again....

Another R'sB moment: "He... marveled again at what it must be like to be young, and know that you hadn't yet messed everything up." (60)

And...finished novella one. 64 pages. Quite a good little read it was, too. Even got a glimpse of River at the end...though, alas, none of his grandfather, whom I love dearly.

Next up. "The Marylebone Drop." Speaking of which, check out what I just happened upon at the LFPL:

71 pages in this cute little edition...coupled with a 28 page preview of London Rules. Got to admit...I want that.

Meanwhile, back in the novella....

"[He was] one of those heroes whom life's cruelties have rendered gentle...."(68)

Yeah. I think that's me most of the time.

Oh. Here's a lovely word:

otiose

adjective

oti·​ose ˈō-shē-ˌōs  

ˈō-tē-

Synonyms of otiose

1

: producing no useful result : futile

2

: being at leisure : idle

3

: lacking use or effect : functionless

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/otiose

"But he contained multitudes, obviously...." (102)

Yep, I like the cut if Mick Herrings jib.

Day 2 (DDRD 2,600) December 12, 2024

Read to page 239. Yowza! 

Finished "The Marylebone Drop" (64 pages). Quite good, even though Lady Di was the only character I knew. Which makes me hopeful that Mick Herron's Jones mouth House books * might be worth reading as well. (Which doesn't seem to be true of Jo Nesbø who seems to lose his way without Harry Hole. **) 

Hmmm. Another fine words Mick has gotten into me:

shonky

/ ˈʃɒŋkɪ /

adjective

1. of dubious integrity or legality
2. unreliable; unsound

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/shonky#google_vignette

Finished novella #3, the 68 page "The Catch." Another rousing tale, and again the only character I knew was Lady Di. I'm not sure why these three stories are termed novellas, though, as they tell a complete and coherent story. Could just as well have been a short novel.

At any rate, it's been a big reading day, about 100 pages, but I don't feel quite finished yet. And with a mere 70-odd pages to go...maybe just go ahead and finish it off? Maybe. Dad duties first, though.

P.D.D. (Post Dad Duties):

Read "The Last Dead Letter" again. It's good to see Lamb and Molly Doran...both fabulous and grotesque (in the Flannery O'Connor sense of the word) characters in this brief (33 page) story... but it's definitely the weakest piece in the collection thus far. 

And hey...only one story to go now. Its another short one...37 pages...but I think its for tomorrow, as I have a date with Thursday Night Football and some Delta 8.

* Down Cemetery Road (2003) ££
The Last Voice You Hear (2004) £
Why We Die (2006) ££
Reconstruction (2008) £
Smoke and Whispers (2009) ££
All the Livelong Day (2013)
Nobody Walks (2015) £
This Is What Happened (2018) £
Dolphin Junction (2021) £

The Secret Hours (2023) £

** Speaking of whom, I just found out that Netflix will be running a Nesbø written Harry Hole series in 2026. Woo-hoo.

Day 3 (DDRD 2,601) December 13, 2024

Read to page "293," The End.

Just a few pages into "Standing by the Wall," I realized that I wasn't supposed to be reading this story until after the Bad Actors novel...which in turn reminded me that I've messed up the order on all of these novellas except for the first one. Well, shoot. But too late to worry about that now, so I'll just finish this up and them move on to Real Tigers. Probably today.

Finished "Standing by the Wall," another story featuring Lamb and Molly (though the rest of the crew make brief appearances). Alas, this wasn't very good, either. Shaking the dust off my sandals now, moving to the excerpt from Nobody Walks. 

And...done. 

Now on to Real Tigers. Which I either have to listen to (and audiobooks and I don't get along very well) or deal with the frustration of constantly renewing it from Internet Archive, and only being able to read it when I'm online. 'Cause I'm still 2 of 2 on the library hold list.

😫