![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Although it was raining when I left, I found a taxi pretty quickly. This, for anyone living in NYC knows what a piece of luck this is. I headed down to Warren street for the Mysterious Bookstore Thrillerfest party and even though it was crowded, I'm glad I went. Alice Turner and I were to meet there but I go there first, was greeted by storeowner-host Otto Penzler and grabbed some wine, looking to see if I recognized anyone. I didn't really expect to as it's not my crowd--mystery/crime and thriller writers and fans. Alice showed up soon after I got there so I didn't feel like an outsider for too long.
We grabbed seats on the couch, as I wasn't eager to stand around in my boot with my cane plus my carryall slung over my shoulder for a couple of hours. Most of the writers who were signing books there wore name tags and I recognized a few, even though I don't know them personally. But then I ran into Robert Crais and we had a very nice catchup chat. And Paul Wilson and Kelly Laymon also came--I hugged them, we exchanged a few words, and then I never saw them again. Larry Block was also there and came over to say hi (he lives a few blocks from me and is a good friend of Alice's). Met a few new writers and some fans who I hope will show up at KGB some time. (they said they like sf/f/h as well as mystery).
It was still raining as we left so we went into the nearest restaurant we could find--it was a tiny sushi place on Hudson street and was good-and cheap.
Then Alice took the subway and I found a cab going uptown.
Home in time to catch up on movie night!! I haven't watched any DVDs for several weeks because I've been traveling weekends the past month. First up was Chopper, an Australian movie I'd been hearing about for years and was recommended by ...someone, I really don't recall who. I loathed it and made it through about half an hour and decided I didn't want to waste any more time on it. Eric Bana is terrific as the nutjob nicknamed "Chopper," a violent thug who apparently became a kind of folk hero for his multiple murders and the 9 or so books he wrote about them, mixing fact and fiction. I think it's billed as a comedy, but you sure could have fooled me. Piece of crap.
To cleanse my palate I re-watched the brilliant Steven Soderburgh adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Out of Sight starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez (when she started out and could actually act). Clooney is a career bank robber who never carries a gun, Lopez a Federal Marshall who he meets "cute" --breaking out of prison. Although there's violence and menace (in the person of the excellent Don Cheadle as the head of a Detroit gang)there's a lot of comedic, romantic pleasure in the movie. It's as good as I remembered it being.
We grabbed seats on the couch, as I wasn't eager to stand around in my boot with my cane plus my carryall slung over my shoulder for a couple of hours. Most of the writers who were signing books there wore name tags and I recognized a few, even though I don't know them personally. But then I ran into Robert Crais and we had a very nice catchup chat. And Paul Wilson and Kelly Laymon also came--I hugged them, we exchanged a few words, and then I never saw them again. Larry Block was also there and came over to say hi (he lives a few blocks from me and is a good friend of Alice's). Met a few new writers and some fans who I hope will show up at KGB some time. (they said they like sf/f/h as well as mystery).
It was still raining as we left so we went into the nearest restaurant we could find--it was a tiny sushi place on Hudson street and was good-and cheap.
Then Alice took the subway and I found a cab going uptown.
Home in time to catch up on movie night!! I haven't watched any DVDs for several weeks because I've been traveling weekends the past month. First up was Chopper, an Australian movie I'd been hearing about for years and was recommended by ...someone, I really don't recall who. I loathed it and made it through about half an hour and decided I didn't want to waste any more time on it. Eric Bana is terrific as the nutjob nicknamed "Chopper," a violent thug who apparently became a kind of folk hero for his multiple murders and the 9 or so books he wrote about them, mixing fact and fiction. I think it's billed as a comedy, but you sure could have fooled me. Piece of crap.
To cleanse my palate I re-watched the brilliant Steven Soderburgh adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Out of Sight starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez (when she started out and could actually act). Clooney is a career bank robber who never carries a gun, Lopez a Federal Marshall who he meets "cute" --breaking out of prison. Although there's violence and menace (in the person of the excellent Don Cheadle as the head of a Detroit gang)there's a lot of comedic, romantic pleasure in the movie. It's as good as I remembered it being.
Tags: