A Matter of Perspective

I was reading in the bath when my first call from Thrillerfest came in. *Not a report, but an inquiry into the marital status of certain attendees.* (see below)

Which did make me wonder just what was going on at the opening party! But, setting that aside, I had a chance to chat to a few people who previously had only been names on posts and emails.

It was during that exchange that I griped about how hot it’s been here – around 90F.

They laughed at me.

Okay, okay, so it’s much hotter in Arizona. Step outside and evaporate. But for Alberta, it’s pretty damn hot. Every animal in this house is trying to stretch out in front of a fan or find a spot of concrete in the unfinished part of the basement.

We’ve been setting temperature records, people!

It isn’t as hot as it is some places in the world, even some places I’ve been. A woman was telling me the other day she’s going to Costa Rica, the Pacific side. Just thinking about it made my body temperature elevate five degrees. Not to mention the heat we experienced in Bali, but again, another story.

Recently, I saw someone make a remark about an author. Their complaint was that the books were filled with what they called “padding”. They gave examples of the dead-end pursuits of the investigations that didn’t pan out during the course of the book.

I wanted to respond to the person, but I couldn’t find the words to express what I thought. Not without being snippy.

Then Linda L. Richards said, “One reader's padding is another's exquisite detail.”

So diplomatic, so well said. And it sums up how I feel about broad-judgment statements about books.

This is why when I review books, I try to evaluate them based on what they are, rather than what they aren’t. If the book is dark, I don’t get upset about a little blood being spilt. If it’s a cozy, I wouldn’t expect that.

It would be like watching The Lord of the Rings and saying, “Not bad, but they used magic, and that just threw the whole thing off for me. It’s so unrealistic.”

Duh.

Last night, we watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Again, no spoilers.

But what a movie. This movie wasn’t the kind of ‘heavy dark’ that Frailty was. It wasn’t light comic fun either. But a blend of the two. A very entertaining movie that I actually wanted to watch the dvd extras for afterward, because it was so well done.

So, two movies this week. Both very different in tone. But both were great.

I’ve been trying to get a good picture of Buttons and Simon together, and this isn’t it. But if you look at their faces, you can see the similarity of the markings. Simon is practically a clone!



And sorry for the brief post, but I’ve been wiped out. Hopefully, my schedule will level off next week.




* did I say my first call? This might not be entirely true. But you should see the look on my husband's face when men call for me. Thrillerfest: a few hundred bucks. Plane fare: another few hundred bucks. Food: not much money. Alcohol: several hundred dollars. The look on Kevin's face when men phone me? Priceless.