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Books on the Nightstand published our final episode in July 2016. This is a place for listeners to find old episodes. 

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  2. BOTNS #158: When good authors go bad

BOTNS #158: When good authors go bad

Dec 7, 2011

A dirty little secret: we don't always love our favorite authors' books. A roundup of novels featuring time travel. Michael recommends I am Half-Sick of Shadows, the new Flavia DeLuce novel by Alan Bradley, and I recommend Jo Nesbo's The Leopard.

When good authors go bad

 

How do you handle the disappointment when you are looking forward to a favorite author's book and it leaves you wanting? I tend to make a distinction between favorite books and favorite authors -- not all of my favorite books are by my favorite authors. I tend to judge authors on the body of their work, but I don't always love every book by a favorite author. Michael and I discuss this. Is it a case of overblown expectations? Are we more disappointed by a book we don't love if it's from a favorite author? Do we cut other authors more slack?

 

Excuse me, where is the time travel section?

 

Michael and I are both fans of time travel in fiction.

Paris Before Men by Pierre Boitard is often mentioned as one of the first time travel novels. Some classic examples of time travel fiction are The Time Machine by H.G. Wells and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain. In this segment, we do a quick roundup of some of our favorite time travel novels, and one or two that are on our to-be-read list:

 

Two books we can't wait for you to read

 

I am Half-Sick of Shadows   The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

Michael talks about Alan Bradley's new book, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows. The latest in the Flavia DeLuce series, this book is set during the holiday season and includes a plot by Flavia to catch Santa Claus. Michael hasn't read it yet, but  you know that both of us are huge fans of Alan Bradley, so I suspect that we will both have read this book before the year is out.

My recommendation for this episode is gritty and gory: The Leopard by Jo Nesbo, the latest mystery in the Harry Hole series. The novel picks up after The Snowman, and we see Harry Hole suffering from the events that transpired in The Snowman. Despite his best efforts, Hole gets dragged into a new investigation in Norway that involves a serial killer who is targeting people who stayed in a particular cabin on a particular night.