What to Read Next

People always ask me what I'm reading. The embarrassing truth is that I'm so busy writing that books tend to stack up beside my bedside. At Maine Crime Writers today I did the weaselly thing and asked the most voracious reader I know—my wife Kristen—to recommend some of her recent favorites.

On a side note, I strongly believe that writers need to keep reading, both the classics and your contemporaries; it really is the best way to learn. So essentially my schedule has made me a hypcocrite on this subject.

Add "find more time to read" to my growing list of New Year's resolutions.

The Man from Misery

One of the benefits of my position at Down East is that I get review copies of just about every new Maine book. Very few of them end up on my personal bookshelf. The latest to earn a permanent spot in my Maine library is Paul J. Fournier's memoir of his life in the North Woods. Fournier started his career as a Registered Maine Guide and a bush pilot, then went to work for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and later produced a television show Maine Fish and Wildlife. Now, he brings readers Tales From Misery Ridge in which he shares some of his most memorable tales gathered mostly from his decade-long experience living in Somerset County’s Misery Township. Fournier thrills readers with anecdotes about  learning to fly a Piper Cub, recounts the state's quixotic quest to bring caribou back to the area around Baxter State Park in the 1980s, and offers advice on what to do when a mother bear threatens to attack (Don’t panic). It’s a collection of the type of love stories Mainers can identify with — those between one man and the great outdoors.

When Deer Hunters Kill People

Karen WoodAt Maine Crime Writers today I have a post about Karen Wood, the Hermon housewife who was shot by a hunter in 1988 who said he mistook her white mittens for the tail of a deer. The story has attained folklore status in Maine—largely because a jury refused to indict the hunter—and in my post I attempt to explain why I think the incident continues to haunt us today.

Movie Casting (ctd)

Carey MulliganI've been blogging recently on which actors I could imagine playing Mike Bowditch and Charley Stevens in a film version of The Poacher's Son or Trespasser. Well, my new New York magazine arrived, and I have to say this picture of Carey Mulligan convinces me beyond a doubt that she'd be the right actor to play Sarah Harris. What do you think?

"The Same, Only Different"

Over at Maine Crime Writers, Kate Flora has an interesting interview with New York Times bestselling author Julia Spencer-Fleming. The whole thing is worth reading, but I was particularly impressed with the way Julia approaches the challenge of writing a series of novels with the same protagonists:

One of my goals as a writer is, “same, only different.” In other words, when a reader picks up a book with my name on it, she can expect a certain type of read—mystery, romance, a fast-paced plot, action, social issues. But at the same time, I never want her to read the same book twice. So I play around a lot with form, chronology, and points of view. It’s endlessly fascinating to me, the way the framework of fiction effects the plot and the reading experience.

I'm just finishing up the third Mike Bowditch book, and one of the questions that's hung over my desk for the past year has been how to balance the old and the new. Offer too much that's familiar and your books will feel like clones of each other; offer too many wild departures and your fans will think you're indulging yourself at their expense. I admire the way Julia has managed to walk that tightrope over the course of her successful career.