Book central - let's talk about our reads

[Jeff Wrangler]

If you like murder mysteries and are pining for the Big Horn Mountains and that region of Wyoming, I highly recommend any of the Walt Longmire novels by Craig Johnson.

They really should be read in order, starting with the first one, The Cold Dish.

The novels have been the inspiration for a successful TV series, called Longmire, now in its second season. I'm a faithful watcher of the TV show, but the novels are exponentially better than the show. Johnson is a wonderful writer; even minor supporting characters are vividly portrayed.

Walt Longmire is sheriff of the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. While the county is fictional, Johnson has kept the geography real, with references to the Big Horns, Clear Creek, the Powder River, and even West Ten Sleep Creek. Anyone who was on Roundup back in '08 (was it really that long ago?) will immediately recognize that Durant, the county seat of fictional Absaroka County, is very much based on Buffalo, the very real seat of Johnson County (and home to the Occidental Hotel, where we Roundupers had a very late supper the day we went to Devil's Tower). The Busy Bee Cafe, a place in Durant where Walt often eats, is actually a real cafe in Buffalo.

I've now read the first four of the Longmire books, and after work today I'm going to see about acquiring copies of the next four. Good stories with great writing and vivid characters--and like a visit to North Central Wyoming to boot!

Here's a link to Craig Johnson's web site.

http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/

[Luvlylittlewing]

Thanks, Jeff!  I'll download the first novel of the series on my Kindle.  I'm excited! 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Barnes and Noble must have stocked up on the books because the second season of the TV series debuted on Memorial Day. I stopped in on my way home from work to buy or order the four books that I haven't yet read, and to my surprise the store had a good supply of all eight novels on the shelf. 

[Penthesilea]

If you like murder mysteries and are pining for the Big Horn Mountains and that region of Wyoming, I highly recommend any of the Walt Longmire novels by Craig Johnson.

They really should be read in order, starting with the first one, The Cold Dish.

The novels have been the inspiration for a successful TV series, called Longmire, now in its second season. I'm a faithful watcher of the TV show, but the novels are exponentially better than the show. Johnson is a wonderful writer; even minor supporting characters are vividly portrayed.

Walt Longmire is sheriff of the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. While the county is fictional, Johnson has kept the geography real, with references to the Big Horns, Clear Creek, the Powder River, and even West Ten Sleep Creek. Anyone who was on Roundup back in '08 (was it really that long ago?) will immediately recognize that Durant, the county seat of fictional Absaroka County, is very much based on Buffalo, the very real seat of Johnson County (and home to the Occidental Hotel, where we Roundupers had a very late supper the day we went to Devil's Tower). The Busy Bee Cafe, a place in Durant where Walt often eats, is actually a real cafe in Buffalo.

I've now read the first four of the Longmire books, and after work today I'm going to see about acquiring copies of the next four. Good stories with great writing and vivid characters--and like a visit to North Central Wyoming to boot!

Here's a link to Craig Johnson's web site.

http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/

I'm totally sold! I love mysteries, and as you know, I'm going on a WY roadtrip soon.

I wondered why the name Longmire sounded familiar to me...
I opted in on Wyoming's Tourist Information site on FB, and they post tips for trips, news and miscellaneous from the state. I had already heard about the series there, that's why the name was familiar to me.

Definitively gonna buy the first book! Thanks for the rec!

[Jeff Wrangler]

I'm totally sold! I love mysteries, and as you know, I'm going on a WY roadtrip soon.

I wondered why the name Longmire sounded familiar to me...
I opted in on Wyoming's Tourist Information site on FB, and they post tips for trips, news and miscellaneous from the state. I had already heard about the series there, that's why the name was familiar to me.

Definitively gonna buy the first book! Thanks for the rec!

My pleasure! In case no one has noticed, I love these books and these characters! 

And I was just thinking this morning, It's possible Craig Johnson has another career in him as a comedy writer, as the Longmire stories include way more humor than I ever expect to find in a whodunnit.

[CellarDweller]

I am always looking to expand my "gay library" so I always head to the gay/lesbian section in any store. 




Born This Way - Real Stories of Growing Up Gay by Paul Vitagliano


Based on the hugely popular blog of the same name, Born This Way shares 100 different memories of growing up LGBTQ.  Childhood photographs are accompanied by sweet, funny, and at times heartbreaking personal stories.  Colleccted from around the world and dating back to the  1940s to today, these memories speak to the hardships of an unaccepting world and the triumph of pride, self-love and self-acceptance.  This intimate little bookis a wonderful gift for all members of the LGBTQ community as well as their friends and families.  Like Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" project, Born This Way gives young people everywhere the courage to say, "Yes, I'm gay.  And I was born this way.  I've know it since I was very young, and this is my story."

[CellarDweller]

Since My Last Confession - Scott Pomfret


Scott Pomfret serves as a lector at Saint Anthony Shrine.  He also writes gay porn.  His boyfriend is a flaming atheist, and his boyfriend's Protestant grandmother counts Catholicism a sin worse than sodomy.  Convinced they're going straight to Hell for their wayward beliefs, she still thinks their lives on earth should be as pleasant as possible, so there's always a whoopee pie on the table for them.

From same-sex marriage rallies to pedophile priest scandals, Since My Last Confession maps with matchless humor the full spectrum of the gay Catholic experience, from one end of the rainbow to the other.  Listen in as Scott learns a thing or two abot love and compassion from Father McSlutty, a promiscuous gay priest;  Jezebel, Scott's uber-Catholic sister-in-law;  Father Bear-Daddy, the Shrine's hirsute holy terror; and the Three Hale Marys. Then join Scott on his brave crusade to convince his arch-nemesis, Cardinal O'Malley, to invite him to serve at weekly mass.

Along the way, you'll learn how to detect a gay Catholic, hot to get excommunicated from the comfort of your own living room in three easy steps, why the Sabbath should be on Friday (Sundays are for brunch!), and what a nice erotica writer is doing in a mean church like this.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Walt Longmire is sheriff of the fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming. While the county is fictional, Johnson has kept the geography real, with references to the Big Horns, Clear Creek, the Powder River, and even West Ten Sleep Creek. Anyone who was on Roundup back in '08 (was it really that long ago?) will immediately recognize that Durant, the county seat of fictional Absaroka County, is very much based on Buffalo, the very real seat of Johnson County (and home to the Occidental Hotel, where we Roundupers had a very late supper the day we went to Devil's Tower). The Busy Bee Cafe, a place in Durant where Walt often eats, is actually a real cafe in Buffalo.

I've now read the first four of the Longmire books, and after work today I'm going to see about acquiring copies of the next four. Good stories with great writing and vivid characters--and like a visit to North Central Wyoming to boot!

Talk about deja vu. I've now started Hell is Empty, the seventh Longmire novel (and apparently the inspiration for the first episode of the second season of the TV series). Early scenes are taking place at the Meadowlark Lodge!    Roadtrippers, remember? 

[Front-Ranger]

Talk about deja vu. I've now started Hell is Empty, the seventh Longmire novel (and apparently the inspiration for the first episode of the second season of the TV series). Early scenes are taking place at the Meadowlark Lodge!    Roadtrippers, remember? 

How could we forget? Does it mention the cougar in the rafters? The terrible coffee?

[Jeff Wrangler]

How could we forget? Does it mention the cougar in the rafters? The terrible coffee?

 

No, but, interestingly enough, Hell is Empty seems to really mirror reality. Johnson copyrighted the book in 2011, so I'm guessing that was after Deer Haven, Meadowlark, and South Fork (I need to double check the "real" name of that place; I don't have that information here at home) all came under the same management as Lodges of the Big Horns--and in the novel they are all operated by the same people.  

BTW, what with the references to West Ten Sleep Creek, there are scenes in The Cold Dish in which I can visualize the parking lot at Deer Haven. The way Craig Johnson knows his Big Horns, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's been up to Broke'back Summit at least once.

ETA:

In the last chapter I read before sleep last night, Sheriff Longmire is chasing an escaped psychopathic serial killer around Deer Haven Lodge, which is closed for renovations--ya think maybe because snow caused the roof to collapse?