Failed Pilot

I forgot these (recently finished) two, one of which was the best of the whole bunch.

* Sneaky People by Thomas Berger - grade A+

* Southwesterly Wind by Luiz Alfredo Garcia - Roza - grade B

In the interest of being frustating, I’ve given each book a letter grade…sans explanation for that grade.

* Junkmail by Will Self - grade B

* Find Fish, Anywhere, Anytime by Joseph D. Bates - grade B

* 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories, and Secrets Behind Them by Toby Creswell - grade: B+

* The Best American Crime Writing of 2006 by Mark Bowden and Otto Penzler - grade: B+

* Nature Noir: A Park Ranger’s Patrol in the Sierra by Jordan Fisher Smith - grade C

* Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time by Martin Popoff - grade B+

* Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement by Rob Jovanonic - grade F+

* The New York City Cab Driver’s Book of Dirty Jokes by Jim Pietsch - grade C

* The Ultimate Good Luck by Richard Ford - grade B+

* Hard as Nails by Dan Simmons  - grade D+ for legit crime fiction, grade A+ for entertainment value

* Mr. Mike by Dennis Perrin - grade A

* Off Season by Jack Ketchum - grade B

* The Rock Snob’s Dictionary by Mark Kemp and Stevan Daly - grade A-

* The Film Snob’s Dictionary by Mark Kemp and Stevan Daly - grade B+

* The Other Hollywood: An Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film History by Legs McNeil and Jennifer Osborne - grade A-

* Bloody Sam: The Life and Films of Sam Peckinpah by Marshall Fine - grade A

* The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos - grade B

* Coronado by Dennis Lehane - grade A-

* Queens Reigns Supreme by Ethan Brown - grade A+

* Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, + God by Russell Simmons - grade D-

* Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston - grade B+

* A Dangerous Man by Charlie Huston - grade B

* Six Bad Things by Charlie Huston - grade B

* Little Children by Tom Perrotta - grade B+

* Drugs are Nice by Lisa Carver - grade C-

* The Skills to Pay the Bills: The Story of the Beastie Boys by Alan Light - grade D-

* Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock by Andrew Beaujon - grade A-

* A respectable section of On Film by John Simon - grade B

* Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman - grade F

* Autumn Rhythm by Richard Meltzer - grade B+

* The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell - grade B

* The Road by Cormac McCarthy - grade A

My favorite Peter Boyle performances (in no order)

1. Joe

2. Hardcore

3. Young Frankenstein

4. F.I.S.T.

5. Johnny Dangerously

6. Turk 182

7. That Darn Cat (remake)

8. Monster’s Ball

9. Outland

10. Taxi Driver