tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post2066534002745327095..comments2024-02-22T17:59:50.213-05:00Comments on in so many words...: MIGHT AS WELL BE DEAD (1956) by Rex StoutYvettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-75454748692570702402016-07-14T04:39:21.084-04:002016-07-14T04:39:21.084-04:00On becoming a bookworm, I got my library card at t...On becoming a bookworm, I got my library card at three, youngest ever in the library used by people in Greenwich Village.<br />My father read constantly, my mother sometimes. So, I read good books, adult books starting at 13 reading Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. <br />And he read a huge variety of books, but loved mysteries. He introduced me to Sherlock Holmes first, of course.<br />And he liked humor, so the Wolfe books fit the bill. Also, I'm sure he liked Rex Stout's politics on most issues, another factor.<br />The problem with my reading was that I loved to read and was late to high school because I'd be up late reading good books, and I couldn't bear to stop reading. Still have those habits -- a night owl who reads until all hours.<br />My father loved British wit. I was thinking the other day about his reading P.D. Wodehouse and he'd reread Tom Jones every three years. And he loved Monty Python, even the wacky Peter Sellers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-69336134042013919502016-07-13T14:22:29.130-04:002016-07-13T14:22:29.130-04:00My reply thing seems out of whack, but as long as ...My reply thing seems out of whack, but as long as I can read your comments and you can read my replies, we're good. :)<br /><br />Mine are all in one place too, John. I'm not the most organized person in the world, heaven knows - but I can lay my hand on a Nero Wolfe book in two seconds flat. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-36487364312464747642016-07-13T14:20:11.797-04:002016-07-13T14:20:11.797-04:00Glad you liked it, Kathy. I'm waiting for the ...Glad you liked it, Kathy. I'm waiting for the third season. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-2914376548933447352016-07-12T14:28:37.012-04:002016-07-12T14:28:37.012-04:00HA! I was wondering if you'd catch that. I tho...HA! I was wondering if you'd catch that. I thought, "Which does she mean THE RED BOX or THE RUBBER BAND?" I'll have to read that one next. It's one of the few hardcover edition Wolfe books I have -- and I put them all in one easy to find place!J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-73531585085942819822016-07-12T12:14:20.447-04:002016-07-12T12:14:20.447-04:00Thank you so much, Kathy. I'm glad my blog spu...Thank you so much, Kathy. I'm glad my blog spurred you into rereading the Wolfe books. They are certainly worth it. Your father sounds like he was a special man. Unfortunately, my parents were basically non-readers and where my love of books comes from, I don't know. Unless it was the fact that I had a few fabulous teachers in my early school days and first got my library card in first grade when my teacher took us to the library.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-3276809142625316532016-07-11T21:33:11.681-04:002016-07-11T21:33:11.681-04:00By the way, I binge-watched season one of Grace an...By the way, I binge-watched season one of Grace and Frankie over the weekend. I loved it. Will hover at Netflix and the library website, waiting for season two.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-20612472150986022822016-07-11T01:18:34.290-04:002016-07-11T01:18:34.290-04:00Oh, gosh, this is one Nero Wolfe book I haven'...Oh, gosh, this is one Nero Wolfe book I haven't read and will read it over the summer. Miss the gang in the brownstone a stone's throw from my apartment building.<br /><br />I first began reading the Wolfe canon in my teen years, as my father liked them and recommended the books. Probably because they were witty and fun and basically nonviolent. Then years later, I read about the dynamic duo and their entourage right here and I was inspired to plow into the series again and I did.<br /><br />But I still have books to read and will do so this summer.<br /><br />Glad you are still rereading and enjoying Wolfe and his coterie. <br /><br />I could surely enjoy living in a West Side brownstone, but without all the yellow (certainly no yellow pajamas). I'd like a garden and a chef, too, but I wouldn't hassle him or her about how many juniper berries to put in a dish, as Wolfe does. And I'd have rescued dogs and cats, which I am sure Wolfe would never do. He has to be the center of attention at all moments, even when a perpetrator is in the hot seat.<br /><br />Even thinking about that brownstone full of private detectives, cops and suspects makes me smile. I thank my father for bringing me up to appreciate these books and this blog for re-involving me in Wolfe and Goodwin's adventures and dialogues -- priceless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-40134928720862566402016-07-09T15:41:46.658-04:002016-07-09T15:41:46.658-04:00Thanks, Mudpuddle. Maybe one of these days you'...Thanks, Mudpuddle. Maybe one of these days you'll begin reading them again. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-31928092738508774072016-07-09T13:52:12.745-04:002016-07-09T13:52:12.745-04:00i first read the canon in my teens and was totally...i first read the canon in my teens and was totally swept away into a new world; i was and am just nuts about archie and nero, although i haven't gone back to the brownstone in quite a few years; many thanks for bringing back wonderful memories and reminding me of some of the good things in this life... I remember "The Black Mountain" best, although all 33 of them are just great....Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-22879272353976906202016-07-09T10:35:16.201-04:002016-07-09T10:35:16.201-04:00Jeez. Not THE RED BAND - it's THE RUBBER BAND....Jeez. Not THE RED BAND - it's THE RUBBER BAND. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-22908845565302241482016-07-09T10:34:03.933-04:002016-07-09T10:34:03.933-04:00Yeah, libraries don't. I don't understand ...Yeah, libraries don't. I don't understand it myself. People still read Rex Stout. But I'll bet it's because people would rather buy the Nero Wolfe books than borrow them. Maybe. Glad you enjoyed the review, thanks.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-30936965243641688792016-07-09T10:32:05.648-04:002016-07-09T10:32:05.648-04:00Malicious people will be with us eternally, kind o...Malicious people will be with us eternally, kind of like cockroaches and rats.<br /><br />I understand Wolfe better myself, John, now that I'm a crotchety old lady. But I've always liked him - it was Archie that I had to get used to over time. <br /><br />Inconsistent murder plots don't bother me as much as they do you, John. Possibly because I'm a woman. HA! Couldn't help myself. <br /><br />These books are all about the guys - I don't even like Lily Rowan. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-11648672793823084632016-07-08T16:21:32.411-04:002016-07-08T16:21:32.411-04:00Unthinkable as it might be, our public library has...Unthinkable as it might be, our public library has not a <i>single</i> Rex Stout novel on its shelves. But this one I must have, and if it's on Kindle it soon will be on my laptop. Thanks for the delightful, as usual, review, Yvette.Mathew Pausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157135006791553019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-28091902973347721222016-07-08T16:07:07.655-04:002016-07-08T16:07:07.655-04:00"Though if I were him I'd wonder what it ...<i>"Though if I were him I'd wonder what it was about myself that had caused me TWICE to be wrongly accused and convicted of crimes"</i><br /><br />Count yourself lucky never to have been the target of a malicious person. Often there are nasty people out there who accuse innocent people simply because they don't like them often having nothing to do with anything the accused person has done or said. I speak from experience as both an observer of this and as a target.<br /><br />The more I read of Stout the more I enjoy Archie's slangy way of talking and describing people and Wolfe's intolerance for almost everything under the sun. As a kid this kind of stuff was lost on me. As a crotchety 50+ year old it makes me smile or laugh out loud. I really get Nero Wolfe now because I have a low tolerance for nearly everything under the sun, too! For me Stout is not exactly a consistent mystery plotter. That's probably why I'll never be as big as a fan as you are. Still, Archie, Wolfe and the whole gang are growing on me. There is hope...as you might say. :^DJ F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-30090114069520930662016-07-08T15:47:50.579-04:002016-07-08T15:47:50.579-04:00Thanks, Richard. You're welcome.Thanks, Richard. You're welcome. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-27215301828303209602016-07-08T15:47:29.614-04:002016-07-08T15:47:29.614-04:00That is another of my very favorites, Gram. I also...That is another of my very favorites, Gram. I also love one of the very early ones: THE RED BAND.Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-64952780450172352962016-07-08T15:46:52.594-04:002016-07-08T15:46:52.594-04:00Everyone living on one block makes it handy. I lov...Everyone living on one block makes it handy. I love that brownstone. Just the sort of place I'd live in if I could. :) Though I don't know about all that yellow. Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-84998414426396702772016-07-08T12:21:06.120-04:002016-07-08T12:21:06.120-04:00Excellent. It's been years since I read it and...Excellent. It's been years since I read it and now I want to read it again. Thanks!Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-77518148683987567812016-07-08T08:18:33.802-04:002016-07-08T08:18:33.802-04:00I think my favorite is The Doorbell Rang, but it&#...I think my favorite is The Doorbell Rang, but it's hard to choose just one!Gramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01027824918114690029noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3185294584889963228.post-66534752292090843902016-07-08T01:40:03.053-04:002016-07-08T01:40:03.053-04:00I haven't read this one in quite a while, Yvet...I haven't read this one in quite a while, Yvette, so I am sure I would enjoy a reread. It is a very clever book. I like Nathaniel Parker also, and the doctor who lives nearby who helps out sometimes. It is always interesting when they show up. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.com