Tag: Harry Bosch

Mickey Haller is Coming to Netflix!

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Yes! I hate when characters get caught up in the abyss of adaptations and rights are purchased and then nothing happens. For any fellow Michael Connelly fans, you probably know this is what happened in the early days of Harry Bosch. Then Michael Connelly spent years fighting to get the rights back. Ultimately, Amazon’s Bosch was created and so well done.

Something similar almost happened with Mickey Haller, Harry Bosch’s half-brother who works out of his Lincoln. The defense attorney who rarely comes across a case he won’t take. Most have probably seen The Lincoln Lawyer adaptation. It was okay. Nothing great, and not surprising that it didn’t spawn a series of movies. Later, CBS bought the rights to pursue a series, which went nowhere. Seems unlikely Netflix won’t finally adapt the smart talking defense attorney into a worthy series.

Mickey Haller isn’t my favorite character created, but he’s rather enjoyable. Have you read any of his books by Michael Connelly?

Consistently Impressed

John Guillen6 Comments

Early this morning I finished my 37th book of the year. I expect to reach 40 by the end of this week. But this year’s reading has taught me one thing that’s undeniable. Robert Crais is the best crime novelist writing today.

It was the seventh time this year I’ve read one of his books. That’s an absurd amount for me to read by any single author in a given year. Going back to my college days when I was consistently in the 20-40 range several calendar years in a row, I’d never read that many by a single author. This year has been different. Mostly because I’ve actually gotten some good numbers done. So there’s more opportunity.

I’m really stingy with my ratings for books. For example, after I finished my 30th book of the year the average rating was 2.93 out of 5. That was a slight uptick from the first 25. The average rating for the seven Robert Crais novels I’ve read this year? 4.42 out of 5. I’ve rated more than half of them as 5 star reads. I talk and write a lot about Harry Bosch. Michael Connelly is right there with Crais, but in my eyes he’s just slightly behind. Harry will likely be coming to an end at some point as he’s aged in real-time. Nothing I’ve read indicates Elvis or Joe are going anywhere anytime soon. No complaints from me.

I could say more. Lots more. And I will. But it’s time for bed.

Bosch is Back

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Y’all. Season 5 of Amazon’s Bosch is now streaming! Since its beginning I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the adaptation of Michael Connelly’s most popular character.

The show avoids the common shortfalls so many crime shows seem eager to embrace.

Harry is relentless in his pursuit of justice for every one of the victims he’s forced to investigate because in his view everybody counts or nobody counts.

Last year I got my mom to watch and we went through the first four seasons as fast as possible. And she was always wanting to keep watching when we’d stop.

Now go watch!

January Reading Roundup

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Y’all!

Earlier this year I made it clear how disappointed I was in my reading last year. 5 books. Just saying that makes me want to hit my head on my desk. But 2019 is off to a better start! So I decided to do a little roundup of my January reading.

Two Kinds of Truth

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Harry Bosch ages in real time. In this book he’s into his 60s, but I DON’T CARE. Never stop writing him, Michael Connelly. Or we’re fighting.

Crimson Joy

⭐⭐⭐

I hate to say it, but this was rather unremarkable. I love Spenser. And this won’t discourage me from continuing the series, but I finished the book wanting more.

LA Requiem

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I wrote about this earlier in the week here. This book was the best crime novel I’ve read! There’s no exaggeration. I gave my reasoning in my previous post. I’m still considering it, but it’s likely a top five all-time read for me. And I have the next four in the series awaiting my curious eyes.

Rodrick Rules

⭐⭐⭐

I said I’d stay with crime novels for a bit, and I mostly did. But this was the lone exception last month. It didn’t have hardly any laugh out loud moments, whereas the first in the series was full of them.

The Second Life of Nick Mason

⭐⭐⭐

This was the first in a new series written by Steve Hamilton. He’s also one of my favorite authors and it was my first time reading one of his books in several years. It’s well below 300 pages and I felt it. It went way too fast and lacked much depth throughout. But still had a number of exciting moments, which kept it at the above rating.

I count 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 books for the month! It was really in the last two weeks, but shh. I matched my entire 2018 in the first month of 2019 and I’m still going! I know there will be some down months ahead, but I’m happy with and encouraged by my start to the year.

How was your month of reading!?

To Meet or Not To Meet

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Michael Connelly is coming to Houston next month in support of his new book. I haven’t had the chance to meet him before. I’m thinking I might want to. But of course my schedule has to allow me to.

Meeting authors is always interesting. You gain insight and persepective you can’t obtain any other way. Social media is nice, but it just isn’t quite the same as having them right in front of you speaking about their experience and writing.

I’m thinking I’ll likely meet him. I mean, he created Harry Bosch. 

Top Five Wednesday: Who’s Coming to my New Year’s Party?

John Guillen6 Comments

I haven’t done one of these in a LONG time. Mostly because the girl who took over started with crap topics. Bleh. The topic is pretty easy to comprehend. Leggo.

Katniss Everdeen

She’s the Girl on Fire. I mean, come on.

Harry Bosch

I don’t drink alcohol. So I’d sit down with a bottle of water out away from the rest of the party and talk to Harry about everything. He’s insightful and I doubt anyone could match his stories from decades with LAPD. I’d also tell him his daughter would make an excellent detective.

Mark Watney

I just finished The Martian and have LOTS of thoughts on it, but for now I’d just like to tell Mark here that’s he’s hilarious. Stay tuned for a full review in the next day or two!

A

She’s the protagonist from Every Day and it would actually be cool to invite her every year to the New Year’s party just to see her in different bodies.

Guy Montag

This might seem like an odd choice when you consider the fact that I HATE this book. But I’d invite him because every other person invited to this particular party would love books. And this bastard burns them. I’d pretty much just tell him off. And perhaps create a mob in the process.

Those are the five characters I’d invite to my New Year’s party! Who would you invite to yours!?

2016 Reading Challenge: The Burning Room

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This won’t contain any spoilers.

If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time it’s highly likely you’ve read something about Harry Bosch. I’ve written about him more than just about any character, even KATNISS!

He is the epitome of who and what I think a fictional detective should be. This was the 17th book in the series I’ve read, and to me it was the best one yet. No matter the character being written, an author who can keep the reader interested in a single character over two decades is one of those rare jewels in literature. Michael Connelly is right there with the likes of Sue Grafton and Robert B. Parker.

Harry Bosch has never become stagnant or boring. His stories have never escaped the realm of reality. And he’s never forgotten his mantra that “Everybody counts or nobody counts”.

This book satisfied the requirement of my 2016 reading challenge to read a crime novel.

Now TOMORROW I will post an update on my progress! Stay tuned!

Also, the first book in the Harry Bosch series is The Black Echo. Just saying. 😊

Bosch is Back

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Just about every November Michael Connelly delights his readers with a new Harry Bosch novel. This year is no different.

I fully realize that not every avid reader is big on crime fiction. I know some people who read over 100 books a year and not one of them is a crime novel. But I’ll say it until I can’t say it any more that Harry Bosch is simply not your run of the mill fictional detective.

There’s a reason Connelly has been able to continue the series for more than two decades. In my eyes it’s because he created a character who has no match in contemporary fiction.

The first book in the Harry Bosch series is The Black Echo.

Are you excited to get your hands on The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly?

Top Five Wednesday: Character Names

John Guillen3 Comments

Today’s Top Five Wednesday topic is character names. Pretty self-explanatory. Let’s begin!

Katniss Everdeen

I love how unique the name is. And I hope to one day meet a girl named after Katniss. I’d tell her the person she’s named after is strong, independent, brave, and the Girl on Fire. Then she’d probably say duhh and walk away. Bleh.

Hieronymous Bosch

I’ve told y’all about Harry Bosch more times than I can remember. He’s named after the painter you may have heard of. I’m just glad Michael Connelly let’s us call him Harry.

Spenser

Another unique name. He’s named after the poet you may have heard of. But what really makes his name special is that his last name is never given during his series of books. He’s simply Spenser.

Hermione Granger

I mean, come on.

Master Chief

Technically his name is John-117 and he’s originally from a video game series before any book was ever written, BUT who doesn’t know Master Chief at this point? Seriously, who!? He’s the soldier we all secretly want to be. Leading entire armies and defeating monstrous enemies. Is that not your dream job?

Those are my five favorite character names! Tell me some of yours!