The Lincoln Lawyer by
Michael Connelly
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Somehow, I've made it most of the way through 2017 without having read any of Michael Connelly's books. I'm not talking about just this year, but ever! I know I saw the film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer a few years ago, but it either wasn't memorable, or it deviated drastically from the book, because I was on the edge of my seat through the entire 500+ pages. I don't remember the movie being nearly so spellbinding.
Mickey Haller is a defense lawyer who honestly does not care a whit whether his clients committed the crime they're being accused of. He's in it for the money and to see how many prosecutorial cases he can successfully shoot down. Then Louis Roulet comes into his life, and his perspective begins to shift a bit. Roulet is accused of a brutal assault, attempted rape, and threatening to murder his victim. So, did he do it, or not? His defense is actually feasible at first blush, even though it seems far fetched, and he sells it to his new lawyer fairly quickly. Then Haller's world gets turned upside down, because he's always been afraid he would miss it when he came across a truly innocent client. He's also faced with what can only be described as true evil.
I've read quite a few thrillers from the likes of John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Lee Child, and they all have their own unique style and flavor. Michael Connelly doesn't fit in any of the molds left behind by these other writers. His storytelling is fast paced, intelligent, and technical without getting bogged down in minuscule details. The pacing works, the characters are all believable, and the dialogue just fits the situations.
If you're looking for a fast-paced legal thriller that seems to turn its own pages, look no further than The Lincoln Lawyer. Mr. Connelly, you've found another dedicated fan here, Sir.
If this one sounds interesting to you, you can find it and other books by Michael Connelly on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2wuMn1r
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
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Die Trying by
Lee Child
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
***WARNING!!! SPOILERS!!!***
Die Trying is another great read in the Jack Reacher series. The book kicks off with him getting kidnapped along with F.B.I. agent Holly Johnson, and the action just picks up from there. Jack is fine just biding his time and protecting her, right up until the kidnappers make it personal by trying to kill him. Reacher feels this just made it personal, so in true Jack Reacher style, it's time to bust some heads. It doesn't take long at all before he's running through a field, dead body in tow, to hide the guy he just killed. Seems like the aforementioned dead guy made a grave mistake in his life choices.
The way this book is written, you'd think Lee Child had grown up in the U.S., particularly in the northwest, where there have been numerous militia groups like described in this novel. It's hard to believe he was born and grew up in England. In expert fashion, he delves into the conspiracy theories that seem to surround such groups and drive their actions and separatist beliefs.
In case you missed my last review of Lee Child's novel, Killing Floor, I'll repeat what I said at the end of that review. If you enjoy Mystery/Thriller/Spy/Military/Action novels, and you haven't started reading Lee Child, I think you're missing out. Pick one of his books up today. You can thank me later!
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
Why is it that some people never grow up? It's like they're stunted at five years old and have never discovered that the world actually doesn't revolve around them. They continually cause problems and then complain that there is a problem. Everyone around them can see what the cause of the problem is, but can't say anything because the one that caused it will throw themselves on the floor and pitch a fit, figuratively speaking, of course. At least I hope so. No one wants to see that kind of display, so no one says anything to point out the true problem. Instead, people leave at the first opportunity, cutting ties and shutting the true problem out of their lives.
We have an entire society full of people like this today. Just look at any given post on social media. No matter what the subject matter, eighty percent of the time, the comments descend into diatribe in five comments or less. This is now spilling over into life outside the virtual world. Everyone seems to think everyone else simply has to hear their opinion. And agree with it. We've become a nation of cowards who are ruled by their feelings, which are hurt all the time because they somehow have never learned that they aren't as important as they want to be. They've never gotten over being told that what they've done is amazing when it's obviously subpar. If you've ever watched American Idol, you've seen the results this can bring. This is where always focusing on self-esteem and feelings has brought us. Where do we go from here?
It would be a great idea to actually start taking score again in kids' sports. There are truly losers in this world. Not to say that losing makes you a loser, but if you get a prize every time you do something, even when the other team has stomped on you, you'll probably start to expect it. That doesn't translate well to the real world, and for good reason. I've worked with individuals ranging in age from eighteen to sixty-five who got all bent out of shape because they felt they didn't receive the proper recognition for simply doing their job. Here's a hint: if you got paid, consider that your recognition.
Now that I've addressed the employee side of the equation, here's one for people in management or ownership positions, who have people working for them that they should be LEADING. If you're the owner, stop whining about having to be there all the time. You're an adult, and have made decisions in your life that put you in the position where you currently are. If you own the company, that company is YOUR baby. You will never have employees who are as invested in YOUR company as you are. At the end of the day, every employee you have, no matter how dedicated, is there for one reason, and one reason only. A paycheck. If your company goes under, they'll simply go and find another job. You are the only one holding the bag of responsibility. Quit trying to guilt your employees into carrying that responsibility for you. It's not ever going to happen, and it shouldn't. All you're accomplishing by trying to get them to carry something you're obviously too weak to carry is chasing off your company's greatest asset: people who show up every day and do the day to day things that keep your company in business. Eventually, you'll chase enough of them away that word will get around, and you'll be left holding the bag, which is as it should be. Like I said before, it's your bag/baby/responsibility, and absolutely no one else's.
Every conversation you have with employees shouldn't revolve around what they did wrong, or what they screwed up. If all they do is make messes you have to clean up, then why are they still there? Once again, that's on you. More than likely, though, they do a bang up job ninety-six percent of the time or more, and only miss things on occasion. Pretty sure that's called being a person. How about, instead of constantly focusing on that measly little four percent all the time, you actually say two words that will carry most people for weeks or months. Either, "Good job," or "Thank you," would work pretty well, or you could go wild and come up with your own. Oh, and it helps immensely if you mean it when you say it. People will be able to tell, trust me.
If you're not that person that treats his or her employees poorly, odds are, you've worked for someone who did. I don't think I've ever met anyone who didn't have at least one boss who at the minimum treated them badly, and at the worst, flat-out abused them. If you ever end up in a leadership position, either in management, or as the owner of a company, remember how much you dreaded going to work then. Don't be that guy.
Oh, and if you're fortunate enough to work for yourself, remember not to be that guy, either. It's easy to be your own worst critic. Instead of focusing on how badly you may have just screwed something up, look back at what you've built thus far. It'll probably inspire you! Remember that when you mess up or fail, it's not a waste of time. You just figured out what doesn't work. So, here's a note specifically for writers, simply because I are one. Even if you just deleted thousands of words that took you weeks to write, you've just learned how NOT to write dialogue, characterization, or an action sequence in the future. Just think about how much time that knowledge will save you in the coming years!
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
I've been reading a lot of blogs lately written by other writers about how to get into a "habit" or "routine" of writing at the same time every day or every other day. I'm terrible at this, because my life changes from day to day. I have begun to view my writing more as a job as time has gone by, though, and I feel that has motivated me to write more steadily.
Many people consider themselves to be "aspiring writers", like they're trying to achieve some level of relevance that depends on people outside of themselves. I'm not an aspiring writer, I'm a writer. You can read that last sentence as, "I'm a writer, period." Do you know why I can say that? Because I typed these words out, and you're reading them. Of course, I don't think someone else necessarily has to read your work for you to consider yourself as a writer, any more than whether or not you're a gardener depends on someone else walking through your backyard to view the plants you've worked for hours to cultivate. If you do gardening, you're a gardener. If you write words, you're a writer. Even if what you write has never been seen by another pair of eyes aside from the ones that are in your own head.
I think this small change of thinking from "aspiring writer" to "writer, period" has helped me. My whole life, from the time I was sixteen years old, has been filled with me going to work in some building or another, or at least logging into my computer at a time set by someone else, to get a paycheck. This was the case right up until about three months ago. Now it's purely up to me whether or not I produce on a given day. Funny thing is, it's ALWAYS been that way, ever since I got my first job as a teenager. It was up to me to decide whether or not I was going to show up when I was supposed to, and to decide if I was going to actually work while I was there.
The only thing that's changed now is that I won't be officially fired for failing to produce. Back then, if I wanted a paycheck, I had to earn it. Today, for me to have any expectation of getting a paycheck, I'll have to produce. The only difference is that I've decided to make and move my own widgets rather than someone else's. Although my widgets (words on the page) are easier to move (read: electronic transmission, potentially globally, at the push of a button) they take much more energy personally on my part to produce, and absolutely NOTHING will happen without my own personal effort.
Wasn't it Uncle Ben who said, "With great power comes great responsibility"? Well, with great freedom comes even greater responsibility. Now, I can't just show up somewhere and mindlessly move widgets from one side of the building to the other for eight or ten hours at a stretch. Instead, I have to dream up the widget, and figure out how to design it and describe it so others can recognize and understand what that particular widget looks like. Then I have to physically spell it out by pounding the keys on whatever keyboard I choose to use at the time. Only then can I transmit it to people like you, who hopefully like what I have to say, and tell their friends and family to check out what This Aaron Guy just transmitted out to the world.
Being a writer isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the most fulfilling thing I've found to do in my four plus decades on this spinning rock that I currently inhabit. Don't sell yourself short by calling yourself an "aspiring" writer, or gardener, or dog walker, or whatever it is that you want to be. If you've taken the plunge and you're going through the same actions that other write-ers, garden-ers, or dog walk-ers go through each day, then you, too, are officially a writer, gardener, or dog walker. Even if you haven't seen that first paycheck. Even if not a single person has read what you've written, walked through your garden, or had their dog walked by you.
So, what, exactly are your aspirations? If you want to see what's over the next hill, at some point, you're gonna have to head over in that direction. No matter what someone else thinks about your desire to see it. Why are you going to let someone else dictate how far you can go? Or tell you what you are? Or what you are not?
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
Killing Floor by
Lee Child
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
Although this is the first Reacher novel that was published, it's actually the third one I've read, having read The Enemy and The Affair a few years ago. I'm a bit of a nerd, so I like reading series novels in chronological order if I pick them up when several books have already been released. I've given that up now on the Jack Reacher series, though, as Lee Child keeps releasing prequel stories.
I really, really enjoyed this one, as is evidenced in my finishing it in only 4 days. In Killing Floor, Jack Reacher is travelling across the deep south by bus when he decides on a whim to walk the fourteen miles to smalltown, U.S.A., also known as Margrave, Alabama. In a downpour of a rainstorm. After walking for hours, he gets arrested for murder as he's finishing his breakfast in the local diner. Of course, he knows the charges are trumped up idiocy, but the resultant situation is the perfect set up for Reacher to bust a few heads. He does this in fantastic fashion, as a matter of fact, and this wouldn't be a Jack Reacher story without a bit of violence, now would it?
In the back of my mind, I was expecting this to be at least slightly inferior to the other two books I've read from the series. I mean, this was novel #1, and the other two were #8 and #16, respectively. Most writers get better with time and additional writing, but I honestly think Child hit his stride right out of the gate.
If you enjoy Mystery/Thriller/Spy/Military/Action novels, and you haven't started reading Lee Child, I think you're missing out. Pick one of his books up today. You can thank me later!
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
View all my reviews
This past week has felt hectic here in the RV, as I've been updating all of my social media accounts in an attempt to polish them up. I've also been diving into the new-to-me realm of Google +. Who knew there were so many HUGE groups there? Well, just a few days ago, This Aaron Guy had absolutely no idea! So, I've been joining groups, sharing my book, helping other authors out with book covers, and whatever else pertains to the whole social media self publishing book arena thing. All this in an attempt to build my author platform to get the word out that I have a book, and that I'm officially an author. If you feel the urge, come look me up HERE. I'm sure we'll find something interesting to talk about!
I also actually took the time while I was offline to continue writing in the novel, and rewriting what I already have there. The rewriting process seems to go much slower than I had ever imagined! Yesterday afternoon, I figured it was probably about 2:00 or 2:30, and when I looked up at the clock, it was after 4:00. Where did my day go?! It's been going well, though, and I really think I'm getting the story and dialogue polished up. All those other author blogs I've been reading have been teaching me tons concerning technique and storytelling, and I've been implementing all of this newly integrated knowledge. I finally feel connected in the writers' community. I know, sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake, but I generally get there eventually!
I've also been reading a lot more in the past few days than I have in a very long time. I blasted through the first Jack Reacher novel that was published between Saturday afternoon and last night. Be on the lookout for my review of Killing Floor on Goodreads in the coming days.
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
I've been busy writing these past few months, not that you would know that judging by the elapsed time since my last post around these parts. For that, I sincerely apologize, and I resolve to make the posts here much more regular, so I'm planning posting here on Wednesday afternoons. I'm embarrassed to say I had completely forgotten about this blog space, and I accidentally stumbled on it earlier this afternoon. When I saw it, I said to myself, "Oh, yeah! I have this Random Musings blog... Wow! It's been almost a year since I wrote anything here." Hopefully, none of you Faithful Readers have been too starved of words since then! ;-)
Deborah and I are still enjoying life in our home on wheels, which has been situated a few miles from Pagosa Springs, Colorado for a couple of months. We're loving being in the mountains, especially early in the mornings, and after about six o'clock in the evenings. The afternoons have been warm enough they drive us both back inside to the safety of air conditioning. We've been checking out all of the new to us restaurants in town and taking mountain drives on the weekends. Our camera has been getting quite the workout most Saturdays!
At the end of last month, I released my first collection of poetry, Always Enough Air, out into the world, and I've been integrating my brain with any and all information pertaining to the world of being self-published. You can already find it at major ebook retailers, which still just blows my mind! Search for it at your favorite ebook store, or click the Buy Now button on the widget to the right.
I've also been feverishly pounding the keys, growing the word count in my debut novel, which is currently at about 30,000 words. I'm excited each time I sit down with my fingers poised above the keyboard, because I'm never quite sure where the story is going to end up next.
Until next time, stay safe, and above all, be true to yourself.
That Aaron Guy
