Haiku's Day (P'town Edition)

Sand dunes hug the shore
Gulls wheel and cry overhead
So, dude, wanna fuck?

Had a great weekend in P'town, though not as great as the haiku above might indicate.

But the important thing is the weather was great, our hosts were terrific, and I had a wonderful time. Plus, I got my townie pass.

Let's see. I haven't updated the books I've read recently, so here goes.

I finished off Greg Herren's Scotty Bradley series by reading Jackson Street Jazz and Mardi Gras Mambo. Fun, quick reads. Truth is, I really like his characters, so no matter how outlandish the stories, I really enjoy reading them. Plus, I'm always interested in how writers work in issues of spirituality in their books. I suppose the best example of that is Richard Matheson (IMHO).

Anyway, I read Arthur Wooten's Fruit Cocktail, a sequel to his Picking Fruit. I'm sorry to say I really didn't like it. Tissue-thin story filled out with a series of descriptions of bad dates. The bad dates were kind of amusing, but they didn't propel the story. Just . . . not good.

I also read William J. Mann's The Men From the Boys and Where the Boys Are. Really, really liked these. Great complex characters, good stories. Terrific. Of the two, I really prefered Where the Boys Are, which was the sequel. Unlike the first novel which was told from one character's point of view, this one jumped between the three main characters. Very interesting.

I just went to Boston's Calamus bookstore (having just finished my last book that I had with me on this trip) and bought Joel's new book, Swish, Robert Rodi's Bitch Goddess, Johnny Diaz's Boston Boys Club, Greg Herren's Murder in the Rue Dauphine and Murdre in the Rue St. Anne (I forgot to get Murder in the Rue Chartres), and Summer Share, a book of short stories by Chris Kenry, William J. Mann, Andy Schell and Ben Tyler.

That should get me through the next week or so.