PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.
1. What are you currently reading? Rescued by David Rosenfelt. Andy Carpenter (aka my fantasy boyfriend) is a reluctant defense attorney. He's very good at his chosen profession, he just doesn't feel much like practicing it. He unexpectedly came into a lot of money and would prefer to spend his time rescuing abandoned dogs and hanging out at his favorite sports bar. And really, wouldn't you?
But he finds himself back in the courtroom when a truckload of dogs is discovered near his home in Paterson, NJ. Turns out the dogs were being relocated to shelters in the eastern US but, uh-oh, the truck driver has been murdered. Dogs? A dead body? This is a job for Andy Carpenter!
I love Andy and the cast of characters Rosenfelt surrounds him with, so I have high hopes for this one. I just hope that we manage to avoid international intrigue this time around. For some reason, Andy can never get a murder that was based on a cheating spouse or a dishonest business partner. There's usually multinational intrigue of some sort and this exhausts me. It's as though Rosenfelt is allergic to keeping it small and domestic which, let's face it, most murders are.
2. What did you recently finish reading? Harlow in Hollywood by Darrell Rooney and Mark A. Viera. My relationship to Harlow is completely the opposite of mine to her blonde goddess successor, Marilyn Monroe. With Marilyn, her biography preceded her work. With Harlow, I've been watching her movies and that's made me curious about the woman. So I'm glad I picked up this book. It's as much about her films as about her her life and will help me choose which ones I'd like to watch next.
Where Marilyn was born unwanted into poverty and neglect, Jean Harlow was part of a middle-class, even affluent, family with deep ties to Chicago. She had grandparents and a mother who loved her. Too much. In fact, by the end of this book, I was thinking Harlow would have been better off with less maternal attention. Her mother was a frustrated and grasping woman who exploited her daughter and over-managed "their" career. The only one in Hollywood who didn't seem aware of this was Jean herself, who loved her mother unquestioningly and credited everything she achieved to her mother and God.
Harlow was dead at 26, at the height of her fame. She was a gifted comedienne and a professional, beloved onset from everyone from her director on down to the grips and studio security guards. She took her work seriously but never herself. I would have loved to see how she transitioned away from glamor roles and I feel cheated that I'll never know.
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
