It's a Mystery

The Edgar Award nominees were announced by the Mystery Writers of America on Jan. 19 (Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, of course), and the list was a bit of a conundrum for me.

There are some good books nominated, but I was more interested in what was not included. In the year of serious Nordic Noir, why isn't there one book from that genre?
Some of the best writing of 2011 could be found in those books, so I'm surprised that books like The Hypnotist, The Snowman, or The Keeper of Lost Causes are not included. It isn't that the nominees have to be American, after all Japanese writer Keigo Higashino is nominated for his terrific book The Devotion of Suspect X.
I'm also disappointed not to see A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block, an incredible story of a hard-boiled detective. There was also a return to greatness by Sue Grafton in her latest book V for Vengeance, honestly one of the best mysteries I read last year.
I think the nominees are more on-target in the category for television (the Edgars recognize mysteries and thrillers on stage, screen, and in print). I loved Whitechapel on BBC America. If you haven't seen it, try finding it on Netflix.
As with most award lists, I did find some new books that I want to read. But I think the Edgar judges might want to get a clue and investigate how some of the top mysteries of the year didn't make the cut.
The Edgar Awards will be held on April 26.

Bad Reviews? Nevermore!

Today is Edgar Allan Poe's birthday. He was born on this date in 1809 in Boston, Mass., and his life is a cautionary tale for book reviewers like me.

Strange, but true.
Poe's life has always been portrayed as a slow descent into drugs, drink, and mental illness. But recently that version has been brought into question. It now appears that Poe was the victim of a PR smear campaign created by a victim of Poe's earlier job as a (quite vicious) book reviewer.
Rufus Wilmot Griswold (whose very name says "villain") became a Poe-hater when the Raven author picked apart an anthology by Griswold. In an amazing act of revenge, it is now believed that Griswold began hammering Poe's reputation the minute Poe died, beginning with a nasty obituary in The New York Tribune. He savaged Poe with his pen without let-up for years. Ironically, he also increased the public's interest in Poe's work. So who's laughing now, Mr. Griswold?
However, I do take from this tale a warning for all reviewers. So I will live by my motto of "Life's too short to read bad books," and I'll stick to reviewing books I like.
Speaking of reading, be sure to enter the contest to win a slew of books (none by Poe, though) by emailing me at readeatthink(at)gmail.com. All you have to do is tell me what your favorite Read.Eat.Think. post has been and your name will be entered in a drawing for a big box o' books. Deadline to enter is 5pm on Jan. 24.