Let’s see, I’d like to have a decade that productive.

Since 2000 I moved the family to NY from CA, was granted a son, raised my other two kids to thier later teens, stayed married (barely), switched jobs once, sold 2 homes, purchased 2 homes, took two famliy vacations back to CA/AZ/UT, buried a grandfather, went to a couple of Bills games, one SU Men’s basketball game, one SU Women’s basketball game, a couple of Syracuse Crunch hockey games, a few Syracuse Chiefs baseball games, one SU Men’s Lacross match, a trip to NC, Hershey PA, Hazeltine PA, Philadephia PA, Western VA, Charlottsville VA,  Washington D.C. a few times, San Jose CA a few times, Ottawa Canada a couple of times, Niagara Falls a couple of times…

and read 6 Elmore Leonard novels, the western collection, the children’s novel, the short story collection and a bunch of crazy fan posts on this site.
;-D

Yes, Pagan Babies and Tishimingo Blues are definitely just as strong as his earlier work. I haven’t read Hot Kid or Honey. Mr. Paradise and Road Dogs are both very fun reads, and are still masterful stylistically in terms of the writing, but I think they are clearly not as strong overall as PB, TB, and the earlier stuff. Paradise’s characters just aren’t as sharp, and Road Dogs is just light on story, but still the best dialogue in the business. Don’t get me wrong, they’re definitely worth every penny, just not as strong.

Gregg posted a nice review of DJIBOUTI by Joe Hill.

Joe Hill is actually Joseph Hillstrom King, Stephen King’s son.  He is good.  Comic books, short stories, and two novels.  He was not outed until a few years ago.  He was already established as a rising talent.

Like his father, it seems that Dutch worship is strong with him.  I wonder if he mentions Elmore Leonard in any of his books?

GREAT HOOKERS I HAVE KNOWN by Stephen King [Found in SECRET WINDOWS (a companion to ON WRITING)]

This essay is about great first lines in novels—the lines “hook” you.  He lists some hookers throughout the piece and then lists ten other great hookers.

...Well, I got curious, and so I spent an hour or so browsing through my books (those by other people, I mean), looking for hookers.  I think I’ve mentioned my favorites already, and so won’t go through them again.  But let me list ten other great hookers that I either found or remembered . . . and let me add one other thing:  I arbitrarily disqualified Elmore Leonard after two listings, or else he would own the list, top to bottom.  When it comes to hookers, he’s the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of fiction.  But otherwise, in no particular order, check out these opening lines…

“Every time they got a call from the leper hospital to pick up a body Jack Delaney would feel himself coming down with the flu or something.”  BANDITS, Elmore Leonard.

“They were watching Ryan beat up the Mexican crew leader on 16mm Commercial Ektachrome.”  THE BIG BOUNCE, Elmore Leonard.

Stephen King’s new book, 11/22/63, has been a fun read.

The main character has a cat named Elmore.

From Stephen King’s 2003 speech when he received The National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters:

“That said, I accept this award on behalf of such disparate writers as Elmore Leonard, Peter Straub, Nora Lofts, Jack Ketchum, whose real name is Dallas Mayr, Jodi Picoult, Greg Iles, John Grisham, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connolly, Pete Hamill and a dozen more. I hope that the National Book Award judges, past, present and future, will read these writers and that the books will open their eyes to a whole new realm of American literature. You don’t have to vote for them, just read them.”

Mr. King has a serious man-crush on Elmore Leonard. He has mentioned him almost a dozen times in his books.  I lot of scholars did not think Stephen King deserved the award. Elmore Leonard will finally receive the same award at the end of this year.