[Boomer]

Finally!

Carl Hiaasen has a new book coming out on Tuesday, July 27. I just found out about this. And I am, of course, thrilled beyond all measure.

The title is Star Island and it is the first adult fiction that he has written since 2005. He has been doing kids' books and also that one about golf that mentions TV. But there has been no real Hiaasen for a long time. I hope this one is as good as my favorites Stormy Weather and Skin Tight, both, early Hiaasen.

I have been known to go on and on about the wonders of Carl Hiaasen. There is an old thread here somewhere that turned into a really good discussion of Florida fiction with lots of TOTVers giving great suggestions for authors.

I am too lazy right now to tell you much about what I have found out about Carl's new book. But I have to tell you that Skink is in it. What a great character -- Skink -- now crazy and living in the swamp but once the governor of Florida.

Anyway, this time I will spare you from all my declarations and confessions of shameless love for Carl. (I like to call him Carl.) There is something about a man who can turn a phrase.......

He is going to be on the Today Show on Tuesday so I must set the DVR before I forget.......

And why do I keep thinking about that song that probably nobody else has ever heard of....There really was a song called "I Made A Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" and I know how she felt..... But I digress....

I am just going to link you to Carl's website now. I must go splash some cool, cool water in my own face.....

http://www.carlhiaasen.com/index.shtml

Boomer

[l2ridehd]

Thanks Boomer. I love his books and have read them all. He does such a great job of building characters and vivid descriptions of things. Looking forward to this new one, but want it on my Kindle.

[uujudy]

Thanks for the good news, Boomer! I'm so excited!
I'll try to get up early for the Today Show.

...from Justin Cronin's The Passage.

[Boomer]

I am writing this at 9:35 AM. Carl will be appearing soon on the Today Show. They just announced it. So I am announcing it here in case anybody wants to stalk.....er, I mean watch -- yeah that's it, I mean watch him with me.

Then I am going to go to the bookstore.

And after that I am going to meet an old English teacher friend for lunch. (I think she wants to go to a bar.)

Boomer

[Irish Rover]

Boomer - I'm a Hiaasen fan too and look forward to his books but this one got a ho hum review from the local paper. Give us your opinion after reading it, Thanks IR

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Irish Rover

Boomer - I'm a Hiaasen fan too and look forward to his books but this one got a ho hum review from the local paper. Give us your opinion after reading it, Thanks IR

Hi Irish,

I will.

I started it tonight and at first I thought I would not get hooked like I usually do with Carl. I think that was probably because I harbor such disgust for those stupid starlets who booze, pill-pop, puke, and melt down their way into the headlines. (I finally ditched MSN as my opening page because somebody who works there decided that's the kind of stuff that needed to be front and center every day because I, the reader, must surely be a moron.) But I digress....back to the book now.....

The first chapter was like what we see paraded every day in reality. Those bimbos are walking-talking-breathing satires on themselves so when Carl introduces the character who is one, I guess it might not have been easy for him to pick up that edge that makes perfect satire.

But I understood and I forgave Carl and read on.

And I soon found that Carl deserved my forgiveness because Skink shows up early in the book.

Here's Skink.......

"The stranger had to be well into his sixties, with crinkled skin as brown as cured leather. He had one gleaming eye and a cracked fake that sat somewhat at odds with the form of its socket. On his bald pate he wore a flimsy diaphanous shower cap from which protruded two silvery braids, each strung with red and green shotgun shells"........

All us Carl fans know Skink. The ex-governor of Florida who lives in the swamp and eats roadkill. And has a way of making some things....well....making some things right.

So anyway, I am ready to start Chapter 6 now.

Boomer

[uujudy]

Boomer, I saw Carl (may I also call him Carl?) on the Today Show. I was surprised that he was sooooo much cuter on television than he is on the book jacket. Don't think I ever saw him on TV before. I'm sure I would have remembered if I had.

[Boomer]

Hi uuj,

Of course, you may call him Carl. I agree that he is much cuter on television than in his picture on the cover. Even though he is old enough to live in The Villages, my daughter Boomette has a thing for him, too.

This time Al Roker got the interview, but Boomette told me that she has seen interviews of him done by women. I think it was.Katie Couric, a few years back, who Boomette said was reduced to sideways smiles, actual giggles, and that giveaway of all giveaways, the hair flip. So in person, Carl must have quite the effect to make those seasoned interviewers act like they are in high school and the cute guy in class asks if he can borrow a pencil.

And, btw, the interview is in that link I put here in the first post. The link is updating. There was one on Morning Joe that showed up on the site, too. I watched it there and it sure sounds to me like the woman in on the interview started talking with an extra little lilt in her voice.

Hey, maybe we should be talking about this in the Girl Talk thread.

Boomer

[uujudy]

Yes, Boomer. We should definitely move the discussion about Cutie Carl over to the Girl Talk thread. I can understand why they chose Al Roker to do the interview. He's also a published author (do cookbooks count?) and probably impervious to Carl's charms. Why, I almost did a hair flip in my own living room just watching the interview. Girl Talk. Definitely.

[BritParrothead]

Fantastic!! Will have to order from Amazon, as I dont think U.K. bookshops will have it for a while, and even if they do get it, it will cost a fortune, compared to US prices

Originally Posted by BritParrothead

Fantastic!! Will have to order from Amazon, as I dont think U.K. bookshops will have it for a while, and even if they do get it, it will cost a fortune, compared to US prices

I have got several books from the Book Depository in the U.K. These were books that are rather hard to find in the U.S. The Book Depository offers free shipping to many countries. It looks like they will have Carl Hiaasen's latest and it has a small discount (11% off) when bought from the U.K. Quite a deeper discount (39 % off) when bought from the U.S. though.

[Boomer]

I'm still reading. Still liking it. I really want to sit down and just finish it, but can't right now.

Skink has already administered some of that justice he is known for. Skink's friend Jim shows up on his Harley to sweep up, as usual. Jim is there to pick up Ann who has just spent a little time with Skink. (Ann is a character we like and who is getting past having helped Skink get even with somebody who deserved it.)

Jim gives Ann a phone number to use if ever she really needs help. Ann says that Skink is a lunatic and she never wants to see him again.

Jim tells Ann, "He's got a bad temper and a long memory, but he's completely sane." He then says, "My advice, don't use that phone number unless you're absolutely out of options." (If I were an English major, I would say that is an example of the writer using foreshadowing.) When Skink appeared so early in the book, I thought maybe he was there just for those few pages. But now, I think it looks like he will be back. Well.....if I know foreshadowing when I see it.



Boomer

(Judy, when I read that line here about how you almost did the hair flip right in your own living room, I laughed out loud. I completely understood.)

[uujudy]

Originally Posted by Boomer

I'm still reading. Still liking it. I really want to sit down and just finish it, but can't right now.. . . Well.....if I know foreshadowing when I see it.



Boomer

(Judy, when I read that line here about how you almost did the hair flip right in your own living room, I laughed out loud. I completely understood.)

Originally Posted by Boomer

the interview is in that link I put here in the first post. The link is updating. There was one on Morning Joe that showed up on the site, too. I watched it there and it sure sounds to me like the woman in on the interview started talking with an extra little lilt in her voice.

Hey, maybe we should be talking about this in the Girl Talk thread.

Boomer

OMG! LOL! I went back to your link and watched the Morning Joe video. It was hilarious. The interviewer didn't, exactly, do the hair flip, but she certainly dominated the interview. It was as if she and Carl were the only people in the room. Lilting voice and giggles galore! I'm secretly embarrassed to say that I would have done the same thing...

[Boomer]

I finished Star Island.

Carl still has his touch with dialogue. He can whammy punch with dialogue and dialogue is what moves a story along for me.

I must say that I thought the book had some slow spots. It’s a little thick in the middle. (But hey, so am I these days.) Bottom line though - - I liked it. I am glad to see Carl back to adult fiction.

As far as I know, only two of Carl’s books have been made into movies. One kids’ book, Hoot. And one of his early books for adults, Strip Tease.

As I was reading Star Island, I could picture it as a movie. But although the book is a satire on the present day, pathetic obsession with empty celebrities, a certain percentage of the audience might not consider a movie version to be a satire. They might call it a documentary.

Boomer