Sunday, December 28, 2008

Oh, I've Got Your Noir

I said it before, and I'll say it again...of the five bouroughs in New York City, Akashic Books will not make a "Staten Island Noir." There's not to say that Call it a hunch or a gut feeling, but I know that I will be proven right on this one.

We straightened the house out before, during and after Christmas. I properly shelved my books this time, instead of the loose piles that I had in some wide-mesh cubicles and leaning towers of tomes that threatened to avalanche at any moment.



Not depicted but lurking somewhere in the apartment is "Havana Noir." Note the copy of "The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri" at the top of the picture that I have still yet to crack, in either Italian or English.

10 comments:

Joe said...

Why no noir love for Staten Island? Surely it's not too clean for noir?

Thank you, by the way, for reminding me of this publisher. I read "New Orleans Noir" a year or two ago and didn't know they did all these other compilations.

Cup said...

I need to organize my room o' books* to see which noirs I need.




* It's too much of a mess to properly call it a library.

Cormac Brown said...

Bubs,

You'd think that they do more there, than just dump bodies that didn't go to Jersey or the East River, but I don't think that Staten Island has the national cache that the other bouroughs do. To me, "New Orleans" is one of the top three in the series and is certainly the best of them all, in terms of the quality of each the stories from the front page, to the last.

You'll dig "Chicago Noir," and not just because you'll get all the local asides and geographical references.

Beth,

Anne was just talking about how much I need a library, I wish I had a spare bedroom like you.

Shelley Jaffe said...

Dear Neatnik:

I feel great shame at my disheveled bookshelves, buy am now inspired to
tidy up, a la Brown.

And The Divine Comedy? Not as funny as you might think - probably one of those "dude - you had to be there" things...

Cormac Brown said...

Baroness,

"Dear Neatnik"

Oh, so much better than all those "Dear No Goodnik" letters that I'm always getting...

You can leave those books anyway you want, that's what the help is for, Baroness. Let them eat book dust.

I agree with you about the non-comedic aspects of earlier comedies and am constantly amazed how the meaning of that word has changed over the centuries.

Cup said...

There are some bennies to being an old maid.

Cormac Brown said...

Beth,

I wouldn't call you that. Certainly one of the main benefits though, is that you can actually hear yourself think.

Gifted Typist said...

There's a city in Yukon Canada called White Horse. What kinda noir do they have there?

Cormac Brown said...

Gifted,

Serious, there's a town called "Heroin," in Canada?

Bride-In-Need said...

Ha, so wrong! Stay tuned!~