About raptnrent: I got the name from my keys - R Apt and R Ent for the back door to my apartment and the back door to the house. I liked that they were also words: Rapt, meaning enthralled, riveted, captivated, and Rent, meaning torn asunder, violently wrenched. I thought it made for an interesting juxtaposition, open to all kinds of interpretations.
Tag Archives: hardboiled
Ellroy
My introduction to the work of James Ellroy was White Jazz. I was browsing the crime/mystery section in the public library and the typography on the spine caught my eye. The jacket and flap copy made it sound intriguing so … Continue reading
What does he get out of this?
Good question. I’m doing this totally for fun. I love hardboiled detective stories and film noir – it’s something I’ve been into for more than twenty years. But if I wasn’t playing along with this course, my only reading would … Continue reading
Those were different times
Looking at the popular reception of some of these books back when they were published is kind of fun in a way because it sometimes shows them in a different light. We look at Mildred Pierce and see a hardworking … Continue reading
Paretsky
I had never heard of Sara Paretsky before. I knew of V.I. Warshawski from the title of a movie I never bothered to watch. The 1980’s, from whence Indemnity Only comes, seems to me to be pretty far removed from the … Continue reading
Don’t mess with Shaft
If there’s one thing I like as much as noir, it’s blaxploitation films. Cotton Comes to Harlem was one I hadn’t seen before I found it on Youtube last week. The novel had funny moments, but the movie seemed to really … Continue reading
Who are you and how did you get in here?
Sometimes when I listen in on the hardboiled class, I hear people ask, “Who is that guy?” I probably should have done some sort of introductory post a long time ago, but I’m so used to shooting my mouth off … Continue reading
Parental Warning: Explicit Language
One thing that jumps out at me about Cotton Comes to Harlem is all the mother-raping profanity. I’m assuming Himes had to put it that way because he couldn’t get away with the F-bomb. Or maybe the publisher changed it … Continue reading
Coffin & Grave
So it’s the week of Halloween, and we’re reading a book starring Coffin Ed and Grave Digger. Funny how that worked out. I thought I’d take a look at Chester Himes to find out what he’s about. From his biography, it … Continue reading
Stranger thoughts
I tuned into radio ds106 last night for the hardboiled class, but the ds106ers were using it instead. Too bad – I wanted to hear what people had to say about Strangers on a Train. One thing that caught my … Continue reading
A to G
Interlibrary loan is a wonderful thing… when it works right. I put in a request for Strangers on a Train almost two weeks ago, and it just came in yesterday afternoon. While I was wondering if it would show up in … Continue reading