as i was enjoying the company of my extended family, we began
discussing the books we were reading. to my dismay but not
surprise, i didn't care much about the books the ladies were
reading. i can't name a single nicholas sparks' character.
the men, however, were reading all my favorite living authors.
we were soon debating which hollywood actor could possibly
fill the shoes of mitch rapp, vince flynn's action hero. daniel
craig was my favorite, brad pitt being too feminine, george
clooney too not sean connery, and liam neeson a little too big.
while we were extolling the amazing feats of mitch rapp, i was
secretly thinking about jack reacher, lee child's giant hearted and
sized protagonist. liam neeson, of course!
i have learned a great deal from jack reacher. as my family was
elevating the eiffel tower, i whispered the "12 ways to identify a
terrorist." i also know now that it is better to "say nothing," and
if you have to fight more than one bad guy at a time, "identify the
ringleader, the one who does all the talking. hit him first and
hard. the others will think twice."
i have learned a great deal from jack reacher. as my family was
elevating the eiffel tower, i whispered the "12 ways to identify a
terrorist." i also know now that it is better to "say nothing," and
if you have to fight more than one bad guy at a time, "identify the
ringleader, the one who does all the talking. hit him first and
hard. the others will think twice."
if you're worried that i am fantasizing about a fictional hero, you
are dead wrong. i want to BE him.
what did you say???
love,
lea
"be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord thy God is with you." joshua 1:9
37 comments:
Well too funny...and shows how much I know, I don't read like a man or woman from this definition...LOL
Glad you all had such a wonderful time...as for a super hero...I just look around me!
Keep having a wonderful summer!!
janette: YOU are a super hero!
"brad pitt being too feminine, george clooney too not sean connery"
LOL to the first part. I've thought this for so long! what is that man's appeal? I don't get it.
Amen to the second part! No one, and I mean NO ONE can replace Mr. Connery in my opinion. :)
meg: great minds think alike.
Too funny! You do read like a man! Hope all is well with you, my friend! Carla
Well, I know Jack Reacher pretty well (although I don't think it would hurt him to carry a toothbrush and an extra pair of undies!), now must check out the other guy!
Although I haven't read the books you mentioned, I find myself slightly bored when "ladies' books" are discussed. Give me a great action / mystery, some science fiction, and lots of "how-tos".
I also prefer to discuss theology and Bible interpretations with the men.I enjoyed this post.
Interesting, I never thought of it that way. I guess I read the whole lot from Barbara Cartland, Agatha Christie via Hemmingway, Steinbeck to Graham Greene, Morris West, Roald Dahl, Carl Hiaasen, Virginia Wolfe, John grisham, all the "new" American crime novelists and 50 splendid Norwegian authors you'll never know of. Then there's Shakespeare, John Donne and above all; the Bible.
Friday July 22nd we learned the super heroes are ordinary people with ordinary backgrounds who just grow into supermen and women within seconds. Those are my new role models.
Lost on me ... I don't know any of the characters. Maybe I read the ladies books ... actually I don't have time to read any at the moment.
I love Mitch Rapp & Jack Reacher. You should also read W.E.B Griffin, The Presidential Agent series. Charlie Castillo is amazing. I really feel we need men like this in our world. It would be a much better place.
I'm usually a reader, not so much this summer. I do agree with your character lists and their traits...
B.Pitt is not my guy either! Sean Connery?... even my daughter thinks he is king kong!
I can tell you're having a good summer. :)
xo
thanks, lana and felisol, for some new
authors to enjoy!
Well Lea, I have never heard of your favorite. How can that be? Now I am curious. Not a George or Brad fan either and I think Sean is amazing. I always have.
I always like lots of guns and people who know how to use them. :)OH and bomb making, real plus. :)
Oh no Lea! You're one of THEM! LOL!
You may read like a man, but you are all lady at heart! I have been enjoying reading again this summer too. My genre....a little bit lady...a litte bit man.
I have no earthly idea what you're talking about. Noah is my hero. ☺
What a great way to converse with the guys in the family, though. I'm sure that you connect in other ways with the gals.
vee: i never have any earthly idea what
i'm talking about.
I know of those you speak of only
because my sweet husband reads
all those books and talks to me
about the characters, the plots.
I tend to only read non-fiction
while he reads only fiction,
except the Bible, of course. I
agree that nobody does it better
than Mr. Connery, and Liam is
wonderful as well. The other
guys...nah.
sandy: you just proved my point!
well if he gets your seal of approval, then i need to find out who he is. :)
My husband has read all of the Jack Reacher novels. I haven't read one. I guess I should give it a shot!
Our mountain pictures were taken in the San Juan Mtns in southwest Colorado. We took a Jeep trail from just west of Ridgway to Telluride. What a beautiful place!
Hi Lea,
I'm not sure "who" I read like because my choices in reading (indeed a lot of things) are wildly eclectic. I once had a teaching assistant in our home. He looked at my music and books and said: "I can't tell from all you have here what genre you like." For fiction right now, I'm enjoying Philip K. Dick and J. G. Ballard. For poetry I'm reading Mary Oliver and Ted Kooser. My favorite graphic novel is Alan Moore's The Watchmen. My next fiction will be Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, which I haven't read since I was a kid. I just bought a wonderful edition with illustrations by the incomparable Berni Wrightson. Meanwhile, I read constantly in my field, the history of missions and am working on a paper for publication.
All the best.
Ruben
Liam would be PERFECT for Jack Reacher!! Isn't he the coolest character? How interesting life would be if you bought new jeans every time you needed to change your clothes....and threw the old ones away!
What do you think of Richard Gere playing Lucas Davenport (John Sandford's character)?
pj: i have never read sandfor. thanks for
the recommendation!
No apology necessary. I enjoyed your post; I was just remarking that I find myself a bit hard to categorize because my tastes in reading, music, movies, art, etc., are so diverse.
I think your blog myletterstoemily is fantastic. I have another blog called Heavenly Minded & Earthly Good
http://heavenlymindedandearthlygood.blogspot.com/
Unlike Rattus Scribus, which is devoted to humor, Heavenly Minded & Earthly Good deals with serious issues from the point of view of living Christian faith. Your blog has been a good model for me and has helped me to get a better feel for what I'm supposed to be doing.
Blessings
Ruben (aka Rattus Springseem, lol)
This post reminds me of the Henry David Thoreau quote, "Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all."
So many books...so little time.
I'm not a reader of strictly chic lit either, but I don't read the type books you mentioned either. My m.o. used to be biograhies and non-fiction, until I forced myself to read more fiction by joining a book club. I seem to appreciate most of the books we chose, although, when it's one that I don't like, I do feel that I could be reading one of "the best books."
I once read a Danielle Steele book to see what all the hoop-la was about. Not bad, but won't read another.
I suppose "the best books" vary; having a different meaning for each individual reader.
Currently, I'm reading "The Prince of Tides."
Enjoyed your visit to my blog. :)
Brad Pitt would be my choice. I don't think he's feminine at all. I think there's a certain vulnerability about him - I like that in a guy.
I'm at that time of year when I'm re-reading the Bible. I'm at Romans at the moment, but I'm still giving the kids questions about John. They're finishing up the gospel studies.
Too funny! I like reading "men" books ... and just learned about Jack Reacher this past year. I'm not sure I imagined Liam Neeson though!!! Have you read Nelson DeMille? I'm in love with his John Corey character. Those are good "men" books that I'd recommend if you haven't read them already.
By the way, I'm just back from vacation and getting caught up with blogs. I'm reading/skimming most of the posts but just leaving everyone one comment or I'll never get caught up. Thanks for understanding.
You are too great for words my friend. xoxoxo
I am laughing hysterically as I am TOTALLY an action hero too! I think I have saved at least 100 people by now, not that they know it... Thanks for the tip about identifying the ringleader, next time I am saving the country, I will keep that in mind...
Kate
PS- I hope you are having the most wonderful summer with your family. Fall sports start soon, but I am trying to fit in some more naps on the hammock, picnics in the meadow and a stack of good books!
Hi Lea.......first of all....I didn't realize you were a male blogger....not that it matters. LOL LOL LOL
I don't read any Nicholas Sparks books...to mushy for my taste.. but I do gravitate towards books with a historical bent and anything with interesting character development.
Jo
This was a fun post to read, even though I have never read the books you mention.
My husband used to say that nobody could ever take the place of Sean Connery. He is an icon that should be left alone as such, and he certainly deserves that position on movie history.
I don't like modern day "chick" books either. But Gone With the Wind and Little Women and Pride and Prejudice... they are classic chick books, aren't they. But they're good.
Enjoyed this post, and esp. the way you ended it.
The Bible verse puts it all in perspective.
Love
Lidj
Hello Leah,
I had some free time to myself today so I wanted to stop by and wish you a beautiful August weekend.
And you have no idea how many times I have thought of this post this last week. I would be putting dishes away and suddenly burst out laughing at the thought that I am not the only one who is secretly saving the world. My husband thinks I am crazy. (I think I just confirmed his suspicions...)
Enjoy August!
Kate
You are too cute...in a strong hero kinda of way. It's funny...because I did a post once about being more like a dude than a lady...meaning I'm not too into girly movies or books...but give me a western or action movie and I'm there.
thinking of you :) praying all is well and same with your sweet ones.
love,
bree
You've named all MY favorites as well; we're in total agreement.
In a departure from my normal reading, I am now reading The Root of Wild Madder by Brian Murphy. "Chasing the history, mystery, and lore of the Persian carpet" and it's a wonderful read.
On the MP3 player is Nelson DeMille's The Lion, another action packed book.
How funny! I too could not tell you any of the Sparks characters but not sure I recongize yours either. lol
I love to read but not into the Sparks thing.
Pilars of the Earth and its sequel were so good that I reread them both about six months apart. Their so heavy my thumbs started hurting. lol
I was catching up with you while I was here and I had to laugh at the post about what movie stars carry in their purses. Too funny...I don't have my own perfume to carry either.
Love
Maggie
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