Ask Bestselling Author Lawrence Block a Question discussion

It's great to be back to Scudder as he was.

But where can I find audio version for blind friend?

You can get it from recordedbooks.com. I downloaded it for free from my library website.

A Drop of the Hard Stuff is number eight on this week's "The Must List" in Entertainment Weekly.

Buddy wrote: "You can get it from recordedbooks.com. I downloaded it for free from my library website."

Free? Not $77.75? Or does membership get you a deal?

I think he said he got if from his library.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think he said he got if from his library."

But however did he get it into his library for free?

Heniz wrote: "A Drop of the Hard Stuff is number eight on this week's "The Must List" in Entertainment Weekly."

I know. Great, innit?

Bill wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think he said he got if from his library."

But however did he get it into his library for free?"

How does a library get any book?

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Bill wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I think he said he got if from his library."

But however did he get it into his library for free?"

How does a library get any book?"

The Riverside County Public Library in CA has a Netlibrary where you can download any book that they have as long as you have a library card.

Stupid me. A REAL libary. Time I got into that.

Thanks, Alaska!

I was at The Mystery Book Store in Westwood when you said Matt Scudder wouldn't be back. I'm so glad you changed your mind.
I just celebrated 26 years of sobriety and I get so much from reading about Matt Scudder. Thank you. Jim

Jim, thanks. And congratulations on 26 years!

Do you think I can jump into Scudder with this new book not having read the many Scudder books before it? Or is it important to start at the beginning of the series with this character/story?

Eric, a lot of reviewers have made the point that, because this book is set back in time, it's a good place to begin the series.

Perfect, then that is where I will start.

By the way, I saw you speak last year at Columbia University to promote "Stories," and I read "The Specialists" after you said it was like The A-Team before the A-Team existed. So maybe that helps explain why I am new to the Scudder series you've been writing so long.

Mr. Block,

It was a real pleasure to meet you tonight at the signing in Montclair. Although I live in Allentown, PA now, I grew up in that area.

I must say that I'm embarrassed that the refill for the Perma pen http://www.hisnibs.com/artista_perma.htm I gave you turned out to be a dud! Please reply to [email protected] and let me know where I can send a fresh refill to you.

Now that I'm back in PA, I guess it will be a sleepless night...reading 'A Drop of the Hard Stuff'' ! :-)

Regards,

Norman

Mr. Block,
Just wanted to say that Matt Scudder is my favorite of all the the detectives/ continuing characters in literature and I have read a bunch of them. I have been recommending the books to my friends for years telling them as much. When you were plugging the new book on Craig Ferguson, I got so many emails from people telling me you had a new Scudder on the way and I couldn't have be more pumped! Thank you so much for keeping him going. Also, I just learned about "Enough Rope" and tore through the Scudder SHORT STORIES. What a treat! I'm glad I didnt know about them before as it was fun to revisit the Scudder drinking days after so many books of him on the wagon. Just curious Mr Block, who are some of your favorite characters to read from other authors?

I want to echo what Jim said. I am 21 years sober and Scudder has been a wonderful companion on the journey. I thought you captured that first year of sobriety really well in this book.

I was wondering if you could tell a little about how the Buddha quotation entered into the story. It seemed to run underneath everything and led me to reflect on my own interest in--and arguments with--Buddhist thought.

Thanks for creating another Scudder novel for us...dare we ask for another?

Eric, I'm not sure I agree; I think you should start at the beginning of the series. Yes, there are "summaries" of things Matt went through at the beginning of his road, but it is my opinion that you need to feel the character's journey through the beginnings of sobriety to his backslides. The flashback will be more satisfying looking at it from the end of the road. But who am I to differ from the author? lol

Mr. Block, I agree that this was a great story. When I heard you were writing another Scudder book, I wondered what else you could do; it seemed to have reached the end with Matt and Elaine. But it was wonderfully done. I considered buying some Jameson's to drink while reading, but alas, job constraints made that quite impossible.

Concerning my question in message 17...."Just curious Mr Block, who are some of your favorite characters to read from other authors?"
I just read your response to another question that you will not answer such questions.........I can dig it, man.

Rod wrote: "I was wondering if you could tell a little about how the Buddha quotation entered into the story. It seemed to run underneath everything and led me to reflect on my own interest in--and arguments with--Buddhist thought. "

Rod, I rarely know how things get on the page. The process is mysterious, and I'd just as soon keep it that way.

Scudder pulls for the Mets, do you?

On the question of whether "A Drop of the Hard Stuff" is a good "entry point" to Matt Scudder for new readers: I'm a long time recovering drunk myself (and I've been to Matt's Perry St. meeting a few times when in NYC) so I've found the books in the series since Matt got sober the most interesting. I could identify with the destructive rationalizations in "Eight Million Ways to Die" and I still think "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes" to be the gem of the run for its dead-on insights into the mind of the dedicated drinker. Both are also good solid engrossing story telling, besides. And the present work is full of wonderful insights into twelve step experience, as well as being a good tale in its own right. But I passed "Eight Million Ways to Die" on to someone who complained that there was "too much talk about stopping drinking." Granted, the guy in question drinks a wee bit himself and might have been brought uncomfortably too close to home by my gift. But my point is that some people may NOT be as thrilled by the sobriety struggles right off the bat. A new reader might do better getting to know Matt the way I did-- from the beginning, following the natural progression of his life as a backdrop to the (always wonderful) crime plotlines-- from the gitgo. His "putting the plug in the jug" then occurs as a pretty logical development.

To all of y'all,
My gig here was supposed to be from May 28 to June 3, but I started early and have stayed on a few extra days, and while I've enjoyed the ride, it's taking too much time. So I'm signing off as of now. Some of you have friended me here, and I feel friendly toward you, but won't be active on this forum. And those of you who expressed an interest in following my reviews, well, I don't do reviews, so following them, while admittedly tricky, at least wont be time-consuming.

Again, thanks.

LB

FWIW, I read most of the Scudder books in publication order, even though most of them were already on the shelves when I found him. I think that's a good way to read them, because I think (a) you see the progression of a character's growth even though he wasn't necessarily conceived with a particular character arc (progress into sobriety) in mind. And (b) because the author is not a static creator of fictions either -- you see Block get better and better at what he does. (Even if he doesn't self-analyze as much as we might want -- it's like asking Tiger Woods how hard he thinks about golfing. No topical reference intended.) When you read enough Block, early and late, you just see he him systematically developing his craft -- a win-win situation for the readers and the writer.

One last thought—

I wrote afterwords for all my Open Road ebook titles, and they're being gathered together along with other material as AFTERTHOUGHTS; it amounts to a piecemeal memoir of my early writing days, and will be available soon as a 99¢ ebook. Meanwhile, you can read some of the pieces in my Kindle listings. Here's how to find them:

Go to Amazon and then to the Kindle store, search for a title, then scroll down, all the way below the reviews, to Discussions. If I've started a discussion of that title, click on it; if not, try another title. Searching can be problematic; I've found the best way is to search for title, author, and Open Road. Like so: "Warm and Willing Lawrence Block Open Road."

You don't have to buy the book to do this. You don't have to buy the book to participate in the discussion, either (and I hope some of you will be inclined to join in). You don't even have to own a Kindle.

I'll post this on the various topic boards here, in an effort to reach all of the folks Ive chatted with this past month so you may get sick of reading it. But I do want to get the word around. . .