Hee! It's a 'Dear John' letter!

[strangecreature]

Dear John Grisham,

To begin on a light note, if you insist on naming one of your characters 'Hamilton Jaynes', there is no possible way that I won't picture him as Adam Baldwin. Anyway...

Comments

[alizarin_nyc]

I think his books are a disgrace, personally, always have. One time I went to a shoot for the newsmagazine "48 Hours" that was doing "48 Hours" (not really) on the set of Grisham's movie "Time to Kill." We did an interview with him, and my boss (Dan Rather) knew I didn't like his books and so therefore told Grisham, "This is my assistant (my name here), she's a big fan of yours." Grisham was suitably rude for me not to care, but it's a hilarious example of how Dan used to bust my balls.

That's a true story, missy. And to this day, I won't read a single word he writes. (Even though I kept my free copy of "Time to Kill" for posterity.)

Hugh Laurie writes books! I'm reading "The Gun Seller" now, and I'd recommend it to you.

[strangecreature]

Man, I want your job! Not for, uh, the meeting of rude people and vaguely sadistic bosses, but definitely for the stories. *g* (They showed us the big dramatic closing statements scene from that movie when I was in undergrad, but that's all I've ever seen of it. It left me with the sorely mistaken impression that the rest of his stuff would be just as powerful. Tsk.)

Aha! I've actually been looking for that one for some time now, but damned if I can find it in stores up here. I may be compelled to buy it online. (Early Christmas present to self? Excellent excuse, if I do say so myself. *snerk*)

[strangecreature]

*basks in the heart-ness of it all* Hee! Okay, okay, I'll admit to having read a fairly distressing number of Crichton books as well, but his zany plots have dinosaurs and time travel and, uh, deadly diseases that are defeated by... plastic...? Alright, so we just won't mention 'Andromeda Strain'. The best Grisham seems to be able to bring is "And then they drank coffee! And talked! And then they looked at the secretary's legs and sent her out for more coffee!" *facepalm*

[elebridith]

A woman of my heart - I knew it!! In my ten years working in a book store, I could never get the fuss on John Grisham - I tried, oh, three times to finish a book of his, but I just couldn't care. But they sold very well, so... hm, part of my salary... but they were selling without me recommending them, so it was ok:-)

[strangecreature]

Nah, I honestly don't understand the popularity either. I mean, is there actually an audience out there actively seeking out his books, or is it just schmucks like me who keep giving him second chances? X-D Maybe if you had a long plane trip or something coming up... and all the Stephen King and Margaret Atwood books in the world were missing... Nah, I got nothing. *g*

(In other news, I've always loved the idea of working in a bookstore. I kept trying for a job at the little local bookshop for about three years while I was in high school, but it was literally a two-person business and they never needed any extra help. Drat!)

[elebridith]

Come to think of it - yes, there was a Grisham audience, plus the people who buy him as a present because they just heard that he was popular. *closes eyes and resigns*
Was a good time in the book store! Spent waaay too much money on books... oh wait, money spend on books is never wasted! Let's say more money than I could actually afford...:-) but times got tough, my boss died and they had to reduce the staff to keep the shop going. When I got the dismissal, it was a very mixed feeling - on one hand I loved the job to bits, but on the other hand a new woman started working there 1 1/2 years before, and I really, seriously could not get along with her. The things a single person could ruin! Shortly before the dismissal I felt bad enough to consider leaving, luckily it was not my decision. Afterwards I thought it was for good - I moved on to new things. And I still visit my old shop frequently and leave a lot of money there!

[chlare]

I liked his earlier books. The Firm, The Pelican Brief...but really...if you want a cool book about the law, read The Brethren by Bob Woodward. Excellent look at the U.S. Supreme court when there were some really important decisions going on. Which is not related to you lack of love for John Grisham, but I wandered off on my own tangent before admitting that yes, you are right, he is pretty boring and certainly formulaic once he burst into the outer orbit of making loads of dosh overnight.

*ahem* I'm catching up on my flist and it seems to make for rambley comments. :D

[strangecreature]

See, I knew some of his books got turned into damn fine movies, so I was definitely left wondering what the heck went so wrong. (Which is pretty much why I gave the second book a shot in the first place.) Weirdly enough, I went in looking for the Grisham book called The Brethren, and they didn't have it, so I got The Partner instead. Strange little coincidence! I'll have to put that one on my list, despite the utter oddness of the American system. *G*

(And I'm probably not helping the catching-up situation by methodically following you around making replies-to-comments, eh? *snerk*)

[elebridith]

Hah, good thing you tag your entries so good - this was just what I was looking for!
Me and two other women from my local library, we do a book circle for women every first Tuesday of the month, and tomorrow our theme will be "Books that the world really doesn't need". I thought about it while preparing the evening and thought "there was this wonderful open letter to Grisham by Megan... hm, that would fit perfectly!" because you summed up my feelings exactly! So if you don't mind, I'm gonna quote you on the Grisham subject if it fits the discussion - that ok by you? *hopeful look*

[strangecreature]

And yet, ironically, I had to search for a while before I found where I'd hidden this post! ;-D

Ahh, that sounds like fun! And by all means, quote away. I will never understand why this author is so darn popular, honestly.

[elebridith]

Yup, it was fun!! Your letter was a success - everyone approved! *g* And they thought it was very well written, I might add!
I tore apart the "Michelangelo's Notebook" that was also on my book list *g* and we had some neat discussions about the "Zorro" book by Isabel Allende. Was really fun, and I guess we can repeat the motto one day...*g*