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By KIM HARMON

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Full Text:

(Christmas gift book ideas-mystery, suspense, sports, etc, 12/15/95)

If You Aren't All Booked Up For The Holidays...

(with book covers)

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - one Stephen King,

and a Koontz in a pa-a-per-back. On the third day of Christmas my true love

gave to me...

By Kim J. Harmon

I'm thinking maybe someone at Barnes and Noble should re-write the lyrics to

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" and play it out over the speakers in their

stores in some hideous version of Muzak.

Sales would jump, skyrocket... explode.

But if the store won't at least point you in the right direction when it comes

to shopping for that reader on your list, then following the exercise should

provide the most help.

Ten days left, you know... and counting.

Suspense...

Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (TOR Books, $6.99) - Chilling. An

ancient creature, found in the deepest parts of the Amazon basin, is brought

back to New York. Brings to mind Horror of the Wax Museum and Stephen King's

short story, The Crate. Exceptional.

Kiss The Girls by James Patterson (Warner Books, $6.99) - Serial killer stuff,

but a lot sleeker and a lot meaner than the normal, tepid cookie-cutter junk.

A bit of a shock at the end, too.

Mucho Mojo by Joe R. Lansdale (Mysterious Press, $5.99) - Gritty, a white man

tries to clear a dead black man's name in a world that doesn't care. Shocking,

at times, but right at the heart of truth.

A Simple Plan by Scott Smith (St. Martins, $5.99) - A stash of loot, a downed

plane, and a dead pilot. How can four people take the money and hide it, while

holding on to their sanity... and their lives?

Imperfect Strangers by Stuart Woods (Harper Collins, $6.50) - Hitchcockian

thriller... exceedingly simplified but very effective. Bubble-gum stuff, but

popular reading.

Mysteries...

Armadillos and Old Lace by Kinky Friedman (Bantam, $5.50) - Unusual, hip, as

weird as mixing cappuccino with cowboy boots, but a very funny New York

mystery.

There Was A Little Girl by Ed McBain (Warner Books, $6.50) - A cut above the

usual lawyer/detective novels. Matthew Hope needs the help of his friends to

solve a bizarre Florida mystery with animals and circus freaks.

Walking Shadow by Robert B. Parker (Berkley, $5.99) - An actor shot dead on

stage leads Spenser back into the underbelly of Boston. Great stuff.

Baby, Would I Lie? by Donald Westlake (Mysterious Press, $5.99) - A

country-western mystery, as bizarre - but hilarious - as anything Westlake has

written. And that includes the Dortmunder series.

Science Fiction...

Death Dream by Ben Bova (Bantam, $5.99) - Uncomfortably similar, in idea, to

Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, but Bova transforms it with concepts that

are shockingly possible... a virtual reality theme park that suddenly goes

haywire.

The Hammer of God by Arthur C. Clarke (Bantam, $5.99) - An asteroid hurtling

towards the Earth brings together a life-and-death mission to save humanity.

The War Minstrels by Karen Haber (DAW, $4.99) - An empath on the run, this

story lives on its emotion and its characters more than its science (whatever

there is of it).

Leige-Killer by Christopher Hinz (TOR, $5.99) - Most of the military, battle

sci-fi stuff can't get as good as this... the first in the Paratwa War series.

Thrilling.

Fantasy...

Dragon Sleeping by Craig Shaw Gardner (Ace, $5.99) - An author known for his

sci-fi comic spoofing gets serious with an exceptional cross-worlds fantasy of

a dragon and a boy.

The Paradise War by Stephen Lawhead (AvonNova, $4.99) - A man with no

direction finds himself in a world where he becomes a hero. The first of the

Song of Albion series. Riveting.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (TOR, $5.99) - The absolute best in

contemporary fantasy, the tale of a boy who would be the savior of humanity on

his path towards the ultimate battle with The Dark One. The Eye is the first

in a six-book (at present) series called The Wheel of Time.

Horror...

Deadrush by Yvonne Navarro (Bantam, $5.99) - The newest, shocking look at the

zombie myth... people who live off death. Somewhat lurid, but very scary.

The Children's Hour by Douglas Clegg (Dell Publishing, $5.50) - Clegg knows

how to get at the heart of fear. A dark presence, called The Angel, leads the

children to The Hour.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (TOR, $4.99) - A short-story collection,

featuring the story that inspired The Omega Man, the post-apocalyptic movie

starring Charleton Heston. Horror as it was meant to be, but will never be

again.

Sports...

Banana Bats and Ding-Dong Balls by Dan Gutman (MacMillan, $11.95) - If you

want to find out about mystery mud, the first seamless baseball, the inventor

of the JUGS gun, and the first catcher's mitt - among other baseball oddities

- this is the ticket.

Scouting Reports by Stan Hart (MacMillan, $12.95) - Find out what the scouts

thought of players like Willie Mays, Paul Molitor, Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken

before they became major league baseball stars.

One Pitch Away by Mike Sowell (MacMillan, $19.95) - Step back almost ten years

to what many consider the two most riveting playoff series (Angels-Red Sox,

Mets-Astros) in baseball history.

Literature...

Treasure Island by Justin Scott (St. Martin's, $19.95) - A modern re-telling

of the Robert Louis Stevenson's classic about a young boy's adventure to find

pirate treasure. Sleek, very thrilling.

Comic...

It's Obvious You Won't Survive By Your Wits Alone by Scott Adams (Andrews &

McMeel, $12.95) - If you are not hooked up to the Internet, it's time to meet

Dilbert and Dogbert, the two most popular comic characters in cyberspace.

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat by Bill Watterson (Andrews & McMeel, $12.95) -

Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes is more than a comic, it's a look back at all of

our childhoods. Enjoy the look now, because it's all over this year.

Westerns...

Journal of the Gun Years by Richard Matheson (Berkley, $4.50) - A gunslinger

looks back on his life. Human, real and riveting. Check out, also, Shadow of

the Sun, where Matheson brings in some elements of horror.

The Trail To Seven Pines by Louis L'Amour (Bantam, $4.99) - Typical western,

the first in a series of tales of Hopalong Cassidy. Has all the cliches, but

that's okay... after all, L'Amour created them.

Top Of The Mountain

Ambulance Association Trustees Present Financial Awards To EMT College Students

FONS January Social Plans Announced

Youth Cheerleaders Compete In National Championship

BOE Listens To Next Generation Accountability Report

My darling, You were the best GRANDmother a child could ask for. You created so many great memories & traditions that I have passed down to your Great grandchildren. You brought joy into every room you stepped into. Your laughter, singing, whistling and the signature Rockettes high kicks, is something I will always hold in my heart. There was something about walking into your home and being greeted by your beautiful face. *kiss on each check* followed by HELLOOOOOO Darling! The classical music playing softly in the background and your love and comfort made your home, a safe space. Somewhere, where love knew no boundaries. It was so much more than a home. I aim for the same in my home, and play the classic music 24/7, but it will never be the same. I pray I can be 1/4 of GRAND, you put in GRANDmother. You were so resilient. You found the positive in every situation. I look up to you so much. I remember begging Mom and Dad for years to change my name to “Carmen”. They didn’t officially change my name, but eventually started calling me “Carmenita” as I am a little you. THE HONOR. You were there for me, no matter the day or hour. You were always the one who would talk me through whatever hard situation I was going through. When my baby passed away, I refused to talk to anyone for 3 weeks. Except for you. You said to me “Better days are coming, babes. There’s always a rainbow after the storm”. Of course, you were right, because you are GRAND. I picture you in heaven dancing and laughing with him. Uncle Jay playing the money game with him. To know you are with your children again & with mine does bring me some joy. Twas the night before Christmas & New Year’s Eve, will never be the same. Another tradition you created. A memory that will last forever. Not just with me, but for generations to come. It may not be the same, but we won’t let it die. It will live on, in your name. To be your first GRANDchild was a blessing. I could write an entire book about you & all the amazing things about you. Even though we were robbed of time together & it makes me angry, I know I will see you again. This isn’t a goodbye, but a “see you later”. Just like we ended every phone call. Ciao, darling. I love you. MWAH MWAH! Love your GRANDchild, Kimberly aka Carmenita

Carmen Accashian

Unfortunately, I think this is likely to get worse, not better... Based on both public comments and private conversations, I’m increasingly concerned that our newly elected First Selectman intends not just to install these cameras, but to expand their use for full-blown enforcement and fines. Try getting a straight answer out of him about the long-term plan and you quickly realize how vague the responses become. Tyler is absolutely right to raise the privacy issue. These systems don’t just “catch speeders” — they quietly build a database of where we drive, when we drive, and who is in our vehicles. Once that infrastructure is in place, it becomes very easy to justify expanding its scope: more cameras, more locations, more uses, and eventually more automated enforcement. If Newtown is going down this road, residents deserve clear, written answers to some basic questions before anything is expanded: What limits will be placed on how and where cameras are used? Will footage and plate data be used only for speed enforcement, or for other investigations too? How long will data be stored, and who can access it? What safeguards will prevent vendors and individuals from abusing this information? Without firm, enforceable rules in place, “just a few cameras to slow traffic” can turn into something very different over time. I support safe roads — but not at the cost of unchecked surveillance and vague promises from our leaders. You try getting straight answers out of our First Selectman, myself and others have not been able to...

Discusses Traffic Cameras

I had to hold back a laugh at the idea that 7:30 pm is apparently such a late-night hardship that we’re already talking about moving meetings earlier. For a lot of residents, 7:30 is the earliest they can realistically get to Town Hall after work, family obligations, and the rest of real life. Shifting BOS meetings to 7:00 might make the calendar look tidier for those in the building, but it makes participation harder for the people who pay for the building. If the new First Selectman’s week is already booked solid and evening meetings feel like a strain, that’s not a reason to move the goalposts on public access—it's a reminder that the job is supposed to be demanding. Public service means accommodating the public, even when it’s inconvenient.

Walczak Adjusts To New Role, First Board Meeting

Real people were just in a frightening car accident. To immediately frame their misfortune as rhetorical ammunition against new housing — affordable housing included — feels less like concern for “health and safety” and more like opportunistically using a scary moment to support a pre-existing position. If we’re going to debate this proposal, we should do it honestly: with data on traffic volume, accident history, engineering recommendations, and the town’s housing needs, not by seizing on a single crash as proof that 300 apartments are inherently unsafe. Newtown deserves a thoughtful, fact-based conversation about growth, safety, and affordability — one that doesn’t turn other people’s bad day into a political talking point.

How Many Accidents Will It Take?

To add context that did not occur at the meeting would not be an accurate representation of the meeting and would, in fact, be editorializing to shape public opinion. The editorial staff here do not consider ourselves to be final arbiters of what the truth is (and if we did, it would make us partisan and biased), and we would need to provide a source for any dissenting information (sourcing all information in an article is literally Journalism 101). There were no such sources present at the meeting in question, and so it would not be appropriate to include such information in an article about the meeting. Dissenting voices appear in meeting stories when there were active participants with dissenting opinions, such as during public participation or the words of a council member who disagreed. It should be noted that the Interfaith Council, like many local boards and commissions, conduct meetings that are open to the public. This was not an article on the actions of the Greater Danbury Area Unites for Immigrants, or on immigrants, or on ICE's actions in the community, where including other voices or perspectives would be appropriate. We appreciate your opinion, but we stand by our meeting coverage and consider this discussion closed.

NIC Speaks With Danbury Unites For Immigrants, Discusses 12/14 Service

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