Paperback Warrior Podcast - Episode 60
On Episode 60 of the Paperback Warrior Podcast, we discuss the legacy of the Hard Case Crime paperback imprint with loads of reviews of the good, the bad, and the missteps from the popular publisher. Also, Tom preps for a Dallas book-hunting trip with advice from Eric, and a crazy story from 1987 you won’t believe. Listen on your favorite podcast app, stream below or download directly HERE:
Listen to "Episode 60: Hard Case Crime" on Spreaker.
I gott say, I rarely see a Cool and Lam at used bookstores. I've picked up almost all of mine from ebay and used on amazon.
ReplyDeleteGood episode. I’d been hoping you guys would do one on Hard Case Crime eventually. I’m so thankful to HCC since they were who first introduced me to old timers like Charles Williams, Gil Brewer, and Day Keene. It doesn’t bother me as it does you guys that they’ve switched to trade paperbacks. But boy Tom nailed it with his assessment that HCC’s batting average was much higher early on and that they’re raison d’etre seems to have become primarily to produce slick cover art. (Though I’ve never cared for any of their McGinnis covers) I’d like to see Ardai put more of his own stuff out. His two Aleas books were top notch and his novelization of The Nice Guys film was also quite enjoyable. I was glad you gave some props to King‘s Joyland. I adore that novel. I like The Colorado Kid a little better than y’all seem to though I get that the ending is a hurdle for some people. I don’t think King just fizzled out with its ending though. He’s actually talked about how he was trying to get in that story at the notion that often times mysteries are themselves more interesting than their resolutions. He wrote that book on the heels of a horrible freak accident that nearly killed him. He was very much taken with questions of the seeming randomness of life and existence at that time. In many ways it is a companion piece to From a Buick 8, which preceded it; both play with the idea that life doesn’t always resolve in clear ways like stories do. At any rate, thanks for another enjoyable episode.
ReplyDeleteYou can find some cool and lam around. I got a ‘50s pocket books edition of ‘count of nine’ at value village, and found ‘top of the heap’ with the cover ripped off in one of those little libraries. Both of these have now been reprinted by HCC. I’ve seen them in used bookstores too but passed them over for other things I wanted more.
ReplyDeleteI really don’t like the trade paperbacks either and it definitely affects my likelihood to purchase one of these but I totally get that it’s not really anything in their control. It’s dictated by larger industry and market forces.