Grifters, though.  There's always Grifters.

Use the salty taste of pure spite.

No, not the first one.  As I said, I read them in order and watched his writing develop.
Somewhere in the 6-10 area, I think.

I can think of a couple of reasons, but have you read Tree of Hands?  It's a good one.

I've been waiting for this piece since I heard her on the news this morning, and O'Neal waits till I put the computer to sleep and go outside to post it.  This is unfair. 
I waited—I WAITED ALL MORNING FOR THIS!!!!!!
So, who's got the rock concession?

No mention of Ruth Rendell?  She hasn't died, has she?

Off the point, but is anyone else eagerly waiting for O'Neal's reaction to Paula Deen's Today show interview, in which she begs people to throw rocks at her head and kill her?

Have you tried the Socrates Fortlow books?  I've read one and I think it's better than the Easy Rawlins novels I've read.

Same thing happened to me with reading on my 20-minute lunch break.  It was a paper company, and they objected to reading, I guess.  They let me go unexpectedly, but my god I hated working there.  

Well, there's Andy Dick.

Once I xeroxed the first 3 or 4 pages of Handcarved Coffins and passed them out to my classes.  I let the kids read the handouts, and when they looked up in anger and frustration, I told them the name of the book and said it was in the library if anyone wanted to read more.
Gotta do something to get them to read.
Oh,…

I read Quincunx not long after it came out.  Clever, but the man did a lot of research about the period and he seems compelled to incorporate all of it in the novel.

Years ago, a Congressman's staff member called the Library of Congress to find out what Lincoln did after leaving the presidency.  Yes, really—this is a true story.
The librarian who took the call paused, then said, "He took a long train ride home."
Lovely presence of mind, I think.

BBC Radio had a series of Milligan, I want to say he was reading his own stuff but maybe it was Bob Monkhouse?  Funny stuff, though.  I'm waiting for it to come back so I can record it.

The same people who were flabbergasted by Police Squad, no doubt.

Ah, Richard Jury.  The first 5 or 6 are good, then they slacken up to 10, after which there's a real downhill slide.  Her worst for me is The Grave Maurice, which is a horse racing-based mystery which shows a near total lack of knowledge of horse racing.  Really godawful, and it made me question quite a bit of her…

In 2000, Bush wasn't elected, you'll recall.  He was installed by the Supreme Court after an election that was, at best, questionable in states like Florida.
In 2004, I can't shake the "you made the mess—you clean it up" idea that he was elected as retaliation.
On the other hand, the US population reflects the bell…

Perhaps everyone in the Texas state legislature should be sent a copy.

It's a good thing that there's nothing worth reading that's over 20 years old.

Glad to hear this.  Because of someone here's recommendation, I bought a bulk lot or two and got almost all the Rebus novels as well as three other Rankin novels. 
I read the Rebus in order, and it was quite entertaining to see how Rankin developed as a writer, including one (don't remember which) that was plagued by…