The Modigliani Scandal -- #7 finished

It seems like the only thing I am posting about this month is what I have been reading or just plain reading info.  I guess with it being cold and now snowy, not much else going on.  I have run a couple of times in the last week, but till I get on a more regular schedule that is not really exciting enough to type up.  Anyway, I have finished my 7th book this year--what a start.  I am still working on War & Peace--only 462 pages read so far though, too.

The 7th was The Modigliani Scandal by Ken Follett.  I just bought this book around 3 weeks ago at my used bookstore nearby for one whole dollar.  It had been a while since I had read anything by Follett--Paper Money in 2005 & Man From St Petersburg in 2003 were the last 2 I found on my Books Read lists.  I should probably re-read Eye of the Needle at some point since that was his first book I read and still remember really likeing it--kind of like a Day of the Jackal type book if I remember right.  I think I have another Follett book in my bookcase as well but not sure of the title.

The Modigliani Scandal was actually pretty good.  My expectations weren't that high though either.  He had written it under a pseudonym before he became a popular writer, same as with Paper Money.  Both are good but not outstanding books.  In M Scandal it is about paintings and the artists and forgery.  Some good info in general and interesting scams that went on.  A couple of criticisms I guess would be in a short book, it had a quite a few characters and it at times became hard to figure out who was who.  Also the whole idea where everything conveniently comes together in the end is something just a little too neat for me.  All in all though a good read.  Not sure if I am going to post on PBS though, it is an older copy in good shape still, but I doubt there are many people looking for this book.  I think there are already around 15 copies on the system and can't imagine that many get requested in a year so why bother at this point at least.

Finally, the other news in writing I guess this week was John Updike passing away.  I have read only a couple of his books, Bech: A Book and The Witches of Eastwick.  From what I remember about both is that they were okay.  I do have the complete edition of Bech, so might try to read that one of these times also.  Updike also wrote a sequel to Witches of Eastwick in 2007 or 2008--not sure if I will try to get a copy of this or not.  John Updike was certainly a prolific writer and won several awards during his time.  While his passing is unfortunate, it seems comforting to realize that because of his writing he will long be remembered and enjoyed by many generations of people.