Double Nickels

[doublenickelsbook]

Thank you! I'm so glad you like it so far!

And thanks for the recommendations. I have been meaning to read The Motel Life forever, but I hadn't heard of Winter in the Blood. I checked it out last night--it looks great.

[mudbacktodirt]

I have finished the book and really enjoyed it. It's amazing that you were able to put it together so quickly. I wonder if you had some of the ideas worked out in your head first and then poured it onto the page.

I watch some YouTube book reviews sometimes and some are really good at explaining what they like about books they have read (Better Than Food is a good channel). I'm not sure how to do that very well myself though. But, I'd say it was well plotted and well paced. It switches back and forth between present day and the past quite well (which probably isn't that easy to pull off). The mixing in of musical references is something that I liked as well. One author that's good at doing that is George Pelecanos. He'll tell you what the character is listening to (and it works well if I know the music he is referring to).

I enjoyed the books I recently read by James Welch. I heard of him through an interview with Willy Vlautin. I think I preferred The Death of Jim Loney to Winter in the Blood (even though Winter seems to be better known - it might just be a matter of which I read first). Winter also has a similar plot point with a brother that's mentioned early on but doesn't seem to be there in present day. I'd think a lot of books that don't follow a strictly linear timeline have something like that though.

Winter in the Blood was also turned into a movie (which was uploaded onto YouTube in its entirety). That was interesting. I think yours would make an interesting movie as well if it got the right people behind it and doing it. It was something that I could really visualize quite well.

Back to Willy . . . Willy Vlautin has some good books as well (The Motel Life, Northline, and The Free being my favorites of his). The Motel Life was turned into a movie as well. It was OK as a movie but not great. Hopefully, he'll have a new book soon.

Once again - two thumbs up for the book. I don't have much of a social media presence and am probably not much good for giving advice on how to get it to a wider audience. I'll scratch my head a little bit and think about it. There are both musical online communities (like this one) and literary ones (haven't found much but I know they're out there). I'll let you know if I come up with any more thoughts or observations on this.

[doublenickelsbook]

Thank you so much. And yes, I did have it very worked out--I lived with the story for quite a while, and I also had it all plotted out, pretty much. That helped with the writing a lot.

I am so glad you liked it. Thank you for buying it and reading it and taking so much time to give such a thoughtful and thoughtfilled review. I truly appreciate it all. And thank you for the great recommendations!

[mudbacktodirt]

Well, I mentioned it and gave it a positive review on the Better Than Food message board on Discord. I don't go to that board often. I think you have to be a member through the Patreon channel for Better Than Food to get access.

Online communities for books are tough since you have to be reading the same thing to have something to discuss. I haven't found ones that I can get interested in the way I have for music or sports. Maybe someone will see it there and give it a shot (and tell more people about it themselves).

[doublenickelsbook]

Thank you for sharing it! That's such a cool thing to do and I am sure it will help.

If any members here wanted to start a book club to read it, I'd be happy to help make it happen.

[mudbacktodirt]

I'm up for anything. Not a ton of traffic here though currently (maybe if Paul would release some material we'd get some more people here). There are supposed to be some pretty good Replacements sites on Facebook as well (not on Facebook myself though). I think there are a variety of avenues to get discussions going on your book and other books as well with like-minded folks.

[doublenickelsbook]

Hey all, just wanted to let people know that Parnassus Books in Nashville, an amazing independent bookstore owned by the author Ann Patchett, is now carrying Double Nickels, and they have signed copies in stock and ready to ship. If you were thinking about getting a copy, this is a great place to get it. Thanks everyone for the kindness and support!

www.parnassusbooks.net/book/9781735482323

[mudbacktodirt]

Cool, I'm glad you were able to get that added boost. It may take a while to get the word out in this modern world but it's cool you got it out there and are making headway.

[doublenickelsbook]

Thank you MB2D! I really appreciate all your support!

[mudbacktodirt]

Happy New Year! Thanks for the good read. I hope all is well.

I'm creeping closer to 100 posts. I wonder if I get a prize. Probably not. I'll just climb out of the Dances with Posts category. This is #97. Maybe I'll come up with three more today to get there.

[doublenickelsbook]

Thank you! Way to hit the ton!

[bombpop]

Hey all,
I haven't been on here in a while! Nice to be back. Just wanted to bump this thread. If you haven't checked out Double Nickels yet, you really should. It's a great, great read!

[mudbacktodirt]

I'll bump this thread too. I was at Music Millennium in Portland tonight. When I brought my purchase to the register, just to the left of where I plopped my stuff on the counter was Double Nickels for sale. They had two copies of it right there.

I had been there about a week ago. I don't recall seeing it then (unless I'm a total space cadet and missed it when it would have been right in front of my face).

Anyway, not sure if the author of Double Nickels still checks in. But, I thought I'd mention that I had seen it for sale at what I would call Portland's top record store. Not just for sale but prominently featured.

I enjoyed the book myself. If you like the Replacements and books where music plays a prominent role, then give it a try.

[Hagbard]

I really enjoyed the book too. It’s been a while since I’ve read it but I found it really touching.

[mudbacktodirt]

Bumping this back up . . . I found a brief interview with the author of Double Nickels here:

www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2021/12/of-mice-and-minutemen-a-discussion-with-ari-surdoval-about-his-debut-novel-double-nickels