Fiction
Fifty-to-One by Charles Ardai. A guy decides to cash in on the pulp fiction market with a mob story by an 18 year old showgirl. Her supposed non-fiction story of a mob hit gets them on the wrong side of the wrong people.
Ardai writes good stuff.
A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer. Judging by the cover this is a Christian romance. Yep. English Gal Emmaline finally goes over to the U.S. after five years away from her fiance. But, will she want to stay on his Kansas sheep farm?
Set by the Solomon River in Kansas in the Northwest corner of Kansas.
Blood Sins by Kay Hooper. FBI agent recruits a young girl to be victim bait for a killer.
NonFiction
No-Man's Land: one man's odyssey through The Odyssey by Scott Huler. Middle-aged guy gets crisis induced philosophical notions of Odysseus and follows his path around the Mediterranean. Huler follows Odysseus' 20 year journey in six months from Troy to Ithaca.
Supposed to be very interesting and entertaining.
In Spite of Myself by Christopher Plummer. Big Secret Revealed: He's Canadian.
The stories of filming Sound of Music are really fun. Or so I've read.
Boxing for Beginners: a guide to competition and fitness by Billy Finegan with Courtney Clark. All the basics of a boxing workout and proper punching, blocking, ducking and slipping.
The Longest Trip Home by John Grogan. Dog guy writes memoir of childhood. Big Secret Revealed: he likes his parents.
Watch You Bleed: the saga of Guns N' Roses by Stephen Davis. You could say this band biography was well-timed to match the recent album release. Or, you could say that Davis lucked out the Chinese Democracy was released at all, let alone near his book's release date.
While on the topic, we have not yet gotten our copy of Chinese Democracy. Neither have the Chinese.
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. "An orphan who fought his way to the pinnacle of power, bending the nation to his will in the cause of democracy." There's a Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy joke in there somewhere. Keep looking, I couldn't find one.
Warlord: a life of Winston Churchill at war, 1874-1945 by Carlo D'Este. This is supposed to be a fantastic biography. That is saying something in a book world crowded by Churchill books.
O's Big Book of Happiness: the best of O, the Oprah Magazine by the editors. Big Secret Revealed: I won't read this.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
What to Read 17
Two books to try.
Bill Mauldin: a life up front by Todd DePastino. Mauldin gained fame as a U.S. Army cartoonist during World War Two and won a Pulitzer prize in 1945, Mauldin continued as an an editorial cartoonist and newspaper columnist and was awarded a second Pulitzer in 1959. Book website is at http://www.billmauldinbiography.com/
Killing Floor by Lee Child. First book in the Jack Reacher series of novels. Reacher is a former military policeman traveling the US who gets involved in various troubles. Lee Child's website.
Bill Mauldin: a life up front by Todd DePastino. Mauldin gained fame as a U.S. Army cartoonist during World War Two and won a Pulitzer prize in 1945, Mauldin continued as an an editorial cartoonist and newspaper columnist and was awarded a second Pulitzer in 1959. Book website is at http://www.billmauldinbiography.com/
Killing Floor by Lee Child. First book in the Jack Reacher series of novels. Reacher is a former military policeman traveling the US who gets involved in various troubles. Lee Child's website.
One Last Item Before Christmas Break
Music CD
Mamma Mia!: the movie soundtrack with [people]. I ended up ordering the "Deluxe Album with Bonus 'Behind the Scenes' DVD" for some reason. It comes with a booklet about the production filled with color photos.
Major chick movie.
EDIT: Pierce Brosnan was obviously hired for his acting ability, not his singing ability. However, Meryl Streep does sing well. Big surprise there, when doesn't she do well at something?
ANOTHER EDIT: I take that back. Streep does okay on some songs but not on others.
Mamma Mia!: the movie soundtrack with [people]. I ended up ordering the "Deluxe Album with Bonus 'Behind the Scenes' DVD" for some reason. It comes with a booklet about the production filled with color photos.
Major chick movie.
EDIT: Pierce Brosnan was obviously hired for his acting ability, not his singing ability. However, Meryl Streep does sing well. Big surprise there, when doesn't she do well at something?
ANOTHER EDIT: I take that back. Streep does okay on some songs but not on others.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Two Comedies
DVD
It's Bad For Ya' by George Carlin. "Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from the March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected children and big business to the pungent examinations of modern language and the 'decrepit state of the American culture.'"
Includes a 1969 appearance on the Jackie Gleason show.
Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly. Two middle-aged losers have to live together and their parents marry and join households. Their stupidity drives the newlyweds apart and the nitwits try to bring them back together. Supposedly funny.
It's Bad For Ya' by George Carlin. "Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from the March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected children and big business to the pungent examinations of modern language and the 'decrepit state of the American culture.'"
Includes a 1969 appearance on the Jackie Gleason show.
Step Brothers starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly. Two middle-aged losers have to live together and their parents marry and join households. Their stupidity drives the newlyweds apart and the nitwits try to bring them back together. Supposedly funny.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
What to Read 16
Rachel the Page recommends two novels: Helen of Troy by Elizabeth George and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Gratuitious Pistol Posing, Jason Bateman, A New AudioBook Vendor
DVD
Hancock starring Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. Super hero turned bum gets a makeover.
This is rated PG-13 so I assume Theron keeps her shirt on in this one.
Traitor starring Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. A former undercover intelligence soldier's loyalty is questioned after a terrorist bombing and a prison break.
TransSiberian starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley. Tourists on the TransSiberian railway are under suspicion after a drug related murder on board the train.
Get Smart starring Steve Carell and other people. Movie version of television show. I have not seen this.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 staring Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively. Young women all share the same pair of pants or something. Looks like they travel to Greece, or Cyprus, or somewhere else in the Mediterranean.
Wanted starring Mrs. Movie Big Shot and others. Young guy is recruited to join a group of assassins and shoot pistols in slow motion.
Tropic Thunder starring Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Nick Nolte Actors filming a war movie in the jungle get into a real shoot-out. I think.
The Mummy: tomb of the Dragon Emperor starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, and Jet Li. Chinese mummy attacks people and gets shot at by tommy-gun wielding guy.
This is also rated PG-13 so Maria Bello must keep her shirt on in this one.
Chaplin starring a bunch of actors. A recent donation. Biopic of Charlie Chaplin.
Gia starring Angelina Jolie. Biopoic of dead model from the 1970's.
For those of you keeping track: this is not rated but I think Jolie does take her shirt off.
Audio Books
I just started buying from Landmark Audiobooks. Here is a new batch.
Cross Country by James Patterson. A vicious killer who has murdered a whole family is followed from D.C. to Nigeria by Detective Alex Cross.
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker. Narrated by Joe Mantegna.
Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz. Rich guy gets heart transplant and is stalked by crazy lady who wants the heart.
Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. A connection between the murder of Superman's creator and the murder of Abel? Listen to the novel and ponder.
Private Patient by P.D. James. A patient in a private clinic in Dorset, England dies at a private surgery clinic. Inspector Dalgliesh investigates and "suspects multiply all too rapidly."
Divine Justice by David Baldacci. Government assassin 'Oliver Stone' is on the run. The same people he worked for have turned on him and Stone relies on his friends to escape.
A Mercy by Toni Morrison. A Dutch trader in 1680 buys a slave girl who looks for love from an older woman and a handsome blacksmith.
Hancock starring Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron. Super hero turned bum gets a makeover.
This is rated PG-13 so I assume Theron keeps her shirt on in this one.
Traitor starring Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. A former undercover intelligence soldier's loyalty is questioned after a terrorist bombing and a prison break.
TransSiberian starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley. Tourists on the TransSiberian railway are under suspicion after a drug related murder on board the train.
Get Smart starring Steve Carell and other people. Movie version of television show. I have not seen this.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 staring Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively. Young women all share the same pair of pants or something. Looks like they travel to Greece, or Cyprus, or somewhere else in the Mediterranean.
Wanted starring Mrs. Movie Big Shot and others. Young guy is recruited to join a group of assassins and shoot pistols in slow motion.
Tropic Thunder starring Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Nick Nolte Actors filming a war movie in the jungle get into a real shoot-out. I think.
The Mummy: tomb of the Dragon Emperor starring Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, and Jet Li. Chinese mummy attacks people and gets shot at by tommy-gun wielding guy.
This is also rated PG-13 so Maria Bello must keep her shirt on in this one.
Chaplin starring a bunch of actors. A recent donation. Biopic of Charlie Chaplin.
Gia starring Angelina Jolie. Biopoic of dead model from the 1970's.
For those of you keeping track: this is not rated but I think Jolie does take her shirt off.
Audio Books
I just started buying from Landmark Audiobooks. Here is a new batch.
Cross Country by James Patterson. A vicious killer who has murdered a whole family is followed from D.C. to Nigeria by Detective Alex Cross.
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker. Narrated by Joe Mantegna.
Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz. Rich guy gets heart transplant and is stalked by crazy lady who wants the heart.
Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. A connection between the murder of Superman's creator and the murder of Abel? Listen to the novel and ponder.
Private Patient by P.D. James. A patient in a private clinic in Dorset, England dies at a private surgery clinic. Inspector Dalgliesh investigates and "suspects multiply all too rapidly."
Divine Justice by David Baldacci. Government assassin 'Oliver Stone' is on the run. The same people he worked for have turned on him and Stone relies on his friends to escape.
A Mercy by Toni Morrison. A Dutch trader in 1680 buys a slave girl who looks for love from an older woman and a handsome blacksmith.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Books So New You May Cut A Finger
Fiction
Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. Knitting club members at a yarn shop in Manhattan share stories and whatnot.
NonFiction
Forgotten Patriots: the untold story of American prisoners during the Revolutionary War by Edwin G. Burrows. Of teh 200,000 men fighting for America during the Revolutionary War 6,800 died in battle. 32,00 men became prisoners of war. Overcrowded and underfed conditions led to as many as 18,000 deaths in captivity.
Trick or Treatment: the undeniable facts about alternative medicine by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, MD. "What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, what are the lies? Who can you trust, and who is ripping you off? Can science decide what is best, or do the old wives' tales really rtap into ancient, superior wisdom?"
Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. Knitting club members at a yarn shop in Manhattan share stories and whatnot.
NonFiction
Forgotten Patriots: the untold story of American prisoners during the Revolutionary War by Edwin G. Burrows. Of teh 200,000 men fighting for America during the Revolutionary War 6,800 died in battle. 32,00 men became prisoners of war. Overcrowded and underfed conditions led to as many as 18,000 deaths in captivity.
Trick or Treatment: the undeniable facts about alternative medicine by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst, MD. "What works and what doesn't? What are the secrets, what are the lies? Who can you trust, and who is ripping you off? Can science decide what is best, or do the old wives' tales really rtap into ancient, superior wisdom?"
What to Read 15
An "interview" with Julianna Hatfield about her new book When I Grow Up: a memoir. Hatfield website.
I wrote in a previous post that I was unable to schedule an interview to speak with Ms. Hatfield about her book. Since I already had thought of some questions to ask I decided to do a mock-up.
I wrote in a previous post that I was unable to schedule an interview to speak with Ms. Hatfield about her book. Since I already had thought of some questions to ask I decided to do a mock-up.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Seventeen Hardcovers
Fiction
Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn. Mitch Rapp has to find an missing Al-Queda cell that has infiltrated the U.S. At the same time his secret assignments to stop deadly jihadists are being called into question on Capitol Hill.
Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo. Werewolf vigilante. I read a good review.
The Darker Side by Cody McFadden. Serial killer novel.
Every Now and Then by Karen Kingsbury. "He's on a desperate quest to rid the city of heartache, but first he must find a way to deal with his own."
The Treasure by Iris Johansen. Lady Selene has been freed from her status as a harem slave by assassin Kadar. To secure their freedom the the sheikh who held her they have to find a sacred relic for him.
Bad Traffic by Simon Lewis. Tough cop Jian leaves China for London on a search for his missing daughter. Jian finds himself without his usual authority and teams with migrant Ding Ming who is looking for his missing wife.
A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander. Victorian mystery series. Emily reluctantly attends a party at Lord Fortescue's estate. Fortescue is murdered and the husband of Emily's friend is arrested for it. Emily works "to right this terrible wrong and clear his name". Emily travels through high society and low society in her search.
Alexander spoke at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego conference a month or so ago. She was interesting so I ordered this.
Trigger City by Sean Chercover. Private Investigator Ray Dudgeon has taken a high-paying but easy job. When he finds out the dead girl he was researching was a covert intelligence agent Dudgeon gets into unexpected trouble.
Chasing Smoke by Bill Cameron. Homicide detective Skin Kadash is undergoing cancer treatments. He is just barely getting by when his partner asks for help off-the-clock. Kadash figures no way until he hears the victims were all cancer patients with Kadash's own doctor.
A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire. Volume three in the Wicked series.
Lost Temple by Tom Harper. Disgraced soldier Sam is living in Greece in 1947 when the KGB tries to steal a notebook given to Sam by a dying archaeologist. When the CIA and the British are show up on a notebook hunt Sam teams with a couple gals to find out why.
The Company by K.J. Parker. Five war veterans colonize an island. Sure that their friendship will keep them together they find out a terrible secret one has been hiding.
Science Fiction
City at the End of Time by Greg Bear.
Large Print
Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance.
NonFiction
Michelle: a biography by Liza Mundy. Biography of Michelle Obama.
The Ascent of Money: a financial history of the world by Niall Ferguson.
Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn. Mitch Rapp has to find an missing Al-Queda cell that has infiltrated the U.S. At the same time his secret assignments to stop deadly jihadists are being called into question on Capitol Hill.
Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo. Werewolf vigilante. I read a good review.
The Darker Side by Cody McFadden. Serial killer novel.
Every Now and Then by Karen Kingsbury. "He's on a desperate quest to rid the city of heartache, but first he must find a way to deal with his own."
The Treasure by Iris Johansen. Lady Selene has been freed from her status as a harem slave by assassin Kadar. To secure their freedom the the sheikh who held her they have to find a sacred relic for him.
Bad Traffic by Simon Lewis. Tough cop Jian leaves China for London on a search for his missing daughter. Jian finds himself without his usual authority and teams with migrant Ding Ming who is looking for his missing wife.
A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander. Victorian mystery series. Emily reluctantly attends a party at Lord Fortescue's estate. Fortescue is murdered and the husband of Emily's friend is arrested for it. Emily works "to right this terrible wrong and clear his name". Emily travels through high society and low society in her search.
Alexander spoke at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego conference a month or so ago. She was interesting so I ordered this.
Trigger City by Sean Chercover. Private Investigator Ray Dudgeon has taken a high-paying but easy job. When he finds out the dead girl he was researching was a covert intelligence agent Dudgeon gets into unexpected trouble.
Chasing Smoke by Bill Cameron. Homicide detective Skin Kadash is undergoing cancer treatments. He is just barely getting by when his partner asks for help off-the-clock. Kadash figures no way until he hears the victims were all cancer patients with Kadash's own doctor.
A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire. Volume three in the Wicked series.
Lost Temple by Tom Harper. Disgraced soldier Sam is living in Greece in 1947 when the KGB tries to steal a notebook given to Sam by a dying archaeologist. When the CIA and the British are show up on a notebook hunt Sam teams with a couple gals to find out why.
The Company by K.J. Parker. Five war veterans colonize an island. Sure that their friendship will keep them together they find out a terrible secret one has been hiding.
Science Fiction
City at the End of Time by Greg Bear.
Large Print
Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance.
NonFiction
Michelle: a biography by Liza Mundy. Biography of Michelle Obama.
The Ascent of Money: a financial history of the world by Niall Ferguson.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Paperbacks: Two Gischlers, A Huston, Zombies, and Demons
Fiction
Suicide Squeeze by Victor Gischler. Conner Samson is sent to reposses a comic book store owner's boat. On board is a specially autographed, 1954 Joe DiMaggio that some dangerous people really want.
Shotgun Opera by Victor Gischler. Ex-tough guy Mike Foley has been living the easy life, and hiding out, for the last forty years in Oklahoma. His nephew Andrew shows up with a hitwoman on his trail and Uncle Mike has to turn tough-guy again.
I really enjoyed Gischler's Go-Go Girls of the Apocolypse, as I mentioned before. So I am all set to be disappointed by these two books after setting my expectations overly high.
Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston. Tough guy PI Joe Pitt is not really a PI. He just does jobs on demand. He's not much of a guy either, he's a vampire. Pitt has angered all the other vampire "clans" of Manhattan who now want his head on a stick. Pitt leaves Manhattan for the wilds of the Bronx.
See, Gischler? This vampire stuff sells.
The Rising by Brian Keene. Some zombie horror novel that had a nice review in the back of Booklist or Library Journal.
Deja Demon by Julie Kenner. "The days and nights of a demon hunting soccer mom." Local housewife Kate cares for her family and hunts local demons and zombies?
What has knock-offs has Buffy wrought?
Romance
Never Romance a Rake by Liz Carlyle. A starred review for this paperback romance. Baron Rothewell wins a poker bet for the Comte de Valigny's daughter.
Like No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long. Another paperback romance that got a good review.
Yuletide Treasure by Lauraine Snelling and Jillian Hart. Two short romance novels stuck together.
Suicide Squeeze by Victor Gischler. Conner Samson is sent to reposses a comic book store owner's boat. On board is a specially autographed, 1954 Joe DiMaggio that some dangerous people really want.
Shotgun Opera by Victor Gischler. Ex-tough guy Mike Foley has been living the easy life, and hiding out, for the last forty years in Oklahoma. His nephew Andrew shows up with a hitwoman on his trail and Uncle Mike has to turn tough-guy again.
I really enjoyed Gischler's Go-Go Girls of the Apocolypse, as I mentioned before. So I am all set to be disappointed by these two books after setting my expectations overly high.
Every Last Drop by Charlie Huston. Tough guy PI Joe Pitt is not really a PI. He just does jobs on demand. He's not much of a guy either, he's a vampire. Pitt has angered all the other vampire "clans" of Manhattan who now want his head on a stick. Pitt leaves Manhattan for the wilds of the Bronx.
See, Gischler? This vampire stuff sells.
The Rising by Brian Keene. Some zombie horror novel that had a nice review in the back of Booklist or Library Journal.
Deja Demon by Julie Kenner. "The days and nights of a demon hunting soccer mom." Local housewife Kate cares for her family and hunts local demons and zombies?
What has knock-offs has Buffy wrought?
Romance
Never Romance a Rake by Liz Carlyle. A starred review for this paperback romance. Baron Rothewell wins a poker bet for the Comte de Valigny's daughter.
Like No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long. Another paperback romance that got a good review.
Yuletide Treasure by Lauraine Snelling and Jillian Hart. Two short romance novels stuck together.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Six Inch Snowfall. Read Some Large Print.
Fiction
Born to Run by James Grippando. I don't like this guy's name; it is too difficult to type.
Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance. Did I mention before I do not like Jance? She spoke at a Librarian thing at Phoenix Public Library and got on my nerves. Ice cream was served afterward.
Large Print
Bodies Left Behind by Jefferey Deaver. I don't like his name either. Too many e's. This is the one set in WI.
Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan. The cover has a photograph of a goat.
Cold Hearted by Beverly Barton.
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. 768 pages long. Processed by Ruth the Page who is the sister of Jacob the Former Page.
Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke. Historical fiction.
I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass. Chick book.
The Goliath Bone by Mickey Spillane with Max Allan Collins. A Mike Hammer novel. I think Spillane collaborated on this before he died. I don't like the second author. Too many names to type.
A McKettrick Christmas by Someone Else With Too Many Names. Chick book romance.
Born to Run by James Grippando. I don't like this guy's name; it is too difficult to type.
Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance. Did I mention before I do not like Jance? She spoke at a Librarian thing at Phoenix Public Library and got on my nerves. Ice cream was served afterward.
Large Print
Bodies Left Behind by Jefferey Deaver. I don't like his name either. Too many e's. This is the one set in WI.
Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan. The cover has a photograph of a goat.
Cold Hearted by Beverly Barton.
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. 768 pages long. Processed by Ruth the Page who is the sister of Jacob the Former Page.
Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke. Historical fiction.
I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass. Chick book.
The Goliath Bone by Mickey Spillane with Max Allan Collins. A Mike Hammer novel. I think Spillane collaborated on this before he died. I don't like the second author. Too many names to type.
A McKettrick Christmas by Someone Else With Too Many Names. Chick book romance.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Media and One NonFiction I Missed
DVD
X-Files: I want to believe starring Gillian Anderson (who is still pretty hot) and Mulder. An FBI agent is abducted.
Lost: Season 4 starring That Good Looking Brunette. Lots of extras included.
AudioBook
Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. 12 CDs for 15 hours and 14 minutes.
NonFiction
Eat This, Not That!: thousands of simple food swaps that can save you 10, 20, 30 pounds or more by David Zinczenko.
X-Files: I want to believe starring Gillian Anderson (who is still pretty hot) and Mulder. An FBI agent is abducted.
Lost: Season 4 starring That Good Looking Brunette. Lots of extras included.
AudioBook
Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. 12 CDs for 15 hours and 14 minutes.
NonFiction
Eat This, Not That!: thousands of simple food swaps that can save you 10, 20, 30 pounds or more by David Zinczenko.
Guns, Baseball Cards, Juliana Hatfield and John Lennon Was a Jerk
Biography/Memoir
When I Grow Up by Juliana Hatfield. Hatfield had big success on the pop charts in the 1990s but then had a steady decline in sales. Years later, and now in her thirties, Hatfield was sitting on a dingy couch at a venue and wondered, "Why I am I still doing this?" and took more control of her career.
Hatfield played in Milwaukee on Wednesday evening. I emailed her publicity company a week before asking to do a video interview. The publicity gal, Bobbie, responded back saying she could arrange it. I thought, "Sweet!" Then I thought, "Dang. Now I have to drive to Milwaukee." Turns out I never got an interview. I received an apology from Bobbie on Thursday for not scheduling one.
I was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved I did not have to change my schedule and drive through new snowfall to Milwaukee. Disappointed because I think Hatfield would have been very interesting to talk to. Hatfield is also really good looking; I can write that because my wife never reads these posts.
One Soldier's War by Arkady Babchenko. Here are the facts: 18 year old Arkady is drafted out of college into the Russian Army. Suffering the traditional, brutal, and stupid hazing of the Russian Army Arkady gets little infantry training. Arkady is sent to Chechnya in both 1995 and 1999.
Here is another fact: Never go to Chechnya. Never, ever go to Chechnya. Don't fly over Chechnya. Don't even look at Chechnya on the map.
Bunny Tales: behind closed doors at the Playboy Mansion by Izabella St. James. St. James lived at the Playboy Mansion for two years and was one of Hefner's seven girlfriends. A "tell all story of life at the Playboy Mansion - the good, the bad, and the hard-to-believe."
John Lennon: the life by Philip Norman. I always thought Lennon sounded like and could be a major jerk. I am now vindicated. Norman had been working with Yoko Ono on this until Yoko canned him.
Maus by Art Spiegelman. Both I: my father bleeds history and II: and here my troubles began.
NonFiction
Knitting Noro: the magic of knitting with hand-dyed yarns by Jane Ellison.
U.S. Army Weapons Systems 2009 by the Department of the Army. Missiles, bombs, vehicles, communications.
How to Break a Terrorist: the U.S. interrogators who used brains, not brutality, to take down the deadliest man in Iraq by Matthew Alexander and John J. Bruning. Alexander found that, "with most prisoners, negotiation was possible and psychological manipulation stunningly effective."
Men, Love & Sex: the complete user's guide for women by David Zinczenko. "In this funny and fascinating guide for women, thousands of men confess what turns them on, what turns them off, and what turns 'for now' into 'forever'."
Complete Soapmaker: tips, techniques and recipes for luxurious handmade soaps by Norma Coney.
2009 Standard Catalogue of Baseball Cards edited by Don Fluckinger. I did not make that name up.
When I Grow Up by Juliana Hatfield. Hatfield had big success on the pop charts in the 1990s but then had a steady decline in sales. Years later, and now in her thirties, Hatfield was sitting on a dingy couch at a venue and wondered, "Why I am I still doing this?" and took more control of her career.
Hatfield played in Milwaukee on Wednesday evening. I emailed her publicity company a week before asking to do a video interview. The publicity gal, Bobbie, responded back saying she could arrange it. I thought, "Sweet!" Then I thought, "Dang. Now I have to drive to Milwaukee." Turns out I never got an interview. I received an apology from Bobbie on Thursday for not scheduling one.
I was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved I did not have to change my schedule and drive through new snowfall to Milwaukee. Disappointed because I think Hatfield would have been very interesting to talk to. Hatfield is also really good looking; I can write that because my wife never reads these posts.
One Soldier's War by Arkady Babchenko. Here are the facts: 18 year old Arkady is drafted out of college into the Russian Army. Suffering the traditional, brutal, and stupid hazing of the Russian Army Arkady gets little infantry training. Arkady is sent to Chechnya in both 1995 and 1999.
Here is another fact: Never go to Chechnya. Never, ever go to Chechnya. Don't fly over Chechnya. Don't even look at Chechnya on the map.
Bunny Tales: behind closed doors at the Playboy Mansion by Izabella St. James. St. James lived at the Playboy Mansion for two years and was one of Hefner's seven girlfriends. A "tell all story of life at the Playboy Mansion - the good, the bad, and the hard-to-believe."
John Lennon: the life by Philip Norman. I always thought Lennon sounded like and could be a major jerk. I am now vindicated. Norman had been working with Yoko Ono on this until Yoko canned him.
Maus by Art Spiegelman. Both I: my father bleeds history and II: and here my troubles began.
NonFiction
Knitting Noro: the magic of knitting with hand-dyed yarns by Jane Ellison.
U.S. Army Weapons Systems 2009 by the Department of the Army. Missiles, bombs, vehicles, communications.
How to Break a Terrorist: the U.S. interrogators who used brains, not brutality, to take down the deadliest man in Iraq by Matthew Alexander and John J. Bruning. Alexander found that, "with most prisoners, negotiation was possible and psychological manipulation stunningly effective."
Men, Love & Sex: the complete user's guide for women by David Zinczenko. "In this funny and fascinating guide for women, thousands of men confess what turns them on, what turns them off, and what turns 'for now' into 'forever'."
Complete Soapmaker: tips, techniques and recipes for luxurious handmade soaps by Norma Coney.
2009 Standard Catalogue of Baseball Cards edited by Don Fluckinger. I did not make that name up.
Koontz, Cornwell, Cussler and Crap from Stephenie Meyer
Young Adult
The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Extra Copy. Yes, I should read it to see what the big deal is. But, isn't the fact that fifteen year old girls love this book enough to scare anyone away?
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. See above.
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. See above.
Fiction
Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz. Some sort of thriller. I assume.
Enchanted Again: more erotic bedtime stories for women by Nancy Madore. Hubba hubba. Dang, no illustrations.
We have some other "erotic stories for gals" book, Empress's New Lingerie and Other Erotic Fairy Tales: bedtime stories for grownups by Hillary Rollins, that checked out okay so I bought this one too.
Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. The cover has an illustration of a sheet of stainless steel perforated with four bullet holes and a smear of blood on one of them. 500 pages long.
Backup by Jim Butcher. A novelette from the Dresden Files. Harry Dresden's older brother Thomas works to help his brother out.
Large Print
Arctic Drift by Clive and Dirk Cussler. Dirk Pitt and company have adventures on the high seas and Arctic icebergs.
Leaving Whiskey Bend by Dorothy Garlock. Christian themed romance?
Pagan Stone Nora Roberts. Fantasy novel with adult women with "shared nightmares and random violence."
The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Extra Copy. Yes, I should read it to see what the big deal is. But, isn't the fact that fifteen year old girls love this book enough to scare anyone away?
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. See above.
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. See above.
Fiction
Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz. Some sort of thriller. I assume.
Enchanted Again: more erotic bedtime stories for women by Nancy Madore. Hubba hubba. Dang, no illustrations.
We have some other "erotic stories for gals" book, Empress's New Lingerie and Other Erotic Fairy Tales: bedtime stories for grownups by Hillary Rollins, that checked out okay so I bought this one too.
Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell. The cover has an illustration of a sheet of stainless steel perforated with four bullet holes and a smear of blood on one of them. 500 pages long.
Backup by Jim Butcher. A novelette from the Dresden Files. Harry Dresden's older brother Thomas works to help his brother out.
Large Print
Arctic Drift by Clive and Dirk Cussler. Dirk Pitt and company have adventures on the high seas and Arctic icebergs.
Leaving Whiskey Bend by Dorothy Garlock. Christian themed romance?
Pagan Stone Nora Roberts. Fantasy novel with adult women with "shared nightmares and random violence."
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Home Repair with Who
Fiction
Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley. A themed paperback mystery. Like the books my wife is always reading except without vampires or recipes.
DVD
The Who at Kilburn:1977 starring Who. Both the 1977 concert - you'll recognize the footage - and a 1969 London concert.
The booklet smells funny.
Fatal Fixer-Upper by Jennie Bentley. A themed paperback mystery. Like the books my wife is always reading except without vampires or recipes.
DVD
The Who at Kilburn:1977 starring Who. Both the 1977 concert - you'll recognize the footage - and a 1969 London concert.
The booklet smells funny.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
I looked at the processing cart and said, "Where'd that [stuff] come from?"
Fiction
Arctic Drift by Clive and Dirk Cussler. I'm not sure what this is about. According to the cover illustration and a map on the inside someone finds a ship from the 1845 Franklin Expedition.
Crossroads by Belva Plain. Jealous woman and other woman and both their husbands are in conflict.
Dashing Through the Snow by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark. Christmas themed mystery in New Hampshire with a missing lottery ticket.
Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher. Fantasy novel.
Arctic Drift by Clive and Dirk Cussler. I'm not sure what this is about. According to the cover illustration and a map on the inside someone finds a ship from the 1845 Franklin Expedition.
Crossroads by Belva Plain. Jealous woman and other woman and both their husbands are in conflict.
Dashing Through the Snow by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark. Christmas themed mystery in New Hampshire with a missing lottery ticket.
Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher. Fantasy novel.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Over Forty-Five Hours of Books
AudioBooks
Bones by Jonathan Kellerman. 12 hours on 10 CDs. Dead hookers in a bird marsh. One dead girl not a hooker and her "blue-blood employers are nowhere to be found."
Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. 11 hours 22 minutes on 10 CDs. Mickey haller is back to work as a defense attorney and defending a famous Hollywood producer after the first lawyer was murdered. Harry Bosch investigates the dead lawyers murder and sets Haller up for bait.
Haller was in Lincoln Lawyer which I listened to and enjoyed.
Gate House by Nelson DeMille. 22 hours 14 minutes on 19 CDs. Some mob murder thing with an ex-wife and a guy returned from 10 years in London.
DVD
Stargate Continuum starring MacGyver, That Blond Girl, The Bald Black Guy, The Dude's Brother. Science and Fiction together at last!
Large Print
Just After Sunset by Stephen King. Horrifying short stories according to the back cover.
Bones by Jonathan Kellerman. 12 hours on 10 CDs. Dead hookers in a bird marsh. One dead girl not a hooker and her "blue-blood employers are nowhere to be found."
Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. 11 hours 22 minutes on 10 CDs. Mickey haller is back to work as a defense attorney and defending a famous Hollywood producer after the first lawyer was murdered. Harry Bosch investigates the dead lawyers murder and sets Haller up for bait.
Haller was in Lincoln Lawyer which I listened to and enjoyed.
Gate House by Nelson DeMille. 22 hours 14 minutes on 19 CDs. Some mob murder thing with an ex-wife and a guy returned from 10 years in London.
DVD
Stargate Continuum starring MacGyver, That Blond Girl, The Bald Black Guy, The Dude's Brother. Science and Fiction together at last!
Large Print
Just After Sunset by Stephen King. Horrifying short stories according to the back cover.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
An overweight, alcoholic, degenerate gambling, former heroin and cocaine using, cigarette smoking, prostitute hiring, near death comic writes a book
NonFiction
Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange. Contrary to this entry's title I like Artie. Artie is a funny guy with some amazing stories. So he wrote a book. Amazing stories. If you like this we also have Artie's "concert" video (shot in a bar) Artie Lange: it's the whiskey talkin' and his movie Beer League.
Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good. 1400 slow cooker recipes.
Outliers: the story of success by Malcolm Gladwell. How much do environmental factors like family, birthplace, birth date and culture effect a person's success?
Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange. Contrary to this entry's title I like Artie. Artie is a funny guy with some amazing stories. So he wrote a book. Amazing stories. If you like this we also have Artie's "concert" video (shot in a bar) Artie Lange: it's the whiskey talkin' and his movie Beer League.
Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good. 1400 slow cooker recipes.
Outliers: the story of success by Malcolm Gladwell. How much do environmental factors like family, birthplace, birth date and culture effect a person's success?
Monday, November 17, 2008
I should be happy about all the new things but I do have other work to do
Fiction
Paperbacks - All Sizes
Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn. After the Sith War the last surviving Sith, Darth Bane, instituted the Rule of Two: all Sith must have an apprentice. Bane's apprentice Zannah has impressive powers. The only Jedi believing there are remaining Sith is out to stop Bane and Zannah.
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert. Set in WI with punk band chick looking for her punk band mother who ran away years ago.
Sex Club by L.J. Sellers. A birth control clinic is bombed and a client turns up dead in a dumpster. One of the clinic's nurses, Kera, starts to investigate the victim's Bible group.
Gun Work by David J. Schow. Carl Ledbetter's wife has been kidnapped in Mexico. Unable to pay the million dollars demanded Carl calls for help from the deadly man whose life he once saved in Iraq.
A Hell of a Woman: an anthology of female noir edited by Megan Abbott. "Dark tales of lonely housewives, diner waitresses yearning for more, schoolgirls with dangerous ambitions, hustlers looking for one last score..." From Busted Flush Press, out of Houston, who sent us a bunch of bookmarks once.
Fourth Victim by Tony Spinosa. Spinosa is Reed Farrell Coleman. Heating oil business owners Joe and Bob, featured earlier in Hose Monkey, are facing a crime wave against heating oil businesses. Five heating oil truck drivers in Long Island have been robbed and murdered. One driver saved the life of Joe when they were both in the NYPD and Joe and Bob follow a confusing trail on the way to solving the murder.
Spinosa/Coleman writes some great stuff.
Hardcovers
Leaving Whiskey Behind by Dorothy Garlock. I like whiskey. I thought about picking up some Jamesons when I was at the Super Target in Fitchburg but decided since I have stuff at home already I did not bother.
The Archbishop of Andalusia by Andrew M. Greeley. A Blackie Ryan novel.
Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb. Murder in 2060 New York with a poisoned priest.
Cross Country by James Patterson. Who cares?
A Mercy by Toni Morrison. Are these books really any good? I know Morrison gets press and good reviews but is the story interesting. Let me rephrase that, would I enjoy the story?
Snake Dreams by James D. Doss. Murder and romance with Charlie Moon on the Ute Reservation.
Joker by Brian Azzarello. The Joker is being released from the Arkham Asylum and eager to regain his power as a crime lord.
Large Print
Heat Lightning by John Sandford. Detective Virgil Flowers gets a call about a dead body at a veterans memorial in Stillwater, MN. The victim is left in the same way as one a week ago and Flowers works to find the killer before there is another killing.
Rustler by Linda Lael Miller. Some cowboy romance with a reformed crook named Wyatt wooing, and getting wooed, by the prim Sarah who has a secret history of her own.
Wedding Belles by Haywood Smith. Lifelong friends aid one woman whose 28 year old daughter is marrying one of their high school classmates.
Fisherman's Bend by Linda Greenlaw. Jane Bunker left violent Miami for for the quiet life in Maine. But she still runs into murder and mayhem.
Grace by Richard Paul Evans. Young Eric finds Grace dumpster diving for food and lets her stay in the family tree house. Grace tells horrific stories of her home life but Eric's brother tells about Grace's hideout and she is sent back home.
So Long at the Fair by Christina Schwarz. Job decides whether to stay with his wife or leave for his mistress while vengeful events in 1963 start to come back to haunt him.
NonFiction
Outliers: the story of success by Malcolm Gladwell. "Why do some people succeed far more than others?"
The Price of Government: getting the results we need in an age of permanent fiscal crisis by David Osborne, and Peter Hutchinson. Budgeting and results in government.
Paperbacks - All Sizes
Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two by Drew Karpyshyn. After the Sith War the last surviving Sith, Darth Bane, instituted the Rule of Two: all Sith must have an apprentice. Bane's apprentice Zannah has impressive powers. The only Jedi believing there are remaining Sith is out to stop Bane and Zannah.
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert. Set in WI with punk band chick looking for her punk band mother who ran away years ago.
Sex Club by L.J. Sellers. A birth control clinic is bombed and a client turns up dead in a dumpster. One of the clinic's nurses, Kera, starts to investigate the victim's Bible group.
Gun Work by David J. Schow. Carl Ledbetter's wife has been kidnapped in Mexico. Unable to pay the million dollars demanded Carl calls for help from the deadly man whose life he once saved in Iraq.
A Hell of a Woman: an anthology of female noir edited by Megan Abbott. "Dark tales of lonely housewives, diner waitresses yearning for more, schoolgirls with dangerous ambitions, hustlers looking for one last score..." From Busted Flush Press, out of Houston, who sent us a bunch of bookmarks once.
Fourth Victim by Tony Spinosa. Spinosa is Reed Farrell Coleman. Heating oil business owners Joe and Bob, featured earlier in Hose Monkey, are facing a crime wave against heating oil businesses. Five heating oil truck drivers in Long Island have been robbed and murdered. One driver saved the life of Joe when they were both in the NYPD and Joe and Bob follow a confusing trail on the way to solving the murder.
Spinosa/Coleman writes some great stuff.
Hardcovers
Leaving Whiskey Behind by Dorothy Garlock. I like whiskey. I thought about picking up some Jamesons when I was at the Super Target in Fitchburg but decided since I have stuff at home already I did not bother.
The Archbishop of Andalusia by Andrew M. Greeley. A Blackie Ryan novel.
Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb. Murder in 2060 New York with a poisoned priest.
Cross Country by James Patterson. Who cares?
A Mercy by Toni Morrison. Are these books really any good? I know Morrison gets press and good reviews but is the story interesting. Let me rephrase that, would I enjoy the story?
Snake Dreams by James D. Doss. Murder and romance with Charlie Moon on the Ute Reservation.
Joker by Brian Azzarello. The Joker is being released from the Arkham Asylum and eager to regain his power as a crime lord.
Large Print
Heat Lightning by John Sandford. Detective Virgil Flowers gets a call about a dead body at a veterans memorial in Stillwater, MN. The victim is left in the same way as one a week ago and Flowers works to find the killer before there is another killing.
Rustler by Linda Lael Miller. Some cowboy romance with a reformed crook named Wyatt wooing, and getting wooed, by the prim Sarah who has a secret history of her own.
Wedding Belles by Haywood Smith. Lifelong friends aid one woman whose 28 year old daughter is marrying one of their high school classmates.
Fisherman's Bend by Linda Greenlaw. Jane Bunker left violent Miami for for the quiet life in Maine. But she still runs into murder and mayhem.
Grace by Richard Paul Evans. Young Eric finds Grace dumpster diving for food and lets her stay in the family tree house. Grace tells horrific stories of her home life but Eric's brother tells about Grace's hideout and she is sent back home.
So Long at the Fair by Christina Schwarz. Job decides whether to stay with his wife or leave for his mistress while vengeful events in 1963 start to come back to haunt him.
NonFiction
Outliers: the story of success by Malcolm Gladwell. "Why do some people succeed far more than others?"
The Price of Government: getting the results we need in an age of permanent fiscal crisis by David Osborne, and Peter Hutchinson. Budgeting and results in government.
Friday, November 14, 2008
DVDs with Ben Kingsley, Australian horror, prom dance horror, and Hellboy horror
DVD
Hellboy II starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt. Hellboy and colleagues fight against [something] to...save humanity!
Ron Perlman may show up in a prequel to Bubba Ho-Tep entitled...Bubba Nosferatu!
Dance of the Dead starring [teenagers]. Oh, wow. This is a zombie movie. That must be why I bought it. Just hours before the prom high school students have to work together to stop the zombie hordes...attacking the town!
Wolf Creek starring [Australians]. Three hikers in Australia's outback return to their car to find it is dead. A passing truck stops and the Crocodile Dundee style driver offers a lift...to despair!
Last Legion starring Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley. Firth plays a general assigned the security of the young Caesar. When Rome is sacked Firth and friends flee by sea with the boy Caesar to England where they hope to find the last intact, and loyal, Roman legion. Firth rallies the troops and fights...for freedom!
Hellboy II starring Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt. Hellboy and colleagues fight against [something] to...save humanity!
Ron Perlman may show up in a prequel to Bubba Ho-Tep entitled...Bubba Nosferatu!
Dance of the Dead starring [teenagers]. Oh, wow. This is a zombie movie. That must be why I bought it. Just hours before the prom high school students have to work together to stop the zombie hordes...attacking the town!
Wolf Creek starring [Australians]. Three hikers in Australia's outback return to their car to find it is dead. A passing truck stops and the Crocodile Dundee style driver offers a lift...to despair!
Last Legion starring Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley. Firth plays a general assigned the security of the young Caesar. When Rome is sacked Firth and friends flee by sea with the boy Caesar to England where they hope to find the last intact, and loyal, Roman legion. Firth rallies the troops and fights...for freedom!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Fiction with another one of those vampire/witch/werewolf paperbacks women read
Fiction
Bone Yard by Michelle Gagnon. FBI agents and serial killers. They go together like peas in a pod. This one has a mass grave on the Appalachian Trail with victims from several states.
No Rest for the Wiccan by Madelyn Alt. Witch Maggie deals with domestic crises, her love life, finding some ghosts, and solving a murder.
I bet the author stuck some recipes in there.
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins. The one named hit man's beginning. A series started by Collins in 1976. Quarry infiltrates a college town to kill a professor.
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman. Former policeman and current PI Moe Prager runs a wine shop in a rich part of Manhattan but feels most comfortable anywhere but there. When an old cop friend kills himself Moe starts looking into what went on and follows a trail of corruption that began 35 years ago.
Coleman's Hose Monkey (written as Tony Spinosa) was really good. The previous book in this series, The James Deans, won a bunch of mystery awards.
I was planning to interview Coleman on video at Murder and Mayhem in Muskego but did not get the opportunity.
Fault Lines by Nancy Huston. Sol's mother thinks her is destined for greatness because his birthmarks match those of relatives going three generations back. "When Sol's family makes an unexpected trip to Germany, secrets begin to emerge about their history during World War II. It seems birthmarks are not all that's been passed down through the bloodlines."
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. "Where tragedy confronts eternity." Mackenzie receives a letter, seemingly from God, telling her to revisit the Oregon mountain shack where he daughter was likely murdered four years ago.
Just After Sunset by Stephen King. I thought he was going to retire?
Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. Two former soldiers of the Revolutionary Army find themselves at odds after the war. One works for Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who he hates. Another heads for Western Pennsylvania and distills whiskey.
This look good. You don't see many novels about the Whiskey Rebellion.
Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. Snap judgement from the cover: literary chick book.
A Most Wanted Man by John LeCarre. A Russian in Germany is facing deportation. His German lawyer is intent on winning his case. Russian may be a Muslim terrorist and intelligence agencies start to swoop in to influence things.
Ritual by Mo Hayder. Police diver Flea Marley and Inspector Jack Caffery investigate an abduction after linking the victim to two hands found in the bay in Bristol, England. Their investigation takes them into the drug addicts, street kids, whores and immigrants of underground Bristol. Recent immigrants may have brought a nasty occult ceremony with them.
Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton. Considering Hamilton's previous book content the title is likely a double entendre.
Bodies Left Behind by Jeffrey Deaver. Wisconsin Deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves the dinner table to respond to a 911 hang-up call. The remote cabin hosts a bloody crime scene and Brynn and a survivor flee into the woods from a couple killers.
Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockman. I don't know. I'm tired of typing.
Bone Yard by Michelle Gagnon. FBI agents and serial killers. They go together like peas in a pod. This one has a mass grave on the Appalachian Trail with victims from several states.
No Rest for the Wiccan by Madelyn Alt. Witch Maggie deals with domestic crises, her love life, finding some ghosts, and solving a murder.
I bet the author stuck some recipes in there.
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins. The one named hit man's beginning. A series started by Collins in 1976. Quarry infiltrates a college town to kill a professor.
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman. Former policeman and current PI Moe Prager runs a wine shop in a rich part of Manhattan but feels most comfortable anywhere but there. When an old cop friend kills himself Moe starts looking into what went on and follows a trail of corruption that began 35 years ago.
Coleman's Hose Monkey (written as Tony Spinosa) was really good. The previous book in this series, The James Deans, won a bunch of mystery awards.
I was planning to interview Coleman on video at Murder and Mayhem in Muskego but did not get the opportunity.
Fault Lines by Nancy Huston. Sol's mother thinks her is destined for greatness because his birthmarks match those of relatives going three generations back. "When Sol's family makes an unexpected trip to Germany, secrets begin to emerge about their history during World War II. It seems birthmarks are not all that's been passed down through the bloodlines."
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. "Where tragedy confronts eternity." Mackenzie receives a letter, seemingly from God, telling her to revisit the Oregon mountain shack where he daughter was likely murdered four years ago.
Just After Sunset by Stephen King. I thought he was going to retire?
Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. Two former soldiers of the Revolutionary Army find themselves at odds after the war. One works for Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who he hates. Another heads for Western Pennsylvania and distills whiskey.
This look good. You don't see many novels about the Whiskey Rebellion.
Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs. Snap judgement from the cover: literary chick book.
A Most Wanted Man by John LeCarre. A Russian in Germany is facing deportation. His German lawyer is intent on winning his case. Russian may be a Muslim terrorist and intelligence agencies start to swoop in to influence things.
Ritual by Mo Hayder. Police diver Flea Marley and Inspector Jack Caffery investigate an abduction after linking the victim to two hands found in the bay in Bristol, England. Their investigation takes them into the drug addicts, street kids, whores and immigrants of underground Bristol. Recent immigrants may have brought a nasty occult ceremony with them.
Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton. Considering Hamilton's previous book content the title is likely a double entendre.
Bodies Left Behind by Jeffrey Deaver. Wisconsin Deputy Brynn McKenzie leaves the dinner table to respond to a 911 hang-up call. The remote cabin hosts a bloody crime scene and Brynn and a survivor flee into the woods from a couple killers.
Into the Fire by Suzanne Brockman. I don't know. I'm tired of typing.
Large Print by One Pseudonym Lady, One Dead Lady, One Montana Guy and A Limey
Large Print
Salvation in Death by JD Robb. Father Flores drinks from the communion chalice and keels over. Father Flores was felled by felonious fellas who found facts of his fugitive past.
Eleventh Man by Ivan Doig. Snap judgement from cover: World War Two pilot of bomber crewman survives with guilt and goes him and woos a dead colleague's girl.
Murder Inside the Beltway by Margaret Truman. Yes, Margaret Truman was related to Harry S Truman. She was Truman's only child. Yes, she is dead. No, I do not know if her novels were ghost written or if this book was completed before her death.
A Most Wanted Man by John LeCarre. A Russian in Germany is facing deportation. His German lawyer is intent on winning his case. Russian may be a Muslim terrorist and intelligence agencies start to swoop in to influence things.
Salvation in Death by JD Robb. Father Flores drinks from the communion chalice and keels over. Father Flores was felled by felonious fellas who found facts of his fugitive past.
Eleventh Man by Ivan Doig. Snap judgement from cover: World War Two pilot of bomber crewman survives with guilt and goes him and woos a dead colleague's girl.
Murder Inside the Beltway by Margaret Truman. Yes, Margaret Truman was related to Harry S Truman. She was Truman's only child. Yes, she is dead. No, I do not know if her novels were ghost written or if this book was completed before her death.
A Most Wanted Man by John LeCarre. A Russian in Germany is facing deportation. His German lawyer is intent on winning his case. Russian may be a Muslim terrorist and intelligence agencies start to swoop in to influence things.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
What to Read 14
Interview with author J.D. "Dusty" Rhoades at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego writers conference held at the Mueskego, WI public library on 8 November 2008.
Rhoades's books include the Jack Keller series: Devil's Right Hand, Good Day in Hell, Devil's Right Hand. Rhoades's most recent is the thriller Breaking Cover. All titles are available from the Library.
Rhoades's books include the Jack Keller series: Devil's Right Hand, Good Day in Hell, Devil's Right Hand. Rhoades's most recent is the thriller Breaking Cover. All titles are available from the Library.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
What to Read 13
Discussion with author Anthony Neil Smith about Minnesota and Smith's latest novel Yellow Medicine. Filmed at the Muskego Public Library in Muskego, WI during the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego writers conference on Nov. 8, 2008.
Edited for time to keep under 10 minutes.
Edited for time to keep under 10 minutes.
Made-up Stories
Mysteries
Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder by Gyles Brandreth. We already own Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance. That one checked out so I bought this one. Oscar Wilde is at a dinner party in 1892 with, among others, Bram Stoker and Arthur Conan Doyle. Wilde proposes the question, "Who would you most like to kill?" When one of people whose name was anonymously written down at the party is murdered Oscar and pals get to work.
Blood Alone by James R. Benn. Billy Boyle has landed in advance of the rest of the Allied invasion force on Sicily. With a concussion induced amnesia he cannot recall the true mission. You see, Boyle's mother got Billy a cushy staff job with Uncle Ike. Too bad Uncle Ike is General Eisenhower who decided to put Billy's detective skills to use.
If you like this one there is at least one more Boyle novel set in North Africa.
Twin Killing by Marshall Cook. Small town newspaper editor Monona Quinn rushes back to Iowa after her nephew is arrested for drug possession. Back home in Summersend, IA the locals start turning up dead. What a coincidence.
Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown. Some dead cat story. Or a cat with dead people. Or a cat writes about dead people. I'm not sure what the deal is with these.
Angel's Tip by Alafair Burke. Spring Breaker Chelsea hart stays late at a New York nightclub's VIP room and is found dead with her hair chopped off. NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher has a good case against a rich jerk but has suspicions based on previous deaths.
Burke gets around. I think she used to attorney-ize in Phoenix. Then she lawyerized in Portland, OR. Now she teaches legalizing in New York.
Fiction
Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Victor Gischler. Mortimer Tate leaves his mountain side cave after hiding out for nine years due to the fall of civilizaztion. He encounters cannibals, one eyed train conductors, hookers, would be cowboys, and searches for coffee.
For a fuller review see What to Read 10 or What to Read 12.
'Tis the Season by Lorna Landvik. Drunken socialite Caroline reaches out to her Norwegian former nanny and a dude ranch owner in Aridzona. Stories are exchanged and a Christmas reunion is planned.
Breaking Cover by JD Rhoades. Tony Wolf was assumed dead after his undercover assignment went bad and he took a biker gang's cash and ran. Now his self-imposed cover is blown and he has to defend himself.
A replacement for a copy that was doused. I interviewed Rhoades at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego thing this past Saturday but do not have the video up yet.
Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA by Kris Radish. Some chick book. Judging by the cover and title this is a comedy.
Western
Grave For A Dead Gunfighter by Kent Cowell. Clint thought his father dead by Clint's own mistake. Ten years later Clint learns his father is alive and when Clint finds his father the man refuses Clint and his help against the carpetbaggers out to take the old man's land.
Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder by Gyles Brandreth. We already own Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance. That one checked out so I bought this one. Oscar Wilde is at a dinner party in 1892 with, among others, Bram Stoker and Arthur Conan Doyle. Wilde proposes the question, "Who would you most like to kill?" When one of people whose name was anonymously written down at the party is murdered Oscar and pals get to work.
Blood Alone by James R. Benn. Billy Boyle has landed in advance of the rest of the Allied invasion force on Sicily. With a concussion induced amnesia he cannot recall the true mission. You see, Boyle's mother got Billy a cushy staff job with Uncle Ike. Too bad Uncle Ike is General Eisenhower who decided to put Billy's detective skills to use.
If you like this one there is at least one more Boyle novel set in North Africa.
Twin Killing by Marshall Cook. Small town newspaper editor Monona Quinn rushes back to Iowa after her nephew is arrested for drug possession. Back home in Summersend, IA the locals start turning up dead. What a coincidence.
Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown. Some dead cat story. Or a cat with dead people. Or a cat writes about dead people. I'm not sure what the deal is with these.
Angel's Tip by Alafair Burke. Spring Breaker Chelsea hart stays late at a New York nightclub's VIP room and is found dead with her hair chopped off. NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher has a good case against a rich jerk but has suspicions based on previous deaths.
Burke gets around. I think she used to attorney-ize in Phoenix. Then she lawyerized in Portland, OR. Now she teaches legalizing in New York.
Fiction
Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Victor Gischler. Mortimer Tate leaves his mountain side cave after hiding out for nine years due to the fall of civilizaztion. He encounters cannibals, one eyed train conductors, hookers, would be cowboys, and searches for coffee.
For a fuller review see What to Read 10 or What to Read 12.
'Tis the Season by Lorna Landvik. Drunken socialite Caroline reaches out to her Norwegian former nanny and a dude ranch owner in Aridzona. Stories are exchanged and a Christmas reunion is planned.
Breaking Cover by JD Rhoades. Tony Wolf was assumed dead after his undercover assignment went bad and he took a biker gang's cash and ran. Now his self-imposed cover is blown and he has to defend himself.
A replacement for a copy that was doused. I interviewed Rhoades at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego thing this past Saturday but do not have the video up yet.
Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA by Kris Radish. Some chick book. Judging by the cover and title this is a comedy.
Western
Grave For A Dead Gunfighter by Kent Cowell. Clint thought his father dead by Clint's own mistake. Ten years later Clint learns his father is alive and when Clint finds his father the man refuses Clint and his help against the carpetbaggers out to take the old man's land.
Monday, November 10, 2008
What to Read 12
Interview with Victor Gischler at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego writers conference held at the Muskego Public Library in Muskego, WI.
Gischler's available books are: Gun Monkeys, Pistol Poets, Suicide Squeeze, Shotgun Opera, Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. His Blogpocalypse website is at victorgischler.blogspot.com.
Gischler's available books are: Gun Monkeys, Pistol Poets, Suicide Squeeze, Shotgun Opera, Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. His Blogpocalypse website is at victorgischler.blogspot.com.
What to Read 11
Interview with author Chris Grabenstein at the Murder and Mayhem in Muskego writers conference hosted by the Muskego Public Library in Muskego, WI.
Grabenstein's novels include the John Ceepak series with Tilt-A-Whirl, Mad Mouse, Whack-A-Mole, Hell Hole. The Christopher Miller holiday-themed thriller series with Slay Ride and Hell for the Holidays. Horror novels for middle readers with The Crossroads.
Grabenstein's novels include the John Ceepak series with Tilt-A-Whirl, Mad Mouse, Whack-A-Mole, Hell Hole. The Christopher Miller holiday-themed thriller series with Slay Ride and Hell for the Holidays. Horror novels for middle readers with The Crossroads.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
World of Facts About Sex With The Packers
Fiction
Divine Justice by David Baldacci. John Carr assassinated the two men who ruined his life. Now the U.S. government is after him and the "Camel Club" is there to help.
A Good Woman by Danielle Steel. There is a heavily sepai toned photo of the Eiffel Tower on the cover.
I was visiting my parents over the weekend and The Old Man showed me a two page advert for this novel. I sneered.
A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry. A heartwarming and delightful story of Christmas and murder on the west coast of Ireland.
NonFiction
Green Bay Love Stories and Other Affairs by Sandy Sullivan. Sullivan was a 19 year old model in Milwaukee in 1961 when she started having lots of sex with lots of Packers players.
Darwin Awards: next evolution: chlorinating the gene pool by Wendy Northcutt. Because it is fun making fun of dead people and painful accidents.
Firefly's World of Facts by Russell Ash. A kind of World Records book. You used to read the Guinness book as a kid, right? Well it is still fun to look through this stuff. You'll find it in the kids' section in the basement.
Classic Country by Kathryn M. Ireland. Home design.
A donation by the great and mighty [Anonymous] family. Two small dogs on an outdoor couch in the cover photo.
Divine Justice by David Baldacci. John Carr assassinated the two men who ruined his life. Now the U.S. government is after him and the "Camel Club" is there to help.
A Good Woman by Danielle Steel. There is a heavily sepai toned photo of the Eiffel Tower on the cover.
I was visiting my parents over the weekend and The Old Man showed me a two page advert for this novel. I sneered.
A Christmas Grace by Anne Perry. A heartwarming and delightful story of Christmas and murder on the west coast of Ireland.
NonFiction
Green Bay Love Stories and Other Affairs by Sandy Sullivan. Sullivan was a 19 year old model in Milwaukee in 1961 when she started having lots of sex with lots of Packers players.
Darwin Awards: next evolution: chlorinating the gene pool by Wendy Northcutt. Because it is fun making fun of dead people and painful accidents.
Firefly's World of Facts by Russell Ash. A kind of World Records book. You used to read the Guinness book as a kid, right? Well it is still fun to look through this stuff. You'll find it in the kids' section in the basement.
Classic Country by Kathryn M. Ireland. Home design.
A donation by the great and mighty [Anonymous] family. Two small dogs on an outdoor couch in the cover photo.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Canadian Crooner
CDs
Closer: the best of Sarah McLachlan by Sarah McLachlan. There are many things I could say about this CD. But, I will keep my mouth shut.
I'll write them instead. Yuck. Ick. Boring. Beware the estrogen poisoning.
Closer: the best of Sarah McLachlan by Sarah McLachlan. There are many things I could say about this CD. But, I will keep my mouth shut.
I'll write them instead. Yuck. Ick. Boring. Beware the estrogen poisoning.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Five For Fiction
Mystery
Dying Fall by Sally Spencer. English police inspector Woodend finds a charred body in an abandoned cotton mill. Who would kill an old tramp by burning him to death?
Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart. Bailey's current status as a ghost doesn't stop her from meddling with the living. Bailey attempts to help the local pastor's wife solve the mystery of a dead man on her porch.
Fiction
Burn Out by Marcia Muller. Sharon McCone leaves her busy private investigation firm for her mountain retreat so that she can reassess her life and career. I'm betting someone dies and McCone is in grave danger.
Bones by Jonathan Kellerman. Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware work a case and shoot trap. Bodies are found in L.A.'s Bird Marsh.
It looks like Kellerman has continued to cut down on the make-up in his author photos.
Large Print
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker.
Dying Fall by Sally Spencer. English police inspector Woodend finds a charred body in an abandoned cotton mill. Who would kill an old tramp by burning him to death?
Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart. Bailey's current status as a ghost doesn't stop her from meddling with the living. Bailey attempts to help the local pastor's wife solve the mystery of a dead man on her porch.
Fiction
Burn Out by Marcia Muller. Sharon McCone leaves her busy private investigation firm for her mountain retreat so that she can reassess her life and career. I'm betting someone dies and McCone is in grave danger.
Bones by Jonathan Kellerman. Milo Sturgis and Alex Delaware work a case and shoot trap. Bodies are found in L.A.'s Bird Marsh.
It looks like Kellerman has continued to cut down on the make-up in his author photos.
Large Print
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker.
What to Read 10
Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse by Victor Gischler.
Damn Near Dead: an anthology of geezer noir edited by Duane Swizzlestickerinski.
unSpun: finding facts in a world of disinformation by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
Damn Near Dead: an anthology of geezer noir edited by Duane Swizzlestickerinski.
unSpun: finding facts in a world of disinformation by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Secret World of 007
NonFiction
James Bond: the secret world of 007 by Alastair Gougall. From DK Publishing. This is a great book covering all the movies, even the lousy ones.
The world is not very secret when there is a freaking book about it. I think Daniel Craig was a great choice for Bond. He fits in well with the progression from Bond as comic relief to Bond as hired killer.
James Bond: the secret world of 007 by Alastair Gougall. From DK Publishing. This is a great book covering all the movies, even the lousy ones.
The world is not very secret when there is a freaking book about it. I think Daniel Craig was a great choice for Bond. He fits in well with the progression from Bond as comic relief to Bond as hired killer.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Mexican Wrestler Superheroes in Comic Book Love Scenes
Comic Book Fiction
El Zombo Fantasma by Daver Wilkins. Zombo is "the greatest Mexican wrestler on the planet." But when he dies and goes to purgatory he finds out that he must guard a ten year old on Earth to ascend to Heaven.
Marvel Romance from Marvel Comics. "The romance genre spanned nearly half a century, and now Marvels picked some of its best from the sixties and seventies!" Lots of liplocking, clothes shopping, and heartbreak.
El Zombo Fantasma by Daver Wilkins. Zombo is "the greatest Mexican wrestler on the planet." But when he dies and goes to purgatory he finds out that he must guard a ten year old on Earth to ascend to Heaven.
Marvel Romance from Marvel Comics. "The romance genre spanned nearly half a century, and now Marvels picked some of its best from the sixties and seventies!" Lots of liplocking, clothes shopping, and heartbreak.
Violent Fiction Attempts to Kill Bin Laden
Fiction
Sam and Twitch by Michael Bendis. Comic book noir novel. Detectives Sam and Twitch work the back alleys, deep nooks, and dark crannies of the Big Apple."
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker. "Spenser plays bodyguard at a society wedding on exclusive Tashtego Island as his old nemesis, the Gray Man, guns down guests and kidnaps the bride."
Testimony by Anita Shreve. Some book about personal love and loss. I assume.
Dark Summer by Iris Johansen. Murder!
NonFiction
Kill Bin Laden: a Delta Force commander's account for the hunt for the world's most wanted man by Dalton Fury. Fury (a pen name) was on 60 Minutes a couple weeks ago so I bought this.
Fury lead a unit tracking down Bin Laden but missions to kill Bin Laden were consistently denied at higher levels. Fury and his guys had to stand-off and rely on Afghani allies to do the work. Yeah, that worked out real well. Especially when resources and people got pulled for Iraq.
Fury references Gary Berntsen who directed the CIA operations in Afghanistan and wrote about in Jawbreaker: the attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: a personal account by the CIA's key field commander.
Look Great, Feel Great: fabulous @ 50 body basics by Lynne Robinson. DVD covering posture, energy, less stress, flatter stomach, enhanced sex life. Pilates themed.
Sam and Twitch by Michael Bendis. Comic book noir novel. Detectives Sam and Twitch work the back alleys, deep nooks, and dark crannies of the Big Apple."
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker. "Spenser plays bodyguard at a society wedding on exclusive Tashtego Island as his old nemesis, the Gray Man, guns down guests and kidnaps the bride."
Testimony by Anita Shreve. Some book about personal love and loss. I assume.
Dark Summer by Iris Johansen. Murder!
NonFiction
Kill Bin Laden: a Delta Force commander's account for the hunt for the world's most wanted man by Dalton Fury. Fury (a pen name) was on 60 Minutes a couple weeks ago so I bought this.
Fury lead a unit tracking down Bin Laden but missions to kill Bin Laden were consistently denied at higher levels. Fury and his guys had to stand-off and rely on Afghani allies to do the work. Yeah, that worked out real well. Especially when resources and people got pulled for Iraq.
Fury references Gary Berntsen who directed the CIA operations in Afghanistan and wrote about in Jawbreaker: the attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: a personal account by the CIA's key field commander.
Look Great, Feel Great: fabulous @ 50 body basics by Lynne Robinson. DVD covering posture, energy, less stress, flatter stomach, enhanced sex life. Pilates themed.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wonderful Things: Indiana Jones, The Clash, Bruce Campbell
DVD
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull starring Harrison Ford. I have not seen this yet. I have studiously avoided any plot description, television adverts, print adverts, movie posters, actor interviews and anything else that may spoil the story ahead of time. All I know is this: it's set post-war and that chinless kid may be Indy's son.
Sundown: the vampire in retreat starring Bruce Campbell. Some town in the west is populated with vampires and some human family shows up.
Standard Operating Procedure. Director Errol Morris' look into the Abu Ghraib scandal. Interviews with the soldiers involved including those convicted.
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay starring John Cho and Kal Penn. Stoners get identified as terrorists on an international flight and get sent to Cuba.
The Unit: Season Three starring Dennis Haysbert, Ricky Jay (on occasion). Season three of the shoot'em up and home front series. I like this show. It can be cheesy but I like some of the story lines.
Sex and the City. Crap.
Music CDs
The Clash: Live at Shea Stadium by The Clash. With a booklet of photos.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull starring Harrison Ford. I have not seen this yet. I have studiously avoided any plot description, television adverts, print adverts, movie posters, actor interviews and anything else that may spoil the story ahead of time. All I know is this: it's set post-war and that chinless kid may be Indy's son.
Sundown: the vampire in retreat starring Bruce Campbell. Some town in the west is populated with vampires and some human family shows up.
Standard Operating Procedure. Director Errol Morris' look into the Abu Ghraib scandal. Interviews with the soldiers involved including those convicted.
Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay starring John Cho and Kal Penn. Stoners get identified as terrorists on an international flight and get sent to Cuba.
The Unit: Season Three starring Dennis Haysbert, Ricky Jay (on occasion). Season three of the shoot'em up and home front series. I like this show. It can be cheesy but I like some of the story lines.
Sex and the City. Crap.
Music CDs
The Clash: Live at Shea Stadium by The Clash. With a booklet of photos.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Eight More Large Print
Large Print
Being Elizabeth by Barbara Taylor Bradford. 25 year old gal inherits 800 year old family business has affair with married man.
Heart of Stone by Diana Palmer. Romance with rancher.
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas. Former invalid gets better and the kid taken in by family decides he has to pursue he now that she has suitors.
Netherland by Joseph O'Neil. Netherlands banker alone in New York connects with a group of cricket players made up of immigrants.
Hounded to Death by Rita Mae Brown. Anthropomorphic dog in fox hunting outfit poses by tree and stone wall with fox standing next to dog on wall.
No One You Know by Michelle Richmond. Lady finds murdered sister's notebook twenty years after sister's murder. Learns more about sister and man accused as her killer.
First Daughter by Eric van Lustbader. ATF agent Jack loses himself in work after daughter dies and marriage falls apart. President-elect asks Jack for help when President-elect's daughter kidnapped.
Large Print NonFiction
Beautiful Boy: a father's journey through his son's addiction by David Sheff. Teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view. A varsity athlete and honor student turns into a "trembling wraith who stole money from his little brother."
Being Elizabeth by Barbara Taylor Bradford. 25 year old gal inherits 800 year old family business has affair with married man.
Heart of Stone by Diana Palmer. Romance with rancher.
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas. Former invalid gets better and the kid taken in by family decides he has to pursue he now that she has suitors.
Netherland by Joseph O'Neil. Netherlands banker alone in New York connects with a group of cricket players made up of immigrants.
Hounded to Death by Rita Mae Brown. Anthropomorphic dog in fox hunting outfit poses by tree and stone wall with fox standing next to dog on wall.
No One You Know by Michelle Richmond. Lady finds murdered sister's notebook twenty years after sister's murder. Learns more about sister and man accused as her killer.
First Daughter by Eric van Lustbader. ATF agent Jack loses himself in work after daughter dies and marriage falls apart. President-elect asks Jack for help when President-elect's daughter kidnapped.
Large Print NonFiction
Beautiful Boy: a father's journey through his son's addiction by David Sheff. Teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view. A varsity athlete and honor student turns into a "trembling wraith who stole money from his little brother."
Fighter Pilot, Comics, Quilts, Old Houses
DVD
You Don't Mess With the Zohan starring Adam Sandler, John Turturro. Israeli spy quits work to be a hairdresser.
Fiction
Quilter's Kitchen by Jennifer Chiaverini. Madison author's latest tome. "Anna Del Masso had known that she wanted to be a chef since she was in the seventh grade. 'Somehow everything in my life ends up being about food,' she realizes, as she begins the latest of her food-themed quilts. her twin passions have converged in a brand-new position as head chef for Elm Creek Quilts, Waterford, Pennsylvania's popular quilting retreat."
Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch helps defense attorney Mickey Haller find the murderer of Haller's partner.
NonFiction
Rupert Red Two: a fighter pilot's life from Thunderbolts to Thunderchiefs by Jack Broughton. Broughton graduated West Point in 1945 and joined the Army Air Force. He flew prop planes opposed to Russian MiGs during the German occupation. Jet to jet in the Korean War. Command of the Thunderbirds. An Air Force Cross in Vietnam.
Broughton stories bring to the cockpit to life and tell the nomadic tales of life as a military pilot.
New Rooms for Old Houses: beautiful additions for the traditional home by Frank Shirley. How to add an addition to an old home and make it match.
Don't call me Shirley.
Continuous Cables: an exploration of knitted cabled knots, rings, swirls, and curlicues by Melissa Leapman. 20 Designs plus an all-original stitch dictionary. Cables in patterns and circles. There is a dog photo on page 92.
Breakdowns: portrait of the artist as a young %@?! by Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman's autobiography in comics form. Of course.
Friends made, moments shared, memories for life : an oral history of VMSB 343 United States Marine Corps in World War II by Walter G. LeTendre.
You Don't Mess With the Zohan starring Adam Sandler, John Turturro. Israeli spy quits work to be a hairdresser.
Fiction
Quilter's Kitchen by Jennifer Chiaverini. Madison author's latest tome. "Anna Del Masso had known that she wanted to be a chef since she was in the seventh grade. 'Somehow everything in my life ends up being about food,' she realizes, as she begins the latest of her food-themed quilts. her twin passions have converged in a brand-new position as head chef for Elm Creek Quilts, Waterford, Pennsylvania's popular quilting retreat."
Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch helps defense attorney Mickey Haller find the murderer of Haller's partner.
NonFiction
Rupert Red Two: a fighter pilot's life from Thunderbolts to Thunderchiefs by Jack Broughton. Broughton graduated West Point in 1945 and joined the Army Air Force. He flew prop planes opposed to Russian MiGs during the German occupation. Jet to jet in the Korean War. Command of the Thunderbirds. An Air Force Cross in Vietnam.
Broughton stories bring to the cockpit to life and tell the nomadic tales of life as a military pilot.
New Rooms for Old Houses: beautiful additions for the traditional home by Frank Shirley. How to add an addition to an old home and make it match.
Don't call me Shirley.
Continuous Cables: an exploration of knitted cabled knots, rings, swirls, and curlicues by Melissa Leapman. 20 Designs plus an all-original stitch dictionary. Cables in patterns and circles. There is a dog photo on page 92.
Breakdowns: portrait of the artist as a young %@?! by Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman's autobiography in comics form. Of course.
Friends made, moments shared, memories for life : an oral history of VMSB 343 United States Marine Corps in World War II by Walter G. LeTendre.
Friday, October 10, 2008
WooHoo! More CDs!
CDs
One of the Boys by Katy Perry. This has been a Top 40 hit or something.
Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis. Former child actor puts her musical talent to work. I ran across Rabbit Fur Coat by Lewis a few months ago and really liked it.
This one is not actually ready yet. Rachel the Page did not put some needed labels on.
Something Else by Robin Thicke. More crooning.
Tennessee Pusher by Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow is a neat band. A mix of bluegrass, roots rock and old country. If you like this we have a couple other albums by them.
Big Love: Hymnal by David Byrne. Soundtrack to the Showtime series about a modern polygamist. I heard that when Talking Heads performed at their Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction that the bass player, Tina Weymouth, was looking daggers at Byrne the whole time.
Now That's What I Call Country by various musicians. I buy the pop music versions of this and they check out real well. Maybe this disc will do good as well. Songs from Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Sugarland, Brad Paisley and others.
Sleepless Nights: the traditional country soul of Patti Loveless by Patti Loveless. Cover tunes.
One of the Boys by Katy Perry. This has been a Top 40 hit or something.
Acid Tongue by Jenny Lewis. Former child actor puts her musical talent to work. I ran across Rabbit Fur Coat by Lewis a few months ago and really liked it.
This one is not actually ready yet. Rachel the Page did not put some needed labels on.
Something Else by Robin Thicke. More crooning.
Tennessee Pusher by Old Crow Medicine Show. Old Crow is a neat band. A mix of bluegrass, roots rock and old country. If you like this we have a couple other albums by them.
Big Love: Hymnal by David Byrne. Soundtrack to the Showtime series about a modern polygamist. I heard that when Talking Heads performed at their Rock And Roll Hall of Fame induction that the bass player, Tina Weymouth, was looking daggers at Byrne the whole time.
Now That's What I Call Country by various musicians. I buy the pop music versions of this and they check out real well. Maybe this disc will do good as well. Songs from Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire, Sugarland, Brad Paisley and others.
Sleepless Nights: the traditional country soul of Patti Loveless by Patti Loveless. Cover tunes.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
AC/DC
CDs
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC. Their 1976 album. Nine songs.
Good Girl Gone Bad by Rihanna. Gone bad like Britney Spears or gone bad like AC/DC?
AudioBook
Snowball: Warren Buffett and the business of life by Alice Schroeder. 30 discs, 37 hours. The author was given full access by Buffett. Buffett "spent countless hours" answering the author's questions and opened his files to her. "This audiobook tells you hwy Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time."
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC. Their 1976 album. Nine songs.
Good Girl Gone Bad by Rihanna. Gone bad like Britney Spears or gone bad like AC/DC?
AudioBook
Snowball: Warren Buffett and the business of life by Alice Schroeder. 30 discs, 37 hours. The author was given full access by Buffett. Buffett "spent countless hours" answering the author's questions and opened his files to her. "This audiobook tells you hwy Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success story of our time."
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
This Took A While - Music CDs
CDs
Death Magentic by Metallica. The cover's illustration of magnetized metal filings made to look like both a vagina and coffin is followed throughout the CD booklet.
A Little Bit Longer by The Jonas Brothers. I'll be fair. I've never heard their music and may love it when I hear it. Maybe.
Like A Fire by Solomon Burke. Burke has been recording soul, R&B, gospel and rock albums for 50 years. After some '60s popularity he mostly fell off the charts of everyone. 2002's Don't Give Up on Me was comeback of sorts and astonishingly good. Burke's resurgence continues with this, his third album, since that '02 disc.
Mediterranean Nights by Pavlo. New age guitar music by a Greek or Italian guy or something. How many countries border the Mediterranean anyway? I'm a Librarian I should look that up.
Death Magentic by Metallica. The cover's illustration of magnetized metal filings made to look like both a vagina and coffin is followed throughout the CD booklet.
A Little Bit Longer by The Jonas Brothers. I'll be fair. I've never heard their music and may love it when I hear it. Maybe.
Like A Fire by Solomon Burke. Burke has been recording soul, R&B, gospel and rock albums for 50 years. After some '60s popularity he mostly fell off the charts of everyone. 2002's Don't Give Up on Me was comeback of sorts and astonishingly good. Burke's resurgence continues with this, his third album, since that '02 disc.
Mediterranean Nights by Pavlo. New age guitar music by a Greek or Italian guy or something. How many countries border the Mediterranean anyway? I'm a Librarian I should look that up.
Our New Age music collection is not regularly updated but the older stuff checks out and this seemed like a good choice to try out. Judging by the photos in the CD booklet Pavlo puts on a fun stage show. If the music isn't any good the gal dancers are good looking. Just don't look at the band member wearing a white tie and playing a keytar.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Photographing Yoga Sex (aka I missed two books)
NonFiction
How to Photograph Absolutely Everything: successful pictures from your digital camera by Tom Ang. Full of advice and instruction for great photos from even little cameras. Great illustrations and graphics to instruct.
Better Sex Through Yoga by Jacquie Noelle Greaux. Yoga books check-out a lot. So a Yoga book about sex will check out even more, right? Great illustrations and graphics in this one too.
How to Photograph Absolutely Everything: successful pictures from your digital camera by Tom Ang. Full of advice and instruction for great photos from even little cameras. Great illustrations and graphics to instruct.
Better Sex Through Yoga by Jacquie Noelle Greaux. Yoga books check-out a lot. So a Yoga book about sex will check out even more, right? Great illustrations and graphics in this one too.
Three Chick Books, A Mystery, a Dangerous Dance With Evil
Mystery
A Spoonful Of Poison by M.C. Beaton. Agatha Raisin takes a break from detecting to help promote a local church fete. Someone dies.
Hounded to Death by Rita Mae Brown. An anthropomorphic dog in fox hunting red distracts the hounds from a hiding fox while rich people have a lawn party in the background.
Hell Bent by William G. Tapply. Boston attorney Brady Coyne takes a divorce case of a photojournalist who lost a hand in Iraq. When the soon-to-be divorcee ends up dead by suicide Coyne suspects otherwise.
Large Print
A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber.
NonFiction
The Last Undercover: the true story of an FBI agent's dangerous dance with evil by Bob Hamer. Hamer went undercover to catch pedophiles and infiltrated NAMBLA putting many members in prison for long sentences.
Small Business Start-Up Kit: a step-by-step legal guide by Peri H Pakroo, JD. Latest edition.
A Spoonful Of Poison by M.C. Beaton. Agatha Raisin takes a break from detecting to help promote a local church fete. Someone dies.
Hounded to Death by Rita Mae Brown. An anthropomorphic dog in fox hunting red distracts the hounds from a hiding fox while rich people have a lawn party in the background.
Hell Bent by William G. Tapply. Boston attorney Brady Coyne takes a divorce case of a photojournalist who lost a hand in Iraq. When the soon-to-be divorcee ends up dead by suicide Coyne suspects otherwise.
Large Print
A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber.
NonFiction
The Last Undercover: the true story of an FBI agent's dangerous dance with evil by Bob Hamer. Hamer went undercover to catch pedophiles and infiltrated NAMBLA putting many members in prison for long sentences.
Small Business Start-Up Kit: a step-by-step legal guide by Peri H Pakroo, JD. Latest edition.
DVD With Don Rickles
DVD
1000 Years of Popular Music by Richard Thompson. Richard Thompson toured the country with "a musical survey of the popular music of the last 1000 years." The concert was filmed in San Francisco.
I bought this for our music collection but the big DVD sized case and included DVD fooled our cataloger. That's alright. The included DVD has 19 tunes. Two music CDs with 22 songs total. No AC/DC tunes on this on. But, I just checked to see what the recent tunes are and one of them is The Easybeats Friday on My Mind by George Young and Harry Vanda. George Young is the eldest brother of Angus and Malcom Young (of AC/DC) and both George and Harry produced several AC/DC albums and helped guide the band's early career.
The Ruins starring Jena Malone. Students on vacation in Mexico go into the interior to find a friend's brother at an archeology dig. When they get there they find the hilltop dig site is covered in the vines of a prescient plant planning perilous punishment of all interloPers.
The Orphanage starring [Spaniards]. Laura returns with her family to the seaside orphanage she grew up in. The orphanage is infested with scary ghosts.
This is a Spanish production that I figured to try out.
Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges. Guy builds high-tech flying suit to fight crime. A television advert this morning for this DVD had an AC/DC song playing.
30 Rock: season 2 starring Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer.
Fist of Legend starring Jet Li. "Widely regard as the greatest film of two legendary careers, Fist of Legend teams superstar Jet Li with martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo-ping...Li radiates sheer power and coolness as a kung fu phenom living abroad who returns hom eto avenge his master ans save his martial arts school."
This American Life: season one starring [people]. Ooohh. This was a television program. I thought it was a movie version of the radio program. "Viewers hear compelling stories from everyday folks culled from six months on the road...a captivating look at American life that's not quite documentary, not much of a news magazine, and definitely not a reality show."
Forgetting Sarah Silverman starring Kristen Bell, Jack McBrayer, the brunette from That '70s Show. Guy gets dumped by famous actor girlfriend for rock star. Guy takes vacation to Hawaii to forget girl and ends up at the same resort she and the new boyfriend are staying at.
Mr. Warmth: the Don Rickles Project starring Don Rickles and Bob Newhart. Rickles on stage with comments by well-known actors and comedians. Newhart told a story on television about going on a cruise with Rickles and Rickles insulted a waitress, "Don couldn't help it, that's what he does."
1000 Years of Popular Music by Richard Thompson. Richard Thompson toured the country with "a musical survey of the popular music of the last 1000 years." The concert was filmed in San Francisco.
I bought this for our music collection but the big DVD sized case and included DVD fooled our cataloger. That's alright. The included DVD has 19 tunes. Two music CDs with 22 songs total. No AC/DC tunes on this on. But, I just checked to see what the recent tunes are and one of them is The Easybeats Friday on My Mind by George Young and Harry Vanda. George Young is the eldest brother of Angus and Malcom Young (of AC/DC) and both George and Harry produced several AC/DC albums and helped guide the band's early career.
The Ruins starring Jena Malone. Students on vacation in Mexico go into the interior to find a friend's brother at an archeology dig. When they get there they find the hilltop dig site is covered in the vines of a prescient plant planning perilous punishment of all interloPers.
The Orphanage starring [Spaniards]. Laura returns with her family to the seaside orphanage she grew up in. The orphanage is infested with scary ghosts.
This is a Spanish production that I figured to try out.
Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges. Guy builds high-tech flying suit to fight crime. A television advert this morning for this DVD had an AC/DC song playing.
30 Rock: season 2 starring Tracy Morgan, Alec Baldwin, Jack McBrayer.
Fist of Legend starring Jet Li. "Widely regard as the greatest film of two legendary careers, Fist of Legend teams superstar Jet Li with martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo-ping...Li radiates sheer power and coolness as a kung fu phenom living abroad who returns hom eto avenge his master ans save his martial arts school."
This American Life: season one starring [people]. Ooohh. This was a television program. I thought it was a movie version of the radio program. "Viewers hear compelling stories from everyday folks culled from six months on the road...a captivating look at American life that's not quite documentary, not much of a news magazine, and definitely not a reality show."
Forgetting Sarah Silverman starring Kristen Bell, Jack McBrayer, the brunette from That '70s Show. Guy gets dumped by famous actor girlfriend for rock star. Guy takes vacation to Hawaii to forget girl and ends up at the same resort she and the new boyfriend are staying at.
Mr. Warmth: the Don Rickles Project starring Don Rickles and Bob Newhart. Rickles on stage with comments by well-known actors and comedians. Newhart told a story on television about going on a cruise with Rickles and Rickles insulted a waitress, "Don couldn't help it, that's what he does."
Friday, October 03, 2008
Guesses At What I Missed While I Was Deathly Ill, Battling Against A Vicious Bacterial Invasionn
DVD
Leatherheads starring George Clooney. Clooney plays tackle football in Northern Minnesota.
Bush's War. A Frontline documentary. Four-and-a-half hours of Frontline's coverage of six years worth of year. Policy changes, mistakes, misperceptions, and political battles.
Torchwood: the complete second season. My wife watches this show. Something about a bi-sexual space captain who battles aliens with the help of Dr. Who.
Baby Mama starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. A career woman hires a surrogate to carry her child. The surrogate turns out to be an idiot from Philadelphia.
Heroes: Season Two. Season two of the television version of X-Men. Oops.
Redbelt starring the great Joe Mantegna and Ricky Jay, written and directed by David Mamet. A Jiu-Jitsu master who has always focused on his self-defense studio becomes a prizefighter to pay off massive debts.
Since this is a Mamet picture the cast includes Rebecca Pigeon and Ricky Jay. I do not often watch DVD extras but for Mamet's Spartan I listened to the voiceover by Val Kilmer. Kilmer made much fun of Mamet.
Street Kings starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie. LAPD officer is implicated in murder of fellow officer. Hugh Laurie plays a hard-ass. I'd like to see this, too bad it is checked-out.
In Bruges starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes. Dark comedy with two hired killers stuck in small town Belgium trying to lay low.
Office: season four starring [people].
Starship Troopers 3: marauder starring Casper van Dien, Jolene Blalock, Amanda Donohue. Did you know there was a Starship Troopers 2? It was awful. This one brings back the creator and lead actor from the 1997 picture.
CD
A Piece of What You Need by Teddy Thompson. I like this guy's stuff. Give a listen. If you do as well check out his other two albums Separate Ways and Upfront & Down Low.
Forgiven by Los Lonely Boys. Texas styled guitar rock.
Costello Music by The Fratellis. I do not know. Investigate.
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too by Martha Wainwright. The woman is a genius.
Leatherheads starring George Clooney. Clooney plays tackle football in Northern Minnesota.
Bush's War. A Frontline documentary. Four-and-a-half hours of Frontline's coverage of six years worth of year. Policy changes, mistakes, misperceptions, and political battles.
Torchwood: the complete second season. My wife watches this show. Something about a bi-sexual space captain who battles aliens with the help of Dr. Who.
Baby Mama starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. A career woman hires a surrogate to carry her child. The surrogate turns out to be an idiot from Philadelphia.
Heroes: Season Two. Season two of the television version of X-Men. Oops.
Redbelt starring the great Joe Mantegna and Ricky Jay, written and directed by David Mamet. A Jiu-Jitsu master who has always focused on his self-defense studio becomes a prizefighter to pay off massive debts.
Since this is a Mamet picture the cast includes Rebecca Pigeon and Ricky Jay. I do not often watch DVD extras but for Mamet's Spartan I listened to the voiceover by Val Kilmer. Kilmer made much fun of Mamet.
Street Kings starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie. LAPD officer is implicated in murder of fellow officer. Hugh Laurie plays a hard-ass. I'd like to see this, too bad it is checked-out.
In Bruges starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes. Dark comedy with two hired killers stuck in small town Belgium trying to lay low.
Office: season four starring [people].
Starship Troopers 3: marauder starring Casper van Dien, Jolene Blalock, Amanda Donohue. Did you know there was a Starship Troopers 2? It was awful. This one brings back the creator and lead actor from the 1997 picture.
CD
A Piece of What You Need by Teddy Thompson. I like this guy's stuff. Give a listen. If you do as well check out his other two albums Separate Ways and Upfront & Down Low.
Forgiven by Los Lonely Boys. Texas styled guitar rock.
Costello Music by The Fratellis. I do not know. Investigate.
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too by Martha Wainwright. The woman is a genius.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
I Was Sick For Four Days, Here is Tim Reid and White People
Fiction
Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I think I may be sick again.
Eclipse by Erin Hunter. Some crapola about psychic space cats. Just read this nonsense: Lionpaw dreams of being undefeatable in battle, while Hollypaw longs to be a great leader and Jaypaw knows only he can see the true past and future for them all. Their strengths are tested when ThunderClan is suddenly attacked - and all four Clans are thrown into a battle unlike any the cats have ever seen.
Wait! It gets worse. This is from the author bio: Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world...Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal bevahoir, shaped by her interest in astrology and standing stones.
NonFiction
Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe. "Solutions to every problem you'll ever face, answers to every questions you'll ever ask."
Super Stitches Knitting: essential techniques plus a dictionary of more than 300 stitch patterns by Karen Hemingway. Many photos.
Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander. Marathons, '80s Night, Sarah Silverman, multilingual children, irony, natural medicine, Tyranena Biketoberfest.
The Day After He Left for Iraq by Melissa Seligman. One year of the author's time at Fort Campbell with a newborn and toddler while her husband is in Iraq. This is supposed to be an excellent book.
Aperberger's From the Inside Out by Michael John Carley. Personal advice from an adult with Asperberger'swhose also the father of a son with Asperberger's.
Tim & and Tom: an American comedy in black and white by Tim reid and Tom Dreesen. Tim Reid paired with Tom Dreesen in a comedy act in for five years but never quite hit the big time.
That Tim Reid is always good. He was in WKRP, Simon&Simon, Frank's Place, that stupid kids show with the twins, That '70s Show.
Large Print
Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods.
Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. I think I may be sick again.
Eclipse by Erin Hunter. Some crapola about psychic space cats. Just read this nonsense: Lionpaw dreams of being undefeatable in battle, while Hollypaw longs to be a great leader and Jaypaw knows only he can see the true past and future for them all. Their strengths are tested when ThunderClan is suddenly attacked - and all four Clans are thrown into a battle unlike any the cats have ever seen.
Wait! It gets worse. This is from the author bio: Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world...Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal bevahoir, shaped by her interest in astrology and standing stones.
NonFiction
Knitting Answer Book by Margaret Radcliffe. "Solutions to every problem you'll ever face, answers to every questions you'll ever ask."
Super Stitches Knitting: essential techniques plus a dictionary of more than 300 stitch patterns by Karen Hemingway. Many photos.
Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander. Marathons, '80s Night, Sarah Silverman, multilingual children, irony, natural medicine, Tyranena Biketoberfest.
The Day After He Left for Iraq by Melissa Seligman. One year of the author's time at Fort Campbell with a newborn and toddler while her husband is in Iraq. This is supposed to be an excellent book.
Aperberger's From the Inside Out by Michael John Carley. Personal advice from an adult with Asperberger'swhose also the father of a son with Asperberger's.
Tim & and Tom: an American comedy in black and white by Tim reid and Tom Dreesen. Tim Reid paired with Tom Dreesen in a comedy act in for five years but never quite hit the big time.
That Tim Reid is always good. He was in WKRP, Simon&Simon, Frank's Place, that stupid kids show with the twins, That '70s Show.
Large Print
Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Dang it! I Missed Four
NonFiction
We Are Soldiers Still: a journey back to the battlefields of Vietnam by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (USA Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. Moore and Galloway's return trips to Vietnam with veterans from Moore's unit.
Lions of Iwo Jima: the story of Combat Team 28 and the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history by Major General Fred haynes (USMC-Ret.) and James A. Warren. Haynes was a captain when CT 28landed on Iwo Jima. Marines from CT28 raised the flag on Suribachi and fought through 36 continuous days to secure the island ending with 70% casualties. "The stories told here, many for the first time, will seem too cruel, too heartbreaking to be believed. As one veteran remarked, 'Each day we learned a new way to die.'"
200 Knitting Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets by Betty Barnden.
Contemporary Knitting for Textile Artists by Ruth Lee.
We Are Soldiers Still: a journey back to the battlefields of Vietnam by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (USA Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. Moore and Galloway's return trips to Vietnam with veterans from Moore's unit.
Lions of Iwo Jima: the story of Combat Team 28 and the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history by Major General Fred haynes (USMC-Ret.) and James A. Warren. Haynes was a captain when CT 28landed on Iwo Jima. Marines from CT28 raised the flag on Suribachi and fought through 36 continuous days to secure the island ending with 70% casualties. "The stories told here, many for the first time, will seem too cruel, too heartbreaking to be believed. As one veteran remarked, 'Each day we learned a new way to die.'"
200 Knitting Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets by Betty Barnden.
Contemporary Knitting for Textile Artists by Ruth Lee.
First of Four for Knitting, Plus Another Sniper Book
Fiction
Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez. Margle the Horrendous transforms his enemies into accursed forms and sticks them in a dungeon. Margle's castle is tended by Nessy, a short, furry and sensible kubold. When Margle dies Nessy has trouble keeping things squared away.
I've read three of Martinez'z books and enjoyed them all. He writes humorous fantasy and science fiction. I enjoyed Gil's All Fright Diner and In the Company of Ogres the most. He populates his work with not quite competent protagonists with even less competent helpers in battles against evil. Fun stuff.
NonFiction
Vogue Knitting: the ultimate sock book by the editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine. Knitting has been popular and when I mentioned to a customer at check-out how I needed to get more knitting books she said, "Yes. You do." So I did. Three more titles are in the wings and will be on the shelves shortly.
Shyness: how normal behavior became a sickness by Christopher Lane. "How a handful of psychiatrists, with the help of the pharmaceutical industry, turned the ordinary emotion of shyness into an illness...Christopher Lnae unearths the disturbing truth: with little scientific justification and sometimes hilariously improbable rationales, hundreds of conditions - including shyness - are now defined as psychiatric disorders and considered treatable with drugs."
Loose Girl: a memoir of promiscuity by Kerry Cohen. Cohen eleven years old and the lonely girl of recently divorced parents when she found that her body and sexuality gained her attention. She started trading sex for love. Now a psychotherapist, Cohen recognizes her behavior as a common trait among many women.
Bar Flower: my decadent destructive days and nights as a Tokyo nightclub hostess by Lea Jacobson. Jacobson was an East Asian Studies major who moved to Japan. She was fired from her job as an English teacher and took a job as a nightclub hostess. Anglo hostesses are in high demand at Tokyo nightclubs and the free booze and freely told lies to her customers started had Jacobson "descending into self-abuse and alcoholism, she found that the seductive lifestyle she loved so much seemed impossible to escape."
Ernie: the autobiography by Ernest Borgnine. Marty, From Here to Eternity, The Dirty Dozen, Bad Day at Black Rock, Ice Station Zebra, McHale's Navy. Ernie is 91 years old and still working with voiceovers for SpongeBob Square Pants and a guest part on the Simpsons. "A fascinating memoir - filled with secrets, well-remembered details, and never-before-told stories - of a star who has thrived in the changing world of Hollywood for more than half a century."
Sniping
Sniper One: on scope and under siege with a sniper team in Iraq by Sgt. Dan Mills. Mills deployed with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment to Al-Amarah, Iraq in 2004. Mills' sniper platoon was attacked within hours. 120 degree weather, failed sewers, garbage piles everywhere and bullets headed the wrong way.
We have a lot of sniper related bios and autobios set in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the sniper books check out I decided to get this one too. Nice photo sections included. Mills served with Johnson Beharry who was awarded the Victoria Cross for action on March 18, 2005.
Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez. Margle the Horrendous transforms his enemies into accursed forms and sticks them in a dungeon. Margle's castle is tended by Nessy, a short, furry and sensible kubold. When Margle dies Nessy has trouble keeping things squared away.
I've read three of Martinez'z books and enjoyed them all. He writes humorous fantasy and science fiction. I enjoyed Gil's All Fright Diner and In the Company of Ogres the most. He populates his work with not quite competent protagonists with even less competent helpers in battles against evil. Fun stuff.
NonFiction
Vogue Knitting: the ultimate sock book by the editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine. Knitting has been popular and when I mentioned to a customer at check-out how I needed to get more knitting books she said, "Yes. You do." So I did. Three more titles are in the wings and will be on the shelves shortly.
Shyness: how normal behavior became a sickness by Christopher Lane. "How a handful of psychiatrists, with the help of the pharmaceutical industry, turned the ordinary emotion of shyness into an illness...Christopher Lnae unearths the disturbing truth: with little scientific justification and sometimes hilariously improbable rationales, hundreds of conditions - including shyness - are now defined as psychiatric disorders and considered treatable with drugs."
Loose Girl: a memoir of promiscuity by Kerry Cohen. Cohen eleven years old and the lonely girl of recently divorced parents when she found that her body and sexuality gained her attention. She started trading sex for love. Now a psychotherapist, Cohen recognizes her behavior as a common trait among many women.
Bar Flower: my decadent destructive days and nights as a Tokyo nightclub hostess by Lea Jacobson. Jacobson was an East Asian Studies major who moved to Japan. She was fired from her job as an English teacher and took a job as a nightclub hostess. Anglo hostesses are in high demand at Tokyo nightclubs and the free booze and freely told lies to her customers started had Jacobson "descending into self-abuse and alcoholism, she found that the seductive lifestyle she loved so much seemed impossible to escape."
Ernie: the autobiography by Ernest Borgnine. Marty, From Here to Eternity, The Dirty Dozen, Bad Day at Black Rock, Ice Station Zebra, McHale's Navy. Ernie is 91 years old and still working with voiceovers for SpongeBob Square Pants and a guest part on the Simpsons. "A fascinating memoir - filled with secrets, well-remembered details, and never-before-told stories - of a star who has thrived in the changing world of Hollywood for more than half a century."
Sniping
Sniper One: on scope and under siege with a sniper team in Iraq by Sgt. Dan Mills. Mills deployed with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment to Al-Amarah, Iraq in 2004. Mills' sniper platoon was attacked within hours. 120 degree weather, failed sewers, garbage piles everywhere and bullets headed the wrong way.
We have a lot of sniper related bios and autobios set in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the sniper books check out I decided to get this one too. Nice photo sections included. Mills served with Johnson Beharry who was awarded the Victoria Cross for action on March 18, 2005.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
What to Read 9
Photography books at the Library.
Prairiescapes by Larry Kanfer.
Disfarmer: the vintage prints by Mike Disfarmer.
Snakes: a concise guide to nature's perfect predators by Daniel Gilpin.
Monkey Portraits by Jill Greenberg.
Armed America: portraits of gun owners in their homes by Kyle Cassidy.
Gary Schneider: portraits by Gary Schneider.
Gary Schneider: nudes by Gary Schneider.
Prairiescapes by Larry Kanfer.
Disfarmer: the vintage prints by Mike Disfarmer.
Snakes: a concise guide to nature's perfect predators by Daniel Gilpin.
Monkey Portraits by Jill Greenberg.
Armed America: portraits of gun owners in their homes by Kyle Cassidy.
Gary Schneider: portraits by Gary Schneider.
Gary Schneider: nudes by Gary Schneider.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bad Voodoo's Cinderella Dancing
DVD
Bad Voodoo's War. Producers for Frontline supplied cameras to a National Guard platoon for them to record their deployment in Iraq. "The film intimately tracks the veterans of "Bad Voodoo" through the daily realities of their perilous missions, grappling with the political complexities of dealing with Iraqi security forces, and battling their fatigue and their fears."
Another Cinderella Story starring [teenagers]. "It's musical. It's magical. It's Another Cinderella Story, the dancing-ever-after fairy tale."
Bad Voodoo's War. Producers for Frontline supplied cameras to a National Guard platoon for them to record their deployment in Iraq. "The film intimately tracks the veterans of "Bad Voodoo" through the daily realities of their perilous missions, grappling with the political complexities of dealing with Iraqi security forces, and battling their fatigue and their fears."
Another Cinderella Story starring [teenagers]. "It's musical. It's magical. It's Another Cinderella Story, the dancing-ever-after fairy tale."
Monday, September 22, 2008
Eight Large Print Novels
Large Print.
Look the plots up yourself; they are mostly chick books.
Fractured by Karin Slaughter.
Cypress Nights by Stella Cameron.
Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs.
Left to Die by Lisa Jackson.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
Last Time I was Me by Cathy Lamb.
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes.
Look the plots up yourself; they are mostly chick books.
Fractured by Karin Slaughter.
Cypress Nights by Stella Cameron.
Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs.
Left to Die by Lisa Jackson.
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.
Last Time I was Me by Cathy Lamb.
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes.
Fiction with some AudioBooks on CD
AudioBooks on CD
Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen. 9 CDs, 11 hours. This is the mummy-in-a-museum-basement-that's-actually-a-recent-murder-victim novel.
Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. 16 CDs, 19 hours. Morally vaccuous guy gets in car wreck and is horribly burned. A sculpture visits him and says they were lover in medieval Germany. Released to her care he is dependent on painkillers and she hears God talking to her.
Fiction
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane. Post World War Boston with local cop Danny joining the union movement and hunting radicals. Real life characters are mixed into the fray.
Heat Lightning by John Sandford. Virgil Flowers gets caclled to Stillwater where the body of a homicide victim is left next to a veteran's memorial with a lemon in his mouth.
Tsar by Ted Bell. Alex Hawke is assigned to put find and stop to a mysterious and powerful Russian who hopes to be a new tsar. With control of Europe's oil supply and a mind to "reintegrate rogue states" the new tsar is threat to both Europe and the U.S. and is killing all who oppose him.
Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter. Bob Lee Swagger's reporter daughter's car is forced into a crash. Bob Lee goes against a violent Dixie mobster clan, corrupt cops, "deranged evangelicals, and others. Set during the weeklong NASCAR race in Bristol, TN.
The last Bob Lee Swagger novel was a disappointment to me. Maybe this Hunter is back to form again.
Liberty by Garrison Keillor. Clint Bunsen is running this year's 4th of July parade in Lake Wobegon. But his "success breeds resentment" and with a personal crisis over his ancestry Clint is wondering whether he should run away with his much younger girlfriend or run for Congress.
Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel Dalhousie looks into a local doctor's scientific fraud in commercial drug release.
Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Replacement copy. The original hardcover was so popular it wore out.
Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods. I don't know what the heck this novel is about. The book leaf says jack all about the plot except that Stone Barrington travels to New England.
Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen. 9 CDs, 11 hours. This is the mummy-in-a-museum-basement-that's-actually-a-recent-murder-victim novel.
Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. 16 CDs, 19 hours. Morally vaccuous guy gets in car wreck and is horribly burned. A sculpture visits him and says they were lover in medieval Germany. Released to her care he is dependent on painkillers and she hears God talking to her.
Fiction
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane. Post World War Boston with local cop Danny joining the union movement and hunting radicals. Real life characters are mixed into the fray.
Heat Lightning by John Sandford. Virgil Flowers gets caclled to Stillwater where the body of a homicide victim is left next to a veteran's memorial with a lemon in his mouth.
Tsar by Ted Bell. Alex Hawke is assigned to put find and stop to a mysterious and powerful Russian who hopes to be a new tsar. With control of Europe's oil supply and a mind to "reintegrate rogue states" the new tsar is threat to both Europe and the U.S. and is killing all who oppose him.
Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter. Bob Lee Swagger's reporter daughter's car is forced into a crash. Bob Lee goes against a violent Dixie mobster clan, corrupt cops, "deranged evangelicals, and others. Set during the weeklong NASCAR race in Bristol, TN.
The last Bob Lee Swagger novel was a disappointment to me. Maybe this Hunter is back to form again.
Liberty by Garrison Keillor. Clint Bunsen is running this year's 4th of July parade in Lake Wobegon. But his "success breeds resentment" and with a personal crisis over his ancestry Clint is wondering whether he should run away with his much younger girlfriend or run for Congress.
Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel Dalhousie looks into a local doctor's scientific fraud in commercial drug release.
Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Replacement copy. The original hardcover was so popular it wore out.
Hot Mahogany by Stuart Woods. I don't know what the heck this novel is about. The book leaf says jack all about the plot except that Stone Barrington travels to New England.
Graphic Novels Spread Across the Collection
Children
Haunting of Julia by M. Hooper. "before Julia can blow out her birthday candles, the flames vanish into smoke! When she watches a replay on her dad's videotape, she sees a mysterious figure standing behind her shoulder. Julia suspects a ghost has blown out the candles and has come to haunt her. At first, Julia's parents don't believe her. But when the mystery figure shows up again, the whole family must face the shocking truth."Young Adult (Teenagers)
Young Adult (Teenager)
Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi: Volume 1 and Volume 2. "The ancient history of the Jedi, the Sith, and even hyperspace, in these earliest known stories of the Star Wars galaxy, taking place five thousand years before Luke Skywalker's successful assault on the Death Star."
Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: Volume 1. "The greatest starfighters of the Rebel Alliance become the defenders of a New Rpublic in this collection of stories featuring Wedge Antilles, hero of the Battle of Endor, and his team of ace pilots known throughout the galaxy as Rogue Squadron!"
Sandman Mystery Theatre: Dr. Death and the Night of the Butcher. Wesley Dodds has kept his alter ego or Sandman hidden from Dian. HIs secrecy has undermined their relationship and "after so many lies and evasions, the truth may prove to be as destructive as the silence that went before it - just as Wesley realizes how much he truly needs Dian's love to find his way out of the darkness."
Adult
Fallen Son: the death of Captain America. "Wolverine. The Avengers. Hawkeye. Spider-Man. Iron Man. All have their own sense of loss, their own levels of grieving. This is their story. This is Cap's story. This is our story. The story of a Fallen Son and the world he helped make a better place."
Captain America. "The first 25 issues of Brubaker's epic series are now compiled...[including] two giant-sized one shots - Captain America 25th Anniversary Special and Winter Soldier: Winter Kills."
Blankets by Craig Thompson. An "illustrated novel." A first love novel from childhood to adolescence in a family of Christian fundamentalists.
Author grew up in WI and this novel has widespread praise and admiration.
DMZ: on the ground. With the U.S. Army spread overseas anti-establishment milities rebel and start a second Civil War. Fighting stops in the new DMZ of Manhattan. "Matty Roth, a naive aspiring photojournalist, lands a dream gig following a veteran war correspondent into the heart of the DMZ. Things go terribly wrong, and Matty finds himself lost and alone in a world he's only seen on television."
Hot Wire Comics. "Amazing! Incredible! Dangerous!" A compendium of goofy underground-style comics.
Haunting of Julia by M. Hooper. "before Julia can blow out her birthday candles, the flames vanish into smoke! When she watches a replay on her dad's videotape, she sees a mysterious figure standing behind her shoulder. Julia suspects a ghost has blown out the candles and has come to haunt her. At first, Julia's parents don't believe her. But when the mystery figure shows up again, the whole family must face the shocking truth."Young Adult (Teenagers)
Young Adult (Teenager)
Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi: Volume 1 and Volume 2. "The ancient history of the Jedi, the Sith, and even hyperspace, in these earliest known stories of the Star Wars galaxy, taking place five thousand years before Luke Skywalker's successful assault on the Death Star."
Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: Volume 1. "The greatest starfighters of the Rebel Alliance become the defenders of a New Rpublic in this collection of stories featuring Wedge Antilles, hero of the Battle of Endor, and his team of ace pilots known throughout the galaxy as Rogue Squadron!"
Sandman Mystery Theatre: Dr. Death and the Night of the Butcher. Wesley Dodds has kept his alter ego or Sandman hidden from Dian. HIs secrecy has undermined their relationship and "after so many lies and evasions, the truth may prove to be as destructive as the silence that went before it - just as Wesley realizes how much he truly needs Dian's love to find his way out of the darkness."
Adult
Fallen Son: the death of Captain America. "Wolverine. The Avengers. Hawkeye. Spider-Man. Iron Man. All have their own sense of loss, their own levels of grieving. This is their story. This is Cap's story. This is our story. The story of a Fallen Son and the world he helped make a better place."
Captain America. "The first 25 issues of Brubaker's epic series are now compiled...[including] two giant-sized one shots - Captain America 25th Anniversary Special and Winter Soldier: Winter Kills."
Blankets by Craig Thompson. An "illustrated novel." A first love novel from childhood to adolescence in a family of Christian fundamentalists.
Author grew up in WI and this novel has widespread praise and admiration.
DMZ: on the ground. With the U.S. Army spread overseas anti-establishment milities rebel and start a second Civil War. Fighting stops in the new DMZ of Manhattan. "Matty Roth, a naive aspiring photojournalist, lands a dream gig following a veteran war correspondent into the heart of the DMZ. Things go terribly wrong, and Matty finds himself lost and alone in a world he's only seen on television."
Hot Wire Comics. "Amazing! Incredible! Dangerous!" A compendium of goofy underground-style comics.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Two From Rachel, Five From Ruth (Library Pages Not Biblical Figures)
Music CDs
19 by Adele. I think this is another one of those "I'll try that out." CDs. The gal was on Conan's show recently but I did not watch her performance. Here is a description.
from the Reach by Sonny Landreth. Louisiana slide guitar virtuoso. Guest appearance with Mark Knopfler, Robben Ford and others. One of those others is Dr. John. Dr. John creeps me out.
Fiction
Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen. Staff at the Crispin Museum discover a long-lost Egyptian mummy in the Museum's basement storage. Whoops! Let me change that. Crispin Museum staff find a murder victim trussed up like a mummy in the basement. Then they find another one down there. Then an archeologist finds one in his car. "I don't remember putting that there..."
Gerritsen wrote a neat little piece one or two weeks ago regarding censorship. I had to figuratively open my big mouth and respond in a way that only readers of previous blog responses would have understood.
Creepers by Joanne Dahme. Courtney's house in rural Murmur, MA is surrounded by fields, farmland, and a cemetery. Everything is hunky-dory for Courtney until a couple strange locals inform her that her house was built on the foundation of a house that has a 300 year curse. This could be bad.
Obsession by Marshall Cook. Monona Quinn is on vacation with her husband in Northern Wisconsin at a writer's retreat. When the pompous ass of a writing teacher is killed Monona starts sleuthing.
Cook came and spoke at Lake Mills Rotary last week. Cook sets his Quinn mysteries in a fictionalized Marshall, WI. Quinn is a newspaper editor - giving her license to snoop around and ask questions - and her husband is... I don't remember what he does.
AudioBooks
19th Wife by David Ebershoff. 19 hours on 15 discs. Ann Eliza has left her husband. Not too big a deal right? It happens every day. But not in 1875 Utah; not when your husband is Brigham Young. Ann starts a crusade against polygamy that ties into the present day story of family outcast Jordan out to discover "the truth behind his [polygamist] father's death."
Off Season by Anne River Siddons. Widow travels to favorite vacation spot in Maine to adjust to loss of husband.
19 by Adele. I think this is another one of those "I'll try that out." CDs. The gal was on Conan's show recently but I did not watch her performance. Here is a description.
from the Reach by Sonny Landreth. Louisiana slide guitar virtuoso. Guest appearance with Mark Knopfler, Robben Ford and others. One of those others is Dr. John. Dr. John creeps me out.
Fiction
Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen. Staff at the Crispin Museum discover a long-lost Egyptian mummy in the Museum's basement storage. Whoops! Let me change that. Crispin Museum staff find a murder victim trussed up like a mummy in the basement. Then they find another one down there. Then an archeologist finds one in his car. "I don't remember putting that there..."
Gerritsen wrote a neat little piece one or two weeks ago regarding censorship. I had to figuratively open my big mouth and respond in a way that only readers of previous blog responses would have understood.
Creepers by Joanne Dahme. Courtney's house in rural Murmur, MA is surrounded by fields, farmland, and a cemetery. Everything is hunky-dory for Courtney until a couple strange locals inform her that her house was built on the foundation of a house that has a 300 year curse. This could be bad.
Obsession by Marshall Cook. Monona Quinn is on vacation with her husband in Northern Wisconsin at a writer's retreat. When the pompous ass of a writing teacher is killed Monona starts sleuthing.
Cook came and spoke at Lake Mills Rotary last week. Cook sets his Quinn mysteries in a fictionalized Marshall, WI. Quinn is a newspaper editor - giving her license to snoop around and ask questions - and her husband is... I don't remember what he does.
AudioBooks
19th Wife by David Ebershoff. 19 hours on 15 discs. Ann Eliza has left her husband. Not too big a deal right? It happens every day. But not in 1875 Utah; not when your husband is Brigham Young. Ann starts a crusade against polygamy that ties into the present day story of family outcast Jordan out to discover "the truth behind his [polygamist] father's death."
Off Season by Anne River Siddons. Widow travels to favorite vacation spot in Maine to adjust to loss of husband.
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