Monday, December 28, 2015

Two Musics

Musics Are Presented By Plastic Platter

Uncovered by Shawn Colvin. Singer sings songs sung by other singers. I went looking for a clip of this song and see that Colvin has been playing this Crowded House tune for 15 years or so.



B'Lieve I'm Going Down by Kurt Vile. Singer sings songs and plays fancy guitar songs.


Saturday, December 26, 2015

Read Aloud - Read Away

Read Aloud - Read Away

Starting January 2 is a month long chance for children to reduce their fines by reading inside the library. Reading is vital to childhood development and we don't want our customers blocked from the library or afraid of their fines.

Children's books accrue over due fines at $0.05 a day. Reading time will be worth $0.25 for each 15 minute block of time. You have to read in the library. Read in the Children's Room. Read in the magazine room. Read in the YA room. Read on the stairs. Read on the chairs. Read upstairs.


Read to a dog. Read to a mop. Read to yourself. Read to a tool box. Read to the ceiling. Read to that guy over there. Read to the ceiling fan. Read to Batman.

 

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

One Book. It is a novel.

Fiction

The Verdict by Nick Stone. Nick Stone sounds like a character in a shoot-em novelm which is convenient for the character with that name. This Nick Stone is not only a real person, be he also shaves his head and poses for black and white photos for his author photo. Plot: a lawyer has a career making case but involves defending a guy who the lawyer abhors.

I wonder if Stone thought of using a pen name The Nick Stone series has been pretty popular in the UK. I read the first 5-6 Nick Stone novels and really enjoyed a couple of them. I wish I knew who the ghost authors were, I presume it is several people and not one person. But, I don't know.

 Hey! Maybe Nick Stone ghosted a Nick Stone novel. That'd be cool.

Monday, December 14, 2015

The Regular Prints-Too-Much Crowd

Fiction

Precious Gifts by Danielle Steel. I always want to throw an extra E on the end of Steel.  This book cover has a blue butterfly.

Cross Justice by James Patterson Dang. Patterson wrote this by himself? He has not done that in a while.

House of the Rising Sun by James Lee Burke. Burke's daughter, Alafair, is active on Facebook. I don't follow Ms. Burke but her posts still end up in my feed.

So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood by Patrick Modiano. "A haunting novel of suspense" by the 2014 Nobel Prize dude from France.

Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz. Secret Sisters? I liked their first album. Oh, dang, the library owns their second album as well. Wow, I put the second album in iTunes as well, here is a track.




Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz. Koontz's author photo does not include any dogs. That's a switch.

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More Large Print

Fine Reduction for Children This January

Fine Reduction

Starting January 2 is a month long chance for children to reduce their fines by reading inside the library. Reading is vital to childhood development and we don't want our customers blocked from the library or afraid of their fines.

Children's books accrue over due fines at $0.05 a day. Reading time will be worth $0.25 for each 15 minute block of time. You have to read in the library. Library Director provided glaring is optional.

 We do need a slogan and encourage suggestions. Current slogan suggestions include:
 

New Year - New Slate
Read Aloud Read Away
Fines Shmines
Library Director Read-A-Long
Speed Your Read and Stop the Bleed

Hey, That Book Won't Read Itself!
Don't You Want to Grow Big and Strong Like Your Father?
Yes, Comic Books Count But I, Personally, Think Archie is Lame
I Agree, Bill Crider Novels Are Always A Good Choice, But You're Seven Years Old, How About Magic Tree House Instead?



Your New Favorite Song

Your Fancy Electronic Machine Decodes The Digital Content On A Flat Plastic Disc and Plays Songs

V by Wavves. Californians sings songs about things and play your new favorite song.



Down to Believing by Allison Moorer. Redheaded woman plays instruments and sings songs. I've not heard any of these tunes but Moorer has recorded some really good tunes.


Zipper Down by Eagles of Death Metal. Band sings loud and catchy songs and survives a terrorist attack. Jeez, that must have been freaking awful. You're up there playing guitar, thinking the show is going great, and then some murderous [curse words] show up and start killing people.



Friday, December 11, 2015

Back online. Back with more Music.

Musical Types Make Musical Noise And Sell That Noise to Consumers So That Record Companies Can Keep Most of the Profit

Bad Magic by Motorhead. ENGLISH METAL BAND PLAYS LOUDLY AND SINGS.


Threat to Survival by Shinedown. Some sort of band I know nothing about sings songs.


Immortalized by Disturbed. Another band I know nothing about also sings songs.


Revival by Selena Gomez. Former actor now sings more songs for her latest album with a title that reminds me of Reverend Horton Heat.


No No No by Beirut. American sings songs on British radio that are heard by an American library director who then buys the American singer's album for American library users.



Storyteller by Carrie Underwood. Singer with long blond hair sings songs about Mexican vacation.



Kill All the Lights by Luke Bryan. Singer I know nothing about sings pop country songs from an album that reminds me of Richard Thompson.



Star Wars by Wilco. Illinois rock band plays instruments and sing songs about imaginary space battles and Lord Vader.



25 by Adele. Famous singer sings songs about obsessive ex-girlfriends.


WOW Hits 2016: deluxe edition by[various artists]. [Various artists] sing about faith from an album series that reminds me of Wow!!7 AM.



DVD

Black Sails: seasons one and two starring [actors]. Pirates pirate on the open seas. 


Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Stormtrooper Photos

3D Printer Sample

A library patron brought in this Stormtrooper helmet he made using his 3D printers.








Shedding a tear for Lord Vader.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

DVDs and Why I Bought Them

DVD

Rectify: the second season starring [actors]. I bought this because season one circ'ed well.

Orange is the New Black: season two starring Taylor Schilling. I bought this because people like it.

The Knick: the complete first season starring Clive Owen. I bought this because Anthony Neil Smith was raving about it.



Downton Abbey: season five starring [actors]. I bought this because the show is still going strong enough for people to still keep watching.


Veep: the complete second season starring [that woman actor from Seinfeld whose name skips my mind]. I bought this because it gets Emmy nominations and awards.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl starring [actors]. I bought this because I figured people would want to watch it.

Mad Men: the finale season part 2 starring Jon Hamm. I bought this because people will watch it and because the DVD weasels split the final season into two sets so that everyone has to pay twice as much.

Game of Thrones: fourth season starring [actors]. I bought this because: popular, dragons, horses swords, nudity, scheming, etc.

Dark Places starring Charlize Theron. I bought this because I enjoyed the book and Gillian Flynn is currently a Big Deal.



Scandal: the complete fourth season starring [actors]. I bought this after I found out the show has many fans.

The Blacklist: the complete second season starring James Spader. I bought this because many people watch the show.

iZombie starring [blond woman]. I bought this because my wife watches the show and I figure other people will as well.

Friday, November 20, 2015

A Lansdale, A Collins, A Gorman, and Four NonFic

Joe R. Lansdale

Fender Lizards by Joe R. Lansdale. The Sage of East Texas writes another YA novel. Except this is shelved in regular fiction. Oh well, let's see how it runs in regular fic.

Fiction

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin illustrations by Gary  Gianni. Something to do with swords and horses and stuff. Gianni used to illustrate the Prince Valiant weeklies. I read Valiant.

Fate of the Union by Max Allan Collins and Matthew V. Clemens. Collins and Clemens - or - Collins/Clemens - or - CC write a second novel featuring ex-Secret Service Agent Joe Reeder investigating murder and political conspiracy. The first book, Supreme Justice, was good and is over in the Fiction section. To my left. No, my left. Go down, turn right at the break in the shelves, and it will be in the first aisle.

On Monday the Library Board was looking at sample chairs to replace the chairs in Library Hall. The saleslady said the chairs were made by HON in Muscatine, Iowa. I said, "That's where Max Allan Collins lives." She said, "Okay."

Elimination by Ed Gorman.  Gorman also lives in Iowa. I read a previous novel featuring political consultant Dev Conrad. That book was enjoyable. If you read this one tell me if you like it. If you don't like it you can email Gorman and tell him all the reasons why. I hear that authors love those kinds of emails.

The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans. Evans lives in Utah. I wonder how much time he has spent in Iowa. Most of my Iowa time has been drive time.

NonFiction

Milwaukee Mayhem: Murder and mystery in the Cream City's first century by Matthew W. Prigge. I've spent a some overnights in Iowa with relatives but that was over 30 years ago in Marshalltown.

Navigating the Alzheimer's Journey: a compass for caregiving by Carol Bowlby Sifton. I had an overnight recruiting trip to Wartburg College in 1988 or 1989. I was there for a scholarship competition.

A Settler's Year: pioneer life through the seasons by Kathleen Ernst. Set in Old World Wisconsin. I've been to Old World Wisconsin when my older son's fourth grade class took a trip there.

The Givenness of Things: essays by Marilynne Robinson. Old World Wisconsin is not in Iowa.

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Large Print


Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Quarterly Cussler

Fiction

The Guilty by David Baldacci. Baldacci had his author photo taken outside and he is not wearing a tie.

A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan.  Egan should call herself "The Double E".

The Whites by Richard Price writing as Harry Brandt. I think this book came out a while ago. Price's author photo is black and white.

Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich. Evanovich cranks'em out. Does she just work all day every day, or is she so good at things that she barely has to revise?

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Literary adaptation of the radio show.

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith. Another thriller from J.K. Rowling. I listened to the first book in the series and it was fun. The book was also super long.

Pharaoh's Secret by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. Wow, this cover is not filled with explosions and fireballs like most Cussler novel covers.

A Death in the Family by Michael Stanley. Murder in Botswana by two guys who write together under one name.

All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke. Both these authors are Big Deal Writers so I suppose this should be pretty good. I sure hope so because I do not appreciate the cover.

Naughtier Than Nice by Eric Jerome Dickey. Don't Dickey novels always end up on the bestseller list? This is Christmas themed.

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NonFiction

The Oregon Trail: a new American journey by Rinker Buck. Buck and his brother traveled by wagon from Missouri to Oregon.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Large Pie

NonFiction

Pie: 300 tired-and-true recipes for delicious homemade pie by Ken Haedrich. Page 498 says, "Meanwhile ... beat the ... soft peaks ... and ... fold ... aluminum ... garnish ... with ... ice-water."

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Monday, November 09, 2015

ACT Ordinary, Gift Skunk

NonFiction

Up Your ACT Score by Chris Arp and Veritas Tutors. Page 174 says, "x always refers to the input."

Skunk Hill: a native ceremonial community in Wisconsin by Robert A. Birmingham. Archeologist writes book about Potawatomi village founded to maintain traditional native culture. Should native be Native? I'm not certain.

Clive Barker's Tapping the Vein by John Bolton, et al. Comic book versions of Barker stories, a book from 2002.

Come As You Are: the surprising new science that will transform your sex life by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. Page 129 says, "Let it."

Delicious One-Pot Dishes by Linda Gassenheimer. Gassenheimer. That is a fun name to same.  Page says, " This is a shortcut version of a favorite Southern dish."

Fiction

The Splendor of Ordinary Days by Jeff High. Doctor takes small town job to pay medical school debts.

Audiobook on CD

A Good Family by Erik Fassnacht. 18 hours on 5CDs. Fassnacht.  That is a fun name to say. 

DVD

The Gift starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgeton. Creepy dude scares married couple.


BOB DYLAN // LIKE A ROLLING STONE from Alessio Ruta on Vimeo.


Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard.  Dinosaurs escape or something. I am not sure, I did not care enough about this flick to found out what it is about.


Friday, November 06, 2015

Musical Music Makers

Instruments Are Played, Recordings Are Made, Distribution Is Varied

Picking Up The Pieces by Jewel. Country sings sings new songs.



Introducing Darlene Love by Darlene Love. Famous back-up singer sings songs with Little Steven.


Kill The Lights by Luke Bryan. Country pop singer sings country pop.


Bad Magic by Motorhead. HEAVY METAL LEMMY SINGS HEAVY METAL SONGS.



Cass County by Don Henley. Famous rock drummer sings country songs about Texas.


Got Your Six by Five Finger Death Punch. HEAVY METAL BAND PLAYS LOUD INSTRUMENTS AND SINGS.



Are You Satisfied? by Slaves. Remember when I posted a Slaves music video over and over a couple weeks ago. That was not a mistake.




Top 25 Praise Songs: 2016 by Various Artists. Various artists sing various songs.

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Shiney Sound Discs

Music on Shiny Plastic Discs That Rapidly Rotate in Your Music Machine

Compton: a soundtrack by Dr. Dre. Rappers rap about rapping for a rap movie about rappers who rap and become famous.

Call Me Insane by Dale Watson. Country music singer plays guitar and sings about mental health.


Gates of Gold by Los Lobos. Los Angelinos sing in both English and Spanish.


Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. Re-release of famous album with rappers rapping about living in California.

Crosseyed Heart by keith Richards. Famous guitarist sings songs, smokes cigarettes, and releases a solo album.

Monday, November 02, 2015

*No Relation*

NonFiction

Fast Girl: a life spent running from madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton. Former Olympian suffers from mental illness and goes into prostitution. I read an interview with Hamilton and this sounds like a fascinating book. Hamilton is a well known Sconnie so her "outing" as a high price call girl made headlines.

Fiction

Winter Stroll by Elin Hildebrand. Popular novelist writes a Christmas novel.

The Theory of Death by Faye Kellerman. Popular novelist writes a thriller.

Gatefather by Orson Scott Card. Famous novelist writes a fantasy novel.

Die Easy by Zoe Sharp. Popular novelist has earlier novels reprinted in the U.S. by Pegasus Books. Sharp was at Bouchercon in St. Louis. I didn't say hello because hello was all I would have had to say.

After Alice by Gregory Maguire. Popular author writes novel about Alice.

The Scribe by Matthew Guinn. 1881 Atlanta policeman has to find serial killer targeting wealthy black people.

Corrupted by Lisa Scottoline. Popular author writes a thriller novel. Author photo on the back cover is big but I cannot see if she is wearing a watch.

Christmas Bells by Jennifer Chiaverini. Popular author writes a Christmas novel. I thought the cover said Christmas Balls.




Playing With Fire by Tess Gerritsen. Popular author writes a novel about something or other. Let me check... Some kind of satanic sheet music. I think. Hey, Gerritsen is wearing a watch in her photo but the watch face is away from the camera.

Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell. Popular author writes another thriller. Her watch is showing, but the darn thing is shaded so I cannot tell the time.

Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor (no relation). Popular author (no relation) writes another novel set in Rome. 

Gischler Gun Bastards

Victor Gischler 


HellBound by Victor Gischler. Something about an evil trucker who decapitates people?



NonFiction

State of Wisconsin Blue Book, 2015-2016. Flip through and sneer at your political opposites.

Bastards by Mary Anna King.  King's mother was a poor parent with lots of children. King was adopted by her grandparents and left wondering about her mother, her runaway father, and all the siblings she was she sure to discover later on.

Lights Out: a cyber attack, a nation unprepared, surviving the aftermath by Ted Koppel. People who warn and prepare for the possibility of long term - measured in months - power outage.



The Upcycle T-shirt by Jenelle Montilone.  Craft book for crafty people who do crafty crafts.

Gunsmithing the Ar-15, volume 2 by Patrick Sweeney. I was iffy on ordering this book because circ's on previous AR15 are iffy. Some of those items check-out a lot and some just sit on the shelf.

Girl World: how to ditch the drama and find your inner amazing! by Patricia Ottaviano. My inner amazing wants to go home and take a nap.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

I ordered this?

DVD

Morituris: Legions of the Dead starring [Europeans]. Horror novel set in the Romanian mountains when people try and attend a rave. Gore ensues.


Black Jesus: season 1 starring Gerald Johnson and Charlie Murphy. Jesus lives in Compton, CA.



The Duke of Burgundy starring Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna. Man, I don't what this is. Some sort of Gothic sex and manipulation movie.


Final Girl starring Abigail Breslin. Girl wooed by dudes to a forest so they can hunt and kill her. Things do not go as planned.


When Calls the Heart, Season One starring Erin Krakow and Lori Loughlin. Based on Janette Oke's novels about life in a coal town for a new teacher and several widows.


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Trick-or-Treating October 28, 4-6PM

Candy

The annual downtown Trick-or-Treating is tomorrow evening from 4-6PM.
We have 24.25 pounds of candy.





Monday, October 26, 2015

Boxing, Selfishness, and Chercover

Fiction

The Devil's Game by Sean Chercover. Either this novel or it's predecessor, Trinity Game, his the bestseller list. International thriller with a former Vatican investigator looking into a deadly pathogen.

NonFiction

The Age of Selfishness: Ayn Rand, morality, and the financial crisis by Darryl Cunningham. A "devastating analysis of our current economic world" and how Rand's followers caused the economic collapse of 2008.

A Hurting Sport: an inside look at another year in boxing by Thomas Hauser. Annual compilation of Hauser's boxing articles and commentary. I picked up an earlier volume a year or two ago and I really enjoyed reading it. Hauser wrote a few mysteries, The Beethoven Conspiracy was good.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

A Bit of Both

NonFiction

Paid For: my journey through prostitution by Rachel Moran. This had a real good review. Moran was a street kid who started prostituting and as a teen. Moran quit the work at 22-years-old and discusses the mental and physical aspects of the work. Page 25 says, [I cannot find a short sentence].

Unabrow: misadventures of a late bloomer by Una Lamarche. Humorous essays about growing up and then becoming a parent. Page 248 says, "Is Una a reliable narrator?"

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson edited by Thomas H. Johnson. We either needed a copy or the last copy was beat to heck.

Fiction

Lake House by Kate Morton. The cover illustration says, "Rough seas ahead!"

Host by Robin Cook. The cover illustration says, "That man has no face!"

Fear the Dark by Kay Hooper. The cover illustration says, "I'm not going in there."

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham. The cover illustration says, "Wow, this is a nice downtown view, check out the construction cranes over there."

Golden Age by Jane Smiley. The cover illustration says, "Yeah, but I don't think it'll rain so let's walk."

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Monday, October 19, 2015

Gischler Dishing Stars for Seniors

Gischler

The Tattooed Duchess by Victor Gischler. Swords and sorcery sequel to Ink Mage.







Fiction

All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani. 1930s Hollywood with Loretta Young and her employee/friend.

Dishing the Dirt by M.C. Beaton. Agatha Raisin is suspected of murder.

NonFiction

Windows 10 for Seniors for the Beginning Computer User by Visual Steps. A not-so-thick computer book.

Murach's MySQL, 2nd Edition by Joel Murach. A thick computer book. Page 472 says, "In the next few figures, you'll learn how to set system variables."

CCNA Cisco certified network associate routing and switching study guide (Exam 200-101, ICND2), with Boson NetSim, limited edition by Richard Deal

DVD

Packers Road to XLV: post-season collector's edition by NFL Films.

America's game, the Super Bowl champions. Super Bowl XXXI :1996 Green Bay Packers by NFL Films.

America's game. 1966 Green Bay Packers : the Super Bowl champions by NFL Films.

America's game, the Super Bowl champions. Super Bowl II:1997 Green Bay Packers by NFL Films.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Three Novels, Computer Stuff, Civil War

Fiction

Foreign Affairs by Stuart Woods. Your quarterly installation.

City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg. This has some really heavy paper. It is 903 pages long. There are some illustrations.

See Me by Nicholas Sparks. Man meets woman and romance begins.

NonFiction

CompTIA Network+ Certification Exam Guide: exam N10-006, sixth edition by Mike Meyers. I have no idea what this is but figure it will be used. Page 436 says, "To get on the IPv6 network, you need to leap over this gap, to implement an IPv4-to-IPv6 tunnel."

Civil War Album: complete photographic history - Fort Sumter to Appomattox edited by William C. Davis and Bell L. Wiley. This is very neat. A tall and thick book filled with almost 4,000 images. Page 447 says, "Beyond the Wheat Field, at the southernmost edge of the Rose Farm, raged a heavy fight that left scores of dead Confederates behind."

Books on CD

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter.

Alert by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.

The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

The One Where I Purchase A Bunch Of TV Shows

DVD

The Red Road: complete first season starring [actors].  Modern day trouble between a town's Anglos and the mountain's Native American tribe.


Full House: season 5 starring [I don't care]. Man, I really dislike this show, but someone told me this is still popular. So I bought a couple seasons. I'll buy more seasons later.

Full House: season 8 starring [I still don't care].

The Big Bang Theory: complete eight season starring [other people]. I've watch some of one episode.

Modern Family: complete sixth season starring That Guy From Married With Children. Comedy.

Empire: season one starring [more people]. I have wanted to watch this show and never did.

The Jinx: the life and deaths of Robert Durst starring [a killer]. Super wealthy man gets away with murder.

The Flash: complete first season starring [Mr. Speedy].

Top of the Lake starring [Kiwis]. Pregnant woman goes missing in a lake on the South Island and woman detective looks for her. Jane Campion did this production. Hey, Dunedin, is this any good?

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Amish Country Coven

DVD

Queen and Country starring [British]. Sequel to John Boorman's Hope and Glory. I really enjoyed Hope and Glory, that is a neat flick.



Far From the Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan and others. Woman pretends to be a character from a novel in the movie of the novel.

Amish Grace starring [actors]. Amish drama about a tragedy.

Strangerland starring Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes. A couple's teen children go missing in a desert dust storm.



Pitch Perfect 2 starring Various Green Bay Packers. The Green Bay Packers sing a song.



Child 44 starring Noomi Rapace, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman. I read the novel and enjoyed the story. Soviet cop exiled to Siberia and looks for a serial killer.


The Salvation starring Eva Green, Mars Mikkelsen, "Bad Men Will Bleed."


The Goonies starring [children]. You know the story.

Avengers: Age of Ultron starring [famous actors]. What's the story? A robot picks up a East European country or something?

American Horror Story: Coven: the complete third season starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Basett. I've wanted to see this program but never got around to it.

Large Print


Monday, October 12, 2015

Witch Cat Bible

NonFiction

97 Ways to Make A Cat Like You by Carol Kaufman. Good luck. Suggestion #32: flush the toilet in front of your pet.



The Witch of Lime Street: seance, seduction, and Houdini in the spirit world by David Jaher. Psychic Medium in 1924 tries to convince five judges and runs afoul of trick-master Houdini. Jaher has a tiny black-and-white photo. He needs one of those big back cover photos like Fern Michaels posing with her dogs.

The Make-Ahead Cookbook by Lydia Kessler.  Page 153 says, "And if you have high blood pressure, try substituting tarragon for salt!"

The Beer Bible by Jeff Alworth.  Let's check the index ... Nothing for Wisconsin or Tyranena. It does have a listing for New Glarus and Lakefront. There is a ton of neat stuff in here with food pairings, history of brewing styles, glass types, etc.


Gischler Returns. Again. In Case You Missed All the Other Ones I Bought.

Victor Gischler

Gestapo Mars: a Carter Sloan novel by Victor Gischler. Gischler takes a break from telling Twitter about grilling and writes a novel.  Trained assassin is awakened from cryogenic sleep and assigned to kill Nazis on Mars. If you like this you can try all the other novels and Gischler authored comics we have.

Other Fiction

Reckoning Stones by Laura DeSilverio. "A Novel of Suspense." But, how does it compare to Nazis on Mars?

Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber. Not the author of The Deputy.

Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein. Not the authors of To the Devil, My Regards.

Ghost to the Rescue by Carolyn Hart. Not the author of Gun Monkeys.

Undead and Unforgiven by MaryJanice Davidson. Not the author of Pistol Poets.

The Survivor by Vince Flynn. Not the author of Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse.

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks. Not the author of Ink Mage.

A.D. 33 by Ted Dekker. Not the author of Stay.

Monday, October 05, 2015

13 Old and 2 New

15 Plastic Discs Are Used to Digitally Encode Musical Sounds 


High, Low and in Between by Townes Van Zandt. Texan sings country songs.


A Christmas Album by James Taylor. Guy with guitar sings Christmas songs.


La Croix D'Amour by Dwight Yoakam. Californian sings songs of love.


Hillbilly Deluxe by Dwight Yoakam. Hillbilly sings hillbilly songs.


Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc. by Dwight Yoakam.  Guitar owner sings about Cadillacs.


A Long Way Home by Dwight Yoakam.


Giant Hits by Johnny Cash. Famous singer sings famous songs.


The Best of Squeeze: The Millennium Collection by Squeeze. Limeys sing about coffee.


Under the Red Sky by Bob Dylan. Famous singer sings for critically panned album.


Cheap Trick Live at Budokan by Cheap Trick. Illinoisans sing to screaming Japanese teenagers.


Imperial Bedroom by Elvis Costello. Singer expects a lot of grief.



The Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Singer sings songs that sold.



Armed Forces by Elvis Costello. Brit sings songs from 1978.


Tall Tales and Tiny Tunes by Casey Day. Singer sings for children. Cheer up, London.



Top 50 Kids' Praise Songs by [various].  Singers sing for children. It's not that bad.


Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Even More NonFic

Three Heavy Cookbooks

Back in the Day Bakery, Made With Love by Cheryl Day and Griffith Day.  Bakers from Georgia write a book of recipes.  Page 121 says, "Then wrap the crust securely in plastic wrap."

The Taste of Home Quick Cooking Annual Recipes, 2015 by Catherine Cassidy Editor-In-Chief.  Page 175 says, "lemon Parsley Baked Cod."

Illustrated Quick Cook edited by Heather Whinney. A DK book with lots of photos and nice organization.

A Never Ending Trail of NonFic

Nonfiction

Chowderland: hearty soups and Stews with sides and salads to match by Brooke Dojny. Dojny lives in Maine. That makes sense if you're writing a book about chowder.  Page 75 says, "Bottled clam juice is usually shelved with the canned fish in the supermarket."

Natural Remedies for Kids by Kate Tietje and Bob Zajac, MD.  I weeded some old alternative health guides and chanced on this title when a book salesman visited.

Totally Awesome Paracord Crafts by Katie Weeber with Colleen Dorsey.  Lots of bracelets.  Page 25 says, "Then tie the knot as usual."

Ultimate Star Wars written by Patricia Barr, et al.  Characters. Locations, Technology. Vehicles. Norwegians on Hoth.  A Gaderffii (Gaffi) Stick is the club used by the Sand People. I listened to Kenobi by John Jackson Miller.   Kenobi has Obi-Wan secretly arriving on Tatooine to look after Luke Skywalker. That was a fun book. The Star Wars audiobooks are always well produced with additional music and sound effects to go with the narration.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Large NonFiction

NonFiction

Parents Ask, Experts Answer: nurturing happy, healthy children by Tina Nocera.  Nocera lives in New Jersey and has a very tiny author photo on the back cover. That is not fair, give the woman a larger shot, she wrote a book.

Craft Camp: over 40 fun projects for kids by Sterling Publishing Co. This large paperback has a new vinyl cover so it smells like plastic. I also had my head on it.



Science of Swimming Faster edited by Scott Riewald, PhD and Scott Rodeo, MD. 548 pages of text and 28 pages of references. Wow. This is more textbook than casual read. I need to get out of this house this winter and go swimming.

Women's Guide to Triathlon edited by Tara S. Comer. Cover photo has a couple competitors on bike and wearing their swimsuits. Do women usually run in the swimsuits, or do they do a quick change into running shorts after the bike race?

Stunning Braids: gorgeous hairstyles for any occasion from work to weddings by Monae Everett. Page 110 says, "Create a deep side part on one side of the head."

Mug Meals: delicious microwave recipes by Dina Cheney. Page 90 says," Using half red and half quinoa makes for a prettier salad."

Parent's Guide to Talking About Sex by Janet Rosenzweig, BS, MS, PhD, MPA. Page 169 says, "Both children in this scenario are learning the wrong lesson when a child continues to ask that a behavior stop and no one gives her support by disciplining the aggressive child."

Waste Not, Want Not Cook Book by Cinda Chavich. Is Chavich a Spanish name? Maybe a Czech name? Could be more Easter European, I suppose.  Maybe I should take some linguistic classes. Her Introduction says, "Imagine... rapidly escalating... people... being felt... for purely economic reasons... and... find new ways... to... support... Metro Vancouver."

1,001 Delicious Recipes for People With Diabetes, 3rd Edition edited by Sue Spitler, et al. Page 690 says, "Chick Peas, 524."

Engineers: from the great pyramids to the pioneers of space travel edited by Adam Hart-Davis.  Page 245 says, "Within only a few years of Monier's first concrete bridge of 1875, bridges constructed with his reinforcing technique had proliferated across Europe."

Healthy Family Slow Cooker Cookbook by Christina Dymock. About the Author says Dymock writes romances as well.Page 55 says, "Pork chops are often sold in different thicknesses."

Roger Dahl's Comic Japan: best of Zero Gravity cartoons from the Japan Times by Roger Dahl. Page 73 says, "The only thing worse than neighbors who quarrel... ...is neighbors who quarrel in a language you're not fluent in."

Smaller NonFiction

NonFiction

Training Your Puppy: the essential guide by Fiona Baird. The cover has a picture of a puppy. That makes sense. You wouldn't want a Hippogriff.

A Backpacker's Guide to Making Every Ounce Count by Steven Lowe.  I'll take this one home for the 12-year-old. You know, I've been telling my kids how Harry Potter is actually a fraud.

Reverse Wine Snob: how to buy and drink great wine without breaking the bank by Jon Thorsen. My story is that J.K. Rowling wrote a self-serving story of Harry "Mr. Hotshot" Potter that has been taken as an accurate history.

Common Sense Parenting, 2nd Edtion by Bridget A. Barnes MS and Steven M. York, MHD. You see, the true heroes of the wizarding world are the Malfoys.

Climbing: Protection by Nate Finch. Safety guide to rock climbing. Harry Potter was an arrogant jerk just like his father.

Improvise: scene from the inside out, 2nd edition by Mick Napier. We should be living under the grace and power of the Dark Lord, but that sneaky Potter somehow succeeded.

250 Amazing Fishing Tips by Lamar Underwood. At least we still have the great and esteemed Malfow family to guide us through these un-dark days of Potter-mania. My children are not falling for it.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Nine New Novels Nicely Narrowed Near Novice Knockers

Fiction

The Race For Paris by Meg Waite Clayton. Two women reporters in 1944 rush to document the liberation of Paris.

Everybody Rise by Stephanie Clifford. Manhattan social climbers.

The Girl with Deep Blue Eyes by Lawrence Block. Hard Case Crime publishes a brand new novel by the always excellent Block.

Murder House by James Patterson Literary Industries and David Ellis. Your quarterly Patterson delivery. 

The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo. DeCarlo lives in East Texas, I wonder is she knows Joe R. Lansdale. The novel is about broke and pregnant woman heads to her mom's hometown for possible inheritance.

Pretty Girls by Karen Slaughter. Slaughter writes a lot of books. Hey, that's the same author photo as the last book. The photo is quite nice and done by Alison Rosa. Rosa's web page has an Slaughter photo, at least it looks like her anyway.

Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg.  Woman's family all die in sudden disaster. Woman takes a road trip. Do other cultures celebrate the road trip as much as American writers? Kirkus gave this a starred review, that's a big deal.

Sweet Caress by William Boyd.  I read Boyd's Restless, I liked the book.  Woman photojournalist lives through the 20th century.  Boyd lives in London and France. I wonder if he drives back and forth. Seems like that would be easier than flying, the distance cannot be that long and he could take the chunnel.

Come Rain or Come Shine by Jan Karon. Has Karon slowed down her publishing rate? This is a Mitford novel and people sure do enjoy these. Karon's photo was taken outside. It looks hot out.

3 DVD Titles With 2 Audiobooks

DVD

Agent Carter: the complete third season starring Hayley Atwell.  I like this show. You can always tell when the stunt doubles are working though, that and the quick cut editing for the fight scenes is disappointing. The lead character is English.



Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. starring [many people]. I like this show, too. Agents suffers from the same problem as above. Sure, I understand there are plenty of time limitations when making a weekly TV show. You also cannot let an actor portraying a main character get injured and be unable to work. The scenes have to be safer and quick to choreograph, right?



Mad Men starring John Hamm. I've never seen this show. Does this have action sequences? Someone put a video on YouTube of every time someone in the series took a drunk or vomited.



Audiobooks on CD

Robert B. Parker's The Devil Wins by Reed Farrel Coleman. 8 hours on 7 CDs. Coleman is a good dude, he spends a lot of time in Milwaukee. I really enjoyed the two novels he wrote under the pen name Tony Spinosa.

Make Me by Lee Child.  14 hours on 12 CDs. If this novel is like the others then you'll read about Jack Reacher battling bad guys, bedding good girls, and beating feet once the dust settles.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

One Small, Lonely NonFic

NonFiction

Whiskey: what to drink next by Dominic Roskrow. I looked through this book and whatever you end up drinking you better be ready to pay. A lot of these look to start in the $50-a-bottle range. Those single malts have to get pricey. Especially the Japanese ones. Page 204 says, "The sweetness was seen as a way of bringing women into the whiskey category, but research shows that men are just as likely to be drawn to it."


Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Large Print

Large Print


Many NonFics

NonFiction

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver.  What's this about, let me check.  Oh, poetry, says so right on the cover.  Wow, She won a Pulitzer in poetry in 1984.

Best Homemade Kids' Snacks on the Planet: more than 200 healthy homemade snacks you and your kids will love by Laura Fuentes. Fuentes has some sort of website. That must be her and her children on pages 220 and 221. There are nice photos in this book. Actually, the entire book design is pretty nice, that is important for a cookbook.

Build the Perfect Bug Out Survival Skills by Creek Stewart. Head to the hills! Bring your guns! Store vodka for trade! Learn to skin rabbits! Pencil sharpener shavings for tinder? That's a good idea. A lot of stuff in here looks fun to try out.

ToddlerCalm: a guide for calmer toddlers and happier parents by Sarah Ockwell-Smith. I'm past the need for this book. I need one of those teenager guides.  Or, one of those "Stop making that sound!" guides.

My First Book of Chess Tactics by David MacEnulty. I should take this home for the 9-year-old. Page 129 says, "If the king takes the rook, it will be unable to stop the promotion."

Coffee Break



NonFiction Continued

Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day by Leanne Brown.  Brown is Canadian. Brown has black hair.  Brown's husband's name is Dan. I do not know Dan's hair color.

Japanese Jiu-Jitsu: secret techniques of self-defense by Darrell Max Craig. Why did I order this book? Martial arts and self defense books do not usually circ' well. Craig lives in Houston. I wonder if he knows Joe R. Lansdale. I bet Craig always has to spell his first name for people.

The "I Don't Know How to Cook" Book by Mary-Lane Kamberg. What kind of name is Kamberg? The K causes confusion. The "k"  makes me think Finish. The "berg" makes me think German. Maybe it's Russian. Maybe Kamberg's parents moved here as defectors in 1965 but were actually sleeper agents?

Taste of Home: Easy weeknight dinners by Taste of Home.  Taste of Home cookbooks are popular.  You ever watch that Americans TV show? I've not seen it yet, that is about Russkie spies, right?

Manga Crash Course: drawing Manga characters and scenes from start to finish by Mina "Mistiqarts" Petrovic. Russkie is a fun word to say. I feel like a character in a Cold War movie. "Those Russkies are sneaking in, I tell ya! We gotta stop'em!"

The Upcycled T-Shirt by Jenelle Montilone. Learn to use t-shirt fabric to make things, "Roger, you're nuts. Those aren't Russkies, they're scientists! They're dedicated to knowledge and the advancement of humanity."

Big Book of Paleo Recipes by Linda Larsen. Another cookbook. "Yeah, is that what you think? First scientist I ever saw who seemed more interested in the Colonel's orders than the laboratory."

Easy Jewelry Making: 50+ projects edited by Erica Swanson. "The guy just arrived. He left his home, his family, his country. He's trying to make friends Roger, he's not plotting against us, he's working with us."

No End in Sight: uncanny X-Men by Sean Ryan,et al. Mutants do things. "I'm starting to wonder about you, Poindexter. You keep standing up for this shifty guy and I'm starting to wonder about your loyalty. What about it, bub? Maybe your blood is a little too red?"

Drawing Pets by David Williams. Instructional guide.  "That's outrageous! I was in the Pacific and you can compare my record to yours any day! You arrogant jerk!"

Monday, September 21, 2015

Final Patriot Photograph

Fiction

Patriot by Ted Bell.  I have not read any of Bell's novels. This has something about spies, murder, and Russians in Europe.

Her Final Breath by Robert Dugoni.  This is about a Seattle Homicide Detective and a serial killer.

The Photograph by Beverly Lewis. This is an Amish novel about three orphaned adult sisters and their brother.

Large Print


Fiction? Non

NonFiction

Campside Guide to Dutch Oven Cooking by Paul Kautz. I still need to take the BALOO training for Cub Scout leaders. Thank goodness a session is coming up later in the month. I've been helping out with Cub Scouts for over six years and still not gotten the training.

DIY: Wardrobe Makeovers by Suzannah Hamlin Stanley. I bet you Stanely has spell both her first and last names to avoid misspelling. Judging by the author photo that is Stanley on the front cover as well. On page 63 she writes, "Press open the old hem."

Guns the Right Way: introducing kids to firearms safety and shooting by Jerry Luciano. As if anyone would write a book called Guns the Wrong Way. Too bad there is no book called Guns the Free Way because ammo costs and range fees really add up.

"Is This Thing On?": A friendly guide to everything digital for newbies, technophobes, and the kicking and screaming by Abby Stokes. Page 347 says, "Let's talk Twitter." Oh, please, let's not talk Twitter.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: four women undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott. This one looks interesting.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Goldberg's Shining Furies

Fiction

The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. The latest in the very popular series. I follow Goldberg on Twitter. Goldberg is visiting his in-laws in France and posting lots of photos. Well, the photos are on Instagram but get shared on Twitter.

McKnight in Shining Armor by Tami Hoag. I've never read a Hoag novel. I always think of the Monty Python pronunciation of knight. Kuh-Nig-It.

The End Game by Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison. I think Coulter has a new author photo. You can tell Coulter is a big deal because the photo covers the entire back cover.

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie. Rushdie was on TV the other day.  He must live in New York now.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. Groff is from somewhere the author bio won't tell you. I'm from Central Illinois.

Dishing the Dirt by M.C. Beaton. Well, Champaign is always described as being in East Central Illinois.

Dance of the Bones by J.A. Jance. You know what else is in East Central Illinois? Soybeans and corn.

Devoted in Death by J.D. Robb. You know what else in the rest of Illinois? Soybeans and corn.

NonFiction

Kaplan ACT 2016: strategies, practice and review by Kaplan, Inc.  You know what's in Wisconsin? Dairy farms and lakes.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Some Girls Read Large Print

Records Made in 1977 are Digitized for Further Distribution on Compact Disk

Some Girls by The Rolling Stones. Englishmen sing songs about decaying New York. The liner notes say: Jagger liked to play loud and mean. "Oh, here comes Lou Reed agin," engineer Chris Kimsey would say every time the singer strapped on his guitar.


Large Print


Wednesday, September 09, 2015

A Book. Another Book.

Fiction

Deeper in Sin: the wicked Dukes by Sharon Page.  Page 37 says, "Panic hit. For a moment, her faith in him wobbled." No author photo. The vague author bio makes me think Page is a pen name. Her website bio makes me think not. Website does have an author photo. My favorite author photos are the ones where you can see the subject's wristwatch and read the time.

Audiobook on CD

Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin. 7 CDs at 8 hours. That is a long title. Single mom isn't make room for a love life. No author photo. The narrator, Ann Marie Lee, has a photo. Lee has red hair and does some TV acting. I have brown hair and do internet blathering. My dog has black hair and lies in the sun on the driveway.

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Old Music Is New Music

Musicians Play Instruments In A Recording Studio. Those Digital Recordings Are Processed By Computers Into a Physical Display That Is Inscribed Onto A Very, Very Thin Metal Sheet That Is Sandwiched Between Layers of Plastic

This Time by Dwight Yoakam. Country singer sings songs and plays guitar on this 1993 album.

Tomorrow's Sounds Today by Dwight Yoakam. Country guitarist plays guitar and sings songs on this 2000 album.



Sticky Fingers by The Rolling Stones. Englishmen sings rock songs in English accents. And use heroin on this 1971 album.

Greatest Hits by Jimmy Buffet. Singer sings songs and wears flip-flops on this 1985 compilation.



Brutal Youth by Elvis Costello. Rock singers sings rock songs and dares you to ask him about Margaret Thatcher. Go on, he dares you. He double dog dares you on this 1994 album.

My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello. Rock guitarist plays guitar and dares you to ask him about his former bass player. Go on, ask him while listening to this 1977 album.



Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars. Singer with fancy hair sings songs and dances - dancing not visible on CDs on this 2012 album.

30 #1 Hits by Elvis Presley. Tennessean sings songs of suspicious ghetto hound dogs in this 2002 compilation.

Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan.  Minnesotan sings to  Abe that he better run in this 1965 album.

Home by The BoDeans. Milwaukeean singers sing '80s pop songs on this 1989 album.


Thursday, September 03, 2015

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

A Bunch of Novels and More Unrelated Commentary.

Fiction

Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick. I read a book called the Bird Sisters. It was okay, but not for me.

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart. I approve of the title and cover illustration. The illustration looks sharp.  Stewart lives in Eureka, CA and took her author photo while leaning on a iron fence.

Hollow Man by Mark Pryor. Pryor's name is above the title, I guess that means his name is well known.  Psychopath living in Austin, TX gets talked into robbing a van filled with cash.

A The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. A Post-It Note on the cover says, "This was on the cover of the NYT Book Review this week." Huh, I missed that issue.

Purity by Jonathan Franzen. I like this cover too. White background with blue text on top of a small, blurred, black-and-white image of a young woman.

Solomon Curse by Clive Cussler and Russell Blake. Your quarterly Cussler installment. Not much else to say.

Undercover by Danielle Steel. Your biannual Steel installment.

White Ghost by James R. Benn. SWEET! I didn't know this one came in, I like this guy's novels. They are very entertaining and he always sticks his characters in a little known battle or episode during WWII.

House of Thieves by Charles Belfoure. Architect writes a novel about an architect in 1886 New York who has to plan a burglary for a street gang.

The Admissions by Meg Mitchell Moore. You think Moore ever goes by "Triple M"? Wealthy family in the Bay Area is "achingly real and delightfully screwball". Moore's author photo is a studio shot. Author photos seem to be split in half between studio setting and "Let's take the camera to the park."

The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz.Lagercrantz has taken over the Lisbeth Salander series. I never got around to reading any of those books. I never saw the movies either. Lagercrantz is a Swede and in his author photo he is not wearing a neck tie.

NonFiction

A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 steps to giving up everything so you can: move to a Pacific island, wear a loincloth, read a hundred books, build a bungalow, diaper a baby monkey, and maybe, just maybe, fall in love by Alex Sheshunoff. The screwy subtitle annoys me.

DVD

Mad Max Fury Road starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. I avoided all news about the film's plot and characters so that the story will be a complete surprise when I see it.

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

One Single, Lonely Hardcover Novel

Fiction 

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica.  Kubica lives outside Chicago. the cover says her last book, The Good Girl, was a bestseller. Woman impulsively brings home a homeless teen and the girl's infant. Family are not happy and the teen starts to do weird stuff. Or something. The dust cover says, "as clues into Willow's past begin to surface , Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger."
Kubica wore a kind of dark turquoise cardigan sweater for her author photo. At least I think it's a sweater, it might be a jacket. Fake Library Stats always makes cardigan jokes. And cat jokes. And drinking jokes. There is not a lot of variety on Fake Library Stats.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Some Literary Stuff and A Few Others

Fiction

The Drowning by Camilla Lackberg. Swedish crime thriller. Lackberg lives in Stockholm. I guess that makes sense. Stockholm is in Sweden. Stockholm is also in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb. I'll bet this guy's last name usually gets misspelled with one "t". An autistic man living in a care home has trouble with new people. You think Lackberg ever gets lost driving in Stockholm?

Days of Awe by Lauren Fox. This book is about something. Does Lackberg even drive? That seems like the kind of city where people get around using public transit and walking.

The Fall of Princes by Robert Goolrick. 1980s Wall Street honcho wishes he still had the dough. Lackberg is a bestseller in Swededn, surely she has the dough to leave town and take summer vacations in the woods.

After the Storm by Linda Castillo. Looks like an Amish themed novel. If you're going out of the city for a week's lake vacation in central Sweden wouldn't you want a car? Heck, you'd need a car, right?

Armada by Ernest Cline. A novel with many pop culture references. I listened to a novel set in rural Sweden, The Farm. I liked the book.

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen.  Famous mystery author writes another book. I also read, or listened to, the Stockhold Noir Trilogy by Jens Lapidus. Those were very good.

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. European bestseller. Those Lapidus novels were filmed but I've only watched the first one so far.

Audiobooks on CD

X by Sue Grafton. 11 CDs at 13.5 hours. I started watching the second of the three Lapidus films, Hard To Kill, but have not gotten back to it yet. I've not been unable to sit and relax for I can read the subtitles.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

The Nature of Melody Blank, Murderer's Daughter

Fiction

Point Blank by Fern Michaels. How long has Michaels been writing? OCLC seems to list 1975 as her first published year.

The Last Time I Saw Her by Karen Robards. The cover says,"Woman lost at sea." The dust jacket says, "Something about the ghost of a convicted killer and his identical twin?" What?!

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny.  This made me think of Do To the Beast by Afghan Whigs.

X by Sue Grafton.  I guess she couldn't figure out a good way to shoehorn Xerxes or Xylophone into the title.

Melody Lingers On by Mary Higgins Clark. Interior designer helping family whose father disappeared with five million dollars.

Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory.  When King Henry VIII says you're getting married, then you're getting married.

Audiobook on CD

The Murderer's Daughter by Jonathan Kellerman. 14 hours on 11CDs.

Large Print

Friday, August 21, 2015

76 Hours of Made-Up Stories

Audiobooks on CD

Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs. 10 hours on 8CDs.  Temperance Brennan spends more time in a lab and catches more killers.

Armada by Ernest Cline. 12 hours by 10CDs. More nostalgia. I guess.

Mrs. Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters. 10 hours on 8CDs. Read by two people. I suppose that is because the story is told by two people.

Avenue of Spies by Alex Kershaw.  7 hours on 6CDs. I always think of Kershaw Knives when I see that guy's name. I've never bought a Kershaw knife, they seem OK. I suppose it all depends on the model and the steel quality.

Lure of the Moonflower by Lauren Willig. 13.5 hours on 11CDs. I listened to Moonstone a few months ago. Yeah, that is a different story. This has romance and espionage in 1807 Portugal. 

Dexter is Dead by Jeff LIndsay. 12 hours on 10CDs. I have not read or heard any of these novels in a while. I should start up again, I always enjoyed the novels.

The Promise of Home by Amy Rubinate. 11.5 hours on 9CDs. Lives in small town Vermont intermingle, intercept and interlace.