Unmarriageable Suspect

Fiction

The Suspect by Fiona Barton. Didn't we just get a book by Barton? Let me check... No. maybe I weeded a book by someone named Barton. I'll check the paper list... Nope. Oh well. Let's describe author photos instead. Barton is seated with a poured concrete wall behind her. She has a purple sweater on. That purple is a very nice color. Hey, check that out, Barton was awarded Reporter of the Year by the British Press Awards. That must have been nice. Do you think the awardees got free drinks or did they get the cash bar?

Tear It Down by Nick Petrie. Fourth novel featuring war veteran Peter Ash. I read the first novel and enjoyed it but have not caught up with the others. Petrie spoke at the Bridges Library System dinner a couple years ago. He was very patient with me. I skipped the author photo, I already met the guy.

The Rule of Law by John Lescroart. I have no idea how to pronounce Lescroart. I follow a few authors on the Facebook box. Every once in a while I see Lescroart posts on comment threads. I don't ask him for a pronunciation guide. I skipped the author photo.

Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan by Soniah Kamal. Modern telling but set in Pakistan. This looks kinda neat actually, and I've no interest in Pride and Prejudice. Let's get back to author photo descriptions: this one is a good one. The photographer caught a real nice smile on Kamal, she looks like she was in a great mood that day.

Night of Camp David by Fletcher Knebel. re-print of a 1965 novel that reminded people of President Trump: "President... rants about his enemies, unfurling insane theories about all the people he says are conspiring against him... plans he has to make America a great world power once again." No author photo. If I could find an old photo I imagine it would be in black and white and Knebel would be posing with a pipe or wearing a turtleneck or looking like he is sucking a lemon.

Audiobooks on CD

Brief Answers to the Big Questions by Stephen Hawking. 5 hours on 4 CDs. What kind of questions? How about these: Why does the dog have to sniff around for several minutes before finding a spot, even when it is 5 degrees out? Why is coffee so delicious? Does anyone read this blog or am I just doing this for my own enjoyment?

Bird Box by Josh Mallerman. 9.5 hours on 8 CDs. Usually people read the book and then complain about the movie. Now you can see the movie and complain about the book. Did Malerman get invited to the set and stand around. Scott Phillips mentioned visiting the set of The Ice Harvest, hung around a bit and then went home. After he left the Director said, "Where's Phillips?" He was surprised Scott left because most authors hang around the film sets forever and get in the way. Phillips has written some damn good novels.

It's All Paper and Plastric, Man.

Paper

The Songbird by Marcia Willett. It's all a bunch of paper sewn and glued together, man. It's just... like.. a thing. It's won't lead you to enlightenment, dude.

The ParAgon Hotel by Lyndsey Faye. Think of it this way: if you take this other collection of dead and compressed tree fibers how will your life change? The message inside if the meaning, man. The message inside, man, not the thing itself.

Crewel and Unusual by Molly Macrae. These books are just things. The message inside is what changes you. You gotta stop holding onto things, man. They're just things.

Plastic

One Year After by William R. Forstchen. 10 hours on 8 CDs.  See? See?! Here it is, man. A prime example. You can't get caught up in the medium. Don't listen to McLuhan. The medium is not the message. Take the knowledge and dispose of the vessel. Free yourself of objects. Of things. That's why you go to the library. They keep the things, you keep the knowledge, man.

Man? Hey, man? You listening? Oh nuts, this is my stop. Catch you later, dude.

LARGE PRINT

Made-Up Stories With Made-Up Plots

Where I Make Up My Own Plot For Each Novel

The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester. Rural French girl moves to Paris, gets seamstress job, teams up with new boyfriend who burgles the homes of her wealthy clients.

Watching You by Lisa Jewel. Britta's Instagram popularity has hit 'celebrity' status. New friends. Media interviews. Sponsorships. And a connection with her ex-boyfriend, Lester.

Liar Liar by James Patterson Literary Industries, Amalgamated and Candice Fox. Debra has been training as a long distance runner since she was 13. Debra is high school state champion a collegiate runner-up, and on schedule for the 10,000M Olympic trials. Debra is also performance doping and her best friend from college is now running the testing lab.

Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz. The Indian caste system was done away years ago but Ananya stll carries the burden of Untouchable ancestry. She hopes a move to England will remove the stigma she still feels.

No Sunscreen For the Dead by Tim Dorsey. Rupert works one of the tourist shops on the boardwalk and his boss calls him "Mr Sunscreen" for his skilled sales pitch. Rupert's boss is under suspicion when a neighboring shop owner is found dead on the beach. What can Rupert do but get involved and ask around?

NonFiction

Unpresidented: a biography of Donald Trump by Martha Brockenbrough.

Large Print

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Sounds Are Recorded and Played For Your Pleasure Using Lasers and Plastic

King of Cowards by Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs. Englishman cal themselves Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs  and sings songs of metal.


Fiction

Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Kirkpatrick. Not dead Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick.

The New Iberian Blues by James Lee Burke. More Dave Robicheaux crime and strife. I really enjoy theses novels but have not read one in a while.

The Burglar by Thomas Perry. I don't know what this is about. The title reminds me of a short series that ran on FX a few years ago. Thief starred Andre Braughler and i never got to finish watching it. The series is not available on DVD.

Death of An Eye by Dana Stabenow. Something to do with ancient Egypt and Cleopatra and Cleopatra's pal trying to find a murderer and missing coins.

Harvest of Secrets by Ellen Crosby. Great cover art.

Large Print

Discs of Words. Words on Paper.

Audiobooks on CD

Past Tense by Lee Child. 13 hourson 10 CDs. Jack Reacher wanders around, gets in trouble, has sex, kills people, solves mysteries.

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult. 14.5 hours on 12 CDs. Bestselling author writes another bestseller. Except this is an audiobook.

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin. 26.5 hours on 21 CDs. "Complete history of the House of Targaryens." Are those the uber-rich murderous family? I've only seen one season of the show so don't ask me.

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich. 7 hours on 6 CDs. Something about Stephanie Plum trying to figure out why deli managers keep disappearing. I'm fairly certain I read or heard one of this novels over a decade ago. Not my thing.

Shadow Tyrants by Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison. 11 hours on 9 CDs. Cover image has a B-! bomber crashing offshore of a tropical beach. The plot description on the back cover makes no freaking sense.

Fiction

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Dark comedy of a woman whose younger sister keeps killing boyfriends.

NonFiction

The Divorce Hackers Guide to Untying the Knot by Ann E. Grant, JD. Page 83 says, "Do not use your children as messengers between you and your ex."

A Guide To Murder Crochet

NonFiction

Bodyweight Strength Training: 12 weeks to build muscle and burn fat by Jay Cardiello. Page 60 says, "The rotation of the torso is key."

Web Watching: a guide ot webs and the spiders that make them by Larry Weber. HOw many lame jokes does this guy get about his last name? Page 13 says, "Oval abdomen of light brown has a white arrowhead shape in the center."

Big Book of Weekend Crochet Projects: 40 stylish projects from sweaters and scarves to blankets by Hilary Mackin and Sue Whiting. Does Mackin get lame jokes like, "Hey, Mackin, did you make a Mackin-aw jacket?"

Gut: the inside story of our body's most underrated organ by Giulia Enders. Page 146 says, "Of course, this excitement about gut research could still fizzle and come to nothing."

Badass Women Give the Best Advice: everything you need to know about life and love by Becca Anderson. A bunch of quotes and short biographies. Page 67 says," Frida and Diego were a very public couple."

Taking Flight: a history of birds and people in the heart of America by Michael Edmonds.  Page 29 says, "One archaeologist has even suggested that out-of-body experiences as birds could have inspired the colossal earthworks that the Hopewell created."


Fiction

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict. Fiction tale of Hedy Lamarr. Hedy, not Hedley.

AudioBooks on CD

Murder By the Book by Lauren Elliott. 9 hours on 7 CDs. One of those Adult Woman Has Murdered Relatives Gets An Inheritance Moves To Small Town And Solves Murders novels.

Becoming by Michelle Obama. 19 hours on 16 CDs.

Here, Read These. Learn Something.

NonFiction

A Practical Education: why liberal arts majors make great employees by Randall Stross. Here, leanr the importance of Classics majors.  Page 64 says, "Herbert Hoover was a member of Stanford's Pioneer Class of 1895." Sure, Hoover was President but he was also blamed for the freaking Depression.

Houseplant Handbook: basic growing techniques and a directory of 300 everyday houseplants by David Squire. Here, learn to stop killing your plants.

One Million Followers: how I built a massive social following in 30 days by Brendan Kane. Here, learn how to sell stuff online.

Animal Hats to Knit: 11 wild projects to create by Luise Roberts. Here, learn to make a penguin hat to warm your head.

Garter Stitch Revival: 20 creative knitting patterns featuring the simplest stitch by Kerry Bogert. Here, learn to make a braided poncho.

Resilience: powerful practices for bouncing back from disappointment, difficulty, and even disaster by Linda Graham, MFT. Here, learn to deal with adversity and move forward.

Ramen At Home: the easy Japanese cookbook for classic ramen and bold new flavors by Brian MacDuckston. Here, learn to show your children ramen are not just cheap noodles.

The Hidden Life of Trees: the illustrated edition by Peter Wohlleben. Here, learn how roots grow.

Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1601-1700, 7th Edition by Thomas Michael. Here, learn how much rare coins can cost.

Made Up Stories

Fiction

The Martin Chronicles by John Fried. Coming of age in New York City for an 11-year-old. Does Fried gets jokes about eggs and chicken? "Hey, John, did you order your eggs fried? Along with some fried chicken?" He is wearing a sweater in his author photo.

Fulfillment by Barbara Delinsky. Some sort of romance. This was originally published in 1988 so I suppose there are not cell phones in the plot. No author photo for Delinsky. If there was an author photo would they have pulled a photograph from 1988? They should have.

Turning Point by Danielle Steel. The cover says 'romance in Paris'. The book jacket says 'big time doctors from Bay Area go to a training class in Paris and help in a real-life emergency". I think this is the same Steel author photo as usual. Why get a new one when you publish one book a quarter?

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I assumed Pekkanen was a Fin in Finland. Maybe she is a Fin but she lives in D.C. Hendricks is in Manhattan. Both wore black for the author photo. Did they have a discussion about the photo and what to wear? How often do they meet in person to write their books? Do they need to meet in person to write the books? Maybe they avoid meeting in person because they just sit around and talk about family and politics, play with the pets, and drink coffee. I don't know, you'll have to ask them yourself. Let me know the answer.

Here. Books.

NonFiction

2019 North American Coins and Prices edited by David C. Harper. U.S., Canadian and Mexican coins. There were 1,477,967 proff sets of the 2009S 18 piece clad set sold. There were 14 different types of $5 Canadian coins minted for the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Magic: The Gathering Cards: the unofficial collector's guide by Ben Bleiweiss. I'm not sure what the heck that game is about.

Cook Fast Eat Well by Sue Quinn. Take 10 minutes to cook five ingredients. Many pretty pictures. Page 110 has a reverse image; you can tell by the reverse label on the Tabasco bottle. Did I use that semicolon correctly?

Fiction

Verses For The Dead by Preston and Child. Two author dudes write another novel. Page 142 says, "deviation... insisted... both... uneasiness... on... rocks... and... listlessly... sipping... espresso."

A Bunch of Learning Books to Learn Things

NonFiction

Antiques and Collectables: 2019 price guide by Eric Bradley. Milk glass is a general term for opaque colored glass.

Disney Cruise Line 2019 by Erin Foster, et al. I've heard from a couple people how much they enjoyed Disney cruises. I guess it'd be neat but I'm not paying that much dough for a boat ride. I don't care how great the food is.

Live Big by Ajit Nawalkha. "The entrepreneur's guide to passion, practicality, and purpose." I guess this is a pep guide.

Clean Eating Weeknight Dinner Plan: quick and healthy meals for any schedule by Michelle Anderson. Page 93 has a tofu recipe.

The Easy Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook by Hari Ghotra.Ghotra is a English cook and apparently worked at some super fancy restaurant.

Handy Forensic Science Answer Book: reading clues at the crime scene, crime lab, and in court by Patricia Barnes-Svarney and Thomas E. Svarney.  The bloodstain photos are not in color.

Zippy Loom Creations: 20 quick and easy knitting projects by Spring House Press. The zippy loom process does look a lot easier. Not that I will get around to trying it. I wouldn't mind a few spare, thick, wool hats though. Hats are always going missing in my house. I bought a couple hats two years ago that have a fleece lining layered between the knitted sides. The hats do not work well, The fleece bunches up inside and you can't pull it apart.

Landscaping Ideas That Work by Julie Moir Messervy. Pretty pictures or pretty landscaping. Everything looks great but I sure won't be gardening any of it.

The Complete Plate by Lauren Klukas. Cookbook with healthy recipes. Klukas lives in Calgary. In Canada. Calgary, Canada's Klukas cooks kale and crepes.

Ultimate Woodwork Bible by Phil Davy and Ben Plewes. Plentiful pretty pictures of plywood. And bandsaws. And sanders. And woods. And chisels.

Mid-Holiday Four Pack

Fiction

Southernmost by Silas House. I know a guy named Silas, he is in 7th grade. Silas the author wore a blu eshirt for his author photo.

Family Trust by Kathy Wang. Guy with pancreatic cancer has relatives awaiting news on his estate. Wang wore a leather jacket for her author photo. I have to assume the material is leather. It could be a synthetic.

Non Fiction

Simple Cleaning Wisdom: 450 easy shortcuts for a fresh and tidy home by Good Housekeeping. Tip
#1: no children. Tip #2: no pets. Tip #3: don't live there.

Complete Crochet Course: the ultimate reference guide by Shannon and Jason Mullet-Bowlsby. That is a tough last name for me to type. These guys live in Seattle. I think this book will circ well.

Tony's Muscular Mermaid

NonFiction

Muscular Portfolios: the investing revolution for superior returns with lower risk by Brian Livingston. Page 22 says, "ETFs have lower expense ratios."

Fiction

The Enemy of My Enemy by W.E.B.Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV. Another post-WWI spy shoot'em up.

Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani. Big band singer adn his from the '40s onward.

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar.  Something about a dead mermaid in 1795.

The Dakota Winters by Tom Barbash. Don't get excited, it's not about winter time in the Dakotas. Plot involves the son of famous TV host Buddy Winter who lives in the fancy schmancy Dakota Building in NYC.

Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. Fictionalization of Lale Sokolov who was assigned as the tattooist at Auschwitz. Damn.

Pandemic by Robin Cook. Doctor writes another doctor thriller.

DVD: Arrived

DVD

Mission: Impossible: Fallout starring Tom Cruise. Spies do spy stuff and fist fights and car chases and motorcycles and helicopters and stuff like that.

Some Minnesota Guy

Fiction

The Shadows We Hide by Allen Eskens. Young reporter in Minnesota learns that the man who may be his father is dead. He travels to Southern Minnesota, snoops, and finds the dead man was thoroughly despised.

I used to drive through Southern Minnesota a lot from 1989 to 1993. But, my route usually went up I-35, turned left at Owatonna, took highway 14 to Mankato, then took highway 169 north to St. Peter. The drive on 14 went through several small towns. I always kinda wanted to stop and visit the bars. I never did.

14 has since been updated and rerouted since 1993. At that time highway 14 went along Clear Lake into Waseca. The view was fantastic. The new road is to the south and is likely very bland. But, I suppose the trip is a lot faster without all those speed zones.

Here. Read This.

Fiction

The Woman in the Water by Charles Finch. Does she rise up and hand someone a sword? That'd be cool.

Lost Lake by Emily Littlejohn. Oh, is the lady from the entry up above?

Blood and Bone by Nora Roberts. Second book in a series called Chronicle of the One.

Audiobook on CD

Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe. 8CDs at 10 hours. Three kids in 1970 rural England worry about their newly divorced mother. Sword and lake content unknown.

Perfect Time Travel Game

Fiction

Hazards of Time Travel by Joyce Carol Oates. Future girl is sent back in time to Wainscotia, Wisconsin. WISCONSIN! WOO-HOO!

Audiobooks on CD

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. 15CDs at 19 hours. People at a health resort do things.

Herbie's Game by Timothy Hallinan. 9CDs at 11 hours. Bernie continues as a reluctant private investigator to the crooks of Los Angeles.

Forever and a Day by Anthony Horowitz.  6CDs at 7.5 hours. A new James Bond novel. Featuring the beginning of Bond's career as a 00 agent.

Plastic and Paper

Musical Sounds Are Recorded With Microphones and Then Embedded Into Plastic Discs For Your Listening Pleasure

Call The Comet by Johnny Marr. Famous English guitarist plays guitar and sings songs of astronomy. Morrissey content unknown.

Traces by Steve Perry. Famous and formerly reclusive singer sings songs of pop.


Bohemian Rhapsody: the original soundtrack by [people]. People [either actors of the original performers, I don't know] sing songs about bicycles, Bohemians, and dirt eaters.

Fiction

She Would Be King by Wayetu Moore. I'm not sure what's going on here. People who have super powers and live as slaves. The dust cover says this is a "novel of profound depths".

Residue by Michael McGarrity. Part of the Kevin Kearney series set in New Mexico. I've not read any of these books in a while.

Here Are the Spine Labels

Fiction

A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza.
FIC
MIR.F
PFU

-------------MUSICAL INTERLUDE-------------------------------


---------------------END MUSICAL INTERLUDE-------------------------

Master of His Fate by Barbara Taylor Bradford.
FIC
BRA.B
FALCONER
BK. 1

Target Alex Cross by James Patterson.
M
PAT.J
AC
BK.26

Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks.
FIC
FAU.S
PE

The Three Beths by Jeff Abbott.
FIC
ABB.J
TB

Love is Blind by William Boyd.
FIC
BOY.W
LB

Audiobooks on CD

Past Tense by Lee Child.
TCD
CHI.L
PT

DVD

When Calls The Heart: 5-Movie collection starring Erin Krakow, Daniel Lissing.
2231

Outlander: Season Three starring [none listed].
2230

Large Print

More Fiction. More Hard Case Crime. More Video.

Fiction

The Count of 9 by Erle Stanley Gardner. First reprint in 50 years of this novel. Detective duo of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam have to solve a theft and a murder.

His Promise: an Amish Christmas in Hart County by Shelley Shepard Gray. Is Christmas that biog a deal for the Amish. Are they kind of a year-round-religion group without big emphasis on certain religious days? Maybe they are more focused on Easter? I have no idea but the cover photo includes a Dachshund.

Death in Paris by Emilia Bernhard. I kinda like the cover and kinda don't like the cover. Let's skip the plot description and check out the author bio and photo. Author bio is one of those slightly vague but informative ones. The text lists the places she has lived, a couple jobs, and her cat's name.

The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem. No idea about the plot but I love the title.



The Man She Married by Cathy Lamb. Woman wonders about her husband's past and current activities. Lamb lives in Oregon.

Past Tense by Lee Child. Jack Reacher walks around. punches people, has sex with women police officers, so on, so forth. You'll read it anyway and you'll enjoy it.

DVD

Star Trek: Discovery: Season One starring [space people].  Space People do things in space on space ships and talk Space Talk.


Large Print

Half Self-Help, Half AutoBio, Half LARGE PRINT

NonFiction

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis. "Wait, I did order that?" says Library Director. Page 105 says, "I call bull crap."

LARGE PRINT