What to Read: Marcus Sakey's At the City's Edge.
Also, an introduction to my magical box of books.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Two CDS by Two Different Bands
Music CDs
The other day I read an online comment by an author I follow, Anthony Neil Smith. His discussion on literary versus popular fiction touched on the similarity of Top 40 vs. "artist" music. Here we have two albums that fit that comparison. Wilco has a been a successful band but is more of a critics' darling than a stadium filler. Dave Matthews sells lots of records, gets airplay, and sells out concerts. I like a lot of Wilco's stuff but I do not consider feedback to be an instrument. Dave Matthews I couldn't give a rat's ass about - but I'll be fair and say I have not heard many songs.
Wilco (the album) by Wilco. This Wilco album is supposed to be more accessible; that means it probably doesn't have that artsy noise crap.
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King by the Dave Matthews Band. Who was it from their band that died? Some horn player? All I know is that the fella was fairly young and it's a dang shame about that. (I'm not being sarcastic.)
The other day I read an online comment by an author I follow, Anthony Neil Smith. His discussion on literary versus popular fiction touched on the similarity of Top 40 vs. "artist" music. Here we have two albums that fit that comparison. Wilco has a been a successful band but is more of a critics' darling than a stadium filler. Dave Matthews sells lots of records, gets airplay, and sells out concerts. I like a lot of Wilco's stuff but I do not consider feedback to be an instrument. Dave Matthews I couldn't give a rat's ass about - but I'll be fair and say I have not heard many songs.
Wilco (the album) by Wilco. This Wilco album is supposed to be more accessible; that means it probably doesn't have that artsy noise crap.
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King by the Dave Matthews Band. Who was it from their band that died? Some horn player? All I know is that the fella was fairly young and it's a dang shame about that. (I'm not being sarcastic.)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Two Adult, Thirteen Young Adult, One Sitting Library Director
Fiction
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. Heh, heh. Weiner.
Blade: playing dead by Tim Bowler. Hey...this is a young adult novel. It was mis-cataloged. That means the title to this post is wrong.
Young Adult
Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor. Toby dreams of being a chef. He takes a summer job at Killer Pizza and has some cool co-workers. Then he finds out that Killer Pizza is "a front for a monster-hunting organization!"
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce. Book two in the Beka Cooper series. Beka is now a "Dog", a local cop in Corus. When counterfeit coins start disrupting the local economy Beka and another Dog go undercover in another city, Port Caynn, where the coins originate.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks. This is a good idea. But it should be a real-life guide for vampire book fans. (Charlie Huston fans excluded.)
Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel. Beginner pilot Matt is working on the Starclimber, "a vessel that literally climbs into the cosmos", on a voyage with scientist Kate. They end up surounded by strange lifeforms and the crew has to battle mechanical failures.
Just Another Hero by Sharon M. Draper. "Conclusion to the two-time Coretta Scott King honor trilogy," with HS students facing a mass murderer in their school.
Carbon Diaries, 2015 by Saci Lloyd. The environment "has gone completely mad" and the British government orders extreme cutbacks on carbon release. The weather still freaks out with frozen winters and vicious summer storms.
Hannah's Winter by Kierin Meehan. Hannah would rather be back in Australia than living in Japan. Hannah and her new friend Miki discover a riddle in a stationary shop.
Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart. I took Boy #! to swim lessons a few weeks ago and grabbed the wrong book when we left. I think the one I got was the Mysterious Benedict Society. It was pretty good but I still fell asleep at the lessons. The humidity and heat in there always makes me sleepy.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Must be a Spyderco book.
Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry. Yech.
Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer. Another yech.
Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt. Yech, again.
Hunger: a gone novel by Michael Grant. Preppies.
Library Director
What to Do at the Desk: tasks to keep you occupied at the circulation desk during slow foot traffic by Gerard Saylor.
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. Heh, heh. Weiner.
Blade: playing dead by Tim Bowler. Hey...this is a young adult novel. It was mis-cataloged. That means the title to this post is wrong.
Young Adult
Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor. Toby dreams of being a chef. He takes a summer job at Killer Pizza and has some cool co-workers. Then he finds out that Killer Pizza is "a front for a monster-hunting organization!"
Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce. Book two in the Beka Cooper series. Beka is now a "Dog", a local cop in Corus. When counterfeit coins start disrupting the local economy Beka and another Dog go undercover in another city, Port Caynn, where the coins originate.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks. This is a good idea. But it should be a real-life guide for vampire book fans. (Charlie Huston fans excluded.)
Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel. Beginner pilot Matt is working on the Starclimber, "a vessel that literally climbs into the cosmos", on a voyage with scientist Kate. They end up surounded by strange lifeforms and the crew has to battle mechanical failures.
Just Another Hero by Sharon M. Draper. "Conclusion to the two-time Coretta Scott King honor trilogy," with HS students facing a mass murderer in their school.
Carbon Diaries, 2015 by Saci Lloyd. The environment "has gone completely mad" and the British government orders extreme cutbacks on carbon release. The weather still freaks out with frozen winters and vicious summer storms.
Hannah's Winter by Kierin Meehan. Hannah would rather be back in Australia than living in Japan. Hannah and her new friend Miki discover a riddle in a stationary shop.
Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart. I took Boy #! to swim lessons a few weeks ago and grabbed the wrong book when we left. I think the one I got was the Mysterious Benedict Society. It was pretty good but I still fell asleep at the lessons. The humidity and heat in there always makes me sleepy.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Must be a Spyderco book.
Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry. Yech.
Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer. Another yech.
Funny How Things Change by Melissa Wyatt. Yech, again.
Hunger: a gone novel by Michael Grant. Preppies.
Library Director
What to Do at the Desk: tasks to keep you occupied at the circulation desk during slow foot traffic by Gerard Saylor.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Another Variety Pack With a Recycled Title
DVD
Reno 911!: the complete sixth season starring [actors]. I like this show. The movie version was on tv the other day. They have a scene filmed in a library.
Doc Martin: season one and season two. "Brilliant but socially awkward and neurotic Doc Martin develops an aversion to blood, abandons his career as a celebrated London surgeon and becomes the only doctor in a sleepy small town where his tactless manner soon has everyone in an uproar." Recommended by Maury from the Mens Book Club.
Large Print
Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz. Nick Horrigan is grabbed by a SWAT team and taken to a nuclear plant where a terrorist demands to speak to Nick. Nick has no idea who the guy is.
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert. Blah.
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Young Irish woman in the 1950s leaves for work in Brooklyn. She has a tough transition, learns to like it, and then has to head back to Ireland.
NonFiction
Get Cooking by Sam Stearns. Kid cook does book.
AudioBooks
One Step Behind by Helen Mankell. Swedish murder mystery.
Two-Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale. Hap and Leonard search for Leonard's missing lawyer, Florida. Florida was investigating the jailhouse death of a bluesman's son in the "Klan-infested East Texas town of Grovetown."
Reno 911!: the complete sixth season starring [actors]. I like this show. The movie version was on tv the other day. They have a scene filmed in a library.
Doc Martin: season one and season two. "Brilliant but socially awkward and neurotic Doc Martin develops an aversion to blood, abandons his career as a celebrated London surgeon and becomes the only doctor in a sleepy small town where his tactless manner soon has everyone in an uproar." Recommended by Maury from the Mens Book Club.
Large Print
Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz. Nick Horrigan is grabbed by a SWAT team and taken to a nuclear plant where a terrorist demands to speak to Nick. Nick has no idea who the guy is.
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert. Blah.
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. Young Irish woman in the 1950s leaves for work in Brooklyn. She has a tough transition, learns to like it, and then has to head back to Ireland.
NonFiction
Get Cooking by Sam Stearns. Kid cook does book.
AudioBooks
One Step Behind by Helen Mankell. Swedish murder mystery.
Two-Bear Mambo by Joe R. Lansdale. Hap and Leonard search for Leonard's missing lawyer, Florida. Florida was investigating the jailhouse death of a bluesman's son in the "Klan-infested East Texas town of Grovetown."
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I Missed a Stack of Fiction
Fiction
Undone by Karin Slaughter. I was making fun of Slaughter's name the other day when my wife was reading one of her books. Suspenseful murder mystery in Georgia with a trauma doctor and some cops.
Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini. Defense attorney Paul Madriani defends a woman against murder in a case that involves secrets from the Cold War and priceless gold coins.
I listened to a Martini novel where some bad cops were setting up Madriani. There is a great get-even point where a bad cop is burglarizing Madriani's home and Madriani whacks the dude across the face with a club.
The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock. The Hellers escape from the dirty, filthy, stinking, rotten Nazis and move to Illinois. Once the war starts someone starts spreading rumors about the Heller family and the eldest daughter, now a newspaper reporter, tries to find out who is at fault.
Get Real by Donald Westlake. A comedic mystery by the recently deceased Westlake. Dortmunder and his burglary crew are followed by cameras from a reality tv show.
Fire and Ice by J.A. Jance. I already wrote that story about Jance at the Phoenix Public Library with the frozen Dove bars. I read yesterday that Phoenix PL has taken a major budget hit. They have tons of dough for capital projects like new branches and renovations, but they cannot spend that capital money on operating expenses.
Undone by Karin Slaughter. I was making fun of Slaughter's name the other day when my wife was reading one of her books. Suspenseful murder mystery in Georgia with a trauma doctor and some cops.
Guardian of Lies by Steve Martini. Defense attorney Paul Madriani defends a woman against murder in a case that involves secrets from the Cold War and priceless gold coins.
I listened to a Martini novel where some bad cops were setting up Madriani. There is a great get-even point where a bad cop is burglarizing Madriani's home and Madriani whacks the dude across the face with a club.
The Moon Looked Down by Dorothy Garlock. The Hellers escape from the dirty, filthy, stinking, rotten Nazis and move to Illinois. Once the war starts someone starts spreading rumors about the Heller family and the eldest daughter, now a newspaper reporter, tries to find out who is at fault.
Get Real by Donald Westlake. A comedic mystery by the recently deceased Westlake. Dortmunder and his burglary crew are followed by cameras from a reality tv show.
Fire and Ice by J.A. Jance. I already wrote that story about Jance at the Phoenix Public Library with the frozen Dove bars. I read yesterday that Phoenix PL has taken a major budget hit. They have tons of dough for capital projects like new branches and renovations, but they cannot spend that capital money on operating expenses.
Words
NonFiction
The Word Snoop: a wild and witty tour of the English language by Ursula Dubosarsky. A fun book on words, the history of the written word, and misuse of words. This whole freaking blog is a misuse of words.
Large Print
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. Hot chick on the cover.
A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey. Hot chick on the cover.
Burn by Linda Howard. Hot chick on the cover.
The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. River bridge on the cover.
There's Something About St. Tropez by Elizabeth Adler. Hot chick on the cover.
Knock Out by Catherine Coulter. Lincoln Monument on the cover.
The Word Snoop: a wild and witty tour of the English language by Ursula Dubosarsky. A fun book on words, the history of the written word, and misuse of words. This whole freaking blog is a misuse of words.
Large Print
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. Hot chick on the cover.
A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey. Hot chick on the cover.
Burn by Linda Howard. Hot chick on the cover.
The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. River bridge on the cover.
There's Something About St. Tropez by Elizabeth Adler. Hot chick on the cover.
Knock Out by Catherine Coulter. Lincoln Monument on the cover.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
James Lee Burke and Some Large Print with Plot Guesses
Fiction
Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. Hackleberry Holland has taken the job as town sheriff on the Texas-Mexican border. The mass grave of nine illegal immigrants is found behind a local church and Hack investigates the murder. Meanwhile, some dude and his dudette are being hunted by paid killers who think dude and dudette have information about the murders.
The Missing Ink by Karen E. Olson. "A tattoo shop mystery" Tattoo artist Brett makes an appointment to ink a girl's arm with her fiance's name. The girl never shows and Brett receives a visit from the cops asking about her. Brett ends up searching Las Vegas on the case.
The cover on this was really well done - the author posted an image online a few months ago - but the small size of the paperback takes away from it.
Suite 606 by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas. Short stories with ghosts, deception, lovers apart for years, pounding storm, twist of fate, mother and son lost in the threads of history, impaired wizard, ritualistic murder, etc.
Large Print with Guesses on Plot
Summer House by Nancy Thayer. My guess: Widow in her sixties returns to summer house with mixed feelings and meets a handsome new neighbor. Love ensues amidst her guilt on stepping out on the dead husband. With sex.
The Increment by David Ignatius. My guess: Tourist gets caught in the blood feuds of an old Italian village. With hot Italian girl sex.
Tempted by His Kiss by Tracy Ann Warren. My guess: Regency romance. With discrete sex.
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham. My guess: Laughter and champaign as young bride juggles wedding plans, pushy parents, ex-paramours, and a disinterested groom. With fears of infidelity sex.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. My guess: a serial killer specializes in vehicular homicide and staged auto "accidents". With cop and victim sex.
Rain Gods by James Lee Burke. Hackleberry Holland has taken the job as town sheriff on the Texas-Mexican border. The mass grave of nine illegal immigrants is found behind a local church and Hack investigates the murder. Meanwhile, some dude and his dudette are being hunted by paid killers who think dude and dudette have information about the murders.
The Missing Ink by Karen E. Olson. "A tattoo shop mystery" Tattoo artist Brett makes an appointment to ink a girl's arm with her fiance's name. The girl never shows and Brett receives a visit from the cops asking about her. Brett ends up searching Las Vegas on the case.
The cover on this was really well done - the author posted an image online a few months ago - but the small size of the paperback takes away from it.
Suite 606 by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan, and Mary Kay McComas. Short stories with ghosts, deception, lovers apart for years, pounding storm, twist of fate, mother and son lost in the threads of history, impaired wizard, ritualistic murder, etc.
Large Print with Guesses on Plot
Summer House by Nancy Thayer. My guess: Widow in her sixties returns to summer house with mixed feelings and meets a handsome new neighbor. Love ensues amidst her guilt on stepping out on the dead husband. With sex.
The Increment by David Ignatius. My guess: Tourist gets caught in the blood feuds of an old Italian village. With hot Italian girl sex.
Tempted by His Kiss by Tracy Ann Warren. My guess: Regency romance. With discrete sex.
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham. My guess: Laughter and champaign as young bride juggles wedding plans, pushy parents, ex-paramours, and a disinterested groom. With fears of infidelity sex.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. My guess: a serial killer specializes in vehicular homicide and staged auto "accidents". With cop and victim sex.
Monday, July 13, 2009
What to Read 27: Tom Piccirilli's "The Coldest Mile"
What to Read 27: Tom Piccirilli's The Coldest Mile. A continuation of the story told in The Cold Spot.
Four Audiobooks, Elvis Costello, Morrisey, Chesterfield Kings, others
Music CDs
Only by Night by the Kings of Leon. Limeys love Leon.
(Older tune.)
Years of Refusal by Morrissey. Embedding was disabled. Here is a link.
Relapse by Eminem. Rap music.
Secret, Profane and Sugarcane by Elvis Costello.
(Another old one.)
Living Thing by Peter, Bjorn and John. I have no idea about these dudes but they seem to sell records and dislike razors.
Psychedelic Sunrise by The Chesterfield Kings. Another favorite of Little Steven and his Underground Garage. [Independent thought, what's that?]
21st Century Breakdown by Green Day. I'm just not seeing it anymore with these guys. I'll try listening to the album but I don't expect much from it.
Wait for Me by Moby. Bald guy plays more keyboards and eats vegetables.
My Turn by Tanya Tucker. Wasn't Tucker a pill popping sex machine in the '80s? I read that somewhere.
Jazz in the Garden by The Stanley Clark Trio with Hiromi and Lenny White. I first heard of Clarke was when he teamed up with Stuart Copeland and a girl singer to make Animal Logic.
Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin. The last disc cracked so I replaced it.
Chickenfoot by Chickenfoot. "Super group" with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Chad Smith, and Michael Anthony.
DVD
Marvelous Machines! Military C-5 Galaxy and C-130 Hercules. "Learn about the exciting world of military aircraft up close..from high flotation landing gear to the massive turbofan engines." This was meant for the kids' collection in the basement but landed in adult DVD. We'll see how it goes and move it down if there are no takers. Not that there is any more room for additional kids DVDs. That space is packed full.
Audiobooks
The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer. 10 CDs at 12 hours. "Milo is drawn into a conspiracy that links riots in the Sudan, an assassin committing suicide, and an old friend who's been accused of selling secrets to the Chinese."
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. 10 Cds at 11 hours. The Soviet Union in 1956 is politically fracturing after the death of Stalin. Former state security cop Leo is being hunted by revenge for Leo's past eagerness at work. I read this book's predecessor, Child 44, and it was fairly decent.
Loser's Town by Daniel Depp. Hollywood P.I. is hired to protect actor from a blackmail scheme by a gangster with aspirations of being a movie producer. Depp got a lot of early press for this novel because he is Johnny Depp's older brother. The book is supposed to be good.
The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. Penn is the new mayor of Natchez, MS and has taken the job to help change things. Penn learns that one of the town's casino riverboats has been pulling in high rollers with blood sport. Penn has to go up agains the big money and the Natchez locals who get a share.
Only by Night by the Kings of Leon. Limeys love Leon.
(Older tune.)
Years of Refusal by Morrissey. Embedding was disabled. Here is a link.
Relapse by Eminem. Rap music.
Secret, Profane and Sugarcane by Elvis Costello.
(Another old one.)
Living Thing by Peter, Bjorn and John. I have no idea about these dudes but they seem to sell records and dislike razors.
Psychedelic Sunrise by The Chesterfield Kings. Another favorite of Little Steven and his Underground Garage. [Independent thought, what's that?]
21st Century Breakdown by Green Day. I'm just not seeing it anymore with these guys. I'll try listening to the album but I don't expect much from it.
Wait for Me by Moby. Bald guy plays more keyboards and eats vegetables.
My Turn by Tanya Tucker. Wasn't Tucker a pill popping sex machine in the '80s? I read that somewhere.
Jazz in the Garden by The Stanley Clark Trio with Hiromi and Lenny White. I first heard of Clarke was when he teamed up with Stuart Copeland and a girl singer to make Animal Logic.
Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin. The last disc cracked so I replaced it.
Chickenfoot by Chickenfoot. "Super group" with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Chad Smith, and Michael Anthony.
DVD
Marvelous Machines! Military C-5 Galaxy and C-130 Hercules. "Learn about the exciting world of military aircraft up close..from high flotation landing gear to the massive turbofan engines." This was meant for the kids' collection in the basement but landed in adult DVD. We'll see how it goes and move it down if there are no takers. Not that there is any more room for additional kids DVDs. That space is packed full.
Audiobooks
The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer. 10 CDs at 12 hours. "Milo is drawn into a conspiracy that links riots in the Sudan, an assassin committing suicide, and an old friend who's been accused of selling secrets to the Chinese."
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith. 10 Cds at 11 hours. The Soviet Union in 1956 is politically fracturing after the death of Stalin. Former state security cop Leo is being hunted by revenge for Leo's past eagerness at work. I read this book's predecessor, Child 44, and it was fairly decent.
Loser's Town by Daniel Depp. Hollywood P.I. is hired to protect actor from a blackmail scheme by a gangster with aspirations of being a movie producer. Depp got a lot of early press for this novel because he is Johnny Depp's older brother. The book is supposed to be good.
The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles. Penn is the new mayor of Natchez, MS and has taken the job to help change things. Penn learns that one of the town's casino riverboats has been pulling in high rollers with blood sport. Penn has to go up agains the big money and the Natchez locals who get a share.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
ALA Annual Conference in Chicago
I went down to the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago to see the exhibits.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Two
Fiction
Black Hills by (supposedly) Nora Roberts. I'm starting to think almost all these authors with multiple books a year are purely ghost written. This "Roberts" book has a blue cover - like many of her other books - with a full moon and a leopard.
NonFiction
Top 10 Florence and Tuscany by Reid Bramblett. A travel guide from DK's Eyewitness Travel series. The cover says, "Pull-out map and guide." Well I would certainly hope so. How crappy would a travel guide be without a map?
Black Hills by (supposedly) Nora Roberts. I'm starting to think almost all these authors with multiple books a year are purely ghost written. This "Roberts" book has a blue cover - like many of her other books - with a full moon and a leopard.
NonFiction
Top 10 Florence and Tuscany by Reid Bramblett. A travel guide from DK's Eyewitness Travel series. The cover says, "Pull-out map and guide." Well I would certainly hope so. How crappy would a travel guide be without a map?
Monday, July 06, 2009
Norwegian Chick Rockers, More Mexican Wrestling, Two CDs Worth of Nick Lowe
Music CDs
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre by The Cocktail Slippers. Norwegian chicks sing garage rock tunes. Featured by Little Steven on his syndicated radio show which I love to listen to.
Quiet Please: the new best of Nick Lowe by Nick Lowe. You have to be cruel to be kind.
DVDs
Thin Ice starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Camryn Manheim. Selleck has done a excellent job with these adaptations of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone novels.
Dia de los Muertos. Mexican wrestling featuring El Hijo Santo vs. La Park in a steel cage match.
Viva Guerrero!. Eddie Guerrero's wrestling life is celebrated by other famous wrestlers.
Reaper: season two starring That Guy From Twin Peaks, That Guy From Grounded for Life. Slacker finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil. Now slacker has to work for the devil by catching escaped souls.
Fiction
Even by Andrew Grant. Former nsval intelligence officer from Britain is set-up for murder in New York City.
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre by The Cocktail Slippers. Norwegian chicks sing garage rock tunes. Featured by Little Steven on his syndicated radio show which I love to listen to.
Quiet Please: the new best of Nick Lowe by Nick Lowe. You have to be cruel to be kind.
DVDs
Thin Ice starring Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Camryn Manheim. Selleck has done a excellent job with these adaptations of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone novels.
Dia de los Muertos. Mexican wrestling featuring El Hijo Santo vs. La Park in a steel cage match.
Viva Guerrero!. Eddie Guerrero's wrestling life is celebrated by other famous wrestlers.
Reaper: season two starring That Guy From Twin Peaks, That Guy From Grounded for Life. Slacker finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil. Now slacker has to work for the devil by catching escaped souls.
Fiction
Even by Andrew Grant. Former nsval intelligence officer from Britain is set-up for murder in New York City.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
John Ceepak, Lansdale, Tractors, Vietnam Memoir
Fiction
Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein. John Ceepak and his narrating partner Danny Boyle return for another mystery on the New Jersey shore. The two are on vacation in Atlantic City when Danny meets an old friend who nannies for a magician. The girl is strangled and Ceepak and Boyle get involved.
Punisher: War Journal: Secret Invasion by Fraction, Remender, Spurrier, Chaykin, Macdonald, Dell'Edera. Judging from the cover the Punisher fights green aliens with pointy ears.
Run A Crooked Mile by Janet LaPierre. Rosemary moves to the California mountains to be alone. He she ends up taking in the dog of a recent murder victim. Mystery and danger follow.
Vanilla Ride: a Hap and Leonard novel by Joe R. Lansdale. East Texas pals Hap and Leonard tend to stir up trouble and when "rescuing a friend's daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer" Hap and Leonard end up stirring trouble with the Dixie Mafia who want payback.
Lansdale does real good work.
NonFiction
Classic Farmall Tractors: history, models, variations and specifications 1922-1975 by Kenneth Updike.
The Ghosts of Thua Thien: an American soldier's memoir of Vietnam by John A. Nesser. "Nesser was deployed to the Ashau Valley, site of some of the war's heaviest fighting, and served eight months as an infantry rifleman before becoming a door gunner for a Chinook helicopter. In this stirring memoir, he recalls in detail the exhausting missions in the mountainous jungle, the terror of walking into an ambush, the dull-edged anxiety that filled quiet days, and the steady fear of being shot out of the sky."
Mind Scrambler by Chris Grabenstein. John Ceepak and his narrating partner Danny Boyle return for another mystery on the New Jersey shore. The two are on vacation in Atlantic City when Danny meets an old friend who nannies for a magician. The girl is strangled and Ceepak and Boyle get involved.
Punisher: War Journal: Secret Invasion by Fraction, Remender, Spurrier, Chaykin, Macdonald, Dell'Edera. Judging from the cover the Punisher fights green aliens with pointy ears.
Run A Crooked Mile by Janet LaPierre. Rosemary moves to the California mountains to be alone. He she ends up taking in the dog of a recent murder victim. Mystery and danger follow.
Vanilla Ride: a Hap and Leonard novel by Joe R. Lansdale. East Texas pals Hap and Leonard tend to stir up trouble and when "rescuing a friend's daughter from an abusive, no-good drug dealer" Hap and Leonard end up stirring trouble with the Dixie Mafia who want payback.
Lansdale does real good work.
NonFiction
Classic Farmall Tractors: history, models, variations and specifications 1922-1975 by Kenneth Updike.
The Ghosts of Thua Thien: an American soldier's memoir of Vietnam by John A. Nesser. "Nesser was deployed to the Ashau Valley, site of some of the war's heaviest fighting, and served eight months as an infantry rifleman before becoming a door gunner for a Chinook helicopter. In this stirring memoir, he recalls in detail the exhausting missions in the mountainous jungle, the terror of walking into an ambush, the dull-edged anxiety that filled quiet days, and the steady fear of being shot out of the sky."
Monday, June 29, 2009
Romanticize It All You Want, But Bonnie and Clyde were Scumbag Killers
Fiction
Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton. "Delicious Recipes and Knitting Pattern Included." I think you know my opinion on this book.
Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin. I needed to buy more chick books. Divorcee Lila starts learning about plants and rare plants and finds a rare fern in a NYC laundromat. Lila travels to the Yucatan jungle to plant hunt.
A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley. Jessica finds her fiance in an embrace with another woman. Jessica awakes in the bed of her fiance's male business rival. Soon Jessica sees that htings are not as they appeared, can she save what she has lost?
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson. Johnson's novels are supposed to be pretty good. "Interweaving classic noir sensibilities with contemporary themes of social justice, Craig Johnson's popular Walt Longmire mysteries transport readers to the sparse and rugged landscape of Wyoming."
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. in 1962 Mississippi a recent college grad, a black maid who just lost a son, and a black cook with a sassy mouth "come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk...because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times."
NonFiction
Go Down Together: the true untold story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn. If learned all you know about Bonnie and Clyde from the movies "the real story is completely different - and far more fascinating...Clyde and Bonnie were perhaps the most inept crooks ever, and their two-year crime spree was as much a reign of error as it was of terror."
Joan: the mysterious life of the heretic who became a saint by Donald Spoto. We needed a new Joan of Arc biography to replace the one falling apart.
Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton. "Delicious Recipes and Knitting Pattern Included." I think you know my opinion on this book.
Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire by Margot Berwin. I needed to buy more chick books. Divorcee Lila starts learning about plants and rare plants and finds a rare fern in a NYC laundromat. Lila travels to the Yucatan jungle to plant hunt.
A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley. Jessica finds her fiance in an embrace with another woman. Jessica awakes in the bed of her fiance's male business rival. Soon Jessica sees that htings are not as they appeared, can she save what she has lost?
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson. Johnson's novels are supposed to be pretty good. "Interweaving classic noir sensibilities with contemporary themes of social justice, Craig Johnson's popular Walt Longmire mysteries transport readers to the sparse and rugged landscape of Wyoming."
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. in 1962 Mississippi a recent college grad, a black maid who just lost a son, and a black cook with a sassy mouth "come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk...because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times."
NonFiction
Go Down Together: the true untold story of Bonnie and Clyde by Jeff Guinn. If learned all you know about Bonnie and Clyde from the movies "the real story is completely different - and far more fascinating...Clyde and Bonnie were perhaps the most inept crooks ever, and their two-year crime spree was as much a reign of error as it was of terror."
Joan: the mysterious life of the heretic who became a saint by Donald Spoto. We needed a new Joan of Arc biography to replace the one falling apart.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Just a Bunch of Books
Novels I Will Not Read
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. Foreign exchange student is actually a spy and saboteur sent to plan and execute a terrorist attack "that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to its knees."
I wonder how many spies and terrorists have come to the U.S. all charged-up to cause trouble and then, after staying awhile, said "Screw that," and joined the neighbors for a beer?
Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum. "A Seaside Knitters Mystery." How exciting! A knitting mystery. There's nothing that says death and suspense like knitting.
A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey. Is this one of those romances where the wild, free-roaming dude is drawn into the arms of some broad who tames his ways? Johanna Lindsey lives in Maine. Lindsey sells tons of books but I wonder if any are ghost written. I'll also bet she has the bucks to have a pretty big house - but I'll also bet she wasted her money on couches and bathtubs instead of installing an indoor shooting range.
NonFiction For Paranoids and Casual Reading
If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Be Okay: how to know if your child's illness is really an emergency by Lara Zibners, MD.
Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing by Maggie Koerth-Baker. Learn to Leave you mark on history, Train a cat, win a duel, build a dynasty, sell a kidney on the black market, perform your own surgery.
The surgery section mentions Aron Ralston who had his arm crushed and stuck when rock climbing in Utah in 2003. After a few days Ralston cut his arm off to get out. My brother mentioned once about meeting or hearing about this guy before the accident and that basically Ralston was an idiot and bound to have something happen to him.
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. Foreign exchange student is actually a spy and saboteur sent to plan and execute a terrorist attack "that will bring this big dumb country and its fat dumb inhabitants to its knees."
I wonder how many spies and terrorists have come to the U.S. all charged-up to cause trouble and then, after staying awhile, said "Screw that," and joined the neighbors for a beer?
Patterns in the Sand by Sally Goldenbaum. "A Seaside Knitters Mystery." How exciting! A knitting mystery. There's nothing that says death and suspense like knitting.
A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey. Is this one of those romances where the wild, free-roaming dude is drawn into the arms of some broad who tames his ways? Johanna Lindsey lives in Maine. Lindsey sells tons of books but I wonder if any are ghost written. I'll also bet she has the bucks to have a pretty big house - but I'll also bet she wasted her money on couches and bathtubs instead of installing an indoor shooting range.
NonFiction For Paranoids and Casual Reading
If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Be Okay: how to know if your child's illness is really an emergency by Lara Zibners, MD.
Mental Floss Presents Be Amazing by Maggie Koerth-Baker. Learn to Leave you mark on history, Train a cat, win a duel, build a dynasty, sell a kidney on the black market, perform your own surgery.
The surgery section mentions Aron Ralston who had his arm crushed and stuck when rock climbing in Utah in 2003. After a few days Ralston cut his arm off to get out. My brother mentioned once about meeting or hearing about this guy before the accident and that basically Ralston was an idiot and bound to have something happen to him.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Three NonFic, Two Fic
Fiction
The Scoop by Fern Michaels. Daisy Multroon takes over an ice cream stand in rural Georgia from her aging great aunt. Daisy is retreating from a soured engagement in the big city and decides a change of pace is in order. Daisy promptly and disastrously finds out that running a small business in a small town is tougher than she thought; her experience as a Atlanta investment banker has not prepared her for teenage employees, unreliable suppliers, and the handsome building inspector, Bud. Sparks fly between Daisy and Bud and they are not sparks of love. Yet.
I made all that up.
Swimsuit by Maxine Paetro and James Patterson. Ex-cop reporter hunts Hawaii for missing supermodel.
NonFiction
Methland: the death and life of an American small town by Nick Reding. Reding researches Oelwin, IA whose depressed economy has become dependent on the meth trade.
Novelist and former Deputy Sheriff Donald Harstad is from NE Iowa. He had four or five good crime novels set in rural Iowa. What the heck has Harstad been doing? Maybe I should try and find the guy's phone number or email and ask him.
Not So Big Remodeling: tailoring your home for the way you really live by Sarah Susanka and Marc Vassallo. "With small thoughtful changes the home you live in can be the home you love."
The NFL Gameday Cookbook: 150 recipes to feed the hungriest fan from preseason to the Super Bowl by Ray Lampe.
The Scoop by Fern Michaels. Daisy Multroon takes over an ice cream stand in rural Georgia from her aging great aunt. Daisy is retreating from a soured engagement in the big city and decides a change of pace is in order. Daisy promptly and disastrously finds out that running a small business in a small town is tougher than she thought; her experience as a Atlanta investment banker has not prepared her for teenage employees, unreliable suppliers, and the handsome building inspector, Bud. Sparks fly between Daisy and Bud and they are not sparks of love. Yet.
I made all that up.
Swimsuit by Maxine Paetro and James Patterson. Ex-cop reporter hunts Hawaii for missing supermodel.
NonFiction
Methland: the death and life of an American small town by Nick Reding. Reding researches Oelwin, IA whose depressed economy has become dependent on the meth trade.
Novelist and former Deputy Sheriff Donald Harstad is from NE Iowa. He had four or five good crime novels set in rural Iowa. What the heck has Harstad been doing? Maybe I should try and find the guy's phone number or email and ask him.
Not So Big Remodeling: tailoring your home for the way you really live by Sarah Susanka and Marc Vassallo. "With small thoughtful changes the home you live in can be the home you love."
The NFL Gameday Cookbook: 150 recipes to feed the hungriest fan from preseason to the Super Bowl by Ray Lampe.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
What to Read 26: Brent Hartinger
I had a phone interview with author Brent Hartinger about two of his novels, Geography Club and Order of the Poison Oak. But, the dang camera was accidentally turned off about 30 seconds into our conversation. I was too humiliated to try and re-schedule another phone call.
Lazy Greyhounds, A Couple Novels
DVD
The Mighty Celt starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Carlyle. Boy living with single mom in Ireland strikes deal with greyhound trainer to get to keep a dog if boy trains dog to win three races.
I bought this because it has greyhounds and Gillian Anderson.
Princess of Nebraska starring [people you do not know]. Pregnant Chinese student studying in Nebraska travels to San Francisco for, possibly, an abortion. Directed by Wayne Wang who does good stuff.
Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser. People fall into the center of the Earth and overcome cgi produced obstacles.
Fiction
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. I think I read one of these books a long time ago. I don't know bupkis about the characters but have heard enough to make this prediction: Plum goes after a bail-jumper, Plum's grandmother acts crazy, Plum experiences sexual tension and romantic trouble, other bounty hunters both help and hinder.
The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner. Jo calls herself a 'deadshrinker'. She is a forensic psychologist who helps determine the mental state of people before they died. She gets called to help with a guy who has lost his short term memory. While Jo helps the guy she discovers a link between the guy and a 'biological agent'.
Non Fiction
The Secrets of Happy Families: eight keys to building a lifetime of connection and contentment by Scott Haltzman, M.D.
The Mighty Celt starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Carlyle. Boy living with single mom in Ireland strikes deal with greyhound trainer to get to keep a dog if boy trains dog to win three races.
I bought this because it has greyhounds and Gillian Anderson.
Princess of Nebraska starring [people you do not know]. Pregnant Chinese student studying in Nebraska travels to San Francisco for, possibly, an abortion. Directed by Wayne Wang who does good stuff.
Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser. People fall into the center of the Earth and overcome cgi produced obstacles.
Fiction
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. I think I read one of these books a long time ago. I don't know bupkis about the characters but have heard enough to make this prediction: Plum goes after a bail-jumper, Plum's grandmother acts crazy, Plum experiences sexual tension and romantic trouble, other bounty hunters both help and hinder.
The Memory Collector by Meg Gardiner. Jo calls herself a 'deadshrinker'. She is a forensic psychologist who helps determine the mental state of people before they died. She gets called to help with a guy who has lost his short term memory. While Jo helps the guy she discovers a link between the guy and a 'biological agent'.
Non Fiction
The Secrets of Happy Families: eight keys to building a lifetime of connection and contentment by Scott Haltzman, M.D.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
A Quick One Before I'm Away
Fiction
Below Zero by C.J. Box. This is supposed to be real good.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. I'm not sure I've ever read one of his novels but I really a short story that was good.
Relentless by Dean Koontz.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. A haunted house in 1940 England.
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. Gardener's thrillers are supposed to be above average.
Knock Out by Catherine Coulter. What does Coulter write anyway? Both thrillers and romance? Or Thrillers with some romance? read it and find out yourself.
Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I'm late on getting this one.
The Cheater by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I don't care.
French Gardener by Santa Montefiore. "Santa"? What the heck kind of name is that?
Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell. The cover has a redheaded gal with a head cover and black clothes so this must be an inspirational fiction set in Amish country or something. Let me check... Nope, but I was kinda close. It is in Stoneybrooke, MA way back when.
Repeat After Me by Rachel DeWoskin. Young New York woman Aysha meets a Chinese student in the U.S. They marry and move to China. Cultural goofs provide humor.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. Unique novel told with illustrations.
NonFiction
Mad Science: experiements you can do at home - but probably shouldn't by Theodore Gray.
Chemical Cowboys: the DEA's secret mission to hunt down a notorious ecstasy kingpin by Lisa Sweetingham. True crime tale of an international drug ring trading in Ecstasy tablets. Also endorsed by Bill Crider.
American Cheeses: the best regional, artisna, and farmhouse cheeses: who makes them and where to find them by Clark Wolf. Endorsed by Gerard Saylor (that's me) and other Wisconsin types.
World War One: a short history by Norman Stone. We did not have much on WWI so I bought this.
Large Print
Medusa by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos.
Below Zero by C.J. Box. This is supposed to be real good.
Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. I'm not sure I've ever read one of his novels but I really a short story that was good.
Relentless by Dean Koontz.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. A haunted house in 1940 England.
The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. Gardener's thrillers are supposed to be above average.
Knock Out by Catherine Coulter. What does Coulter write anyway? Both thrillers and romance? Or Thrillers with some romance? read it and find out yourself.
Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I'm late on getting this one.
The Cheater by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg. I don't care.
French Gardener by Santa Montefiore. "Santa"? What the heck kind of name is that?
Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell. The cover has a redheaded gal with a head cover and black clothes so this must be an inspirational fiction set in Amish country or something. Let me check... Nope, but I was kinda close. It is in Stoneybrooke, MA way back when.
Repeat After Me by Rachel DeWoskin. Young New York woman Aysha meets a Chinese student in the U.S. They marry and move to China. Cultural goofs provide humor.
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen. Unique novel told with illustrations.
NonFiction
Mad Science: experiements you can do at home - but probably shouldn't by Theodore Gray.
Chemical Cowboys: the DEA's secret mission to hunt down a notorious ecstasy kingpin by Lisa Sweetingham. True crime tale of an international drug ring trading in Ecstasy tablets. Also endorsed by Bill Crider.
American Cheeses: the best regional, artisna, and farmhouse cheeses: who makes them and where to find them by Clark Wolf. Endorsed by Gerard Saylor (that's me) and other Wisconsin types.
World War One: a short history by Norman Stone. We did not have much on WWI so I bought this.
Large Print
Medusa by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos.
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