Book Thread number ?

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Just realized I forgot to mention one of the best books I read last year - Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler. LOVED it. Couldn't put it down. My mom usually takes forever to read books, and she read it in 2 days. About two women (one young and black, the other white and elderly) who take a road trip to a funeral.

Also read Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly recently - another good historical slightly fluffy fiction book about WWII (although really, how fluffy can genocide be?)

Working my way through the Alex Cross books. The last one was a little gruesome for me (Violets are Blue - I'm not very far). Every time I want to stop reading, I remember how much I like Alex and his family.

[joecct]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Guadalcanal Diary was on Amazon Kindle tbe other day for $1.99. Couldn't resist and picked it up. Fascinating read.

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Prob gonna pick up John Scott's book. A little bonus, apparently a friend of mine was approached by the authors about a (romanticized) anecdote when my friend wanted to fight him at a bar. For those who are familiar with the Gopher fanbase back then, it was Flag Guy. Nothing really happened, not even a face-to-face confrontation, but you know how stories go.....

I am interested in his story, though, given he was a marginal college guy, some drinking violations (serious ones) and turned into a lunchbucket all star for the NHL.

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Recent Reads

Secret Sanction (Sean Drummond #1) by Brian Haig A very good book about a JAG investigation into atrocities committed against the Serbs during a peacekeeping mission. Sean Drummond and his team must get to the bottom of what exactly a special forces team did and who sanctioned it.

Guilt (Alex Delaware #28) by Jonathan Kellerman An okay Alex Delaware novel where he and Milo are investigating several dead children and a young woman found in an affluent area of Los Angeles. One of the babies bodies has been buried for 50 years.

True Faith and Allegiance (Jack Ryan Universe #22) by Mark Greaney Greaney is certainly the best writer that is continuing Clancy’s work. This was an excellent novel where taking advantage of a hack of personnel files ISIS is threatening American soldiers and worker directly in the homeland. As much of Washington is exposed the Campus gets involved in trying to track down the hack and stop any future attacks.

Chase (Michael Bennett #9.5) by James Patterson (Goodreads Author), Michael Ledwidge This short e-book/bookshots follows Michael Bennett as he investigates the death of a man from a Manhattan hotel. A quick short adventure but not a whole lot of investigative work on Bennett’s part with an okay finish.

Private Royals by James Patterson (Goodreads Author), Rees Jones This short Private adventure finds Jack Morgan in London trying to find a member of the Royal family who has been kidnapped and the kidnapper is threatening to kill her in front of the trooping the color unless a ransom is paid. Ok

The Black Widow (Gabriel Allon #16) by Daniel Silva When one of Gabriel Allon’s friends is killed along with dozens of others in a terrorist attack in Paris. He is requested by France to help them in a joint investigation to get at the mastermind a man named Saladin. Sending a deep cover agent and encompassing 3 continents and several other countries intelligence services they try to get revenge. Good read.

Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick A book that explores the action of Benedict Arnold during the Revolutionary War. His relationship with George Washington and the thought actions and influences that led him to commit treason. Good read.

Guilty Minds (Nick Heller #3) by Joseph Finder The third Nick Heller book finds him recruited back to Washington DC to help out the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. A tabloid website is threatening to go public with an allegation that he consorted with a prostitute and Nick is brought in to clear his name. Good read.

Deal With The Devil: The FBI's Secret Thirty-Year Relationship With A Mafia Killer by Peter Lance This book details the relationship between the FBI and “The Grim Reaper” Greg Scarpa. It tells how he kept the FBI on a string only giving them information to help himself while the FBI helped keep a murderer on the street. The book dragged quite a bit at times with the back and forth of various FBI documents and court cases. Eerily similar to the relationship between John Connally and Whitey Bulger.

Sharpe's Siege (Richard Sharpe (chronological order) #18) by Bernard Cornwell Sharpe invades France as in this book he leads a mission under the command of an English Navy Captain to take a coastal fortress and deny the French the use of ships. Once again Major Duros appears to throw a kink into his plans and Sharpe ends up fighting for his life and the life of his men.

Day of Judgment (Simon Vaughn #1) by Jack Higgins This Higgins book finds the British and the Vatican acting in concert to help spirit a priest out of East Germany before his secret life helping Germans escape to the West embarrasses JFK on his trip to Berlin.

Everywhere That Mary Went (Rosato and Associates #1) by Lisa Scottoline This book follows Mary Dinuzio a young lawyer seeking to become a partner at a large Philadelphia law firm. Recovering from the death of her husband she becomes paranoid and worried when she is being stalked. When her assistant is killed similar to how her husband died it almost pushes her over the edge. I’ve read several of the later books but this is not one of Scottoline’s better ones.

When Darkness Falls (Jack Swyteck #6) by James Grippando One of Jack’s current clients, The Falcon, take his former client Theo hostage in a motel room and Jack and a blind hostage negotiator must try to save his life along with the other hostages while getting to the bottom of this disturbed man’s inane ramblings.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I started The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. This is quite the read and I'm only 50 pages in.

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Recent reads

October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978 by Roger Kahn While I preferred the Bronx Zoo, this was an okay read about the story of the 78 Yankees. Kahn starts with an overview of Yankee lore then goes into the mid 70’s telling of the assembly of the championship teams of 77 and 78. Focuses mainly on Billy, George and Reggie though has some good stories of some of the other players in the drama not covered in the players books that much like Gabe Paul and Al Rosen.

Devil's Waltz (Alex Delaware #7) by Jonathan Kellerman An ok Alex Delaware book where he is investigating the case of a sick child where he use to work and runs into all kinds of strange things happening including several murders.

My Silent War: The Autobiography of a Spy by Kim Philby I’ve read several biographies about Kim Philby and the Cambridge 5. This is his autobiography written while he was in the Soviet Union. I was not that impressed. He tells a brief tale of how he got into MI-6 and his various posting. It doesn’t include who, how and why he was recruited to spy for the Soviets. What material he handed over to them and how he did it and how he communicated with the Soviets over the years. If it wasn’t so short I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

Touch & Go (Tessa Leoni #2) by Lisa Gardner The second Tessa Leoni novel finds her working with the FBI, NH police and Boston policy trying to find a kidnapped family. The book describes the families ordeal as they struggle to stay alive while the policy search for them. OK read.

Crash & Burn (Tessa Leoni #3) by Lisa Gardner Definitely the weakest of the Tess leoni books this finds her and her boyfriend investigating the un usual case of a woman with memory problems who is found off the road. It appears as if she may have escaped from a kidnapping ring many years ago and is reliving her past. OK

Omerta by Mario Puzo This book by Mario Puzo tells the story of how the heirs of Don Aprile get vengeance on his murderers after he is gunned down at his grandson’s communion. Not as good as the Godfather but a good read.

Sail by James Patterson An okay book detailing a families adventure when a sailing trip goes wrong and they are lost at sea. Details the husbands actions not on the boat and the wife, her brother-in-law and her children on the boat and at sea.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two (Harry Potter #8) by John Tiffany (Adaptation), Jack Thorne, J.K. Rowling So this is the play adaptation and as such includes notes on the various events happening onstage that the reader does no sea. It was okay at best not nearly as good as any of the previous books.

The Rise of Athens: The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization by Anthony Everitt The story of Athens Rise and Fall. Didn’t find this quite as interesting as Everitt’s books on the Roman Empire. Brief overviews of the various wars, Persian, Peloponnesian and how Athens came to dominate the Greek mainland. Their conflicts with the Persians and Spartans, the various tyrants and leaders of Athens and how democracy worked. The ostracism of many of their major leaders is very interesting.

The English Spy (Gabriel Allon #15) by Daniel Silva Basically this is about the assassination of Princess Diana and then MI-6 teams up with the Mossad in order to track down her killers. Following up on The English Girl. Not the best of the Allon books and I wonder what is going to happen when he become head of the Office? Wouldn’t mind a Christopher Keller book.

House Reckoning (Joe DeMarco #9) by Mike Lawson Interesting Demarco book which explored the much discussed backstory of his father the Mafia Hit man. This tells of the details leading up to his father’s killing and how Joe got the job with Congress. When from an associate of his father he finds out who killed his father and the political office he holds can Joe avenge his father. Good read.

Goombata: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang by John Cummings, Ernest Volkman Average book on Gotti and the Gambino’s at best. Written before he went to jail so there are so incorrect facts and assumptions mentioned that would come out in later trials and books written by members of his crew.

[MissThundercat]

Re: Book Thread number ?

"Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia" by Mayra Hornbacher. Really moving story of one woman's lifelong battle with eating disorders, and it reminded me of my own history. And she's right in that you never come all the way back from an eating disorder...

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I could post this in the "grind my gears" thread, but I am annoyed by "novellas" or ".5" books in a series that are hard to find or only available online, and not even good.

[leswp1]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I could post this in the "grind my gears" thread, but I am annoyed by "novellas" or ".5" books in a series that are hard to find or only available online, and not even good.

Word! I do not do well with reading things on an e-reader. And I hate when they are part of an anthology.

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Word! I do not do well with reading things on an e-reader. And I hate when they are part of an anthology.

I bought my Kindle to do just that, and while passable, I prefer a real book.

That being said, can anyone point me to:

1. A reliable, non-dry, and detailed book (or books) on Irish history? The Troubles period, of course, but also to the other important eras of their history in seeking independence?
2. The same with the Sinaloa cartel.

Length of book doesn't matter. I have simply found that textbooks filled with facts only are just not as interesting. I want context, the feel of the people, the anecdotes, etc etc etc. A perfect example of this kind of book would be The Five Families by Selwyn Raab (the five mafia families of NY). He nails all that I am looking for in a history of a subject.

[joecct]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Brent

Try History of the Irish Race by a distant relative of mine, Seamus MacManus (Mountcharles, County Donegal)

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Brent

Try History of the Irish Race by a distant relative of mine, Seamus MacManus (Mountcharles, County Donegal)

That's a really nice Italian name.

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I bought my Kindle to do just that, and while passable, I prefer a real book.

That being said, can anyone point me to:

1. A reliable, non-dry, and detailed book (or books) on Irish history? The Troubles period, of course, but also to the other important eras of their history in seeking independence?
2. The same with the Sinaloa cartel.

Length of book doesn't matter. I have simply found that textbooks filled with facts only are just not as interesting. I want context, the feel of the people, the anecdotes, etc etc etc. A perfect example of this kind of book would be The Five Families by Selwyn Raab (the five mafia families of NY). He nails all that I am looking for in a history of a subject.

The Last Narco: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo, the World's Most Wanted Drug Lord by Malcolm Beith Was pretty good but obviously focuses on El Chapo

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Brent

Try History of the Irish Race by a distant relative of mine, Seamus MacManus (Mountcharles, County Donegal)

Ended up buying this and the John Scott book. Amazon foolishly offered me free Prime, again, so I took advantage.

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Read Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave - very good (yet more WWII historical fiction). Clever characters, really enjoyed it.

I also read Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld - a modern take on Pride And Prejudice (which I hated and never finished). I found the non-Austened version surprisingly enjoyable, although quite "chick-lit"-y.