Another Book Thread

[Drew S.]

Re: Another Book Thread

Whitehead won the Pulitzer for this one.

Read that in the last month and it was really good.

[leswp1]

Re: Another Book Thread

Reading the new Steve Berry book- The Warsaw Protocol . Just started but I cracked up at his name for the 'new' President- Warner Fox. His description of the Administration is also amusing. Enough that I laughed out loud and mr les wondered what was wrong with me.

[jen]

Re: Another Book Thread

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Non-fiction about a lawyer in Alabama that heads a non-profit to help people on death row. Really interesting... and depressing. Lots about kids and disabled people that were sentenced to death and people wrongly accused. Need some happier books next.

[leswp1]

Re: Another Book Thread

Thought I posted this but I guess I didn't- Finished this last week- The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story by Douglas Preston.

...about a project headed by documentary filmmaker Steve Elkins that used lidar to search for archaeological sites in the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve of the Gracias a Dios Department in the Mosquitia region of eastern Honduras. Honduran-American expedition with archaeologists, anthropologists, engineers, geologists, biologists and ethnobotanists. Covers history of some of the other expeditions in history, the expedition planning, the actual expedition, some of the science of Lidar, stuff about the rain forest, flora and fauna (including creepy things I would not want to encounter), some of the politics in the area and other areas, and tropical diseases.

The end of book is about the author and some of the expedition members getting leishmaniasis- disease caused by parasites transmitted by the bite of sandflies, the history of the disease around the world and a very eerie prediction about the possibility of a pandemic d/t international travel and climate changing. Written in 2017. The prediction is scary in its accuracy.

I am not usually a non-fiction buff but I really liked this one. Had a lot of what intrigues me- science, medical stuff and the history of how things came to develop over time. If you are a magpie reader this is great. (I am).

[solovsfett]

Re: Another Book Thread

https://www.amazon.com/Tupac-Shakur-.../dp/0979146909

Apropos,...and utterly infuriating and depressing.

[Probert]

Recent reads. Since I am telecommuting and don't have 3 hours a day on the train I have dropped from 3-4 books a week to about a book and a half.

The Big Lie (Jack Swyteck #16) by James Grippando In this book Grippando delves way too much into current politics. If I want to hear something like that all I have to do is tune into CNN or MSNBC I don’t have to read a book. The books premise is the Republican wins the election narrowly and the Democrats try to flip the electoral college. Jack represents one of Florida’s electors who wants to vote her conscience and the President is pulling out all the stops to make sure she won’t be able to.

Cleaning the Gold (Jack Reacher #23.6) by Karin Slaughter (Goodreads Author), Lee Child (Goodreads Author) A short Jack Reacher Wil Trent crossover book where Will is trying to track down a killer and Reacher is trying to bring down a loan shark. This harkens back to the first Reacher novel as Wil is trying to close that case. They are both on base at Fort Knox cleaning the gold circling each other when they stumble across a bigger case. Ok read.

The Christmas Scorpion (Jack Reacher #22.5) by Lee Child A very short Christmas themed Reacher story where he finds himself trapped in a snow storm trying to stop an assassination.

The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945 by James D. Hornfischer This book mainly deals with the invasion of the Marianas, though it also deals with the development and dropping of the atomic bombs and the surrender of Japan. I didn’t like it quite as much as his prior books but still a solid effort. I particularly liked the contrast described between Spruance and Halsey during their command turns of the fleet.

The Covenant of Genesis (Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase #4) by Andy McDermott A typical Chase and Wilde novel as they are hunting for the Garden of Eden hunted by bad guys. Lot of miraculous escapes from danger as multitudes of people try to kill them.

When You See Me (Detective D.D. Warren #11) by Lisa Gardner This is a Lisa Gardner team up novel as Kimberly Quincy, Flora Dane and DD Warren go down to Georgia to investigate a body that might have a connection to Flora’s abductor and serial killer Jacob Ness. Very interesting storyline with a nice plotline. Probably could have been a little longer to flesh out the plot a little more.

Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher by David Cone, Jack Curry This is not a biography by Cone. This is really his take on the art of pitching and how his pitching style adapted over the years. He talks about the tendency of hitters, umpires, and other pitchers. He talks about the people who influenced and helped him during his career. Ok read

The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote by Sharyl Attkisson Very interesting book about how members of both political parties and outsiders attempt to influence the media. Very alarming the number of reporters that seem to just repeat verbatim what they are given without any type of verification or filter. It does focus quite a bit on Media matters but since that is by far the biggest player in the field it kind of makes sense. People wonder why I rarely watch the news or read a paper this is one of the reasons why. Good read.

The First Apostle (Chris Bronson #1) by James Becker Pretty interesting book where a man’s wife is killed over something she find in their house in Italy. He brings his friend a police detective with him and then get involved in a 2,000-year-old conspiracy. This was a pretty good read I like these books with a little bit of history thrown in.

The Promise(Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #16) by Robert Crais Pretty good Cole and Pike book where they are investigating a woman whose child was killed and they think she might be trying to track down the people who killed him. Pretty good back and forth, a quick short read.

Blindside(Michael Bennett #12) by James Patterson (Goodreads Author), James O. Born OK Michael Bennett book where he is trying to track down the mayor’s daughter who is missing. Better than the recent Bennett books, I don’t like Born as much as the prior co-writer.

A Dangerous Man(Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #18) by Robert Crais A good book, mainly a Pike book where Pike stops a young woman from being kidnapped outside a bank. When she is threatened again he seeks to find out who is behind it and what is going on.

Damage Control(Joanna Brady #13)by J.A. Jance Another good Brady book finds her investigating several different deaths 2 seniors who drive off a cliff seemingly to commit suicide and a body of a young woman who is found by a young boy. Some twists and turns, good read.

Judgment Call(Joanna Brady #15)by J.A. Jance Another good Brady book, her daughter discovers the body of her school principal while out for a ride and there is an investigation into her life. She is also forced to take a look at her early life as she investigates her father’s death.

The Last Detective(Elvis Cole and Joe Pike #9) by Robert Crais A non-stop Cole and Pike thriller where Cole’s girlfriend Lucy’s son Ben is kidnapped while staying at Elvis. Joe and Elvis must race to find him while dealing with the police, Lucy’s ex husband and his band of cronies. When they find out the kidnapper is a professional mercenary, they seek to find out who hired him. Good read

Edge Of Evil (Ali Reynolds #1) by J.A. Jance I enjoy both the Brady and Beaumont series but have never read any of the Reynolds books. This was pretty good, Ali Reynolds is a LA New anchor who is fired, she also find out her husband has been cheating on him and her best friend from high school has died. Going home for the funeral in Arizona, she begins to look into her friends death feeling that It isn’t a suicide. Pretty good read

Paradise Lost(Joanna Brady #9) by J.A. Jance This Joanna Brady novel finds her investigating a murder after her daughter finds a body in the desert when on a camping trip. When the girl who found the daughter with Jenny disappears, Joanna fears she may be next. Typical back and forth Brady mystery.

Dead Wrong(Joanna Brady #12) by J.A. Jance Interesting Brady story as a man found dead in the desert turns out to have a connection to her father so she spends time trying to solve the current case while also looking into her father’s past. To me the second storyline with the dogfighting ring kind of detracted it’s something that could have been worked out in full for it’s own book it seemed to be rushed.

Snatched(Will Trent #5.5) by Karin Slaughter A short Wil Trent book where banished to airport duty in Atlanta he attempts to save a small girl who he believes has been abducted.

The Wedding Guest(Alex Delaware #34) by Jonathan Kellerman Interesting Delaware book where a wedding crasher is found dead and Alex and Milo must try to find out who she was and how she was killed. Ok read though I found the ending a bit lacking.

Fallen (Will Trent #5) by Karin Slaughter Good Wil Trent book where his partner Faith mother is kidnapped and they must rescue her before she is killed. Wil must go into his prior investigation into her mother where many of the members of her unit went to jail.

The Museum of Desire(Alex Delaware #35) by Jonathan Kellerman This Delaware novel finds him and Milo investigating a massacre where 4 people are found posed in a limo after a party. Quite a strange revelation and investigation. Like the last several this has a bit of an unusual ending.

[burd]

Reading The Fig Eater. Murder mystery set in 1910 Vienna. Not everyone will like this book--some people will find the plot too slow moving. But I find her restrained, sometimes elegant writing style a pleasure.

[jen]

whatcha reading lately peeps? I need some happy things.

[Kepler]

whatcha reading lately peeps? I need some happy things.

The Spider by Hanns Heinz Ewers (1908). It's about a hotel room where people keep hanging themselves. The author later became a Nazi.

[leswp1]

The Spider by Hanns Heinz Ewers (1908). It's about a hotel room where people keep hanging themselves. The author later became a Nazi.

this sounds twisted.

I am listening to Outlander by Gabaldon.
Reading Roberta Gellis' multiple book series again. I can't seem to look at anything new. Reading the stuff that feels like old slippers

[Kepler]

this sounds twisted.

It's actually really good. And he wasn't a Nazi for very long because he liked the Jews.

You'd think he might have googled them before joining, though.

[leswp1]

It's actually really good. And he wasn't a Nazi for very long because he liked the Jews.

You'd think he might have googled them before joining, though.

this made my head explode inside a little

[St. Clown]

Ready Player Two: It's the sequel to Ready Player One, and certainly not as good in terms of relating itself to the universe in which it's based. The story focuses on a new uber-villain, and it's tough to really get into that idea. Honestly, it felt a little like an old episode of Star Trek TNG. There are some fun references in the book that are completely new compared to the first book, and even a nod or two to the Ready Player One movie, which was unexpected and well done if you're paying attention. This is by no means a bad book, it just doesn't evoke the same desire to connect with the protagonist that the first one did.

Note: I listened to this one via Audible, as I did the first one. Will Wheaton is a great audiobook narrator. He's not doing voice acting, just reading with inflection, and the occasional accent when the character's accent is noted. Regarding the inflection note, he puts it into various characters' voices, fitted nicely to the situation at hand, and it's not overdone.

[Kepler]

Ready Player Two: It's the sequel to Ready Player One, and certainly not as good in terms of relating itself to the universe in which it's based. The story focuses on a new uber-villain, and it's tough to really get into that idea. Honestly, it felt a little like an old episode of Star Trek TNG. There are some fun references in the book that are completely new compared to the first book, and even a nod or two to the Ready Player One movie, which was unexpected and well done if you're paying attention. This is by no means a bad book, it just doesn't evoke the same desire to connect with the protagonist that the first one did.

Note: I listened to this one via Audible, as I did the first one. Will Wheaton is a great audiobook narrator. He's not doing voice acting, just reading with inflection, and the occasional accent when the character's accent is noted. Regarding the inflection note, he puts it into various characters' voices, fitted nicely to the situation at hand, and it's not overdone.

TBH the last half of RP1 sucked too. Ernest Cline just is not a good writer -- his characters and plot are juvenile. The one thing of value (and it was great!) was the concept. But once the concept is described the writer has no ability to be interesting or clever even by lame popular standards.

c.f. Charles Stross. Or Heinlein.

[St. Clown]

TBH the last half of RP1 sucked too. Ernest Cline just is not a good writer -- his characters and plot are juvenile. The one thing of value (and it was great!) was the concept. But once the concept is described the writer has no ability to be interesting or clever even by lame popular standards.

c.f. Charles Stross. Or Heinlein.

I think you've been using that same line since Vonnegut last published a book.