drneutron's 2013 Challenge - Last Lap

Books so far:

My Name is Dee by Robin Wyatt Dunn
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Happy Hour In Hell by Tad Williams
The Passage Justin Cronin
Blood Feud: The Hatfields and the McCoys: The Epic Story of Murder and Vengeance by Lisa Alther
The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Vol. IV by Robert A. Caro
Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life by Douglas T. Kenrick
The Joshua Stone by James Barney
The Magician by Michael Scott
Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel by Andrew Graham-Dixon
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel by Neil Gaiman
Black Out: A Novel by Lisa Unger
A Question of Identity: A Simon Serrailler Mystery by Susan Hill
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang
Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft by H. P. Lovecraft
Flood by Stephen Baxter
Raven Black: Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet by Ann Cleeves
Equilateral: A Novel by Ken Kalfus
The Return: A Novel by Michael Gruber
The Eye of God: A Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins
The Assassins by Bernard Lewis
Fathom by Cherie Priest
Master Of The Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro
Smilla's Sense of Snow: A Novel by Peter Høeg
Outrage: An Inspector Erlendur Novel by Arnaldur Indridason
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore: A Novel by Robin Sloan
Duel with the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America's First Sensational Murder Mystery by Paul Collins
Travels in Elysium by William Azuski
Silvertongue by Charlie Fletcher
NOS4A2: A Novel by Joe Hill
The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart
Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott
Blackout by Mira Grant
Ironhand by Charlie Fletcher
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James
The Twilight Prisoner by Katherine Marsh
Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch
Necessary Evil by Ian Tregillis
Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson
The True History of the Elephant Man by Peter Ford
Stoneheart by Charlie Fletcher
Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh
Scarlet by Stephen R. Lawhead
Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser
Hood by Stephen Lawhead
Means of Ascent by Robert A. Caro
Heartstone: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery by C. J. Sansom
Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell
Ex-Heroes: A Novel by Peter Clines
Ghost Burglar: The True Story of Bernard Welch: Master Thief, Ruthless Con Man, and Cold-Blooded Killer by Jack Burch
Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable
Hypothermia: A Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason
Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists by Joel Best
Batman and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul by Mark D. White
The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman
Revelation by C. J. Sansom
The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid by Thom Hatch
Butch Cassidy: Beyond the Grave by W.C. Jameson
Chew, Vol. 6: Space Cakes by John Layman
Butch Cassidy: A Biography by Richard Patterson
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
Bad Glass by Richard E. Gropp
The Facade: Special Edition by Michael S. Heiser
Ash by James Herbert
Tales of Terror and Mystery by Arthur Conan Doyle
Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors by Peter Ackroyd
The Map of the Sky: A Novel by Felix J Palma
A Sickness in the Family by Denise Mina
The Path to Power by Robert A. Caro
Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes by Rob DeBorde
The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest
Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

Just to kick things off, from the last thread...

76. Happy Hour in Hell by Tad Williams

Second in the Bobby Dollar urban fantasy/noir series. In this one, Bobby goes to Hell, literally, to rescue his demon girlfriend. Mostly it's good, but the characterization of Hell and the demonic minions got a little tedious at times. Not as good as the first, but ended well and leads in nicely to the next.

77. My Name is John Dee by Robin Wyatt Dunn

Apparently John Dee is an assassin and a magician working for "Hollywood". Apparently because John Dee is also insane, probably paranoid schizophrenic. So absolutely nothing about his story can be trusted.

My Name is John Dee is an odd book - frankly, weird. Not in the cool Lovecraftian way, but in the bat-shit crazy way, as in makes you want to go "what?" The story's nonlinear, the writing jumps all over the place, and I still have no idea what happened. On the other hand, it's probably a pretty good look at the way a schizophrenic sees the world.

This thing could have worked really well. I'm not opposed to a little crazy time. Some of my favorite books make your head spin around a few times. Something - and I still haven't figured out what - made this one just meh.

Note: this was an ER book.

78. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

My first foray into Stephen's Halloween reading list, and a great selection on his part! There are witches and a ghost, murder, insanity...Out damned spot!

I hope I'm not stepping in too early?

Hey Jim! Glad you are liking Macbeth, although I can't take credit for it, Nora suggested it! I never would have thought it as a Halloween read, but it really is a great fit. :)

Kath - nope, I just need a computer with a mouse to get my list of books in shape to paste in. The iPad just isn't efficient enough!

Stephen - and I've got four more queued up at the liberry!

Oooh, Macbeth! One of my favorites!

Hi Jim- Congrats on the Last Lap! Hope the week is going well.

I have to keep reminding myself that LTers know me as Morphy not Nora... I was saying to myself, "But I didn't recommend Macbeth!"

I know what you mean about the iPad not being up to some things. I've been doing LT on the iPad for months now and it's really nice to be back to a computer for things like photos and lists.

Are you furloughed? (I am.)

Saw a wonderful production of Macbeth at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA, a couple years ago...the witches were especially creepy, and the madness...oh, the madness!

Nope, not furloughed. We work on funded contracts, so the money for our work is already at our institution.

I heard most of NASA has been furloughed, though, so would that eventually impact your company?

Well, eventually. I think we have enough to get the team through the middle of November before the next installment is needed. If we're still in this situation in six weeks, the country's got very big problems...

I'm late to the "hooray on reaching 75" congratulations!!!!! Woo hoo for you!!

HI, Jim! I'm just popping over to find your new thread . . . glad you still have work.

Thanks for the link (last thread) to Stephen's Halloween thread - haven't read Shakespeare in at least a decade, so methinks it's time to dust off a tome or two.

79. The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell

One of the blurbs on the back calls it a cross between Southern Gothic and The Road. Yep, that's a pretty good description. Bell isn't nearly as dark as McCarthy, but still pretty grim, and as with McCarthy, it's the characters that drive the story. An outstanding selection for our Halloween reading list!

isn't it great, I scored that book a couple of years ago and now there is prequel that's just as good Exit Kingdom

Hmmm, gotta find that one!

Christmas Swap thread is up!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/160027

I'm still wiffle-waffling on the Christmas Swap. I'll definitely do it instead of the LT one but don't know if I can afford it yet. Will decide in the next couple of days.

80. Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham

In June of 1954, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker took a walk in a Christchurch, New Zealand, park with Pauline's mother. A bit later, the teenager girls ran into a nearby shop in a panic, looking for help for Pauline's mother, who fell and hit her head on the trail. What initially appeared to be an accident was almost immediately identified as murder - after all, it's unlikely that someone falling to the ground would hit her head more than 40 times and wind up with bruises on her throat. And with little questioning, the girls told the police exactly what they did: they beat her to death with a brick in a sock.

This wasn't a sudden or spur of the moment decision. Juliet and Pauline had been extremely close companions for several years and had a relationship that included strong fantasy and near-delusional aspects. Both had grown up with significant issues of abandonment earlier in life, and both had trouble connecting with family and others emotionally. Plus, their families - especially Juliet's - were pretty screwed up. Their trial didn't involve questions of guilt at all, since the girls freely admitted the events that happened, but rather focused on whether they were responsible for their actions under the insanity defense in the law at the time. The jury found them guilty - and they spent about 5 years each in prison before essentially disappearing from public view on release.

Then in 1998, Peter Jackson released Heavenly Creatures to wide public acclaim, a movie documenting the crime and the public furor over the trial. Pauline, after release, converted to a strong Catholic belief, to the point of trying to become a nun. When that didn't work out, she left New Zealand for England, where she lived quietly for many years running a riding school and horse boarding establishment. Once the movie came out, she eventually left for the Orkney Islands, where she farms a small croft and lives as a hermit with little contact with others.

Juliet, on the other hand, moved to the US, then England, and changed her name to Anne Perry - her stepfather's name. Yep, NY Times bestselling author Anne Perry. Writer of more than thirty murder mysteries Anne Perry. And this gets to the heart of my thoughts about Graham's book. On the one hand, it's a rather common, albeit well done, true crime book. He's documented the crime well, his telling of the story keeps the reader's interest, and he handles issues from that time (for example, the girls' purported lesbian relationship) with reasonable delicacy. So I'd give it a decent recommendation on the face of things.

On the other hand, the more I read this book, the more I realized that there are millions of people reading rather good murder mysteries written by someone who has actually committed a murder. So the further I went the more this story creeped me out. And in that sense this book becomes more than just a decent true crime book and opens some interesting questions for me. What is the role of rehabilitation here? Anne Perry certainly claims to regret what was done, and the girls' behavior shows plenty of signs of mental illness that seems to have gotten better as she matured. Perry has paid for her crime, but these events happened and are part of the life experience from which she writes. Is it appropriate to experience her murder mysteries as a reader, knowing what horrific thing lies behind them? I certainly don't have any answers, but these are interesting questions!

Do I recommend the book? Yes. As I mention above, it's a decently written true crime story. But if you're an Anne Perry fan, this story could change how you view her work.

Yes, that kind of creeps me out too.

Yow. I think I'm glad I lost interest in Perry's books years back. I read a few of them, and had my fill. I don't deny her right to carry on as a productive citizen; that is what a few years in jail is supposed to do for you, I guess (never mind that it almost never works that way). Still, it does smack of continuing to profit from your crime, doesn't it?

24: I saw Heavenly Creatures in 1998, aware of the connection to Anne Perry. I'd read several of her books previously, but none since. Because of the questions you raise. I read mysteries for escape, and with hers, there'd be an competing intrusive layer of reality. And yet. Teenagers are not all together mentally, and the past can't be changed, and punishment should not destroy but allow for redemption.

It can be rather eerie when we discover the background some authors have. I remember reading about Anne Perry after I had stopped reading her novels, and we shouldn't forget Danielle Steel's relationship (and marriage) to a repeat offender who served time for, among other things, robbery and rape. Apparently, Steele worked that relationship (she married him in the prison canteen during his subsequent incarceration, and divorced him a few years later) into two of her novels which launched her successful career so maybe she was just engaging in background research for her books?!

Wow. I've not read any of Perry's books, and I don't know that I will, but this one sounds fascinating.

I didn't know that about Anne Perry but it thoroughly creeps me out. I think the worst part is how those two girls murdered the mother, with cold-blooded violence and intent. I don't think I could read another Anne Perry book now.

I was actually a little concerned about that sort of reaction from folks. I don't want to spoil things for those who like her books, but in the end felt a review was important.

I had heard about this connection some time ago.. I found it very interesting at the time, and as you say, a bit creepy. I had forgotten it until your reminder, here. I have never read one of her books that I can remember... doubt I will, if they haven't called out to me yet...I doubt they would begin to now. She is a very popular author at our library...

I knew that story, too, Jim, and haven't read Anne Perry because of it. But she certainly hasn't lacked for readers. Your rehabilitation question is a good one.

Hi Jim, thanks for your message, much appreciated.

81. Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

A very good, very mature first book from an interesting new author. Stephen picked this one for the Halloween list, and even though it was already on my wish list, I'd forgotten about it. I'm glad he remembered!

Those Across the River mixes a Southern gothic vibe with a recovering war veteran lead character (WWI, in this case), a noir love story, and some pretty authentic classic Halloween baddies. Well done!

82. The Sixth Gun, volume 4 by Cullen Bunn

Next in the ongoing graphic novel series in Bunn's imagining of the Old (and Weird) West. The artwork is visually stunning - I loved the chapter told only in pictures! His merging of the Old West with a near-Lovecraftian weird works well. Recommended, but of course, start with the first!

83. The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson

For a change of pace from recent reading, I picked up Ferguson's history of finance and money. It's a quite well done book looking at subjects like how we got the currency systems we have, what the bond market is and why it seems so powerful, and why we all have insurance. Ferguson's a very good writer on these subjects, so as well as informative, the book was entertaining. It was written in 2008, just at the beginning of the recession, so it was also interesting to see how events played out against his thoughts at that time.

So, why do we have insurance? In general?

Insurance originally was created to spread the risk of shipping and trade when ships were regularly lost at sea. Rather than a merchant investing in a single trip that could completely wipe out that person, merchants could buy into pools that promised reimbursement up to some agreed on level should something go wrong. One of the bigger pools was managed out of Lloyd's Tavern in London. This eventually became the famous Lloyd's of London who even insures our space launches! (Although in fairness, he does mention that the ancient Babylonians created a crude form of burial insurance first. :)

Since then, it's crept into life insurance, health insurance, vehicles, liability policies, on and on. Extended warranties on electronics, for instance, are insurance policies. Ferguson claims that while some insurance (for example, health insurance) are both good and worthwhile, other types make money because companies can sell a product to folks who are really rather bad at evaluating risk.

The Ascent of Money sounds interesting and quite important; I'll add it to my wish list.

84. Chew, Volume 6 by John Layman

Latest in a funny (ok, gross-out humor kind of way) graphic novel about an agent of the FDC after the world is devastated by the Great Chicken Virus. Not for everyone, I'd guess. Chew gets information and impressions from eating things, and I'm not talking food here...

85. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

The story of how Louis Zamperini turned a wild spirit as a child into the drive to nearly break the 4 minute mile and climb his way into the 1936 Olympics, then become a bombardier in a B-24 in the Pacific theatre in WWII, then survive for 47 days in a rubber raft on the Pacific before bring captured by the Japanese Navy. Then surviving about 2 years of horrific conditions in several POW camps. And then after the war suffering from PTSD and alcoholism, only to completely turn his life around after a Billy Graham crusade to spend the rest of his life working with inner city kids near Torrence, California.

Amazing story, great writing by the author of Seabiscuit.

86. The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

Narrative nonfiction about the eradication of smallpox, the worry over bioterrorism like the anthrax letters in 2001, and the people who work with these organisms. The story's pretty scary and the potential for disaster in the near future is high. Preston's writing isn't always the smoothest, but he manages to fascinate and horrify at the same time.

Another of Stephen's Halloween picks.

I've heard a lot of good about Unbroken but I wonder if it might be just too brutal for me.

39: I read Unbroken a couple years ago, and it is quite a page-turner. Seabiscuit is sitting on a shelf. The Demon in the Freezer sounds very Stephenish.

I loved Seabiscuit and the story of Laura Hillenbrandt and how she wrote it is amazing. I wonder how she's doing.

Demon in the Freezer sounds great! I really like narrative nonfiction about science topics.

Parts of Unbroken were brutal. The Japanese treated POWs awfully. The book isn't super graphic, but Hillenbrand doesn't pull any punches. I didn't know there was a story about her writing Seabiscuit - I'll have to look into it!

The Demon in the Freezer was Stephen-ish and great! Well, a bit scary in its implications, but a good read none the less.

Hi Jim, glad you enjoyed Unbroken I have it on the bookshelf waiting to be read.

Wow, Jim... you have done some pretty impressive reading since my last visit!

How's your head hanging in there?? LOL

#24 - Hi Jim! I don't know who Anne Perry is, but I'm intrigued by the Peter Graham book. I will seek it out.

Tina - Thanks! Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the October reading I've done. November should be pretty good too - I've already got Dr Sleep and the new Joyce Carol Oates, The Accursed lined up for my trip to Texas next week.

The head's hanging in there. This time of year is always sinus-y for me, plus we're in the midst of PDR* season. So I've got a bunch of work piling up and meetings to attend and trips to take... We'll get through it but the next few months will be interesting, to say the least.

Dors - Check here for Anne Perry. She's sold a lot of historical murder mysteries over the last few decades...

*PDR is Preliminary Design Review, where we prove to the government that our overall mission design will work before they give us permission to go start building things.

87. American Vampire, vol 4 by Scott Snyder
88. American Vampire, vol 5 by Scott Snyder

Got all caught up with the American Vampire graphic novel series. It's still a favorite, but in this case, volume 4 really didn't measure up for me. Fortunately, Vol 5 more than made up for it. The overall arc story keeps getting better and better. Recommended, but fair warning - graphic violence and evil characters abound!

89. The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

I needed a decent ghost story for Halloween and this one caught my eye. Bohjalian offers up the story of a failed airline pilot suffering from PTSD and his family who move to New England to hide away from the ghosts of dead passengers and try to recover. In this small town, they meet a group of odd characters who have an unnatural interest in their twin daughters...

Bohjalian's storytelling started slow, but got moving, and when it did, it really moved! All in all a well done book that wasn't what I expected.

I'm a fan of Bohjalian ... but I missed this somehow. I plan to remedy that.

Thanks Jim

Hi Jim- Looks like you've been reading some interesting books. I was also a huge fan of Unbroken. We have to wait quite awhile for her to release books but if they are of this caliber, keep it up.
I read Demon in the Freezer many years ago and remember liking it. I have to get back to the Chew series. I think I read the 1st 3 or 4.

By the way, according to IMDB, there's a movie of Unbroken in the works. It's currently on the list for 2014 release, but who knows... Still, it ought to be pretty good!

90. Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil by Paul Bloom

Paul Bloom investigates the source of moral action and moral reasoning by going back to the source - very young children and babies - to answer questions like are we build with some type of moral understanding or is this type of knowledge learned? While he starts with the work one on babies, Bloom wanders pretty widely in the field of moral psychology and moral philosophy to introduce some interesting ideas, some history of thinking and Bloom's interpretation.

Just Babies is a popularization of a deep subject, so it naturally touches on topics rather than explores any one in detail. But for a nonexpert, Bloom's level of detail is just about right and offers a jumping off point for further reading. The material is presented well and I liked his descriptions of the various experiments that have been done.

By the way, I watched Heavenly Creatures - the Peter Jackson film about the murder in Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century. It was very well made, but very disturbing. The casting was spot on.

54: Yeah, I'm still creeped out from 15 years ago.

91. Ex Machina, vol 1: The First Hundred Days by Brian K. Vaughan

An interesting take on the superhero story. Suppose an engineer somehow gets control of and communication with electronic machines, and after some stumbles in crime fighting happens to partially prevent the 9/11 attacks. Well, naturally he gives up the superhero gig and wins the New York mayoral election!

Ex Machina is a biting, dark satire of superhero stories, politics a la Rudy Guliani, and New York. I've just dipped into the story arc, but so far so good!

92. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Well. The master does it again. I loved what he did with Danny's story! And far from the deep horror of The Shining, this one's almost sentimental in spots. Yep, there are still evil things preying on innocents, but somehow they just aren't frightening. Nonetheless, a 5-star for me!

I'm glad to hear that Dr. Sleep is a good one!

93. Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

After killing a werewolf bare-handed (his boss - every worker's fantasy if there ever was one!), Owen gets invited to join a group of private contractors acting as bounty hunters for the government hunting monsters. His first day on the job? A really bad guy tries to take over the world using Elder magic to allow Lovecraftian beasties in.

This one's decent brain candy well suited to a long airplane ride - although I have to say I did find all the detailed descriptions of various guns a bit tedious toward the end. It's over the top thriller/fantasy with a scruffy group of characters that wind up having to save the world - if they can just survive. I enjoyed it and plan to read the rest, but fair warning, lots and lots of bullets fly and many things get blown up. :)

Jim have you read Larry Correia's Grimnoir Chronicles? They were so over the top but very fun.

I'm glad you enjoyed Doctor Sleep. I agree with your comments, I thought the same. Still loved it though. I wondered if I found it less scary because I am a grown-up now.....I read The Shining as a young teen and thought it was very scary! :)

I haven't read Grimnoir, but I plan to now. Correia's book was a pretty good bit o' brain candy.

I reread The Shining not too long ago and it was still pretty scary!

As part of our preliminary design review process at work, I'm holding reviews with all our partners and major subcontractors. This past week was UC Berkeley's turn - they're building magnetic and electric field sensors for the mission. So I got to spend a few days in Berkeley for a change - instead of our usual fly in-fly out - and decided to plan a bookstore crawl!

I started at the west end of the downtown area at Half Price Books with the goal of making it to Moe's before meeting folks for dinner. No such luck... I got hung up at my first stop and spend over an hour browsing! By the time I was checking out with The End of Mr Y and The Republic of Pirates, a coworker had joined me and we meandered over to Pegasus Books, where I introduced him to Watchmen.

All in all, a pretty good, if slow crawl. But *still* haven't made it to Moe's Books. Next time I start there!

So how many books did you buy? What are the titles? Need more info!

Heehee Morphy. That was exactly my reaction to Jim's post. Sounds like a great trip!

Well, I didn't want to haul too much across the country in carry-on luggage, so just the two - The End of Mr Y and The Republic of Pirates - plus Dan Simmons' The Abominable. Plus, I've now got my eye on the Walking Dead Compendia. So not too bad... :)

Three? Amateur! :D

:) I was trying to be very good!

I look forward to hearing your comments on The Abominable when you read it. I just read The Terror last month.

94. Night Film by Marisha Pessl

An investigative journalist burns himself out looking into a reclusive, mysterious film director who makes disturbing films only seen in underground shows, and whose films may be a bit more real than not. A year or two later, when the director's daughter commits suicide, the journalist suspects it's more than suicide and starts investigating again...

Night Film is a dark book about dark, interesting people that will mess with your mind a bit. Pessl's got a way with prose and plotting that I really like. Now to check out Special Topics in Calamity Physics...

Ooh, that one sounds creepy. I may see if I can find it.

I already had Night Film on my list, but going to add Special Topics to the list as well. Just on the title alone, I'd give it a try. Ah so many books, so little time. Thanx for the info...

My daughter loves Pessl, Jim, and Special Topics is one of her favorite books out there. Pessl's writing style is a bit too much for me, but then I'm the kind of dopey guy you stick in a chair by the fire and hope he stays quiet.

Ooh, Night Film sounds really good! *waves* Hi Jim!

95. The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths by Pat Brown

Blech. Pat brown is a self-taught forensic profiler who tells how she began and about her early cases as a profiler of serial killers and psychopaths. On the face of it, this could have been a fascinating story. Unfortunately, Pat Brown turns out to be thoroughly unlikeable - self-righteous and smug - which ruins the book. I can't recommend it.

Thanks for the warning, Jim. I'll avoid that one!

Fortunately it was a library book I found on Overdrive, so nothing lost but a bit of time? :)

Thanks for a good save on No. 95, Jim. I might have bought that one for my husband, who finds the psychopathic mind fascinating.

Hoping to read Night Film soon. Thanks for the heads up o the Profiler.

Dropping by to say hello. Missed you in Baltimore yesterday.

Yeah, we weren't too happy about missing. I'm gearing up for our big Preliminary Design Review in January and wound up working most of the weekend. On top of making sure the 4-day event gets coordinated, I have to make a batch of material for my own presentation - and can only find time to work on it when no one else is here. :)

I second qebo's sentiments! You and Mrsdrneutron would have loved the places we ate.

I've already gotten some interest in a spring meetup so I'll let you know when I start planning that one ;-)

I am about three quarters of the way through Night Film. It is creeeeeepy!

I am interested in hearing about a spring meetup! I will keep checking in :)

Cob - yep! And I love the ending!

Kath - does that mean you're thinking of joining us? Please say yes!

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim! Don't work too hard this weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a glorious feed-your-face and be-with-family day!

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim! Hope you have a great day with your family. Glad to hear you enjoyed Night Film. I snagged an ARC of this a couple months ago. I hope to crack it soon.

Any idea, when you might start the 2014 thread? I am in no hurry to start my own thread of course, but I would like to post the American Author Challenge, which has seemed to take on a life of it's own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark - likely just after Christmas. I started in the middle of December the first few years and things just got really chaotic for folks trying to keep up with two 75er groups!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends here, even the non-US ones! You should have a good day too! :)

I remember that. Chaotic is a good word.

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim!

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim!

Happy Thanksgiving Jim from over the pond.

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim!

Happy Thanksgiving Jim!

Happy Thanksgiving Jim!

Happy Thanksgiving, Jim! Thank you for all you do for our group!

Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes! And because I've had a bit of time to read...

96. The Abominable by Dan Simmons

Classic Dan Simmons! A tale that builds at a measured pace to a stunning ending. In The Abominable, Simmons tells the story of a young climber who gets roped into an attempt to climb Mt Everest shortly after Mallory died in his attempt. Of course, since this is Simmons, there's bunches of stuff happening behind the scenes that pops out to make a great story.

As usual, Simmons really has a way with description and characterization. Plus he clearly knows his way around the technical aspects of climbing. Well worth the better than 600 pages!

97. Poe: A Life Cut Short by Peter Ackroyd

If you're familiar with Ackroyd's London: a Biography or other works! you'll get a sense of this one right away. Here he uses his short form style to give a brief life and mysterious death of Edgar Allen Poe, with a dash of snark and slight attempt at psychoanalysis. All in all, though, an entertaining look at a fascinating individual.

I would love to join you for a meet-up... I have wanted to in the past, but one or two things have always stopped me. Fingers crossed for this one :)

In the time of the year that you across the pond count your blessings (largely on account of no longer being beholden to that lot across the pond) - it is also the time when those other of us not used to Thanksgivings traditions devise our own and one of mine is to make sure I thank you for creating this wonderful group which has grown beyond what I'm sure you imagined when it was created.

Have a great holiday weekend, Jim.

Paul said that so well!

>84 drneutron: Night Film is one of those books where I really disliked the ending at first but the more I think about it, the more I realize it was an appropriate ending. I did think the pacing fell apart in the last bit of the story. It was so dramatic, and on the edge of your seat for the majority of the book and then it just seemed to meander at the end.

I had a similar reaction at first, then after some thought decided I liked it for the reason in the spoiler below:

I saw the ending of the book as a mirror to the endings of Cordova's movies. Several times, Cordova's movies were described as ambiguous with no nicely wrapped up story and that the fate of his protagonists was often left hanging. Honestly, for the whole last third of the book, I expected the plot to turn into a Cordova movie being secretly filmed.

Lovely to see that you gave Doctor Sleep 5 stars!! I never made it all the way through The Shining in my teens, so it looks as if I may have to try again one day soon to see if I can make it through so I can get to the 5 star read!!

Looking for a way to add to that teetering TBR pile? How about NPR's Best Books of 2013? I've already added a few and am only about 1/3 of the way through...

http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2013/#/_

Ugh, don't DO that to me.

:)

I've read 3 and have 2 already on my wishlist.

#107 I think you are spot on with your assessment of the ending.

That NPR list is deadly!

>109 drneutron: Oh noes! I feel my book pile swelling!

109 You just want us to have lots of books to write about on the 75 challenge, right?

98. A Cruel and Shocking Act by Philip Shenon

Shenon's A Cruel and Shocking Act is less about the Kennedy assassination than a history of the investigation of the assassination, specifically the work of the Warren commission. I've read a bit about the Kennedy assassination - most memorably, Vince Bugliosi's 1800-page, minute-by-minute account. But I'd never really thought about how the Warren Commission did its work. The interplay of politics and personalities Shenon presents was fascinating.

In the process of researching the Commission, Shenon got access to recently declassified documents that pointed him to the possibility that Oswald had significant contacts with Cuban diplomats and intelligence agents. And worse, the CIA, who likely knew this, deliberately hid it from the Warren Commission. Did Oswald have support from Cuba? Was he an agent of Cuba or the Soviet Union?

A Cruel and Shocking Act is best in the parts dealing with the people of the Warren Commission - the commissioners, the managers of the work, and the young, bright, energetic staffers who did the real work. This is where Shenon shines.

Hi Jim!

I'm just now getting caught up on some threads and wanted to say that I missed you and your wife at our Baltimore meet-up. It was really fun. Have you ever been to Paper Moon? If not, we'll definitely have to go back there as it's so unique and iconic to Charm City. :)

Wishing you and your family all the best for the holiday season...and really looking forward to seeing everyone for a Spring Meet-up (and especially to meet Kath!).

#102 - The Poe biography sounds interesting. Thank you!

And with these, passing 100!

99. Richard M. Nixon by Elizabeth Drew

I'm planning to read Chris Matthews' Kennedy and Nixon soon, but thought I'd like to get more info about Nixon's earlier life. Drew's volume from Arthur Schlesinger's American Presidents series was my choice to do so. It's a short work, so doesn't go into detail, but served its purpose reasonably well. Her depiction of Nixon's paranoia and insecurity was fascinating.

100. The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers

Typical Tim Powers take on Romantic poets, vampires, love and death. His storytelling is engrossing, but can be over the top at times. His characters are flawed, but fascinating. But his use of language is what I really like about his work. And this one's one of his best.

He's not for every one, but if you're going to read one of his books, this is good one to pick.

Random drop-in but happened to catch you at 100!

> 119 ooh! The Stress of Her Regard sounds interesting! Adding that to the tbr list. I read the Anubis Gates and I remember enjoying it although I don't remember much of it. I take it you read a lot of Tim Powers?

Congrats on hitting the 100 book mark, Jim! And you picked a good one to do it with. I can never decide among The Stress of Her Regard, The Anubis Gates, The Drawing of the Dark or Last Call for my favorite Powers, but TSohR is certainly a fascinating read. Have you read the sequel he put out last year? I got it for an ER book.

Congrats on 100, Jim!

Congrats!

WooHoo for 100!!

Happy Hundred!

Congrats for getting to 100 reads, Jim :)

Congratulations on 100 Jim.

Huzzah for 100!

Thanks everyone!

#121 - Powers is one of my go-to authors!

#122 - I haven't read the sequel, but that's why I reread this one! I've got the sequel high on my priority list, and was a bit disappointed I didn't get a review copy. :) But the library has plenty... :)

Congratulations on the Big 100!

Congratulations on the 100 Jim.

Congrats on reaching 100, Jim! What a good reading year.

Congrats on reaching the century mark, Jim.

Woohoo on 100!

Congrats on 100, Jim!

Congrats on the 100, wow, I'm not quite going to hit the 75 and this year was the most I've read yet. I'm impress.

This was my first year in the group, so if you'll allow me a stupid nOOb question. How do you do the continuation links to a new thread. Mine isn't that long so I never really thought it was necessary, but I was curious how all you prolific posters start fresh. I couldn't find any information about it in the wiki. Unless, of course, I just can't find the forest for the trees. Can you point me to some suggestions...

Thanx, Happy Reading!

The continuation link shows up automatically once a thread hits 200 messages. For shorter threads, you can't do the continuation thing, as far as I know. You can always start a new one, of course, and post your own links back and forth, but you won't get that "This is a continuation" message in that case. If you don't know how to do links at all, I defer to someone who is better at explaining it than I am. I can do it without even thinking about it after all this time, but I can't give you decent directions.

So, Jim, now that the 100 Book milestone has been reached, do you have a target date for starting the 2014 group? Not that I'm eager, or anything!

In happy hopes that 2014 will bring ever greater pleasures to your reading world, Jim:



Celebrate the return of the light with feasts, merriment, and gratitude for all the wonders of this wide green earth.

RMD

138> Thanx laytonwoman3rd. Perfect explanation. I guess I'll have to post more next year :)

Richard - thanks, and best wishes this holiday season to you!

The plan for setting up the new group? Well, I just finished my last day of work til 2014, soooo,,, I should get to it by the 25th or 26th depending on how lazy i get! :)

Woot, woot! Congrats on reaching 100 :D

Great job on reaching 100! Lucky you to have made it to your vacation....I hope you have lots of opportunity for reading and relaxing.

To our creator and an all-round great guy. Happy Christmas. Look forward to many more years of revelling in this group, Jim.

Wishing you and MrsDrN a wonderful and merry Christmas. Thanks for keeping us 75ers on the ball!

May you have a book filled Christmas, Dr Newt. Thank you for all you do for the group.

Hi Jim,

Happy Holidays to you and your family, Jim! Thanks for all your hard work around here!

Best wishes to you, Jim, and thanks for all you do for our group!


glitter-graphics.com

Enjoy a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year, Jim. And thank you so very much for everything you do that makes LT such a wonderful place for people like me to hang out in.

Happy Christmas, Jim!

Merry Christmas Jim! Enjoy your day.

Merry Christmas, Jim!

Merry Christmas, Jim!

Merry Christmas, Jim! Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Jim!

Merry Christmas, Jim, and warmest wishes for a wonderful New Year filled with good books, good friends and good times!

Wishing you a happy festive season and hope there were a few books under your tree this morning.

Have a great Christmas and New year Jim!

Seasons greetings Jim from John and Karen.

Have a fantastic Christmas, with the family, Jim! And thanks for all you do on the 75. You are invaluable. I am closing in on the finish line with doctor Sleep and it's been just about perfect.

Couldn't agree more. If someone made me pick a favorite from 2013, that would be it!

I am glad that you also read and enjoyed NOS4A2. I think it makes a nice companion piece to this one.

My Secret Santa books are open!

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman
Crusoe: Daniel Defoe, Robert Knox and the Creation of a Myth by Katherine Frank

Thanks to my Secret Santa who is still nameless! These are fantastic choices. Anybody want to 'fess up? :)

Ooh, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and Ship Breaker are both fun! (The others sound fun too, I just haven't read them yet).

Merry Christmas Doc, and happy holidays :)

Have yourself a merry little book-filled Christmas!

Jim, that is an impressive line-up of books you have read this year. I've read exactly three of them: Macbeth, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Smilla's Sense of Snow. That's what I like about this group you created…we all read what we like but still have the love of books and reading in common.

I hope you and your family are having a joy-filled Christmas Day. I won't post the "Joy" message in your front yard again (ha ha) but here is another one for you…

Okay, I confess—I'm your Santa! I'm glad you like the selections :)

Yay! Thanks very much! All were perfect.

Thank you! I had a lot of fun looking through your extended wishlist, and definitely added to my own wishlist in the process ;)

So tempting to be the first post in the 2014 group.... but I don't have time at the moment.

:)

So. There's this new, shiny group just begging for folks to join in. Any takers?

http://www.librarything.com/groups/75booksin2014

By the way, qebo gets the prize for first joiner!

Hey, I finished a book!

101. Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall by Frank Brady

I was 10 years old when Fischer took on Boris Spassky for the World Chess Championship in 1972. As part of the wave of interest in the match, I picked up a board and started learning about the game. While I've learned over the years that I'm not much of a player, I've kept up an interest over the years. But really, I didn't know anything about the man who got me interested in the game other than that he was a genius at the game and he was at least part whacko, to use the technical term.

Brady's given us a balanced picture of Bobby Fischer - and as a friend and chess player, a somewhat insider's view. It's clear that Bobby was probably the best chess player ever, with a natural insight into the game and the near obsession needed to master it. But he was also a demanding, volatile person out of touch with society, and even reality in some ways. Not psychotic, as often pictured in the media, Fischer was always paranoid, and that paranoia deepened throughout his life, driven by run-ins with the world-wide chess organization, the Soviet Russian machine, and the US government as he violated sanctions against Yugoslavia in his rematch against Spassky in 1992. I was impressed with how Brady handled Fischer's increasing anti-Semitism and neo-Nazi leanings late in life by not excusing his behavior, but still showing Fischer's broken mental state.

In many ways, Endgame reminded me of A Beautiful Mind, though perhaps not quite as well written. Still, a good look at a fascinating, if somewhat repulsive, person.

179: And now I've unjoined. :-) My way of dealing with the volume. If only there were better ways to organize talk threads.

Hope you had a great holiday, Jim.

Hey there Jim -- thanks for stopping by my thread to say hello. Glad to join the group! Liked your review on Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall. I enjoyed A Beautiful Mind and thought the two books might have some synergy.

Welcome to the madness! I saw your intro on the 2014 intro thread. Being a lawyer's ok with me, but that Go Blue comment really hurt. Speaking as a Spartan. :D

:-D Some of my best friends are Sparties! We all have our crosses to bear. I come by it honestly having been raised in Ypsilanti and playing in the Michigan Marching Band. Just wish the MMB was playing in the Rose Parade ... *sigh*

I hope we can at least agree we dislike that school to the South a bit more than our mutual rivalry. Thanks for beating them in the B1G Championship this year.

Oh, I think we agree, and it was our pleasure!

As an OSU grad, I'm trying to ignore the above comments...*ahem*

:D

Although, I have to confess my devotion is split - PhD's from Clemson...

*waves*

Happy Holidays, Jim!

Stopping by to wish you a happy holiday season, all the best in 2014 and to thank you for all you do administering this diverse and very active group. It is like magic..... ;-)

Thanks! Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain... :)

Whew, just got caught up on threads. Mrsdrneutron and I spent the day out yesterday - shopping, Desolation of Smaug, dinner at a new brew pub - and I let things get away from me. Good day, though!

Also finished up

102. A Matter of Blood by Sarah Pinborough

A Matter of Blood is an interesting mix of police procedural, noir, horror and what looks like fantasy - though that last only shows up as hints through the book. It was the requisite flawed police detective hero hunting a serial killer and getting involved in other cases that become surprisingly tied up in his own. But as we go, there's darker stuff going on - with a plot that thickens nicely.

Frankly, I almost gave up on this one. Through the first 2/3 of the book, I really didn't like the hero. Then some things happened that I won't tell you about, and suddenly I did. Fortunately, the writing's pretty good -no literary masterpiece, but nicely done. Plus at the end of the day, I'll pick up the sequel to see how the overarching storyline plays out. Recommended, but some graphic violence occurs.

What's likely the last of 2013...

103. Finding Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend of the Once and Future King by Adam Ardrey

Most folks, in the Western world at least, know something about King Arthur and the stories surrounding him - usually from movies like Disney's The Sword in the Stone and Excalibur. The stories are more complicated than that, though, and Arthur is one of those enduring myths that gets rewritten every so often, even in the Medieval period when our main source material was written. Behind it all, though, historians have been trying to pin down the source of the myths: was there a real Arthur, when and where did he live, and how did he become the mythological character we all know?

There are several camps to this debate. Some fit Arthur into the late 5th, early 6th century in southern England in the murky period after the Romans left. Others, observing the Celtic elements in the story see a Welsh Arthur. And many modern scholars see no real historical basis for Arthur, and view him as an amalgam of stories and legends. This is all interesting stuff, but also has a real economic basis - many, many places try to tie into the Arthur myth for obvious economic reasons, all the way back to the monks at Glastonbury in the 11th century looking for religious pilgrims to visit. Into this mix comes amateur historian Adam Ardrey, who in researching his family first finds evidence for a Scottish Merlin, then a Scottish Arthur in Arthur Mac Aedan, son and war leader of a king of Argyll living in the late 6th century. Finding Arthur: The True Origins of the Once and Future King lays out his case for this Scottish Arthur.

Ardrey's case is an intriguing one. I'm not an expert in this field, but it's plausible to me that the source of the stories could be Scottish, brought south by Celts pushed out of their lands by the Christianization of Scotland to more friendly Wales and Cornwall. Unfortunately, a couple of things mar the book. First, Ardrey claims proof in a number of instances in the book where what he really means is consistent and plausible scenario. Coming up with a train of deductions based on possible linguistic changes in place names isn't evidence - that's the theory. Evidence is a inscription or a text close to the source period, etc. Overblown claims of evidence are the hallmark of amateur historians. Also, Ardrey is clearly a secularist and a Scottish nationalist. So he uses his text to make the point that the English unjustly suppressed Scotland and the Church is responsible for both the suppression of the Old Ways and the Celtic culture recorded in early source material. These things are true - no dispute from me. Except that he makes the point. And makes it again. And makes it again. And makes it at every opportunity. Ardrey really needed to have an editor soften up the club he used to beat his readers over and over.

In spite of its flaws, Finding Arthur presents an interesting concept. Ardrey's not the first to suggest it, but his is the most fleshed out version. If you can get past his somewhat overbearing writing, it's a pretty decent work that adds a great idea to the mix.

That one sounds fascinating...and frustrating at the same time. I'm glad to have your assessment, so if I pick it up one of these days, I'll not feel guilty about skimming for the good stuff.

@ 194

That sounds like a really neat book. Too bad about the heavy-handedness. I read a history of Bonnie Prince Charlie in college that used the same approach. Knowing my own opinions on Scottish history, my professor complimented me on my ability to see through it in the paper I wrote on the book. It was one of my proudest undergrad moments!

Not for me. I want to throw a book against a wall when the author tries to beat me over the head with something!