Xymon81's horde in 2015

Hello again everyone I am Matthew. I am 33 and I have been married for almost 8 years. We have 6 kids between us. Oldest two, 20 and 14 are my step daughters. Next one,9, is from my first marriage. The last three, 7, 5 and 4, are all ours. The eldest does not live with us but it is still a busy house.

I am a active duty soldier, currently in Anchorage Alaska. I just moved here in the last few months. For those who have read my page this year know it was a long two week drive from North Carolina to Alaska. It was an amazing trip but one not worth repeating since we barely made it before the weather got to bad to drive.

I work in the Artillery field and have been in for 15 years. I am originally from Chicago and plan to back there when my time is done. I spread my time between work, reading, my xbox, spending time with my family and a few various other things.This is my 4th year in the challenge. This year I came close to the 100 mark. on Today's date was 96. with a few more days to go, lets see how I finish



I wish I had a library this awsome.

Welcome back!

Glad to be back, Here's to another great reading year

Currently reading:Half A King by Joe Abercrombie {Main Book}
Social Blunders by Tim Sandlin {Kindle}
Finders Keepers by Stephen King



Completed: 54/75

January:

Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Marinez (01 Jan 15)

Strange Stories of Alaska and the Yukon by Ed Ferrell (02 Jan 15)

What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe (03 Jan 15)

Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks ( 06 Jan 15)

Red Rain by R L Stine (10 Jan 15)

Him Her Him Again The End of Him by Patricia Marx ( 13 Jan 15)

A Macabre Miscellany by Geoffrey Abbott (15 Jan 15)

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. (18 Jan 15)

Zeus is Dead by Michael G. Marx ( 20 Jan 15)

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther ( 23 Jan 15)

Flight To Terror by Michael Elder (24 Jan 15)

Wicked by Gregory Maguire (30 Jan 15)

Febuarary:

American Sniper by Chris Kyle ( 3 Feb 15)

Chasing The Moon by A. Lee Martinez (07 FEB 15)

Through the Reality Warp by Donald J. Pfeil (09 FEB 15)

Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen (21 FEB 15)

Step On A Crack by James Patterson

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman (28 FEB 15)

March:

American Gun by Chris Kyle (05 MAR 15)

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ( 10 Mar 15)

Golden Son by Pierce Brown (15 MAR 15)

Dr. Who The Visual Dictionary by Andrew Darling (16 MAR 15)

The Amazing Mr. Howard by Kenneth Harmon ( 19 MAR 15)

Tools For Survival by James Wesley Rawles (20 MAR 15)

Run For Your Life by James Patterson (26 MAR 15)

Doctor Who: The Vault by Marcus Hearn ( 28 MAR 15)

Dreamers and Deceivers: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America by Glenn Beck (30 MAR 15)

April:

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton (03 APR 15)

Blood Infernal by James Rollins (06 APR 15)

Strangers On A Train by Patricia Highsmith (08 APR 15)

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss (13 APR 15)

Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez (20 APR 15)

Skipped Parts by Tim Sandlin (21 APR 15)

Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman (28 APR 15)

The Child Thief by Brom (30 APR 15)

May:

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (15 May 15)

How to Retire the Cheapskate Way by Jeff Yeager (17 May 15)

Cycle of the Werewolf by Steven King (18 May 15)

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly

Worst Case by James Patterson

Sorrow Floats by Tim Sandlin

Faerie Tale Raymond Feist

June:

Zombie Illinois by Scott Kenemore

Stargate Retaliation Bill Mccay

Binary by Michael Crichton

A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

Tick Tock by James Patterson

Married to Distraction by Edward M Hallowell

As You Wish by Cary Elwes

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

Miracle at Augusta by James Patterson

The Book of Joby by Mark J Farreri

Getting off by Lawrence Block

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

Video Game list:

Working on: Final Fantasy Type Zero (PS4)

Top 25 Stand Alone Fantasy Novels:

A few years back I was tired of starting a new series andd not finishing it all. That completionist thing again. I looked around and was abble to findd a list of what they sai was the top 25 fantasy novels. It does upate as things come out and I do realize that not everyone will agree with this list. I am just trying to read them all. By the end of this year I hope to do that.

1: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
2: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart ( TBR Stack)
3: Watership Down by Richard Adams
4: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
5: American Gods by Neil Gaiman ( NOV 2012)
6: Fevre Dream by George R R Martin ( NOV 2012)
7: Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock ( JUL 2013)
8: Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover
9: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien ( NOV 2012)
10: The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (TBR Stack)
11: Good Omens By Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Jan 2015)
12: Perdido Street station by China Mieville
13: 11/22/63 by Steven King
14: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke ( FEB 2013)
15: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ( DEC 2012)
16: The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold ( TBR Stack)
17: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
18: Lord of Light by Roger Zelanzy ( TBR Stack)
19: The Neverending Story By Michael Ende
20: The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari (JUN 2015)
21: Imajica by Clive Barker
22: Talion: Revenant by Michael A. Stackpole
23: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson ( OCT 2012)
24: The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly ( DEC 2013)
25: War For the Oaks by Emma Bull

Honorable Mentions

The Etched City by K. J. Bishop ( TBR Stack)
The Once and Future King by T. H. White
The War of The Flowers by Tad Williams (TBR Stack)
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe ( OCT 2012)
Magician by Raymond Feist
The Stand by Steven King
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien
Terror by Dan Simmons
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin ( JUL 2013)
Death Of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

That's an interesting list! I've read some, but never heard of others... now I'm pondering what my list of Top 25 fantasy novels would look like. Hope you have an excellent 2015.

It is a good list, I will try to do about one a month and one ER book a month too.

That's a really good list, I look forward to seeing what you think of them all!

LOVED Tigana!

>9 The_Hibernator::It is a great list and only one book I felt was a bit dissapointing and that was Mythago Wood. I just didnt get into it very well. Tha tis why I have not tryed to finish off the rest of the series.

>10 jolerie:: Unfortunalty it is a Hard book to find. The local library system doesnt have it but a may be able to get it through a interstate loan.

Dropping a star!

>6 xymon81: Nice list. I'm more a sci-fi person, but I've been opening my heart to fantasy a bit more lately.

It is now time to list my top five faves and flops for 2014: It was a good year, I had a hard time narrowing down the faves, and I didnt have too many diasapointments.

Top Five Faves of 2014:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

A Winters Tale by Mark Helprin.

One Second After By William R Forstchen

The Troop by Nick Cutter

Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

2014 Flops:

Revival by Stephan King

The Alchemist by Paullo Coelho

Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh

Darkness on the edge of the Town by Brian Keene

Climate of Change by Piers Anthony

Took awhile but I found you. Glad to see you like fantasy and science fiction. Can't wait to get some new reading ideas!

>14 craftyfox:: Welcome Crafty

Oh no, I won another ER book this month. Why do I do this to myself? I have so may to read so far and I keep collecting them. I really need to get through all of them, one a month sounds like a good goal right? So I got a interesting one for december called :LARP: The Battle for Verona by Justin Calderone. Never heard of a novel based on LARPing so we will see.

Happy new year!

Happy New Year, Matthew!

Happy New Year, Matthew!

It is the first day of the new year. my resolution is to do experince five things here that I have never done before. I have started to compile my Alaska bucket list. It will be an interesting year. Reading wise I have my priorities. Once a month I need to do

A Early review book( I have such a back log)

My 25 Fantasy list. I have read 10 so far.

A wishlist book or off my shelf.

A A. Lee Martinez or Michael Chrighton Book. Once Ive gotten through those move on. I am currently working on Helen & Troy's Epic Road Quest

Lastly finishing up series that I have read one or two but never finished the series. Starting with Michael Bennant series.

Thank you everyone for your new year wishes and i hope it is a good year. Last year I read 99 books. I had 50 pages left of my current read and I just couldnt do it before midnight plus i got involved in watching The Twilight Zone. I love that old show.

Not sure if you'll catch my response to you on my thread, so I'll repeat my questions here: I'd love to know what your Alaska Bucket List is and also your 25 Fantasy list! I need to get round to more Martinez, too. I loved the one book of his I read last year.

>22 scaifea: At the top of my list is the Mount Marathon race. It is only three miles but it goes up an elevation of 3000 ft. I have never seen anything like it. I may need to start training this year and do some hikes and by next year compete.

Also whale watching, dipnetting, cross country sking, and alot of the sites around the area.

For my fantasy list it is near the top of my thread. i think it is #6.

Book # 1 is complete. This shoud have been the last book of 2014 but i had just over 40 pages or so left and I just couldn't do it.

Helen and Troy's Epic Road Quest by A. Lee Martinez.



Pages: 340

This is second experience with this author. I enjoyed this one even more than the first. A fun read from beginning to end.

So Helen is a minotaur working in a fast food joint with Troy the perfect human. When Helen's boss tries to sacrifice her to the Lost God , they both get subjected to his service. They need to complete his quest or die. In thier way will be none other than a cyclops, a dragon, Baba Yaga and a motorcycle gang of orcs. It's the connection between the two though that make the story work.

A marathon at 3000ft?! Whoa. I'll be cheering you on. From my couch. Possibly while eating potato chips. Ha!

And I love the look of your Fantasy list! I've read a couple of them - and loved them - and the rest are on my own lists to read. I look forward to reading what you think of them!

And I *need* to get round to more Martinez. Soon!

Yah, me too - watching from the couch that is. :)

>26 scaifea:,>27 drneutron: I can use all the support I can get. and as for Martinez. I have Chasing the Moon on my shelf. After I finish it, you can have it.

>28 xymon81: Oh, lovely! Thanks!!

Book 2:Strange Stories of Alaska and the Yukon by Ed Ferrell.



Pages: 150

The author has collected and edited several artiles relating to strange events around the far north country of Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Most of the articles come from the time period of the Gold rush and after, almost to the second world war. The stories are divided into sections. Some are more believable than others and are just from word of mouth and could be a mixture of imagination and exageration from being isolated for too long a period.

Sections like sea serpents and strange native tribes I think go in this catagory. Some are inbetween. There is a whole section dedicated to mammoths. It is well known that many fossils and well preserves specimans have been recovered. Many stories relate to this, including the recovery of a full creature frozen in a glacier in Siberia. Others relate to possible live Mammoths roaming the wilds of the interior. There are also Ghost stories and lost mines with many never to be seen again.

The most interesting sections delt with a possible lost oasis and scattered remains of an advanced civilization. The oasis is supposed to be a low valley in one of the very many mountain ranges. The valley has many hot springs and is so low compared to the surrounding area that it remains lush even during the harsh winter. The civlization is from an unknown origin but pieces were found during gold rush. A coin was found under several feet of rock and had unknown writing on it and was believed to be as old as egyptian. Several other items were forund that were curious at best. One person claimed to have found a walled city but no one has ever verfied it.

I think that is the most frustrating part. It is too bad cameras were to cumbersome to carry around. Now days anyone can pull out a smartphone and there you have it, some sort of proof. Of course people would just say it was photoshopped.

Yay for other Alaskans (or at least people temporarily residing here) on this thread! I've been in Juneau a year and a half and love it. Anchorage is tough this time of year with the dark and the ice but the summers are amazing.

I have friends who run hundreds of miles through the mountains that think Mt Marathon is a crazy race. Have fun with that endeavor.

I just finished Refiner's Fire and bought A Winter's Tale; it's definitely on my to read list for 2015

The run at 3000 feet sounds like an adventure. I used to train for triathlons (hope to do so again this year if I can squeeze out some time), but running has always been the toughest part for me. And running at that altitude would simply make me faint. Good luck!

>31 barefeet4: We love it here so far and all this darkness means kids sleep in later. An example on Christmas day they didn't stir until almost 08:30.

>32 The_Hibernator: Thanks for the support. I think the part that gets me is it starts at ground level and goes up to the top. Some parts look pretty steep and then still have to make it down.

I was so dissapointed last night. I watched first four episodes of The Ice Warriors.



If you do not know, a majority of the episodes of the first two doctors were lost. BBC apparently recorded over them. There has been a push the last few years to recover some of this lost data. This disc is released with some of it. I guess the second and third episode were lost so they recreated them using audio that was recovered and animated what they thought would be a close resemblance. I wasnt prepared for it when the second episode started and my attention waned. Ill put it on my harddrive to try again another time I guess.

Book 3: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe.



Pages: 300

I saw this not too long ago at Sams cCub I believe. Made a mental not to keep my eyes open at the library. Something about it caght my eyes. Maybe it was the humorous drawings and the creative cover. People submt the the author the most rediculous questions and the author attempts to answer them using good science. So if you wanted to know what would happen if the sun went out or if you threw a baseball at the speed of light, this is the place to look.

The questions themselves were mostly interesting but sometimes the science and the math that goes with it went way over my head. The ilustrations are great and really go good with the material to keep it light. I think my favorite question was what would happen if you collected a pure sample of each element on the periodic table and set up your collection to look like the table. It might just end up like below.

Happy Anniversary to the love of my life! It has been a great 8 years looking forward to many more.

>36 takenby05: Thank you my dear. It is hard to believe at times that eight years ago today we tied the knot. I remember going to pick out your ring right before we wwent to the courthouse. and the pride I had as I looked into your eyes as we both said our vows. Here is to many more years.

Lol I remember being so mad at you that you still hadn't got me a ring yet, even though I had been sitting on your for a couple of weeks. Most people get butterflies before their wedding but I knew from the first time we met we were going to get married. I am glad you came around to my way of thinking. ;)

I had that habit, you also were so mad when you thought I was ignoring you about engagment rings and I was just trying not to give myself away before our trip to Ohio.

>35 xymon81: Ooh, interesting to see a review of Randall's book. I've been a regular reader of his comic at xkcd.com since way back when, and my husband has been reading his 'what if?' stuff since he started doing it - I have resisted for some reason, but still get the more interesting things linked to me occasionally.

>36 takenby05: & >37 xymon81: Happy Anniversary guys! (PS. Get a room :P )

>41 evilmoose: I wish we could, too many kids... of course that's what got us the kids as well hmmm

>41 evilmoose: *snork!*

>42 xymon81: *SNORK!*

You two are just lovely. And you're making me wish Tomm wasn't in Phoenix on a week-long business trip...

Awe! Happy belated anniversary!

Some interesting reading going on here too.

I have been off from work for 16 days. Sigh today was the first day back. After our five mile run in 0 degree weather, it was back to the old grind stone.

I have a problem. Right outside my library is a take a book leave a book spot. I just cannot seem to pass it up. These poor books need a home. In the two months I have been here I have adopted something like 15 books. I have dropped off three that I finished from my own collection. I was happy to see someone else adopted them soon enough.

So today I picked up four more books.

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther

The Dragon and The George by Gordon R. Dickson

A Macabre Miscellany by Geoffrey Abbott

Magician:Apprentice by Raymond Feist

Book 4: The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks



I have been wanting to read this book for quite a while. It is a fuuny rip on any basic survival guide, filled with excellant zombie know how such how to recognize the living dead and how to survive in any landscape. It has plenty of historical examples as well.

>46 xymon81: I don't see the problem here...

*smiles*

>48 scaifea: Well other people dont believe my adoption reason.

I did it again. Tryied out a different branch of the local library and there was a cart right near the front, it said take these and don't bring them back. I picked up four. The best one out if the bunch is called Arena by William R. Forstchen. It is a old book loosly associated with the old Magic The Gathering Game. This one is written by a great writer whom I have read two of his other works, including One Second After.

> 50 I told you not to pick up anymore books we still have to make room on our shelves now you have picked up 8 more books in one week.

Book 5: Red Rainby R. L. Stine.



I was never much of a R. L. Stine fan. My sister was between that and Christopher Pike novels. I decided to give it a try when it grabbed my attention. This book isnt meant for his normal audiance though, it is meant to me read by adults. It is a simple horror story but still very enjoyable. It was a quick read, I finished it in two days.

Lea is a travel writer and is caught in a horrible hurricane while visiting an island off the South Carolina coast. The day after she finds two boys who say they have lost everything in the storm. She decides to take them home to live with the rest of her family. Her husband Mark is a psycologist who has written a very controversial book and child raising. They have two kids and Mark's sister and nephew round out the household.

Lea right away is very taken by the new twins and let them get away with anything. Mark opposes this and the twins decide he must be taken care of. A string of murders shock the area and Mark finds him self the prime suspect. The strange part is how all the bodies have strange burn marks.

Well tommorrow morning I go for training. I have to be there at one in the morning, yuck.

>52 xymon81: Huh. I didn't know that Stine wrote for adults, too. I've never read any of the other stuff, but a simple and enjoyable horror story sound pretty good...

>53 xymon81: Oh, yuck, indeed. Good luck with the training, though!

>46 xymon81: I love those! My train station has a rather large assortment, and I keep meaning to take a pile there.

>54 scaifea: It is a newer release. It was good if not predicatable.

>55 DorsVenabili: After this trip i should have a nice stack myself.

>34 xymon81: Yes, there are several of the classic Doctor Who videos that are like that. They're hard to watch. Some of them are cartoonized, and some of them are just stills. It sounds like this was one of the cartoon ones? I don't remember specifically which were stills. Anyway, hope you enjoy it more later.

>35 xymon81: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions looks like an interesting book.

>47 xymon81: That book was really funny! :)

>52 xymon81: Wow, he still writes?!

>53 xymon81: Hope training went well!

Book 6: Him Her Him Again The End of Him by Patricia Marx.



This is one of those novels your not sure how you feel about it. While the writing can be very beautiful, it was writeen in almost victorian style, It can make it harder to get through. The main character was very aggravating. As I go n you will understand why.

The main character is a woman attending abroad at Cambridge,and is at a lost on how to finish her thesis. Into her life comes Eugene, a philosophy major who is persuing Ego studies. She can't belive how lucky she is to find the perfect gentleman and even has her first time with him. He eventually falls for another woman and moves on, but she still clings to hope that they will have a future. As he contiues to walk in and out of her life with no reason and nothing but excuses, you feel sorry for her but hate her at the same time for not moving on until something unthinkable happens at the end.

Book 7: A Macabre Miscellany by Geoffrey Abbott



This is one of the books I aquired for free from my local library. It was written by an actual beefeater I believe the term is called from the Tower of London. In it are 1000 dark ancedotes from around the world. Most of the facts range from the Middle ages to the turn of the twentieth century. It involves famous deats, court cases and executions. It also deals with how differant societies dealt with punishment and crime during differant periods. It is not for the feint of heart.

Happy weekend xymon!

>60 The_Hibernator: thank you very much, hope yours went well.

Book 8: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman.



This book is off my top fantasy list, and I can see it is well deserved. Once things really get flowing you just don't want to put it down.

>62 xymon81: Love Good Omens :) There keeps being talk of a TV adaptation, and I see the BBC radio adaptation has recently gone ahead.

>63 evilmoose:: That would be really interesting to see. Right up there as well is the movie version of Horns withDaniel Radcliffe playing the lead.

I'm so glad that you liked Good Omens! Such a great read!

Book 9: Zeus Is Dead: A Monstrously Inconvenient Adventure by Michael G. Munz.



This is one of my many backlogged Early Review Books. It turned out to be one of the better ones I have read. Then again it is a clever bend of mythology with fantasy set in current times. It sounds confusing a bit said like that I know. There is also a certan humor to the book reminiciant of Gaiman or Martinez which adds to the fun.

As the title states Zeus is dead, in fact he has been murdered. With him gone, all the rest of the immortals return to thier rightful place, with them come all the monsters and dangers that have since been gone from the world. Most people either gladly accept or ignore their return, but a group of christians arise ( with ninjas) to rid the world of these imposters.

The story centers around Apollo who is determined to uncover the conspiracy that assasinated his father. with help from a muse and a few mortals, we have the beginning a great quest to bring back the father of the gods.

Everyone say yayy, W-2's are finally out, So much to do, so many books to find, after my new tv and complete set up and getting the lovely wife her new kitchen gadgets.

Hurrah for the Good Omens love. I have to go back and read it every few years just to savor it again.

Book 10: Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther.



At age 17, Johnny Gunther jr contracted a deadly brain tumor. He was given a few months to live. He exceeded everyones diagnosis and strove on for almost two years. He graduated with his classmates and had applied to Harvard university to do work in physics. He was extremely bright and capable, and suprising all his doctor he kept almost all of his facilities even after losing so much to the tumor removals.

This book was a fathers journey of his sons illness. After reading something like this it makes you feel so fortunate for everything you have, even something as simple as your children health. I can't imagine slowly watching someone fade away and the strength it takes to go through it.

>65 scaifea:,>68 ronincats: Good Omens was a great read. Next Month I believe I will do The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers.

Book 11: Flight to Terrorby Michael Elder.



This book is the second in a series but really can be read and enjoyed as a standalone adventure. The basis of the backround deals with the fact that the Earth is now severly over populated and out resources are dwindling. To ease this burden people begin looking to space to colonize. Ten years in the past the first settlers set out in a non faster than light craft. The journey was to take ten years.

There are now faster than light craft, and one is on a mission to place 500,000 settlers on the same planet as the original colonists. On arrival there is no word from the planet surface so a scouting party is selected from the crew and passengers. On the way to the planet surface, the main ship mystriously explodes, marooning them on the surface.The surface is 98% water with only one landmass at the equater that is half desert and half rainforest. They have enough supplies to last them possibly a month. On touching down, they find the other ship. It appears to have crashlanded and they only find bodies. They find only find one survivor and he is half crazed, spouting about horrible crabs before dying.

The book was really good if not a simple story. I think my favorite part was after the first person of the landing party dies, one of the characters has a realization that there are now 4 men to two women and that is not a good ratio. That what really is good about this book, even though it is short the level of detail behind each character was great.

Book 12: Wicked by Gregory Maguire.



I listened to the CD for the musical not to long ago and I wanted to see how the book measured up. I think the real big differance is that in the musical, the wizard is not portrayed as the power hungry man that he is in the book. The rest is pretty close. Glinda is snobby and a little bit of an airhead. Elphaba is born into a role that everyone assumes she is. Even at the end, she is not Wicked just portryed that way as an enemy of the state. I want to know really what dwarf and the gypsy are and how they fit into the scheme of things.

A dozen books in the first month. Wow I am amazed at my start to this years challenge.I have been keeping to my lists of what i want to read as well. On another note training is almost done. Few morr days and i can start packing up to begin the trip home.

The first book of Febuary is done. I borrowed it from another soldier during training and it was an incredible read.

Book 13: American Sniper by Chris Kyle.



I do not read too many military biographies or fiction. I live it everyday, reading is my escape not to be reminded of my work. This one was a rare exception, and I am glad I read it. If you have seen the movie based n this novel then it doesnt need any introduction. I have not, so I had no spoilers going in.

The author was a SEAL and a sniper. From training to his retirement, it cover his multiple back to back deployments and his home life inbetween. Some parts are even written by his wife, so you knw how she felt during all the trying times. The pace is good and it is wrtten so even if you have no prior military understanding you would be ok reading it.

I think the hardest part was some of the darker tone. He refers to all of them as savages repeatedly. Some I understand, if you dehumanize your enemy it makes it easier to do what you have to do.

Reading this book brought back alot of memories from my own times over there. Other sections I could easily picture in my mind and the things you see sometimes never suprise you. One example deals with a group of fighters that wanted to cross a river so out they come with four extra large beach balls and a few grab on to each one to try to float across the river. I was laughing at this point, cause I can just see it, and how tempting it would be to just go pop.

The marriage parts also gave me alot to think about. I know how hard those adjustments can be, and the back to back deployments do not help things as everything just gets pushed under the surface. I am glad like him, I can now work on the things that need to be fixed. Because i do have a very wonderful wife, and I need to show her that more.

>74 xymon81: Thanks for that fantastic review. It's so interesting to hear your thoughts especially on this one. I've hesitated to put this on my wishlist, but thanks to you, I think I may...

>75 scaifea: I am glad to be an inspiration

My first game to try to beat this year is a classic, I have not beaten it since I was a lad.



Dragon warrior is a favorite of mine and since I have a good amount of time left until I am able to fly home, I can make good headway on this game. I will still get alot of reading done but this will break it up a bit. I am lucky I have all the NES and SNES games on my laptop. I need to try not not spend money. A hard thing to do when you are bored.

I was really excited the other day. I got another stack from the small local library. What suprised me though was the quality of the books. They are all stellar titles and each book is in prestine condition. I dont think any of them have ever been read, they smell and feel brand new and I got them on the free book shelf. I could not believe my luck and gladly snatched them up to take to a new home.

Razor's Edge: Star Wars by Martha Wells. I love Star Wars novels and I have read other books by this author so win-win.

Ubik by Philip K. Dick. I know this one is on alot of lists as one of the best scifi books ever written.

The Martian by Andy Weir. I have seen this one talked about alot on here over the last year. I was going to get it once I returned from California.

Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen. Believe it or not, this is the prize book out of this collection. You would have to stab me to get me to give this book up. I am a huge Bears fan and to find this tucked all the way in the back made me gasp. Like I found buried treasure.

Wow, what a haul! And for free!! Congrats!

Hi Matthew, I definitely want to read that Bears book. American Sniper, at some point, too.

I didn't realize that you're originally from Chicago. Are you also a Cubs or Sox fan? Or Blackhawks?

The Cubs and the Blackhawks are my teams.

>80 lindapanzo: I am a fan of every team. Bears, bulls, blackhawks, northwestern for college football , i bleed cub blue being a north sider but ill support the sox if they are in playoffs.

I LOVE the Cubs and, in fact, had partial season tickets for many years. I still go to about 10-12 games a year. Even so, like you, I'll root for the Sox if they're in the playoffs.

I went to a small college and don't really follow college football much but, a few years ago, when Northwestern played U of I at Wrigley Field, I cheered for Northwestern.

This morning, I picked up what one of the baseball book blogs called "the first robins of spring," that is, the new Sporting News baseball annual, the one that predicts that the Cubs will win the World Series this year. I never thought I'd see that...

I used to work for Northwestern as security for their games while in highschool. I even worked two bears games one was even in the player parking lot. My dad before he retired worked for the wirtz company. So he knew the owners, both old and new for Blackhawks.

The cubs prediction isn't that suprising. Over the last few seasons they have slowly been aquiring players for AAA that are top players. They have also made some big signings since winters meeting.

Book 14: Chasing the Moon by A. Lee Martinez.



This fun quirky book was a blast to read. Diana has just scored the perfect apartment. Cheap rent, utilities included, already furnished, it even had a six pack of her favorite soda already in the fridge. It wasn't until after she moved in that she realized there was another cost. In the closet is a being called Vom. He is a rather nice sort except he will eat you if you open the door. She is now his guardian, and can't leave. So she either can go slowly mad or open the door. This is just the beginning of a very original adventure concerning monsters , parallel planes of existence, and the end of the world as we know it.

Book 15: Through the Reality Warp by Donald J. Pfeil.



The basis of this pulp scifi book is pretty silly. Billiard is a mercenary in our universe. He is chosen as having the greatest probability of achieving a mission. A sort of residual energy that keeps our universe together is being sucked out by another universe. If not stopped it would be the end of all life in our reality. But it is a one way trip even if he succeeded. Billiard aggrees and goes through to the other side. Once there he hires himself out to a revolutionary group while also trying to complete his real mission.

74> Love you babe. I am picking it today and going to start reading it myself.

Finally home,it was a long 30 days away. Kids were super excited to see me. I got chatted at until eyelids were closed. I did get some really good reading in though. I finished 10 books during that time period.

Yeah, travel tends to be a high reading volume time for me too. Glad you made it home!

Happy Homecoming!

Glad you made it home safely! >62 xymon81: I loved that book! >66 xymon81: I love the title. >72 xymon81: I'm ashamed to say that I haven't read a lot of the Oz books, so I have been holding off on Wicked. I should at least re-read the most prominent Oz books before reading any popular spin-offs, I think. Wish I had enough time!

Thank you everyone for the great welcome home messages.

>90 The_Hibernator: You should give Wicked a chance. It was an interesting interpretation.

In other news the wife and I had a nice one day mini vacation. Can you say hot tub, woot woot😉. We also found this gigantic used book store. Between the two of us we spent close to $70 there. That and my new entertainment setup I acquired this weekend, I am very content.

Heh. That's a heckuva one-day vacation... :)

I need more details on the video games, sir! ;)

>93 Ape: well for valentines day, my wife got me the destiny bundle ps4. I like the white version, it is pretty sweet. I also got four other games to tide me over until next month when new final fantasy comes out. So other games are The last of us, I heard a lot of good things about it. Lego:marvel, cause Lego games are awesome. Murdered, soul suspect, your a ghost solving your own murder. Lastly Akiibas trip I think it is called. It is this bizarre Japanese rpg with vampires and to kill them you have to strip their clothes off.

3 day weekend alright. I have to go to library soon to pick up my holds. I swear since I have returned from California there are so many sequals out for series I have already started and other new novels by authors I like.

Xymon: The Last of Us is amazingly good! I've played LEGO Marvel, it's fun, but the flying mechanic will make you want to vandalize something if you do the races. I haven't played the other 2, but I've heard of them.

If you create a PSN account, you can add me at LiteraryRecluse. I can't play console games online though, unfortunately, due to slow internet connection at home.

>96 Ape: Sounds good, ill look you up later this weekend

Book 16: Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football by Rich Cohen



This was a lovingly written story to one of the original franchises and how they came about in their magical season. This was one of the most dominate and brutal teams that ever played. Now days football is almost two hand tag by comparison but it is for a reason. With all the recent news on CTE or brain injuries among all the other brutal ways that players can suffer long after their career is over it is necessary to have change.

There are great interviews here with past players and coaches. More than just this season, you get the history of the franchise. So many great players have come and gone through the Bears since it's inception. I believe we still have the most Hall of Fame members. As the draft approaches and things gear up for a new season, it is a great book for a fan of the team.

Good to hear about your lovely mini-vacation!

>96 Ape: Not to sound ignorant (too late) but what good does it do for him to add you if you can't play on the internet with him?

Book 17: Step on a Crack by James Patterson.



This is the first book of the Michael Bennett series. Like most of his books they are very short chapers that help move things along at a fast pace. Micheal is a little differant because he has to balance work with taking care of 10 adopted kids. His wife is in the last stages with terminal cancer when work calls him in. A former first lady has recently died. At her funeral, an unknown amount of gunman take the church. They release everyone but 35 of NYC best and famous including the mayor and ex president. It was not a bad plot and had a good if not teary ending.

>98 xymon81: Delurking to say I got that book for my husband since he's a Bears fan. Are you a Bears fan? Any recommendations if so?

>101 rosylibrarian: I am a huge bears fan. Im glad to pass the love to more fans. Actually in the very back of the book is a huge list if related books.

>102 xymon81: Oh, I didn't know that! I'll have to go look at it again when I get home. Da Bears!

Rachel: Having people on you friends list on PSN gives you activity updates (like Librarything), and allows for things like trophy comparisons. It's like becoming someone's friend on LT, basically useless except for creepy stalkerish purposes. :P

>104 Ape: Lets not get me started. I can be very competetive.

I bet I can be more competitive than you!!

Errrr, I suppose this isn't helping.

>106 Ape: Probobly not, but who cares

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I have so many books stacked up it is rediculous. When I came back from California I noticed there were a lot of good new books out. So I put them on reserve at my library. Now almost all of them came in at once.

Book 18: Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman



What an interesting collection of short stories. There are many companion pieces to some of his recent works. Such as story that is related to Ocean at the End of The Lane. I really did not see how but that is just me. You have The Dying Earth and Sherlock Holmes and a reprinting of The Truth is A Cave in the Black Mountains. That is really one of my favorites of the group, it is such a good tale. You have a Dr. Who Story concerning the 11th doctor from 12 Doctors 12 Stories. That one was really excellent. I could hear in my head the banter between Matt Smith and Karen Gillian. He did a really good job. There is also the continued misadventures of Shadow from American Gods as he still travels the world and stumbles into trouble. My favorite of the collection is called Calendar Tales. Gaiman wrote a short story for each month of the year. I think January was the best. All in all a good set of stories.

As month two comes to a close and I am well beyond my schedule.

Read total: 18

This month: 6

Fiction : 4 2 scifi/ fantasy; 1 mystery; 1 short story collection

Nonfiction: 2 1 Biography; 1 Sports History

>109 xymon81: I have that one waiting for me on my Read Me Now!! shelf...

I hate mondays, it is going to be a long day.

I saw that Gaiman book in the stores a while back and wondered how it was. Thanks for the review.

>111 scaifea:,>113 The_Hibernator: It was a good book, cant wait until he releases the final Interworld book.

I am very disappointed today. The on post library just called with bad news. Here we have a loan system that fill out the card amd the put out a request across the country to locate the book your looking for. So I put one in for Firefight by Brandon Sanderson. So I guess no library accepted to loan it, it is too popular. They say it will go in the purchase wish list. Not getting my hopes up for that.

Oh, that *is* disappointing. Dang.

>116 scaifea: Atleast i have such a backlog if books that it does not affect me too much right now.

Book 19: American Gun A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms by Chris Kyle.



Before he died. the author began a project to study our countries history through the development if firearms. As you read this, you take a nice stroll through some of the most infamous moments in our history. Some of stories are familiar, others are new to me. None of them are slow or dry and kept my attention the whole way through. You can feel the appreciation for both the history and firearms. I enjoyed it as a differant perspective of history.

on a side note spring training is starting up, yayy.

What a long day. It is officialy spoil my wife rotten weekend. With it being her birthday tomorrow, we had a long day out. I took every one out to a buffet breakfast, although I was dissapointed. By the time I got to get my food, they were switching items over to lunch. After that was thd book store, our fav spot. I couldnt pass up a buy two get one fred deal. So I ended up with Ready Player One, The Night Circus, and one Ive never read Dad Is Fat. We went to a couple of stores and then it was to downtown Anchorage for the winter festival. Way too many people. But I did get to do the running with the reindeer. Yes it is how it sounds. You do a short run and hope you dont get run over, by the reindeer or your fellow runners. It was very entertaining though. Both by the bizarre costumes people were wearing and many were very inibriated. There was one cool moment though. Just before the race started the entire street was singing the national anthem and it felt very genuine. After my slow jog for charity, walked around the mall a bit, had dinner and headed home. Tomorrow Ill make breakfast and dinner. And continue my spoiling rotten mission.

How wonderful of you to spoil your wife rotten. :) Did you know today is also International Women's Day? So even more reason.

>121 The_Hibernator: No I didn't. How fitting though.

Book 20: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel



What a great sad little tale. In the last few years there have been a slew of new dysotopian novels. Each telling us a little differently how life will be after. Sometimes it is a realistic approach, sometimes not. This one falls closer the the former. One wonders what is our fascination now with how everything will end. Do that many people think that our society is near its decline and all it will take is one singular event.

The novel itself is well written, and has a very interesting storyline. It begins with the death of a famous actor on stage. That same night word begins to spread of a fast moving virus that is very deadly. It does not take long for all to collapse. Twenty years later there are only small settlements scattered across the landscape. A traveling symphony bringing culture to the masses , and braving the unknown. With sn interweaving plot going from years before to twenty years after the event. The story centers on the actor and four people who were apart of his life at some point.

Hurray for a three day weekend. I am also glad this weekend the cold spell will end. Let me tell you running with the temperature hovering around 0 is not pleasant. This weekend I will continue to work on my main book, Golden Son is a quick read so it should not take long. I also have my ER book on my kindle app. It is The Amazing Mr Howard. It is an interesting read to say the least. This weekend I may also finish up my Dr Who Visual Dictionary. Where to find the time for it all?

Book 21: Golden Son by Pierce Brown.



At the end of Red Rising, Darrow was a ascending star. A low class trying to bring down the system that keeps his people slaves. Now the civil war has begun and slowly he is changing how people see themselves and break the chains of the system. Some begin to notice and are nervous of the move. Things move very rapidly in this book and you never know who is really the enemy. To think I will have to wait another year for book three.

Book 22: Doctor Who The Visual Dictionary by Andrew Darling.



This is a fun little book to scroll through. It would be great for a coffee table. It is full of fun facts of the last three doctors, the companions and the enemies. Beautiful glossy pictures included.

Book 23: The Amazing Mr. Howard by Kenneth Harmon.

This was an Early Review book that I recieved last month. It was good for having on my phone to flip through a few pages if I had a spare moment. It is not the usual fantasy detective novel as you assume it to be. I just wish there was a character to like in the book.

Mr. Howard is a college professer who has visions. The police reguarly use him to find people (women) who have gone missing. In reality, you learn early on he is a vampire who pretends to be psychic. The only visions he sees are the ghosts of the people he's killed. He holds women hostage for a week, getting every small detail of thier life before disposing of them. Using this information to give to police to throw off the scent until the body is decompsed enough to conceal his nature.

In the current case, he messes up when he takes a girl from a well off family. He usually targets people off the street. He is approached by two detectives. I really did not like either one. Both let thier personal lives get out of hand. Killgood is a friend of Mr Howard and it blinds him to the possibility of his friends guilt. His daughter is also just getting out of a bad relationship. Willard is a good smart detective. Even though everyone tells him it us deadend, he continues to pursue Mr. Howard as a suspect. He is also a first class asshole. He feels no love for his family I think and is embarressed by them because they have a weight problem. The way he treated them disgusted me and his ending was the most shocking of the book. If you are looking for a happy ending in this book you dint get it and one or two points in the story are never resolved.

Book 24: Tools For Survival by James Wesley Rawles

If you ever needed a need all list for your doomday prepping bunker. This is the book for you. Very in depth with some very good info and ideas.

>128 xymon81: Ooh, doomsday prepping bunker you say? *makes notes*

Well the wife and I saw Insurgent last night. I have only read the first book so I cant comment on its accuracy. She say only about half of it or so is really in book. Still a good entertaining flick. Also I saw a trailer for a movie I know I will have to see. It is called Pixels with Adam Sandler. Look it up. It had me rolling.

I am so stoked. Completed certification today. Finally got that monkey off my back and can get down to business and read some books.

Congratulations!

>132 scaifea: Thanks.

Book 25: Run for your Life by James Patterson.



Book two of the Michael Bennett series. It was a reread for me and it is still a pretty good book. I really did not remember much of the plot so it was good to go at it again before moving on to the rest of the series.

Bennett this time is hunting a killer shooting his way across Manhattan. He also has to juggle a household of flu victims at home. I can understand that one. Once one kid gets sick, its only a matter of time.

>131 xymon81: congrats! It's a relief, I'm sure.

>135 drneutron: Thanks, it is a great relief.

Book 26: Doctor Who: The Vault by Marcus Hearn.



A good behind the scenes look at 50 years of Doctor Who. I think the only glaring thing left out is why the 9th Doctor quit so suddenly. Everything else is there in great detail from troibled beginnings to the reboot and beyond. Alot of great relic photos as well.

Book 27: Dreamers and Deceivers: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America by Glenn Beck



A very good if not sensationalized set of stories in American history. The author even admits that he took certain liberties with it and it is from his point of view. You can break it down to two parts, the dreamers and decievers. The dreamers are those that pushed progress forward even if there were many tragic circumstances arouns thier life. The Decievers were those whose infamous crimes still ponder us today.

Today is the last day of March. I have a good start for my next novel, Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton along with all my other half started books. I doubt I will finish one before the end of the day.

Read total: 27

This month: 9

Fiction : 4; 2 Dysotopia; 2 mystery

Nonfiction: 5; 2 History; 1 End of the World; 2 Doctor Who behind the scenes

In other news I won another ER book, I am pretty excited to get another interesting book. On the Clock: The Story of the NFL Draft will be a nice followup to my Bears book from last month and as the Draft is coming up soon.

Book 28: Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton.



This is the authors last novel, found in a drawer after his death. I think he watched the Pirate of the Caribbean movies too many times and wanted to make his own. It is a decently done adventure book if not over the top. The amount of things that happen to the crew includes being captured, sea battles, a giant kraken, a ship full of gold and some good old betrayal. Sometimes it is irratating to know despite all that is going on the everyone is so good that there is no real danger and all goes at planned. It is still fun to enjoy the ride.

What an Easter. Woke up to two inches of new snow that melted away by noon. A neat thing then, when I went to park, I found a little free library across the street from our church. Didn't find anything but maybe next time I'll drop something off. Kids enjoyed themselves even if they went a lil sugar crazy by the end of the day. Happy to watch the opening game even if the Cubs lost.

Book 29: Blood Infernal by James Rollins



It took me a long while to get really invested into this book. It has been awhile since I read the last one so it took time to get reaquainted with the characters and the plot. It is the same good mix of religion, history and fiction that made the first two so much fun but it brings it to a successful conclusion. To go into further detail would spoil it for those who have not read the first two installments. It is a shame that it is only a trilogy though. There could be more too this story.

The cover art on that one is AMAZING! :)

>143 Ape: The story is really good too. But yah it is my fav cover out of the trilogy.

Cubs win, Cubs Win..

Book 30: Strangers On A Train by Patricia Highsmith



I started this book back in January and a few days ago picked it up again and finished it. At the time it was just not keeping my interest but I refused to just give up on it completely. I think the main charaters wishiwashiness, if thats a word, grated me.

So two guys meet on a train. Guy is in the middle of a divorce and is a successful architect. Bruno wants to inherit his step-fathers wealth. So Bruno develops the perfect plan for murder. If they were to solve the others problem, no one would ever know. Guy refuses and leaves but Bruno goes ahead and murders Guy's wife anyways hoping Guy will do his part once it is done. Guy is cleared of any wrongdoing and moves on with his life. Bruno continues to bother him and pressures Guy to the point that he relents. That is where I get mad, he had opportunities to turn Bruno in but never does.

Book 31: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss



As an add on book to the series alot of people will come away disapointed. What it really is is a simple story that happens to involve one of its characters. There is no real plot per say, you just follow Auri arround for a week in her life. But during that week you get to really understand her character. She has an extreme OCD problem and so for her to live in that setting is the story. Nothing still isnt clear how she came to live there or why, hopefully that will be resolved in the next book.

>147 xymon81: My husband is reading this one right now, and keeps telling me that I really need to read this series.

>140 xymon81: I wonder how much of that book was written by Crichton and how much of it was just outline fleshed out by a ghost writer, though. It certainly wasn't a very good book by Crichton standards. I'd say it's his weakest, and that's not surprising if it was only in outline form. If it was a full manuscript when they found it...well....it's too bad that this was the last book of his career. Would have been better if he went out with a bang.

>149 The_Hibernator: I suspect there was a fair amount of ghost writing involved. I do agree it is not his strongest book. I was much more impressed with Micro, the last one he wrote before he died.

I have finished two books over since yesterday. I have since found my groove again with a new book. It is so good, I do not think it will take me long to complete at this pace I want to read it.

Book 32: Emperor Mollusk versus the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez



This was not my favorite outing by this author. Perhaps I just was not in the mood for it, maybe next time I visit it, I will feel differantly. But To me comes across as such a collection of cheesy Scifi and overall just didnt do it for me. So for those who do not know the main point is that Mullusk is an alien who in yeas past took over the earth and ruled for several years before getting bored ans stepping down. He still lives among us and is pulled out of retirement by unknown threat that could end all life as we know it. Alot of strangness ensues, and in the end the Brain he is fighting is not what you might expect.

Book 33: Skipped Parts by Tim Sandlin



This book is one of my guilty little pleasures. It is more than a simple coming of age tale. Recently exiled to Wyoming, Sam and his Mom adjust to living in a culture very differant than what they are used to in North Carolina. They have a very broken relationship but it works for them. Sam befriends a fellow booklover named Maurey and in thier conversations they wonder what goes on during the "Skipped Parts" in novels. One thing leads to another and they begin to experiment in sex. Sam takes it more seriously, while Maurey takes it for what it is, practice. This leads to some akward situations as they begin dating other people and still have thier practice until pregnancy happens. The mixture of tones makes this a great read and I am going to finish up the series.

I now move on to The Child Thief. A very dark twist of the Peter Pan story, and on my kindle Sorrow Floats which is part two of the GroVont series.

I now have an updated list for standalone fantasy novels. The list I use was updated earlier this year and now I am changing mine in return. The list has now been expanded to 50 and there are many new enteries as well as adjustments to the list overall. Feel free to comment on what has been done. I have included when I completed that book or if it is on my TBR stack and where the book last placed on the list.

1: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
2: Good Omens By Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Jan 2015) {LP 11th}
3:Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke ( FEB 2013) {LP 14th}
4 The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien ( NOV 2012) {LP 9th}
5: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie {New Book}
6: The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison {New Book}
7: Perdido Street station by China Mieville {LP 12th}
8: Talion: Revenant by Michael A. Stackpole (TBR Stack) {LP 22nd}
9: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle {LP 4th}
10: American Gods by Neil Gaiman ( NOV 2012) {LP 5th}
11: Watership Down by Richard Adams {LP 3rd}
12: The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn {New Book}
13: The Folding Knife by K. J. Parker {New Book}
14: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson ( OCT 2012) {LP 23rd}
15: The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (TBR Stack) {LP 10th}
16: Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover {LP 8th}
17: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart ( TBR Stack) {LP 2nd}
18: Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock ( JUL 2013) {LP 7th}
19: The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold ( TBR Stack) {LP 16th}
20: The Etched City by K. J. Bishop ( TBR Stack) {LP HM}
21: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ( DEC 2012) {LP 15th}
22: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley {LP 17th}
23: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia K. McKillip {New Book}
24: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison {New Book}
25: The Once and Future King by T. H. White {LP HM}
26: War For the Oaks by Emma Bull {LP 25th}
27: American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett {New Book}
28: Little, Big by John Crowley {New Book}
29: Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker {New Book}
30: The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (DEC 2013) {LP 24th}
31: The Neverending Story By Michael Ende {LP 19th}
32: The War of The Flowers by Tad Williams (TBR Stack) {LP HM}
33: The Stand by Steven King {LP HM}
34: Deerskin by Robin McKinley {New Book}
35: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman ( AUG 2013) {New Book}
36: Death Of the Necromancer by Martha Wells {LP HM}
37:Howl's Moving Castleby Diana Wynne Jones (JUL 2013) {New Book}
38: SwordPoint by Ellen Kushner {New Book}
39: Lord of Light by Roger Zelanzy ( TBR Stack) {LP 18th}
40: Legend by David Gemmell {New Book}
41: The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson {New Book}
42: The Book of Joby Mark J. Ferrari (JUNE 2015) {LP 20th}
43: To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts {New Book}
44: God's Demon by Wayne Barlowe ( OCT 2012) {LP HM}
45: 11/22/63 by Steven King {LP 13th}
46: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson (APR 2013) {LP HM}
47: Fevre Dream by George R R Martin ( NOV 2012) {LP 6th}
48: Butcher's Bird by Richard Kadrey {New Book}
49: Imajica by Clive Barker {LP 21st}
50: Terror by Dan Simmons {LP HM}

Book 34: Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman



This book has an intersting concept, what if the age of heroes bean 400 years earlier than it was supposed to and why would this happen. You see many of the more famous figures from Marvel put together in a battle to save all of creation. It does take some time to really get going and sometimes the conversations can get a bit long winded. But if you are a fan of Gaiman, take a look.

Wow, that fantasy list is really good. I may need to steal it to give to a friend that is interested, but doesn't know where to start.

>154 drneutron: Go for it, the first list helped me on the path to better fantasy novels. I do like the expansion now of this list.

I agree with Jim - that's an excellent list! I've loved all the ones I've read and I'm excited about a lot of the ones on there that I haven't read yet.

Book 35:The Child Thief by Brom



This is the way Peter Pan was supposed to be. A very dark tale and thrilling all the way through. Peter is a half human/Farie child. Tossed into the wild, he eventually comes to Avalon, the last home for all things farie and pagan. As Christianity pushes further, they are forced to hide and flee moving Avalon to the New World. Things are fine until puritan explorers stumble upon the island and become trapped there. A war breaks out between the settlers, who view the farie as demons, and the creatures of the island. Peter uses his Lost children as soldiers and is constantly going back to the human world to attract more followers to fight this war.

Read this book if you really want something different. As the author said, this is not the Disney version retold. It has some of that same darkness of the original tale and a good amount of research into Celtic and other religions to give this story some very plausible credibility.

As April is now at a close, I only did one Crighton and Martinez book. But I did not do any early reviews or off my fantasy list. I also did not finish any nonfiction.

Resd total: 35

This month:8

General fiction 4

Fantasy: 3

Graphic Novel: 1

Thanks for your thoughts on Marvel 1602. I'm a huge fan of Gaiman.

>159 The_Hibernator: Welcome, just think the last Interworld book will be out this month I believe.

In other news I was so excited yesterday. While watching BBC, I saw a preview for a mini-series based in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel to be played middle of next month. A great book and it looks to be an interesting show.

Book 36:Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk



A set of short stories set around a diverse cast of characters. Each story us a glimpse into one of thier lives. To tie it all together the author made a story of a writers workshop. 3 months of no interferance to work on your project. The people soon decide it is much easier to make themselves the story and start sabotaging everything to make it seem how they were tortured, mutilated, and forced to eat each other to survive. This ook is at times sick and twisted and not for the feignt of heart. The stories go between really good to just ok and the linking story starts strong then seems to drag on. Not sure yet if I will read anything else by this author.

Book 37: How to Retire the Cheapskate Way by Jeff Yeager



This book is a good look on how to start looking at retirement without having to spend a ton. Really by keeping it simple and not letting spending or debt get out of control anyone can make a decent nest egg. With only a few years to go till my next phase in life begins, this was good common sense start for ideas on getting on the right track.

Everyone panic as the last week of school is here. My poor wife, while the library does have a good summer reading program, i guess all the prizes are music related like maracas and hand drums and such. I also have my vacation time coming up, lots to hiking and sight seeing to do while I can. After that I have my knee surgery so starting to plan now what I will have ready for my reading pile. I already have my game set. FFX cmae out this past week and it is like finding an old friend again.

If I ever seriously decide to tackle Fantasy, your lists are great. as an FYI, I received a FB alert about an hour ago from the publisher that the Barry Hughart Trilogy of which your book #2/17 on your lists is one of, is temporarily on sale for a week for the kindle and nook and kobo for $2.99. Since the paper omnibus would set you back perhaps $100 or more, that might be a good option.
http://subterraneanpress.com/store/product_detail/the_chronicles_of_master_li_an...

I have a nook that I rarely use but I might get this one.

>164 RBeffa: I got the first book for cheap at a used book store in pretty good shape. It is on the shelf for later reading. I have a kindle myself and I o back and forth. Sometimes I enjoy reading without the heft of lugging a book around everywhere. Now with my Kindle app even better, they only thing it is lacking is my ER books.

FFX was actually the first Final Fantasy game I ever played, not sure if that's something to be proud of or not, discovering the series so late, but it was AMAZING. :) And I was young enough to having a crush on Riku wasn't creepy! ...now it would be creepy...

>166 Ape:. Isnt any video game crush a little creepy. Although this time around I did notice how much attention they give to Lulu's cleavage.

Oh FF games! Love them. Sounds like an excellent way to recover from knee surgery.

I would say video game crushes are no less creepy than book character crushes. Also, go Google video game cosplay images. :P

>169 Ape: When I was living on Oahu, once went to Halloween Downtown Honolulu. It makes any cosplay look like a LARP night in someones basement by comparison.

Book 38: Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephrn King.



A small Maine town is being terrorized by a werewolf. Each chapter is a month if the year and another character being devoured. Until one survives and eventually the truth of who is thw werewolf is found with a satiisfying ending. Not a bad novella with some great artwork too.

>170 xymon81: Oho, I'm absolutely jealous of that experience! I once spent New Year's Eve in the Castro District and it was one of the most fun nights I've ever had.

>172 scaifea: It was pretty awsome. It was a crazy crowded night with costumes that really should never be worn in pubic.



This is one example.

Book 39: The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly.



A great quick action read. From the jacket cover you may think this is just a Jurrasic Park ripoff but with Dragons. Reilly though does a good spin on thd motif, making the dragons not just another dumb extinct animal coming back. They are infact terribly smart and no sense of mercy after being contained by humans. It is a great summer read.

Book 40: Worst Case by James Patterson.



Not feeling my best today, so just breezed through this thriller. A good short read as always. The next Bennet book is again about a person at odds with the wealthy of NYC. This time he kidnaps the teens and plays a game of 20 questions. Only death is the punishment for wrong answers. On the personal side, Mike's love life is looking up as he is partnered with an attractive FBI agent but not everyone in household is happy about it. Lets see how this continues in the later books.

Hope those that are on this side of the oceans has a safe and wonderful holiday.

Finished two books today. One on my kindle and my library book this evening. Reviews to come tomorrow.

Book 41: Sorrow Floats by Tim Sandlin



This is book two of the Grovont series. The end of the first book saw the two principle characters, Sam and Maurey, have a girl at age of thirteen. This book opens up many years later. Highschool is come and gone and life has begun. Sam went home to North Carolina and took thier daughter with him. Maurey continues on, trying college but ends up coming home and marrys her highschool boyfriend. time goes by she has a son, an unfullfiling life and develops a drinking problem. It does not get out of hand until her dad dies in an accident and then one day she is so out of it she forgets her son on the roof of the car as she is driving through town. Already a town laughing stock it is too unbearale as she is kicked from her home, a new woman moving in there the next day.

Book 42: Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist



A really good fae story. Reading it you did not want to put it down to see how it was going to end up. It is a familiar story done well. A family moves into a strange empty house. There is a mystery to solve and unexplained things keep happening. The truth of what is going on is more what is what most would believe.

May is drawing to a close. A month away from the halfway point of the year and I think I am really on track. With my vacation just starting and then on recovery from my knee surgery, I should have a great month coming up. The one thing I do need to do is read more of my ER books.

Read total: 42

This Month: 7

Fiction: 6; Thriller 2, horror 2 , fantasy 1, fiction 1

Nonfiction: 1

Book 43: Zombie, Illinois by Scott Kenemore



This is one of those books that just grabs you by the title. Just browsing the shelves and I saw this one picked it up to see if it was interesting. Inside is a story told from three points of view about a Zombie outbreak in the city of Chicago. The writer did their homework as many of the social issues that affect the city play a factor as people try to survive. After the mayor and his family are eaten on national tv, a group of corrupt officials try to seize power.

Book 44: StarGate Retaliation by Bill Mccay



I found this quick read tucked away in the main library here. I was not aware that they had written fanfiction for Stargate prior to SG-1. There are some interesting themes through this book. The locals are trying to rebuild after fighting off Hathor with the help of the earthlings. What I find interesting is something that is never mentioned in the series. Once the locals are free, they have no idea what to do with it. They have no concept of either self-governance since they have always been a slave society. Which is an interesting point to make as this is written less than ten years before we invaded Iraq. Economics is also something they never worried about. Food and weapons become the two driving forces. All our government is interested in is the quartz material that makes the gate. It makes for a very volatile situation that Hathor takes advantage of to exact her revenge on the locals and the earthlings.

Watching some Band of Brothers today in honor of the 71st anniversary of D-Day.

Book 45: Binary by John Lange, Aka Michael Crichton.



This is one of his early works, written in the late 70's. It has been recently rereleased under the hard case crimes pulp crime series. The one I got from the library was an original printing though. It is true to that pulp fiction, quick and easy to digest. The basis is that a government agent is chasing a madman around San Diego before he can release a nerve gas in the city. The equipment was all from local stores and before a time where any type of suspicious order threw up red flags. Its too bad there wasnt more too this story.

Book 46: A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez.



This is one of the best I have read by this author. I think only one other has been better. The plot flows nicely and it all just goes very smooth. The inner struggle our witch has throughout the book makes for a great ending. Sure she has found her true love but she also wants to eat him. Both emotions grow at the same time. The companions are an odd mix but it works. If you picked this one up to try out this author you would go looking for more soon.

Well tomorrow is the big day, talk to you all soon. I may be to gone on meds to write anything afterwards

Best of luck - I'll be thinking of you tomorrow!

That Martinez really sounds good! Have you read Gil's All-Fright Diner?

>187 drneutron: That was my first book of his that I read. I think this one is better. I'd rate Gil's All Fright Dinerthird out of all I read.

Hmmm, that's good news!

Book 47: Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix



A great little horror read that is really something different. The glossy bright cover and illustrations along with the campy style stand out against the dark and grim that is the actual story. The story takes place in a knockoff Ikea that is experiencing a lot of damage of property during the night. So an assistant manager and two employees work a graveyard shift to see what is happening when noone else is in the store. The events that follow make a great alternative ghost story.

Book 48: Tick Tock by James Patterson.



Another entry in the Michael Bennett series. This time around someone is copycatting some of the most ruthless serial killers in NYC history. At the same time Mike has to somehow manage his family and his growing love life. His family has taken to the beach for some much needed vacation time and a local family takes exception to the mixed hodgepodge that comprises his family. A little fued develops, and as distracting as that is it is nothing compared to the competing love interests. Things are just getting intersting between mike and his nanny when his old partner comes back for this case and she has sights on Mike as well. In the end he makes his choice and the villian is caught. All things you would expect from a quick Patterson novel.

Yayy!!! Go Blackhawks!! Three cups in six years. The start of a modern day dynasty. The game was a nailbiter and I wouldnt have had it any other way.

Book 49:Married to Distraction by Edward M Hallowell.



This is a book for restoring intimacy and strengthening a relationship. You don't need to be in dire straight for s book such as this. You can just be feeling that might be drifting apart and how you can stop that and respark things. Unfortunately it is so easy to get caught up in those distractors and not even notice. With our advances in technology comes more ways to slip. I found the book to be rather relevent and insightful. I even like the 30 day plan workbook. It is a good way to begin the communication process again.

So yesterday I started playing an older game for the Wii. It is a very simple game based on the original Dragonball series.



I think I need to do that more. It was so much easier before they came out with the achievements and trophys for every game. I used to get so caught up on completing games even if they were not any good based on a score that really means nothing. I turned in my Xbox 360 to startover and now do have a PS4. I have almost nothing on here but there are still times that I still feel that addicting pull.

Wow two books finished in one day.

Book 50:As You Wish by Cary Elwes



This has always been one of my favorite childhood films. It is a great tale with outstanding moments throughout. So when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. Last year was the 25th anniversary of the film and this was released as a tale of the behind the scenes from Elwes's eyes. Through out are also little excerpts from other people related to the production. I learned some so many things along with some things that I already knew explained more. I knew that the movie was a hard one to get made just because studio's would not touch it, even after it was made they did not how to market it and that cased it to falter in the theaters. The VHS market brought the film to new life and brought people to know of a film that could have just gone into obscurity. I learned how much much effort it took for the famous fight sequence. At only just over 3 minutes in length, it is still one of the best ever made and it took two sword masters months of coaching, even on locations, to train the actors the swordplay. I found out that Elwes was very accident prone during filming. Apparently he broke his big toe riding Andre's ATV just before a day's shooting. He was on it for weeks. I also watched the movie today and most of the middle of the movie he is hobbling, and I don't think he is acting on those parts. The next is when he is knocked out by Count Rugen. They had trouble getting it to look believable so Cary told him to go ahead and hit him a tad. Well he was hit a tad to much and the scene you see in the movie is that cut, of Cary really getting knocked out.

Some parts about Andre just about had me in stiches as well. Just before filming the do a sit down of the script and as they finish they have some drinks. Andre has so much he passes out in the lobby. They don't know what to do so they finally just rope him off and leave him. IM sorry but it just conjures up too many funny images as they try to figure out how to move a 500 lb man snoring in the middle of the floor. The last I will share with you was the writer was on the set the first day of filming and that day they were doing scenes from the fire swamp. The writer is very nervous the whole day and does some very quirky things. What takes the cake though is that he missed the safety meeting before the start of the scene where the dress catches fire. He walks in from somewhere in the middle of a take, sees the dress and shouts Oh My God , She ON Fire- There is A Fire. Too Funny. So If you love the movie as I did you would probably love this book too. It went quickly too. I started it for a change of pace book late this morning and finished the last few chapters after dinner.

Book 51: Firefight by Brandon Sanderson



I am amazed at Sanderson. How can this guy write so many things and they all turn out so good? They cover different genre's and have way different styles to them. Everything he seems to write though is pure gold. This book is no different to me. The next book the Reckoners series. The last book ended with the great defeat the heroes hoped for but one down only is just the scratch of the surface when it comes to how many epics there are out there. They still know so little after all this time, not even how people became gifted and what makes their weakness and if there is a relation. We have moved on to another city, to far more puzzling plot that leave you twisted at the end.

Just to update everyone on my recovery. I am down to one crutch, which is good, and that I don't use some of the time. I can bear the weight but I just don't want to cause too much strain. With my physical therapy we are working on the flexibility and range of motion. Pain is not really all too bad. So so far so good I think, all things considering. I am even getting a really good bit of reading done. I have managed to get my library stacks somewhat under control. I have some thicker volumes to get through though with some easy reads along side if I need a change of pace. The next one I am going to tackle is off my fantasy list, The Book of Joby by Mark J Ferrari. I had to do a special request and it finally came in the other day so I will set everything aside to get this huge almost 700 page monster done. It was a hard book to find, it came from Lake Oswego, where ever that is and I am pretty sure I do not get any renewals.

I'm glad you're mending!

Do your exercises consistently!! My sister used that for reading time. Glad all is going well.

Thank you both.

I'm happy to hear that you're recovering!
I've got the Elwes book on my 'read soon' shelf and can't wait - I love that movie, too.

Book 52: Miracle at Augusta by James Patterson



A good short diversion read for a day as I continue to tackle my main read. I used to really like Matt Christopher novels in my youth. This is right up that same alley. A golfer on the senior tour is suspended after a scuffle with his rival after losing a match. He uses the time to help a troubled teen just as he was at the same age. A nice lesson of paying it forward.

Good news today. I went to a consignment shop and walked out with a stack of free books. I was even nice, there were several others that I could have taken but decided on these.

No one noticed the Cat by Anne McCaffrey
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle
A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'engle
Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Recovery is still going good. My flexibility is coming back good. I just wish we could get past the electric stimulation machine. It is killing me. I should be finished in the next day of two with The Book of Joby. It is such a good read.

Whoa, that's a *fantastic* stack of books! You hit the jackpot, there!
I'm happy to read that your recovery is coming along, too.

>203 scaifea: That was my first time going to that shop. My wife has been there a few other times. She told me that she was suprised on how the pickings were yesterday. It is like two complete bookshelves and I guess that you usually have to dig past the first layer to get to the rear of the shelves. Yesterday there was only a mostly full layer. So with that in mind it is an even more amazing haul and I left books behind too. There were two Crighton books, a couple Dan Brown books and one I havnt seen since I was a teen. Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks by Mick Foley. I didnt want to seem too greedy. Sometimes my books allocating gets me in truoble since we are running out of shelf space ourselves. I still cant wait to see what those free shelves look like when they are fully stocked.

Book 53: Book of Joby by Mark J Ferrari.



What an excellant book this was. As part of my fantasy list, it rightfully deserves it's spot on that list. It is masterfully written and is such a treat to read that you would not notice the hefty 600 pages.

So the story itself is a fantasy recreation of the story of Job with alot of Arthurian Lore thrown in. It blends together well and features a story about choice and faith and beauty.

So in this story Lucifer and the Creator make another challange. Much is at stake, for if for the chosen one loses then all of creation will be rewritten. The chosen is Joby, a small boy with a small obsession with Arthurian tales. No one in heaven may interfere without being directly asked and Joby has no idea about what has changed in his life. Demons affect him unabided and try to twist his character. He eventually finds refuge in a small coastal town. Things there though are not what they seem. As he digs for answers, he learns more truths than one perdon should ever bear.

Book 54: Getting Off by Lawrence Block



A strange addition to the hard case crime series. This novel is about a female serial killer. After she allows herself to be picked up by men at bars and anywhere else where the mood lets her, she does her thing and then kills them. She never stays in one city for too long, uses aliases and uses many different ways of execution to make sure she stays ahead of the police. I find it hard that even with all this she never is caught, even with all the tech used these days. So after one of her latest victims, she comes up with the thought that there are five men out there for one reason or another she did not kill and that will not stand. So begins the hunt to find them all, some are easy as she knows alot of their personal information, enough for a Google search. While finding the first one, she moves in temporarily with another women who rents out room. They match up well and there could be a relationship in the future so our killer takes off before she can do anything with her new friend. Afraid that she would feel the same compulsion as she does with men, she continues on her quest. As she finds them all she lets go of her dark past and goes back.

The moral for me is, i guess you never know what you are getting in our days of carefree attitude towards how we meet other people.

Book 55: Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

What a great quick read. This was my first novel by this author and I came away very impressed.

So June has come to a close. I have pumped out quite a few books while on my recovery leave. I am almost finished with my current library stack. I have maybe 7 or so remaining. Quite a few of those are thicker so I may not have as many next month but they will be quality reads.

Read so far: 55

Read this month 13

Fiction read : 11

Nonfiction read : 2

In other news, I got news that I won an ER book. It is about another of my favorite movies, Major league.

13 in a month - wow! Well done!

>209 scaifea: Thanks , with all the time off, I had to fill it somehow. I have another week until I have to return to work so the streak may continue. I also have a couple larger books to get through now so we will see how quickly those go by.

Join me in thread Number two