ChrisG strives to thrive in '25

Hello friends old & new. I'm a newly retired CPA, married for 44 years, with three adult children and six grandkids. I read a bit of everything, especially sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, mysteries, history & biography, and general fiction. I look forward to engaging in book talk with one & all.

Happy to see you back for another year, Chris. You will have the dubious pleasure of my company, all being well, in 2025.

Welcome back, Chris!

January reading plan:

The Man in the High Castle - PKD
A Drink Before the War - Dennis Lehane
Hero In the Shadows - David Gemmell
The Passage - Justin Cronin
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
Buffalo Wagons - Elmer Kelton
A Song for Arbonne - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Black Echo - Michael Connelly
Foundation - Isaac Asimov
The Worlds of Theodore Sturgeon
Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee
The Parasitic Mind - Gad Saad

Reading goals for 2025:

Last year, I read 122 books totaling 46,760 pages, my second highest book total ever. Highest was 130 in 2021. Now that I'm retired, I'm shooting for a new record - 140 books. Each month, I'll lay out a 12 book plan. We'll see how it goes.

Let's resolve to do this more in 2025.

>6 richardderus: I like it! Ok, I make goals, but I leave plenty of room for spontaneity and whimsey. Happy new year to you, Richard!

Happy 2025, Chris

1. The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad. Rather disappointing - I was expecting something more insightful than right-wing ranting. I couldn't do much more than skim through his repetitive diatribes. There was some useful information outside of that, but overall not recommended.

Happy New Year, Chris. Good luck with your 2025 reading plans.

Enjoy your 2025 reading!

2. A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane. It's Lehane's first published novel & the first in his Kenzie & Gennaro detective series set in Boston. It doesn't reach the heights of Mystic River or Small Mercies, my previous Lehane reads, but it's a solid effort, very much in the "hard-boiled detective" noir tradition.

3. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. This is only my 2nd PKD novel, the first being A Scanner Darkly. You can depend on PKD stories being "trippy," and this is no exception. In this, he creates an alternate present (it was written in 1962) in which Germany & Japan won WWII & had divided the USA between them. There's no single protagonist, rather several POVs are followed. Nothing is quite as it seems & each POV character goes through some kind of crisis & catharsis. It's cleverly done - highly recommended.

4. The Passage by Justin Cronin. A post-apocalyptic novel in which a US Army experiment goes horribly wrong. A virus discovered in a remote South American jungle is seen as having the potential to create super-soldiers, if only the negative side effects can be mitigated. What could go wrong (hahahaha)? The first third of the book sets up the disaster, followed by a century jump in time in which the story moves forward with the remnant survivors' descendants. I found a lot to like with this - Cronin creates compelling characters you want to root for. I'm not sure I found the premise all that believable, but if you don't think too deeply it's an entertaining read.

5. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. I found this book at an estate sale a few weeks ago - I love finding good books at a bargain! This is my second Coetzee, the first being his other Booker Prize winner Life and times of Michael K. It is definitely not a book to feel comfortable while reading - the title is well chosen. The protagonist (Lurie) suffers a disgrace early in the story and another further in - even more so for his daughter. There is no neat, pat resolution of the situation. Rather, we experience the pain & discomfort along with the characters. Coetzee's prose is spare, but effective. The meaning is clear. With all his flaws, I do come away feeling Lurie has learned & grown, though he would deny it.

6. Foundation by Isaac Asimov. Continuing my march thru Asimov's Robot/Foundation sequence, I've finally reached the classic trilogy. In spite of being almost three quarters of a century old, it holds up well. You certainly have to take into account the times from which it sprung. He uses "atomics" almost as a kind of magic. But the concept of Psychohistory, in which the movements of the galactic future can be mathematically predicted & (hopefully) managed & improved, is still as intriguing as ever.

7. This Immortal by Roger Zelazny. Believe it or not, this mostly forgotten novel shared the 1966 Hugo Award with Dune. It's a fine example of the "New Wave" SF of the time & I did enjoy it. The first couple of sequences were a bit disorienting, but once I got through that, the story took off. Recommended for New Wave SF fans & Zelazny completionists.

8. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I've long heard about this true crime classic & finally got around to it. Very well written & compelling. I'm definitely not a true crime reader - of the thousands of books I've read, I can only think of one other - And The Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi, who is more famous for having prosecuted Charles Manson & the book Helter Skelter that he wrote based on that experience. If you're a fan of the genre, though, it's certainly worth reading.

We read In Cold Blood in my senior year English class in high school. I really got into it and it turned me on to true crime and related books. By the way, Bugliosi wrote a massive ( more than 1800 pages!) on the Kennedy assassination, giving an analysis of what happened and addressing various conspiracy theories about it. Quite a tome, for sure!

>20 drneutron: Yes, I've heard about his JFK book & tend to think he's correct, although the conspiracy theories are much more fun, lol.

9. A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay. Set in an analogue of Medieval Provence during the time of the troubadours, Kay weaves a tale of song & romance, war & tragedy, manipulation & betrayal. It wasn't pitch perfect, but it was pretty darned good.

10. The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. First in the Bosch detective series - very well written & executed. It's not hard to see why he's been so successful.

>23 ChrisG1: It is a series I am thinking of embarking upon too, Chris. Glad to see you think it would be worth the trouble.

11. Hero in the Shadows by David Gemmell. Third and last of the Waylander cycle in Gemmell's Drenai stories. It's a solid conclusion in Waylander's story - heroic fantasy in the spirit of Conan the Barbarian.

12. Buffalo Wagons by Elmer Kelton. Published in 1957, this was his second published novel of the more than 50 he wrote in his long career. It definitely reflected the sensibilities of it's time, in terms of it's depictions of the white man vs. indian conflicts. His later books did better in that regard.

13. The Worlds of Theodore Sturgeon by...well, obviously... Sturgeon wrote 120 short stories, 11 novels & even a couple of episodes for the original Star Trek series. This was a selection of stories from the 40s & 50s. No space travel or aliens - mostly social science & commentary. It made for a decent palette cleanser between books.

14. The Black Ice by Michael Connelly. The second installment in the Bosch detective series. Connelly really knows how to plot a mystery - some really good twists. Recommended.

January reading summary:

Books read: 14

Pages read: 4991

Longest book: The Passage by Justin Cronin - 784 pgs
Shortest book: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny - 216 pgs
Average book length: 357 pgs

Book of the Month: Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
Dud of the month: The Parasitic Mind by Gad Saad

February 2025 Reading Plan

A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan - Michael Kazin
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - PKD
The Shining - Stephen King
The Shipping News - Annie Proulx
The Dragonbone Chair - Tad Williams
Threshold - Roger Zelazny (Short story collection)
Boone’s Lick - Larry McMurtry
Darkness, Take My Hand - Dennis Lehane
Purgatory Ridge - William Kent Krueger
The Puppet Masters - Robert Heinlein
I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom - Jason Pargin
The Concrete Blonde - Michael Connelly
The Silmarillion - JRR Tolkien (Audiobook)

15. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams. I'd never gotten around to reading this much acclaimed fantasy trilogy. The first volume was a strong, satisfying read. It's punches a lot of the same buttons as The Lord of the Rings, but with a fresh voice. I'm looking forward to continuing this series.

>31 ChrisG1: That is a timely reminder to go there too, Chris. It has been on my shelves unattended for too long already.

16. I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin. Outside Los Angeles, a Lyft driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the county, but there are rules:
1. He cannot look inside the box
2. He cannot ask questions
3. He cannot tell anyone
4. The must leave immediately
5. He must leave all trackable devices behind

What could go wrong? Pretty darned hilarious, with a few things to say about modern anxieties. The author was a long-time editor at Cracked.com - if you've ever spent any time there, you know the vibe.

17. The Shining by Stephen King. Meh. This is supposed to be one of his best, but it didn't do much for me. I'll confess horror is not my genre, but I thought I'd give it a try.

18. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick. I'm on a one-per-month schedule with PKD. This was a fascinating read. It's an early virtual reality tale, but so much more. The virtual reality is drug induced, and you reach a point where you (and the characters) are never certain if they're dealing with reality or VR. Highly recommended.

19. The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly. Continuing the Bosch series, which has been consistently good. Bosch is in court, the LAPD being sued for his alleged recklessness in taking down a serial killer 4 years previous. It becomes apparent that there's a copycat killer continuing the spree. I thought I had it figured out, but of course, he throws in a good twist near the end. Recommended.

20. Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry. A shorter western tale McMurtry wrote in his later years - it has many of the elements of all his westerns - quirky characters, comedic dialogue, the harsh cruelty of the elements. All & all, a good little tale - I'm a sucker for anything he writes.

21. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. This novel won the National Book Award in 1993 and Pulitzer Prize in 1994, quite an accomplishment! It's the best novel I've read this year. It begins with a man who can only be described as a hapless loser whose life is in shambles. His aunt convinces him to go with her to her childhood home in Newfoundland. It's a harsh, lonely little place, but he slowly adapts to it. Darkly humorous, beautiful prose, I just can't recommend it highly enough.

22. Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger. Volume 3 in his Cork O'Connor mystery series, this may be my favorite so far. Krueger continues to build he overall story arc of his detective, involving the attempt to heal his damaged marriage, with another thrilling and twisty crime story. I was definitely caught by surprise by the last turn in the plot. Recommended.

23. The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny. Zelazny has long been a favorite science fiction writer of mine, especially his Amber series. After his death, a six volume collection of his short fiction (and other miscellania) was compiled & published. This was volume one. It included a biographical article, an introduction from his lifelong friend from childhood, poetry & some unpublished works. Needless to say, this book is best suited to Zelazny fans. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to read all six volumes, but I will put in an order for volume two and expect to get to it late spring/early summer.

24. Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane. The second volume in his Kenzie and Gennaro series - this one was pretty intense, a well executed crime thriller. Mystery series don't often carve up their protagonist as much as Lehane has done here. One wonders where he'll take it from here. Recommended.

25 The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien. After numerous attempts to read this over the decades, I finally made it. I split it up into small daily pieces over the course of a month. It's not an "entertaining" read, but a must for the Tolkien fan, going over the history of his world, from the creation myth through the war of the ring. It reads much more like a history text than a novel.

26. A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan by Michael Kazin. The main things I knew about Bryan was that he was a prosecutor in the Scopes "Monkey" trial and that he had been the Democratic nominee for President three times, losing each time. So, when there was a special on the Kindle edition of this book, I picked it up, hoping to learn more about him. In spite of his involvement in the Scopes trial, he was much more of a Social Gospel Protestant than a fundamentalist. His politics were decidedly left wing reformist. He was pro labor, 40 hour week, suffragist, for example. The initial issue he staked his career on was "free silver," which was basically an "easy money" policy as opposed to the gold standard that was dominant in his day. It was a policy favored by the midwestern and western farmers that formed his initial political base. Also, he was an attorney, not a pastor, by trade before entering politics. He was very much a pacifist & fought tooth & nail to keep the USA out of WWI as Secretary of State & the fallout of that essentially ended his political career, although he remained a giant figure in the Democratic Party until his death in 1925. Recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about this significant historical figure. Also, as biographies go, it's fairly short, only about 400 pages.

February reading summary:

Books read: 12

Pages read: 5596

Longest book: The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams - 765 pgs
Shortest book: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - 231 pgs
Average book length: 466 pgs

Book of the Month: The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Dud of the month: The Shining by Stephen King

This was the first month that I can remember sticking exactly to the plan I started with - no additions or deletions.

March Reading Plan:

Stone of Farewell - Tad Williams
Foundation and Empire - Isaac Asimov
The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
Depth of Winter - Craig Johnson
Blood Hollow - William Kent Krueger
The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
God’s Chinese Son - Jonathan D. Spence
That Way Lies Camelot - Janny Wurtz
Wolf of Wessex - Matthew Harffy
The War of the End of the World - Mario Vargas Llosa
The First Chronicles of Druss The Legend - David Gemmell

27. Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams. Second volume of his Memory, Sorrow & Thorn fantasy trilogy. The worldbuilding is excellent, but you have to be mentally prepared for the relatively slow plot development. I was, so I was able to overlook it & enjoy what Williams does well. I understand the final volume becomes more exciting. We shall see.

28. Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson. #14 in the Longmire series. This was an odd one. It seems Johnson has gotten tired of Absaroca County, Wyoming, as this is the second book in a row that ignores it and takes the hero to other climes, in this case Mexico. This really can't be called a mystery, more of a suicide mission. I hope Johnson gets back to mystery stories, or I may be done with the series.

29. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov. Catching up here - finished this last Thursday. Second volume of his acclaimed "Foundation" series. It does lose a bit of the luster as a multiple reread, especially the "surprise" reveal about the villain at the end, but still love revisiting Asimov's classic.

30. Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger. With this, the fourth book in his Cork O'Connor series, I think Krueger really hits his stride, delivering everything you want in a good mystery. I thought I had it solved, but no - one more twist! I'll definitely be continuing this series - highly recommended.

31. Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy. A tale set in the early 9th century, of a retired warrior living in the woods, who finds himself in the middle of a mysterious murder, which leads to discovery of a seditious plot against the king. Well told & engaging - this is the second Harffy book I've read (the last one was his latest, a western). He has a couple of dark ages British series available on Kindle Unlimited & I'll be mixing those in in the months to come.

>50 ChrisG1: got me with that one! Sounds great.

Hiya stranger! Trying to get back in the LT groove. : )

>47 ChrisG1: I am having a similar problem with the series. Willing to give it another try though....

>52 Berly: You've had a LOT going on - hope you get some more peaceful times now.

Thank you! Much appreciated. : )

32. The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly. Bosch finally faces investigating his mother's murder. Lots of great twists and turns.

>55 ChrisG1: I really, REALLY must start that series, Chris.

33. The First Chronicles of Druss, the Legend by David Gemmell. Druss is best described as a Conan the Barbarian type character. Good escapist fare.

34. The Serpent Sword by Matthew Harffy. Having exceeded what I brought on vacation, I pulled this up on Kindle Unlimited and finished it on the flight home. First in a series of ancient Anglo-Saxon adventures from the 7th century. Well told - I expect to continue these periodically.

35. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. Continuing my PKD project, this is arguably his most famous story, due to it's adaptation to Blade Runner. As is typical of PKD, it's a bit of a mind-bender, a post-apocalyptic story where androids are indistinguishable from human without special testing. Recommended.

36. That Way Lies Camelot by Janny Wurts. A collection of 15 SFF short stories. 4 of them featured a starship commander chasing the notorious vagabond MacKenzie James - over the course of the stories, it's apparent that he's actually a spy. 3 stories featured an elf whose tribe hunts in bonded pairs with wolves. Overall, a decent collection of stories.

37. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. A post nuclear apocalypse story. Young David Strorm lives in a frontier community which attempting to "purify" it's human, animal and plant stock. There is a great deal of mutation from the nuclear fallout (never explicitly stated, but my conclusion), so all mutants are destroyed when identified. It's dressed up in religious terms. David realizes he has telepathic connection to other young people in his community & of course they keep it to themselves. Of course, they are ultimately found out & they seek to escape. I'll leave it at that - lots of interesting ideas at work in this. Recommended.

38. God's Chinese Son by Jonathan D. Spence. A history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that arose in the mid nineteenth century. It controlled a significant portion of southern China and sought to overthrow the ruling Qing dynasty.

Meetup News Flash!!

Saturday???

So, we were planning a meetup with Rachel (The_Hibernator) and her husband on Thursday (tomorrow) but it looks like I am the only one who can make it. Would this Saturday work better for you? Thinking 6 o'clock-ish. Let me know! Rachel would love to have more of the crew be able to come.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/356633#n8798557
OR meetups

We have a big family gathering going on, celebrating our youngest grandson's 1st birthday.

How fun!! : )

March reading summary:

Books read: 12

Pages read: 5161

Longest book: Stone of Farewell - Tad Williams - 608 pgs
Shortest book: The Chrysalids - John Wyndham - 200 pgs
Average book length: 430 pgs

Book of the Month: Blood Hollow by William Kent Krueger
Dud of the month: None

April Reading Plan:

Dies the Fire - S.M. Stirling
To Green Angel Tower (Part 1) - Tad Williams
The Poet - Michael Connelly
Ubik - Philip K Dick
Sacred - Dennis Lehane
The Changing Land - Roger Zelazny
The Desert Rose - Larry McMurtry
Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow
Congo - Michael Crichton
A Century of Science Fiction 1950-59 - Edited by Silverberg
The Razor’s Edge - Somerset Maugham
Cop Hater - Ed McBain
The Cross and the Curse - Matthew Harffy

39. To Green Angel Tower Part 1 by Tad Williams. The final book in this trilogy is so long that the paperback edition was split into two volumes. At 520,000 words, it's longer than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy by itself. I'm enjoying this series quite a bit. The worldbuilding is extensive & interesting. The criticism that it is too long is fair - I do think it would have benefited by some editing, but I'll take it as it is.

40. The Cop Hater by Ed McBain. The first in the 87th Precinct series, published in 1956. I've heard good things about the series, but wasn't extremely impressed with the first installment.

41. The Cross and the Curse by Matthew Harffy. Second in the Bernicia Chronicles series of 7th century Britain. I'm enjoying this series, centered around young warrior Beobrand as he navigates the perils of life in that time. Recommended if you're into this sort of thing.

42. The Poet by Michael Connelly - his 5th novel & first not to feature detective Harry Bosch. Jack McEvoy is a crime reporter in Denver whose brother, a homicide detective, dies by suicide - or was it? Jack has questions & those questions lead to a national hunt for a serial killer. This has one of the most surprising twists at the end I've ever read - truly an outstanding thriller.

43. Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling. I'd call this a post-apocalyptic tale - first of a series - in which the chosen "apocalypse" is an event called "The Change," in which certain physical laws, or properties, suddenly change. Electricity stops working, as well as the combustive properties of certain substances become greatly reduced. So all electronics, guns, cars, planes & trains, no longer function. There is mass starvation, violence & disease. Some people - our main characters and their antagonists - figure out the implications quickly and act accordingly. The story is set mainly in Oregon. It's an interesting premise & the author weaves a pretty good tale. I'll be continuing the series.

44. The Desert Rose by Larry McMurtry. One of his lesser known works, it's a rare one that's neither a western or based in Texas. It's a mother-daughter story - the mother is a Las Vegas showgirl & she's aging out, while her 16 year old daughter is coming into her own. McMurtry is known for his quirky character & it's one thing I enjoy about his writing. In this case, none of the characters really engaged me. It was okay, but that's about it.

45. Dilvish the Damned by Roger Zelazny. A collection of stories about the titular character. I'd describe it as similar to sword & sorcery adventure. A good change of pace.

46. Sacred by Dennis Lehane. Third in his Kenzie and Gennaro detective series. Lehane is a heckuva good story teller & I've yet to read a bad one from him. I have a few minor complaints with this one, but very minor. Still recommended.

47. A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko. Oops - just noticed this one didn't get reported on. Fedarko recounts the year he and photographer Peter McBride spent hiking, mostly off-trail, through the length of the Grand Canyon. He provides additional background history of earlier hikes by those who pioneered it, geological & anthropological history, and current political issues as well. Highly recommended.

48. Ubik by Philip K. Dick. My 4th PKD novel this year, all of which are excellent. He's quite good at keeping you wondering at what's 'really' going on & twisting it on you. Highly recommended.

49. A Century of Science Fiction 1950-1959 edited by Robert Silverberg. This was a strong collection of stories, featuring such SF luminaries as Ray Bradbury, Fritz Leiber, James Blish, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, and Isaac Asimov. I'd say my favorite story was "Call Me Joe" by Poul Anderson, which involved a future research project over Jupiter and a bioengineered creature designed to live on the planet psionically connected to a human, with unexpected results. Recommended.

50. The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. I actually almost DNF'd this one barely 30 pages into it. I wasn't really in the mood for this type of story. But I pushed forward & it caught on for me. Maugham is simply too good a writer to turn out a bad novel. Strangely, he places himself as the viewpoint character of the novel, and is focused on a group of people who he came to know in Chicago, then later when they were living in Paris. Unusual story telling, but I thought it was effectively done. Recommended.

April Reading Summary:

Books Read: 12
Pages Read: 4856

Longest Book: To Green Angel Tower Part 1 by Tad Williams 816 pages
Shortest Book: Cop Hater by Ed McBain 211 pages
Average Book Length: 405 pages

Book of the Month: A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko
Dud of the Month: Cop Hater by Ed McBain

Amazon put the entire 87th Precinct series on Kindle Unlimited, so I decided to give it a try. The first novel gives little indication to me why the series was so popular. I assume it improves & will try some more - at least they're quick reads. 3 books got a 5 star rating from me, so it was a good month overall.

May Reading Plan:

To Green Angel Tower (Part 2) - Tad Williams
Second Foundation - Isaac Asimov
Mercy Falls - William Kent Krueger
Eisenhower in War and Peace - Jean Edward Smith
Blood and Blade - Matthew Harffy
The Mugger - Ed McBain
The Intuitionist - Colson Whitehead
A Shadow in Summer - Daniel Abraham
Sackett’s Land - Louis L’Amour
Trunk Music - Michael Connelly
The Protector’s War - S.M. Stirling
Savage Sword of Conan: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus No. 1

I can't seem to create a version of the Savage Sword book that will produce a touchstone, even though I found it in the database using the ISBN code. If you're a Goodreads user, you can find it at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63389610-the-savage-sword-of-conan

51. To Green Angel Tower: Part 2 by Tad Williams. The grand finale of a very long epic fantasy trilogy. How long? For a trilogy, very. The third installment is so long, the publisher split it into two volumes, because, by word count, it was about 10% longer than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Am I emphasizing it's length enough? That being said, I enjoyed it & can recommend it to those who like epic fantasy - and epic fantasy fans like their fantasy long. I gave it four stars, but it probably would have earned 4.5 had the author had a bit more restraint, or the editor enforced it. Great worldbuilding, memorable characters, very much in the "traditional fantasy" vein, owing much to Tolkien.

52. The Daybreakers by Louis L'Amour. I believe a read a few L'Amour stories back in the 80's, but don't even remember which ones. I just picked up a huge lot of his books - 100 of them (lol) - which I expect to spread out over the next several years. This is the first "Sacketts" book he wrote (I've decided to read them in publication order, rather than chronologically by the time period of the stories). Good, solid, old school western story. I'll enjoy including these stories in the mix of genres I'm reading.

53. Blood and Blade by Matthew Harffy. The third installment of his Bernicia Chronicles, which takes place in 7th Century Britain, following Beobrand, a warrior and thegn to King Oswald. I'm enjoying this series & can heartily recommend it to those who would enjoy such tales of masculine adventure.

54. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov. The last book of the original trilogy. There are still 2 sequels remaining of his expanded series, which I'll get to this year.

55. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman. After watching The Dark Winds on TV, I was spurred to finally read Hillerman's immensely popular "Leaphorn & Chee" series of Navajo mysteries. This is a very strong debut & it's not hard to see why it became so popular. In addition to being a well told mystery, the backdrop of the Navajo reservation & culture adds to it greatly.

56. A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham. The first volume of The Long Price Quartet fantasy series. Quite an enjoyable read. The world Abraham has created is Asian-inspired, steeped in tradition. Learning the nooks & crannies of the culture was a pleasure. Some might want a faster paced, action oriented plot & this is not that kind of a book. Recommended.

57. The Savage Sword of Conan: The Original Comics Omnibus. This is a reprint omnibus edition of the 5 issues of Savage Tales and first 12 issues of The Savage Sword of Conan, originally printed in the mid 1970s in a black & white format. I remembered these from my high school days, so it was a great trip down memory lane for me. All the original full-color covers were also presented, most from painting by Boris Vallejo, plus a few others. I should note these are not reprints in their entirety - they only are Conan stories & a number of articles & letters to the editor pages. The original ads and non-Conan stories are omitted. Still, it's a 952 page, full-size high quality reprint by Titan comics. I thought they did an excellent job with this.

58. Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger. It's official - Krueger is my new favorite crime fiction writer. He's great at keeping you guessing, building suspense, excellent characterization. What more can you ask for? This time he did something new, for him - ending with a cliffhanger. I didn't expect that...it seemed to be winding down. Until it didn't. The "case" had been solved, more or less, but the bad guys weren't gotten and...I won't elaborate further (I'm a no spoilers kind of guy). Highly recommended.

59. The Protector's War by S.M. Stirling. The second volume in Stirling's "Emberverse" series. While there are 10 books in all, it's divided into 3 trilogies, with one more arguably part of the last one. I own book 3 and will complete the first trilogy. Not sure if I'll go beyond it. I do like it, but not necessarily 10 books worth. This book is a bit of a bridge between the intro & conclusion, with not a lot of major action - but enough to keep it interesting. Much of the interest is simply in the development of the world and characters he created in the first volume, plus introducing some new ones. Some of the criticism I saw of this series on Goodreads is that the trilogy could probably have been condensed into a single 600 page book, instead of three 500 books. I can see the point, but he's just not that kind of author - he wants to immerse both himself & the reader into his world, so you either join him or don't.

60. Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. I'd been wanting to get around to reading a biography of Eisenhower, who I'd long felt was an underrated and highly consequential president. This one was most recommended & I found it to be excellent. I do believe the USA & the world as a whole are fortunate that he served when he did. He was a man of sound judgement who was able to stay aloof from the passions of the moment. Smith is a thorough biographer but rarely got too bogged down in reciting extraneous details. Eisenhower was not a colorful character, but was rather the sort of leader who could see through to the essentials of situations & issues & most of his decisions bear up well in light of history. Smith does not deify him - he points out a number of mistakes, as well as Ike's propensity to blur them out in his own version of events. Highly recommended.

61. Trunk Music by Michael Connelly. Another Bosch detective story. I was a bit concerned, realizing that the story was adapted into one of the seasons of the Bosch TV series on Amazon Prime. But it turned out that the show departed from the book in significant ways & didn't spoil the book for me. Connelly is one of the best in the business & this book is right up there. Highly recommended.

62. The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson. This was a nice little surprise. Known as a science fiction writer, Anderson wrote this in 1954, the same year that The Lord of the Rings came out. Very much a "classic" fantasy, it brings to mind Lord Dunsany or George MacDonald. Grim and tragic, full of magic and mythology. Highly recommended.

May Reading Summary:

Books Read: 12
Pages Read: 5982

Longest Book: Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith - 976 pages
Shortest Book: The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson - 208 pages
Average Book Length: 499 pages

Book of the Month: Eisenhower in War and Peace
Dud of the Month: None - one of my best reading months ever - nothing got less than 4 stars.

June 2025 Reading Plan

Martian Time-Slip - Philip K Dick
Sackett - Louis L’Amour
Betrayal in Winter - Daniel Abraham
Gunsights - Elmore Leonard
Gone, Baby, Gone - Dennis Lehane
Hanging Judge - Elmer Kelton
Rubicon - Tom Holland (O) 408
The Legend of Deathwalker - David Gemmell
The Unreal & the Real, Vol. 1 - Ursula LeGuin
Blood Work - Michael Connelly
Killer of Kings - Matthew Harffy
World Without End - Ken Follett

Three westerns this month - inspired by Michael K. Vaughn, who runs a book channel on youtube I follow. He's doing an event he calls "June on the Range" in which he will be reading all westerns. He does similar events for other genres in other months.

63. Sackett by Louis L'Amour. A nice quick read of a classic western. The good guys win in the end.

64. A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham. Second book of his series "The Long Price Quartet." I enjoyed the first book quite a bit, but this stepped it up a notch. If he keeps it up, the may become one of my all-time favorite fantasy series. Unlike most epic fantasies, there is no war, no "dark lord" equivalent. The conflict is largely political intrigue, as well as personal. Highly recommended.

65. Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane. 4th in Lehane's Kenzie & Gennaro series, which also was made into a successful movie of the same title. Surprising turns & twists, gritty & violent, and moral ambiguity abounding. Recommended.

66. Gunsights by Elmore Leonard. While best known for his crime novels, Leonard also wrote a number of westerns. Colorful characters, a battle between a greedy mining corporation and locals over land, a grudge between gunfighters, all intertwined. Leonard could never write a bad novel.

67. Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick. A very weird story, which is fairly typical of Dick, but in this case, it worked less well for me. Certainly not a bad novel & included some interesting ideas, while exploring mental illness, greed, lust, and racism. Recommended for those, like me, who wish to fully explore PKD's bibliography, but not among his best, in my opinion.

68. Killer of Kings by Matthew Harffy. The further adventures of Beobrand, 7th century thegn to King Oswald, is sent on a mission to deliver priests and gifts, but gets caught in a border war - battle scenes, vengence, a revealing return to his boyhood home - good entertainment if this sort of story is your thing.

69. Blood Work by Michael Connelly. One of Connelly's non-Bosch books, featuring ex-FBI agent Terry McCaleb. He had to retire due to needing a heart transplant & he's still recovering when he discovers the heart donor was murdered. Her sister draws him in to the stalled investigation. As usual, lots of good turns & twists - recommended.

70. Hanging Judge by Elmer Kelton. The titular character, Judge Isaac C. Parker, who presided over the Western District of Arkansas (which included the Indian Territory - now Oklahoma) for 21 years, does play a role in this short western novel, but the main character is a young deputy who enters into service under the judge after the murder of his father. He soon learns that enforcing the law involves tough choices and many shades of gray. A solid old-school western, which Kelton specialized in...

71. Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny. I first read this series (The Chronicles of Amber)in college in the late 70s & it's remained a favorite of mine. I still have the book club editions I bought back then & they're barely holding together, the dust jackets long gone. But I found them at a SF book store in Portland (Parallel Worlds, for any locals out there), in great condition with the Boris Vallejo dust jackets intact, mylar covers provided. So, I dropped the rest of my June reading plan and dove in. It stands up well. Highly recommended!

72. The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny - second book of the five. Yes, these are relatively short, almost novella length & read quickly. Still enjoying it quite a bit.

73. Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny - third installment of the Chronicles of Amber. The plot thickens. Certainly an exercise in nostalgia for me.

74. The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny - fourth installment of the Chronicles of Amber. Not much more I can say without being spoilery. This series is a fine reread.

75. The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny - fifth and final installment of the First Chronicles of Amber. Zelazny wrote a second five volume series about the son of this one's protagonist. Also very good, if not quite to the level of the original.

Since I departed from my June plan to read these, I'm departing further & going to The Power Broker by Robert A Caro, which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography. I've read Caro's 4-volume (so far) biography of Lyndon Johnson (will he ever finish the fifth one?) and it was excellent, so my expectations are high.

Congrats on hitting the goal!

76. The Unreal and the Real by Ursula K. Le Guin. This one was a bit of a letdown. These stories are outside of her more usual Sci-Fi/Fantasy work, which I knew going in, but just didn't particularly connect with most of these stories. Volume II (The Unreal) will hopefully be better, when I get around to it.

77. An Autumn War by Daniel Abraham. Volume 3 of The Long Price Quartet. Just as the second book exceeded the first, so the third has exceeded the second. This just keeps climbing my list of favorite all-time fantasy series. Abraham certainly makes you care about his characters, and you experience the highs along with the lows with them. In some ways, this could have been an ending to the series & I wouldn't have complained, but I trust the author to have more in store to make the fourth installment worth it.

78. The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham. The 4th and final installment in The Last Price Quartet. This is one of the best fantasy series I've read in a long time. Thoughtful, engaging & original. Highly recommended.

June Reading Summary:

Books Read: 16
Pages Read: 4574

Longest Book: Blood Work by Michael Connelly - 498 pages
Shortest Book: Nine Princes in Amber
Average Book Length: 286 pages

Book of the Month: Rather than choose a single book, I'm choosing the entire Long Price Quartet series, as, like most fantasy series, it's one long work in multiple volumes.
Dud of the Month: None

I believe this is the most "books" I've read in a month since joining this group, but this is deceptive, as I read nothing over 500 pages & several very short books. I actually read a lot more pages last month with only 12 books, some of which were quite long.

July 2025 Reading Plan

Foundation’s Edge - Isaac Asimov
Angels Flight - Michael Connelly
Lando - Louis L’Amour (O) - 176
Warrior of Woden - Matthew Harffy
Dance Hall of the Dead - Tony Hillerman
Copper River - WIlliam Kent Krueger
The Late Child - Larry McMurtry
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
Pacific Crucible - Ian Toll
Imperium - Robert Harris
The Last Light of the Sun - Guy Gavriel Kay

79. The Late Child by Larry McMurtry. Sometimes being a "completionist" with a favorite author's bibliography has a cost. This one was pretty awful. It's a sequel to The Desert Rose, which was only OK. I don't know what he was thinking with this one, but it was a big disappointment.

80. Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman. The second of his Leaphorn & Chee series of Navajo (and other neighboring tribes) mystery tales. Very well executed - I'll be continuing the series.

81. Lando by Louis L'Amour. My third book of the Sacketts series (I'm reading them in publication order). A good, solid Western adventure.

82. Warrior of Woden by Matthew Harffy (The Bernicia Chronicles #5). More tales of 6th century anglo-saxon warrior Beobrand. I've enjoyed this series, a particularly rough one for the protagonist.

83. Copper River by William Kent Krueger. Sixth in the Cork O'Connor mystery series. Another solid installment.

84. Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov. Thirty years after the original Foundation Trilogy, Asimov extended the series, tying it together with his Robot stories. It's cleverly done & I've enjoyed the results. All too often, sequels detract from the original, but Asimov did well by his most famous creation.

85. Imperium by Robert Harris. A work of historical fiction, telling the story of the political rise of Cicero, through the eyes of his slave & secretary Tiro. Easily one of my favorite books of the year, exquisitely written, very entertaining, as well as giving one a taste of that historical period & place. Highly recommended.

86. Angels Rest by Michael Connelly. A particularly strong entry into Connelly's popular "Bosch" series. Every time you think you've got it, he finds ways to surprise you. Highly recommended.

87. Pacific Crucible by Ian W. Toll. An excellent popular history, first of three volumes, covering the Pacific theater of WWII. In this volume, he starts with Pearl Harbor & ends with the Battle of Midway. Several of the major figures, both political and military, and both American & Japanese, are given some background coverage. I appreciated Toll's efforts in bringing Japanese perspectives of all events. I will certainly continue with the series. Highly recommended.

88. Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up by Dave Barry. I've read several of Barry's books & he's easily my favorite humor writer. As usual, it had me laughing out loud frequently. My only complaint is that it's only 244 pages.

July Reading Summary:

Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 4030

Longest Book: Pacific Crucible by Ian W. Toll - 656 pgs
Shortest Book: Lando by Louis L'Amour - 176
Average Book Length: 403 pages

Book of the Month: Pacific Crucible
Dud of the Month: The Late Child by Larry McMurtry

August 2025 Reading Plan

The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara
Destiny Disrupted - Tamim Ansary
The Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
Dr. Bloodmoney - PKD
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie
Prayers For Rain - Dennis Lehane
Mojave Crossing - Louis L’Amour
A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly
Storm of Steel - Matthew Harffy

89. The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. I finally got around to this popular series & I can see what the fuss is about. Abercrombie is a fine story teller & he has a great gift for creating engaging characters. Looking forward to the next two installments.

90. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. A much lauded historical novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. For me, it earned the plaudits. I wasn't sure a novel about one battle would work, but Shaara certainly pulled it off. Highly recommended.

Impressive reading, Chris.

91. Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary. This book purports to be a world history through Islamic eyes. I suppose any such theme is doomed, in that there is no such thing as a unitary Islamic view, but I was prepared for that much of a flaw. Ansary's writing style is approachable and highly readable. I began to have concerns about accuracy fairly early on, however. He would breezily comment on the character & personality of the early Muslim leaders, as if there could be no doubts or other points of view. My doubts grew whenever he would venture into areas that I was more familiar with. Several Goodreads reviewers took Ansary to task for inaccuracies. He jumped the shark, for me, when, during the Crusades section, he described a difference between Christianity and Islam as the doctrine of Original Sin (true), which he described as "Adam & Eve's discovery of sexuality in the Garden of Eden" (laughably false).
While the theme of the book is a worthy one, the execution by the author was quite lacking. I'd be open to suggestions for a book which can cover this theme with greater expertise.

92. Mojave Crossing by Louis L'Amour. This is the 4th volume, in publication order, of L'Amour's Sacketts stories. I'm definitely enjoying L'Amour's storytelling. The novels are relatively short & economically told.

>130 ChrisG1: Thx for the warning. Although not on my wishlist, it's always helpful to avoid a lesser work. Afterall, the title seems flawed to me: whose destiny was disrupted? Is this book saying that Islamic culture views itself as a victim? As cultures start to bump into one another they are both changed as they confront one another, whether or not one absorbs the other, is influenced by it, or rejects it outright and further defines itself (or some combination of the above).

I periodically return to the subject of cultural interactions, and can recommend Karen Armstrong for quick, generalized history but possibly you're seeking something like Amin Maalouf's The Crusades Through Arab Eyes? I found that even reading about the Portuguese exploration of eastern seas held lots of really interesting history (Roger Crowley's Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire as an example).

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll certainly add those to my TBR.

93. Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane. 5th volume in his Kenzie & Gennaro crime series. I'd say the villain in this story was a bit over the top, but Lehane is a heckuva good story teller. He never fails to engage the reader. Recommended.

94. Dr. Bloodmoney by Philip K. Dick. Well, that was a strange one. You expect a certain amount of that with PKD, but this one just didn't have much going for it. It's a post-apocalyptic tale, in this case nuclear war. But the aftermath is strangely gentle. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

95. Storm of Steel by Matthew Harffy. The 6th installment in Harffy's "Bernicia Chronicles." 7th Century Anglo-Saxon adventures of Beobrand, a thegn sent on a mission to retrieve a new bride for his king, but on his arrival, he's confronted with the kidnapping of a daughter he never knew he had. Great for lovers of heroic adventure fiction - Harffy weaves a fine tale.

96. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. This tale of time travel and epidemics won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. My only complaint is the pacing, which, for me, was much too slow. It almost seemed like the author wanted us to experience the suffering of the characters long enough to appreciate it, but I think much of that could have been trimmed significantly. The story was split between the "historian" going back in time - accidentally put into the path of the plague - and an influenza virus which attacked Oxford University ight when she was sent. The flu epidemic portion was certainly evocative of COVID for me - and written almost 30 years in advance.

97. A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly. This may be the best Connelly book yet, for me. He actually pulled together 3 characters who had been the primary character of other books into this, with the viewpoint of 2 of them going back & forth. I burned through this in about a day and a half, staying up nearly to midnight last night to finish it. Highly recommended.

98. Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie. Second volume of the First Law Trilogy. This is considered a classic of the "Grim Dark" subgenre of fantasy. I do understand why it's fans like it. Abercrombie is a very good character writer & has a terrific imagination. I'd say the ethos is a bit cynical for me, although he does give a nod to convention, only to smash his character's scant hopes & expectations. Certainly entertaining.

99. Forty Lashes Less One by Elmore Leonard. I do enjoy the old Leonard westerns. They have the same qualities as his crime fiction - the quirky characters, clever plot twists, but in the western setting.

>130 ChrisG1: Histories written from a religious perspective are often flawed though aren't they, Chris? As a Muslim, I am able to say with some bitterness at the hypocrisy I see all around me that the organized faiths tend towards delusion and I don't hold Islam unique in that.

>141 PaulCranswick: Very true, Paul. Do you have any suggestions for a better book on the theme? One thing I thought Ansary did well was emphasizing the ignorance that the Muslim & Christian worlds had of one another. No doubt that continues to be a problem.

August Reading Summary:

Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 4676

Longest Book: Storm of Steel by Matthew Harffy - 612
Shortest Book: Mojave Crossing by Louis L'Amour - 150
Average Book Length: 425 pages

Book of the Month: A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly
Dud of the Month: Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary

September 2025 Reading Plan

City of Bones - Michael Connelly
Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason - Christina Shelton
Listening Woman - Tony Hillerman
Memory Man - David Baldacci
The Very Best of the Best - Gardner Dozios
A Night in the Lonesome October - Roger Zelazny
The Sackett Brand - Louis L’Amour
Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
Epitaph - Mary Doria Russell
Spartacus - Howard Fast
Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie
Foundation and Earth - Isaac Asimov
Somebody's Fool - Richard Russo

Might be tough to get to all of these...we'll see.

100. Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason by Christina Shelton. I found this book to be thin gruel. I had previously read Hiss' primary accuser's book Witness, which was, at least, better written. I've not seen any effective refutations of the assertions in these books. Alger Hiss had been involved in Communist Party activities while in government service & passed documents to Soviet agents. He was spared execution due to the startlingly short 3 year statute of limitations for treason prosecution, so he was convicted of perjury in his Congressional testimony about his activities. Any remaining doubts were dissolved after the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent opening of their files verified the accusation. Yes, that information was contained in this book, along with the author's pontifications on the politics of the time. The author had a long career as a Soviet analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency. No doubt she knows what she's talking about. It's a shame she isn't a better writer.

101. Somebody's Fool by Richard Russo. Russo is an old favorite author of mine. I think I've read all his novels now. Here he revisits the fictional town of North Bath in upstate New York, where the son of his most beloved character, Sully, is still finding his way. Few authors do character as well as Russo. Recommended.

>146 ChrisG1: I too am a big fan of Russo and have read all of his novels -- keep hoping he'll get busy and write another one. If he does you can bet I'll have it on pre-order!

102. Memory Man by David Baldacci. A friend recommended this to me. Actually, he gave me a copy of the 3rd book in the series, then said I'd better read the first one first, lol. Pretty good page turner/thriller.

103. The Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour. Another solid installment of L'Amour's Sackett family stories, this one involving a manhunt - only a Sackett is the target.

>142 ChrisG1: I think the works of Karen Armstrong and Reza Aslan give a decent overview of Islam and its place amongst the other monotheistic faiths.

104. A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. The last novel written by sci-fi giant Roger Zelazny, this one is something of a spoof, a pastiche of classic horror and pulp characters, featuring The Count (yeah that one), The Good Doctor and his Experiment Man, a mystery man named Larry Talbot (the name of the man who turns into The werewolf in the movies) and so forth, all participating in a game that gets replayed every time there's a full moon on Halloween. Each chapter is a day of October, leading to the climactic battle at the end. It's a good time - recommended.

105. Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman. 3rd in his Leaphorn & Chee series. Actually, still just Leaphorn - Chee comes along later. I'd say this is the best one yet in the series. Hillerman is really hitting his stride. Great suspense - this is one where the "mystery" is pretty much solved, but then the detective has to escape with his life - and in this case, also a group of hostages.

106. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie. The final installment of his First Law trilogy. All of the chickens come home to roost, as they should - a climactic battle, a settling of scores, a few surprises, quite a good entertainment. Both darkly cynical & humorous. Abercrombie creates engaging characters, rich with flaws & foibles. Recommended.

107. City of Bones by Michael Connelly. A dog returns from the hill to it's owner with a bone in it's mouth. The owner is a doctor & recognizes it as a child's humerus. More bones are found & Bosch has to figure out a case from 20+ years ago. Every time he thinks he knows the answer, something blows it up. Another good Connelly crime novel.

108. Foundation and Earth by Isaac Asimov. The wrap-up of the Foundation series, also closing out the Robot series connection. I won't say it was a great novel, but it was worth it to see how Asimov pulled it all together.

109. The Very Best of the Best edited by Gardner Dozios. Dozios was well known for producing an annual "The Year's Best Science Fiction" of which I'd read a few over the years. I had been under the impression this was this was going to be 'the best' of his 35 year run, but it turns out he did that halfway into his run & this is the second half. Okay. Still, I thought it was a very good collection. Like any such collection, not every story is going to suit each reader, but overall, the quality was excellent. Recommended for those who like such collections.

110. Pompeii by Robert Harris. This was a recommendation from Book Tuber Steve Donahue & I'm glad I took him up on it. It seems odd that, even though you know the disaster that's coming, he manages to make a good story out of it. While there are a few other viewpoint characters, the primary one is an aqueduct engineer (or aquarian) named Marcus Atilius, who is sent to the region of Mt. Vesuvius after the previous aquarian for the region mysteriously disappears. The mystery of his disappearance becomes part of the story, as well as Atilius becoming aware of problems with the flow of the aqueducts. This enmeshes him in local politics & power struggles. Very well done & I recommend it.

September Reading Summary:

Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 4632

Longest Book: The Very Best of the Best edited by Gardner Dozios - 686 pages
Shortest Book: The Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour - 151 pages
Average Book Length: 463 pages

Book of the Month: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
Dud of the Month: Alger Hiss: Why He Chose Treason by Christina Shelton

Hmmm...the second month in a row that I had a dud in my non-fiction selection. I think I've got that fixed for October, however.

October 2025 Reading Plan

Void Moon - Michael Connelly
The Conquering Tide - Ian W. Toll
Rendezvous With Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
Thunder Bay - William Kent Kreuger
Mustang Man - Louis L’Amour
Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb
Now Wait For Last Year - PKD
Fortress of Fury - Matthew Harffy
Hunter’s Run - GRRM, Dozois & Abraham

Only 9 books in line so far - will probably add the sequels to the Robin Hobb, but we'll see.

111. Thunder Bay by William Kent Krueger. A solid addition to Krueger's Cork O'Connor mystery series.

112. Fortress of Fury by Matthew Harffy. Harffy's hero Beobrand finds his loyalties tested, between conflicting oaths. I do enjoy this series of 7th Century Anglo Saxon tales.

113. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. The first volume of the popular space opera series The Expanse. This is a reread for me. I made it through the first 6 books before falling away from it waiting for subsequent editions. Now that it's complete, I'm starting over & will read it through. Definitely had forgotten much. I'd say it's even better than I remembered it - very well conceived and executed. Great character work. Highly recommended to those who like space opera.

114. Void Moon by Michael Connelly. This is a stand-alone crime novel, not directly connected to Harry Bosch, but still set in Los Angeles (plus Vegas). Connelly consistently produces solid stories & this one stands out as a cut above. Highly recommended.

I need to try reading some Russo. The only one I read was Empire Falls which I didn't much like, but I heard him speak a few years ago, I think about Nobody's Fool and he was interesting, and seemed nice, so I keep meaning to try something else.

>164 banjo123: I'd say Nobody's Fool is his best - certainly the overall favorite of readers. I'd also recommend Straight Man, in which he has a great deal of fun with academia, bearing in mind it was written in 1997.

115. The Butcher of Anderson Station by James S.A. Corey. A short story in The Expanse series - there are several that were separately published from the novels. This one gives back story to the character Fred Johnson - a former colonel of Earth's military who is dealing with guilt over being the instrument of his superiors in attacking a space station during a revolt. Well told & worth supplementing the novel series.

It wasn't originally my plan to start on The Expanse yet. I was traveling & finished what I was reading, so, since I had it on my kindle, I went ahead & started. I'm going binge my way through now, at least for a while.

>164 banjo123: I too met Russo (briefly after he spoke at Chautauqua) and he did seem nice. My granddaughter made an observation based on a long look at my book shelves that Russo seems to be the only male author I really like. Thinking about it, in terms of fiction anyway, I have to agree with her. He's a real favorite of mine.

I am so impressed that you stick to your reading plans! I tend to go astray. I loved Empire Falls and need to read more by him.

You are zipping along with the Cork O'Connor books. I think my next one is Trickster's Point. It's probably time for a catch up. This is such a good series; there are only a couple that I didn't like.

>167 RebaRelishesReading: Some writers, of either sex, seem to do a good job of writing books both men & women enjoy. Others seem to do best writing for an audience of their shared gender. I'm definitely a man who reads more male than female writers, probably at least 75%. Women definitely do more reading than men these days & read most women writers. Not a criticism, just an observation.

>168 BLBera: This month is shaping up as an exception - I'm probably off the rails for the rest of the month, lol. But I do mostly try to stick with the plan.

116. Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey. The second novel in The Expanse series & just really good. The character work is surprisingly good for "space opera." First rate science fiction.

117. Gods of Risk by James S.A. Corey. A novella in The Expanse universe that follows up on Roberta (Bobbie) Draper after she returns to Mars. The story mostly follows her nephew David stumbling through stupid stage adolescence misadventures, which also helps Bobbie resolve her own inner conflict regarding the interplanetary political situation. Worthwhile if you're reading through the entire series.

118. Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey. Third novel in The Expanse SF series. A tension-filled tale taking place in the far-flung regions of our solar system. Corey (pen name for the team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Frank) again increases the number of viewpoint characters, going from 2 in the 1st volume, to 3 in the 2nd & now 4 in the 3rd. They do a good job, but I do find myself wishing to spend more time with the core characters. In this case, 3 of the viewpoint characters are new & likely will only be seen in this book.

119. Drive by James S.A. Corey. A short story that provides some backdrop to the larger narrative of The Expanse series. Solomon Epstein invented a spaceship drive that radically improved efficiency. Sounds boring, but it made it possible to travel greater distances more quickly - not to interstellar travel, but within our solar system, which helps establish the setting of the series.

120. Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey. Yes, I can't stop my binge-read of The Expanse. Space Operas are often called "Space Westerns," and for good reason. This installment pretty much took that moniker literally. New planets have suddenly become available for colonization. And a ragtag group of pioneers get to the first new world several months ahead of the UN licensed mining corporation (who were also saddled with a group of scientists to study this new place). Big, Bad Mining Company immediately seeks to dispossess the pioneers of their claims. Said pioneers engage in a preemptive strike on Big, Bad Mining Company. The rival powers send James Holden and his merry band on the Rocinante to mediate. The planet has surprises for all of them. Some consider this to be the weakest installment of the series, but I disagree, perhaps because I like westerns. But I also simply like this authorial team's character work & imagination. Highly recommended.

>175 ChrisG1: I'm sorry to say it doesn't appeal to me at all but I'm glad you're enjoying the series (and I'm happy to have some notion that it exists and what it's about).

>176 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks for checking in, Reba!

121. The Churn by James S.A. Corey - a novella related to The Expanse. This story provides background for one of the central characters in the series - Amos Burton. Prior to reading this, all we know of his history is that it's something he declines to share, only hinting that it wasn't good. A child of a prostitute who, as he grows into his early manhood, he becomes involved in the seedy underbelly of Baltimore organized crime. A worthwhile addition to the storyline.

122. Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey. Continuing my binge-read of The Expanse space opera series. For the first time, the rotating view point characters included the other 3 members of the Rocinante crew, in addition to Captain Holden. The ship needs extensive repairs, so the 3 each take a trip to revisit their past homes & take care of personal business. Each are drawn into crises which end up converging. The Corey writing duo didn't hold back, changing their universe in dramatic fashion. Highly recommended.

123. The Vital Abyss by James S.A. Corey. A novella in The Expanse series which focuses on the researchers for the Evil Corporation that tried to harness the alien protomolecule. The protagonist, when recruited, was given a drug that essentially eliminated his sense of right & wrong. Yep, that would do it. Chilling.

124. The Conquering Tide by Ian W. Toll. The second of his three volume history of the Pacific theater of WWII. Just excellent - Toll excels at bringing the gigantic scale of this war to life in a comprehensible way. Both the major military leaders and the more common soldiers/sailors/aviators experiences are related. It's hard to comprehend in this era the sacrifices and deprivation people, both military and civilian, suffered. Highly recommended.

125. Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey. Volume 6 (out of 9) in The Expanse space opera series. A confrontation with arch villain Marcos Inaros is inevitable before peace is possible in the solar system. Mars, Earth, and The Belt/Outer Planets are all in danger of collapse, unless they can work together. Highly recommended.

October Reading Summary:

Books Read: 16
Pages Read: 5500

Longest Book: The Conquering Tide by Ian W. Toll - 622 pages
Shortest Book: Drive by James S.A. Corey - 30 pages
Average Book Length: 343 pages

Book of the Month: I'm going to cheat and just say "The Expanse," since most of my month was consumed by that series & it's excellent.
Dud of the Month: none

Funny thing, I was out of town and had finished reading what I had brought & decided to look at my kindle library. I ended up deciding to start my reread of The Expanse space opera series & never looked back, skipping the rest of my planned October reading plan. Ah well, a little spontaneity is a good thing!

November 2025 Reading Plan

Persepolis Rising - James S.A. Corey
Auberon - James S.A. Corey
Tiamat’s Wrath - James S.A. Corey
Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey
The Sins of Our Fathers - James S.A. Corey
Mustang Man - Louis L’Amour
The Last Mile - David Baldacci
Lost Light - Michael Connelly
An Unfinished Life - Robert Dalek
The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

We'll see if I do a better job of sticking to the plan this month, lol.

126. Strange Dogs by James S.A. Corey. A novella in The Expanse space opera series. A creepy little tale involving a little girl on a newly settled planet, who encounters local wildlife and finds her life changed in a truly unexpected way.

127. The Last Mile by David Baldacci. Second volume of his "Memory Man" series. Not as good as the first book, but it had it's moments.

128. Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey. Volume 7 of 9 in The Expanse space opera series. Volume 6 could have easily been the finale of the series - and so it was with the TV adaptation. This story jumps a couple of decades into the future, where some of the loose threads are pulled in to create a new crisis, even more dire than before. I enjoyed the heck out of it. Highly recommended.

129. Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey. Volume 8 of 9 in The Expanse space opera series. The Corey writing team has done an excellent job keeping such a long series fresh and interesting. I can't wait to read the conclusion.

130. Auberon by James S.A. Corey. A novella set in The Expanse space opera universe. Something of a crime/corruption story through the eyes of a colonizing governor, his wife & the gangster who needs to find a way to make the new order work. Well done.

131. Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey. The Ninth & final volume of The Expanse space opera series. There's one short story/novella remaining, which I'll probably finish by tomorrow. It's been a great ride. Overall, I'd say it's my favorite space opera series to date. Highly recommended.

132. The Sins of Our Fathers by James S.A. Corey. This is a short story/novella that takes place after the end of the novels & ties up one loose end, character-wise. The title reminds me of one unusual feature in this series, which is the religious literacy apparent in it. Like most science fiction, it assumes a secular scientific/naturalist view of the universe. But I noticed that some of the characters or features in the storyline showed an inside knowledge of Methodism & Mormonism in particular, so I wonder if the authorial tandem had that in their personal background.

133. Mustang Man by Louis L'Amour. Continuing the Sacketts series. Pretty standard western fare, nothing special.

134. Lost Light by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch has retired from the LAPD, but one of his old cases is preying upon his mind. And he needs something to do. Connelly decides to switch to 1st person narrative on this one, which he does effectively. Like all of his books, I can definitely recommend this one.

>91 ChrisG1: I'm so far behind on LibraryThing threads that it's hilarious.

But I'm glad I didn't just declare thread bankruptcy, as you've gotten me with a book bullet for Eisenhower in War and Peace

>194 ArlieS: I hope it works for you - thanks for stopping by!

135. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. The first of Hobb's Farseer trilogy & the extended 16 book Realm of the Elderlings. I'm planning on reading all of it in the coming months. I had read this trilogy back when it was still relatively new & had remembered almost nothing from it. Hobb is a first-rate writer & delivers all that an epic fantasy reader could ask for. Highly recommended.

136. People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman. Volume 4 in the Leaphorn & Chee series of mysteries on the Navajo reservation. Up until now, it's just been Joe Leaphorn, but this book introduces Jimmy Chee & he's the only protagonist. Very well done!

137. An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek. It seemed time to take on a JFK biography. Since I was 2y/o when he was elected & 5 when he was assassinated, I never developed the shiny nostalgia of older boomers for JFK. I can recommend this biography as well written & as complete as a single volume work could reasonably be. He didn't gloss over his reckless womanizing & chronicled his extensive health challenges that he struggled with throughout his life. With regard to his actions & policies as president, he presented a man who focused primarily on foreign affairs. Domestic concerns like civil rights, medicare, tax reform, etc, never quite made it to the top of his priorities, partly due to political realities of the time. It's ironic that his assassination enabled LBJ to push those policies harder than JFK likely would have been able to. And tragic that his death also led to a far, far, more extensive involvement in Vietnam than he would ever have allowed. Overall, a well balanced & nuanced look at the 35th President.

138. For Lord and Land by Matthew Harffy. The eighth in Harffy's Bernician Chronicles. A strong addition to the series, especially with the development of secondary characters. I've enjoyed this series, which is available on Kindle Unlimited.

>198 ChrisG1: One of the more well known and lauded biographies of Kennedy, Chris. Funny how geography played its part in events. He was killed in Texas and Johnson was from Texas - his location and influence there enabled his to coalesce enough support amongst a large number of otherwise segregationist Democrats to get civil rights moving forward.

>200 PaulCranswick: Indeed. Johnson's record in the Senate wouldn't have indicated a move in that direction. Having read Robert A. Caro's multivolume LBJ biography, I noted some differences with Dallek's account in terms of JFK & LBJ's relationship. Dallek seemed to think it was better than Caro did, although both agreed there was no love lost between Johnson and Bobby.

139. Red Knife by William Kent Kreuger. Continuing his fine Cork O'Connor detective series. Kreuger has a talent for drawing you in to the emotions of his characters as they face the pain in their lives, both ordinary and the extraordinary pain that crime stories entail. I can identify with the setting of these stories - a small town in a remote area of northern Minnesota. I lived several years in a remote small Oregon town which, like the fictional town of the book series, borders an Indian reservation. The relationships between the townspeople & rez residents are fraught with old resentments, mixed with shared histories, good and bad, plus no small amount of intermarriage. I have a brother-in-law who is a tribal member who is one quarter Indian & knew & worked with many others. I've yet to read a bad book by this author & can certainly recommend this series.

November Reading Summary:

Books Read: 13
Pages Read: 5129

Longest Book: An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek - 838 pages
Shortest Book: The Sins of Our Fathers by James S.A. Corey - 64 pages
Average Book Length: 395 pages

Book of the Month: Lost Light by Michael Connelly
Dud of the Month: none

December 2025 Reading Plan

Royal Assassin - Robin Hobb
Assassin’s Quest - Robin Hobb
The Sky-liners - Louis L’Amour
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
The Narrows - Michael Connelly
Damnation Alley - Roger Zelazny
Now Wait For Last Year - Philip K Dick
Plainsong - Kent Haruf
Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen - Larry McMurtry
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford
Sharpe’s Storm - Bernard Cornwell

I am also a fan of Cork O'Connor. Which reminds me. Time to pick up one.

140. Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb. Part 2 of the Farseer Trilogy. A much-loved fantasy series & deservedly so. This story focuses on palace intrigue, in a coming of age tale for Fitz, a royal bastard who has become a "king's man" who is trained as an assassin & more. Recommended.

141. The Sky-liners by Louis L'Amour. Another solid entry in the Sacketts series.

142. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. A post-apocalyptic tale in which most of human-kind is blinded by an astronomical phenomenon. Semi-intelligent plants, called triffids, which had been discovered in a remote area & which have the ability to be mobile, add to the menace. Our protagonist navigates the dangers to try to create a life. It's Wyndham's best-known novel & while good, I'm not so sure it's his best. The Midwich Cuckoos was, for me, a more interesting premise. I do expect to read more Wyndham in the future.

143. The Narrows by Michael Connelly. Another fine installment in the Harry Bosch series, featuring the return of The Poet, the serial killer from the book of the same name. Surprisingly, one of Connelly's protagonists from prior books was killed off, and his widow hires Harry to find out whodunnit. I couldn't put it down & finished it in 24 hours.

144. Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb, the conclusion to the Farseer Trilogy. I must say that Hobb finished with a bang. I was surprised at how emotionally engaged I became, especially in the climactic moments. Very well done - highly recommended.

>208 ChrisG1: I have been looking at Triffids, which has been on my shelf for a while. Sounds like I should finally read it.

145. Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry. A group of essays reflecting on his writing life, what influenced it, as well as his reading life and his love of "book scouting," which he seemed to consider his greatest passion. It's amusing read of his childhood, growing up on a small cattle ranch in West Texas, as he was clearly not meant for such a life, he fell in love with books and they were his means of escape from that life. Yet, he ultimately returned to it in his books. He couldn't escape that imagery, and it ultimately lead to his greatest book, the one he'll be most remembered for - Lonesome Dove.

146. Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny. Quite a trippy read. A post-apocalyptic tale that reads like an adolescent boy's fantasy. Much of the world has been destroyed by nuclear war. For some unexplained reason, Los Angeles and Boston largely survived. Our protagonist is named Hell Tanner. Was a bike gang leader, but was in jail. He's offered a pardon if he would make a cross country run to Boston - down Damnation Alley - to deliver a serum that would stop the plague there. Don't think too deeply about it. His car is basically a tank, armed with...everything - flame throwers, guns, grenade launchers, you name it. Will he make it? Only one way to find out....

147. Plainsong by Kent Haruf. In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a year in the lives of several ordinary people are chronicled. Haruf's style is deliberately understated but elegant. There's a 17 year old girl who gets pregnant, then abandoned, first by the boyfriend, then by her mother. A teacher briefly takes her in, but she already has an elderly and addled father living with her, so she finds a pair of old bachelor farm brothers to shelter her. Another teacher finds himself having to raise his 9 & 10 year old boys by himself when his depressed wife leaves. It doesn't sound like much, but Haruf works the magic of the fine author & makes you care about their lives & problems. Highly recommended.

148. Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. This book makes it onto a lot of "greatest SF books of all time" lists, so I was curious to see if it lived up to it's reputation. I'll say it's easily my favorite by this author yet.

Chris, if you and yours celebrate, remember:

149. Sharpe's Storm by Bernard Cornwell. The newest installment in Cornwell's popular series following British soldier Richard Sharpe during the Napoleonic wars. Dependably good storytelling. Recommended for those who like this sort of thing.

Have a lovely festive season, Chris

150. The Fix by David Baldacci. A classic "popcorn" novel - crime/espionage thriller. Third in Baldacci's "Memory Man" series. It's not great literature, but it's entertaining, if you don't think too deeply about it.

Can't believe I reached 150 books this year - not sure I'm going to shoot that high again. But I've certainly enjoyed it.

151. Hunter's Run by George RR Martin, Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham. Surprisingly good SF tale for a joint effort, albeit, an august trio. This is likely my last book to complete this year, as I'm starting on a huge doorstop of a novel - World Without End by Ken Follett.

Best Books I read in 2025:

I've omitted installments of genre series' which I'll handle in the next post.

10. A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko
9. The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson
8. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
7. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
6. Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
5. Plainsong by Kent Haruf
4. Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith
3. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
2. Pacific Crucible by Ian W. Toll
1. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Best Series read in 2025:

Best SF: The Expanse by James S.A. Corey - now my #1 SF series of all time
Best Fantasy: The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham, followed closely by The Farseer Trilogy by Robin
Hobb and The First Law by Joe Abercrombie
Mystery/Crime: Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly, honorable mention to Cork O'Connor by William Kent
Krueger, Leaphorn & Chee by Tony Hillerman