ChrisG stays in the mix in '26

I'm a 67 year old retired tax accountant who has always loved to read. Last year was my first full year of retirement & I ended up reading over 150 books - not sure I'll try that again!

My reading interests are varied - a mix of science fiction & fantasy, crime/mysteries, historical fiction, westerns, classics, history & biography, and whatever else might tickle my fancy. I look forward to sharing reading experiences with all of you this year.

Welcome back, Chris! I’m getting close to retirement - probably 18 months away. So hoping the book count will pick up for me again!

I didn’t realize how much our reading interests overlap, so will be visiting to see if I can pick up any recommendations.

Hi Chris!! Happy new thread! I've got it starred. : )

What Berly said. :)

Welcome back, Chris

December Reading Summary:

Books Read: 12
Pages Read: 4443

Longest Book: Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb - 757 pages
Shortest Book: Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry - 204 pgs
Average Book Length: 370 pages

Book of the Month:Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Dud of the Month: none - it's always great to have a month with no books that are a struggle or unpleasant.

January 2026 Reading Plan

The Closers - Michael Connelly
The Lonely Men - Louis L’Amour
The Dark Wind - Tony Hillerman
Crusaders - Dan Jones
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
A Talent For War - Jack McDevitt
Magician: Apprentice - Raymond E. Feist
World Without End - Ken Follett
Ancillary Mercy - Ann Leckie
Washington Square - Henry James

>7 ChrisG1: Oh cool! Dan Jones is one I'll be very interested to hear about from someone in the US...everyone else who's read a book of his I've seen is English.

Happy 2026 reads!

New Year greetings from Kuala Lumpur. My project is at least physically completed and an addition to the city scape.

Look forward to keeping up with you in 2026, Chris

Happy New Year, Chris.

1. World Without End by Ken Follett. The followup to his popular Pillars of the Earth, referred to in a Goodreads review as a "bloodstained historical soap opera," which I thought was apt. For all that, I enjoyed it - a slice of life in the fictional 14th century British town of Kingsbridge. Follett's historical tales are a commitment - each spreading over 1000 pages, but he does make it entertaining. Recommended, to those who like this sort of thing.

>12 ChrisG1: I do enjoy the escapism of Ken Follett but his longer historical fiction efforts are a challenge for sure.

2. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. Instead of "Groundhog Day" it's "Groundhog Life?" Every time Harry dies, he starts over - born same day & year, same everything, his memories intact. Great premise, very well executed. North is a talented writer - highly recommended.

>14 ChrisG1: I really enjoyed that one as well.

3. Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra. This is my January "Roads Less Travelled" challenge book. A very short novel that shifts between a fictional author and the story that he's writing, which seems to be autobiographical (for Zambra? In don't know). It begins and ends with earthquakes, and blends in the fraught politics of the time. Well worth my time.

Hello Chris. I peeked in and loved what I saw in your diverse reading interests. I have not read a tremendous amount of fantasy, but I recognize the name Robin Hobb for sure. I like your list for 2026. I have read a few of the Sackett novels from Louis L'Amour and enjoyed them. I've been a long time crime fiction fan as well. I'm presently reading Crooks by Lou Berney. As far as Jack McDevitt goes, I read Eternity Road many years ago and liked the post apocalyptic landscape. I look forward to seeing how the year goes for you.

>17 brodiew2: Hi Brodiew2 - thanks for the comment - I didn't see your handle in the thread list. If you've got one, let me know. I'd love to check it out.

>18 ChrisG1: it's brodiew2 and my thread name is 'Brodie's Back in Books'. Cheers!

4. The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman. The fifth book in his Leaphorn & Chee series set in Navajo country. This story is entirely about Jim Chee, no Leaphorn. Drug smuggling, Hopi religious rituals, stage magic, revenge, it's quite a stew & I did enjoy it. Recommended.

5. A Talent For War by Jack McDevitt. Clunk. This one did not work for me. The premise sounded fine - something of a mystery in a space opera setting, but the plot & characters were dull. Oh well, can't win them all.

I really enjoyed the Hillerman mysteries. How great that you have so many good ones to look forward to.

>22 BLBera: I'd long heard of it, but my wife & I have been watching the TV series & that put it back on my radar.

6. The Closers by Michael Connelly. Yet another fine installment in the Bosch detective series. Connelly simply cannot write a bad book. Harry returns to the LAPD after a 3 year retirement, now in the cold case unit. I spotted the killer early this time, but it didn't spoil it for me. And seeing Harry's long-time nemesis get his comeuppance was delicious. Highly recommended.

7. Washington Square by Henry James. It's been a long while since I read a classic & this one was just right for that purpose. It's actually my first Henry James novel, albeit a short & relatively simple one. A bit of a soap opera, really - a tragic, ill fated love affair for a painfully shy young woman, her overbearing father determined to squash it, the lover probably as unworthy of her as her father assumes & a meddling aunt who rather instigates the whole thing. Although the prose is of the typically excessive style of the time, I still found it quite readable. The characters were believable & genuine. Recommended.

>25 ChrisG1: I have read a few of his, Chris, but not that one yet. I either love his books, The Turn of the Screw is an excellent novella, or find them a bit of a trudge, What Maisie Knew.

>26 PaulCranswick: I could easily see his writing as more effective at novella length. The Turn of the Screw is definitely on my radar.

8. The Lonely Men by Louis L'Amour. I've been making my way through his Sacketts stories & some are stronger than others. This was just ok. Classic western with clear good guys & bad guys.

9. Crusaders: The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands by Dan Jones. Not the first book I've read about the Crusades. I thought the author did well adding context that included the Reconquista of Iberia from the Muslims. He ended with modern events that bring echoes of crusading even today. It's worth noting that much of what we think of as "Muslim lands" today were once part of the Roman empire & Christian. This is a conflict with a 1400 year history that predates the crusades by hundreds of years and seems likely to outlive us.

10. Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist. One of the more popular epic fantasy series that emerged in the wake of The Lord of the Rings. I had never gotten around to it - until now. Like many others in this time period, it can be criticized for being highly derivative of TLOTR, but I enjoyed the writing & storytelling & I will certainly continue with the series. Recommended for epic fantasy fans.

11. The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer. I have a friend who likes to give me books he's finished with - they're all in the thriller category. This was ok, if a bit formulaic.

>21 ChrisG1: I have read half a dozen mcdevitt books and a talent for war was my least favorite . The series does get better, imo.

12. In the Lair of Legends by David Buzan. I took a stab at an indie book - don't even recall how it came to my attention. I would describe it as "historical fantasy." It takes place in Oregon in 1874. The protagonist is a Native American who joined the US Army as part of Chief Joseph's treaty. He had to serve 10 years & then was promised a homestead on the reservation. It's definitely action-packed & I had fun with it. The hero gets through a barrage of improbable dangers in Indiana Jones style. The fantasy element was that Sasquatch is real & enters in to the action in a big way. There were a fair number of amateurish flaws, some a product of poor editing & some were choices by the author that didn't make much sense. But overall, I'll say I was entertained in spite of the flaws.

January Reading Summary:

Books Read: 12
Pages Read: 4904

Longest Book: World Without End by Ken Follett - 1237 pages
Shortest Book: Ways of Going Home by Alejandro Zambra - 160 pages
Average Book Length: 409 pages

Book of the Month: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
Dud of the Month: A Talent For War by Jack McDevitt

February 2026 Reading Plan

Breath, Eyes, Memory - Edwidge Danticat
Echo Park - Michael Connelly
Heaven’s Keep - William Kent Kreuger
Magician: Master - Raymond E. Feist
Raft - Stephen Baxter
The Prestige - Christopher Priest
Galloway - Louis L’Amour
SPQR - Mary Beard
Forest of Foes - Matthew Harffy
The Legend of Deathwalker - David Gemmell
Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield

13. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Dandicat. My entry for the Roads Less Traveled challenge, although I somehow overlooked that Haiti isn't an English-speaking Caribbean island. Nevertheless, it's a strong book & I recommend it. It was one foot in Haiti & one in the USA. Sophie Caco was born in Haiti, raised by her aunt until she was 12, when her mother, who had moved to New York when she was an infant, called for her to be sent for her. There are family secrets & tragedies, wounds to heal & some that do not.

Hi Chris!! Awesome reads to far, and already at 13 -- look at you go!

>37 Berly: Hi Kim! Are we overdue for a Portland meet-up?

14. The Prestige by Christopher Priest. A highly imaginative, shall I say "magical", story. At the root of the tale is a rivalry between two stage magicians during the latter 19th century in England. The consequences of this echo through generations in their family. I had to appreciate the use of Nicola Tesla as the source of the "magic" at the source of the ultimate mystery of the story. Highly recommended.

15. Raft by Stephen Baxter. I bought an omnibus edition of the first 4 books of Baxter's Xeelee sequence. There was a lot to like & a good bit that I found confusing or inadequately explained. Ultimately, it's a tale of survival for a group of humans who were descended from an exploratory ship. They had forgotten much of the science and barely understood the technology they were using and couldn't replace it. They were living in a nebula - and this gets into what I didn't understand - as I couldn't see how they had breathable air, but alas...
I may have been better off starting with the next book in the sequence (according to a Goodreads reviewer) and I do plan to read that, probably next month.

Hi Chris - I wanted to drop by and see what you've been reading.

I'm so sorry that you didn't enjoy A Talent for War - I have to admit I like the whole series. I enjoyed Washington Square, and both Crusaders and The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August are on my ever expanding tbr.

I've starred your thread so I can keep an eye on your reading.

>41 Dejah_Thoris: Welcome aboard! Regarding A Talent for War, it sounds like the series gets better, but I'll confess I generally don't continue when the first book doesn't hit - we'll see.

16. Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger. Volume 9 in Krueger's "Cork O'Connor" series. One of the trademarks of this series is that the stories are as much about O'Connor's private life as whatever case he's working. Often, they are intertwined. Here, his wife goes missing, likely dead in a plane crash during a winter storm in the mountains. No spoiler, it's the opening scene of the book. At first, it seemed like the whole book was going to be about the search, but then it takes a turn months after it's given up. Overall, very well done. It left me an emotional wreck...but in a good way.

17. Magician: Master by Raymond E. Feist. Volume 2 of in The Riftwar Saga. Good, solid and entertaining fantasy, complete with a "happily ever after" ending.

18. Echo Park by Michael Connelly. Another Harry Bosch crime story. Connelly is a "can't miss" writer for me - just consistently good. An old case that's haunted Bosch for years get new life, as a serial killer is caught and confesses that the case is one of his many victims. But things are not quite what they seem. Bosch is such a fully realized character, a damaged human being, but the damage is what creates the relentless, sometimes reckless, pursuer of the truth. He pursues it even to the detriment of his personal & romantic life. Highly recommended.

>36 ChrisG1: Breathe Eyes Memory made me a Danticat fan. I have loved all of her books.

I liked Heaven's Keep less than you did. For me, it was the weakest book in the series so far.

19. Eventide by Kent Haruf. A sequel to Plainsong, which I read a few months ago & really liked. Haruf continued one set of characters, while adding some others. One might think the simple lives of ordinary small town people wouldn't make great reading, but Haruf does it effortlessly. Highly recommended.

20. The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien. I've deviated from my plan for the month again, just following my fancy. It was time for this reread of a favorite & I enjoyed it as much as always. Tolkien's prose in this novel is more informal and whimsical than in The Lord of the Rings. He often breaks the fourth wall and converses with the reader, or directly hints at events to come. I don't know how many times I've read it, but it's well into double digits.

21. The Lightning Rod by Brad Meltzer. A popcorn thriller, starring mortician 'Zig' Zigarowski and his unwilling partner, Nola, a former soldier, scarred by childhood trauma, who incidentally saved Zig's daughter's life when they were 12 years old. The plot is as unlikely as the pairing for a thriller, but Meltzer makes it work. Recommended, for those who like this sort of thing.

22. SPQR by Mary Beard. This history of ancient Rome comes highly recommended & is worthy of those plaudits. Beard primarily focuses on the two centuries BCE and the two centuries CE, although she does spend some time in the six preceding centuries. I thought she did a particularly good job of alerting the reader to the difficulties in sorting out what "really" happened, especially in those early centuries, as so much had been mythologized. And even in those 4 centuries where Rome was at it's height, she acknowledges that written histories of the times reflected the biases of the authors & the influence of their powerful patrons. Some might feel she ended too early, skipping the decline & eventual shift to Constantinople, but it was a deliberate choice. I do believe I'll pursue other sources for that. Recommended.

23. Regarding Sherlock Holmes: The Adventures of Solar Pons by August Derleth. I found this via a booktube channel (The Literate Texan). The author had written to Arthur Conan Doyle for permission to continue writing Sherlock Holmes stories when Doyle announced he was finished with it. He was denied permission. So he created "Solar Ponz," and wrote his Holmes-esque stories anyway. I would categorize it basically as Fan Fiction. Certainly not of Conan Doyle's literary quality, but fairly enjoyable for what they are.

February Reading Summary:

Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 4472

Longest Book: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard - 606 pages
Shortest Book: Regarding Sherlock Holmes: The Adventures of Solar Pons by August Derleth - 240 pages
Average Book Length: 407 pages

Book of the Month: The Prestige by Christopher Priest
Dud of the Month: None

March 2026 Reading Plan

Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir - W.D. Ehrhart
Timelike Infinity - Stephen Baxter
The Overlook - Michael Connelly
The Ghostway - Tony Hillerman
Silverthorn - Raymond E. Feist
Pedro Paramo - Juan Rulfo
We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
Wistful Ascending - JCM Berne
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame - Robert Silverberg, Editor
Five Ways to Forgiveness - Ursula K Le Guin

We are totally overdue for a meetup. Should we try for March?

Not familiar with the last one by Le Guin--love her stuff so may have to check it out. : )

>54 Berly: It's one of her Hainish Cycle novels - I've only got 2 left unread, including this one. I'm all for a meet-up in March, with the caveat that I'll be in San Antonio from the 11th-15th.

24. The Hope by Herman Wouk. First book of a duology - the sequel is called The Glory, which covers the modern state of Israel's struggle to survive in the midst of enemies. Wouk follows a similar formula to his celebrated duology The Winds of War and War and Remembrance by mixing his fictional protagonists with actual historical figures such as David Ben Gurion, Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, etc... This volume covers the period from 1948 to the six day war of 1967. I look forward to reading the sequel next month, which covers the following 20 years or so. Recommended.

25. Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo. This is my Roads Less Travelled book for March. An interesting change of pace for me, something of a ghost story, echoes of A Christmas Carol without the redemption. Not exactly my cup of tea, but worth reading.

>56 ChrisG1: I've been meaning to read The Winds of War and War and Remebrance for years now. I probably ought to get to them before trying The Hope and The Glory.

26. The Overlook by Michael Connelly. Only about half the length of a typical Bosch novel, it was serialized in The New Yorker. Still a solid story, just not as many turns and twists, perhaps, but still worthwhile.

>57 ChrisG1: I must admit Chris that this one was a bit too ephemeral for me too. I read it a few years ago but only an impression of a lack of full comprehension has been left me.

>58 Dejah_Thoris: I've read them 3 or 4 times now, can't recommend them highly enough.

27. Timelike Infinity by Stephen Baxter. Time travel, wormholes, Humankind conquered by aliens, all common elements in science fiction. Well executed by Baxter, with an enigmatic ending. There will be more stories in this universe. Recommended.

>61 ChrisG1: I'll have to try to work them in this year. They've certainly been on my tbr long enough!

>62 ChrisG1: I don't know that I've ever read any Stephen Baxter, which is odd give that I've read a fair amount of SF. Any book in particular I should start with?

>63 Dejah_Thoris: I'm new to him, as well. He's best known for his "Xeelee sequence" although I gather it's more of a shared universe with individual stories. I've read Raft and now Timelike Infinity, which are the first two of that group.

28. Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir by W.D. Ehrhart. I was several years too young to be sent to Vietnam, but it is still the defining war for my generation. The author qualifies his "memoir" by telling you that he changed all of the names (except his own) and a number of the episodes didn't actually happen to him, but were rather related to him, so "memoir" might be stretching it. Still, it's quite well written, and brings the experience vividly to the reader. He doesn't flinch from relating his own flaws & doesn't glamorize combat at all. Recommended.

29. Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne. This indy published sci-fi adventure tale has been recommended by some book-tubers I follow, so I gave it a shot. Very entertaining & better written than typical for indy writing. Some have referred to it as "Superhero is space" which I guess is sort of true. There are several books in the series available in Kindle Unlimited, and I'll be reading at least the next one.

30. Ravenser-Odd - End of Days Another indy novel, this one a mystery set in 14th century England. The sleuth is Sir Guy de Haghe, a justice of the peace, bringing the king's justice wherever he goes. This was surprisingly good & I'll definitely read more of these, also available on Kindle Unlimited.

31. The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin. One of her "Hainish" novels. This is a series that isn't really a series, as there are no characters in common between the books. Rather, it's a "shared universe" she uses to tell her stories, each of which is set on a different planet, in a different time period, with the common thread being that each planet is discovered by the Ekumen, who search for worlds settled by the Hain - where humanity first evolved - and tries to create a loose confederation & disburse knowledge. This novel explores the result of knowledge shared that is used by one group to dominate the rest of the world. The protagonist has come to study this world decades later & tries to piece together what it like before that occurred. I've made it sound boring, but it's very well told & I highly recommend it.

>68 ChrisG1: I need to read more Le Guin. It's shameful, really, how little of her work I've read.

>69 Dejah_Thoris: Don't be ashamed! Dive in!

32. The Ghostway by Tony Hillerman. Jim Chee goes to great lengths to unravel a mysterious death and disappearances. He's also trying to sort out how to proceed with his life, as he's in love with a white woman who wants him to leave the reservation. He struggles to decide if he can let go of his Navajo heritage. He solves the mystery, and his decision has become irrelevant, as his love has released him from her request & it's her turn to decide if she can live in the Navajo way.

33. When the Women Come Out to Dance by Elmore Leonard. It's just a pleasure to read Elmore Leonard - his gift for vividly portraying colorful characters, both in the Western and modern crime genres is second to none. The cliche about short story collections is that they're a mixed bag, but not this one. Every story hits. Recommended.

34. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I'd never gotten around to this before. It was...long.

35. Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard. Ok, I think I'm going to be bingeing Elmore Leonard crime novels. His writing is a pleasure to read. He has a great eye for the absurdity of the human condition.

>74 ChrisG1: Isn't it fun to find an author you want to binge?

36. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. This was a surprise hit for me - a history book with a fairly narrow scope: the assassination of James Garfield, the 20th President of the USA. This was extremely well executed. It can be a bit of a cliche that an author of history makes it read like a novel, but it's accurate here. She interweaves plotlines involving Garfield, his political rivals, the assassin, and even Joseph Lister, who discovered and developed antiseptic surgery, and Alexander Graham Bell. It makes for a compelling tale - highly recommended.

>76 ChrisG1: I’ve read all of Millard’s books, they’re all good!

>77 drneutron: I read The River of Doubt also, which I thought was excellent. I'll have to try Hero of the Empire next.

>76 ChrisG1: Destiny of the Republic is on my tbr - I though River of Doubt was excellent, too. I have a copy of Hero of the Empire. One of these days....

March Reading Summary:

Books Read: 13
Pages Read: 4088

Longest Book: The Hope by Herman Wouk
Shortest Book: Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo
Average Book Length: 314 pages

Book of the Month: The Telling by Ursula Le Guin
Dud of the Month: No duds, but I did DNF The Count of Monte Cristo. Since I had read 320 pages, I felt that was a "book" worth of reading. It was fine, but I didn't want another 900 pages of it...

April 2026 Reading Plan

Silverthorn - Raymond E. Feist
Jews vs. Rome - Barry S. Strauss
Now Wait For Last Year - Philip K. Dick
The Scarecrow - Michael Connelly
Hombre - Elmore Leonard
11/22/63 - Stephen King
Flux - Stephen Baxter
A Monk’s Greed: A Sir Guy de Hughe Mystery - Robert Wilkinson
Return of the Griffin - JCM Berne
Ship of Magic - Robin Hobb

37. Silverthorn by Raymond E. Feist. You could either call this the 2nd of a trilogy or 3rd of a tetralogy, depending on editions. The revised version of the first book was greatly lengthened & split into two volumes, which is what I read. This continues the adventures of the characters introduced previously & definitely leaves enough loose ends for another volume of the epic. Good, solid, traditional fantasy.

>76 ChrisG1: I loved this one.

>82 ChrisG1: I don't think I've ever read any Raymond E. Feist (although I may be wrong about that), but I did pick up Daughter of Empire earlier this year on sale. Have you read it? It's been on my radar for a long time.

>84 Dejah_Thoris: Not yet - chronologically, it follows the trilogy/tetralogy I'm currently on. He teams up with Janny Wurts for the Empire Trilogy, which I hear is even better. I expect I'll be getting to it before long.

>85 ChrisG1: Oh dear - I guess that means I need to look into what order I should be reading his books! I didn't realize I was jumping into a wider universe, so to speak. Thanks for the info.

38. 11/22/63 by Stephen King. This one lived up to the hype - very entertaining & at times quite moving. The personal story was the strength of the book - the time travel/save Kennedy angle made for an intriguing setup. Highly recommended.

39. Hombre by Elmore Leonard. This early western of Leonard's is considerably more grim in tone than the crime stories he later became known for. The viewpoint character, whose name you don't even know until late in the story, is one of the least consequential characters in the story. Well told - Leonard was a heckuva writer.

>87 ChrisG1: I'm not a huge Stephen King reader (I'm not a fan of horror), but I enjoyed this one. I'm glad you did, too.

>89 Dejah_Thoris: Yeah, horror is not my thing either. I tried to read The Shining last year & DNF'd it halfway through, just when it was getting ready to let loose. I was like - yeah, no thanks, I see what's coming & that's not what I want.

40. The Man-Kzin Wars ed. by Larry Niven. This book is the first of a series in a shared universe created by Larry Niven. It contains 3 stories, one by Niven, one by Poul Anderson and one by Dean Ing. I found it to be fairly entertaining & will continue the series (I'd better since I bought a batch of them on ebay).

41. Jews vs. Rome by Barry S. Strauss. The author focuses on a roughly 200 year period from 63 BCE to 136 BCE of rebellion against Rome by the Jews. While most of this occurred in the region of Judea, there were also uprisings in Alexandria & other parts of the empire where Jews were dispersed. An additional factor was that Jews were also present in Parthia, Rome's only real rival in the region in that period & they were sometimes played one against the other. Strauss is an effective storyteller & avoids scholarly jargon. Recommended.

42. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. The second book featuring investigative reporter Jack McEvoy. Like the first The Poet, his investigation brings him into the path of a serial killer. The pacing & plotting are excellent. Written in 2009, the issues of the day come into play - the poor economy, the changes in the newspaper business because of the internet. Highly recommended.

43. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. First of her Liveship Traders Trilogy within her larger Realm of the Elderlings series. Hobb is at the peak of her craft with this creation, with wonderfully imagined world-building and strong, well realized characters. Highly recommended.

44. Your Detroit Tigers: The Great, the Good, the Top 400 by Tom Gage. A new book by a local Detroit sportswriter, geared to long-time fans such as myself. It didn't plow much new ground for me, but it was fun it's own way. His ranking of the players was based on a formula of his own invention, based on statistics. It only ranked them for whatever years they played for the Tigers, so a Hall of Fame player like Mickey Cochrane, was not near the top as he played 80% of his career for Philadelphia. Of course, poking holes in his rankings is part of the fun. Recommended to those who fit the narrow niche of Detroit Tigers fans.

>87 ChrisG1: I really must read this one. I haven't read Stephen King since I was in my twenties (maybe?). Like you and Dejah, I am not a fan of reading horror (though, in saying that, The Shining is one of my top ten films of all time!!).

45. Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. A novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. I wasn't sure this would live up to the hype & it did take awhile to catch on for me, but in the end, I thought it was great. Pressfield takes you into the culture of the time & place (or at least convinces you he has). The characters are vividly portrayed & believable. Highly recommended.

>45 ChrisG1: You got me with that one, Chris. I remember enjoying the film with Gabriel Byrne too.

46. The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard. A period crime novel about a young Federal Marshall named Carlos (Carl) Webster in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the 1920s and 30s. The villain is the spoiled son of an oil tycoon. Leonard is terrific in his character work. All of the characters have quirks & flaws that make them believable and compelling. I don't know if I'm going to try to read every last book of his, but I expect I'll read quite a few.

>99 ChrisG1: I also need to read more by Leonard. His books used to be very widely available here but not anymore.

>100 PaulCranswick: If you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription, several of his books are included in that.

April Reading Summary:

Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 4560

Longest Book: Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb 880 pages
Shortest Book: Hombre by Elmore Leonard 184 pages
Average Book Length: 314 pages

Book of the Month: 11/22/63 by Stephen King
Dud of the Month: None

I only give 5 star ratings to about 15-20% of the books I read & this month 4 of the 10 were worth that rating. In addition to 11/22/63, I also gave 5 stars to Ship of Magic, Gates of Fire and The Scarecrow.

May 2026 Reading Plan

All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy
The Mad Ship - Robin Hobb
9 Dragons - Michael Connelly
A Darkness at Sethanon - Raymond E. Feist
Flux - Stephen Baxter
Vermillion Drift - William Kent Krueger
In the Shadow of the Sword - Tom Holland
On the Beach - Nevil Shute
If There is No God - Dennis Prager
Benediction - Kent Haruf
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus - Charles C. Mann

47. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann. This book made quite a splash when it came out. It successfully skewered some widely believed ideas about both the land and occupants of the Americas before Columbus. The primary themes revolve around:

1. Native populations are now believed to have been significantly higher than previously believed.
2. The idea that Indians (his preferred term) "lived in harmony with nature, leaving very little footprint" is a myth.

The primary cause of the above falsehoods was a lack of understanding of the extent of devastation caused by the introduction of European diseases to the native cultures. Previous estimates of 1 million or fewer inhabitants have been raised to tens of millions & possibly even 100-120 million. Populations that were sparse & seemingly primitive were the result of the massive die-off that destroyed their civilizations.

None of these ideas are original to the author, as he is quick to point out. He is a journalist, not a scientist. And he takes pains to detail the numerous areas of disagreement among anthropologists, archeologists & other scientists who influenced his writing.

One aspect that made this particularly interesting to me was that my grandfather was an anthropologist, his career spanning from the 1930s to early 60s. Many of the early work (much of which has fallen out of favor) he would have been heavily involved in. The University of Arizona, where he spent the first half of his career, is heavily referenced. He later founded the Anthropology Department at UC Santa Barbara.

I can strongly recommend this book, especially to those, like me, who had little prior knowledge of the subject. Those who have read widely in this area may find it less useful.

>103 ChrisG1: Some good books lined up there, Chris.

Look forward to seeing what you make of them.

48. The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb. Second volume of her Liveship Traders series, a subset of her Realm of the Elderlings universe. Hobb's imagination astounds me. Her books may be a bit lengthier than I prefer, but she does make the journey worth it. Strongly recommended for fans of epic fantasy.

49. Benediction by Kent Haruf. The third and last of his "Plainsong" books. Unlike the second, there's no continuation of the characters from the previous book. It only had the setting in common. But Haruf's distinctive writing style was in full form & was for me the star of the show. The story revolved around Dad Lewis, an elderly stalwart of the community, who owned the hardware store. He was dying of cancer & the other characters were those in his orbit through that time - his wife & daughter, some neighbors, the church pastor. There are memories, regrets, small kindnesses, some raw edges. Not all of it worked for me, at least not as well as the first two books, but it's still quite good. Recommended.

50. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly. Detective Harry Bosch is happy to get a case, even a fairly ordinary one. Little did he know it would ultimately turn his world upside down. Connelly is at the top of his game - every time you think you know the answers, it turns on you. Highly recommended.

51. On the Beach by Nevil Shute. One of the first nuclear holocaust based post-apocalyptic novels. It made quite a splash at the time (1958). Stylistically dated - the dialogue felt much like what you'd hear in most films of that era. Still, the grim, unrelenting inevitability of everyone's deaths as the radiation made it's way to where the characters lived (southern Australia), is powerful. Almost everyone insisted in trying to live normal life until just before the very end, which I rather doubt is how it would really work, but was impactful.

>109 ChrisG1: I've been intending to read On the Beach for a very long time, but it just sounds too depressing. Kudos to you for getting through it!

52. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. Winner of the National Book Award. I believe I read this about 30 years ago, but remembered little of it. The writing is terrific, stark, grim, poetic. I had picked up all 3 of the Border Trilogy at the local library book sale & will definitely continue.

53. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Now my dozenth reading of my favorite book of all time. Wonderful, as always.

54. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien. If I had to pick my favorite volume of the trilogy, this would be it.

You're on a roll! I think I can guess what your next book is going to be....

>114 Dejah_Thoris: Well, I've also got In the Shadow of the Sword going. Not sure which I'll finish first.

55. The Return of the Kind by J.R.R. Tolkien. Still hits all the right notes.

56. In the Shadow of the Sword by Tom Holland. While the title implies that the book is solely about the birth & rise of Islam, it's actually only less than half of the book. More accurately, the book chronicles the transition of the period Holland calls "late antiquity." There are chapters about the conflicts of the period between the Persian Empire and the Romans - and how the Arabs were used as hired troops by both sides of the rivalry.

Holland treats the traditional story of Muhammad & his immediate successors with a fair amount of skepticism, pointing out how little evidence there is for these stories, which I found interesting.

Definitely a worthwhile read & added to my understanding of the region & period.

Excellent reading lately!! Saw you are in for the meetup -- yay!! Wishing you continued happy reading. : )

57. One Good Deed by David Baldacci. Another thriller loaned to me by my cribbage buddy. Archer is fresh out of prison and is sucked into mysterious happenings in the small town where he is required to serve his parole. Quite entertaining, although the courtroom scene near the end where Archer, acting in his own defense, pulls a Perry Mason was more than a bit unbelievable.

May Reading Summary:

Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 4481

Longest Book: The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb 906 pages
Shortest Book: Benediction by Kent Haruf 258 pages
Average Book Length: 448 pages

Book of the Month: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Dud of the Month: None

June 2026 Reading Plan

Ship of Destiny - Robin Hobb
The Fifth Witness - Michael Connelly
The Crossing - Cormac McCarthy
Up in Honey’s Room - Elmore Leonard
The Man-Kzin Wars II - Larry Niven
The Devil In the White City - Erik Larsen
Epitaph - Mary Doria Russell
In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks - Adam Carolla
Dauntless - Jack Campbell
The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers

A little grandpa bragging - my grandson won the High Jump event at the Oregon state track & field championships last weekend & got featured in an article complete with a photo:

https://www.oregonlive.com/highschoolsports/2026/06/in-game-of-high-jump-poker-s...

>122 ChrisG1: A feat to be proud of!

Whoohooo! And cool photo--love the tongue sticking out showing his determination! Must have worked -- new state record, too. : )

58. In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks by Adam Carolla. Written in 2010, his schtick hasn't changed much.

59. Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb. Hobb's style has been described as "slow-burn" by fantasy fans. In addition to being long, I just find myself taking my time to linger over it. Truly an excellent conclusion to an excellent trilogy. Highly recommended.

>122 ChrisG1: The photo is a bit disorienting, Chris, but then again jumping so high would do that.

Congratulations to the young chap. That is really impressive.

60. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. This second installment of The Border Trilogy was far less to my taste than All the Pretty Horses. I can admire McCarthy's writing skill, even as I disliked his use of it. Dark, bleak, nihilistic.

61. Dauntless by Jack Campbell. The first in Campbell's popular "Lost Fleet" series. Military space opera, well executed. Legendary "Black Jack" Geary, long thought dead, has been recovered from a suspended animation escape pod. He is suddenly thrust into leadership of a trapped starfleet. Can he lead them to escape & find their way home? Well, there would be no series if he couldn't, I suppose. Still, good fun. I shall certainly continue the series. Recommended to those who like this sort of thing.

62. Up in Honey's Room by Elmore Leonard. One of Leonard's few repeat protagonists, Carl Webster is a federal marshal who first appeared in The Hot Kid, which featured Webster mixing it up with 1930s gangsters. This story takes place 10 years later, involving Nazis and spies. It didn't work quite as well, but I still enjoyed it.

63. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The title "character" of this non-fiction book is the serial killer H.H. Holmes, but the book is about much more than his killing spree. Rather, it's about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair & several major figures surrounding that fair, including Holmes, but also the fair's architect, Daniel Burnham, George G.W. Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris Wheel, which made it's debut at the fair. A side episode involved the multitime mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, who was assassinated shortly before the end of the fair. Altogether a very interesting read. Recommended.

64. The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly. Part of Connelly's "Lincoln Lawyer' subseries, I think he does the legal thriller about as well as it can be done. Highly entertaining, with surprises just when you think you've got it figured out. Highly recommended.

65. Fearless by Jack Campbell. I decided to deviate from my June plan & dive in to the 2nd installment of The Lost Fleet. Good, solid, military sci-fi/space opera.

66. The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer. This book was a classic example of "history written as a thriller." Meltzer writes thriller novels - I've read a few - and also some history based books such as this. He also had a TV show called "Brad Meltzer's Secret History on the History Network. I found the breathless thriller style a bit cheesy, but ignoring that, there was some interesting information.

67. The Glory by Herman Wouk. The conclusion of Wouk's Israel duology. This duology is similar, in many respects, to his better known The Winds of War and War and Remembrance duology, substituting the Arab/Israeli conflicts from 1948-1988 for World War II.

Wouk weaves fictional & historical characters as they experience many of the crucial events of the period. While in his WWII books, he uses the fictional Henry family, here he has 4 families - the Barak, Nitzan, Luria & Pasternak clans - whose lives intertwine (and some intermarry) through historic events.

It's very well done - recommended!

>111 ChrisG1: I absolutely love that book :) When my significant other read it (also about 30 years ago) we ate a lot of beans and home-made tortillas and when I read it, I understood why.

>136 LovingLit: The next book, The Crossing was a disappointment in comparison - not much redeeming the darkness.

68. Courageous by Jack Campbell. The third volume in his popular military sci-fi/space opera series. While not particularly deep or original, these are well written entertainments. There are 3 more to go & I'll be tackling another of these in July.

June Reading Summary:

Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 4635

Longest Book: Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb 798 pages
Shortest Book: Up in Honey's Room by Elmore Leonard
Average Book Length: 421 pages

Book of the Month: Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
Dud of the Month: None

July 2026 Reading Plan

The Drop - Michael Connelly
Valiant - Jack Campbell
The Inverted World - Christopher Priest
The Wager - David Grann
Tom Lake - Ann Patchett
Skinwalkers - Tony Hillerman
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Pandora’s Star - Peter F. Hamilton
Last Man Standing - David Baldacci
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

69. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton - This is the first Crichton novel I've read since The Andromeda Strain 50-ish years ago. Some minor differences from the movie. A good popcorn read.

70. The Wager by David Grann. A compelling narrative of the shipwreck of the Wager, a British warship during The War of Jenkins' Ear in 1741. Recommended.

71. Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. It's been a long time since a book took me 10 days to read - and it's not because it's a slog, it just requires a bit more than average attention. Overall, excellent. If you like an epic scale space opera, this is the book for you. Actually, the first book of a duology - it ends with a cliffhanger. I'm tempted to drop my reading plan and go on to the second volume, but I'll resist.

72. A Gambling Man by David Baldacci. The second Archer tale, murder and mayhem in Reno and coastal California in the late 1940s. Baldacci seemed to enjoy the noir-ish elements. A fun read.

73. The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly. C.S. Lewis, JRR Tolkien and their fellow inklings are drawn into a murder investigation...by none of other than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along the way, they meet Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie & GK Chesterton. A bit too cute, perhaps, although the mystery itself was better than I expected.