drneutron's 2009 Books, part 2

Since I'm now about 1/3 of the way through the year and the number of books I expect to read, it's time for me to join the two-thread club. The previous thread is here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/51099

If I get ambitious, I'll repost the first 35 here...

36. Wild Magic by Angus Wells

Wrap-up to Angus Wells' The God Wars trilogy, Wild Magic is decent conclusion to a decent fantasy story. This one's old-school fantasy - somewhat predictable, but comfortable nonetheless. It was exactly what I needed for a gym read: easy to follow, easy to put down and pick up, entertaining enough to make me lose track of time on the treadmill.

I was just looking at your thread today and thinking that it was time to start a new thread! Your old one was getting very long. I've never read any Angus Wells; I'm going to keep an eye out for him.

Got you starred again, Jim!

me too... !

Followed the bread crumbs...

I'm a part of the group of your loyal followers and thus I'm starring your thread!

maybe it's the thread crumbs....

Bleeding Heart Square sounds really good, drneutron. I've added it to my BookMooch wishlist.

Looks like people managed to find me!

It's your name: you kind of glow in the dark. Either that or the Pointer Sisters blasting out the Neutron Dance (which goes through my head every time I see your handle).

We are stalking you!

*hides behind a thick book*

>10 tiffin: hmm actually I remember the name "drneutron" because it reminds me of this song: http://www.skatterbrain.org/2007/10/tullycraft-neutron.html

I guess we all have different reasons but the conclusion is we all found you again and got you starred :D

37. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill

The Pure In Heart is Susan Hill's second Simon Serrailler mystery, and like the first, it's more about characters than solving the mystery. Set a year after the events of The Various Haunts of Men, Simon - and the town of Lafferton - is still recovering from the horrific murders. Now a boy is missing and Simon's leading the investigation. What's so engaging about the book, though, is how the disappearance affects everyone it touches. Hill's fantastic at creating characters that become real to the reader.

I've got the first Susan Hill down to try given your glowing review. Too many series to follow and not enough time. Glad I found ya' again.

The pure in heart is waiting for me at the library... have to pick it up today...
:)

They only hold it for 4 days... this has been a difficult week for me to make my way there... hope i get there in time..

Sigh. I can't believe you would write such a fabulous review of a series, of all things. I've added three books to my list in the last 10 minutes. You ought to be ashamed of yourself...

tloeffler - He should be ashamed of himself, but I imagine he's smiling at our suffering.

*sigh* I added the series, too. I picked up The Various Haunts of Men from the library yesterday.

I lied.. It was The Risk of Darkness that the library had for me. good read.. thanks drN

I resisted, for as long as I could, reading your second/third thread. I am having a very strong "new year's resolution" to not buy any books which are not in a book club read or required in some manner or other. I've out grown bookcases, and started piling books in places they should not be piled (according to my mother-created sense of household organization and propriety). But I can't stay away forever, your thread is way too interesting.

Been missing you in chat, too.

I've been away from keyboard for most of the last week and most of this one. The wife had an 80th birthday party for her mom this past weekend in Louisiana, so we've been bouncing around among the relatives. We're at my parents' house for a few days before heading home, and my dad has a decent internet connection, so I'm finally catching up on threads. I'll drop into chat this weekend when we get home, maggie.

The good news is that I've had plenty of reading time. I finished All The Pretty Horses while stuck in the Atlanta airport, then finished up Odd Hours and The Risk of Darkness. Enjoyed them all, reviews to follow...

We are anxiously awaiting your reviews, Jim!

I have read the last two, drN. Liked them both. After reading The Road it would take a lot to drag me into another McCarthy. I look forward to that review especially :)

safe travel.

just dropping by to say I'm another one looking forward to your review all All the Pretty Horses !

#20 Ya gotta watch out for those 80th birthday parties, drneutron! We are hosting one on Saturday May 2nd for my father-in-law. My mother-in-law says there should be about 100 people. We're going nuts trying to get the yard and flower beds in shape. Then I promised to bake cakes.....

Unlike mckait, I loved The Road so am looking forward to a review of All the Pretty Horses. It's sitting on my shelves just waiting to be read.

Glad to hear the Wells trilogy wound up well. I have books 1 & 2, but have not yet read the 2nd. Hope it's not too much of a cliffhanger! LOL

No worse than the cliffhanger at the end of the first one. He broke up the story nicely, I think.

#20 drnewt - If you were stuck in the Atlanta airport you should have yelled! HobbitPrincess could have come by and kept you company. Of course, you would have to yell loud; I'm about 3 1/2 hours south of the airport.

Heh. My layover was supposed to be about an hour. It turned into three hours. We boarded the plane to Shreveport, then a thunderstorm rolled through, so we had to deplane. Then we boarded again a bit later, but the twoer had been hit by lightning, so we had to get off the plane again. Third time was the charm, though!

Safe travels and good reading. Hope you don't have to sit next to that guy who won't leave you alone, even though he can see you are reading and don't want to talk!!! That guy seems to travel at all the same times that I have to travel.

38. Odd Hours by Dean Koontz

Well, if you've been following my challenge threads, you know that I really like the Odd Thomas series and the fourth, Odd Hours, is no exception. Odd is a young fry cook with the ability to see those dead who haven't moved on. He also gets pulled into situations where people are going to die violently - and tries as best he can to keep these events from happening. Now Odd has been drawn to a seaside California town where bad people are helping terrorists to attack US cities.

As usual, a thoroughly enjoyable read for me.

39. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

So Cormac McCarthy is rapidly becoming my favorite author. I love his sparse style, his plotting, the characters he creates, and the wonderful vistas he paints. In this one, we're in west Texas and Mexico in 1949, following a young man as he tries to figure out what life's all about. On the surface, this is a western, but it's so much more. There's love and violence, good and bad, bleakness and joy in life, and John Grady Cole becoming a man.

I can't recommend this one highly enough.

40. The Risk of Darkness by Susan Hill

Susan Hill has created a wonderful thing in Lafferton, an imaginary English cathedral town. She's populated it with real people and painted a dead-on picture of life there. The Risk of Darkness is her third book set in Lafferton, and is more than just the next episode in the Simon Serrailler series. Instead, the three books are really one story flowing from one into the other without seams. And the story isn't really about Simon. It's really about the whole Serrailler family and their extended circle of friends and associates. It's also about life and how things can change in a heartbeat - whether in relationships, life and death, or sudden violence.

I highly recommend The Risk of Darkness, but for best results, start from the beginning and read all three!

I was able to obtain All lthe Pretty Horses from my local library and will hope to read it in the next three weeks before the book is due back.

What is the first Susan Hill book in the trilogy. I'm sure it was mentioned somewhere, but it is the end of semester in academia land and I'm very weary....These books have been recommended throughout the threads and now I need to read them soon.

#29..LOL at your comment. Yep, this "guy" follows me as well, only it is usually a woman who triggers a migrane headache because of her heavy perfume that matches the loud voice and clanging bobbles that scrape the arm divider she has taken over.

The Serrailler sequence is

The Various Haunts of Men
The Pure in Heart
The Risk of Darkness

Thanks for the information!

I agree with drN, the Serrailler books are good.. at least the two I read.
I somehow managed to skip book #2

I do not agree with drN on Cormac McCarthy... :P

I DO agree on the Odd Thomas books :)
They are quirky and good.

I have a mess of Koontz books -- You give me hope that they may be enjoyable :)

I actually like Koontz

My brother in law began loaning his to me, in the days before my TBR pile was higher than my head.

The Watchers is a favorite..and I liked
The Good Guy

The Odd Thomas Novels.. all of them

The Face

The Darkest Evening of the Year

are some I can think of offhand that I read and liked. ( 3-3.5 stars mostly I think )

I liked The Face, Odd Thomas, and the Christopher Snow books (Fear Nothing and Seize the Night). Most of the rest I find somewhat interchangeable, in story and character. But they do move!

Glad you enjoyed All the Pretty Horses, doc. Sounds like you'll finish the triology. He's on my favorites list. I haven't read everything he's written yet but I have read a good deal of it and I just love his voice and narrative style. I think he also has quite an ear for the language of his settings.

Jumping on the band wagon about Dean Koontz: My favorite of his is Intensity. I listened to it on tape and it scared the ---- out of me. It's about the only book that has ever scared me. I enjoy listening to his books better than reading them.

Wasn't All the Pretty Horses great?!! I am a serious McCarthy convert too :) You are so right - a Western, but so, so much more!

Yup, I'm definitely finishing the Borderlands trilogy. And sometime in the next couple of weeks, I'm squeaking in a re-read of The Road as my way of looking forward to the movie!

Oh, and I consider the Odd Thomas series due penance for Koontz's awful Frankenstein mess...8^}

I tried to read that Frankenstein mess and gave up. Brother Odd is next in the Odd Thomas series for me.

I have not read anything in almost a week other than textbooks and papers I'm proofreading. How can I count Algebra textbooks in my 2007 list? Oh well, I can read some over the weekend.

I loved The Road by McCarthy. I'll take at look at All the Pretty Horses; it sounds great.

41. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

We picked up the audiobook version of this one for the drive back from Louisiana. Rob Inglis' narration is excellent, and now the wife's all ready for the movies when they come out!

I am really torn about a movie version of The Road. It is not really a "plot" book - what is the movie going to be, two hours of them walking down the road? I love the book, but I love it because of the writing style, the relationship between the man and the boy, the bleakness of the world - and none of that really sounds appealing in a movie!

However, because I love the book, and I love movies in general, and I love Viggo Mortensen, I will probably see the movie anyway!

Have a great day :)

42. The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

I was out of town on vacation and (oh, the horror!) ran out of reading material. So I while I was out shopping, I decided to see what I could find. Imagine my delight when I found a new - at least for me - steampunk novel, The Court of the Air! So 600 or so pages later, I'm not so delighted; this one's a bit of a disappointment.

On the surface, it's a great concept. Orphans key to the fight against an ancient evil attacking a society very similar to Victorian Britain, a neighboring nation much like revolutionary France, airships, steam men, magic - what more could a steampunk fan ask for? The Court of the Air is packed with steampunk and fantasy elements. Unfortunately. It's bloated and overly complicated, and can be difficult to follow in spots. It's a shame, since the book could have been excellent if it had been less ambitious.

To be fair, I really liked the last third or so of the book, and by the end, it was hard to put down. But I think it would take a really dedicated fan of the genre to get that far. Will I read the next when it comes out this summer? Maybe. I'll certainly take a look to see if things have improved.

Such a pity, when something with such promise is executed poorly.

You know what... I'm not sure if I've ever knowingly read a steampunk novel... I can't even think of one to say if I have or not. What do you recommend as being a good place to start reading this genre?

Wikipedia's got a decent page discussing the genre here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk. They've also got a good book/movie list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steampunk_works.

The classics are Gibson and Sterling's The Difference Engine, Tim Powers' The Anubis Gates, and Blaylock's Lord Kelvin's Engine. Some more recent books are Mainspring, Perdido Street Station and Steampunk, an anthology of short stories.

Just my two cents.....The Anubis Gates is a great read and I didn't know I was reading steampunk until meeting the doc here.

steampunk... that sounds so way cool...

hmm... it makes me imagine Sid Vicious playing guitar on the top of a steam locomotive - which IS cool, I guess! :)

Well, they're no Sid Vicious, but Abney Park's pretty good: http://www.abneypark.com

steampunk

The Affinity Bridge was a fun read about murder in Victorian England aboard a dirigible piloted by a robot.

Thanks for your input everyone! drneutron, I've ventured into the film & graphic novel worlds of steampunk (and quite enjoyed it), but never got around to reading any of it... thanks for a good place to start!

I am adding my two cents with BDB's (hey, 4 whole cents!) - The Anubis Gates is an excellent read!

What Stasia said! ;-)

Tim Powers is a powerful writer of very non-traditional styles of fantasy. The Anubis Gates and The Stress of Her Regard are historical in setting, while many of his are current.

Curses!

My TBR pile is never going to get any smaller. The Anubis Gates is now on my holds list at the local library. I have to get it from ILL, so maybe I can finish the books I'm reading now before it gets here.

DrNewt - I don't know if I should thank you or throw something at you. :)

Throw something. Money would be fine!

Ah! I do have a roll of pennies nearby! :)

43. James Madison: The Founding Father by Robert Rutland

James Madison is one of those characters in American history that we often neglect. He's a "Founding Father", yet he falls under the shadow of Jefferson, his mentor and friend. He was instrumental in the writing and adoption of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and was a leader in the House of Representatives. But he was also instrumental in the establishment of the Democratic Republican party to oppose the Federalists. And he's not a President that I've studied all that much.

Rutland's biography, James Madison: The Founding Father, was good, but not great. I appreciated his recounting of the political maneuvering that went on during the establishment of the Constitution, but ultimately was unsatisfying given the brevity of the book. The choice of a single chapter per President through Madison's own term in office was limiting, and forced Rutland to greatly abbreviate his discussion of critical events. His brevity also meant that Madison's personal life was relatively unexplored.

In spite of its flaws, James Madison: The Founding Father should work fine as a jumping off point for further reading on Madison.

I admire your dedication to reading about the American presidents. Too many of us know too little of our history. There are many interesting and even helpful things to learn from the past.

me....too many books, too little time.

One of the things I'm discovering through reading the bios is sequence is just how much overlap there was in the lives and careers of the early Presidents and their compatriots. It helps, I'm sure, that four of the first five were upper class Virginians, but there really did seem to be a "politician class" that filled the state and national offices. So by reading these bios, I'm getting more sense of the flow of history. It's different - I'm generally more inclined to pick an event or a person and read about that one thing.

That's one good thing (the only one?) that Michener did for us in books like Centennial where you got to see the flow of events over time. I imagine the "spot" approach is much more common and may leave us (those of us who do that) more prone to error or at least assumptions that don't reflect the larger realities. Good point!

44. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The wife's a Twilight fan, so she thought she'd give The Host a try when she found it at the library. She loved it and wanted me to give it a go. Since I try to be a good husband, I thought I'd give it a shot since I've been a bit obstinate about Twilight. All the fans showing up on LT gushing about some vampire named Edward haven't helped my attitude...8^}

So imagine my surprise when I liked it. Yeah, it's romance-y. Yeah, the plot could use a bit of juicing up in spots. But I liked her conception of the aliens, how they took over humans, and how the relationship between aliens and humans (at both the personal and at societal levels) winds up. Meyer has kicked around some interesting ideas with characters that make you want to keep following. It's not perfect, but it's a perfectly fine read.

Kudos to you for being a good husband and tackling a Stephanie Meyer book. I haven't read The host but after reading your comments I probably will. I quite liked the vampire world she created in Twilight but not so much the main characters.
I've just caught up on your threads and happily most of the books you've been recommending are already on my must-read list. I have both Let the right one in and Blindness home from the library at the moment.

45. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Wow, what a book. It's heart-breaking, and at the same time, reminds that in even the worst circumstances, there's good in people that bad times can't completely drive away. I love McCarthy's depiction of a post-apocalyptic world - there's no worries here about how it happened or why. McCarthy just plops us down into the lives of a father and son as they try to get to someplace where they might be able to live. Then through hints and quick dream episodes, we see more of life before the book that are captivating. As usual, McCarthy's prose is sparse but for me, satisfying.

This was a re-read of a new favorite in anticipation of the movie later this year. It'll be interesting to see if this one translates as well as No Country for Old Men did.

I put a note on Cait86' thread that you can find a trailer for the movie on the internet with a quick search. It looks pretty cool.

The Road is an incredible book. I will definitely reread it prior to the movie.

I'm glad you enjoyed The Host. I did read the Twilight books, and liked all but the last. I hope we see a sequel to The Host at some point.

I've just started reading Brother Odd.

46. Go Down Together by Jeff Guinn

The late 1920s and early 1930s were a unique time for criminals. Law enforcement was still locally controlled and criminals could easily escape by crossing jurisdictional lines, and gangsters like Pretty Boy Floyd and John Dillinger captured the imagination of folks suffering from economic hard times, until they met their end at the hands of a posse. Clyde Barrow was a small-time car thief and robber of gas stations in the slums of West Dallas when he met Bonnie Parker at a party. They instantly formed a relationship that took them through the next several years of robbery, shoot-outs with police, living on the run, and a love/hate relationship with the press until May 23, 1934 when a posse of former Texas Rangers, Dallas police and a Louisiana sheriff ambushed them on a country road outside Shreveport, Louisiana. But the story could never end that simply, and the legend of Bonnie and Clyde grew out of any semblance to reality.

Jeff Guinn has put together a well-researched, well-written history of Clyde and Bonnie and the rest of the Barrow gang by going back to the source material and digging into the unpublished stories and interviews given by family members and others involved in the actual events. In doing so, he really clears away the built-up detritus from the efforts of magazines like True Crime, sensationalist books, and wildly inaccurate Hollywood productions that have clouded the actual events. For instance, the Barrow gang wasn't particularly successful as a criminals. Clyde was a pretty good car thief and could drive a mean get-away car, but he never scored more than a few thousand dollars robbing banks and lived hand-to-mouth on the run by robbing country gas stations and grocery stores. Bonnie wasn't the vicious mastermind of the gang portrayed by Faye Dunaway, but was devoted to Clyde and never to anyone's knowledge was an actual participant in a robbery or a killing. As Guinn ably demonstrates, much of what we "know" about Bonnie and Clyde is wrong.

Go Down Together is well worth the time to get a sense of what the Depression era - and the gangsters who were so prominent during that time - was really like.

Sounds just like the kind of book I love. Adding it to my pile....naturally getting larger.

Thanks

#73: Definitely one I need to track down! Thanks for the recommendation, Jim.

47. James Monroe by Gary Hart

In spite of being the author of the Monroe doctrine (and, yes, there's some debate about that), James Monroe isn't usually high in the rankings of US Presidents. The last of the Virginian revolutionary-era Presidents, he falls under some pretty big shadows and so tends to get short-changed a bit. Gary Hart's study of Monroe helps to fill in the gaps in the life of a President that isn't so well known these days.

Hart's theme is that Monroe should be considered our first "national security President". Certainly, his administration during aftermath of the Louisiana Purchase and the War of 1812 concentrated on issues of national boundaries and border protection - some themes that resonate today. This is the era when, especially in South America, colonies in the Western Hemisphere were shucking off European control. Monroe had to deal with how to support these new states without ruining relations with Spain and other European nations, making the spread of democracy a foreign policy agenda even through today's events. Out of these considerations came the Monroe doctrine, that the Western Hemisphere is closed to European colonization and influence and that the US would treat European meddling as an attack while remaining neutral in European affairs. While there's been a lot of debate about the source of the doctrine, what it means, and how (or even whether) it should be implemented, this foreign policy approach was the guiding principle for the US response to the Soviet Union as it acted in Central and South America during the Cold War, and continues to be implemented today.

James Monroe is a good discussion of the Monroe Presidency as relates to issues of national security. It isn't a general biography, so there are gaps in the history and discussion of other aspects of his career are missing. In spite of the somewhat narrow focus of the book, it was well worth the time spent for a new look at an interesting man.

Jim, the Monroe books really interesting! Thx for sharing your thoughts.

48. Afraid by Jack Kilborn

The blurbs on the back of Afraid describe it as "intense" and "non-stop". Yep, they're right. It's a quick-paced quick read that screams for blasting through in one sitting. Fair warning - this is definitely a horror book. The action's gory and there's nothing subtle about the scariness.

It's hard to say much about the plot or the characters without giving away surprises, so I won't go into detail. Things start out pretty simply with the crash of what appears to be one of those silent black helicopters so loved by conspiracy theorists crashing near a small Wisconsin town. There's something on the helicopter that got away from its keepers and now it's loose in town. Except there's more to the story, oh course.

Afraid is a pretty good ride. If you like gory action/horror that's sure to be made into a movie, this one's for you.

HI Jim

While I'm passing the Afraid book because I don't like gore and horror, I am adding Go Down Together to the tbr pile.
Thanks for your excellent reviews!

Afraid is on top of my pile books to be read. I can't wait to get to it. Thanks for the head's up.

Afraid sounds like a book I would like. Now to find the time to read it.

Doc, I always increase my TBR pile when I visit your thread.

Conspiracy theory - sounds interesting! I might just have to give it a try.

Marian

Marian, I love your user name!

83 - yeah, isn't it great? I thought so too when I saw the thread!

Fair warning on Afraid - it really is gory. It's a good book, but it might not be for the squeamish. So don't blame me if you have nightmares...8^}

Squeamish? Ha! I teach 8th grade!! Nothing bothers me!

I'm glad you all like my user name! I am very proud of my library job, if you haven't noticed.
And true about 8th grade. I remember being there. 8th graders are...interesting.
And if you have nightmares, be sure to drink some nice hot chocolate.

Marian

>87 marian_the_librarian: There's an impromptu 'reunion' of our old HS choir in Dallas this summer with our old director who now lives in New Zealand. Many of the folks who were in that The Music Man production are now professionals (NYC opera...) The old barbershop is getting together -- sadly have to replace one tenor who died at 19. Our Marian, another professional now lives in the far east so probably won't be able to make it over either.

LOL @ GDawn

thanks for the review on Go Down Together. I found myself thinking about Billy the Kid while reading your review, as many of the same things could be said about his life and story. Looks like a good one!

49. Columbine by Dave Cullen

The killings at Columbine High School have always been a bit of a mystery to me. We've heard the media coverage - bullying of goth kids by jocks, revenge killings, etc. But I've never been satisfied with the attempts to understand the thinking of Eric Harris and Dylan Kliebold. Much of what's been published about the events that day has been contradictory, and the coverage by the national media just died away when a new story came along. So in some sense, we have been no better off in understanding and preventing this sort of thing than we were before it happened.

Fortunately, David Cullen has spent the last ten years researching this very question, and his result is the very good Columbine. Based on many thousands of pages of evidence, witness testimony, and interviews with those actually there, Cullen has cut through the fog to give what is probably the most accurate story of the Columbine killings that can be pieced together. Along the way, Cullen clears up some of the myths that have grown up around the story. If for nothing else, this book is incredibly valuable for that clarity, but he also discussed how the mythology surrounding such events can grow - a fascinating story in its own right.

Columbine was hard to read in spots, not because of the book itself, but because of my emotional reaction to the story. The peek into Eric and Dylan's inner lives is revolting in spots, and I found myself bouncing between horror and empathy. Dylan, especially, was a very troubled kid that probably could have been helped, had help been forthcoming. Eric had a history of violence, and the local police could have prevented the shootings if they had followed up on reports by others around him. I was angry with the way the Jefferson County sheriff handled the event, the following investigation, and the release of information gathered. I was moved by the spirit of the school principal and staff as they dealt with the aftermath to the detriment of their own personal lives. And the survivors' stories ripped my heart out. It's a tribute to Cullen's ability that Columbine manages to evoke all this emotion while staying elegant and thoughtful without any hint of tabloid reporting.

Thanks for the review of Columbine. This is starting to sound like a possible "best of the year" type book for me, from what I'm hearing.

Also, I will add the James Monroe book to the list for when I get to him. So far, I am still bogged down with Jefferson. I'll be moving along to Madison and Monroe soon, I hope.

50. Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

What a wonderful fantasy story! Here's another one that I can't really say too much about without spoiling the surprise. Let me just say that fantasy fans will find the characters and events a bit familiar, but will be very rewarded for keeping with it.

Here's the description - that's safe enough:

John, Jack, and Charles are strangers brought together by the Imaginarium Geographica - an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. On the eve of the murder of a caretaker of the Geographica, the men learn that it is now up to them to protect the atlas from the Winter King, an evil conqueror gaining strength in the world of the imaginary. After securing of the just seven ships that can cross into the imaginary lands, the three men set out to find the Winter King before he builds a deathless army that no force on Earth can defeat.

Kudos to the folks here in the challenge that recommended it!

Sounds good!

#93: That one is already on the Planet or I would add it again!

I'm adding it to the list!

I'm adding it too!

Marian

51. Blood Work by Michael Connelly

The wife and I watched the very good movie of the same name with Clint Eastwood the other day (yay, Netflix!) and noticed in the credits that it was based on Connelly's book. So I immediately had to go find it and read it - along with the two sequels. Blood Work's a pretty doggone good mystery/action/thriller book with a fairly unique plot twist at the end. Highly recommended!

I greatly enjoy Connelly's works, Jim, especially his Harry Bosch series. You might want to give them a try.

Supposedly, the sequel to Blood Work has Harry Bosch in it. I'm probably gonna tackle that series afterwards.

#100: There are actually 2 follow up books to Blood Work, Jim. I think both of them have Harry Bosch in them, although it has been a while since I read them, so I may be mistaken about that.

Thanks for the review of Afraid Dr. N, just reserved it at the library.

52. Monster by A. Lee Martinez

Martinez really wowed me with Gil's All-Fright Diner, a comedy-fantasy novel about a redneck vampire and werewolf saving a diner from zombies and the world from destruction. So when I saw Monster, I immediately *had* to grab it. This time around, Martinez has a Cryptobiologic Containment and Rescue agent (a division of your local Animal Control Office!) taking care of the yeti eating all the ice cream at the local Food Mart and, um, saving the world from destruction.

Mind you, I thought Monster was funny, and an entertaining diversion. But yeah, it felt pretty familiar given his previous work. His imagining of the workings of our world behind the scenes was quite good, especially how Monster, our hero, deals with all the monsters. The characters and plot? Not bad, but not stellar.

My final answer? It's a flawed but entertaining diversion. For a better riff on a similar theme, try Gil's All-Fright Diner.

#103: I enjoyed Gil's, so I am sorry to hear that Monster is rather a copycat. Oh, well, maybe his next book . . .

53. John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life by Paul C. Nagel

I want to be John Quincy Adams when I grow up. He was a curmudgeon, plain and simple, and I've always aspired to be one. At least, that's been his reputation - not wholly undeserved. Nagel's portrait of him in Johns Quincy Adams: A Public Life, A Private Life, shows that there's much more to the man than his reputation for snarkiness and a failed presidency.

Nagel had the advantage of access to all of JQA's extensive diaries and private writings, which if the introduction is accurate, hadn't been fully available before. The picture that comes out of this extra material is of a man that had a love of fine living and a deep desire or a life of literature and learning, a husband devoted to his wife and agonizing over his family, and a son that had a seriously rocky relationship with his parents yet managed to make them proud. What really hit home for me was how much of his later life was driven by the very high expectations John and Abigail Adams had for him and the early push into a public life that he really didn't want. One wonders what JQA would have been like if he had been freer to pursue his own way.

Nagel doesn't spend a lot of time talking about historical events or the political issues that characterized JQA's career. Instead, the book is more about his relationships and his internal life as seen through his diaries. So in the end, I was left more with a sense of who he was rather than a recitation of the events of his life, which was what I was looking for. There's an obvious comparison here to David McCullough's John Adams, concerning JQA's father and mother. Frankly, Nagel doesn't have nearly the high opinion of them that McCullough does - Abigail in particular suffers from fairly severe criticism. I suspect the real truth is somewhere between the extremes in the two books, but Nagel's picture is at least partly correct, I think.

Recommended as a good biography of an often neglected figure in American history.

# 105

Don't you think that maybe the discrepancy between Nagel's and McCullough's view of Abigail might partly be because McCullough was interested in Abigail as John's wife and how important she was to his carreer and to his well being. Nagel was interested in her as a mother to John Quincy. I loved McCullough's biography and had great respect for Abigail in many respects but she definitely was a better wife than mother!

Thanks for a wonderful and thoughtful review--I'm adding this to my TBR.

Yeah, that's probably the case. Also, I think Nagel was sympathetic to JQA and saw the effect Abigail's criticisms had on his outlook on life. I think it's definitely fair to say she was a better wife than mother.

Thanks for the comments and conclusions about the JQA book. I am currently reading Jon Meacham's bio, Andrew Jackson: American Lion which presents some interesting views of JQA in his post-presidential political life and his contentious realtionship with Jackson. I think he felt the heavy weight of his parents' high expectations all his life.

I'll add this one to my list.

54. Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer

I've loved apocalyptic thrillers and books about dystopian societies since I was a teenager reading Logan's Run, Earth Abides and Alas, Babylon. Sigmund Brouwer's Broken Angel follows in that well-worn mold, but manages to be a good read. It's not destined to be a classic, and honestly owes more than a little to the past, especially Logan's Run. But it was entertaining and I'll be looking out for the sequel.

In an Appalachia of the not too distant future, an independent country has been established that's run by a Christian fundamentalist. The society has rejected most technology and doesn't read, but that hasn't stopped them from bringing in some things from Outside to make the process of controlling the population easier. Caitlyn has always looked and acted different from those around her, and her father wants to get her Out to treat a medical condition that manifests as a hunchback. The Clan knows the way out and is helping them escape, but there's a bounty hunter trailing them determined to bring them back. Broken Angel is the story of their escape attempt.

Brouwer knows how to write an action-packed novel that kept my attention. His characters, though, are a bit weak. He could have put more effort into character names, which came of as a bit cheesy, and there were some one-liners that poked at current fundamentalists that felt gratuitous to me. And I saw the twist at the end coming a mile away.

Recommendation: it's an entertaining, but flawed work. Not bad for a beach read or an airplane ride, I imagine.

#109: As a fan of the apocalyptic/dystopian novels, I will give this one a try despite your reservations, Jim. Thanks for the heads up!

There are several here that I want to add to my list: the Martinez books, Here, There be Dragons, Columbine, Blood Work, and Broken Angel. I guess I should add the entire thread!

Heh. You should have been with us at the Mid-Atlantic Green Dragon meetup. We had a great time discussing books, showing each other good stuff to read...all the great book-ish stuff one does with friends.

I'm sure it was wonderful! I'll take a look at that thread.

Let me add my kudos for all of your reviews...
well Done, drN!

92: lindapanzo.. I have to agree that Columbine is a wonderful read. It is one of my favorite reads for this quarter.

55. A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly

Sequel to Blood Work and also one of the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. This one's as good a mystery as the first, and Connelly really scores by bringing his well-known detective, Harry Bosch into the mix. Now I've got to go back and get caught up on Harry's story.

56. The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen

The Search for the Red Dragon continues the story of John, Jack and Charles, caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica - a book with maps of the Archipelago of Dreams. But the Caretakers are much more than keepers of the maps. In this story, they travel back to the Archipelago to figure out why the children of the Archipelago are missing. I don't want to give anything away, so let's leave it at if you liked the first, you'll like this one as well.

As with the first book, Owen weaves myths and stories into a very real world that I just didn't want to leave. Fortunately, there's a third book!

#116: I am jealous! My local library does not even have the first one in yet, let alone the other two. Thanks for the recommendation, Jim.

56. The Search for the Red Dragon by James A. Owen does sound wonderful...

Gil's All Fright Diner arrived at the library yesterday. I just finished the 5th book in the Southern Vampire Series and haven't bought the next two. I needed something to read. (Well, I have plenty to read, but this is a good excuse to read about Gil's Diner!)

Broken Angel and the James A. Owen series have both gone onto the wishlist!

Owen mentions in the afterword of the second book that Sony (I think) has optioned the Imaginarium Geographica books to be made into movies. No word yet on details, but I'm looking!

57. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

Hey, what can I say, it's Brandon Sanderson at his best! If you haven't had the pleasure of his work yet, Elantris is a great place to start since it's a stand-alone novel. There are 63 reviews of it as of this writing, so I don't think I'll add much more - Brandon's one of my all-time favorite authors at this point. After four books, I haven't found a clinker yet.

OK, I'm gushing, so I'll stop...8^} Elantris is political thriller, adventure, fantasy in one, and as is usual with Brandon, the bad guys aren't all bad and the good guys aren't all good. Instead, the characters feel like real people and the plot is unpredictable enough to keep the reader in his chair way past bedtime.

I read Elantris last year and loved it. I wish he'd set another story there.

Elantris sounds lovely. I'm ready to try another author new to me. And I'm getting to play with the new collections feature, since all of the scribbled TBR titles on the backs of envelopes aren't getting me far in terms of compiling a coherent list of interesting books to pursue.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Elantris. I thought it was wonderful!

Don't you just love it when you find an author that you can depend on?
I feel that way about De Lint... no clinkers. There are some I have liked less, but they are not clinkers.. just not five stars :)

I really need to get a Brandon Sanderson book! I hear so many great things about his writing. Where should I get started?

Elantris is a good stand-alone starting point. If you want to commit further, the Mistborn trilogy is also very good. Honestly, I think liked Elantris marginally better, but either way, I think you like it!

I think that I should just drive down the coast and pile all your books in my car, DrN!

Finally caught up here! And only one added to Mount Wishlist...er, maybe two.

58. Why They Kill by Richard Rhodes

In the introduction to Why They Kill, Richard Rhodes describes a pretty horrific episode in his childhood where he as forced to confront the violence that so many have experienced. Many of his books deal with different aspects of violence, and he uses these works to understand his experience. In Why They Kill, Rhodes focuses on ultraviolent criminals - why they do what they do and how they become so violent in the first place.

Why They Kill is really two books in one. The first is a biography of Lonnie Athens, the maverick criminologist of the subtitle. He's a product of the world of the ultraviolent criminal, but managed to escape into a rather unwelcoming academia. The biographical section also includes a detailed explanation of Athens' theory of violentization, the process he proposes by which ultraviolent criminals are made. The second book is a series of tests of Athen's theory, for example against famous folk such as Lee Harvey Oswald and Mike Tyson.

Criminology is well outside my area of expertise, but Athens' theory seems sensible to me. It appears to explain the process by which people become violent and the mitigations discussed at the end of the book are in line with successful intervention programs. I suspect that the situation, however, is more complicated than presented here. Genetic factors are ignored, and the possibility of mental illness or learning disabilities in violent offenders are dismissed out of hand. Rhodes, and by extension, Athens, claims that the theory explains every violent person, however cases which don't appear to fit the theory are assumed to be cases where the person (or the researcher) are not telling the whole story and so the argument becomes somewhat circular.

All in all, I think the book was worth reading, although Rhodes was a bit drier in this one than in others of his that I've read. The ideas should be taken with a grain of salt, but are well worth thinking about.

Mornin' Doc. Nice review. I haven't seen that one around and it's definitely in my area of interest! I'll be looking out for it.

Your review of Why They Kill is excellent. This is something I may want to read. Thanks!

Why They Kill is sitting on my shelf waiting patiently to be read - I may have to move it up in the queue.

Good review, as always.

I tried to BookMooch Elantris but there are no copies. I wishlisted it but am not holding my breath.

> 115
Picked up Echo Park by Michael Connelly on the strength of your recommendation of the author. It is great so far, and I have been a hard-to-please-reader lately. Thanks, drneutron.

Yeah, he's becoming a new favorite. I'm lining up the Harry Bosch books. Just what I needed, a new series! 8^}

I have been thinking about that series for quite a while and jadebird and drneutron, you have pushed me over the edge. Echo Park goes on the wish list. Next year I may just make my reading list from all the series I've discovered this year plus my favorites from last year that I've been neglecting! :-D LT has made me a big fan of series.

59. The Killing Floor by Lee Child

The Killing Floor is the first of Lee Child's Jack Reacher action/mystery series. It's gruesome in spots, filled with action, and an exciting read. The mystery is relatively straight-forward, but that's ok. Reacher is a kick-butt hero with enough quirkiness to keep my interest through at least the rest of the books.

You make a reading list? You don't just pick up random books that attract you at that moment?

wow

impressive.

>139 mckait: Random vs List? Comment.

~ TT

Random. I could never have a list of books and the order I was going to read them. What if I'm not in the mood for the next book? What if I want some light-heartedness and its a heavy, intense book? Or vice-versa. I just sit and look at the books I have available to me and make a choice.........the only thing I tend to do is not follow with the same genre as I've just read, unless I'm reading a series.

I try to make a list, but then as soon as I do, all I want to read are books not on the list! So usually, my reading is pretty random. This month I told myself that I was going to read only Canadian novels, and already my fingers are itching for non-Canadian novels!

My intentions for a list were always good, but the most recent good review or a particularly attention-demanding mood always bumps everything else, so I gave up. Rarely random either. I have "named" all my bookshelves, and I decided a while back that when my "urgent" stack starts to get low, I will choose a book from whichever shelf's turn it is. Although once when I was on a medical leave, I had my son choose 5 random numbers & I read the books on my LT list that corresponded with those numbers. That was fun!

I have an 'next up' stack also. I have my 4 or 5 that I'm reading, then 4 or 5 more on the 'next up' stack. When I get down to 1 or 2 left, I go to the bookshelf or library and pick another 4 or 5. I find that that is the only way some books will get read. Now sometimes they sit on the 'next up' stack for a long time.....

oops!

completely random, but i do have a (quite large) pile of books beside my bed that are the ones i want to read within the next month. of course half of those have been there since last year, but it sometimes works...

#147 LOL. That's my style as well.

Usually random, except I've gotten a couple of ARCs recently that I feel like I have to read so they are on a list. I tried a list once but it never worked.

60. Ghost Story by Peter Straub

Back in June, i found a copy of Ghost Story while on a bookstore cruise with some LT friends in Philadelphia. It's been calling my name ever since, and so I took it along on our annual multi-family camping trip this weekend. What a great book to read by firelight in the evenings!

I remember this one giving me a shiver back in the 80's when I first read it. It held up pretty well - it's still got enough punch to keep me reading late into the night. And it's no wonder Straub and Stephen King wrote some really good stuff together. I was really surprised this time around to see just how much Ghost Story felt like some of King's best. Now it's time to go dig up some more Straub!

On another thread I mentioned that I joined 999 challenge this year and I was finding it difficult because I was feeling restricted in my choices. I usually have a "list" of what I want to read but normally I will get side tracked more often than not. Some of the list gets read and some of it waits quite a while for me to get back to it and the list changes as I change my mind about what I want to do. I like reading in categories--either subject or genre--but I don't like to feel pressured. Ergo, next year I will go back to my old way of "semi random"--having in mind certain areas I want to do in depth but no deadline or arbitrary number of books that "have to be read."

ETA -- Sorry, Jim! we'll give you your thread back now! :-)

No problem!

#151 MusicMom, I'm having the same experience with the 999 challenge - but I've pretty much decided to ignore it (beyond making an effort to read more non-fiction) and just see how I do!

#151 flissp

I'm kind of in that spot, too. I split Sci-Fi/Fantasy into two categories--which has the added benefit that now I'm having to learn the difference between to two genre's. :-) I'm also now doing two mystery categories, two poetry categories and added a Newbery Winners category which means I'm actually doing 13 categories. I'm pretty sure I'll have 9 that will be finished by the end of the year and beyond that I've decided not to worry about it any more and just enjoy my reading!

I have always had the philosophy that no one should have to decide at age 18 what career he/she will spend the rest of his life pursuing. I'm now adding to that: no one should have to decide in January what areas he will spend the entire year reading! :-D

#154 no one should have to decide in January what areas he will spend the entire year reading!

Hear hear!!

I have a hard enough time deciding at the end of a month what to read for the following month!

I have trouble getting more than one book into the future. As I finish one book, my mind decides to read this book next...no that one...oops, forgot thisone here...wait, what about the one that just came out?

#154 MusicMom, Sounds like a very good rule for life on both counts!

#157 TadAD, me too - so I start 5 at once and then take all year to finish all of them!

#151 MusicMom and #153 flissp - I've pretty much decided to not do a categories challenge next year. Glad to see I'm not the only one. I'm thinking of the 75 again, and perhaps the Club Read...?

I've gotten distracted this year with a great mystery series and a couple of ARCs I wasn't anticipating.

Back to you, drneutron!

61. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole by Pierre Berton

I've always been fascinated with explorers who venture off into unknown lands for years at a time, suffering unbelievable hardship in the name of discovery - or at least, fame and fortune. These are people that seem somehow different from us ordinary mortals. What ordinary person, after all, would voluntarily nearly starve to death wintering over in the bleak landscape of the Arctic?

Pierre Berton's Arctic Grail is a great introduction to the history of Arctic exploration from the heyday of British polar exploration in the early 19th century to the early days of the 20th century when Peary and Cook fought over competing claims to be first to the North Pole. It's a story of driven explorers in a horrendous environment, with starvation, heroism, lost expeditions, even a hint of cannibalism. Some of them are likable, some outright detestable, all are unforgettable.

Arctic Grail is a well-told story, but given the time span covered, it's no surprise this is an introductory work. Berton's bibliography is extensive, which is good, since it's likely that the reader will want to dig deeper. Recommended, especially for fans of exploration stories.

Oh, my dad loves explorer books. I'll look for this one. Thanks.

Good review, drneutron. I just received a book about Cook from a BookMoocher in the Netherlands called A First Rate Tragedy: Robert Falcon Scott and the Race to the South Pole. I might have to move it up in the tbr pile.

eek!

62. The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists by Gregory Curtis

Many are familiar with images from Lascaux cave, bison and horses painted on the walls in the depths of prehistory. In The Cave Painters, Gregory Curtis takes us through the history of these caves in the Pyrenees region and those who study them from the first modern discovery of cave paintings in 1879 until today. Along the way, he introduces us to the art and the fascinating people who've studied the art over the years.

Even in the least interesting of the caves, the walls are covered with paintings and etchings of horses, bison, lions, bears, mammoth - all the big animals found in Europe during the Ice Age. And nobody knows why they're there. The animals depicted aren't the ones that the people hunted, and there's relatively little depiction of violence or scenes that appear to be a hunt. Human figures are rare and rather crudely done - except that many caves include outlines of human hands. And how did they figure out how to make images on the rock walls that are artistically mature, even to the point of using perspective, that still speak to us today?

The Cave Painters doesn't have any answers. But it does give us a history of the ideas put forward by those spending their lives studying these works. Curtis really makes the caves and the researchers come alive, and doesn't dismiss any of the important people in the field, even when their ideas fall out of favor with later researchers. His sympathetic approach makes the book for me.

Great review, Jim. I just gave it a thumbs up. I added this book to my wish list yesterday and I can see I will be pushing it toward the top. Sound like not only an interesting subject but also a "good read!"

Hooray for the Pierre Berton review and another nudge for The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists. Following along, Jim, even if I don't comment that often. And I'm a random mood-I'm-in reader too. The one list I should print off and start carting around with me, however, is my wishlist.

One of the things I really like about collections is now that I have my wishlist on LT, I can use my blackberry at the library or bookstore to get to my list. Beats having to remember what's on the list or carrying around paper!

LOL about the 999 lists--I picked categories I normally read, listed books on my TBR stacks on home, and figured I'd get through at least some of them. So far, so good--about a 50 percent return on my plan. Oh, and left the last book absolutely, positively unnamed anyway--TBA.

Some friends and I have started meeting weekly to teach ourselves art history, starting with cave art. One of my friends read The Cave Painters. I read Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind by Randall White, which included other forms of prehistoric art in addition to cave art--a fascinating read. We spent about 6 weeks discussing this era. We've now moved on to Mesopotanian art. Great review.

#160: I really liked that one when I read it last year, Jim. I am a sucker for all things Arctic. Glad to see you liked it, too.

#164: Adding that one to Planet TBR, which one of these days will topple over killing everyone :)

#164 this one sounds really interesting....
very nice review!!

63. The Island: A Tale of Noreela by Tim Lebbon

Kel is a member of the Core, a secret army protecting Noreela from the Strangers, an alien race that's been sending spies to investigate the land. At least, until an operation goes wrong, people die, and Kel decides to chuck it all and hide in a small fishing village. All's well, even though he'll be killed if he's ever found by the Core. Then, during a massive storm, an island appears off the coast off the village, which is wiped out in the aftermath. People from the island come ashore to help with the recovery, but just who are they? And do they really just want to help?

In The Island, Tim Lebbon has mixed fantasy with a classic alien invasion horror story and just a bit of steampunk to make a pretty good story - just about the best mix I can think of for escapist fare. I was a bit hesitant at first, since this is the fourth book he's set in Noreela, but as it turns out, this one works quite well as a stand-alone novel. Now I've got to stir up the previous books!

#172: Sounds intriguing, Doc. I will have to add it to Planet TBR. Thanks for the recommendation.

Wouldn't you know it: just find a nice safe fishing village to hide in and a bunch of aliens show up on an island to wreck everything! Sounds like a hoot, DrN.

#172 it does sounds a lot of fun, have to look out for it. Be intesrted to see how the rest of series holds up, seems to get mixed reviews.

I was fascinated to read all your comments on list vs random. I made a list at the beginning of the year which I thought was so large and varied that I would be bound to stick to it. But, Librarything being what it is, I keep reading anything but what is on my list. I have 500 books on my bookshelves waiting to be read, to which I keep adding, but when I go to the public library I see books that I just have to read now. I think to myself, well my books will wait. They are not going anywhere!

~ TT

Re: Random v. list
I am definately on the random side. Though, while reading one book, I tend to know what I am reading next and sometimes I will know the next three books I will read; I always feel free to change my mind. I like to stand in front of all my tbrs trying to decide what book to read. Not to mention it reminds me to not buy any books if I can help it. I am really very bad about buying books.

#176: That is so me, TT. I finally resigned myself to the fact that I am not a list person and chucked my 'must read' list for the year! I am going to continue to read about the Civil Rights movement to increase my knowledge about it, but other than that, the rest of the year will be completely random.

>178 alcottacre: Abandon all lists, all ye who enter here! I just took Dante out of the library! I am reading about him in a magazine called Christian History and I saw him in passing. So, of course, I had to take him out and see what it is all about. Interestingly, he uses the seven deadly sins as a framework, as far as I can tell. Not sure if I will be able to read great slabs of medieval poetry, but I will try.

~ TT

TT

Long time no see! I will catch up on your thread when I get my CPAP and have some energy.

I hope you got a good translation of Dante with good notes. I loved Inferno when I read it several years ago. I also like Purgatorio and Paradisio but imo they are not quite as intriguing as Inferno..

TT: I'm currently working my way through the Divine Comedy myself (I'm nearly out of the Inferno). Like MusicMom says, it's not too hard to follow, but you do need good notes for all the references to contemporary characters. I've heard, too, that Purgatory & Paradise are a bit harder to follow, so we'll see. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about it.

I agree completely about having Dante with good notes. There are a lot of references to people who were contemporary with Dante, but meant absolutely nothing to me when I read it.

Good luck with it, TT!

64. Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H. W. Brands

In the course of reading biographies for the US Presidents Challenge, I made it to Andrew Jackson this month. My first instinct was to read American Lion, since a new release of a softbound version is being marketed right now and like David McCullough's biography of John Adams, that's the one people seem to be reading. But I decided to look into other options, since I had read it a few years back when originally released in hardback. And I'm glad I did. As good as American Lion is, H. W. Brands' Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times also fills the bill for a highly readable, thoroughly enjoyable biography of one of our most interesting presidents.

I hadn't realized how driven Jackson was. At least as portrayed by Brands, he was completely focused on preserving the Union in his career, as a politician early in life, as a military commander and as President. He gave fits to those above him in the hierarchy because his focus (and the inability to easily communicate across distances at the time) led him to risk war with Spain in invading Florida, antagonize Britain by executing agents he believed were stirring the Indians to war against the United States, etc. He knew he was right and those who disagreed were his enemies. But his decisions also made him very popular with the common man - and he rode this wave of popularity into the White House and changed the way the US is governed to something much more like a true democracy.

Brands' portrayal of Jackson makes him come alive. His love of and devotion to his wife and family shine throughout the book. But Jackson's a tough character to write about. He was a product of his times - slave owner, military man, Indian fighter. He believed that the native population should be relocated west of the Mississippi, but he honestly believed it was for their own safety in avoiding conflict with white settlers. His scorched-earth tactics wiped out entire native towns and Spanish or British encampments. And yet he adopted children orphaned by his battles on two separate occasions. I can't imagine trying to figure out how to present what from our viewpoint seems so contradictory in a way that gives a full picture of the man. Brands does this remarkably well.

My biggest issue with Brands' book is that he spends lots of time with Jackson's military years, but seems to skim through the Presidency. Jackson took on the national bank, the Mexican government over Texas, and relocation of the native population to reservations across the Mississippi River, but these events only take up two or three chapters in the whole work. The Trail of Tears relocation only took up a few paragraphs. The fight over the structure of the US banking system brought about significant economic crisis, yet the discussion felt very shallow. Another 50 or so pages to allow more detailed discussion of some of these major issues would have been better, I think. Still, it's a very good introduction to the life of this very interesting, very difficult man.

Edited to clarify: The treaties that authorized the removal of the native population in the Trail of Tears were signed into law by Jackson, and the first removal of the Choctaws was carried out in Jackson's second term. The relocation of the Cherokees was carried out under Van Buren.

Great review! I've added it to my wishlist.

ETA I have American Lion but haven't gotten to it yet. I now plan to read the H.W. Brands book first and then the Jon Meacham book. It looks like one emphasizes Jackson's life before the presidency and the other emphasizes the presidency so I should get a pretty good view of the man. The presidential biographies will become on of my main reading area next year.

Yeah, I think the two will complement each other nicely. If I were to continue poking into Jackson's life, I think like to get something with more critical analysis of his policies, etc. Both books are pretty light on analysis, as is probably right for introductory biographies.

Brands is an excellent writer. If you have not read his book on Benjamin Franklin, The First American, (and yes, I do know he was never President, lol), I recommend it.

Hi there Jim!

Congratulations on your "hot" review listed on today's home page!

Hmmm. I'll have to check that one out. I did indeed enjoy reading his Andrew Jackson bio.

Thanks Whisper!

Enjoyed your insights about Jackson and Brands' book. I did read American Lion earlier this year and found Jackson quite compelling - so single minded and certainly a leader of men in every sense. He brings a lot of baggage though - merciless to the Native Americans and while a fierce supporter of the Union, certainly no abolutionist or human rights advocate. Your words, "interesting, but difficult" are quite apt.

65. Doomsday Key by James Rollins

Rollins' Sigma Force novels are action-adventure stories based on science, but taking that science well beyond established bounds. That's ok, the what-if-it's-true feeling you get from them is part of the fun. It doesn't hurt that the action is non-stop and the heroes are enjoyable. So what if they're essentially all the same book and major characters are clones of one another? I manage to enjoy four Lethal Weapon and who knows how many Schwarzenegger movies that have the same problem. If action/adventure/thriller is your thing, you'll likely enjoy Rollins.

Doomsday Key is better than the previous couple of books in the series. The plot's a bit more science-y and less hinting at the supernatural than earlier ones. The prose and the characters didn't disappoint, and the bit of a plot twist at the end sets up the next book nicely. Rollins is definitely a good antidote to the technical reading I've been doing for work lately!

#191: The second James Rollins recommendation of the day and another that I do not already own. I must really be falling behind on his stuff. Thanks for the recommendation, Jim!

#193: Thanks for posting that link!

Okay, I'm looking for a Rollins to try. I don't know about the Dante. After just recently reading Pearl's The Dante Club, it seems a bit grim.

Sandstorm is the first of the Sigma Force novels. I've also read Amazonia and Subterranean. They're all pretty good for escapist fare.

It turns out Rollins is a pseudonym used by Jim Czajkowski, a former veterinarian. He also writes fantasy as James Clemens with The Banned and the Banished series starting with Wit'ch Fire and the Godslayer Chronicles starting with Shadowfall.

66. The Strain by Guillermo del Toro

The Strain is part Dracula, part Andromeda Strain, and part Homeland Security nightmare. It starts one evening at JFK airport, where a jet liner lands then promptly shuts down with all passengers and crew dead. A first-responder team from the CDC (among others) investigates, and collecting the bodies to try to figure out what's going on. The next night, the bodies disappear, and the horror starts. Before we're done, a viral infection of vampirism is running rampant through New York, and a small team of CDC doctors, a retired professor of Eastern European history, and a city exterminator are off hunting down the Master who's brought the infection into the city.

The Strain owes a lot to Dracula but is still a refreshing take on the whole vampire thing, especially in light of the trend to super-humanize the monster these days. The disaster response seemed dead-on realistic, including the disarray as responders figure out who's in charge and what the right course of action is in the face of the unknown. del Toro and Hogan write well, although as if for a movie than for a classic literary work.

I'm looking forward tot he next volume!

The Strain sounds like a good read. I've never read any del Toro. And it's nice to see a vampire book that doesn't have one of those "he's not like other vampires" types. I suppose it's a necessary ploy, otherwise the narrator would be dead long before the story is told, but still...

I've gotta get that book!!!!

67. Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow

Drunkard's Walk ought to be required reading for every intro to statistics class. Too often, these classes concentrate on the details of statistical calculation without getting to the meaning behind all the concepts. Mlodinow does a great job of explaining that meaning without equations, and even manages to make the historical development of probability and statistics enjoyable.

"even manages to make the historical development of probability and statistics enjoyable"

...now that is an achievement! This is definitely going on my wishlist - I hate stats - unfortunately, I can't avoid it at work...

Jim

A good friend is the Chairperson of the Math Department at a local college. I'm going to tell her about this book. Thanks for your recommendation!

Drunkard's Walk sounds really interesting--I'll try to find it. Thanks, Jim.

It also seems to be very popular--LONG lines at PaperBackSwap and BookMooch. Fortunately, the library has multiple copies, and I've just requested one!

The Strain sounds great! I'll definitely be looking for that book!

DrNewt - Jack McDevitt has a new book coming out in November! That one will immediately move to the top of my TBR pile.

Cool! Keep me posted.

The Strain sounds good!

Oooh, another Guillermo Del Toro! I am a Hellboy fan. Thanks drneutron!

Me three! :D

Xanax 2mg

#200: I have that one on Planet TBR already, but I think I will bump it up. Thanks, Jim.

68. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

I finally got around to reading Child 44 over the last few days. It's gotten some pretty good reviews here on LT and in the wider press, and is certainly widely read. I guess I'm going to be the voice of dissent on this one: I wasn't that impressed.

If you haven't heard about it, Child 44 is a serial killer mystery/thriller set in the USSR at the end of the Stalinist regime. The hero, Leo, is a mid-level MGB officer and former WWII hero who's mostly interested in surviving a brutal society. And here starts my biggest problem with the book. It took me a long time - on the order of 300 pages - before I connected with the characters of Leo and his wife Raisa. Frankly, neither are likeable people for most of the book. I get why he wrote them that way, but it just didn't work for me and I almost put the book down on a couple of occasions. As the story ends, there's significant growth in both characters and their relationship that resurrect the book for me, but it happened way too late for me.

I did appreciate the setting and how it added both tension and depth of meaning to the story. I liked how he showed that even in the worst of places, there's still hope that the good part of our human nature can still win out over the basic survival instinct. But the book suffers from a surplus of amazing coincidences and the kindness of strangers to really be believable.

Bottom line for me: there were some really brilliant parts to this work, and more than once I felt I was on the verge of reading a really great book that just never took the last step. I'll read the sequel to see if Smith finally jumps over the edge into brilliance.

#211: Sorry you did not like the book more, Jim. The Secret Speech, the sequel, is due out in September. I hope you enjoy it more than you did the first.

I liked Child 44 even though the coincidence thing jarred for me and I've already read The Secret Speech which I found disappointing. I do like the time period and his settings, but they weren't enough to carry the second book like they did for the first IMO.

#213: That is bad news about The Secret Speech, Kerry. I was really looking forward to it.

#214: Like a lot of books it's a matter of taste, and it has received favourable reviews. There are some promising moments especially on a ship, but again too many coincidences and unlikely developments.

#215: I am sure I will read it because as you say, it is a matter of taste, but I will try and lower my expectations a bit.

I'm planning to read it, but lowered expectations may help me enjoy it more! 8^}

69. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

This one was a re-read of a favorite. I've been busy doing other things lately, so the reading has been falling off. I needed an old friend to jump-start me again, and this is a good one.

Perdido Street Station is a steampunk classic with all the right elements. Dystopian city, weird races, great mix of physics and magic, dark outlook on life with shining moments of hope. Mieville really shines, though, in his imagery. The book is just dripping with vivid descriptions.

Good stuff!

Oh, way cool. I'm looking for that one. Thanks.

well there's another for my TBR list!

#218: I started that one last year but did not get very far with it before I had to return it to the library. Looks like I need to give it another go. Thanks for the reminder, Jim.

70. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

For those who've been living in a cave for the past decade or so, the Stephanie Plum series is Janet Evanovich's gravy train about an inept bounty hunter bouncing back and forth between unlikely love interests while trying to make a living rounding up minor criminals and odd characters who've skipped bail. The books are completely unrealistic but strangely compelling since Ms. Evanovich has a decent sense of slapstick comedy and has come up with some over-the-top characters.

Starting with number 10 or so, things got off track a bit, the comedy lagged, and frankly, the books became somewhat tiresome. The last one, number 14, got back to the roots of the series with Grandma Mazur, the insane slapstick, all the things that fans liked about the books. Finger Lickin' Fifteen continues that return to comedy. Clearly Evanovich listened to the criticisms and made an effort to jazz things up a bit and give Grandma Mazur the spotlight. I have to wonder, though, how much longer she can keep it up.

>222 drneutron:: I have put off the Stephanie Plum series for years (decades!) now. I'm "saving" them for a real drought in the bookstore someday. I did the same with Hiaasen for years and then had a real binge going through all his books in a single summer.

I've got Perdido Street Station sitting here in the TBR pile. Someday...

me! i've been living in a cave!

how am i always behind the times with these things?

Well, they're quick reads, so you should be able to catch up pretty quickly! 8^}

China Mieville is one of the authors that I have been meaning to read for a long time, but never quite seem to make it. I hear all good things from all his books.

Evanovich is one of those guilty pleasure authors..

71. Rizzo's War by Lou Manfredo

Lou Manfredo's Rizzo's War is billed as a thriller. Honestly, I don't know why - there's little pulse-pounding action and suspense here. But I like it that way. Instead, Manfredo's written a pretty good cop story, one centered around a pair of detectives and how they deal with the moral ambiguities of the job.

Mike McQueen has been newly promoted to detective after stumbling across an assault on mayor's daughter's roommate behind a bar. He's been partnered with Joe Rizzo, a 14 year veteran detective whose basic philosophy is "There is no right. There is no wrong. There just is..." In the end, McQueen gets to decide what kind of cop he is when they get pulled into an under-the-table search for a powerful politician's daughter.

This is good stuff. Manfredo was a New York City cop and so has an authentic voice. His mystery isn't meant to be much of a mystery. Instead he's interested in the process of uncovering the truth and the compromises we all make on a daily basis as we try to negotiate our way through events that don't fit into neat black and white boxes. It's a good read, and I hope he brings this pair back for more stories.

I like those kind of mysteries that are more about the process and how it fits into the lives of those working in it. Nice review.

>229 drneutron: That sounds like a great book. I may Wishlist that . . .

I agree with tymfos. It does sound like a great book. Thanks for the recommendation, Jim.

72. The Presidency of Martin Van Buren by Major L. Wilson

Van Buren isn't high on most lists of US Presidents. He's usually considered a politician in the worst sense of the word and his presidency less than a success. Wilson attempts to dispel that impression in The Presidency of Martin Van Buren. I say attempts because, honestly, the argument isn't convincing. The text is dense and overly academic. But worse, very little of the man shines through - this is mostly a discussion of policy without any sense of who Van Buren really was.

I'd like to find a better Van Buren bio for the US Presidents Challenge. Any suggestions?

73. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

Johannes Cabal needs to collect 100 souls in less than a year to get his own soul back from the Devil. See, he sold it to get insight into necromancy and the ability to understand life and death. Unfortunately, what he thought was a hindrance in his work - his soul - turns out to be needed after all and he's got to get it back, and he's even been given the Devil's carnival to make it happen.

Part Faust, part Something Wicked This Way Comes, with a dash of dark humor, Jonathan Howard's Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is a pretty darned good novel. There's more than a hint of Neil Gaiman here, even some Terry Pratchett, without being derivative. And there's an interesting study of our human nature, how we can lose it in the process of attaining an ultimately unachievable goal, and how we can get it back again.

#234: That one sounds interesting, Jim. Thanks for the recommendation!

Yep, sounds like one for me - added to the Wishlist... I worry a little about the fact that he's attempting to condemn another 100 souls though!

Yeah, the moral dilemma is part of the story!

>73 drneutron:: That one looks rather interesting. Thanks.

Thanks also, doc. Wishlisted and tagged with your name and thumbed on the review. I am getting quite LTerate!

I love Wishlist! This does sound good, and I have also wishlisted it. Thanks.

Since we are talking wishlists here for a second. I am having a problem and I believe I read, doc, that you got your wishlist updated so you can use your phone/blackberry in the bookstores. I just did that and my wishlist came in around 280 books or so. When I tried to pull it up on the blackberry, I got a message that the request was too large, so I couldn't see it. I have a suspicion about the problem but I wanted to see if you had any similar problems.

I haven't tried it since my wishlist grew to over 200. I just tried it and got a server error, but I get that for cnn too. Ever since my employers got hit by a major hacker attack, they've clamped down on what we can do with the blackberries...8^{

My suspicion had to do with the security, as mine is also a work phone and I work for a very security minded agency also. I am tagging the wishlist in smaller groups in hopes that I will be able to pull up at least pieces of it at a time. Otherwise, I am back to printing it out and carrying it with me to the bookstores again.

74. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Very good fantasy story! Rothfuss uses first person narrative in flashback to tell the story of Kvoth, a prodigy and something of a folk hero, who's now hiding away as a tavern keeper in the middle of nowhere. There's magic, science, a bit of romance, music and showmanship, and revenge for the death of his parents - all great themes!

This was a re-read in anticipation of the second one coming up soon.

I am still trying to get my hands on the first one and now you tell me there is a second one. Grrrr . . .

I have been waiting for the second one since the early Summer when it was originally supposed to have been released. I haven't looked too much into it, but I think there were some delays where the author had to rewrite much of the novel due to editorial backlash. I guess at the end of the day, they just want the second book to be as good as the first one. I am not sure when they are targeting the released for now. Probably by early next year...

#245

You should definitely try VERY hard to get your hands on the first one, it really is a wonderful fantasy story. Definitely will come in one of my top 5 reads of the year, providing I don't read too many fab books before then!

I just checked Amazon really quick and they are targeting for a release date of April 15, 2010. I think drneutron has the right idea. I might have to re-read the first one as a refresher.

Yeesh. That's much later than I was expecting. Oh, well. Guess I'll just have to be patient - not my strong suit, sometimes! 8^}

If the next one is not coming out until next April, I think I will hold off on trying to track down book 1.

But going on the list for certain...

>244 drneutron:: Actually, Mr. Rothfuss has said, "Whatever release date you've heard for book two is simply untrue. There is no release date because the book isn't finished yet."

I'm taking next April as a "reasonable guess" rather than a release date. A re-read will definitely be in order once a firm date is set.

The Name of the Wind is a great book. I am on the fence about rereading it until I know the next book is actually released.

#253

I'd be with you if my copy hadn't disintergrated as I read it! Unfortunately I was on holiday at the time and so the pages blew away across the swimming pool. I gave up in the end and threw the pages away as I read them! So no reread for me until the next book is released lol.

#253: Cal, The Angel's Game was released in June, so you can go ahead and do your reread.

Stasia

I think The Angel's Game is the sequel to The Shadow of the Wind not The Name of the Wind. :-)
I get those two mixed up all the time. Probably because they are both on my TBR list.

Whoops! My bad - thanks for the correction, Carolyn!

Oh no! My hopes were raised only to have them smashed to the floor! Thanks for the help.

#258: Sorry, cal!

8^}

75. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

I just finished up The Girl Who Played with Fire, a pretty good follow-on to Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I really enjoyed the first and so was excited when this one came available just in time to be number 75 for the year. This time around, though, it took me a bit to get into the story. I think it was just me - once I got going, it got really hard to put down. So now I'm on the lookout for the third one!

Big CONGRATULATIONS on making the mark, doc!!

Great job on finishing the challenge.

Also good review. I've got Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--which I will move up on the TBR list now. I need one more post 1980 mystery for my 999 challenge and that one will fit the bill.

Congratulations, doc!

Another congratulations on making the 75 mark

Congratulations on hitting 75 books, Jim! You've had some mighty good reads this year!

Congrats on reaching the big 75! :)

Thanks for the good wishes! Now to see if I can crack 120 this year...8^}

add my congratulations to the pile!!

go you at 75!

#261 drneutron - I loved the first two Larsson books too. We have to be patient though, the third one isn't due to be published in the US until May 4, 2010!

Of course if you read Swedish, you can buy it as Luftslottet som sprängdes. It's already out.

Congrats on reading and reviewing 75 books. I'm impressed.

Congrats on reaching 75!

Thanks for all the good thoughts!

This seems to be a convenient time to move to thread #3, here's where to go next!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/72845