Friday, October 25, 2013

The Spy Who Loved Me, by Ian Fleming

  • Title:  The Spy Who Loved Me
  • Author:  Ian Fleming
  • Borrowed via Kindle Lending Library, Amazon.com
  • Started:  10/13/2013
  • Finished:  10/19/2013
 
Before I get to this book I wanted to comment that every time I read one of the books, the damn corresponding song from the movie is stuck in my head.  Not just when I pick it up to read the book, but the entire time this is the book I have lined up.  So if it takes me 6 days to finish the book, as it did this time, I've spend almost a week singing in my head "Nobody does it better..." over and over again.
 
Anyway, I had read this one before, maybe the first Bond book I ever read (although I think that was actually Moonraker).  I liked it then, and still like it now although less so.  I know most consider it an abomination, but I like the telling of the story from the young lady's point of view, no matter how bad Fleming was at writing from such a view.  It's still a fun break from the usual.

Of course Fleming really loses people near the end of the book with a comment of something like "all women want semi-rape sex" so he no doubt deserves all the criticisim he got for this book.  Still, I found it an enjoyable read, and the worse James Bond book is still a lot more fun than most other spy thrillers.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Prisoner's Base, by Rex Stout

  • Title:  Prisoner's Base
  • Author:  Rex Stout
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 10/3/2013
  • Finished:  10/11/2013
 
One of the best Nero Wolfe books in recent memory.  This one was dark, much more so than usual, without the lure of a high paying client to justify Wolfe's involvement. The final murder, in particular, really left an impression and made me (the reader) wish Archie had handled things differently.  That's the sign of a good writer/great characters:  I'm wishing a fictional character had handled things differently...

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Witches' Children, by Patricia Clapp

  • Title:  Witches' Children
  • Author:  Patricia Clapp
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library
  • Started: 10/6/2013
  • Finished: 10/9/2013
 
I didn't like this one as much as Jane-Emily, but still a fun read.  Good for a colder October day.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Jane-Emily, by Patricia Clapp

  • Title:  Jane-Emily
  • Author:  Patricia Clapp
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Book)
  • Started:  10/5/2013
  • Finished:  10/5/2013
 
Jane-Emily is probably considered a novella, maybe even a long-ish short story.  I read this because a few online reviewers of the last ghost-story I read (The Little Stranger) compared the two.  Jane-Emily was part of a two book set, the second of which is "Witches' Children" but I'm still reading that one.
 
Jane-Emily did have some similarities to The Little Stranger, but was a much more straight-forward ghost story, for a younger audience, and was very enjoyable.  I read this one mostly while laying on the beach in Ocean City with an unseasonably warm October day.  While I really enjoyed this quick read, I'm not getting the same satisfaction from Witches' Children and expect a very short update on that book next.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky, by Joe R. Lansdale

Title:  All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky
Author: Joe Lansdale
A gift from Mom
Started:  10/1/2013
Finished: 10/4/2013

My mom and sister came to visit me about a month ago. As they were leaving my sister was looking for a book to read and I game her Lansdale's "The Bottoms."  

My sister passed the book to my mom when finished, and my mom seemed to really enjoy it. So much so she picked up several other books by Lansdale, including then one I'm writing about today. 

Atettts is similar to The Bottoms. A coming of age story with lots of hardship, love, good and bad people, and action (and a hell of a lot of coincidences). It's a young persons book, but charming and enjoyable for all readers. Not as polished as The Bottoms, atettts was still an enjoyable read. 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters

 
A little break from my James Bond, Aubrey/Maturin, Nero Wolfe books.  I wanted another audiobook for while I exercise, but wasn't sure what I wanted to listen to.  I decided to see what Overdrive (my library's audiobook vendor) offered that was read by Simon Vance, the man who narrates all of the Aubrey/Maturin (Master & Commander) books I've so enjoyed.
 
It was in that search that I discovered this book, The Little Stranger.  I have not read any of Waters books previously, and didn't read anything about this one except that it was something of a period piece ghost story.  That sounded fun, if potentially spooky (I work out in the gym in my building around 5 am, almost always alone). I wasn't disappointed.
 
The book isn't really a ghost story (or is it?), definitely a period piece, and is a real slow burner.  I suspect some people would find it too slow, maybe boring.  Had I read it, rather than having Vance read it to me, maybe I would have found it so as well.
 
But that's not the case, and I found it to be a very entertaining book.  The ending, initially, was  a disappointment to me as it never explained if the goings on were supernatural or not, and even if supernatural who, whom, or how many were doing the haunting.  But as I thought the book over (and over, and over), and then turned to online discussions to see what others have said, I think the book is probably ended pretty well.  I'd love just a bit more info, but I guess that's the sign of a good book.