Monday, December 31, 2018

Quartered Safe Out Here, by George MacDonald Fraser

  • Title:  Quartered Safe Out Here
  • Author:  George MacDonald Fraser
  • Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 12/20/2018
  • Finished: 12/31/2018
Back in August 2017 I read my first Flashman novel, Royal Flash.  I liked it but didn't love it.  As it turns out, I had read the worst book in the series (in my estimation) first.  When I went back to read them in order (skipping Royal Flash) I was completely smitten with the books, characters, and Fraser's writing style.

When I had completed the Flashman series I read Fraser's Mr. American and liked it.  I've now finished Quartered Safe Out Here and again, just loved this one.  

I just recently re-read the original Flashman book, and will likely reread that entire series...

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Flashman, by George MacDonald Fraser

  • Title:. Flashman
  • Author: George MacDonald Fraser
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County (VA) Public Library
  • Started: 12/10/2018
  • Finished: 12/18/2018  
My second reading of Flashman, love this book/series.

Friday, November 30, 2018

Desperadoes, by Ron Hansen

  • Title:  Desperadoes
  • Author:  Ron Hansen
  • Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 11/20/018
  • Finished:  11/30/2018
Extremely enjoyable book about the Dalton Gang.

The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers

  • Title:  The Nine Tailors
  • Author:  Dorothy L. Sayers
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook
  • Started:  11/23/2018
  • Finished: 11/30/2018
Another Lord Peter Wimsey mystery -- I found this one very dull until the last part, dealing with the flood and the solution to the murder.  That part was very well done.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Beartown, by Fredrik Backman

Title: Beartown
Author: Fredrik Backman
Purchased from Amazon print edition
Started: 11/10/2018
Finished: 11/23/2018

Book club book, enjoyable. 

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Clouds of Witness, by Dorothy L Sayers

  • Title:  Clouds of Witness
  • Author:  Dorothy L. Sayers
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 11/12/2018
  • Finished: 11/15/2018
Liked but didn't love this second novel in the Lord Peter Whimsey series.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

The Baker Street Letters, by Michael Robertson

Title: The Baker Street Letters
Author: Michael Robertson
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started: 11/5/2018
Finished: 11/7/2018

Fun Holmes pastiche -- not great but definitely readable. 

Monday, November 5, 2018

An Unsuitable Job for a Woman, by PD James

Title: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman
Author: PD James
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started: 11/1/2018
Finished: 11/3/2018

Enjoyable mystery. 

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, by Benjamin Franklin

This was not at all what I expected.  Very enjoyable, but I expected Franklin's personal history of the revolution.  Instead, it was his rags to riches story, something of a manual for life.  Including such minutia as people who still owed him debts (large & small), if street gutters should be one in the middle of the road or two with one on each side (Franklin says one gutter in the middle).

It was bizarre, but enjoyable all the same.

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys

Title: Wide Sargasso Sea
Author: Jean Rhys
Borrowed from DC Public Library paperback
Started: 10/23/2018
Finished: 10/27/2018

This book was the only reason I read Jane Eyre -- even though reviews said you didn't need to read that book to appreciate this one, I wanted to do so. 

I'm glad I did, I liked them both. 

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Follow Me Down, by Shelby Foote


  • Title:  Follow Me Down
  • Author:  Shelby Foote
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 10/23/2018
  • Finished: 10/27/2018
Very enjoyable book told somewhat "Roshomon" style, with various characters providing their point of view of the events in the book.  It isn't quite Roshomon, because as you proceed through the novel each character is providing more information, not contradictory information as in Roshomon.  However, like Roshomon, the deceased victim also has her say.

Really enjoyed this one, and it was narrated by a long time favorite, Grover Gardner.  

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Swag, by Elmore Leonard

Title:  Swag
Author:  Elmore Leonard
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started:  10/21/2018
Finished: 10/23/2018

Another enjoyable Elmore Leonard book, not a western, one of his Detroit crime novels. 

Sunday, October 21, 2018

The Man Who Came Uptown, by George Pelecanos

Title: The Man Who Came Uptown
Author : George Pelecanos
Purchased from Amazon Kindle edition
Started: 10/18/2018
Finished: 10/21/2018

Book club book, not the best Pelecanos but he is good to librarians.  

Friday, October 19, 2018

Whose Body, by Dorothy L. Sayers

  • Title:  Whose Body
  • Author:  Dorothy L. Sayers
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 10/17/2018
  • Finished: 10/19/2018
Very entertaining mystery, but very dated in it's treatment and discussion of Jews.

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

Title: Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started: 10/11/2018
Finished: 10/17/2018

Listened to this one because I wanted to read "The Wide Sargasso Sea" but saw that it was a prequel to Jane Eyre. 

This book was entertaining, if melodramatic and frustrating to my modern sense. 

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Secret Place, by Tana French

Title: The Secret Place
Author: Tana French
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started: 10/8/2018
Finished: 10/11/2018

Another Dublin Murder Squad book, but this one was different from the rest.  I enjoyed it a lot, but it took me a while to get into it.  

The supernatural element was interesting as well. Overall very enjoyable. 

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Forrest Gump, by Winston Groom

Title: Forrest Gump
Author: Winston Groom
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started: 10/3/2018
Finished: 10/7/2018

Very enjoyable first half of a book that devolved into absurdity and never recovered.  About the time Forrest is shit into space with the wrong Ape (you read that right) the book lost me. 

Made a good movie though...

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

The Glorious Cause, by Jeff Shaara

Title: The Glorious Cause
Author: Jeff Shaara
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA public Library Audiobook
Started: 9/26/2018
Finished: 10/3/0218

Loved this book. A historical fiction (if that's the correct way to describe this one) of the entire revolutionary war.  Extremely enjoyable. 

Sunday, September 30, 2018

A Matter of Honor, by William C Hammond

Title: A Matter of Honor
Author: William C Hammond
Purchase from Amazon.com used print edition
Started: 9/15/2018
Finished: 9/30/2018

A decent US Revolutionary War novel. Not up to the O'Brian standard, but decent enough. 

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Broken Harbor, by Tana French

Title: Broken Harbor
Author: Tana French
Borrowed from Worcester County, MD Public Library Audiobook
Started:. 9/17/2018
Finished: 9/25/2018

This is the best of those Dublin Murder Squad books since the first -- a good read. 

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

The Bad Seed, by William March

  • Title:  The Bad Seed
  • Author:  William March
  • Borrowed:  Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD (Audiobook)
  • Started:  9/8/2018
  • Finished: 9/11/2018
I've seen the movie before, but so long ago I had only vague memories of it.  But the plot was pretty obvious, and that didn't matter.  Still a very disturbing, well written book.

Friday, September 7, 2018

Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans, by Winston Groom

The stuff of history & legend, as the author puts it, and as an American extremely entertaining.  A good companion piece to follow up the two revolutionary era books I read recently, one on Madison and the other 1776.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Sphere, by Michael Crichton

Title: Sphere
Author: Michael Crichton
Borrowed from Free Library in Ocean City, MD Northside park (paperback)
Started: 9/1/2018
Finished: 9/2/2018

Really terrible novel, easy beach read...

Friday, August 31, 2018

Aurora, by Kim Stanley Robinson

  • Title:  Aurora
  • Author:  Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (audiobook)
  • Started:  8/23/2018
  • Finished: 8/31/2018
Really enjoyed the first half of this one, but it fell apart for me once they got to Aurora and (spoiler alert) immediately decided to leave it.  Found the second half fairly tedious.


Friday, August 24, 2018

Hoodoo Harry, by Joe R. Lansdale

  • Title:  Hoodoo Harry
  • Author:  Joe R. Lansdale
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD (ebook)
  • Started: 8/22/2018
  • Finished: 8/23/2018
Hardly seems worth listing this one, just 84 pages, more of a short story than a novel or even a novella.  But since the point of this blog is to keep track of what I have read, I'm posting it.  Decent enough Hap & Leonard novel to keep me occupied for a couple of hours of down time.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

The Virginian, by Owen Wister

Title: The Virginian
Author: Owen Wister
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD
Started: 8/9/2018
Finished: 8/21/2018

Not at all what I expected, but spectacular all the same.  Really enjoyed this one. Well deserved reputation as a great Western. 

Thursday, August 16, 2018

1776, by David McCullough

Title: 1776
Author: David McCullough
Borrowed from Fairfax county, VA public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 8/14/2018
Finished: 8/15/2018

I expected a biography of the constitutional convention, but what I git was a bio of the war in 1776.  Still excellent. 

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

Title: The Power
Author: Naom Alderman
Borrowed from Worcester County Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 8/13/2018
Finished: 8/14/2018

Book club read, enjoyable, not what I expected.  Ending a disappointment. 

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

The Mandibles, by Lionel Shriver

Title: The Mandibles
Author: Lionel Shriver
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started: 7/20/2018
Finished: 8/7/2018

A pretty good apocalyptic (for lack of a better word) novel, this one was pretty scary for seeming like it could happen/events right around the corner.  

But the book drifted a bit and probably went on a bit too long.  Ending was also pretty obvious. 

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner

Title: Crossing to Safety
Author: Wallace Stegner
Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 7/20/2018
Finished: 8/3/2018

Book club colleague recommendation, loved this book. 

Friday, July 27, 2018

Madison's Gift: Five Partnerships That Built America, by David O. Stewart

Stuck in my American Revolution phase I turned to this one for two reasons.  First, I didn't know much about Madison,and Second, it was read by Grover Gardner.  At this point I've probably heard more words spoken by Gardner than I have my wife of 18 years...

Really enjoyed the book.


Thursday, July 19, 2018

Showdown on the Hogback, by Louis L'Amour

  • Title:  Showdown on the Hogback
  • Author:  Louis L'Amour
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD
  • Started:  7/16/2018
  • Finished:  7/18/2018
Decent western.

Monday, July 16, 2018

Drums Along the Mohawk, by Walter Edmonds

  • Title:  Drums Along the Mohawk
  • Author:  Walter Edmonds
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD
  • Started: 7/5/2018
  • Finished: 7/15/2018
After the 4th of July this year I wanted to read something that took place during the Revolutionary War and this is the one I decided upon.  Really enjoyable.  

Sunday, July 8, 2018

The Apartment, by S.L. Grey

Title: The Apartment
Author: S.L. Grey
Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 7/6/2018
Finished: 7/8/2018

Pretty terrible page turner. 

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Close Range, by Annie Proulx

  • Title:  Close Range
  • Author: Annie Proulx
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (audiobook)
  • Purchases used from Amazon.com (paperback)
  • Started: 6/24/2018
  • Finished: 6/30/2018
This is my book club book selection so I have it in two formats.  Listened to some of it (first half) and then read the second half.  Really enjoyed this one, will likely read the entire thing again before book club.

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

News of the World, by Paulette Jiles

  • Title:  News of the World
  • Author:  Paulette Jiles
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  • Started:  6/24/2018
  • Finished:  6/27/2018
This was a recommendation by a former colleague and I loved it.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

City of Thieves, by David Benioff

Title: City of Thieves
Author: David Benioff
Borrowed from my wife (paperback)
Started: 6/23/2018
Finished: 6/24/2018

My wife read this one and loved it, wanted me to read it. I loved it as well, and not just because of my wife's recommendation.  Really an enjoyable book. 

Saturday, June 23, 2018

The Haunted, by Bently Little

Title: The Haunted
Author: Bently Little
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD
Started: 6/14/2018
Finished: 6/23/2018

Wanted a haunted house book and took a chance on this one. Pretty terrible. 

The Trespasser, by Tana French

Title: The Trespasser
Author: Tana French
Borrowed from The Little Library in Ocean City, MD Northside Park (print)
Started: 6/14/2018
Finished: 6/23/2018

Enjoyable Dublin Murder Squad book. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Dead Man's Walk, by Larry McMurtry

  • Title:  Dead Man's Walk
  • Author:  Larry McMurtry
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 6/10/2008
  • Finished: 6/12/2008
I kept wanting to like this one, and it wasn't terrible, but it was really only interesting because of original, Lonesome Dove. Overall a disappointment. 

Sunday, June 10, 2018

The Rubber Band, by Rex Stout

Title: The Rubber Band
Author: Rex Stout
Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 6/4/2018
Finished: 6/10/2018

Early Nero Wolfe book, only so-so. 

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Outfoxed, by David Rosenfelt

Title: Outfoxed
Author: David Rosenfelt
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started: 6/6/2018
Finished: 6/9/2018

I think this is the last of the Andy Carpenter books.  Not as funny as some, though I still laughed out loud a few times. 

Thursday, June 7, 2018

Mr. Majestyk, by Elmore Leonard

Title: Mr. Majestyk
Author:  Elmore Leonard
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
Started: 6/3/2018
Finished:  6/5/2018

Enjoyable. 

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Andy Warhol was a Hoarder, by Claudia Kalb

  • Title:  Andy Warhol was a Hoarder
  • Author:  Claudia Kalb
  • Borrowed from Worcester, MD Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  • Started: 6/2/2018
  • Finished: 6/3/2018
Book club book so I won't say much here.  I didn't like this much, honestly barely paid attention, skipped a lot of pages, not my thing.

Sunday, June 3, 2018

The Big Sky, by A.B. Guthrie Jr

Title:. The Big Sky
Author: A.B. Guthrie Jr
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, 
Started: 5/30/2018
Finished: 6/3/2018

What a great book, ending is somewhat abrupt, otherwise I found it spellbinding. 

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Last Stand at Saber River, by Elmore Leonard

  • Title:  Last Stand at Saber River
  • Author:  Elmore Leonard
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
  • Started: 5/25/2018
  • Finished: 5/30/2019
Enjoyable Elmore Leonard western.  Slightly above average on the Leonard westerns I've read so far -- the absolute best being Forty Lashes Less One.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Trouble in Triplicate, by Rex Stout

Title: Trouble in Triplicate
Author: Rex Stout
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA public library Kindle Edition
Started: 5/14/2018
Finished: 5/27/2018

Collection of three Nero Wolfe stories, pretty early in the series, not bad. 

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Who Let the Dog Out, by David Rosenfelt

Title: Who Let the Dog Out
Author: David Rosenfelt
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
Started: 5/23/2018
Finished: 5/24/2018

Passable Andy Carpenter mystery. This is something like the 5th terrorist attack he has twarted...  

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Dolly, by Susan Hill

Title: Dolly
Author: Susan Hill
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
Started: 5/20/2018
Finished: 5/22/2018

Decent short ghost story but ultimately unsatisfying ending. 

Sunday, May 20, 2018

The Various Haunts of Men, by Susan Hill

Title: The Various Haunts of Men
Author: Susan Hill
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
Started: 5/12/2018
Finished: 5/20/2018

enjoyed this one overall but wasn't thrilled with the ending.  Didn't mind the main protagonists death, but it wasn't satisfying.  

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Hombre, by Elmore Leonard

Title:. Hombre
Author: Elmore Leonard
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
Started: 5/8/2018
Finished: 5/11/2018

Enjoyable western. 

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

  • Title:  Cloud Atlas
  • Author:  David Mitchell
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (audiobook)
  • Started:  4/30/2018
  • Finished: 5/7/2018
Was surprised at how much I liked this one.  Each time a story broke off I wanted more and was disappointed with the new story, until I got so into it that the effect repeated.

Ending was decent, not sure how else it could have been handled.  But overall this was extremely enjoyable.  

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Escape from Five Shadows, by Elmore Leonard

  • Title:  Escape from Five Shadows
  • Author:  Elmore Leonard
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
  • Started: 4/26/2018
  • Finished: 5/1/2018
Another Elmore Leonard Western, not great.  

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders

Title: Lincoln in the Bardo
Author: George Saunders
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Kindle Edition
Started 4/24/2028
Finished: 4/29/2018

Book club books, loved it. 

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Forty Lashes LessOne, by Elmore Leonard

  • Title:  Forty Lashes Less One
  • Author:  Elmore Leonard
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
  • Started: 4/23/2018
  • Finished: 4/25/2018
This was an outstanding western, maybe the best I've read from Leonard yet.  Funny, brutal, entertaining -- exactly what you expect from a Leonard novel.  

Monday, April 23, 2018

Hounded, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  Hounded
  • Author:  David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County Public Library, MD, Audiobook
  • Started: 4/21/2018
  • Finished: 4/23/2018
I've grudgingly admitted that I enjoy these Andy Carpenter books, even if I'm embarrassed to do so. Gover Gardner's narration of Rosenfelt's novels is great entertainment -- I typically laugh out loud more than once per each book.

I'm also a dog lover.  But if there is one complaint for me in these books it is that they are so breed focused, specifically on Golden Retrievers.  I don't dislike Goldens, and Rosenfelt clearly thinks they are the greatest breed around.  He created a fun and funny series so I'll let him be wrong about this.

Hounds, any and all Hounds, are clearly the best breed of dog available.  In fact, mixed Hound breeds are far superior too all other breeds and most humans.

So if there was one book I was looking forward to more than any in this series it was this one, Hounded, which featured a Basset Hound on the cover.

The Hound doesn't feature very prominently in the story, which was a bit of a disappointment.  Rosenfelt no doubt is still too caught up in Golden's to write about Hounds.  But it is a start.

This one took a somewhat predictable path towards complete loving family (no family is complete without marriage and a kid, in the entertainment world).  While I don't agree with that sentiment, I also don't mind the story arc. 

One thing I will say about these books, similar to the barbs that used to be thrown at the TV show Murder She Wrote (Cabot Cove Maine must be the murder capital of the world) -- it doesn't pay to be Carpenter's friend.  They've all now either been shot, put on trial for murder, or had a family member/close friend put on trial.


Friday, April 20, 2018

The Law at Randado, by Elmore Leonard

  • Title:  The Law at Randado
  • Author:  Elmore Leonard
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 4/15/2018
  • Finished: 4/19/2018

Enjoyable, early, Elmore Leonard western.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Unleashed, by David Rosenfelt

Title: Unleashed
Author: David Rosenfelt
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started: 4/12/2018
Finished: 4/14/2018

Sigh -- I can't quit these books, stupid and cute though they may be. Constantly enjoyable, I'm through fighting it. 

Friday, April 13, 2018

LaBrava, by Elmore Leonard

Title: LaBrava
Author: Elmore Leonard
Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 4/1/2018
Finished: 4/13/2018

Very enjoyable. 

Devices and Desires, by P.D. James

  • Title:  Devices and Desires
  • Author:  P.D. James
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 4/2/2018
  • Finished: 4/12/2018
This was a long one, listening to it for a couple of weeks after getting the recommendation from a WSJ write up.  Enjoyed it overall, but didn't love it.  A nice way to pass the time on my commute or while doing chores...

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Leader of the Pack, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  Leader of the Pack
  • Author:  David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 3/28/2018
  • Finished: 4/1/2018
This wasn't my favorite of these Andy Carpenter novels, but as I've said many times before I find myself laughing out loud as I listed to these commuting to & from the office...

The Blessing Way, by Tony Hillerman

  • Title:  The Blessing Way
  • Author:  Tony Hillerman
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  • Started:  3/25/2018
  • Finished: 3/30/2018
My first Hillerman novel, and the first in this series.  Decent book.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Confessions, by Kanae Minato

  • Title:  Confessions
  • Author:  Kanae Minato
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 3/25/2018
  • Finished: 3/28/2018
I've mentioned before how much I like Japanese detective fiction.  This work isn't a detective story, but it is a pretty enjoyable revenge fantasy (best guess) that kept me pretty interested until the end. 

I had a rough idea of the ending, but not until pretty late in the book.  And the initial twists and turns were very surprising and enjoyable.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Foundation, by Isaac Asimov

  • Title:  Foundation
  • Author: Isaac Asimov
  • Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  • Started: 3/5/2018
  • Finished: 3/24/2018
Book club selection, won't say much here since we discuss these in depth but I did not enjoy this one.  This Amazon review sums it up a lot better than I could.

Norwood, by Charles Portis

  • Title:  Norwood
  • Author:  Charles Portis
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 3/202/2018
  • Finished: 3/24/2018
Was thinking recently about how much I loved the book True Grit and decided to read Portis's first novel.  I wasn't disappointed.  Really enjoyed this book.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The Midnight Line, by Lee Child

  • Title:  The Midnight Line
  • Author:  Lee Child
  • Borrowed from Worcester County, MD Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 3/16/2018
  • Finished: 3/19/2018

The latest Jack Reacher novel -- really, really bad.  

Friday, March 16, 2018

Bad Things Happen, by Harry Dolan

  • Title:  Bad Things Happen
  • Author:  Harry Dolan
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County, VA Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 3/13/2018
  • Finished: 3/16/2018
This is Dolan's first book, which I picked up because of how much I liked his most recent (The Man in the Crooked Hat).

I didn't like this one nearly as much, but it was decent overall.

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Promised Land, by Robert B. Parker

  • Title: Promised Land
  • Author:  Robert B. Parker
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 3/10/2018
  • Finished: 3/12/2018
This was the 4th Spenser book and probably my last.  Really not enjoying these.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

The Man in the Crooked Hat, by Harry Dolan

Title: The Man in the Crooked Hat
Author: Harry Dolan
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started: 3/7/2018
Finished: 3/10/2018

This was a WSJ recommendation from a few months back. Finally available via the library.  Absolutely loved this book. Had never read any of Dolan's work before but will seek out some now.  Really liked this one. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

One Dog Night, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  One Dog Night
  • Author: David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 3/4/2018
  • Finished:  3/6/2018
This is the (god help me) 9th of these Andy Carpenter books I've read.  I think all of them this year.  The plot of this one, like the others, is asinine, the majority of the characters are two dimensional... 

And yet, as I've mentioned in the previous 8 write ups, I'm constantly laughing out loud as I read/listen to these, despite myself.  I long ago surrendered.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

A Christmas Return, by Anne Perry

Title: A Christmas Return
Author:. Anne Perry
Borrowed from DC Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 2/26/2018
Finished: 3/3/2018

A WSJ recommendation around the holiday, which I'd had on a wait list for a while. Enjoyable. 

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Mortal Stakes, by Robert B. Parker

Title: Mortal Stakes
Author: Robert B. Parker
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA Public Library Audiobook
Started: 3/1/2018
Finished: 3/3/2018

Another Spenser book, so-so. 

Thursday, March 1, 2018

God Save the Child, by Robert B. Parker

Title: God Save the Child
Author: Robert B. Parker
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA Public Library Audiobook
Started:. 2/27/2018
Finished: 3/1/2018

2nd Spenser book. Not great, reads very dated, particularly treatment of homosexuality. 

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Slade House, by David Mitchell

Title: Slade House
Author: David Mitchell
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started:2/25/2018
Finished: 2/27/2018

Decent horrorish novel. Pretty enjoyable. 

Sunday, February 25, 2018

Rusty Puppy, by Joe R. Lansdale

Title: Rusty Puppy
Author: Joe R. Lansdale
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 2/24/2018
Finished: 2/25/2018

Another Happy & Leonard novel -- pretty good compared to the last few. But again Lansdale insists on throwing his county singing daughters name in the book a few times and it's really off putting. 

Dog Tags, by David Rosenfelt

Title: Dog Tags
Author: David Rosenfelt
Borrowed from Hoopla Digital via Worcester County MD Public Library Audiobook
Started: 2/21/2018
Finished: 2/25/2018

Another Andy Carpenter dog lawyer book. I keep laughing out loud at these despite the inanity of the friend who is a computer hacking genius, and everyone constantly forgetting their cell phone.  

This one in particular I was struck by the hypocrisy of Andy not caring that the computer hacking friend is breaking federal laws, but is up in arms when another friend steals a cell phone. 

I can't believe I'm even noting that issue. These are fun, easy books. No literary criticism needed.  

Saturday, February 24, 2018

The Godfather, by Mario Puzo

Title: The Godfather
Author: Mario Puzo
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 2/16/2018
Finished: 2/24/2018

I recently rewatched the godfather parts 1& 2, for the millionth time and decided to give the book a try.  I liked it a lot, a fun and easy read.  

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan

  • Title:  Altered Carbon
  • Author:  Richard K. Morgan
  • Borrowed from HooplaDigital.com, via Worchester County (MD) Public Library, Audiobook
  • Started:  2/13/2018
  • Finished: 2/20/2018
Trying to break my audiobook habit of Andy Carpenter or Inspector Montalbano books, I opted for a beast of an audiobook (17 hours!) that is now out as a Netflix Series.

I liked Altered Carbon, but didn't love it.  It took me no time at all to accept the premise, but the mystery wasn't great and I never had any doubt about the protagonist surviving.  

I have only read one other Morgan novel, Thirteen, which I liked more than this one.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018

The Smell of the Night, by Andrea Camilleri

  • Title:  The Smell of the Night
  • Author:  Andrea Camilleri
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 2/10/2018
  • Finished: 2/12/2018
Another Inspector Montalbano mystery, reasonably enjoyable.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

The Burglar in the Closet, by Lawrence Block

Title: The Burglar in the Closet
Author: Lawrence Block
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA Public Library Kindle Edition
Started: 2/10/2018
Finished: 2/11/2018

Disappointing follow-up to the first book in this series, Burglars can't be choosers. 

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Title: Manhattan Beach
Author:. Jennifer Egan
Purchased from Amazon.com kindle edition
Started: 2/3/3018
Finished: 2/10/2018

Book club book, enjoyed it quite a bit. 

New Tricks, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  New Tricks 
  • Author:  David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from HooplaDigital.com, via Worchester County (MD) Public Library, Audiobook
  • Started: 2/7/2018
  • Finished: 2/10/2018
Another Andy Carpenter book. These are silly and enjoyable, but I need to space then out a lot more...

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Play Dead, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  Play Dead
  • Author:  David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from HooplaDigital.com, via Worchester County (MD) Public Library, Audiobook
  • Started: 2/5/2018
  • Finished: 2/6/2018
While still a silly fun book & series, this one takes a bizarre turn when our smart-ass, chicken-shit protagonist beats a bad guy to death with a piece of firewood.  I'm not making that up.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

Dead Center, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:Dead Center
  • Author:  David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from HooplaDigital.com, via Worchester County (MD) Public Library, Audiobook
  • Started:2/2/2018
  • Finished: 2/4/2018
Another in the Andy Carpenter series, I'm blowing through these now.  They're easy and comfortable, and pretty enjoyable.  This one relied one too many times on the "forgot my cell phone" trick, but I imagine it is tough to write a mystery/thriller in these days of instant communication... Not at laugh out loud funny as the last few, but I was still laughing like an idiot in public walking to/from the office a few times.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse, by Robert Knott

Title: Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse
Author: Robert Knott
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started: 1/31/2018
Finished: 2/1/2018

Another Cole/Hitch book but not by the now deceased Parker.  Continued the characters reasonable well, but I didn't love this one. 

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Excursion to Tindari, by Andrea Camilleri

  • Title:  Excursion to Tindari
  • Author:  Andrea Camilleri
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County, VA Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 1/26/2018
  • Finished: 1/30/2018
Another Montalbano mystery.

Friday, January 26, 2018

Sudden Death, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  Sudden Death
  • Author: David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County, VA Public Library Audiobook
  • Started: 1/24/2018
  • Finished: 1/25/2018
Another solid, funny, Andy Carpenter novel.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Bury the Lead, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  Bury the Lead
  • Author: David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County VA Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started: 1/22/2018
  • Finished: 1/24/2018
When I first started these Andy Carpenter books a couple of weeks ago, I said how funny I found them (like the Fletch books) but that the titles/covers of the majority were dog related -- too cutsey for me.

Well, I'm man enough to admit, if not when I'm wrong, when I've lost a battle.  The combination of smart-ass one liners, and the expert narration by Grover Gardner, means I'm going to end up going through the entire series -- probably happily so.  I'll note that the author, David Rosenfelt, also shares my high regards for Gardner's narration.  To quote Rosenfelt from his website "Grover could read the Milwaukee Telephone Directory and make it sound compelling"

This, the third book in the series, wasn't an outstanding mystery.  Nonetheless, on my mile long commute from my condo to the office, I was laughing out loud like a crazy person on more than one occasion.  You can't top that for free entertainment.  

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Voice of the Violin, by Andrea Camilleri

  • Title:  Voice of the Violin
  • Author:  Andrea Camilleri
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County, VA Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started:  1/20/2018
  • Finished: 1/22/2018
Another Inspector Montalbano mystery, not as good as the others, but still reasonably enjoyable.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

First Degree, by David Rosenfelt

Title: First Degree
Author: David Rosenfelt
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA Public Library Audiobook
Started: 1/19/2018
Finished: 1/20/2018

The second Andy Carpenter book, decent though not as entertaining as the first. 

Friday, January 19, 2018

A Midsummer's Equation, by Keigo Higashino

  • Title:  A Midsummer's Equation
  • Author:  Keigo Higashino
  • Borrowed from HooplaDigital.com, via Worchester County (MD) Public Library, Audiobook
  • Started:  1/15/2018
  • Finished:  1/19/2018
Higashino is probably the best twist ending author alive today.  His books are so entertaining, and I have yet to actually solve/guess the final twist.

This book wasn't as tight as the others I've read, but it was still very entertaining and the twists at the end were perfect.  Really enjoy his work.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Borrowed from Take one leave one library (paperback)
Started: 1/16/2018
Finished: 1/18/2018

What an enjoyable book. Charming, entering, heartwarming.  Really liked this one. 

Monday, January 15, 2018

Stone Cold, by Robert B Parker

Title: Stone Cold
Author: Robert B Parker
Borrowed from Take one Leave One library in DC, paperback
Started: 1/14/2018
Finished: 1/15/2018

A Jesse Stone book, enjoyable. 

The Snack Thief, by Andrea Camilleri

Title: The Snack Their
Author: Andrea Camilleri
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA Public Library Audiobook
Started: 1/12/2018
Finished: 1/15/2018

Another Montalbano mystery. Good stuff. 

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Hit Man, by Lawrence Block

  • Title: Hit Man
  • Author:  Lawrence Block
  • Purchased (paperback) at Auction to Benefit Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (Bark Ball)
  • Started: 1/10/2018
  • Finished  1/13/2018
Didnt enjoy this one very much. 

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Open and Shut, by David Rosenfelt

  • Title:  Open and Shut
  • Author:  David Rosenfelt
  • Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (Audiobook)
  • Started:  1/9/2018
  • Finished:  1/11/2018
This is the first in a series, a series which I've avoided because the book covers look too cutesy (all covered with dogs and most with title relating to dogs).  I love dogs, don't have kids and don't want them (much to the dismay of my parents & inlaws) but I'd have dozens of dogs if I could.  But in my downtown condo, one dog is the max (Bica, now 11, lived with us for 10 years, hound love of my life).

But as much as I love dogs, I don't want to read a mystery series centered around them with titles like "Play Dead" and "Dog Tags" and "One Dog Night."

But the first book in the series has no cute dog title, simply "Open & Shut" and it was read by one of my favorite voice actors, Grover Gardner.

With all that said -- I liked this one.  The main character (Andy Carpenter, I think) is wise-cracking, intelligent, and a bit of wimp (although somehow, of course, landing beautiful women).  I thought he seemed very Fletch-like, which I like, though I imagine these books get on the nerves of others.

Anyway, will almost certainly move onto the next one at some point.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Burglars Can't Be Choosers, by Lawrence Block

  • Title:  Burglars Can't Be Choosers
  • Author:  Lawrence Block
  • Purchased (paperback) at Auction to Benefit Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (Bark Ball)
  • Started: 1/6/2018
  • Finished  1/9/2018
Very enjoyable easy read.  My wife read it first and enjoyed it as well.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Title: The Sympathizer
Author: Viet Thank Nguyen
Borrowed from Worcester County MD Public Library (Kindle Edition)
Started: 12/20/2017
Finished: 1/7/2018

Book club book, saving commentary for discussion. 

Faithful Place, by Tana French

Title: Faithful Place
Author: Tana French
Borrowed from Fairfax county VA Public Library Audiobook
Started: 1/1/2018
Finished: 1/7/2018

Another in the series that started with Into the Wood.  So far only enjoyed that first one.