Flashman and the Tiger, by George MacDonald Fraser

Title: Flashman and the Tiger

Author: George MacDonald Fraser

Borrowed from Fairfax VA public library Audiobook

Started: 4/4/2017

Finished: 4/8/2017

Another Flashman book, really love these. This one was made up of three stories.  The first was not great, and it was the longest by far, but it was still entertaining. The second two, though very short, were great fun. 

Night School, by Lee Child

• Title:  Night School
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from Take-One-Leave-One Library at my office (hardback)
  
• Started:  3/22/2017
  
• Finished: 4/3/2017
  

My long nightmare is over, this is the final Jac-Reacher book (at least so far), and I've completed my reading of them in order.

Mr. American, by George MacDonald Fraser

• Title:  Mr. American
  
• Author:  George MacDonald Fraser
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 3/17/2017
  
• Finished: 3/30/2017
  

A book by the author of the Flashman Papers (which I've read most of and loved), Mr. American was a long, wonderful story.  This book has a much more serious tone, somber even, than any of the Flashman books, although Flashy does make a couple of appearances in this one.  

I won't bother to recount the plot, plenty of sites and reviews do just that.  But I really enjoyed this one, as I have most of Fraser's work.  Fraser as an author was a big find for me in 2016, I suspect by the end of 2017 I'll have finished everything he has written that is available to me.

Death on Deadline, by Robert Goldsborough

• Title: Death on Deadline
  
• Author:  Robert Goldsborough
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax County Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 3/18/2017
  
• Finished: 3/21/2017
  

Another Nero Wolfe mystery by someone other than Rex Stout -- very enjoyable.

The Lost City of the Monkey God, by Douglas Preston

• Title:  The Lost City of the Monkey God
  
• Author:  Douglas Preston
  
• Purchased from Amazon.com, Kindle Edition
  
• Started:  3/11/2017
  
• Finished: 3/18/2017
  

Book club selection, mine, liked the first half but the second half was a bit too heavy handed.  I suspect it will be popular in the book club though.

Make Me, by Lee Child

• Title:  Make Me
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library
  
• Started: 3/12/2017
  
• Finished: 3/16/2017
  

Another Jack Reacher novel, really terrible, but of course I'll keep with this stupid series because I'm strangely addicted.

Closer Casket, Sophie Hannah

Title: Closed Casket

Author: Sophie Hannah

Borrowed from Worcester, MD Public Library Audiobook

Started 3/8/2017

Finished 3/11/2017

A non-Christie Poirot novel.  I liked it, but Amazon reviews were not kind.  The performer of the audiobook was outstanding. 

Murder in E Minor, by Robert Goldsborough

• Title:  Murder in E Minor
  
• Author:  Robert Goldsborough
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax, VA Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started:  3/7/2017
  
• Finished: 3/10/2017
  

A continuation of the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe series, Goldsborough does a great job of getting just close enough to Stout's prose, without completely copying or mimicking.  

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead*, by James Lee Burke

• Title:  In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead*
  
• Author:  James Lee Burke
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax, VA Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 3/5/2017
  
• Finished:  3/7/2017
  

Was really enjoying this one, had been wanting to get the whole Robicheaux series read by my favorite reader Will Patton, starting with book 1.  But none of my libraries had the first 5 books, so I started with this one, book 6.

I enjoyed it from the start, but could not get over how short it was at just 3.5 hours (most audiobooks are 8 hours minimum).  Then I got to the end, and heard "we hope you've enjoyed this ABRIDGED..."

God Dammit.  This is the first time this has happened to me, I usually screen out abridged version but I was so excited to see Will Patton reading I skipped right over that abridged nonsense.  I hesitate to add this as a book I've read when I'm getting the readers digest version.

So I've added an asterisks to the title to note that it was abridged.  Oh well.

* -- Abridged, probably shouldn't count

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, by Kate Summerscale

Title: The Suspicions of Mr. Witcher

Author: Kate Summerscale

Borrowed from DC Public Library (Audiobook)

Started: 3/1/2017

Finished: 3/5/2017

This was one of three books I suggested for my book club.  This one wasn't chosen so I listened to it on my own.  Very enjoyable, but wouldn't have been good for book club so I'm glad it worked out the way it did. 

Personal, by Lee Child

• Title:  Personal
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 2/27/2017
  
• Finished: 3/1/2017
  

Yup, another damn Reacher book.

Never Go Back, by Lee Child

• Title:  Never Go Back
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from Take-One/Leave-One Library found in Northside Park, Ocean City, MD
  
• Started: 2/19/2017
  
• Finished: 2/24/2017 
  

This is the book that started it all for me.  I blame my wife.

We have a small condo in Ocean City, MD that sits on top of a big park (Northside Park).  We take our dog on long, lazy walks through the park each time we head to the condo.  In the park is a take-one/leave-one book box (one of these "little free library" boxes) and we often grab or deposit items.

One day last year my wife walked the park with our dog (I was not there) and brought back the book I'm blogging about today, Lee Child's Never Go Back.  I had never read a Reacher book, so I thought I might as well start them in order before reading this one.

And thus began my saga with Jack Reacher.  As I've said repeatedly on this blog through the reading of these books -- they are terrible AND YET I CANNOT STOP READING THEM.

So, another terrible Reacher book down, the one that started it all for me.  And I blame my wife.

The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons

• Title:  The House Next Door
  
• Author:  Anne Rivers Siddons
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 2/22/2017
  
• Finished: 2/23/2017
  

I LOVED this book.  Absolutely loved it.  Pulled in from the start through the end.  Read it nonstop for 6 or so hours the first day, finished up the last hour of reading the following morning.

Can't believe I had not heard of this before, with as much as I love haunted house books.

I even liked the protagonist (didn't love the name Colquitt though), really identified with the life/love of the two main characters -- although I think we're supposed to think they are selfish and vapid (traits I suspect I carry).  Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

Title: The Underground Railroad

Author: Colson Whitehead

Borrowed from a neighbor (print)

Started: 2/13/2017

Finished: 2/18/2017

Loved the first 100 or so pages, not as enjoyable after that but still a worthwhile read. 

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts, by Joshua Hammer

• Title:  The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts
  
• Author:  Joshua Hammer
  
• Borrowed from Worcester MD Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 2/12/2017
  
• Finished: 2/16/2017
  

I think I've mentioned this before but I am a librarian, so the author/publisher did a good job of roping people like me into checking this book out.  I had high hopes for it, but was pretty disappointed.  It isn't a bad story, in fact it is an interesting overview of the rise of Islamic extremism in Mali in the last decade or so.  But the manuscript rescue (referenced in the subtitle) felt really forced into this book -- like it could have been a side mention, because most of the book did not feel connected to the manuscript rescue at all.

And rescue is really pushing it.  The main archivist even admits that the manuscripts might have come out of this with less overall damage had they just left them in basement storage in the first place.

Not a bad book, but the library/manuscript angle was way overdone.  

Submission, by Michel Houellebecq

Title: Submission

Author: Michel Houellebecq

Purchased from Amazon, Kindle Edition

Started:  2/10/2017

Finished: 2/12/2017

Book club book. 

A Wanted Man, by Lee Child

• Title:  A Wanted Man
• Author:  Lee Child
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (Audiobook)
• Started: 2/5/2017
• Finished: 2/9/2017

Another in the Reacher series.  This one actually got some bad reviews from other people, which surprised me, because I thought this one was just as stupid, but not more so, than all of the other Reacher books I have read (and complained about).  He does go on a Rambo like killing spree at the end, 22 people or so, but is that more far fetched than taking on 6 guys at once and winning?

The Affair, by Lee Child

Title: The Affair
Author: Lee Child
Borrowed from D.C. Public Library Audiobook
Started: 1/30/2017
Finished: 2/5/2017

Yup, another Reacher. Hanging my head in shame.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, by Scott Adams

• Title:  How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
  
• Author: Scott Adams
  
• Borrowed from Worcester, MD Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 1/18/2017
  
• Finished: 2/1/2017
  

Scott Adams of Dilbert fame wrote this one.  I'm not much into self help books (Adams would hate that description -- no disrespect meant) but like a lot of people I was intrigued by Adams ability to correctly predict Trump as President way before anyone else took Trump seriously (I mean WAY back, August 2015...).  

So along with now regularly reading his blog I thought I would read one of his books.  Overall enjoyable, much like Trump's "The Art of the Deal" which I read last year when it looked like he might really become president.  Both were enjoyable reads, but I'm not sure I had major take-aways from either -- but Adams book does offer up way of approaching life that can make it more enjoyable.

Please don't take this post as an indication of my being a Trump supporter.  My political views fall under the irrational "they're all crooks" line of thinking, so I'm not here to pick or promote either side.  

Worth Dying For, by Lee Child

Title: Worth Dying For

Author:. Lee Child

Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook

Started: 1/24/2017

Finished: 1/28/2017

Just blowing through the Jack Reacher series now.  My first in audiobook form, terrible reader but I needed an audiobook. 

61 Hours, by Lee Child

• Title:  61 Hours
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from Worcester County, MD Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 1/18/2017
  
• Finished: 1/23/2017
  

Is Jack Reacher dead?  Well no, because there are a bunch of books following this one.  

Gone Tomorrow, by Lee Child

• Title:  Gone Tomorrow
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 1/13/2017
  
• Finished: 1/17/2017
  

Blowing through the Jack Reacher books, just as dumb, a return to first person narrative. Still enjoying these in my own sick way.

Nothing to Lose, by Lee Child

• Title:  Nothing to Lose
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 1/10/2017
  
• Finished: 1/12/2017
  

Another Jack Reacher novel...

The Father Hunt, by Rex Stout

• Title:  The Father Hunt
  
• Author: Rex Stout
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library
  
• Started: 1/7/2017
  
• Finished: 1/10/2017
  

The last Nero Wolfe book I had left to read on any of the public library catalogs I have access to (DC, MD, VA).  Enjoyable for a late Wolfe book.

Bad Luck and Trouble, by Lee Child

• Title:  Bad Luck and Trouble
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library
  
• Started:  1/7/2017
  
• Finished: 1/10/2017
  

Book 11 in the horrible Jack Reacher series that I continue to be unable to resist.  Just as stupid as all of the others, and as usual I couldn't turn away from it.

The Sellout, by Paul Beatty

Title:. The Sellout

Author: Paul Beatty 

Purchased from Amazon (Kindle edition)

Started: 12/22/2016

Finished: 1/7/2017

Book club book, 2016 Man Booker prize winner.  Really liked this one, saving comments for book club meeting. 

The Invisible Man, by HG Wells

Title: The Invisible Man

Author: HG Wells

Borrowed from DC Public Library (Audiobook)

Started: 1/2/2017

Finished: 1/6/2017

One of the few classics of horror/science fiction I had not read.  Enjoyed it -- funnier than I would have expected.  Need to watch a few of the movies again. 

Also, first book of 2017. Not going to try to best or even match my 2016 book total...

The Blue Hammer, by Ross MacDonald

• Title:  The Blue Hammer
  
• Author:  Ross MacDonald
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax, VA Public Library (Audiobook)
  
• Started: 12/23/2016
  
• Finished: 12/29/2016
  

Book 101 for 2016, and my final book for the year. Also the final book in the Lew Archer series, and thus complete my in-order reading of the series which started in July.  Enjoyed this one, as I enjoyed them all.  Some more than others, only one was a real let down to me (find a victim).  My all time favorite is The Chill, a masterpiece in my opinion.

So long, Lew.

Sleeping Beauty, by Ross MacDonald

• Title: Sleeping Beauty
  
• Author:  Ross MacDonald
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax, VA Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 12/16/2016
  
• Finished: 12/22/2016
  

Book # 100 for 2016!  Holy crap, I have consumed a bunch of books this year, blowing away my second-highest year (2015) where I read 72 books...  At least two thirds have been audiobooks, but that doesn't bother me.  My commute to the office went from a 5 block walk (2007-2014) to a 30/40 minute walk.  

Sleeping Beauty is the second to last book in the Lew Archer series.  I like this one a lot, the oil spill felt topical and sad -- this did not feel like a book from 50 years ago...

One thing I find interesting about these later Archer books is MacDonald has him sleeping with women more often.  Women were always interested in Archer, some blatantly but there were only a few (that I can recall) times when Archer succumbed.  These last few books have all included such dalliances. 

I just started the final Lew Archer book, will be sad to have this one completed.  Really enjoy these books.

The Underground Man, by Ross MacDonald

Title: The Underground Man 

Author: Ross MacDonald 

Purchased used in print on Amazon.com

Started: 12/11/2016

Finished: 12/18/2016

Continuing my reading of the Lew Archer series in order, I really enjoyed this one.  Didn't see the ending coming, though I should have, so it all came together and made for an enjoyable read. 

The Goodbye Look, by Ross MacDonald

Title: The Goodbye Look

Author: Ross MacDonald

Purchases used on Amazon

Started: 11/20/2016

Finished: 12/10/2016

Continuing my Lew Archer series in order, I didn't like this one as much as I wanted to, but I suspect that comes from my 20 mins a night reading of a book with a complicated plot.  I was lost by the end - need to reread at a time when I can devote more attention to this for extended periods. 

The Asylum, by John Harwood

Title: The Asylum

Author: John Hardwood

Started: 12/1/2016

Finished: 12/10/2016

So-so period piece mystery/drama. 

The Hard Way, by Lee Child

• Title:  The Hard Way
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started:  12/1/2016
  
• Finished: 12/9/2016
  

These Jack Reacher novels are terrible, just the worst.  This guy just seems like the biggest asshole in the world.  Yet, here I am having devoured the first 10 books in this series, so I must be a glutton for punishment.

One Shot, by Lee Child

Title: One Shot
Author: Lee Child
Borrowed from Fairfax VA Public Library
Started: 11/20/2016
Finished: 11/27/2016

Another Jack Reacher book, this was the basis of the first movie.  Happy to see it went back to third person as the last few had been first person and not as enjoyable. 

Still terrible books overall, still enjoying them despite that fact.

The Enemy, by Lee Child

Title: The Enemy
Author: Lee Child
Borrowed from Fairfax VA Public Library
Started: 11/17/2016
Finished: 11/19/2016

Another Jack Reacher novel.

Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, by George MacDonald Fraser

Title: Flashman and the Angel of the Lord
Author: George MacDonald Fraser
Borrowed from Fairfax VA Public Library
Started: 11/10/2016
Finished: 11/18/2016

Another in the Flashman series.  Liked this one quite a bit. Funny how when I started this series I hated it, now I love it, and hate that I only have a few books remaining. 

Also, I sometime put audiobook on my home stereo when I get home (usually listen on headphones) but I date not with this series.  Too many non-pc statements from flashy-- I'd be tossed out of my condo.

The Instant Enemy, by Ross MacDonald

• Title:  The Instant Enemy
  
• Author:  Ross MacDonald
  
• Purchased used from Amazon (print) in a three book collection titled "Archer in Jeopardy"
  
• Started: 11/6/2016
  
• Finished:  11/13/2016
  

Continuing to work my way through the Lew Archer series in order, rapidly approaching the end of the series.  This was a rare swing and a miss for me.  I did not actively dislike it, but I found myself not fully concentrating on it, something of a zone-out as I read.  So I had too much confusion each time I picked it up, trying to remember which character was which. 

Happy to blame myself, but I typically love these books so who knows.

Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters

• Title:  Crocodile on the Sandbank
  
• Author: Elizabeth Peters
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (Audiobook)
  
• Started:  11/2/2016
  
• Finished:  11/9/2016
  

This was a cute, harmless, mystery novel that I did not care for at all.

Persuader, by Lee Child

Title: Persuader
Author: Jack Reacher
Borrowed from DC Public Library
Started: 11/4/2016
Finished: 11/6/2016

Next in line in the Jack Reacher series, this one had the best opening chapter of the series, quickly devolved into the usual terrible novel that I can't stop reading.

Without Fail, by Lee Child

• Title:  Without Fail
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from Worcester, MD Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 11/2/2016
  
• Finished: 11/4/2016
  

I keep saying it, but these Jack Reacher books are seriously terrible and seriously addictive.  

His Bloody Project, by Graeme Macrae Burnet

• Title: His Bloody Project
  
• Author:  Graeme Macrae Burnet
  
• Purchased from Amazon (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 10/22/2016
  
• Finished: 11/1/2016
  

Book club selection, so I'm not going to write much here except to say I loved this book.

The Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux

• Title:  The Mystery of the Yellow Room
  
• Author:  Gaston Leroux
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax, VA Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started:  10/29/2016
  
• Finished:  11/1/2016
  

Classic (original?) locked room mystery.  Wanted to like it more than I did.

Tai-Pan, by James Clavell

• Title:  Tai-Pan
  
• Author:  James Clavell
  
• Borrowed from DC Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 10/23/2016
  
• Finished: 10/29/2016
  

My (very slow) reading of James Clavell's Asian-Saga continued with Tai-Pan, having read Shogun almost exactly one year ago.  I am reading them in chronological order, not publication order, somewhat on accident (but happy accident).

This is a big book, something like 25 hours and change. Normally I could not have consumed such a big book in a week, but I was struck with a cold on Monday, and home from work Tuesday and Wednesday.  I was in bad shape, on a rotation of something like 6 hours sleeping, two hours awake -- round the clock for 48 hours.  During those waking moments, I was listening to this book.  

Like Shogun, I wasn't sure as I first started if I could get into this one.  I was helped (ironically?) by the Flashman series, as one of the recent books I read there took place in China around the same time.  Thus I has a better understanding of the geo-political situation in the area at the time (say what you want about the Flashman series, they are great historical overviews of the 19th century British empire).

Soon I was completely taken in by the story and the characters.  A very enjoyable read.

The Girl with all the Gifts, by M R Carey

Title: The Girl with all the Gifts
Author: M R Carey
Borrowed from DC Public Library Audiobook
Started: 10/17/2016
Finished: 10/23/2016

A recommendation from a neighbor, this was not a bad book, entertaining really, but the plot was so by-the-numbers that it was easy to guess the outcome.  So-so overall enjoyment.

My Antonia, by Willa Cather

Title: My Antonia
Author: Willa Cather
Borrowed from take one leave one library on 13th st NW in DC
Started: 10/13/2016
Finished: 10/21/2016

My moms favorite book. First time reading g.  Very enjoyable. 

Flashman and the Mountain of Light, by George MacDonald Fraser

• Title:  Flashman and the Mountain of Light
  
• Author:  George MacDonald Fraser
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax, VA Public Library (AudioBook)
  
• Started: 10/10/2016
  
• Finished: 10/17/2016
  

Another fine entry in the Flashman Paper series.  I'm enjoying my schooling in the world  of British Colonial engagements in the 19th Century (and some American to boot).  Good Old Flashy.

Echo Burning, by Lee Child

• Title:  Echo Burning
  
• Author:  Lee Child
  
• Borrowed from Worcester, MD Public Library (Kindle Edition)
  
• Started: 10/9/2016
  
• Finished: 19/12/2016
  

Another in the Jack Reacher series, these are seriously terrible books (as I've mentioned before) that I am strangely addicted to...  I'm not going to fight it, or try to explain it.

The Far Side of the Dollar, by Ross MacDonald

Title:. The Far Side of the Dollar
Author: Ross MacDonald
Borrowed from Fairfax County VA Public Library (Audiobook)
Started: 10/5/2016
Finished: 10/9/2016

Continuing my in order reading of the Lew Archer series.  I technically skipped one (The Chill) because I just read it last summer, although I think it was my favorite in the series so I wouldn't have minded reading it again. 

This one was good too, not The Chill good, but entertaining and you get a lot of usually unseen emotions from Archer.  He might even be in love.  Good stuff.

The Zebra-Striped Hearse, by Ross MacDonald

Title: The Zebra-Striped Hearse
Author:. Ross MacDonald
Purchased used from Amazon (print) in a three book collection titled "Archer in Jeopardy"
Started:  9/29/2016
Finished: 10/7/2016

Another Lew Archer mystery.  I liked this one a lot, although I don't care for the title.  The Lew Archer series has some perfect titles ("the way some people die" for instance), but this o e is very weak.

Luckily the mystery and writing are strong, very enjoyable. 

Flashman and the Dragon, by George MacDonald Fraser

• Title: Flashman and the Dragon
• Author: George MacDonald Fraser
  
• Borrowed from Fairfax County (VA) Public Library (AudioBook)
• Started: 9/27/2016
• Finished: 10/5/2016

Another book in the Flashman Papers series (book 8?), I admit I had a rough time with this one at the start.  A little bit of zone-out, despite the always excellent narration by David Case.

Eventually I found my way back and began to thoroughly enjoy the historical antics of Flashy.  This was another novel, like Flashman at the Charge, where Flashy is more heroic and less cowardly than usual.  While I prefer the more scoundrel Flash, this was still a fun book.