April 2013 Reads

Reason #53 is me, 100% of the time.

Nine books read in April; all good, but only one was a great read.

Apr	25	The Retribution	Val McDermid
	26	The Wicked Girls	Alex Marwood
	27	The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls	Anton Disclafani
	28	Benediction	Kent Haruf
	29	The Dinner	Herman Koch
	30	The Famous and the Dead	T. Jefferson Parker
	31	The Smart One	Jennifer Close
	32	Letters from Skye	Jessica Brockmole
	33	Fly Away	Kristin Hannah

My secret is I never go very far into a book that doesn't grab me.  The one great book this month is Benediction by Kent Haruf.  Haruf isn't a prolific author, he's written five novels, all published since 1984.  All of his novels are outstanding, they all take place in the north eastern corner of Colorado.  Please take the time to read them, you won't be sorry.

What are you reading?

March 2013 Reads

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I love this graphic, books are very powerful.

Mar	16	A Tale for the Time Being	Ruth Ozeki
	17	Earth Girl	Janet Edwards
	18	The Last Child	John Hart
	19	No One Could Have Guessed the Weather	Anne-Marie Casey
	20	How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia	Mohsin Hamid
	21	The Death of Bees	Lisa O'Donnell
	22	Under and Alone	William Queen
	23	Little Green	Walter Mosley
	24	Second Shot	Zoe Sharp

I'd been wanting to read Under and Alone by William Queen for a long time.  Working at B&N, for 12 years, I always knew what the guys wanted, it was always guys, when they asked for the book about the cop who went undercover in a motorcycle gang.  I so glad I finally took the time to read this memoir.  It's outstanding.  It takes place right here in SoCal, so I recognized the locales, and remembered some of the events.  My husband was LAPD for over 28 years, and some of his friends went undercover in the motorcycle gangs.  It was always very rough.  Not only did you have to convince the bad guys that you were the real deal, you had to act like a gangster to the cops.  Not easy.

Most of what I read in March was fiction.  One, Earth Girl by Janet Edwards, is geared toward teens.  Earth Girl is Edwards debut novel, and I thought it was outstanding.  "Earth Girl delivers a shiny future you'll actually want to live in—perhaps the first true utopian YA", says the publisher, and I agree.

Another great debut is The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell.  It's a coming of age story, set in Glasgow.  Two young sisters attempt to cope and hold the world at bay after their parents mysteriously die.  O'Donnell tells their story with fierce compassion and great sympathy   It's told in alternating voices, which usually drives me bonkers, but in this book it worked beautifully.

I do love debut novels; the third one I read this month is No One Could Have Guessed the Weather by Anne-Marie Casey.  I thoroughly enjoyed this upscale chick-lit.  Every once in awhile you need a reading break and when I can find a good chick-lit novel, I dive right in.  Read this one, too.

I was so excited to receive the ARC of Little Green by Walter Mosley.  Mosley is one of my favorite authors.  His voice is lyrical and authentic.  I think I've read all his books with the exception of his Sci-Fi novels.  He's one of those authors, like Grisham, that just gets better with each new project.  I loved Little Green.  It will be released May 14, be sure to read it.

Three books that I really liked are Second Shot by Zoe Sharp, The Last Child by John Hart and How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid.  While I didn't read it this month, Hamid's Reluctant Fundamentalist is outstanding.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is getting tons of well deserved press.  It was the first book I read in March and I still think about it.  It's a very well written, richly drawn novel, had to put down and easy to love.

What are you reading?

April Fools

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I read Shelf Awareness Pro every morning.  Each April 1st they do a great April Fools edition.  I still remember the first year I read their April 1st edition, they really got me.  Not since then, but each year they give it a good try.  Here's a link if you're curious about all the fun Book Nerds have:  http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1960

What are you reading?

February 2013 Reads

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Feb	9	The Vanishing Act	Mette Jakobsen
	10	Gun Machine	Warren Ellis
	11	L. A. Breakdown	Lou Mathews
	12	Sharp Objects	Gillian Flynn
	13	The Night Ranger	Alex Berenson
	14	The Movement of Stars	Amy Brill
	15	Hit Me	Lawrence Block

In February, I read a lot of actions books.  Hit Me by Block features Keller, one of my favorite fictional assassins.  This is the fifth book in the Hit series, and I can't wait for the next.  Lawrence Block is a master of suspense.  Gun Machine is a police procedural.  It's Ellis's second novel, he puts his background in graphic novels to great use in this gripping  story.  L.A. Breakdown has a lot of action, of a different kind.  It covers the L.A. street racing culture of the '60's.  An authentic read.

Don't miss The Night Ranger.  It's Berenson's seventh installment in the John Wells series.  Wells is a CIA deep cover operative, and he's a wonderful character.  I'd marry him!

I liked The Vanishing Act and Sharp Objects..  I loved The Movement of Stars by Amy Brill, an outstanding debut novel with a unique, strong woman at the main character.

February was a great month for reading.

What are you reading?

January 2013 Reads

1	The Woman Who Died A Lot	Jasper Fforde
2	Patient Zero	Johathan Maberry
3	The Hope Factory	Lavanya Sankaran
4	Hard Knocks	Zoe Sharp
5	We Sinners	Hanna Pylvainen
6	Ratline	Stuart Neville
7	Tenth of December	George Saunders
8	Skinner	Charlie Huston

January was a great reading month for me.  First, I must admit I LOVE Charlie Huston.  He's a great writer. He's most recognized as a crime writer, but I think he can write anything.  I think he's comperable to LaCarre, King and Stephenson; all great writers, whatever they write.  Skinner isn't being published until July, put it on your list and get it as soon as it comes out.  You're welcome.

Every other book on my January list, except two, is well worth reading.  If you run into Patient Zero, Hope Factory, Hard Knocks or Ratline,  snatch them up and dive right in.  The two I can't wholeheartedly recommend are We Sinners and Tenth of December.  Both were well written, but not my cup of tea.  If you loved them, let me know.  OK?

What are you reading?

November and December 2012 Reads

Good resolutions, all.

November

95 Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
 96 Assassin's Code by Jonathan Maberry
 97 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
 98 A Simple Plan by Scott Smith
 99 Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham

December

100 Down River by John Hart
 101 The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards by Kristopher Jansma
 102 A Working Theory of Love by Scott Hutchins
 103 The Black Box by Michael Connelly
 104 Fobbit by David Abrams
 105 With or Without You by Domenica Ruta
 106 The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
 107 Killer Instinct by Zoe Sharp
 108 Muscle for the Wing by Daniel Woodrell

Two books on this list are outstanding.  Talking to the Dead by Harry Bingham and With or Without You by Domenica Ruta.  I almost didn't read Talking to the Dead, I'm not into the YA zombie/vampire thing, and the title just put me off.  I'm really glad I read it.  I think this will be the next series for readers who loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, maybe Hunger Games fans will dive into it, too.  This is a well written mystery/procedural. It takes place in Wales and features rookie cop with  a most unusual talents.

With or Without You is a memior by Domenica Ruta.  It's a mother-daughter tale that was hard to put down.  The mom, Kathi is an absolutely horrible mother; addict, pusher, brilliant degenerate.  It's being published on 2/26/2013.  Read it, you won't be sorry.

Great, as usual was Michael Connelly's The Black Box.  In fact, I think this is the best Harry Bosch tale, ever.  Like all great writers, Connelly just gets better with experience.  Daniel Woodrell writes terrific noir and Muscle for the Wing was great.

Maybe not great, but good solid reads are Assassin's Code by Maberry, A Simple Plan by Smith, Down River by Hart, The Burgess Boys by Strout and Killer Instinct by Sharp.

I seldom say anything negative about a book, here on the blog.  If it's a book I don't like, I just don't say anything.  Today, I'm breaking my rule.  A neighbor loaned me The Poinsonwood Bible, by Kingsolver.  I really didn't like this book.  It takes place in Africa, and is full of Anti-American attitude; and the father is the story was so stupid, I found it very off-putting.  I also read Fobbit by Abrams, and didn't like it.   I'm just not a fan of satire, we don't need another Catch-22.

What are you reading?

Take Your Child To A Bookstore Day

What are you reading?