Monthly Archives: December 2016

I read 172  books read as of December 31, 2016.  My monthly totals ranged between a high of 21 in April to a low of 4 in  July.  Of the total 26 (15%) were nonfiction and 44 (25%) were by women authors and … Continue reading →

** Note – this is NOT a Christmas Holiday book!  This is a “Father Christmas” book because the protagonist is named Tom Christmas and he is a priest with the Anglican church.  The month is May or something – springtime.   It … Continue reading →

I read quite most of the Agatha Christie’s mysteries back in my early 20s, but I guess I must have missed a few.  So as I was browsing for Christmas books this year I discovered it at Audible,  checked that … Continue reading →

An engrossing novel of WWII heroics aimed at saving a certain man from the death chambers of Auschwitz.  The US wants him so bad it’s willing to kidnap him out of that horror actually,  because he has information vital to … Continue reading →

Amazing book for the times – prescient.  And it was published in 2015!,  but … well,  it’s about how social media (think Facebook or Twitter) tricks can affect a presidential campaign.  (YES!) – At first it seems like an odd mix … Continue reading →

Rainer Maria Rilke, the brilliant early 20th century poet,  was about 30 years younger than his mentor August Rodin, the brilliant late 19th century sculptor when they met and became fast friends.  The friendship lasted many volatile years and affected Rilke profoundly.   He had … Continue reading →

This is the story of two lonely, unhappy and somewhat odd people as they live through the course of one full day  in London.  Meg is younger, single,  an alcoholic,  trying to hang on to some sobriety through AA while dealing with her … Continue reading →

Inspired by News of the World by Paulette Jiles I noticed her recommendation of Captured by Scott Zesch.  This was in the Author’s Note at the end.   Well! – that’s me – inspired by the book and interested in the subject for a long … Continue reading →

Lots of hype about this book by Paulette Jiles who is normally thought of as a poet but has also written novels.  And the book  is different.  I’ve read so many “western”  books over the years and I thnk they’ve changed so … Continue reading →

I read Hallinan’s Poke Rafferty series all the way through and they got better and better – the last was published in 2016.   But his Junior Bender series debuted in 2012 and for some reason I avoided it – the sample … Continue reading →

I don’t  believe I’d ever actually read the Dickens classic,  A Christmas Carol,  before this,    I’ve only seen various movie/television productions.   I was advised that this version with Tim Curry reading was wonderful.  It was on sale and I got … Continue reading →

I’d heard of Stead because of her more famous work The Man Who Loved Children but The Little Hotel sounded intriguing. So I nominated it for the discussion at the ReadingGroup List and it made the schedule.   THEN!!   I found that my … Continue reading →

I actually finished my second book by Saul Bellow!   I have tried to read Bellow’s works for many years and only one time got through more than a couple chapters.  That book was “The Adventures of Augie March” –  I wasn’t … Continue reading →

Sometimes the inexpensive ones are really good!   On sale with a further reduction,  this is a legal procedural more than a thriller, although there are certain thriller moments.  I love legal procedurals and thrillers.   They’re usually a basic form of  who-done-it … Continue reading →

Oh, the joys of rereading – This debut novel was on the Man Booker Prize long list in the summer of 2015 and I originally read it then and gave it a 9.   It went on to be short listed which I expected,  but I … Continue reading →

This wasn’t anywhere near as good as Lewis’ prior works,  The Boomerang,  Moneyball , Flashboys, or The Big Short.  Still,  it’s well worth the read – very interesting subject I’ve always wondered baout Lewis is a journalist and he loves explaining things, … Continue reading →

This is a  hugely suspenseful tale,  especially for a debut novel.  As one review wrote – “What do you do when you realize you are married to a sadistic psychopath?”  This is what the 1st person protagonist,  Grace Angel, has to … Continue reading →