Author: ekkarn

A New Year – Back to the Basics and Running!

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Renaissance Granddad Returns to an Old Workout and Starts Running Again!!

 

Ok so I haven’t written anything here in a very long time! One of the reasons is that I switched and started posting more at my original website Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries, and most recently I decided that I was going to focus more on the books that I read, so I started a new website This Man Reads. The second reason is last year I sucked at turning my biological clock backwards. In actuality, I think the clocks moved faster last year! Anyway, I have vowed to do better this year.  So far that is happening and hence this post!!

Actually, the move to getting in shape and slowing down that speeding biologic clock started at the end of 2016!  For several years I did a simple 15-minute workout before work. The workout consisted of a 5-minute warm-up and tuning in using the Ek Ong Kar mantra. followed by 5 minutes of Kundalini exercises and then 5 minutes of light weights and resistance bands. Last year I stopped doing that workout and started doing more yoga in the morning. Additionally, for years I ran three days a week. Typically, I ran four miles to days a week and a longer run between 5-8 miles on the weekend. For a variety of reasons in 2016 I hardly ran at all.

Renaissance Granddad Postpones Yearly Doctor Visits!

 

When December rolled around and I was faced with my yearly physical and my visit to my cardiologist, I put them both off. until after the holidays. It’s not that I am in bad shape, just not the shape I am normally in. My weight is about 5-6 pounds over my  typical weight and 12 pounds over my running weight. Additionally, I have not been eating all that well!

So near the end of December I decided to go back to the old routine on a daily basis. On days that I work at Target I do the routine in segments of  3, 6, and 6 minutes. On the non-Target days I do the routine as follows 3  minute meditation, 6 minutes Kundalini, 6 minutes light weights ( 5 and 15 lbs) and a kettle bell and 6 minutes using a variety of bands. The result has been that while I have not lost weight I have lost some inches, I think!

A Return to An Old Workout Leads to a Return to Running – Hopefully!!

Anyway, I feel better and this has led me to the streets!! Yes this week I have run twice, so far! I hope to make it three days with a run tomorrow. And while I have not run far, both runs were 2.1 miles, my overall pace  was not bad the first day was 11:22 and the second 11:15 min/mile. Both times were better than I ran back in August and October!

And Doctor Appointments!

I also made an appointment with my doctor for my yearly EKG and blood work in two weeks and will make an appointment with the cardiologist  for a week or so after that, so I can take all the results to the appointment!

So the plan is to watch what I eat and see if the added running can help me lose a few pounds within  the next two weeks. So that I go to both appointments feeling good about myself! And maybe I can start moving  my biologic clock in the reverse direction!!

Wish Me Luck!! Don’t worry you’ll hear about the running!

The Lazarus War::Artefact by Jamie Sawyer-A Fantastic Ride!

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The Lazarus War Artefact - Jamie Sawyer

Originally posted on January 18, 2017. Updated October 2025 with new links, images, and reflections.

The Background

Reading the Lazarus War :Atefact was a return to the years when I read a lot of Science Fiction. Here’s how I tried to get back……

Back in the 70s and early 80s I read a fair amount of science fiction. I read several books by Robert Heinlein, some Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, James P Hogan, Orson Scott Card and others.

Since then I’ve read the odd science fiction book here and there.  Among my favorites were the books of John Scalzi,, particularly the Old Man’s War series! In 2015  I added a Science Fiction Challenge to my other Reading Challenges. My goal was to read 12 science fiction books. I made it 3/4 of the way there, reading 9 books. Last year I reduced the number of sci-fi books to 6 i guess I figured I could make that goal easily! Wrong! I only read 1 book!

Anyway, this year I raised the goal back to 12 books. I know I already have several sci-fi books on the Kindle that I want to read! The whole point of the opening is that I have already matched last years total of sci-fi books read! The fourth book read for 2017 is The Lazarus War: Artefact  by Jamie Sawyer. And I know I  will surpass my 2017 sci-fi reads because I can’t wait to read The Lazarus War:Legion book two in the series!!

The Lazarus War: Artefact

The Lazarus War:Artefact  is just what  Jack Campbell, author of the Lost Fleet novels calls it

“a gripping read that moves at warp speed.”  

The lead character in the story is Captain Conrad Harris who leads a four-person team of simulants into battle against The Krell a fearsome and deadly alien race.

After returning from another mission where their simulant bodies die, Harris and his crew are sent on a deadly mission into the maelstrom, home of the Krell. Their mission is to find and rescue a research team that the Alliance has not had contact with for over a year! The research team was sent to the planet Helios to study a strange Artefact. The Artefact is huge monolithic structure on the planet’s surface that seems to have a strange effect on the Krell. It draws them to it like a month to a flame. But yet seems to drive them crazy!

The mission turns deadly when the Krell destroy the ship transporting Harris’ and his crew. Harris and his crew  survive, making it to the planet.Now they face the long odds of saving the research team and getting off of the planet without being killed by the Krell! In addition, the Artefact may provide Harris a key to finding the love of his life, who was lost in the Maelstrom!!

Bottom-Line 

The Lazarus War: Artefact was a five-star book for me!! It has everything I love in a science fiction book. Artefact is fast-paced action-packed story, with deadly aliens and lots of questions to be answered.  What is the purpose of the Artefact?  Why did the research center lose touch with the Alliance? And most importantly how the hell will they get off of Helios alive?

I also enjoyed the simulant technology. Captain Harris and his crew transfer from their real bodies to their enhanced bigger and more powerful simulant bodies to fight the Krell. Their real bodies remain suspended in a liquid on their ship.The squad members feel themselves die when their simulants are killed. But they are then extracted back into their real bodies and live to fight again.Because he has died and been resurrected so many times, Conrad Harris has earned the nickname Lazarus .

In an interview included in the back of the novel Sawyer describes the simulants as an extension of our current drone warfare.  Sawyer is intrigues by the fact that by day pilots located in Colorado are fighting wars in countries that they may have never set foot in. Then they return to their home at night  and lead a normal life.

So summarizing I enjoyed everything about Artefact. The fast paced action packed story, the main characters and the interplay between Harris and his squad. Additionally, the story left you wanting more!

I’ll leave you with the words of Neil Asher another Sci-Fi writer whose work I have enjoyed over the last couple of years….

“Alien biomechs… terrorism, subterfuge and traitors…starshipssporting particle beam weapons,  railguns the size of skyscapers. laser batteries, missles. This dear readers is good stuff!

Update: I confess The Lazarus War Book : Two:Legion has been on my TBR shelves since around the time I wrote this post. Maybe it’s time to read it and other books by Jamie Sawyer Ya’Think!

 

Links
Hachette Book Group
Goodreads
Amazon

Fantastic Fiction

About – Jamie Sawyer

Jamie Sawyer was born in 1979 in Newbury, Berkshire. He studied law at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, acquiring a master’s degree in human rights and surveillance law. Jamie is a full-time barrister, practising in criminal law. When he isn’t working in law or writing, Jamie enjoys spending time with his family in Essex. He is an enthusiastic reader of all types of SF, especially classic authors such as Heinlein and Haldeman.More

 

 

The Killing Kind – Chris Holm – 2016 Anthony Winner!

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The Killing Kind – Michael Hendricks #1 – Chris Holm (Book 3 0f 2016)

 

One of the sub-challenges of my 2017 Mystery/Thriller Reading Challenge is to read  twelve books written by authors whose work I have never read.The first of those books and the third overall book read in 2017 is The Killing Kind by Chris Holm.

The Killing Kind is the first novel in Holm’s Michael Hendricks series. Hendricks is a hitman with a twist. He hits hitmen before they can complete their hit. Michael contacts the target of the hit and offers to save the target for a fee. Usually around ten times what the cost of the hit. This action helps ease Hendricks’ mind, because even though he kills for a living he is only killing killers!!

The only problem is that the people who are hiring the hitmen are losing not only hitmen, but the target is still alive and knows there is a price on his head!! So they take action and hire a hitman to take care of Hendricks! And he is one mean son of a bitch!! But he is not the only one out to get Hendricks.

Special Agent Charlotte Thompson of the FBI is also on his trail. Because Hendricks is so good at not leaving any clues at the scene of his hits, as to his identity, Charlotte has labeled him the “Ghost”  With both these people on his tail, Hendricks’ job just got a whole lot deadlier!!

Hendricks does what he does well because, he was once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, .But he left his old life behind when a mission in Afghanistan went south. There was only one known survivor and it wasn’t Michael.  Since the mission was off the books, Michael just let the world think he was dead., including his beloved fiancée

The only person who knows Micheal is alive is the sole survivor of the mission Lester. Myles. Lester now runs The Bait Shop a bar in Portland, Maine. In the failed mission, Lester lost his legs and now is confined to a wheelchair. .But he is a computer wiz and Michael’s right-hand man. They work well together to make Michael the success he is.

Praise for The Killing Kind

 

THE KILLING KIND, has garnered a lot of praise. It was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Boston Globe Best Book of 2015, and Strand Magazine’s #1 Book of 2015.  In addition it  was also nominated for a Barry, a Lefty, and a Macavity. Finally, I decided to read it because I saw in Mystery Scene Magazine that it won the 2016 Anthony Award for Best Novel!!

Final Thoughts……

Overall, The Killing Kind was a four-star out of five book for me. With every thing that he has gone through Hendricks is a character you can root for. I thought that the story line was engaging and keep the pages flying by. There really wasn’t any mystery in the story, but Holm built the suspense and tension throughout the book. Then it all exploded in the last few pages!!

I for one will be checking out Red Right Hand book two in the series! I just placed a request for the book at my library!! So Check out both of the books!!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Chris Holm

Authors’ Website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon
Goodreads

In the Midst of Death – Matthew Scudder #3 – Lawrence Block

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Book 2  of 2017 – A Return to the World of Matthew Scudder….thanks to Lawrence Block

 

One of my Reading Challenges for 2017 is to catch up on a few of the mystery and thriller series that I am behind on. The series that I had in mind include: Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone  or maybe Alex Berenson’s John Wells series. What I didn’t envision was going back to a series whose last book I read in, oh, 1994!  Anyway, that’s what I did this week when I read In the Midst of Death – book number 3 in Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder series. I really didn’t set out to read the book. It just happened to be sitting out on a pile of books in the basement, when I was looking for something. Anyway, I picked it up, and didn’t put it down until I finished it!  Lucky for me it was only 246 pages long!!!

Now when I stopped reading the Matt Scudder books, I didn’t stop reading books by Lawrence Block. What I did was switch series and read his Bernie Rhodenbarr series, The Burglar who….. These books had a lot lighter reading than the Matt Scudder books. They were fun! Anyway I read seven of those books up until book 9 The Burglar in the Rye published in 1998.checking with Goodreads I see  that there are three more books in the series. Hmm, maybe I wll come back to that series!!

Matthew Scudder Books I’ve Read

Anyway back to Matthew Scudder. I started to read that series in 1988. Good God! almost 30 years ago!  The first book I read was When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes, book number six in the series.Somehow then  I missed book  7 Out on the Cutting Edge and next read books 8 and 9  A Ticket to the Boneyard and A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, respectively. Cheery titles, eh?  I guess after those I went for the lighter  stuff!!

In The Midst of Death 

From Amazon:

Bad cop Jerry Broadfield didn’t make any friends on the force when he volunteered to squeal to an ambitious d.a. about police corruption. Now he’saccused of murdering a call girl. Matthew Scudder doesn’t think Broadfield’s a killer, but the cops aren’t about to help the unlicensed p.i. prove it — and they may do a lot worse than just get in his way. Read More

My Thoughts on In the Midst of Death

I really enjoyed this book and am now harboring thoughts of re-entering the world of Matthew Scudder. Which is the gritty side of New York City. Matthew is a an ex-cop. He seen life at it worst and for many years used alcohol to get him through it. It’s not until book #5 in the series  Eight Million Ways to Die that Matthew comes to terms with his alcoholism. Matthew is a flawed man but he sees his flaws  and tries to make amends.

Overall the pace of the book was good. The story line never dragged or gave you a reason to put it down. The plot had enough twists and turns  to keep you guessing as to who the murderer was. And as I’ve already said Matt and the other characters are terrific!

Lawrence Block Thoughts on Series Characters in Mystery Scene Magazine

In the holiday 2016 issue of Mystery Scene Magazine. Lawrence Block wrote an article titled “Some Thoughts on Series Characters”. In the article Block compares the characters of Bernie Rhodenbarr and  Matthew Scudder. Her describes the Bernie Rhodenbarr series as a static series.

“Both Bernie and the private universe he inhabits stay essentially the same forever. i’ve never been specific about his age., but he is somewhere in his mid-30s in the first book . Burglars Can’t Be Choosers, first published in 1977 – and he is the same age almost 40 years later.

Bernie doesn’t age – and neither does he change. He’s not stuck in 1977, his home town of New York is up to date in whtever book you encounter him, and he has to be concerned about security cameras and high-tech locks, but he still leads the same life, earns the same unlawful living and has the same doomed relationships with women.”

“…..Matthew Scudder, on the other hand, has aged in real time from one book to the next. . That was never my intention when I began writing about him. I really didn’t give it much thought. but I assumed he’d go on drinking at Jimmy Armstrong’s Saloon as long as his liver held out.

But I discovered he had to age and he had to change. Unlike Bernie Rhodenbarr, Matthew Scudder lived in a far more realistic universe,  and the books I was writing about him hewed to a more realistic line. How could  he fail to be affected by the  experiences he had in his previous adventure?”- From Mystery Scene Magazine Holiday 2016 p 28

Block goes on ti o discuss how in Book 4 (next up for This Man?) A Stab in the Dark. Matthew finds that his alcoholism was becoming more of a problem and  ends with Matthew walking in, and then quickly leaving an AA meeting.

So I know that most of the series I read are not static. The characters change and evolve and that’s what I love about  series. Joe Pickett and his family are not the same family that I met in Open Season  sixteen  books ago!  Nor  is Cork O-Connor and his family. Now Stephanie Plum I don’t know about!

How about anyone else? Have your favorite characters evolved or are they static?

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Lawrence Block

 

Author’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon
Goodreads

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The Critic – Enzo Files # 2 – Peter May

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The Critic – (Enzo Files #2) Another Winner from Peter May

 

So over the last few days I’ve spent a lot of time looking forward to what I want to read and back at what I’ve read. What I have actually missed though is to write about the book that I just finished. Actually, I read the majority of the book in 2016, but I didn’t finish it until New Year’s Day! So it is Book #1 of 2017!  Anyway the book was The Critic by Peter May. It is the second book in May’s Enzo Files series featuring Scottish exile and former forensic specialist Enzo Macleod.

i first became acquainted with the writing of Peter May back in 2006 when I read Firestarter the first book in May’s China Thriller series. While the book was a great read, somehow I have never read any of the other books in the series. A few years ago (wow – looking back at my Goodreads bookshelf I see it was 2012) I saw  The Black House at the library, remembering that I liked Firestarter, I
checked it out and I have been a Peter May fan ever since. The Black House Trilogy was great! In 2016 I read four Peter May books. The first three were stand alones, Entry Island, Coffin Road and Runaway. They too were all terrific reads! The fourth was my first Enzo MacLeod mystery. It is also the first book I finished in 2017. All I can say, keep’em coming Mr May!!

About The Critic – Enzo Files #2

 

In this episode, Enzo travels to the small little known wine-making region of Gaillic in southwestern France. His mission is to solve cold case murder. Three years earlier the world’s number one wine critic, Gil Petty, who disappeared while on a tour of the area. His body was found three years ago, strung up like a scarecrow in among the vines of the vineyard. His body has been preserved in wine before being strung up. Petty’s influence was very  powerful. And one of his reviews could make or break a winery. Do someone kill him to avoid a bad review? Or is it something far deeper?

My Thoughts About The Book

 

This book was a fast and enjoyable read for me. While I didn’t think it had the same power as any of the other May books that I’ve read, it was still good. I liked Enzo MacLeod and thought he was a lot like another forensic investigator Bill Brockton of the Body Farm series.He even had a graduate assistant, His is Nicole and Brockton’s is Miranda. Both have lost their wives and now have trouble with the ladies in their lives!  and I can see Bill enjoying the vino just about as much as Enzo .So if you like The Body Farm books check out this series!!

I also like it when come away from a book with a little more knowledge than when I started. In this book that knowledge came from the discussions of wine-making. carbonic gases play a big part in the story. Also the discussions on wine-tasting was interesting. I am not a wine drinker I didn’t know so many tastes and smells! Finally, it was interesting that wines differ because of the soils and the overall environment, (i.e what side of hillsides) where the grapes are grown. Therefore an analysis of minerals found in the soil could be used in  determining where the grapes that the wine was made from came from!!

Final Rating

All in all, this book was a solid 3.75 out of 5, not quite a 4 star book. And that may be because I am comparing it to other books by Peter May. I will certainly be checking out more of the books that chronicle the adventures of Enzo  MacLeod!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Novels of Peter May

Author’s Website
Goodreads
Amazon

Twelve of My Favorite Mystery Reads of 2016!

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Twelve Great Mystery Reads of 2016

So now that the Holidays are over and I wait to see if Clemson can somehow upset mighty Alabama, Hey I attended both the University of Florida and the University of Georgia, so while I am not a big fan of Clemson, I certainly would prefer that they win the National Title!

Anyway, after seeing this list of the Best of 2016 from the Mysterious Bookshop . I decided to put together a list of my favorite mystery reads of 2016. I love books that are part of a mystery series. Therefore, the vast majority of the books I read are part of a series Here are in my 2016 favorites.The books are listed,  for the most part, in the reverse chronological order in which they were read!

 

Reckless Creed - Alex Kava

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Reckless Creed – (Ryder Creed #3)- Alex Kava

This is the third of Kava;s Ryder Creed novels. Kava again features both Ryder and Maggie O’Dell in this novel. Maggie and Ryder are on the trail of a rogue scientist, who is attempting to make a new strain of bird flu that is airborne. And she is using people to test spreading the disease. Can Maggie and Ryder and his dogs stop her before there is a new pandemic!

 

Blind Sight - Carol O'Conne0ll

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Blind Sight – (Mallory # 12) – Carol O’Connell

I still need to read a few books in the middle of this series, but this last one is pretty good. Mallory and Riker in the middle of a mess. Four bodies have been sent to the Gracie Mansion each with there hearts cut out. One is a former hooker turned nun. Her blind nephew is still missing and my be the next victim. Can Mallory save the nephew and stop the killings?

Home - Harlan Coben

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3, Home – (Myron Bolitar # 11) – Harlan Coben

Myron helps Win try to discover what really happened to his nephew Rhys and his friend Patrick when they wee kidnapped from Patrick’s home ten years earlier. Win gets a tip that Patrick has been spotted in London. Patrick is saved, but Rhys is still missing. Win and Myron return to NJ to discover what really happened!!

 

Coffin Road - Peter May

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Coffin Road – Peter May

A man washes up on the shore of a Scottish Island with no memory of who he is. He soon discovers that he is a write researching a book on the disappearance of the lighthouse keeper on one of Scotland’s outer  islands. But is that who he truly is? What does he know about the bees out on the Coffin Road? He senses he knows something about them. And also about the man on the island who was murdered? Did he do it??

The Kept Woman - Karin Slaughter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Kept Woman – (Will Trent # 8) – Karin Slaughter

Angie Polaski estranged wife of GBI agent Will Trent and thorn in the side of Will’s new love Sara Litton, returns to turn Will and sara’s life upside down. She is the center of a murder investigation.  The investigation involves a bad cop who is found murdered in a blood splattered room in a half finished Atlanta nightclub. Angie’s blood type matches the blood splattered in the room. The nightclub is owned by a star basketball player, who just beat a rape charge, Will had worked the case!  So where’s Angie? Did she kill the man? And will she ever divorce Will so that he and Sara can get on with their lives.

Redemption Road - John Hart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Redemption Road – John Hart

This may be my favorite read for the year! John Hart is flat-out great!  From Goodreads:

Now after five years, John Hart is back with a stunning literary thriller.
Imagine:
A boy with a gun waits for the man who killed his mother.
A troubled detective confronts her past in the aftermath of a brutal shooting.
After thirteen years in prison, a good cop walks free. But for how long?
And deep in the forest, on the altar of an abandoned church, the unthinkable has just happened… Read More

 

Without Mercy - Jefferson Bass

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Without Mercy – (The Body Farm # 10) – Jefferson Bass

Forensic anthropologist and director of the Body Farm and the University of Tennessee is called to consult on a murder in a county near Knoxville. Based on the man’s skeletal remains, he  was chained to a tree, then attacked and killed by a bear. What happened? Was this a hate crime and who is the victim? Bill Brockton and his graduate assistant Miranda are out to discover the truth. Miranda is also out to get a job with the FBI and leave the body farm after graduation! Oh, no!!

Manitou Canyon - William Kent Krueger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Manitou Canyon – (Cork O’Conner # 15) – William Kent Krueger

A man’s family hire Cork O’Connor to investigate the man’s sudden disappearance in the boundary waters of northern Minnesota. Cork’s two clients are the granddaughter and grandson of the missing man. Cork sets off on his mission, promising his daughter Jenny, he’ll be back in plenty of time for her wedding, Right! Soon Cork and the granddaughter disappear and Cork’s family and Henry Miloux set out to find Cork!

The Second Life of Nick Mason - Steve Hamilton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. The Second Life of Nick Mason – (Nick Mason #1) – Steve Hamilton

I have been a fan of Steve Hamilton’s Alex McKnight series for a long time. This book is the beginning of a new series featuring Nick Mason. From Goodreads:

Nick Mason has already spent five years inside a maximum security prison when an offer comes that will grant his release twenty years early.  He accepts — but the deal comes with a terrible price.

Now, back on the streets, Nick Mason has a new house, a new car, money to burn, and a beautiful roommate.  He’s returned to society, but he’s still a prisoner.  Whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given.  It’s the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who runs an empire from his prison cell. More

Off the Grid - C.J. Box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Off the Grid – (Joe Pickett # 16) – C.J. Box

One of my favorite characters in the Joe Picket series enigmatic Nate Romanowski. Nate has saved Joe’s butt more than once, but he has a shadow past and a Federal warrant out for his arrest. At the end of Book 15 a wounded Nate escaped into the night. This book opens with Nate off the grid, recuperating from those wounds. A team of elite professional operators suddenly surround Nates But rather than threatening him, the team leader offers Nate a deal. If he helps them destroy a domestic terror cell  in Wyoming’s Red Desert, they’ll make his criminal record disappear. Th offer that may be too good to be true and it may just destroy Nate , Joe and Joe’s daughter Sheridan?

 

The Twenty Three - Linwood Barclay

 

Far From True - Linwood Barclay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. & 12  Far From True & The Twenty Three – (Promise Falls 2 & 3) – Linwood Barclay

Things have been topsy-turvy in Promise Falls. The events in Promise Falls include:: three murders, several attempted rapes,a found baby, 23 dead squirrels, mannequins in car 23 at a closed amusement park.  In The Twenty Three, when the town’s water supply is sabotaged everyone in Promised Falls is threatened!

Both books are great! Start the series though with Broken Promise – Book 1 in the series and work your way through the whole trilogy!!

A Concluding Thought

I thought it was interesting  that seven of the books were released in the fall of 2016. September saw the release of five of the books. While one each was released in  October and November. Since many authors seem to release their books at the same time each year, I better get ready for another pile of books coming next fall!! Just saying!

Thoughts about Books Returned to the Library

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Two Books Go Back to the Library Unread, Replaced by Two of My Proposed January Reads!

 

Ok, so who amongst you has ever  encountered this problem. It is actually something that happens to me quite often. You go to the library, either to pick something up or return something. While you’re there you know you have to look through the new releases shelves. Of course , as you scan the books several look interesting and maybe even a book you had seen, say in a book store . So you end up leaving the library with not only the books you came for but a few that you really didn’t need! Yes I always think I can read just a little bit more than I can!!

Anyway that happened to me just a few weeks ago and now a couple of the books that I thought I would read and would still like to read have to go back! The main reason is that two days ago, I requested to other books from the library.And those two books are two of the five books I plan to read this month!! They are The Killing Kind by Chris Holm and Ruler of the Night by David Morrell.

I decided to return  two books of the many books that I have checked out.. But, that I will still leave four books checked out, that I don;t plan to read in January, Yikes! Anyway, rather than just taking the books back, I thought I would write a little about each one and maybe that will help keep them fresh in my mind! So that next time there is a lull in my reading, I can check them out again!!

The Returned Books…..added to my Goodreads to Read Shelf

 

Prisoners of Geography – Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World – Tim Marshall

Seems like something our new President should read, eh?? From Goodreads…..

All leaders are constrained by geography. Their choices are limited by mountains, rivers, seas and concrete. Yes, to follow world events you need to understand people, ideas and movements – but if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture.

If you’ve ever wondered why Putin is so obsessed with Crimea, why the USA was destined to become a global superpower, or why China’s power base continues to expand ever outwards, the answers are all here. Read More

Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t take this one back?? No you made up your mind take it back, mark it as a March read!!

Custer’s Trials – A Life on the Frontier of a New America – T.J. Stile

I grew up watching westerns on TV. I guess that’s one reason that I’ve always loved reading about the Indian Wars. And when I do read about the Indian Wars I always root for the Indians, but somehow they never win. Except for that one time against Custer!  Custer always seemed like that guy you always wanted to root against. So maybe this book will change my opinion of Custer……I doubt it!.

From the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, a brilliant new biography of Gen. George Armstrong Custer that radically changes our view of the man and his turbulent times.

In this magisterial biography, T. J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer’s legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer’s historical caricature, revealing a volatile, contradictory, intense person—capable yet insecure, intelligent yet bigoted, passionate yet self-destructive, a romantic individualist at odds with the institution of the military (he was court-martialed twice in six years). Read More

Another books I should probably keep. Ok, I just put both of the books on my To Read bookshelf at Goodreads. I never do that. Maybe that’s something that I should do from now on, to keep the books fresh in my mind!

Proposed January 2016 Reads

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Proposed January Reading Challenge Reads!

 

In order to reach my goal of reading 60 books in 2017, I will need to read an average of five books per month.Here are my proposed reads for January of 2017

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Reading Challenge: Nonfiction
  1. How to Run the World – Parag Khanna

I read Connectivity by Parag Khanna a few months ago. I was fascinated by his analysis of the way that the supply chain has connected the world. This book was written a few years before Connectivity. I love geography and love to learn about the world around me, and right now Parag Khanna may be the best writing about it today!

Reading Challenge: Science Fiction

2. Lazarus War: Artefact – Jamie Sawyer

I have wanted to read this book and series for a while now. I used my Christmas Gift Card to Barnes and Noble to finally buy it!

“Artefact “is book one of The Lazarus War, an explosive new space adventure series from one of the brightest new stars in science fiction – perfect for fans of “The Edge of Tomorrow,” “Alien” and James S. A. Corey‘s Expanse series. Jack Campbell, author of the Lost Fleet novels calls it “a gripping read that moves at warp speed.” Read More

Reading Challenge: Mystery /Thriller – New to Me Author

3. The Killing Kind – Chris Holm

Ok so earlier I said that I was going to use Mystery Scene Magazine to discover “new to me” authors. Well, Chris Holm is the first new author that I have discovered through the magazine. The Killing Kind won the 2016 Anthony Award for Best Novel back in September.

I have always heard about the Anthony Awards but never really set out to discover what they were until now! From Wikipedia

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.[1] Among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery writers, the Anthony Awards have helped boost the careers of many recipients Read More

Now back to The Killing Kind: From Goodreads

A hitman who only kills other hitmen winds up a target himself.

Michael Hendricks kills people for money. That aside, he’s not so bad a guy.

Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, Hendricks was presumed dead after a mission in Afghanistan went sideways. He left behind his old life–and beloved fiancée–and set out on a path of redemption…or perhaps one of willful self-destruction.

Now Hendricks makes his living as a hitman entrepreneur of sorts–he only hits other hit me Read More

Sounds good to me!

 

Reading Challenge: Literature Reading Challenge: Award Winner

4. All That Man Is – David Szalay – Awards:Man Booker Prize Nominee (2016), Gordon Burn Prize (2016)

I chose this book to take me out of my comfort zone. It meets the Literature challenge as an award winner. From Goodreads:

A magnificent and ambitiously conceived portrait of contemporary life, by a genius of realism.

Nine men. Each of them at a different stage in life, each of them away from home, and each of them striving–in the suburbs of Prague, in an overdeveloped Alpine village, beside a Belgian motorway, in a dingy Cyprus hotel–to understand what it means to be alive, here and now. Tracing a dramatic arc from the spring of youth to the winter of old age, the ostensibly separate narratives of All That Man Is aggregate into a picture of a single shared existence, a picture that interrogates the state of modern manhood while bringing to life, unforgettably, the physical and emotional terrain of an increasingly globalized Europe. And so these nine lives form an ingenious and new kind of novel, in which David Szalay expertly plots a dark predicament for the twenty-first-century man. Read More

Reading Challenge: Mystery/Thrillers – Current Mystery Author

 

5. Ruler of the Night – David Morrell

I have been a fan of the novels of David Morrell since I read The Brotherhood of the Rose and The Fraternity of the Stone back in the 1980s. Ruler of the Night is the last book in the trilogy featuring opium-eating Thomas De Quincey

Like David Morrell’s previous De Quincey novels, Ruler of the Night blends fact and fiction to an exceptional degree, this time focusing on a real-life Victorian murder so startling that it changed the culture-in this case, the first murder on an English train. The brutality of the crime stoked the fears of a generation who believed that the newly invented railway would “annihilate time and space.” Read More

If I am able to finish these five books this month that should get my reading year off to a great start. So wish me well! Anybody want to join me? Wish Me Good Luck! Now it’s back to Lazarus War!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Man Reads…. Proposed January Reads

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Proposed January Reading Challenge Reads!

 

In order to reach my goal of reading 60 books in 2017, I will need to read an average of five books per month.Here are my proposed reads for January of 2017

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Reading Challenge: Nonfiction
  1. How to Run the World – Parag Khanna

I read Connectivity by Parag Khanna a few months ago. I was fascinated by his analysis of the way that the supply chain has connected the world. This book was written a few years before Connectivity. I love geography and love to learn about the world around me, and right now Parag Khanna may be the best writing about it today!

Reading Challenge: Science Fiction

2. Lazarus War: Artefact – Jamie Sawyer

I have wanted to read this book and series for a while now. I used my Christmas Gift Card to Barnes and Noble to finally buy it!

“Artefact “is book one of The Lazarus War, an explosive new space adventure series from one of the brightest new stars in science fiction – perfect for fans of “The Edge of Tomorrow,” “Alien” and James S. A. Corey‘s Expanse series. Jack Campbell, author of the Lost Fleet novels calls it “a gripping read that moves at warp speed.” Read More

Reading Challenge: Mystery /Thriller – New to Me Author

3. The Killing Kind – Chris Holm

Ok so earlier I said that I was going to use Mystery Scene Magazine to discover “new to me” authors. Well, Chris Holm is the first new author that I have discovered through the magazine. The Killing Kind won the 2016 Anthony Award for Best Novel back in September.

I have always heard about the Anthony Awards but never really set out to discover what they were until now! From Wikipedia

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America.[1] Among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery writers, the Anthony Awards have helped boost the careers of many recipients Read More

Now back to The Killing Kind: From Goodreads

A hitman who only kills other hitmen winds up a target himself.

Michael Hendricks kills people for money. That aside, he’s not so bad a guy.

Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, Hendricks was presumed dead after a mission in Afghanistan went sideways. He left behind his old life–and beloved fiancée–and set out on a path of redemption…or perhaps one of willful self-destruction.

Now Hendricks makes his living as a hitman entrepreneur of sorts–he only hits other hit me Read More

Sounds good to me!

 

Reading Challenge: Literature Reading Challenge: Award Winner

4. All That Man Is – David Szalay – Awards:Man Booker Prize Nominee (2016), Gordon Burn Prize (2016)

I chose this book to take me out of my comfort zone. It meets the Literature challenge as an award winner. From Goodreads:

A magnificent and ambitiously conceived portrait of contemporary life, by a genius of realism.

Nine men. Each of them at a different stage in life, each of them away from home, and each of them striving–in the suburbs of Prague, in an overdeveloped Alpine village, beside a Belgian motorway, in a dingy Cyprus hotel–to understand what it means to be alive, here and now. Tracing a dramatic arc from the spring of youth to the winter of old age, the ostensibly separate narratives of All That Man Is aggregate into a picture of a single shared existence, a picture that interrogates the state of modern manhood while bringing to life, unforgettably, the physical and emotional terrain of an increasingly globalized Europe. And so these nine lives form an ingenious and new kind of novel, in which David Szalay expertly plots a dark predicament for the twenty-first-century man. Read More

Reading Challenge: Mystery/Thrillers – Current Mystery Author

 

5. Ruler of the Night – David Morrell

I have been a fan of the novels of David Morrell since I read The Brotherhood of the Rose and The Fraternity of the Stone back in the 1980s. Ruler of the Night is the last book in the trilogy featuring opium-eating Thomas De Quincey

Like David Morrell’s previous De Quincey novels, Ruler of the Night blends fact and fiction to an exceptional degree, this time focusing on a real-life Victorian murder so startling that it changed the culture-in this case, the first murder on an English train. The brutality of the crime stoked the fears of a generation who believed that the newly invented railway would “annihilate time and space.” Read More

If I am able to finish these five books this month that should get my reading year off to a great start. So wish me well! Anybody want to join me? Wish Me Good Luck! Now it’s back to Lazarus War!

 

 

 

 

 

 

2017 Reading Challenges…

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This Man Reads 2017 Reading Challenges…..

Two  years ago I signed up for several Reading Challenges on various websites. The result was that the challenges helped me remain more focused with my reading. So last year I created my own Reading Challenges. They were meant to keep me focused and reading a variety of books. So here is my 2017 version.

I probably should have created these reading challenges back  in December, but I was too busy trying to get past 51 books to do it!   But you know that they always say,”Better Late than Never”. So here are my 2017 Reading Challenges. My overall reading challenge is to read 60 books. I didn’t reach that goal in 2016, but I did read more books in 2016 that 2015 so maybe I can reach the goal this year!!

I have divided my 2017 Reading Challenge into four sub-reading challenges. The first one is the 2017 Literature Reading Challenge. This challenge is meant  to take me out of my reading comfort zone. My comfort zone is composed of mysteries and thrillers. I have set the goal for this Challenge pretty low only 6 books. The books are to be divided as follows.

2017 Literature Reading Challenge

  • Two general fiction books, i.e, books where no one is killed or things are blown up!
  • Two classics that I was supposed to have read in College or High School.
  • Two books that have one an award, like the Pulitzer Prize, the Faulkner award or Man Booker award. Total 6 books

2017 Mystery/Thriller Reading Challenge

The second is my Mystery/Thriller reading challenge. Instead of just saying I am going to read 36 mysteries or thrillers, I have divided this challenge up a  little too….

  • Six books from a series that I have always wanted to read, but have somehow always put off reading.  An example is the Enzo Files series from Peter May. Another example are the Charlie Parker books by John Connolly.
  • Six books from series  that  I need to catch up on for example: Alex Berenson’s John Wells series, Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole series or Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series!!
  •  Twelve books from authors and series that I currently read, i.e Joe Pickett from C.J. Box,
  • Twelve  books from mystery authors that are new to me! One of the ways that I plan to discover new authors is through Mystery Scene magazine.  Andrew and Meaghan gave me a subscription for Christmas and just browsing through the first issue. I found several new authors! Thanks!!

2017 Science Fiction and Nonfiction Reading Challenges

These challenges are both pretty straight forward….

  •  Six Science Fiction books  I plan to divide these books any way I want. The books can be written by either familiar or new to me authors/
  • Twelve  nonfiction books. Basically, they can be anything that catches my fancy!!

Oh, I’ have also created a Kindle/Bookshelf /TBR Pile Challenge!  I want 40 of the books to come from books that are either on my bookshelves or on my Kindle! I spent a lot of time collecting books on my Kindle and then never getting around to reading them! Anyone else have that problem!!

Here is my spreadsheet table that I use to keep track of how I’m doing on my various challenges!

2017 Reading Challenge Kindle Bookshelves Library Total Goal % of Goal
           
2017 Literature Reading Challenge  
   
General Fiction 0 0 0 2 0.00%
Classics (Books I should have read but didn’t) 0 0 0 2 0.00%
Award-Winners 0 0 0 2 0.00%
Sub-total
2017 Mystery/Thriller Reading Challenge  
New Series that I have meant to read 0 1 1 6 16.67%
Series that I am behind on (i.e. Gabriel Allon) 0 0 0 6 0.00%
Current Mystery Authors (series or non-series) 0 0 0 12
New Mystery Authors 0 0 0 12
Sub-total
2017 Science Fiction /Fantasy Challenge   0 0 0 6 0.00%
   
2017 Nonfiction Reading Challenge   0 0 0 12 0.00%
   
0 0 0
Totals 1 60 1.67%
2016 Kindle/Bookshelf Challenge 20 20 20 60

 

In my next post I’ll outline the books that I plan to read in January of 2017!! Wish Me Luck!!

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