Category: Potpouri-Books

2017 Reading Challenges Mini-Update (Feb 6, 2017)

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An Amazing Start on My 2017 Reading Challenges

 

Ok so I do believe that I would be hard pressed to find two months in the last 15 years where I have read more books than January and February of 2017. In January I read  books and so far in February I have read three more! Bringing 2017’s total of books read to 11! In order to achieve my 2017 Reading Challenge goal of 60 books, I need to average 5 books per month.  I am already above that average in the first week of February!! Goodreads says that right now I am 5 books ahead of schedule! Woo Hoo!

Now the one bad thing about this is that I have been reading more than writing. Consequently, I am  seven books behind in writing reviews. The table below lists that books that I have read so far this year. (The links are to my review of the book)

No Title Author
11 Black Widow Chris Brookmyre
10 All That Man Is David Szalay
9 A Foreign Country Charles Cumming
8 Livia Lone Barry Eisler
7 Ruler of the Night David Morrell
6 A Puzzle in a Pear Tree Parnell Hall
5 How to Run the World Parag Khanna
4 The Lazarus War – Artefact Jamie Sawyer
3 The Killing Kind Chris Holm
2 In the Midst of Death Lawrence Block
1 The Critic Peter May

 

I am going to group the books according to the Reading Challenge that they fit into. So the future posts will look like this:

2017 Mystery/Thriller Reading Challenge

 Series that are new to me

Jack Parlabane – Chris Brookmyre – Black Widow
Thomas Kell – Charles Cumming – A Foreign Country
Livia Lone – Barry Eisler – Livia Lone

Series that I am Behind on/ Series that I am Current with

Puzzle Lady – Parnell Hall  – A Puzzle in a Pear Tree – 
Thomas De Quncey -David Morrell –  Ruler of the Night –

2017 Literature Reading Challenge/ Nonfiction Reading Challenge

General Fiction

All that Man is – David Szalay

Nonfiction

How to Run the World – Parag Khanna

So now I’m off to pick out my next few books and start to read!!! Be back later with the first of the above posts!!

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!

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

[powr-image-slider id=4f09d6de_1483579721]

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 Read’s 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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A 2016 Reading Challenges Wrap-Up

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So since Christmas I have been very bad about writing anything. Sometimes I find myself in a writing funk and well this is one of those times!  We had a great Christmas and like everyone it went by to quickly. Our whole family spent the morning at.Andrew and Meaghan’s . It’s the one house that has enough room for all of us and all the presents for everyone, particularly the two little ones!

Anyway everyone had a good time and I think all of the kids big and little liked their presents. I know I liked mine! I’ll write more about mine over the weekend.

Over the last week or so I did manage to finish two more books. That brings my total books read in 2016 to 53! Two more than last year, and only 7 from my goal! The two books I finished were: Runaway by Peter May and Reckless Creed  from Alex Kava. Both were really good reads. Runaway is the third book written by Peter May that I read this year. That’s the most by any one author. I guess he is my new favorite.  I will write more about each of these books separately shortly.

Here is the final tabulation of the books that I read for my various Reading Challenges!

Final Tabulation of My Reading Challenges

 

2016 Reading Challenges TBR Library Total Goal % of Goal
         
2016 Literature Reading Challenge
General Fiction 1 3 3 6 50.00%
Classics 0 0 0 6 0.00%
NY Times Bestseller List 0 0 0 6 0.00%
Award-Winners 1 2 3 6 50.00%
2015 Mystery/Thriller Reading Challenge
Rgrandad’s Mysteries 4 26 30 10 300.00%
Women Mystery Book Authors 1 0 5 10 50.00%
2016 Science Fiction /Fantasy Challenge 0 0 1 6 16.67%
2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 4 7 11 10 110.00%
 
Totals 0 0 0
53 60 88.33%
2016 TBR Pile Challenge 11 25 44.00%

 

From the table we can see that I did well on both my Mysteries and Nonfiction challenges. That may be just a slight understatement as the books read for those two challenges accounted for  77% of the books I read in 2016! (41 out of 53)  On three of the other challenges I read 50% of my projected total number of books.On the Science Fiction challenge I only read 1 out of 6. I didn’t read any classics!! Now it also says that I didn’t read any books from the New York Times Bestseller Lists. I believe that some of my mystery and thriller reads like books from Harlan Coben, Linwood Barclay, Jefferson Bass and Karin Slaughter probably spent some time on the bestseller lists!

Top Seven New Mysteries Read

I know that over the last few months when I went into Barnes & Noble I would see that I had read seven books that they had in their new release displays. They were:

  1. Without Mercy – Jefferson Bass,
  2. The Kept Woman – Karin Slaughter,
  3. The Twenty Three – Linwood Barclay,
  4. Home – Harlan Coben,
  5. The Second Life of Nick Mason – Steve Hamilton
  6. Blind Sight Carol O’Connor and
  7. Manitou Canyon – William  Kent Krueger

Oh and one I just finished in the last few days Reckless Creed from Alex Kava  Hmm, looking at the above list, I may just put together my top 15 list of 2016!

They were all terrific reads!! Check Them Out!!

So overall it was a great year of reading!! I am still in the process of developing my 2017 Reading Challenges and will possibly reveal them tomorrow! I think some of the Challenges will include reading more books from my own bookshelves and from e-books that are on my Kindle! So I will be back soon with my 2017 Reading Challenges and my proposed January reads!!

 

 

 

September 2016 – A Review of the Six Books I Read!

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September 2016 – Six Books Read in a Busy Month! Yeah Me!

I had a great reading month in September of 2016. I finished the five books on the above slider and they all were really good. The books I read came from a variety of genres. There was; a mystery from one of my favorite authors The Second Life of Nick Mason, a non-fiction book history book The Winter Fortress by Neal Bascom, an award-winning general fiction – Life of Pi from Yann Martell, a science fiction space opera Dark Run by Mike Brooks, and a political thriller Red Cell from Mark Henshaw. I think that a pretty good mix of genres!

I also finished a sixth book The One Plan:A Week-by-Week Guide to Restoring Your Natural Health and Happiness by Yogi Cameron Alborzian, but I haven’t written anything about it yet. The One Plan had a lot of good ideas that I plan to implement. I don’t think I’m ready to commit to many of the aspects of the plan though, The Path is a little too intense for me!

Finishing the six books brought the total number of books I have read this year to 37. In order to be on pace to read my projected total of 60 books in 2016, I would have to have read 45 books by the end of September, so I am eight books off of the pace or on pace to read 52 books which would be 1 more than 2015. I would be very happy if I reach that total, but I will still try to pick up the pace and shoot for the goal of 60 books!

 

Let’s Talk Action Thrillers!!

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 Thoughts about the Action Thrillers that I have Read and those I Still Read!

I guess I started reading action thrillers back in the early 1980s, when a work colleague introduced me to the works of Clive Cussler and his hero Dirk Pitt! My first encounter with Mr. Pitt was in the book Raise the Titanic. I quickly went back and read his previous books and continued to follow Dirk’s adventures for several years. The novels always had a good mix of history and action.

At the same time I started to read The November Man novels from Bill Granger. The November Man books were James Bond and Jason Bourne type novels with an intriguing character. I followed this series for many years reading most of the twelve books in the series.

During this period, I also read most of Robert Ludlum;s action thrillers, along with books from David Morrell like The Brotherhood of the Rose and The League of Night and Fog. Richard Hoyt was another author whose action thrillers I enjoyed. His character was James Burlane.

I also read several of the John LeCarre George Smiley novels I know for sure that I read The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and I may have read another but I’m not sure.

More recently the three action thriller series that I have followed, though I am way behind on all of them are the Mitch Rapp novels of Vince Flynn, Brad Thor’s Scott Harvath novels and Alex Berenson’s John Wells series. I have enjoyed all the books in these series, but over the last few years, I have read fewer and fewer of these types of books. At this point I think I will just have to just pick up one of the recent books, read it, and then go back and read the earlier one. It seems that if I don’t do that, I will just keep putting off reading books that I like!!!

One action thriller series, that I have kept up with pretty well, is the James Rollins Sigma Force series. The latest book in that series is The Bone Labyrinth, which is number 11 in the series. I have read all of the books except the first book Sandstorm and the two most recent books The 6th Extinction and of course The Bone Labyrinth. I have both of those books checked out of the library right now and Sandstorm has been on my TBR pile forever!!

Prior to starting the Sigma Force Series, Rollins wrote several standalone thrillers like Subterranean, Excavation and Deep Fathom all of which were great reads

Hey I forgot the Gabriel Allon books from Daniel Silva.and what about the Bob Lee Swagger books fromStephen Hunter, those are good too!! Can you say too many books too little time!!

Now I haven’t even touch on the suspense and psychological thrillers that I have read…….that’s for later now it’s back toThe Forgotten Room by Lincoln Child. Child is half of the writing team of Preston & Child whose Pendergrast series I also have read!! Hmm, that reminds me that the Pendergrast series is up to Book 15 and that I am only on book 7 …..argh!

So who is your favorite action thriller character????? Hmm, maybe Mitch Rapp, no John Wells…….

 

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A Post-Birthday Trip to the Library Book Sale!!

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Five Treasures Found at the Library Book Sale

So October is really zipping by, seems like it was just my birthday (Oct 1), I guess that’s what happens when you’re busy. Anyway, the Cinnaminson Branch of the Burlington County Library had their fall book sale Oct 1-3rd and well since I  needed to take some books back and pickup a book that I had put on hold, I begrudgingly visited the used book sale. Yeah right!

I have discovered that the best way to control my spending at these book sales is to go with a set amount of money to spend! For this sale I had ten dollars to spend. Here’s how I spent my money…..

Think of a Number Book Sale BookFirst up was John Verdon’s Think of a Numb3r.(Dave Gurney #1). From Goodreads….

An extraordinary fiction debut, Think of a Number is an exquisitely plotted novel of suspense that grows relentlessly darker and more frightening as its pace accelerates, forcing its deeply troubled characters to moments of startling self-revelation Read More

I have seen this book  before, but for some reason I have never picked it up. Now is the time!!

 

Next came Last to Die from Tess Gerritsen. I have loved Tess Gerritsen’s Jane Rizzoli since The Surgeon for some reason I have put off reading Gerritsen’s latest book and every time I finish one of them I shake my head and question – why??

The Death Relic Chris KuzneskiBooks from two other authors whose books I have enjoyed and yet don’t seem to read often enough caught my eye. First, The Death Relic from Chris Kuzneski and then Gregg Hurwitz‘s  You’re Next.

When Maria Pelati’s research team disappears in Mexico, Jonathon Payne and David Jones embark on a perilous mission to find the missing archaeologists. The duo quickly finds a link between the group’s work and its recent disappearance. Following the clues left behind, their pair try to solve one of the darkest mysteries of the new world. More

Kuzneski’s books always blend history and action. The Death Relic is book #7 of the Jonathon Payne and David Jones series. I have read books #2 and # 4) in the series and enjoyed them so I know I’ll enjoy The Death Relic!!

Gregg Hurwitz’s You’re Next is a stand alone thriller. I hope that this one is as good as the last Hurwitz novel I read Tell No Lies which was really, really good!

Every Day David LevithanThe final book that I bought was every day by David Levithan

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon Read More

every day is not a book that I would typically read but it sounds really interesting and I’ve been going to get the book from the library for a long time!!

So the final tally at the book sale was two hard backs the first two books and three trade size paperbacks for a whopping $9.00!! Now I just have to find the time to read them all!!

 

RGranddad’s Wednesday Potpouri

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ADD Potpouri…Baseball, Bonamassa, Box and The Tangent –

 

I once worked with a guy named Garry, his brothers were Larry, Barry and Chuck …. Garry, Larry, Barry and Chuck like the above headline one does not belong…here’s a little ADD potpouri for a Wednesday…….

Once again I am apologizing for not posting much over the last few days, but I have been fairly busy. I babysat Zoe on Monday no problem and then yesterday I babysat Oliver and while we had a great day Oliver needed two naps to keep himself going and while Granddad made it without napping when he got home he was spent and napped through several baseball games!! The inning that I would have liked to have seen was the top of the ninth inning in Pittsburgh when the Cubbies scored three to beat the Pirates 9-8, after the Bucs had scored three in the eighth to go ahead.

I have decided that my alternates to the Phillies to root for are the Cubs in the NL Central and the Royals in the American League!My connection to the Cubs goes back to the early 60s when my mother’s first cousin Barney Schultz pitched for them! One time while he was pitching for them, my parents and I were allowed into the area outside of the visiting locker room in Connie Mack Stadium where I got autographs of Cubs players!! That was a big deal for a maybe 12 year-old kid!

As for the Royals while I have never been a fan of them, especially in 1980, but what they have done recently in building an exciting young team has bee impressive and there is a Philly connection through Mike Arbuckle who is now a top person in the Royals front office. He should have been named Phillies GM back when Amaro got the job!! Anyway over the first few weeks I have enjoyed watching both of these teams!!

Muddy Wolf Live at Red Rocks Joe Bonamassa

 

As for music over the last day or so. The soundtrack for the tip down to Paulsboro and Oliver was the new release from Joe Bonamassa Muddy Wolf – Live at Red Rocks, which from what I heard surely does rock. I will listen to it some more and let you know more about the album. On the way back I listened to a little of the latest release from the prog rock band The Tangent A Spark in the Aether.  While I am a fan of Joe  Bonamassa  I know little about The Tangent from ProgArchives I read that they are a multinational eclectic prog band…..

THE TANGENT is a project originally formed by Andy Tillison, Guy Manning and Sam Baine of PARALLEL OR 90 DEGREES [Po90] as well as half of THE FLOWER KINGS including Jonas Reingold, Zoltan Csorsz and guitar virtuoso and former KAIPA member Roine Stolt. Of course to put further icing on the cake David Jackson of VAN DER GRAFF GENERATOR would lend his legendary sax to the band for their debut album. This started out as a mere project and was actually intended to be a Tillison solo effort before it became a full fledged band as Tillison felt the need to produce something more typically ‘prog’ than he’d been doing in Po90 Continue Reading

I am not sure how much I like this album yet based on my limited listening yesterday. So far at ProgArchives the album has a 4.19 rating which is very high! I think I will flip a coin to see which album is the soundtrack to today’s run!!

In addition to The Tangent, l listened to a few tracks from Wolf & Clarke Expedition 2 . This is one of my favorite new jazz albums. I had included the album on a playlist of new jazz albums last week, You can check out that playlist here.

C J Box

 

Finally, I have finished two books this week. First was the latest from Jorgen Brekke Dreamless and the second Island of the Sequined Love Nun from Christopher Moore. Both were great and I promise  reviews today or tomorrow!! Here also is an update on my reading challenges with the latest boos added. So far I am up to 17 books for the year a number I reached near the end of August last year!! As you can see, I am now only reading three books and I probably should concentrate on finishing those three, but Endangered the new C J Box  Joe Pickett novel is calling me from the shelving cart at the Riverside Library!!

So Missy should be home any minute now and babysitting duties will be over and it’s off to the library and then Trader Joes and then a run or maybe just a run and Trader Joes tomorrow……..

Reading Challenge From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal %complete
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 2 2 11 18%
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 4 6 10 23 43%
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1 1 2thy 5 40%
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 2 1 3 12 25%
Totals 7 10 17 51 33%
Currently Reading Challenge From Page Total %complete
The President’s War Nonfiction Library 160 316 51%
What Then Must We Do-Gar Alperowitz Nonfiction Library 45 156 29%
Bowl of Heaven – Benford and Niven Science Fiction Library 36 412 9%