Category: Potpouri-Books

Reading Challenges – A Quick Update – April 2, 2015

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Edward finishes Book 13 of 2015 – brings home 3 new Reading Challenges Books -Oh My!

 

A quick Reading Challenges Update! This afternoon I finished book number 13 for 2015.When Gods Die -a Sebastian St.Cyr mystery from C.S.Harris. This is the first book that I have read in this series and it will not be my last!! It is actually Book #2 of what is now a 10 book series. The book’s setting is London in June of 1811, where Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is investigating the murder of a beautiful young wife of an aging marquis. The young woman was found dead in the arms of the Prince Regent with a jeweled dagger that once belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie in her back. And a necklace that belonged to Sebastian’s dead mother around her neck! I will write my complete review tomorrow but for now I’ll just say I really, really liked the book!!

As far as the books I am currently reading and my proposed April reads, let’s recap. I’m am still reading The President’s War, On Writing from Stephen King and Sarah J Maas’s Crown of Midnight.

Now I should be satisfied to just keep reading those three books, but Noooo! I had to go to Barnes & Noble the other night and while there I saw that The Chessmen the third book in Peter May’s terrific Lewis trilogy has been released along with Dreamless, the next installment of the Odd Singsaker series from Norwegian author Jorgen Brekke. I have read the first two books in May’s series The Black House and The Lewis Man and loved them both. I also read Brekke’s first Where Monsters Dwell. and loved it as well! So, after I came home I went to my library’s website and saw that they had both books so I requested them. I also had previously requested the first Jack MacTaggart book Hush Money. I did not think that all THREE of the books were available or that they would come so quickly, but I picked up all three at the library today!!  Now of those three books, I have to read,  The Chessmen,   that series is just too good. So I will set aside the other two books and concentrate on the three books  have been reading and The Chessmen starting either of the other two upon completion of my next book! .

Anyway here is the current status of my reading challenges and the books I am currently reading!! I do believe working on these reading challenges and keeping these charts have helped me focus on my reading, In 2014, I didn’t finish the 13th book until August!! In 2013 I finished book 13 a little earlier in the year, but it was still on May 24th!! So now i just have to keep  going!! So excuse me while I go read!!

 

Reading Challenges From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal %complete
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 1 1 11 9%
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 4 4 8 23 35%
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1 1 2 5 40%
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 1 1 2 12 17%
Totals 6 7 13 51 25%
Currently Reading Challenge From Page Total %complete
The President’s War Nonfiction Library 142 316 45%
On Writing Nonfiction TBR Pile 176 284 62%
Crown of Midnight Fantasy Library 90 418 22%

Reading Challenge Update and March Reads

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March Reading Challenge Update and Current Reads

 

So I finished book 8 of the year The Things Carried on February 27 and Book 9 Hard Rain by Barry Eisler on March 2nd. Both of those books were from my TBR pile and they bring the total number of books I have read in 2015 from my TBR pile to six. Since The Things They Carried is about the Vietnam War,it is historical fiction and the first book I have read this year that counts toward that challenge! While Hard Rain is a cloak & dagger book and brings the total in that challenge to 5! So here is where I stand now on my various challenges!

Reading Challenge From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal %complete
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 1 1 11 9%
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 4 1 5 23 22%
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1 0 1 5 20%
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 1 1 2 12 17%
Totals 6 3 9 51 18%

 

Now as for what am I planning to read in March.Well I’m still reading The President’s War about the six presidents who were still alive during the Civil War and what five of them thought of the actions of the sitting President Lincoln’s actions, along with Breaking Creed and Crown of Midnight. However, other night when I was reviewing the new books arriving in March, I came across a new Stanley Hastings mystery Safari from Parnell Hall!! I love the Hastings series so I checked the library and it was available,so I requested it I picked it up on Friday. I have to read it, So I put Green-Eyed Lady on hold.  The good thing though is that Hall’s books are usually fast reads! While I was at the library, I also picked up When Gods Die by C.S. Harris. It is the second book in the Sebastian St.Cyr series. Set in England in 1811, the book goes towards my historical fiction challenge!! Si if you excuse me I have some reading to do!!

Currently Reading Challenge From Page Total %complete
The President’s War – Chris DeRose Nonfiction Library 130 316 41%
Breaking Creed – Alex Kava Cloak & Dagger Library 14 310 5%
When Gods Die – C.S. Harris Historical Fiction Library 30 336 9%
Crown of Midnight – Sarah J Maas Fantasy Library 86 418 21%
Safari – Parnell Hall Cloak & Dagger Library 20 261 8%

 

ADD and Blogging – Not Perfect Together!!

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So my ADD and I have delayed writing anything today for about as long as I can. I was supposed to babysit Oliver today, but the icy road conditions this morning necessitated a change of plans, so I will be babysitting him tomorrow and Zoe on Wednesday, both for full days! Which is why today I exercised this morning and tonight!! So how did I delay writing today?  Well this morning I decided to go through some piles of papers and magazines and then vacuum the room where I spend most of my time. Couple that with finishing up some laundry from yesterday and reading some in Hard Rain and before I knew, it was lunchtime! My afternoon and evening were spent finishing Hard Rain, a trip to Target and dinner, after which I still hadn’t written anything!!

I did listen to some music though throughout the day. This morning while I was straightening up and cleaning it was some blues from Tinsley Ellis and his new album Tough Love, and the soundtrack for my reading was the jazz trumpet of Eddie Henderson and his latest Collective Portrait and the Jason Marsalis Vibes Quartet’s The 21st Century Trad Band. All three of the albums have been in my music rotation for a while but I haven’t written about any of them yet! This afternoon on my trip to Target I  listened to Robert Earl Keen‘s new release Happy Prisoner full of songs that feature murders and prisons and all that good time bluegrass stuff!  I also listened to a little of the new release from Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and her solo release Tomorrow Is My Turn.

Additionally, this morning I read that on this date in 1998  Images from the American spacecraft Galileo indicated that the Jupiter moon Europa has a liquid ocean and a source of interior heat. I did a search at Google that sent me to an article at Space.com – Jupiter’s Icy Moon Europa: Best Bet for Alien Life?, which II read along with another article at Space.com, concerning the best bets for finding life in our solar system.

Oh yeah, while I was checking out things that happened on this date at Wikipedia I spotted this under Did You Know…

… that the engineer Willie Hobbs Moore, credited with expanding Japanese manufacturing practices at Ford Motor Company, was the first African-American woman to receive a PhD in physics?

….since I didn’t. I had to go and read about Ms. Hobbs Moore , but then at the bottom of Willie Moore’s page there was a link to an article at The Star Garden about Women in Science which was extremely interesting! I think I’ll try to put together a post about Willie Moore and some of the other women scientists of the 20th century!!

So you can see that today was an ADD day, a little exercising, reading both on the Web and Barry Eisler;s Hard Rain and some music listening. Oh and I worked on my blog Finding Out! transferring it so that it will be a subdomain of this blog!! And now as midnight approaches I better stop and post this or I will have posted nothing today!! Good Night and Good Day!!

 

New Releases for March 2015

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New Releases from Four of My Favorite Authors

 

Ok so now I have to put my reading into high-gear! Why you ask? Well after briefly reading The Big Thrill on-line magazine I discovered that there will be new releases from four of my favorite authors in March,.Here’s a little about those new releases…..

Endangerd - C J BoxEndangered – C J Box – Joe Pickett No 15

From Amazon

She was gone. Joe Pickett had good reason to dislike Dallas Cates, even if he was a rodeo champion, and now he has even more—Joe’s eighteen-year-old ward, April, has run off with him.

And then comes even worse news: The body of a girl has been found in a ditch along the highway—alive, but just barely, the victim of blunt force trauma. It is April, and the doctors aren’t sure if she’ll recover. Cates denies having anything to do with it—says she ran away from him, too—and there’s evidence that points to another man. But Joe knows in his gut who’s responsible. What he doesn’t know is the kind of danger he’s about to encounter. Cates is bad enough, but Cates’s family is like none Joe has ever met before. More

One thing that I have loved about the Joe Pickett series from C.J. Box has been the development of the characters from novel to novel and it appears that this new release will continue the tradition! I can’t wait!

The Patriot Threat - Steve BerryThe Patriot Threat – Steve Berry – Cotton Malone # 10

From Amazon:

The 16th Amendment to the Constitution is why Americans pay income taxes. But what if there were problems associated with that amendment? Secrets that call into question decades of tax collecting? In fact, there is a surprising truth to this hidden possibility.

Cotton Malone, once a member of an elite intelligence division within the Justice Department known as the Magellan Billet, is now retired and owns an old bookshop in Denmark. But when his former-boss, Stephanie Nelle, asks him to track a rogue North Korean who may have acquired some top secret Treasury Department files–the kind that could bring the United States to its knees–Malone is vaulted into a harrowing twenty-four hour chase that begins on the canals in Venice and ends in the remote highlands of Croatia.More

I am a little behind on this series, but since I haven’t read all of the books in order anyway, I may just read this new release now, because it sounds really good!!

 

Inspector of the Dead

Inspector of the Dead – David Morrell

From  Amazon

The year is 1855. The Crimean War is raging. The incompetence of British commanders causes the fall of the English government. The Empire teeters. Amid this crisis comes opium-eater Thomas De Quincey, one of the most notorious and brilliant personalities of Victorian England. Along with his irrepressible daughter, Emily, and their Scotland Yard companions, Ryan and Becker, De Quincey finds himself confronted by an adversary who threatens the heart of the nation. More

I loved  David Morrell’s Murder as a Fine Art, which was the first of Morrell’s books to feature Thomas De Quincey.I was hoping for this new release, when I finished Murder as a Fine Art! Once again I can;t wait!!

The Strangers = Harlan Coben

The Stranger – Harlan Coben

From Amazon:

The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world.More

As  I read this introduction to this new release from Harlan Coben, it seems like it’s just about like every other book he has written some small thing comes out of the past and shatters the protagonist of the novel’s world. With that said, I know I will be totally engrossed in the story Harlan writes and will love the book!!

Like i said at the beginning of this post with these new releases coming in March I better get cracking on the books that I am currently reading. Here are my current reads…..

1. The President’s War – Chris DeRose

2. Green-Eyed Lady – Chuck Greaves

3. Crown of Midnight – Sarah J Maas

4. Hard Rain – Barry Eisler

The one I am the closest to finishing is Hard Rain, which is really getting good! So I’m off to read that one and pine for these new releases

February Reading Update with Some Music, too!

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Cross-Posted from Book-Ed

As the month comes to an end it’s time for a reading recap and update. Yesterday I finished reading Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried which is the fourth book I’ve finished in February. Previously I finished The Promise of a Pencil, Throne of Glass and Revelation Space. The Things They Carried had been on my TBR pile so it counts toward my goal on the TBR Pile Challenge and since it is about the Vietnam War it counts toward the 2015 Historical Fiction Challenge. Here is a current update on my Reading Challenges…..

Reading Challenge From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal % of Goal
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 1 1 11 9%
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 3 1 4 23 17%
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 1 0 1 5 20%
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 1 1 2 12 17%
Totals 5 3 8 51 16%

 

I am not doing too badly after the first two months of the year. I will try to write a review of The Things They Carried,, which by the way was really, really good Guess that’s why it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award!

Early this week I added to my new daily routine The Music and Reading Hour, of course, I did for it for the first to days of the week and then came babysitting Oliver and Zoe and work at Target and  two Reading Hours were all that happened. Next week I hope to do better. Anyway, what I did was I selected a genre  of music that goes well with reading, Monday it was jazz and the other day it was New Age and created a 60 minute playlist at Spotify. Then I gathered the four books that I am currently reading, set the timer for 15 minutes, and spent that time on each of the four books. It was a nice hour! The genre for the second Music and Reading Hour was New Age.Here are the artists and albums included and the album;’s position of the December 2014 Zone Music Reporter Chart.

No Album Artist
1 Spirits Erik Scott
5 Midnight Rhumba Johannes Linstead
8 Whispers in the Winter Snow* Dan Chadburn
10 Gymnosperm: Song of the Rose Jordan de la Sierra
* initially listened to Nocturnes

 

It was a nice way to read and also listen to some new music! I have even used the Jordan de la Sierra track for meditating and Midnight Rhumba has been in my music rotation and you’ll read more about that album soon!!

 

The Music and Reading Hour……

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Music and Books Perfect Together

 

The other day I decided to get a little more organized in both my reading and music listening, I decided what I will  do is to try to set aside an hour a day to read and listen to music together. The music genres that I prefer to listen to if I am reading are: new age, jazz, classical or progressive rock.I figured I will create a 60 minute playlists containing a few tracks from several artists, that I am unfamiliar with,  in whatever genre I pick. My first music and reading hour was last Friday and the genre that I chose was jazz. To start, I reviewed the JazzWeek Charts and found five artists that I was unfamiliar with, which was not hard at all.  Then I went to Spotify, to create the playlist.

Here are the five artists and their albums with the position of the album on the JazzWeek Chart.

No Artist Album
1 Justin Kauflin Dedication
11 Joe Alterman Georgia Sunset
12 Charles McPherson The Journey
13 Sam Most New Jazz Standards
16 Dave Bass NYC Sessions

 

Music and Reading Hour Musicians..…

 

Justin Kauflin,

, Justin Kauflin is an Award-winning jazz pianist who began performing at the age of six,  in concerts, nursing homes and weddings, eventually becoming concertmaster for several orchestras.He then lost his eyesight due to a rare disease, but he never gave up.and…

…..In 2004, Justin graduated in the top 1% of Salem High School alongside his sighted peers, and valedictorian at the Governor’s School, receiving a Presidential scholarship to attend William Paterson University in New Jersey.  At WPU, he was taken under the wings of legendary trumpeter, Clark Terry and performed in the Clark Terry Ensemble.  He also had the tremendous privilege of learning from his hero, the late Mulgrew Miller, as well as Harold Mabern and the late James Williams. He graduated summa cum laude with an Honor’s degree in Music.

….Dedication is his second release and is now number 1 on the JazzWeek Charts….. more,

Joe Alterman from his website…..

In a recent feature on Joe Alterman in the Wall Street Journal, legendary writer Nat Hentoff wrote, “’Talk about the joy of jazz!…It’s a pleasure to hear this music’…You’ve got it!”

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Alterman moved to New York in the fall of 2007 to study music at New York University, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Music. While there, he had the opportunity to study with greats including Don Friedman, Joe Lovano and John Scofield. More

Dave Bass’s story is also one of stick-to-it-ness…..

‘In the 70s and 80s Dave Bass

…. supported his growing family as a full time musician. Immersed in the vibrant San Francisco jazz and Latin music scene, he led his own group playing often with friends Bobby McFerrin, drummerBabatunde Lea, jazz vocalist Jackie Ryan and others at the legendary Keystone Kornerand other well known venues on the scene. In 1981…..

.In the mid-80s, after a random slip and fall on the way to a gig caused a seriously damaging wrist fracture, doctors did not offer a promising prognosis for him to ever play piano again. With his beloved music career no longer an option, and with a wife and young daughter to support, Dave enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, graduatingPhi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. He moved on to UCLA School of Law becoming an Editor of the UCLA Law Review and began his legal career in 1992 with a prestigious commercial firm. Dave is now a California Deputy Attorney General in Civil Rights Enforcement, and was honored with the 2009 Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Achievement.

then……

….In 2005, after a twenty-year absence from the music scene, Dave’s long-forgotten dreams of playing and composing jazz were re-kindled when his own self-discovery coincided with an invitation to play some impromptu solo piano during a private party while the band took a break. The guests clamored for more and the band invited him to sit in for the rest of the night.

Dave continued on from there and since then has released to albums Gone and his current release NYC Sessions both have been very well received climbing high on the JazzWeek Charts.

Sam Most From Wikipedia.

Samuel “Sam” Most was an American jazz flautist and tenor saxophonist, based in Los Angeles. He was “probably the first great jazz flutist,” according to jazz historian Leonard Feather. Read More

Charles McPherson From Wikipedia

Charles McPherson is a jazz alto saxophonist born in Joplin, Missouri, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, most notable for his work from 1960 to 1972 with Charles Mingus…..

So I set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes and then read from these four books as I listened to the above musicians!!!

Music and Reading Hour Books

 

The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien

Crown of Midnight – Sharon J Maas

Hard Rain – Barry Eisler

Green-Eyed Lady – Chuck Greaves

It was a successful experiment and a very pleasant morning, soon to be followed by more playlists and music!!

 

 

A Trip to the Library-no books, except maybe an Alex Kava

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So I had to take books back to the library yesterday — mine and my daughter Elizabeth’s. On the way, I told myself: “You are not getting any books out of the library. You’re already reading four or five!”

My counter-argument: “Well… maybe if I find something by someone I really love. Like Alex Kava.” I figured I was safe because her books usually come out in the summer.

I browsed the new-release shelf — nothing that called out. I moved on to the regular stacks, but someone else was blocking the aisle, so I jumped ahead to the end of the alphabet. At S I found Locked In by John Scalzi.

“Hey, I like this guy… and I’ve been meaning to read this one.”

Maybe I’ll just get this one book… And so it begins.

Back to the start of the alphabet — A…B…C…D…E… maybe I escape with just the Scalzi?

Then I reached the Ks.

And there it was.

NO!!! YES!!!

Breaking Creed - Alex Kava

Breaking Creed — a new book from Alex Kava. Released in January? What’s with that? Maggie doesn’t usually show up until the summer! From Amazon:

New York Times– and internationally bestselling author Alex Kava’s thrilling new series introducing Ryder Creed, ex-marine turned K-9 search-and-rescue dog trainer, as he teams up with fan-favorite FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell.

Well, that did it. New series? I have to get it.

And since I already had two books in hand… I circled back to something I’d seen under G — Green-Eyed Lady by Chuck Greaves. I don’t know Greaves, but an author I do know and read, Douglas Preston, says this about the book:

“The wickedest read of the year: smart, real, vivid as hell. I loved this book.”

How do you walk away from that? Exactly — you don’t.

Luckily they’re all four-week loans, so now I just need to finish the four books I already started. OK, enough — I need to read before I head to work at Target!

Post Update (2025): Since I first wrote this library-adventure post, a few things have changed — and a few haven’t! While I’ve read several other John Scalzi books over the years, I still haven’t read Locked In. I did finish Green-Eyed Lady, but never continued the series, which only ended up with three books total. As for Alex Kava, I’ve kept up better there — I’m now up to Book 9 in the Ryder Creed series!

February 2015 Reading Update…..

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So it’s past the middle of February and time for a reading update. My reading for the year and my Reading Challenges has been going pretty well, I have already finished three of the five books that I have planned to read for Fenruary. The books that I have finished are

Revelation Space – Alastair Reynolds – Science Fiction and TBR Pile challenges

The Promise of a Pencil – Adam Braun – Non-Fiction Challenge

Throne of Glass –  Sarah J Maas – Fantasy – my own Sci-Fi Challenge

 

All three books are really good so check them out……..Now I had planned on reading two more books Good Omens from Terry Pratchett and Nil Gaimn. and The Templar from P.C. Doherty. I am still reading  Good Omens, but not The Templar, I read the first few pages and it didn’t really like it so I have set it aside. Here’s a reading update with a little about  the five books in my reading rotation:

 

Hard Rain

 Amazon

Hard Rain from Barry Eisler – Book 2 in the John Rain series. i’ read Rain Fall Book 1 several years ago, but my library didn’t have book 2 so I put off reading th series. Then I found Hard Rain and put it on my TBR shelf. I figure now is the time to read it!!  John Rain is an interesting character an assassin who specializes in death by “natural causes” set in Japan the  first book was really good and since the series is now at eight books, From Goodreads…

Half American, half Japanese, expert in both worlds but at home in neither, John Rain is the best killer money can buy. You tell him who. You tell him where. He doesn’t care about why..

The book is for both my Cloak & Dagger Challenge and the TBR Pile Challenge.

Things They Carried

 

 

Amazon

The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien. From Goodreads

They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated bibles, each other. And if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. Since its first publication, The Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of American literature, and a profound study of men at war that illuminates the capacity, and the limits, of the human heart and soul.. More

The Things They Carried won several awards and was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Award. This book replaces The Templar as a historical fiction read and a is a TBR Pile read!!

Th Presidents' War

Amazon

The Presidents’ War : Six American Presidents and the War that Dvivided Them – Chris DeRose – This book deals five presidents who proceeded the Lincoln presidency. They were divided on the war, as well as, Lincoln’s policies. The five former President’s who were still alive during the War were, John Tyler, Martin Van Buren, James Buchannan, Millard Filimore and  Franklin Pierce. So far I have found this boo to be very interesting since, outside of Lincoln, I never learned much about any of  the other five presidents

Nonfiction Reading Challenge Book

Crown of Midnight

 

Amazon

Crown of Midnight – Sharon J Maas – Book # 2 of the Throne of Glass series. The time is right to continue with the story of Celaena Sardothien!!

My Science Fiction and Fantasy Challenge

Good Omens

Amazon

Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen – I will continue reading this funny book!

My Science Fiction and Fantasy Challenge and TBR Plle Challenge

For a more detailed reading update visit my Reading Challenge Update Page. So far seven books finished and five in process!!

Book-Ed’s Planned February Reads

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February Reads

 

Yes, I know that February doesn’t start until Sunday, but I thought I’d get a jump on things, because anything that I’m reading now won’t be finished until February anyway! So here are my February Reads….

Revelation SpaceRevelation Space– Alastair Reynolds

This book is the only book that I didn’t complete from my planned January reads!!  I am actually about half-way through it, so I guess that’s too bad. It’s a fairly long book that is kinds hard to follow at times, but I am enjoying it!!

 

Th Promise of a Pencil - 2015 Nonfiction Reading ChallengeThe Promise of a Pencil – Adam Braun

I chose this book as part of my Non-Fiction challenge. It is actually a great story  about how an idea from one ordinary person can have a real impact on our world! Hopefully, I can put some of Adam’s ideas into practice!

 

Throne of GlassThrone of Glass – Sarah J. Maas

I don’t think I’ve ever read a current Young Adult novel, so I thought I’d try one and see what all the fuss is about! So far so good, I also have Crown of Midnight checked out of the library in case I really like the adventures of the kick-ass assassin Celeana Sardothien!  Counts toward my unknown Science and Fantasy Challenge!

 

Good OmensGood Omens – Terry Pratchett Neil Gaiman

I really didn’t plan on reading this book, but I spotted it on one of my TBR shelves, started it and already I’m laughing my head off! This one counts toward my TBR Reading Challenge and the unknown Science and Fantasy Challenge!

 

 

TemplarTemplar – P.C.. Doherty

From Goodreads: The Templars exploded onto the public conciousness with Dan Brown‘s THE DA VINCI CODE, now journey with Paul Doherty to 1095 and experience the founding of the Templar Order in all its epic and brutal detail. 1095 and crusading fervour has swept Europe. Christ’s fief of Jerusalem has been seized by the Infidels. The Frankish Knights of the West are to march east to liberate the Holy City.

I picked up this book yesterday at the library to go to read as part of my Historical Fiction Challenge. The rating at Goodreads is only three stars and I see lots of 1s in the reviews, so we’ll see!

You can check out my progress on my reading challenge update page. Overall, January was a good month! I finished 4 out of the 5 books I planned to read and I’m halfway through the 5th one! I have also started 3 out of the above February reads!! Not Bad!!

Update: What I’m Reading and My Reading Challenges!

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Ok so let’s update my January reading and my Reading Challenges. So far I’ve finished two of my projected reads for the month and I’m well into the three other reads!  The books I finished were Strangled and The Monkey’s Raincoat! The three that I am reading are….

Storm FrontStorm Front by Jim Butcher

This book has been on my TBR pile for several years.I first became a fan of Harry Dresden through the TV Show that was on SciFy several years ago. In reading about the show at Wikipedia, I see that it was on the air in 2007 . So sometime between then and now, I picked up the book. Heres a little more about Storm Front Butcher’s first novel.  From Wikipedia

he wrote the first book in The Dresden Files—about a professional wizard, named Harry Dresden, in modern-day Chicago—as an exercise for a writing course in 1996 at the age of 25.

For two years, Butcher floated his manuscript among various publishers before hitting the convention circuit to make contacts in the industry. After meeting Butcher in person, Ricia Mainhardt, the agent who discovered Laurell K. Hamilton, agreed to represent him, which kick-started his writing career.[5] However, Butcher and Mainhardt have since parted ways; Jennifer Jackson is his current agent

Six months after Butcher was signed by Mainhardt, Storm Front, the first novel in The Dresden Files, was picked up by Roc/Penguin Books for publishing. It was released as a paperback in April 2000. Read More

So far I am really enjoying the book!

Don't talk to Strangers

.Don’t Talk to Strangers – Amanda Kyle Williams

Along with Storm Front I am also reading Don’t Talk to Strangers the third installment Amanda Kyle Williams Keye Street series. In this episode, Keye leaves here usual home of Atlanta and takes a job consulting on a case in Whisper, Ga, where the bodies of two young girls  who had disappeared ten years apart have been found. They had been kidnapped and held captive and then brutally,murdered, their bodies were then dumped the same site!!  The case presents a real challenge to Keye’s profiling ability, while the appeal of the Sheriff she’s working with challenges her fidelity to Rauser!!

Revelation SpaceRevelation Space – Alastair Reynolds

Keeping with my resolution to read more Science Fiction, I am working my way through Revelation Space. It has taken me a while to get comfortable with the plot and the various characters. But that is something that is normal for me when I read science fiction or fantasy. For example I read The Hobbit back when I was in college and loved it. But for years I’ve put off reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy because I thought it would be too hard to get back into the books. It’s the same excuse I use for not reading more of  Terry Practchett’s DiscWorld books. I know that it’s a lame excuse and maybe I can get past it this year!!

Anyway Revelation Space is a terrific book and I am enjoying reading it and of course the other two books.

So January has been a good reading month so far and an encouraging start to 2015. Below you well find a little spreadsheet that I mad up so that I can track my progress through the year. Can you say obsessive, I know my wife will say it is. anyway we’ll see how long it lasts…….

Reading Challenges From TBR Pile Buy/Library Total Goal
2015 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 0 0 0 11
2015 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2 0 2 23
2015 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge  0 0 0 5
2015 Science Fiction/Fantasy Challenge 0 0 0 12
Totals 2 0 2 51
Currently Reading Challenge From Page Total %Complete
Storm Front – Jim Butcher Science Fiction TBR Pile 98 322 30%
Revelation Space- Alastair Reynolds Science Fiction TBR Pile 219 585 37%
Don’t Talk to Strangers – Amanda Kyle Williams Cloak & Dagger Library 159 318 50%