My poor, neglected, lonely blog.....
Yeah, that's my fault. Post-wedding life is overwhelming me these days, and while I'm still reading avidly I haven't had as much time to make it over here as I would like. In an effort to redeem myself, I'll give a brief rundown of what I can remember reading since I was last here:
Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers: I'm not a big fan of military history, but I got interested in this story after watching repeats of the HBO mini-series on The History Channel. Overall I enjoyed it - Ambrose does a nice job of making the complex hierarchy of the military accessible to the Army-ignorant such as myself. Nicely written - 4 stars.
Emily Brightwell's Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case: Full review available at The Mystery Reader.
Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason's The Rule of Four: A literary thriller in the vein of Dan Brown and Iain Pears. Doesn't show the same polish as vintage Pears, but an enjoyable read none the less. It ended up being the perfect choice for the day I started it - it kept me quite entertained while I spent two and a half hours at the Social Security office getting my name change processed. It's also the opening selection for a new book club some friends and I are starting.
Margaret Coel's Wife of Moon: Another review book for The Mystery Reader. I was skeptical about this one given that my mom had nothing nice to say about Coel's first book. I guess she's improved since then, because I really enjoyed this one. My mom can take comfort in the fact that her SFE (signed first edition) Coel's debut is highly collectible these days.
John Dunning's Cliff Janeway series, which includes Booked to Die, The Bookman's Wake, and The Bookman's Promise. A great mystery series for book lovers - Janeway is a cop turned used bookstore owner. Definitely a good pickup if you like noir with a softer edge - Janeway's got the typical noir protagonist issues but he's a bit smoother around the edges.
Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex: This was the choice for the November meeting of my young alumni book club. I didn't end up going to the meeting (the weather was absolutely horrid that day), but I enjoyed the book. I was worried that it would be one of those weird books that everyone feels compelled to say that they liked even though they didn't really get it. Thankfully, it's actually pretty good in spite of the unusual subject matter.
Pauline Gedge's Lady of the Reeds: I've had this book since I was in high school and only just recently got around to actually reading it. An interesting piece of Egyptian history with a protagonist who manages to compell your attention even as you're thinking that she deserves everything that's coming to her.
Mary Roach's Stiff: A must-read for, well, anyone really. An absolutely fascinating look at the many roles played by human cadaevars. Written with incredible sensitivity and wonderful humor, it's not to be missed. Easily the best book I've read this year, and it'll begin making the rounds of everyone I know soon.
Daniel Silva's The Confessor: Another one for those suffering from Dan Brown withdrawl, but with the added twist of an jaded Israeli spy turned art restorer as hero. I'm slowly working my way through Silva's backlist and haven't hit a bad one yet. Silva appeals to the bargain-hunter in me - his publisher tends to vastly overprint his books so they're easy to nab off the remainder table at Borders. It amuses me to get the hardcover cheaper than the paperback.
Simon Worrall's The Poet and The Murderer: A look at the life of a famous forger of Mormon documents and that of Emily Dickinson. The connection between the two tales isn't as strong as the title would suggest, but Worrall's a good writer with an eye for what's interesting about his subject matter.
I think that's it - happy reading!
Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers: I'm not a big fan of military history, but I got interested in this story after watching repeats of the HBO mini-series on The History Channel. Overall I enjoyed it - Ambrose does a nice job of making the complex hierarchy of the military accessible to the Army-ignorant such as myself. Nicely written - 4 stars.
Emily Brightwell's Mrs. Jeffries Pleads Her Case: Full review available at The Mystery Reader.
Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason's The Rule of Four: A literary thriller in the vein of Dan Brown and Iain Pears. Doesn't show the same polish as vintage Pears, but an enjoyable read none the less. It ended up being the perfect choice for the day I started it - it kept me quite entertained while I spent two and a half hours at the Social Security office getting my name change processed. It's also the opening selection for a new book club some friends and I are starting.
Margaret Coel's Wife of Moon: Another review book for The Mystery Reader. I was skeptical about this one given that my mom had nothing nice to say about Coel's first book. I guess she's improved since then, because I really enjoyed this one. My mom can take comfort in the fact that her SFE (signed first edition) Coel's debut is highly collectible these days.
John Dunning's Cliff Janeway series, which includes Booked to Die, The Bookman's Wake, and The Bookman's Promise. A great mystery series for book lovers - Janeway is a cop turned used bookstore owner. Definitely a good pickup if you like noir with a softer edge - Janeway's got the typical noir protagonist issues but he's a bit smoother around the edges.
Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex: This was the choice for the November meeting of my young alumni book club. I didn't end up going to the meeting (the weather was absolutely horrid that day), but I enjoyed the book. I was worried that it would be one of those weird books that everyone feels compelled to say that they liked even though they didn't really get it. Thankfully, it's actually pretty good in spite of the unusual subject matter.
Pauline Gedge's Lady of the Reeds: I've had this book since I was in high school and only just recently got around to actually reading it. An interesting piece of Egyptian history with a protagonist who manages to compell your attention even as you're thinking that she deserves everything that's coming to her.
Mary Roach's Stiff: A must-read for, well, anyone really. An absolutely fascinating look at the many roles played by human cadaevars. Written with incredible sensitivity and wonderful humor, it's not to be missed. Easily the best book I've read this year, and it'll begin making the rounds of everyone I know soon.
Daniel Silva's The Confessor: Another one for those suffering from Dan Brown withdrawl, but with the added twist of an jaded Israeli spy turned art restorer as hero. I'm slowly working my way through Silva's backlist and haven't hit a bad one yet. Silva appeals to the bargain-hunter in me - his publisher tends to vastly overprint his books so they're easy to nab off the remainder table at Borders. It amuses me to get the hardcover cheaper than the paperback.
Simon Worrall's The Poet and The Murderer: A look at the life of a famous forger of Mormon documents and that of Emily Dickinson. The connection between the two tales isn't as strong as the title would suggest, but Worrall's a good writer with an eye for what's interesting about his subject matter.
I think that's it - happy reading!
