bobzilla said:Duke said:In reply to bobzilla :
I didn't really like Prey, and I don't think I liked State of Fear but I can't really remember. Timeline was pretty stupid. I didn't read Next or Lost World. I did like:
Andromeda Strain, Terminal Man, Congo, Rising Sun, Disclosure, and Airframe. I liked the original JP. And, I guess, Sphere was OK.
Haven't read Terminal man or Airframe. I think Airframe is in the bookcase.
Airframe was ok.
Just finished "The Sins of the Fathers" by Lawerence Block, which was recommended as a surrogate for the Travis McGee series. It was great, but it wasn't Travis McGee great.
AMERICA'S GREATEST ROAD TRIP! By Tom Cotter and Michaek Alan Ross. Cotter has written a number of automotive books including some Bard Finds books. He also is on the Bard Find Hunter on youtube. It's about a road trip from Key West to Deadhorse Alaska mainly on back roads. They focus on the people they meet in the small towns along the way. I read it before I started the latest issue of GRM, so it had to be good.
My parents got me this for Christmas and it is excellent.
Just finished "A Cold Day in Paradise" by Steve Hamilton", which was fun.
A week or so ago was "The Sins of the Fathers", by Lawrence Block, which was pretty good.
Before that was "The Neon Rain", which was interesting, but dark, and also made me hungry.
Going back to A Deadly Shade of Gold by John D MacDonald for the second time. It's way better than anything above.
"The ABC Murders" One of my favorite Christie's. 1936
10 since Jan 1.
Finally finished the random encounters series, there were 9 books not 7. Could have ended at 7.
I started Mindburn last night. It's eh so far. Basic Matrix meets 2077, for the good and the bad. I'm catching a lot of basic errors in the writing, like misspelled words, characters changing mid sentence break, quotes that open and never close or that only close. It's kind of annoying, and with a very generic storyline, even I find it distracting.
I'm going to have to note the author so I can avoid him in the future. Rhett C Bruno.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
YES! An opportunity to link this:
Duke said:Just started to read a book of Shirley Jackson short stories. You know her; she wrote The Lottery which we all had to read in 6th-8th grade English class. She also wrote The Haunting of Hill House, which I have not read, but may in the future.
Finished the first of two Shirley Jackson collections and am working on the second.
If you ever wanted to see the dark side of that shining '50s Americanism, read Jackson's short stories.
So much repressed suburban rage.
preach said:Just got the wife turned on to Tom Wolfes The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test.
Here are my current selections:
OK...Shopcraft...
This book is written by a guy with a journalism PHD or something. His wording, while correct, is painful. I have a very good vocabulary but had to look up 2 words in the intro/first chapter. Reading it is laborious and over the top.
The book would be great otherwise. I do wonder how he paid off a PHD as a motorcycle mechanic though.
Okay, time for a new book. The collection of Batman short stories varied too much. Some were really dark and engaging, others had way too much suspension of disbelief. (I realize the irony in typing that.)
So I moved to another book that’s kind of a collection of short stories. Some I enjoyed, some I had zero interest in.
This evening, I think I’ll go through my stacks.
In reply to preach :
I'll have to reread Shopcraft. I don't know if it says anything about me but I don't recall the language being excessive.
RevRico said:10 since Jan 1.
Finally finished the random encounters series, there were 9 books not 7. Could have ended at 7.
I started Mindburn last night. It's eh so far. Basic Matrix meets 2077, for the good and the bad. I'm catching a lot of basic errors in the writing, like misspelled words, characters changing mid sentence break, quotes that open and never close or that only close. It's kind of annoying, and with a very generic storyline, even I find it distracting.
I'm going to have to note the author so I can avoid him in the future. Rhett C Bruno.
560 pages to get to that ending?? What a waste of time that was.
I tried to read Reaping Independence, I got 4 pages in. AI writes better, in more complete thoughts.
Now starting the Awaken series. Hopefully it's better than the last couple books.
11 since Jan 1.
The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin. It's the true story of a blizzard on the great plains in 1888, the day started out mild and unseasonably warm, which caused a lot of people to be caught away from home and under dressed when the blizzard raced in without warning. Many of those were children who had went to school for the day. It's a very good book, but quite heart breaking at times when you think about what people's lives were like just a few generations ago.
RE: Shopcraft - there's a whole category of books written by people from white collar backgrounds who embrace an element of blue collar work and write about it in the context of spiritual fulfillment. Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance being the classic of the genre. Honestly I find most of them annoying. I just don't quite buy it - especially when they start throwing around titles like "master"-this and "master"- that. I grew up around a bunch of people who were influenced by the Back-to-the-land movement in farming, the building trades and the arts. Although a few got published, they didn't write self-reverential essays and they didn't drop lofty titles. They just practiced their crafts!
Rant off.
I started Bill Lester’s autobiography last night and quickly got into it. I was surprised to see so much chatter about RX-3s, Jim Downing and bridge ported rotaries.
I'm in a Discworld loop. Like I get to the end and check in with something else and it turns out things closer to normalcy are just offputting. I need a thick filter of silliness between me and humanity.
But also poking at Trevor Noah's autobiography, "Born a Crime," Joe Parkin's second book about life as a pro bike racer, "Come and Gone," and Eric Ripert's "32 Yolks." Maybe at some point I'll make headway and have reports.
tuna55 said:Just finished "A Cold Day in Paradise" by Steve Hamilton", which was fun.
A week or so ago was "The Sins of the Fathers", by Lawrence Block, which was pretty good.
Before that was "The Neon Rain", which was interesting, but dark, and also made me hungry.
Going back to A Deadly Shade of Gold by John D MacDonald for the second time. It's way better than anything above.
Have you tried the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child? Also read in a similar easy going manner with an unbeatable hero.
I'm about 100 pages into Geddy Lee's "My Effin Life" that was a Christmas gift from my son and daughter. Unbelievable what his parents and their extended family endured to survive and make a life in Canada.
A walk among the tombstones - Lawrence Block. Just finished on audiobook. The voice actor is just OK, but the book was interesting. Not Travis McGee, but good.
preach said: OK...Shopcraft...This book is written by a guy with a journalism PHD or something. His wording, while correct, is painful. I have a very good vocabulary but had to look up 2 words in the intro/first chapter. Reading it is laborious and over the top.
The book would be great otherwise. I do wonder how he paid off a PHD as a motorcycle mechanic though.
I think he mellowed out about half way through the book. Or I got used to his writing style. One or the other. The first half was a brutal read to be sure.
"Political Philosophy" PHD, so you know it's going to have a veritable cornucopia of colloquial euphemisms.
SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) said:"Political Philosophy" PHD, so you know it's going to have a veritable cornucopia of colloquial euphemisms.
Or as Hemingway would have said:
"Political Philosophy PHD, so you know it's going to have a bunch of high end gibberish in it."
That man could write to almost the lowest denominator.
Just finished North of Nowhere by Steve Hamilton. It was good. The bumbling main character is fun, but I still miss McGee.
I'm reading "Swarm", the third installment of the Aggressor series by FX Holden. It's letting the tech babble get in the way of the storyline a bit, but is good so far. I'd recommend the series if you like Tom Clancy type stuff.
i recently finished "A recital: A Joey Morales" short story which is an orphan X book which was really good, funny as an audio book it was all of an hour long. Prior to that I read the first two books in the mistborne triology from Brandon Sanderson which are good but LONG. Now i'm checking out David Wong's Fancy suits and futeristic violence which so far i'm enjoying.
4/5 stars, maybe not worth a full audible credit for what amounts to 90 minutes of book but if you get it from a library or have credit's you'll lose it's worth while
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GYI9C4?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_0&storeType=ebooks
4.5/5 stars; could be multiple books very long but engaging characters and fun story with lots of twists and turns
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UZQI0Q?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_tkin_1&storeType=ebooks
4.75/5 stars; better than the first but you have to read the first to fully enjoy this book. Engaging new characters and more depth in some of the other characters.
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