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44. The Poe Shadow, by Matthew Pearl
Following Edgar Allan Poe's death, his lawyer becomes obsessed with clearing Poe's name and proving that he did not die a drunkard. The book is densely worded and reads much like a Victorian novel. A lot of research went into it, and it has more twists and turns than a pretzel, but I have to agree with the other characters who thought the protagonist was crazy for throwing everything away to pursue the case of a dead man he'd never met in person.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Pulitzer
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A Team of Rivals by Doris Goodwin Kearns
Excellent historical account of Lincoln and the men who served on his cabinet.
Morgana
A writer's job is to think of new plots and create characters who stay with you long after the final page has been read. If that mission is accomplished than we have done what we set out to do, which is to entertain and hopefully educate.
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45. Notorious Nineteen, by Janet Evanovich
This was a much better read than Explosive Eighteen. There were two plot threads in this book, one involving a skip who embezzled $5 million from a retirement home, then disappeared, the other involving a member of Ranger's old Special Forces team who has some serious mental health issues.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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46. The Double-Jack Murders, by Patrick F. McManus
This is the third book in the Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery series, but the first one I've read. It's an okay read, but not as funny as the crime novels and murder mysteries of some other humor writers (like Janet Evanovich and Carl Hiaasen). McManus does better at short, humorous tales. Still, the story isn't bad. The sheriff of the fictional Blight County, Idaho (which readers of McManus's short stories and columns will recognize) is the number-one target of an escaped killer (although the guy enjoys murder, so he murders several other people while hunting for the sheriff), plus an old friend wants him to look into the disappearance of her father and a young employee some 80 years earlier. He manages to combine both rooting out the killer and looking for the answer to the very cold case, while camping, fishing, and doing things that are not completely legal in the bargain.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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47. How to Live With a Neurotic Dog, by Stephen Baker
This humor book had its funny moments, but a lot of it was kind of meh. Still, the parts about where dogs like to sleep and how they like to travel were spot-on, judging from my dog (although, to be fair, my dog gives every indication of believing she's a cat).
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
The Wolf In Winter (Charlie Parker #12)
A Song Of Shadows (Charlie Parker #13)
By John ConnollyConnolly is an author whose every new book sends me dashing to read, soon as I can. And every new adventure in his Charlie Parker series - part supernatural horror, part detective thriller - just seems to be better than the last. These two were superb additions, with Charlie, Louis, Angel and the rest doing what they do best. Wish #14 was out. LabRat 
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
Planet Urth (book 1) - Jennifer and Christopher MartucciI quite enjoyed this YA PA fantasy. The premise was intriguing and although the writing style was somewhat rough around the edges at times that didn't spoil things too much. Can't say I'm rushing to get book two, but if it came my way I wouldn't mind reading further. LabRat
Last edited by LabRat; 05/21/15 01:55 PM.
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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#13 Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams
I'm a fan of the apocalypic genre so this was fun.
Joan
Last edited by scifiJoan; 05/23/15 03:17 PM.
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48. The Pigeon Needs a Bath!, by Mo Willems
A very grimy pigeon is in dire need of a bath (even flies avoid it), but doesn't want to take one.
49. Top Secret Twenty-One, by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum, the world's most incompetent bounty hunter, has to track down a used car salesman (and human trafficker) who skipped bond and may now be murdering his friends and employees. She also has to help track down a Russian terrorist who had someone smuggle polonium into Rangeman. There's also a subplot involving Chihuahuas. It's pretty funny overall. There's also a short story at the end of the novel about an FBI agent who is trying to track down a con man who she is attracted to.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
The Soul Fixer - D M MitchellThis psychological thriller reminded me a lot of the old Hammer horror movies. A naive couple, an isolated island, nefarious hosts, a creeping sense of foreboding and growing sense of things not quite right... The ending got a little hysterical but that, too, seemed in keeping. Hugely enjoyable. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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How To Be A Heroine, or What I've Learned From Reading Too Much by Samantha Ellis.
"While debating literature’s greatest heroines with her best friend, thirtysomething playwright Samantha Ellis has a revelation—her whole life, she's been trying to be Cathy Earnshaw of Wuthering Heights when she should have been trying to be Jane Eyre.
With this discovery, she embarks on a retrospective look at the literary ladies—the characters and the writers—whom she has loved since childhood. From early obsessions with the March sisters to her later idolization of Sylvia Plath, Ellis evaluates how her heroines stack up today. And, just as she excavates the stories of her favorite characters, Ellis also shares a frank, often humorous account of her own life growing up in a tight-knit Iraqi Jewish community in London. Here a life-long reader explores how heroines shape all our lives."
Recommended - a very good book. I thoroughly enjoyed the author ripping on Beth in "Little Women" - "Beth is just there to die and be an example!" The author quotes books ranging from "Clarissa" by Henry Fielding up to "Valley of the Dolls" by Jacqueline Susann. Loads of fun.
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Kerth
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A Horseman Riding By - Book 1 - Long Summer Day by RF Delderfield
I read this when I was a teenager and re-discovered it during my recent house move. Written in the 1960s and set in the early years of the 20th Century, I found myself noticing more than just the story. Delderfeld paints a world rapidly changing and does it through the eyes of a man who would, quite honestly, prefer that it stayed the same.
The writing style is a bit loose and even rambly at times, but it suits the slower pace of the story. I think an editor today would demand some heavy pruning, and the story would be lesser for it.
Delderfield's strength, in this and other books of his I have read, is his ability to create a cast of diverse and fascinating, but still real, characters. I remember loving Ikey Palfrey, and all these years later, I was still charmed by his down-to-earth acceptance of where life took him.
I intend to try to track down Books 2 and 3, although my memory is that they aren't as good as Book 1. However, whether I actually get time to read them is another matter altogether!
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50. The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson
The residents of a small town participate in a lottery to determine who will be sacrificed to ensure a good crop.
51. A Sound of Thunder, by Ray Bradbury
In the future, technology has been developed to allow people to go back in time (to any era) and go hunting. The only stipulation is that the hunter can only kill an animal that was about to die anyway, so as not to interfere with the natural processes that made the future world what it was. Of course, it takes only a very small mistake to upset everything ...
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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#14 Saving Faith by David Baldacci
Feared by some of the most powerful men in the world, Faith has been targeted to die. But when a private investigator walks into the middle of the assassination attempt, the shooting suddenly goes wrong, and an FBI agent is killed. Now Faith Lockhart must flee for her life – with her story, her deadly secret, and an unknown man she’s forced to trust…
Lots of twists in this political thriller. Not my genre of choice, but entertaining.
Joan
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52. The Blight Way, by Patrick F. McManus
The first book in the Sheriff Bo Tully series. Bo Tully, the sheriff of Blight County, Idaho, is a man who has been widowed for ten years, believes most women to be in love with him (but has little luck with them), and sometimes plays fast and loose with the law, calling it "the Blight way." There's a very funny scene where he tries to charm a woman by giving her a "warm look" (which he read about in a Danielle Steele novel), only to have her look at him strangely and wonder if he was okay, because he looked like he was about to erp on the table. The novel also handles profanity in a humorous way -- instead of actually saying the word, it says that the character uttered a ten-letter profanity, or a six-letter profanity, etc. Pretty funny.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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53. Darth Vader and Son, by Jeffrey Brown
One of the students told me I should read this, and he was right -- it's a short, cute, funny take on what might have happened if Darth Vader had raised Luke.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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#15 The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
48 year old Dabney has a gift for match making, except when it comes to herself. Her true love left her on Nantucket years ago. Years later, after she has remarried, her life is turned upside down when her true love reappears.
This author always does a nice job of showing the lives of wealthy people on Nantucket and their interpersonal relationships. Her books are always an enjoyable read. I just don't always agree with her take on human nature and behavior.
Joan
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54. I Fish, Therefore I Am: And Other Observations, by Patrick F. McManus
This volume collects three of McManus's books: A Fine and Pleasant Misery, Never Sniff a Gift Fish, and They Shoot Canoes, Don't They? I'd read all those books before, but I must have missed or forgotten some of the stories in them, because some of the stories were new to me. Very funny, and a very good read overall.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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55. Takedown Twenty, by Janet Evanovich
This book was pretty good. Stephanie Plum has to find and bring in "Uncle Sunny," who is related to the Morellis and loved by a lot of people. He also got caught on camera running over a guy twice. Meanwhile, a giraffe is on the loose in Trenton, and someone is murdering old ladies and putting them in dumpsters.
56. Time and Again, by Nora Roberts
This book contains the novels Time Was and Times Change. The first novel is about a pilot who accidentally travels back in time from the 23rd century and, after meeting the love of his life, decides to stay in the 20th century. The second novel is about his brother, an astrophysicist who goes back in time deliberately in order to bring his brother back. He meets his sister-in-law's sister and falls in love with her. The second novel was better than the first ... I think the author's writing had improved by the time she wrote the sequel.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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#16 Fatherless by Dr. James Dobson and Kurt Bruner
The year is 2042, and the long-predicted tipping point has arrived. For the first time in human history, the economic pyramid has flipped: The feeble old now outnumber the vigorous young, and this untenable situation is intensifying a battle between competing cultural agendas. Reporter Julia Davidson-a formerly award-winning journalist seeking to revive a flagging career-is investigating the growing crisis, unaware that her activity makes her a pawn in an ominous conspiracy.
Plagued by nightmares about her absent father, Julia finds herself drawn to the quiet strength of a man she meets at a friend's church. As the engrossing plot of FATHERLESS unfolds, Julia faces choices that pit professional success against personal survival in an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world.
Interesting projection of how current trends may impact our future. While it was sometimes a little preachy, it was an engaging read. I'll be reading the next two books in this series.
#17 These Things Hidden by Heather Gundenkauf
When teenager Allison Glenn is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls' golden girl forever. Her parents deny the existence of their once-perfect child. Her former friends exult her downfall. Her sister, Brynn, faces whispered rumors every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It's Brynn—shy, quiet Brynn—who carries the burden of what really happened that night. All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her.
But then Allison is released to a halfway house, and is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister.
Now their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. And if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and the two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.
Sad and engaging story.
Joan
Last edited by scifiJoan; 06/12/15 06:45 PM.
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