Little, Big by John Crowley

First sentence:

"On a certain day in June, 19--, a young man was making his way on foot northward from the great City to a town or place called Edgewood, that he had been told of but had never visited."

Description:

"Edgewood is many houses, all put inside each other, or across each other. It’s filled with and surrounded by mystery and enchantment: the further in you go, the bigger it gets.

Smoky Barnable, who has fallen in love with Daily Alice Drinkwater, comes to Edgewood, her family home, where he finds himself drawn into a world of magical strangeness.

Crowley’s work has a special alchemy - mixing the world we know with an imagined world which seems more true and real. Winner of the World Fantasy Award, Little, Big is eloquent, sensual, funny and unforgettable." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very good and complex fantasy novel. Though I often felt lost, especially with repeating and similar names, I enjoyed learning about the world of Edgewood, and its inhabitants.

Date read: 12/21/2011
Book #: 24
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 185798711X
ISBN-13: 9781857987119
Publisher: Millennium
Year: 1981
# of pages: 538
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

First sentence:

"Bill Nagle's life changed the day a fisherman sat beside him in a ramshackle bar and told him about a mystery he had found lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean."

Description:

"In the fall of 1991, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey, weekend scuba divers John Chatterton and Richie Kohler made a startling discovery under decades of accumulated sediment: a World War II German U-boat, its interior a maze of twisted metal and human bones. Equally astonishing: All the official records agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat at that location. Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Some of them would not live to see the end. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, were drawn into a deep bond of friendship. As the men's marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting for more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This book combined many of my interests and knowledge. I always like reading about nautical adventures and I have worked as an archivist for nearly twenty years. I enjoyed reading how Chatterton and Kohler researched the history of World War II German U-boats and how they gathered evidence from the submarine to discover the truth.

Date read: 11/4/2011
Book #: 23
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 0375760989
ISBN-13: 9780375760983
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2004
# of pages: 335
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

First sentence:

"It was November."

Description:


"All children mythologize their birth. . . .So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself--all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I liked this book about tales, both personal and literary. I especially liked how Margaret learned the truth about Vida's life.

Date read: 9/9/2011
Book #: 22
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0743298020
ISBN-13: 9780743298025
Publisher: Atria Books
Year: 2006
# of pages: 406
Binding: Hardcover
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The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

First sentence:

"'Everyone in Venice is acting,' Count Girolamo Marcello told me."

Description:

"Venice--a city of masks and riddles, where narrow streets and passageways form a giant maze that confounds the uninitiated and deepens the sense of mystery. As captivating as it is elusive, the city teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Architectural treasures crumble--foundations shift, ornaments fall--even as efforts to preserve them are under way. In The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt, author of the record-breaking bestseller Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, unveils the enigmatic Venice as only he can.

The story opens on the evening of January 29, 1996, when a sensational fire destroys the historic Fenice Opera House. The loss of the Fenice, where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a catastrophe for Venetians, made worse by the revelation that arson might have been the cause. Arriving three days after the fire, Berendt inquires into the nature of life in this remarkable city while gradually revealing the truth about the fire. In the course of his investigations, he encounters a rich cast of characters: a hard-as-nails prosecutor who blushes when he's angered; the First Family of American expatriates facing the loss of their palace on the Grand Canal after four generations of ownership; a contemporary Venetian surrealist painter known locally as an outrageous prankster and provocateur; a twenty-first-generation master glassblower whose sons are locked in a dynastic war; and numerous others--pigeon trappers, scapegoats, hustlers, sleepwalkers, a believer in Martians, the Plant Man, the Rat Man of Treviso, and Henry James.

Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to portray a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting. The fire and its aftermath serve as a leitmotif that runs through the book, contributing to the ever-mounting suspense and revealing the city of Venice in all its magic, mystery and decadence." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this book about Venice - its history, people and events, especially in the late 20th century.

Date read: 8/29/2011
Book #: 21
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 1594200610
ISBN-13: 9781594200618
Publisher: The Penguin Press
Year: 2005
# of pages: 398
Binding: Trade Paperback
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TBR Challenge 2011!

Another year has gone by, and it's time to post my list of books to read for the TBR Challenge 2011! I selected 12 books plus 12 alternates/extra credits.




Here they are (in no particular order):

• John Sandford. Chosen Prey -- finished 1/30/2011
• Douglas Clegg. Dark of the Eye -- finished 3/2/2011
• James Lowder. Knight of the Black Rose -- finished 3/6/2011
• Robert Goldsborough. Murder in E Minor [substitute for Icon] -- finished 3/6/2011
• Michael Koepf. The Fisherman's Son [substitute for Native Tongue] -- finished 3/17/2011
• Robert Tine. Desperate Measures -- finished 3/18/2011
• Hugh B. Cave. The Restless Dead - finished 3/26/2011
•  Michael Reaves. The Shattered World -- finished 3/29/2011
• Ruth Rendall. End in Tears -- finished 5/28/2011
• Michael Bishop. Unicorn Mountain -- finished 7/12/2011
• Stan Pottinger. The Final Procedure [substitute for Upside Down] -- finished 7/15/2011
• Iain Banks. The Wasp Factory [substitute for The Gilded Chain] -- finished 7/22/2011

Alternates / Extra Credit:

• Michael Crichton. Sphere
• Angela Knight. Master of Wolves
• C.J. Cherryh. The Pride of Chanur
• Robert C. Fleet. Last Mountain
• Dave Duncan. The Gilded Chain
• John Ramsey Miller. Upside Down
  
• Vernor Vinge. A Fire Upon the Deep
• Patricia Wallace. Lullabye
• Robert Heinlein. The Green Hills of Earth
• Greg Iles. The Footprints of God

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks

First sentence:

I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped.

Description:

Meet Frank Cauldhame. Just sixteen, and unconventional to say the least:

Two years after I killed Blyth I murdered my young brother Paul, for quite different and more fundamental reasons than I'd disposed of Blyth, and then a year after that I did for my young cousin Esmerelda, more or less on a whim.

That's my score to date. Three. I haven't killed anybody for years, and don't intend to ever again.

It was just a stage I was going through.

My thoughts:

This was an interesting book about discovery, treasure and manipulation.

Date read: 7/22/2011
Book #: 20
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0684853159
ISBN-13: 9780684853154
Publisher: Simon and Shuster
Year: 1984
# of pages: 184
Binding: Trade Paperback
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The Final Procedure by Stan Pottinger

First sentence:

"He heard a soft voice, a little girl's voice, singing quietly in the operating room."

Description:

"HE'S TRAINED IN THE SCIENCE OF EVIL...

Christmas Eve in Auschwitz, 1944. Hitler's Angel of Death, Dr. Joseph Mengele, and his brilliant young protégé, Adalwolf, are on the verge of a nightmarish medical discovery when the war brings it all to an end. But Mengele's insane visions for the Third Reich live on.

SHE'S SKILLED IN THE ART OF THE HUNT...

More than half a century later, FBI agent Melissa Gale's mission is to bring Adalwolf to justice before it's too late. He's emerged from the shadows of history to resurrect a biological terror and unleash it on the world. But tracking him is easier than Melissa imagined. Because for years, Adalwolf has been tracking her.

BUT WHICH ONE IS THE PREY?

Melissa and her unborn child have something Adalwolf needs--a genetic history that holds the key to his success. As a dance of death is engaged between hunter and hunted, Melissa realizes how far the last Nazi will go to fulfill his dark dreams for his Ultimate Solution--and just how far she is prepared to go to stop him..." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this thriller about the past coming back to life. I especially liked Melissa gradually learning who Adalwolf is and how strong she could be.

Date read: 7/15/2011
Book #: 19
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0312997256
ISBN-13: 9780312997250
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Year: 2003
# of pages: 342
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Unicorn Mountain by Michael Bishop

First sentence:

"Libby Quarrels was standing at the produce bin in the gigantic Safeway grocery store in Huerfano, Colorado, scrutinizing the bell peppers and hefting bag after cellophane bag of brown-edged celery stalks and runty carrots."

Description:

"KAR'TAJAN

Unicorn Mountain is the story of four people whose lives are transformed by a herd of unicorns. Libby is divorced, just getting by and unsure about how to react to the fact that she sometimes sees unicorns. Bo is dying and has no one to turn to until Libby takes him in. Sam is estranged from his wife and child and feels he probably deserved supernatural punishment. Paisley, Sam's daughter, is haunted by a recent personal tragedy.

Into their lives come the unicorns. Sam and Libby have seen them but are unsure of their reality. Then Bo begins to receive television transmission from another dimension that reveal that the unicorns are dying from an equine disease. Someone has to do something here, in this world, to save them...

Written with realism and compassion, Unicorn Mountain is a beautiful novel in which the magic works to make everything better. It is a deeply affecting story about salvation that will lift your spirits - and make you think again." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a very moving book about unicorns, AIDS, and learning new things about oneself and others. I liked how Libby, Bo and Sam gradually got to know each other better over time.

Date read: 7/12/2011
Book #: 18
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0586206175
ISBN-13: 978058206171
Publisher: Grafton Books
Year: 1988
# of pages: 495
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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North by Roger Hubank

First sentence:

"In Washington, towards the end of the nineteenth century, in one of the fine town houses that lined three sides of an elegant square, six men were sitting down to dinner."

Description:

"In the fading years of the nineteenth century, five men meet in one of Washington's most elegant townhouses . They are all powerful men - with one exception. For Washington's finest have gathered to plan an expedition to the North Pole and they have chosen William Parish, a studious and quietly spoken Lieutenant, to be its leader.

As Lt Parish sets off into the unknown, he leaves behind him a young wife, Martha. Isolated and at first oblivious to the political machinations of those backing the expedition. Martha soon discovers the treachery of those in whom she has placed her trust. Meanwhile, as Parish struggles to hold his party together, each man is confronted with the darker side of his instinct to survive.

Based on a true story and winner of a Special Jury Award at the Banff festival, this is a powerful novel about what has been called 'one of the most shameful episodes in American Arctic history.'" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

Polar exploration is one of my favorite historical topics. So, I found this fictional account of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition very moving. Parish, the fictional version of Adolphus Washington Greeley, and his men were brave as they faced struggles that could have been partly avoided except for some people back home not understanding what the expedition was going through.

Date read: 6/172011
Book #: 17
Rating: 3*5 = good
Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN-10: 0753817691
ISBN-13: 9780753817698
Publisher: Phoenix
Year: 2004
# of pages: 344
Binding: Trade Paperback
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End in Tears by Ruth Rendell

First sentence:

"When he lifted it off the seat the backpack felt heavier than when he put it into the car."

Description:


"Chief Inspector Wexford has never before known a case of a father finding the murdered body of his daughter, never thought to see a bereaved parent prone over his child's corpse. He has daughters of his own, but he can barely imagine himself in George Marshalson's position.

Wexford needs to discover if there is any connection between two apparently unrelated deaths. But he is soon accused in the local press of old-fashioned police methods.

However,with his old friend and partner, Mike Burden, and two new recruits to the Kingsmarkham team, Wexford pursues his inquiries with a diligence and humanity that makes Ruth Rendell's detective stories enthralling, exciting and very touching." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

I liked this mystery featuring Chief Inspector Wexford. I liked how he and the rest of the Kingsmarkham team figure out the cause of the murders and catch the actual killer. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, From Doon with Death.

Date read: 5/28/2011
Book #: 16
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Series: Inspector Wexford, #20
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0099491141
ISBN-13: 9780099491149
Publisher: Arrow
Year: 2006
# of pages: 376
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Shattered World by Michael Reaves

First sentence:

"He was running, had always been running."

Description:

"A millennium ago, the Necromancer unleashed cataclysm upon the world. Shattered into a thousand pieces, the fragmented planet is held together only by the great spells of the ancient sorcerers. But in a thousand years even spells grow old. . .

Beorn, a shape changer who is half man, half bear, has fallen into the sinister clutches of Ardatha the sorceress, whose mission requires his skills as a master thief. Her goal: to make Earth whole again. And she will stop at nothing--even the resurrection of the Necromancer--to fulfill her destiny. . ." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

Normally, quest fantasies have the characters trying to save the village or region or their world. With multiple worlds orbiting each other, I found this fantasy novel that much more compelling. I look forward to reading the sequel, The Burning Realm.

Date read: 3/29/2011
Book #: 15
Series: Shattered World, #1
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0708881718
ISBN-13: 9780708881712
Publisher: Futura
Year: 1984
# of pages: 413
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Restless Dead by Hugh B. Cave

First sentence:

"Aboard Barracuda II, inbound off the east coast of Florida, a small white man with a pimply face thrusts his head up from the boat's engine room and says in a whine, 'Joe--jeez--I can't find out what's wrong with this thing!'"


Description:

"A curse lingers over the Everol mansion--a voodoo curse, born of evil, steeped in blood. The tormented family who lives in this house of horrors is beset by insanity, visions. . .and death. They have shut themselves off from the world, allowing no one to trespass on their blighted property. No one except Jeff Gordon, a university professor with a special knowledge of voodoo and the occult. Reluctantly, in desperation, the Everol family has permitted Gordon to enter the mansion. But all Gordon's experience could never prepare him for the unearthly creatures that await him thee--or the ultimate terror of the mysterious caves beneath the house." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

I liked this voodoo horror story. I especially liked how Jeff helped the Everol family get rid of the creatures that were haunting there home.

Date read: 3/26/2011
Book #: 14
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843950832X
ISBN-13: 9780843950823
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2003
# of pages: 339
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Desperate Measures by Robert Tine

First sentence:

"They didn't come along all that often but this was one of those stories that the news directors of television stations just loved to get their hooks into--one of those stories that had just about everything, a story tailor-made for television news."

Description:


"Desperate: 1. Rash or violent out of despair. 2. Almost hopeless, grave. 3. Overpowering, intense.

Frank Connor's nine-year-old son has a rare form of leukemia. Without a bone marrow transplant, he will die--and time is running out. After no suitable donors are found, Frank risks his career as a San Francisco cop by illegally hacking into a Federal law enforcement computer. But he finds what he is looking for...

His name is Pete McCabe, a murderer incarcerated in America's toughest prison. His DNA is the closest match. If Frank can get him to do the transplant, his son's life will be saved--and he has a plan to get McCabe to do just that.

But McCabe also is no ordinary killer. He is a pure sociopath with a genius IQ who has spent too many years behind bars. And he has a plan of his own..." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this "cat-and-mouse" thriller with both the cop and con manipulating each other. After I read the book, I saw the movie that the book was based on. I noticed that some scenes that were briefly described in the book was shown in the movie, and that the book had a few extra scenes the movie didn't have.

Date read: March 18, 2011
Book #: 13
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 1572973498
ISBN-13: 9781572973497
Publisher: Boulevard Books
Year: 1997
# of pages: 213
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Fisherman's Son by Michael Koepf

First sentence:

"In a life raft, in the night, pushed by wind, Neil Kruger drifts on."

Description:

"Drifting in a life raft off the northern California coast after a horrifying shipwreck, Neil Kruger retreats from his fear by recalling scenes from his childhood as the son of a commercial fisherman out of Half Moon Bay. Lost at sea, he finds his truest self in his vivid memories: his powerful attachment to his father, a man who can predict storms by looking at the stars; his painful estrangement from his mother, who works at the local cannery; his fascination with the hard lives and warm wit of a host of fellow fishermen. From its arresting first paragraphs to its shattering ending, this enthralling tale combines the lyrical storytelling of The English Patient with the muscular excitement of The Perfect Storm, Michael Koepf has created a triumphant novel about our lifelines to childhood and the pull of the sea." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a gripping book about family and self-discovery. I liked how Neil learned that while his father had flaws, he still had important lessons to impart.

Date read: 3/17/2011
Book #: 12
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fiction

ISBN-10: 0767902440
ISBN-13: 9780767902441
Publisher: Broadway Books
Year: 1998
# of pages: 289
Binding: Trade Paperback
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Knight of the Black Rose by James Lowder

First sentence:

"One name recorded here, in these scrolls that make up my history of Krynn, has become a byword for corruption and monumental evil throughout the continent of Ansalon: Lord Soth of Dargaard Keep."

Description:

"On the fabled world of Krynn, Lord Soth finally learns that there is a price to pay for his long history of evil deeds, a price even an undead warrior might find horrifying.

Dark powers transport Soth to Barovia, and there the death knight must face the dread minions of Count Strahd Von Zarovich, the vampire lord of the nightmare land. But with only a captive Vistani woman and an untrustworthy ghost for allies, Lord Soth soon discovers that he may have to join forces with the powerful vampire if he is ever to escape the realm of terror." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this dark fantasy in which even the evil Lord Soth can, at times, have some redeeming qualities. I look forward to reading the next book, The Spectre of the Dark Rose.


Date read: 3/6/2011
Book #: 11
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Series: Terror of Lord Soth, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Dark Fantasy

ISBN-10: 1560761563ISBN-13: 9781560761563
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Year: 1991
# of pages: 313
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Murder in E Minor by Robert Goldsborough

First sentence:
"Nero Wolfe and I have argued for years about whether the client who makes his first visit to us before or after noon is more likely to provide an interesting--and lucrative--case."

Description:

"When a maestro is murdered, Archie is flabbergasted when the gargantuan gourmet detective lifts himself out of retirement, amid a juicy public scandal. Wolfe and Archie feast on suspects yet starve for facts--until the scanty clues finally arrange themselves like notes on a score, and Wolfe recognizes a dark melody that only a murder virtuoso could perform." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was my first Nero Wolfe read, and it won't be the last. I enjoyed how Wolfe and Archie gradually solved the case and confronted the real killer.

Date read: 3/6/2011
Book #: 10
Series: Nero Wolfe, #48
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0553261207

ISBN-13: 9780553261202

Publisher: Bantam Books
Year: 1986
# of pages: 196

Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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The Dewey Decimal Challenge 2011

Dewey Decimal Challenge

When: January 1 - December 31, 2011
What: Read at least one nonfiction book to reach the following levels:

Dilettante--Read 1 non-fiction book.
Explorer--Read 2
Seeker--Read 3
Master--Read 4

I'll add my books as I read them. Who know what level I'll reach?

Deborah Wearing. Forever Today -- finished 1/25/2011
Matthew Battles. Library: An Unquiet History -- finished 3/3/2011

Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles

First sentence:

"When I first went to work in Harvard's Widener Library, I immediately made my first mistake: I tried to read the books."

Description:

"Throughout the ages, libraries have not only accumulated and preserved but also shaped, inspired, and obliterated knowledge. Matthew Battles, a rare books librarian and a gift narrator, 'entertainingly traces the evolution of the library through the centuries,' [New York Times Book Review] from Boston to Baghdad, from classical scriptoria to medieval monasteries, from the Vatican to the British library, from socialist reading rooms and rural home libraries to the Information Age." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this engaging book about libraries, books, writing and knowledge. I liked learning about how writing on bamboo stalks influenced the look of Asian writing and how Antonio Panizzi changed the card catalog "...from an inventory to an instrument of discovery" [p. 130].

Date read: 3/3/2011

Book #: 9

Challenge: Dewey Decimal Challenge 2011

Rating: 3*/5 = good

Genre: nonfiction

ISBN-10: 093325644

ISBN-13: 9780393325645

Publisher: W.W. Norton

Year: 2003

# of pages: 214
Binding: Trade Paperback

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Dark of the Eye by Douglas Clegg

First sentence:

"He had never killed a child before."

Description:

"A tragi accident left eleven-year-old Hope Stewart with an extraordinay power that is both blessing and curse. Her touch alone can heal those suffering from horrifying afflictions. . .or subject them to an unspeakable fate. Now, a once-innocent child has become the prey in a monstrous hunt. Her scientist father is determined to exploit her frightening gift, a relentless government agent is out to kill her--and a damaged soul called Monkey vows to deliver her to the mercies of the fiendish forces he serves. . . ." - from the back cover

My thoughts:

This book was more than a typical horror tale of monsters. Every character had reasons for their actions, even if I did not always agree with them.

Date read: 3/2/2011
Book #: 8
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 067173539X
ISBN-13: 9780671735395
Publisher: Pocket Books
Year: 1994
# of pages: 325
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Die Trying by Lee Child

First sentence:

Nathan Rubin died because he got brave.

Description:

"Jack Reacher is an innocent bystander -- in the wrong place at the wrong time -- when a woman is kidnapped. Now he's at the mercy of a group of men demanding an impossible ransom, for this mysterious woman is worth far more than Reacher ever suspected. And though she doesn't ask for his help, he's going to give it to her....

Because ex-military policeman Jack Reacher is a hero. He's used to saving lives. But this time he's going to take a few before he's through." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good suspenseful thriller. I liked the interaction between Reacher and Holly Johnson as they both try to escape and figure out who captured them and why. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Tripwire.

Date read: 3/1/2011
Book #: 7
Series: Jack Reacher, #2
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0515125024
ISBN-13: 9780515125023
Publisher: Jove
Year: 1999
# of pages: 422
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Wizards of Odd edited by Peter Haining

First sentence:

"It was a fine summer morning, the kind to make a man happy to be alive."

Description:

"Wizards and wotsits, swords and sorcery, astronauts and aliens -- all the ingredients of humorous fantasy are packed into the pages of this unique collection.

Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams return to Discworld and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy respectively, with stories first seen in book form in this volume.

Other stars of the genre represented include Brian Aldiss, Isaac Asimov, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Donaldson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kurt Vonnegut, and H.G. Wells. Altogether, twenty-four writers have contributed their talents to create the best anthology of humorous fantasy ever published."

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this collection of humorous fantasy stories. Two of my favorites were "Doodad" by Ray Bradbury about a man who learns too late not to underestimate seemingly useless items and "The Rule of Names" by Ursula K. Le Guin about a mysterious wizard and a knight.

Date read: 2/26/2011
Book #: 6
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 1857236351
ISBN-13: 9781857236354
Publisher: Orbit
Year: 1997
# of pages: 298
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Chosen Prey by John Sandford

First sentence:

"James Qatar dropped his feet over the edge of the bed and rubbed the back of his neck, a momentary veil of depression falling upon him."

Description:

"Lucas Davenport returns in the most harrowing and unexpected Prey novel yet -- the story of a congenial man, and his most uncongenial obsession...

Art history professor James Qatar's hobby was taking secret photographs of women. At night when he was all alone he'd dream about them and indulge his fantasies. Then one day his fantasy went too far. Now it's Qatar's turn to become an obsession -- of Davenport's. And for both men there's no turning back." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this mystery/thriller featuring Lucas Davenport. One of my favorite scenes was when Davenport meets the computer genius Kidd for the first time. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Mortal Prey.

Date read: 1/30/2011
Book #: 5
Series: Lucas Davenport, #12
Challenge: TBR Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425182878
ISBN-13: 9780425182871
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 2001
# of pages: 383
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Forever Today by Deborah Wearing

First sentence:

"Clive had no idea that Tuesday 26 March 1985 would be his last day of conscious thought."

Description:

"Clive Wearing has one of the most extreme cases of amnesia ever known. In 1985, a virus completely destroyed a part of his brain essential for memory, leaving him trapped in a limbo of the constant present. Every conscious moment is for him as if he has just come round from a long coma, an endlessly repeating loop of awakening. A brilliant conductor and BBC music producer, Clive was at the height of his success when the illness struck. As damaged as Clive was, the musical part of his brain seemed unaffected, as was his passionate love for Deborah, his wife.

For seven years he was kept in the London hospital where the ambulance first dropped him off, because there was nowhere else for him to go. Deborah desperately searched for treatments and campaigned for better care. After Clive was finally established in a new special hospital, she fled to America to start her life over again. But she found she could never love another the way she loved Clive. Then Clive’s memory unaccountably began to improve, ten years after the illness first struck. She returned to England. Today, although Clive still lives in care, and still has the worst case of amnesia in the world, he continues to improve. They renewed their marriage vows in 2002.

This is the story of a life lived outside time, a story that questions and redefines the essence of what it means to be human. It is also the story of a marriage, of a bond that runs deeper than conscious thought." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I had heard about Clive Wearing's total amnesia on an episode of Radio Lab podcast about identity. This book not only gave an insight into Clive's condition but also how it affected his wife, Deborah.

Date read: 1/25/2011
Book #: 4
Challenge: Dewey Decimal Challenge 2011
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Memoir

ISBN-10: 0385606265
ISBN-13: 9780385606264
Publisher: Doubleday
Year: 2005
# of pages: 338
Binding: Hardcover
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The Girl Who Remembered Snow by Charles

First sentence:

"Emma Passant's earliest memory was of snow."

Description:

"A professional magician, Emma Passant knows the hand is quicker than the eye. But how much of her own life has been an illusion? Her grandfather is murdered, and soon afterward a friend is killed by the same gun. So when her brawny assistant departs for greener pastures, Emma puts her act on hold and sets out to find some answers.

With only a pattering of clues, she follows a trail of cryptic words, rumors of stolen treasure, and her own vague snow-shrouded memories to the Caribbean, New York and Paris, where she discovers shattering deceptions made in the name of love--and the shocking truth about her own past." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good mystery about someone learning the truth about her past. I liked the interactions between Emma and Timoteo in San Marcos.

Date read: 1/10/2011
Book #: 3
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0373262574
ISBN-13: 9780373262571
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Year: 1997
# of pages: 300
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Publisher:
Year

Skeleton's Knee by Archer Mayor

First sentence:

"I have a body for you."

Description:

"Vermont hermit Abraham Fuller kept mum on his gunshot wound. When it finally causes a fatal aneurysm some twenty years later, Detective Joe Gunther decides to investigate--and, for the first time, must leave his rustic Brattleboro beat.

The trouble starts in Fuller's garden where Gunther's crew digs up an artificial knee joint . . . attached to a very real human skeleton. Worse yet, the victim had been murdered. When a sniper machine-guns the hearse bringing the skeleton to the morgue, Gunther's first step is clear: find the manufacturer of the steel knee. It will mean trading Vermont for Chicago, where big city cops snub small-town gumshoes, too many people are hiding dark pasts, and a deadly trail could lead to a fresh new corpse--Gunther's own." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this mystery featuring Vermont detective Joe Gunther and his experiences in Chicago. I liked how he noticed discrepancies in the crime scenes and how he worked on identifying all the players in the murder.

Date read: 1/6/2011
Book #: 2
Series: Joe Gunther, #4
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0446400998
ISBN-13: 9780446400992
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Year: 1993
# of pages: 311
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Ubik by Philip K. Dick

First sentence:

"Friends, this is clean-up time and we're discounting all our silent, electric Ubiks by this much money."

Description:

"Squeaking in his metal-insect voice, Stanton Mick floated to the ceiling of the room, his arms protruding distendedly and rigidly. 'Mr. Runciter, don't let your thalamus overide your cerebral cortex. This matter calls for discretion, not haste; calm your people down and let's huddle together in an effort to mutually understand.' His rotund, colourful body bobbed about, twisting in a slow, transversal rotation.

'I've heard of this,' Runciter said to Joe Chip. 'It's a self-destruct humanoid bomb. Help me get everybody out of here. They just now put it on auto; that's why it floated upward.'

The bomb exploded...

From first page to last, UBIK is a searing exploration of time travel, telepathy and the human condition faced with adversity. Drawing on his boundless resources of creation, Dick produced in UBIK a winner of a novel--bizarre intrigue, vaulting imagination and an action-packed plot. SF at its very best..." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this science fiction novel of the past intruding into the present. I especially liked the scene where Joe sees an early twentieth-century elevator instead of the modern one that should be there.

Date read: 1/5/2011
Book #: 1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: SF

ISBN-10: 0586037160
ISBN-13: 9780586037164
Publisher: Grafton
Year: 1969
# of pages: 224
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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What's in a Name? 4 Challenge

Between January 1 and December 31, 2011, I will read one book in each of the following categories:

• A book with a number in the title:
• A book with jewelry or a gem in the title:
• A book with a size in the title:
• A book with movement in the title:
• A book with evil in the title:
• A book with a life stage in the title: