Just finished Daemon and Freedom TM thanks to recommendations for this thread. Loved them. Thanks! Last night I started Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog, which I think was also read by someone in this thread.
Finished up Mister Slaughter last night, and it was a rollicking fun read. It was the shortest of the 3 books in the series, and probably the most direct plot. There were definitely some macabre moments, including a Sweeny Todd moment, but it wasn't as over the top as I thought it would be. It actually felt restrained for the type of character McCammon was building with the titular Mister Slaughter. it was a typical excellent Matthew Corbett adventure. It also added some intrigue to the overall direction of the series. I can't wait for Book 4. I highly recommend this series. Up next: Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak This is the debut novel of Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief, which is one of the very best books I have ever read. It was an absolutely beautiful story of a girl growing up with foster parents just outside of Munich during WWII. It is a crime that this book is classified as young adult. Everyone should read it. I also enjoyed his novel, I am the Messenger, even though it kind of fell apart at the end. Still it was an interesting concept, and it was riveting read up until that last part. I have been looking for his first 2 books for a long time. They are a pair, and while the second is readily available, the first has been out of print. Prices online were over $100, which I wasn't willing to pay. There is a Kindle version available, and fortunately it was just reissued in the UK. My sister was kind enough to buy one and ship it over recently. I don't know too much of the story and am looking forward to diving in.
I'm lightly perusing The Wisdom of No Escape by Pema Chodron. Further surprising is that I spelled her name correctly.
Monster by A. Lee Martinez Really wacky and entertaining read. Sorta like an R-rated spinoff of a Harry Potter book if it was written by Douglas Adams instead. Basically the story of a guy who works for supernatural Animal Control and some unfortunate normal people who get in the way of his assignments.
I love the Dresden Files books, I think I have talked about Jim Butcher here in another thread. He has a sci fi series I have enjoyed as well. I recently read this book and really enjoyed it. I got a Kindle for Valentine's Day and have been having a wonderful time trying to fill it up.
Love the Dresden Files. I've been holding off reading Turncoat (#11) so I can read it and Changes (#12) back-to-back when the latter comes out on April 6. Name of the Wind is such an incredible book. Just an incredibly epic tale that happens to be set in a fantasy setting. I've been dying to read Wise Man's Fear. The release date keeps getting pushed back, but Rothfuss did finally turn in the manuscript, so there seems to be optimism that it'll come out this year. Take your time, Rothfuss. Do this series right. From the opening book, it looks like it could be all-time classic series.
I've been into history lately. I'm current reading Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick. It's great. Really provides a lot lot more background of the "founding" of America and is presented in an interesting and easy to read manner. I could see it as a well-done HBO documentary and being riveting. Before that I finished The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name by Toby Lester. It was also fascinating. The author originally wanted to write a more pure educational bit on the Waldseemüller Map (the first map to ever name the New World as America, only one copy survived) , but as he researched more he realized there was a larger story to tell about Europeans explorations of the East, the Renaissance, Columbus, etc....and of course, MAPS. The end result is a interesting read that moves quickly. It may help that I've always been fascinating by maps and cartography. It's very enlightening as to how devastating intellectually the dark ages were, in that in the 1200's the state of Europeans knowledge of their world, universe, and maps was pathetic.
If you haven't read it, you might enjoy William Dietrich's Napoleon's Pyramids. The main character is an American expatriate in post-revolutionary France, who was Ben Franklin's assistant. Here's what Booklist has to say about it: "The author of, among other thrillers, Hadrian's Wall (2004) and The Scourge of God (2005) takes us back to late-eighteenth-century Paris, where American Ethan Gage comes into possession of an ancient medallion and then, almost immediately, is implicated in a woman's murder. Later, he joins Napoleon's expedition into Egypt, where the Great Pyramids could provide the French dictator with the secrets of world conquest or spell certain disaster -- for Napoleon and the rest of humanity. Rich in period detail and ancient mythology, this epic-scale thriller succeeds on the strength of its small moments: a conversation that illuminates the plot, a description that captures our imagination. It's of interest, too, to see Napoleon reimagined as an adventurer, a dreamer, and an intellectual. Incorporating some of the well-known speculation about the pyramids (the mathematical significance of the Giza pyramid's design, for example) but not taking it altogether seriously, the novel is a big, exciting romp that will keep high-concept thriller fans on the edge of their seats." --David Pitt, Booklist http://www.williamdietrich.com/napoleon.htm Very much historical fiction with a dash of George MacDonald Fraser's style, it's a great read that doesn't neglect history, while incorporating a wild imagining of Napoleon and his expedition to Egypt from a unique perspective. .................. The first in one of the best series of historical fiction I've read, equal, in my opinion, to his Richard Sharpe series, The Last Kingdom, by Bernard Cornwell, has my highest recommendation. Anyone who loves historical fiction will be hard pressed to find a better read. This is the first of what is now 5 novels, with more on the way. I can't wait for the next one. The description of the remains of the Roman presence in Britain, almost casually placed in the story, are reason enough to buy it, as if Cornwell's brilliant characterizations aren't sufficient. Here's a description from Cromwell's site (not written by Cromwell, except for the quote): 'I had been given a perfect childhood, perfect, at least, to the ideas of a boy. I was raised among men, I was free, I ran wild, was encumbered by no laws, was troubled by no priests and was encouraged to violence.' Uhtred is an English boy, born into the aristocracy of 9th Century Northumbria, but orphaned at ten, adopted by a Dane and taught the Viking ways. Yet Uhtred's fate is indissolubly bound up with Alfred, King of Wessex, who rules over the last English kingdom when the Danes have overrun Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. That war, with its massacres, defeats and betrayals, is the background to Uhtred's childhood, a childhood which leaves him uncertain of his loyalties, but a slaughter in a winter dawn propels him to the English side and he will become a man just as the Danes launch their fiercest attack yet on Alfred's kingdom. Marriage ties him further to the West Saxon cause, but when his wife and child vanish in the chaos of a Danish invasion, Uhtred is driven to face the greatest of the Viking chieftains in a battle beside the sea, and there, in the horror of a shield-wall, he discovers his true allegiance. http://www.bernardcornwell.net/index.cfm?page=2&BookId=41 I mentioned Cromwell's novel in a list earlier in the thread, but figured it was worth another plug. All but the most recent should be on the bookshelves of Half Price Books, if the reader is lucky.
Thanks, Deckard. Adding both to my buy list. They sound like awesome reads. Have you ever read Wilbur Smith? He's a South African writer that my in-laws adore (my wife was born in Zimbabwe). Stephen King wrote a blurb on one of his books that Smith was his favorite historical writer, and I almost always agree with his book recommendations even if I'm not the biggest fan of his own books.
No, I have not. After looking at his bibliography, I'm surprised that I haven't! He looks right up my alley. Thanks for the tip! As for King, he's never been able to top the unabridged version of The Stand, in my opinion. I've read it twice, but the rest? Not such a big fan.
Mostly agree. Eyes of the Dragon is also a classic. Still, I'm amazed how often I'll read a good book and discover a blurb by King praising it on the back cover or inside jacket.
I read some Wilbur Smith a while ago and was NOT impressed. It felt like reading Danielle Steele. King's writing style has evolved quite a bit over the years, some of his stuff I absolutely love (The Stand) and some I hate (Pet Cemetery). Dean Koontz has followed a very similar evolution. His early stuff I love, then it got strange and now it is back to fantastic, mostly. Lee Child is an action/adventure writer who I really enjoy. His main character, Jack Reacher is a classic. My brain went there, because King mentions Jack Reacher in his latest book, Under the Dome. Under the Dome felt like The Stand lite while reading, but still a good read.
Another action/adventure author that might interest people here is Harlan Coben. His main character is a sports agent, who was a Duke basketball 1st round draft choice. He blew his knee out in the summer league and never got to play in the majors. This book involves a major basketball star, the insights into how removed his lifestyle is from reality make good reading for a basketball fan.
Finished up Fighting Ruben Wolfe and the sequel Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak. I see now why he's classified as a young adult writer, because these were both clearly young adult books. Decent stories, but nothing amazing about them. I did find if fascinating to read the first two books of a writer who eventually produced the masterpiece The Book Thief. I could see he was cutting his teeth on these books, and there were elements (plot devices, character development) that were further honed in his later books. Zusak's later works are definitely not young adult material any longer. I'm reading The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen next. Allen writes fluffy fun summer reads that skew towards romantic comedies. However, they feature a fun cast of quirky characters, and I quite enjoyed them. Garden Spells was her first novel and was a blast to read especially if you like gardening or food (or people with knacks ala Alvin Maker). Definitely a light heated reading author, but I'm looking forward to a fun quick read.
I just finished 'Into Thin Air' by Jon Krakauer. It's about the 1996 Mt Everest disaster. Krakauer was a journalist on one of the ill fated expeditions and the event is told from his point of view. I've been really interested in mountaineering lately, and this book has certainly not failed to satiate my appetite. Krakauer also wrote 'Into the Wild', from which Sean Penn made the film adaptation.
Ive been reading A Dictionary of Wit, Wisdom, and Satire. It's one of the greatest books i've ever read. I think my iq is going up 50 every time i read it. Anyone know any similar books?
