en-US Thu, 03 Apr 2025 15:12:27 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 53415121
When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts.

As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.]]> 345 Rachel Lynn Solomon Ken 4
First, it's written in first person, present tense, which I llike. That's a hard venue to do because the readers is trapped in the lead character's head. If we don't relate to her, the book is shot. I found Rachel Solomon did a great job of characterizing Shay and of bringing out Dominic through actions and dialogue between the two. It's a difficult task, but she pulled it off. (I taught English at two universities. I know of what I speak).

Second, the dialogue itself was really good. Some say the jokes seemed forced, but I thought it read like natural conversations. Both used curse words a bit too much, though. I'm not a prude and in addition to collegiate level teaching, I worked at a daily newspaper for 20 years. Cursing was an art with reporters and editors. But I thought some of the things the two characters said used the bad words excessively and it hindered some of the dialogue. Other than that, she did a fine job.

The plot was good, although quick at times. It followed the formula romance writers use, I guess. Conflict early on, slow building attraction, sudden crisis that leads to "break up," a second chance, self-realization, resolution.

Again, I'm probably the worst demographic to read such a genre; I read it instead for the structure and mechanics of how Rachel Solomon did it. It was good enough for me to venture into whatever she writes next.
]]> 3.67 2021
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: Ken
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/02
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves:
review:
This was only the second or third romantic comedy I've ever read, so I'm not really a good critic of such things. However, I stuck with this and liked it for several reasons.

First, it's written in first person, present tense, which I llike. That's a hard venue to do because the readers is trapped in the lead character's head. If we don't relate to her, the book is shot. I found Rachel Solomon did a great job of characterizing Shay and of bringing out Dominic through actions and dialogue between the two. It's a difficult task, but she pulled it off. (I taught English at two universities. I know of what I speak).

Second, the dialogue itself was really good. Some say the jokes seemed forced, but I thought it read like natural conversations. Both used curse words a bit too much, though. I'm not a prude and in addition to collegiate level teaching, I worked at a daily newspaper for 20 years. Cursing was an art with reporters and editors. But I thought some of the things the two characters said used the bad words excessively and it hindered some of the dialogue. Other than that, she did a fine job.

The plot was good, although quick at times. It followed the formula romance writers use, I guess. Conflict early on, slow building attraction, sudden crisis that leads to "break up," a second chance, self-realization, resolution.

Again, I'm probably the worst demographic to read such a genre; I read it instead for the structure and mechanics of how Rachel Solomon did it. It was good enough for me to venture into whatever she writes next.

]]> 169211
The people of the town don't pay a whole lot of mind to past history, especially when Bailey Fowler, the self-confessed killer, had been convicted. They weren't even unduly concerned when, a year after the murder, Fowler walked away from the men's prison at San Luis Obispo, never to be seen again. After all, everyone knew Jean was a wild kid. "Like mother, like daughter," some said--though never within hearing of Shana Timberlake who, whatever her faults, still mourned her murdered child.

And then, by sheer fluke, the cops stumbled on Bailey Fowler. And a case seventeen years dead came murderously to life again. For Royce Fowler, old and sick with not much time left, his son's reappearance was the chance to heal an old wound. For Kinsey Millhone, the case was a long shot, but she agreed to take it on. She couldn't know then that it would lead her to probe passions buried just below the surface of family relations. That's where old wounds fester and the most cherished emotions become warped until they fuse into deadly, soul-destroying time bombs.]]> 320 Sue Grafton 0312939043 Ken 4
This one reminded me a bit of the John Sandford Davenport novels. Kinsley Milhone for to a California ocean town to help solve an old murder in the chance she can clear a suspect. She befriends the locals like Davenport did in the Sandford stuff. The hotel she stays at is somewhat creepy as are the owners.

The ending was somewhat rushed, explained in about three pages and while I seldomly figure out the bad guy early on, I saw this one coming. Still, this is a fun series worth the few days it takes to read each one.
]]> 3.92 1989
author: Sue Grafton
name: Ken
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/28
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves:
review:
This was the best of the Grafton books I've read so far over the years (although I've only read A-F). It's quick-paced, interesting and fun. It is a time capsule of sorts, too. Pay phones, comments from the 1980s, life in that era shine through this making it a fun look back.

This one reminded me a bit of the John Sandford Davenport novels. Kinsley Milhone for to a California ocean town to help solve an old murder in the chance she can clear a suspect. She befriends the locals like Davenport did in the Sandford stuff. The hotel she stays at is somewhat creepy as are the owners.

The ending was somewhat rushed, explained in about three pages and while I seldomly figure out the bad guy early on, I saw this one coming. Still, this is a fun series worth the few days it takes to read each one.

]]> 208177124 Wherever you are in your author’s journey, this book is like teaming up with a personal writing coach who has more than a quarter century of editorial and publishing advice.

Thousands of writers—from first-time authors to #1 New York Times best-selling authors—have learned from Lisa Mangum’s masterful literary advice and inspiration. Now she’s collected the best of her writing and editing tips in this helpful book that covers the entire writing and querying process, from nurturing a story idea all the way to submitting a polished manuscript.

In the first half of the book, Lisa guides readers through the various steps of the writing process, including starting the story in the right place, developing characters with high-stake goals, mapping character relationships for increased conflict, and introducing tension and plot twists. She also shares tips and tricks for nailing a satisfying ending as well as helping authors discover their own unique voice that can help them break through writer’s block.

With her decades of experience, Lisa then takes writers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the many levels of editing, including a handy flowchart that unravels the mystery of where the commas go in a sentence.

Finally, she helps writers prepare to “get published� by deconstructing what makes a query letter catch an editor’s eye and how to answer the all-important question: “What’s your book about?�

Packed with Lisa’s own personal stories of encouragement and inspiration, Write Fearless. Edit Smart. Get Published. is a literary adventure that’s as fun as it is informative.]]> 240 Lisa Mangum 1639933018 Ken 5
Lisa Mangum has written a very uplifting, encouraging book on how to write good fiction. She goes from gathering the idea, writing vs. editing first drafts, grammar, character building, continuity and avoiding distractions. She admits writing is hard, but she remains upbeat and cheerful about the process. That's where this book sings, I think. After a section on the formulas of fiction that may seem quite complex, she urges the reader to be okay if overwhelmed at first.

She also includes "Story Time With Lisa," that includes some of her personal stories as an editor or writer that give the readers hope about their own successes. Overall, this has a "we're all in this together" feel.

It's a very good, entertaining read and for someone wanting to really get into fiction, this should be must-reading.


]]> 4.54
author: Lisa Mangum
name: Ken
average rating: 4.54
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/28
shelves:
review:
I don't write fiction, so I don't know the real mechanics behind creating good copy. I've been a newspaper and magazine writer for the past 40 years or so. The techniques used for both fiction and reporting --building conflict, story-telling, etc., may overlap somewhat, but they are generally two competing types of discipline. So, I don't know real fiction writing. But I do read novels

Lisa Mangum has written a very uplifting, encouraging book on how to write good fiction. She goes from gathering the idea, writing vs. editing first drafts, grammar, character building, continuity and avoiding distractions. She admits writing is hard, but she remains upbeat and cheerful about the process. That's where this book sings, I think. After a section on the formulas of fiction that may seem quite complex, she urges the reader to be okay if overwhelmed at first.

She also includes "Story Time With Lisa," that includes some of her personal stories as an editor or writer that give the readers hope about their own successes. Overall, this has a "we're all in this together" feel.

It's a very good, entertaining read and for someone wanting to really get into fiction, this should be must-reading.



]]> 64860
But something was annoying her. Two days after Christmas she received a bank slip showing a credit of five thousand dollars.

The account number was correct but Kinsey hadn’t made the deposit.

It wasn't long before the phone call came and suddenly everything was clear. The frame-up had clicked in and Kinsey was trapped . . .]]> 320 Sue Grafton 0312939035 Ken 4
This is an easy read; it comes in at 226 pages and Grafton is a fine writer. The pace is quick and there's not a real deep plot with tons of characters. There's also more background of Kinsey Millhone's life in this one than in the previous novels.

Eventually, I guess, I'll read the Alphabet series over the years. It took me nearly 30 years to get to E, but I'll continue working my way through the rest whenever the mood strikes.]]> 3.91 1988
author: Sue Grafton
name: Ken
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves:
review:
Sue Grafton published this in 1988, so it's a time capsule of sorts and a fun read. There's smoking in airplanes, pay telephones, older cop techniques in gathering evidence, etc. So it's kind of a fun read looking back. The writing stands up over the years, too.

This is an easy read; it comes in at 226 pages and Grafton is a fine writer. The pace is quick and there's not a real deep plot with tons of characters. There's also more background of Kinsey Millhone's life in this one than in the previous novels.

Eventually, I guess, I'll read the Alphabet series over the years. It took me nearly 30 years to get to E, but I'll continue working my way through the rest whenever the mood strikes.
]]> 221508547 #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina island.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces a new cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina island.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled� to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.

Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.� Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

Propulsive and atmospheric, Nightshade launches a brand new character into the Connelly universe, and proves without question that Michael Connelly is “the undisputed master of the modern crime novel� (Real Book Spy).]]> 352 Michael Connelly 0316588482 Ken 0 to-read 4.14 2025
author: Michael Connelly
name: Ken
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201750163 Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike, face a cryptic case and a terrifying, unpredictable killer in this twisty, satisfying thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robert Crais.

Traci Beller was thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. The police couldn't find her dad and neither could the detectives her mother hired, but now, ten years later, Traci is a super-popular influencer with millions of followers and the money to hire a new detective: Elvis Cole.

Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a loser, but Elvis heads to Rancha where he learns an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter, Anya, might have a line on the missing man. But when Elvis finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the simple missing persons case becomes far more sinister and dangerous. Elvis calls in his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, to help, but even Pike might not be able to help.

As Elvis Cole and Joe Pike follow Tommy Beller's trail into the twisted, nightmare depths of a monstrous evil, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become prey, and when everyone is a victim, can Elvis Cole save them all?

In a case that tests Elvis Cole's loyalty to his clients and himself, the truth must come out no matter the cost. Elvis must face The Big Empty and see justice done.]]> 373 Robert Crais 0525535799 Ken 3
However, I found this one flatter than most of his earlier novels. The usual humor in his earlier stories were absent and Joe Pike, an interesting character, was pretty lax. And this one was much darker than his others. I realize the subject calls for a bit more darkness... child abduction and serial killer stuff. But this read felt like Crais was dealing with a lot of depression or sorrow or something.

Also, the plot seemed more scripted in cliche. Drive around LA, ask people for clues, go to where the clues lead Elvis, seek more clues. Have some epiphany. Solve the crime.

]]> 4.56 2025
author: Robert Crais
name: Ken
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/07
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves:
review:
I've read most of Robert Crais' books and really liked them. It's been a while since I dove into one and I grabbed this one from the library with anticipation.

However, I found this one flatter than most of his earlier novels. The usual humor in his earlier stories were absent and Joe Pike, an interesting character, was pretty lax. And this one was much darker than his others. I realize the subject calls for a bit more darkness... child abduction and serial killer stuff. But this read felt like Crais was dealing with a lot of depression or sorrow or something.

Also, the plot seemed more scripted in cliche. Drive around LA, ask people for clues, go to where the clues lead Elvis, seek more clues. Have some epiphany. Solve the crime.


]]> 213890792 New from the author of Presumed Innocent, the #1 bestseller that redefined the legal thriller and is the basis for Apple TV+’s most-watched drama series ever.

Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears. If Aaron doesn’t return soon, he will be sent back to jail.

Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn’t returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first degree murder.

Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent—it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.]]> 544 Scott Turow 1538706369 Ken 5
Presumed Guilty, the third of the Sabich series, is the same type. It's sheer courtroom brilliance. But it also has more elements than just courtroom drama. Sabich's girlfriend's son is arrested for the murder of his bipolar girlfriend. Sabich is defending him, but in addition to trying to prove the kid's innocence, Sabich also has to deal with the loss of friendship, the stress on his relationship with the son's mother after a very revealing issue came up, the element of racial divisiveness, political shenanigans and legal corruptness and good ol' boy justice.

There's a lot going on in this book; it's kind of long; I read the large print version from our library and it weighed in at 730 pages. But it reads fast and the courtroom testimony moves quickly. This is one of those books that you don't realize you've read, say, 50 pages before you realize you've read that many.

I've read some reviews of other Turow books in which reviewers say he's lost his touch. That sure isn't the case with Presumed Guilty. I'd offer it as one of the best courtroom thrillers I've ever read.
]]> 4.25 2025
author: Scott Turow
name: Ken
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/05
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves:
review:
Do you remember how blown away you were when you read Turow's first Rusty Sabich book, "Presumed Innocent?" I was an English teacher at a university in Arkansas in 1991 when I read the book. I actually remember where I was when I finished it -- I was the basement snack center of the building where I taught. The book was so good I can recall the location where I read it.

Presumed Guilty, the third of the Sabich series, is the same type. It's sheer courtroom brilliance. But it also has more elements than just courtroom drama. Sabich's girlfriend's son is arrested for the murder of his bipolar girlfriend. Sabich is defending him, but in addition to trying to prove the kid's innocence, Sabich also has to deal with the loss of friendship, the stress on his relationship with the son's mother after a very revealing issue came up, the element of racial divisiveness, political shenanigans and legal corruptness and good ol' boy justice.

There's a lot going on in this book; it's kind of long; I read the large print version from our library and it weighed in at 730 pages. But it reads fast and the courtroom testimony moves quickly. This is one of those books that you don't realize you've read, say, 50 pages before you realize you've read that many.

I've read some reviews of other Turow books in which reviewers say he's lost his touch. That sure isn't the case with Presumed Guilty. I'd offer it as one of the best courtroom thrillers I've ever read.

]]> 153002475 Have you ever wanted to know what your cat was thinking?

In The Book Your Cat Wishes You Would Read, feline behaviourist Lucy Hoile gives you all the information you could ever need to build an even better, happier relationship with your cat. Lucy is speaking directly to you, the carer, and is here to support you on this amazing journey.

Cats are an enigmatic species and their behaviour is subtle and difficult to read. Because of this, it's not always easy to understand what they need from us and our relationship with them can suffer as a result.

Included in this book is information on how cats communicate through body language, vocalisations and their secret language of scent. Deciphering this information helps us understand what they are trying to tell us, including when they are feeling unwell, when they are stressed or when they are feeling perfectly content.

Armed with Lucy's invaluable advice you will feel excited and empowered to feel even closer to your cat and build a more loving, patient and rewarding relationship for life.]]> 320 Lucy Hoile 139872033X Ken 5
This isn't really a book to read cover-to-cover in a sitting. Instead, it may be better to pore over chapters and read about something the cat owner is dealing with at the time. Lucy Hoiles includes everything.. and I mean everything... about dealing with cats. Feeding them, where to place food and water, an entire chapter on litter, socialization, communication, playing, introducing them to other cats and dogs. Outdoor vs. indoors.

This book has it all. It should be required reading at all pet stores and veterinarian offices.

There are a lot cat books out there, all with good advice. This one by Ms. Hoile is a keeper and a must read for all who want their cats to enjoy life more.]]> 4.29
author: Lucy Hoile
name: Ken
average rating: 4.29
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves:
review:
My wife and I have five cats; we tend to take in stray cats who show up and try to give them a good, safe home. I wish I had read this book before we loaded the house with them.

This isn't really a book to read cover-to-cover in a sitting. Instead, it may be better to pore over chapters and read about something the cat owner is dealing with at the time. Lucy Hoiles includes everything.. and I mean everything... about dealing with cats. Feeding them, where to place food and water, an entire chapter on litter, socialization, communication, playing, introducing them to other cats and dogs. Outdoor vs. indoors.

This book has it all. It should be required reading at all pet stores and veterinarian offices.

There are a lot cat books out there, all with good advice. This one by Ms. Hoile is a keeper and a must read for all who want their cats to enjoy life more.
]]> 56923136 This true crime biography examines the life and motives of an Arkansas serial killer who preyed on strangers as he hitchhiked across America.

In 1945, Faulkner County native James Waybern "Red" Hall confessed to murdering at least twenty-four people. In the closing months of World War II, he beat his wife to death and went on a killing spree across the state. Most of his victims were motorists who picked him up as he hitchhiked around the United States.

Perhaps even more unsettling than the crimes themselves was the signature smile Hall used to lured his victims to their doom. Even after his capture, he maintained a friendly manner. One lawman went so far as to describe him as "a pleasant conversationalist." In this in-depth biography, author Janie Nesbitt Jones chronicles his life and explores reasons why he became Arkansas's Hitchhike Killer.]]> 201 Janie Nesbitt Jones 1439672202 Ken 5
So, who better to read this book?

Janie Jones does a great job researching this story that, despite having lived in Arkansas for a long while, I've never heard about before. James Hall was a drifter-type who killed for the sport of it, apparently. I think Janie has done a nice job of showing Hall's personality throughout the book.

The thing that impressed me the most was the second half of the book that included a lot of the trial transcripts. This was back in the 1940s. Things have changed a lot in court now and that obvious difference was interesting. It was a time when reporters had more access to defendants... Arkansas Democrat reporter Joe Wirges interviewed Hall often and went with police when Hall showed them where he killed his wife. It was also a time when court proceedings, executions and other legal matters were not delayed by the myriad of appeals that bog the court systems now.

This is a quick read of only about 140 pages or so. But it's packed with a culture of the south during the 1930s and 1940s. It's a good book for those interested in court, true crime tales, the post-Depression era and the south in general.
]]> 3.78
author: Janie Nesbitt Jones
name: Ken
average rating: 3.78
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/23
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves:
review:
I used to be a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, I now work for a county prosecuting attorney's office and I wrote freelance features for the magazine Janie Jones writes for (I once filled in for her column about long ago Arkansas murders).

So, who better to read this book?

Janie Jones does a great job researching this story that, despite having lived in Arkansas for a long while, I've never heard about before. James Hall was a drifter-type who killed for the sport of it, apparently. I think Janie has done a nice job of showing Hall's personality throughout the book.

The thing that impressed me the most was the second half of the book that included a lot of the trial transcripts. This was back in the 1940s. Things have changed a lot in court now and that obvious difference was interesting. It was a time when reporters had more access to defendants... Arkansas Democrat reporter Joe Wirges interviewed Hall often and went with police when Hall showed them where he killed his wife. It was also a time when court proceedings, executions and other legal matters were not delayed by the myriad of appeals that bog the court systems now.

This is a quick read of only about 140 pages or so. But it's packed with a culture of the south during the 1930s and 1940s. It's a good book for those interested in court, true crime tales, the post-Depression era and the south in general.

]]> 209456191 Inside the Ivy League, college football’s oldest teams, amid a rapidly changing and increasingly monetized collegiate sports world—from award-winning and bestselling author ofĚýA Season on the BrinkĚý˛ą˛Ô»ĺĚýA Good Walk Spoiled, and contributing columnist forĚýThe Washington Post, John Feinstein. There is a tremendous amount of history surrounding the Ivy League, dating back to Princeton playing in what is considered to be the first college football game, in 1869, against Rutgers. That history, however, is not what this book is about. This book is about Ivy League football today—specifically, the 2023 season. Why? Because Ivy League football is underrated—there are typically about a dozen former Ivy players in the NFL. To play in the league, you have to be smart and a good student and a good football player. The rivalries are as intense as in the SEC or the Big Ten, even if the linemen aren’t quite as large. There are some arcane rules—not letting the league champion play in the NCAA postseason, not allowing eligible graduate students to play, and insisting on playing ten straight weeks with no bye. But there is also a real purity—not one that’s made up for marketing purposes—in the Ivy League. â€� The story of the 2023 season began with tragedy when longtime Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens suffered fatal injuries in a bicycle accident in March; one of his players died of cancer the day of the accident. But Dartmouth would fight through the tragedies to win a share of the Ivy title, along with both Harvard and Yale—the result of a nail-biting 138th meeting of those two schools in The Game. On the field, inside the locker room, and around campus, The Ancient Eight explores the phenomenal stories of the young men who play in today’s Ivy League and the men who coach them.]]> 256 John Feinstein 0306833905 Ken 4
I am a huge football fan, poring over college scores and stats each week, but I tend to skip over the Ivy League games because they aren't that relevant to me. (I'm a Big 10 fan). But this book does get into the story and drama of the season and shows the true heart of college football. These guys don't have much hope of following into the pros, yet they play each week for the pride of their school,

I did find that Feinstein tended to repeat himself often in this short book. There were times when he referred to Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevin's bicycle accident and subsequent death several times as if they were the first reference to the incident. He also on at least five occasions, referred to the 1968 Harvard-Yale game that ended in a tie and wrote about the headline appearing "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29".

There were also repeated quotes from coaches and game recaps throughout the book. The book was short, only about 240 pages. Maybe he had to add that to make the printer's quota for pages.

But, still, this is a Feinstein book so the reader will learn new things. It was a quick read and the sports recaps were fun to read. I'll be sure to check out the Ivy League scores in the paper and online with more interest this coming fall.
]]> 3.34
author: John Feinstein
name: Ken
average rating: 3.34
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves:
review:
John Feinstein can really get into the heart of whatever he's covering. He's shown that with the many books he's already written about college football, basketball, golf, pro quarterbacks, et al. This time, he takes on the Ivy League conference in football.

I am a huge football fan, poring over college scores and stats each week, but I tend to skip over the Ivy League games because they aren't that relevant to me. (I'm a Big 10 fan). But this book does get into the story and drama of the season and shows the true heart of college football. These guys don't have much hope of following into the pros, yet they play each week for the pride of their school,

I did find that Feinstein tended to repeat himself often in this short book. There were times when he referred to Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevin's bicycle accident and subsequent death several times as if they were the first reference to the incident. He also on at least five occasions, referred to the 1968 Harvard-Yale game that ended in a tie and wrote about the headline appearing "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29".

There were also repeated quotes from coaches and game recaps throughout the book. The book was short, only about 240 pages. Maybe he had to add that to make the printer's quota for pages.

But, still, this is a Feinstein book so the reader will learn new things. It was a quick read and the sports recaps were fun to read. I'll be sure to check out the Ivy League scores in the paper and online with more interest this coming fall.

]]> 202613716
Straddling the band's incarnations to achieve global fame alongside Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and John McVie, the classic line-up, she wrote and performed many of their greatest hits.

As famous for their occasionally life-threateningly decadent lifestyles as for their musical brilliance, they were held together by this strong, constant figure whom they dubbed 'the mother' of the band. It was Christine who contained the flock, regrouped them when they went AWOL, focused and blended their talents and always got them back on track.

And yet, as the 'engine' of the band during their Rumours era - an album which charted the complete romantic disintegration within the band - Christine's personal life was every bit as tempestuous as those of her bandmates, weathering affairs, divorce, addiction and fiery passion, all of which bled into her now iconic song-writing.

Told by an author who herself was friends with Christine, and with new contributions from those who knew her best, Songbird offers a true insider's view, and deep psychological insight into Christine as a both a woman and a musician - the first, the only, the ultimate picture of a rock legend and a national treasure.]]> 353 Lesley-Ann Jones 1789467721 Ken 4
The chapter on the recording of "Rumours" was worth the read itself. We've all heard about the love loses and drug use, but Jones shows it in action. She includes a lot of tidbits.. like when McVie recorded the song "Songbird" for the album, producers rented a theater on the campus of Cal-Berkley and used numerous pipe mikes to pick up more of the haunting ambience of the song. Stuff like that really made this book work.

The downside, I found, though, was too much speculation because Jones didn't have all the facts. She would write about groups performing in McVie's childhood town and suggested she may have been there. She also resorts to talking with a psychologist to give hints into what could have motivated McVie. I didn't think this worked too well.

There is a huge feel of nostalgia and it's hard to imagine the band, in whatever form they were in, began more than 50 years ago and their big heyday was in 1978. The music is still relevant.

This is a good book to get an inside look at Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie's stablizing role with the band and the mishaps of being a star.
]]> 3.26
author: Lesley-Ann Jones
name: Ken
average rating: 3.26
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/17
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves:
review:
Lesley-Ann Jones gives a 3-dimensional look at Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac. Because, perhaps, McVie was more private than the other band members, there may not have been enough to write about her alone. So she included the other band members and I think that showed how McVie fit in with the dysfunctional, incestual-like group. I mean, they were trading each other off in relationships like a grade school prom.

The chapter on the recording of "Rumours" was worth the read itself. We've all heard about the love loses and drug use, but Jones shows it in action. She includes a lot of tidbits.. like when McVie recorded the song "Songbird" for the album, producers rented a theater on the campus of Cal-Berkley and used numerous pipe mikes to pick up more of the haunting ambience of the song. Stuff like that really made this book work.

The downside, I found, though, was too much speculation because Jones didn't have all the facts. She would write about groups performing in McVie's childhood town and suggested she may have been there. She also resorts to talking with a psychologist to give hints into what could have motivated McVie. I didn't think this worked too well.

There is a huge feel of nostalgia and it's hard to imagine the band, in whatever form they were in, began more than 50 years ago and their big heyday was in 1978. The music is still relevant.

This is a good book to get an inside look at Fleetwood Mac, Christine McVie's stablizing role with the band and the mishaps of being a star.

]]> 54789910
In Juneau, a young Native archeologist is sent to protect the ancient burial sites uncovered by an Alaskan gold mining company. He never returns.

In Anchorage, a female torso—minus head, hands, and feet—is washed ashore near a jogging trail by the airport. It is not the first.

At Alaska’s Fugitive Task Force, Arliss Cutter and deputy Lola Teariki are pulled from their duties and sent to a federal court in Juneau. Instead of tracking dangerous fugitives, Cutter and Lola will be keeping track of sequestered jurors in a high-profile trial. The case involves a massive drug conspiracy with ties to a mining company, a lobbyist, and two state senators. When a prosecuting attorney is murdered—and a reporter viciously attacked—Cutter realizes they’re dealing with something much bigger, and darker, than a simple drug trial. The truth lies deep within the ancient sites and precious mines of this isolated land—and inside the cold hearts of those would kill to hide its secrets�

What’s buried in Alaska stays in Alaska.]]> 336 Marc Cameron 1496732103 Ken 4
Bone Rattle, the third in this series, begins a bit slowly, I thought. But eventually, it picks up and a few of the side plots all weave together. There is one issue I felt unresolved, though, about his sister-in-law's daughter. The daughter is faced with friends who like drugging and she's on that edge about what to do. Maybe it's a way to lead into the fourth book.

There's also a budding possible romance between Cutter and Mim that's been growing since the first novel. Mim was married to Cutter's brother who died in a drilling accident. Cutter is making sure Mim is okay and helping with her kids; it appears headed for more than just ol' Uncle Cutter coming over.

The action at the end is high paced and pretty nerve-wracking. If you're claustrophobic, there's a terrifying scene in which Cutter tries to escape a collapsed mine by swimming through a flooded underground tunnel without really knowing if there's air at the other end. Yeegads, that was rough.

To me, this is a far better series than the Reacher series or pretty much any other action/ mystery novels.

]]> 4.36 2021
author: Marc Cameron
name: Ken
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/13
date added: 2025/02/13
shelves:
review:
This is a really good series. Marc Cameron can spin the action better than most and his writing is far above most of the authors in this genre. His descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness, scenery and cold are characters themselves.

Bone Rattle, the third in this series, begins a bit slowly, I thought. But eventually, it picks up and a few of the side plots all weave together. There is one issue I felt unresolved, though, about his sister-in-law's daughter. The daughter is faced with friends who like drugging and she's on that edge about what to do. Maybe it's a way to lead into the fourth book.

There's also a budding possible romance between Cutter and Mim that's been growing since the first novel. Mim was married to Cutter's brother who died in a drilling accident. Cutter is making sure Mim is okay and helping with her kids; it appears headed for more than just ol' Uncle Cutter coming over.

The action at the end is high paced and pretty nerve-wracking. If you're claustrophobic, there's a terrifying scene in which Cutter tries to escape a collapsed mine by swimming through a flooded underground tunnel without really knowing if there's air at the other end. Yeegads, that was rough.

To me, this is a far better series than the Reacher series or pretty much any other action/ mystery novels.


]]> 49440437 From the award-winning essayist and author of the “shrewd as hell and hysterically funny� (Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties) novel Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe comes a moving and unforgettable essay collection about his travels around the globe as he reflects on the power and complexity of human relationships.

From the award-winning essay “Lover’s Theme,� in which Evan James explores the life of a drag queen in San Francisco, to his poignant story of coming out in “One Hell of a Homie,� set against the backdrop of the 1992 film Class Act, this essay collection brilliantly captures both the beauty and pain of relationships—friendly, familiar, and romantic. I’ve Been Wrong Before is an eye-opening and heartfelt illustration of how our differences are often the things that bring us closer together. Masterfully balancing tremendous insight with startling humor, this absorbing collection features Evan James’s “wry intelligence and sense of the absurd� (R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries) and is perfect for fans of Alexander Chee and Maggie Nelson.]]> 256 Evan James 1501199641 Ken 2
However, there are times when things may go awry. This was one, I felt. I checked Evan James' book out from the library to read essays and perhaps learn how to write them. I freelance articles for magazines as a side gig and found that that article-writing pond is somewhat drying up. I thought it may be more lucrative to write essays for magazines or newspapers or websites and, hence, I got James' book as a primer.

I felt these essays, while well-written at times, seemed to ramble on without a clear focus. He watched the old Vincent Price movie "The Tingler" and his mother commented on it, for example. I was looking for some hook, some payoff as to why we were reading it. Not there.

There are also several stories about failed relationships he's had. Again, the only point I saw was that he shunned real commitment, a fact he admitted. Still, it was as if he wrote this and then ran out of steam or an idea to wrap it up. He also wrote of a summer job he had that he quit on the spot, and he told tales of his wanderlust of other countries, again in a seeming failure to commit to one location.

Many of the essays were about his reckless ways with gay relationships. I have nothing against being gay; my stepson is gay and he's one of the best people I know. However, James' book was, to copy a phrase from another reviewer here, "too gay." It was like every point he made had to include meeting up with some "bear" and having spontaneous sex immediately after. He almost made cliche of that sort of thing.

By the time his essay about admitting he was gay showed up in the book, the "headliner" if you will and the one that drew the most raves, the reader was bombarded already and the impact was less than it could have been.]]> 3.76 2020
author: Evan James
name: Ken
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves:
review:
I hate giving low ratings for books. I mean, people spend time and energy writing them and I admire their skill, determination and stamina.

However, there are times when things may go awry. This was one, I felt. I checked Evan James' book out from the library to read essays and perhaps learn how to write them. I freelance articles for magazines as a side gig and found that that article-writing pond is somewhat drying up. I thought it may be more lucrative to write essays for magazines or newspapers or websites and, hence, I got James' book as a primer.

I felt these essays, while well-written at times, seemed to ramble on without a clear focus. He watched the old Vincent Price movie "The Tingler" and his mother commented on it, for example. I was looking for some hook, some payoff as to why we were reading it. Not there.

There are also several stories about failed relationships he's had. Again, the only point I saw was that he shunned real commitment, a fact he admitted. Still, it was as if he wrote this and then ran out of steam or an idea to wrap it up. He also wrote of a summer job he had that he quit on the spot, and he told tales of his wanderlust of other countries, again in a seeming failure to commit to one location.

Many of the essays were about his reckless ways with gay relationships. I have nothing against being gay; my stepson is gay and he's one of the best people I know. However, James' book was, to copy a phrase from another reviewer here, "too gay." It was like every point he made had to include meeting up with some "bear" and having spontaneous sex immediately after. He almost made cliche of that sort of thing.

By the time his essay about admitting he was gay showed up in the book, the "headliner" if you will and the one that drew the most raves, the reader was bombarded already and the impact was less than it could have been.
]]> 202921631
Taylor and Travis. Jennifer and A-Rod. Marilyn and Joe. When a professional athlete and a megawatt star fall in love, the world is obsessed . . .

With four chart-topping albums, Lacey Logan is a superstar whose life no longer feels like her own. Her every move is photographed, videoed, and dissected online, and her carefully curated Instagram feed studied by fans worldwide. To maintain her privacy, Lacey skillfully controls her narrative, showing fans and paparazzi what she wants them to see.

But when Lacey discovers her boyfriend is hiding two devastating secrets—a bad cocaine habit and a pregnant girlfriend—she begins to lose confidence and control of her own story. Then big-shouldered baseball player Jimmy Hodges, a former Rookie of the Year when Lacey was in high school, walks into the bar where she’s venting to a friend. With his shaggy beard and unfashionable button-down, Jimmy is the opposite of the picture-perfect guy Lacey thinks she wants. Soon, sparks fly and inhibitions go out the window when Lacey dares to take some chances.

Lacey and Jimmy are polar opposites. But could this be the forever after they both need?]]> 240 Katie Cotugno 0063393956 Ken 2
A. It's an obvious copy of the Taylor Swift/Kelce romance going on. I've reached the point of total burnout on that and cringed when they showed Swift during the Super Bowl yesterday. I'm not a Swift hater, it's just that I want sports, not soap operas when I watch the games.

B. The chemistry between the two seemed forced for the novel alone. Maybe she wanted an older guy who was nearing the end of his career, but it was rushed perhaps for the sake of writing a short book. If Lacey was looking for some stable relationship, the book should have included more reasoning behind that. I mean, a hook up in some sleazy bar's bathroom ain't my version of everlasting love.

C. The cursing! I'm not a prude by any means. I worked as a newspaper reporter for three decades. The f-bombs were aplenty. But in this case, they are everywhere. Not just in dialogue, but in the regular copy. I saw that Katie Cotugno had written a few juvenile and young adult books before. Seems like she thought that to write an adult book, she had to shed all the nice stuff and bombard the reader. Again, I'm not some puritan. I just thought this was so overdone that it became annoying.

D. Sports! I am pretty much obsessed with sports. I want stuff about sports to be authentic. In the book, there's reference that the baseball player is traveling for Game 4 of the playoff series. Teams never, ever travel for a Game 4. They always play Games 1 and 2 at the same stadium and then travel to the other team's stadium for Games 3 and 4 (and sometimes Game 5 if it's the old NBA). They never are on the road. Cotugno has the Baltimore Orioles on the road for Game 4. A minor part, but still annoying and by this time I was already annoyed.

E. The ending! Not to give it away, but it's like one of those movies where the payoff for the whole thing is approaching and then.. quick to black and role credits. Wha?

Maybe those who read tons of romance novels liked this. Me, who hasn't read many at all, was very disappointed by the whole thing. If I was scoring at home, No hits, no runs, several errors.

]]> 3.15 2024
author: Katie Cotugno
name: Ken
average rating: 3.15
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves:
review:
Once again, I failed to read the jacket copy close enough. I saw the baseball reference on the cover and I love sports. I was thinking I hadn't read enough baseball in a while, even if this was fiction and a rom-com of sorts. In an attempt to try all genres, I dove into it thinking it would be a sort of Bull Durham type read. It was more of a Bull Crap type read.

A. It's an obvious copy of the Taylor Swift/Kelce romance going on. I've reached the point of total burnout on that and cringed when they showed Swift during the Super Bowl yesterday. I'm not a Swift hater, it's just that I want sports, not soap operas when I watch the games.

B. The chemistry between the two seemed forced for the novel alone. Maybe she wanted an older guy who was nearing the end of his career, but it was rushed perhaps for the sake of writing a short book. If Lacey was looking for some stable relationship, the book should have included more reasoning behind that. I mean, a hook up in some sleazy bar's bathroom ain't my version of everlasting love.

C. The cursing! I'm not a prude by any means. I worked as a newspaper reporter for three decades. The f-bombs were aplenty. But in this case, they are everywhere. Not just in dialogue, but in the regular copy. I saw that Katie Cotugno had written a few juvenile and young adult books before. Seems like she thought that to write an adult book, she had to shed all the nice stuff and bombard the reader. Again, I'm not some puritan. I just thought this was so overdone that it became annoying.

D. Sports! I am pretty much obsessed with sports. I want stuff about sports to be authentic. In the book, there's reference that the baseball player is traveling for Game 4 of the playoff series. Teams never, ever travel for a Game 4. They always play Games 1 and 2 at the same stadium and then travel to the other team's stadium for Games 3 and 4 (and sometimes Game 5 if it's the old NBA). They never are on the road. Cotugno has the Baltimore Orioles on the road for Game 4. A minor part, but still annoying and by this time I was already annoyed.

E. The ending! Not to give it away, but it's like one of those movies where the payoff for the whole thing is approaching and then.. quick to black and role credits. Wha?

Maybe those who read tons of romance novels liked this. Me, who hasn't read many at all, was very disappointed by the whole thing. If I was scoring at home, No hits, no runs, several errors.


]]> 217387877 The first literary biography of Tim O'Brien, the preeminent American writer of Vietnam War and one of the best writers of his generation, with never-before-seen materials and interviews.

"Vietnam made me a writer." —Tim O'Brien

Featuring over one hundred interviews with family, friends, peers, and others—not to mention Tim O'Brien himself�Peace is a Shy Thing provides a nearly day-by-day, gripping account of O'Brien's thirteen months as an infantryman in Vietnam and gives equal diligence to reconstructing O'Brien's writing process.

Alex Vernon's comprehensive research uncovered countless gems about O'Brien's life and the journey that made him into a literary icon, including an unpublished short story about O'Brien from his college girlfriend, documentation of his comical involvement with the Washington Post's coverage of Watergate, and a 1989 attic exchange between American and Vietnamese writers on the eve of the publication of O'Brien's most beloved book, The Things They Carried, years before the two countries normalized relations.

Peace is a Shy Thing is as much a history of the era as it is a story of O'Brien's life, from his small-town midwestern midcentury childhood, to winning the National Book Award and his status as literary elder statesman. A story which Vernon, a combat veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a literary scholar trained by officers and professors of the Vietnam era, is uniquely suited to cover.]]> 560 Alex Vernon 1250358493 Ken 0 to-read 4.00
author: Alex Vernon
name: Ken
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218494525 From the pages of Vanity Fair to the red carpets of Hollywood, editor Graydon Carter’s memoir revives the glamorous heyday of print magazines when they were at the vanguard of American culture

When Graydon Carter was offered the editorship of Vanity Fair in 1992, he knew he faced an uphill battle—how to make the esteemed and long-established magazine his own. Not only was he confronted with a staff that he perceived to be loyal to the previous regime, but he arrived only a few years after launching Spy magazine, which gloried in skewering the celebrated and powerful—the very people Vanity Fair venerated. With curiosity, fearlessness, and a love of recent history and glamour that would come to define his storied career in magazines, Carter succeeded in endearing himself to his editors, contributors, and readers, as well as many of the faces that would come to appear in Vanity Fair’s pages. He went on to run the magazine with overwhelming success for the next two and a half decades.

Filled with colorful memories and intimate details, When the Going Was Good is Graydon Carter’s lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of the most talented editors in the business. Moving to New York from Canada, he worked at Time, Life, The New York Observer, and Spy, before catching the eye of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who pulled him in to run Vanity Fair. In Newhouse he found an unwavering champion, a loyal proprietor who gave Carter the editorial and financial freedom to thrive. Annie Leibovitz’s photographs would come to define the look of the magazine, as would the “New Establishment� and annual Hollywood issues. Carter further planted a flag in Los Angeles with the legendary Vanity Fair Oscar party.

With his inimitable voice and signature quip, he brings readers to lunches and dinners with the great and good of America, Britain, and Europe. He assembled one of the most formidable stables of writers and photographers under one roof, and here he re-creates in real time the steps he took to ensure Vanity Fair cemented its place as the epicenter of art, culture, business, and politics, even as digital media took hold. Charming, candid, and brimming with stories, When the Going Was Good perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out.]]> 432 Graydon Carter 0593655907 Ken 0 to-read 4.15
author: Graydon Carter
name: Ken
average rating: 4.15
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219838010 One of the hottest stand-ups working today, Nate Bargatze brings his everyman comedy to the page in this hilarious collection of personal stories, opinions, and confessions.

Nate Bargatze used to be a genius. That is, until the summer after seventh grade when he slipped, fell off a cliff, hit his head on a rock, and “my brain got, like, dented or something.� Before this accident, he dreamed of being “an electric engineer, or a brain doctor, or maybe a math person who does like, math things for a living.� Afterwards, a voice in his head told him, “It’s okay. You’re dumb now. All you got is standup.�* But the “math things� industry’s loss is our gain because Nate went on to become one of today’s top-grossing comedians who breaks both attendance and streaming records.
Ěý
In his highly-anticipated first book, Nate talks about life as a non-genius. From stories about his first car (named Old Blue, a clunky Mazda with a tennis ball for a stick shift), life as a Southerner (Northerners constantly ask him things like, do you believe in dinosaurs?), and his first apartment where a rat chewed a hole right through the wall to how his wife keeps him in line and so much more. He also reflects on such topics as Vandy football and the origins of sushi (how can a Philadelphia roll be from old-time Japan?).
Ěý
Nate’s book is full of heart and it will make readers laugh out loud and nod in recognition, but it probably won’t make them think too much.
Ěý
Ěý
*Nate’s family disputes this entire story]]> 240 Nate Bargatze 1538768461 Ken 0 to-read 3.90
author: Nate Bargatze
name: Ken
average rating: 3.90
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214151954 For every true crime story that makes headlines, there's a separate drama happening behind the scenes. Follow a journalist and TV producer from 48 Hours and 60 Minutes as she carves out a career in the ruthless, knives-out world of true crime television . . . one killer story at a time.

Serial killers. Homicidal spouses. Sociopathic criminals. Claire St. Amant has met them all. She spent nearly a decade in network television chasing the biggest true crime stories in the country, including the murder of Chris Kyle, plastic surgeon turned murder-for-hire suspect Thomas Michael Dixon, the Parkland High School mass shooting, the disappearance of Christina Morris, and serial killer Samuel Little. Bringing a true crime story to network television requires quick thinking and tenacious stamina, and in her debut memoir, Claire offers true crime fans a rare in-depth look on the other side of the yellow tape.

In Killer Story , readers will learn what it really takes to get these gripping cases on the air with insights such
How it feels to share space with a dead-eyed murderer Which TV show has a reputation for “eating their young� How reporters win over skeptical cops and reluctant lawyers Why TV journalists are always racing against the clock—and competitor sabotage What happens when a district attorney decides journalists have committed a felony The unresolved crimes that still haunt the author to this day
Claire’s journey into—and out of—true crime television offers an eye-opening look behind the scenes of investigative journalism and an unforgettable read for all true crime fans.]]> 360 Claire St. Amant 1637746059 Ken 0 to-read 3.94 2025
author: Claire St. Amant
name: Ken
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 45429758 Ěý
Winter comes early to the rural native community of Stone Cross, Alaska—and so does hunting season. Caribou and moose are a major source of food through the long, dark months ahead. But Arliss Cutter has come here for a very different game. A federal judge is receiving death threats and refuses protection. Cutter and his deputy Lola Teariki have been assigned to shadow him on his trip to this icy outland to make sure that he’s safe. But they quickly discover that no one is ever really safe in a place like this. And no one is above suspicion . . .
Ěý
When Cutter and Lola arrive, the village is already gripped with fear. A young couple has disappeared from their fishing lodge, just eight miles upriver. Their handyman has been found dead, next to a crude drawing of a mysterious symbol. To make matters worse, a dense fog has descended on the region, isolating the town from civilization. With the judge’s life still at risk, and two people still missing, Cutter and Lola have their work cut out for them. But navigating the small-town customs and blood-bound traditions of this close-knit community won’t be easy. When the secrets come out, the deadly hunt is on . . .]]> 402 Marc Cameron 1496727339 Ken 4
The premise is simple. Cutter and Lola are tasked to follow a judge to a remote Alaskan village for a case. The judge had received threats and they are taken seriously enough to send the two marshals out there. Mayhem ensues.

I thought Marc Cameron wrote well of the Alaskan culture and in carrying a few themes out from the first book. Looks like there may be a budding romance between Cutter and his sister-in-law who Cameron is helping after the death of her husband, his brother. Also, a reveal of why Cutter may be the way he is is shown. In the first book, Open Carry, there were hints. In this one, there is an explanation. The story line is done well.

A warning, though: There is a bad scene with a police dog being injured by a bad guy the dog is pursuing that may put off readers.

]]> 4.39 2020
author: Marc Cameron
name: Ken
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/01
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves:
review:
This one was a bit slower starting than the first one in the Cutter series, but still it's a good read. Cameron writes well; the descriptions of the harsh Alaskan landscape and a major snowstorm are compelling and become a character in this book.

The premise is simple. Cutter and Lola are tasked to follow a judge to a remote Alaskan village for a case. The judge had received threats and they are taken seriously enough to send the two marshals out there. Mayhem ensues.

I thought Marc Cameron wrote well of the Alaskan culture and in carrying a few themes out from the first book. Looks like there may be a budding romance between Cutter and his sister-in-law who Cameron is helping after the death of her husband, his brother. Also, a reveal of why Cutter may be the way he is is shown. In the first book, Open Carry, there were hints. In this one, there is an explanation. The story line is done well.

A warning, though: There is a bad scene with a police dog being injured by a bad guy the dog is pursuing that may put off readers.


]]> 199863422 Before two-time GRAMMY Award winner Zach Williams penned heartfelt, faith-filled ballads like "Chain Breaker," "There Was Jesus (featuring Dolly Parton)," and "Fear Is a Liar," there was darkness. A rock-and-roll singer who thought he had all he ever wanted to make him happy, Zach instead felt empty. The drugs, alcohol, and late-night gigs played around the world couldn't satisfy the longing in his heart for a place to belong. He was desperate for change. It came while on tour in Spain with his band, and in this powerful and poignant memoir, Zach shares in vivid detail his personal Rescue Story . He reflects on his childhood and the prophecy that kept his parents from giving up hope, his descent into the substance abuse that held him captive for so long, and ultimately the rescue he didn't think was possible but embraced with open arms. A compelling, honest story of God's unconditional love, grace, and redemption, Rescue Story shares the intimate journey of a beloved music artist and challenges you to seek resilient hope in the trials of your own life--because Jesus offers real freedom and joy, despite the mistakes of your past.]]> 240 Zach Williams 0310368464 Ken 4
I was blown away by the talent; his husky, smokey, blues voice carried through the small auditorium and people were amazed. It's probably not appropriate, but hearing his voice made me want to pop open a Bud Light and light a cigarette, and I don't even drink or smoke. He was that good.

It was Zach Williams. I went back to that church several times after just to hear him sing.

I had heard some of his story, of his rough ways early on and his transformation into a Christian singer. So it was with interest that I picked up Rescue Story to learn more.

This is not a preachy book, nor does it appoint blame elsewhere, like at his parents for any dysfunctions. Instead, his folks gave him tons of grace and forgiveness, much, he learned later, as God does to his followers.

The only downside of this was the book was too short. I wanted to see more details about his rise to stardom and his work. I felt he glossed over how he went from playing in Jonesboro to being a Nashville star. The point of the book, though, and probably the reason for the shortness, was more of his reformation from his drug and alcohol life to his success through understanding grace and forgiveness.
]]> 4.63
author: Zach Williams
name: Ken
average rating: 4.63
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves:
review:
About 10 years ago, I went with a friend to a service at Central Baptist in Jonesboro, Ark. We went to a smaller section of the church complex called the Refuge and we watched as a really tall, bearded guy got on stage and began singing.

I was blown away by the talent; his husky, smokey, blues voice carried through the small auditorium and people were amazed. It's probably not appropriate, but hearing his voice made me want to pop open a Bud Light and light a cigarette, and I don't even drink or smoke. He was that good.

It was Zach Williams. I went back to that church several times after just to hear him sing.

I had heard some of his story, of his rough ways early on and his transformation into a Christian singer. So it was with interest that I picked up Rescue Story to learn more.

This is not a preachy book, nor does it appoint blame elsewhere, like at his parents for any dysfunctions. Instead, his folks gave him tons of grace and forgiveness, much, he learned later, as God does to his followers.

The only downside of this was the book was too short. I wanted to see more details about his rise to stardom and his work. I felt he glossed over how he went from playing in Jonesboro to being a Nashville star. The point of the book, though, and probably the reason for the shortness, was more of his reformation from his drug and alcohol life to his success through understanding grace and forgiveness.

]]> 52697048
New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman, a journalist for many years, collects here her recent essays exploring motherhood as an older mom, her life as a reader, her relationships with her parents, friendship, and other topics that will resonate with a large audience. Her voice is wry and relatable, her takes often surprising.

Meet the Woman Behind the Books�

In this collection of original and previously published nonfiction essays, New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman offers readers an introspective look into various facets of her life. Her childhood and school years, her successful career as a newspaper reporter, the challenge of balance, her life as a novelist and a reader—Lippman’s takes on these universal subjects offer as many twists as her award-winning crime fiction. Of the 16 essays, only three have appeared in book form before. “Game of Crones,� published online by Longreads in May 2019, has more than 100,000 unique views to date.

Essays include:

· Men Explain The Wire to Me

· Game of Crones

· My Life as a Villainess

· My Father’s Bar

· The 31st Stocking

Fans of Laura Lippman will gain a better understanding in these candid essays of who she is and of the life choices that influenced her writing and helped her to become the successful author she is today.]]> 384 Laura Lippman 0062997335 Ken 4
But, I plunged on and was glad I did. Lippman is a former crime reporter turned novelist and now turned essayist. I used to be a newspaper bureau reporter for a large daily and knew of Lippman's career at the Baltimore paper. I also read David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Streets nearly 30 years ago and loved it (I didn't know the two were married until I read this book and I didn't know Simon did the Wire... I am culturally ignorant).

Anyway, there some nice touches here. There was an essay about not being a good friend, one on grieving celebrities, one on her dealing with a bullying child to her 10-year-old daughter. She also uses self-deprecating humor and asks why anyone would read a book of such if she's not known that well. However, she does do a little bragging about knowing people. And some anecdotes were almost like inside jokes.

I checked this out from the library because I was struggling with trying to write an essay of my own. I wanted to read and learn how to develop an idea and theme out more and I got some tips from reading Lippman's book. ]]> 3.65 2020
author: Laura Lippman
name: Ken
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/01/27
shelves:
review:
When I read the first essay in Laura Lippman's book entitled Game of Crones, I thought it was just another whining Mommy Blog type of thing. Busy mom has to juggle life, kids, PTA meetings, being some social whirlygig person, et al.

But, I plunged on and was glad I did. Lippman is a former crime reporter turned novelist and now turned essayist. I used to be a newspaper bureau reporter for a large daily and knew of Lippman's career at the Baltimore paper. I also read David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Streets nearly 30 years ago and loved it (I didn't know the two were married until I read this book and I didn't know Simon did the Wire... I am culturally ignorant).

Anyway, there some nice touches here. There was an essay about not being a good friend, one on grieving celebrities, one on her dealing with a bullying child to her 10-year-old daughter. She also uses self-deprecating humor and asks why anyone would read a book of such if she's not known that well. However, she does do a little bragging about knowing people. And some anecdotes were almost like inside jokes.

I checked this out from the library because I was struggling with trying to write an essay of my own. I wanted to read and learn how to develop an idea and theme out more and I got some tips from reading Lippman's book.
]]> 213395565 New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson examines Joan Didion’s cultural influence through the lens of American mythmaking in Hollywood.


With bylines spanning six decades, Joan Didion’s legacy towers over the landscape of American letters. Although she launched her career in New York City, she soon struck out for Los Angeles, where the nation’s dreams were manufactured—and every aspect of her work reflected what she saw there, whether she was writing on politics, society, or herself. In this riveting cultural biography, Wilkinson takes a fresh perspective on Didion’s career as a novelist, critic, and screenwriter deeply embroiled in the grit and glamour of Hollywood. In eloquent prose, she charts how Didion became intimately acquainted with power players of the Los Angeles elite, arriving in the twilight of the old studio system in time to see lines between the industry and public life blur. Peering through a scrim of celluloid, Wilkinson incisively dissects the motifs and machinations that informed Didion’s writing—and how her writing, ultimately, demonstrated Hollywood’s addictive grasp on American identity.]]> 272 Alissa Wilkinson 1324092610 Ken 0 to-read 4.24 2025
author: Alissa Wilkinson
name: Ken
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51805751 ALASKAN CRIME, AMERICAN JUSTICE
Ěý
Raised in the swamplands of Florida, U.S. Marshal Arliss Cutter is a born tracker. After enlisting in the military, fighting in the Middle East, and working three field positions for Marshal Services, Cutter is sent to the icy wastelands of southeast Alaska. Three people have disappeared on Prince of Wales Island.
Ěý
Two are crew members of the reality TV show, Alaska Adventure Jobs. The other is a Tlingit Indian girl who had the misfortune of witnessing their murders. Cutter’s job is to find the bodies, examine the crew’s footage for clues, and track down the men who killed them. Easier said than done. Especially when the whole town is hiding secrets, the trail leads to a dead end—and the hunter becomes the prey . . .
Ěý]]> 207 Marc Cameron 0786038950 Ken 5
Usually, these types of novels are rather cliche. Bad guys are bad, good guys have some fault.. drinking, divorce, some previous action in their law enforcement gig that haunts them or gets them replaced to some remote outpost in, say, South Dakota.

This one is different. The Arliss Cutter character is well developed and, while there is a bit of a backstory that may dictate the way he does things, it's not slammed in the reader's face and, in fact, brought out very nicely in a climactic scene. It's well done. He's also a type of fish out of water, having come from Florida, an exact opposite of the rugged, remote landscape of Alaska.

The bad guys are somewhat stereotypical in their evil ways, but I thought they were done much better than other novels of this genre. I also liked the way he developed the characters of the "reality" show FISHWIVES! (caps intentional) that was being filmed in the Alaskan area they worked.

The only downside, but not a point reducer, was the way one homicide was resolved. It was almost as if he forgot about that one and stuck in a resolution. Still, it was so minor it didn't hinder the story.

So, yes, I was very impressed with this and I'm not a real big fan of fiction. This was a debut novel that far surpasses what a lot of seasoned authors have put out there. I'll be reading the others in this Cutter series soon.
]]> 4.20 2019
author: Marc Cameron
name: Ken
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves:
review:
What a great debut novel! I don't do fiction much, but thought I'd just try this. The Alaskan background intrigued me.

Usually, these types of novels are rather cliche. Bad guys are bad, good guys have some fault.. drinking, divorce, some previous action in their law enforcement gig that haunts them or gets them replaced to some remote outpost in, say, South Dakota.

This one is different. The Arliss Cutter character is well developed and, while there is a bit of a backstory that may dictate the way he does things, it's not slammed in the reader's face and, in fact, brought out very nicely in a climactic scene. It's well done. He's also a type of fish out of water, having come from Florida, an exact opposite of the rugged, remote landscape of Alaska.

The bad guys are somewhat stereotypical in their evil ways, but I thought they were done much better than other novels of this genre. I also liked the way he developed the characters of the "reality" show FISHWIVES! (caps intentional) that was being filmed in the Alaskan area they worked.

The only downside, but not a point reducer, was the way one homicide was resolved. It was almost as if he forgot about that one and stuck in a resolution. Still, it was so minor it didn't hinder the story.

So, yes, I was very impressed with this and I'm not a real big fan of fiction. This was a debut novel that far surpasses what a lot of seasoned authors have put out there. I'll be reading the others in this Cutter series soon.

]]> 210139496 A historic look at the fabled 1983�84 Boston Celtics and an unforgettable season.



Ronald Reagan declares the Soviet Union an Evil Empire. The Apple Macintosh personal computer makes its debut. Michael Jackson’s Thriller album dominates the pop charts. And Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics capture the NBA championship over Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the Los Angeles Lakers. It was 1984, and for the NBA and the nation, the year was full of milestone moments.



In Dynasty How Larry Bird and the 1984 Boston Celtics Conquered the NBA and Changed Basketball, Thomas J. Whalen explores this fascinating and dramatic season. The NBA had been struggling, seen as a minor sports league and suffering from poor attendance, lagging television ratings, and embarrassing drug scandals. The Celtics were beset by locker room turmoil, disruptive coaching, ownership changes, and underperforming stars. But Whalen reveals how that all changed when Bird and his fellow “Big Three� frontcourt teammates Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, along with newcomer Dennis Johnson, banded together to lift the venerable franchise to its fifteenth world championship and helped to transform the league into a global entertainment brand.



Dynasty Restored offers insight into the personal barriers Larry Bird had to overcome to achieve NBA stardom, discusses the personal tensions that existed on the team between Bird and McHale, and gives a probing analysis of the unique pressures Black Celtics players faced in a post-Boston Busing Crisis environment. And it shows how this singular season turbocharged the Celtics and the professional game to unprecedented heights.]]> 281 Thomas J. Whalen 1538159724 Ken 5
This is a fun book for me, then, with lots of memories. Whalen opens with the history of the Celtics dominance in the 1950s and 1960s of the NBA, setting up the 1983-84 season well. He somewhat glosses over the regular season that year, and instead really gets into the playoffs. One of the better aspects of this book, I thought, were the anecdotes, stories and histories of some of the players who were key in the vari0us playoff games. He writes of Cornbread Maxwell, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Scott Wedman, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale and, of course, Larry Bird. There's a lot of stuff in this book. It could have gone on another 200 pages or so and it would not have lost my interest.

He ends with what happened to the players after they left the Celtics or retired, and how the team fell into disarray at times, including the Len Bias death and the Reggie Lewis passing.

Obviously, this is a keeper for any Celtics fan, but it's also a great read for any fan of the history of the NBA and anyone interested in how the NBA was propelled from a medium-level entertainment into the global success it is today.
]]> 4.11
author: Thomas J. Whalen
name: Ken
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/19
date added: 2025/01/21
shelves:
review:
I may be a little biased on this book. The era that Thomas Whalen writes about is my favorite of the NBA. I once drove to Kansas City in November 1984 to watch the Kings host the Celtics. I worked for a weekly newspaper in western Arkansas and snuck down onto the floor at halftime and shot the second half of the game. We were the only Arkansas weekly paper that week that had a photo of Larry Bird scoring over Eddie Johnson.

This is a fun book for me, then, with lots of memories. Whalen opens with the history of the Celtics dominance in the 1950s and 1960s of the NBA, setting up the 1983-84 season well. He somewhat glosses over the regular season that year, and instead really gets into the playoffs. One of the better aspects of this book, I thought, were the anecdotes, stories and histories of some of the players who were key in the vari0us playoff games. He writes of Cornbread Maxwell, Nate "Tiny" Archibald, Scott Wedman, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale and, of course, Larry Bird. There's a lot of stuff in this book. It could have gone on another 200 pages or so and it would not have lost my interest.

He ends with what happened to the players after they left the Celtics or retired, and how the team fell into disarray at times, including the Len Bias death and the Reggie Lewis passing.

Obviously, this is a keeper for any Celtics fan, but it's also a great read for any fan of the history of the NBA and anyone interested in how the NBA was propelled from a medium-level entertainment into the global success it is today.

]]> 7599018 237 Bob Greene Ken 5
I've also communicated with him for the past 20 years or so and recently told him I had gotten this book as an anniversary present from my wife. I had heard of the book, but never saw it. I was stunned when I opened the package and saw this.

Bob wrote back and said he hoped I liked the book, but to remember these were written when he was 23 years old.

It shows. But know this; Bob at his early days of writing at 23 are what the rest of us aspire to at the pinnacle of our careers. The pieces in here are not from his Chicago Tribune column so many fans grew to know, but instead from his days at the Chicago Sun-Times. The nostalgic look backs from his later days of writing are not there. Rather, there are articles that are a tad more, I found, acerbic. They are also neat time stamps of the early 1970s.

The book opens with a look at Elvis Presley's concert in Las Vegas. It's more about those who attended the show and the mania behind his following than a concert review. There are also pieces about Frank Sinatra, an insult comic, David Brinkley on a cattle drive in New Mexico, Bob Greene on a cattle drive, three gamblers who fly quarterly from Chicago to Vegas and radio jocks at WLS.

There's also his story about following Abbie Hoffman and others in the Chicago 7 conspiracy trial to Madison, Wisc., on the eve of their verdict. Bob flies with them and watches as they plan to speak about the trial. The story won a national award for magazine writing.

I've been a huge Bob fan for decades. This book is a treasure because it reveals the early writings; it's akin to Johnny Deadline, his first book of the columns he wrote that captures the feel of 1970s Chicago.
]]> 4.50 1971
author: Bob Greene
name: Ken
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1971
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/16
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves:
review:
As a newspaper writer for more than 30 years (laid off in 2017 because print journalism is the economic equivalency of poverty), I always saw Bob Greene as my writing hero. Still do.

I've also communicated with him for the past 20 years or so and recently told him I had gotten this book as an anniversary present from my wife. I had heard of the book, but never saw it. I was stunned when I opened the package and saw this.

Bob wrote back and said he hoped I liked the book, but to remember these were written when he was 23 years old.

It shows. But know this; Bob at his early days of writing at 23 are what the rest of us aspire to at the pinnacle of our careers. The pieces in here are not from his Chicago Tribune column so many fans grew to know, but instead from his days at the Chicago Sun-Times. The nostalgic look backs from his later days of writing are not there. Rather, there are articles that are a tad more, I found, acerbic. They are also neat time stamps of the early 1970s.

The book opens with a look at Elvis Presley's concert in Las Vegas. It's more about those who attended the show and the mania behind his following than a concert review. There are also pieces about Frank Sinatra, an insult comic, David Brinkley on a cattle drive in New Mexico, Bob Greene on a cattle drive, three gamblers who fly quarterly from Chicago to Vegas and radio jocks at WLS.

There's also his story about following Abbie Hoffman and others in the Chicago 7 conspiracy trial to Madison, Wisc., on the eve of their verdict. Bob flies with them and watches as they plan to speak about the trial. The story won a national award for magazine writing.

I've been a huge Bob fan for decades. This book is a treasure because it reveals the early writings; it's akin to Johnny Deadline, his first book of the columns he wrote that captures the feel of 1970s Chicago.

]]> 44525300 On New Year's Day 2013, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Gene Weingarten asked three strangers to, literally, pluck a day, month, and year from a hat. That day--chosen completely at random--turned out to be Sunday, December 28, 1986, by any conventional measure a most ordinary day. Weingarten spent the next six years proving that there is no such thing.

That Sunday between Christmas and New Year's turned out to be filled with comedy, tragedy, implausible irony, cosmic comeuppances, kindness, cruelty, heroism, cowardice, genius, idiocy, prejudice, selflessness, coincidence, and startling moments of human connection, along with evocative foreshadowing of momentous events yet to come. Lives were lost. Lives were saved. Lives were altered in overwhelming ways. Many of these events never made it into the news; they were private dramas in the lives of private people. They were utterly compelling.

One Day asks and answers the question of whether there is even such a thing as "ordinary" when we are talking about how we all lurch and stumble our way through the daily, daunting challenge of being human.]]> 384 Gene Weingarten 0399166661 Ken 5
The concept is simple, but brilliant. Gene Weingarten, a writer/editor and two-time Pulitzer winner for the Washington Post, debated if reporters could find news on any given day. Randomly, he chose Dec. 28,1986, as a day to delve into stories. He pored through old newspaper accounts (the book was written more than 25 years later than the day) and found the deeper stories immersed in the daily accounts.

He also wrote of the context of whatever event and the results. For example, on Dec. 28, 1986, former New York Mayor Ed Koch spoke at a Harlem church about racial issues. It began the downfall of his tenure and opened the door for David Dinkens to become the next NY mayor.

There's a story of a fireman who saved a child from a burning house in Dallas. Weingarten found the child victim and reported on his life years later.

There are crime stories and changes in people's lives as a result of that. There's a story about an abusive marriage and how they stayed together years later. There's a tale about two men who died of AIDS and the book opens with a heart transplant that follows both the victim and the recipient.
And there's a piece on how the NFL used the instant replay in a game that day that set off a standard practice now in the league.

In all, there are about 20 stories that show any day is more than "ordinary" and contains emotions, crime, humor, irony, heartbreak, jubilance, etc.

This definitely should be required reading for any journalism class and for anyone interested in the human element and who enjoys fine writing.
]]> 3.90 2019
author: Gene Weingarten
name: Ken
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/12
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:
This is a must read for any journalists, although in light of the decline of newspapers it may be a bit late in reading.

The concept is simple, but brilliant. Gene Weingarten, a writer/editor and two-time Pulitzer winner for the Washington Post, debated if reporters could find news on any given day. Randomly, he chose Dec. 28,1986, as a day to delve into stories. He pored through old newspaper accounts (the book was written more than 25 years later than the day) and found the deeper stories immersed in the daily accounts.

He also wrote of the context of whatever event and the results. For example, on Dec. 28, 1986, former New York Mayor Ed Koch spoke at a Harlem church about racial issues. It began the downfall of his tenure and opened the door for David Dinkens to become the next NY mayor.

There's a story of a fireman who saved a child from a burning house in Dallas. Weingarten found the child victim and reported on his life years later.

There are crime stories and changes in people's lives as a result of that. There's a story about an abusive marriage and how they stayed together years later. There's a tale about two men who died of AIDS and the book opens with a heart transplant that follows both the victim and the recipient.
And there's a piece on how the NFL used the instant replay in a game that day that set off a standard practice now in the league.

In all, there are about 20 stories that show any day is more than "ordinary" and contains emotions, crime, humor, irony, heartbreak, jubilance, etc.

This definitely should be required reading for any journalism class and for anyone interested in the human element and who enjoys fine writing.

]]> 201862928 348 Dan Stidham Ken 3
I covered the Rule 37 hearings and the subsequent release of the three convicted in the West Memphis 3 homicides when I was a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I was also on the periphery of the original case when I was a stringer reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal back in the early 1990s.

I know enough about this case to not be convinced of the three's guilt. I read the Misskelley confession and was convinced the three did it. Then, I started seeing some discrepancies. I think the most glaring one was Jason Baldwin's alibi. There really was no way he could be at the crime scene at the time the slayings occurred.

The oddest part of covering this was the Rule 37 hearings which attempted to show that the defendants' attorneys were not doing their job. I noticed Dan Stidham, who represented Misskelley, cared enough about his client then that he tried to show his legal "incompetence" in the trials. It was a lengthy process for those hearings and, based on the judge's results, pretty much a time-waster.

I was somewhat put off by Stidham's constant slamming of prosecutor Brent Davis. I've known Brent for 30 years and think he's one of the more honest, true-hearted people out there. I know that goes against those who were involved in the Free the West Memphis 3 organization, but regardless, Brent is a good person. (and on a side note, I was one of two reporters cited on the Free the West Memphis 3 site as being fair and not biased toward the three's guilt.)

However, eventually, the three were released on an Alford plea.

I thought Stidham did a decent job recounting his efforts to free Misskelley. The beginning of the book, I felt though, was a bit rushed and confusing. It seemed to jump around and assume that the reader knew a lot of the case before delving into this book. Had I not covered it extensively, I may have been lost. There was also some tedious parts that maybe only lawyers would appreciate when Stidham talked about the laws involved and his efforts.

Also, there were several minor errors. For example, Kankakee, Ill., is on Interstate 57, not I55, as he writes. He misspelled Judge David Burnett's name once, dropping the second "t" off the last name. He also wrote about going to a New York Yankees game in 1998 and how at the end of the season, the Yankees had won more games than any team before. Wrong. The 1906 Chicago Cubs won 116. two more than the Yankees had at the end of the 1998 season. He also noted that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were trying to break Roger Maris' home run record of "60." Actually, Maris' record was 61 home runs for a season. These are very minor errors but, as they told us in newspaper land, small errors can create distrust and readers may question the accuracy of real facts.

Of all the defense attorneys who were involved in this case-- and there were a lot once the case got national attention (the timing of this was perfect in that the internet was just becoming a thing and the case got a lot of notoriety) -- I felt Stidham was the most sincere and caring.





]]> 4.35
author: Dan Stidham
name: Ken
average rating: 4.35
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/07
date added: 2025/01/13
shelves:
review:
Up the rating to 3.5 stars.

I covered the Rule 37 hearings and the subsequent release of the three convicted in the West Memphis 3 homicides when I was a reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I was also on the periphery of the original case when I was a stringer reporter for the Memphis Commercial Appeal back in the early 1990s.

I know enough about this case to not be convinced of the three's guilt. I read the Misskelley confession and was convinced the three did it. Then, I started seeing some discrepancies. I think the most glaring one was Jason Baldwin's alibi. There really was no way he could be at the crime scene at the time the slayings occurred.

The oddest part of covering this was the Rule 37 hearings which attempted to show that the defendants' attorneys were not doing their job. I noticed Dan Stidham, who represented Misskelley, cared enough about his client then that he tried to show his legal "incompetence" in the trials. It was a lengthy process for those hearings and, based on the judge's results, pretty much a time-waster.

I was somewhat put off by Stidham's constant slamming of prosecutor Brent Davis. I've known Brent for 30 years and think he's one of the more honest, true-hearted people out there. I know that goes against those who were involved in the Free the West Memphis 3 organization, but regardless, Brent is a good person. (and on a side note, I was one of two reporters cited on the Free the West Memphis 3 site as being fair and not biased toward the three's guilt.)

However, eventually, the three were released on an Alford plea.

I thought Stidham did a decent job recounting his efforts to free Misskelley. The beginning of the book, I felt though, was a bit rushed and confusing. It seemed to jump around and assume that the reader knew a lot of the case before delving into this book. Had I not covered it extensively, I may have been lost. There was also some tedious parts that maybe only lawyers would appreciate when Stidham talked about the laws involved and his efforts.

Also, there were several minor errors. For example, Kankakee, Ill., is on Interstate 57, not I55, as he writes. He misspelled Judge David Burnett's name once, dropping the second "t" off the last name. He also wrote about going to a New York Yankees game in 1998 and how at the end of the season, the Yankees had won more games than any team before. Wrong. The 1906 Chicago Cubs won 116. two more than the Yankees had at the end of the 1998 season. He also noted that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were trying to break Roger Maris' home run record of "60." Actually, Maris' record was 61 home runs for a season. These are very minor errors but, as they told us in newspaper land, small errors can create distrust and readers may question the accuracy of real facts.

Of all the defense attorneys who were involved in this case-- and there were a lot once the case got national attention (the timing of this was perfect in that the internet was just becoming a thing and the case got a lot of notoriety) -- I felt Stidham was the most sincere and caring.






]]> 211004074
It is one thing to study the fall of democracy, another to have it hit your homeland -- and yet another to raise children as it happens. The Last American Road Trip is one family’s journey to the most beautiful, fascinating, and bizarre places in the US during one of its most tumultuous eras. As Kendzior works as a journalist chronicling political turmoil, she becomes determined that her young children see America before it’s too late. So Kendzior, her husband, and the kids hit the road -- again and again.

Starting from Missouri, the family drives across America in every direction as cataclysmic events � the rise of autocracy, political and technological chaos, and the pandemic � reshape American life. They explore Route 66, national parks, historical sites, and Americana icons as Kendzior contemplates love for country in a broken heartland. Together, the family watches the landscape of the United States - physical, environmental, social, political -transform through the car window.

Part memoir, part political history, The Last American Road Trip is one mother’s promise to her children that their country will be there for them in the future � even though at times she struggles to believe it herself.]]> 320 Sarah Kendzior 1250879884 Ken 0 to-read 4.14 2025
author: Sarah Kendzior
name: Ken
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 284738 391 Bob Greene 0312951930 Ken 5
The book focuses on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' two championships in 1990-92 (they won a third a year later). It looks at the phenomenon that is Jordan; he has to stay cooped up in hotel rooms on the road because every time he tries to go somewhere in the public, fans swarm him. Bob Greene compares Jordan to Elvis of 1956. He's more than just an athlete, he's an entity, a brand, a huge public figure.

In the past, I focused on Jordan mostly. But this time, I saw more of Bob's own personality and self come through. He wrote about loving being in the newsroom of paper where he worked, but as a columnist he had his own office and traveled a lot. He wrote stories a lot in hotel rooms alone, living a similar life, of sorts, to Jordan's.

He said he started going to Bulls games to offset the trauma and horrors of covering juvenile court issues. He found joy in the games and escape.

One of the more insightful lines was his description of the newsroom. I worked in news for 20 years at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and totally get what the line was. He said the newsroom was a "day camp for those who couldn't fit in anywhere else." I was laid off the newspaper in 2017 and now work in an office setting. I still don't fit in.

Bob admits he's not a sports writer and writes of his respect and astonishment of how they do their job on nightly deadlines. However, some of his game descriptions are so well written.

And, as in all Bob Greene books, his observations are pure brilliant. It's part news reporting, part psychology, part anecdotal and part letting the reader relate. This is one of those books you don't want to end because each page is so fulfilling.

]]> 3.84 1992
author: Bob Greene
name: Ken
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves:
review:
This is the fourth or fifth time I've read Hang Time and I still think it's excellent. I read and see something different each time.

The book focuses on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' two championships in 1990-92 (they won a third a year later). It looks at the phenomenon that is Jordan; he has to stay cooped up in hotel rooms on the road because every time he tries to go somewhere in the public, fans swarm him. Bob Greene compares Jordan to Elvis of 1956. He's more than just an athlete, he's an entity, a brand, a huge public figure.

In the past, I focused on Jordan mostly. But this time, I saw more of Bob's own personality and self come through. He wrote about loving being in the newsroom of paper where he worked, but as a columnist he had his own office and traveled a lot. He wrote stories a lot in hotel rooms alone, living a similar life, of sorts, to Jordan's.

He said he started going to Bulls games to offset the trauma and horrors of covering juvenile court issues. He found joy in the games and escape.

One of the more insightful lines was his description of the newsroom. I worked in news for 20 years at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and totally get what the line was. He said the newsroom was a "day camp for those who couldn't fit in anywhere else." I was laid off the newspaper in 2017 and now work in an office setting. I still don't fit in.

Bob admits he's not a sports writer and writes of his respect and astonishment of how they do their job on nightly deadlines. However, some of his game descriptions are so well written.

And, as in all Bob Greene books, his observations are pure brilliant. It's part news reporting, part psychology, part anecdotal and part letting the reader relate. This is one of those books you don't want to end because each page is so fulfilling.


]]> 209087709 In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism and true crime, Stacy Horn sheds light on how the subprime mortgage scandal of the 1970s and a long history of white-collar crime slowly devastated East New York, a Brooklyn neighborhood that would come to be known as the Killing Fields. On a warm summer evening in 1991, seventeen-year-old Julia Parker was murdered in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. An area known for an exorbitant level of violence and crime, East New York had come to be known as the Killing Fields. In the six months after Julia Parker’s death, 62 more people were murdered in the same area. In the early 1990s, murder rates in the neighborhood climbed to the highest in NYPD history. East New York was dying. But how did this once thriving, diverse, family neighborhood fall into such ruin? The answer can be found two decades earlier. In response to redlining and discriminatory housing practices, the Johnson administration passed the Housing and Urban Development Act in 1968. The Federal Housing Authority aimed to use this piece of legislation to help low-income families of color finally achieve homeownership. But they could never have predicted how banks, lenders, realtors, and corrupt FHA officials themselves would use the newly passed law to make victims of the very people they were trying to help, and the devastation they would leave in their wake. A compulsively readable hybrid of true crime and investigative journalism, The Killing Fields of East New York reveals how white-collar crime reduced a prospering neighborhood to abandoned buildings and empty lots. Following the dual threads of the hunt for the network of criminals behind the first subprime mortgage scandal and the ensuing downfall of East New York, Stacy Horn weaves a compelling narrative of government failure, a desperate community, and ultimately the largest series of mortgage fraud prosecutions in American history. The Killing Fields of East New York deftly demonstrates how different types of crime are profoundly entangled, and how the crimes committed in nice suits and corner offices are just as destructive as those committed on the street.]]> 352 Stacy Horn 1638931224 Ken 0 to-read 3.89 2025
author: Stacy Horn
name: Ken
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 201780864 In Grizzly Confidential, author Kevin Grange—former paramedic and park ranger at Yellowstone and Grand Teton—comes face-to-face with North America’s most fearsome predator, Ursus Arctos.

His quest takes him from his home in the Tetons to an eerie, mist-shrouded island of gigantic bruins; from the Bear Center at Washington State University—where scientists believe the secrets of hibernation might help treat diabetes, heart disease, and obesity in humans—to the dark underbelly of for-profit wildlife parks, illegal animal trade and black markets hawking bear bile.

Along the way, he meets fascinating biologists and activists and discovers that everything he knew about grizzlies was wrong. Ultimately, his odyssey leads him to find answers on a remote corner of the Alaskan Peninsula where, for the last fifty years, humans have coexisted peacefully alongside the largest gathering of brown bears on the planet.

Grizzly Confidential is about bears but also the inspiring people who look after them. This is a fast-paced, gripping story that educates, entertains, and gives a sneak peek into the secret life of a well-known species. Part science, part travelogue, and a passionate plea for bear conservation, Grizzly Confidential is a lively account for anyone who loves the outdoors and learning about the natural world.]]> 288 Kevin Grange 1400338255 Ken 5
He writes of the Washington State University bear research center, of bears in the wild in Alaska's reserves, of weird bear parks that for the most part are awful to bears and of residents who deal with bears coming into their village to forage for trash and food.

There is a lot of information here. If you're a bear fan, this is a great read. We learn where the word "Berserk" comes from and how bears actually hibernate.

The downside may be that some of the chapters seem out of place, like they weren't in the correct order. Some people appear twice as first references and Grange finds everyone "happy, engaging and nice" when he introduces them.

But that is minor compared to the journey he takes us on. I lived in northern Minnesota and saw bears at my parents' summer lake cabin at times (they were black bears, not grizzlies), and learned the basic mantra that Grange uses: Respect the bear and he will respect you.
]]> 4.16
author: Kevin Grange
name: Ken
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2024/12/30
shelves:
review:
Kevin Grange tries to demystify the myth about grizzly bears. They're not monsters hungry for humans, but instead just another species trying to get by. Occasionally, humans will bump into one protecting cubs and mayhem may ensue, but for the most part, grizzly bears stick to themselves, Grange writes.

He writes of the Washington State University bear research center, of bears in the wild in Alaska's reserves, of weird bear parks that for the most part are awful to bears and of residents who deal with bears coming into their village to forage for trash and food.

There is a lot of information here. If you're a bear fan, this is a great read. We learn where the word "Berserk" comes from and how bears actually hibernate.

The downside may be that some of the chapters seem out of place, like they weren't in the correct order. Some people appear twice as first references and Grange finds everyone "happy, engaging and nice" when he introduces them.

But that is minor compared to the journey he takes us on. I lived in northern Minnesota and saw bears at my parents' summer lake cabin at times (they were black bears, not grizzlies), and learned the basic mantra that Grange uses: Respect the bear and he will respect you.

]]> 219158874 Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain

Ron Chernow, the highly lauded biographer of Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and Ulysses S. Grant, brings his considerable powers to bear on America’s first, and most influential, literary celebrity, Mark Twain. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835, under Halley’s Comet, the rambunctious Twain was an early teller of tall tales. He left his home in Missouri at an early age, piloted steamboats on the Mississippi, and arrived in the Nevada Territory during the silver-mining boom. Before long, he had accepted a job at the local newspaper, where he barged into vigorous discourse and debate, hoaxes and hijinks. After moving to San Francisco, he published stories that attracted national attention for their brashness and humor, writing under a pen name soon to be immortalized.

Chernow draws a richly nuanced portrait of the man who shamelessly sought fame and fortune and crafted his celebrity persona with meticulous care. Twain eventually settled with his wife and three daughters in Hartford, where he wrote some of his most well-known works, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, earning him further acclaim. He threw himself into American politics, emerging as the nation’s most notable pundit. While his talents as a writer and speaker flourished, his madcap business ventures eventually forced him into bankruptcy; to economize, Twain and his family spent nine eventful years in exile in Europe. He suffered the death of his wife and two daughters, and the last stage of his life was marked by heartache, political crusades, and eccentric behavior that sometimes obscured darker forces at play.

Drawing on Twain’s bountiful archives, including his fifty notebooks, thousands of letters, and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, Chernow masterfully captures a man whose career reflected the country’s westward expansion, industrialization, and foreign wars. No other white author of his generation grappled so fully with the legacy of slavery after the Civil War or showed such keen interest in African American culture. Today, more than one hundred years after his death, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted. In this brilliant work of scholarship, a moving tribute to the writer’s talent and humanity, Chernow reveals the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original characters in American history.]]> 1200 Ron Chernow 0525561722 Ken 0 to-read 4.06 2025
author: Ron Chernow
name: Ken
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199531990 A “connected� account of how the Mob has worked with America’s Commander in Chiefs and have influenced the presidency for nearly a century.

Gangsters and presidents have long captured the American imagination, but how much does the underworld actually affect presidential power? How deep are their “connections�? As Eric Dezenhall reveals in this eye-opening history, in some instances, one couldn’t have functioned without the other. From Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Richard Nixon to Joseph R. Biden, the mob has done presidential dirty work, including attempts to assassinate foreign leaders, harass America’s enemies, and put our chief executives in office.

Wiseguys and the White House documents when mobsters and presidents have traded favors—and double-crossed each other, including:

� The deal cut with Lucky Luciano to protect the waterfront during World War II.
How the Chicago Outfit (and Frank Sinatra) got one Kennedy elected, only to be pursued by another.
� How LBJ and the FBI used a mob hitman to hunt down the killers of Civil Rights activists in Mississippi
� Reagan’s association with Lew Wasserman, the powerful and influential Hollywood mogul
� Trump's blatant ties to construction and gambling cartels
Biden’s early links to “the Irishman� Frank Sheeran, the labor union official and enforcer for Jimmy Hoffa and Russell Bufalino.
� And more

Combining exhaustive research, including newly released government records and the private recollections of leading gangsters, Wiseguys and the White House offers insight into the myths about the power in America and the drive for recognition and respectability that unites consiglieri and commanders-in-chief alike.]]> 368 Eric Dezenhall 0063390612 Ken 0 to-read 3.71 2025
author: Eric Dezenhall
name: Ken
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 66088900
It was 1953, the Korean War in full throttle, when two men—already experts in their fields—crossed the fabled 38th Parallel into Communist airspace aboard matching Panther jets. John Glenn was an ambitious operations officer with fifty-nine World War II combat missions under his belt. His wingman was Ted Williams, the two-time American League Triple Crown winner who, at the pinnacle of his career, had been inexplicably recalled to active service in the United States Marine Corps. Together, the affable flier and the notoriously tempestuous left fielder soared into North Korea, creating a death-defying bond. Although, over the next half century, their contrasting lives were challenged by exhilarating highs and devastating lows, that bond would endure.

Through unpublished letters, unit diaries, declassified military records, manuscripts, and new and illuminating interviews, The Wingmen reveals an epic and intimate portrait of two heroes—larger-than-life and yet ineffably human, ordinary men who accomplished the extraordinary. At its heart, this was a conflicted friendship that found commonality in mutual respect—throughout the perils of war, sports dominance, scientific innovation, cutthroat national politics, the burden of celebrity, and the meaning of bravery. Now, author Adam Lazarus sheds light on a largely forgotten chapter in these legends� lives—as singular individuals, inspiring patriots, and eventually, however improbable, profoundly close friends.]]> 304 Adam Lazarus 0806542500 Ken 0 to-read 3.80 2023
author: Adam Lazarus
name: Ken
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 26030734
When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island's unwelcoming animal inhabitants.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot's mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.]]> 282 Peter Brown 0316381993 Ken 2
I'm not sure I understand where all the five-star ratings are coming from.

I found this to be pretty simplistic and bare-bones structured. A robot sealed in a box crashes on an island when a hurricane destroys the ship that's carrying it. So, Roz, the robot, pops out after an otter activates her and she meets animals on the island. She builds a shelter and adopts a baby goose.

The conflict arises later when a craft comes to the island to recover the robots and there's a war amongst the animals and other robots. To me it seemed somewhat violent for kids. Robots lose their heads and limbs. Animals die.

At first I thought this may be some zen like book about technology merging with nature. Or how differences can be resolved. Think Frog and Toad series, for example. Instead, this seemed more like a make it up as you go plot. To me, this was a depressing look at how humanity and life is. We all fail eventually, it says. That may be too deep a take on this, but, hell, winter kills animals; Roz finds a frozen weasel after a harsh winter. The geese, including Roz's 'child,' has to fly south and there's abandonment issues.

I'm happy for Peter Brown's success. His movie rights will surely set him for life and I like when writers do well. I just don't understand the attention, the five-star reviews and the hype for this.

I got this book from the free book thing. I'll return it, hoping someone else may enjoy it better than I did.
]]> 4.19 2016
author: Peter Brown
name: Ken
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves:
review:
I'm pretty much culturally ignorant, so I didn't recognize this book when I saw it in one of those free book sharing depositories at a local grocery store. I grabbed it up just for a change of pace in reading. I was not aware there were three parts and the first one, this one, has been optioned out as a movie.

I'm not sure I understand where all the five-star ratings are coming from.

I found this to be pretty simplistic and bare-bones structured. A robot sealed in a box crashes on an island when a hurricane destroys the ship that's carrying it. So, Roz, the robot, pops out after an otter activates her and she meets animals on the island. She builds a shelter and adopts a baby goose.

The conflict arises later when a craft comes to the island to recover the robots and there's a war amongst the animals and other robots. To me it seemed somewhat violent for kids. Robots lose their heads and limbs. Animals die.

At first I thought this may be some zen like book about technology merging with nature. Or how differences can be resolved. Think Frog and Toad series, for example. Instead, this seemed more like a make it up as you go plot. To me, this was a depressing look at how humanity and life is. We all fail eventually, it says. That may be too deep a take on this, but, hell, winter kills animals; Roz finds a frozen weasel after a harsh winter. The geese, including Roz's 'child,' has to fly south and there's abandonment issues.

I'm happy for Peter Brown's success. His movie rights will surely set him for life and I like when writers do well. I just don't understand the attention, the five-star reviews and the hype for this.

I got this book from the free book thing. I'll return it, hoping someone else may enjoy it better than I did.

]]> 340947
BELUSHI is a whirlwind of a book, filled with never-before-seen photos and provocative, intensely personal testimonials by just about every major comedic figure of the last half century. Here is the remarkable and raucous story of a larger-than-life figure who danced out at the precipice of American fame.]]> 288 Judith Belushi Pisano 1590710487 Ken 5
Belushi hit the scene in the late 1970s like a tornado, but it was one of those tornadoes that may destroy buildings, but would leave tiny figurines or trinkets or children or whatever unscathed. He was a force, but he was also extremely vulnerable. I guess that goes with the territory of being famous for being funny. Read the bio on Chris Farley to get the same point.

I was in my first year of college when Animal House came out, so it was a perfect time. We had food fights, we did the jello slurping ala Belushi in the cafeteria, etc. Belushi was part of our lives.

Judith Belushi has created an excellent portrait of his life. It shows both the highs and the lows... the insanity of success and the devastation of hurting friends and family.

The book is done in chronological order with pieces from the various people in his life. There's a ton of stuff from Danny Aykroyd throughout the years that provides a nice comparison point of the changes in Belushi's life. There are also blurbs from Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase and others from Saturday Night Live and from actors and directors from his career. One of the more poignant moments, I thought, was reading Continental Divide co-star Blair Brown's comments on Belushi's vulnerability and kindness. The movie was awful; Belushi wondered if he would receive an Academy Award nomination for his acting since it was serious and a step away from the crude Bluto in Animal House.

My favorite part was about the making of the Blues Brothers. By then the drugs had taken hold, but he cleaned up, the book said, for the one shot where he removes his sunglasses and stares at Carrie Fisher. His eyes were clear and that spark of the early Belushi was still there. Little insights like that make the book so much more enjoyable.

Of course, we know how the story ends, but it is still very sad. Had he been alive now, Belushi wold be 77, which is an odd thought. I bet he'd still be funny, though.]]> 4.25 2005
author: Judith Belushi Pisano
name: Ken
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/24
date added: 2024/12/26
shelves:
review:
I loved Belushi (check out my Facebook page. I have a pic of him in Continental Divide as my photo thing), and when he died in 1982, I was heart-broken. It was another tale of success gone bad due to drugs, a waste of talent, so to speak.

Belushi hit the scene in the late 1970s like a tornado, but it was one of those tornadoes that may destroy buildings, but would leave tiny figurines or trinkets or children or whatever unscathed. He was a force, but he was also extremely vulnerable. I guess that goes with the territory of being famous for being funny. Read the bio on Chris Farley to get the same point.

I was in my first year of college when Animal House came out, so it was a perfect time. We had food fights, we did the jello slurping ala Belushi in the cafeteria, etc. Belushi was part of our lives.

Judith Belushi has created an excellent portrait of his life. It shows both the highs and the lows... the insanity of success and the devastation of hurting friends and family.

The book is done in chronological order with pieces from the various people in his life. There's a ton of stuff from Danny Aykroyd throughout the years that provides a nice comparison point of the changes in Belushi's life. There are also blurbs from Lorne Michaels, Chevy Chase and others from Saturday Night Live and from actors and directors from his career. One of the more poignant moments, I thought, was reading Continental Divide co-star Blair Brown's comments on Belushi's vulnerability and kindness. The movie was awful; Belushi wondered if he would receive an Academy Award nomination for his acting since it was serious and a step away from the crude Bluto in Animal House.

My favorite part was about the making of the Blues Brothers. By then the drugs had taken hold, but he cleaned up, the book said, for the one shot where he removes his sunglasses and stares at Carrie Fisher. His eyes were clear and that spark of the early Belushi was still there. Little insights like that make the book so much more enjoyable.

Of course, we know how the story ends, but it is still very sad. Had he been alive now, Belushi wold be 77, which is an odd thought. I bet he'd still be funny, though.
]]> 748711 229 Pat Summerall 0785214925 Ken 4
I knew of Summerall's alcohol problems, but I did not know the extent of them. In this book, Summerall really highlights those problems. It's hard to look back and remember him doing his games in between cavorting in bars and drunkenly staggering around with other broadcasters.

I was a bit disappointed in Summerall's quick look at his broadcasting career. This is a short book and much of it is dealing with his alcohol issues. I'd like to have seen a 400-page tome about his life rather than just a 200-plus book.

Still, this is a great trip down memory lane and insight into one of the great broadcasters.
]]> 3.93 2006
author: Pat Summerall
name: Ken
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves:
review:
If you're a sports fan who grew up in the 1970s, Pat Summerall was the one who provided a lot of memories of the games we watched. His class in the booth offset the zaniness of John Madden and balanced perfectly earlier with Tom Brookshire, whom I really grew up watching football with.

I knew of Summerall's alcohol problems, but I did not know the extent of them. In this book, Summerall really highlights those problems. It's hard to look back and remember him doing his games in between cavorting in bars and drunkenly staggering around with other broadcasters.

I was a bit disappointed in Summerall's quick look at his broadcasting career. This is a short book and much of it is dealing with his alcohol issues. I'd like to have seen a 400-page tome about his life rather than just a 200-plus book.

Still, this is a great trip down memory lane and insight into one of the great broadcasters.

]]> 60908609
Aspiring pastry chef Nicole Evans is just waiting to hear about her dream job, and in the meantime, she goes to work in the café at the local bookstore. But that’s before the recently widowed Nicole meets her temporary her first crush, Liam Mendez! Single dad Liam has always kept his life—and his heart—closely guarded from Oak Hollow gossip. Will his simmering attraction to Nicole be just one more thing to hide…or the stuff of his bookstore’s romance novels?

From Harlequin Special Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.]]> 231 Makenna Lee 0369733541 Ken 3
So, I thought I'd read one to see what it was about.

My rating is not really fair since I no nothing of this genre. I thought the writing was well done. It wasn't blocky like some fiction. However, the structure and plotting was weak, I thought. Again, though, it may only be because of my bias toward other fiction. This reminded me of a book I recently read, "Colton Gentry's Third Act," where a country western singer returns home after a public mishap and meets up with his old girlfriend. He becomes a chef at the girlfriend's restaurant and love blooms. It was pretty similar to this one.

I was struck by how the flirting was rampant in this book. Again, that may be the case in lots of romance novels. The dialogue was not bad, but there were some cliches, I felt. Each had a secret, but I thought the payoff of revealing them was pretty weak. Maybe the concept of falling in love was more important in this genre than character development.

After reading this.. and I did enjoy the story.. I realized I would not be successful in writing for Harlequin. There is a skill that makes them very popular with their readers that I don't possess.
]]> 4.11
author: Makenna Lee
name: Ken
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves:
review:
Looks like I may be the only guy to review this, but there's a reason. A friend of mine, a former newspaper reporter/editor comrade, suggested we try to write Harlequin romances. He said they are formulaic and have a quick turnaround and are lucrative in a way.

So, I thought I'd read one to see what it was about.

My rating is not really fair since I no nothing of this genre. I thought the writing was well done. It wasn't blocky like some fiction. However, the structure and plotting was weak, I thought. Again, though, it may only be because of my bias toward other fiction. This reminded me of a book I recently read, "Colton Gentry's Third Act," where a country western singer returns home after a public mishap and meets up with his old girlfriend. He becomes a chef at the girlfriend's restaurant and love blooms. It was pretty similar to this one.

I was struck by how the flirting was rampant in this book. Again, that may be the case in lots of romance novels. The dialogue was not bad, but there were some cliches, I felt. Each had a secret, but I thought the payoff of revealing them was pretty weak. Maybe the concept of falling in love was more important in this genre than character development.

After reading this.. and I did enjoy the story.. I realized I would not be successful in writing for Harlequin. There is a skill that makes them very popular with their readers that I don't possess.

]]> 60372350 An aircraft carrier adrift with a crew the size of a small town. A killer in their midst. And the disgraced Navy SEAL who must track him down . . . The high-octane debut thriller from New York Times bestselling writing team Webb & Mann--combat-decorated Navy SEAL Brandon Webb and award-winning author John David Mann.

FINALIST FOR THE BARRY AWARD - "Sensationally good--an instant classic, maybe an instant legend."--Lee Child

The moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincoln to hitch a ride home from the Persian Gulf, it's clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak. Morale is low. And when crew members start disappearing one by one, what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister: There's a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on Finn, the newcomer to the ship. After all, he's being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone horribly wrong. He's also a lone wolf, haunted by gaps in his memory and the elusive sense that something he missed may have contributed to civilian deaths on his last assignment. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption . . . if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn't him.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY]]> 560 Brandon Webb 0593356306 Ken 3
There's the odd character of Finn X, the orphan with no last name who was involved in some military stuff and has childhood trauma that causes him to black out and forget things. There are stereotypical characters: a woman helicopter pilot who hates men and who's "sister" is one of the first to be killed on the aircraft carrier. There's the incompetent admiral, the sensitive ship psychiatrist, the various shipmen of personalities and the odd killer.

There are really no clues leading to who did the slayings. The premise is a good one: put a serial killer on a ship and let him (or her) at it. And the writing is well done. It's just the story line, to me, is a bit off. Finn does some weird things as part of "solving" the case, like getting thrown in the brig twice for example and for sneaking around and drawing pictures all the time.

It reminded me a bit of the Steve Thayer novel "The Weatherman," which featured a serial killer story wrapped around odd character studies at a Minneapolis television station.
]]> 4.02 2021
author: Brandon Webb
name: Ken
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/08
date added: 2024/12/09
shelves:
review:
First, the writing is well done. Brandon Webb does a great job carrying the story. But the story is pretty weird and there are a lot of things that aren't tied up at the end.

There's the odd character of Finn X, the orphan with no last name who was involved in some military stuff and has childhood trauma that causes him to black out and forget things. There are stereotypical characters: a woman helicopter pilot who hates men and who's "sister" is one of the first to be killed on the aircraft carrier. There's the incompetent admiral, the sensitive ship psychiatrist, the various shipmen of personalities and the odd killer.

There are really no clues leading to who did the slayings. The premise is a good one: put a serial killer on a ship and let him (or her) at it. And the writing is well done. It's just the story line, to me, is a bit off. Finn does some weird things as part of "solving" the case, like getting thrown in the brig twice for example and for sneaking around and drawing pictures all the time.

It reminded me a bit of the Steve Thayer novel "The Weatherman," which featured a serial killer story wrapped around odd character studies at a Minneapolis television station.

]]> 206119050 LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a terrifying serial rapist whose trail has gone cold, with the help of the newest volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Unit: Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter.

Renée Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-three, so the genetic link must be familial. It is his father who was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the city of angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles.

Meanwhile, Ballard’s badge, gun, and ID are stolen—a theft she can’t report without giving her enemies in the department the ammunition they need to end her career as a detective. She works the burglary alone, but her solo mission leads her into greater danger than she anticipates. She has no choice but to go outside the department for help, and that leads her to the door of Harry Bosch.

Finally, Ballard takes on a new volunteer to the cold case unit. Bosch’s daughter Maddie wants to supplement her work as a patrol officer on the night beat by investigating cases with Ballard. But Renée soon learns that Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the city’s library of lost souls.]]> 407 Michael Connelly 031656379X Ken 5
Connelly's work reads well, I think. And, his novels are always the kind that you don't want to end. Living in Bosch Universe is fun.

Some of growth of the characters: Renee Ballard seems older and more paperwork rather than action now. Harry isn't in this one as much and Maddie, his daughter, is developing. Could it be that Connelly foresees Bosch passing away due to his cancer and leaving the legacy to the daughter?

As I've always said in my reviews of Connelly's books, he is one of my writing heroes. He was a newspaper guy and saw the demise coming. He began writing novels and made gazillions. I was also newspaper reporter and had a five-year plan for when papers collapsed. Unfortunately, my plan only consisted of living in a cardboard box under a Chicago River bridge.

Connelly is an excellent story teller and the progression of his characters is well done. I'm not much into fiction reading, but his stuff is always a treat when I do go to the fiction section.
]]> 4.17 2024
author: Michael Connelly
name: Ken
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/29
date added: 2024/11/29
shelves:
review:
Wow, this is Connelly's 39th novel and he seems never to tire. The plot is addictive and moves along quickly. He has two or three story lines going at once; I've always criticized Grisham's work because it seemed like there was only one thing happening at all times. Grisham's stuff reads like a hastily plot line.

Connelly's work reads well, I think. And, his novels are always the kind that you don't want to end. Living in Bosch Universe is fun.

Some of growth of the characters: Renee Ballard seems older and more paperwork rather than action now. Harry isn't in this one as much and Maddie, his daughter, is developing. Could it be that Connelly foresees Bosch passing away due to his cancer and leaving the legacy to the daughter?

As I've always said in my reviews of Connelly's books, he is one of my writing heroes. He was a newspaper guy and saw the demise coming. He began writing novels and made gazillions. I was also newspaper reporter and had a five-year plan for when papers collapsed. Unfortunately, my plan only consisted of living in a cardboard box under a Chicago River bridge.

Connelly is an excellent story teller and the progression of his characters is well done. I'm not much into fiction reading, but his stuff is always a treat when I do go to the fiction section.

]]> 3006887 306 William B. Mead 0442263198 Ken 3
William Mead is a St. Louis Browns fan and much of the book is about the Browns' dismal years leading to their American League pennant winning season of 1944.

There are a lot of stories and anecdotes that will please the baseball historian, but to the causal reader this could appear random stuff thrown together. Mead also writes of things almost on second reference although he's mentioning them for the first time, because, apparently, he thinks the reader knows the context and the eventual outcomes of some stories.

To me, this was entertaining, but a big draggy at times. For a casual baseball fan this would be a chore to read, I think.
]]> 3.50 1982
author: William B. Mead
name: Ken
average rating: 3.50
book published: 1982
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/26
date added: 2024/11/27
shelves:
review:
Unless you're really a baseball history fan, this book about the war years of baseball may be a tad boring for some readers. Mead suggests that the years between 1940 and 1950 were devoid of any real baseball talent because many of the players were off to war.

William Mead is a St. Louis Browns fan and much of the book is about the Browns' dismal years leading to their American League pennant winning season of 1944.

There are a lot of stories and anecdotes that will please the baseball historian, but to the causal reader this could appear random stuff thrown together. Mead also writes of things almost on second reference although he's mentioning them for the first time, because, apparently, he thinks the reader knows the context and the eventual outcomes of some stories.

To me, this was entertaining, but a big draggy at times. For a casual baseball fan this would be a chore to read, I think.

]]> 39030 464 Douglas Preston 0765354950 Ken 4
This is a continuation from the Relic. More monsters are appearing in the labyrinth of New York's deep tunnels and the team has to figure out why and how to stop them. Again, the team of Preston and Child do a great job of researching plants, chemicals, the tunnel systems of NY, subways and police procedures. Granted, this is fiction and deals with a totally unreal circumstance, but it's still a fun read. It's 460 pages or so, but it reads quickly.

Consider this one for escape fiction and forget about the virus, the economic woes and whatever else life dumps on you. It could be worse. You could have brain-eating creatures hunting you down.
]]> 4.03 1997
author: Douglas Preston
name: Ken
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/16
date added: 2024/11/25
shelves:
review:
This, the second in the Pendergast series, is just as good as the first, I thought. The characters are well developed and their quirks come out more -- D'Agosta's need for cigars, Pendergast's prim ways, Margo Green's growing toughness and Frock's stuffy ways.

This is a continuation from the Relic. More monsters are appearing in the labyrinth of New York's deep tunnels and the team has to figure out why and how to stop them. Again, the team of Preston and Child do a great job of researching plants, chemicals, the tunnel systems of NY, subways and police procedures. Granted, this is fiction and deals with a totally unreal circumstance, but it's still a fun read. It's 460 pages or so, but it reads quickly.

Consider this one for escape fiction and forget about the virus, the economic woes and whatever else life dumps on you. It could be worse. You could have brain-eating creatures hunting you down.

]]> 56893135
In Lucky, #1 New York Times bestselling authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes use their unparalleled access to key players inside the Democratic and Republican campaigns to unfold how Biden’s nail-biting run for the presidency vexed his own party as much as it did Trump. Having premised his path on unlocking the black vote in South Carolina, Biden nearly imploded before he got there after a relentless string of misfires left him free falling in polls and nearly broke.

Allen and Parnes brilliantly detail the remarkable string of chance events that saved him, from the botched Iowa caucus tally that concealed his terrible result, to the pandemic lock-down that kept him off the stump, where he was often at his worst. More powerfully, Lucky unfolds the pitched struggle within Biden’s general election campaign to downplay the very issues that many Democrats believed would drive voters to the polls, especially in the wake of Trump’s response to nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd. Even Biden’s victory did not salve his party’s wounds; instead, it revealed a surprising, complicated portrait of American voters and crushed Democrats� belief in the inevitability of a blue wave.

A thrilling masterpiece of political reporting, Lucky is essential reading for understanding the most important election in American history and the future that will come of it.]]> 17 Jonathan Allen Ken 5
You'd think a 400-plus book on the 2020 Democratic primaries would be a tad slow at times. No. Instead, this is a brilliant look at how Biden won the party's nomination after nearly bowing out of the race early on. The two who wrote this did extensive research and had great behind-the-scenes stuff.

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, the look at the 1972 campaign, is supposed to be the epitome of political writing, but I'd offer this as a sheer perfect alternative. It reads like a fast-past novel.

It also offered hints of Biden's inability to do debates even back then and his objection to Kamala Harris as his running mate. He wanted Elizabeth Warren, but his advisors nixed that. It has all the characters from that race. Bernie Sanders, Warren, Harris and her attack debate style on Biden, Buttigieg, Bloomberg, et al.

This take really shows the insanity, the insecurities, the hours, the planning and scheduling, the psychology and the psychotic nature of a campaign. Must reading for any fan of politics. Like I said, this is sheer genius. It's one of the best books I've read this year, if not the very best.
]]> 3.88 2021
author: Jonathan Allen
name: Ken
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/19
date added: 2024/11/20
shelves:
review:
This is a review of the book, not the audio version.

You'd think a 400-plus book on the 2020 Democratic primaries would be a tad slow at times. No. Instead, this is a brilliant look at how Biden won the party's nomination after nearly bowing out of the race early on. The two who wrote this did extensive research and had great behind-the-scenes stuff.

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, the look at the 1972 campaign, is supposed to be the epitome of political writing, but I'd offer this as a sheer perfect alternative. It reads like a fast-past novel.

It also offered hints of Biden's inability to do debates even back then and his objection to Kamala Harris as his running mate. He wanted Elizabeth Warren, but his advisors nixed that. It has all the characters from that race. Bernie Sanders, Warren, Harris and her attack debate style on Biden, Buttigieg, Bloomberg, et al.

This take really shows the insanity, the insecurities, the hours, the planning and scheduling, the psychology and the psychotic nature of a campaign. Must reading for any fan of politics. Like I said, this is sheer genius. It's one of the best books I've read this year, if not the very best.

]]> 1589816 Ed Linn 0030604168 Ken 3
There's also moments of the team that show the insanity of playing for the Bronx Zoo... Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin trying to fight in the Boston dugout after Martin pulled Jackson from the outfield after he supposedly lagged after a fly ball, Steinbrenner's sneaky way of dealing with the press and leaking info about players and then saying they did it, etc.

Linn also includes insights into the team and Steinbrenner. The Boss may have been horrid to employees, but he also helped pay for medical expenses for children and helped other employees with financial issues. He is an enigma.

The stories were fine, but I found Linn's writing a bit annoying. It sounded at times like he was talking more than writing and a lot of the stuff was almost second reference. The book is very dated. If you didn't know about the Yankees during that era, you may be lost reading some stories for the first time. Linn would write some sarcastic jest, but again you had to know the context of what he was doing in order to follow.

As a huge baseball history fan, I enjoyed reading this okay. I think Bill Madden's book on Steinbrenner "The Last Lion in Baseball," is a far better read.
]]> 3.18 1982
author: Ed Linn
name: Ken
average rating: 3.18
book published: 1982
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/09
date added: 2024/11/12
shelves:
review:
Ed Linn writes of the Yankees' 1981 World Series run and events that led up to it, focusing mostly on George Steinbrenner's reign. There's his involvement with illegal campaign contributions, his suspension, his battle with baseball commissioners and his constant criticizing managers and players.

There's also moments of the team that show the insanity of playing for the Bronx Zoo... Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin trying to fight in the Boston dugout after Martin pulled Jackson from the outfield after he supposedly lagged after a fly ball, Steinbrenner's sneaky way of dealing with the press and leaking info about players and then saying they did it, etc.

Linn also includes insights into the team and Steinbrenner. The Boss may have been horrid to employees, but he also helped pay for medical expenses for children and helped other employees with financial issues. He is an enigma.

The stories were fine, but I found Linn's writing a bit annoying. It sounded at times like he was talking more than writing and a lot of the stuff was almost second reference. The book is very dated. If you didn't know about the Yankees during that era, you may be lost reading some stories for the first time. Linn would write some sarcastic jest, but again you had to know the context of what he was doing in order to follow.

As a huge baseball history fan, I enjoyed reading this okay. I think Bill Madden's book on Steinbrenner "The Last Lion in Baseball," is a far better read.

]]> 225343
Seven months into her pregnancy, Rachel Samstat discovers that her husband, Mark, is in love with another woman. The fact that the other woman has "a neck as long as an arm and a nose as long as a thumb and you should see her legs" is no consolation. Food sometimes is, though, since Rachel writes cookbooks for a living. And in between trying to win Mark back and loudly wishing him dead, Ephron's irrepressible heroine offers some of her favorite recipes. "Heartburn" is a sinfully delicious novel, as soul-satisfying as mashed potatoes and as airy as a perfect soufflé.]]> 179 Nora Ephron Ken 4
I just finished Jeff Zentner's "Colton Gentry's Third Act," about the redemption and saving qualities of love in the heartland. Now I read Nora Ephron's take on love and the Eastern shuttle between New York and D.C. I also work at a prosecutor's office and see a variation on love; lately, it's been women wanting to drop charges against the men who smoke their meth and beat the hell out of them. When the guy sobers up, love reigns.

So, with all that in the boiler of my brain, I saw how Ephron writes about the neurosis of love and how it can heal or kill no matter where you live, your economic status, upbringing, etc. So it resonated well with me how she wrapped up the ending.

I've always been an Ephron fan with her movies (although I just watched My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin and thought it was really weak), and her essays. I had seen Heartburn at the theater way back, but had never read the book.

There are some great moments and dialogue here. There's also slow plotting, weird actions and, in some cases, some racial issues that may have played in 1986 but not now.

For an interesting look at how love is interpreted, and a glimpse of the mid 1980s world, read this one.]]> 3.59 1983
author: Nora Ephron
name: Ken
average rating: 3.59
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/28
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves:
review:
I was three-quarters through Heartburn thinking I'd give it a 3-star rating when the ending somewhat gripped me and maybe I got what was going on.

I just finished Jeff Zentner's "Colton Gentry's Third Act," about the redemption and saving qualities of love in the heartland. Now I read Nora Ephron's take on love and the Eastern shuttle between New York and D.C. I also work at a prosecutor's office and see a variation on love; lately, it's been women wanting to drop charges against the men who smoke their meth and beat the hell out of them. When the guy sobers up, love reigns.

So, with all that in the boiler of my brain, I saw how Ephron writes about the neurosis of love and how it can heal or kill no matter where you live, your economic status, upbringing, etc. So it resonated well with me how she wrapped up the ending.

I've always been an Ephron fan with her movies (although I just watched My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin and thought it was really weak), and her essays. I had seen Heartburn at the theater way back, but had never read the book.

There are some great moments and dialogue here. There's also slow plotting, weird actions and, in some cases, some racial issues that may have played in 1986 but not now.

For an interesting look at how love is interpreted, and a glimpse of the mid 1980s world, read this one.
]]> 155685403
Caleb Carr has had special relationships with cats since he was a young boy in a turbulent household, famously peopled by the founding members of the Beat Generation, where his steadiest companions were the adopted cats that lived with him both in the city and the country. As an adult, he has had many close feline companions, with relationships that have outlasted most of his human ones. But only after building a three-story home in rural, upstate New York did he enter into the most extraordinary of all of his cat Masha, a Siberian Forest cat who had been abandoned as a kitten, and was languishing in a shelter when Caleb met her. She had hissed and fought off all previous carers and potential adopters, but somehow, she chose Caleb as her savior.
Ěý
For the seventeen years that followed, Caleb and Masha were inseparable. Masha ruled the house and the extensive, dangerous surrounding fields and forests. When she was hurt, only Caleb could help her. When he suffered long-standing physical ailments, Masha knew what to do. Caleb’s life-long study of the literature of cat behavior, and his years of experience with previous cats, helped him decode much of Masha’s inner life. But their bond went far beyond academic studies and experience. The story of Caleb and Masha is an inspiring and life-affirming relationship for readers of all backgrounds and interests—a love story like no other.
Ěý]]> 344 Caleb Carr 0316503606 Ken 4 4.11 2024
author: Caleb Carr
name: Ken
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/27
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves:
review:

]]> 195820847 "A story of love, healing, and second chances � (Emily Henry) following a down on his luck country musician who, in the throes of grief after a shocking loss, moves back home and rekindles a relationship with his high school sweetheart, from award-winning author Jeff Zentner.

Colton Gentry is riding high. His first hit in nearly a decade has caught fire, he’s opening for country megastar Brant Lucas, and he’s married to one of the hottest acts in the country. But he’s hurting. Only a few weeks earlier, his best friend, Duane, was murdered onstage by a mass shooter at a country music festival. One night, with his trauma festering and Jim Beam flowing through his veins, Colton stands before a sold-out arena crowd of country music fans and offers his unfiltered opinion on guns. It goes over poorly.
Ěý
Immediately, his career and marriage implode. Left with few choices or funds, he retreats to his rural Kentucky hometown. He’s resigned himself to has-been-dom, until a chance encounter at his town’s new farm-to-table restaurant gives him a second shot at a job working in the kitchen with Luann, his first love, who has undergone her own reinvention. Told through perspectives alternating between his senior year of high school, his time coming up with Duane as hungry musicians in Nashville, and the present, COLTON GENTRY’S THIRD ACT is a story of coming home, undoing past heartbreaks, and navigating grief, and is a reminder that there are next acts in life, no matter how unlikely they may seem.Ěý]]> 400 Jeff Zentner 153875665X Ken 5
I did become a writer, but went the journalism route instead, slaving at various newspapers. Never wrote that book because I wasn't good enough.

Jeff Zentner's book is what I would have aspired to have written. It's one of the best novels I've read in a long while because, while it is geared more toward the perfect romance and I'm an old grump, the story telling is amazing.

The premise is simple. Colton Gentry has become an up and coming country music star. He mouths off about gun control at a concert because his best friend was killed in a mass shooting. The ensuing hate from fans causes the record company to drop him and all his potential is dashed. Meanwhile, his wife is having an affair with a Nashville Predators player.

Gentry has to return home. Zentner writes the back story in past tense, letting the reader know the history between Colton and his high school sweetie, whom he broke her heart. Current stuff is written in present tense. It may sound a tad confusing and annoying, but it works to perfection. Zentner builds up their history and then refers to it 20 years later in a nice way.

I don't read these types of books all that often.. Matthew Norman and Jonathan Tropper write similarly good stories and I love them. This one is one of the best out there merely because the story telling and writing is done so well, I think.
]]> 4.13 2024
author: Jeff Zentner
name: Ken
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
review:
Three decades ago I wanted to be a novelist and came up with an idea about a reporter who was laid off from a big newspaper and ended up returning to his home town where he went to high school. He saw his old friends and his high school girlfriend and ended up working at the local smalltown weekly paper. It would have been somewhat of a romantic comedy with the intrigue of a story he was pursuing.

I did become a writer, but went the journalism route instead, slaving at various newspapers. Never wrote that book because I wasn't good enough.

Jeff Zentner's book is what I would have aspired to have written. It's one of the best novels I've read in a long while because, while it is geared more toward the perfect romance and I'm an old grump, the story telling is amazing.

The premise is simple. Colton Gentry has become an up and coming country music star. He mouths off about gun control at a concert because his best friend was killed in a mass shooting. The ensuing hate from fans causes the record company to drop him and all his potential is dashed. Meanwhile, his wife is having an affair with a Nashville Predators player.

Gentry has to return home. Zentner writes the back story in past tense, letting the reader know the history between Colton and his high school sweetie, whom he broke her heart. Current stuff is written in present tense. It may sound a tad confusing and annoying, but it works to perfection. Zentner builds up their history and then refers to it 20 years later in a nice way.

I don't read these types of books all that often.. Matthew Norman and Jonathan Tropper write similarly good stories and I love them. This one is one of the best out there merely because the story telling and writing is done so well, I think.

]]> 34760 All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is brimming with the very stuff of life and the significance found in the smallest details.]]> 221 Robert Fulghum 034546639X Ken 3
This is one of those books where you should really read it in small bites. Fulghum's use of fragments and almost too familiar writing with the reader is somewhat a drawback. I had never read this before and was ready to be amazed, based on the huge reception when it first came out. Instead, it was a real definition of "Meh," to me.

The concept is nice. Basic things we learn in kindergarten.. Share; be friendly, polite, et al; do good things, etc., continue on into being an adult. Fulghum takes something small, like looking at fireflies and then applying it into a bigger picture of life. Maybe it went over well back then when the country and its readers were less jaded by the past 40 years. Now, it reads really dated.

]]> 4.02 1986
author: Robert Fulghum
name: Ken
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/26
date added: 2024/10/28
shelves:
review:
Lot of reception for this book. Published in 1986 to fanfare of many. Weird book, though. Lots of thoughts learned from kindergarten and applied to adulthood in fragmented sentences.

This is one of those books where you should really read it in small bites. Fulghum's use of fragments and almost too familiar writing with the reader is somewhat a drawback. I had never read this before and was ready to be amazed, based on the huge reception when it first came out. Instead, it was a real definition of "Meh," to me.

The concept is nice. Basic things we learn in kindergarten.. Share; be friendly, polite, et al; do good things, etc., continue on into being an adult. Fulghum takes something small, like looking at fireflies and then applying it into a bigger picture of life. Maybe it went over well back then when the country and its readers were less jaded by the past 40 years. Now, it reads really dated.


]]> 18170351
Pete Rose played baseball with a singular and headfirst abandon that endeared him to fans and peers, even as it riled others--a figure at once magnetic, beloved and polarizing. Rose has more base hits than anyone in history, yet he is not in the Hall of Fame. Twenty-five years ago he was banished from baseball for gambling, then ruled ineligible for Cooperstown; today, the question "Does Pete Rose belong in the Hall of Fame?" has evolved into perhaps the most provocative in sports, a layered, slippery and ever-relevant moral conundrum.

How do we evaluate the Hit King now, at a time when steroid cheats appear on the Hall of Fame ballot even as Rose is denied? What do we make of this happily unrepentant gambler, this shameless but beguiling showman whose postbaseball journey has led him to a curious reality show and to the streets of Cooperstown to hawk his signature, his story, himself?

Best-selling author Kostya Kennedy delivers an evocative answer in his fascinating re-examination of Pete Rose's life; from his cocky and charismatic early years through his storied playing career to his bitter war against baseball's hierarchy to the man we find today--still incorrigible, still adored by many. Where has his improbable saga landed him in the redefined, post-steroid world? Do we feel any differently about Pete Rose today? Should we?]]> 352 Kostya Kennedy 1618930966 Ken 5
Kostya Kennedy presents a very balanced look at Rose and the caricature he has become. Pete wakes up being Pete. He sells Pete, he lives Pete. Kennedy portrays that well in this book. He also shows the fallout of Rose's family. His son, Petey Jr., had to deal with being Rose's son while he toiled in the minor leagues for years.

Kennedy offers only suggestions and does not make accusations. Was Rose's problems the result of the sudden death of his father, Harry? Was it the adulation of the fans? The addiction of winning that led to his gambling? He didn't need the money; perhaps he needed the thrill of winning.

Kennedy does hint at the equation of Rose's sins to those players who used steroids. And he points out the hypocrisy of some in the Hall of Fame. Cobb and Cap Anson threw games for money in their time.

He does good reporting in covering the Dowd report. I remember when it came down, but Kennedy offers the entire event at one time. Pete was part of all baseball fans' lives. I had his early baseball card in 1967 or so and, since he hadn't established himself, it wasn't a coveted one. We used his to clip to our bicycle spokes. We all remember the 1970 All Star game when he bowled over Ray Fosse, we recall the World Series he was in, the hit record and his Charlie Hustle persona. I saw him play in Philadelphia with Schmidt and Morgan when I visited the old Vet in 1983.

This is a good book about a troubled player who, right or wrong, is not in the Hall.]]> 4.07 2014
author: Kostya Kennedy
name: Ken
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/14
date added: 2024/10/15
shelves:
review:
Whether you like him or not, Pete Rose is Pete Rose. He is a damaged, tarnished player who finally admitted that he bet on baseball, including his own team when he managed the Cincinnati Reds. Should he be in the Hall of Fame? Baseball says no.

Kostya Kennedy presents a very balanced look at Rose and the caricature he has become. Pete wakes up being Pete. He sells Pete, he lives Pete. Kennedy portrays that well in this book. He also shows the fallout of Rose's family. His son, Petey Jr., had to deal with being Rose's son while he toiled in the minor leagues for years.

Kennedy offers only suggestions and does not make accusations. Was Rose's problems the result of the sudden death of his father, Harry? Was it the adulation of the fans? The addiction of winning that led to his gambling? He didn't need the money; perhaps he needed the thrill of winning.

Kennedy does hint at the equation of Rose's sins to those players who used steroids. And he points out the hypocrisy of some in the Hall of Fame. Cobb and Cap Anson threw games for money in their time.

He does good reporting in covering the Dowd report. I remember when it came down, but Kennedy offers the entire event at one time. Pete was part of all baseball fans' lives. I had his early baseball card in 1967 or so and, since he hadn't established himself, it wasn't a coveted one. We used his to clip to our bicycle spokes. We all remember the 1970 All Star game when he bowled over Ray Fosse, we recall the World Series he was in, the hit record and his Charlie Hustle persona. I saw him play in Philadelphia with Schmidt and Morgan when I visited the old Vet in 1983.

This is a good book about a troubled player who, right or wrong, is not in the Hall.
]]> 209528303 From the New York Times bestselling author of Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series comes a breathtaking thriller about a man whose only chance to rescue his family is to return to the past he thought he’d left behind.

Tommy Miller is a man with deadly skills, hiding in Florida under a false identity. After being set up on an overseas mission, he’s on the run from terrorists—and from the government who betrayed him. So when his wife and daughter are violently abducted, it seems his ghosts are finally catching up with him.

But Tommy isn’t the only one with secrets. His wife, Teresa, has been concealing her own dangerous past, and as Tommy races to rescue his family, he must peel away the clues she’s left behind. With a hotshot police detective, Lindy Jax, close on his trail, Tommy follows a twisted path from Florida to the Bahamas, one that brings him face to face with ruthless enemies.

His search for answers soon puts him on the wrong side of the law—hunted by the police and pursued by men who want him dead. Worst of all, if he hopes to save Teresa and their daughter, Rosalita, he must become the man he once was—a killer operating from the deepest shadows.

But when the lives of the people you love are at stake, rules are made to be broken.]]> 346 Brian Freeman 166510970X Ken 4
The downside: This doesn't take place in Duluth or northern Minnesota as most of his stories do. I guess I'm biased since I grew up there. I thought the descriptions of the scenes of that area were almost a character of itself. This takes place in Florida and a tropical island... indicative of Freeman's move from Minnesota to the warmer climes of Florida.

If this is your first Freeman book, I'd advise you to dive into the Stride series quickly. It's one of the better detective series out there.
]]> 4.12 2024
author: Brian Freeman
name: Ken
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/14
shelves:
review:
The plus: Brian Freeman is an excellent story teller. That's evident with his Stride series. There are a lot of twists and surprises that make reading this an adventure of sorts. Freeman does well in developing new stuff at a great pace; just when you think you know what's going on, there's a new story line moving.

The downside: This doesn't take place in Duluth or northern Minnesota as most of his stories do. I guess I'm biased since I grew up there. I thought the descriptions of the scenes of that area were almost a character of itself. This takes place in Florida and a tropical island... indicative of Freeman's move from Minnesota to the warmer climes of Florida.

If this is your first Freeman book, I'd advise you to dive into the Stride series quickly. It's one of the better detective series out there.

]]> 124922 400 Arthur Hailey 0517425904 Ken 4
Hailey tells a good story; I had read this years before and remembered reading Airport and Hotel, two books that went into depth of the industry. I had hoped for that with Detective. Instead, it came across as a more rambling tale with several flashbacks. it was more a look at the detective than the actual culture of detective work. The detective was a priest, but dropped out because of his issues with being a Catholic.

And Hailey hammered that point home. Lots of anti-religion here; if you're put off by that, you may want to skip this one.

The main story is good. The detective gets a call that a serial killer wants to confess to other crimes just before he is executed. The first part of Hailey's novel is a flashback into the investigation and eventual capture of the killer. But then, it wanders some. Malcom Ainsley as a kid, his brother, his getting into the priesthood, his falling out. Another investigation. An affair. Lots of soap opera back story. It's a 200-page story tucked into a 400-page book.


]]> 3.87 1997
author: Arthur Hailey
name: Ken
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/04
shelves:
review:
Actually, I'd rate this a 3.5-star effort, but rounded it up for Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ' rating system.

Hailey tells a good story; I had read this years before and remembered reading Airport and Hotel, two books that went into depth of the industry. I had hoped for that with Detective. Instead, it came across as a more rambling tale with several flashbacks. it was more a look at the detective than the actual culture of detective work. The detective was a priest, but dropped out because of his issues with being a Catholic.

And Hailey hammered that point home. Lots of anti-religion here; if you're put off by that, you may want to skip this one.

The main story is good. The detective gets a call that a serial killer wants to confess to other crimes just before he is executed. The first part of Hailey's novel is a flashback into the investigation and eventual capture of the killer. But then, it wanders some. Malcom Ainsley as a kid, his brother, his getting into the priesthood, his falling out. Another investigation. An affair. Lots of soap opera back story. It's a 200-page story tucked into a 400-page book.



]]> 24920 The Discomfort Zone is his intimate memoir of his growth from a "small and fundamentally ridiculous person," through an adolescence both excruciating and strangely happy, into an adult with embarrassing and unexpected passions. It's also a portrait of a middle-class family weathering the turbulence of the 1970s, and a vivid personal history of the decades in which America turned away from its midcentury idealism and became a more polarized society.

The story Franzen tells here draws on elements as varied as the explosive dynamics of a Christian youth fellowship in the 1970s, the effects of Kafka's fiction on his protracted quest to lose his virginity, the elaborate pranks that he and his friends orchestrated from the roof of his high school, his self-inflicted travails in selling his mother's house after her death, and the web of connections between his all-consuming marriage, the problem of global warming, and the life lessons to be learned in watching birds.

These chapters of a Midwestern youth and a New York adulthood are warmed by the same combination of comic scrutiny and unqualified affection that characterize Franzen's fiction, but here the main character is the author himself. Sparkling, daring, arrestingly honest, The Discomfort Zone narrates the formation of a unique mind and heart in the crucible of an everyday American family.
]]> 195 Jonathan Franzen 0374299196 Ken 4
So, what better way of learning about Franzen than reading a book about his upbringing.

I found at first a lot of similarities in his childhood and mine. He was a paranoid, sensitive kid. I was, too. But I didn't have an older brother or family drama like he did. I did go to a summer camp and saw similarities in his experiences as with mine.

But as I read on, I tended to get a bit bogged down. The essay on foreign language was a tough one to slog through, for example. And the end chapter about bird watching, I felt, was a strange one to include. I had anticipated a series of humorous takes on being a kid, sort of like Paul Feig's "Kick Me" collection. Instead, I found a series of thoughts of being a youngster that were stirred up when he was trying to prep his mother's house for sale.

Still, Franzen is a fine writer. It did make me want to tackle his fiction, "Freedom" or "The Corrections," provided I have enough time to read through the massive tome and enough arm strength to haul the book around.
]]> 3.44 2006
author: Jonathan Franzen
name: Ken
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:
I've never read a Jonathan Franzen novel, but I know I am supposed to worship at his altar. Afterall, Time magazine enshrined him as the Great American Novelist on their August 2010 cover. I've watched him on YouTube lecture videos and found him smarter than the average bear. Problem is, though, he puts off a smarmy smarter than any bear or human alive vibe as well.

So, what better way of learning about Franzen than reading a book about his upbringing.

I found at first a lot of similarities in his childhood and mine. He was a paranoid, sensitive kid. I was, too. But I didn't have an older brother or family drama like he did. I did go to a summer camp and saw similarities in his experiences as with mine.

But as I read on, I tended to get a bit bogged down. The essay on foreign language was a tough one to slog through, for example. And the end chapter about bird watching, I felt, was a strange one to include. I had anticipated a series of humorous takes on being a kid, sort of like Paul Feig's "Kick Me" collection. Instead, I found a series of thoughts of being a youngster that were stirred up when he was trying to prep his mother's house for sale.

Still, Franzen is a fine writer. It did make me want to tackle his fiction, "Freedom" or "The Corrections," provided I have enough time to read through the massive tome and enough arm strength to haul the book around.

]]> 176443264 Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.

Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant� first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.

“Magical thinking� can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.

In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “Halo effect� cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger than life celebrities, to how the “Sunk Cost Fallacy� can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.]]> 259 Amanda Montell 1668007975 Ken 5
Amanda Montell has written one of those books in my opinion. It's a brilliant take on how social media, modern culture and evolutionary angst have all lead to the way people tend to overthink and process things. The first chapter kicks this off about the fandom and mania surrounding Taylor Swift. Montell says that Swift's Facebook videos and Instagram posts could be viewed by fans as private Facetime messages. When Swift doesn't respond personally, fans become offended and away we go.

Each chapter is, basically, a long essay and part memoir about a style of processing information. It resonated with me; I think social media, while considered the greatest invention of the modern world because of its massive impact on culture, is also a playground in hell. Montell exploits that, in part.

She's done her research as well, putting tons of clinical examples and university-driven studies to back her points.

This is one of those books that has you thinking long after you turn that last page over.
]]> 3.45 2024
author: Amanda Montell
name: Ken
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/22
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves:
review:
Have you ever read a book that, when you're away from it, it keeps you thinking about its topics? Of course you have; you'd not be on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ if you're not that impacted by books.

Amanda Montell has written one of those books in my opinion. It's a brilliant take on how social media, modern culture and evolutionary angst have all lead to the way people tend to overthink and process things. The first chapter kicks this off about the fandom and mania surrounding Taylor Swift. Montell says that Swift's Facebook videos and Instagram posts could be viewed by fans as private Facetime messages. When Swift doesn't respond personally, fans become offended and away we go.

Each chapter is, basically, a long essay and part memoir about a style of processing information. It resonated with me; I think social media, while considered the greatest invention of the modern world because of its massive impact on culture, is also a playground in hell. Montell exploits that, in part.

She's done her research as well, putting tons of clinical examples and university-driven studies to back her points.

This is one of those books that has you thinking long after you turn that last page over.

]]> 41546227 418 Don Zminda 1538112957 Ken 5
Don Zminda has written a fair account of Caray's blusterous, paradoxical, bumbling, yet brilliant career. Somehow, Caray, with his mispronounced words, his off-color remarks, his criticizing his co-broadcasters on air, was beloved. Maybe it's because he represented the fans who followed the lowly Cubs during his radio/tv tenure.

Zminda has offered a well-researched book about Caray. He doesn't gloss over things; he includes a lot of the criticism from other broadcasters, players and even fans, along with the glowing accolades from listeners. Many loved his 7th inning rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," but Zminda also includes those who thought it was embarrassing. Caray's partner, Milo Hamilton was so upset with the act that he'd turn his back in the broadcast booth while Harry sang. Zminda also suggests that Caray had a lot more power than just as a broadcaster, offering that management decisions hinged at times on Caray's opinion. Zminda suggests even that the White Sox remained in Chicago rather than head to Florida due to Caray's popularity when he was calling the Sox games.

Caray came across as a goofy, lovable character, but there was also a cutting edge to him. Many of his co-workers complained about how Caray had to be the top star of the show and told them to tone it down and avoid long anecdotes, to the point of only telling listeners the balls and strikes count. Josh Lewin, a partner late in Caray's career, said he felt he was forbidden to even enter the broadcast booth during some games.

I wished, in part, that Zminda included more about Caray's family life with his son and grandson, Skip and Chip. I, like so many in the early 1980s, listened to Skip Caray's calls of the Atlanta Braves on WTBS because those games were on most cable stations. Zminda did mention that a few opportunities for the Caray's to work together were quashed because of contract negotiations and pay.

Caray was a heavy drinker and womanizer and Zminda includes that, to the point of figuring out he must have had 300,000 drinks during his career. Of course, that hard life led to his downfall; first the stroke and then his 1998 demise.

Regardless if you liked Caray, Zminda gives readers an interesting, well-written look at the man who was a part of Chicago history.]]> 4.02 2019
author: Don Zminda
name: Ken
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/20
date added: 2024/09/23
shelves:
review:
Love him or hate him, Harry Caray was an institution in Chicago. Some may say he should have been institutionalized.

Don Zminda has written a fair account of Caray's blusterous, paradoxical, bumbling, yet brilliant career. Somehow, Caray, with his mispronounced words, his off-color remarks, his criticizing his co-broadcasters on air, was beloved. Maybe it's because he represented the fans who followed the lowly Cubs during his radio/tv tenure.

Zminda has offered a well-researched book about Caray. He doesn't gloss over things; he includes a lot of the criticism from other broadcasters, players and even fans, along with the glowing accolades from listeners. Many loved his 7th inning rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," but Zminda also includes those who thought it was embarrassing. Caray's partner, Milo Hamilton was so upset with the act that he'd turn his back in the broadcast booth while Harry sang. Zminda also suggests that Caray had a lot more power than just as a broadcaster, offering that management decisions hinged at times on Caray's opinion. Zminda suggests even that the White Sox remained in Chicago rather than head to Florida due to Caray's popularity when he was calling the Sox games.

Caray came across as a goofy, lovable character, but there was also a cutting edge to him. Many of his co-workers complained about how Caray had to be the top star of the show and told them to tone it down and avoid long anecdotes, to the point of only telling listeners the balls and strikes count. Josh Lewin, a partner late in Caray's career, said he felt he was forbidden to even enter the broadcast booth during some games.

I wished, in part, that Zminda included more about Caray's family life with his son and grandson, Skip and Chip. I, like so many in the early 1980s, listened to Skip Caray's calls of the Atlanta Braves on WTBS because those games were on most cable stations. Zminda did mention that a few opportunities for the Caray's to work together were quashed because of contract negotiations and pay.

Caray was a heavy drinker and womanizer and Zminda includes that, to the point of figuring out he must have had 300,000 drinks during his career. Of course, that hard life led to his downfall; first the stroke and then his 1998 demise.

Regardless if you liked Caray, Zminda gives readers an interesting, well-written look at the man who was a part of Chicago history.
]]> 19261173 Tom Clavin and Danny Peary chronicle the life and career of baseball’s “natural home run king� in the first definitive biography of Roger Maris—including a brand-new chapter to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his record breaking season.Roger Maris may be the greatest ballplayer no one really knows. In 1961, the soft-spoken man from the frozen plains of North Dakota enjoyed one of the most amazing seasons in baseball history, when he outslugged his teammate Mickey Mantle to become the game’s natural home-run king. It was Mantle himself who said, "Roger was as good a man and as good a ballplayer as there ever was." Yet Maris was vilified by fans and the press and has never received his due from biographers—until now. Tom Clavin and Danny Peary trace the dramatic arc of Maris’s life, from his boyhood in Fargo through his early pro career in the Cleveland Indians farm program, to his World Series championship years in New York and beyond. At the center is the exciting story of the 1961 season and the ordeal Maris endured as an outsider in Yankee pinstripes, unloved by fans who compared him unfavorably to their heroes Ruth and Mantle, relentlessly attacked by an aggressive press corps who found him cold and inaccessible, and treated miserably by the organization. After the tremendous challenge of breaking Ruth’s record was behind him, Maris ultimately regained his love of baseball as a member of the world champion St. Louis Cardinals. And over time, he gained redemption in the eyes of the Yankee faithful. With research drawn from more than 130 interviews with Maris’s teammates, opponents, family, and friends, as well as 16 pages of photos, some of which have never before been seen, this timely and poignant biography sheds light on an iconic figure from baseball’s golden era—and establishes the importance of his role in the game’s history.]]> 452 Tom Clavin 1416596828 Ken 5 4.40 2010
author: Tom Clavin
name: Ken
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:

]]> 173404111 The impossible life of Tiger Woods—how did he become the GOAT, and what drove him to fall so spectacularly? In Patterson’s hands, Tiger’s story is a hole-in-one thriller.

Filled with brand-new interviews,Ěý Tiger Woods is the first nonfiction collaboration between James Patterson and golf reporter Peter de Jonge, co-authors of theĚý New York TimesĚý bestselling “Miracleâ€� golf novels.Ěý
Ěý
Tiger Woods is unrivaled as an athlete. He made the ultimate commitment to his chosen sport—and transformed it. Before the age of twenty-five, he rose to phenomenon twice named "Sportsman of the Year" byĚý Sports Illustrated ; won more than thirty professional tournaments; and became the youngest player to win pro golf’s four Grand Slam tournaments.Ěý
Ěý
How did Woods do it? On watching the ball, Woods says, "I practice putting with my left eye closed, so I can't see the target line at all with my peripheral vision. That makes it easier to keep my eyes looking straight down."ĚýĚý
Ěý
Patterson and de Jonge tap into the transformative moments of Woods’s life, revealing in vivid, dramatic scenes what Woods saw and felt on the course and in his inner life—from his only "perfect" shot (a 3-wood on No. 14 at St. Andrews) to his missed first putt at the 1995 Masters through his recent comeback tours. ĚýĚý
Ěý]]> 448 James Patterson 031643860X Ken 3
It does make for interesting reading about his games and those he played against up to a point. Then it gets bogged down. I was a big Tiger fan and remember a lot of the games Patterson referred to. However, there's not much substance added in. A lot of references are made to Sports Illustrated stories and to Golf Digest and other publications.

This reads like a Precious Memories scrapbook. Tiger wins this tournament. Tiger wins that. He goes to Arby with friends during tournaments and plays video games to relax between rounds.

There's really no insight into what made Tiger the greatest golfer ever. And Patterson totally glosses over any controversies. The GQ magazine article that was his first big blast? The one where he made a lot of sexual and racial jokes? A quick mention in one paragraph or so and then.. Poof! Gone.

The skipping out on the U.S. Amateur dinner? Oops. Sorry, he says. And on we go.

And, of course, the really bad one where his wife hit him with the golf club and sent the Tiger fans into dismay and the divisiveness a-blowin'? Patterson includes the police radio and 911 transcripts and then moves on. He did say Tiger's wife used a golf club to smash the window to get Tiger out of the car. I've heard that she was actually trying to hit him after learning he was cheating on her with about 2 billion women.

I didn't find anything new in this book. The Jeff Benedict book, while a bit more scathing and sad, had more information and cause as to what made Tiger. I understand Tiger is a private person. By being the super sensation that he was, that hindered his privacy and could have been a motivation for all the weirdness and mayhem that ensued. But Patterson really didn't touch on that. Instead, it was more a chronological look at all his tournaments in the Patterson style of really short chapters.

In my opinion, from about 1997 to 2009, Tiger was the greatest golfer who ever played. I'd like to have read about how he dealt with that and what he thinks of his potential legacy shattered by a few double bogeys in life. But, it is Patterson, so he lays up on a long Par 5, hits a decent approach, chips on and two putts for the safe par.
]]> 3.78 2024
author: James Patterson
name: Ken
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/15
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves:
review:
The subtitle is "His Life, as It's Never Been Told Before." I agree. This book is like reading every Wikipedia post about Tiger's golf games, and I've never done that before.

It does make for interesting reading about his games and those he played against up to a point. Then it gets bogged down. I was a big Tiger fan and remember a lot of the games Patterson referred to. However, there's not much substance added in. A lot of references are made to Sports Illustrated stories and to Golf Digest and other publications.

This reads like a Precious Memories scrapbook. Tiger wins this tournament. Tiger wins that. He goes to Arby with friends during tournaments and plays video games to relax between rounds.

There's really no insight into what made Tiger the greatest golfer ever. And Patterson totally glosses over any controversies. The GQ magazine article that was his first big blast? The one where he made a lot of sexual and racial jokes? A quick mention in one paragraph or so and then.. Poof! Gone.

The skipping out on the U.S. Amateur dinner? Oops. Sorry, he says. And on we go.

And, of course, the really bad one where his wife hit him with the golf club and sent the Tiger fans into dismay and the divisiveness a-blowin'? Patterson includes the police radio and 911 transcripts and then moves on. He did say Tiger's wife used a golf club to smash the window to get Tiger out of the car. I've heard that she was actually trying to hit him after learning he was cheating on her with about 2 billion women.

I didn't find anything new in this book. The Jeff Benedict book, while a bit more scathing and sad, had more information and cause as to what made Tiger. I understand Tiger is a private person. By being the super sensation that he was, that hindered his privacy and could have been a motivation for all the weirdness and mayhem that ensued. But Patterson really didn't touch on that. Instead, it was more a chronological look at all his tournaments in the Patterson style of really short chapters.

In my opinion, from about 1997 to 2009, Tiger was the greatest golfer who ever played. I'd like to have read about how he dealt with that and what he thinks of his potential legacy shattered by a few double bogeys in life. But, it is Patterson, so he lays up on a long Par 5, hits a decent approach, chips on and two putts for the safe par.

]]> 55867753 In this action-packed debut thriller for fans of C. J. Box and Jack Carr, DEA agent Garrett Kohl fights to protect his home on the Texas High Plains when a vicious criminal enterprise comes after his family.

As a decorated undercover DEA special agent, Garrett Kohl has traveled the world—and fought in most of it—but it’s the High Plains of northwest Texas he calls home and dreams of returning to one day. Kohl is in the middle of an assignment in Afghanistan when his commander orders him back to Texas on a short mission expected to take a week at most. But he’s unsettled to discover that he’s moved from one kind of war to another.

The once-peaceful ranching community he loves is under attack by a band of criminals who have infiltrated law enforcement, corrupted local businesses, and is now terrorizing Kohl’s own family. Hoping to prevent bloodshed, Kohl tries to resolve matters peacefully. But when the group strikes first, he has no choice but to go on the attack.

Unfortunately for the criminal crew, besides being an elite undercover officer for the DEA, Garrett Kohl is a battle-hardened Green Beret who spent the better part of his career hunting terrorists. Although outnumbered and outgunned, Kohl knows the wild and forsakenĚýLlano Estacado Ěý region of Texas better than anyone. And like so many trespassers before them, these murderers will find out the hard way that the only thing tougher than this land is the people who call it home.]]> 352 Taylor Moore 0063066505 Ken 4
This series has a good start. There's the cliche stuff of bad guys taking good guys and evil drug kings, et al. But the writing and description makes this one work, I think. Kohl saves an Afghanistan kid during a village massacre and brings him back to his home near Amarillo. The boy's actions seem a tad off... acclimating to the culture too quickly, learning the language, grabbing on to Kohl's family.. that sort of thing. However, the development of the boy and of Kohl's care for the boy and others is well done.

The standard torch bearer for loners who have military training and can defeat the bad guys, of course, is the Jack Reacher series. But I think Moore's work is better. It's better writing, the plot is more fleshed out and there's a sense of future for all the characters. This is decent escape fiction.

]]> 4.01 2021
author: Taylor Moore
name: Ken
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves:
review:
I've noted in other reviews about how location can become a character. In Taylor Moore's Kohl series, the Texas panhandle is its own character with the mesquite brush, the surprising snowstorms of the west Texas prairies and the canyons and landscape.

This series has a good start. There's the cliche stuff of bad guys taking good guys and evil drug kings, et al. But the writing and description makes this one work, I think. Kohl saves an Afghanistan kid during a village massacre and brings him back to his home near Amarillo. The boy's actions seem a tad off... acclimating to the culture too quickly, learning the language, grabbing on to Kohl's family.. that sort of thing. However, the development of the boy and of Kohl's care for the boy and others is well done.

The standard torch bearer for loners who have military training and can defeat the bad guys, of course, is the Jack Reacher series. But I think Moore's work is better. It's better writing, the plot is more fleshed out and there's a sense of future for all the characters. This is decent escape fiction.


]]> 7514800 288 Jim Hawkins 1600783147 Ken 3
However, the structure of the book is confusing and, in my opinion, earns the three-star rating. Rather than a straight chronological look at Kaline's career, Hawkins often repeats some events in various chapters. Injuries are repeated, exact quote about him from others appear in different places. The 1968 World Series is a prime example. In one chapter, Hawkins tells the reader that Mickey Lolich won three games and Al hit a couple of home runs. Then, in a few chapters later, Hawkins goes into detail about those games.

Also, some of the quotes sound like they came from the 1940s style of newspaper writing. You know managers didn't really say something because the grammar is all the same style in every quote.

Still, this is a fun book and if you're a Detroit Tigers fan, it is probably akin to the holy torah of sports. I always liked the Tigers as a kid when Kaline played. My neighbor friend's father was a college classmate of Eddie Brinkman, who was the Tigers' shortstop, so I had that type of connection with rooting for Detroit.
]]> 3.84 2010
author: Jim Hawkins
name: Ken
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/08
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves:
review:
The writing of this book is well done. Hawkins does a fine job of describing games and situations and thoughts from Kaline, other players and managers.

However, the structure of the book is confusing and, in my opinion, earns the three-star rating. Rather than a straight chronological look at Kaline's career, Hawkins often repeats some events in various chapters. Injuries are repeated, exact quote about him from others appear in different places. The 1968 World Series is a prime example. In one chapter, Hawkins tells the reader that Mickey Lolich won three games and Al hit a couple of home runs. Then, in a few chapters later, Hawkins goes into detail about those games.

Also, some of the quotes sound like they came from the 1940s style of newspaper writing. You know managers didn't really say something because the grammar is all the same style in every quote.

Still, this is a fun book and if you're a Detroit Tigers fan, it is probably akin to the holy torah of sports. I always liked the Tigers as a kid when Kaline played. My neighbor friend's father was a college classmate of Eddie Brinkman, who was the Tigers' shortstop, so I had that type of connection with rooting for Detroit.

]]> 199798198
The Grand Canyon is an American treasure, visited by more than 6 million people a year, many of whom are rendered speechless by its vast beauty, mystery, and complexity. Now, in A Walk in the Park , author Kevin Fedarko chronicles his year-long effort to find a 750-mile path along the length of the Grand Canyon, through a vertical wilderness suspended between the caprock along the rims of the abyss and the Colorado River, which flows along its bottom.

Consisting of countless cliffs and steep drops, plus immense stretches with almost no access to water, and the fact that not a single trail links its eastern doorway to its western terminus, this jewel of national parks is so challenging that when Fedarko departed fewer people had completed the journey in one single hike than had walked on the moon. The intensity of the effort required him to break his trip into several legs, each of which held staggering dangers and unexpected discoveries.

Accompanying Fedarko through this sublime yet perilous terrain is the award-winning photographer Peter McBride, who captures the stunning landscape in breathtaking photos. Together, they encounter long-lost Native American ruins, the remains of Old West prospectors� camps, present day tribal activists, and signs that commercial tourism is impinging on the park’s remote wildness.

An epic adventure, action-packed survival tale, and a deep spiritual journey, A Walk in the Park gives us an unprecedented glimpse of the crown jewel of America’s National an iconic landscape framed by ancient rock whose contours are recognized by all, but whose secrets and treasures are known to almost no one, and whose topography encompasses some of the harshest, least explored, most awe-inspiring terrain in the world.]]> 512 Kevin Fedarko 1501183052 Ken 5
Instead, though, this is a well-written book with tons of information about the canyon, its history, ancient civilizations that lived there and previous excursions taken by many. There's also a culture of canyon explorers that Fedarko describes well. He also leads the reader into the mania of the culture by writing of his days as a river guide and of mishaps there.

The idea that Fedarko is a klutz is quickly removed after reading about the treacherous climbing conditions. It's dangerous there; people can die. He repels through slots, deals with bad weather, suffers from heat and other weather elements and battles bugs, rocky terrain and cactuses.

Of course, there's the comparison to Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, his tale of trekking the Appalachian Trail. I'm sure every hiking book will be compared to that classic. Even Fedarko's title is a nod to Bryson's book. However, this isn't as funny as Bryson's book and, I think, it contains more history of the area and the culture of hikers than A Walk in the Woods.]]> 4.22 2024
author: Kevin Fedarko
name: Ken
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2024
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/06
date added: 2024/09/09
shelves:
review:
On first look, I thought this would be some half-written memoir of two goofballs trying to crawl through the Grand Canyon. The jacket blurb hinted at that, a Lucy and Ethel journey into the depths of the canyon.

Instead, though, this is a well-written book with tons of information about the canyon, its history, ancient civilizations that lived there and previous excursions taken by many. There's also a culture of canyon explorers that Fedarko describes well. He also leads the reader into the mania of the culture by writing of his days as a river guide and of mishaps there.

The idea that Fedarko is a klutz is quickly removed after reading about the treacherous climbing conditions. It's dangerous there; people can die. He repels through slots, deals with bad weather, suffers from heat and other weather elements and battles bugs, rocky terrain and cactuses.

Of course, there's the comparison to Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, his tale of trekking the Appalachian Trail. I'm sure every hiking book will be compared to that classic. Even Fedarko's title is a nod to Bryson's book. However, this isn't as funny as Bryson's book and, I think, it contains more history of the area and the culture of hikers than A Walk in the Woods.
]]> 295744
*How to get your kid into a character breakfast at Disney World (or run the risk of eating chicken out of a bucket with Sneezy)
*Secrets of Celebrity Moms (don't hate them because they're beautiful when there are so many other reasons)
*ebay addiction and why "It ain't worth having if it ain't on ebay"
*Why today's children's clothes make six-year-olds look like Vegas showgirls with an abundance of anger issues
*And so much more!

Celia Rivenbark's essays about life in today's South are like caramel popcorn---sweet, salty, and utterly irresistible.]]> 272 Celia Rivenbark 0312339941 Ken 4 3.59 2006
author: Celia Rivenbark
name: Ken
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/09/01
shelves:
review:

]]> 199372731
“The book is a classic summer beach read...Eruption will revive the art of speed-reading...told with a singular voice that is a compelling amalgam of the two writers.”—USA Today

“Eruption is an epic thriller…fast-paced and deeply considered…a cinematic story rooted in science and infused with plenty of heart, tackling big themes like love and loss.�
–Tľ±łľ±đ

The master of the techno-blockbuster joins forces with the master of the modern thriller to create the most anticipated mega bestseller in years.

Michael Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park, ER, Twister, and Westworld, had a passion project he’d been pursuing for years, ahead of his untimely passing in 2008. Knowing how special it was, his wife, Sherri Crichton, held back his notes and the partial manuscript until she found the right author to complete it: James Patterson, the world’s most popular storyteller.

“Red-hot storytelling... The action scenes will make readers� eyes pop as the tension continues to build." –Kirkus, starred review

“Explosive…the summer’s ultimate literary mashup.� —Washington Post

"Takes readers on a thrilling journey." —BBC

"Beachbag-ready." —Boston Globe

“A seismic publishing event…all the elements of a summer blockbuster…it’s a thrill and the pages practically turn themselves.� —Associated Press

“Eruption is this summer’s literary version of a blockbuster action movie.� –Los Angeles Times

"Breakneck and plausible." —Publishers Weekly]]> 423 James Patterson 0316565083 Ken 3
I think Patterson's influence won out and he must have heavily edited Crichton's original manuscript.

The subject was a good premise for a novel and there was plenty of opportunity for science to shine through and the reader could learn something. This, instead, was more akin to watching a movie about the San Andreas fault system and then having the Rock Johnson guy swoop in on a helicopter and grab someone off a swaying bridge.

The lead character of Mac, the earthquake specialist in Hawaii, was developed thinly, I thought. His wife left him in a cliche manner and he was hurting over the loss of his kids. He seemed to flip from being a daredevil when it came to volcanoes to a quivering milquetoast about his lost family. It never went too far in developing his motives.

There was also a hint of love interest, but that seemed squelched a couple of times.. including one really dumb way. Oops. Can you say volcanic blast?

So, if you want a quick, short chaptered read with action and a tinge of volcano science, this is it. If you're more hungry for substance pass. This was like eating a flattened McDonald burger when you really wanted some Kansas City broiled steak.

]]> 3.80 2024
author: James Patterson
name: Ken
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/28
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves:
review:
Seeing Michael Crichton's name on the book, I thought it would be a brilliant, science-fest of info about volcanoes, earth geography, et al. But also seeing Patterson's name on it meant it would be full of short chapters, serial-novel type action, drama, light character development and a movie-like ending that resolves everything quickly.

I think Patterson's influence won out and he must have heavily edited Crichton's original manuscript.

The subject was a good premise for a novel and there was plenty of opportunity for science to shine through and the reader could learn something. This, instead, was more akin to watching a movie about the San Andreas fault system and then having the Rock Johnson guy swoop in on a helicopter and grab someone off a swaying bridge.

The lead character of Mac, the earthquake specialist in Hawaii, was developed thinly, I thought. His wife left him in a cliche manner and he was hurting over the loss of his kids. He seemed to flip from being a daredevil when it came to volcanoes to a quivering milquetoast about his lost family. It never went too far in developing his motives.

There was also a hint of love interest, but that seemed squelched a couple of times.. including one really dumb way. Oops. Can you say volcanic blast?

So, if you want a quick, short chaptered read with action and a tinge of volcano science, this is it. If you're more hungry for substance pass. This was like eating a flattened McDonald burger when you really wanted some Kansas City broiled steak.


]]> 58767158
After events escalate—mysterious calls, the same car outside her house, and a bloody knife in her sink—Eleanor fears for her life. First a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor’s home . . . and Eleanor herself disappears.

To find both the murderer and Eleanor, Archer enlists Callahan and his partner Willie Dash. The investigation takes him from mob-ridden Las Vegas to glamorous Hollywood to the darkest corners of Los Angeles—a city where beautiful faces belong to cutthroat schemers, cops can be more corrupt than criminals . . . and powerful people who took his client will kill Archer on their trail.]]> 432 David Baldacci 1538719789 Ken 4
In Baldacci's Dream Town, Hollywood 1950s is its own self and he does a good job of writing about it. You can tell he's done his research, including movies of that time, actors and actresses, situations, etc. Archer's friend, Liberty Callahan, is an aspiring actress who wants to get in the movies. There's references to a young Marilyn Monroe, Hitchcock movies, Tracy and Hepburn, old restaurants, etc.

Dream Town is the third in this series and, when read in order, the reader can really see the progression of the Archer character and the skill in writing these stories. I know Baldacci has written 42 gazillion books, but this series, to me, stands out more.

This particular story does seem a bit overloaded with drugs, Hollywood corruption, trafficking of people, Mafia, an early Las Vegas and all. He could have whittled some of that down, but it does tie in at the end and makes for an interesting tale.

I'll be looking at other Baldacci series when I need a fiction fix. They're quick reads and good adventures.
]]> 4.17 2022
author: David Baldacci
name: Ken
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/22
date added: 2024/08/23
shelves:
review:
In some novels, location is as much a character as the persons involved. James Lee Burke uses southern Louisiana as one, Steve Hamilton gives the cold of northern Michigan its own characterization.

In Baldacci's Dream Town, Hollywood 1950s is its own self and he does a good job of writing about it. You can tell he's done his research, including movies of that time, actors and actresses, situations, etc. Archer's friend, Liberty Callahan, is an aspiring actress who wants to get in the movies. There's references to a young Marilyn Monroe, Hitchcock movies, Tracy and Hepburn, old restaurants, etc.

Dream Town is the third in this series and, when read in order, the reader can really see the progression of the Archer character and the skill in writing these stories. I know Baldacci has written 42 gazillion books, but this series, to me, stands out more.

This particular story does seem a bit overloaded with drugs, Hollywood corruption, trafficking of people, Mafia, an early Las Vegas and all. He could have whittled some of that down, but it does tie in at the end and makes for an interesting tale.

I'll be looking at other Baldacci series when I need a fiction fix. They're quick reads and good adventures.

]]> 33555347
Eccentric, reclusive Walter Rennert lies cold at the bottom of his stairs. At first glance the scene looks a once-respected psychology professor, done in by booze and a bad heart. But his daughter Tatiana insists that her father has been murdered, and she persuades Clay to take a closer look at the grim facts of Rennert's life.

What emerges is a history of scandal and violence, and an experiment gone horribly wrong that ended in the brutal murder of a coed. Walter Rennert, it appears, was a broken man--and maybe a marked one. And when Clay learns that a colleague of Rennert's died in a nearly identical manner, he begins to question everything in the official record.

All the while, his relationship with Tatiana is evolving into something forbidden. The closer they grow, the more determined he becomes to catch her father's killer--even if he has to overstep his bounds to do it.

The twisting trail Clay follows will lead him into the darkest corners of the human soul. It's his job to listen to the tales the dead tell. But this time, he's part of a story that makes his blood run cold.

A former star athlete turned coroner’s investigator is drawn into a brutal, complicated murder in this psychological thriller from a father-son writing team that delivers “brilliant, page-turning fiction� (Stephen King).]]> 408 Jonathan Kellerman 0399594612 Ken 4
I like the Clay Edison character, but the plot seemed to weave around a lot. Edison would chase after something, and then, like an attention-deficit victim, would see a shiny object and tear off in that direction. Also, and maybe this was just me, but at times, it seemed like issues or scenes came up that looked like second references rather than the first, introductory one. I had to go back to see if I missed something. The fragmented writing may have helped cause that, too. Usually, when I read books of this sort, I hope to learn something new.. Legal thrillers often show inside scenes of how attorneys work. forensic investigator novels teach the reader on CSI techniques. Delaware novels instructed us on how child psychology worked. I was hoping for some insight on a coroner's work.. autopsies, behind the scenes stuff, etc. But it was not that apparent.

Bottom line: This is a decent escape novel and I'll probably read the second in this series soon. I hope it does pick up, though.


]]> 3.85 2017
author: Jonathan Kellerman
name: Ken
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/13
date added: 2024/08/14
shelves:
review:
I've read a lot of the Alex Delaware novels that Kellerman wrote over the years and thought they were okay. I was in the mood for fiction and a new series, so I thought I'd try this.

I like the Clay Edison character, but the plot seemed to weave around a lot. Edison would chase after something, and then, like an attention-deficit victim, would see a shiny object and tear off in that direction. Also, and maybe this was just me, but at times, it seemed like issues or scenes came up that looked like second references rather than the first, introductory one. I had to go back to see if I missed something. The fragmented writing may have helped cause that, too. Usually, when I read books of this sort, I hope to learn something new.. Legal thrillers often show inside scenes of how attorneys work. forensic investigator novels teach the reader on CSI techniques. Delaware novels instructed us on how child psychology worked. I was hoping for some insight on a coroner's work.. autopsies, behind the scenes stuff, etc. But it was not that apparent.

Bottom line: This is a decent escape novel and I'll probably read the second in this series soon. I hope it does pick up, though.



]]> 60561702
“Cournoyer has it on that wing. Here’s a shot. Henderson made a wild stab for it and fell. Here’s another shot. Right in front...they score! Henderson has scored for Canada!�

These immortal words, spoken to hockey fans around the world by the legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt, capture the historic final-seconds goal scored by Paul Henderson that won the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Hockey fans know the moment well, but the story of those amazing eight games has never been fully told—until now.

The series was the first of its kind, and one of the most dramatic sporting showdowns in history. With the Soviets dominating international hockey, this series was meant to settle the debate, once and for all, of who owned the game. It was Canada’s best against the Soviets for the first time. And in the shadow of the Cold War, this was about more than eight games of hockey.

Expectations were high as the series began. This was supposed to be easy for Team Canada, but after the disappointing first four games on home ice with only one win, victory seemed out of reach. With the final four games in Moscow, Canada got a rare glimpse behind the iron curtain as the team, as well as three thousand raucous fans, arrived in the USSR. Amid the culture shock and strained relations, what followed was a tug-of-war battle that lasted to the dying seconds of game 8.

Now, five decades after this historic event, it’s time to reflect on the greatest hockey series ever played. Veteran journalist and hockey analyst Scott Morrison uses a storyteller’s voice to reveal what it meant to hockey then, and what it means now. Filled with the memories of the players and others involved with the series, he shows how it changed the game, and challenged a nation’s sense of identity and place in the world.]]> 352 Scott Morrison 1982154144 Ken 5
It was a huge event; we could pick up the televised games on a CBC station out of Winnipeg and watch them unfold. Paul Henderson's shot in Game 8 is such an iconic, historical Canadian moment that The Tragically Hip, the greatest band ever, noted it in their song "Poets."

"It was back in old seventy-two," Gord Downie sings. "We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger, and all I remember was sitting beside you."

Scott Morrison captures that Canadian feel in his book, complete with the spellings of "honour," "colour" and "defencemen." He also expands the series. It's not just eight hockey games wrapped around a three- or four-week period. Morrison deftly shows other events in Canada (strikes, the prime minister, economics, etc) which may have added to the negative reaction shown by fans when Team Canada lost three of its first four games in Canada. They needed the diversion of a winning hockey team, but were stunned by the Soviets. There was also the 1972 Olympics and the tragedy suffered by the Iraseli team in Munich that occurred at the same time.

This is a hockey book, but it's also a history book.

Morrison provides fantastic look backs by the players involved, including Espisito's fall when given a rose during the opening game ceremonies.

It's hard to believe it's been 50 years since that series was played. Morrison does a superb job of bringing that back, adding the context to fill it out even more richly and then includes the look-back by those involved. A must for any hockey fan's book shelf.
]]> 4.01 2021
author: Scott Morrison
name: Ken
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/06/08
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:
I was 12 and living in northern Minnesota when the Summit Series between Team Canada and USSR raged on. We all rooted for Canada, of course, not just because of my proximity to the country, but because we wanted bad ol' Russia to lose.

It was a huge event; we could pick up the televised games on a CBC station out of Winnipeg and watch them unfold. Paul Henderson's shot in Game 8 is such an iconic, historical Canadian moment that The Tragically Hip, the greatest band ever, noted it in their song "Poets."

"It was back in old seventy-two," Gord Downie sings. "We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger, and all I remember was sitting beside you."

Scott Morrison captures that Canadian feel in his book, complete with the spellings of "honour," "colour" and "defencemen." He also expands the series. It's not just eight hockey games wrapped around a three- or four-week period. Morrison deftly shows other events in Canada (strikes, the prime minister, economics, etc) which may have added to the negative reaction shown by fans when Team Canada lost three of its first four games in Canada. They needed the diversion of a winning hockey team, but were stunned by the Soviets. There was also the 1972 Olympics and the tragedy suffered by the Iraseli team in Munich that occurred at the same time.

This is a hockey book, but it's also a history book.

Morrison provides fantastic look backs by the players involved, including Espisito's fall when given a rose during the opening game ceremonies.

It's hard to believe it's been 50 years since that series was played. Morrison does a superb job of bringing that back, adding the context to fill it out even more richly and then includes the look-back by those involved. A must for any hockey fan's book shelf.

]]> 45888435 The inside story of Hank Aaron's chase for the home run record, repackaged and with a foreword by Bob Costas and new material from the Plimpton Archives. In One For the Record, George Plimpton recounts Hank Aaron's thrilling race to become the new home run champion. Amidst media frenzy and death threats, Aaron sought to beat Babe Ruth's record. In 1974, he finally succeeded. A fascinating examination of the psychology of baseball players, One For the Record gives an absorbing account of the men on the mound who had to face Aaron. But the book's true genius lies in the portrait of Aaron himself, and his discussions on his philosophy on hitting and the game of baseball.]]> 192 George Plimpton Ken 4
And it is good. But there are some things overlooked in One For the Record. Mostly, there is no mention of the two kids who dashed onto the field and accompanied Aaron around third base. With all the threats directed toward Aaron because of the race -- both the race for Ruth's record and Aaron's African-American race -- this should have been a huge moment. Also, there's not much on Aaron himself in the book. At least not enough, I felt.

Plimpton does write well about Commissioner Bowie Kuhn's refusal for Aaron to sit out of games in Cincinnati so he could have a chance to hit 715 in Atlanta. He also includes interviews with a cab driver, people in the stands, the guy who caught Bobby Thomson's home run in 1951, the meaning of the actual ball and more.

This book seems to have been dashed off quickly to capture the fervor of the home run race and is not a true reflection of Plimpton's excellence. That said, though a half-effort by Plimpton is far better than full attempts by many.
]]> 3.80 1974
author: George Plimpton
name: Ken
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at: 2021/06/01
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:
George Plimpton is on the B team of my writing heroes (Former Chicago Trib columnist Bob Greene leads all heroes, followed by Matthew Norman, Jonathan Tropper and Brian Freeman in fiction) and Henry Aaron was my favorite baseball player growing up. So this should have been an excellent read.

And it is good. But there are some things overlooked in One For the Record. Mostly, there is no mention of the two kids who dashed onto the field and accompanied Aaron around third base. With all the threats directed toward Aaron because of the race -- both the race for Ruth's record and Aaron's African-American race -- this should have been a huge moment. Also, there's not much on Aaron himself in the book. At least not enough, I felt.

Plimpton does write well about Commissioner Bowie Kuhn's refusal for Aaron to sit out of games in Cincinnati so he could have a chance to hit 715 in Atlanta. He also includes interviews with a cab driver, people in the stands, the guy who caught Bobby Thomson's home run in 1951, the meaning of the actual ball and more.

This book seems to have been dashed off quickly to capture the fervor of the home run race and is not a true reflection of Plimpton's excellence. That said, though a half-effort by Plimpton is far better than full attempts by many.

]]> 186872335
“Love is our only hope,� Anne Lamott writes in this perceptive new book. “It is not always the easiest choice, but it is always the right one, the noble path, the way home to safety, no matter how bleak the future looks.�

In Thoughts on Love , Lamott explores the transformative power that love has in our how it surprises us, forces us to confront uncomfortable truths, reminds us of our humanity, and guides us forward. “Love just won't be pinned down,� she says. “It is in our very atmosphere� and lies at the heart of who we are. We are, Lamott says, creatures of love.

In each chapter of Somehow ,ĚýLamott refracts all the colors of the spectrum. She explores the unexpected love for a partner later in life. The bruised (and bruising) love for a child who disappoints, even frightens. The sustaining love among a group of sinners, for a community in transition, in the wider world. The lessons she underscores are that love enlightens as it educates, comforts as it energizes, sustains as it surprises.Ěý

Somehow is Anne Lamott’sĚýtwentieth book, and in it she draws from her own life and experience to delineate the intimate and elemental ways that love buttresses us in the face of despair as it galvanizes us to believe that tomorrow will be better than today. Full of the compassion and humanity that have made Lamott beloved by millions of readers, Somehow is classic Anne funny, warm, and wise.]]> 204 Anne Lamott 0593714415 Ken 3
Then, she had an interesting essay called "Hinges," about how the sound of squeaking hinges and slamming doors was associated with anger and family fights.

But, as the book continued, I found a lot of repetitive things. She wrote about her son quite a bit and that's fine. Except it seemed each time she brought up his addiction problems, it was the first time she mentioned it.

She also loaded the words up with weird examples that didn't really fit the context of her love idea. Examples she included in some aspect of love read like a high school English student word-count padding his own essay. And when Lamott started writing about global warming and political mayhem... I started losing interest. It's not because I follow any political party, but rather read to avoid all that, especially in light of the insane last few weeks we've been through.

Also, she complained a lot and was snarky about people. She wasn't showing love. Maybe that's the point, though. Had she practiced what she preached, she may have avoided conflicts and her personal angst she writes about.


]]> 3.91 2024
author: Anne Lamott
name: Ken
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/24
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves:
review:
At first, this seemed to be a really good idea. Anne Lamott writing about the various aspects of love and how it helps. There's caring love, as shown in a fun essay about how she gave out gifts to homeless people; some of the gifts were kind of weird... moisturizer for some, things you'd use in homes, etc.

Then, she had an interesting essay called "Hinges," about how the sound of squeaking hinges and slamming doors was associated with anger and family fights.

But, as the book continued, I found a lot of repetitive things. She wrote about her son quite a bit and that's fine. Except it seemed each time she brought up his addiction problems, it was the first time she mentioned it.

She also loaded the words up with weird examples that didn't really fit the context of her love idea. Examples she included in some aspect of love read like a high school English student word-count padding his own essay. And when Lamott started writing about global warming and political mayhem... I started losing interest. It's not because I follow any political party, but rather read to avoid all that, especially in light of the insane last few weeks we've been through.

Also, she complained a lot and was snarky about people. She wasn't showing love. Maybe that's the point, though. Had she practiced what she preached, she may have avoided conflicts and her personal angst she writes about.



]]> 199344908 A heartwarming novel about a loving dad who drags his eleven-year-old daughter to “father-daughter week� at a remote summer camp—their last chance to bond before he loses her to teenage girlhood entirely.

After his daughter, Avery, was born, John gave it all up—hobbies, friends, a dream job—to be something a super dad. Since then, he’s spent nearly every waking second with Avery, who’s his absolute best bud. Or, at least, she was.

When now eleven-year-old Avery begins transforming into an eye-rolling zombie of a preteen who dreads spending time with him, a desperate John whisks her away for a weeklong father-daughter retreat to get their relationship back on track before she starts middle school.

But John’s attempts to bond only seem to drive his daughter further away, and his instincts tell him Avery’s hiding something more than just preteen angst. Even worse, the camp is far from the idyllic getaway he had in mind. John finds himself navigating a group of toxic dads that can’t seem to get along, cringe-worthy forced bonding activities, and a camp director that has it out for him. With camp and summer break slipping away fast, John’s determined to conquer it all for a chance to become Avery’s hero again.

This brilliant and deeply funny father-daughter story is perfect for fans of poignant and hilarious books like The Guncle by Steven Rowley, Steve Martin’s family classic Cheaper by the Dozen, and Judd Apatow’s bighearted comedies.]]> 368 Evan S. Porter 0593474406 Ken 4
It's written in first person, present tense, which is very hard. I tend to like that style, though. The back cover of the book has rave reviews from Jonathan Tropper and Matthew Norman, two of my favorite contemporary fiction authors who use the same format. So I thought this would be good. The style is hard because it limits all focus and context strictly on the narrator. Porter includes letters the other dads write to home to show their inner selves and it comes off nicely.

I think parents would get more out of this book because they could relate more to their own child as they head into the teen years when parents are more of an annoyance than a support system. I have no children, but still liked the book quite a bit.

The narrator, John Collins, learns that he is too overbearing on his daughter and learns that because he wants to keep her closer to him that he is driving her away and she learns who she is becoming as she grows older. There's also the workaholic dad, the divorced he-man dad, the stay at home dad and all are a bit stereotypical. Still, they provide a comparison and context and are characters readers could relate with. They provide the before and after in how the camp changes each of the fathers.

I hope Evan Porter writes more. He is on par with Tropper and Norman in heartfelt books that are fun to read.



]]> 3.66 2024
author: Evan S. Porter
name: Ken
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves:
review:
This is sort of a guy's chick lit (dick lit?) in that there's a lot of gushy feelings and tears throughout. At times it seems a tad sappy and a bit over done. I mean, in only a week, four different types of guys all go through major changes at the camp they attend with their daughter and realize their errant ways as fathers.

It's written in first person, present tense, which is very hard. I tend to like that style, though. The back cover of the book has rave reviews from Jonathan Tropper and Matthew Norman, two of my favorite contemporary fiction authors who use the same format. So I thought this would be good. The style is hard because it limits all focus and context strictly on the narrator. Porter includes letters the other dads write to home to show their inner selves and it comes off nicely.

I think parents would get more out of this book because they could relate more to their own child as they head into the teen years when parents are more of an annoyance than a support system. I have no children, but still liked the book quite a bit.

The narrator, John Collins, learns that he is too overbearing on his daughter and learns that because he wants to keep her closer to him that he is driving her away and she learns who she is becoming as she grows older. There's also the workaholic dad, the divorced he-man dad, the stay at home dad and all are a bit stereotypical. Still, they provide a comparison and context and are characters readers could relate with. They provide the before and after in how the camp changes each of the fathers.

I hope Evan Porter writes more. He is on par with Tropper and Norman in heartfelt books that are fun to read.




]]> 1322831 144 Terrance Dicks 0426201310 Ken 4
This Who is only 111 pages and a quick read. I enjoyed it as a total change of what I normally read. Dr. Who was a fun person who, in the face of danger, still had an optimistic outlook, an apparent constant in the television show.

The story moved fast and was resolved quickly. There were a few of those Deus ex machina devices that, in many cases, seem so out of place and lazy, but in this case it just added to the weird, quirkiness of the show.
]]> 3.24 1980
author: Terrance Dicks
name: Ken
average rating: 3.24
book published: 1980
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
I've never seen a minute of the Dr. Who show; my wife found this book in an old storage building and suggested I read it since she loved the program. She and her mother watched it a lot and knew the characters well.

This Who is only 111 pages and a quick read. I enjoyed it as a total change of what I normally read. Dr. Who was a fun person who, in the face of danger, still had an optimistic outlook, an apparent constant in the television show.

The story moved fast and was resolved quickly. There were a few of those Deus ex machina devices that, in many cases, seem so out of place and lazy, but in this case it just added to the weird, quirkiness of the show.

]]> 592754
This extraordinary book is rich with the sounds of the presidents� own from Nixon explaining the reasons for his solitary walks through New York City streets at 5:30 every morning to Carter recalling the sting of his family’s being mocked for their rural Southern heritage, even after he had won the White House. Dramatic, funny, surprising and unforgettable, Fraternity reveals the human side of men who made history, along with the dreams of a nation.]]> 304 Bob Greene 1400054656 Ken 5
This is not your typical history book. There's not a lot of policy stuff or reviews of what each president did during his term. Instead, it's a look at their impressions of being president, the reflections about losing either a re-election bid or, in the case of Ford, his first run after being appointed president in Nixon's resignation wake.

It's good stuff and it, as always, has the behind the scenes and brilliant observations that Mr. Greene has made a career of. He interviews Nixon, Carter, Ford, George H.W. Bush and Reagan's people. In my opinion, it's not his best work only because it's limited to five people and he's fantastic at meeting lesser known folks and reporting on their lives. Still, it's a great read.
]]> 3.68 2004
author: Bob Greene
name: Ken
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/12
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves:
review:
Bob Greene meets with five former presidents -- well, four, because just as he made it to California to talk with Ronald Reagan, Reagan announced he was dealing with Alzheimer's and cancelled the interview.

This is not your typical history book. There's not a lot of policy stuff or reviews of what each president did during his term. Instead, it's a look at their impressions of being president, the reflections about losing either a re-election bid or, in the case of Ford, his first run after being appointed president in Nixon's resignation wake.

It's good stuff and it, as always, has the behind the scenes and brilliant observations that Mr. Greene has made a career of. He interviews Nixon, Carter, Ford, George H.W. Bush and Reagan's people. In my opinion, it's not his best work only because it's limited to five people and he's fantastic at meeting lesser known folks and reporting on their lives. Still, it's a great read.

]]> 181346643
Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He compiled more hits than anyone in the history of baseball, a record he set decades ago, which still stands. At the same time, he was a working-class white guy from Cincinnati who made it; less talented than tough, and rough around the edges. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn’t.

In the 1980s Pete Rose came to be at the center of the biggest scandal in baseball history. Baseball no longer needed Pete Rose, and he was magnificently, publicly cast out for betting on baseball and lying about it. The revelations that followed ruined Pete, changed life in Cincinnati, and forever altered the game.

Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies, the rise and fall of Pete Rose, one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Drawing on first-hand interviews with Pete himself, his associates, as well we on investigators, FBI and court records, archives, a mountain of press coverage, Keith O’Brien chronicles how Pete fell so far from being America’s “great white hope.� It is Rose as we've never seen before.

This is no ordinary sport biography, but cultural history at its finest. What O’Brien shows is that while Pete Rose didn’t change, America and baseball did. This is the story of that change.]]> 440 Keith O'Brien 0593317378 Ken 4
The book begins with a great look at Rose's early year, of the letdown he felt when he was cut from the high school football team and the reaction to become a great baseball player. It also focused on the influence his father, a local legend on the West Side Cincinnati sandlot and minor league football teams and of his gambling of his own.

But as Rose's career took off, it seemed O'Brien flew over some years too quickly. Rose's time in Philadelphia was short-lived in the book, as was his playing in Montreal.

The last 30 percent or more was strictly on the gambling problems and of the league's look at it. It seemed that O'Brien had a copy of the Dowd Report and wanted to add most of it in his copy.

He also didn't gloss on the debate everyone has when talking about Rose, whether they are fans or not.. should Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

I got to see Rose play in Philadelphia in 1983 when he was with the World Series team of he, Schmidt and Morgan.

Despite my issues with the biography part of this, I was impressed with O'Brien's research and thought this was a good baseball book. Actually, there are very few "not good" baseball books come to think of it.
]]> 4.38 2024
author: Keith O'Brien
name: Ken
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves:
review:
I'm not sure if this was a biography of Pete Rose's career or a set up to his gambling issues and the tragic life he lead late in his years.

The book begins with a great look at Rose's early year, of the letdown he felt when he was cut from the high school football team and the reaction to become a great baseball player. It also focused on the influence his father, a local legend on the West Side Cincinnati sandlot and minor league football teams and of his gambling of his own.

But as Rose's career took off, it seemed O'Brien flew over some years too quickly. Rose's time in Philadelphia was short-lived in the book, as was his playing in Montreal.

The last 30 percent or more was strictly on the gambling problems and of the league's look at it. It seemed that O'Brien had a copy of the Dowd Report and wanted to add most of it in his copy.

He also didn't gloss on the debate everyone has when talking about Rose, whether they are fans or not.. should Rose be in the Hall of Fame?

I got to see Rose play in Philadelphia in 1983 when he was with the World Series team of he, Schmidt and Morgan.

Despite my issues with the biography part of this, I was impressed with O'Brien's research and thought this was a good baseball book. Actually, there are very few "not good" baseball books come to think of it.

]]> 54592511
The 1950s are on the horizon, and Archer is in dire need of a fresh start after a nearly fatal detour in Poca City. So Archer hops on a bus and begins the long journey out west to California, where rumor has it there is money to be made if you’re hard-working, lucky, criminal—or all three.

Along the way, Archer stops in Reno, where a stroke of fortune delivers him a wad of cash and an eye-popping blood-red 1939 Delahaye convertible—plus a companion for the final leg of the journey, an aspiring actress named Liberty Callahan who is planning to try her luck in Hollywood. But when the two arrive in Bay Town, California, Archer quickly discovers that the hordes of people who flocked there seeking fame and fortune landed in a false paradise that instead caters to their worst addictions and fears.

Archer’s first stop is a P.I. office where he is hoping to apprentice with a legendary private eye and former FBI agent named Willie Dash. He lands the job, and immediately finds himself in the thick of a potential scandal: a blackmail case involving a wealthy well-connected politician running for mayor that soon spins into something even more sinister. As bodies begin falling, Archer and Dash must infiltrate the world of brothels, gambling dens, drug operations, and long-hidden secrets, descending into the rotten bones of a corrupt town that is selling itself as the promised land—but might actually be the road to perdition, and Archer’s final resting place.]]> 432 David Baldacci 1538719665 Ken 4
Baldacci has a lot of nice historical touches in the novel to set the timing well. There's mention of Earl Warren, the governor of California at the time, about casino gambling in the state. Warren later became a U.S. Supreme Court justice. There's also apparent detailed research on how much things cost and the value of money is well shown back in that day.

It has to be hard to write of this time period; I'd think Baldacci would want to resort to Archer using the internet to search for clues or grab a cell phone to call someone quickly. Instead, he's restricted to the elements of that time and I think he does a good job of dealing with that.

In Gambling Man, Archer seems more savvy and more cautious of other people, a great show of character development over the first installment where our hero was a bit more naive after just being released from prison.

The plot in this one seems to waver a bit. Is it about families? New gambling money? Corrupt police?

Still, I was pleasantly surprised by this series and have #3 on the To Be Read List.

]]> 4.18 2021
author: David Baldacci
name: Ken
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/28
date added: 2024/07/03
shelves:
review:
This Archer series is proving to be really good.

Baldacci has a lot of nice historical touches in the novel to set the timing well. There's mention of Earl Warren, the governor of California at the time, about casino gambling in the state. Warren later became a U.S. Supreme Court justice. There's also apparent detailed research on how much things cost and the value of money is well shown back in that day.

It has to be hard to write of this time period; I'd think Baldacci would want to resort to Archer using the internet to search for clues or grab a cell phone to call someone quickly. Instead, he's restricted to the elements of that time and I think he does a good job of dealing with that.

In Gambling Man, Archer seems more savvy and more cautious of other people, a great show of character development over the first installment where our hero was a bit more naive after just being released from prison.

The plot in this one seems to waver a bit. Is it about families? New gambling money? Corrupt police?

Still, I was pleasantly surprised by this series and have #3 on the To Be Read List.


]]> 9418327
She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.]]> 283 Tina Fey Ken 4
And I never watched 30 Rock, so I totally fell out of the demographics of those reading Bossypants. I grabbed it at the library on a whim because I loved Tina Fey in the 2014 Jonathan Tropper movie "This Is Where I Leave You."

I found this to be well-written, intellectually funny with shining moments of comic genius and heartfelt accounts of her time as a writer for SNL. She does the comedy rule of threes well: Providing three examples of a point with the third being totally off the wall, out of context, yet connective in its unconnectivity. What? Trust me, it's good stuff.

She does go on about the mistreatment of women in comedy and she plays the humble writer person well.

This is a quick read. I got 'er done in a day. It's an enjoyable, fun book that is different from what most stuff I read.
]]> 3.97 2011
author: Tina Fey
name: Ken
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/23
date added: 2024/06/24
shelves:
review:
I stopped thinking Saturday Night Live was funny when John Belushi died. I mean, Joe Piscopo? Adam Sandler? Jimmy Fallon? More like Saturday Night Dead.

And I never watched 30 Rock, so I totally fell out of the demographics of those reading Bossypants. I grabbed it at the library on a whim because I loved Tina Fey in the 2014 Jonathan Tropper movie "This Is Where I Leave You."

I found this to be well-written, intellectually funny with shining moments of comic genius and heartfelt accounts of her time as a writer for SNL. She does the comedy rule of threes well: Providing three examples of a point with the third being totally off the wall, out of context, yet connective in its unconnectivity. What? Trust me, it's good stuff.

She does go on about the mistreatment of women in comedy and she plays the humble writer person well.

This is a quick read. I got 'er done in a day. It's an enjoyable, fun book that is different from what most stuff I read.

]]> 44016314 The #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci introduces an unforgettable new character: Archer, a straight-talking former World War II soldier fresh out of prison for a crime he didn't commit.

It's 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he is sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of do's and a much longer list of don'ts: do report regularly to his parole officer, don't go to bars, certainly don't drink alcohol, do get a job--and don't ever associate with loose women.

The small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer's years serving in the war or his time in jail. Within a single night, his search for gainful employment--and a stiff drink--leads him to a local bar, where he is hired for what seems like a simple job: to collect a debt owed to a powerful local businessman, Hank Pittleman.

Soon Archer discovers that recovering the debt won't be so easy. The indebted man has a furious grudge against Hank and refuses to pay; Hank's clever mistress has her own designs on Archer; and both Hank and Archer's stern parole officer, Miss Crabtree, are keeping a sharp eye on him.

When a murder takes place right under Archer's nose, police suspicions rise against the ex-convict, and Archer realizes that the crime could send him right back to prison . . . if he doesn't use every skill in his arsenal to track down the real killer.]]> 416 David Baldacci Ken 5
Baldacci tells a great story of a man recently released from prison in the late 1940s who is trying to go right. He was charged with a crime he didn't do and must report to a parole officer in some dusty town. Baldacci doesn't mention the state, but I think it's either Oklahoma or New Mexico. There's references to driving over to Las Vegas and to Amarillo.

There's everything in here that a fiction reader needs. A good mystery, fine writing, great setting for the period piece. (There's a reference to the new baseball player Jackie Robinson, who debuted in 1947). Baldacci did his research to the point of knowing how much things cost back then and how money was viewed.

This restores my faith in him as an author. I've got Archer #2 up next to read. The deputy sheriff who gave me the recommendation to read this is a prolific reader. I'll be sure to ask him for more suggestions.

]]> 4.08 2019
author: David Baldacci
name: Ken
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/22
date added: 2024/06/24
shelves:
review:
I had only read two other Baldacci books and wasn't really impressed with either one. I picked this up merely on the recommendation of a deputy sheriff who works in the courthouse where I do. I was totally surprised how good this was.

Baldacci tells a great story of a man recently released from prison in the late 1940s who is trying to go right. He was charged with a crime he didn't do and must report to a parole officer in some dusty town. Baldacci doesn't mention the state, but I think it's either Oklahoma or New Mexico. There's references to driving over to Las Vegas and to Amarillo.

There's everything in here that a fiction reader needs. A good mystery, fine writing, great setting for the period piece. (There's a reference to the new baseball player Jackie Robinson, who debuted in 1947). Baldacci did his research to the point of knowing how much things cost back then and how money was viewed.

This restores my faith in him as an author. I've got Archer #2 up next to read. The deputy sheriff who gave me the recommendation to read this is a prolific reader. I'll be sure to ask him for more suggestions.


]]> 198494009
Myron Bolitar and Windsor Horne Lockwood III� reunite to find a dead man come back to life in this gripping thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of I Will Find You.

Former basketball star Myron Bolitar has barely restarted his agency for sports stars and celebrities when two federal agents walk into his office, asking for answers. Assuming they want to talk about the highly publicized Callister murders—of which he and Win know nothing, other than what's been saturating the news lately—he's stunned when, instead, they demand to know where Greg Downing is.

Greg, a former NBA player-turned-beloved-coach, was an old client of Myron’s, one of his very first. The reason for Myron's surprise is simple: Greg Downing died three years ago.

But according to these federal agents, Greg is still alive—and somehow involved in the Callister case.

Before his death, Greg made some strange money moves, but nothing about his reappearance makes any sense. As Myron and Win investigate, they're also surprised to uncover a seemingly related case where someone was murdered. Then another. And another. Is Greg alive? And if he is, where is he? And ultimately, are they looking for Greg? Or are they looking for a dangerously clever serial killer?]]> 368 Harlan Coben 1538756315 Ken 4
I've read Coben's stand alone books in the past.. more because I like him than for the novels themselves. I watch author lectures and interviews on YouTube and Coben's stuff is really good and fun. He seems like a really likeable, humble guy.

That said, his writing is energetic. He can tell a story and add lots of twists along the way. This one is no different. There are misdirections, red herrings galore and tons of characters with plenty of backstory. Like I said, he can tell a story.

]]> 4.08 2024
author: Harlan Coben
name: Ken
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/16
date added: 2024/06/17
shelves:
review:
This is the first Myron Bolitar book I've read. Looks like I missed out on a lot of good stories.

I've read Coben's stand alone books in the past.. more because I like him than for the novels themselves. I watch author lectures and interviews on YouTube and Coben's stuff is really good and fun. He seems like a really likeable, humble guy.

That said, his writing is energetic. He can tell a story and add lots of twists along the way. This one is no different. There are misdirections, red herrings galore and tons of characters with plenty of backstory. Like I said, he can tell a story.


]]> 126185
The Christmas Train is filled with memorable characters who have packed their bags with as much wisdom as mischief ... and shows how we do get second chances to fulfill our deepest hopes and dreams, especially during this season of miracles.]]> 260 David Baldacci Ken 3
This is totally out of my genre of reading. It's somewhat of a romantic comedy with a slight mystery and an Amtrak background. Grizzled veteran reporter realizes he's lost the love of his life for fear of commitment. It all changes during a cross-country train trip after the reporter is banned from flying due to some angry altercation.

That, alone, is weird when considering the ending payout. How did it all happen? Can't say more without spoiling it, but the ending doesn't play well with the set up.

It is kind of a romp, a throwback to the old romance movies of Cary Grant et al. In fact, Baldacci makes reference to those. He also has a ton of comparisons to our hero, Tom Langdon, and Mark Twain... journalists who see the country type stuff.

The characters. while cliched, are fun. There's the retired wisely priest, the flamboyant movie director, the Hollywood voice actor star, the kind-hearted ex-girlfriend of the reporter, the Amtrak workers, etc.

I did find the Amtrak stuff fun. My wife takes an Amtrak train about every three months to Chicago to see her aunt. Info about the trains, the engines, the routes, were all interesting.

To be honest, I got this book on a lark after a sheriff's deputy showed me he was reading a Baldacci mystery. I got this, on one hand, to read quickly and boost the Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ yearly reading tally up. I've read other Baldacci stuff and thought it was ... okay. This one was.. okay.


]]> 3.56 2001
author: David Baldacci
name: Ken
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2001
rating: 3
read at: 2024/06/13
date added: 2024/06/14
shelves:
review:
Light reading.

This is totally out of my genre of reading. It's somewhat of a romantic comedy with a slight mystery and an Amtrak background. Grizzled veteran reporter realizes he's lost the love of his life for fear of commitment. It all changes during a cross-country train trip after the reporter is banned from flying due to some angry altercation.

That, alone, is weird when considering the ending payout. How did it all happen? Can't say more without spoiling it, but the ending doesn't play well with the set up.

It is kind of a romp, a throwback to the old romance movies of Cary Grant et al. In fact, Baldacci makes reference to those. He also has a ton of comparisons to our hero, Tom Langdon, and Mark Twain... journalists who see the country type stuff.

The characters. while cliched, are fun. There's the retired wisely priest, the flamboyant movie director, the Hollywood voice actor star, the kind-hearted ex-girlfriend of the reporter, the Amtrak workers, etc.

I did find the Amtrak stuff fun. My wife takes an Amtrak train about every three months to Chicago to see her aunt. Info about the trains, the engines, the routes, were all interesting.

To be honest, I got this book on a lark after a sheriff's deputy showed me he was reading a Baldacci mystery. I got this, on one hand, to read quickly and boost the Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ yearly reading tally up. I've read other Baldacci stuff and thought it was ... okay. This one was.. okay.



]]> 2254628 339 Tom Seaver 1559720956 Ken 4
There's the first World Series, the Babe Ruth era, Yankees' Murders' Row, the 1934 World Series with Detroit and St. Louis, DiMaggio, Ted Williams, the Yankees dynasty, Don Larsen's perfect game, etc. Again, these are points fans should have knowledge of. Still, it's nice to have them together.

I would have given this a 3-star review because some of the writing is to schmarmy. Seaver is quick to point out his role in some of the events: the 1969 Mets' World Series team, pitching to some of the stars mentioned, etc. However, Appel's name just being on the book means it's going to be better; hence, the 4-star review.
]]> 3.70 1992
author: Tom Seaver
name: Ken
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/09
date added: 2024/06/10
shelves:
review:
This is a nice collection of baseball stories from 1903 until 1991 when Tom Seaver and Marty Appel wrote it. Baseball fans should know a majority of the tales, but there are some good stories and background that casual fans may not have heard.

There's the first World Series, the Babe Ruth era, Yankees' Murders' Row, the 1934 World Series with Detroit and St. Louis, DiMaggio, Ted Williams, the Yankees dynasty, Don Larsen's perfect game, etc. Again, these are points fans should have knowledge of. Still, it's nice to have them together.

I would have given this a 3-star review because some of the writing is to schmarmy. Seaver is quick to point out his role in some of the events: the 1969 Mets' World Series team, pitching to some of the stars mentioned, etc. However, Appel's name just being on the book means it's going to be better; hence, the 4-star review.

]]> 32829
The expedition descends into an extinct volcano toward a sunless sea, where they encounter a subterranean world of luminous rocks, antediluvian forests, and fantastic marine life � a living past that holds the secrets to the origins of human existence.]]> 240 Jules Verne 0553213970 Ken 4
The gang finds an old text that indicates how to get into the earth via a volcano lava shaft in Iceland. They travel down there and find stuff. Here's where the suspension is necessary. At one point, they find a giant sea under the earth's crust complete with wind and waves and... light. Where does the light source come from? And, they were down there for a few months with enough food to last and only three people to carry all supplies.

Still, this was an enjoyable book. I like Verne's Mysterious Island more, but this is one of the classics readers should delve into. On a personal note, I read a paperback version of this when I was about 12. My father had me read it to see if I liked it. I found that same copy in a bookshelf recently and, nearly half a century, read it again.
]]> 3.87 1864
author: Jules Verne
name: Ken
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1864
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/25
date added: 2024/06/06
shelves:
review:
I'm not sure if our adventurers made it to the center of the earth, but still this was a fun classic to read. You do need to have plenty of suspension of belief, though.

The gang finds an old text that indicates how to get into the earth via a volcano lava shaft in Iceland. They travel down there and find stuff. Here's where the suspension is necessary. At one point, they find a giant sea under the earth's crust complete with wind and waves and... light. Where does the light source come from? And, they were down there for a few months with enough food to last and only three people to carry all supplies.

Still, this was an enjoyable book. I like Verne's Mysterious Island more, but this is one of the classics readers should delve into. On a personal note, I read a paperback version of this when I was about 12. My father had me read it to see if I liked it. I found that same copy in a bookshelf recently and, nearly half a century, read it again.

]]> 592745 448 Bob Greene 0312262841 Ken 5
Here's the review I wrote from the last time I read it three years ago.

All Summer Long is one of the most beautifully written novels I've read in a long, long while. I offer it as my favorite work of fiction I've ever read, but I may be biased. I've been in news for more than three decades and I've been a huge Bob Greene fan ever since reading his columns in American Beat back in the early 1980s.

The premise of this one is simple: Three friends meet at their 25th high school reunion and decide to spend the summer together in one last grasp at youthfulness and immortality. They drive or fly around the country, almost aimless, yet they discover a lot about themselves and the true meaning of friendship.

Readers can relate with parts of each of the characters. There's Ronnie, the goofball who through marriage became a CEO of a Cleveland steel company and makes millions. Michael is an English teacher at the Ohio high school the three graduated from and is struggling financially on his teacher's salary. And there's Ben, the network television reporter who because of the wanderlust ways of his job is divorced and aware of his misgivings.

The three take off from Bristol, Ohio, which is a veiled reference to Bob's home town of Bexley, Ohio. They go to Chicago to see a Cubs' game and then onward. Michael meets his high school sweetheart in Kansas City. Ronnie makes friends with a dental hygienist in Atlanta who stays with them for part of the trip. Ronnie's dad becomes ill and the three scurry off to Florida to be with him in the hospital and Ben meets a graduate student summering there.

The insight provided by Ben, whom is the story's point of view, is priceless. There is a lot of analysis of life, of the way things used to be, of personalities and the meaning of friends. It truly is an amazing book.

Those who have read Bob's columns and other books over the years will obviously see that this book is semi-autobiographical. Many of Ben's ventures replicate those that Bob's written of over the years. I noticed a few things: When Michael meets his high school girlfriend, he talks about seeing her married name on a magazine subscription label. Bob wrote about meeting his old high school sweetie in a column years ago and noted the same thing.

When Ben writes about meeting Michael for the first time in kindergarten, it's when his nose begins bleeding. Michael tells the teacher, "Ben's hurt," and gets help. The same thing happened when Bob met his best friend, whom he writes about in And You Know You Should Be Glad. His friend sees Bob having a nosebleed in kindergarten and summons the teacher with, "Bob's hurt."

The book is long. My paperback copy is 437 pages. But it reads well. This last time was the fifth or sixth I've read it and each time I've enjoyed it tremendously. It's moving, it's insightful, it's well-written.

Like the summer itself, I found I was not looking forward to coming to the book ending when I came to that last page.

New stuff in 2024: I still correspond with Bob. He sent me an email on Memorial Day wishing me a happy summer and said he may read his All Summer Long. I thought it was a great idea as a way to kick off summer so I grabbed my copy (I own three: paperback, softback and hardback) and dove into it. As usual, I hate finishing this book. It's a journey I'd like to stay on. One of the problems with reading this book is when it's over, it's hard to find another book to read that compares. Each time I read it, I am impressed with various issues. This time, I was intrigued by a minor remembrance of "Ben" talking about a Bob Dylan album with a friend back in 1964. He wrote that it wasn't much of a conversation back then, but took on a significance later when reflecting back 30 years. I'm finding that in life as well. There's so much in here that we can relate to and enjoy.]]> 3.65 1993
author: Bob Greene
name: Ken
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/03
date added: 2024/06/05
shelves:
review:
This is the seventh or eighth time I've read this book. It's testament to how good it is. I basically read a novel once and move on. Bob Greene's stuff is so perfect that it's like reading it for the first time every time.

Here's the review I wrote from the last time I read it three years ago.

All Summer Long is one of the most beautifully written novels I've read in a long, long while. I offer it as my favorite work of fiction I've ever read, but I may be biased. I've been in news for more than three decades and I've been a huge Bob Greene fan ever since reading his columns in American Beat back in the early 1980s.

The premise of this one is simple: Three friends meet at their 25th high school reunion and decide to spend the summer together in one last grasp at youthfulness and immortality. They drive or fly around the country, almost aimless, yet they discover a lot about themselves and the true meaning of friendship.

Readers can relate with parts of each of the characters. There's Ronnie, the goofball who through marriage became a CEO of a Cleveland steel company and makes millions. Michael is an English teacher at the Ohio high school the three graduated from and is struggling financially on his teacher's salary. And there's Ben, the network television reporter who because of the wanderlust ways of his job is divorced and aware of his misgivings.

The three take off from Bristol, Ohio, which is a veiled reference to Bob's home town of Bexley, Ohio. They go to Chicago to see a Cubs' game and then onward. Michael meets his high school sweetheart in Kansas City. Ronnie makes friends with a dental hygienist in Atlanta who stays with them for part of the trip. Ronnie's dad becomes ill and the three scurry off to Florida to be with him in the hospital and Ben meets a graduate student summering there.

The insight provided by Ben, whom is the story's point of view, is priceless. There is a lot of analysis of life, of the way things used to be, of personalities and the meaning of friends. It truly is an amazing book.

Those who have read Bob's columns and other books over the years will obviously see that this book is semi-autobiographical. Many of Ben's ventures replicate those that Bob's written of over the years. I noticed a few things: When Michael meets his high school girlfriend, he talks about seeing her married name on a magazine subscription label. Bob wrote about meeting his old high school sweetie in a column years ago and noted the same thing.

When Ben writes about meeting Michael for the first time in kindergarten, it's when his nose begins bleeding. Michael tells the teacher, "Ben's hurt," and gets help. The same thing happened when Bob met his best friend, whom he writes about in And You Know You Should Be Glad. His friend sees Bob having a nosebleed in kindergarten and summons the teacher with, "Bob's hurt."

The book is long. My paperback copy is 437 pages. But it reads well. This last time was the fifth or sixth I've read it and each time I've enjoyed it tremendously. It's moving, it's insightful, it's well-written.

Like the summer itself, I found I was not looking forward to coming to the book ending when I came to that last page.

New stuff in 2024: I still correspond with Bob. He sent me an email on Memorial Day wishing me a happy summer and said he may read his All Summer Long. I thought it was a great idea as a way to kick off summer so I grabbed my copy (I own three: paperback, softback and hardback) and dove into it. As usual, I hate finishing this book. It's a journey I'd like to stay on. One of the problems with reading this book is when it's over, it's hard to find another book to read that compares. Each time I read it, I am impressed with various issues. This time, I was intrigued by a minor remembrance of "Ben" talking about a Bob Dylan album with a friend back in 1964. He wrote that it wasn't much of a conversation back then, but took on a significance later when reflecting back 30 years. I'm finding that in life as well. There's so much in here that we can relate to and enjoy.
]]> 199597439
This thoughtful and engaging collection of essays captures the astute fans� history of the franchise, going beyond well-worn narratives of yesteryear to uncover the less-discussed moments, decisions, people, and settings that fostered the Twins' one-of-a-kind identity.

Through wheeling and dealing, mythmaking and community building, explore where the organization has been, how it got to prominence in the modern major league landscape, and how it’ll continue to evolve and stay in contention for generations to come.

Twins fans in the know will enjoy this personal, local, in-depth look at baseball history.]]> 256 La Velle E. Neal III 1637275773 Ken 0 to-read 3.58
author: La Velle E. Neal III
name: Ken
average rating: 3.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/05/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61043996 In the tradition of When Breath Becomes Air, the New York Times's legendary war correspondent delivers his unforgettable final dispatch: a deeply moving meditation on life inspired by his sudden battle with terminal brain cancer.

Rod Nordland shadowed death for thirty years as one of his generation's preeminent war correspondents, include posts as bureau chief in Kabul and Baghdad. Then on July 5, 2019, he collapsed in the middle of a morning jog in Delhi's beautiful Lodhi Gardens. He was taken to the local hospital, where doctors diagnosed a brain tumor that turned out to be terminal cancer.

Confined to a hospital bed after so many vagabond years spent chasing the next conflict across the globe, Nordland discovered a curious side effect: he was gifted the chance to stop, reflect, and reconnect with those he loved but had been apart from for decades.

In the months that passed after his stint in the hospital, he no longer flinched at love and intimacy but exalted in its balm and power. He and his children made peace and enjoyed a closeness he had once thought impossible. He repaired a friendship broken twenty years earlier after decades as the best of friends. Gone was the old arrogance, the certitude that dominated his every action, the combination of which--overweening arrogance and self-confidence--likely helped make him a successful foreign correspondent but denied him the opportunity of becoming so much more.

Nordland writes, "Friends and family members and editors have often raised their eyebrows at my frequent assertions that my tumor was the best thing that ever happened to me, a gift that has enriched my life ever since."

Nordland's account of those first days in the hospital, published in the New York Times two months after his diagnosis, was widely shared and praised by readers for its honesty and beautiful writing. Now he expands on this piece, sharing the lessons he's learned over the last few years. Deeply moving and inspiring, Waiting for the Monsoon is a remarkable story about the human capacity to persevere even in the most difficult of times.]]> 272 Rod Nordland 0063096226 Ken 4
The book is broken, really, into two major parts. The first is his rough upbringing with an abusive father and his eventual working at newspapers and becoming war correspondents. That, alone, is worth the time to read. Nordland shows the real world of being a reporter in wartorn areas and it's not as romantic as movies may show it to be. (Think Under Fire, the 1983 Nick Nolte/ Gene Hackman movie about the Nicaraguan conflict). It's brutal and Nordland admits to being afraid. Some of his exploits rival that of thriller movies.

Then, he suffers a sudden brain tumor issue. The last third of the book is about his treatment and his coming to terms with it. His doctor gave him about 15 months to live, but he made it through three years when he wrote the book.

It's a 180-degree shift. The first part is rather dark about the war and the people he dealt with. The last part is very optimistic; at one point, he says the tumor is the best thing that happened to him because it gave him a new perspective on life.

]]> 4.01 2024
author: Rod Nordland
name: Ken
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/19
date added: 2024/05/20
shelves:
review:
Rod Nordland has something for everyone in his memoir about being a foreign war correspondent and then suffering from a brain tumor and its effects.

The book is broken, really, into two major parts. The first is his rough upbringing with an abusive father and his eventual working at newspapers and becoming war correspondents. That, alone, is worth the time to read. Nordland shows the real world of being a reporter in wartorn areas and it's not as romantic as movies may show it to be. (Think Under Fire, the 1983 Nick Nolte/ Gene Hackman movie about the Nicaraguan conflict). It's brutal and Nordland admits to being afraid. Some of his exploits rival that of thriller movies.

Then, he suffers a sudden brain tumor issue. The last third of the book is about his treatment and his coming to terms with it. His doctor gave him about 15 months to live, but he made it through three years when he wrote the book.

It's a 180-degree shift. The first part is rather dark about the war and the people he dealt with. The last part is very optimistic; at one point, he says the tumor is the best thing that happened to him because it gave him a new perspective on life.


]]> 154462975
“A literary treasure.”â€� TheĚýWashington Times

I’ve been writing about the press almost as long as I’ve been in the game. At some point, it occurred to me that disparate pieces from various places in various styles amounted to a picture from multiple angles of what the press has been like over the years since I became a practitioner and an observer.

Calvin Trillin has reported serious pieces across America for The New Yorker , covered the civil rights movement in the South for Time , and written comic verse for The Nation . But one of his favorite subjects over the years—a superb fit for his unique combination of reportage and humor—has been his own professional the American press.

In The Lede , Trillin gathers his incisive, often hilarious writing on reporting, reporters, and the media world that is their orbit. He writes about a legendary crime reporter in Miami and about a swashbuckling New York Times reporter and about an erudite film critic in Dallas who once a week transformed himself from an appreciator of the French nouvelle vague into a crude connoisseur of movies like Mother Riley Meets the Vampire . There are pieces on the House of Lords aspirations of a North American press baron, the paucity of gossip columns in Russia, the embroilment of a weekly newspaper in a missing person case, and the founding of a publication called Beautiful A Magazine of Parking.

Uniting all of this is Trillin’s signature combination of empathy, humor, and graceful prose. The Lede is an invaluable portrait of one our fundamental American institutions from a master journalist.]]> 336 Calvin Trillin 0593596447 Ken 4
That said, I ended up reading Trillin's account of his time with the New Yorker, along with Time and other publications, and enjoyed it.

Trillin opens with dispatches from the job, entertaining pieces about journalism in the heyday of the 1960s. He also has some fun profiles of characters and writers from the 1980s. There's a long feature on Edna Buchanan, the Miami crime reporter who turned to fiction, and a piece on Joe Bob Briggs, a fictional redneck movie critic for the Dallas Times Herald and later the Texas Monthly magazine.

At times, especially toward the end, some of the columns dragged on. There's a piece on New York eateries that went on and on and on. And, despite the important topic, his account of the freedom marches and civil rights protests of the late 1960s tended to linger on.

Overall, though, this is an excellent look at the profession of journalism when newspapers thrived, reporters tried and there wasn't as many agendas out there.]]> 3.76 2024
author: Calvin Trillin
name: Ken
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/16
date added: 2024/05/16
shelves:
review:
After receiving one of the most snobbish rejection letters for a story pitch to the New Yorker magazine, I swore I'd never read the magazine or anything about it. Granted, my idea was a bit far-fetched for the magazine -- I covered a UFO conference in northwest Arkansas where a retired Air Force official from New York said there was an underground hangar at LaGuardia Airport where UFOs were stationed. The magazine said they didn't stoop that low to include a story from my ilk.

That said, I ended up reading Trillin's account of his time with the New Yorker, along with Time and other publications, and enjoyed it.

Trillin opens with dispatches from the job, entertaining pieces about journalism in the heyday of the 1960s. He also has some fun profiles of characters and writers from the 1980s. There's a long feature on Edna Buchanan, the Miami crime reporter who turned to fiction, and a piece on Joe Bob Briggs, a fictional redneck movie critic for the Dallas Times Herald and later the Texas Monthly magazine.

At times, especially toward the end, some of the columns dragged on. There's a piece on New York eateries that went on and on and on. And, despite the important topic, his account of the freedom marches and civil rights protests of the late 1960s tended to linger on.

Overall, though, this is an excellent look at the profession of journalism when newspapers thrived, reporters tried and there wasn't as many agendas out there.
]]> 653118 Wall Street Journal

“Leavy has hit it out of the park…A lot more than a biography. It’s a consideration of how we create our heroes, and how this hero’s self perception distinguishes him from nearly every other great athlete in living memory� a remarkably rich portrait.� � Time

The instant New York Times bestseller about the baseball legend and famously reclusive Dodgers� pitcher Sandy Koufax, from award-winning former Washington Post sportswriter Jane Leavy. Sandy Koufax reveals, for the first time, what drove the three-time Cy Young award winner to the pinnacle of baseball and then—just as quickly—into self-imposed exile.]]> 336 Jane Leavy 0060933291 Ken 4
Leavy writes of Koufax's early career and his strive for perfection. There's also a lot about the 1965 World Series and Koufax's decision not to pitch in Game 1 because it fell on Yom Kippur. That lead of to a long part about Koufax's Jewish heritage and how others viewed him.

Leavy admitted to not talking with Koufax once she presented the book idea to him and it does show. However, as in her book on Babe Ruth, "Big Fella,' her stellar research helped carry the book okay.

Overall, not a bad book. Hey, it's about baseball so it ain't bad at all.

]]> 4.07 2002
author: Jane Leavy
name: Ken
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2024/05/10
date added: 2024/05/14
shelves:
review:
This is not your typical biography. Instead, Jane Leavy focuses on Koufax's perfect game in 1965 inning-by-inning and wraps in between information about Koufax. It works okay, but it seems there are some things missing. I'd have preferred a chronical account of how Koufax went from a wild hurler in 1955 to a pinpoint assassin ace by 1962.

Leavy writes of Koufax's early career and his strive for perfection. There's also a lot about the 1965 World Series and Koufax's decision not to pitch in Game 1 because it fell on Yom Kippur. That lead of to a long part about Koufax's Jewish heritage and how others viewed him.

Leavy admitted to not talking with Koufax once she presented the book idea to him and it does show. However, as in her book on Babe Ruth, "Big Fella,' her stellar research helped carry the book okay.

Overall, not a bad book. Hey, it's about baseball so it ain't bad at all.


]]> 389845 412 Steve Thayer 0451184386 Ken 3
First, I think Steve Thayer is a good writer. His writing is crisp, emotional, descriptive, all things good. However, this story seems to wander around and some of the characterizations seem unnecessary. The book is over 400 pages long; it could have been shorter. The ending seems cliched a bit with everyone reflecting on life; a resolution of sorts for all. The book focuses on seasons and a serial killer who strikes with changing weather. The ending is a metaphor for all that. Everyone looks back at the seasons of their own lives.

The premise is about a Channel 7 weatherman in Minneapolis who has an uncanny talent for predicting weather. He is successful and well-liked, but he strikes out in love and that may be the motivating factor for several deaths around southern Minnesota.

Meanwhile, the lead anchor is seeing the governor, the news producer who was burned in Vietnam during a napalm drop and wears a blue mask to hide his facial disfigurement is hot for the anchor. The state is grappling with initiating the death penalty, an old cop riddled with emphysema is on the hunt for the killer and the Weatherman extolls his innocence even after convicted.

It is an odd assortment of characters. I liked the book in part because I lived in Minnesota and I worked in television news briefly and then switched to newspaper for a career. I tend to despise television news gathering and Thayer didn't pull any punches in showing how vapid and exploiting tv news really is.

It's a strange trip if you decide to read The Weatherman. It offers cliches of Minnesota -- always talking about the weather, the springtime blizzards, flooding due to snow melt, the IDS building in Minneapolis as seen as the monolith of the state, talk of the hard-to-believe fact that the Vikings are playing in a domed stadium, et al.

But, again, Thayer writes well. This is a good example of his writing skill, but maybe not necessarily of story-telling skills since it wanders all over the place. Oof-dah!
]]> 3.71 1995
author: Steve Thayer
name: Ken
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/23
date added: 2024/04/25
shelves:
review:
I wasn't really sure if this was a mystery, a character study, a cultural look at all things Minnesota or an attempt at a Coen Brothers' movie-like take.

First, I think Steve Thayer is a good writer. His writing is crisp, emotional, descriptive, all things good. However, this story seems to wander around and some of the characterizations seem unnecessary. The book is over 400 pages long; it could have been shorter. The ending seems cliched a bit with everyone reflecting on life; a resolution of sorts for all. The book focuses on seasons and a serial killer who strikes with changing weather. The ending is a metaphor for all that. Everyone looks back at the seasons of their own lives.

The premise is about a Channel 7 weatherman in Minneapolis who has an uncanny talent for predicting weather. He is successful and well-liked, but he strikes out in love and that may be the motivating factor for several deaths around southern Minnesota.

Meanwhile, the lead anchor is seeing the governor, the news producer who was burned in Vietnam during a napalm drop and wears a blue mask to hide his facial disfigurement is hot for the anchor. The state is grappling with initiating the death penalty, an old cop riddled with emphysema is on the hunt for the killer and the Weatherman extolls his innocence even after convicted.

It is an odd assortment of characters. I liked the book in part because I lived in Minnesota and I worked in television news briefly and then switched to newspaper for a career. I tend to despise television news gathering and Thayer didn't pull any punches in showing how vapid and exploiting tv news really is.

It's a strange trip if you decide to read The Weatherman. It offers cliches of Minnesota -- always talking about the weather, the springtime blizzards, flooding due to snow melt, the IDS building in Minneapolis as seen as the monolith of the state, talk of the hard-to-believe fact that the Vikings are playing in a domed stadium, et al.

But, again, Thayer writes well. This is a good example of his writing skill, but maybe not necessarily of story-telling skills since it wanders all over the place. Oof-dah!

]]> 55959403
It wasn’t until a reporting trip took her to the Northern Irish countryside that Schaap found a partner to heal with: Glenarm, a quiet, seaside village in County Antrim. That first visit made such an impression that she returned to make a life. This unlikely place—in a small, tough country mainly associated with sectarian strife—gave her a measure of peace that had seemed impossible elsewhere.]]> 272 Rosie Schaap 0358097452 Ken 0 to-read 3.72 2024
author: Rosie Schaap
name: Ken
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/04/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 1703735 320 Terry Pluto 1886228787 Ken 4
That said, my advice in reading this book is to take it slowly, almost as if reading his columns in the paper daily, one at a time, rather than trying to forge through several. There is repetition, but it's mainly because they are compiled over years. He writes of a radio friend often. It seems very repetitive, but remember, he actually wrote them over several years.

His columns about his father's stroke and subsequent passing are very heartfelt. Again, though, when read in in bundles, they lose some of the real impact.

Pluto captures a time of sports, the 1990s, when things were a bit.. different. There's the beginning of steroid use and the "big" salaries of, wait for it.. $1 million or more a season! He writes of the 1994 baseball strike and it offers a nice perspective of how we felt back then, reminding fans of the bitterness of not having baseball that summer.

He also has a column about a young high school basketball phenom ... LeBron James. He also writes of a lot of the Cleveland teams and, unless you're a real sports fan or from that area, some may not have the impact or feel to the reader.

This is a nice collection, but again, read it slowly and savor them. It's like eating a good meal. You don't scarf down the steak but instead enjoy it over time.
]]> 3.75 2002
author: Terry Pluto
name: Ken
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2024/04/16
date added: 2024/04/17
shelves:
review:
I think Terry Pluto would be a fun guy to hang around. He's got tons of sports stories in his career and he seems like a really nice, humble guy. He's not hung up on himself like some jocks would be and instead even writes about his ineptness in playing sports (He said he didn't "play" basketball but rather "sat" basketball, referring to the time he spent on the bench during games).

That said, my advice in reading this book is to take it slowly, almost as if reading his columns in the paper daily, one at a time, rather than trying to forge through several. There is repetition, but it's mainly because they are compiled over years. He writes of a radio friend often. It seems very repetitive, but remember, he actually wrote them over several years.

His columns about his father's stroke and subsequent passing are very heartfelt. Again, though, when read in in bundles, they lose some of the real impact.

Pluto captures a time of sports, the 1990s, when things were a bit.. different. There's the beginning of steroid use and the "big" salaries of, wait for it.. $1 million or more a season! He writes of the 1994 baseball strike and it offers a nice perspective of how we felt back then, reminding fans of the bitterness of not having baseball that summer.

He also has a column about a young high school basketball phenom ... LeBron James. He also writes of a lot of the Cleveland teams and, unless you're a real sports fan or from that area, some may not have the impact or feel to the reader.

This is a nice collection, but again, read it slowly and savor them. It's like eating a good meal. You don't scarf down the steak but instead enjoy it over time.

]]> 15802793 Mike Piazza's autobiography—the candid story of the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball, from his inauspicious draft selection to his Hall of Fame-worthy achievements and the unusual controversies that marked his career.

Mike Piazza was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 baseball draft as a "courtesy pick." The Dodgers never expected him to play for them � or anyone else. Mike had other ideas. Overcoming his detractors, he became the National League rookie of the year in 1993, broke the record for season batting average by a catcher, holds the record for career home runs at his position, and was selected as an All Star twelve times.

Mike was groomed for baseball success by his ambitious, self-made father in Pennsylvania, a classic father-son American-dream story. With the Dodgers, Piazza established himself as baseball's premier offensive catcher; but the team never seemed willing to recognize him as the franchise player he was. He joined the Mets and led them to the memorable 2000 World Series with their cross-town rivals, the Yankees. Mike tells the story behind his dramatic confrontation with Roger Clemens in that series. He addresses the steroid controversy that hovered around him and Major League Baseball during his time and provides valuable perspective on the subject. Mike also addresses the rumors of being gay and describes the thrill of his game-winning home run on September 21, 2001, the first baseball game played in New York after the 9/11 tragedy. Along the way, he tells terrific stories about teammates and rivals that baseball fans will devour.

Long Shot is written with insight, candor, humor, and charm. It's surprising and inspiring, one of the great sports autobiographies.]]> 384 Mike Piazza 1439163030 Ken 5
I wasn't a big Mets fan, nor did I really care for Piazza... not because of who he was, but I am a Minnesota Twins fan and follow the American League more closely. Of course, I was aware of what Piazza did in his career and I thought he did a decent job of relating his exploits on the field.

I can see where some may think he's whiny when he talks about other players, the poor management decision of the Dodgers, the fractured relationship with Tommy Lasorda, etc. But I think he was defending himself and showing how he was wronged most of his career. He also writes about how he was suspected of using steroids and being gay.

This was the first sports book I've read this year. Usually, I read quite a bit, but I've been reading more fiction lately. I had read Long Shot before and enjoyed it and liked it again. Yeah, it may have come across a bit bitter, but I thought he did a good job recapping his career and making us remember is career. The section he wrote about playing after the Twin Towers attack was very good as well.
]]> 3.58 2013
author: Mike Piazza
name: Ken
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2024/04/09
date added: 2024/04/09
shelves:
review:
A lot of reviewers here wrote that Piazza came across as a spoiled brat. I didn't see it that way and instead thought he was proving the naysayers who doubted he'd ever be a decent baseball player as wrong. Turns out, Piazza was one of the greatest overall catchers to ever play.

I wasn't a big Mets fan, nor did I really care for Piazza... not because of who he was, but I am a Minnesota Twins fan and follow the American League more closely. Of course, I was aware of what Piazza did in his career and I thought he did a decent job of relating his exploits on the field.

I can see where some may think he's whiny when he talks about other players, the poor management decision of the Dodgers, the fractured relationship with Tommy Lasorda, etc. But I think he was defending himself and showing how he was wronged most of his career. He also writes about how he was suspected of using steroids and being gay.

This was the first sports book I've read this year. Usually, I read quite a bit, but I've been reading more fiction lately. I had read Long Shot before and enjoyed it and liked it again. Yeah, it may have come across a bit bitter, but I thought he did a good job recapping his career and making us remember is career. The section he wrote about playing after the Twin Towers attack was very good as well.

]]> 152180034
Journalist and writer John O'Connor takes readers on a narrative quest through the American wilds in search of Bigfoot, its myth and meaning. Inhabited by an eccentric cast of characters â€� reputable men of science and deluded charlatans alike â€� the book explores the zany and secretive world of "cryptozoology," tracking Bigfoot from the Wild Men of Native American and European lore to Harry and the Hendersons, while examining the forces behind our ever-widening belief in the supernatural.Ěý

By turns an ardent, philosophical defense of nature, investigation into what Kurt Andersen calls our peculiar "American appetites for immersive make-believe," and a gonzo trip into alternative reality, this is the story of our Bigfoot obsession � where it comes from, what it means today � and the people driving it. Tag along with O'Connor as he treks through the shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest, studies indigenous legends, and attends off-the-wall cryptozoological conventions.

Perfect for readers of Bill Bryson and Douglas Preston and with sharp wit and an adventurous spirit, this heartfelt exploration of a cornerstone of American folklore unpacks why we believe in the things that we do, and what that says about us.]]> 304 John O’Connor 1464216630 Ken 3 to-read
Instead, there's only a few ventures that he writes about. Instead, a lot of his book is about the psychology of believing things unseen, confirmation bias, conspiracy theories, how the mind fills in gaps that it thinks it sees to make a believer, et al. It bogs down at times and seems disjointed.

O'Connor does go to a Bigfoot convention in Texas, searches woods in Maine for Bigfoot and goes to Bayou De View in Arkansas to look for monsters. There, the book shines.

And, by no means am I a Trump supporter, but I got tired of his references to Trump when comparing the crazy believers to his own supporters. I read to get away from the political stuff, not to wallow in it. I think he must have made some Trump comment at least 15 times.

Parts of this book are very funny and O'Connor is an educated writer. But there never is any sufficient conclusion as to whether Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) are real and instead this is just a series of old myths and people who may or not believe in them.
]]> 3.03 2024
author: John O’Connor
name: Ken
average rating: 3.03
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2024/04/03
date added: 2024/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:
At first glance, this appears to be a book about John O' Connor's travels through the country in search for Bigfoot, or at least people who strongly believe in the critter.

Instead, there's only a few ventures that he writes about. Instead, a lot of his book is about the psychology of believing things unseen, confirmation bias, conspiracy theories, how the mind fills in gaps that it thinks it sees to make a believer, et al. It bogs down at times and seems disjointed.

O'Connor does go to a Bigfoot convention in Texas, searches woods in Maine for Bigfoot and goes to Bayou De View in Arkansas to look for monsters. There, the book shines.

And, by no means am I a Trump supporter, but I got tired of his references to Trump when comparing the crazy believers to his own supporters. I read to get away from the political stuff, not to wallow in it. I think he must have made some Trump comment at least 15 times.

Parts of this book are very funny and O'Connor is an educated writer. But there never is any sufficient conclusion as to whether Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) are real and instead this is just a series of old myths and people who may or not believe in them.

]]> 3980
When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort - she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because he was a miser and would have money.

Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie had some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she had discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too.

The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her - well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.]]> 159 E.L. Konigsburg 0744583276 Ken 3
But as an adult, I saw a lot of things that didn't settle with me well. For example, Jamie, the 9-year-old brother, seemed far more world-savvy than he should be. Some of his comments were ripe with adult sarcasm. And Claudia, 11, seemed way too advanced for her age. She was pretty self-centered and stuck up. Maybe kids that age are than way. I don't think I was.

I thought the weird asides to her attorney Saxonberg were somewhat strange as well. The story is Mrs. Frankweiler telling Saxonberg the kids' tale as part of her adding them to her will. But how did she know what the kids were saying while alone in the museum? And why would she blurt out something to Saxonberg at a moment's notice? Very odd.

The payoff ending was pretty short. They look in her files for about 2 minutes, hence the title, and solve the mystery and get a life-lesson in being "different."

I can see the fun in this book as a kid. As an adult, maybe the travels we've done, the weariness and sarcasm and being beat down over the years, dilutes us from having that childlike enjoyment of such a novel. I read this one strictly because I saw interesting reviews here on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ about it.
]]> 4.16 1967
author: E.L. Konigsburg
name: Ken
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1967
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/29
date added: 2024/03/30
shelves:
review:
I read this as a child and probably liked it. I mean, running off to a museum in New York and spending evenings looking at all the exhibits? Heaven!

But as an adult, I saw a lot of things that didn't settle with me well. For example, Jamie, the 9-year-old brother, seemed far more world-savvy than he should be. Some of his comments were ripe with adult sarcasm. And Claudia, 11, seemed way too advanced for her age. She was pretty self-centered and stuck up. Maybe kids that age are than way. I don't think I was.

I thought the weird asides to her attorney Saxonberg were somewhat strange as well. The story is Mrs. Frankweiler telling Saxonberg the kids' tale as part of her adding them to her will. But how did she know what the kids were saying while alone in the museum? And why would she blurt out something to Saxonberg at a moment's notice? Very odd.

The payoff ending was pretty short. They look in her files for about 2 minutes, hence the title, and solve the mystery and get a life-lesson in being "different."

I can see the fun in this book as a kid. As an adult, maybe the travels we've done, the weariness and sarcasm and being beat down over the years, dilutes us from having that childlike enjoyment of such a novel. I read this one strictly because I saw interesting reviews here on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ about it.

]]> 1849 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille comes a suspenseful new novel featuring Detective John Corey and an all-too-plausible conspiracy to detonate a nuclear bomb in two major American cities.

Welcome to the Custer Hill Club--an informal men's club set in a luxurious Adirondack hunting lodge whose members include some of America's most powerful business leaders, military men, and government officials. Ostensibly, the club is a place to gather with old friends, hunt, eat, drink, and talk off-the-record about war, life, death, sex and politics. But one Fall weekend, the Executive Board of the Custer Hill Club gathers to talk about the tragedy of 9/11 and what America must do to retaliate. Their plan is finalized and set into motion. That same weekend, a member of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force is reported missing. His body is soon discovered in the woods near the Custer Hill Club's game reserve. The death appears to be a hunting accident, and that's how the local police first report it, but Detective John Corey has his doubts. As he digs deeper, he begins to unravel a plot involving the Custer Hill Club, a top-secret plan known only by its code name: Wild Fire.

Racing against the clock, Detective Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, find they are the only people in a position to stop the button from being pushed and chaos from being unleashed.]]> 519 Nelson DeMille 044657967X Ken 3
Carey keeps his wise-cracking, smart-aleck ways, even in dire situations. That, alone is fun, but far-fetched. I mean, when you have five weapons aimed at you and the chance for survival is pretty low, I'd not be popping off with insults. But, that's Carey's signature and Nelson DeMille has created a good fictional character that we expect to behave that way. Suspension of belief is a must.

And make no mistake, Nelson DeMille is a great adventure writer. I'd put his stuff far above other authors like James Patterson or David Baldacci, et al. This one is a long novel; a lot involves driving around making turns, coming to intersections, meeting insignificant people several times (re: the service station guy near The Point hotel they stay at).

Also, the ending. Holy smokes. I can't give it away for spoilers, but after 500 pages of tense, nuclear fear, the end result is silly.

Still, the next one of the Carey series is on my To Be Read List, so it is keeping my interest.]]> 4.02 2006
author: Nelson DeMille
name: Ken
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/28
date added: 2024/03/28
shelves:
review:
The John Carey series is fun to read, but the plots seem to get a bit more far-fetched. In this one, Carey continues to defy bosses' orders to save the world from nuclear annihilation.

Carey keeps his wise-cracking, smart-aleck ways, even in dire situations. That, alone is fun, but far-fetched. I mean, when you have five weapons aimed at you and the chance for survival is pretty low, I'd not be popping off with insults. But, that's Carey's signature and Nelson DeMille has created a good fictional character that we expect to behave that way. Suspension of belief is a must.

And make no mistake, Nelson DeMille is a great adventure writer. I'd put his stuff far above other authors like James Patterson or David Baldacci, et al. This one is a long novel; a lot involves driving around making turns, coming to intersections, meeting insignificant people several times (re: the service station guy near The Point hotel they stay at).

Also, the ending. Holy smokes. I can't give it away for spoilers, but after 500 pages of tense, nuclear fear, the end result is silly.

Still, the next one of the Carey series is on my To Be Read List, so it is keeping my interest.
]]> 40940631
Five years later, the fate of TWA Flight 800 has been attributed to a mechanical malfunction. But for John Corey and his wife Kate Mayfield, both members of the elite Anti-Terrorist Task Force, the case is not closed. Suspicious of a cover-up, they set out to find the one piece of evidence that will prove their theory-that at least two other people are determined to keep hidden: a videotape of the unbelievable truth.]]> 576 Nelson DeMille Ken 4
DeMille does a nice job weaving all the conspiracy theories during John Carey's investigation. And then there's that video tape of the incident by the couple who were filming themselves on the beach. This was a bit of a stretch in that cops immediately realized, based on finding a lens cap on the beach, that the two were having an affair, taping themselves doing.. uh.. things and then running away. Finding the couple five years later was also a bit unbelievable.

Fact aside, the story moves along. It's a big book. The one I read was 488 pages long. It reads quickly.

The ending is where it drops. DeMille admits in the acknowledgments that he had no idea how to end the story. He "painted himself in a corner," he wrote and relied on his son's idea to finish it. Keep in mind, the final action occurred in downtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001. Remember what happened that day? So, if you're looking for resolution, a wrap-up of who would shoot down a jet, why they did it or was it really mechanical error, it ain't here. Maybe that comes with the constraints of using a true event in fiction, but it's not the most fulfilling read you could find.]]> 4.23 2004
author: Nelson DeMille
name: Ken
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/18
date added: 2024/03/19
shelves:
review:
I'll actually drop this to a 3.5-rating because of the rapid ending. It's a lengthy book with lots of ideas... somehow TWA 800 blew up over Long Island in 1996. Was it a missile? Pilot error? An errant death ray from a nearby science base?

DeMille does a nice job weaving all the conspiracy theories during John Carey's investigation. And then there's that video tape of the incident by the couple who were filming themselves on the beach. This was a bit of a stretch in that cops immediately realized, based on finding a lens cap on the beach, that the two were having an affair, taping themselves doing.. uh.. things and then running away. Finding the couple five years later was also a bit unbelievable.

Fact aside, the story moves along. It's a big book. The one I read was 488 pages long. It reads quickly.

The ending is where it drops. DeMille admits in the acknowledgments that he had no idea how to end the story. He "painted himself in a corner," he wrote and relied on his son's idea to finish it. Keep in mind, the final action occurred in downtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001. Remember what happened that day? So, if you're looking for resolution, a wrap-up of who would shoot down a jet, why they did it or was it really mechanical error, it ain't here. Maybe that comes with the constraints of using a true event in fiction, but it's not the most fulfilling read you could find.
]]> 4671 The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0743273567 Ken 5
Everyone seems to be good. Tom and Daisy appear to have a good marriage. Gatsby appears to be perfect. But there are secrets and it seems everyone is hiding something. Even perfection, as in the case of the Gatsby character, goes awry at times. So, the search for the American Dream -- a theme for a lot of novels-- is apparently far-fetched.

The last American Dream novel I read was Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." In that, the dream is revealed at the end with a breakfast diner on the edge of town filled with people who lost their life savings at the casinos. It's interest that Thompson wrote that take, too. He admitted to sitting at his typewriter and copying Fitzgerald's "Gatsby" word for word so he could feel what it was like to write the perfect novel.]]> 3.93 1925
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Ken
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/16
date added: 2024/03/18
shelves:
review:
I had forgotten how sarcastic and bitterly written The Great Gatsby is. Fitzgerald uses great prose in writing of beautiful metaphors as a contrast to show the decadence and fakeness of the people he presents.

Everyone seems to be good. Tom and Daisy appear to have a good marriage. Gatsby appears to be perfect. But there are secrets and it seems everyone is hiding something. Even perfection, as in the case of the Gatsby character, goes awry at times. So, the search for the American Dream -- a theme for a lot of novels-- is apparently far-fetched.

The last American Dream novel I read was Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." In that, the dream is revealed at the end with a breakfast diner on the edge of town filled with people who lost their life savings at the casinos. It's interest that Thompson wrote that take, too. He admitted to sitting at his typewriter and copying Fitzgerald's "Gatsby" word for word so he could feel what it was like to write the perfect novel.
]]> 698154
The case of Manuel Rodriguez is a prime example. Rodriguez is accused of brutally murdering a college student, a kind young man who had a bright future. Marty has worked hard on this case; as the mother of a teenage son, she identifies with the murdered boy's grieving parents. Her case against Rodriguez is so solid that even public defender Harry Madigan -- the champion of the Cape's underdogs -- expects a conviction. And, on Memorial Day, exactly a year after the crime, the verdict comes in: guilty as charged. Justice prevails.

Then, with Rodriguez behind bars, another body turns up in disturbingly similar circumstances. Did Marty and her colleagues target the wrong man? Her supervisor -- Geraldine Schilling, who aspires to be the county's first female D.A. -- refuses to reopen such a high-profile case. Why should she? The prosecutors played by the rules and won big. But Marty fears that the real killer will strike again.

With her career on the line and lives at stake, Marty must rely on her own moral compass, legal savvy, and gut instinct as she matches wits with a twisted killer. The system itself is on trial as Marty tries to serve Justice, not merely the Law.

Only an author with years of courtroom experience could add such riveting authenticity to a novel thatasks important questions and provides surprising answers. Rose Connors's "Absolute Certainty" introduces a new crime-writing star.]]> 304 Rose Connors 0743229061 Ken 3
I read this back in the early 2000s and thought it was really good. I saw the book recently when a rural library was closing and giving away books. I remembered thinking it was an entertaining book. This time, however, it really fell short. Maybe it's because I'm older. Maybe it's the experiences of life gained over that 20 years. Who knows.

I experienced the same thing when I read Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. First time I read it was in early 1980s and thought it was funny. I read it again in the early 2000s and thought it was really dumb. I read it a third time maybe 5 years ago and saw the brilliant satire. Different times of reading, different reactions.

That said, Absolute Certainty is not a bad book. It's just flat in some cases and the characters aren't developed well enough. Also, the writing of any action is a bit difficult and it reads almost secondary. The entire book is written in present tense, but I found I had to go back and read over some passages to make sure I got what happened.

Anyway, it's weird. You read a book once and think it's really good. Then, two decades later you read the same book and have a totally different opinion of it.
]]> 3.70 2002
author: Rose Connors
name: Ken
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2024/03/14
date added: 2024/03/14
shelves:
review:
This book showed me how the same book, read nearly 20 years apart, creates totally different reactions.

I read this back in the early 2000s and thought it was really good. I saw the book recently when a rural library was closing and giving away books. I remembered thinking it was an entertaining book. This time, however, it really fell short. Maybe it's because I'm older. Maybe it's the experiences of life gained over that 20 years. Who knows.

I experienced the same thing when I read Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. First time I read it was in early 1980s and thought it was funny. I read it again in the early 2000s and thought it was really dumb. I read it a third time maybe 5 years ago and saw the brilliant satire. Different times of reading, different reactions.

That said, Absolute Certainty is not a bad book. It's just flat in some cases and the characters aren't developed well enough. Also, the writing of any action is a bit difficult and it reads almost secondary. The entire book is written in present tense, but I found I had to go back and read over some passages to make sure I got what happened.

Anyway, it's weird. You read a book once and think it's really good. Then, two decades later you read the same book and have a totally different opinion of it.

]]> 63000420
Have you ever wanted to know what your cat really thinks? Professional artist Lili Chin explores felines in this whimsical visual guide to reading and understanding the feelings and behaviors of your kitty.

Packed with playful, vibrant, and informative illustrations, Chin demystifies common behaviors—including sniffing, rubbing, kneading, staring, stalking, and more—so you can help your kitty feel safe, secure, stimulated, and happy. Did you know that the further apart your cat's ears are, the less relaxed he is feeling? Or that when kitty bumps you with the top of her head, it can be a sign of affection, a request for interaction, or her way of saying, "You are my friend"?

A well-known artist in the animal training and welfare world, Chin creates informational artwork backed by scientific research and vetted by animal behaviorists and veterinarians. From head rubs and tail twitches to eye blinks and ear flicks, Kitty Language is a fun and quick read to help pet parents connect with and appreciate their feline friends.]]> 160 Lili Chin 1984861980 Ken 4 Cute. Interesting. Fun. Meow 4.45
author: Lili Chin
name: Ken
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/07
date added: 2024/03/13
shelves:
review:
Cute. Interesting. Fun. Meow
]]> 349681 432 Ann Rule 075152669X Ken 5
Some of the facts are repeated, but I think they're done so because of the chronological order of the events. Rule opens with the defendant's early life, her first marriage and then her marriage to Mike Farrar to set who Debora Green really is. Some of the repetition... mainly the potential use of ricin in poisoning Farrar... was presented, I think, more than one time to show both the prosecution's and the defense attorney's take on that.

I was a reporter for a daily newspaper for more than 20 years and have covered many homicide trials. I thought Rule did a very fair job; she didn't convict Green in her writing, but let the story tell itself. In fact, I felt she tried to give all sides a chance. She met with Green a few times in prison after her conviction in an attempt to accurately portray what Green wanted to say. However, Green seemed to waffle in her story and Rule noted that.

This is a well-researched work. Rule wrote dates of events and cross-checked them with police notes, prosecutor's information and witnesses.

This book shows why she's the go-to whenever you want to read a true crime book.]]> 4.07 1997
author: Ann Rule
name: Ken
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2024/03/09
date added: 2024/03/09
shelves:
review:
This one proves why Ann Rule is the queen of the true crime books. She presents meticulous detail and research in covering an arson, double-homicide and attempted poisoning murder of the defendant's husband.

Some of the facts are repeated, but I think they're done so because of the chronological order of the events. Rule opens with the defendant's early life, her first marriage and then her marriage to Mike Farrar to set who Debora Green really is. Some of the repetition... mainly the potential use of ricin in poisoning Farrar... was presented, I think, more than one time to show both the prosecution's and the defense attorney's take on that.

I was a reporter for a daily newspaper for more than 20 years and have covered many homicide trials. I thought Rule did a very fair job; she didn't convict Green in her writing, but let the story tell itself. In fact, I felt she tried to give all sides a chance. She met with Green a few times in prison after her conviction in an attempt to accurately portray what Green wanted to say. However, Green seemed to waffle in her story and Rule noted that.

This is a well-researched work. Rule wrote dates of events and cross-checked them with police notes, prosecutor's information and witnesses.

This book shows why she's the go-to whenever you want to read a true crime book.
]]> 33810 The hair-raising suspense of The General's Daughter... the wry wit of The Gold Coast...this is vintage Nelson DeMille at the peak of his originality and the height of his powers.
Wounded in the line of duty, NYPD homicide cop John Corey is convalescing in rural eastern Long Island when an attractive young couple he knows is found shot to death on the family patio. The victims were biologists at Plum Island, a research site rumored to be an incubator for germ warfare.
Suddenly, a local double murder takes on shattering global implications—and thrusts Corey and two extraordinary women into a dangerous search for the secret of PLUM ISLAND…]]> 592 Nelson DeMille 0446679089 Ken 4
At first, Carey is pretty abrasive. His comments on women and his objectifying them are over the top, as his shunning of legal protocol. Think Connelly's Bosch with an immature look at sex and relationships and all. (I mean, for cryin' out loud, there's a line he says, "Keep your peepee in your tepee.")

But maybe this was all done to build up Carey's character and show there is a caring side somewhere in it. His relationship with detective Beth Penrose shows that somewhat.

The book begins slowly with double homicide and then a tour of Plum Island, a bioscience area for studying animal diseases. Throw in the thought that they may have anthrax and ebola (which isn't true at the real Plum Island) and there's a scare factor. Did the scientists murdered have something to do with toxic diseases? There's also a ton of stuff on Capt. Kidd and buried treasurer along Long Island as well.

The ending is fast-paced and I thought DeMille could carry a story well. His characters are fun and the description of the land of Long Island is really nice. I'm sure I'll try another Carey book just to see if he has grown up some.
]]> 4.04 1997
author: Nelson DeMille
name: Ken
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2024/03/03
date added: 2024/03/04
shelves:
review:
I'd drop this down to 3.5 stars because of its length and much description and inner dialogue with John Carey that may not really add to the story. However, the action is good and I think it's a good first offering in DeMille's series featuring this guy.

At first, Carey is pretty abrasive. His comments on women and his objectifying them are over the top, as his shunning of legal protocol. Think Connelly's Bosch with an immature look at sex and relationships and all. (I mean, for cryin' out loud, there's a line he says, "Keep your peepee in your tepee.")

But maybe this was all done to build up Carey's character and show there is a caring side somewhere in it. His relationship with detective Beth Penrose shows that somewhat.

The book begins slowly with double homicide and then a tour of Plum Island, a bioscience area for studying animal diseases. Throw in the thought that they may have anthrax and ebola (which isn't true at the real Plum Island) and there's a scare factor. Did the scientists murdered have something to do with toxic diseases? There's also a ton of stuff on Capt. Kidd and buried treasurer along Long Island as well.

The ending is fast-paced and I thought DeMille could carry a story well. His characters are fun and the description of the land of Long Island is really nice. I'm sure I'll try another Carey book just to see if he has grown up some.

]]> 35031085 This is a previously-published edition of ISBN 9780143131847.

Mary Shelley's seminal novel of the scientist whose creation becomes a monster.

This edition is the original 1818 text, which preserves the hard-hitting and politically charged aspects of Shelley's original writing, as well as her unflinching wit and strong female voice. This edition also includes a new introduction and suggestions for further reading by author and Shelley expert Charlotte Gordon, literary excerpts and reviews selected by Gordon and a chronology and essay by preeminent Shelley scholar Charles E. Robinson.]]> 260 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 0143131842 Ken 4
The daemon in this book doesn't make a real appearance until about a third of the way through the book and then, he shows up as Frankenstein is slumbering. He's not scary.

There was only a brief hint of how Franky made the dude -- a reference to him watching a lightning storm destroy a tree early on. There's none of the "It's alive. It's alive!" here. Instead, the implied horror is the concept of acting like god and creating life and its consequences.

The writing is very good, especially considering this was penned over 200 years ago by Shelley when she was 18. It's hard to understand how she got the insight into the depth of this story. Yeah, it's a hideous monster made out of parts, but the horror is more of the shunning it gets and its attempt to find companionship. Man's basic need for that is evident and, sadly, the monster's only friend is a blind villager who cannot see him.

It's a replication of humanity. When the creator is rejected, he finally devotes his life to ruining Frankenstein's life by attempting to eliminate his companionship as well. And this is where the book is brilliant. The last third of the book really shows Frankenstein's narcissism, the monster's desire for companionship turned to revenge and the majority of humanity's shunning of those things not "normal."

In this story, the creature is not the stumbling, mumbling, bumbling critter that we saw Boris Karloff create in the 1931 film classic. Shelley's monster learns to think by reading Milton's Lost Paradise and books of philosophy. There's no Abby Normal brain his his skullcap.

There is a lot of depression in this book. It is late 1700-England after all. I think depression was the national sport then.

Bottom line. I read this book when I was about 10 but didn't get the perspective I've got now half a century later. Again, consider that Shelley was a youngster when she wrote this and it began merely as a story in a competition with her writer friends to tell a ghost story. The monster here is not the creature, per se, but the failure to gain acceptance, love and companionship and its results of such.
]]> 4.02 1818
author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
name: Ken
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1818
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/25
date added: 2024/02/27
shelves:
review:
Perchance, thy reader, if you were to delve into lass Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein expecting the frightfulness of the creature seen in the scores of later made films, you fall into a swoon akin to one of those fainting spells you see Victorian women do all the time.

The daemon in this book doesn't make a real appearance until about a third of the way through the book and then, he shows up as Frankenstein is slumbering. He's not scary.

There was only a brief hint of how Franky made the dude -- a reference to him watching a lightning storm destroy a tree early on. There's none of the "It's alive. It's alive!" here. Instead, the implied horror is the concept of acting like god and creating life and its consequences.

The writing is very good, especially considering this was penned over 200 years ago by Shelley when she was 18. It's hard to understand how she got the insight into the depth of this story. Yeah, it's a hideous monster made out of parts, but the horror is more of the shunning it gets and its attempt to find companionship. Man's basic need for that is evident and, sadly, the monster's only friend is a blind villager who cannot see him.

It's a replication of humanity. When the creator is rejected, he finally devotes his life to ruining Frankenstein's life by attempting to eliminate his companionship as well. And this is where the book is brilliant. The last third of the book really shows Frankenstein's narcissism, the monster's desire for companionship turned to revenge and the majority of humanity's shunning of those things not "normal."

In this story, the creature is not the stumbling, mumbling, bumbling critter that we saw Boris Karloff create in the 1931 film classic. Shelley's monster learns to think by reading Milton's Lost Paradise and books of philosophy. There's no Abby Normal brain his his skullcap.

There is a lot of depression in this book. It is late 1700-England after all. I think depression was the national sport then.

Bottom line. I read this book when I was about 10 but didn't get the perspective I've got now half a century later. Again, consider that Shelley was a youngster when she wrote this and it began merely as a story in a competition with her writer friends to tell a ghost story. The monster here is not the creature, per se, but the failure to gain acceptance, love and companionship and its results of such.

]]> 101135532
In this wondrous and eye-opening exploration, Steve Searles, the renowned and respected "Bear Whisperer" of Mammoth Lakes, takes the reader on a journey into the lives of these remarkable creatures and the world we share.

In the late 1990s, the town of Mammoth Lakes, California hired Steve Searles as a hunter to cull half its troublesome bear population. But as he began to prepare for the grim task, the bears soon won him over, and Searles realized there had to be a better way. He soon developed non-lethal tactics to control their behavior and overpopulation that heralded a landmark moment in the care and handling of the American black bear.

But change was not without its challenges. To some, his success was dismissed due to his lack of formal academic training. Yet Searles never wavered in his commitment, and eventually became not just local folk hero but a nationally recognized expert. This high school dropout saved not just the bears, but, in many ways, his community.

In a tradition that runs from John Muir to Bear Grylls, Searles finds a fellowship with nature and a deeper meaning in the world of bears. Do bears understand things we don’t? Are they dialed in to some greater natural force?

Unlike us, bears waste little time on unreasonable fears. Bears are fully in the moment. They have an inner peace that seems to offset their power and strength. That may explain why no other animal on the planet is as revered as the bear.

As Searles shares his remarkable knowledge and we become immersed in the ursine world, you’ll never look at bears or nature the same way again. Warm and poignant, and perfect for anyone who has been fascinated by the natural world, What the Bears Know shows that wisdom and fulfillment can come from unexpected places.]]> 272 Steve Searles 163936501X Ken 3
So, I grabbed this book up with hopes of learning more about bears and how to become one with them.

Instead, I read about The Bear Whisperer (which I've never seen the show or even heard of it) and how he basically kills all bears that get in the way. It's all very sad. He shoots bears in the face, in trees and around the California town he lives in. He paints his memoir as if he's an outlier, challenging the city ordinances and hopes he can get people to better understand the animals. "Don't Feed Our Bears," he puts on bumpers sticker. Because if you do, he'll come by and shoot them.

The co-author drops in his own blathering about what a great guy Steve is in italicized parts of the book and how he's placed on earth as a magical Native American-type person to better merge with bears. It's all very odd.

Maybe in my cynical, crusty life as a reporter, I was hoping for some niceness. Maybe I was expecting a Polyanna world of Yogi and Bobo bears hanging out and being friends. I loved the show Grizzly Adams because the guy palled with bears and they loved him. Instead, this is more depressing look at how people have to rule the world and eliminate anything that is inconvient.

I give it two bear claws down as a rating.]]> 3.98 2023
author: Steve Searles
name: Ken
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/21
date added: 2024/02/24
shelves:
review:
I love bears. My nickname at the daily newspaper where I worked as "Bear." I saw my first bear in the wild of northern Minnesota outside my parents' tiny lake cabin and I've been hooked ever since.

So, I grabbed this book up with hopes of learning more about bears and how to become one with them.

Instead, I read about The Bear Whisperer (which I've never seen the show or even heard of it) and how he basically kills all bears that get in the way. It's all very sad. He shoots bears in the face, in trees and around the California town he lives in. He paints his memoir as if he's an outlier, challenging the city ordinances and hopes he can get people to better understand the animals. "Don't Feed Our Bears," he puts on bumpers sticker. Because if you do, he'll come by and shoot them.

The co-author drops in his own blathering about what a great guy Steve is in italicized parts of the book and how he's placed on earth as a magical Native American-type person to better merge with bears. It's all very odd.

Maybe in my cynical, crusty life as a reporter, I was hoping for some niceness. Maybe I was expecting a Polyanna world of Yogi and Bobo bears hanging out and being friends. I loved the show Grizzly Adams because the guy palled with bears and they loved him. Instead, this is more depressing look at how people have to rule the world and eliminate anything that is inconvient.

I give it two bear claws down as a rating.
]]> 11082037 Book #15 from the series: Harry Bosch
Listening Length = 7 hours and 6 minutes (Abridged)

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court.

Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.

Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.]]> 388 Michael Connelly 0316069418 Ken 4
He's back to being the lone wolf detective, not fitting in with partners, challenging the politics of the police department and not following orders, all to solve two crimes.

The typical twists we expect from a Connelly novel were there, and there was much more heart in this book than the last one I read. The writing is good, quick-paced and leading. If you want literary prose in a detective novel, read James Lee Burke's stuff. If you want fast entertainment and great story-telling, read Connelly's work.]]> 4.14 2011
author: Michael Connelly
name: Ken
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/24
date added: 2024/02/24
shelves:
review:
After reading Connelly's disappointing short novel The Narrows, which originally was a 16-part series in the New York Times Book Review, I was glad to see Bosch is back.

He's back to being the lone wolf detective, not fitting in with partners, challenging the politics of the police department and not following orders, all to solve two crimes.

The typical twists we expect from a Connelly novel were there, and there was much more heart in this book than the last one I read. The writing is good, quick-paced and leading. If you want literary prose in a detective novel, read James Lee Burke's stuff. If you want fast entertainment and great story-telling, read Connelly's work.
]]> 44643351 Fentanyl, Inc. is the first deep-dive investigation of a hazardous and illicit industry that has created a worldwide epidemic, ravaging communities and overwhelming and confounding government agencies that are challenged to combat it. "A whole new crop of chemicals is radically changing the recreational drug landscape," writes Ben Westhoff. "These are known as Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) and they include replacements for known drugs like heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana. They are synthetic, made in a laboratory, and are much more potent than traditional drugs"--and all-too-often tragically lethal. Drugs like fentanyl, K2, and Spice--and those with arcane acronyms like 25i-NBOMe-- were all originally conceived in legitimate laboratories for proper scientific and medicinal purposes. Their formulas were then hijacked and manufactured by rogue chemists, largely in China, who change their molecular structures to stay ahead of the law, making the drugs' effects impossible to predict. Westhoff has infiltrated this shadowy world, becoming the first journalist to report from inside an illicit Chinese fentanyls lab and providing startling and original reporting on how China's vast chemical industry operates, and how the Chinese government subsidizes it. He tracks down the little-known scientists who invented these drugs and inadvertently killed thousands, as well as a mysterious drug baron who turned the law upside down in his home country of New Zealand. Poignantly, Westhoff chronicles the lives of addicted users and dealers, families of victims, law enforcement officers, and underground drug awareness organizers in the U.S. and Europe. Together they represent the shocking and riveting full anatomy of a calamity we are just beginning to understand. From its depths, as Westhoff relates, are emerging new strategies that may provide essential long-term solutions to the drug crisis that has affected so many.]]> 356 Ben Westhoff 0802127436 Ken 5
This was written in 2018, before the fentanyl addiction got worse (look at Kensington Ave. in Philadelphia on YouTube for shots of the open air drug market and the issues that come with it to get an idea). Westhoff tracks how the drug was made, its intent and the alterations done to skirt laws. He also goes undercover to talk with a Chinese drug maker, posing as someone wanting to buy a lot of the drug.

Parts of the book may get bogged down with the history of drug laws and the science behind making the medications, but overall it is a great and important read.
]]> 3.99 2019
author: Ben Westhoff
name: Ken
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/02/18
date added: 2024/02/20
shelves:
review:
Unbelievably well-researched book about the creation and the proliferation of fentanyl and the ways manufacturers get around laws preventing them from making the drug.

This was written in 2018, before the fentanyl addiction got worse (look at Kensington Ave. in Philadelphia on YouTube for shots of the open air drug market and the issues that come with it to get an idea). Westhoff tracks how the drug was made, its intent and the alterations done to skirt laws. He also goes undercover to talk with a Chinese drug maker, posing as someone wanting to buy a lot of the drug.

Parts of the book may get bogged down with the history of drug laws and the science behind making the medications, but overall it is a great and important read.

]]> 84785 Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harry's one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Bosch's job to prove all of them wrong.

]]> 225 Michael Connelly 0316018953 Ken 3
This is strictly plot-driven and reads more like a John Grisham one-dimensional novel. There's not much of the brooding Bosch in here. Rachel Walling is in this, but in a peripheral position and there's no spark that the two shared in previous books. Instead, Bosch is there to help move along the mystery.

The book is only 225 pages long and it involves the theft of cessium, a radioactive element used in medical treatments, and the homicide of a doctor who was carrying the stuff. In the real Bosch world, this would have been a 400-page book with a lot of twists and turns and medical information. Instead, this is a Cliffs Notes.

Those who are starting out reading Connelly's stuff should probably not start with The Overlook to get a real feel for how good Connelly really is as a fiction writer.
]]> 3.93 2007
author: Michael Connelly
name: Ken
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2024/02/13
date added: 2024/02/14
shelves:
review:
This one first appeared as a 16-part serial installment in the New York Times book magazine, and it shows. This is not by any means the type of stuff Michael Connelly generally churns out. Still, it's probably better than a lot of the fiction out there, simply because it's Connelly.

This is strictly plot-driven and reads more like a John Grisham one-dimensional novel. There's not much of the brooding Bosch in here. Rachel Walling is in this, but in a peripheral position and there's no spark that the two shared in previous books. Instead, Bosch is there to help move along the mystery.

The book is only 225 pages long and it involves the theft of cessium, a radioactive element used in medical treatments, and the homicide of a doctor who was carrying the stuff. In the real Bosch world, this would have been a 400-page book with a lot of twists and turns and medical information. Instead, this is a Cliffs Notes.

Those who are starting out reading Connelly's stuff should probably not start with The Overlook to get a real feel for how good Connelly really is as a fiction writer.

]]>