| House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, 365 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, January 05, 2005 A good read but not for the easily depressed. As you move through the story you try to put together an ending where everything works out. It gets harder and harder as the book goes on. Nothing prepares you for how it finally finishes. | The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, 321 pages Mike Gadd Monday, June 17, 2002 This is the fictional story of the real person Dinah from the Old Testament. She was the only sister of Joseph (with his colorful coat) and only gets a brief mention in Genesis. The story puts you in her shoes and you get an entirely different perspective of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Even though it's entirely fictionalized, it adds dimension to these people you grew up hearing stories about. This book came highly recommended and it held up to expectations. |
Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain, 290 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, February 28, 2002 |
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, 331 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, 276 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, March 13, 2003 After only 2 books this guy has become one of my favorite reads. Reading this was like enjoying my own pint of Ben and Jerry's. His 'walk in the woods' was an attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. The people he met, his buddy he hiked with, the strange noises outside his tent... all meshed into a delightful account. If only he had taken pictures. |
Messiah by Boris Starling, 457 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, June 29, 2002 Bad guy thinks he's the next Messiah and he's looking to kill his 'apostles' in the same manner they died in history in order to bring them to martyrdom. Rather gory but quite intense. Nice character movement throughout and non-hollywood ending a plus. |
Storm by Boris Starling, 427 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, August 22, 2002 Mr. Donahue, take a breath. Put the book down. Go see a movie. I hear the pool's nice. Find another hobby... Anyway- the book. Another serial killer type. Protagonist Kate figures out who bad guy is and drags him in to be questioned. He denies all. Kate goes home to relax with the boyfriend. Oh no! Kate's wrong! The bad guy is the boyfriend! Upstairs with your son! Kate rushes out and hides at a friend's house. Ugh! Now the friend is the bad guy and Kate's in a tight spot. Fortunately a well timed lightning bolt saves the day. A little much, I should say. The first half was pretty good....... James, you're getting sleepy. Very sleepy. |
Stuffed by Brian Wiprud, 354 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 21, 2005 This was a weak attempt at being amusing. A taxidermist runs around chasing an albino crow. He's being chased by penguin boy and a mob of pygmies. Oh dear. |
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, 629 pages Mike Gadd Monday, January 28, 2002 |
Tandia by Bryce Courtenay, 905 pages Mike Gadd Friday, February 15, 2002 |
Black Water Transit by Carsten Stroud, 420 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 31, 2003 'Amazing narrative energy', 'ferociously driven'.... for once I agree with the jacket cover endorsements. This book reminded me of the movie 'The Fugitive' with the pace it took. It needs a new title though. |
Sniper's Moon by Carsten Stroud, 370 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, July 22, 2003 I was halfway done with this one and I left it at home when we went on vacation. I picked it up 5 days later and continued where I left off. I'm sure I lost some of the effect as a result. Having another 'falsely accused and on the run" didn't help. |
Lizardskin by Carsten Stroud, 374 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, August 07, 2003 Another decent book in search of a better title. Not nearly as good as 'Black Water Transit'. |
Cuba Strait by Carsten Stroud, 610 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, April 06, 2005 This will probably be the best book I read this year. Action movie pacing with a fun story. |
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, 356 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, November 26, 2003 Still the best book ever. Frazier is the master of quality metaphors and similes. There's at least 2 on each page. I wanted to read it one more time before the movie come out later this month. |
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian, 372 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, June 25, 2002 This book came highly recommended from the person who gave me 'The Red Tent', otherwise I wouldn't have touched it. I don't do 'Oprah' books. This one is about a midwife who loses a mom while delivering the child. It reads like it's 900 pages long. There's some slight payoff at the end, but the cost to get there is too great. It really bugs me that I have to finish a book no matter how bad it gets. How many days of my life have I lost because of this? Where's my intervention? There must be a self-help book out there to cure me. But what if I don't like it? |
Trial by Ice and Fire by Clinton Mckenzie , 400 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, October 12, 2005 The third in the series and the best one so far. A good mix of mountain climbing and forest fire drama. |
The Edge of Justice by Clinton McKinzie, 420 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, August 27, 2003 The cop in this story likes to rockclimb on the side. We are treated to some authentic sounding climbing techniques amid the story. |
Point of Law by Clinton McKinzie, 417 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, November 09, 2003 Book 2 from the mountain climber / special agent. This one is set in time before the first book. I find that extremely distracting. Otherwise, the rock climbing scenes were engrossing enough. |
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, 569 pages Mike Gadd Monday, May 12, 2003 Cool story about a scientist who discovers and collects antimatter in an attempt to prove that God and science are mutually supportive. He's murdered and the antimatter is stolen. It has the ability to vaporize 6 city blocks in every direction. It's hidden somewhere in the Vatican. The scientist's daughter and a religious specialist are sent to find it. One of the quicker reads of the year. |
Digital Fortress by Dan Brown, 374 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 09, 2004 A little slow out of the gate this year. It's a little musty down here in the basement. You guys enjoying the view up there? A better book to read would have helped. This one had it's moments, but not many. When a 5th grader (conceivably) could figure out the big puzzle at the end before the NSA director character does it leaves a lot to be desired. |
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, 454 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, July 07, 2004 There aren't many author's that I read that do as much research as Mr. Brown. It's hard to find the line where true history crosses over into the story he created. Not as good as 'Angels and Demons', but at least the ending didn't involve any serious eye-rolling. |
Deception Point by Dan Brown, 558 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, July 09, 2005 Along with Digital Fortress, this one can be left on the shelf. A moderately good concept is left begging for some real life characters. There are some ridiculous plot changes and the big 'reveal' at the end couldn't have been worse. |
Big Trouble by Dave Barry, 372 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, January 17, 2004 Daves first attempt at writing that wasn't limited by a word count. Not a bad little story, with a healthy sprinkle of his warped sense of humor. |
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers, 437 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, March 10, 2005 I picked this off the shelf at Target because I liked the way it started. It begins with a Rules and Suggestions for Enjoyment of This Book. He lets the reader know that there is no overwhelming need to read the preface or the acknowledgements sections. You can also skip the table of contents, if you're short on time. You may possibly want to skip pages 239-251. These pages are primarily about twentysomethings whose lives are difficult to make interesting. In the preface there is a whole section of portions of the book that were omitted from the body of the text. He even lists how much money he was paid for writing the book and how the money was spent. The book itself was fine. A self-aware type of memoir. It seemed to run out of steam about 100 pages from the end. |
Mouse Under Glass by David Koenig, 270 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 18, 2002 This book isn't the one I thought it would be. There's one out there that talks about the dark underbelly of Disney and it's parks. It talks about stuff like the work crew who jumps to action when there is an accident on one of the rides. They wisk the injured party into a private meeting room, treat the injured, hose off the ride, and arrive at a settlement. The people still in line see nothing more than a 5 minute delay in getting on the ride. That's the book I wanted. This book just goes through the Disney movies talking about the story that inspired it, how many revisions it went through, plot holes and bloopers. It talks a little about the hidden images people have claimed to see and basically says that they are there. Sometimes the animators get bored or feel like goofing off and they slip stuff into the film to see who catches it. Some stuff didn't get caught. Most of it is innocent enough, although there have been recalls after someone found something. |
A Cold Mind by David L. Lindsey, 311 pages Mike Gadd Friday, February 21, 2003 This book was written in 1983 and was rather contemporary in it's own way. I'm used to reading books that were written within the last couple of years. I had to get used to hearing about the Bee Gees, women being called 'foxy', lp records playing in the background... stuff like that. It took a while to get through it too, with all the snow shoveling and sledding to do. I liked the story well enough, I guess. It helped that the title was fitting. |
Sacred by Dennis Lahane, 400 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, December 16, 2004 More Lahane. Each one seems to improve the series. |
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, 448 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, November 14, 2004 Extremely well done story with lifelike characters and strong emotion. |
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane, 286 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, November 20, 2004 I thought I'd give some of Mr. Lehane's early work a spin. This certainly had more humor than Mystic River did. |
Darkness, Take My Hand by Dennis Lehane, 371 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Pushing through Mr. Lahane's early work. I'm still enjoying the dynamic duo private eye team that drive this series. |
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, 369 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, July 27, 2005 Once again, done in by the blurb on the back cover. You get three quarters of the way in and you figure it is safe to read the free sample on the back. It actually gave away the ending. Very disappointing. The story itself was supposed to play out in a 'Sixth Sense' sort of way, but it had no punch. |
A Cool Breeze on the Underground by Don Winslow, 324 pages Mike Gadd Monday, November 04, 2002 Another British mystery, another decent book. It's tough, though, finding a good read, and then learning that it was a rookie effort. I have to wait for the next one to come out. |
The Death and Life of Bobby Z by Don Winslow, 308 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, April 03, 2004 Slow start, decent finish. Not one of his better stories. |
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, 466 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, January 04, 2003 Contrary to brother Steve’s opinion these guys know how to write a great book. They’ve done three of my all-time favorites. This one took a little longer to develop but by the time it reached the big finish I was fully engaged. No predictable plot twists or lame story lines, just strong characters and a thrilling finish. |
Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child, 565 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, July 28, 2004 Somewhat of a sequel to 'Cabinet of Curiosities'. This one didn't have the story or the suspense of their previous books. The payoff wasn't even very good. A rare disappointment from these guys. |
Brimstone by Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child, 752 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, June 12, 2005 Good to see my favorite writers back on track after Still Life with Crows. A good story this time with a main character that gets more fascinating the more you learn. |
The Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison, 403 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, June 05, 2002 Not a bad book, but difficult to read. My ignorance of the plight of the Tibetan monk was what slowed me down. I now have a better understanding of the type of issues that give Richard Gere fits. The story boils down to a murder of a Chinese official near a Tibetan prison camp. The prison warden learns one of the prisoners is a former investigator. He wants the prisoner to write up the paperwork in a quick and tidy fashion to keep the higher ups off his back. Stuff turns up and suspense ensues. |
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, 356 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, August 21, 2002 There are some serious and downright shocking problems in the food industry in this country. Too many issues to sum up here. Consider this though: Beef for school lunches is purchased on the basis of lowest price. This beef is the most likely to contain deadly pathogens, as well as pieces of spinal cord, bone, and gristle. Cattle that are diseased or already dead are also used. What''s wrong with this picture? Until 1997 livestock were fed rendered remains of cats and dogs, purchased from animal shelters. Now it''s just pigs, horses and chicken. Cows are not designed to eat meat. They are pumped up with growth hormones to compensate. Slaughterhouses are allowed to inspect their own facilities. Meat that is left hanging too long before being cleaned is sold to other companies to be used under another name. It goes on and on. Not everything I learned is gross, just the parts I''ll remember for a long time. |
Gates of Eden by Ethan Coen, 261 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, March 07, 2004 Here's an example of how reading the book jacket would have come in handy. I was about 100 pages in and the story just wasn't making any sense. I'm all for bringing in new story lines along the way and then pulling them all together in a big finish, but this was getting out of hand. When I finally read the back cover I learned that this was a book of short stories. Duh. It didn't help that I was still in my drug induced fog trying to recover from the plague. |
Who is Wanda Fuca? by G.M. Ford, 314 pages Mike Gadd Friday, March 08, 2002 |
Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt, 355 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, March 27, 2002 |
The Final Detail by Harlan Coben, 372 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, April 02, 2003 Despite starting this series six books in I quite enjoyed this story. High levels of sarcasm and dry wit kept the story flowing nicely. |
Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben, 343 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, September 11, 2003 Another go with the sports agent crime fighter. Enough sarcastic banter for even me. |
Fade Away by Harlan Coben, 324 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, February 05, 2004 Another well done story about the sports agent turned crime solver. |
Gone for Good by Harlan Coben, 420 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, February 12, 2004 I can't think of another book I've read that spins you around as much as this one, and yet it still keeps it's focus. You're not overwhelmed with characters to try to keep track of as the curveballs keep coming at you. |
Darkest Fear by Harlan Coben, 319 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, February 24, 2004 Another adventure for Myron Bolitor- Sports Agent/Detective. |
Just One Look by Harlan Coben, 352 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, July 01, 2004 This writer's stand alone mysteries tend to lose some of their enjoyment because of the 30 pages necessary at the end to sort out the complicated mess. |
Tell No One by Harlen Coben, 370 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, July 16, 2003 A story about a doctor whose wife was murdered 8 years ago trying to get on with his life. He gets a strange email that links him to a web cam where he sees his wife face the camera and say "I'm sorry". Strange things happen and he ends up falsely accused and on the run. The story pretzeled up a little too much by the time it ended. |
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell, 384 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, November 11, 2004 |
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, 333 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, July 16, 2002 What can I say about 'The Hobbit'? I'm probably one of the last to read it. Of the people I talk to about it it seems the ones who had to read it in school liked it less than those who chose to read it. It's not a bad story, all in all. I have a copy of 'The Lord of the Rings' at home but it's over 1000 pages and the type is half the size. I don't want to spend the next two months reading it- Jeff's too far ahead as it is. I'm hearing so many good things about the movie that just came out I may read it just to see how close it comes to the story. |
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1346 pages Mike Gadd Monday, August 12, 2002 Phew! Finally done. What a great story though. I can''t imagine being tested on it for school. The index for people and place names was 18 pages long. No wonder people hated it who were forced to read it. The story itself rolls along quite merrily- full of all the ups and downs of a good adventure. Time to go watch the movie. |
Bringing up Boys by James Dobson, 284 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 08, 2004 |
Others by James Herbert, 470 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, December 08, 2004 One of the more unique main characters. This one was born malformed and got worse as he got older. He doesn't let his physical limitations keep him from getting his detective work done. This story turned pretty dark before it wrapped up. |
Maximum Impact by Jean Heller, 632 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, May 22, 2002 Interesting but tedious story about a newspaper reporter investigating the deadliest airline crash in US history. Too many plot points to keep your interest and too few twists to tickle your fancy. Would have been much better cut in half. |
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, 288 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 28, 2005 A rather unique turn on the serial killer theme. In this case the killer works as a blood specialist at the police lab. He only kills 'bad people'. He is shocked and impressed to some degree to find a crime scene that mimics one of his own. He's not sure if someone is on to him or maybe he's having blackout episodes where he unknowingly is committing the crimes. |
Year Zero by Jeff Long, 406 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, May 07, 2002 |
The Reckoning by Jeff Long, 384 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, October 18, 2005 The Descent is Jeff Long's best work and in my top 10. This one doesn’t reach near that level, but was still entertaining. He's one of the best descriptive writers I'm familiar with. This story has several quality scenes in it, but the ending was empty. I just didn't get it. That doesn't settle well with my need for closure. |
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides, 249 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, March 20, 2005 Since I enjoyed Ms. Coppola's 'Lost in Translation' so much I thought I'd give her another shot. I prefer to read the book version first whenever there is a movie to follow. This book was well written despite the subject matter. I don't recommend bookending this one with The House of Sand and Fog. I also can't remember a story told in the first person where you don't really know who the 'first person' is. He's just one of the guys, but you never even get his name. |
Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter, 401 pages Mike Gadd Friday, April 05, 2002 |
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, 218 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, July 19, 2005 Very similar to 'Into Thin Air' in it's compelling real-life drama. The writer tried his best to put his torturous experience into words without it becoming too cartoon-like. Very well done. Complete with good pix and a map for the cartographically inclined. |
Whipping Boy by John Byrne, 498 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 21, 2005 Slow read about a 15 year old boy with the ability to take everyone's pain and guilt away from all the bad stuff they ever did. It ends up being a temporary fix and violence ensues. |
The Killing Kind by John Connelly, 388 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, June 11, 2002 Part 3 of the Charlie 'Bird' Parker detective series. He see's dead people. He shoots bad guys. He lost his family in episode 1 and has spent his time trying to ease the suffering of innocent people. The bad guy in this book uses spiders to do his dirty work. This one is good enough to continue with number 4. |
Black Angel by John Connelly, 496 pages Mike Gadd Monday, August 15, 2005 The strongest and best written of the series. The character builds in its complexity and you begin to see some of the bigger picture of why bad things keep happening to him. |
Dark Hollow by John Connolly, 489 pages Mike Gadd Friday, March 22, 2002 |
The White Road by John Connolly, 408 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, November 02, 2004 Nicely done story #4 featuring the haunted Charley Parker. |
The Reflecting Eye by John Connolly, 102 pages Mike Gadd Monday, August 01, 2005 A short story to continue the adventure of Charlie Parker. I don't like shorts as a rule. They are too limiting. I like to sink my teeth into the story and ride it out. I don't mind a 800 page book as long as it can carry you through. |
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham, 177 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, February 20, 2002 |
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson , 275 pages Mike Gadd Monday, October 24, 2005 This was the book I thought 'Secret Life of Bees' was going to be. Touching and humorous, it also wrapped up well. |
The Bird Yard by Julia Wallis Martin, 340 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, October 09, 2002 What a treat it is to get a book that's this good when you're not expecting much of anything. Rather creepy and extremely British. I almost needed an english/american dictionary to figure out what they were talking about. |
A Likeness in Stone by Julia Wallis Martin, 280 pages Mike Gadd Monday, December 30, 2002 This story went a different direction from what I was expecting. You don't get too deep with the characters but the story is strong. I liked where it ended up. |
Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter, 393 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, December 04, 2002 Not a bad rookie effort but it certainly won't have 'Patricia Cornwell glancing nervously in her rearview mirror' as the book jacket claims. Characters are too one-dimensional and the climax falls flat. How lame is it to have the bad guy drown because he can't swim? We're supposed to be satisfied by this? I think I'll likely pass on book 2. |
Echo Burning by Lee Child, 354 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, January 08, 2003 This book about made me sweat. It takes place in the heart of Texas in the middle of summer. The vivid descriptions of the 115 degree heat made me forget it was winter outside. Good story too. Tough guy/drifter gets picked up by a desperate woman who claims her husband beats her and she's got nowhere to go. He goes home with her and takes care of business. |
Without Fail by Lee Child, 374 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, June 25, 2003 This is book number 5 and they just keep getting better. Jack Reacher's motto is 'hit them hard, hit them fast, hit them a lot'. He's hired by the Secret Service to see if he can get through their defenses and get to the Vice President only to find out that there's someone out there trying to do just that. |
Persuader by Lee Child, 465 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, April 14, 2004 The more I read from this guy the more I like him. Great character development over the 6 books he's done so far. The plot moves along nicely and the big finish is always plausible. |
The Enemy by Lee Child, 464 pages Mike Gadd Friday, May 13, 2005 Number 8 in the series takes us back to the beginning for a look into what made Jack Reacher who he is. |
Utopia by Lincoln Child, 385 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, June 18, 2003 Like Michael Crichten's "Prey", this one gets lost in all the special effects and techno-speak. It takes place in a futuristic amusement park where someone is trying to steal the technology and tear the place down. Are we supposed to care about robots as characters? |
Holes by Louis Sachar, 240 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, June 01, 2003 Good little story. I read it to see if it would be appropriate for my fifth grader. An easy movie to make as well. |
The Halo Effect by M.J. Rose, 371 pages Mike Gadd Monday, October 03, 2005 Lousy story; horrible writing. One of the coworkers who I screen books for said her daughter highly recommended this book to her. I had to read it first to see if it's worthy. It took about 5 pages to determine that it wasn't. High school level quality at best. |
Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham, 432 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, August 17, 2003 In a variation of the serial killer theme, this bad guy doesn't actually want to kill his victims, just cause a massive stroke that renders them motionless but fully conscious. It was a pretty good story for a first attempt. |
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon, 226 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 30, 2004 A superb little story written from the point of view of an autistic 15 year old boy. He finds the neighbor's dog has been killed in the front yard and he decides to write a mystery story where he solves the crime. He doesn't understand jokes or emotions and he's not capable of lying. When he gets stressed he counts to 50 while cubing each number in his head. You get a really good feel for what it's like to be autistic. |
Slicky Boys by Martin Limon, 387 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, May 27, 2003 A soldier is murdered in post-war Korea and the investigator thinks the perp is a 'slicky boy'. Slicky boys are the kids who sneak into the army supply buildings and steal only 4% of the inventory. That's the limit of what's is written off as loss and replaced without question. I almost learned some Korean reading this. |
A Brother's Blood by Michael C. White, 323 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, October 16, 2002 This has to be the slowest moving whodunit I've ever read. The subject matter seemed reasonable enough, it just went nowhere and took too long to get there. I did learn that there was a POW camp in Maine that held Germans during WWII. For the story, a prisoner escapes and drowns in a nearby lake. Jump to present day and the prisoner's brother is in town asking questions about what happened. Nobody's talking. Not a good way to move a book along. The story leaked out like it was being leached from a stone. |
City of Bones by Michael Connelly, 394 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, May 25, 2002 Another in the series of Harry Bosch crime solvers. There must be at least 7 by now. This one falls in the middle of the pack. It's a 25 year old murder case that strikes close to Harry's childhood. It didn't have the suspense of a current case where he's out there chasing the bad guy. His personal life never catches a break either. Still worth reading and I look forward to the next one. |
Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly, 372 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, November 07, 2002 I've read 11 Connelly books up to now and I've enjoyed them all. Some were better than others but they were all worth reading. Until now. What a dud. It's as if he lent his name out to some high school kid and let him right a story. This book introduced a new main character and I wish he had been killed off at the end. I hope we don't see any more with this guy. In April another book comes out with the previous character and we can get back on track. |
Lost Light by Michael Connelly, 360 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, June 04, 2003 Harry Bosch is back. Thank goodness. The last Connelly book was so incredibly awful I'm choosing to forget that he wrote it. This book had a wonderful ending that had nothing to do with the main story. |
The Narrows by Michael Connelly, 405 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, June 09, 2004 Back on track with Harry Bosch. Now we're pulling in characters from past novels that weren't related before. It was fun seeing these characters complain about the roles they played in the 'Bloodwork' movie. |
The Closers by Michael Connelly, 416 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, August 20, 2005 Harry Bosch is back at the police force working 'open/unsolved' cases. He finally makes it through a whole book without his life falling apart in the process. |
Prey by Michael Crichten, 367 pages Mike Gadd Monday, December 09, 2002 Very disappointing. I expected a much better effort. The subject matter seemed so promising too. It wasn't for a lack of research on his part, it just wasn't a very good story. 'Timeline' was so much better. Maybe next time. |
Beam Me Up, Scotty by Michael Guinzburg, 243 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, February 02, 2005 |
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje, 307 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, February 07, 2002 |
Rift in Time by Michael Phillips, 480 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, May 02, 2002 |
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom, 198 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, December 04, 2003 An interesting concept brought together rather nicely. Joe Regular dies in a work related accident and is surprised to find heaven isn't what he expected. He is introduced to 5 people he impacted during his lifetime who explain to him the meaning and purpose of his life. |
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, 192 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, March 16, 2004 Very touching account of the author's visits with an old college professor suffering from ALS. |
The Treatment by Mo Hayder, 390 pages Mike Gadd Monday, March 04, 2002 |
The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder, 363 pages Mike Gadd Friday, May 06, 2005 The author of some of the most disturbing material I have ever read takes on a subject matter that doesn't need embellishing to make it horrible. We get a two-sided story here with both present day Japan and historical China represented. The writer weaves a couple of characters through her rendition of this tragic event. |
Hush by MS. Anne Frasier, 378 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, August 08, 2004 |
Death from the Woods by MS. Brigitte Aubert, 279 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, December 24, 2003 The main character is a deaf, mute, parapalegic and she solves the mystery. Major points for originality even though the ending was a little over the top. |
A Child's Book of True Crime by MS. Chloe Hooper, 238 pages Mike Gadd Friday, March 26, 2004 This book was lousy. It had potential, but when a parallel storyline kicked in on alternate chapters with talking animals it lost me. Next time leave Kitty Koala and Terence Tiger at home. |
The Deep End of the Ocean by MS. Jacquelyn Mitchard, 434 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, June 02, 2005 I only read this because it was supposed to be the most favorite book of a friend of mine. She wanted me to read the story of the Wicked Witch of the West before Dorothy squished her but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I caved on this one. I can happily give it back. Part 2 of this book was better than part one, but not by much. The first half dealt with a family whose 3 year old simply disappears while they are in a hotel lobby. I really don't need to see the depths and levels of depression they all go through. I'll pass on the movie, too. |
A Map of the World by MS. Jane Hamilton, 390 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Probably the first book I've ever read just because of the title. The 'Oprah' endorsement should have been a warning. Apparently, she likes depressing stories. In this one, a farmer's wife (the local school nurse), has a neighbor's child drown in her pond as she is supposed to be babysitting her. Then she's accused of molesting half the schoolchildren and she's thrown in jail. The husband has to sell the family farm to bail her out and then they leave town after she's aquitted to try to start a new life. There. I just saved you the trouble. |
Kisscut by MS. Karin Slaughter, 359 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, February 06, 2003 Everybody duck, this book is flying out the window. Ptooey, blech and ugh. What a pile of detritus. The first book by this author was tight, fast-paced, and a nice read. This book goes so far beyond the sophomore slump, it basically killed the series for me. Hopefully this will be the worst book I read this year. |
In a Strange City by MS. Laura Lippman, 376 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, March 25, 2003 Decent enough story once you got into it. It tended to get a little too descriptive with details that had nothing to do with the story. The author must have been paid by the page. |
The Power of Logical Thinking by MS. Marilyn Vos Savant, 203 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, May 15, 2003 Not a bad find for a buck at the Dollar Tree store. "Ask Marilyn" covers some of my favorite topics including puzzles and paradoxes and how numbers and statistics can mislead. She includes 2 classic brain teasers I've enjoyed since brother Steve gave them to me years ago. One involves a game show with three curtains, the other one has 3 travelers stopping at a hotel and splitting the cost of a room. The game show puzzle sparked a yearlong and worldwide controversy as college professors, mathematicians, and statisticians refused to accept the answer. Half the book reveals how easy it is to get numbers and statistics to lie. This is especially popular within the political landscape. |
Monkeewrench by MS. P.J. Tracy, 432 pages Mike Gadd Monday, February 28, 2005 Nicely written thriller about a killer imitating scenes from an unreleased computer game. |
Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed by MS. Patricia Cornwell, 367 pages Mike Gadd Monday, January 26, 2004 Whether or not you think she's right Ms. Cornwell put in a fair amount of time trying to prove her point. You get a detailed write-up of each crime scene as well as witness statements and autopsy descriptions. Modern day forensics wouldn't have had too much trouble catching this guy, but back then there wasn't much done. Some of her arguments seem pretty strong, while others are terribly weak. Several times she makes the case that since she can't prove that somebody was not in a particular place then he must have been there. The 'perp' happens to be a famous British painter and I've read that Ms. Cornwell bought quite a few of his original paintings. She even sliced one up hoping to find some evidence underneath the paint. Quite the dedicated one she is. |
Live Bait by Ms. PJ Tracy, 394 pages Mike Gadd Monday, April 25, 2005 Enjoyable sequel to Monkeewrench. Not as fast-paced but at least you know you enjoy the characters. |
The Secret Life of Bees by MS. Sue Monk Kidd, 316 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, February 29, 2004 Not the magical story I had been told. Touching story about an teenage girl who runs away from an abusive dad in the deep south during the 60's. Not for those looking for a pick-me-up. |
The Heartreader by MS. Terri Blackstone, 144 pages Mike Gadd Monday, May 17, 2004 Simple but effective story about a lukewarm Christian who is given the ability to 'hear' the unspoken needs and feelings of the people around him. He uses what he hears to share his faith with the people he meets. |
The Whole Truth by Nancy Pickard, 339 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 18, 2002 |
The Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille, 626 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, November 27, 2002 The Great Gatsby meets The Godfather. Very entertaining read, just took awhile to get through it. |
Plum Island by Nelson DeMille, 574 pages Mike Gadd Monday, September 22, 2003 A cop recovering from gunshot wounds on Long Island becomes involved in trying to solve the murder of 2 of his friends who work on Plum Island, a bio-research facility. |
Spencerville by Nelson DeMille, 481 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, April 30, 2005 I enjoyed the other 2 DeMille offerings enough to give this one a try. It wasn't too good. Too many one-diminsional characters. Not near enough dry wit to keep it worth reading. |
Call Each River Jordan by Owen Parry, 321 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 11, 2002 I love the way this guy writes. It's almost as good as Charles Frazier's 'Cold Mountain'. I could find pleasure in reading this guy's grocery list. This is the 3rd story in the series about Abel Jones. Abel is a soldier under the direct employment of President Lincoln. He's in charge of solving some of the more difficult mysteries the union army doesn't have time for. The story is secondary to the style. If you fall in the group that loved 'Cold Mountain' then this author is well worth a look. If you didn't, well, you have bigger problems than I can help you with. |
Our Simple Gifts: Civil War Christmas Tales by Owen Parry, 150 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, December 24, 2002 Four delightful Christmas tales from my favorite author. Heartwarming and inspirational, the first story is the best of the four. |
Honor's Kingdom by Owen Parry, 328 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, July 06, 2003 To put it simply, this guy has my number. I cherish reading his stories. The lead character is just what I like. The writing style is gorgeous. I must include a CostCo free sample: "The inspector's eyebrows stood to attention, thick as a rank of bayonets on parade. Outposts of his whiskers, they were, detailed to guard his forehead." You get that on page 5. It only gets better. Was there a story here? I think so. I don't know that it mattered. Not to me anyhow. |
Bold Sons of Erin by Owen Parry, 399 pages Mike Gadd Monday, August 29, 2005 It's been awhile since I picked up one of Mr. Parry's. This one got a little wordy even for me. More time needs to be spent pushing the story along and less on the opinionated soliloquy. |
The Great Santini by Pat Conroy, 440 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, July 09, 2002 Meet Bull Meecham, 'The Great Santini', Marine fighter pilot, husband, and father of four. He rules with an iron fist and refers to his family as 'sportsfans' or 'hogs'. His children hate him but must learn to play by his rules. The story is as much about his oldest son, Ben, as it is about him. Ben suffers the wrath of Santini more than any other, as his mom is trying to raise a gentleman and his dad wants to make a Marine out of him. Pat Conroy tells a very colorful tale as the characters remind you of people you actually know. I might actually try to find the movie that was made of the book. |
Beach House by Pat Conroy, 800 pages Mike Gadd Friday, October 31, 2003 It hasn't taken me this long to read a book in years. Not at all disappointing though. Incredible depth and feeling, even harrowing at times. A story about a man who flees from South Carolina to Rome with his young daughter after his wife commits suicide. He's running from his past and everything his family represents. He eventually comes full circle to the point where he realizes he needs his family and friends to find out who he is. |
Something Dangerous by Patrick Redmond, 415 pages Mike Gadd Friday, March 14, 2003 Mediocre story at best about a boy's school in England in the 50's. Just about everyone dies at the end when all the skeletons come out of the closet. Real uplifting. At least it read quick. |
The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker, 188 pages Mike Gadd Monday, March 11, 2002 |
Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker, 328 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, March 14, 2002 |
Early Autumn by Robert B. Parker, 221 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, April 18, 2002 |
Pastime by Robert B. Parker, 330 pages Mike Gadd Monday, April 22, 2002 |
A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell, 188 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, December 18, 2002 Drab, dull, dry and certainly not worth the 188 pages. To think, I could have been standing in line at the WalMart having a great time. But no- I had to finish the book. |
Fire by Sebastian Junger, 256 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 18, 2002 |
Black Dog by Stephen Booth, 466 pages Mike Gadd Friday, January 24, 2003 I've gotten to where I really enjoy a good British puzzler. This one's as good as any other. More than the usual amount of 'English-speak'. Sample sentence: Helen slotted tins of peas and new potatoes into the kitchen cupboards, glancing sideways out of the window, where she could see Gwen pottering in the garden, carefully deadheading roses with a pair of secateurs. I just found a good British to English translator online that I'll have to put to good use next time. |
Dancing with the Virgins by Stephen Booth, 379 pages Mike Gadd Friday, April 18, 2003 Another solid effort from the writer of 'Black Dog'. Plenty of characters to keep you guessing, but plausible enough to be satisfying. |
Blood On the Tongue by Stephen Booth, 424 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, June 26, 2005 A nice foray back across the pond. This is the third in a series that has been enjoyable to read. Some nice new British phrases in this one, too. |
Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter, 532 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, January 16, 2003 If you read the Washington Post on Fridays you may be familiar with Mr. Hunter's work. He's one of their better movie critics. Who knew he was a really good "tough guy" story writer? The story takes place in the 1940's in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Gambling is illegal but casinos are starting to spring up along with all the related debauchery. Earl Swagger, ex-marine, national hero, is called upon to put the kibosh on all the fun. He carries his own demons that threaten to bring him down. Made for a good read. |
Pale Horse Coming by Stephen Hunter, 540 pages Mike Gadd Sunday, May 16, 2004 Excellent sequel to 'Hot Springs'. |
Havana by Stephen Hunter, 470 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, May 21, 2005 Our hero, Earl Swagger is torn from his quiet family life once again because of his duty to his country. This time he must go to Cuba to help protect the American interests as Fidel Castro starts making a name for himself. All in all, it wasn't a real good story. It lacked the really bad guy the first two books had. Maybe Earl can go home now and get some rest. |
Dead Folks Blues by Steven Womack, 259 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, February 10, 2005 |
The Blue Hour by T. Jefferson Parker, 480 pages Mike Gadd Saturday, March 13, 2004 A good, creepy story. Nice pace with good characters. |
Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker, 480 pages Mike Gadd Monday, March 29, 2004 This guy writes a lot like Michael Connelly. We get the female version of Harry Bosch in this sequel to 'The Blue Hour'. (Friendly wave to A.B. on the way by.) |
Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker, 388 pages Mike Gadd Friday, May 07, 2004 Well done story of an adopted son out for vengence of his murdered father. |
Where Serpents Lie by T. Jefferson Parker, 576 pages Mike Gadd Friday, June 04, 2004 One of his earlier works that doesn't hold up to his current style. This one had too many slow points where the plot just didn't do anything. |
Cold Pursuit by T. Jefferson Parker, 416 pages Mike Gadd Friday, February 18, 2005 |
The Triggerman's Dance by T. Jefferson Parker, 540 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, November 03, 2005 Very slow to develop, but eventually pays off. Parker's books tend not to disappoint. |
The Interrogation by Thomas H. Cook, 288 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, April 08, 2003 Decent enough premise... Cops have 12 hours to question their murder suspect before they must let him go for lack of evidence. |
The Hearse You Came In On by Tim Cockey, 412 pages Mike Gadd Thursday, August 29, 2002 Lighthearted 'who done it' with an undertaker as the main character. I have a friend in this line of work and it was fun picturing him running around in the book. |
Hearse of a Different Color by Tim Cockey, 382 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, October 01, 2002 Another go-round with the undertaker who fancies himself as a detective. Many local Baltimore references were the highlight. |
Desecration by Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins, 405 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, September 24, 2002 Book 9 in the ''Left Behind'' series. Concept is still good and the story is interesting enough to keep up through however many more they are going to write. The writing quality is at best adequate and can certainly be distracting. |
The Remnant by Tim LaHaye/Jerry Jenkins, 405 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, September 09, 2003 Book 10 down and still moving forward. Slowly. The plot keeps thinning out and I find that I don't care about some of the characters anymore. |
Green River Rising by Tim Willocks, 384 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, April 29, 2003 Gritty, disturbing, and extremely well done story about a group of prisoners in a Texas state pen trying to survive a riot. Good pace and nice ending. |
The Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid, 496 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 04, 2002 This book finished better than it started. Criminal profiling has been a popular subject of late for stories, but it gets old when every book has the best guy there ever was. They're always tormented with straying too close to the deviant mind, letting themselves 'become' like the bad guy in order to catch him but not so close so that they become him. This version improved with the sudden death of one of the main characters, and we see who the bad guy is. It becomes a game to try to catch him. Based in London, I enjoyed the local idioms and slang usage. |
A Place of Execution by Val McDermid, 404 pages Mike Gadd Friday, March 07, 2003 I learned a whole bunch of great new British phrases in this one. The story wasn't half bad either. I now know what it means 'to go completely hairless' or to 'have a feeling in your water'. I don't know what it means to 'sit there with my paper hat on pulling crackers'. I really shouldn't give a monkey's toss though, because it just doesn't mean owt. I'll just grab my mac and trilby and be on my way with a flea in my ear. |
Term Limits by Vince Flynn, 656 pages Mike Gadd Friday, October 08, 2004 |
Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn, 592 pages Mike Gadd Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Another nicely written political thriller. |
The Third Option by Vince Flynn, 432 pages Mike Gadd Wednesday, September 14, 2005 I let too much time go by between this book and the two that proceeded it. I had trouble connecting some of the pieces. I was a little disappointed with this effort. The lack of a real finish didn't help. |
Life of Pi by Yann Martel, 326 pages Mike Gadd Friday, November 14, 2003 Top 10 all time. What a wonderful story. My only complaint was that it was too short. Even better when you don't read the back jacket beforehand. |