Another Year and More Books

I’m reviving this blog but not the 100 books in a year challenge I made for myself. I didn’t make. I did read/listen to 75 books so I came close – but no cigar.

This year I’ll just mention the books I’m reading and a bit about them – no big reviews – just my thoughts – for whatever they’re worth. I’ve decided that I’m a book/reading/listening to addict. I do not want to be cured. I will probably take my last breath with a book lying open on my chest.

So let’s get started again:

The book club book for last month was Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit. I enjoyed the book even when the scenes were difficult to read – torture of American prisoners in Japanese POW camps—that’s because of Hillenbrand’s almost reporter-like writing. I’ve usually read about the European Theater—Unbroken was about the war in the Pacific.

Making a 180 degree turn, I read Some Like It Hotter, a romantic time travel to the Civil War, by Deb Stover. I loved this book. I loved the Civil War. I love time travel. I love Deb Stover. The only problem is this book was written awhile ago and time travels are no longer “hot” or as hot as I think they should be. Fair disclosure: one of my WIPs is a time travel.

And then there was Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gann. Claire Dewitt is not your usual PT. She’s hard-boiled and smokes, but not the usual type of tobacco. “The City of the Dead” is not really the cemetery – its New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I’m happy to say I didn’t figure out this mystery until right before the end.

Audio books

The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry was full of history, twists and turns, and intrigue, what I’ve come to expect from Steve Berry.

James Rollins is another history/thriller writer that I read/listen to often. Sandstorm takes the listener to the Middle East. One of my favorite Rollins characters, Painter Crow, is front and center in this thriller.

I saved the best for last: Preston/Child’s Cold Vengeance. Two of my favorite writers come back again with one of my favorite characters of all time, Agent Pendergast, and take him from the mires of Scotland to New York. And the ending…yes, the ending. I love this series so much that I’ve got My Guy and a friend started on these books. I may even reread/listen to them all over again…just like Braun’s The Cat Who…books.

Soon I’ll be blogging about A Discovery of Witches and Tigerlily’s Orchids.