Reader’s Notebook, 11/21/17
So much for my little lull. I raced through two books over the past week. So as I don’t forget about them over the holiday weekend, here they are. The Lock Artist – Steve Hamilton This book arrived with loads of praise from many different sources. And it ended up being a magnificent read. Our narrator is Michael, a man…
Reader’s Notebook, 11/16/17
Funny thing. After reading that Van Halen book in one day, I then didn’t read a thing for an entire week. And then took roughly a week to really get into my next book. Obviously my body was self-regulating and making sure I didn’t get too far ahead of my book-a-week pace. The Sellout – Paul Beatty Here we have…
Reader’s Notebook + Friday Playlist
A slightly different format this week. All because I took the girls to the library yesterday, as I always try to do on the first day of a school break. I want them loaded up with books and videos for even just a long weekend so that there’s no complaining about not having anything to do and being bored. I…
Reader’s Notebook, 10/19/17
The Outlaw Album – Daniel Woodrell It had been awhile since I read a Woodrell book, so I glanced at the library’s offerings and grabbed this. I didn’t know it was a short story collection and may have skipped it had I known. In fact, calling it a short story collection might be giving it too much credit. It feels…
Reader’s Notebook, 10-5-17
The Force – Don Winslow. Winslow writes excellent epics anchored in the world of organized crime. In the past he’s focused on the drug trade, specifically the cartels of Mexico. Here he shifts much farther to the north to look at the life of Denny Malone, Manhattan’s toughest, best, and most powerful detective. Malone’s crew runs North Manhattan. Nothing happens…
Reader’s Notebook, 8/31/17
A Divided Spy – Charles Cumming. I hate it when I realize, a decent stretch into a book that is part of a series, that I missed the previous entry in the set. I had read book one of Cumming’s Thomas Kell series and then picked this one up. Problem is this is book three. And as the books all…
Reader’s Notebook, 8/22/17
Agent 110 – Scott Miller. This is a fine, brisk look at the activities of Allen Dulles, future CIA director, through his years as an OSS officer in Switzerland during World War II. Residing just across the border from Germany, he quickly put together a network of Germans who, for one reason or another, were plotting against Hitler and his…
Reader’s Notebook, 8/3/17
Walking the Himalayas – Levison Wood. I didn’t know anything about Levison Wood before I saw this book at the library. I didn’t know he is fairly famous for his on-foot treks, which have been turned both into multiple books and TV shows. I just liked the idea this book is based upon: him walking the length of the Himalayas,…
Reader’s Notebook, 7/19/17
Dynastic, Bombastic, Fantastic – Jason Turbow I teased this one awhile back when I mentioned I was roaring through an awesome book. I started it on a Monday afternoon and wrapped it up before lunch on Wednesday. It was that good! Turbow looks at one of the iconic dynasties in baseball: the Swingin’ Oakland A’s of the early 1970s. The…
Reader’s Notebook, 5/27/17
I fear these are a little subpar compared to many of my summaries. Since finishing these books, I’ve been knocking out some longer pieces that have been stuck in my Instapaper queue for awhile. And I started a book on Monday that I can’t put down; I’m over 250 pages in as of 5:00 Tuesday. I fear that has warped…