A PRETTY GOOD LIST OF MY 2018 READING DOWNLOADED FROM AMAZON

2016 READING LIST

2015 Reading List

The List: A Novel  
Martin Fletcher
December 24, 2015

Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend  
Susan Orlean
December 13, 2015

Rogue Lawyer  
John Grisham
December 6, 2015

The Girl in the Spider's Web: A Lisbeth Salander novel 
David Lagercrantz
September 18, 2015

The Girl on the Train: A Novel  
Paula Hawkins
September 13, 2015

The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy  
Masha Gessen
September 12, 2015

Private Screening (Tony Lord Book 1)  
Richard North Patterson
September 12, 2015

The Fujifilm X-T1: 111 X-Pert Tips 
Rico Pfirstinger
September 6, 2015

The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True  
Richard Dawkins
August 31, 2015

How We Got Here: A History of Technology and Markets  
Andy Kessler
August 31, 2015

The Patriarch: A Bruno, Chief of Police novel  
Martin Walker
August 26, 2015

The Crowded Grave: A Mystery of the French Countryside
Martin Walker
August 15, 2015

Black Diamond (Bruno Chief Of Police Book 3)  
Martin Walker
August 9, 2015

The Dark Vineyard: A Novel of the French Countryside
Martin Walker
August 2, 2015

Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside
Martin Walker
July 25, 2015

The Wright Brothers  
David McCullough
July 16, 2015

Palace of Treason: A Novel  
Jason Matthews
June 9, 2015

Red Sparrow: A Novel  
Jason Matthews
June 9, 2015

Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street's Millennials
Kevin Roose
June 9, 2015

The Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 21)  
Michael Connelly
May 3, 2015

The Black Box (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 19)  
Michael Connelly
May 3, 2015

The Drop (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 18)  
Michael Connelly
May 3, 2015

The Overlook (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 13)  
Michael Connelly
April 29, 2015

Echo Park (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 12)  
Michael Connelly
April 28, 2015

The Closers (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 11)  
Michael Connelly
April 22, 2015

Lost Light (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 9)  
Michael Connelly
April 17, 2015

City of Bones (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 8)  
Michael Connelly
April 12, 2015

A Darkness More Than Night (Terry McCaleb Book 2)  
Michael Connelly
April 3, 2015

Angels Flight (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 6)  
Michael Connelly
March 26, 2015

Trunk Music (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 5)  
Michael Connelly
March 17, 2015

The Last Coyote (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 4)  
Michael Connelly
March 5, 2015

The Black Ice (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 2)  
Michael Connelly
February 23, 2015

The Black Echo  
Michael Connelly
February 12, 2015

Hitler's Peace  
Philip Kerr
January 26, 2015

Station Eleven: A novel  
Emily St. John Mandel
January 24, 2015

Man Who Was Thursday, The  
G. K. Chesterton
January 21, 2015

A Tale of Two Books (Book Review)

I've read countless books on the subjects of politics & war & I've found most of them interesting at some level but few have touched me & few have left me with absolutely nothing.

In this tale of two books, I read one of each category. Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" grabbed me by the throat while Nicole Wallace's "Eighteen Acres" was an un-adulterated waste of my time.

Why do these seemingly 'useless' books ever get published? Especially now when publishing a BOOK seems like a luxury. Why spend the publishing capital to bring out something like "Eighteen Acres", the story about a female president with a female cabinet who's husband has an affair, her favorite white house correspondent has an affair..... with the President's husband, etc, etc, etc. The story brought nothing -- including political issues -- to the table of life except "escapism" whose very existence must be explained by its popularity. I just don't get it.

On the other hand there are novelists who weave serious, practical, realistic, emotional, meaningful situations into their story telling. 

 

Tim O'brien's "The Things They Carried" is one such book. It's the story of Alpha Company in War. There's no philosophizing, no lecturing, hectoring or moralizing. It's just the story of Alpha Company, what they carried with them into war, what these things meant to them & the struggle the author had telling this tale.

It's an extraordianary work, recognized by the Pulitzer Committee, the National Book Critics Circle & other such elite organizations. It may even be assigned reading for some students. 

 

For me it was a down to earth emotional trip. It carried me into another reality, made me think, feel & wonder about the versatility of the human spirit while the state plunders the human body & soul.

If you haven't read this book, please do. If you see "Eighteen Acres" on the shelf, don't make it one of the books you carry out of the store with you.

Other Books by Tim O"Brien

• Going After Cacciato
• Lake of the Woods
• Tomcat in Love
• If I die in a Combat Zone
• July, July

Other Books by Nicolle Wallace (thankfully)

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Book Review > "Innocent" by Scott Turow

406 pp

Other books by Scott Turow

• Limitations
• Ordinary Heroes
• Ultimate Punishment
• Reversible Errors
• Personal Injuries
• The Laws of Our Fathers
• Pleading Guilty
• The Burden of Proof
• Presumed Innocent
• One L

This book had 3 distinct story parts:

1. A love affair between an aging judge & a young lawyer
2. A court case
3. The relationship between a father & son

There are only a few characters in this book; the main ones are father, son, lover, DA.

For me, the core of this book is the relationship between the father and the son; both lawyers. The father, a well known & respected Prosecutor & Judge, about to be elevated from the Court of Appeals to the Superior Court, finds himself deliciously & troublingly embroiled in a great love affair and has to confront his demons.

That confrontation unfolds in a courtroom as Judge Rusty Sabich, once accused & acquitted of a prior murder charge, is again charged of murder; this time of his own wife.

The prosecutor's explanation of the murder plot takes shape as the reader is follows step by step through the logical questioning of the Judge and as he testifies to those questions put to him by the current DA, his prior & current nemesis. Of course, there are two sides to every court case & the defense side is just as convincing.

In the beginning of this novel Turow provides the back story of the prior murder charges (& acquittal) brought by Tommy Molto against Rusty Sabich; details not permitted into evidence at the second trial for fear of prejudicing the jury. It also puts the reader on the the emotional roller coaster that is the intimate & sincere love affair between Rusty & Anna. As a senior citizen, myself, reading about this sexy love affair produced some longing in me. Of course, it is immoral by our puritanical social standards but it is also very real, desirable and special for both participants. Unfortunately, it could never have ended well and didn't.

Nevertheless this secret affair, to all except the participants, plays a pivotal role in Rusty's wife's demise and the strengthening of Rusty's  relationship with Nat, his  overshadowed son (who is clerking in the Superior Court), and who hasn't quite found his place in life when the story begins.

The dialog between father & son seems haltingly genuine as does the court testimony and other relationships in the book. None was a real stretch for this reader. It all seemed so credible, thanks to the author's talent. It will probably make an excellent movie one day.

I consider "Innocent" a thoroughly enjoyable read; once I got into it, I could hardly put it down. For anyone who likes a process piece, like a CSI or seeing how lawyers present opposing views of the same evidence, this is a definite read. I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

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• Innocent by Scott Turow | Book review (guardian.co.uk)
• Back To The Courtroom (living2read.blogspot.com)