Everneath comes out Tuesday

Brodi's book comes out on Tuesday.

I still remember years ago when Brodi talked about writing a book. I thought it was a great idea. She has always been a great writer (journalism side). I had no idea about the whole process, but I was excited for her to go for it. It has been a long and interesting road. You can read all about the journey HERE

I could go on for pages about it all, but I will keep it short and simple. I am so proud of her. It was difficult. She kept going. She got rejections. She kept going. She felt like giving up at times. She kept going. And now it is out. Now, she has her book coming out. The first of three. And it is being published in many different languages and countries (U.S., Canada, England, Australia, Germany, France, Russia, Poland, Turkey, Brazil, etc.)

Her book has gotten great buzz and I have included a few links to some of the reviews, if you want to read about it.

• Fiktshun (A Popular fiction book review site): Everneath review
• The Salt Lake Desert News (local newspaper): Everneath is an enthralling trip to the Underworld

You can purchase it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and pretty much any other book store. She will have her book launch from The Kings English on Tuesday at 7pm. Yay Brodi, you totally rock and I am excited to join you on this journey.

Books Reviewed

So, 2010 is done. I have included my list of favorite books, from favorite to least favorite in two categories - Fiction and NonFiction. I obviously read quite a bit more of the fiction...I should probably change that up this year. I will be updating the left hand of the blog with 2011 rankings of books that I have read, but that probably won't happen till early next week.

2010 Rankings Books (Fiction)

Everneath (Young Adult)

Girl who Played with Fire (Adult Mystery)

The Tourist (Adult Spy Thriller)

Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest (Adult Mystery)

The Lincoln Lawyer (Adult Thriller)

Mockingjay (YA Thriller)

The Kill Artist (Adult Thriller)

Catching Fire (Young Adult)

Girl with Dragon Tattoo (Adult Mystery)

The Nearest Exit (Adult Thriller)

Worth Dying for (Adult Thriller)

The Midnight House (Adult Thriller)

The Pyramid (Adult Mystery)

61 Hours (Adult Thriller)

Faceless Killers (Adult Mystery)

The English Assassin (Adult Thriller)

Paranormalcy (YA Thriller)

The Bricklayer (Adult Thriller)

The Fifth Angel (Adult Thriller)

Purple Heart (War Drama)

This is what I did (YA Drama)

When you Reach Me (YA Drama)

Cruel Intent (Adult Thriller)

The Shack (Religious drama)

The Fourth Order (Adult Thriller)

The Dying Hour (Adult Thriller)

I am not a Serial Killer (YA Thriller)

The Associate (Adult Thriller)

Daemon (Adult Thriller)

Watchman (Adult Spy Thriller)

Rat Run (Adult Thriller)

Wish you were Dead (Young Adult Thriller)

2010 Rankings Books (NonFiction)

Professor and the Madman (Creation of Oxford Dictionary)

Born To Run (Running and Science)

The Devil in the White City (World Fair and Murder)

Open (Andre Agassi biography)

His Essential Wisdom (Abraham Lincoln quotes/thoughts)

You cannot be Serious (John McEnroe autobiography)

The Knock on the Door (Armenian Genocide)

The Telephone Gambit (invention of telephone)

First, Break all the Rules (Business Management)

Letter to a Christian nation (religion discussion)

Tennis Confidential (tennis history)

Fiction Review

There were some great series out this past year or concluding this past year. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series was dark and disturbing and very good. The Hunger Games trilogy was fabulous. Rough subject matter but thoroughly entertaining. Henning Mankell's books on detective work and all of the minutia that they have to go thru to find the eventual killers were all top notch...a slow burn to great reads. 'The Tourist' is a spy mystery at its finest, but dense and a very flawed main character. John Grisham disappointed greatly with the Associate.

NonFiction Review

In terms of nonfiction, who would have thought a book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary would be so terrific? If you haven't read it, go to the bookstore or library and read it. Interesting and a page turner. If you love running or jogging or just an interesting tale, 'Born to Run' is also wonderful. I read 3 tennis books and the two autobiographies (Andre Agassi's 'Open' and John McEnroe's 'You Cannot be Serious' were both interesting for different reasons, but well worth a read to just see the unique lives of professional athletes.

If you have any suggestions on books to read next year, I would love to hear it. My new 2011 list will be up and running early next week and I am always looking for a good read.

Dragon casting

Last month, I finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. If you haven't read it, you should...but be warned, it can be difficult with some very difficult scenes. I love the story, I love how the story was set up, I love the Swedish background. The movies have been made in swedish and two have been released here in the States. Well, Hollywood will begin filming these movies soon. They just cast Daniel Craig in the role of Mikael Blomqvist. I like that casting.

They also cast Rooney Mara in the Lisbeth Salander role. I don't know who she is, but I like that they picked a relative unknown to do it. She also looks a lot like I thought Salander would look. The first of the three films won't be out till December of next year.

The latest books

This latest batch of books has been among my favorites of the year. Very entertaining reads. You can catch up on all of the books that I have read this year by going thru the column on the left of my blog. I have ranked the books from my favorites to least favorites in order, fiction and nonfiction.


Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
This book is fabulous. It is the story of ultra runners. These are guys and girls that run 50 or 100 miles through mountains, towns, etc. These are the crazy people. This book focuses on a group of runners who do it for survival and because they can, the Tarahumara. It ends up having a mega race with the Tarahumara and other top runners in the world, Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton and others. It is fascinating. This book has also created a huge buzz because it analyzes and discusses the benefits or running barefoot or in sandals and how that is the way to keep your body from breaking down. It makes the case that the latest and greatest shoes from Nike are causing more harm to your body than just running without shoes. Interesting and a fun read.



The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson
The final of the trilogy. If you have yet to read these series of books, go pick them up. Great reads. Difficult as it can be very dark, but the action and pacing is well done. This wraps up the series very well with really no loose ends. This was my 2nd favorite book of the triology and it gave some good closure to the main characters, Michael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.






English Assassin by Daniel Silva
Silva's books are addicting. The main character, Gabriel Allon, is an art restorer but he is also a jewish operative who tracks down terrorists or anyone out to harm Israel. This book focuses on the art world and Switzerland and the loss of hundreds of paintings stolen by the Nazis and hidden in Switzerland. Allon goes in to determine what happened to many of these paintings while also focusing on those that murdered to get the paintings. As usual, it is well written, interesting and a great read.





61 Hours by Lee Child
These books star Jack Reacher, a former military policeman, who is now just traveling across the country homeless. It is the middle of winter and the bus he is on crashes and he is stranded in a small town where a woman is about to testify against a drug lord. Reacher is asked to protect her but not everything is as it seems and the next 61 hours of Reacher's life is about to get crazy. I did not love the ending, but the story was entertaining and definitely worth the read.






The Associate by John Grisham
I have usually liked Grisham's books. They are easy to read, entertaining and quick. With that said, it really seemed that he was phoning in this book. It was pretty typical of his books--young lawyer in trouble, how does it get out of it and what does he need to do. But you never really like the main person. Nothing is really developed. The story is lazy and the ending is absolutely brutal. Terrible ending. There are a lot of Grisham books out there, go find one of those instead of this latest offering.

Next round of Books

Here are the latest books that I have gone thru over the past few weeks.

Daemon by Daniel Suarez
I wanted to like this book. It is about a dead man who programmed some very nasty computer viruses to wreck havoc on America when he was gone. It is a fun storyline and it is wild but it all too often shifts to the unbelievable side. The computer side is fascinating, but the recruitment and managing of so many people to help this dead man continue on managing the computer viruses strains credibility. Fun read but you will need to suspend logic at times.





The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
I have no idea what to think of this book. It centers on a family who loses their daughter to a serial killer. The dad spends a few years trying to figure out his life now that his daughter is gone until one day he gets a note in his mailbox from 'God.' He has to decide if he is willing to follow the direction to go up to the Shack where they found evidence of the death of his daughter.

He gets there and he comes face to face with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. He spends a weekend learning about forgiveness, the love of God and Jesus' atonement while at the same time learning about himself. It is a very interesting concept and it is played off well. It gets hokey sometimes, but the conversations between man and the Godhead is compelling at times. For those that believe in God, it is worth a read to see how He is handled and how He interacts with a very flawed but very earnest man.



Watchman by Ian Rankin
This is a thriller of the England MI-5 spy organization and a man who is part of the watchers team. His job is to watch targets and monitor them. A man eludes his watch and ends up killing a foreign member of a government. He quickly realizes that there is more to this than just about him as he may be being set up within his own organization. The story revolves around him trying to figure out, getting double crossed and working his way thru the mystery. Pretty good, with some rather slow periods. This is one of Rankin's first books and it is a bit raw but still interesting with good character development.

new batch of books

These are the latest books that I have read. You can see my lists (nonfiction and fiction) of the books that I have read this year and there are in order of how much I liked them. Now, on to the books:

The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva

If you haven't read any of Silva's books, egads, get out and get reading. He has a lovely methodical way of writing. This is the first of a long series of books involved Gabriel Allon. Allon is a Jewish operative (assassin). He is called to go all over the world to track down terrorists and those that threaten Israel and take care of them. His cover? He is a world famous art restorer. He is hired by churches, museums, private individuals to live in their city and restore famous pieces of art. But that is often interrupted as he has to track terrorists and go after them.

This is the first of the Allon books where we learn how his son was murdered by terrorists and we see him in action for the first time. Each one of Silva's books gives some historical background to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict as well. If the Middle East is of interest to you and you enjoy action and storytelling, then pick up this book and get hooked into the Allon series.

The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Oh man, how I love this writer. This is the sequel to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I actually liked this book a bit more than the first one. This story revolves around Lisbeth (girl with the tattoo) and how she is being accused of murder. Lisbeth is a complicated character, to say the least. You like her, she frustrates you, you laugh and you shake your head in regards to her.

The story moves along at a brisk pace but you need to follow along as the story slowly unfolds and you try to figure out how all of the characters relate to each other. As usual with Larsson, it is a rolickin' good time.

Tennis Confidential by Bill Fein

I wanted to like this book. And there were parts of it that I really enjoyed it. It basically is a book that tries to go beyond the tennis courts and explore the personalities in tennis and how these people interact with each other and the media off the court. It succeeds sometimes. But a lot of times, you get some quotes from the players but you still don't really get to know the players. The other problem is that the book spends a lot of time on players that were relatively big at the time, but they were players that lasted in the spotlight just a year or two. Players long since forgotten. Overall, interesting if you are tennis fan, but not worth it if you are not.

A Letter to Christian Nation by Sam Harris
This is a follow up to an early book he wrote called the End of Faith. There have been quite a few discussions about this book as the author talks about why Christianity is basically fake. my problem with it is that he falls into the trap, a trap that many Christians fall into as well, of using specific passages of the bible to try and prove his pioint...where that passage may be taken out of context or is just strange compared to the other teachings of the Bible. By this, I mean, he takes an aberration in the Bible and makes the case that it is much bigger than that and that it supersedes other points of the bible.

I also felt that he was trying to discount Christianity by knocking down Christians. He would point out some of the preposterous things some Christians do...which he is correct in that, but it does not minimize the Christian religion because people do not live by the teachings.

The line that I did like from the book was this: 'One of us is right, the other is wrong. The Bible is either the word of God, or it isn't. If Christianity is correct...I should expect to suffer the torments of Hell. If the basic doctrine of Christianity is correct, I have misused my life in the worst conceivable way. I will admit this without a single caveat.' Interesting read but not one that I would necessarily recommend to people.

5 new book reviews

Here are the latest books that I have read. I have ranked all of the books that I have read this year (2010) in two categories, Fiction and Non-Fiction and those rankings are on the left of my blog. This latest sampling is a rather diverse group of books ranging from a tennis player's autobiography to historical nonfiction to a Young Adult thriller. If you have any suggestions on books to read, let me know and I will add it to my queue.


Open by Andre Agassi
I loved this book. With that said, it is a difficult book. All growing up, Andre Agassi was the player that I wanted to be like. My forehand and my backhand were all groomed to be like Agassi. This book makes you love Andre even more and it makes you dislike him at the same time.

The book explores Andre's demanding dad's obsession with making Andre the best player in the world. He forces Andre out on the court, hour after hour every single day. Andre used to aim for mis-hits which would bounce off his frame and over the fence. He did it so that he could take a break while his dad went to chase down the ball. The story talks of how Andre met some of the greats growing up (his dad strung Jimmy Connors' rackets and Andre would deliver them to him and talks of how Jimmy wasn't the best). The book goes into his days at the Bolliteri tennis academy which Andre hated. He wore jeans to a match to voice his displeasure.

The book talks briefly of Andre's drug use. The book talks of Andre's fall from grace as he was ranked in the 100s. It talks of his disfunctional relationship with Brook Shields (she cared little for tennis, he cared little for Hollywood and it led to loneliness on both ends). I did love hearing of how he met and fell in love with Steffi Graf (my all time favorite female player) and hearing how Andre finished up his career. It is a thoroughly entertaining book.


The Telephone Gambit by Seth Shulman
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Didn't he? Didn't he? This book goes behind the intrigue to examine who invented the telephone and the answer may surprise you. The story focuses on Bell and his quest to come up with an invention to transmit voices along wires (a phone). Bell is credited with the invention and his name is synonimous with the invention of the phone...but Shulman delves into it and makes a compelling case that not only did Bell not invent the phone, but that he liberally took ideas from his chief competitor Elisha Gray. A series of events ranging from corruption in the US patent office, to espionage into Gray's proposal to probable shame at presenting Bells' 'invention' reveals that there is a lot more to Bell than he showed outwardly to the public. And the argument over the invention of the phone is still not settled.

The one drawback to the book is that it can be rather scientific but Shulman does a pretty good job at never letting it get too confusing with scientific terms. But, unless you are really following some of the points, you can get a bit lost...but you still are able to stay current with the story.



A Knock on the Door by Margaret Ahnert
The Armenian genocide. Have you ever heard of it? This book is told by the author (whom I have not only met, but spent the day with traveling to lectures) about her mother who survived the genocide. Set in the early 1900s, the story alternates between her mother living through the genocide and her and her mother talking about it 60 years later. It is a very effective literary device and Ahnert does a great job at telling both stories.

When focused on her mother...it is chilling as her mother recounts walking mile after mile seeing murders around her and living in fear that the Turks would murder her next. Through her ability to survive and through her smarts, she lived through it. Over 1 million Armenians were murdered in it all and it is still a story that few know.



First, Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham
This is a very good business book. The idea behind the book was to interview thousands of managers at hundreds of companies and investigate what really works at those companies instead of what conventional wisdom would suggest. Though I may not always agree that some of their ideas would work in our company, it was fascinating to hear the decisions that some managers made to terrific results. My favorite portion was a discussion of how managers cannot change their employees. Every person comes hardwired to do certain things. A good manager should focus on things that the employee is willing to work on and not spend the focus on changing behavior that may really not matter in the effectiveness of the employee. Work to their strengths, not necessarily to their weaknesses.



Wish you were Dead by Todd Strasser
I really liked how this story started. A high school girl disappears. At the same time, a high school blogger talks of how that is good and that person should die. It is intriguing and the story is rather fast paced as another boy goes missing. It continued to build up momentum as the small town is stunned and scared over these disappearances.

The first 75% of the book was pretty good and entertaining read. And then it unraveled. It appears that the author really lost sight of what to do with the book. It began veering off into a new character and it became an action book where they were trying to find the missing kids even switching into more of a horror book. Yuck. It literally went from 4 out of 5 stars down to 1 out of 5 stars. Too bad.

Book Reviews

On the left hand column, I am going to keep track of the books that I read this year. I am linking all of the books to Amazon for those interested in learning more of these books. I am also going to put them in order of how much I liked the books, so you can keep track of what have been my favorite books through the year. Every month or two, I will give quick reviews of the latest books. Here is my first round of books, in order of what I like the best, for the year 2010

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Most of you have probably heard a bit about this book. The author wrote several books at once and finally got this published and it has been a huge hit. He died this past summer but he still has those final couple of books that have been published and about to be published.

The book is about a large family corporation, the Vangar Corporation, in Sweden. The story centers around the disappearance of the niece of the CEO of the company. She disappeared over 30 years ago and he hires a guy to find out who murdered her as well as to write a family history of the Vangers. The person that is hired is a somewhat disgraced financial reporter who looks at it as a way to make some good money and possible unravel a mystery. His assistant is the quiet, dark researcher (the girl with the dragon tattoo) to help him figure it all out.

It is interesting for the first half of the book but some may feel it moves a bit slow. It picks up in 'excitement' as the book moves along. There are also some difficult spots in the book dealing with rape. Though not necessarily graphic in detail, it is not just briefly mentioned either, so be warned. Overall, it was a great tale though and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I really enjoyed this. For those that have not yet read Hunger Games, get on it. Then pick up this sequel to it. The basic premise is a society of 12 towns/cities under the rule of the main capital city. The capital city holds its Hunger Games once a year where 2 participants from each city are randomly selected to be a part of the games. They are then thrown into the 'game' where the winner is the last one who is alive. The rest are killed in these 'games.' Dark and thoroughly entertaining and Collins does a nice job with this sequel. I don't like the open-ended-ness of this book, but the 3rd book comes out this summer so I look forward to it.

The Pyramid by Henning Mankell

The writer of this book is an international bestselling author and he has written a bunch of stories about a policeman in Southern Sweden named Kurt Wallander. I was a missionary in Sweden so it has been pretty cool to read about the towns, etc. there as well. This is a collection of Wallander cases from when he just began as a cop, then to cases over the next 20 years. It fills a lot of gaps for this detective and it also gives some interesting cases. These books are not big time thriller books. Wallander is a pretty methodical cop who investigates and thinks. There are some action scenes but it is more of seeing how a good cop slowly figures out why a crime happened and who committed the crime. These books have been translated into English and I think that The Pyramid is a good place to start with these books. If you like it, continue on with the other 7-8 of them...if not, move on.

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

An older couple is brutally murdered in a quiet farming community during the middle of the night. The lead policeman, Wallander, is left scratching his head as he can see no connection to why this violent crime happened. The story takes some twists and turns and it follows the regular Wallander stories as he tries to figure out why someone would kill the old couple so viciously and how the murder was going to affect the community.

Rat Run by Gerald Seymour

This is written by a famous European author. The premise is good. A guy was a military officer and he was disgraced (accused of running away from a fire fight). He goes home to England and becomes depressed and lives in tract housing. He develops a friendship with an older woman but he never ventures outside of his apartment. One day, his friend is beaten nearly to death because he did not meet her at the station to pick her up late at night. He goes on the offensive, going after all of the drug dealers and drug warlords in the city. The story gets bogged down as it also deals with international terrorism, the English government and other governments. It is an intricate weaving of a story that often left me a bit confused.

The 'best' of books

Due to the fact that we spent about $45,000 last year in buying books, we receive a lot of book brochures and catalogs. I browsed through one of them tonight and found several books that I will have to purchase.

My Word is my Bond--Biography of Roger Moore

Yes, this is a book about Roger Moore's life and his role of playing James Bond. As the book notes, 'there is nothing left out, not even the naughty bits.' Who would not be interested in this little gem? I can't wait for Timothy Dalton's biography on his acting life and his portrayal of 'the actor nobody wanted to play James Bond.'

Cat Yoga: Fitness and Flexibility for the Modern Feline

Yes, it is exactly about what the title of the book suggests...it is a way 'to improve balance, a sleek waistline, mental clarity and fuller, more luxurious whiskers.' Egads. Seriously? I should flip cats. Just like in flipping houses, I will buy a cat for $200, put it through my yoga program and when the whiskers seem fuller and the cat is sleeker, I will then sell it for $500. I am going to make a fortune doing this.

the 12th Planet

This book offers 'documentary evidence of the existence of the mysterious planet Nibiru and tells why its astronauts came to Earth eons ago to fashion makind in their image.' That is awesome! Really no commentary needed on this, I have to get that book.

If you are looking for strange and interesting books, they are out there to be found. Enjoy your reading.

Sherlock Holmes and the Brutal Mormons

Here is a brand new post. You may have heard but there are the new Sherlock Holmes moviecoming out in the next few months...it stars Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. I am pretty interested in the movie as I love the Sherlock Holmes character and I think Downey can do a good job with it.

Growing up, I read a few of these novels and I decided to read the very first Sherlock Holmes book, A Study in Scarlet, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. You get to read the first time that Sherlock Holmes meets Dr. Watson (Dr. Watson was a doctor who just served in Afghanistan in the late 1800s and he was looking for a roommate and he was introduced to Holmes). You also learn that Holmes is very good at knowing people by just watching them for a minute. It is interesting to see their relationship develop.

This case centers around two murders in the London area. As they focus on suspects, the book then shifts to Salt Lake City, Utah. It goes into a story of man who was rescued by the Mormons as they were traveling across the country to find Utah. The man never becomes a mormon but is accepted by the mormons because he is a hardworker and he doesn't cause trouble. Trouble begins though when his daughter plans to marry a nonMormon. The book includes a visit by Brigham Young to the man's home where he orders the man to have his daughter marry a mormon. Basically, the mormons keep pressuring the girl and the father to follow their ways or suffer the consequences.

I don't want to give away the ending and the book...but it is interesting that such an iconic character such as Sherlock Holmes began his 'career' with mormons and their murderous ways. The book is over a 120 years old so it was quite an accomplishment for Sir Doyle to use London and early Salt Lake City as a backdrop to this first book. It is an entertaining read to see how it is all tied together and how justice is served.

Loving the hate...or Hating the love?

I love books. I hate the library. That doesn't seem to make sense, does it?

Let me explain. I got two letters yesterday from the library telling me that if I don't come and talk to them, my library account will be sent to collections. Why? I have two overdue childrens books. Yes, I checked out two kids books--one about a dog in a taxi (pic on left) and the other one about some monster (pic on the right) and I can't find either one...if you happen to see one of these books on the street in my neighborhood, please pick it up for me. Anyway, these now cost me $18 a piece. I could have bought those for $6 a piece and I would not have lost them because I would have owned them. I don't ever lose things that I actually own...only things that I borrow.

Also, I think that I have turned in every book that I ever checked out from the library, on average, about 10 days late. So, I get fined. Time and time and time again. Lovely.

The best part, and the redeeming part of this whole 'ordeal', though is when I went into the library today to clear up my charges. The guy ran the numbers and it was around $40. So, I gave him $10 and asked if I could pay the rest later (all I had on me was a ten dollar bill). He said no problem. I must have looked like I was down on my luck because he then told me that he was going to put me on a payment plan for the final $30. I was thinking that he would bill me $15 a month for the next 2 months. But no. He proceeds to tell me that I am on the 10 month repayment plan of $3 a month. How awesome is that? I just had my library fine financed at 0% for the next 10 months. OK, I think I love the library again.

The Road

I read a lot of books. I truly enjoy just being in bed and reading. Last year, probably my favorite book was 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy. It is a fabulous simplistic disturbing book about a post apocalyptic world. It is the story of a dad and his boy out in the world trying to survive. Fabulous and difficult.

Well, they are coming out with the movie. I want to see it, but it is tough...the cast looks good. Anyway, here is the trailer for those interested. If you haven't read the book and the trailer looks good, go and get the book and read it before you see it:

Beach and Vacation Books

I like fiction mystery/thriller books. Probably too much. Anyway, here are few books and authors that I particularly like.


The Road by Cormac McCarthy. They are actually making this a movie and it will be out this summer, I believe. It is dark and difficult (a story about a boy and his dad in a post apocalyptic world) and a great read.

Harlan Coben's books are fabulous as well and 'Tell No One' is one of my all time favorites as well.





David Rosenfelt books. His books are a bit mystery and a bit thriller and a heckuva lot of humor. I love his books because I always end up laughing throughout out.

Lee Child's series on Jack Reacher. Jack is a former military policeman who is out on his own and taking care of the bad guys. Rough and tumble books and always entertaining.





Other writers such as Dennis Lehane (Drink Before the War is one of the most difficult books but finest fiction thriller books that I have read...he also wrote Gone Baby Gone, among others). John Lescroart, David Baldacci, Vince Flynn and Jonathan Kellerman are writers who have many good reads books out among them.

Anyway, if you have other suggestions of other writers that I should look into, let me know.

March Reviews: 7 Books

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: The story is of a man and his son and their endless slow walk across the country. The world has been devastated by some unknown incident that killed most everyone. We follow this father and son as they wander starving, tired and scared with only each other for any hope or love.

Rate of Interest: 287 pages (41 pages per day)

Best Thing about the Book: The vivid and disturbing detail in the book. The ashes that they lived around, the absolute desolate landscape, the creepiness of an empty house, the haunting images of the walking dead. McCarthy put you there and you could feel the hopelessness. It is all in stark contrast to the father son relationship that is bound by survival and love.

Worst Thing about the Book: I am not sure if I really wanted it or if it is the worst thing about the book, but you never learn why the world is like it is. What happened? Was it a nuclear disaster, war, etc.? But, with that said, it also keeps you wondering though you quickly just start focusing on the father/son relationship.

Overall: This is a beautiful book. McCarthy creates a stunning and depressing world and how two people can get through it all. You know this book cannot end well, but you just hope that somehow these two can make it through. So far, probably the hardest yet best book that I have read so far this year.


False Impression by Jeffery Archer (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: The story ties 9/11 with art masterpiece thievery and intrigue as a famous Van Gogh's painting is taken all over the world as assasins, art lovers and business owners in heavy pursuit to get the painting. One woman attempts to keep it out of all of their hands and get it into the hands of the rightful owner.

Rate of Interest: 384 pages (32 pages per day)

Best Thing about the Book: The visual aftermath to the 9/11 scene is pretty terrific as is the terror of the woman who used to work for the business that is basically trying to 'steal' the Van Gogh painting. She knows she needs to be secret and disappear and try to make things right and it is interesting to see her anticipate the moves of the 'bad' guys.

Worst Thing about the Book: It was all a little too 'of course' that would happen. You could see things happen before it did as it just set itself up too much too often.

Overall: I liked it. The art angle was interesting in what people are looking for and what people are willing to pay for the best of art. Though Archer can be challenging to read at times, this was definitely an easy beach read type of book.



Mad River Road by Joy Fielding (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: A man was released from prison and he seeks revenge on his former wife who put him there. You see how lies and lives converge and bring strangers together in a bad way.

Rate of Interest: 512 pages (25.6 pages per day)

Best Thing about the Book: Pretty good narrative taking us from one house to another house to another house. There are 2-3 central characters and then another strong 2-3 characters and you can sense the train crash coming soon.

Worst Thing about the Book: There is a very disturbing scene in the book that I ended up skipping. It was too graphic and not needed in this book when the action could have been mentioned instead of described. That obviously detracted from the book quite a book.

Overall: It is pretty good. The manipulation from the prison guy is pretty powerful and you can sense how he could use people and keep people around him. The stories and the plot were actually rather well done.


Desperate Networks by Bill Carter (Entertainment NonFiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: A rare glimpse into the decision making deals to bring shows and stars onto a network. You read of how CSI, Desperate Housewives, Survivor, the Apprentice, Friends, etc. all made it onto the air and how close they all were to never being made.

Rate of Interest: 384 pages (54.8 pages per day)

Best Thing about the Book: It was great to read how 'Survivor' almost did not make it on television. How it was turned down several times and only made it when the president of CBS said that he saw it being a summer show that wouldn't kill the network. It was fun reading how 'American Idol' first effort to get on American television was thru the UPN network and they were turned down. And FOX finally gave it a chance as long as American Idol had to get all of its funding by itself before FOX would show it. Also interesting to note the Simon Cowell only made $25,000 that first year. He now makes over $20 million a year doing the show.

Worst Thing about the Book: I just wanted more of it...it was told interestingly and it would have been nice to see some examples of why some shows breeze thru it all and get on air when they are truly terrible shows.

Overall: Terrific. A good view behind the scenes of some of the tv hits on today and how they struggled to get on air. If you like little entertainment facts, this is a fun read.


Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: A man was released from prison and he seeks revenge on his former wife who put him there. You see how lies and lives converge and bring strangers together in a bad way.

Rate of Interest: 368 pages (26.2 pages per day)

Best Thing about the Book: Pretty good narrative taking us from one house to another house to another house. There are 2-3 central characters and then another strong 2-3 characters and you can sense the train crash coming soon.

Worst Thing about the Book: There is a very disturbing scene in the book that I ended up skipping. It was too graphic and not needed in this book when the action could have been mentioned instead of described. That obviously detracted from the book quite a book.

Overall: It is pretty good. The manipulation from the prison guy is pretty powerful and you can sense how he could use people and keep people around him. The stories and the plot were actually rather well done.



Barbados Heat by Don Bruns (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: A music reporter is caught up in a story of a congressman who was shot and killed. It takes us into the music industry and the crusade to get rid of offensive lyrics and the length some people would go to protect their career, lifestyle and themselves.

Rate of Interest: 320 pages (20 pages per day)

Best Thing about the Book: The discussion of whether or not a lyric is offensive simply because the phrase is uttered...should it be interpreted differently depending on who is saying the lyric, their upbringing, etc.

Worst Thing about the Book: Some of it seemed a bit farfetched with how a reporter ended up figuring it all out as well as being thrust into a action type role of people trying to kill him, etc. while we hear very little of or of anything the police are doing to try and figure out who killed a US congressman. That was a rather big hole.

Overall: Pretty good read. It is pretty standard though though interesting especially if you like the music industry...there are some tidbits in how that industry works. The main relationship in the book though was lacking.


The Power Broker by Stephen Frey (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: Christian Gillette is the CEO of Everest Capital that manages over 20 companies and over $10 billion. Several of Gillette's companies are struggling, he is being set up, and he has been asked to be a Vice President candidate to a leading politician. And, a secret group of men are causing trouble. And, they all collide. Gillette needs to figure out who to trust and who to run from.

Rate of Interest: 416 pages (27.7 pages)

Best Thing about the Book: I enjoy the business deals and the business side of things quite a bit from Frey.

Worst Thing about the Book: Too much of it seems farfetched. A couple of individuals in the book have unbelievable power with the key word being 'unbelievable.' There were so many different plots in this book that you could have filled out 20 books, but it is attempted to bring them all somehow together.

Overall: It just wasn't believable. From extortion, to sports franchises, to billion dollar companies to a 'hero' in Gillette that often seemed weak and confused. It was just a mess from an otherwise pretty good writer.

February Reviews: 2 Books

I am now going to combine all my reviews for each month on the last Monday of each month. This will make it easier for me. I had reviews earlier this month for several other books, but here are two reviews for the past 2 weeks and to finish out the reviews for the month.


On the Run by Iris Johansen (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: The story focuses on a former CIA agent and how she is now in hiding and being protected by the CIA. Her world crashes around her as the bad guys find her. Her only hope is a former colleague and lover.

Rate of Interest: 20.0 pages per day (400 total pages)

Best Thing about the Book: The first 100 pages are pretty good. Really, I don't have much more good things to say about it. The action is intense if not ludicrous.

Worst Thing about the Book: Where to begin? Seriously. Do I talk about the 8-year old daughter who comes off sounding like she is 25 years old the entire book? I mean, yes, they said she was gifted all the time to try and cover how crazy it was, but it was just silly. Or could it be how the woman lead of the book is a 'horse whisperer'? You hear how a horse has not been tamed by 50 different people, yet when she walks in, she talks to the horse for a couple of hours and the horse now does whatever she wants. Ridiculous. Or, could it be the really, really cartoonish bad guy? He threatens the daughter, he threatens the woman, he threatens the man, he threatens the animals. I kept waiting for him to threaten the trees or the dirt. The main tough guy who is the good guy is pretty silly. They talk about how tough he is, but in reality, he sounds like a metrosexual. All we hear is that he is the toughest man alive but the book is littered with him whining and near tears throughout it. Seriously, it is pretty brutal at times. I wanted to hug the guy by the end of it.

Overall: Worst book that I have read so far this year. Painful. It is too bad because the author is quite good and has had a lot of success. The plot keeps moving along so you keep reading all the while shaking your head about how dumb it all really is.



The Husband by Dean Koontz (Thriller Fiction)

Story Summary in about 30 words: A guy who owns his landscape company gets a chilling phone call that his wife has been kidnapped. They will give her back only if he gives them $2 million. Problem is, he makes only around $40K a year. They kill others around him and he is forced to decide who is friends are and who he can trust to get her back within those couple of days.

Rate of Interest: 60.0 pages per day (416 total pages)

Best Thing about the Book: Koontz knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. It is intense and often disturbing and you see how far someone is willing to go to save his wife. The bad guys are really bad and the race to saving his wife will keep you reading.

Worst Thing about the Book: There are times when you see some of the implausibility and there are several parts of the book that are not looked into more and that hurts the overall book.

Overall: This is true escapism. Even thru some of the unbelievable sections of the book, it keeps you interested and wanting to see if he can get to his wife and to see if his wife can survive her kidnappers.