An Expensive Place to Die (56)

An Expensive Place to Die (56)
By Len Deighton

This was one of Deightons series of book about "Harry Palmer" although he is nameless in the book (Harry Palmer was the name given to him in the movies based on some of the books).
This one seemed somewhat pointless.. I never understood the motivations of the characters until toward the end. It was also set in Paris, with lots of French thrown in.. (I like the German books better- lol). In the end it was an interesting counter-espinoge premise..
The book was written in 1966, the year of my birth, 40 years ago.. It is interesting how the world has changed.. at least in political views. This talks about winning a nuclear war.. Also about a large battle of WWI fought in Europe.. that was still fresh in people memories. This didnt seem to have the typical style of Deighton in his Sampson books. It reminded me of John LeCarre's early books.. which would have been written about the same time. Perhaps this was the style of spy writting in the mid 60's?
Think I will read another one before I form a full opinion!

The Passion of Molly T (55)

The Passion of Molly T
by Lawrence Sanders

The Passion of Molly T, is actually more about her sister Ann H - lol. This is a book about a militant woman's group who basically become an organized, national, vigilante group, killing and destroying as they see fit. On the other side is a Southern Senator who is using them to propel himself into the national spotlight to get better name recogintion of the upcoming Presidential race. It is a Lawrence Sanders book so there is lots of sex (lesbian, married, gay, affairs, and devients).
This book is written in the style of an investigative report set about 3 ~ 5 years in the future. The cover page has a note from the author signed 9 years in the future (from when the book was published). Lots of side notes that talk about how historians view the period or event. It is an interesting way to forshadow things.
Over all I was not thrilled with the book, it was not one of Sanders best. On the other hand it was not bad either.. there are lots of players, and you are always trying to figure out what their real purpose is.
I did dislike the ending.. Brother Nabisco deserved better!

The DaVinci Code (54)

The DaVinci Code
Dan Brown

Wow... another great book by Dan Brown. I now understand what all the hype was about... I also see why the Catholics are all up in arms - lol.. But it is important to remember this is FICTION :) He weaves just enough fact to make people start believing... just like any good conspiracy theory should - lol.
I found this book extremely entertaining, and well written! I almost think I liked Angels and Demons better but both were excellent! One of the interesting thing is he talks a lot about art and historic churches and sites.. it is interesting to look these (real) places and art up to look at it. No it doesnt reveal secret information, but it is interesting! To show how popular the book is, I looked up the Mona Lisa which is mentioned in the book. The Lourve on their website actually address some of the claims made in his book, as they say they get a LOT of questions about it now. People come to see the painting for the connection to the book.
And I suppose anything that gets people interested in arts isn't all bad :)

Dave Barry Turns 40 (53)

Dave Barry Turns 40
By Dave Barry

I bought this book in 1992 and never read it... As I became active in reading again, and started reading a lot of Dave Barry books again, I have been saving this book until this year.. and then more toward September. I will turn 40 on Sept 10.
The book was amusing as I find all of Dave Barry's books... however I guess it wasnt as pointed to me turning 40 as I hoped it would be. A lot of the age based humor was aimed at his generation... lots of hippy/drug/60s music references. The book was good, just not quite what I hoped it would be.

The Switch (52)

The Switch
Elmore Leonard

I have reached a milestone! My goal in reading is to read the average of 1 book per week or 52 books per year. So I have reached this goal on 9/1/06 this year. This is a month ahead of the 9/29/05 where I reached 52 books last year.
It is also fitting that my 52nd book this year is a Leonard book, as he is my favorite author. This was a good book, in the classic Leonard style. Takes place in Detroit and the suburbs. This book involves kidnapping a woman to ransom her husband to give up some of the money is is skimming off his business and hiding in an off shore account.
This book has Ordell Robbie and Louis Garza who I am sure show up in another book, as well as Mickey Dawson who also seems familiar. I have started working on documenting Leonards books to see the overlap in the characters, but this will take a while.

Angels and Demons (51)

Angels and Demons
Dan Brown

Wow! This is prehaps the best book I have read all year.. Very interesting on a number of different levels.. History, ritual, science, secrets, puzzles, artwork...
The story was good.. at in the begining it seems like it would be predictable.. it was anyting but that.. the ending has more twists and turns than a mountain road.
This is Dan Browns 2nd book, which introduces the character that is also in his 4th book The DaVinci Cod.
I also picked up DaVinci Code and will be getting to that soon.

The Big Bounce (50)

The Big Bounce (50)
Elmore Leonard

This is an earlier Leonard book, that was republished after it was made into a movie. I picked up the paperback in a Dollar Store in Union SC :) Although this was written in 1969 it is still fresh and does not seem dated. Although at one point the main character is watching a Tigers game and Denny Mclain is pitching :0
Good story, but the ending is a bit different than I expected... Leonard books often have a twist at the end but this is different even for him.

I have decided I need to work harder to make sense of Leonard characters.. many of them reappear either in small or large rolls in different books.. will try to start documentaing that...