The Crying Lot of 49 (30)

The Crying of Lot 49
by Thomas Pynchon
read 10/18/09

Time listed this in their top 100 books from 1923 - 2005... I can sum up my views on the book quickly... I didn't get it.

I am not saying it was bad... I just didn't get it... read it yourself and see what you think.

Sandy MacDonald’s Man (29)

Sandy MacDonald’s Man
By R Clyde Ford
Read 10/1/09

My wife found this gem of a book in a used store years ago and it became one of my favorites at once. It tells the story of a young man who works for his uncle at an independent fur trading post on Mackinac Island. He goes ‘into the woods’ for a season and spends a winter in the Wisconsin woods trading and living with the Indians. It is an interesting look at life, trade and the views of people of that time, and perhaps how much has changed in 150 years.
The book was written by a Prof at Michigan Normal College (now Eastern) I have never been clear if this is a fictional account, or a historical account. I have not been able to find much information on it online anywhere. Either way it is an enjoyable read.

White Pine Days on the Taquemenon (28)

White Pine Days On the Taquamenon
William Daveport Hulbert
Read 9/23/09

This book was written over 100 years ago, by a gentlemen that lived in the Taquamenon area, and whose family owned a timber business. He has wonderful stories about the people and the business and timber cruising. But what comes across all his stories are the beauty of nature and the area in the U.P. He has wonderful descriptions of the area. I read this book because we were going to Tahquamenon area camping and after reading this book (again) it is still as true today. It is a beautiful area and this book is a great way to experience it.
The book itself was published about 60 years ago by the Michigan Historical Society and is no longer in print. I was able to find a nice copy on Amazon for $35, and I was happy to have it in my collection of books of Michigan.

How To Sell (27)

How To Sell
By Clancy martin
Read 9/15/09

This was an odd and confusing book. The story takes place over about 20 years and starts with a teen moving from Canada to Texas to join his older brother who is doing well in the jewelry business. There is a host of characters in and the business always seem slightly shady in a way that is hinted at but never explained. The brothers move on to run their own store, and have flashbacks to other problems in the past . As well as a father who is mentally unbalanced, but living the life of a preacher. The book always seems to be going somewhere, but never quite arrives. There are relationships and stories but you are never sure where it is going, or where you were once it was over. An odd book that was largely a waste of time.

Preston Falls (26)

Preston Falls
By David Gates
Read 9/5/09

This is the second book by Gates, the first Jernigan I read a few weeks ago. This is a similar character in a different setting. This character takes time off from his job that he dislikes and stays at their house in the country in a small town called Preston Falls. Much like Jernigan his life is quickly falling apart, however he can rationalize it each step of the way to the point that it seems like the logical course of action. I really enjoyed this book as I did his first and hope to see more work from this author.

Memoirs Of A Welshman (25)

Memoirs Of A Welshman
By Lyn Clarke
Read 9/2/09

My college roommate was originally from England, occasionally his dad would come visit and go out to the bars with us, he was quite a character. Fast forward 20 years my old roommate has moved back to England, but his Dad moved to Florida and retired… and started writing books about his life. He is an interesting guy and never afraid to strike up a conversation with someone.. through this, and a lot of Rugby playing he has met some interesting people and has some great stories. This is the first of four books that he has written. While heavy on Rugby and Soccer it is an entertaining read.

Road Dogs (24)

Road Dogs
Elmore Leonard
Read 8/30/09

In Leonard’s latest book he combines 3 characters from previous stories. Jack Foley from Out of Sight, Cundo Rey from LaBrava, and Dawn Navarro from Riding the Rap The three characters did not know each other, but Cundo married Dawn before being sent to prision where he met Foley. Now the jailbirds are out and hanging out in L.A. where Dawn has been watching over Cundo’s fortune for the 8 years he has been in prison. Dawn wants the money, but how can she get it from him… and will Foley help.

I love Leonard, this wasn’t his best book, but not his worst either. There were a lot of characters, but some of the minor ones became important. Some of the developing story lines really didn’t go anywhere. I guess that is part of the fun of Leonard is trying to figure out what the story is, and who will be important to it.

Jernigan (22)

Jernigan
David Gates
Read 8/20/09

This book is in the same vein as Bukowski. Jernigan’s life continues to slide downhill. His wife dies, his teenaged son is distant. Within his own mind all seems well, but bit by bit his life starts to fall apart. Yet he accepts each small part of it and to him it all seems to make sense. The book has an interesting twist by starting at the ending… so you sort of know what happens, but you don’t know why or how. He gets involved with a woman who at first he loves, but then comes to loath, as she does him. He loses his job, he starts drinking more and more. Things come apart in such an orderly manner, that he barely seems to care. Which might be the most elegant part of this story. People seldom crash and burn, it is usually a slow process, and piece by piece it comes apart.

Green Lantern Hero’s Quest (21)

Green Lantern Hero’s Quest
Dennis O’Neil
Read 8/16/09

This is another in the Justice League novels. I have read most of them now, some are good and some not. This was one of the better ones. Kyle becomes a Green Lantern by chance, then has to figure out how to use his new powers, and do some soul searching to figure out if he even wants the power, and the responsibility that comes with it.

As with many of these books this one gets way out there with the science fiction and science, yet this is very much like a comic book, and it was enjoyable.

I generally do not read the afterwards… thanking lots of people I don’t know or care about but this one talks about the day Sept 10 1997, the book was bout ¾ written. He was having lunch in NYC and he had a heart attack, he thanks the people who saved his life and made finishing the book possible. Nice story, but even more pointed for me as this happened on my birthday.

People of the Lie (20)

People of the Lie
M. Scott Peck
Read 7/28/09

Written by a doctor of psychiatry this is a look at people who are clinically evil. While this is not an officially recognized diagnosis, he maintains that it should be and provides some examples of different people. The examples are interesting, in some cases horrifying. I had trouble with the whole concept of evil, while the people in the examples definitely did some odd and destructive things, I have trouble calling it evil. This is my hangup, not necessarily the books. The Doctor is also a born again Christian and is very open about his faith and how it colors his out look, so that lost me to an extent also.
While I didn’t buy into everything in the book it was a worthwhile read.

You can visit the authors website at: http://www.mscottpeck.com/index.html

When Pine Was King (19)

When Pine Was King
Charles Lewis Reimann
Read 7/27/09

I had actually read this book several years ago and enjoyed it. Reimann wrote several books which I purchased used on Amazon. Unlike the previous book this was just about the lumber industry in Upper Michigan circa 1890’s, the boom years. It is a great look at life in the lumber camp and how the men lived and worked. Some of the stories in this book also appear in Between Iron and Pine. While not nearly as detailed as that book this is an enjoyable read, and I believe to be an accurate look at life in the woods.

Between Iron and Pine (18)

Between Iron and Pine
Charles Lewis Reimann
Read 7/19/09

Charles Reimann was born around the turn of the last century in Iron River Michigan back when it was a booming lumber and mining town. Part of a large German family he takes a detailed look at all aspects of his young life, from the lumber and mining industries to life at home, food, chores, winters and other day to day aspects of life. It is a great first hand account of the way life was in a UP town 100+ years ago.

I read a lot of books about Michigan history of this period and I think this is one of the best that I have read. It looks at many different aspects of life and gives you a real feel for what life was like.

Payback (17)

Payback
Margaret Atwood
Read 6/28/09

I had the opportunity to see Maraget Atwood speak last fall. Authors don't tour like rock starts so I was pleased to have the opportunity to hear her speak. She is very entertaing with a wicked sense of humor which surprised me but probably shouldn't have. Afterward I purchased a copy of her newest book Payback and she autographed it.

The book looks at the relationship between creditor and debtor, not just in money but in all exchanges.
The first section looked at Ancient balances and our sense of fairness and balance. Next she examined debt and sin, and their relationship in history. Next was debt as a plot. The last section was 'the Shadow Side' that looked at thing such as debtors prisons etc.

The book was interesting in its topic but the two thing that made it readable was first of all, Atwood's style of writing it in a very conversational way, as if you were sitting down with her and discussing it. The next thing that made it interesting was the examples in history.. it was a brief lesson in many subject that made it all the more enjoyable to read.

Forever War (16)

Forever War
Joe Halderman
Read 6/14/09

I have read science fiction by Halderman before, usually set in the future, usually with some over tone of war. This book starts out fine, about soldiers who sit in a room and "jack" together with their group to remotely control robot thousands of miles away fighting in an endless war. About 2/3 of the way through it the book takes a strange turn and starts going in several different directions which were not directly related to the beginning of the book. While it was not bad, I had trouble caring about what was going on, as it seemed very arbitrary and didn't really fit in well with the rest of the story.

The Last Templar (15)

The Last Templar
Raymond Khoury

This book starts in modern day NYC with a dramatic robbery of the Met museum and the archeologist and cop that are trying to figure out the what and why. What they find is a trail that leads them to a myth of the Templars 700 years before. The story also flashes back to the people in the 1300's that lead to the current mystery, but you do not get a feel for what the secret is that they are trying to discover.
The book gets a little dramatic at points, but over all it is a good story that is very readable, holds your interest and moves right along.

Quiver (14)

Quiver
Peter Leonard

Elmore Leonard is my favorite author, Peter is his son, and this is his first book. His second is now out and a third is written and will be coming out later. An excellent story set in Detroit and Northern Michigan, written very much in the style of Elmore. Great characters and an interesting narrative as you follow along characters on each side of the problem to see what they will do next.

I look forward to many more books by Peter Leonard.

The Great Train Robbery (13)

The Great Train Robbery
Michael Crichton
Read 4/26/09

I like Crichton's books, although sometimes they are heavy on confrontation. This book was a nice exception to this. Story set in the 1800's gives an interesting glimpse into what life was like back then, how people lived and were exploited by the system as well as each other.
The story is of a man intricately planning to rob a gold shipment from a train and is told as a narrative so there is lots of foreshadowing, over all a great story but I think it is the backdrop that really made this enjoyable for me.

The Giver (12)

The Giver
Lois Lowry

This is actually a 'childrens' book, although it deals with some very adult topics. Jonas lives in a perfect world, everything is structured and there are no surprises. It is the sameness that his society has chosen, no weather, hills, sun, pain or pleasure. 'Families' are groups of people, adults and 2 children that have been carefully matched.... there is no free will. But Jonas is choosen to be the receiver of memories, to carry all the memories of the people, the pain and suffering, but also the color and joy they are missing.
An interesting dystopian tale. It reminds me a lot of Brave New World, the society is set up in a similar way.

The Hot Kid (11)

The Hot Kid
Elmore Leonard

This is set in the 1930's when booze is illegal, the country is in depression and outlaws are robbing banks and shooting people everywhere. This is the story of U. S. Marshall Carl Webster, the Hot Kid, who at 28 has made a name for himself shooting wanted bad guys. It tells the story of some of his famous battles as told to a magazine reporter, while he is on the trail of Jack Belmont a 2 bit crook, son a wealthy oil man, whose ambition is to be a famous outlaw, public enemy number one.
This is a great story written in the ususal Leonard style that draws you into the characters and makes you interested in them and their motivations. This one seem to tell a story more than some of his novels, and I enjoyed it. The body count was high, but it is the same cast of low life people that make so many of Leonard's books interesting, just set in the wilds of Oklahoma during the Oil rush.

Comfort to the Enemy (10)

Comfort to the Enemy
Elmore Leonard

This is not a published book, but rather a serial that Leonard wrote for the New York Times. One chapter was published each week over a 14 week period. It is now available from Leondard's web sit.
It is the story of U.S. Marshall Carl Webster as he investigates the death of a POW found hung. The story is pure Leonard, but one of the interesting thing is that we kept foreign POWs on American soil during WWII. This story is set in Oklahoma and Webster has to figure out who is more dangerous the POW that is escaping, or the ones that stay in the camp.
This is the same character as The Hot Kid, and I had thought this was a prequeal, it turns out this story happens after The Hot Kid, so if you are reading them in order do this one second.

The Second Deadly Sin (9)

The Second Deadly Sin
Lawrence Sanders

This is the second Edward X Delaney novel, the retired NYPD chief who is called back to look into the murder of an artist. This book is classic Sanders heavy on the descriptions of food and clothing, yet an interesting story as he unwraps the stories and personalities of those who are involved. It is a good whodunit and holds up well. Written in the mid 70's it is still fresh today without seeming too dated. I was reading this book while I was in NYC as it is set there, so I can place the settings, the roads, and subways which makes it a bit more interesting.

Women (8)

Women
Charles Bukowski
Read 3/24/09

This winter I purchased all six of Bukowski’s novels. I have read the first 3, but will want to read them again. Women is the next book in order to read. This looks at Bukowski’s life in the early 70’s after he was a writer and starting to enjoy some celebrity. He still lives in L.A., and not in the best part. Still drinking heavily, and still writing. What is different is he is not broke all the time, and he has a steady stream of women who want to be with him. It doesn’t hurt that this is in the middle of the sexual revolution and it seems that everybody is sleeping with everyone. He tends to favor the psychos and broken down women, he can’t seem to care enough to actually have a relationship, even though a few women seem to genuinely like him. He said if he had to choose between drinking and women, he would give up women… so that puts in all in perspective.

Rabbit, Run (7)

Rabbit, Run
John Updike
Read 3/8/09


This year I have been reading some popular authors of the past, I liked Vonnegut, and have read lots of good things about Updike, so I had high hopes for Rabbit. Unfortunately I found the writing to be cumbersome and slow. It is basically the story of a young guy who can not decide if he wants to stay with his wife. He has a wife, a girlfriend, and he can’t figure out what he wants. Updike goes into vivid descriptions of everything in an almost poetic way.. but what I really want is a story to read.. the story is slow to develop, in the end it gets quite interesting, but much like life there is no real resolution at the end. I guess that makes you want to read the sequel.
The book was written in the late 50’s and what is interesting is the role woman played in life. We meet Rabbits wife, girlfriend, mother, mother-in-law and a few other characters and it shows how women were though of and their duty and place in the late 50s. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough to save this book in my opinion.

Slaughterhouse Five (6)

Slaugherhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut
Read 2/16/09

I read a book of Vonnegut's short stories last year, he started as a science fiction writer and you could see that in many of his stories. This is a book roughly about his war experience as a German POW. It is told from the point of view of a time traveling optometrist who spends time as a POW and also as a zoo specimen on a foreign planet. It is a odd way to look at an awful and powerful story and in the end the message comes across stronger than if he would have just told it. The use of humor gives a side line to make the awful bits more powerful.

Howard Hughes: The Untold Story (4)

Howard Hughes: The Untold Story
By: Peter Harry Brown and Pat H. Broeske
Read 2/8/09

An interesting look at Howard Hughes from the begining of his life all the way to the end. He stated his life with an over-protective mother how instilled in him a fear of germs that stayed through his whole life. Known as the worlds richest man, and aviator, movie producer, womanizer and eccentric recluse. All are true, but there is more to each of the stories. He was a brilliant engineer and was involved in the process of both is fathers company as well as his own aerospace company. He often said he would be happy just to do that. But he did much more, his wealth meant little to him except to provide a means to do whatever he wanted. Which often meant perusing woman, then offering to help them with movie careers which may or may not happen. Many men collect things, Hughes collected women, he had scores of them kept in apartments, with handlers, and trainers, the cost must have been staggering.
Thought it all he had what we now recognize as treatable OCD, but at the time it was unknown and he often wondered if he was going insane. This combined with many plane and auto accidents plus lingering effects of syphilis turned him into a paranoid person who may have been his own worst enemy. However in his final 10 years of life he was virtually a prisoner kept by his core group of people who kept him well medicated on codeine and Valium while they took control of his billion dollar empire.
An excellent book, well written and interesting. It looks mostly at his personal life with the business in the background. It is an amazing story and any one chapter might be an amazing life, but when you put all the parts of his life together it was incredible, and above all very sad.

How To Tame A Wild Bore (3)

How to Tame a Wild Bore and Other Facts of Life with Lewis (Hardcover)
by Kathy Grizzard Schmook

I read a Gizzard book last year and it was ok, but in it he talks about his weddings.. there were many. And it also mentioned that one of his ex-wives wrote a book about him.
It was mildly amusing... sort of folksy in a stereotypical way. He is a guy... a slob, interested only in tennis, and unfamiliar in the ways of the world.. somehow he marries a southern lady in the old style and they clash. The book isn't vindictive, if you like Gizzard it might be of interest to you, otherwise you can probably pass on this one.

The 25th Man (1)

The 25th Man
Ed Morrell

I read an except from this book when I was in Jr. High and never forgot it. It was about an inmate in St Quentin that had out of body experiences after being tortured. Recently it crossed my mind again and I was able to track it down at a library.
The book was different than I thought. The story starts back in the late 1800's and a lot of the story is about how he got in trouble and arrested, his time in jail etc. This is a true story and Ed Morrell went on to champion prison reform, so a lot of this book is about the conditions and experiences he had.... all of which were horrific. Toward the end of the book we finally get to the part that I recalled. A new warden would strap him into a straight jacket and leave him for days, during this time we could have out of body experiences, and later went on to complete some of the visions he had.
Over all I really can't recommend it, I read it because it was something I remembered, and while parts of it were quite interesting from a historical perspective, overall the book got bogged down in the story of his capture. As a side note, Jack London wrote a fictional account based on Ed's story called Star Rover, perhaps that would be more entertaining.

Reading in 2008

My reading slowed in 2008, as I knew it would. Now that I don't work at the City, I do not have the extra 10 -15 (paid) hours to read each week. I still got through 40 books, and had it not been for a few months where I read next to nothing I may have hit the 52 which had been my goal in previous years. I still love to read and have enough book to keep me reading for the next 10 years... and of course I am always buying more. So on to next year!


So here is what I read in 2008.
1/1/2008 Diego Rivera : science and creativity in the Detroit murals Dorothy McMeekin
2/13/2008 Funeral In Berlin Len Deighton
3/10/2008 Dali Robert Radford
3/19/2008 3001 Arthur C. Clarke
3/27/2008 Secrets Of The Tomb Alexandra Robbins
4/5/2008 Digital Fortress Dan Brown
4/8/2008 Post Office Charles Bukowski
4/13/2008 Pagan Babies Elmore Leonard
4/19/2008 Flash - Stop Motion Mark Shultz
4/20/2008 Bold Women In Michigan Virgina Law Burns
4/30/2008 The Secret Life of Henry Ford John Côté Dahlinger
5/5/2008 Big Trouble Dave Barry
5/10/2008 Ham On Rye Charles Bukowski
5/23/2008 The Icpress File Len Deighton
5/28/2008 Factotum Charles Bukowski
6/30/2008 Don't Bend Over In the Garden, Granny - You Know Them Taters Got Eyes Lewis Grizzard
7/7/2008 The Time Machine H G Wells
8/13/2008 LaBrava Elmore Leonard
8/18/2008 Stori Telling Tori Spelling
8/25/2008 Cat Chaser Elmore Leonard
8/30/2008 My Life In High Heels Loni Anderson
9/4/2008 Shop Girl Steve Martin
9/9/2008 Mustang Ranch Alexa Albert
9/13/2008 Horse Under Water Len Deighton
9/18/2008 Adult Children of Alcoholics Janet G Woitiz
10/6/2008 Split Images Elmore Leonard
10/11/2008 Brave New World Aldous Huxley
10/18/2008 I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This Bob Newhart
10/19/2008 Struggle For Intimacy Janet G Woitiz
10/25/2008 Welcome To The Monkey House Kurt Vonnegut
11/13/2008 Exterminators Christopher Golden
11/18/2008 Playing With The Grown-ups Sophie Dahl
11/20/2008 Life Laughs Jenny McCarthy
11/28/2008 Water For Elephants Sara Gruen
12/1/2008 Call of the Wild Jack London
12/20/2008 The Russia House John LeCarre'
12/25/2008 Behind the Scenes Elizabeth Keckley
12/27/2008 The Call Girl Actress Erica Black
12/31/2008 Tuesdays With Morrie Mitch Albom
12/31/2008 What We Talk About When We Talk About Love Raymond Carver

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (40)

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
Raymond Carver
Read 12/31/08

I talk about reading with a co-worker, and this was an author he recommenced. It is a collection of short stories. Each story seems to leave as much unsaid as it tells, and the real story seems to be in what they don't say. Most of the stories are a single incident.. so it is almost as if you are sitting in on a conversation and you have to fill in the gaps in what is said. The stories make you think, and many of them are sad... or perhaps defeated is a better word. May about damaged relationships... looking back on them... overall a great book.
Since this was short stories I have been reading this book here and there since fall. When I finished my other book last night I read the last few stories in this collection.

Tuesdays With Morrie (39)

Tuesdays With Morrie
Mitch Albom
Read 12/31/08

This is written by a sports writer for the Free Press who in 1994 was watch ABC Nightline and sees a story about his favorite Prof and mentor from college. And he is dying from ALS. He gets back in touch with him and begins flying from Detroit to Boston each week on Tuesday to talk with his dying friend.
Morrie, although dying has a upbeat view on life and lots of wisdom about how to enjoy life. In the end Mitch learns a lot about himself through these sessions.

The book is a quick read, and give you something to think about without being too heavy.

Behind The Scenes (37)

Behind the Scenes
or, Thirty years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House.
Elizabeth Keckly
Read 12/25/08

This is an autobiography written in 1868 by a woman who was born into slavery. Later bought her freedom and went on to become a seamstress. In this capacity she worked for and became friends with Mrs. President Lincoln. It is an interesting look at life in that time, and also and unusual look at the President and his wife. Not in that capacity, but just as a friend.
The book is very readable for its age and I highly recommend it.

The Russia House (36)

The Russia House
John LeCarre'
Read 12/20/08

I realized I had not read a LeCarre' book this year. I enjoy his books, but they take a while to get though. This was no different, about a new 'joe' who brings in some amazing but unsolociated information from Russian. Then we follow him as he goes back to Moscow and contacts a woman he falls for, and his informant. The resulting debriefings are confusing as you try to figure out which side everybody is on... Like so many of his books.. in the end it does not matter :)