tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100158582024-03-13T13:49:17.548-04:00Biblio's BlogginsMy reading life.Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.comBlogger649125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-25316766119712722962024-01-13T18:39:00.000-05:002024-01-13T18:39:29.461-05:00Thoughts on 2023<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Best Books —</b></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Tom Lake</i> by Ann Patchett</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Small Mercies</i> by Dennis Lehane</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Chenneville</i> by Paulette Jiles</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Wager</i> by David Grann</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ann Patchett is an incredible writer, and owns a bookstore. What more do you need to know? This is her best book in years. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Lehane is the author of <i>Mystic River </i>and <i>Gone Baby Gone</i>. In <i>Small Mercies</i> he gives us a strong female protagonist. When the movie is made, someone is going to win an Oscar. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">You may have never heard of Paulette Jiles. She lives in Texas, writes about Texas and writes about Texas just after the Civil War. In other words, Paulette writes westerns, which means the East Coast literary snobs regard her as a regional writer, not really worthy of your attention. Fortunately, Paulette chooses to ignore this. Her last three books, <i>Map of the World, Simon the Fiddler</i> and <i>Chenneville</i> are well worth your time.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Wager</i> is the outlier on this list. It’s non-fiction that reads like a novel. The sub-title says it all, “A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder”. Grann is also the author of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon.</i></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Lots of mysteries, thrillers and science fiction on this list — old and new.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In the mystery-thriller genre the Slow Horses series by Mick Herron is terrific. It is also a fine series on Apple TV starring Gary Oldman. It’s John LeCarre with a sense of humor.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I also recommend Michael Connelly, Don Winslow, S.A. Cosby and Ruth Ware. Among classics, Daphne du Maurier’s <i>Rebecca</i> exceeded expectations. And don’t sleep on Ross Macdonald and Raymond Chandler.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">As for sci-fi, the sentient spiders in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s <i>Children of Time</i> are incredibly creepy. <i>Children of Time</i> is the first in a trilogy. Another sci-fi trilogy worthy of attention is Hugh Howey’s Silo series. Yes, this is also a series on Apple TV. The first book is <i>Wool</i>.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Also recommended:</b></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><b></b><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Historical fiction —</b> Bernard Cornwell is simply the best. I absolutely love his Sharpe series as well as his Saxon series.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Classics — </b><i>My Antonia </i>by Willa Cather is a book I read annually. Anything by Dickens. <i>East of Eden </i>by John Steinbeck. <i>Our Town</i> by Thornton Wilder.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Non-Fiction —</i> <i>MCU, The Reign of Marvel Studios</i> by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards. <i>The Rediscovery of America, Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History</i> by Ned Blackhawk. <i>Larry McMurtry, A Life </i>by Tracy Daugherty.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Stories —</b> <i>Night of the Living Rez </i>by Morgan Talty.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Finale — </b>108 books in 2023. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3,742 since I started this list in 1996.</p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-39305340748637546912023-12-31T22:59:00.006-05:002023-12-31T22:59:51.765-05:002023 Reading List<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“Speech codes and book bans may start in opposing camps, but both warm their hands over freedom’s ashes.”</span></p><p style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">--Ron Charles, </span></b><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Washington Post</span></b></p><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; text-align: left;"><b><div style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">January</span></b></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">1.</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; white-space: pre;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">David Copperfield</i><u style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">,</u><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"> Charles Dickens</span></span><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Joe Country</i>, Mick Herron</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Woman In Cabin 10</i>, Ruth Ware</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Philosophy of Modern Song,</i> Bob Dylan</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Kings of Cool</i>, Don Winslow</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Slough House</i>, Mick Herron</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Everybody Knows</i>, Jordan Harper</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Turn of the Key</i>, Ruth Ware</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">February</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Auntie Mame,</i> Patrick Dennis</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Maus Now, Selected Writings</i>, ed. Hillary Chute</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Bad Actors</i>, Mick Herron</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Damned Lovely</i>, Adam Frost</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Trail to Buddha’s Mirror</i>, Don Winslow</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Night of the Living Rez</i>, Morgan Talty</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Captain America, A Granddaughter’s Memoir </i><i>of a</i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span> </span><span> </span>Legendary </i><i>Comic Book Artist</i>, Megan Margulies</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Around the World with Auntie Mame</i>, Patrick Dennis</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Still Pictures, On Photography and Memory</i>, Janet Malcom</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">18.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Cool Breeze on the Underground</i>, Don Winslow</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">19.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Oath of Loyalty</i>, Kyle Mills</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">20.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Every Man A King,</i> Walter Mosley</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">March</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">21.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Total Power</i>, Kyle Mills</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">22.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Way They Were</i>, Robert Hofler</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">23.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-style: normal; white-space: pre;"> </span><i>East of Eden</i>, John Steinbeck</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">24.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Stan Lee, The Man Behind Marvel. </i>Bob Batchelor</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">25.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Separation of Power</i>, Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">26.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Lying Game</i>, Ruth Ware</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">27. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, </i>Maggie O’Farrell</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">28.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Rebecca</i>, Daphne du Maurier</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">29.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Chill,</i> Ross Macdonald</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">April</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">30.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Big Sleep</i>, Raymond Chandler</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">31.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Lover’s Love</i>, Maggie O’Farrell</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">32.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Antonia</i>, Willa Cather</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">33.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Storm Watch,</i> C.J. Box</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">34.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Order to Kill,</i> Kyle Mills</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">35.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hang the Moon</i>, Jeannette Walls</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">36.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>So Shall You Reap,</i> Donna Leon</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">37.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Ozark Dogs</i>, Eli Cranor</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">38.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Comic Books and America 1945-1954</i>, William W. Savage Jr.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">39.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Beastly Things</i>, Donna Leon</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">May</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">40.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Trackers</i>, Charles Frazier</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">41.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Superman Is Jewish?</i>, Harry Brod</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">42.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Enemy at the Gates,</i> Kyle Mills</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">43.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan</i>, Rick Bowers</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">44.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Rescue,</i> T. Jefferson Parker</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">45.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Standing in the Shadows</i>, Peter Robinson</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">46.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>City of Dreams</i>, Don Winslow</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">47.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Small Mercies</i>, Dennis Lehane. Novel</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">48.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Wager, A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and </i><i>Murder</i>, </span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> David Grann</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">49.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Season of Skulls</i>, Charles Stross</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">June</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">50.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Independence Square</i>, Martin Cruz Smth</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">51.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Fixit</i>, Joe Ide</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">52.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Lethal Agent</i>, Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">53.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Brutal Reckoning,</i> Peter Cozzens</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">54.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Hag, The Life, Times, and Music of </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span> </span><span> </span>Merle </i><i>Haggard</i>, Marc Eliot</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">55.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Haunted Lady</i>, Mary Roberts Rinehart</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">56.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Siberian Dilemma</i>, Martin Cruz Smith</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">57.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Beware the Woman</i>, Megan Abbott</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">July</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">58.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>All The Sinners Bleed</i>, S.A. Cosby</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">59.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Zero Days</i>, Ruth Ware</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">60.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>King A Life</i>, Jonathan Eig</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">61.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Children of Time</i>, Adrian Tchaikovsky</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">62.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Crook Manifesto</i>, Colson Whitehead</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">63.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Transfer of Power,</i> Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">August</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">64.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Children of Ruin,</i> Adrian Tchaikovsky</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">65.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Be Mine</i>, Richard Ford</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">66.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>American Assassin, </i>Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">67.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Children of Memory</i>, Adrian Tchaikovsky</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">68.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tom Lake</i>, Ann Patchett</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">69.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Pursuit of Honor</i>, Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">70.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Wool</i>, Hugh Howey</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">71.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Our Town</i>, Thornton Wilder</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">72.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Last Man</i>, Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">73.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Second Murderer</i>, Denise Mina</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">74.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Invincible Gene Colan, </i>ed. Clifford Meth</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">September</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">75.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Invisible Sun</i>, Charles Stross</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">76.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Somebody’s Fool,</i> Richard Russo</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">77.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Rediscovery of America, Native Peoples </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span> </span><span> </span>and the Unmaking </i><i>of U.S. History</i>, Ned Blackhawk</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">78.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Prom Mom</i>, Laura Lippman</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">79.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Holly</i>, Stephen King</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">80.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Chenneville</i>, Paulette Jiles</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">81.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Secret Hours</i>, Mick Herron</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">82.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Longmire Defense</i>, Craig Johnson</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">83.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Executive Power</i>, Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">October</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">84.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Peter & Max</i>, Bill Willingham</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">85.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young</i>, David Browne</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">86.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Memorial Day,</i> Vince Flynn</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">87.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>O Pioneers</i>, Willa Cather</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">88.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Shift,</i> Hugh Howey</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">89.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Funeral and Other Stories</i>, Tessa Hadley</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">90.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Monica</i>, Daniel Clowes</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">91.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Menewood</i>, Nicola Griffith</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">November</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">92.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Larry McMurtry, A Life,</i> Tracy Daugherty</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">93.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling,</i> Henry Fielding</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">94.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Secret, Lee & Andrew Child</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">95.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Havoc</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">96.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dust</i>, Hugh Howey</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">97.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Resurrection Walk</i>, Michael Connelly</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">98. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Normal Rules Don’t Apply</i>, Kate Atkinson</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">99.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Trafalgar</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">100.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Triumph</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">101.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>MCU, The Reign of Marvel Studios</i>, Joanna Robinson, </span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Dave Gonzales & Gavin Edwards</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">102.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Analysis of Bone</i>, Stephen Weiner</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">103.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Uhtred’s Feast</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">December</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">104.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dombey and Son</i>, Charles Dickens</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">105.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dark Ride,</i> Lou Berney</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">106.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Thomas Nast, The Father of Modern Political </i><i>Cartoons, </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Fiona Deans Halloran</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">107.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Code Red</i>, Kylle Mills</span></p><p style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">108.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Assassin</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></p></div>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-11589492994523414662023-01-02T15:38:00.000-05:002023-01-02T15:38:05.761-05:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm2ZYLzh_rjlR0MCEUkWQ0b9px9s4q0i7tPHp2sKMIJZfSKP_5iDhAFvN7MXkHvE5o6PicjMaNzHg3iu7q0gWtuuBwyrMcBGfJTSe7REyPV8fO2oTciBaZMzzOUWGphzIZc5yAHepORsBnJ_OHFmm2im-uAcTMzk-8qAiFJ1qH1mLrCqCbQ/s432/IMG_3474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="220" data-original-width="432" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm2ZYLzh_rjlR0MCEUkWQ0b9px9s4q0i7tPHp2sKMIJZfSKP_5iDhAFvN7MXkHvE5o6PicjMaNzHg3iu7q0gWtuuBwyrMcBGfJTSe7REyPV8fO2oTciBaZMzzOUWGphzIZc5yAHepORsBnJ_OHFmm2im-uAcTMzk-8qAiFJ1qH1mLrCqCbQ/w400-h204/IMG_3474.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Here's how I'm starting 2023.<p></p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-64257969462777632312023-01-01T11:52:00.001-05:002023-01-01T12:02:43.289-05:00On Demon Copperhead and other books in 2022<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px;">117 books read in 2022.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>If you’re only going to read two books in 2023:</b></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Demon Copperhead</i> by Barbara Kingsolver</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow</i> by Gabrielle Zevin</p>
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<i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijElXH_mDo3eyPkFGuep03r-CGucS18YxPkosmckOFk0H9wrhs9iILput44w9DHa9EJR5wl1crJknExirwWJQMuIWkuxIXbsNDm9jS6FU7pfv_jONK3MjOBvDUolsO8E6rgo60yC1Xcr1HfGqpu0uUKqTiRzx2PtyTvurBujntDve4NHplVg/s600/Demon%20Copperhead%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="401" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijElXH_mDo3eyPkFGuep03r-CGucS18YxPkosmckOFk0H9wrhs9iILput44w9DHa9EJR5wl1crJknExirwWJQMuIWkuxIXbsNDm9jS6FU7pfv_jONK3MjOBvDUolsO8E6rgo60yC1Xcr1HfGqpu0uUKqTiRzx2PtyTvurBujntDve4NHplVg/w134-h200/Demon%20Copperhead%20copy.jpg" width="134" /></a></i></div><i>Demon Copperhead</i> is Charles Dickens’s <i>David Copperfield </i>retold as an American tragedy. Rural poverty, the failure of the foster care system, opiod abuse and addiction, the brutality and casual indifference the coal industry imposes on both its workers and the environment are themes that echo through this book. <p></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">By turns, harrowing and humorous, <i>Demon Copperhead</i>, lays bare America’s shame. It is one of the finest and most powerful novels to emerge in years and establishes Kingsolver among the top rank of Amercan novelists.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I know more than most about the (computer) game industry. I’ve seen how the sausage is made. It is either a grandly creative effort by a team of individuals with a common vision or a cynical undertaking when old code is dressed up in new clothes — deja vu all over again.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Gabrielle Zevin’s <i>Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow </i>sees the industry with clarity and affection. It’s a delightful book. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>If you’re looking for new authors in 2023, here’s two:</b></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Ruth Ware is a mystery writer. She says she learned to plot from Agatha Christie and that Daphne du Maurier’s books “are my go-to for how to writer character.” That’s an impressive pedigree which emerges in every page of these tautly written mysteries.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Brit Mick Herron has a bit of fun at John le Carre’s expense in his Slough House novels. His central character, Jackson Lamb, is a down-at-the-heels George Smiley. He is rude and crude, an unbathed alcoholic who retains all the skills of a master spy. In a delicious twist, Gary Oldman, who played Smiley in the movies, plays Jackson Lamb in the ApplePlus tv series, <i>Slow Horses,</i> which is based on Herron’s novels. The humor doesn’t interefere, in the least, with the fact that when all is read and done this is an engaging espionage series. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Authors I’m really high on, and think you should be too:</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br />Becky Chambers: I finished her Wayfarer series in 2022. It is science ficiton at its best. Her Monk and Robot novellas (there are two) are harder to characterize. Sci fi because, well, there’s a robot, but there’s a deft touch of fantasy too. Chamber’s books are filled with empathy and joy that’s all too rare in books today. She makes me laugh. She makes me cry. And she gives hope for the future. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FKBi_DOuC7WJnFGJoCSJjPxJIMhWGoVBu8BABfBQIAexkgHEqWlZ_t6BkISWq-ToB9pZTy41QWhM9_68S_nP7EfS57Kno-hNwuoaTX5SnIvwvTdXOr-dcp2tTKTDF1vrfUt5xGmGmyBthmtYKbyWo55Oby6JA3jkewT27Pg7NSmAjjeEaQ/s600/Last%20King%20of%20California%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="394" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-FKBi_DOuC7WJnFGJoCSJjPxJIMhWGoVBu8BABfBQIAexkgHEqWlZ_t6BkISWq-ToB9pZTy41QWhM9_68S_nP7EfS57Kno-hNwuoaTX5SnIvwvTdXOr-dcp2tTKTDF1vrfUt5xGmGmyBthmtYKbyWo55Oby6JA3jkewT27Pg7NSmAjjeEaQ/w131-h200/Last%20King%20of%20California%20copy.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>S.A.Cosby: Is first book, <i>My Darkest Prayer,</i> was re-issued in 2022. The novel is clunky at times. Cosby is clearly trying to find his voice. He channels Walter Mosley in a couple of scenes. There’s nothing wrong with that, Mosley is a superb writer. Cosby does find his voice in his two most recent novels, <i>Blacktop Wasteland</i> and <i>Razorblade Tears</i>. I eagerly await his fourth book. Cosby has given to new life to southern noir.<p></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Jordan Harper: Harper’s <i>The Last King of California</i> was issued in Great Britain, but not America. I’m not sure why, but the diligent reader can track down a copy. It’s well worth the effort. <i>The Last KIng of California</i> reminds me a little of <i>The Death of Sweet Mister</i> by Daniel Woodrell, and that’s high praise. Harper has new book coming out early this year. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Two graphic publications that I really liked: </b></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Monstress </i>by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda collects the first 18 comic books from this epic fantasy published by Image Comics. The artwork is lush. The storytelling tight. </p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Ducks, Two Years in the Oil Sands,</i> Kate Beaton. <i>Ducks</i> is NOT a graphic novel. It is a graphic <b>memoir</b> that demonstrates how the use of text and art can rise above text alone. Beaton experienced a gap year of sorts. In an effort to pay for college, she spent two years working at the oil sands of Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada. To say she did not have a good time is an understatement. Sexual harrassment and environmental despoilation are the overriding themes in this coming-of-age memoir.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>A few thoughts on non-fiction:</b></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I recommend Jon Meacham’s <i>Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, Covered With Night </i>by Nicole Eustace<i> </i>and<i> Empire of the Summer Moon </i>by S.C. Gwynne. Three impressive works of history that provide insight into the nation and people we are today.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHLblUcYs9OpU9C3-HvViVXVpYGxcW5jiz9o9h1IC2KOmXDO9fI0ld2RxnUHKLCuSobEPL9LbGCqxYuiJzO4np63RHdBzRKZTKGxA86reUNkI8rwcZ_bp89lxS2Cv1UDu-R-dKsuVd6GD_mCP_C6CLBsubLkFfWufZGTSMMxp5YglHh1bBA/s600/Path%20Lit%20By%20Lightning%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="398" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHLblUcYs9OpU9C3-HvViVXVpYGxcW5jiz9o9h1IC2KOmXDO9fI0ld2RxnUHKLCuSobEPL9LbGCqxYuiJzO4np63RHdBzRKZTKGxA86reUNkI8rwcZ_bp89lxS2Cv1UDu-R-dKsuVd6GD_mCP_C6CLBsubLkFfWufZGTSMMxp5YglHh1bBA/w133-h200/Path%20Lit%20By%20Lightning%20copy.jpg" width="133" /></a></i></div><i>Path Lit by Lightning, The Life of Jim Thorpe</i> by David Maraniss is both a splendid biography of an American sports great and a heartbreaking history of the ill treatment of indigenous people.<p></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">My favorite non-fiction book from 2022 was <i>Play All Night! Duane Allman and the Journey to Fillmore East </i>by Bob Beatty. My takeaways: the band was always meant to be heard live, the band’s sound could never be fully captured in the studio, the album recorded live at the Fillmore East was the cornerstone of the band’s success and despite Duane Allman’s untimely death — only days after Fillmore East went gold — his vision for the band endured for decades.</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Books I liked:</b></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Termination Shock</i>, Neal Stephenson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Winter Work</i>, Dan Fesperman</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>French Braid</i>, Anne Tyler</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>City on Fire</i>, Don Winslow</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Our Missing Hearts,</i> Celeste Ng</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Shrines of Gaiety</i>, Kate Atkinson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Spear</i>, Nicola Griffith </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Fairy Tale</i>, Stephen King</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Heat 2,</i> Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner</p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Books that didn’t quite work for me by authors I’ve liked in the past:</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>You Have a Friend in 10A,</i> Maggie Shipstead</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Lucy by the Sea</i>, Elizabeth Strout</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Passenger,</i> Cormac McCarthy</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Anthem,</i> Noah Hawley</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Marriage Portrait</i>, Maggie O’Farrell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Candy House,</i> Jennifer Egan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 16px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now, on to the list:</p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-29971434266950438932022-12-31T11:25:00.000-05:002022-12-31T11:25:01.166-05:002022 Reading List<p><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">January</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Master Humphrey’s Clock</i>, Charles Dickens</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>King of the Blues, The Rise and Reign of B.B. King,</i> Daniel De Visé</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Southtown</i>, Rick Riordan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Call Us What We Carry</i>, Amanda Gorman</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Closed and Common Orbit,</i> Becky Chambers</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Assassin</i>, Bernard Cornwell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Stargazer,</i> Anne Hillerman</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Captain Putnam for the Republic of Texas</i>, James L. Haley</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Thousand Steps</i>, T. Jefferson Parker</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>CSNY Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young</i>, Peter Doggett</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>John Prine</i>, Erin Osmon</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tapestry</i>, Loren Glass</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Anthem</i>, Noah Hawley</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>February</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Quantum of Nightmares</i>, Charles Stross</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Mouth to Mouth</i>, Antoine Wilson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Prey</i>, Bernard Cornwell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Little Book of Fantastic Four</i>, Roy Thomas</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">18.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Termination Shock</i>, Neal Stephenson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">19.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Empire of the Summer Moon,</i> S.C. Gwynne</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">20.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let It Be</i>, Steve Matteo</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">21.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Devil House,</i> John Darnielle</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">22.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Siege</i>, Bernard Cornwell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">23.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Swordfishtrombones</i>, David Smay</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">24.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>There There,</i> Tommy Orange</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>March</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">25.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>None But The Righteous</i>, Chantal James</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">26.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>She Rides Shotgun</i>, Jordan Harper</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">27.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Golden Age of DC Comics, 1935-1956</i>, Paul Levitz</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">28.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The </i>’<i>Forties, False Dawn</i><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>2</sup></i></span>, Edith Wharton</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">29.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The </i>’<i>Fifties, False The Old Maid</i><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>2</sup></i></span>, Edith Wharton</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">30.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The 'Sixties, The Spark</i><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>2</sup></i></span>, Edith Wharton</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">31.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The ’Seventies, New Year’s Day</i><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>2</sup></i></span>, Edith Wharton</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">32.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Escape From Yokai Land</i>, Charles Stross</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">33.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Shadows Reel,</i> C.J. Box</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">34.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Secret Identity</i>, Alex Segura</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">35.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>French Braid</i>, Anne Tyler</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>April</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">36.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Book of the Dun Cow*</i>, Walter Wangerin, Jr.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">37.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Monstress,</i> Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">38.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>American Comics, A History,</i> Jeremy Dauber</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">39.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Vietnam Nurse, Mending & Remembering</i>, Lou Eisenbrandt</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">40.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Name of the Game</i>, Will Eisner</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">41.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Cocktail Waitress</i>, James M. Cain</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">42.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Candy House</i>, Jennifer Egan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">43.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>We Spoke Out, Comic Books and the Holocaust</i>, Neal Adams,</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rafael Medoff & Craig Yoe.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">44.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Little Book of Captain America</i>, Roy Thomas</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">45.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Last Night, A Superhero Saved My Life</i>, ed. Liesa Mignogna</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">46.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Ghost In You</i>, Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">47.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Record of a Spaceborn Few</i>, Becky Chambers.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>May</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">48.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Power of the Dog</i>, Don Winslow</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">49.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sometimes a Great Notion</i>, Ken Kesey</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">50.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dawn Patrol,</i> Don Winslow</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">51.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Index, A History of the</i>, Dennis Duncan</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">52.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Don’t Know Tough,</i> Eli Cranor</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">53.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>City On Fire</i>, Don Winslow</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">54.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Best American Mystery Stories 2013</i>, ed. Lisa Scottoline & Otto Penzler</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>June</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">55.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Spear</i>, Nicola Griffith</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">56.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sleepwalk,</i> Dan Chaon</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">57.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Galaxy and the Ground Within</i>, Becky Chambers</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">58.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>You Have A Friend in 10A</i>, Maggie Shipstead</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">59.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Covered With Night</i>, Nicole Eustace</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">60.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Unsteady As She Goes</i>, Lou Eisenbrandt</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">61.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Waverley</i>, Sir Walter Scott</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">62.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Load the Wagon, The Kansas Jayhawks’ Road to the 2022</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Championship</i>, The Athletic<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">63.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Crimiinal Vol. 1,</i> Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">64.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Bloomsbury Girls,</i> Natalie Jenner</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">65.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Crimiinal Vol. 2,</i> Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>July</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">66.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Carlucci’s Heart,</i> Richard Paul Russo</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">67.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Jane Austen Society</i>, Natalie Jenner</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">68.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Factotum in the Book Trade,</i> Marius Kociejowski</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">69.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Brian Talbot, The Library of Graphic Novelists, </i>Lita Sorensen</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">70.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Opalite Moon</i>, Denise Vitola</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">71.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Stan Lee, How Marvel Changed the World!</i>, Adrian MacKinder</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">72.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Coffin for Dimitrios</i>, Eric Ambler</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">73.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Winter Work</i>, Dan Fesperman</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">74.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Ribbon of Road Ahead</i>, Carol Clupny</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>August</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">75.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The It Girl</i>, Ruth Ware</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">76.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, </i>Gabrielle Zevin</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">77.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Ringworld’s Children</i>, Larry Niven</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">78.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Confidence</i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>,</i></span> Denise Mina</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">79.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Slow River</i>, Nicola Griffith</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">80.<i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Heat 2</i>, Michael Mann & Meg Gardiner</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">81.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dolphin Junction</i>, Mick Herron</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">82.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hearts of Lions, The History of American Bicycle Racing,</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter Joffre Nye</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>September</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">83.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Slow Horses</i><span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>@</sup></i></span><i>, </i>Mick Herron</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">84.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dead Lions</i><span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>@</sup></i></span>, Mick Herron</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">85.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Fairy Tale</i>, Stephen King</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">86.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Marriage Portrait,</i> Maggie O’Farrell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">87.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Jack Kirby, The Epic Life of the King of Comics</i>, Tm Scioli</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">88.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hell and Back</i>, Craig Johnson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>October</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">89.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>One By One</i>, Ruth Ware</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">90.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Lucy By The Sea</i>, Elizabeth Strout</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">91.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Path Lit By Lightning, The Life of Jim Thrope</i>, David Maraniss</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">92.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Real Tigers</i><span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>@</sup></i></span><i>,</i> Mick Herron</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">93.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Fortress</i>, Bernard Cornwell</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">94.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Our Missing Hearts</i>, Celeste Ng</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">95.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Search for the Genuine, Nonfiction, 1970-2015, </i>Jim Harrison<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">96.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Heart Full of Headstones</i>, Ian Rankin</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">97.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Death of Mrs. Westaway</i>, Ruth Ware</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>November</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">98.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Passenger</i>, Cormac McCarthy</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">99.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Completely Mad, A History of the Comic Book and</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Magazine</i>, Maria Reidelbach</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">100.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Spook Street</i><span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>@</sup></i></span><i>,</i> Mick Herron</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">101.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Ducks, Two Years in the Oil Sands,</i> Kate Beaton</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">102.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Batman & Me</i>, Bob Kane with Tom Andrae</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">103.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Shrines of Gaiety</i>, Kate Atkinson</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">104.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Desert Star</i>, Michael Connelly</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">105.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Racing the Light,</i> Robert Crais</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">106.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>London Rules</i><span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>@</sup></i></span>, Mick Herron</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">107.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>No Plan B</i>, Andrew Child & Lee Child</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">108.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Treasure State</i>, C.J. Box</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>December</b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">109.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Demon Copperfield</i>, Barbara Kingsolver</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">110.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>And There Was Light, Abraham Lincoln and the American</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Struggle</i>, Jon Meacham</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">111.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Darkest Prayer</i>, S.A. Cosby</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">112.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Psalm for the Wild-Built</i><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>1</sup></i><sup>,</sup></span> Becky Chambers</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">113.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Prayer for the Crown-Shy</i><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>1</sup></i><sup>,</sup></span> Becky Chambers</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">114.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Last King of California</i>, Jordan Harper</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">115.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>P<i>lay All Night! Duane Allman and the Journey to Fillmore</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>East,</i> Bob Beatty</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">116.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A World of Curiosities</i>, Louise Penny</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">117.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Folk Music, A Bob Dylan Biography in Seven Songs</i>, Greil Marcus</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">*reread</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>@ </sup></i></span>Slough House novels</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>1</sup></i></span>A Monk and Robot Book</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 6.7px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"><i><sup>2</sup></i></span>Wharton’s Old New York novels</p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-59933933363553853842021-12-31T16:20:00.001-05:002021-12-31T16:27:32.202-05:00Thoughts on reading in 2021<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">It wasn’t a book, but an author I fell in love with in 2021.</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">S.A. Cosby is the author of <i>Blacktop Wasteland</i> and <i>Razorblade Tears</i>; two </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1pA9tkzpxzCQRxgGfJKFmEow38D0w0GXobSxZLUFCHqsw0HW2ephw2822Y5l5UkeY4_CEOXdTGhJnczZPhFffxoaJ84bK8mXqAsTFgNsTjOGfAZTaeoGeUhR36mIfWlQS5nf9OtGerUaUGwkxXV8jsqAwkSOPqnONzbS3w8ZDua8ebKBiUA=s600" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1pA9tkzpxzCQRxgGfJKFmEow38D0w0GXobSxZLUFCHqsw0HW2ephw2822Y5l5UkeY4_CEOXdTGhJnczZPhFffxoaJ84bK8mXqAsTFgNsTjOGfAZTaeoGeUhR36mIfWlQS5nf9OtGerUaUGwkxXV8jsqAwkSOPqnONzbS3w8ZDua8ebKBiUA=w133-h200" width="133" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">powerful works of noir that received both critical and popular acclaim. In <i>Razorblade Tears</i> two men — one black, one white — reluctantly team up to avenge the death of their sons, a gay couple. </span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Without abandoning the tropes of noir, Cosby deftly explores themes of homophobia and racism. It is a remarkable literary high-wire act resulting in one of the most satisfying reads in years. <i>Razorblade Tears</i> is an instant classic. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here's my highest praise: I will purchase Cosby's next book without hesitation and it will immediately find its way to the top of my reading list.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>(Otto Penzler on noir in literature: “The people in noir fiction are dark and doomed— they are losers, they are pessimistic, they are hopeless.”)</b></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two other books worth exploring: <i>Harlem Shuffle</i> by the genre-busting Colson Whitehead and <i>The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet</i> by Becky Chambers. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In <i>Harlem Shuffle</i>, Whitehead dips into crime fiction with just a tinge of noir. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chambers makes science fiction fun again with a space opera featuring an entertaining multi-species crew. The aliens are fully drawn and not mere sketches. Chambers’ skill in developing credible aliens rivals that of sci-fi grandmaster Larry Niven.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the final three months of 2021 a wallet-stretching number of novels by notable authors hit the bookstores. Many of those books ran to 600 pages or more, and, sadly, most of those books fell short of my expectations.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The best of the bunch -- <i>Crossroad</i>s by Jonathan Franzen. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Worth exploring:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Lamplighters</i>, Emma Stone</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Matrix,</i> Lauren Groff</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Great Circle</i>, Maggie Shipstead</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Lincoln Highway</i>, Amor Towles</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Bewilderment</i>, Richard Powers</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Oh William!</i>, Elizabeth Strout</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Silverview</i>, John Le Carré</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Billy Summers</i>, Stephen King</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Cloud Cuckoo Land,</i> Anthony Doerr</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Magician</i>, Colm Tóibín</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Sentence</i>, Louise Erdrich</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Much of my reading in 2021 was devoted to <b>crime novels</b>, which, like my grandmother’s homemade candy, I find irresistible; <b>graphic novels; </b>and<b> </b>non-fiction on the subject of <b>comic books, comic strips</b> and <b>cartoons.</b> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finished the year with 112 books read. That’s the lowest total for me since reading 114 books in 2010. </span></p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-34519759413634970702021-12-31T15:04:00.002-05:002021-12-31T16:30:51.570-05:002021 Reading List<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is better than a spoon.”</i></span></span></p><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Umberto Eco--</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1. <i>The Martian</i>, Andy Weir</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Steve Canyon, 1949-1950</i>, Milton Caniff</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tomorrow’s Kin</i>, Nancy Kress</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Marvel Legacy of Jack Kirby</i>, ed. Brian Overton</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Big Storm Knocked It Over^</i>, Laurie Colwin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Music: A Fold-Out Graphic History</i>, Nicolas O’Neill, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Susan Hayes & Ruby Taylor</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Altered Carbon</i>, Richard K. Morgan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sabrina</i>, Nick Drnaso</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Man In The High Castle,</i> Philip K. Dick</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Brune Hogarth’s Lord of the Jungle,</i> Brune Hogarth</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Shine On, Bright & Dangerous Object</i>^, Laurie Colwin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Home Cooking</i>, Laurie Colwin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Unfinished Presidency, Jimmy Carter’s Journey</i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Beyond the White House</i>, Douglas Brinkley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Crazy Blood</i>, T. Jefferson Parker</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">February</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dead Lies Dreaming</i>, Charles Stross<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Last Good Guy</i>, T. Jefferson Parker</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Skim Deep</i>, Max Allan Collins</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">18.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Lone Pilgrim</i>^, Laurie Colwin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">19.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Then She Vanished</i>, T. Jefferson Parker.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">20.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dream Is Real, My Life on the Airwaves</i>,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bob Davis & Jeff Bollig</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">21.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Library of Graphic Novelists: Will Eisner,</i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Robert Greenberger</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">22.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Library of Graphic Novelists: Neil Gaiman,</i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Steven P. Olson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">23.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Family Happiness</i>, Laurie Colwin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">24.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Godric^</i>, Frederick Buechner</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">25.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Winter of Frankie Machine</i>, Don Winslow</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">26.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Three Hearts and Three Lions</i>, Paul Anderson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">27.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Changing Planes,</i> Ursula K. LeGuin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">28.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Satori</i>, Don Winslow</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">March</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">29.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Another Marvelous Thing</i>, Laurie Colwin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">30.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>How to Change Your Mind</i>, Michael Pollan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">31.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay</i>^, </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>Michael Chabon</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">32.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Brendan</i>^, Frederick Buechner</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">33.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Ántonia</i>^, Willa Cather</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">34.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Echo House</i>^, Ward Just</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">35.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Marvelous Life, The Amazing Story of Stan Lee, </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>Danny Fingeroth</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">36.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Ice Harvest,</i> Scott Phillips</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">37.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Not Dark Yet,</i> Peter Robinson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">38.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Way Down on the High Lonely</i>, Don Winslow</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">39.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>True Believer, The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee, </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>Abraham Riesman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">April</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">40.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Many-Colored Land^</i>, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">41.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Finisher</i>, Peter Lovesey</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">42.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Wild Minds, The Artists and Rivalries that Inspired </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span> <span> </span></span>the Golden </i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Age of Animation, </i>Reid Mitenbuler</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">43.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Gahan Wilson’s America,</i> Gahan Wilson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">44.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Golden Torc^</i>, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">45.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Library of Graphic Novelists: Colleen Doran</i>, </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>Aaron Rosenberg</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">46.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>California Fire and Life</i>, Don Winslow</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">47.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Non-Born King^,</i> Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">48.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dark Sky</i>, C.J. Box</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">May</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">49.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Invisible Men, The Trailblazing Black Artists of </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span> <span> </span></span>Comic Books, </i>Ken Quattro</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">50.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Adversary</i>, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">51.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Smoke</i>, Joe Ide</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">52.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Night Always Comes</i>, Willy Vlautin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">53.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Machers and Rockers</i>, Rich Cohen</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">54.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Win</i>, Harlan Coben</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">55.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Big Bang</i>, Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">56.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Library of Graphic Novelists: Joe Sacco,</i> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span> <span> </span></span>Monica Marshall</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">57.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dead Hour</i>, Denise Mina</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">June</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">58.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Intervention^</i>, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">59.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>I Feel So Good, The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy</i>,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Bob Riesman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">60.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Jack the Bodiless</i>^, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">61.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Secret to Superhuman Strength,</i> Alison Bechdel</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">62.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Diamond Mask^</i>, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">63.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Magnificat^</i>, Julian May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">64.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The House In France,</i> Gully Wells</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">July</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">65.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>How Lucky</i>, Will Leitch</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">66.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Big Hair and Plastic Grass,</i> Dan Epstein</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">67.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Theories of Everything</i>, Roz Chast</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">68.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sweetness of Water,</i> Nathan Harris</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">69.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Heathens</i>, Ace Atkins</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">70.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Cover Wife</i>, Dan Fesperman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">August</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">71.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dream Girl,</i> Laura Lippman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">72.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya, My American Blues Story</i>, Bobby Rush</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">73.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Blood Grove</i>, Walter Mosley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">74.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Night Gate</i>, Peter May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">75.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Living Sea of Waking Dreams</i>, Richard Flanagan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">76.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Blacktop Wasteland</i>, S.A. Cosby</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">77.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Lamplighters</i>, Emma Stonex</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">78.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Monsters</i>, Barry Windsor Smith</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">79.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Razorblade Tears</i>, S.A. Cosby</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">September</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">80.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Heavy Weather^</i>, Bruce Sterling</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">81.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>In The Spirit of Crazy Horse</i>, Peter Matthiessen</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">82.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Slow Fire Burning</i>, Paula Hawkins</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">83.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Matrix</i>, Lauren Groff</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">84.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Harlem Shuffle</i>, Colson Whitehead</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">85.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Black Smoke, African Americans and the United States of </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span> <span> </span></span>Barbecue</i>, Adrian Miller</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">86.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet</i>, Becky Chambers</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">October</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">87.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>When Ghosts Come Home</i>, Wiley Cash</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">88.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Speckled Beauty, A Dog and His People</i>, Rick Bragg</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">89.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Great Circle</i>, Maggie Shipstead</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">90.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Lincoln Highway</i>, Amor Towles</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">91.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Poet Warrior</i>, Joy Harjo</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">92.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Daughter of the Morning Star</i>, Craig Johnson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">93.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Run</i>, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, L. Fury & Nate Powell.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">94.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Bewilderment,</i> Richard Powers</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">95.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Oh William!,</i> Elizabeth Strout</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">96.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Silverview</i>, John Le Carré</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">97.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>All of the Marvels</i>, Douglas Wolk</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">November</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">98.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Billy Summers</i>, Stephen King</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">99.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Guarded By Dragons,</i> Rick Gekoski</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">100.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Crossroads</i>, Jonathan Franzen</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">101.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Cloud Cuckoo Land,</i> Anthony Doerr</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">102.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>On Animals</i>, Susan Orlean</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">103.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dark Hours,</i> Michael Connelly.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">104.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Better Off Dead</i>, Lee & Andrew Child</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">December</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">105.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Judge’s List,</i> John Grisham</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">106.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Magician</i>, Colm Tóibín</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">107.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hell of a Book</i>, Jason Mott.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">108.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Madness of Crowds</i>, Louise Penny</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">109.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sentence,</i> Louise Erdrich</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">110.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Rizzio</i>, Denise Mina</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">111.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Marvel Art of Joe Quesada</i>, Joe Quesada</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">112.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Savages</i>, Don Winslow.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">^ Re-read</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“To be truthful, I always wanted to write about a dog with a story to tell. I think a lot of writers do, the ones who have a soul; the rest are cat people, I suppose.”</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Rick Bragg</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Speckled Beauty</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">A Dog and His People</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“(Sunday) Strips . . . show the Metropolis Marvel in a predicament familiar to longtime Superman readers: super-obesity. (DC editor Mort) Weisinger, bald and overweight, was famously self-loathing about his appearance. It’s no coincidence that, under his long tenure, the Superman characters presumed that the absolute worst, most repulsive fates any of them could suffer were getting fat or losing their hair. It was, in all seriousness, a bizarre recurring theme in Weisinger’s books.”</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Mark Waid, in an introduction of The Atomic Age Superman</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">(featuring 13 Super Sunday Adventures, 1956 to 1959.</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“To lend each other a hand when we’re falling . . . Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.”</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Brendan by Frederik Buechner</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">“You can’t get over things you do to other people as easily as you can get over things they do to you”</span></i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Louise Erdrich</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Sentence</span></b></p><div><b><br /></b></div>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-75604418226426630832021-01-02T17:00:00.000-05:002021-01-02T17:00:04.584-05:00On re-reading in 2020<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">I’m going to channel Stan Lee and insist on going full bore with hyphens. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";">Reread is an ugly word, difficult to parse. Re-read is clumsy, but has the benefit of clarity.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Re-reading books has its pleasures and its pitfalls. The pleasure comes in re-reading a much-loved book, rediscovering its charms, taking away a new insight each time. As with most life-long readers, I have re-read numerous books through the years. Willa Cather’s <i>My Antonia</i>, for example, is a book I return to every other year or so.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Walter Wangerin’s <i>Book of the Dun Cow</i> and Tolkien’s <i>Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy are also books I cherish and re-visit regularly.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">A pandemic offers little opportunity to browse local bookstores, and on-line purchases have limited appealed. Fortunately, I have thousands of books here at home and maintain a list of books I have entertained re-reading.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Here’s where the pitfalls appear. Whether a decades-old sci-fi novel or a classic of English literature, some books simply don’t hold up well. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1AbkNKKFwt_t5YxBm6B8XK2jbsytVyEnYOTPiZvCIwUs-YJ4lZ9_4RSFWwl_N-2zqg6O501WzQT26F7yNkFxNSiQb5mD9gl36RkJw164TAgb9jvYVaOAwTp7s13lhy1IlEjk/s1075/Puppet+Masters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="644" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1AbkNKKFwt_t5YxBm6B8XK2jbsytVyEnYOTPiZvCIwUs-YJ4lZ9_4RSFWwl_N-2zqg6O501WzQT26F7yNkFxNSiQb5mD9gl36RkJw164TAgb9jvYVaOAwTp7s13lhy1IlEjk/w120-h200/Puppet+Masters.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>I re-read <i>Why Call Them Back From Heaven</i> and <i>City</i> by Clifford Simak, Ray Bradbury’s <i>Dandelion Wine</i>, <i>The Puppet Masters</i> by Robert Heinlein, <i>Deryni Rising</i> by Katherine Kurtz, <i>The Peripheral</i> by William Gibson and <i>Lilith</i> by George MacDonald. Four works of sci-fi and three of fantasy. (Side note: Bradbury is impossible to categorize, but fits best in fantasy.)<p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Sci-fi of the ‘50s and ‘60s tends to be outdated. Predictions fall wide of the mark and cultural advances leave some older texts feeling awkward and tone deaf, i.e. a husband jocularly threatening to spank his wife for lack of obedience. Women, in these older works, are rarely fully drawn, appearing as stereotypes — the Madonna, the prostitute with a heart of gold, the shrewish wife, the empty-headed blonde. </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When I was a kid, Simak was one of my favorite sci-fi writers. I can’t say that now. The same is true for Heinlein. I did find <i>The Puppet Masters</i> mildly humorous compared to the horror it evoked when I first read it at 14. And I was pleased to see that a line I vividly remembered from that first decades-old read was just as I remembered it, and still carried a frisson of horror.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Admittedly a newer work, Gibson’s <i>The Peripheral</i> was fine. I primarily re-read it to set up Gibson’s newest novel, <i>Agency</i>. Gibson is always worth a spin around the block.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">By its nature, fantasy avoids the problems inherent in sci-fi. Bradbury’s book was mesmerizing. MacDonald’s eerie and with its magic duels and court intrigue, Kurtz’s novel — her first — was just plain fun.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-e-B1jRZpd-DgKVReGTxAx7K84NKLMOcBpMqjPLml8YLckEAgtbaWQOqfUyGvitnhqMmN0PFq3Qd9n0f5HYEfhz8vHR337bHoa2zG4uts8zUQkHIl2zB416pAeUEZYVfuFK7e/s900/Long+Ships.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="587" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-e-B1jRZpd-DgKVReGTxAx7K84NKLMOcBpMqjPLml8YLckEAgtbaWQOqfUyGvitnhqMmN0PFq3Qd9n0f5HYEfhz8vHR337bHoa2zG4uts8zUQkHIl2zB416pAeUEZYVfuFK7e/w131-h200/Long+Ships.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>The classics, and I think each of the books that follow warrant that description, were also a mixed bag, although to a much lesser extent. I re-read <i>Catch 22</i> by Joseph Heller,<i> One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</i> by Ken Kesey, <i>Slaughterhouse Five</i> by Kurt Vonnegut, <i>They Things They Carried</i> by Tim O’Brien and <i>The Long Ships</i> by Frans G. Bengtsson. (Note: maybe I should have included Bradbury here. He does transcend genres.)<p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Among all these books, only <i>Catch 22</i> fell flat. A satirical look at war and the military, it felt like a one-trick pony. It was clever, until it wasn’t.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I’m curious how broadly read Ken Kesey is today. I found <i>One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</i> was a powerful, insightful book that warrants a wider audience. Perhaps a new generation will discover this merry prankster. (Year ago, I read Kesey’s <i>Sometimes A Great Notion</i>, and loved it. I need to track down a copy and re-read it this year.)</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Slaughterhouse Five</i>, <i>They Things They Carried</i> and <i>The Long Ships </i>cemented their status as favorite books. (Note: Anyone who is a fan of Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom series is <strike>advised</strike> encouraged to read <i>The Long Ships</i>.) </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I plan to re-read more books from my home library. Pleasures and disappointments await.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-39038708465615314102021-01-01T13:13:00.000-05:002021-01-01T13:13:10.364-05:00Further thoughts on 2020 reading -- Ursula K. Le Guin & the 33 1/3 series<p> <b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Discovering Ursula K. Le Guin</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Despite the vast amount of science fiction and fantasy that I read as a kid, and as an adult, until this past year I had never read a book by Ursula K. Le Guin. (For that matter, I never read Philip K. Dick, either, but let’s leave that for later.) </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am at a loss to describe this lapse in my reading. All the criteria is there for a successful author-reader rapport:</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><ul>
<li style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Le Guin wrote (and I read) both science fiction and fantasy.</span></li></ul><ul>
<li style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Several of her books, notably <i>A Wizard of Earthsea</i> and <i>The Left Hand of Darkness</i> enjoyed critical and commercial success, and are now rightfully considered classics. (<i>The Left Hand of Darkness</i> won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel. Le Guin was the first woman to earn that achievement.)</span></li></ul><ul>
<li style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She influenced many writers that I have, and do, read, including Neil Gaiman, Iain Banks and David Mitchell. </span></li></ul><ul>
<li style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2003 she became the second woman named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.</span></li></ul><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The great covid pandemic of 2020 brought us together. I quickly plowed through the stack of books I planned to read this past year, and, limited in my ability to purchase new books, I raided the shelves of my personal library. There I found nine books by Le Guin. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmA4E9UrH1T3zmWizXZ02p6B561q4WuSo-qHR_T1gTrNkyjW7na4QF1-4OSuUGZXaYfHNy3eeRKACqyCShOOjauiBGOD4v0x3f4Xby78A7DLL7Ouye7tYTbbmr2xadK29tZ771/s450/Rocannon%2527s+World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="291" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmA4E9UrH1T3zmWizXZ02p6B561q4WuSo-qHR_T1gTrNkyjW7na4QF1-4OSuUGZXaYfHNy3eeRKACqyCShOOjauiBGOD4v0x3f4Xby78A7DLL7Ouye7tYTbbmr2xadK29tZ771/w129-h200/Rocannon%2527s+World.jpg" width="129" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Yes, nine. Waiting patiently to be discovered.</span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was nothing for it, but to read these books: <i>The Left Hand of Darkness, The Telling, Orsinian Tales, Rocannon’s World, The Dispossessed, Tehanu, The Beginning Place, Gifts </i>and<i> The Other Wind. </i><i> </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I loved them. I absolutely fell in love with this writer. Le Guin is a powerful and luminous writer who explores sexuality, feminism, social and political systems, race, gender and coming of age themes set among alien worlds or fantastic worlds filled with magic, dragons and fantastic quests.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I especially liked <i>Tehanu</i> and <i>The Other Wind </i> — fantasy of the first order. (Note: these books are closely connected. <i>Tehanu</i> should be read first.)</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There are a number of books by Le Guin I have yet to read. I will continue to address that oversight in 2021. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The 33 1/3 Series</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGj_of6pt3EDbuXy4eUPzcbmjSBOL_nbheIeiGPyb8cVMeQdVSraUuHvRpOrokHVF4tmJXI8D5Y80RqceTCZz29dHyApoIJX4gTuUgmnur70wQogtaH04m1fX_4YedrHxI2Iq/s600/Dusty+in+Memphis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="440" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVGj_of6pt3EDbuXy4eUPzcbmjSBOL_nbheIeiGPyb8cVMeQdVSraUuHvRpOrokHVF4tmJXI8D5Y80RqceTCZz29dHyApoIJX4gTuUgmnur70wQogtaH04m1fX_4YedrHxI2Iq/w147-h200/Dusty+in+Memphis.jpg" width="147" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I like music, lots of styles from blues to rock to country, and I like reading about music, so it is no surprise that I both enjoy and recommend the 33 1/3 series from Bloomsbury Academic.</span><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These are small books (rarely more than 150 pages in length) about popular music, focusing on individual albums by artists. I’ve read 11 books in the series, ranging from <i>Murder Ballads</i>, the album from Nick Cave and Bad Seeds, to <i>Dusty In Memphis, </i>featuring Dusty Springfield, to<i> Workingman's Dead, </i>my favorite album by the Grateful Dead. Other books I've read feature John Cash, AC/DC, Jethro Tull and Neil Young.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I like to listen to the album, read about a particular track, and then listen again. </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s an ideal series for music lovers. Currently, there are 151 books in the series. </span></p><div><br /></div>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-84126410932798360692020-12-31T18:19:00.000-05:002020-12-31T18:19:53.237-05:00Thoughts on my 2020 Reading <p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Behind the Numbers —</b><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I read 132 books in 2020. That’s one less than I read in 2019. I had a slow start with only eight books dispatched in January and seven in February. The pandemic took hold, and I settled in to a more normal pace of 12-15 books each month. I have been keeping a book list since 1996. I read 67 books that year. From ’96 through 2020, I have read 3,404 books. So many books, so little time. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Best Fiction —</b><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In many respects, I dislike the idea of the best of this and the best of that. Let’s just say that the books I single out — both new and old — are among the books I enjoyed the most, and that I believe others will enjoy as well. My enjoyment can derive from the author’s skill, the characters (Dickens has no equal here), the narrative or a concept or idea that’s being put forth. With that caveat before us, here are the books I most highly recommend:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Hamnet</i>, Maggie O’Farrell</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Shuggie Bain,</i> Douglas Stuart</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Mirror & The Light</i>, Hilary Mantel</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Simon the Fiddler,</i> Paulette Jiles</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>In the Memory of the Forest,</i> Charles T. Powers.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Soul of Kindness</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Long and Faraway Gone</i>, Lou Berney</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Searcher</i>, Tana French</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Redhead by the Side of the Road</i>, Anne Tyler</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i>, Ryan North & Albert Monteys based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I started praising Maggie O’Farrell’s <i>Hamnet</i> as soon as I put it down in April. In a word it is superb, and is absolutely the best book that I read this year. O’Farrell is an Irish novelist and not well known in the states. That’s unfortunate, she a superb writer. <i>Hamnet</i> is an excellent introduction to O’Farrell. I also recommend <i>The Hand That First Held Mine</i>.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another little known novelist is Paulette Jiles. Born in Missouri, Jiles was graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She spent many years in Canada before moving to Texas where she now lives on a 36-acre farm west of San Antonio. The background helps explain Jiles two most recent books — <i>News of the World</i> and <i>Simon the Fiddler</i> — both set in Texas. <i>News of the World</i> was recently made into a movie starring Tom Hanks. If you liked <i>Lonesome Dove</i>, these books are for you.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Shuggie Bain</i>, which won the Booker Prize, is a stunningly powerful first novel. </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>In the Memory of the Forest</i> by Charles Powers was recommend by the novelist Dan Fesperman. Like Jiles, Powers was born in Missouri. He worked as a reporter for the <i>Kansas City Star</i>, later serving as foreign correspondent for the <i>Los Angles Times</i>. <i>In the Memory of the Forest</i>, set in Poland, is his first and only novel.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Slaughterhouse-Five by</i> Ryan North and Albert Monteys is an excellent adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s extraordinary novel. If you’re curious about graphic novels, but not sure where to begin, this is a great entry point. It shows how the addition of “pictures” (art, drawings, whatever you choose to call it) can illuminate and expand on an author’s writings.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mantel, Taylor, Berney, French and Tyler are not new to my “best of” list.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 12px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Best Non-Fiction —</b><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps it’s just me, but there seemed to be a broad range of excellent non-fiction books this past year. Let’s look at those I found especially worthwhile:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Vesper Flights</i>, Helen Macdonald</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The Big Goodbye</i>, Sam Wasson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>His Truth Is Marching On, John Lewis and the Power of Hope,</i>Jon Meacham</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>No Time Like The Future</i>, Michael J. Fox</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Sticky Finger, The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine, </i>Joe Hogan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Anything You Can Imagine, Peter Jackson & the Making of Middle-Earth</i>, Ian Nathan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Dirt</i>, Bill Buford</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Astral Weeks, A Secret History of 1968</i>, Ryan H. Walsh</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Yellow Bird</i>, Sierra Crane Murdoch</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Remember <i>H is for Hawk</i>? Yeah, <i>Vesper Flights</i> is by that Helen Macdonald. Is it going too far to say these essays on nature take flight? <i>The Big Goodbye</i> is an account of the making of one of my favorite films, <i>Chinatown</i>. As for the rest . . . a tribute to an American hero, the third memoir from Michael J. Fox, Lord of the Rings, French food, misdeeds on the reservation and Van Morrison. Squarely in my wheelhouse.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I re-read a number of books in 2020, and I want to say more about that. I also want to write about:</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">falling in love with the works Ursula K. LeGuin, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">books that disappointed me this past year, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">self-published books (which didn’t disappoint), </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the 33 and 1/3 series, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">historical fiction, </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">mysteries,</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">the poverty of the national book awards, </span></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">and the value of a home library containing books you have yet to read.<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></span></p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-10464464333146256392020-12-31T18:16:00.005-05:002021-01-02T16:53:04.527-05:00My 2020 Reading List<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Books are always better when read than explained.”</span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">—<i>The Starless Sea</i>, Erin Morgenstern </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">January</span></b></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-weight: bold; white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Texas Flood, The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan,</i> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Alan Paul and Andy Aledort</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i>, Charles Dickens</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Shores of Tripoli*</i>, James L. Haley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Demelza</i>, Winston Graham</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>(Book Two in the Poldark series)</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Flame of Pure Fire, Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ‘20s,</i> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Roger Kahn</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Darker Sea*</i>, James L. Haley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Why Call Them Back From Heaven?^</i>, Clifford D. Simak</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Many Rivers To Cross</i>, Peter Robinson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">February</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Enough</i>, C.D. “Tony” Hylton, III</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Harvey Kurtzman’s Jungle Book</i>, Harvey Kurtzman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Peripheral</i>^, William Gibson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Agency</i>, William Gibson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Marley</i>, Jon Clinch</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Caribbean Account</i>, Alan Furst</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Fredericksburg!</i>, George C. Rable</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">March</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Big Goodbye</i>, Sam Wasson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Worm Ouroboros</i>, E.R. Eddison</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">18.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Falcon Thief,</i> Joshua Hammer</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">19.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Long Range</i>, C.J. Box</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">20.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>American Secession</i>, F.H. Buckley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">21.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio</i>, ed. Mark Evanier</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">22.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Apeirogon</i>, Colum McCann</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">23.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Lilith</i> ^, George MacDonald</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">24.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sticky Finger, The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and</i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rolling Stone Magazine, </i>Joe Hagan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">25.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Mirror & The Light</i>, Hilary Mantel</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">April</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">26.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Eight Perfect Murders</i>, Peter Swanson. Mystery</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">27.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Man Who Walked Through Time</i>, Colin Fletcher</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">28.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Last Voyage of the Emir,</i> David Riley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">29.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hi Five</i>, Joe Ide</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">30.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Encounters with the Archdruid</i>, John McPhee</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">31.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Leopoldstadt</i>, Tom Stoppard.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">32.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>No Cheering in the Press Box</i>, ed. Jerome Holtzman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">33.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Outlander,</i> Diana Gabaldon</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">34.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Redhead by the Side of the Road</i>, Anne Tyler</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">35.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Boy From The Woods</i>, Harlan Coben</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">36.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Harvey Kurtzman, The Man Who Created Mad and </i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Revolutionized Humor in America</i>, Bill Schelly</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">37.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hamnet</i>, Maggie O’Farrell</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">38.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Broken</i>, Don Winslow</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">39.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Writers on Comics Scriptwriting</i>, ed. Mark Salisbury</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">40.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Silent Death</i>, Peter May</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">May</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">41.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Surface Detail,</i> Iain M. Banks</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">42.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Trouble Is What I Do</i>, Walter Mosley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">43.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Do No Harm</i>, Max Allan Collins</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">44.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sandman Companion</i>, Hy Bender</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">45.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Catch 22</i>,^ Joseph Heller</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">46.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>King of the Comics</i>, ed. Dean Mullaney</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">47.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest^</i>, Ken Kesey</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">48.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>In The Tennessee Country,</i> Peter Taylor</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">49.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Left Hand of Darkness</i>, Ursula K. Le Guin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">50.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Bluest Eye</i>, Toni Morrison</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">51.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Fair Warning</i>, Michael Connelly</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">June</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">52.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Slaughterhouse Five</i>^, Kurt Vonnegut</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">53.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Simon the Fiddler,</i> Paulette Jiles</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">54.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Legend of Sigurd & Gudrún</i>, J.R.R. Tolkien<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">55.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Wilson</i>, A. Scott Berg<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">56.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Telling</i>, Ursula K. Le Guin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">57.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Book of Eels</i>, Patrik Svensson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">58.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Lullaby Town</i>, Robert Crais</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">59.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Orsinian Tales</i>, Ursula K. Le Guin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">60.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Glorious Boy,</i> Aimee Liu</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">61.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Stepford Wives</i>, Ira Levin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">62.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Magicians,</i> Lev Grossman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">63.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dirt</i>, Bill Buford</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">July</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">64.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Rocannon’s World</i>, Ursula K. LeGuin<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">65.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Long and Faraway Gone</i>, Lou Berney</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">66.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Best SF: 1971</i>, ed. Harry Harrison & Brian Aldiss</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">67.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dandelion</i> <i>Wine^</i>, Ray Bradbury</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">68.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Caniff, A Visual Biography</i>, ed. Dean Mullaney</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">69.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Boys On The Bus</i>, Timothy Crouse</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">70.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dispossessed</i>, Ursula K. Le Guin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">71.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Fool Me Once</i>, Harlan Coben</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">72.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Magician King</i>, Lev Grossman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">73.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Revelators</i>, Ace Atkins</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">74.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tehanu</i>, Ursula K. Le Guin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">75.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Death and Life of Bobby Z</i>, Don Winslow</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">August</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">76.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>City</i>^, Clifford Simak</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">77.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Things They Carried</i>^, Tim O’Brien</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">78.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Beginning Place</i>, Ursula K. Le Guin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">79.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Anything You Can Imagine, Peter Jackson & the Making of</i></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Middle-Earth</i>, Ian Nathan</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">80.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>In the Memory of the Forest,</i> Charles T. Powers</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">81.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Utopia Avenue</i>, David Mitchell</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">82.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The SFWA Grandmasters, Vol. 3</i>, ed. Frederik Pohl</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">83.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Devil</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">84.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Other Wind</i>, Ursula K. LeGuin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">85.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Yellow Bird</i>, Sierra Crane Murdoch</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i></i><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">September</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">86.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Mists of Avalon</i>, Marion Zimmer Bradley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">87.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Bone Coda</i>, Jeff Smith</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">88.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights,</i> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> John Steinbeck</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">89.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Life As A Villainess</i>, Laura Lipman<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">90.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Once and Future King</i>, T.H. White</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">91.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Superman, The Unauthorized Biography</i>, Glen Weldon<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">92.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i>, Ryan North & Albert Monteys</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">93.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Less Dead</i>, Denise Mina</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">94.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Squeezeme</i>, Carl Hiaasen</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">95.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Monogamy</i>, Sue Miller</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">October</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">96.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>His Truth Is Marching On, John Lewis and the Power </i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i> of Hope, </i></span><span style="font-size: large;">Jon Meacham</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">97.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Soul of Kindness</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">98.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Next to Last Stand,</i> Craig Johnson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">99.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Jack</i>, Marilynne Robinson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">100.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>All In Color For A Dime</i>, ed. Dick Lupoff & Don Thompson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">101.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>H.M.S. Surprise</i>, Patrick O’Brian</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">102.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Song for the Dark Times</i>, Ian Rankin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">103.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Vesper Flights</i>, Helen Macdonald</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">104.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>All The Devils Are Here</i>, Louise Penny</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">105.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Bookseller’s Tale</i>, Martin Latham</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">106.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Treason’s Harbour,</i> Patrick O’Brian</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">November</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">107.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>War Lord,</i> Bernard Cornwell</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">108.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Searcher</i>, Tana French</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">109.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Gifts</i>, Ursula K. LeGuin</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">110.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>You Have Arrived At Your Destination</i>, Amor Towles</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">111.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Piranesi,</i> Susanna Clarke</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">112.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Surfacing</i>, Kathleen Jamie</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">113.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Shuggie Bain,</i> Douglas Stuart</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">114.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sentinel,</i> Lee & Andrew Child</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">115.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Astral Weeks, A Secret History of 1968</i>, Ryan H. Walsh</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">116.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Law of Innocence</i>, Michael Connelly</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">117.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Don’t Let Go</i>, Harlan Coben</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">December</span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">118.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Tin Can Tree</i>, Anne Tyler</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">119.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Pappyland</i>, Wright Thompson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">120.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>From Elvis In Memphis</i>, Eric Wolfson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">121.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Long Ships^</i>, Frans G. Bengtsson</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">122.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Deryni Rising^</i>, Katherine Kurtz</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">123.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Interior Chinatown</i>, Charles Yu</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">124.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Murder Ballads</i>, Santi Elijah Holley</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">125.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Puppet Masters</i>^, Robert A. Heinlein</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">126.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>She Come By It Natural</i>, Sarah Smarsh</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">130.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Neil Gaiman Reader,</i> Neil Gaiman</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">131.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>No Time Like The Future</i>, Michael J. Fox</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">132.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Barnaby Rudge</i>, Charles Dickens</span></p>
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<li style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Books 1 & 2 in the Bliven Putnam Naval Series</span></li>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">^ Re-read</span></p>
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<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“But the direction you are moving in is what matters, not the place you happen to be.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">— Colin Fletcher, <i>The Man Who Walked Through Time</i></span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i></i></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“ . . . she was not so naive as to think there was any necessary relation between religion and morality, or that if there was a relation it was likely to be a benevolent one.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“ . . . if the Telling was a religion it was very different from Terran religions, since it entirely lacked dogmatic belief, emotional frenzy, deferral of reward to a future life, and sanctioned bigotry.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">— Ursula Le Guin, <i>The Telling</i></span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i></i></b><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“</i>The best thing for being sad . . . is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">— T.H. White, <i>That Once and Future King</i></span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Vodka is for the skinny and scotch is for the strivers and bourbon is for the homesick.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">—Wright Thompson, <i>Pappyland, </i></span></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">A Story of Family, Fine Bourbon, </span></i></b></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: right;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">and the Things That Last</span></i></b></p>Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-17213902590529539392019-12-31T12:57:00.000-05:002019-12-31T12:57:08.522-05:00Thoughts on 2019 Reading List<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px;">An extraordinary year for reading. Two of the best books, by any measure — one a novel, the other a memoir — were written by Kansans. </span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The New York Times</i> considered Ben Lerner’s <i>The Topeka School </i>one of the 10 best books of the year. <i>Heartland</i>, by Sarah Smarsh, was a finalist for the National Book Award. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Both books resonated with me. I worked in Topeka for years, and raised my family there. My daughter and Lerner attended the same high school. Lerner and my oldest son were competitors in debate. And, I am almost certain, I judged Lerner at least once at a Topeka forensics tournament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I know the geography of <i>The Topeka School</i> — intimately. The World Famous Topeka Zoo. The Westridge Mall. The crumbling church at Stull with its gateway to hell. The Phelps family from Westboro Church with their crude signs denouncing gays. The Phelps family was guaranteed to raise your blood pressure. I tried to avoid the intersections they frequented.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Topeka School</i> is Lerner’s most accessible novel, and most successful. Kansas has had its writers — William Inge, William Stafford, Gordon Parks — but, until now, the Sunflower State could never boast of a writer with such range, insight and critical success.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Smarsh’s memoir is the story of growing up poor in rural Kansas. I see parallels in our lives, but the differences are stark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">She lived west of Wichita. I lived east. She was born when her mom was 17. My mom was married on her 15th birthday and I was born a week before she turned 16. Mom went on to have four children before she was 25, including a daughter stricken with cerebral palsy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Both families had little education. My dad graduated high school. Mom, who grew up dirt poor, only went as far as the eighth grade. Sarah and I were both the first in our families to receive a college degree. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But the differences in in economic opportunity and family stability were stark and help to explain why my family was a rung or two up the economic ladder. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">For generations Smarsh’s family was cursed with teen pregnancies, abusive men, divorce, alcoholism, and dead-end jobs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Neither of my parents smoked or drank, and dad was not a violent man, although he did not spare the belt when his three boys misbehaved. My folks were married more than 50 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The folks operated two cafes in our small town and Mom later ran a successful clothing store. Dad worked; first at a local refinery and, when that closed, he caught on with one of aircraft manufacturers in Wichita. I remember he found employment even in the midst of union strikes. The old man worked into his eighties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We also benefitted from my paternal grandparents. Grandpa worked construction, yet still found time to grow a little alfalfa, raise cattle and a hog or two. He’d butcher a cow and a hog each year, assuring us a plentiful supply of beef and pork. Grandma raised chickens. She had layers and fryers (essentially if you weren’t a layer, you were a fryer, i.e. Sunday dinner), and nurtured an immense garden that fed three or four families.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Smarsh avoided her family’s curse of teen pregnancy. She attended the University of Kansas, received a degree in journalism and launched a successful career as a journalist covering socio-economic class, politics and public policy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Damn, these were good books. Not unexpected in Lerner’s case, but Smarsh’s captivating memoir came out of left field. My deepest appreciation to Rex Buchanan for telling me, “You’ve got to read this.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">(Rex had a new book published in 2019. I liked it a lot, but doubt that many of you have the same interest as I did in <i>Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills.</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Here are what I consider my best “reads” of 2019. I think there’s something for everyone. Non-fiction was especially strong.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Fiction</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Lady In The Lake,</i> Laura Lippman</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Overstory</i>, Richard Powers</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Big Sky</i>, Kate Atkinson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Nickel Boys</i>, Colson Whitehead</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Exhalation</i>, Ted Chiang</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Matterhorn</i>, Karl Marlantes</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Institute</i>, Stephen King</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Dutch House</i>, Ann Patchett</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Topeka School</i>, Ben Lerner</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Starless Sea</i>, Erin Morgenstern</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Agent Running in the Field</i>, John le Carré</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Testaments</i>, Margaret Atwood</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Night Watchman</i>, Louise Erdrich</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Overstory</i> by Richard Powers and <i>The Starless Sea</i> by Erin Morgenstern were flawed, but beautiful, powerful works of fiction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The most skillfully executed novel was <i>The Dutch House </i>by Ann Patchett. Her best in a long and distinguished career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Don’t overlook Stephen King and <i>The Institute</i>. If you think shlock horror, you’re mistaken. He is a consummate storyteller who understands the source of true evil lives in the heart of our fellow man. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I was extremely pleased to discover the writing of James L. Haley, who has launched a series of adventure novels featuring the “early American, tall ship sailing navy.” With three books published, and five more planned, Haley is poised to do for the nascent U.S. navy, what Patrick O’Brien did for the British. Haley is every bit as adept as Bernard Cornwell when it comes to historical fiction. The novels are an absolute delight and will be a welcome addition to my reading life for years to come. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I re-read <i>Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont </i>by Elizabeth Taylor. If you have not read this classic work of British literature it’s time. There are echoes of Edith Wharton is this closely observed novel of an aging woman clinging to ever-diminishing resources and the unexpected social demands of her new residence. It is utterly lovely. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Non-Fiction</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Dreyer’s English</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Best Cook In The World</i>, Rick Bragg</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Becoming Superman</i>, J. Michael Straczynski</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee</i>, David Treuer</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Madame Fourcade’s Secret War, </i>Lynne Olson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I realize as I write this that Rex Buchanan also recommended Rick Bragg’s <i>The Best Cook in the World.</i> I loved this book, and have prepared a couple of the recipes found within. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As for <i>Dreyer’s English, </i>a book about words is always welcome. Tyler Kepner’s<i> K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches </i>is the best baseball book I’ve come across in years. I suspect its a book I will read again, and again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee </i>by David Treuer is an unusual combination of history and memoir, in which Treuer catalogs how the Indian continues to thrive despite every effort by the American government and many of its citizens to eradicate the Indian and his culture. I strongly recommend reading this book in conjunction with Louise Erdrich’s <i>The Night Watchman, </i>which is scheduled for publication in March<i>. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Finally, I read all of 133 books in 2019. That’s a little low for me, but retirement seems to be keeping me occupied. I’ve been keeping a book list since 1996 and I’ve read (or re-read) 3,405 books in that time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Currently reading a biography of Stevie Ray Vaughn and, of course, dipping into Dickens (<i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i>) to launch the new year properly. </span></div>
Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-70511748566397375712019-12-31T12:52:00.000-05:002019-12-31T12:52:41.446-05:002019 Reading List<div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“I’m tired of people saying they don’t have time to read. I don’t have time for anything else.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i> — </i><b>George Whitman, Shakespeare and Company</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Hubert</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Lie In The Dark</i>, Dan Fesperman</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Canticle For Leibowitz</i>,* Walter M. Miller, Jr.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i>, Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Neptune’s Brood,</i> Charles Stross</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Perish Twice,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks</i>, Jon Morris</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont</i>,* Elizabeth Taylor</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>February</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead</i>, Alan Bradley</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman &</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>P. Craig Russell</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Rhesus Chart,</i> Charles Stross</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Frankenstein,*</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Shrink Rap</i>, Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Wish You Were Here</i>, Graham Swift</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">18.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Big Fella</i>, Jane Leavy</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">19.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">20.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>,* William Hope Hodgson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">21.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Professional</i>, Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">22.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">23.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Flannery O’Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">24.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Comics & Sequential Art</i>, Will Eisner</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">25.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sharpe’s Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">26.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>,* Colum McCann</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">27.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>March</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">28.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Still Life</i>,* Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">29.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Golden State</i>, Ben H. Winters</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">30.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i>, Philip Norman</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">31.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Border</i>, Don Winslow</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">32.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Careless Love</i>, Peter Robinson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">33.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Dreyer’s English</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">34.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Best Cook In The World</i>, Rick Bragg</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">35.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The War of the Worlds*</i>, H.G. Wells.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">36.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Red Dragon</i>, Thomas Harris</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>April</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">37.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dragon Factory</i>, Jonathan Maberry</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">38.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">39.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, Daniel Defoe</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">40.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Wolf Pack</i>, C.J. Box</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">41.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Run Away</i>, Harlan Coben</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">42.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Good Man Is Hard To Find,</i> Flannery O’Connor</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">43.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Hand Maid’s Tale</i>, art and adaptation by Renée</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nault, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">44.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb</i>, Robert Crumb</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">45.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Odds & Ends</i>, Robert Crumb</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">46.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen</i>, Hope Nicholson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">47.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder</i>, </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Caroline Fraser</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">48.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Reinventing Comics</i>, Scott McCloud</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>May</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">49.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Fellowship of the Ring*,</i> J.R.R. Tolkien</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">50.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Two Towers*,</i> J.R.R. Tolkien</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">51.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Return of the King*,</i> J.R.R. Tolkien</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">52.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Goodbye Without Leaving</i>*, Laurie Colwin</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">53.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Letters to a Friend</i>, Diana Athill</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">54.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Raising The Stones</i>, Sheri S. Tepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">55.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sideshow*</i>, Sheri S. Tepper</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">56.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Goat Getters</i>, Eddie Campbell</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">57.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Nickel Mountain</i>*, John Gardner</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>June</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">58.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Lady In The Lake,</i> Laura Lippmann</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">59.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Miracle Creek</i>, Angie Kim</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">60.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Creationists</i>, E.L. Doctorow</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">61.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Leadership in Turbulent Times</i>, Doris Kearns Goodwin</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">62.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Gulliver’s Travels</i>, Jonathan Swift</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">63.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous</i>, Ocean Vuong</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">64.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Marvel Art of Skottie Young</i>, Jess Harrold</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">65.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Overstory</i>, Richard Powers</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">66.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Fall; or, Dodge in Hell</i>, Neal Stephenson<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>July</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">67.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Conviction</i>, Denise Mina</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">68.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>We Were Killers Once</i>, Becky Masterman</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">69.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Big Sky</i>, Kate Atkinson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">70.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hergé, Son of Tintin</i>, Benoît Peeters<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">71.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Use of Weapons</i>, Iain M. Banks</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">72.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Less</i>, Andrew Sean Greer</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">73.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Nickel Boys</i>, Colson Whitehead</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">74.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Exhalation</i>, Ted Chiang</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">75.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>They Call Us Enemy</i>, George Takei.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">76.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Will Eisner, Champion of the Graphic Novel</i>, Paul Levitz</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">77.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Madame Fourcade’s Secret War, </i>Lynne Olson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">78.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tintin, The Art of Hergé</i>, Michel Daubert</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">79.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Chris Ware</i>, Daniel Raeburn</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>August</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">80.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Pioneers</i>, David McCullough</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">81.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sub 4:00, Alan Webb and the Quest for the Fastest Mile</i>, Chris Lear</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">82.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Clyde Fans</i>, Seth</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">83.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Jinx</i>, Brian Michael Bendis</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">84.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Beyond the Phog</i>, Jason King & Jesse Newell</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">85.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Chances Are . . .</i>, Richard Russo</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">86.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Becoming Superman</i>, J. Michael Straczynski</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">87.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Tales of the Batman</i>, ed. Martin H. Greenberg</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">88.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Bitterroots</i>, C.J. Box</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">89. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>MetaMaus</i>, Art Spiegelman with Hillary Chute</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">90.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Dangerous Man</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>September</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">91.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Magic Words, The Extraordinary Life of Alan Moore</i>, Lance Parkin</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">92.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Shameless,</i> Ace Atkins</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">93.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Matterhorn</i>, Karl Marlantes</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">94.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Nick Adams Stories</i>, Ernest Hemingway</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">95.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Normal People</i>, Sally Rooney</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">96.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>John Brown to Bob Dole, Movers and Shakers in Kansas</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>History</i>, ed. Virgil W. Dean</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">97.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>A Better Man, </i>Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">98.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Confessions of a Bookseller</i>, Shaun Bythell</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">99.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Institute</i>, Stephen King</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>October</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">100.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Inland,</i> Téa Obreht</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">101.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Dutch House</i>, Ann Patchett</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">102.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Blindsight</i>, Peter Watts</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">103.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Deep River,</i> Karl Marlantes</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">104.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Rum Punch</i>*, Elmore Leonard</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">105.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee</i>, David Treuer</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">106.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Olive, Again</i>, Elizabeth Strout</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">107.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Highway to Hell,</i> Joe Bonomo</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b></b></span><br /></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>November</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">108.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Music From Big Pink</i>, John Niven</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">109.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Land of Wolves</i>, Craig Johnson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">110.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>M Is For Magic</i>, Neil Gaiman</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">111.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sandman: The Dream Hunters</i>, Neil Gaiman &</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yoshitaka Amano</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">112.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Sword of Kings</i>, Bernard Cornwell</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">113.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Light Blue Reign</i>, Art Chansky</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">114.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Topeka School</i>, Ben Lerner</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">115.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Flashbacks, 25 Years of Doonesbury</i>, G.B. Trudeau</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">116.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Petroglyphs of the Kansas Smoky Hills,</i> Rex C. Buchanan, </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Burke W. Griggs & Joshua L. Svaty</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">117.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Blue Moon</i>, Lee Child</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">118.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Starless Sea</i>, Erin Morgenstern</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">119.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Agent Running in the Field</i>, John le Carré</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">120.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Night Fire,</i> Michael Connelly</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">121.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Testaments</i>, Margaret Atwood</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">122.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Westwind</i>, Ian Rankin</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">123.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Hot Tickets, Crimes, Championships and Big Time Sports at</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>the University of Kansas</i>, H. George Frederickson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">124.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Night Manager</i>, Louise Erdrich</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">125.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Jayhawker, On History, Home, and Basketball, </i>Andrew</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Malan Milward</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">126.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Under Occupation</i>, Alan Furst</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">127.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Killing Quarry,</i> Max Allan Collins</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">128.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Games of Deception,</i> Andrew Maraniss</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">129.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Devil In Paradise</i>, James L. Haley</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">130.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Charlie Martz and Other Stories</i>, Elmore Leonard</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">131.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Ross Poldark</i>, Winston Graham</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">132.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Half Broke Horses*</i>, Jeannette Walls</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">133.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Heartland</i>, Sarah Smarsh</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">* Re-read</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“But neither infinite power nor infinite wisdom could bestow godhood upon men. For that there would have to be infinite love as well.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>—<i>A Canticle For Leibowitz,</i> Walter M. Miller, Jr. (p. 238)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“The bare idea of this is no doubt horribly repulsive to us, but at the same time I think we should remember how repulsive our carnivorous habits would seem to an intelligent rabbit.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>—<i>The War of the Worlds,</i> H.G. Wells. (p. 139)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“And I add this part here, to hint to whoever should read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>—<i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, Daniel Defoe (p. 96)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“Sheller,” Fredrickson shouted to the senior squid, who was already crawling through the blackness. “I need some goddamned IV fluid and something to cut off these arteries.” Sheller appeared with a bottle and IV tubes as well as his kit. While Fredrickson was doing what he could to stanch the bleeding, Sheller jabbed a catheter into Jackson’s arm and held the glass of fluid as high in the air as he could. Jackson calmed down, his terror and panic diminishing as the two corpsmen got his faltering system working again. Mellas glanced down Jackson’s body. Fredrickson was working on pulp below Jackson’s knees. There were no feet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“You’re going to be all right, Jackson.” Mellas kept repeating. “You’re going to be all right.” Jackson moaned and passed out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Mellas didn’t pray, but his mind once again soared above the landing zone, seeing all of I Corps below him, and went looking for something better than God — a good chopper pilot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">—<i>Matterhorn</i>, Karl Marlantes</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“Books are always better when read than explained.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">—<i>The Starless Sea</i>, Erin Morgenstern</span></div>
Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-62055119386599477152019-04-29T16:25:00.000-04:002019-04-29T16:25:59.109-04:00Nault's adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale an instant classic<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Women writers, comic books and women in comic books are the loosely connected themes to the bulk my recent reading.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Let’s start with a superb graphic novel — Renée Nault’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s <i>The Handmaid’s Tale.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQUiY1hKB2yFuIRJXYmGk6m_P2mqRmYoYGrRgdV-ZjrXR23zFRz8O7wikuobhn6gGv3Cbf5EUZOhvPj7p6jd8TFJT6w-x6XhyphenhyphenkYwbwqtdYdeBmc86djM4shPvWV5LA3FhGfuN/s1600/Handmaid%2527s+Tale+Graphic+Novel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="413" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEQUiY1hKB2yFuIRJXYmGk6m_P2mqRmYoYGrRgdV-ZjrXR23zFRz8O7wikuobhn6gGv3Cbf5EUZOhvPj7p6jd8TFJT6w-x6XhyphenhyphenkYwbwqtdYdeBmc86djM4shPvWV5LA3FhGfuN/s200/Handmaid%2527s+Tale+Graphic+Novel.jpg" width="137" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Nault’s rendition is exactly what Will Eisner had in mind as he envisioned the comic book developing into the graphic novel. Eisner’s concept of the graphic novel was one of art and text in sequence, telling a complex story about important issues.; essentially, a comic book for adults. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Nault, a Canadian, (as is Atwood), deftly handles the source material, remaining true to the spirit of Atwood’s fine and frightening novel of a near future in which America is caught up in a civil war. The hand maids are young women, held captive against their will, and compelled to serve as brood hens for a conservative arm of Christianity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Set against the horror of the story, Nault’s water colors leap from the page. And it is exactly here — in the juxtaposition of beauty and horror — that the power of the graphic novel lies. Nault has set a high bar for future graphic novels, whether an original work or adaptation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Handmaid’s Tale</i> joins <i>March, Maus</i> and <i>Persepolis </i>as a superb and lasting example of how the comic book has morphed into a powerful vehicle for telling meaningful stories for adult readers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Two books by Robert Crumb, <i>The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb </i>and<i> Odds & Ends</i>, are best reserved for the Crumb aficionado. Illustrations range from designs for business cards to concert posters to portraits. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Also for aficionados is <i>Reinventing Comics </i>by Scott McCloud, which is a follow-up to his pioneering treatise on comics, <i>Understanding Comics</i>. McCloud wrote <i>Reinventing Comics</i> 20 years ago and changes in technology and the comic industry reveal how badly the book has aged. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Caroline Fraser won the Pulitzer Prize last year for her biography, <i>Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. </i>Half-way through this engaging book I was amused to realize that I’ve never read Wilder’s classic children’s series. Now, I believe, I need to pay a visit to that little house on the prairie. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Fraser’s writing is highly readable and her research impeccable. <i>Prairie Fires</i> is especially engrossing when Fraser explores how Wilder often crossed the line between fiction and fact in her books. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">My first thought on seeing <i>The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen </i>in my local bookstore was “OK, enough is enough.” The book is published by Quirk Books, which also published <i>The Legion of Regrettable Superheroes, The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains,</i> and <i>The Legion of Regrettable Sidekicks</i><a href="http://www.apple.com/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> </span></a>by Jon Morris.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In its design, <i>The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen </i>appears to be following ground already plowed by Morris. I liked Morris’s three books. I truly did, but I failed to see how a fourth book — even one written by another author — was necessary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Hope Nicholson. It is a valuable addition to comic history.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Nicholson’s a good writer, lively and engaging. And she doesn’t limit this history of women in comics to superheroes, but touches on the full scope of women’s roles in comics from the 1930s to today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Additionally, she furnishes information on how to read the actual exploits of the female characters she features here. In some cases, Nicholson must send us to the back-issue bins at our local comic shop, but in a surprising number instances the stories are available on-line or have been assembled into hard-cover collections.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Strong recommendations for The </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Handmaid’s Tale, Prairie Fires,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> and </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen.</i></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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12.<b> </b><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</div>
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14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">15. <i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">17. </span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- March</b></div>
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28. <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Still Life,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">29. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Golden State</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Ben H. Winters</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">30. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Philip Norman</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">31. </span><i>The Border</i>, Don Winslow<br />32. <i>Careless Love</i>, Peter Robinson<br /><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
33<i>. Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
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34<i>. The Best Cook in the World</i>, Rick Bragg</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">35</span><i style="font-family: "times new roman";">.</i> <i style="font-family: "times new roman";">The War of the Worlds</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">, H.G. Wells</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">36. <i>Red Dragon</i>, Thomas Harris</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>April</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">37. <i>The Dragon </i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Factory</i>, Jonathan Maberry</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>38. K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner</span><br /><i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", sans-serif;">39. Robinson Crusoe</i><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", sans-serif;">, Daniel Defoe</span></div>
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40.<i>Wolf Pack</i>, C.J. Box</div>
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41. <i>Run Away</i>, Harlan Coben</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>42. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories</i>, Flannery O'Connor</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">43.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Hand Maid’s Tale</i>, art and adaptation by Renée</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Nault, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">44.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Sweeter Side of R. Crumb</i>, Robert Crumb</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">45.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Odds & Ends</i>, Robert Crumb</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">46.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen</i>, Hope Nicholson</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">47.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Prairie Fires, The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder</i>, </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Caroline Fraser</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">48.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Reinventing Comics</i>, Scott McCloud</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i>, J.R.R. Tolkien</div>
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<i>Letters to a Friend,</i> Diana Athill</div>
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<i>The Goat Getters,</i> Eddie Campbell</div>
</div>
Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-14473472483152489622019-04-19T11:55:00.001-04:002019-04-19T11:55:45.367-04:00Box, Coben among April highlights<div style="font-family: "helvetica neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">April reading includes a mystery, a thriller and two literary classics.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The thriller is the <i>Wolf Pack</i> by C.J. Box. It features Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett as well as the usual cast of characters.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDKdiS3eg2epPB0ny2ksusszUXxvPIZL4nO-xwEkP2962EQYAC2sc7n9QDdsxZsdqCt56NT5m8AScgKSLlUPAoSj_kLxACJQgfhOEhFmA4wJgQGG3_kg-2QyLbO7NaXGozTjs/s1600/Wolf+Pack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="401" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDKdiS3eg2epPB0ny2ksusszUXxvPIZL4nO-xwEkP2962EQYAC2sc7n9QDdsxZsdqCt56NT5m8AScgKSLlUPAoSj_kLxACJQgfhOEhFmA4wJgQGG3_kg-2QyLbO7NaXGozTjs/s200/Wolf+Pack.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Box typically weaves current social and political issues into his narrative. In <i>Wolf Pack</i>, destruction, disturbance and death arrive in the form of a drone used to herd wildlife, a pair of arrogant federal agents and ill-considered policies regarding the federal witness protection program.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It’s a fast-paced read. Box is masterful at kicking a story into high gear on page one and not letting up on the accelerator until the final page. The body count is higher than usual, and there are some major changes in the lives of several of the regular characters — which means Box is also skilled at leaving the reader eagerly awaiting his next book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ve read one novel by Harlan Coben a few years ago, but — candidly — I don’t remember it. That changes for me with <i>Run Away, </i>which begins as a conventional story of a dad in search of drugged-out daughter and deepens into a mystery around DNA websites, a cult and several murders.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9DnyqpxoWvNoDLR9Ogi3Ggg7akKaHa7WE3wTusGQHUf6w2ck5hejp6UlzXxshzxhLLGIgbHKHngoi27DYRToqBgXMlyvbULi8oNYs0K6soWwJcARY4zMfopaLBzi7kf71vfA/s1600/Run+Away.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="397" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9DnyqpxoWvNoDLR9Ogi3Ggg7akKaHa7WE3wTusGQHUf6w2ck5hejp6UlzXxshzxhLLGIgbHKHngoi27DYRToqBgXMlyvbULi8oNYs0K6soWwJcARY4zMfopaLBzi7kf71vfA/s200/Run+Away.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<span style="font-kerning: none;">The characters are clearly drawn, the pacing measured in a way to draw out tension and the mystery proves genuinely satisfying. I liked this book a lot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Flannery O’Connor’s <i>A Good Man Is Hard To Find</i> and <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> by Daniel Defoe are both highly regarded works that do not translate well in light of today’s social standards. Modern readers are likely to be uncomfortable with the attitude toward blacks that pervade both books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">O’Connor is generally regarded as a master of the short story, but many of the tales in this collection didn’t hold up for me. Her fascination with human oddities leaves behind an unpleasant taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I was certain that I read <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> in the distant past. After reading it recently, I don’t believe that I had ever read it. Any memory I have seems to be around <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058530/" target="_blank">Robinson Crusoe on Mars</a>, a 1964 moving starring Adam West.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The Guardian considers Robinson Crusoe <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/30/100-best-books-robinson-crusoe" target="_blank">the second best novel written in English</a>. It’s also worth noting that the book is regarded by many as the first English-language novel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Certainly, it establishes the framework for a number of literary genres that were to follow — the adventure novel, the Christian confessional, the travelogue, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Even given such consideration, I don’t recommend <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> unless, like me, you’re working through one of those prolific lists on “books you have to read before you die.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Crusoe is an arrogant sod and the book a plod. </span><br />
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br />
<i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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12.<b> </b><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</div>
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14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">15. <i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">17. </span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- March</b></div>
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28. <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Still Life,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">29. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Golden State</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Ben H. Winters</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">30. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Philip Norman</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">31. </span><i>The Border</i>, Don Winslow<br />
32. <i>Careless Love</i>, Peter Robinson<br />
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33<i>. Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
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34<i>. The Best Cook in the World</i>, Rick Bragg</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">35</span><i style="font-family: "times new roman";">.</i> <i style="font-family: "times new roman";">The War of the Worlds</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">, H.G. Wells</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">36. <i>Red Dragon</i>, Thomas Harris</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>April</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">37. <i>The Dragon </i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i>Factory</i>, Jonathan Maberry</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>38. K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner</span><br />
<i style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", sans-serif;">39. Robinson Crusoe</i><span style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", sans-serif;">, Daniel Defoe</span></div>
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40.<i>Wolf Pack</i>, C.J. Box</div>
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41. <i>Run Away</i>, Harlan Coben</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>42. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories</i>, Flannery O'Connor</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>Prairie Fires</i>, Caroline Fraser</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen</i>, Hope Nicholson</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The Hand Maid's Tale, </i>graphic novel adaptation by Renée Nault</span></div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-61789237529522326732019-04-08T17:56:00.000-04:002019-04-08T17:56:31.724-04:00Kepner's K in best tradition of books on baseball<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">In the acknowledgements to <i>K A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner writes that he has been a fan of baseball since he was seven years old. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Structured around the idea of various pitches — from the splitter to the knuckleball to the spitball — it’s little wonder then that <i>K</i> reads like fan mail. Really, really excellent fan mail.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Kepner, national baseball writer for <i>The New York Times</i>, pays due diligence to the 10 pitches featured in <i>K</i>, tracing the history of each pitch and spotlighting its most skilled practitioners. But where the book rises to excellence — like a Bumgarner fastball defying the laws of physics — is in the stories that enliven each chapter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Stories of pitchers mastering a particular pitch thus salvaging a career that was on the rocks. Stories of pitchers who nonchalantly skirt the rules. Stories of batters baffled by the ball’s behavior. Stories of hijinks, on the field and off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Some of the stories unfold over several pages, others are told in only a few sentences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Anyone who shares Kepner’s love of the game will find passages to linger over. A number of players from my hometown team, the Kansas City Royals, are here, including George Brett, Dan Quisenberry, Kelvin Herrera and manager Ned Yost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But my favorite story comes early in the book, in the chapter on fastballs. Kepner recounts the pivotal moment from the 2014 World Series when Madison Bumgarner was in position for a Golden Pitch. It’s a term used by the Society for Baseball Research for a pitch that could win or lose the championship for either team. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">“By definition, this spot arises only in Game 7 of the World Series, in the bottom of the ninth innning or later, with the visitors leading and at least one runner on base.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In 2014, the Royals trailed the Giants in Game 7 by one run in the bottom of the ninth. There were two outs. Bumgarner was on the mound. Royals’ lelftielder Alex Gordon was on a third after a sinking line drive was misplayed into a triple. Royals’ catcher Salvador Perez was at the plate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">My wife and I were in the stands that night. I never expected to attend a World Series (I ultimately made it to two), let alone be in the seats for an elusive seventh game. We watched as Bumgarner enticed Perez into a pop up, and secured the Series for the Giants. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Kepner’s account is a fine accompaniment to my memories of that night. Thanks to his reporting I know more about what went on behind the scenes, as Bumgarner and Giants’ catcher Buster Posey decided how to pitch to Perez. It was going to be a fastball. Anyone familiar with Bumgarner knew that, but location, well, location was a whole different ball game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>K</i> is a delightful book, solidly in the tradition of the best baseball books. (I’m thinking of the two Rogers here, Angell and Kahn.) In its pages, Kepner demonstrates once again the truth of the adage — Baseball Writes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It reads too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">A quick summary of my other three recent reads:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The pace of <i>The War of the Worlds</i> by H.G. Wells is slow for the modern reader, but it is worth a perusal simply to understand its significance to current science fiction books and film. All those alien invasions of Earth started here. (Incidentally, my favorite book in this sci fi sub-genre is <i>Footfall </i>by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. My favorite film would be T<i>he Day The Earth Stood Still.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In normal circumstances I wouldn’t read either <i>Red Dragon </i>or <i>The Dragon Factory, </i>but these books happened to fill a particular need. They were free, and they were paperbacks. I was going on vacation and needed a couple of books I could read and discard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Both books also met my criteria for the perfect beach read — fast-paced thrillers that didn’t require a lot of concentration. <i>Red Dragon</i> is about the hunt for a serial killer. It’s the basis for the move <i>Manhunter</i>, which I’d seen years back. I normally don’t like such subject matter, but needs must. </span></div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">The Dragon Factory</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> is a thriller bordering on sci fi.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">It’s about the hunt for a mad scientist bent on ethnic cleansing.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">It’s full of ex-Nazis, secret government agencies, genetic monstrosities</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">and a hero — Joe Ledger — whose superpower is survival.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">This is the second book in a six-book series.</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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12.<b> </b><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</div>
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14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">15. <i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">17. </span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- March</b></div>
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28. <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Still Life,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">29. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Golden State</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Ben H. Winters</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">30. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Philip Norman</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">31. </span><i>The Border</i>, Don Winslow<br />32. <i>Careless Love</i>, Peter Robinson<br /><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
33<i>. Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
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34<i>. The Best Cook in the World</i>, Rick Bragg</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">35</span><i style="font-family: "times new roman";">.</i> <i style="font-family: "times new roman";">The War of the Worlds</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">, H.G. Wells</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">36. <i>Red Dragon</i>, Thomas Harris</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- </b><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b>April</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman";">37. <i>The Dragon </i></span><span style="color: #29303b; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59);"><i>Factory</i>, Jonathan Maberry</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>38. K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, Daniel Defoe</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Prairie Fires</i>, Caroline Fraser</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories</i>, Flannery O'Connor</span></div>
Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-90427112295311111782019-03-24T16:53:00.002-04:002019-03-24T16:54:52.327-04:00March offers superb mysteries to memoirs<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">March has proved to be an exceptional month with the addition of four books I highly recommend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>The Border</i> by Don Winslow</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQU0AQLRct2mTxe6j9Gejqv3-R38tvZouSCPXt57Ehualx6emdxqoeI0rbCPs4SccTC-8UI0VNco12OqLLbKDr7vy23im2IPJ5Oz8BAqBHBG3KN1eGYLBgiRzBOIrLOGINI-oJ/s1600/The+Border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="395" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQU0AQLRct2mTxe6j9Gejqv3-R38tvZouSCPXt57Ehualx6emdxqoeI0rbCPs4SccTC-8UI0VNco12OqLLbKDr7vy23im2IPJ5Oz8BAqBHBG3KN1eGYLBgiRzBOIrLOGINI-oJ/s200/The+Border.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The scope of Winslow’s work is breathtaking. Over the course of 20 years, he’s written more than 1800 pages in three books on the DEA and the drug cartels. Winslow’s epic trilogy began with <i>The Power of the Dog</i> (which I haven’t read), followed by <i>The Cartel </i>(which I have)<i> </i>and concludes this month with <i>The Border.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Border </i>is sweeping in scope with a broad cast of characters and settings ranging from Guadalajara to Guatemala and Washington to Wall Street. Winslow takes us inside the drug trade as the cartels engage in a vicious struggle for supremacy. We witness first-hand the damage drugs — increasingly more powerful — inflict on addicts and how U.S. policy toward asylum seekers dehumanizes individuals and forces many into a life of crime.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But most sobering is Winslow’s account of 1) Wall Street’s willingness to launder millions of dollars in drug money, 2) the misguided U.S. drug laws that impose harsh sentences on minor offenders and 3) the somber reality that the “Mexican drug problem” begins in America.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As with the best thrillers, <i>The Border </i>moves at a break-neck pace. It<i> </i>is a magnificent page-turner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Careless Love</i> by Peter Robinson</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The most recent book in Robinson’s series, which features DCI Banks. <i>Careless Love</i> serves up a nice little mystery as Banks and his team must decide between mishap or murder. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Robinson’s Banks’ books are comparable to Ian Rankin’s Rebus series. Make room on your reading table for both.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>Dreyer’s English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style </i>by Benjamin Dreyer</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Benjamin Dreyer is the copy chief of Random House. He’s clearly been taking notes through the years and now assembled those notes into a valuable resource for writers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Punctuation, grammar, spelling, redundancies and more are all touched on. Just as valuable as the content of this book is its tone. Dreyer approaches his material seriously, but is not without humor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I suggest reading only a few pages of <i>Dreyer’s English</i> a day so as to enjoy it more and to better soak up its lessons. And then, keep in near to hand, we’re all going to need it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>The Best Cook in the World, Tales From My Momma’s Table</i> by Rick Bragg</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pq2wWMxyJ-YQ_sFNrYOtqJaTI30bq7M3OjI-cLKHT-f_8ZL8ue39L_uErNs-8ZZFQfbi5ZgWoy2bJ7_wX3nWZS4KQVEGbqP1c8WHbKsymFG2QX0QpLvtOIQet06-hxQB9OdZ/s1600/The+Best+Cook+In+The+World.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="407" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6pq2wWMxyJ-YQ_sFNrYOtqJaTI30bq7M3OjI-cLKHT-f_8ZL8ue39L_uErNs-8ZZFQfbi5ZgWoy2bJ7_wX3nWZS4KQVEGbqP1c8WHbKsymFG2QX0QpLvtOIQet06-hxQB9OdZ/s200/The+Best+Cook+In+The+World.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Rick Bragg is like one of those athletes who is so smooth, so effortless that we forget the hours of labor that have gone into making him appear naturally gifted. No one writes this god damn well, spins a story with such ease, without working diligently, year in and year out, at his craft.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Bragg is a pleasure to read. He’s a poet and a story teller, who can evoke laughs and tears, sometimes both with a single telling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Cook in the World</i> is part cookbook, and all memoir. With his mother’s guidance he assembles recipes from the family table. Cream sausage gravy, chicken roasted in cider, beef short ribs, sweet potato pie, and ham with redeye gravy are only a few of the dishes served up in this tantalizing book by Rick Bragg. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">To quote Lyle Lovett:</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">To the lord let praises be</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">It's time for dinner now let's go eat</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">We've got some beans and some good cornbread</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">Now listen to what the preacher said</span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">He said to the lord let praised be</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">It's time for dinner now let's go eat</span></blockquote>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br />
<i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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12.<b> </b><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</div>
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14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">15. <i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">17. </span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- March</b></div>
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28. <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Still Life,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">29. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Golden State</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Ben H. Winters</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">30. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Philip Norman</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">31. </span><i>The Border</i>, Don Winslow<br />
32. <i>Careless Love</i>, Peter Robinson<br />
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33<i>. Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
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34<i>. The Best Cook in the World</i>, Rick Bragg</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The War of the Worlds</i>, H.G. Wells</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>K, A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches</i>, Tyler Kepner</span></div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-62889555968267389942019-03-08T17:46:00.002-05:002019-03-08T17:46:48.792-05:00Golden State -- a book that could only have been written during the Trump presidency<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">It’s March, yet I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Two terrific books — <i>Golden State</i> by Ben H. Winters and <i>Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i> by Philip Norman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Golden State</i> is a book that could have only been written during the Trump Presidency. It is a deeply disturbing book with echoes of Bradbury and Orwell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The novel is set in the near future. Golden State was — clearly —once the State of California, but society as we know it no longer exists. In a phrase the reader will encounter on numerous occasions, the past is “unknown and unknowable.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In this new future, citizens embrace the Objectively So. Lying is illegal and punishable by imprisonment or exile. Citizens greet each other by reciting objective truths — “A cow is a mammal,” one might say. The response, “So is a dog, but not a bee.” Or, “There are seven days in a week.” To which the response might be, “And twelve months in a year.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Cameras and recording devices are everywhere, allowing the state to stitch together events into a single, accepted truth. At the end of each day, citizens complete a record of the events of their day. The record includes receipts from meals and a list of people met in the course of the day, duly stamped by each individual on the list. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Everything, <i>everything</i>, is put into the record. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There’s much more that could be said about society in this strange new world, but such discoveries are best left to the reader. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Golden State</i> revolves around Laszlo Ratesic, a veteran of the Speculative Service. Ratesic can detect lies, and is rigorous in his pursuit of threats to the Objectively So. After being summoned by police to what appears to be the accidental death of a roofer, he stumbles upon a plot to undermine the state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">We live in a time when the appeal of a shared truth, a shared reality, has its appeal. Truth today is an elusive commodity </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In January it was reported that since taking office, President Trump has made 7,645 false or misleading claims. “Since taking office, the president has lied about everything from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/09/fact-checking-president-trumps-oval-office-address-immigration/?utm_term=.21abd54a36c9"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(153, 0, 16); color: #990010;">immigration figures</span></a> to the <a href="https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/01/15/clemson-tigers-white-house-donald-trump-1000-hamburgers"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(153, 0, 16); color: #990010;">number of burgers</span></a> he served to the Clemson football team at the White House last week,” reports <i>The Guardian</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Of course, the President is unlikely to agree with that news article by <i>The Guardian</i> and is more than likely to label it fake news. A charge he has brought against such exemplars of journalism as <i>The New York Times </i>and<i> Washington Post. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It’s intriguing to ponder what Trump would make of a Golden State. Would he embrace a society without television or radio? Where there is no Internet? No newspapers, except that operated by the state? What would he make of a world where citizens share a belief in objective truth and challenges to the Objectively So are met with imprisonment and exile?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I believe he’d embrace such a world with undue haste. Or to couch my argument in terms Winters and his readers would understand: Stipulated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">& & & &</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> &</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Philip Norman has been a prolific chronicler of the mop tops from Liverpool. He’s written eponymous biographies of Paul McCartney and John Lennon as well as a biography of the Beatles, <i>Shout!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">He’s also written biographies of Elton John, Buddy Holly, Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Which is to suggest that Norman is supremely equipped for his newest endeavor, <i>Slowhand,</i> in which he turns his attention to rock giant Eric Clapton. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9P7z9CqlsH2cp0AAg0I75qjjdlpsiG_2FhJr2rODcSakwhY7uSrrXiTh2uqnmNHPoOzGkNu3hcSvY15D9G3nBCL_rTu2eH6jeSA54Xmc7p7bPajR9HnKWGqkkB4hAG_S2fYtt/s1600/Slowhand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="397" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9P7z9CqlsH2cp0AAg0I75qjjdlpsiG_2FhJr2rODcSakwhY7uSrrXiTh2uqnmNHPoOzGkNu3hcSvY15D9G3nBCL_rTu2eH6jeSA54Xmc7p7bPajR9HnKWGqkkB4hAG_S2fYtt/s200/Slowhand.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Norman explores Clapton’s rocky relationship with his mother. For years, Clapton believed his grandmother was his mother and his mother was his sister. (Take your time. Read that once more, I’ll wait.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Norman duly charts Clapton’s the rise of Clapton’s music career, his battle with the demons of heroin and alcohol and his incessant philandering. Clapton’s relationship with women seems to parallel his relationship with the bands he joined. An ardent pursuer of women, he quickly lost interest in them once they yielded to his importuning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As for bands, there were many — the Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Blind Faith, Cream, Derek and the Dominoes, and, finally, a solo career of stunning scope and virtuosity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The man’s has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times and, in 1992, took home Grammy awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal,(“Tears In Heaven”); Album of the Year and Best Male Rock Vocal, (<i>Unplugged</i>); and Best Rock Song, (“Layla” from <i>Unplugged</i>.)</span></div>
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<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Slowhand</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> is an even-handed and entertaining look into the stormy life of a gifted musician. </span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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12.<b> </b><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</div>
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14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">15. <i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">17. </span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- March</b></div>
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28. <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Still Life,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">29. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Golden State</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Ben H. Winters</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">30. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">, Philip Norman</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>The Best Cook in the World</i>, Rick Bragg</div>
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<i>The Border</i>, Don Winslow </div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-11810307659826291332019-03-06T15:29:00.000-05:002019-03-06T15:29:03.761-05:00Penny's Still Life wobbles on second reading<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 12px;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">This is the second time I’ve read <i>Still Life </i>by Louise Penny. It wasn’t intentional. When I moved the book onto the Books-To-Be-Read-Soon pile, I didn’t realize I’d read the book previously. I’ve read all of Penny’s recent books, but was certain that I’d had not read her first three or four.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It was only after I was a few chapters into the book that I began to experience déjà vu. So I delved into my archives and, yes, I first read <i>Still Life</i> in July, 2010. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0vgIe6ifXATCeM6FXUTtjjfyLFyUXw5QkDQnLK85dDsZl8gAVIjX5Ijf9BsEFkp7lcqWrLO8zbfol8ygh8qJKiRMi5FgJLLOuk59ZAjUZByuObF64VxIm-VxTcWOvLUgoqAb/s1600/Still+Life.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="406" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0vgIe6ifXATCeM6FXUTtjjfyLFyUXw5QkDQnLK85dDsZl8gAVIjX5Ijf9BsEFkp7lcqWrLO8zbfol8ygh8qJKiRMi5FgJLLOuk59ZAjUZByuObF64VxIm-VxTcWOvLUgoqAb/s200/Still+Life.jpg" width="135" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ve read hundreds of books since then so I think my oversight is understandable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Penny’s books fall within a sub-genre of the mystery genre. She writes cozies — mysteries in which the crime and its detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. (Sex and violence are downplayed, too, and often treated humorously.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Penny’s books (with one exception) are set in the Canadian village of Three Pines. The village is a short distant from the U.S. border and doesn’t show up on any map.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Most, if not all, the familiar ingredients from Penny’s recent books surface in <i>Still Life</i>. There’s the murder of a townsman. Inspector Armand Gamache, chief of homicide for Sûréte du Québec is called to the scene. (Eventually he just moves to Three Pines.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The cast of characters — Penny’s villagers for the most part — appear from book to book. They are archetypes: the gay men who operate the local bistro, marvelous cooks who collect and sell antiques; the retired psychologist who runs a bookstore; the cranky, old woman poet; the artist who is superbly talent, but misunderstood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The formula has propelled Penny into the front ranks of mystery writers. She’s a bestselling author with a loyal following.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But the formula is turning stale. It’s odd such a feeling would surface after reading her first book, but it all feels recycled I thought, <i>Oh, she’s doing it again</i>, only to realize she was doing it for the first time. It’s only in the next book and the next that she does, indeed, do it again and again and again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I also have a quibble with a particular incident in <i>Still Life</i>. Gamache is imparting four rules, which guide his professional and personal life, to a fledgling agent of the Sûréte. He learned the rules from his supervisor at the beginning of his career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In relaying the four rules, Gamache forgets the fourth. <i>I forgot</i>, he says. The trainee misunderstands Gamache. She thinks when he says, I forgot, that this is the fourth rule. Her misunderstanding is used against her later in the novel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Here’s my problem: Gamache is not going to forget a single one of his four rules. He learned them early and has followed them throughout his career. He imparts them to each new agent he takes under his wing. He just isn’t going to forget something this meaningful to him. He’s not</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It’s a cheap trick on Penny’s part, and I like the book less because of it.</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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12.<b> </b><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</div>
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14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">15. <i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">17. </span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- March</b></div>
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28. <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Still Life,</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Louise Penny</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i>, Philip Norman</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
<div style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>Golden State</i>, Ben H. Winters</div>
</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-89220898387413263962019-03-01T16:00:00.000-05:002019-03-01T16:00:50.285-05:00Best reads in February -- Cornwell and Hadley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeLuEFsWXEdb-PSvicwk4I0Tbjv4D1pkK9V-a5Y3Rj6vwPeMrriPvhQx51oY1dVXQxBzj_M3vTwNg3KmnBsiinkVnxwZc0_l6mV7QsAKrgJ0jLJ7tfgagTzZ0MEHLOnYyj0P-/s1600/Late+In+The+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="367" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeLuEFsWXEdb-PSvicwk4I0Tbjv4D1pkK9V-a5Y3Rj6vwPeMrriPvhQx51oY1dVXQxBzj_M3vTwNg3KmnBsiinkVnxwZc0_l6mV7QsAKrgJ0jLJ7tfgagTzZ0MEHLOnYyj0P-/s200/Late+In+The+Day.jpg" width="121" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">The two married couples at the center of Tessa Hadley’s fine new novel, <i>Late In The Day</i>, are a complacent, unlikable pair. Complacent until the unexpected death of one them turns the survivors’s lives upside down. They remain unlikable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Hadley’s greatest gift lies in her powers of observation. She plies that skill here as — jumping from present to past and back again — she reveals the hidden connections and complications that tie the four together so intimately.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Late In The Day</i> is a somber book, offering only a passing glimpse of a brighter future for one of its characters. But the tone of the book (or the fact I found the characters singularly unlikable) does nothing to detract from the pleasure of a new novel from this talented British author.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">———</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I promised a friend I would denote, each month, the one book I found most enjoyable. Two books emerged in February. If you enjoy an adventure yarn, laden with history, I highly recommend <i>Sharpe’s Escape</i> by Bernard Cornwell. This recommendations comes with a caveat — Cornwell’s tales are addictive. If literary fiction is more to your liking than seek out Tessa Hadley’s <i>Late In The Day.</i> </span><br />
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">12.<b> </b></span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">15. </span><i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">17. </span></span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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27. <i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadley</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>Still Life,</i> Louise Penny</div>
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<i>Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i>, Philip Norman</div>
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<i>Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-52899607878053190682019-02-25T16:10:00.000-05:002019-02-25T16:10:36.499-05:00Cornwell's artistry on full display in Sharpe's Escape<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Bernard Cornwell is extraordinarily skillful at recounting a great battle. He is especially adept at introducing a small detail (drums bouncing down a hillside) that suggests the broader scope and horror of war.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Those skills are on full display in <i>Sharpe’s Escape</i> as Cornwell guides the reader through the Bussaco Campaign. In that campaign, which took place in Portugal in 1810, the Portuguese and their English allies administer a sound drubbing to the over-confident French. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8pudsZQTDlLoKVzobRnL6Q0ivMoUtJQuqamhHprq278YFZ6yII8oGuD4awvdSXkd7eqDp-qUHo7FdouJLWQ5hAkhIAuVYm800dSnoDPi8xfLpMefHet8lvJO13pcIe9UxpOo/s1600/Sharpe%2527s++Escape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="409" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8pudsZQTDlLoKVzobRnL6Q0ivMoUtJQuqamhHprq278YFZ6yII8oGuD4awvdSXkd7eqDp-qUHo7FdouJLWQ5hAkhIAuVYm800dSnoDPi8xfLpMefHet8lvJO13pcIe9UxpOo/s200/Sharpe%2527s++Escape.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As stirring as this battle scene is (and it’s an excellent piece of work by the author), it is only a side show. The main story concerns Cornwell’s hero of the book’s title, Richard Sharpe, an English soldier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In the course of assiduously carrying out his duties, Sharp incurs the anger of a wealthy Portuguese thug. (An odd characterization, I know, but one which fits this unsavory brute.) Sharp wins one round. The thug wins another. Their sparring escalates as each seeks revenge upon the other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">From the novel’s opening to its satisfying finish, <i>Sharpe’s Escape</i> is a delicious read. No one writing today can match Cornwell’s artistry in blending history with a rousing adventure story. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I didn’t mean to read Colum McCann’s <i>Thirteen Ways of Looking</i>, or to buy it. I’d already bought it. Already read it. A discovery I didn’t make until well into the novella, which gives the book its name. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>This seems familiar</i>, I thought. <i>I’ve read this before</i>. At first, I wondered if, perhaps, I’d read a section of the novella in <i>The New Yorker</i> or some other magazine. But, no, there was the book on my shelf. There was nothing to do now, but forge ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Thirteen Ways of Looking</i> is composed of a novella and three short stories. Elements of loss, brutality and man’s fragility inhabit these stories, which are steeped in a stark and sober atmosphere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">McCann is a talented writer. The best introduction to that talent is found in his novel <i>Let The Great World Spin.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7TXhOsRRqDQABHs-FHEYNJ2v7UM1fW7o-RAf0_UUxg1GAizzzghyphenhyphengpOsGuIDe7mNvnG_sFMh0OQ4_T-PQUckbn6-tYZk9Y1xUIzsVvgDnWeUrsBo0_o6BBOgRHwJSB01MSrO/s1600/Comics+and+Sequential+Art.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="461" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY7TXhOsRRqDQABHs-FHEYNJ2v7UM1fW7o-RAf0_UUxg1GAizzzghyphenhyphengpOsGuIDe7mNvnG_sFMh0OQ4_T-PQUckbn6-tYZk9Y1xUIzsVvgDnWeUrsBo0_o6BBOgRHwJSB01MSrO/s200/Comics+and+Sequential+Art.jpeg" width="153" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Will Eisner is widely considered the father of the graphic novel. Works, best described as graphic novels, pre-date Eisner, certainly, but both the volume of his work and his efforts to codify the graphic novel establish his credentials as the one individual who has does the most to shape the combination of art and text into an art form.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Comics & Sequential Art</i> is a handbook for anyone who wants to create comic strips, comic books or graphic novels, or just to understand them better. It is highly technical and detailed; encompassing imagery, timing, the frame, expressive anatomy and more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The casual reader is best served by perusing one of Eisner’s graphic novels. <i>A Contract With God, Life On Another Planet, </i>or<i> Dropsie Avenue </i>are all excellent introductions to this brilliant creator. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">One sidebar: No one much likes the term graphic novel. Eisner preferred the term sequential art, but it never caught on, perhaps because it sounds so technical.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">As a description of the genre, graphic novel is clumsy and inaccurate, because graphic novels encompass fiction and non-fiction. Under this broad category you will find adaptations of novels, tales of superheroes, science fiction and horror, as well as biography, autobiography, and history. As a term of art, it falls woefully short, but it seems we’re stuck with it until something better comes along. </span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">12.<b> </b></span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">15. </span><i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">17. </span></span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<i>24. Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>25. Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
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26. <i>Thirteen Ways Of Looking</i>, Colum McCann</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>Late In The Day</i>, Tessa Hadlley</div>
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<i>Slowhand, The Life and Music of Eric Clapton</i>, Philip Norman</div>
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<i>Dreyer's English, An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style</i>, Benjamin Dreyer</div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-82906091492438675332019-02-21T15:15:00.000-05:002019-02-21T15:15:19.607-05:00Parker, Gibson and O'Connor among most recent reads<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Not much to see here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Professional </i>was my fourth book by Robert B. Parker. It features Spenser, his wise ass P.I.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ve come to the conclusion that Spenser is his surname. I also learned he’s from the West, not a Boston native. Hawk is also in this novel. Hawk is to Spenser what Joe Pike is to Elvis Cole, but talkative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In the beginning <i>The Professional</i> emerges as a case of blackmail. But, naturally, blackmail leads to murder, and then another murder and still another. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHZLp2jhsIGbCV7huiA_4BNxbf3q4-FFLKjuN1Hmbo7DObwBzjHKn2S0idm79EK2zVIvfMUjuQs21idoBw5cQCiK2JR7R1AKnQHoNJZk4o-SjaZG5KeVuxZ3zq7qUGHF8gIxy/s1600/Flannery+O%2527Connor+The+Cartoons.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="600" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHZLp2jhsIGbCV7huiA_4BNxbf3q4-FFLKjuN1Hmbo7DObwBzjHKn2S0idm79EK2zVIvfMUjuQs21idoBw5cQCiK2JR7R1AKnQHoNJZk4o-SjaZG5KeVuxZ3zq7qUGHF8gIxy/s200/Flannery+O%2527Connor+The+Cartoons.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It’s an enjoyable yarn, which seems true of most novels by Parker. I particularly enjoy the pacing. This is a writer who likes to move things along. In that way he reminds me of Elmore Leonard, a compliment of the highest order.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i> is a collection of non-fiction by William Gibson, including works from <i>Rolling Stone, Wired </i>and<i> The New York Times</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’m curious as to how, and why, books like this are published. Gibson is a ground-breaking science fiction novelist, not a non-fiction writer. There’s just nothing much here, certainly nothing that warrants recommending this book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Although I will pass on this quote from a brief article that appeared in <i>The New York Times</i> in 2006:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">“It is becoming unprecedentedly difficult for anyone, anyone at all, to keep a secret. In the age of the leak and the blog, of evidence extraction and link discovery, truths will either out or be outed, later if not sooner. This is something I would bring to the attention of every diplomat, politician, and corporate leader: The future, eventually, will find you out. The future, wielding unimaginable tools of transparency, will have its way with you. In the end, you will be seen to have done that which you did.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Amen.</span><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Flannery O’Connor The Cartoons </i>from Fantagraphics Book is intriguing, but of limited appeal. Before taking up her illustrious career as a writer, O’Connor, while in college, was a cartoonist of some talent and proficiency, greatly in the style of James Thurber.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Fantagraphics reprints many of her cartoons, along with an essay, “The Habit of Art”, by the books editor, Kelly Gerald. </span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">12.<b> </b></span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">15. </span><i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">17. </span></span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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21. <i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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22. <i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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23. <i>Flannery O'Connor, The Cartoons</i>, ed. Kelly Gerald</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>Sharpe's Escape</i>, Bernard Cornwell</div>
Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-2374754626120547552019-02-17T18:04:00.000-05:002019-02-17T18:04:08.036-05:00A fast-paced P.I. yarn, and classic of fantastic literature<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">A quick summary of two recent reads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>School Days</i> is the third book my Robert B. Parker on the 2019 reading list. I enjoy Parker’s work. He likes dogs, smart ass PIs and snappy dialogue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">This was my introduction to Spencer. Does the man have a surname? Or is Spencer his surname? </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>School Days</i> takes a nice twist on the standard mystery. Two kids shoot up their high school. We know who did the shooting; one kid surrendered at the scene and the second later confessed. The mystery here isn’t who committed murder, but why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Spencer isn’t stopping until he answers that question, despite the fact that no one else — not the local cops or the parents of the shooters — seem to care. Attentive readers won’t have any trouble uncovering the motive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">As with the two Sunny Randall books I reader earlier this year, <i>School Days</i> is a fun, fast-paced read.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i> by William Hope Hodgson was issued as part of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in February, 1971. I have a first printing of the paperback that I purchased and read in the spring of 1971, during my senior year of high school. I can pinpoint the time because I wrote my name on an inside page, along with my home address, which tells me that I was — for a few months more — living with my parents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig </i>delves more into horror, than fantasy. A group of castaways find themselves on a mysterious island with monstrous trees. They flee that horror only to stumble onto another island in a Sargasso Sea-like setting. The island is surrendered by enormous crabs and slug-like “weed men.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The book is a splendid example of the fantasy-horror fiction of its time. The modern reader, with a taste for Stephen King, for example, might finding it slow-going, especially some of the more detailed passages concerning the castaways making a boat ship-shape before fleeing the second island.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">If you are an aficionado of the genre, <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig, </i>along with other novels by Hodgson, should find their way onto your reading pile. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">BTW, I’ve included a link to a recent </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/obituaries/betty-ballantine-dead.html" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;" target="_blank">New York Times obituary for Betty Ballantine.</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> Betty and her husband were instrumental in shaping an audience for paperback books and were the drivers behind the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series.</span></div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
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9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">12.<b> </b></span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">15. </span><i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">17. </span></span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
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19. <i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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20. <i>The Boats of the Glen Carrig</i>, William Hope Hodgson</div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
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<i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
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<i>Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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<i>The Professional,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-71545291047438326342019-02-14T15:50:00.000-05:002019-02-14T15:50:03.151-05:00The Big Fella is a big disappointment<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">A solid, rousing “meh” is a fitting description for the two books just added to my 2019 reading list.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOT6CNotAtKsz-unuKzNuHfcuDvYVsPDKYrLjZcUBBWNO80ITepEWYyqJTWGIZhUOV2VVRxpxRi4d0g5wQjSOSxmbgpSSE9-RSKgtQpdnhqL39rL82_zWkJWHglToAYSgu4Fu/s1600/Big+Fella.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="398" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOT6CNotAtKsz-unuKzNuHfcuDvYVsPDKYrLjZcUBBWNO80ITepEWYyqJTWGIZhUOV2VVRxpxRi4d0g5wQjSOSxmbgpSSE9-RSKgtQpdnhqL39rL82_zWkJWHglToAYSgu4Fu/s200/Big+Fella.jpeg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In 2002, Jane Leavy wrote <i>Sandy Koufax, A Lefty’s Legacy</i>. It ranks among the finest baseball books I’ve read. In 2010, she wrote <i>The Last Boy Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood</i>. It was as bad as <i>Koufax</i> was good. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Leavy’s newest book is <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created</i>. It’s falls squarely between <i>Koufax </i>and<i> Mantle</i>; neither good nor bad, but wholly disappointing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The disappointment is explained in the sub-title, <i>Babe Ruth and the World He Created</i>. <i>The Big Fella</i> is less a biography or a book about baseball than a failed attempt at social history. The book is also burdened by Leavy’s quirky emphasis on certain events in Babe’s life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">During a barnstorming tour, Babe posed for photographs with a chicken who laid 173 eggs in 173 days. She was proclaimed the Babe Ruth of Layers. That’s a cute little footnote, but Leavy spends pages on it. Pages! By the time she’d dispensed with the chicken I was ready to wring both their necks. (Leavy and the chicken, not Babe.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Babe was a phenomenon, who generated excitement and crowds whenever he made a public appearance. Yet did he shape the world in which he lived or was he shaped by it? A more straight forward biography, that lingered on the man’s feats on the baseball diamond, would have come closer to answering that question than Leavy’s awkward effort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Wish You Were Here</i>, a 2011 novel by Graham Swift, lacks the emotional resonance of his Booker Prize winning novel, <i>Last Orders</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">A line that re-occurs in the novel goes to the essence of this book. “People can help in all kinds of ways . . . by dying — death is a great solution.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">There’s a lot of death and dying in <i>Wish You Were Here</i>. Herds of cattle are put to death. Early on, out of fear of mad cow disease and, later, because of an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease. Over the course of time, the protagonist, Jack Luxton loses his mom and dad. His wife, Ellie, loses her father to cancer, while her mother abandons the family when Ellie is only sixteen. Such abandonment is a kind of death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But it’s the death of Jack’s brother, Tom, that triggers events in <i>Wish You Were Here</i>. On his eighteenth birthday, Tom flees the family farm in middle of the night. He joins the army, never to return until he is shipped home in a coffin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Where Swift falters is that all the events in this novel are turned inward. Everything is filtered through interior monologues, the thoughts of Jack or Ellie. Consequently, the reader lacks the emotional distance needed to properly judge events as they unfold. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>Wish You Were Here</i> isn’t a bad book, but we’ve come to expect more from Graham Swift. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br /><i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
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7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
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8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
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10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
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11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">12.<b> </b></span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">15. </span><i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">17. </span></span><i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
18. <i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(41, 48, 59); color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>School Days,</i> Robert B. Parker</div>
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<i>Comics & Sequential Art,</i> Will Eisner</div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10015858.post-75983439307143739212019-02-11T12:00:00.000-05:002019-02-11T12:00:25.339-05:00Random thoughts on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"><ul>
<li>201 years old, and it is amazing how accessible the novel is to the modern reader. I expected a struggle; it never materialized.</li>
<li>The Guardian regards <i>Frankenstein</i> as the 8th best novel ever. It’s never been out of print.</li>
<li>Forget everything you think you know about <i>Frankenstein</i>. Your understanding of it has undoubtedly been shaped by the movie and hundreds, if not thousands, of modern interpretations. There’s no plundering of graveyards at the stroke of midnight. No hunch-backed assistance named Igor. No proclamations that “it’s alive . . . it’s alive.”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</li>
<li>We never actually see how Victor Frankenstein — he’s never referred to as Dr. Frankenstein — imbues his creation with the spark of life. Only that he does.</li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Is </span><i style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Frankenstein</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"> the first science fiction novel? The first work of horror? Yes, on both counts. Although the book is much more. It’s a gothic romance, too. A ghost story. And, patently, a warning of the evil that can materialize from man’s hubris and a definitive reminder of the law of unintended consequences.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Victor Frankenstein’s creation is, initially, unformed; the potential for both good and evil exist within him. He craves companionship. Companionship he hopes to garner from a French family living in exile. The creature has observed them silently for months, and contemplates his approach: </span></li>
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</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">“The more I saw of them, the greater became my desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures . . . I dared not think that they would turn . . . from me with disdain and horror . . . I required kindness and sympathy; but I did not believe myself utterly unworthy of it.”</span></li>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Victor Frankenstein is not a sympathetic character. He brings doom upon himself and his family through his own folly, arrogance and all-to-sudden rejection of the thing he has created. The creature observes that, after creating man, God furnishes man a paradise, whereas Frankenstein recoils in horror, casting his creation into the darkness.</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: "helvetica neue";">Frankenstein</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue";"> is sub-titled The Modern Prometheus. In Greek mythology, Prometheus, a Titan, is said to have created man from clay. In similar vein, Victor Frankenstein fashions his creature from crude materials. </span></li>
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I also read a second Sunny Randall novel, <i>Shrink Rap</i>, by Robert B. Parker. An easy read; almost 300 pages in one day. Enjoyable enough, as Sunny observes at the novel’s close — “nothing wrong with fun.”</div>
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "times new roman";">Books read -- January<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Charles Dickens</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Voodoo River</i>, Robert Crais</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <i>Yossel, April 19, 1943</i>, Joe Kubert</span></div>
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4. <i>Lie In The Dark, </i>Dan Fesperman<br />
<i>5. A Canticle For Leibowitz, </i>Walter M. Miller, Jr.<br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>6. Flash, The Making of Weegee The Famous</i> by Christopher Bonanos</span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
7. <i>Neptune's Brood,</i> Charles Stross</div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
8. <i>Perish Twice</i>, Robert B. Parker</div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
9. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The League of Regrettable Sidekicks, </i>Jon Morris</span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
10. <i>Casino Royale</i>, Ian Fleming</div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
11. <i>Mrs. Palfrey At The Claremont</i>, Elizabeth Taylor</div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Books read -- February</b></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">12.<b> </b></span><i>The Golden Tresses of the Dead,</i> Alan Bradley</div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">13. <i>The Problem of Susan and Other Stories</i>, Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell</span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">14. <i>The Rhesus Chart</i>, Charles Stross</span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">15. </span><i>Frankenstein,</i> Mary Shelley</span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">16. <i>Shrink Rap,</i> Robert B. Parker</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span></span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b>Currently Reading --</b></span><br />
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The Big Fella, Babe Ruth and the World He Created,</i> Jane Leavy</span></div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>Distrust That Particular Flavor</i>, William Gibson</div>
<div style="color: #29303b; font-family: "times new roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<i>Wish You Were Here,</i> Graham Swift</div>
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Biblio Bagginshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13936080688003769684noreply@blogger.com0