blackdogbooks digs for bones, 2023

Place holder!

Welcome back, Mac!

Welcome back, Mac. Wishing you a comfortable reading year in 2023!

Thanks, doc and Paul. Good to be back

Welcome back! Have a great year of reading!

Thank you, and Happy New Year - glad to see you back here!

I was going to put this up in the first post, but it's a new year - we push onward. So, here's last year's reading list:

1. Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo
2. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
3. The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong
4. Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic
5. Philadelphia Stories, Fall 2018 ed. by Carla Spataro
6. Blackout by Connie Willis
7. Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
8. The Painted Veil by M. Somerset Maugham
9. The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
10. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
11. The Fool of God by Louis Cochran
12. The Briar Cliff Review, Volume 33, 2021 ed. by Tricia Currans
13. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
14. The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald
15. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
16. Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
17. Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint
18. Bleed Into Me by Stephen Graham Jones
19. American Buffalo by Steven Rinella
20. Time and Again by Jack Finney
21. Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein
22. Looking for Alaska by John Green
23. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
24. New Letters Summer/Fall 2021 ed. by Christie Hodgen
25. The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
26. After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress
27. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursala K. Le Guin
28. Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
29. Iron Horse Literary Review, Volume 22.1 ed. by Leslie Jill Patterson
30. Robot Dreams (Remembering Tomorrow) by Isaac Asimov
31. Nimrod International Journal, Volume 64 , Number 1 Fall/Winter 2020 ed. Eilis O’Neal
32. The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer
33. The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte
34. The Utility of Boredom by Andrew Forbes
35. Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe
36. The Last Worthless Evening by Andre Dubus
37. On the River Styx by Peter Matthiessen
38. There There by Tommy Orange
39. Mississippi Review, Volume 49 Number 1 & 2, ed by Adam Clay
40. ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
41. The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson
42. Voices from the Street by Philip K. Dick
43. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
44. Trader by Charles de Lint
45. Danse Macabre by Stephen King {NF}
46. From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
47. Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
48. One Last Dance with Lawrence Welk by Peter Damian Bellis
49. The Broad River Review, Volume 51, 2019 ed. by C. V. Davis
50. The Searcher by Tana French
51. Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis
52. New Letters: Volume 88, Numbers 1 & 2 ed. by Christie Hodgen
53. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
54. Sam Shepard New Mexico by Sam Shepard
55. The Trip to Echo Springs: On Writer’s and Drinking by Olivia Laing
56. The Overloaded Ark by Gerald M. Durrell
57. Out of the Corner: A Memoir by Jennifer Grey
58. Educated by Tara Westover
59. Dreams of My Father by Barrack Obama
60. Black Echo by Michael Connelly
61. Black Ice by Michael Connelly
62. The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly
63. The Living End by Stanley Elkin
64. A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver
65. The Pet by Charles L. Grant
66. Witches and Warlocks ed. by Marvin Kaye
67. It by Stephen King
68. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
69. Sun Storm by Asa Larsson
70. Mystery and Manners, Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor
71. The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
72. Shadowland by Peter Straub
73. Entryways into Memories that Might Assemble Me by Freda Epum
74. A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector by David T. Lykken
75. The Little Drummer Girl by John Le Carre
76. William Wordsworth (The Oxford Authors) ed. by Stephen Gill
77. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
78. One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora Welty
79. Iron Horse Literary Review: Volume 21.4, October 2019 ed. by Leslie Jill Patterson
80. The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
81. The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier
82. The Replacement Child by Christine Barber
83. Fairy Tale by Stephen King
84. Broken and Blue: A Policeman’s Guide to Health, Hope, and Healing by Scott Silverii
85. The Guardians of Time by Poul Anderson
86. Small Fry by Lisa Brennan-Jobs
87. The Sewanee Review, Volume 130, Number 3, Summer 2022 ed. by Adam Ross
88. Dear Reader, The Comfort and Joy of Books by Cathy Rentzenbrink
89. End Man by Alex Austin
90. My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
91. The Splendid Outcast by Beryl Markham
92. Diamond in the Rough by Shawn Colvin
93. Wolf Tracks by David Case
94. The Woman in the Dunes by Kobe Abe
95. Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash
96. Fives and Twenty-Fives by Michael Pitre
97. Shutter by Ramona Eastman
98. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
99. A Map to the Next World by Joy Harjo
100. The Wood in Winter by John Lewis-Stempel
101. We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper

Now, the best of the year -

I read a fair bit more Non-Fiction this year, so I'm splitting them up a bit.

Best Non-Fiction - Danse Macabre by Stephen King - If you're a horror fan, you really can't afford not to read this reference book. While it focuses on a specific time-period, much of what follows that period is seeded there. And he has some wonderful riffs on the nature of horror and science fiction/fantasy. A must read for horror fans, and for writers, I'd say.

Best Memoir - Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo - Poetic and evocative, a rare meditation on identity.
With Honorable Mentions to Dreams of My Father by Obama and Out of the Corner: a Memoir by Jennifer Grey

Best Essay collection - Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion - duh!

Best True Crime - The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald - the single best book I've ever read on the FBI and DOJ's internal politics/workings; and I know a bit about this stuff.

Best Religious Thought - The Spiral Staircase by Karen Armstrong - a nun's spiritual reformation.

Best Poetry - A Map to the Next World by Joy Harjo - she didn't serve multiple terms as the United States Poet Laureate for nothing; very life-affirming.

For the Fiction -

Best Mainstream Fiction - The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak - I bet you have never heard of Shafak, and that's a shame.

Best Short Story Collection - The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson - grungy lyricism and DJ at his very best just before we lost him.

Best Horror - A three-way tie between

Thunderhead by Douglas Preston
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Wolf Tracks by David Case

Best Debut Novel - Shutter by Ramona Eastman - Ghosts, Mystery, Crime Scenes, and Indian Country.

Happy 2023, and happy reading!

Another friendly face. You, too!

Hey another friendly face. Thanks and Happy New Year to you.

Happy reading in 2023, Mac!

I love seeing you guys back!

>7 blackdogbooks: Wow! You had a very good reading year! I don't remember you getting through quite so many books in past years.

Got you starred.

No, that was my best ever in terms of quantity. And cleared a lot of space on the shelves.

Little late to a reading update -



1. The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar

Los Angeles in all its diversity, from gated communities in the hills to blighted urban neighborhoods. Hector Tobar focuses on the plight of an undocumented domestic worker, Araceli, who is mistakenly left to care for two young boys when their parents check out on each other at the same time. Neither parent realizes they've left the boys alone in the house with Araceli, and she is ill equipped for, and mostly uninterested in, taking care of them. She embarks on a bus and train journey to deliver them to their grandfather, even though she isn't sure where he lives any longer. The boys are exposed to a vastly different world from the privileged enclave where they live, and Araceli taps into a community for aid she didn't know existed. Eventually, she is reported as a kidnapper and the law intervenes in a very Kafkaesque way.

The story is interesting enough to sustain the book, but none of the characters are particularly palatable or interesting on their own. In fact, most of them, including Araceli, are unlikable to the point of distaste. The urban locales of Los Angeles kept me reading when I wanted to abandon the book.

3 bones!!!



2. How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

Lucy and Sam are orphans, their parents both having unexpectedly died. First generation Chinese in a Western world that doesn't value or respect their true souls. They light off into the wilderness, embarking on an odyssey that sustains them through decades. And though the journey appears to change them, they ultimately are creatures of an identity etched on their souls in their formative years.

A tiring, repetitive, and uninspiring story on the whole.

2 1/2 bones!!



3. Later by Stephen King

Another Hard Case Crime Book from King, and a good one. Jaime can see and communicate with dead people - there's a quick nod to that movie top distinguish Jamie's plight from the other kid's. See, the difficulty is that adults can see the benefit from being able to communicate with the dead and begin taking advantage of his power. Everything, of course, turns terribly dark after the first time, when Jaime's mother uses him to get the plot of a novel from a recently deceased author, for whom she is an agent, so that she can ghostwrite the novel and still get her percentage. In the end, a bent cop tries to use Jaime to find some ratholed drugs, and that's when it all implodes.

Much has been made in the other reviews of the twist in the book - some saying it explains Jaime's powers and others saying it is just meant for shock value. But, as a lifelong King reader, I didn't see the plot point as much of a twist - Uncle Stevie is always ruminating on origins and identities, a real connoisseur of orphans in stories.

All in all, a solid and quite enjoyable entry in the King cannon - on the balance sheets as more creepy than horror.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended!



4. The Line Between by Peter S. Beagle

This was my first, and probably will be my only Peter Beagle. The stories are all well-told and well-written, but too high concept, fairytalish for my taste. This collection contains some stories connected to some of his other work, so many fans will want to gather the collection up for completeness sake.

Salt Wine was probably my favorite of the stories here - a sailer saves a merman and is gifted the formula for salt wine, though he doesn't understand the dire consequences for many in consuming the magical draught. Quite a morality tale, and not overdone with sailor talk.

Also, each story is preceded by a note from Beagle on the origins or backstory for the tale - and I'm always a sucker for getting insight in the creative process.

3 bones!!!



5. Foundation by Isaac Asimov

First, I love the Asimov robot books, so don't hate me when I say that Foundation just wasn't very good. Certainly, my expectations may have been too high, given my love for other Asimov tales and the frenzied fandom of Foundation. But I didn't expect a dry political satire. I was looking more for the carnage and tension of the robot tales and what I got was a royal parlor treatise. Again, to be fair, perhaps Asimov was laying the groundwork for the larger series, but he left me with so little interest that I won't be going on to the rest of the series. On balance, I preferred Heinlein's Double Star for this kind of political satire set in the stars.

3 bones!!!



6. Twilight by William Gay

After digging up a few graves, Corrie and Tyler deduce that the local mortician, Fenton Breece, has an evil bent with the dead after he receives them. They also steal his briefcase which contains photographic proof of his dark practice. Breece hires the town killer to hunt them down and retrieve the proof before they can deliver it to a respectable lawman. Tyler heads for the backcountry to evade the killer, and ends up on an Odyssean journey, meeting up with a Greek chorus of characters only rivaled in form by those Cormac McCarthy might produce.

Gay's deft and poetic touch with the world around us is elegiac. Some reviewers bemoan his grammatical style - I doubt they'd have the same quibbles with Faulkner or McCarthy. It's another symptom of just how overlooked William Gay is in the world. There are few living writers with his delicate and cutting touch with a story.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended.



7. The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

Cormac McCarthy requires patience and close reading - he requires the space to breathe as you read. From the reviews here, it's clear not everyone appreciates that reading perspective. The Passenger is a Greek tragedy and a philosophical treatise and a spiritual guidebook, if only you give the manuscript the time to breathe in your mind. Indeed, it took me a few chapters to ease into his world, as it's been so long since he's given us something to chew on. But the reward in the end was worth it.

The book deals primarily with Bobby Western and his sister, Alicia. Bobby is a tortured soul, in love with his sister and deeply troubled over the ramifications. Alicia is equally troubled, afflicted with what appears to be a severe, hallucinatory psychosis and overwhelming suicidal ideation. The passages from Alicia feature her hallucinations, a sort of chorus of Vaudevillian troupers that harangue and comfort her in turns. Those passages are told in reflection, as Bobby's story plays out after Alicia has already committed suicide. The depth of their story is imminent McCarthy, swaying between Bobby's deep sea diving to their father's work with Oppenheimer on the first nuclear bomb to a hunt for buried family gold bars. The characters run from the eccentric to the maudlin, but never cross over into melodrama.

Give yourself the time and space to let this book breathe as your read and you won't be sorry.

5 bones!!!!!
highly recommended.



8. Ron Carlson Writes a Story by Ron Carlson

Ron Carlson has merged the two forms of writing about writing into one slim offering - the more esoteric musings on the writing life as a whole with the more workmanlike 'how to' perspective. He takes the reader through one of his own short stories, one step at a time, all the while laying out the world around him and his own thoughts at each stage. The result is one of the perfect guidebooks for short form writing, and elucidations on what it means to be an author.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended!



9. Lord Foul's Bane, Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson

I've come to many of these famous and celebrated series late in life, having missed them in my youth. Some suffer from the tardiness, but others stand the test of time - Thomas Covenant is one that stands the test of time. Sure, it's hard resist the inclination toward comparison with Tolkien, but Donaldson's world building doesn't owe much to Middle Earth. He's created a unique and diverse world in which to deposit Thomas, one that is internally and externally complete, even if the ending of this first book leaves ambiguous the question of reality vs. dream.

Thomas, a leper, is transfigured into a new realm, one which it isn't clear is in the past or future, but which has it's own rules and customs which Thomas must learn to survive. He's immediately dropped into a battle with the evil entity, Lord Foul, and left to wonder how he fits into the coming battle - either as a force for good or ill. The choice, it turns out again and again, is up to him and the story is richer for his choices against good along the way.

The world around Thomas is colorfully diverse - from stone-based conjurers to wood-based tree-dwellers to sentient horses and their servants.

Definitely continuing this series.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended!



10. Real World by Natsuo Kirino

Natsuo Kirino is a relatively unknown here in the states, but her noir-driven, gritty crime books are lush. This one follows several school girls who get caught up in a murder by one of their schoolmates. Each reacts differently to the murder but all become entangled with the murderer in different ways. True to her darkness, Kirino plots a terrible end for the group, a surprising one, if realistic.

Because Kirino's characters are primarily school aged this time around, some might initially get the idea it is a YA book, but it's most definitely not. This one wasn't as good as Out but it stands up. Kirino deserves more attention outside Japan.

4 bones!!!!
Recommended

I also started but abandoned:

Saint Francis of Assisi by G. K. Chesterton
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

The McCarthy is on my list for the year - Glad you liked it!

Loved it. Felt like an old coat.

Last couple of reads from February:



11. The Talisman by Stephen King

Another re-read of a favorite from Uncle Stevie - lots of reviews here, so suffice to say this is a questing narrative, featuring a boy who has the ability to shift into other worlds - "there are other worlds than these." Obviously, a connection to the Uber-narrative from The Dark Tower series, as the Territories where young Jack travels bare resemblances to some of those lands where Roland and company travel. Not surprisingly, since The Gunslinger was first published in 1982, there are developing seeds here for that larger story, language and descriptions that will echo throughout Roland's tale. Like many of the King's earlier works, there is an aching goodness to so much of the work. Many see little in his work beyond the horrors, but those horrors exist to highlight the white in the stories. This one remains one of my favorite books in the King cannon.

Highly recommended, especially for those who are looking for a good starting place for King.
5 bones!!!!!



12. Sphere by Michael Crichton

This is the third Crichton I've read that underwhelmed, and I think it heralds the end of my Crichton reading. Like other reviewers, I think there is a solid framework for the story - unidentified spacecraft with mysterious, if recognizable features, discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, investigated by a team of scientists at the top of their fields. But the story devolves into psychology and philosophy debates once too often, and the entity doesn't end up that frightening in the long run. Made into a film version in the late 90s, and maybe that was the better way to tell the story. And maybe that's the problem for Crichton in the long run - good ideas with a problem fleshing them out with real meat for the length of a novel as opposed to a screenplay.

3 bones!!!

Hey Mac!

Piyush!!!!! I was wondering about you just last week - my classics pal!! Welcome back!

>21 blackdogbooks: Thanks Mac, its good to be back :)

I was looking at the group reads and saw Angle of Repose and remembered I had picked it up from your thread! Are you still hosting the October Halloween reads?

No, but the Halloween Read is still here - I just don't curate it like before. Altogether, I'm less active here on the 75'er group, but still post my reading and check in with Doc Neutron and respond when folks drop by.

Angle of Repose remains one of my altimeter favorite books.

>23 blackdogbooks: Lets do it this year if both of us are still active around that time of the year!

I seem to have read Angle of Repose in 2013, posting the first and last sentence of my review from that time:-

"Dare I say it, dare I rate it, with a month still left in the year, as my read of the year?
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This one was a strong recommendation from my Classics buddy, Mac, and I am so glad, so very glad, that I took up his suggestion, late by over a year, better late than never."

Maybe so, I recently have been reading a lot more classic horror stuff, after reading Stephen King’s Danse Macabre last year. I took lots of notes and have been picking up titles from used and thrift stores. I might have some ideas about how we could do things a little differently.

>25 blackdogbooks: I thought you would have run out of Stephen King books to read by now :)

I have just started with Misery.

Hahaha. Rereading them all through these days. And that was the second time through on that one.

Misery is a good one.

Here it is, man - March's reading:



13. Black House by Stephen King

So many of King's feature youngsters dealing with adult sized horror, it's easy to wonder what became of these young people when they matured and how they processed the horrors of their youth, whether or not it lingers. And Uncle Stevie has himself wondered, giving us the second half of It and Doctor Sleep. Jack Sawyer of The Talisman is one of those endearing characters, and his journey one that begs for a follow-up. Black House focuses much on the lingering effects of the terrors of his young life but is much lighter on the details from that other land where Jack quested. It still features, as the dark force trying to puncture the veil into this world emanates from there. Jack has become a policeman, and the evil making its way into ours has taken the form of a killer who preys on children. Though he took an early retirement, Jack is pressed back into service and he soon learns there are elements of the crimes only he can understand, and only if he's willing to remember all the things he's tried to box away in his mind. The police procedural elements of the novel create an intense and readable narrative. But having read The Talisman so recently, and it's a favorite, I pined for more from those other lands and those who people them. But it's a small quibble - this is still a solid entry in the King canon.

4 1/2 bones!!!!!
Recommended



14. Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

I stayed with Patricia Cornwell over the years, through the many books and many gossipy scandals. So, I decided to go back and see how those books held up a couple decades later, like Sue Grafton holds up. But Cornwell's work suffers quite a bit these many years later. In her time, she was one of he first to feature a strong woman protagonist, and one with a very special set of skills. As Scarpetta grew over the series, Cornwell made her increasingly bitter - it was hard not to wonder how much of her own personality bled through to the character. But it was a surprise to find the seeds of Scarpitta's bitterness in the very first book. Also, the scientific bits seemed quite dusty, so much having changed over the years in the world of forensic pathology. The story is also one of its time - a serial killer picking off women in horrible ways and eventually targeting Scarpetta, too. I stopped here without reading any further into the series again.

2 1/2 bones!!!



15. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

This one is hotly contested, comments running the gamut from trash to masterpiece. It's also a banned book, getting a lot of attention in events about banning. First, I enjoyed the reading of it, but primarily because I knew the conceit involved and viewed it as somewhat of an exercise in looking for the clues layer into the narrative that reveal the conceit. But too much of the novel seems designed to shock, Ellis purposely seeing how far he could go before an editor reined him in. Just a few of the murder scenes, and ones shaved down a bit, would have done the trick and communicated the excesses Ellis was trying to highlight. Ellis is a good writer, but he needed a good editor here to save the book.

3 bones!!!



16. 11 Great Horror Stories ed. by Betty M. Owen

This collection is a real treasure, and was an overwhelming pleasure to read. There are some big names included; Lovecraft, Poe, Stoker, and Jack Finney. The collection starts with The Dunwich Horror, one of Lovecraft's most recognizable and best stories, with instantly recognizable themes - a dark force born into our world by dark arts and taking a monstrous form, scientists and historians doing battle - just great stuff. Next up, The Love Letter from Jack Finney, a truly beautifully told tale of melancholy reaching out over a century, shades of his novels here. Poe's entry, The Oblong Box, as typical, ties horror to human choice and insanity. A rarely published short story from Stoker, The Judge's House, has a kernel of Dorian Gray mixed with rats, and is chilling. The supporting stories are all just as good, and just as creepy - makes the case that few horror authors these days are hitting the right notes. Off the top of my head, I'd recommend Stephen Graham Jones.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended



17. The Works of Charles Dickens, Volume XXX, No Thoroughfare, Mystery of Edwin Drood, Illustrated by Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Edwin Drood probably maintains its mystery largely because it's an unfinished work, and the mystery isn't solved by the end of the story, though the indications are certainly there. Because you know the killer isn't revealed, the reader works that much harder to figure the ending. A young man disappears after calling off his long engagement, and a new arrival in the town is suspected of the murder because of his volatile nature and interest in the newly free young woman. But the usual suspect is probably not the culprit, or is he? Dickens is in high form with the characters and the setting, as per usual. The unfinished nature doesn't harm the experience in any way - and there is plenty of comment from literary sleuths looking at Dickens letters to give you the ending if you need it.

4 bones!!!!
Highly recommended



18. Something is Out There by Richard Bausch

These are well written and well told stories by a relatively unknown author. While all the stories are set in the south, they are something just shy of gothic. The principal theme seems to be human frailty and doubt, particularly in relationships. The standout story is the last one, 65 Million Years, featuring a Catholic priest in a crisis of faith who struggles through confessions until a young man begins asking deeply existential questions. In answering, the priest begins to find his own faith.

3 1/2 stars!!!!

Also, I got word that one of my own short stories has been accepted for publication in the next issue of Sand Hills Literary Magazine out of Augusta University.

Wow, some good ones in that batch!

>28 blackdogbooks: Congratulations on publication!

>28 blackdogbooks: Congrats on getting a short story published.

Thanks to both of you. Been a a bit since my last publication but I haven’t had as many stories out on submission of late.

Congratulations on your publication!
I've read The Judge's House a few times and agree, it's very effective.

>28 blackdogbooks: I have that book by Richard Bausch when I was on a spree of checking out short stories. I should give it a go soon.

Have a great weekend, Mac.

April reading update:



19. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell

Having recently sworn off Cornwell's fiction, I decided to give this last title on my shelves a try, more out of a passing interest in the crimes than out of any sense of rehabilitating Cornwell's writing. Sure enough, Cornwell's bitter pride still shines through in this attempt to identify and convict a man in the court of public opinion. Cornwell knows enough about behavioral analysis to get her into trouble. Certainly, Sickert bore an unusual interest in the gory and sensational crimes, and probably had a similar unnatural interest in violence, particularly against women. But the evidence in his paintings and writings doesn't pass the smell test for evidence of guilt, Cornwell herself admits he was around the crime scene areas and the places where the victim's plied their trade. It's not much of a stretch to think that Sickert simply collected images and impressions from these experiences to include in his work, including his writing. All of the imagery would've fueled his active and creative imagination and tapped into his taste for violence. And Cornwell also admits Sickert was quite the performer, a seeker of attention. Again, it's not tough to imagine his use of the collected information to create more of a stir around his work. There's nothing definitive to prove Sickert's guilt, not for lack of Cornwell trying to convince everyone. But the strength of her personality can't make her take on things into any certainty.

The redeeming characteristic in the book is Cornwell's surprising research abilities. More than anything, the book carries a great flavor of Victorian England.

3 bones!!!



20. The Old Forest and Other Stories by Peter Taylor

This was a recommendation from a book seller who knew of my love for William Gay. The stories, indeed set in the South and somewhat Gothic in nature, are well-written and expansive; Taylor knows how to take his time and let a story breath. But, if I had to pick a word to describe all of the work, it would be claustrophobic. Every story is told from one of the character's perspectives, most in first-person, and they establish a particular confining feeling from the telling. The stories are good, just not my taste.

3 bones!!!



21. The Ill Earth War by Stephen R. Donaldson

What a pleasure to spend time in this world again, with the Unbeliever. There's a bit of cookie-cutter work here, sending Covenant back to the land after a short respite remembering his condition, and sending him home rather unceremoniously at the height of the conclusion. But the world building skills Donaldson displays in the second installment shine. Interestingly, Covenant is joined by another refugee from his world, and the unusual, fragile relations between the two make for good reading - as does the revelation that Covenant's violent sin in the first book produced a child. I'm sorry I didn't know about this series earlier in my reading life.

4 1/2 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended!!!!!



22. Go with Me by Castle Freeman Jr.

This was a fun, well-written tale about a woman looking for help to deal with the town bully/kingpin who's stalking her. The town sheriff is no help, but points her to the local rowdy boys. She hooks up with one of the old boys there, and a young tough, who agree to solve her problem. The rest of their day is mostly taken up on a Homeresque journey trying to locate the bad guy in one of his gritty haunts. The writing is punchy and colored with a strong feel for small town Northeast.

3 bones!!!



23. Run with the Hunted by Charles Bukowski

Bukowski is famous, particularly amongst those who've never read him, for shockingly foul writing. But, reading this collection exhibits that his writing is quite wonderful. Certainly, he is not kind to women. And, yes, his subject matter focuses on the pickled underbelly of society. But the short declarative writing is reminiscent of Hemingway, and the poetry collected here is a revelation. There's a deep sadness overlaying all of the stories and poetry, a function of Bukowski's self-hatred. There's also many passages exhibiting Bukowski's keen eye for human nature and the uncanny world around him. He's not so bitter as to miss the beauty of a cat strolling under a car with a bird in its mouth, and enough of a poet to equate it with the end of summer. Sure, there are some stomach-turning passages along the way, but Bukowski uses all the words, and I'm glad for it.

4 bones!!!!
Recommended!!!!

May update:



24. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Perhaps in the minority, this book just didn't captivate me the way most of the other readers recount in their review. Surreal, sure, but also much nonsense about nothing.

2 bones!!



25. The Canyon by Jack Schaefer

Schaefer is most well known for Shane, especially with the famous film version. This diminutive read tells the story of Little Bear, who is a bit of a willing outcast because of his unusual perspective on warring with other tribes. He lights out for a coming of age ritual and experiences a vision. in a starving and sleepless fog, he falls into an undiscovered canyon and breaks his leg. Over the next few months, he recuperates and proves himself to himself. Eventually, he makes his way back to his band where he carries a mystical quality and proves himself to the others. He returns to the canyon with his bride and starts a family there. Soon, he learns that the canyon was less important in his life than his own identity.

The book was enjoyable and well-written. But it gets the fourth star for the detailed understanding Schaefer of the culture Schaefer communicates. it's hard to say whether Schaefer's understanding is accurate, as I'm unfamiliar with the details of this tribe's culture at the time. And I suspect Schaefer would suffer in these modern times from cultural appropriation criticism. But he exhibits an uncommon empathy for the people and an easy demonstration of the shared human condition regardless of the specific ethnicity of the characters.

4 bones!!!!



26. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

A modern Dickens homage, with orphans, hardscrabble criminals, and surprising twists to tie things up in the end. Tinti's workmanlike story is readable. While I like the idea of a new Dickensian story, Tinti works a little too hard to capture the mood and characters. It comes off less homage and more coopted. If you're going to cover Dickens' ground, you need to be blessed with uncommon skill. Tinti does a passable job but not without Dickens' shadow hovering a little too ominously over the narrative.

3 bones!!!



27. Provinces of Night by William Gay

William Gay is easily the best writer you're not reading. Thanks to an LT friend, I found him and now I'm a devoted acolyte. With Flannery O'Connor's sense of the Southern Gothic and Kent Haruf's poetic lilt and keen sense of the complications of the human heart, reading Gay is like entering a cathedral.

This novel follows the Bloodworth family as the patriarch, E. F., returns from a self-imposed exile with his banjo and stories to tell. It's a slow burn until the expected violence finally erupts during an ice storm. The characters are complicated and eccentric, and Gay's love of the Southern countryside feels like stepping into a lush, botanical apse while a mournful elegy plays. Words to adequately describe the beauty of Gay's writing fail me.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended



28. Victory City by Salman Rushdie

Pampa Kampana watches her mother and all the women of her village self-immolate in protest of war when their husbands are killed in battle. Pampa makes a deal with a goddess that gives her unnaturally long life, along with other mystical powers. She grows a city from some from a few simple seeds, and weaved the population's memories through a whispering prayer. Her goal is to create a place of love and art, egalitarian in all ways. But her creation exercises its free will, as is human nature. Over centuries, Tampa tries to right the ship, every action resulting in unforeseen, and sometimes seen, consequences to thwart her vision.

Rushdie's newest story is reminiscent of Allende and Shafak in his meticulous world building. But he alone can infect a narrative with such a playful tone that the reader doesn't see him proselytizing. A delight to read.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended



29. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

Fascinating and eyeopening book on the physiological/neurological effects of trauma, particularly childhood trauma. The book tracks how trauma affects the functioning of the brain in lasting ways, breaking down the normal coping and processing functions. The author is especially critical of current psychological diagnostic and treatment practice for those suffering in the wake of trauma, saving his most ardent criticism for pharmaceutical reliance which only mask symptoms. He spends the last few chapters on treatments more focused on addressing trauma in unique ways that allow the sufferer to slowly begin processing things normally again. While the book is incredibly detailed, the author never overplays the science - it's an incredibly readable book.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended!!!!!



30. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Late to the party on this one, but happy to have finally gotten to it. Combination memoir and literary criticism, Nafisi uses her college teaching career and a clandestine class she taught for young women on literature as the structure for a meditation on the volatile times she lived through in Iran. Her main topics for novels include those of Nabokov, Fitzgerald, James, and Austen. I'm perplexed by the reviews below here complaining about not enjoying Nafisi's book because they hadn't read any books by the four featured authors. Nafisi's book is blurbed and described everywhere as a rumination on those authors - why pick up this book if you don't have any interest in those authors? Even I, an avowed James avoider, had my curiosity piqued by Nafisi's discussions of his work. And she had wonderfully unique insights on the others.

The bonus here is the history and cultural primer on Iran in the 1970s and 1980s. Though sometimes confusing, it's nice to have a broader understanding of the diverse and complicated state of affairs that only featured as sound bytes on the nightly news - the primary source of information in those days. And it was so much more complicated than I ever considered. I've been looking for a good book on the Middle East, and this one served as a wonderful introduction. My only criticism is that Nafisi's prose can sometimes be a little dense - I'd hate to have been required to keep up with her in class.

4 bones!!!!
Recommended

Well, with such praise, how can I not look for William Gay? Thanks for the recommendation, I've never come across this author before.

Agreed!

He’s easily one of the best unknown writers I’ve come across. I’ve collected up almost all of his work already after just getting the recommendation from another LT’er. He’s like a southern gothic version of Haruf.

A month behind, so covering both June and July reading:



31. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Having enjoyed Tan's memoir on writing so much - Where the Past Begins - it was quite enlightening to dip into her first novel for the first time. Knowing the story behind the story enhanced the narrative for me. There is so much about identity, what makes it and how it counterbalances to self-image and how self-perception of identity can often be so skewed. Tan paints with a far more subtle brush than I think most people realize - the film version was wonderful, but it necessarily loses the subtlety Tan accomplishes here in the written version.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended



32. Writing the Southwest ed. by David King Dunaway & Sara Spurgeon

initially begun as a radio project, this set of essays and selected passages is meant to highlight the diversity of Southwest literature, as it highlights the diversity of the Southwest people. It's a fair representation of the best writing about the the arid landscape and those who populate it. Interestingly, since it was published in 1995, UNM Press would probably fear too much of a backlash to publish this book in today's market, because it features several white people writing from perspectives and about cultures not their own. I suspect they could learn a lesson about focusing on good, empathetic writing regardless of personal ethnicity by attending to the text of their own book in evaluating new authors who submit work to them.

4 bones!!!!



33. The Best Short Stories of J. G. Ballard by J. G. Ballard

Certainly ahead of its time with regard to climate change and overpopulation and technological skew, the stories lack something. Often, I found myself confused and bewildered for several pages before finally locating the narrative thread. It so often felt as though I'd been plopped down in a confusing world of foreign language and customs - perhaps a conscious choice by Ballard, but disconcerting nonetheless.

2 1/2 bones!!!



34. Detecting Lies and Deceit by Aldert Vrij

Vrij is a noted psychologist who has conducted many laboratory studies on the nature of truthfulness vs. lies, and detection strategies for lies, particularly in the world of policing. There is a particular skew to the data and interpretation in favor of psychology as opposed to policing, even though he negatively generalizes on law enforcement as though he were a part of that world. I wouldn't recommend this one for the layperson, given that they might walk away adopting Vrij's skewed and negative perceptions.

2 1/2 bones!!!



35. My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers

A refreshing, if sometimes self-idealized, memoir from a politician not currently in office. Yes, Sellers is more on the progressive end of the spectrum, but he also appears sincerely interested in the plight of his home. The best portion of the book deals with the Orangeburg Massacre on the grounds of South Carolina State College - two years before Kent State, but overlooked in history. While Sellers' works a little too hard to tie himself into the event, the description of his father's place in the violence is poignant. Better than a lot of political memoirs out there.

4 1/2 bones!!!!!



36. Drood by Dan Simmons

I love Dickens. Having read the unfinished Mystery of Edwin Drood this year, I decided to try Simmons' take on the mystery and his take on Dickens' writing of it. I didn't much enjoy the last Simmons I read, but thought the subject matter would ameliorate the bad taste that one left on my reading palate. No such luck - Simmons tries to out-Dickens Dickens, to disastrous results. In the process, he sullies the characters of both Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Honestly, anyone who read this one would never go on to try Collins work, which would be a shame. The plot is over-sensationalized and meandering to the point of distraction. Not one character survives with a scintilla of good will. it's just a disaster.

2 bones!!



37. Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Perhaps Marquez meant this as an unreliable narrator homage to Nabokov, hoping that would overcome the rather unseemly subject matter regarding the sexualization of an underage girl. It does not succeed - no matter the author's gift for language and description, it is overall distasteful. not sure how other reviewers get to "love story" or "rich and poetic" or "redemption" but I can't. I will have to try another of his.

2 bones!!



38. Hitler’s Pope by John Cornwell

Fascinating account of the rise of Eugenio Pacelli to become Pope, and his reign thereafter. Though narratively focusing on Pacelli, the book is also an account of what can only be described as fascism or authoritarian rule within the Catholic Church, as well as the existence of anti-semitism within the Church. Extraordinarily researched and referenced, if at times a little too meticulously recounted. This corner of World War II world politics has rarely seen the light of day. Pacelli cannot be acquitted as he was, at best, willingly inactive when he could have made a difference, or a knowing collaborator with Hitler, at worst. The book certainly has ample evidence of Pacelli's own anti-semitism and fascistic notions with regard to Church rule. Given the length and breadth of his reign, this is necessary reading to understand modern Catholic politics.

4 1/2 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended



39. The Third Grave by David Case

My second Case this year, and this one was as good as Wolf Tracks. This one is so different in tone and voice as to doubt whether the same author wrote both - a testament to Case's abilities. While the other reviewers rightly characterize it was a zombie/mummy book, there is a slight element of lycanthropy about the narrative, too - that changing into 'the Other' that makes these kinds of books.

A self-styled mystic believes he's found an ancient Egyptian formula for immortality and enlists the services of a scholar to translate some hieroglyphics and runes etched into a mummy's tomb. Impatient to begin the work, the mystic experiments on a person to disastrous effects.

Arkham originally published this one and Valancourt resurrected it in a new edition, like Wolf Tracks. Case is under appreciated.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly recommended

Hello, Mac. You've done some diverse and fascinating reading! I may look for something by William Gay. Your description of him as a southern gothic version of Ken Haruf really appeals to me.

>41 tymfos: he’s amazing. I want to start the book over as son as I turn the last page.

August Reading:



40. Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan

This is one of those books I feel like it's cool to like, or at least say you like in a group of people, without actually liking, or understanding it, all that much. A venerable entry in the absurd canon, certainly - though I'd rather read almost any few pages of infinite Jest before cracking this one open again. The conceit of merely substituting a term in the place of other nouns tires rather quickly. Really, I only read this one because I hadn't been able to find a copy of another title yet and wanted to try something by Brautigan.

2 bones!!



41. Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin

Southern Gothic at its best - not quite as literary and poetic as William Gay but in the same neighborhood. Based on a real explosion of violence and corruption in Alabama following the Civil War. The characters are complicated and eccentric, and heart-breaking. A couple of brothers accidentally kill a prominent store owner and politician in a juvenile attempt to steal enough money to visit the local prostitute. The brother of the deceased forms a vigilante group with the ulterior motive of gaining power in the backwoods area. The only person to stand against the group is a tired sheriff, at the end of his career and motivation.

Tom Franklin is fairly well-known only in the communities of Alabama and Mississippi, but should be read more widely than that.

Recommended!!!!
4 bones!!!!



42. Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

An attempt to push the found footage film concept into th literary world, so somewhat epistolary in nature with the whole narrative contained in film description, dialog, and transcripts of video journals. Not a terrible idea and completed interestingly by the author. My problems was more with the plot of the book - it starts off as a Ghostbusters narrative with ghosties and beasties only to devolve into a Lovecraftian mysticism, with wasn't carried off very well, in my opinion - too many horror writers try to carry off the kind of otherworld mysticism of Lovecraft, either as homage or mimic, only to fall short. Maddeningly, there were brief interludes of a mastermind figure, a hoodie wearing persona only ever briefly glimpsed. But those threads don't translate into the climax or resolution, at all. I suspect an author and editor conspiracy for sequels - a situation when evident that only frustrates the reader. I wanted to like this one, and did some, but was disappointed with the last half of the book.

3 bones!!!



43. The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide

A monumental undertaking, to write a novel with one of the primary characters essentially writing the novel as it's being read, through journal entries. It allows the reader a window into the author's, and meta-author's, thought process. Well written, if at times somewhat tiresome as both authors cast back and forth on the path of the characters and the meaning of the narrative. There is also an element of the French romp, with characters longing for others and hopping around between beds. The principal plot thread is a group of young men as they come of age and try to make their way into the adult world, some good some bad in moral composition, and some meandering between the two poles. I think the lack of singular focus detracted from the reading experience for me, though the author's undertaking is to be admired.

3 bones!!!



44. Adventures in the Skin Trade by Dylan Thomas

As an avowed fan of Dylan Thomas' poetry, it was a revelation to find this collection of short fiction. The title story was the opening to a novel Thomas intended to finish but never did. The other stories were all relatively short. Each and every one is filled to brimming with Thomas' characteristic lyric language, and richer for the writing regardless of the effectiveness of the narrative thread. Indeed, some of the stories suffer from the merging of a poet's mind into short form prose, meandering and mystical in opaque way. But, even in those stories, it's easy to get lost in the language.

Recommended!!!!
4 bones!!!!



45. Aimless Love by Billy Collins

Collins is the poet of the quotidian - no other poet can lyricize journal entries about sitting and watching like he can. This collection made up of his best from several other collections with a section of new material is imminently readable. There are laughs along the way, as Collins comments on the world and people around him. There are aching passages that cut to the very quick of the human condition. If you're a poetry reader, you should be reading Collins.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



46. Dan Eldon: Safari as a Way of Life by Jennifer New

if you don't know this story, there are a few other collections of the journals and some films made about Dan Eldon's life. Eldon was a prolific journal maker, cataloging and describing his adventuresome life in Africa and around the world. He drove through some of the most war-torn countries of Africa at the time, to carry a self-raised donation for refugees. After that, he tripped into a career as a photojournalist, documenting the famine and war in Somalia. In a strange turn of events, he was killed - stoned - by Somalis as he took photographs of the destruction and death of a particular attack. He died at 22-years-old, having lived more in that time than most anyone after a fill life. The book are selections from his seventeen artistic journals with text describing his life. This is an incredibly moving and quickening book.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



47. How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak

A novella length essay on the state of the world following the pandemic and the particular condition of politics we have been left with in this country and the world. Shafak's description of things is poignant and reveals her keen and complex mind, not to mention her kindness and generosity. She calls for more listening in the face of the voices that tie to drown everything out with their volume alone. She calls for understanding, and education. This is a modest treatise on living in a difficult world that bears constant re-reading. And it should send you to her wonderful fiction where all the same characteristics are always on full display. Shafak is a gem we should all be happy exists in this time.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



47. All the Wrong Places by Philip Connors

In one of those coincidences that only seem to happy in the Southwest, I happened to meet Philip Connors in a bookstore in El Paso, Texas, as we both know the owner and frequent the store any time we are nearby. The owner shuffled over to me with a stack of Connors' books and encouraged me to buy them all that day - I'm glad I did.

Connors was an editor for the Arts and Leisure section of the Wall Street Journal, which might give some readers pause - but he is the self-proclaimed only socialist ever to work for the Journal. This book is a memoir of the years he tries to process his brother's suicide, blaming himself, as many do, for so long that looking back he was in all the wrong places. Eventually, he becomes a fire lookout in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico and begins to piece his life back together looking down at the grand high desert. He characterizes himself as someone who never developed the skills to ask the right questions nor to understand the answers he received - but that self-deprecation is just highlights the way his mind was working to regain a grip on reality. Because spending time in his mind while reading this book is among the most pleasant and moving experiences I've ever had reading a memoir. He is unabashedly open and keenly observes the world around him. The last time I read a memoir this cutting and worthwhile was Andrew McCarthy's The Longest Way Home.

Connors is a once-in-a-generation writer who only awakened to the world around him once he hiked into the desert - the solemn place restoring him. His next book Fire Season won the National Outdoor Book Award.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!

Hi, Mac! I received Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter through the LT Early Reviewer program, and gave it 4 1/2 stars when I read it. I should read more of his books.

It's time for a September update, but first......

Many moons ago, when I first joined LT and pretty soon thereafter made my way to the 75 books a year group, I started an October Halloween Read thread. There, I offered my own spooky and otherworldly reading for the other 75'ers to view and comment on, and share their own boooooks. Since I've grown less talkative in the 75'ers, Doc Neutron has maintained the tradition and it's become a thing. In honor of those early days, I thought I'd share my Halloween reads for next month - a little of everything, from horror to cryptids to ETs to fantasy treks to time travel to the mother of dystopia:

Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
The Power that Preserves by Stephen R. Donaldson
Worlds by Joe Haldeman
Five Fates a collection with Asimov and Ellison
Again, Dangerous Visions a collection edited by Ellison
Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life by Ivan Sanderson (a Non-Fiction book, I might add)
The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Preston and Child
In Other Worlds by Atwood

Now, the September reading:



49. The Garden of Last Days by Andre Dubus III

This offering from Dubus is not as compelling as The House of Sand and Fog though it is constructed on the same premise - inhabiting characters difficult to understand attempting to explain their motivations from deep within. Ultimately, the characters were just not worthy of the effort. It starts well enough, with a haphazard and equivocal abduction of a little girl from the strip club where her mother dances. Shifting among perspectives, we follow the girl, her mother, a Middle Eastern man for whom she dances, the abductor, and a bouncer from the club. Eventually, the Middle Eastern man is revealed to be one of the 9/11 hijackers. In the end, there was just too little redeemable about any one of the characters to maintain interest and buy-in.

I'll try another from Dubus, as he's a good writer, but I'm hoping to find the next more like The House of Sand and Fog.

3 stars!!!



50. The Summons by John Grisham

it's been awhile since I've visited the Grisham world and thought it was time. Here, two brothers receive a letter from their failing father to return home to discuss his estate. When the good brother arrives, he finds his father dead, and a huge stash of cash in a cupboard. The rest of the book tracks his attempts to find the source of the cash, and figure out what to do with it. As always, Grisham is inventive with the legal details, particularly with the efforts to hide and figure out the cash. It's not Grisham's best but it was readable, even if I figured out who was behind all the twists.

4 bones!!!!



51. The Point and Other Stories by Charles D’Ambrosio

D'Ambrosio's colection of essays, Loitering, is wonderful. So, I wanted to try his fiction. The writing is workmanlike but doesn't have the same flashes of greatness as the essays. The most memorable story features a boy who frequently is left to escort drunk men and women home from his mother's parties. The boy ends up a collector of all the rumors and gossip of these people's lives. Another stand out was the tale of a young couple's grief after the loss of their child. But, on balance, the stories didn't resonate near as well as D'Ambrosio's more personal non-fiction.

3 bones!!!



52. Dirty Work by Larry Brown

Two Vietnam vets get to know one another in a Veteran's hospital over the course of a painful evening. One, a multiple amputee, hopes to convince the other, a severe head wound survivor, to engage in an act of brutal mercy. The narrative cuts between the two as they retell their stories to each other, and to themselves. It's sad and moving, and psychedelic sometimes - the amputee has a frank conversation with a chain smoking Jesus.

3 bones!!!



53. Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True by Elizabeth Berg

Berg's writing book is a happy and balanced mix of writing life and writing instruction. The writing life bits are told in an extremely encouraging voice. The writing instruction bits are less check-box constructions and more creative exercise in form. It's a nice balance and a pleasure to read with all the encouragement along the way. There's nothing terribly groundbreaking but the exercises quite well done.

4 bones!!!!



54. Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

Evans is a doubter, and there are not enough of her kind in the world. True faith is strengthened and informed by healthy doubt. She tells the story of her doubt, in its infancy during her young life in an Evangelical tradition, all the way through her blogging and many writing/research projects, constantly searching for what true faith looks like. Through each section, as she illuminates different traditional forms of worship, she identifies the true nature of spiritual practice, deciding churches are better as honest places for people to share their tribulation rather than whitewashed spaces for magical thinking and shallow divisiveness.

Evans' journey is inspiring and thought provoking, and her struggles should be extremely recognizable for all those who've lived through any kind of spiritual abuse or shame. It's refreshing to find someone comfortable with the human condition, in all its frailty and messiness, and arrive at the conclusion that it's just what modern-day religion needs more of.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!

Nice batch of books in September, Mac!

Thanks. Looking forward to my Halloween reads.

Searching for Sunday sounds interesting. I've had that one on my radar for a while, but not gotten to it.

Your review of Hell at the Breach reminded me about Tom Franklin. I've started The Tilted World, which he wrote with Beth Ann Fennelly, who I understand is his wife.

Very cool, tymfos. Enjoy a spooky October, I will be.

I have a new story published in Sand Hills Literary magazine, #47:

https://sandhillslitmag.com/

Last month's update slipped my mind - so I'll do this in a couple of bites -

First the spooky month -



55. The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Let it be known that I am a true fan of Douglas Preston, but not so much a fan of the Pendergast world. This book was part of a raffle winning package of books, so I thought I'd try Pendergast again at no expense. But I just don't get it. Perhaps the FBI stuff is just too outlandish for me and, for someone who knows better, folks, it is off-the-scale outlandish. The idea that an FBI agent would be composed of these characteristics, or get away with what he gets away with, just breaks my mind, I can suspend disbelief with the best of 'em, but Pendergast is a bridge way too far. The supernatural/time-travel elements were interesting, as was the relationships between the characters. I also didn't care for the way this book ended - as an author, if you have to pen an apology for breaking your narrative into two books after the last page of the first book, get an editor or shove the whole thing down the publisher's gullet, please.

I will keep reading Preston but leave Pendergast to his peculiarities.

2 bones!!



56. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

Here is yet another book in Uncle Steve's cannon that holds up to a re-read. There is an element of Needful Things in the writing, as King structures the narrative by focusing on a different one of the townsfolk for each brief chapter. The conceit helps the suspense to build, as each person knows or experiences something different of the blood-thirsty werewolf as the story unfolds. This is obviously low-hanging fruit for me - lycanthropy and Stephen King, but it is quite a good bite-size tale to enjoy on a dark and stormy night. And the illustrations by Bernie Wrightson are wonderful in this edition. I also am fond of the cheesy 1980s film version, but I came into my own in those halcyon days.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



57. The Power that Preserves by Stephen R. Donaldson

Mixed feelings abound about this last in the initial trilogy for Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever - some think this was the best of the first three books, others the worst. I suppose I'm somewhere in the middle. I still found it a good book, but feel as though Donaldson's narrative wanes throughout the book, until the last hundred pages or so. It must be hard to sustain a narrative over so many pages and continue to bring something new to the story, and I felt the strain of it through the middle. Nonetheless, I still think that Donaldson's world-building and creativity are above the field, as so many of these adventure McGuffins are so much Tolkein detritus. I won't get into the story, as so many of you already know that Covenant doesn't believe but does, as he accidentally succeeds in saving a world he can't place in either his mind or in another dimension of reality.

Recommended!!!!
4 bones!!!!



58. Five Fates by Keith Laumer, Gordon Dickson, Poul Anderson, Frank Herbert, and Harlan Ellison

The set up here is that each contributing author has a short narrative to begin, and they must finish the story from there - the given narrative has a character going into a government administered euthanasia center and accepts his fate. But what fate? The best of the stories comes from Poul Anderson, a surprise for me because I haven't otherwise enjoyed his work. Anderson takes the character through multiple, ever-changing iterations of an after-life - the purpose, to learn from these varying waters how to keep the destabilizing world on track. Harlan Ellison's take was near undigestible altogether. The other three were passable, if a little strained for working too hard at the tasking. On balance, I expected more from these luminaries.

2 bones!!



59. In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood does for science fiction and fantasy what Stephen Kind did for horror in Danse Macabre. It's a wonderful, and quite intelligent, review of the genres - their components and differences. Her take on these kinds of narratives is imminently tied to her own voice and, obviously, informs her work a great deal. What I wouldn't give for a graduate level seminar with this as the text and Atwood as the maven. There are some flash-fiction entries connected to a few of her other longer works, which some reviewers here did not care much for. But I wonder how familiar those same reviewers were with the other content, and how these stories fit into the larger narrative. To be fair, a couple read as sections of the longer books that were edited out. Honestly, though, I'd read Atwood's shopping list, and I bet a couple of paychecks those lists would be uncannily smart and savant-level creative.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
4 1/2 bones!!!!!



60. Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

This one has grown on me since finishing it - a good sign for an intelligent horror book. Stephen Graham Jones is his typically brief self here with this one, describing one young person's terrifying descent into madness. A group of ne'er-do-wells play a practical joke on their friend who works at a movie theater. They've been tossed from he establishment by their friend's milquetoast boss for acting up during movies. So, they dress up a mannequin, smuggle him into the theater through a back door, put him in a seat, and start shenanigans anew. As practical jokes go, it's somewhat anti-climactic. Soon after, though, each one of the friends gets picked off in some horrible way. Our hero, anti-hero is more accurate, believes that the mannequin has achieved homicidal sentience, and decides he must kill his friends before the mannequin gets to them. Why, you ask? Well, let's not get bogged down in rational thought, as our anti-hero is all out of that kind of thinking.

What's grown on me since finishing the book, is Jones' recount of the main character's distorted perspectives and fall into madness. It's quite provocative. Most might just toss recycle the book for its pulp content, but there's more going on here than a sentient and homicidal mannequin - how does one go mad? What does that look like?

Recommended!!!!
4 bones!!!!



61. Graveyards of the Wild West: New Mexico by Heather L. Houlton and Susan Tatterson

What a wonderful, and spooky, little book. Even though I knew some of the history, and gravesites, for the more well known - Pat Garrett, for example - I learned a ton of New Mexico history, and was seriously creeped out along the way. Ghost towns, old mining towns, gun fighters, and scalawags abound. The photography is quite impressive and reproduced with a great deal of production value within the diminutive book. One can't help but develop a greater affinity for the beautiful landscape in which these forgotten tales exist. Other editions are available for the other states.



62. Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life by Ivan T. Sanderson

Scoffers and unbelievers need not read further - but if you are open to the vast possibilities in the world, please, come on in.

While the Sasquatch/Yeti/Big Foot is relegated to the confines of disapproving discussions about little green men and things that go bump in the night, Sanderson looks at the possibility of their existence in multiple locations from an extremely scientific perspective. The data contained in the book is dated, as the first edition came out about 50 years ago, but it is eye-opening. He sets out to collect every account he can lay his hands or ears upon. The dates of the accounts collected themselves speak to the larger credibility of the phenomenon, as much of the available material exists before wide dissemination was possible. The accounts also debunk some of the myth surrounding the phenomenon, as the accounts make it clear that the creatures wouldn't exist in some of the climes associated with them. Sanderson also weaves in ecological information to describe the likelihood of the creatures existence, and their likely locations.

For some, the detailed ecological treatises in the middle of the book could become somewhat tiring, but he brings the necessity of the scientific effort home in the end, tying the accounts to the ecology of the locations and to the world-wide ecologies.

Sanderson is also not afraid to speak on the 'debunking' of the phenomenon and all the 'scientific' minds who've waxed poetic in an effort to forestall belief. And his treatment of these 'scientists' will leave you wary of blind acceptance without thought in any context.

If you're wondering, I believe - I don't want to believe - I do believe.

I dare you to read any edition of this book.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!

Stay Tuned for November!!!

Hi Mac. You read some very interesting books this year!! I send greatings for a lovely holiday filled with joy and comfort.\\

Thanks, Whisper!

And now for November!!!



63. London Rules by Mick Herron

Easily one of the smartest and most creative espionage books I've ever read. I tried this mid-series book because I'd watched a couple of seasons of the Apple film version and loved the fringe characters who populate the book, especially the foul-mouthed, odiferous Jackson Lamb. Always Leary of a book that is so well fitted for the screen, I was very pleasantly surprised that the film version captured the characters nicely - Lamb just smells worse and acts worse in the book versions, and the misfits fit worse, too. The plot doesn't matter one whit, though it's smart and creative. But these characters could enter a robot building contest and I'd be back for more. If you watched the series, I promise you'll like the unfettered version of Lamb and his crew of miscreants. This book single handedly convinced me to clear the shelf where le Carre sits.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



64. The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East by Jimmy Carter

I've been looking for a book about the Middle East, one that goes back far enough to help understand the bloody mess of the place. Jimmy Carter's book was perfect, going back to biblical history, as a foundation, and traveling through all of modern history. Honestly, I could have stopped after reading the acknowledgements, as Carter says of the strife there, "The most unremitting conflicts of the Middle East are not on the battlefields but in the minds of the people there." He comes back to this concept again and again, detailing his visits with the leaders in power when he was President in efforts to establish some kind of peace in the region. The keen understanding of the human condition he brings to the accounts of these meetings is so necessary in understanding how we got to this place. He is somewhat forgiving of the Reagan years, but lays much of the blame for the broken peace in quick-draw Ronnie's Beirut policies. So many missed opportunities, so many leaders ooking for individual victories and to maintain political power.

There is only one other review here on LT, and it is quite dismissive. Sure, you could read this book to see what things looked like during the Carter years. Or, you could read this book because Jimmy Carter is the only American President to broker any form of peace in about 100 years. Seems like that's a good reason to start here if you want to understand this part of the world.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



65. The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church

This book seemed like it should have been a perfect fit for me - it features New Mexico, history, science, birds, m and written by a New Mexican author - how could it go wrong. But it went so gloriously wrong; so very, very, very, very wrong. I'm honestly stunned by the favorable reviews of this book, especially from the women of LT.

Titularly about the people and events of the Manhattan Project, particularly the women there, it boils down to a badly composed bodice ripper. One of the difficulties is that it appeared the author wanted the book to fit into several different marketing boxes, so that it's just a mess of everything, not sure of itself in any one place. Things looked bleak for the story when the main character starts up an affair - and I don't really care one way or another whether a character engages in extramarital affairs - in an effort to break free from the quotidian and life-sucking nature of her life. Good for her, I say. But then descriptions followed that are better placed in Penthouse Forum, and probably better written there, as well. Honestly, do we really need to know what male body crack a female puts her tongue? Or how it tasted? This is one I'd like to have pitched directly out the window while uttering several of the curse words I'd been reading in the pages.

Not Recommended!
1 bone, simply for having thought of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project, if only in passing.



66. The Preacher’s Boy by Terry Pringle

This was a recommendation from a book-seller friend of mine, and it's a good book. It follows a preacher's boy though his young years and into college, featuring the character's Saul moment as the scales fall from his eyes and he views the wide world uncolored by his father's fundamentalism. That would have been enough to endear the book to my heart. But it's also quite funny, the boy's hi-jinx causing me to laugh aloud while reading. My favorite line from the book, "He was experienced in proving he had not committed crimes he hadn't even heard about. That was what being a preacher's kid meant - existing in a state of guilt from which escape was only temporary and irregular."

Recommended!!!
3 bones!!!



67. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin

A true work of art. Bird and Sherwin take on the monumental task of understanding the life and times of easily the most important man in his century. Not one character who enters the fray here is overlooked, not in their own personal history or how theirs affected the man's.

The book is not overly scientific and still manages to educate on the topic of quantum theory. It's also quite a history of the lurches in scientific understanding over time, and the men behind them.

But the most wildly interesting component of the narrative is the politics: Oppenheimer's, the country's, and the world's. Not many of us will have our individual ethics challenged so severely as did Oppenheimer. But the cautionary tale still rings loudly for personal ethics as a driving force in life, and the consequences for making a stand; or the consequences for not making a stand when necessary. Oppenheimer falls on both ends of that spectrum, as a testament to the complexity of his character.

The book is deeply personal, and doesn't read at all like a cold, dry history. This should be mandatory reading for everyone in school. Sadly, this is a story not everyone wants told. Forget Barbie - use the time to start reading this book.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



68. Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks is easily one of the most favored film artists we have, so it was a delight to find that his creativity extends to prose. The stories are varied and interesting, unique in such subtle ways. His ear for dialog, understandably, is perfectly pitched. But it's the characters that really resound. he obviously has an understanding of the human condition, and you can see it in his screen work. But he is also patient enough, and skilled enough with the word, to demonstrate those characters on the page and over a narrative.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!

Wow, you’ve done some really good reading!

Thanks, Doc. Obviously, I thought about you as i was reading about Oppie.

Good to see you back, and with so many reviews for (mostly) good books!

Mostly. Thanks.

Thinking about you during the festive season, Mac

Thanks, Paul - hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

>59 blackdogbooks: It has been a bit quiet because the family are in the UK whilst I am in Kuala Lumpur but an enjoyable rest so far for all that.

Sometimes, quiet during these holidays is just right - I hope you enjoy it a great deal, Paul, even while missing your family.

Made it to 75 by an onion skin leaf of paper!



69. Holly by Stephen King

The only downside to King's new mystery from the Finders Keepers/Mr. Mercedes string of stories is that it suffers if you haven't read about the main character, Holly, in the previous stories. He intended this one as a Holly-only story, and it is, but much of her backstory, as described in previous tales, is glossed over or built upon without referring back. It may leave the uninitiated reader a little clueless. He's developed interesting and unique foes for Holly here - evil professors with a unique delusion which I won't spoil for you, though it becomes clear pretty early on. Maybe the ending stretches the boundaries of imagination ever so slightly. On balance, it was very nice to catchup with Holly and her friends.

Recommended (with a caveat not to start with Holly here)!
4 1/2 bones!!!!!



70. She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo belongs in the canon of great American poets, not just for her reinvigoration of Native voices, but simply because her own voice is so achingly evocative. A slim book, but powerful in its brevity. These are ones to savor one at a time over several days, and to reread many times over. These are not the typical modern verses, obscured to the point of unintelligibility. Rather, each stanza, each line, drips in layers of meaning and cut to the quick of the human condition, regardless of cultural connections, though those add another much deeper layer.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
4 1/2 bones!!!!!



71. My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit

Continuing on a quest to understand more about the Middle East and how we got to this point in history, Shavit's discourse on the history of Israel is so informative. From the late 1800s when the first Zionist movement began to establish communities in Palestine for Jewish settlers, to the explosion of violence before World War I, and up through the modern day sect-plagued Israeli politics, Shavit carefully explains the seeds of violence and hate playing out in the current news. Though an Israeli journalist, and descendant of early Zionists, Shavit is not afraid to divvy up blame where it belongs. If you think you know how Israel came to be, you probably don't have a clue.

highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



72. The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom by Henri J. M. Nouwen

A year long read of journal entries from a Dutch priest and professor as he experiences a dark night of the soul. You be hard pressed not to recognize yourself in at least one of the journal entries, and more likely will recognize much in yourself over the journey. His experiences help to focus the spirit in anguish to a new understanding of faith and spiritual being.

Highly recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



73. Gifts by Isaac Bashevis Singer

For a Nobel Laureate (1978), Isaac Bashevis Singer is almost unknown to the reading public, and it's a shame. Polish born, he writes about the Jewish experience throughout the ages, often mixing in much of the mysticism of Jewish lore. These short stories read almost as recounted parables. Even with the distinctive Jewish flavor, they are human stories about deeply conflicted and complicated people, often ones who've made grave errors in judgment and are coping with the consequences.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!



74. The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

Fourth book in the Bosch world, and a great entry in the ongoing story. Bosch investigates his mother's murder, cold for several decades. He also is on suspension and undergoing mandated psychological treatment, which significantly adds to the understanding of the character. The psychologist is a little voluble for my taste, constantly explaining Bosch to himself, but there are some great scenes with her through the book, nonetheless. Bosch's MO is sometimes a stretch and he is sometimes a little too bitter, but he's always interesting.

Recommended!!!!
4 bones!!!!



75. All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings by Gayle Boss

A unique Advent reading, focusing on nature and animals. Each selection uncovers how a specific animal survives the winter season and prepares for a reawakening in the Spring. The overall focus is on how nature demonstrates God. Every chapter includes a drawing of the animal and a poetic interlude from some spiritual thinker on the concept of nature's evidence of God.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!!

Congrats!

>62 blackdogbooks: Congratulations on reaching 75, Mac!

Thank, you two! Down from 100 last year. But still good stuff mostly.

Congrats on getting to 75! I just made it by the skin of my teeth.

And to you as well, we have a club forming, the skin of the teeth club.

;-D Fingers crossed we make 75 next year!