Thursday, January 30, 2020

STILL MORE Book to be rid of (2020)!

Once again I am trying to get rid of 100 books over the next few months. Since I can barely part with any book I am listing them with a 1 line comment on each one!

LIBRARY

Time 1997 The Year in Review - Editors of Time  - Long time ago....

S is for Silence - Sue Grafton - Don't remember but I bet I read it!

Inside HBOs Game of Thrones - Bryan Cogman - OK but only covers first two seasons or so.

The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown - Great book (his latter were OK) but I'll watch the movie if I want to revisit it.

Clock Without a Face - Gus Twintig  - House Shaped book with a mystery - too obtuse for me

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook - Dinah Buckholz - I don't cook/

 
RECYCLE BIN - YES - BOOKS I AM THROWING AWAY - HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL 

We collected multiple guides to Disney parks before our trips:

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 1994 - Might be out of date?

Fodor's Walt Disney World with Kids 2004 - Might be out of date?

the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2004 - Might be out of date?

the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World for Grown-Ups  - Might be out of date - although it is the 2nd edition from 2001!
 
Back in the early 2000's I did some work on a traffic light controller and bought books on ICs - only later did I hear the expression = "Oh! ICs are so seventies". Seems a shame to discard a book with is almost 50 years old but...


Analog Integrated Circuits - Sidney Soclof  - 1985.

Manual for Integrated Circuit Users - John Lenk  - 1973



Integrated Circuits: A User's Handbook - Michael Cirovic - 1977

Integrated Circuits Projects - Charles D. Rakes - 1975


SIRS34

Dunkirk - Joshua Levine - I saw the movie - also I don't like reading about defeats and retreats - even if it came out all right in the end.

The Greatest Generation - Tom Brokaw - Read parts but the theme is that ordinary people did extraordinary things - yes - but reading about the ordinary things was somewhat boring.

By my count I am at 71 books in the lists - although I fear a posting of books may have been lost!



Friday, January 17, 2020

Friday, January 17, 2020

MORE Book to be rid of (2020)!

Once again I am trying to get rid of 100 books over the next few days. Since I can barely part with any book I am listing them with a 1 line comment on each one!

LIBRARY

The Book of Speculation - Erika Swyler  -weird book about a family of circus performers who die by drowning on various years on July 24.

V is for Vengeance - Sue Grafton - Don't know if I even read this one?

The Perfect Horse - Elizabeth Letts - WWII  story of rescuing horses - I am more interested in people.

Home Landscaping - Garrett Eckbo - a text book from a course I took about 30+ years ago - not a great study.

What If - Randall Monroe - A book of speculations about if numbers were different. OK - not great.

The Cutthroat - Clive Cussler and Justing Scott - typical Cussler - Isaac Bell

Tales by Mail - Karen Cartier - a collection of tales each headed by a stamp image

Newcomers Handbook - Minneapolis-St. Paul - bought before our trip - more about moving there than visiting - fairly useless.

Morning Glory - Sarah Jio - easy read about Seattle houseboat living and mystery about former occupants of houseboat.

Railroad Schemes - Cecelia Holland - scruffy orphan, criminal who takes her under his wing, adventures - kinda pointless.

Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking Book 3 - I am too old to learn!

2006 Scotts Specialized Catalogue - bought by mistake as I already had a 2011 catalogue.

Dawn to Dark Photography - National Geographic - sent to me by my bank by mistake - better pictures on the internet!

Cat Under Fire - Shirley Rosseau Murphy - Talking, scheming pair of cats set out to solve a murder.  I can't get into this book and I give up!

Two-Minute Mysteries - Donald Sobol - given to me by Vickie in November - I read the mysteries - solvewd a few - and had fun with the anachronisms from a book written in 1967.

Encyclopedia of United States Stamps and Collecting - Juell and Rod, ed. - Book is so good I paid full price to get the 2nd edition - this book sells for $10-20 on ebay.


SEND TO ROBIN

How to Care for Aging Parents - Virginia Morris - I'm not going to be doing this and Robin is.

Andersen's Fairy Tales - Troy Howell (ill.) - beautiful book but with almost no pictures!

Disney Children Favorites V1. V2, V3, V4 - Maybe the kids will like - I wonder if there are supposed to be CDs which go along with this?

Collecting Stamps - Alan James - maybe I create and heir for my stamps?

Rail Workers - Junior Engineer Guide - Colorado Railroad Museum - trains anyone?

Locomotives - Junior Engineer Guide - Colorado Railroad Museum - trains anyone?

Firefighters - Their Lives in Their Own Words - Dennis Smith - maybe for Jeremy.


SEND TO CARRIE

Carrie - I have spared you the onslaught but if there are books you want let me know!




Sunday, January 5, 2020

Book to be rid of (2019)!

Once again I am trying to get rid of 100 books over the next few days. Since I can barely part with any book I am listing them with a 1 line comment on each one!

LIBRARY

TIME - the year in Review - 2007 - So much has happened since then!

Farmer Buckley's Exploding Trowsers - New Scientist - weird stuff but so what - I am old and grumpy!

A Separate Peace - John Knowles - read summaries - too vile and depressing - this is actually a library copy which we lost - got them a new one and then found.

The Royal Wulff Murders - Keith McCafferty - a murder mystery fly fishing mood book which drags on forever - I did not finish. Actually sent to me by Maxine - sorry Macky.

I, Steve - Steven Jobs in His Own Words - visionary jerk and asshole - products very frustrating to use.

My Husband's Sweethearts - Bridget Asher - could not get into this book.

Todd Borg - a self published writer from the Tahoe area who sells books at quilt shows (obviously the first place to seek books. I enjoyed the Tahoe setting and characters but after several books found the plots sometime to thin or contrived so I only read a few.

The Heat - Todd Borg

Tahoe Death Fall - Todd Borg

Tahoe Silence - Todd Borg

The Night - Todd Borg

Corrupted Science - Fraud, ideology and politics in science - John Grant.

Summer of Pearls - Mike Blakely - a nice but pointless novel of a summer in the 1870s. Good mood piece.

Destiny and Power -Jon Meacham - biography of George H W Bush - a gift of Dan and Carrie - I tried but could not get into it.

Infants and Mothers - T Berry Brazelton - Baby development - gotten when Alex was little - now with grand kids (at least the first 5) beyond these stages I am passing this on.

A Child is Born - Lennart Nilsson - famous old book on in utero development but see last comment.

What If? - Robert Cowley, ed. - a collection of essays which sometimes ramble more then they speculate or extrapolate.

Origin - Dan Brown - typical Brown material.

Dragon - Michael Crichton - early work - entertaining but not great.

Sex With Kings - Eleanor Herman - Second copy of this book - am keeping one. Very interesting - makes the points that Kings were forced into loveless politically motivated marriages. They had mistresses and this was actually accepted and reasonable. Some mistresses were very well treated and respected - others not so much. Prince Charles got caught in middle of changing times - he had to marry a virgin but his extramarital behavior was not acceptable. I actually felt a little sorry for him.

The Way Things Work V1 - fun book but I will use the internet from now on.

The Puzzle Instinct - Marcel Danesi - I like puzzles more than I like reading about them.

Why Popcorn Casts So Much at the Movies - Richard McKenzie - One of Dan's MBA textbooks - it has some very interesting points to ponder.

Osxana's Journey - Grace Devnich - story of a pioneer woman and the travails of living in an earlier age.

Sailors, Waterways and Tugboats I have known - Fred Godfrey - nice but written in a young adult mode.

Everybody Always - Bob Goff - book by a lawyer advocating social justice and respect - does anyone else see the contradiction?

A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly - a mashup of a murder mystery and a coming of age for a young girl in 1906. Includes shades of feminism which seem unlikely. I read this book but did not like it. Turned out we were on vacation with other couples and Sue had read it along with her high school students. I raised many objections and Sue finally put me in my place - she turned to me and said "I said I read it - I didn't say I liked it!"

SIRS34

The Rising Sea - Clive Cussler +... - NUMA files - usual fare.

The Romanov Ransom - Clive Cussler +... - Sam and Remi Fargo adventure.

Atlantis Found - Clive Cussler - Dirk Pitt adventure.*

The Haunted Season - G M Mallet - Book looks intriguing - Ive tried 3x to get into it but I bog down - I give up.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot - very interesting story of growing up black and poor, struggling to make ends meet, urban poor, black culture, and medical science. There is an interesting conflict in the book. Was Mrs. Lacks treated the way she was because she was black - or because it was the 1950s?

Target Rabaul - Bruce Gamble - Now I read a LOT of WWII literature (and watch the History Channel) but this book was just too much detail for me (and it is the third volume of a set!)

So here are the first 32 books I am "passing on" (I cannot say "getting rid of" - too harsh)! 32 down, 68 to go.

Monday Dec. 23, 2019 AD.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Books to Library - February  26, 2016 AD

I am cleaning out the office and have decided to get rid of as many books as I can force myself to do.  Many of these books are unread - partially read, started and dropped, or just plain skipped.  I was raised that this is a mortal sin - but we shall see!

Loving Frank - Nancy Horan - book about Frank Lloyd Wright, OK, sad fire murder, read parts.
Holy Bible - God? - got at dollar store - print is too small to read - but can't throw it away!
Mr. Churchill's Secretary - Susan Elia MacNeal - good WWII fiction intrigue book from SIRS
Bowling Across America - Mike Walsh - who cares - read parts
The Year That Changed the World - Michael Meyer - 1989 - fall of the Berlin wall - read in parts
The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan - gift from Brett - long, slow moving series - many books - I read about half of this and gave up - sorry Brett.
Windows XP Pro - who cares
Webster's New World Dictionary - use the internet
animate Journal - book from Bible study - never used - sorry, God.
Disciplined Minds - Jeff Schmidt - about graduate students beind abused and killing professors - Dwight Nicholson case discussed at length as well as Stanford murder - from Fletcher Goldin
Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity - John Stossel - too arrogant - never read!
Kathy Reichs - Deja Dead - Bones originator but too long, too depressing - never read.
Life Animated - Ron Suskind - one of two copies - about GKTW founder, holacaust survivor.
The Girl Who Chased the Moon - Sarah Addison Allen - chick lit? - I did not read
Capitalism and Freedom - Milton Friedman - during my self betterment phase bought this book - never read it!
The Couples Comfort Book - Jennifer Louden - too late!
IBS For Dummies - Carolyn Dean - didn't help!
Abdication - Juliet Nicolson - a gift about England in the 1930's - I did not read - mea culpa.
White Mischief - James Fox - saw a movie - bought book - couldn't get into it. About 1930s Englich diplomats in Africa - based on a true story - murder unsolved!
Hong Kong Step by Step - bought for Dan's trip.
The Weird Sisters - Elanor Brown - Diane read - I didn't.

Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James - bought for Diane who read it - I read book 1 - got bored!
Practical Classics - Kevin Smokler - bought at his SIRs talk - couldn't get into!
LIFE Picture Puzzle - didn't like - giving away.
The Character of Physical Law - Richard Feynman - gift from Bill Berner - read a long time ago
QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - Richard Feynman - from Berner - don't know if I read it?
Wild Frie - Nelson DeMille - never read - some sort of action adventure book with conspiracies?
What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Richard Feynman - from Berner - read a long time ago
Anthen - Neal Stephenson  - beats me?
Eye of the World - Robert Jordan - more unread Wheel of Time
Idiot's Guide - Father of the Bride - summary - "shut up and pay, pay, pay!" - been there done that
The UltraSimple Diet - Mark Hyman - simple my ass!
Hero At Large - Janet Evanovich - romance - don't know if I ever read it.
Twenty Wishes - Debbie Macomber - don't remember?
The Castaways - Elin Hilderbrand - beach murder mystyer - not bad
Imagining Space - Launius and McCurdy - space picture book


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Title: The Solomon Curse (A Sam and Remi Fargo Adventure) - Clive Cussler and Russel Blake
Genre:  Action / Adventure
Date read:  October, 2015

Typical Clive Cussler joint author book.  It is set in Guadalcanal with a few WWII references and some legacy characters.  Prequel chapters (there are two) were good, action okay although I have not been in a jungle recently.

Local politics a bit confusing and I did'nt get the market manipulation part of the book.  Treasure hunt was okay but the exploration of the ruins and subsequent discoveries were not detailed - more about the backroads and revolutionaries.

Rating (0-10): 7 - I made it through and it helped on a plane flight.
Disposition: Give to SIRS

Title: The Bootlegger (An Isaac Bell Adventure) - Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
Genre:  Action / Adventure
Date read:  Summer, 2015

Isaac Bell prior to his marriage gets involved with a bootlegger in the New York streets and harbor.  VanDorn is shot early on and the question throughout the book is "will he survive?"

 No steam engines and only slightly evokes the gilded age for me.

Rating (0-10): 7 - I made it through, OK but not Dirk Pitt.
Disposition: Give to SIRS
Title: Piranha (A Novel if the Oregon Files) - Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison
Genre:  Action / Adventure
Date read:  Summer, 2015

I read and enjoyed this last summer but to be honest I barely remember anything.  Something about sunken ship in Cuban harbor.  Scientific breakthrough hidden for ages - fighting breaks ou upon the attempt to recover technology?

Rating (0-10): 7 - I made it through.
Disposition: Give to SIRS
Title: Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill - Gretchen Rubin
Genre:  Biography
Date read:  Fall, 2015

Weird book - each chapter contradicts the previous.  Not a biography in the chronological or traditional sense - rather a series of essays.  I still do not know some of the basic facts on Churchill and his life.

Yet the book is oddly fascinating and thought provoking.  I have a better feel for the man with all his foibles and flaws.  His first love (almost only) is the British empire.  The fascinating revelation to me from this book is that Churchill's overwhelming goal in fighting WWII was to preserve the empire.  The terrible irony  is that while successfully "winning" the war he actually brought about the (perhaps inevitable) dissolution of that empire.  He reminded me of the father in Downtown Abbey - the world is changing all around him and he is unable to stop it.  Perhaps Chamberlain was right?

Rating (0-10): 8 - Plowed through but it enhanced my perspective of WWII, Churchill, Roosevelt, and that era..
Disposition: Keep with WWII books.
Title: Top Secret Twenty-One - Janet Evanovich
Genre:  Mystery
Date read:  Summer, 2015

Typical Stephanie Plum fare

Rating (0-10): 6 - Did finish but mostly forgot.
Disposition: Give to SIRS.
Title: 3rd Degree - James Patterson and Andrew Gross
Genre:  Mystery
Date read:  Fall, 2015

Short chapters - house blows up.  Business executives murdered.  Tension mounts leading up the the G8 conference in San Francisco.  Nice ambiance of the city.  References to radicals in Seattle and Berkeley.  A bit to right wing for me but enjoyable.

Rating (0-10): 7 - Read in OKC - helped with plane flight
Disposition: Keep for Diane.
Title: The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
Genre:  Mystery, chic-lit?
Date read:  Summer, 2015

Woman (alcholic) sees something from a moving train.  Murder?  Gets all intertwined with her ex husband and his new lover / wife.  One never quite knows what to believe since the woman is alcoholic and befuddled.  Still don't quite know what happened and I don't care.

Rating (0-10): 5 - Plowed through - not satisfying.
Disposition: Return to Diane.
Title: The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty
Genre:  Mystery, chic-lit?
Date read:  Summer, 2015

SPOILERS
Interesting characters.  Plot mystery - what happened to that girl almost twenty years ago?  Mundane husband - wife interactions but actually enjoyable.  Then comes the big reveal - the husband's secret. He accidentally, inadvertently, sorta, slightly, kinda broke his girlfriend's neck and left the dead body in a park.  Many people where hurt by this act but, hey, it was a long time ago.  He's got a family now and they guy they all suspected didn't go to jail.  So we'll just let it be!

Rating (0-10): 6 - OK mystery, characters interesting, denoument awful.
Disposition: Return to Diane.
Title: Attack on Pearl Harbor Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions - Alan Zimm
Genre:  nonfiction
Date read:  Summer, 2015

This and the next book came out 2008 and 2005 and offer new perspectives on WWII and two main battles.  A key point is that these books looked at the Japanese sources and not just the US ones. 

The Pearl Harbor book has the primary message that the Japanese weren't that smart - we were just stupid and careless.  He debunks myths (the harbor could have been blocked, oil storage tanks destroyed greatly prolonging the war, Japanese were omniscient about the future of carrier warfare etc.).  He points to a lot of missed opportunities and miscalculations.

A key point - they wanted to shock us into a negotiated peace by destroying battleships for their image value - they new the ships would be back in service after say 6-12 months.  They started a war they had no way to win.

He reviews and updates the reputations of several of the leaders, Nagumo, Yamamoto,etc.

Rating (0-10): 8 - New perspectivies on WWII and Pearl Harbor
Disposition: Keep.
Title: Shattered Sword - The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway - Parshall and Tully
Genre:  nonfiction
Date read:  Summer, 2015

This and the previous book came out 2008 and 2005 and offer new perspectives on WWII and two main battles.  A key point is that these books looked at the Japanese sources and not just the US ones. 

The authors review the planning, execution, and aftermath of Midway.  Key points:

Counting the planes at Midway there was near parity between US and IJN planes - this was not a David and Goliath fight.

Japanese planning was severly flawed.  Japan suffered from "victory disease", after the battle authors suffered from "increadible victory disease".

The battle was pivotal but had the US lost the outcome of the war would not have changed.  The IJN lost at Pearl Harbor.

IJN damage control sucked.

They dispute much of what Fuchida says, they discredit him.  Carriers were not in the configurations claimed when the attacks arrived.

They show how the ship and plane counts were evenly matched but they do not really deal with the quality issue - were the Japanese better, more skilled - why didn't they win - were we just luckier?

Rating (0-10): 8 - New perspectives on WWII and Midway.
Disposition: Keep.

Todd Borg - Tahoe Series

Diane and I met Todd Borg at a quilt/sewing show in Pleasanton - he is self published with about a dozen books out with a retired detective, Owen McKenna, his dog, girlfriend, and other folks living in the Tahoe area.  I've read three of his books and will continue with them.  Enjoyable - the local aspect, the characters, thd super large dog.  Now - he does a number of things that would make Dirk Pitt run home to mommy, he takes the dog along into ridiculous situations  while sometimes leaving him home when he would be useful.  He waxes poetic about cosmology and general relativity and the artwork on his walls and books which is sometimes annoying.  His endings seem to abrupt - after all the action I would like more of a cleanup.  Still - I like him - and for me that is saying something.

I will be reading more of his work.

Tahoe BlowUp - fires in the lake area - pruchased and signed! - keep
Tahoe Killshot - pop star Glory murdered on a bike trail - library book - returned
Tahoe Hijack - kidnapping on a boat - missing gold - militias - library book - returned


Saturday, May 9, 2015

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith = J. K. Rowling
Genre:  Mystery
Date read:  April, 2015

Awful book.  I was very disappointed.  Maybe even worse than Casual Vacancy!
Very slow and plodding - if this is social satire I didn't get it.

For most of the book nothing happened - interview upon interview.  Finally at the very end he announces whodunit - reaction was not "ah ha" but rather "oh @#$@". Lead character was more pathetic than likable

Note: JKR - if you are reading this I absolutely loved Harry Potter - even flew to OK from CA to read book 7 with my daughter.  I don't dislike all your books, but...

Rating (0-10): 0 - I plowed through because it was JK Rowling but no redeeming features!
Disposition: Give to library


Title: Like Any Normal Day - Mark Kram, Jr.
Genre:  Nonfiction / Sports / Disability / Suicide
Date read:  April, 2015

Very moving and poignant story of a high school football player paralyzed in an on field "accident?".  Book covers his life for the next 23 years dealing with his injuries and ultimately his death by Kevorkian suicide (no spoilers here - this occurs in the first few pages).

No - I did not cry - but the story certainly highlighted issues and questions of life and love in a very thought provoking way.  I love watching football but...

Rating (0-10): 8 - Good read and I will take away something from this book.
Disposition: Keep and try to loan out! 

Title: The Lovers Knot - Claire O'Donohue
Genre:  Mystery / Quilting
Date read:  April, 2015

Quilt store mystery - woman - ex fiance - grandma - dog - handsome sheriff - etc.  Slow moving but entertaining.

A Someday Quilts Mystery.

Rating (0-10): 6 - Good read.
Disposition: Keep for Diane


Title: The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre:  Fiction / Adventure
Date read:  December 2014

I read this book because I worked with Andy's father, John, for many years.  I even bought a Volkswagen bus from John and gave him a woodlathe.  My copy of the book is signed!

Good book with lots of chemistry, physics, biology, engineering.  Technical and sometimes slow moving.  Not a nail biter - soon to be a major motion picture.

Rating (0-10): 7 - good, not great
Disposition: Keep and try to loan out!


Title: Making the Rounds with Oscar - David Dosa
Genre:  Nonfiction
Date read:  December 2014

Very interesting book about a cat who lives in a nursing home and senses approaching death.  Book is much more about old age, geriatric care, and people than it is about the cat named Oscar.  Very interesting and thought provoking.  I am trying to get others to read this book.

Rating (0-10): 9 - Moving, inspiring, interesting.
Disposition: Keep and try to loan out!


Title: The Struggle for Guadalcanal - Samuel Eliot Morison (1949) (Volume V in the series)
Genre:  History
Date read:  Fall, 2014

Interesting to read book written just four years after the war.  Emphasizes how touch and go things were.  No necessarily politically correct in some of its references to the combatants.

P. 372: "and the number of Japanese sailors lost in the vicious sea battles will never be known, because such matters do not interest the Japanese."

Rating (0-10): 8 - Interesting - both for history and perspective.
Disposition: Keep for now.



Title: The Story of  World War II - Donald L. Miller & others (1945, 2001)
Genre:  History
Date read:  Fall, 2014

This book emphasizes the brutality of war and not the glory - gives a different perspective and makes the WW II experience much more akin to that of our gulf war and Afghanistan veterans.  PTSD is not new.  WW II was a great, heroic crusade in the history books but it was horrible for the men on the ground, sea, and air.

P. 610: "The paradoxical effect of the decisive American victory at Okinawa was to discourage the Americans "while inspiring the Japanese""

Rating (0-10): 8 - Interesting - both for history and perspective.
Disposition: Keep for now.


Title: Absolute Victory - Time Magazine (2005)
Genre:  History
Date read:  Spring, 2015

Book emphasizes the victory as opposed to the previous books which emphasized the brutality.  Europe and Germany centric - Midway gets only a brief mention.

Rating (0-10): 7 - Interesting - both for history and perspective.
Disposition: Keep for now.
 Title: USS Iowa art War - Kit & Carolyn Bonner
Genre:  History
Date read:  Spring, 2015

Visited the Iowa in mid April and bought this glossy book about the ship.  Interesting to read about battleships since most of WW II literature is aircraft centric.

Ship's entire history was covered including the tragic explosion in 1989 including the investigations and changing conclusions.

My strongest impression of the Iowa was how small it was.  It is 887' long, 108' wide.  Walking at 4 MPH (~20000'/3600s = ~5'/second) one can cross the ship in 20 seconds, go the full length in 3 minutes.  And with so many men on board everything is crowded.  Very interesting anyway - now I want to go see the Hornet Aircraft Carrier in Alameda.

Rating (0-10): 7 - Interesting - especially when visiting the ship
Disposition: Keep for now.
 

Saturday, December 13, 2014

NOTE:  I am depressed at the number of books which sucked!  Is this because of my mood, our choices in literature, or something else.  But remember these are the books I am donating to the library - maybe I keep the good ones?
 
APOLOGY:  My apologies to the library for donating so many sucky books - but maybe others will like them!
 
Title: How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Genre:  Mystery
Date read:  November, 2014

Started well - Canadian police officer investigating a murder.  Backstory about a previous incident in his career and police corruption.  Plot about a plan to blow up a bridge.  Mystery town outside big city where people live in seclusion.  Much ado about the quintuplets.

Unfortunately the story became muddled.  The bomb plot was absurd.  The backstory on corruption was hinted at repeatedly but not explained.  Ultimately I do NOT recommend this book.

Rating (0-10): 4 - Started well but ultimately flopped.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe
Genre:  Chick-Lit?  Romance?
Date read:  September, 2014

I got this book in the hopes of enjoying the ambiance of beach life as I remembered from my youth.

Woman with husband and two kids summers at beach house.  She tracks sea turtle nests and finally makes ends meet with the turtle guy who, naturally, is then killed in a plane crash.  She reconnects with her husband and gets beaten.  But she stays - why - because she is an idiot.

Rating (0-10): 3 - Heroine a fool - I want to eat some sea turtles after this book!.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Knockdown by Sarah Graves
Genre:  Mystery
Date not read:  November, 2014

Book was about beach house, summer, house restoration.  Again I liked the proffered ambiance.  But...twice I started this book, second time I got halfway through before quitting.

Female "heroine" has a past which comes back to haunt her.  The potential assailant is disgusting.  In order to demonstrate how bad he is she has him murder a few people along the way - the girl's death reminded me of A Casual Vacancy - very sad.  By the time I gave up on this book I was hoping both the antagonist and the heroine would die!

Rating (0-10): 2 - Repugnant characters - I wanted them all to die!.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Havana Storm by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
Genre:  Action Adventure
Date read:  December, 2014

Reasonable CC book with usual first chapter historical event followed by action on the sea and under the sea.  Featured Dirk Pitt's two kids.  Story centered around undersea mining of high grade uranium ore near Cuba and a mesoamerican treasure whose location is revealed by a broken stone.

Rating (0-10): 7 - Good CC fare - nice to have main characters and not others in the CC family but I did not find the story riveting.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Genre:  Chick-Lit?  Romance?
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

Woman is no Southern Belle - she loves her sweets hidden in the closet.  That is - until she discovers someone hiding in the closet.  Story revolves on this relationship.

Rating (0-10): 6 - Good read but ultimately sad ending - no great magic.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Genre:  Chick-Lit?  Romance?
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

Sidney returns from bad marriage with kid - there is an apple tree in the back yard.  Book is a nice mood piece.

Rating (0-10): 7 - Good read with some magic.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: someday this pain will be useful to you by Peter Cameron
Genre:  ?
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

About a screwed up loner kid who starts out screwed up - continues screwed up - and ends up screwed up.  Diane recommended this book so I did read it but...

Rating (0-10): 5 - A totally pointless book - read enjoyable at points.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Finding Serenity by Jane Espenson (ed.)
Genre:  nonfiction, commentary
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

A set of essays on the Firefly / Serenity series - too cerebral for me so I read only some of the essays.  Serenity was a great show.

Rating (0-10): 6 - Had its moments but too much philosophy read into stories.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Mounting Lenses in Optical Instruments by Paul R. Yoder Jr.
Genre:  nonfiction
Date read:  not read

Just to be complete - am donating this book.

Rating (0-10): NR
Disposition: Give to library

Title: The Mayan Secrets - A Fargo Adventure by Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry
Genre:  Action Adventure
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

Don't remember much but CC books are always good to read.

Rating (0-10): 7
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Low Pressure by Sandra Brown
Genre:  Mystery
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

Good mystery - got us started on Sandra Brown,  Girls sister is killed at company picnic before a tornado - she investigates.

Rating (0-10): 8  Interesting mystery
Disposition: Give to library

Title: The Thrill of Victory by Sandra Brown
Genre:  Romance
Date read:  Somewhere in Time

Female tennis player and sportswriter hate each other - she gets sick - they hook up - live happily ever after?.

Rating (0-10): 3  Women can't be this dumb!  Still an OK read.
Disposition: Give to library

Title: Unbroken
Genre:  Nonfiction WWII
Date read:  December, 2014

Teenage delinquent, olympic runner, becomes pilot.  Ditches in the Pacific in 1943, drifts 47 days.  Spends two years in a Japanese prison camp.  Gets out, has PTSD, gets religion, does well.  Book made me so angry at the Japs.  Had to jump ahead to reassure myself of a happy ending after all the suffering.

Rating (0-10): 8  Kept reading to find the happy ending
Disposition: Give to Jeremy.