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
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
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.
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.
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