What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[donheff]

I enjoyed Hell or High Water by Joy Castro. The protagonist is a troubled 27 year old Cuban American reporter working at the Times Picayune after Katrina. She is assigned to write a piece about the the sex offender registry - impact on ex-cons' lives; what about the thousands who went off grid after Katrina, etc. She begins interviewing offenders at the same time that young women are turning up dead and mutilated at the hands of one of these predators. The novel digs into the minds of sexual predators and the impact on their victims and, on the way, explores a variety of facets of post Katrina New Orleans. This is more of a psychological exploration than a thriller and well worth a read.

[rescueme]

I read the obits each morning in the paper (yes, I still get the newspaper).

If I'm in it, I go back to bed ...

[Lsbcal]

I very much enjoyed Sue Grafton's V is for Vengeance: Sue Grafton: 9780425250563: Amazon.com: Books

If you haven't read any of the series you might like the female private detective in it. She is about 38, quirky, honest but not above bending the rules to get to the end result. This novel gets into a retail theft ring.

If I had to fault it, I'd say that the heroine did some things especially towards the end which seemed foolhardy, even though it was the decent thing to do.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal I very much enjoyed Sue Grafton's V is for Vengeance: Sue Grafton: 9780425250563: Amazon.com: Books If you haven't read any of the series you might like the female private detective in it. She is about 38, quirky, honest but not above bending the rules to get to the end result. This novel gets into a retail theft ring. If I had to fault it, I'd say that the heroine did some things especially towards the end which seemed foolhardy, even though it was the decent thing to do.

Thanks. I downloaded U is for Undertow from the library and put a hold on a downloadable collection of four of the series. They get good reviews on Amazon.

[Brett_Cameron]

Resplendent: Book 4 of Destiny's Children by Stephen Baxter. This is the last publication in the Xeelee Sequence.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I enjoyed Hell or High Water by Joy Castro. The protagonist is a troubled 27 year old Cuban American reporter working at the Times Picayune after Katrina. She is assigned to write a piece about the the sex offender registry - impact on ex-cons' lives; what about the thousands who went off grid after Katrina, etc. She begins interviewing offenders at the same time that young women are turning up dead and mutilated at the hands of one of these predators. The novel digs into the minds of sexual predators and the impact on their victims and, on the way, explores a variety of facets of post Katrina New Orleans. This is more of a psychological exploration than a thriller and well worth a read.

Just ran to the library for this after seeing online that it was on the shelf in spite of a 27-person waiting list. The reviews are really good. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Nemo2]

Just started The Chalk Girl, the latest in the 'Mallory' series.....great thus far.

Carol O’Connell – The Chalk Girl « Crime and Publishing

[donheff]

Very high marks for Jonathan Tropper's One Last Thing Before I Go. This is a book about guys who have been beaten down by life but still have some left. Drew Silver is a middle aged has been drummer from a one hit wonder rock band. He is divorced, his wife is getting remarried and his 18 year old daughter tells him she is pregnant. Oh, and his is going to die unless he has an operation he decided to refuse. Tropper is known for his wit and there is plenty of it here but at the same time this is an emotionally draining page turner.

[Free To Canoe]

I just finished reading an article on the genetic diversity of humans and the efforts to record this knowledge for the future. Paul Salopek won the Pulitzer for it in 1998 but it is news to me.
The Pulitzer Prizes | Basically, we are all the same (1)

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Free To Canoe I just finished reading an article on the genetic diversity of humans and the efforts to record this knowledge for the future. Paul Salopek won the Pulitzer for it in 1998 but it is news to me. The Pulitzer Prizes | Basically, we are all the same (1)

I read most of this book: Amazon.com: deep ancestry: Books

It discusses some of the recent genetic findings. Very interesting with some maps and discussion of the ongoing reseach. Some of this is more then I wanted to get into but the book not to many pages.

The author I think correctly pointed out that drawing "we are all the same" conclusions is a bit too simple.

[donheff]

The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell introduces a good new character for me in the person of Karen Mallory, a brilliant but flawed NYC detective. In this case se is pursuing a perp who strung several 20 somethings up in trees to die of thirst. Sort of a noirish view of police corruption, evil richies, psycho teen-agers. I will be ordering more of the Mallory series.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I will be ordering more of the Mallory series.

Best to start with the first one and read them in sequence.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Best to start with the first one and read them in sequence.

+1. I love Mallory (first name is Kathy, right? But the character prefers only Mallory) and you don't really need the backstory but might as well start at the beginning and get it. I find this series a little difficult to read for some reason--somewhat sparely written, in a good way, imho-- but everything gets nicely woven together at the end.

I'm about halfway through Chalk Girl myself.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever But the character prefers only Mallory) and you don't really need the backstory but might as well start at the beginning and get it.

Yes, one can start practically any series at any point and pick up the gist of it......but starting at the beginning, (although many aspects are repeated throughout, perhaps for the benefit of new readers, or those who might need a reminder or three), always allows one to follow the evolution, and Mallory's childhood experiences factor large in her personality.

[John Galt III]

"Life". The autobiography of Keith Richards, a guitar player in the rock band The Rolling Stones. Very interesting so far. It's spoken word on disk. First several chapters are read by Johnny Depp, then Richards takes over. Not boring at all. But not even half way through it yet.

[ohyes]

Travels with Epicurus. Author is Daniel Klein.

A friend recommended it and I was sad when the book was over. It is a short gentle read, musings on old age and and old old age. I think it is a semi-must read for aging humans.

[donheff]

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is a find. From the Amazon description: "A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore."
It is a mystery, a quest, and a mixed-up twenty something novel all in one. Fun read.

[Lsbcal]

DW recommended mystery books by the British author Peter Robinson to me. So I looked it up on Wikipedia and decided to start in the middle of the series with: In a Dry Season (Inspector Banks Novels): Peter Robinson: 9780380794775: Amazon.com: Books

There are lots of flashbacks between the 1990's current and the WW2 era. A skeleton is found after a drained reservoir exposes an abandoned small town in the Yorkshire area. Very well written and I really enjoyed it. The plotting and events were well done. I think this is a decent place to start the Inspector Banks series if you don't want to start at the beginning. There is a chronological listing of the series here: Peter Robinson (novelist) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[imoldernu]

Am no longer into reading current books, but this story,
SnowFall... The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek,
an extended tale of skiing that was in the New York Times on December 20th, is a gripping tale of an actual event.
Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com

It's a captivating story of real life, with many characters, and filled with suspense. There are several chapters, interspersed with videos, and pictures.

I would suggest bookmarking the link, for reading at a time when you can devote about an hour to the story.

Especially interesting to skiers, but an adventure for anyone, including this geezer.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Galt III "Life". The autobiography of Keith Richards, a guitar player in the rock band The Rolling Stones. Very interesting so far. It's spoken word on disk. First several chapters are read by Johnny Depp, then Richards takes over. Not boring at all. But not even half way through it yet.

I just finished the hardcopy. When he talks about guitars he might as well be writing in Urdu, but it probably means something to a guitar player who knows about five-string open tuning.

I'm impressed how these guitarists all sit around playing each other's recordings and trying to duplicate their chords by ear. There's no conventions or seminars-- just a bunch of guys showing each other about 90% of their tricks (and almost always holding back one, or coming up with something new).

The rest of the book is amazing... one page after another, realizing that the man has no reason to be alive.

For those who are wondering, he attributes his survival to ingesting only the highest-quality pharma-pure cocaine & heroin. Anything "less" would've killed him. He was willing to compromise on almost everything else (marijuana, uppers, downers, booze) but the first two had to be pure.

He estimates that for a number of years he'd stay awake on cocaine & heroin for several days and only slept twice a week, admittedly crashing for 10-15 hours. His record at staying awake was nine days... but he got a lot done!