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D'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2012
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JANUARY1.
Carl HiaasenFinish Date: 4 January 2012
Genre: Humorous Crime Fiction
Rating: B
Review: A witty tale of 'what goes around, comes around' set in the Florida Keys and Everglades. Filled with a cast of characters who all experience significant changes in the first two weeks after Chaz's wife goes missing from a cruise ship. While I really enjoyed the story as told by the author, I did find the ending a bit predictable and a little to neat.
2.
(no photograph)Peter RansleyFinish Date: 8 January 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: A young man, born during the plague of 1625 searches for his biological parents. Set during the lead up to the English Civil War, the novel provides a wonderful window of the life of pamphleteers and their power of the written word. It also provides a glimpse at the difficulties Peers experienced when standing on the fine line between the Divine Right of Kings and Parliament.
3.
M.C. BeatonFinish Date: 14 January 2012
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B
Review: Hamish Macbeth's 28th case includes all the usual characters, but also some involved in prior cases. This one isn't solved in a short period of time, and his love interests are not featured as prominently, letting the case overshadow the copper's private life.
It's not a perfect book, but it's been a while where I was wrong about how it would end.
I'll have to look for that one, D. I have read many in that series but this one sound just a bit different.
4.
(no photograph)Ted BarrisFinish Date: 15 January 2012
Genre: Military, History, Biography
Rating: B
Review: As a long time activist, journalist Ted Barris explains how he met veterans and was able to get them to speak about things they had never shared or were uncomfortable doing so. While I doubt it was his intention, the book comes off as a bit self-important, but the stories do tug at the heart. Ultimately, this is a eulogy to Armistice Day and the poor treatment of veterans, especially those who worked behind the scenes of combat.
I think you forgot the format in your last post, D.
I meant to click on addbook/author and hit post instead.
I thought so since you are right on target with your other posts.
Mod
5.
(no photograph) Harriet O'BrienFinish Date: 17 January 2012
Genre: History, 11th C England
Rating: B
Review: I'm torn on how to assess this book. I enjoyed the flow of the words, I was annoyed by authors 'envisioning' of an event in the present tense, while the historical account in the past tense. Also, readers who do not like the passive voice might get their knickers in a twist. Having said that, it seems like a credible account about a Queen who is hardly mentioned in historical text. But for her own commissioned book, we would know next to nothing about her or how her sons became Kings.
I do think it could have used some additional supporting arguments. This is not a deep analysis and there is a great deal of room for counter-arguments. It would serve well for someone simply looking for basic knowledge of Emma, her relations, a bit about 11th C politics and how the privileged lived.
6.
(no author photographs) Kari Maund & Phil NansonFinish Date: 21 January 2012
Genre: History, Biography of Fictional Characters
Rating: B
Review: The first part of the book is about the real men and some of the women in Dumas's famous novels. The second part is about how Dumas's main source - Courtilz - came about his information. This is followed by how Dumas came to writing the books, which turns into a bit defense for collaborative writing, then flows back into explanations of other works by the author. The book ends with a chapter that critiques interpretations of The Three Musketeers and its sequels, plays and films.
I felt that after the history of D'Artagnan, the rest of the book seems a race to get to the last two chapters - defending Dumas's choices as an author and the critiques. It does however; seem to do a thorough job of detailing who D'Artagnan really was and the importance that Gascony played in the works and the real history of the real Musketeers.
The most unfortunate thing about this book is the need for a new copy editor. Dates are often reversed (i.e. in some places they say 1565 rather than 1656), there are quite a few typos, and someone is as bad at maths as I am - "Bertrand and Francoise had six children: four boys and three girls." (from page 15) I had to read that three times to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong.
Overall, I did find what information there was about the real personages to be very intriguing, I just wish there was more. Maybe more about what the real Musketeers (generally) got up to - perhaps that's a topic for another book.
That looks like a good one, D even though the proofreader/editor seemed to have his attention on other things!!! I hate to say it but those types of mistakes really put me off. I read one last year that was full of not only proofing mistakes but just plain errors which had to be the fault of the author. It caused me to give the book a much lower rating......maybe unfairly.
I always anticipate the odd typo, but in this case, it started to feel like a chore trying to keep the dates straight, which probably impacted on how I felt about the book generally. It was easier to read the analysis once the history part of the book as it didn't depend on dates. I debated giving it a C+ but then decided to go strictly on content. I guess I've set a precedent for myself though. Hmmm...
D wrote: "6. (no author photographs) Kari Maund & Phil NansonFinish Date: 21 Januar..."
Were there 3 or 4 musketeers? hahaha...Just thought I would ask since they had six children, 4 boys and 3 girls? ;) Yes, I can see why that might take away from the story. The book does sound interesting though.
I am adding books to my to read list from your posts! All of them look really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
D wrote: "2.(no photograph)Peter RansleyFinish Date: 8 January 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
A young man, born during the plague of 1625 search..."
Adding this one. Thanks. I had never heard of it before.
7.
Kate BeatonFinish Date: 22 January 2012
Genre: History, Humour, Literary Criticism, Comics
Grade: A
Review: This is a compilation of comic strips about history and classical literature (with nods to current events and 'sexy' vampires). This political history strips are mostly set in Canadian context, but the rest is more globally situated.
The author's commentaries add flavour to the strips and provide insight to her life from childhood to university. An excellent pairing of her historical degree and skills as an artist.
(and blissfully, typo-free)
D wrote: "2.(no photograph)Peter RansleyFinish Date: 8 January 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
A young man, born during the plague of 1625 search..."
Adding this one. Thanks. I had never heard of it before.
Neither had I, but when it literally jumped out at me (i.e. fell from the aeroport bookshop shelf) I thought I should grab it. I do think that bookshop's shelves are rigged though as books often fall off their shelves, and for some reason I always end up finding the subject matter interesting.
Turns out it's also the first of series. The second one
Peter Ransley will be released in March.
D wrote: "D wrote: "2.(no photograph)Peter RansleyFinish Date: 8 January 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
A young man, born during the plague of 1625 search..."
Adding this one. Thanks. I had neve..."
I love when I find a book that way :). Thanks for the suggestions. Pretty neat that it will be a series.
Peter Ransley
Mod
by Peter RansleyThank you for doing the correction on D's thread.
8.
(no author photograph) William RyanFinish Date: 30 January 2012
Genre: Detective & Policy Mystery, Historical Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I received this from the publisher as an ARC in September 2010, but between my workload, class load and thesis I didn't get around to it until now, which is a shame because I quite like it.
Set in pre-WWII Moscow, and during Stalin's newest 5 year plan, that included the complete eradication of even the mention of The Church, a CID in the Russian Militia is assigned a case where people are tortured using the newest tool - electricity. Torn between loyalties, the Detective Alexei Demitrieyvich (I'm sure that's wrong), the best there is begins to suspect all is not right in the hierarchy of justice or politics. Along with trying to figure who did it, and how long before people he knows are impacted by the constant change in the air, a couple sub-plots emerge which are nice and, if the author wished it, could lead to a series. Though with the looming war it might be too large a task. The pace is nice and there are no super-heroes.
I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries, but I don't know if people who enjoy the Cold War/Russian spy stuff would be as keen about it.
February9.
(no author photograph) Paul GrossmanFinish Date: 3 February
Genre: Detective & Police Mystery, Historical Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: Herr Inspektor-Detectiv Willi Kraus is German Great War Hero who had recently solved the case of the Kinderfresser (child eater) is now set onto two
cases: Who killed the Mermaid (a woman found on the shore of the Havel) and the missing Bulgarian Princess. Set between November 1932 and February 1933, the Jewish detective also has to cope with the changing political climate in Berlin as Hitler and his anti-semetic cronies rise to power. While seeking the answers to his cases, he finds himself ever deeper in the dangerous Nazi web, which is seemingly engulfing those he trusts and loves.
Paul Grossman seems very skilled at working in what was actually occurring at the time into his story, and admits to taking liberties with certain personages such as Mengele, who as part of this story, appears some 6-7 years prior to the known time of his experiments.
The only thing that annoys me about this story, and it's not something exclusive to this who-done-it, is when in the first three quarters of a book the hero is built up to be a logical/reasoned individual, but in the last quarter the hero begins to do really, well dumb things, completely out of character. Seriously, how many times can a heroic character walk into his nemeses before he starts to actually look out for them, and yet is never caught? My suspension of disbelief only lasts so long. Otherwise, I really recommend this for anyone who is interested in the rise of the Nazis and how the German population kept believing it was short term, the Jewish position at the time, or just a plain interesting mystery. On the other hand, if you're a bit squeamish, this might not be the book for you (re: Josef Mengele et al.).
Nota: Paul Grossman has since written the prequel about the oft-mention Kinderfresser in
, which I assume includes many of the same colourful characters.
10.
(no author photograph) M.D. KeatingFinish Date: 6 February 2012
Genre: Suspense ?
Rating: C+
Review: I was going to write a different review here than the other, but I think I'll just plagiarise myself instead.
I was a bit surprised to see the story written in screenplay format, which I expect might be tricky for someone to read if they are unfamiliar with the style. On the other hand, for those used to reading screenplays, it might be a really quick read. When expecting a 'book' I guess one expects considerably more prose. It's like when ordering a vanilla ice, you're bit put off by the white chocolate chunks because it wasn't in the description. Thus I found the format a bit distracting because one side of my brain was trying to process the project as a book, while the other half was attempting to visualize it as a film.
Having said that, I think many key elements for a really great story exist in the text, but it seems to lack some development; elements which, as a script might be taken care of through visual keys.
The end sort of gets away from the story, like once up the hill, one removes their feet from the peddles and let the bicycle do what it wishes down the other side. I did not understand why the media cared about the protagonist once the scandal was over and the rest of the third act just felt like a slow moving montage. I felt that a reminder of Murphy's career mid-way through the tale might have strengthened the story, as well if there had been more dialogue about the issues concerning his best friend.
Despite all that there are some notably strong points: most of the mob scenes are what one would expect, the relationship between the Murphy boys and their mother I thought was well worked, and I rather enjoyed the humour.
All in all, I the piece should be enhanced as it does have the bones. I think this would go a long way to help the reader identify the genre. Also, perhaps a change of format or a caveat that it is not a standard book - forewarned is forearmed.
11.
Elizabeth C. GoldsmithFinish Date: 11 February 2012
Genre: History
Rating: B+
Review: This book is about 2 sisters in 17th C who each had an affair with a king. The title is slightly misleading, the women did have affairs, but the bulk of the books is about their escapes - successfully leaving their husbands (not for affairs) - and how the media of the times followed their every move, even making some up.
I really enjoyed the book, but the repetitious use of quotes from letters or diaries was a little annoying. But it is a real demonstration of how women of nobility struggled for a place in their families' lives.
12.
Anthony HorowitzFinish Date: 15 February 2012
Genre: Detective & Mystery
Rating: B
Review: I rather liked this story. Horowitz does capture the style of writing and type of story a Holmes/Watson story should include, but the prose is just not Doyle.
Still, it is one of the better non-Doyle Sherlocks around.
13.
Mark DunnFinish Date: 16 February
Genre: Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fiction
Rating: A
Review: I find myself rather enjoying epistolaries and this one is a quick humourous read. A island state off the coast of the US responds by banning letters that have fallen from cenotaph dedicated to Nevin Nollop - he who coined "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog".
On the surface it seems a tale of loss of language, but the subtext visits topics such as fascism, 'religious fanaticism, governance and hegemony/rebellion.
What I enjoyed most was the use of language. I wish I could be half as eloquent as these characters who, by the end are reduced to a 5 letter alphabet.
D wrote: "13.Mark DunnFinish Date: 16 February
Genre: Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fiction
Rating: A
I find myself rather enjoying epi..."
I'll bite. What is Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fiction?
A lipogram is a text that excludes one or more letters. I believe Gadsby is probably one of the more renown; the author wrote the entire thing without the use of the letter E.An espitolary is a book written through letters; a recent popular one is like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
This book actually is a progressive lipogrammatic epistolary as through the book more and more letters are removed from usage.
by Ernest Vincent Wright
by
Annie Barrows
14.
Sarah RaynerFinish Date: 27 February 2012
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: A+
Review: Ms. Rayner crafted such a beautifully written story of women struggling with identity, self-worth, guilt and perceived failures who are able to find comfort with friends and camaraderie among strangers. The death of one man serves to force three women into finding strength and inner-peace, while continuing to cope with the everyday. I make this sound a pleasant ride; it is not. The are moments of great discomfort as the reader is caught in the emotions portrayed. Not many books make me cry, but this one did, and not just the once. These are not super-human women who carry on as though nothing happens.
Forever intertwined, these three women must continue to cope with their families and friends despite how they feel. Hung-over, depressed or suffering the deepest of grief, they tackle the days as best they can regardless of the obstacle course of tears, hysteria or frustrations.
Mod
April15.
Robert DownsFinish Date: 20 April 2012
Genre: Hard Boiled Detective & Mystery
Rating: C+
Review: The book started off in a way that made me think of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, which really excited me. It quickly lost its luster though. There was more focus on the main character's libido and his self-perceived superior detecting skills than on the actual case. He gives more information away than he collects and if it weren't for his best friend (who he constantly demeans) he'd have absolutely no answers to any of his questions. Maybe I missed something because there seem to be nothing but good reviews for this book, but I just can't agree.
(I have no idea why my links are posting on top of each other rather than side-by-side...)
Robert B. Parker
May16.
Tim Hetherington (no photo)Finish Date: 6 May 2012
Genre: Photo-Essay, Military
Rating: A
Review: The book is a photo-essay of Tim Hetherington's experience with American troops in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. Sebastien Junger (who worked with Hetherington for an article for Vanity Fair that turned into the film Restropo and also wrote about his experiences in War) provides an introduction, the author - details on some of the photographs, and there are quotes by some of the troops.
The photos provide a different perspective of war and its effect on military personnel during their deployment. We can only assume what Hetherington was attempting to show and teach us, but with his passing in 2010, getting a definitive answer is not a possibility. Thus the book remains one man's perspective through the lens of a complex situation.
Bonus points on this one as it is leatherbound!
Junger's book may add some insight, as might the film.
Sebastian Junger
17.
Susan SwanFinish Date: 8 May 2012
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Epistolary
Rating: A
Review: This is a story about a woman who is tasked with delivering ancestral documents involving Casanova to a museum in Venice, Italy. She does this while on a trip to Greece with her late mother's lover who is participating in memorial events for her partner.
The protagonist reads the documents (letters and diaries between her ancestor and Casanova) and finds that they parallel her life in many way, which in turn awakens ideas about relationships, with people with whom she is attracted and friendships with others.
I was worried the book would be a bit too emotion based, but it's not. It is well paced and a nice read. The language is neither pretentious nor dumbed-down. I don't know much about Casanova so I can't speak to whether this apparent change in the known history would make those who are familiar with his story cringe. The discussions about Gaia and the female Goddess are all in line with what I know of those topics, so I expect that the author has done justice to the Cavalier de Seignalt.
18.
Robert RotenbergFinish Date: 18 May 2012
Genre: Police & Law Procedural
Rating: A+
Review: The story begins with a 4 year old boy being shot in the head in a Tim Horton's car park in Toronto. The book is the process by which both law enforcement and lawyers unravel of the events that caused this young boy to be hit rather than the original target in order to ensure the right person is imprisoned for the crime.
The chapters are short but detailed, which makes it a perfect book for commuters, and it is also quite fast paced. The story is not weighed down by unnecessary personal stories, but there is a bit about each of the main characters' life to interest the reader.
This is the author's third book; and while they are not strictly a series per se, my understanding is that many of the key characters are in the previous two. I'm looking forward to reading them.
19.
Charles DickensFinish Date: 15 May 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: What can I possibly say that hasn't been said before about this novel? This is the first English novel I ever completed. This second go 'round was a joy as I no longer need to sit there with a dictionary to figure out what half the words meant. I could enjoy the story for itself, rather than as a chore.
While this will never be my favourite of Dickens's works, it is at the top. The thing that stops it from hitting the top was that in this book his extreme use of symbolism and euphemisms traps the reader into this translation from 'actual story' to 'intended story'. Don't mistake me, I like a book with hidden meanings, but this one has just too many. A bit more explicit content would have made this his best work I think.
I'd still read it again though :)
20.
Jake Olafsen (no author photo)Finish Date: 20 May 2012
Genre: Memoir, Military
Rating: B-
Review: Olafsen takes us from how he made up his mind to becoming a member of the Canadian Armed Forces to his decision to becoming a Royal Marine Commando. He goes into great detail about the training and specific moments in Afghanistan, finally his decision to leave.
Actually, he's less explicit about his reasons for leaving, and this lack of clarity made me wonder if a)it was due to something he omitted or b)he is not yet able to really articulate his feelings.
This book is a long slog, not because of the content, rather because of the writing. Flowing prose this is not. I recommend that if you've just decided to read a military memoir - leave this one until you've read a few others, unless you've spent time in the Canadian or British forces.
The author uses Canadianisms, Britishisms, Militaryisms (I don't think any of those are real words - but it is reflective of what happens in this book), and only defines an acronym once. (Okay, there is a glossary at the back, but who wants to keep flipping back and forth)? All of this makes for a very bumpy reading experience. I've read quite a few military memoirs and this is by far the biggest struggle I've ever had. I really could have used a polish or ghost writer.
Having said that, I wonder if it's the reader (me) who didn't understand from the start that this is really just him telling the story from across the table while having a pint. This is what I concluded midway through. With the obvious restraint on colourful language, this is just him shooting the breeze.
Once I'd had this sussed, things got easier. While I read, I imagined that he was telling me the story at a pub. The quick shifts in topic, the language and the fluctuating levels of emotion started to make sense. The acronyms still annoyed me, but otherwise, it was a much smoother read. The ending however, seemed lacking, as though we were forced to leave because the pub was closing for the night, and we just never got back to the conversation. Alternatively, he could still be having trouble getting all his feelings in order.
There are some gripping moments of raw emotion and I found that there were more details about training and exercises than most books of this nature offer. A decent book about the life of a soldier, even if it does require a bit of work.
21.
Joel Mark HarrisFinish Date: 23 May 2012
Genre: Thriller
Rating: A
Review: An ex-war correspondent is caught up in a mob power shift that takes everyone by surprise. As a witness to the execution of one mob boss, the main character struggles against his demons, competitive journalists, and lies from every direction. His only goals are to protect his source and get to the bottom of what he witnessed.
Harris captivated me with the protagonist's flashbacks to the conflicts he'd covered, and his ability to create interesting characters who are all flawed and very much human. I suppose his own journalism experiences play a large role in this, but it certainly didn't feel like 'copy'.
I am looking forward to more works by Harris.
Mod
Thanks :)I didn't get a chance to do any reading in April, so I'm behind on my goals and want to catch up. It's amazing how much 30 days can set a person back.
22.
Olen Steinhauer (no author photograph)Finish Date: 27 May 2012
Genre: Thriller
Rating: A-
Review: The novel is divided into 6 sections (a prologue and 5 parts), which provide 5 differing POVs of people within the world of espionage that covers the few months prior to the Olympics in China.
What I didn't know until about two-thirds of the way in, is that this is the author's third novel involving members of the CIA's Department of Tourism. The only reason I looked into it, was that I thought it would be interesting to have a book about them - turns out there already is... So, obviously, this book stands well on its own, which scores huge points with me. I often tend to pick up the third to seventh book in a series first. I have no idea why, but it's the way it is.
Back to the novel...The one thing that I did find annoying and I don't know if it's me or a general thing, but I was always ahead of the protagonist (even though there are 5 POVs, there is a clear protagonist) and did keep thinking that if he was really a spy, he should have picked up on this, but then I wondered if that was the point of the book. The protagonist was trying to get out of the spy business, so maybe he just wasn't up to looking for the clues.
As a result, I concluded that this was a book about the impossibility of ever completely leaving the world of espionage, and in that, Steinhauer was successful and I don't think he's done with these characters at all, even if people are saying that this is the last in a trilogy. I'll be testing the Steinhauer waters again, I'm sure.
Mod
I didn't get a chance to do any reading in April, so I'm behind on my goals and want to catch up. It's amazing how much 30 days can set a person back."
For sure D, I understand your dilemma only too well. One other nit - please go back and edit all of your entries by simply adding the word Review: before the start of all of your reviews otherwise everything is fine. You might want to bold all of the category headers not just the Finish Date as well but that is not required. The word Review: before the start of the review is part of the format though.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
An American Spy (other topics)Wearing the Green Beret: A Canadian with the Royal Marine Commandos (other topics)
A Thousand Bayonets (other topics)
A Tale of Two Cities (other topics)
Stray Bullets (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Olen Steinhauer (other topics)Charles Dickens (other topics)
Joel Mark Harris (other topics)
Jake Olafsen (other topics)
Robert Rotenberg (other topics)
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Our Format:
JANUARY
1.
Finish date: March 2008
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review or a Few Words about book: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.
Note: I will delete required format post once you get started.