Tim's 50 For 2014

[Tim]

44. Stick by Elmore Leonard. Got a kick out of this one, typical Leonard. Stick was a character I remembered having a role in a previous Leonard novel, not the main character but he was familiar. Going to read one more of his next - La Brava, and then not sure.

[Sarah Suzy]

Tim,
I appreciate the comments you wrote about THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. I am a 12 year cancer survivor-got it at a young age. Living way pts my expiration date. My mom is in her third "season" of cancer, now metastatic and, therefore, incurable*. She read this in February-well into her third season. We recently went to the movie together the evening before a 12 1/2 hour chemo treat for Mom. Of course, we cried, but more importantly, we were filled with JOY as we left the theater arm in arm. It is a "sweet young adult love story" as so many have dubbed it, but it's sooo much more. I read a review that said how could young people know so much (technical terms, medical, etc) and become so philosophical?? That reviewer said if made it unrealistic. They know it because they love it every day. I have taught children not older than second grade that know the terminology, etc. They also have to face the upcoming possibility of their life ending. Unfortunately, they have plenty of time to become philosophical. The also pick up on so much more than we realize-even younger than Hazel Grace and Augustus-by over hearing conversations of their parents and older friends and family. I believe that as a cancer survivor and the daughter of a mom with mets cancer, it is so beautiful. It is so real. It shows them living with cancer and not just dying. It faces ideas such as oblivion that I had yet to feel I had encountered in a book. I'm so glad you read this book. I'm even more glad that you saw the joy and uplifting beauty in it. It's a book that can be sooo much more than a love story between two teenage cancer patients-as if that wouldn't be special itself. I happy for you! Ya YOU!
*my mom and I don't usually fall into words like incurable, expiration dates, life expectancy, etc. My mom, by example had taught me to live through anything, even mets cancer! This story is a beautiful example of that and addresses ideas that linger in the backs of many mind! enJOY your next read!
Sarah

[Tim]

45. LaBrava by Elmore Leonard. Another fun Leonard read. The former secret service agent La Brava was pretty interesting, with his photography habit (a hobby of mine too). Making a lot of progress this year on getting through all of Elmore Leonard's books!

[Tim]

46. Bandits by Elmore Leonard. Loved this one. Maybe my favorite of all the Leonard books I have read so far; the dialog between the various convicts is hilarious. Really funny stuff.

[Tim]

47. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.

FINALLY finished this book. I had borrowed it from the e-library about a month ago, and got to about 150 pages to go and ran out of time and they pulled it off of my tablet. Dang it! So I had to go back into the queue and wait until it was ready again.

I really enjoyed this book. Yes, I would have liked a little more info about the tragedy at the beginning of the book, and some of the characters I felt like could have been developed a bit more. But in the end, the messages of not being able to change who we are or what we want, and the appreciation of the 'immortality' of art and things that last from one generation to the next both really resonated with me.

Maybe not a book for everyone. I could see a lot of people not appreciating it. Definitely different than a lot of the stuff I've read this year. In a way, it almost reminded me of "Crime & Punishment" - which I read last year. Character being consumed by guilt, although it manifested in different ways.

I would recommend giving the book a chance!

[Tim]

48. Invisible by James Patterson. I really think this was one of the best Patterson books I have read. The kind of "whodunit" where 2 or 3 different times I thought I knew who did it but was never quite sure. A fun, good read.

[Tim]

49. Freaky Deaky by Elmore Leonard. Another Elmore book off the list. I find his "cop" characters the least believable, but still funny.

[Tim]

50. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Two years in a row, a Russian masterpiece for #50. (Crime & Punishment last year).

This book was difficult for me, took me forever to read a mere 335 pages. A great book, though. Bulgakov uses quite a bit of subtlety in poking fun at the Communists and their methods that are similar to Satan's in the book. I had to re-read quite a few passages and just stop and ponder what he was saying quite a few times - a very thought provoking, but still funny and entertaining book. Glad that I came across it on a blog that I follow - well outside of the "norm" of stuff that I would usually read.

I'm shooting for "War & Peace" for #50 next year to continue this tradition.

[Tiffany, Administrator]

Tim wrote: "50. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Two years in a row, a Russian masterpiece for #50. (Crime & Punishment last year).
...
I'm shooting for "War & Peace" for #50 next year to continue this tradition."

I like that tradition :) Good luck with it next year!

[Tim]

51. Blinded by Stephen White. My next 'project' is to finish off the Alan Gregory series - I have all but the last 2 here on the shelf to finish off.

Really enjoyed this one; particularly the change of pace of adding chapters from another character (Sam's) perspective. Usually that bugs me when authors do that (and they all seem to, in the series I read) - but in this case Sam's point of view did bring a little extra something to the story. Starting on "Missing Persons" now.

[Tim]

52. Missing Persons by Stephen White.

Didn't like this one as much as Blinded. Sometimes these series with recurring characters really start to get in over their head - this one got a little crazy with abductions, runaways, etc. But still entertaining to read as long as you can get away from it being somewhat fantastical.

[Tim]

53. Kill Me by Stephen White. Finally finished #53 - had a lengthy book that I was half way through and had to return before I could complete it!

This might have been my favorite Stephen White book that I've read so far. Different point of view, different story, pretty unique. Really liked this one. The kind of book that stands on its own well without reading the rest of the series. Two thumbs up.

[Tim]

54. The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First by Jonah Keri.

Really enjoyed this book about the Tampa Bay Rays and the management team that led them out of the perpetual cellar. Picked it up after the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman away from the Rays. Really interesting read.

[Tim]

55. Burn by James Patterson.

Pretty good. I like the Bennett clan, and I like Michael Bennett. Patterson's reads are always fairly speedy and enjoyable for me.