75 Books...More or Less! discussion
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Alecia's 2015 Challenge
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Andrea, Moderator
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Nov 10, 2015 09:04PM
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When I first joined 75 books, I was reading over 90 books a year. But I didn't have an iPad, or play Words With Friends. Now I am more distracted. But, like you, I will try to stick to books with pages in the 300s. Novellas are a very good idea! I hope you make your goal.
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That's an interesting idea...a page count...makes a more level playing field. If you read The Goldfinch, then Steve Jobs, that's a lot of pages.
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Book # 64 The Fall of Princes 3.5/5 starsI am rounding this up from a 3.5 rating because the writing seemed emotionally true to me. Think The Wolf of Wall Street meets Bonfire of the Vanities meets Bright Lights Big City. This version of crash and burn in the 1980's is narrated by Rooney, and his version is more of an eloquent apology for his behavior.
The story is not linear, it jumps around from before and after Rooney's fall from grace. The excesses of sudden great wealth are depicted here in acute observational detail...sex, drugs, outrageously expensive lifestyles. Moral compasses have gone askew and the spiral out of control is told well, as is the sudden absence of money.
Book # 65 Hollow Man 3.5/5 starsI would rate this a 3.5/5 stars. The writing is very good, and the narrator, a prosecutor, describes himself as a psychopath early in the book. He calls the rest of the people around him "empaths" and tries to live in their world, acting out those emotions and facial expressions he thinks will help him fit in. When he has money problems and decides to get involved a seemingly simple robbery,the story concentrates on his chilling behavior and relationships to his partners in crime. In a strange way, the reader kind of roots for him. I liked the ending, and would read more from this author.
Book # 66 Best Boy 4/5 starsTodd Aaron, an autistic man in his 50's, has been living in the Payton LivingCenter for much of his life. He is a trusted resident there because of his compliant behavior and obedience to The Law. This book is narrated by Todd, and his voice carries insight, child-like wonder, and the perceptions of an autistic adult. A new staffer named Mike comes into Todd's peaceful, orderly life, and no one but Todd can see the man's troublesome, possibly evil intentions. Then, to add to the mix, a new female resident moves in, awakening feelings in Todd. She convinces him to go off of his meds, and Todd's desire to go home again becomes very strong. I found this to be an engaging, empathetic, moving, and well-written novel.
Book # 67 The Split 4/5 stars4 stars just for being grateful I found another Parker book that had slipped passed me in this series. Another heist gone wrong, and even though it's formulaic, I just love the writing, the formula, and I miss Parker.
Book # 68 Aquarium 4/5 starsThis powerful novel is narrated by an older Caitlin looking back on her twelve-year-old self, when she was living alone with her mother in subsidized housing in Seattle. Her mother works long hours on the docks, so she drops Caitlin off at school very early in the morning, and while she waits to be picked up after school, Caitlin visits the local aquarium to study the fish. The photos in the book illuminate the strange and beautiful species she looks at.
While she is there, she befriends an old man, who seems to be as interested in the fish as she is, and she grows to look forward to her meetings with him every day. Her mother has told her nothing about her family or who her father is. When the scales are tipped in their lives, her mother is forced to confront her awful past. The scenes where she tries to force Caitlin to know what she went through as a young girl are, by turns, horrifying and moving. It is a book that will stay with me.
The only quibble that I have with it, is the sexual relationship portrayed between two 12 year old girls, Caitlin and a classmate. Although I am well aware that this is a very possible situation, I would have preferred that the two characters were a bit older. But above all, Caitlin's hunger for love is the moving force here. This is also a story about the ability to forgive.
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Book # 69 The Stranger 3/5 starsI received this book as a gift, and never having read Harlan Coben before, I thought I'd give it a try. I'd always avoided his books, fearing they were too "commercial", just fast reads. He lives in NJ (as do I), and this one was set in familiar areas that I know.
I thought the beginning was clever and fast-paced. A strange man (the stranger of the title) stuns Adam Price with a devastating secret about his wife. This begins a rather convoluted plot leading towards a frantic ending, and I found some of the situations hackneyed and many of the characters were not fully formed. It is definitely a page-turner, and the writing is pretty good. Perhaps I would try another one by him some time, as I read in the reviews that some of his fans were disappointed in this one.
Andrea, Please tell me your favorite Harlan Coben book(s), and I will try him again.
Book # 70 The Silent Sister 3.5/5 starsI thought this was a very well-written, engaging mystery. I would give it 3.5 stars. The only thing that keeps me from giving it 4 stars were some issues I have with the plot itself.
Riley has been raised thinking her sister has committed suicide long ago due to depression and other issues. Her mother is dead, and when her father dies, she discovers some things about their lives that cause her want to investigate further. Her brother, Danny, is a damaged individual living in a trailer park on the family land. He is very angry that the circumstances leading to his older sister's death have caused his family such anguish. Other than the issue involving the rationale of the plot, I enjoyed this book and would read another by this author.
(view spoiler)
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Book # 71 Hotels of North America 4/5 starsI enjoyed this quirky book, with it's lovely writing and sly humor. It appears to be a compilation of seemingly random hotel reviews from a "top online reviewer", Reginald Morse. In review after review, a little more of him is revealed until the hotel reviews are secondary to his musings on his life. This book is not for everyone, but I appreciated the unique concept, wry observations and wonderful prose.
Alecia wrote: "Book # 70 The Silent Sister 3.5/5 starsI thought this was a very well-written, engaging mystery. I would give it 3.5 stars. The only thing that keeps me from giving it 4 stars wer..."
I will keep those in mind to try again. I once saw a French film that was made from one of his books...maybe Tell No One? I'm not sure. I did like his writing.
Book # 72 The Crossing 4/5 starsHappiness is: Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller starring a well-written and well-plotted Michael Connelly book. Although Harry does most of the work in this book, it's fun to see him interacting with Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer), who is his half brother.
"The Crossing" of the title has to do with crossing over from police to working for the defense (Mickey is a defense lawyer as his license plates explain: IWALKEM). Harry does not want to do cross over when Mickey asks him to help him on a case. As a retired LAPD detective, Harry knows the scorn he will get from his ex-colleagues, and he feels very conflicted about it also. But, once confronted with the holes in the prosecution's file, he reluctantly takes it on.
This was a very enjoyable book, and a pleasure to read. I have read all of Connelly's work, and I thought this one was better than the most recent ones.
Alecia, not having read any of the previous ones (but saw the Lincoln Lawyer movie, ha) do you need to read the entire series in order or can you just jump in?
I don't think you have to go back to the absolute first Bosch novel, but I think some of the early ones give a good picture of Harry's past. Some are better than others and I'd have to look at the list to jog my memory. I remember liking The Poet a lot. But I also think most of them would be fine as stand-alones. As far as Mickey Haller ( the Lincoln Lawyer), there are a lot fewer of those books and they are probably fine as stand-alones.
I misremembered...The Poet starred another Connelly creation...Jack McEvoy. The bulk of his books are about Harry Bosch, but there are other characters.
Alecia, thanks. I've often thought of starting the series but it's daunting when the backlist is so long and my tbr list so long :)
Book # 73 The Name of the Game Is Death 3.5/5 starsI would give this a 3.5 for being an enjoyable classic noir pulp fiction. Written around 1962, it tells the first person narrative of it's protagonist (with many aliases), a lifetime criminal who committed a recent bank robbery gone wrong. He is shot during the crime, and his partner, Bunny, heads off with the money, promising to mail sums of it to him weekly. When the money stops, Chet (the name he takes)heads out to investigate what went wrong with Bunny, as he suspects foul play. There is an interesting part where Chet goes back to his childhood with a particularly chilling story that goes a long way to explain his sociopathic personality. He does love animals, though.
Book # 74 Black River 4/5 starsThis was a powerful, heart-wrenching character study of Wes, a 60 year old widower and ex-prison guard. He is returning home to Black River with the ashes of his beloved wife, Claire, but this is a very complicated journey home. He is estranged from his step-son, making the communication between them very bitter and difficult. And he feels compelled to attend a parole hearing for Bobby Williams, an inmate who tortured him during a prison riot 20 years ago, leaving him disfigured and unable to play his beloved fiddle.
This book covers love, loss, faith, and is also a book about the love of music. This is not a cheery read, but I found it to be very well-written and moving.
Book # 75 Fender Lizards 2.5/5 starsI do think this is more appropriate for a YA reader, and probably should be categorized that way. For that reason, I would give this a 2.5/5 stars, and will round it up to a 3, as I like Joe Lansdale's way with a story. It's a coming of age tale narrated by 17 year old Dot Sherman. Dot has dropped out of high school, waitresses on roller skates, and spends time philosophizing in a humorous way. When she was twelve, her father left one day to get a pack of cigarettes and never came back, and she lives in a very tightly packed trailer with the rest of her family. This book tells the story of how she tries to turn her life around.
Book # 76 Eileen 3/5 starsI'm not at all sure how to rate this book. I'm giving this 3 stars, not so much that I "liked" it, as I thought the writing was good and showed promise.
Our narrator, Eileen, is looking back as an older woman on her younger self and telling this very dark story (set in the 1960's). She works in a boy's prison, an office job she hates with women she loathes. Lonely and full of self-loathing, she has no friends, and daydreams about one of the guards at the prison. Her home life is filled with squalor, as she lives with her deranged, alcoholic father in a house that very sloppy and unclean. Then, one day, Rebecca arrives on the scene at the prison as a new counselor. She is beautiful and appears to offer Eileen a friendship that she is desperate to accept.
Although, through foreshadowing, the reader knows that there will be a dark twist to the story, this does not happen until nearly the end. Somehow, I finished the book feeling soiled, like the narrator.
Alecia wrote: "Book # 76 Eileen 3/5 starsI'm not at all sure how to rate this book. I'm giving this 3 stars, not so much that I "liked" it, as I thought the writing was good and showed promise. ..."
Hmmmm.... even though you didnt rate it high, it sounds intriguing so im going to add it to my TBR.
Marie...you can certainly give it a try. It's not a long book, reads quickly, and actually is intriguing in a way. I noticed it made a few 100 best of 2015 lists, but I forgot to also use the word creepy in my review . There's that, too.
Book # 77 Rubbernecker 4/5 starsThis was a fresh, intelligent, well-written mystery told from two main points of view. One is from a man in a coma (and this guy is someone whose voice is wonderfully human) and the other is from Patrick Fort, an anatomy student with Asperger's Syndrome. Patrick turns into an excellent detective, and along the way attains some personal growth. Among the rest of the cast of characters are Patrick's alcoholic mother, a flirtatious nurse who cares nothing for her patients, and some fellow students and professors in Patrick's dissection class who round out the story. There was also some wry humor injected amidst some of the grislier aspects of this novel. I am happy to have discovered Belinda Bauer, and look forward to reading some of her other books.
Book # 78 A Different Lie 4/5 starsI picked this book up rather randomly in the library. I saw afterwards that it is #4 in a series called Silver Bear. But it was quite a good stand-alone. I would categorize it as a hybrid thriller/spy novel. The protagonist, code-named Columbus (and also the Silver Bear, I gather), is a new husband and father. He adores his family. But although he and his wife (who is also his "fence"), have employed various safeguards, he knows they are in a precarious position. When his next assignment as a contract killer comes in, it is for another assassin. This turns into a very dangerous job and it's all rather gruesome, but it's a page-turner.
Book # 79 Bull Mountain 4/5 starsOne of the reviews I read of this book coined the phrase "hillbilly noir". That's about perfect for this book. And for a debut novel (actually for any novel), this is very well done. There were twists in the story that I did not see coming. And that's a good thing. The author layers the stories of the different characters, especially the outlaw Burroughs family. And what a family that is! They have made their home on Bull Mountain for generations, running shine, pot and meth, and insulated from the law.
The story of the clan spans decades and focuses on present-day Clayton, who is the "good" brother, shunned by his family for being the sheriff in a nearby community. When a federal agent shows up at Clayton's office with knowledge of all his family's operations and a plan to shut it all down, then the story takes off, sometimes in unexpected ways.
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Thank you, Elyse. Not only were the last reads good ones, I read nine more books this year than last...without trying.
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75 Books...More or Less!
Books mentioned in this topic
Bull Mountain (other topics)A Different Lie (other topics)
Rubbernecker (other topics)
Eileen (other topics)
Eileen (other topics)
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