Today

 Afternoon everyone, busy night for me, daisies and the four kids alone at Smiley's "winter fun night"....fun huh? Need to get my Christmas deco. up b4 st nicks....Dec if flying by and shopping isn't completed yet, ugh! Have a great day fb friends! - Lisa

Books Read - 2003

Here's a list of books I read in 2003. Note the consistent binge-purge method; I fall in love with an author, consume his back catalog, and then move on. Ditto for non-fiction subjects, as you'll see with my Vietnam fetish in '03.

1. A Mist of Prophesies by Steven Saylor
2. Shooting at Midnight by Greg Rucka
3. Batman: No Man’s Land by Greg Rucka
4. Critical Space by Greg Rucka
5. Big Thaw by Donald Harstad - great writer. should be better known
6. Six Easy Pieces by Walter Mosley
7. Black Powder, White Smoke
8. The Stranglers
9. Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly
10. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
11. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
12. Dead Cert by Dick Francis
13. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
14. The Crossroads of Twillight by Robert Jordan
15. In Conquest Born by CS Friedman - NOTE: I'd owned this one for years, having scooped it up based on a recommendation in a Waldenbooks newsletter in the '80's. A damn fine novel.
16. A Shortcut in Time by Charles Dickenson
17. Small Town by Lawrence Block
18. ’46 Chicago by Steve Monroe
19. Nick’s Trip by George Pelecanos
20. The Big Blowdown by George Pelecanos
21. The Last Detective by Robert Crais
22. Six Silent Men by Gary Linderer
23. Last Man Out: A personal account of the Vietnam War by James E Parker Jr.
24. Back Story by Robert B Parker
25. A Soldier Reports by Westmoreland
26. Vantage Point by LBJ
27. Reaching for glory : Lyndon Johnson's secret White House tapes, 1964-1965 / edited and with commentary by Michael Beschloss.
28. Lost Light by Michael Connelly
29. Autobiography of a One-Year Old by Rohan Candappa
30 The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - drivel. Poorly done drivel and I don't care what anyone says on the matter.
31. Sharpe’s Havoc by Bernard Cornwell
32. In his Image
33. Sharpe’s Honour by Bernard Cornwell
34. TimeShare: A Time for War by Joshua Dann
35. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
36.Timeshare by Joshua Dann
37.Timeshare: Second Time Around by Joshua Dann
38. Cold Pursuit by T. Jefferson Parker
39. Ruled Britannia by Harry Turtledove
40. The Haunted Air by F Paul Wilson
41. Legacies by F. Paul Wilson
42. Conspiracies by F. Paul Wilson
43.All the Rage by F Paul Wilson
44.Hosts by F. Paul Wilson
45.The Tomb by F.Paul Wilson
46. The Touch by F Paul Wilson
47.Reborn by F Paul Wilson
48.Reprisal by F Paul Wilson
49.Nightworld by F Paul Wilson
50. The Face by Dean Koontz
51. The Marine by James Brady
52.Naked Empire by Terry Goodkind
52.Icarus by Russell Andrews
53.Stone Cold by Robert B Parker
54.Naked Prey by John Sandford
55.A fistful of Rain by Greg Rucka
56.The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald
57. Such Men are Dangerous by Lawrence Block
58. Heretic by Bernard Cornwell
59. A Long December by Donald Harstad
60. Persuader by Lee Child
61. Running Blind by Lee Child
62.Killing Floor by Lee Child
63. Die Trying by Lee Child
64. Flown Away by Max Allan Collins
65.True Detective by Max Allan Collins
66. True Crime by Max Allan Collins
67. Flying Blind by Max Allan Collins
68. Gateways by F. Paul Wilson
69. The Million Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins
70. Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins
71. Blood and Thunder by Max Allan Collins
72. Magic Man by Max Allan Collins
73. Echo Burning by Lee Child
74.Without Fail by Lee Child
75. Auto Focus: The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith
76. Screwball by David Ferrell
77.Kisses of Death by Max Allan Collins
78.The Hanged Man’s Song by John Sandford
79. Ghost Story by Peter Straub - one of my top 10 faves of all time

Grumble grumble

OK, enough already. I don't know what's up with Blogger's "Scheduled" function, but on at least three occasions in the last week I've gone to bed having made sure nothing will run for a week or more, then find a random post published.

I truly don't think its user error at this point, so I may just let 'er rip, post everything, and be done with it. Bleepin' Google. This is why I Bing.

Partial list of Books Read 2004

Books Read 2004


Floating Dragon by Peter Straub
Koto by Peter Straub
Mystery by Peter Straub
The Throat by Peter Straub
Julia by Peter Straub
Shadowland by Peter Straub
Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis
The Day the Music Died: The Last tour of Buddy Holly, The B.B., and Ritchie Valens Larry Lehmer
Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
Bad Business by Robert B Parker
Shall we Tell the President? By Jeffrey Archer
A Marginal Jew V1 Joseph P. Maier
If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub
The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub
The Birth of the Messiah: A commentary on the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke by Raymond E Brown

Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President

I'll admit it's hard to review a political autobiography. It's in the author's best interests to ratinonalize away errors and magnify triumphs, and there's a desire to flip that on its head for her opponents. No matter how much they protest otherwise, there is always - always - partisan bias at play.

Still, take me at my word: I tried to remain objective.

As a book Keeping Faith is a bit dry at times, although Carter was never a bad writer, even at the early stage of his literary career. He uses a lot of background material and contemporary records to back up his recollections, which is obviously a plus for future historians.

From the distance of three decades, a few items stood out. One, he seemed to have a genuine dislike for Ted Kennedy, above and beyond bitterness involving the 1980 election. Oh, there's not much ink devoted to it, but when the subject comes up, it bleeds through the page.

Second, there is, perhaps understandably, relatively few pages devoted to his failure regarding the Iran Hostage situation ('few', relative to other subjects he discusses, that is). On the other hand, the Camp David Accords receive an exhaustive examination. Of note, given recent accusations of anti-Semitism, is Carter's annoyance and obvious displeasure with the Israeli Prime Minister, in contrast to his admitted affection for Sadat. Did that lead to a biased view of the Israeli conflict three decades later?

The decision to gift the Canal to Panama gets a lot of pages, and it has to be said: the amount of man hours and political captial devoted to the issue was staggering. Carter himself admits this, saying it was an issue that could have waited until a potential 2nd term.

There is one glaring, infuriating anecdote about Panama: Carter refutes the idea that he acted out of a fear that Panama would initiate bloodshed if we failed to give them the Canal. And yet, as soon as he writes of his success, he relates feeling relieved because - wait for it - he knew that Panama stood ready to attack the Canal, that very day, should the American Congressional vote fail! Weakness and a desire to avoid confrontation seems to be a Carter stereotype that rings quite true.

The book is worth a read, 3.25 out of 4.

A pic or two of Smiley

No big motive behind this post. I just felt like putting up a picture of Smiley, and his Marvel superhero backpack.

He's Just *not* That Into You

I was just not that into this movie, until about halfway through it's length. Then, it got pretty darn decent.

He's just not that into you is an ensemble piece that traces the romantic life of a group of loosely connected people in their twenties and thirties. At the center of the story is Gigi, a young woman who continuously - and frankly, rather idiotically - misinterprets every signal a man sends her way.

Forty minutes in I wrote off the entire thing as a puff piece, a slapped together collection of cliches and stereotypes assembled around nothing more than a cute saying. And then, out of the blue, it became interesting.

Oh, not Academy Award interesting. Not even MTV Movie Award interesting, but watchable all the same. As soon as the character's lives became a complicated, jumbled mess they ceased to be moronic stereotypes and developed a life of their own. And that was all it took to grab our attention and hold it the rest of the way.

In the end, I thought it was a pretty good romantic comedy (but light on the comedy).


3 out of 4, 70 out of 100.

Books Read 2001

Well, the title says it all. As always, a consistent concentration on a subject or author, followed by a rapid change to another interest.

Let me know what you think.


* * * *
Books Read – 2001

1. Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind (not good enough to inspire me to read more of the series, but for some reason I did – and I’m grateful)
2. Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind
3. Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind
4. Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind (needless S/M type torture, but a good read)
5. Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind
6. Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind
7. Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind
8. The Poet by Michael Connelly
9. Void Moon by Michael Connelly
10. Gangster by Lorenzo Carcaterra (EXCELLENT)
11. A Darkness More than Night by Michael Connelly (implausible plot, but decent)
12. We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools by Gary Howard
13. Shattered by Dick Francis (worst Francis to date)
14. From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz (great book that Koontz didn’t know how to end)
15. Candyland by Evan Hunter/Ed McBain (not as good as the reviews suggested)
16. False Memory by Dean Koontz (Koontz is a paranoid, plain and simple)
17. Potshot by Robert B. Parker (this is why I love Parker)
18. Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz (nice read, well done)
19. Winter Moon by Dean Koontz (started off strong, finished weak)
20. The Godfather by Mario Puzo (the First Book I’ve ever re-read!)
21. Lightning by Dean Koontz (nice time travel tale with a twist)
22. Pop Goes the Weasel by James Patterson
23. Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz
24. Dragon Tears by Dean Koontz
25. The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz
26. The Voice of the Night by Dean Koontz
27. Hail to the Chief by Ed McBain (good book, but I learned something: if you use slang in your writing, all you’re doing is dating your work – and making it un-saleable in the future).
28. Chosen Prey by John Sandford
29. Rise to Rebellion by John Shaara (as always, excellent, but it appears Shaara is pigeonholed as a historical fiction writer)
30. Gunman’s Rhapsody by Robert B. Parker (Spenser in the Old West. Yawn.)
31. Hot Money by Dick Francis
32. Money money Money by Ed McBain
33. Let’s Hear it for the Deaf Man by Ed McBain (fun)
34. 1st to Die by James Patterson
35. Hardcase by Dan Simmons (pretty lame)
36. Death in Paradise by Robert B Parker
37. Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker
38. The Archer’s Tale by Bernard Cornwell (Great, although he cuts the end short to leave room for a sequel)
39. Sharpe’s Triumph by Bernard Cornwell
40. Sharpe’s Fortress by Bernard Cornwell
41. Hope to Die by Lawrence Block (not as strong as past Scudder novels, but a good read)
42. Sharpe’s Trafalgar by Bernard Cornwell
43. Sharpe’s Rifles by Bernard Cornwell (yawn)
44. Sharpe’s Eagle by Bernard Cornwell (when Sharpe is set to be court-martialed and promoted instead – a great scene!)
45. Running From Legs by Ed McBain (short story collection with a few good tales)
46. Sharpe’s Tiger by Bernard Cornwell (fun, fun book to read)
47. Sharpe’s Gold by Bernard Cornwell
48. The Family by Mario Puzo (Excellent post-script to Puzo’s career)
49. Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker (unexpectedly good)
50. The Pillars of Creation by Terry Goodkind (475 pages before any of the main characters pop up. Geesh!)
51. Desecration by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim Lahaye
52. Patton: The Man Behind the Legend 1885-1945 by Martin Blumenson
53. The Emperor’s General by James Webb (excellent book by the author of Fields of Fire, written in a formal style I assume he used to mimic Asian formality)

Step Brothers

In one scene Will Ferrell takes out his testicles and rubs them on his step-brothers drum set. That's all you really need to know about the film.

Still with me? Good, then you're one of the great number of Americans who dig Ferrell, the comedic use of testes, or both. Welcome to the club.

Ferrell and John C. Reilly star as grown men still living at home who become step-brothers when their parents marry. The marriage isn't helped by their antics, and neither is the maturity level of the plot. It's one silly little thing after another, from a hyper sexual sister-in-law to the adolescent bullies who make them eat dog poo.

Silly. Stupid. It barely requires an IQ to watch.

And it's funny. Not their best work. Not their second or third best work either, but 2.5 out of 4

My Mom and the new (temporary?) kitty

Yesterday evening I saw my Mom for the first time since her surgery. She's been transferred to a nursing home for a few weeks of rehab. How was she? She was watching Dancing with the Stars, was irked that my Dad forgot to bring a root beer, disappointed in the clothes my sister packed for her, and demanding of the nurses. So, pretty much at full steam by my reckoning ;)

It was good to see her, and I said I'd try to stop by Thursday night after the big feast if I wasn't fast asleep on the couch.

On the way home I stopped at Socialist's house to hang out for a bit and wound up taking home a stay kitten his wife had found abandoned in a local park. I called home first and asked Lisa for a "yes/no" and to my surprise she was quick to offer a temporary home to the beast.











So the search begins for a good home for the kitty. Socialist had given him my son's name, in honor of where he was found, but obviously that won't fly here. I've temporarily named her Veruca (if it's a girl) or Atticus/Spenser.

Anyone need a kitty-cat?