Earlier reads. . .

Lion in the Valley, by Elizabeth Peters

I didn't like this one as much as some of the Elizabeth Peters I've read in the past. It was good, but I like the ones that are heavy on adventure and lighter on the gooey romance. And I should have read them in order, because some of the characters were unfamiliar, and confused the story. I'll definitely keep reading, but I'll probably go back to the older stuff...

Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett cracks me up. This one is excellent. It was a complete coincidence that I read both this book and the one above (both set in Egypt, or reasonable facsimile thereof) while I was in Egypt. I just chucked two books in the suitcase on my way out. But the whole thing about the necropolis and the various hinted-at-pharoahs came even more to life for me because I was there. Terry Pratchett could easily become a habit...

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling
These books keep getting better and better. I went out and bought hardcover copies of all of the Harry Potter books in print, and I'm going to read them all again soon, end to end. There's a reason these books are on the best seller lists, guys. Seriously, go get them and read them. I don't care if you have kids or not. They are simply amazing.

Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
I guess I just expected more from this book than I got. I liked the concept of psychohistory, and I liked the major characters. I think it was just more political than I was interested in reading. I had a hard time finishing it, because I kept getting bored and starting something else...

Bridge of Birds, by Barry Hughart
This was recommended by the same sometime-friend that recommended Wyrd Sisters, but moreso. He offered to lend me his copy, in fact, which is why I went to so much trouble to find it (even Amazon takes a few weeks to procure it). This is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I'm not sure I can put my finger on exactly why. It's subtitled "a novel of an ancient China that never was," and it's the perfect mix of unpredictable but flawless fantasy and poignant logic and mysterious Chinese mythology. Ultra-evil villains, noble and slightly-twisted heroes, ghosts galore, and a quest to save the innocents. It's an awesome story, told in such a sweet way, with characters you fall in love with immediately, and a plot that breaks your heart. Even that doesn't really explain why it so entranced me. I recommend it highly, obviously. Go read it.

Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett
After reading Good Omens, I had to read more Terry Pratchett. A sometime-friend of mine recommended this one, and it really is clever. It didn't have me in stitches like Good Omens did, but it's just as clever. It's like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in a way. R&G has Hamlet running along, almost unseen in the background, which is one of the things I really like about it. This book does the same thing with Macbeth. Not in quite as literal a way, but it's like Macbeth on a distant, odd and yet strangely familiar planet...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by JK Rowling
I had a feeling this was going to be better than the first one, because it was so hard to find. I had to go to like 4 stores before I found a place that had one copy, which was tucked behind a bunch of copies of the first one. These books are just so nice. You can sink into them up to your ears and totally de-fuse after a hard (torturous!) day. Harry and Hermione and Ron and Hagrid keep you totally enthralled, and it's an exciting story, but it's so cozy that it's just like snuggling up in a big chair in front of the fire in Griffindor Hall at Hogwarts. I'm definitely going out to get the third one, and I'm going to buy the hardcover copies of all of them to keep. The English versions of the hardcovers are really small and cute and kid-sized, unlike the American ones, which look like any other bestseller (I saw them on a trip to Minnesota), and mine haven't been translated into American, which is really cool, too...

The Hotel New Hampshire, by John Irving
Let me preface this by saying, this was a really good book. The characters were brilliantly developed, the plot was great, and the writing style was simply engrossing. That said, this has got to be one of the most depressing books I've ever read. It's just brimming with death, but it's so overwhelming and constant, that by the time the third major character dies, you just don't care anymore. I will definitely not read this again, as my life is stressful enough without facing this level of depression, and I would be hesitant to read anything else by the author, even though his books have been made into some of my favorite movies and his writing is excellent.

Mostly Harmless, by Douglas Adams
Just like with Dirk Gently's, I realized almost immediately after starting this book, that I had read this before. I wonder what else I read during that missing period of my life? I love Douglas Adams, so this was a great book to me (again). I was afraid I'd forgotten all of the characters, and wouldn't get parts of it unless I reread the others first, but I did. And it would've been great anyway. He's such a good storyteller, and reading about Arthur and Ford and Trillian again is like seeing old friends, and the bizarre things that happen to them seem so normal (much like with my real friends...).

F Is For Fugitive, by Sue Grafton
This is the first of Sue Grafton's books I've read. I'd heard that they were really good, but never got around to reading them. The main character got on my nerves a little when I first started it, but she definitely grew on me. Her quirks are really interesting, but not overdone, and I like that she's honest with herself and sensible. She's not a superhero -- when it's time to run, she's over the wall. Very real. Ok, I'll read more.

Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
This book is absolutely brilliant! It's so clever. I stumbled upon it under my own power, which is a bit unusual lately. Usually books this good are recommended by someone. It's about a demon who's not really all that bad, and an angel who's not really all that... angelic. And the antichrist, and a book of perfectly accurate but very confusing predictions, and the end of the world. Sounds pretty simple, but I haven't laughed out loud so many times while reading a book in ages!

Lord Foul's Bane, by Stephen Donaldson
Ok, this book was good. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, and I finished it, and I'm sure I'll read the rest of the series (I've already bought it), but I expected way too much. I did the same thing with Phantom Menace, actually. This book came highly recommended from someone whose taste in literature I trust implicitly, who let me read his copy of the book which is now my all time favorite, several years ago. So I expected something earth-shattering, and instead I just got a good read. I didn't find myself utterly swept away by the story, is the problem. I just love Covenant, the main character. He's such a dick. I really like an antihero. You keep wanting him to be run over by a bus, or mauled by tigers. He's the reason I'll keep reading the stories, and maybe I'll become hooked on the later books, or Covenant will be eaten by hyenas...

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by JK Rowling
This book is so cool. It's been compared to Roald Dahl's work quite often, and I can definitely see the similarities, but it also reminds me of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The humor in it is funny at a kid level, but also at an ageless level. The top 3 books on Amazon's high sellers list are all written by Ms Rowling, which should suggest its worth as well. I'm not going to give away the story, because the surprises are the best part. Oh, and the everything-flavor beans... Get it for your kids or yourself, it's really really good. Trust me on this one.

The Flight of the Horse, by Larry Niven
This is a book of short stories, and one story that started as a series in a magazine. Parts of it are really good, and other parts left something to be desired. I'm a firm believer that stories written in pieces for magazines should be re-written before publishing in one piece. Because a reader who hasn't seen the story in a month may need to be reminded of things, whereas a book reader does not need to be reminded in every chapter how the time machine they're using, for instance, works. Every chapter. So that story turned out pretty monotonous to me in a lot of places, even though the plot and the little surprises were really cool. But a few of the short stories were quite clever. I've heard some really good things about Niven, and I liked this book, which is almost certainly not his best, so I'll just try something else.

The Puppet Masters, by Robert Heinlein
This one turned out to be a lot better than I expected. So many of Heinlein's books have stupid names, like this one, that I expect to be let down, but he always manages to impress me. I became totally engrossed rather quickly, as it's action-packed and well written. It's an aliens-are-taking-over-the-world-how-can-we-save-ourselves sort of book, but it's more than that. I love Heinlein's concept (which I also like in Stephen King) of not sacrificing the story, just because the reader might like this or that character to live, or might want the story to turn in a direction which it won't. This way, you never get to that (boring?) comfort level that you find with so many authors, since you know they won't leave you with an unhappy ending. Heinlein might.

The Secret of Chimneys, by Agatha Christie
I'm obviously a big Agatha Christie reader, but this one was even better than most. The story's great, the characters are great, and the twists are many, baffling, and perfectly brilliant. Better than her usual, and I find her usual very very good.

Morgan's Passing, by Anne Tyler
It took me a while to get into this story, but I think I liked it in the end. The main character is just slightly too-over-the-top for my taste (i.e. - he thinks that if he speaks with an accent, his daughters won't recognize him), but also endearing in an annoying sort of way (which is also the way many of the characters feel about him). I liked the mixing of the characters most of all. People who don't belong together, and don't necessarily trust each other, but choose (or are forced) to interact anyway, against their better judgment, can make for an interesting story. I probably wouldn't read this book again, but I'd be likely to give her other books a chance...

Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut

13 At Dinner, by Agatha Christie

Elephants Can Remember, by Agatha Christie

The ABC Murders, by Agatha Christie
The more I read of Agatha Christie, the more I like her. I've never been a big Hercule Poirot fan, in fact I used to avoid books where he was the protagonist, but I'm getting used to him, starting to see the humor in his pretentiousness, and, well, I like Hastings.... This was a pretty awesome book. I guessed the motive, but it has a few really odd (but believable) characters and unusual twists that really threw me... :o)

The Osterman Weekend, by Robert Ludlum
I'm a big Ludlum fan, but this wasn't as good as some of his books. It had a good ending (all of his books do!) but I wasn't that intrigued through the majority of the book. It's a super-fast read, tho, so it was worth it, I guess, overall...

Galilee, by Clive Barker
I haven't read much Clive Barker (tho I've had a crush on him for ages), but this will make me read more. It's a truly epic story, but it totally sucks you in, so you can't stop reading. Like many epics, it's about an eternal struggle between two interesting but disturbed families, but this one has a bizarre (and fascinating) twist...

The Cat Who Wasn't There, by Lillian Jackson Braun
I'm having a hard time admitting that I like these books, because I don't really like cats, but they're so well written... This mystery is set in Scotland, while the cats are at home, thus the name. It's pretty intriguing, and she unravels the solution *so* nicely...

The Cat Who Saw Red, by Lillian Jackson Braun
I didn't like this one as much as some of the cat books. It was good, and had some unusually emotional scenes with Qwill (the human), and the story was good... I guess I just wasn't as moved by the characters, and the ending seemed a bit anticlimactic...

Hocus Pocus, by Kurt Vonnegut
I just dig Vonnegut. His books are so odd, but not in a Tom Robbins way, just so unsurreal to everyone but the reader... It's about this man, with an insane wife and mother-in-law, who teaches in this bizarre school for wealthy idiots, in this deserted valley with only a prison for neighbors. It's so strange and mundane at the same time. I liked it quite a lot, but I can't explain exactly why...

Job: A Comedy of Justice, by Robert Heinlein
This is a cool book, even for Heinlein. I don't want to give too much of it away, and practically anything I write about it will do just that... it reminds me a little of "Waiting for the Galactic Bus" (my favorite book) which gave it points. I love books with bizarre twists, which must be pretty obvious from the reviews, and this book has loads of them

My Gal Sunday, by Mary Higgins Clark
I like some of Mary Higgins Clark's work, and then some disappoint me. This was pretty good. It's several short stories, all involving this couple. So for the first few stories, I wasn't as concerned about the characters as I became at the end. One story really had me on the edge of my seat, which I guess is the best one can hope for...

Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein
I really like Lazarus Long. I mean, realllly like him. He reminds me of me. Only male-r. This is such an awesome book. He came off as sort of a dick in "Number of the Beast" (I mean, he is sort of a dick, but moreso than necessary -- and for good reason) but I like him much better now. And I've since heard that you should read this one before "Number" anyway. The twins got on my nerves, but I liked the rest of the characters too (which is unusual for me and Heinlein). But not as much as Lazarus...

By the Pricking of My Thumbs, by Agatha Christie
This is one of the best Agatha Christie books I've ever read. Honestly. The mystery is so good and *so* convoluted. So many peculiar clues that lead nowhere or in the opposite direction. And the characters are so loveable and quirky and get into the weirdest situations. This is one I'll read again, at least once...

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, by Lillian Jackson Braun
This is the first of the cat books, where the human meets the first of the cats. It's quite good, and very different from the later books. I'm glad I didn't read it first, because then the others would have let me down. I like her earlier take on the characters better than her current view, the concept was much fresher when a spooky-smart cat was considered unusual. It's gotten a bit commonplace in the more recent books...

How to Talk Minnesotan, by Howard Mohr
A lot of this sounds like Garrison Keillor, obviously, so if you're not a fan, or visiting Minneasota soon, you probably don't have much use for this. The scary thing is that most of it's true, even if its written to be funny. The language and behavior are caught pretty clearly in this one. Visit the state, then read the book, then visit again.

The Number of the Beast, by Robert Heinlein
This is another one that sat on the shelf forever. I picked it up just to get people to leave me alone on an intercontinental flight (because of the name - I knew it wouldn't be satanic, this is Heinlein) It turned out to be absolutely brilliant, tho. It's actually about a time machine, and a mis-translation of Revelations. I couldn't put it down - the places they go and people they meet (many of whom are *very* familiar - in fact some of my very favorites) are incredibly clever. The characters are ok, but the story is superb.

Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman
This book was given to me about a year ago, and it sat on the list until now. Regretfully. What an *awesome* book. One of the ones I'll read 20 times. This guy could repair electronics at 10 (during the depression), went to MIT and Princeton, helped invent the bomb at Los Alamos (and watched the first test), won the Nobel Prize, and solved the Challenger explosion. It's a book of anecdotes, and besides being the story of an amazing life, it's incredibly funny. Between guffaws, I kept saying, "I've got to meet this guy! He has to be about 80 now, so he can't run too fast. I'll go find him..." Like a dope, I looked it up, and he died ten years ago. I know someone who bitches about never meeting Heinlein, and now I know just how he feels.

The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare, by Lillian Jackson Braun
I didn't expect much from this book, as I'm not really a cat person, and I was under the impression that the cats in the story could speak (they can't, fortunately). But I finally read it (after receiving it a year ago) and really liked it. The mystery is set up pretty well, and the character development is great. I may actually read a few more...

Wizard and Glass, by Stephen King
The Waste Lands, by Stephen King
The Drawing of the Three, by Stephen King
The Gunslinger, by Stephen King
I read the first three of these a few years ago, but, since I received Wizard and Glass last Christmas, I just now *finally* had a chance to read them all again in order. This is probably the best thing Stephen King has ever written -- it's basically a knight-in-tarnished-armor story, a byronic hero if ever there was one. The story is marvelous and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Hurry up and write the next one, dammit.

The Adventures of Robin Hood, by Roger Lancelyn Green
This is a great collection of all of the Robin Hood stories, from his birth to death. If you're interested in Robin Hood, this is almost certainly the best collection of tales in print, and it's well-written and entertaining too, unlike some of them.

Curse of the Pharoahs, by Elizabeth Peters
The sequel to "Crocodile on the Sandbank, with many of the same intriguing characters and Egyptian scenery. Elizabeth Peters is awesome!

Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters
An uncommon and wealthy woman, the daughter of an archaeologist, sets out from late-1900s England for Egypt and new discoveries. A poor and "ruined" girl, a despotic Egyptologist, and a living mummy give her the vacation of a lifetime.

Coma, by Robin Cook
This is really a great story, and would be one of the best medical thrillers ever, if it weren't for the heroine of the story. I kept hoping she'd be killed, so the story could get interesting. If you can handle a leading figure who hasn't the sense god gave a radish, the plot is just brilliant.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
A story of life in the madhouse, and what happens to you if you lose your ability to laugh, at yourself and the horrible things around you. The characters in this book are *so* endearing, the emotions are pure and fragile, and the story itself is just incredible. I haven't seen the film, but I've read this a few times, and I'm sure the book is better.

Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
A spaceship goes to Mars and brings back a young human male, who was born on Mars and raised by Martians. His combination of naivete and fame could make him a god or a victim. Coincidentally, this book and Cuckoo's Nest both address the human need to laugh at painful things, in very enlightening ways.

Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury
This isn't standard Bradbury at all. It's about saving all the summers you can, packed away in bottles, if necessary. Because you're going to need them badly one day. It's about childhood and old age, and just where they meet. It's a horrible and beautiful story, with no monsters or aliens or haunted carnivals, just a little boy who's growing up too fast in 1928.

COBOL for Dummies, by Arthur Griffith
You get the idea. Yes, I'm a programmer.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams
(about 2 paragraphs into this, I realized I've read it before,
but I have no idea when or where. Doncha hate that?!)
I'm quite taken with this story, but I love Douglas Adams, anyway. Dirk Gently is an odd fellow with an odd job, and he's the most normal character by far. This book has a million twists, and they keep getting cooler and cooler!

Strangers In Paradise, by Terry Moore
Ok, just go buy it. I don't care who you are, what you read, or what your opinion of comics. *Everyone* loves this book. Katchoo will break your heart, as she tries to sort out her life with her two best friends, Francine and David. This is not a girl book (or a guy book), it's just beautiful.

Requiem for an Elf, by Drew Hayes
Now this, I think, is a guy book. I've grown sorta attached to comics in the past year or two... This is about a big, mean elf who's having a really bad week. It's no Strangers in Paradise, but it's actually pretty nifty.

The Witches of Eastwick, by John Updike
Three thirty-something witches in 1960s Rhode Island carry on a close friendship, until a greater witch moves into town and shakes everything up. This is a *really* well-written book, with a great plot and remarkable character development.

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
"Where hate means more than love, but love means more than life."
I can't say it any better than that. A disturbing little tale.

The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Great characters, and a *really* cool storyline, about a trip to South America (and it doesn't have Sherlock Holmes in it) It's a bit like Crichton's book of the same name, incidentally, both in spirit and in story.

The Wind In The Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
I'm sure you know the story - Mole, Water Rat, Toad, Otter, and Badger, and their many adventures. I just love this book.

Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
This is a beautiful book, but it's not like the cartoon, and I don't recommend it for young children. Read it yourself before you give it to a kid. On the other hand, everyone could learn a lot about honor from this little story.

Executive Orders, by Tom Clancy
It's really long, but it's worth it. An extraordinary plot, with some creepy twists that'll make you cringe when you read the newspaper the next day.

I Will Fear No Evil, by Robert Heinlein
Ok, there's this old rich guy who wants to have this elective, but unperfected, brain transplant surgery... It's a little weird, very politically incorrect, and it's sci-fi (which sometimes gets on my nerves), but it's really good.

The Apocalypse Watch, by Robert Ludlum
Standard Ludlum - excitement, intrigue, nazis, spies, love, betrayal, and a million bizarre twists.

The Regulators, by Richard Bachman
The other half of Desperation. You have to read them together, because they're related, just like Delores Claiborne and Madder Rose were.

Desperation, by Stephen King
The other half of The Regulators, but a completely different story, not a sequel. Stephen King is a genius. I know you think it's not real literature, but he's *so* good at creating visual images, from his words, in your head.

The Firm, by John Grisham
You know the story. It's *way* better than the movie, much more detailed, and generally very different.

That's it. Ends circa November 1997

Favorites

I've tried to give you some idea of the stories, but not give away the cool parts, so
if these "reviews" are too vague for you, well, tough. If you must know more about one book,
write to me and ask, or better yet, just read it. I recommend all of them, unless I
say otherwise in my notes. I *hate* it when someone ruins a book (or movie, or whatever) by
telling me too much of the plot, so I'm not going to do it to you.

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