Category: Potpouri-Books

Male Book Bloggers? and a Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt!

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So for part of this evening I have looked at other blogs about books and reading. What I found is that a ton of them are out there, and the majority are written by women! It also appears that they do a lot of communicating between each other (something that us guys don’t do all that well. So my questions is – Are there any male book bloggers out there??? And then if there are, say hi and let’s talk!! Whatcha’ been reading??……

I also saw several interesting book reading challenges that are part of the Bout of Books 12. The one that kicked off Bout of Books 12 was from Caught Read Handed and was a bookshelf scavenger hunt. The instructions are to……

Find a book with the following criteria on a bookshelf:

1. Find an author with the same initials as you
2. Find a book with the color yellow on it
3. Find an author’s name with the letter “S” in it
4. Find a book with a female protagonist
5. Find the longest book you own
6. Find a book with a map in it or on it
7. Find a book with a face on it (photograph or illustrated)
Bonus: Find something on your shelf that isn’t a book.

While I am not actively a participant in the Bout of Books  12, I did scour my bookshelves trying to find the above items. Here’s what I found…..

1. I couldn’t find any authors with both my initials E K . I did find some Evans and  Ethan Black, and Karin Fossum and Karin Slaughter and Janet Evanovich but no EKs

2. ….a book with the color yellow on it

photo (18)

3. & 4….. an author’s name with the letter “S” in it
             ….a book with a female protagonist

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Author: Dana Stabenow Protagonist : Kate Shugak

5…..the longest book you own

photo (13)

6.   …. a map in it or on it

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Maps in it map on the front page!

7. …. a book with a face on it (photograph or illustrated)

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first one I spotted!

The sad thing is that I’ve only read the last two……..maybe this is the year for the others!!! But now it’s time for bed!

Six Great Mystery Series and Their First Books!

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Today, I received an email from Barnes & Noble and they are having a Nook Book Sale on the first book of a series. I checked out the first books Mystery series  that were on sale, and here are six books that started some of my favorite mystery series!

Navajo Mystery Series

1.The Blessing Way – Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee – Tony Hillerman – Tony Hillerman wrote 18 Navajo Mysteries featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee and his daughter Anne Hillerman recently picked up the series and has written book 19!!

I stopped reading the series after book 14, not because I didn’t like the series but because I just started to read too many other mystery series. I always enjoyed the character of Jim Chee, who tried to walk in two worlds the modern and his ancestral Navajo and as a police officer that wasn’t always easy!!

It’s a great mystery series and The Blessing Way is a wonderful start to the series!

The Surgeon - Book 1 Rizzoli & Isles Mystery Series

 

2.. The Surgeon – Rizzoli and Isles – Tess Gerritsen – This was a book that just blew m away when I read it. The suspense and the characters were both great. Using the Hoyt character for the TV show was a great way to start the series just like The Surgeon was a great way to start the literary series!!

 

 

Book 1 - Carved In Bone - The Body Farm Mystery Series

3. Carved in Bone – Dr. Bill Brockton – Jefferson Bass

“Fantastic forensic detail and an engaging hero … an authoritative, compelling new voice to the forensic mystery.”
— Jeff Abbott, USA Today bestselling author of PANIC

The above quote about says it all. The about this mystery series that is still going strong.  Dr Bill Brockton is still a lovable hero and the forensic detail is still some of the best around, The series is now at  Number 9 which is due out in June of 2015!!

Blindsighted - Grant County Mystery Series

4. Blindsighted – Grant County – Karin Slaughter –  The whole crew of characters of this series – Sara Linton pediatrician, county medical examiner, Chief Jeffrey Tolliver,and Detective Lena Adams are all introduced in this riveting novel. Blindsighted like The Surgeon just was great right from the start as was the series! The novel was a Barry Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2002) and a Macavity Award Nominee for Best First Mystery Novel (2002)

Deal Breaker - Myron Bolitar Mystery Series

5. Deal Breaker – Myron Bolitar – Harlan Coben – while Harlan has had far more success with his stand-alone thrillers my first introduction to his writing was through sports agent extraordinaire Myron Bolitar’s mystery series. The stories and the characters were always well-developed and interesting, especially  Myron’s best friend  “Win” Lockwood who has saved Myron’s butt throughout the series!

Win was introduced in Deal Breaker. He was  a 31 year-old bachelor working closely with Myron Bolitar, his best friend since college. Win is also very close to Esperanza Diaz, Myron’s assistant (and later business partner) whom he meets through Myron. Wikipedia says that Win can be best  described as….

….an anti-hero, being very psychopathic in nature. In many of the books, Myron and Win debate the ethical nature of various actions, often Win’s.

Suspect - Joe O'Laughlin Mystery Series

6.  The Suspect– Joseph O’Loughlin – Michael Robotham – I was thinking about my favorite lead characters from mystery series, that are not Private Eyes or Policemen and certainly psychologist Joe O’Laughlin is probably at the top of the list.

Joe is one of my favorite all-time characters making this mystery series one of my favorites. Like Lay’s chips if you try this book, you won’t want just one…. you’ll be back for more and more and you won’t be disappointed!!!

Thoughts about Abiyoyo and grandbaby Oliver Edward Karn

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Abiyoyo - Pete Seeger

So sometime this month, my wife and I will become grandparents for the first time, when my son Andrew and his wife Meaghan have their baby, Oliver Edward Karn!!

Well, it’s actually Meaghan doing all the work right now and Andrew just gets the congratulations!! A couple of weeks ago, they had Meaghan’s baby shower.and Oliver’s gifts from Andrew’s brothers and sister and my wife and I were books and not just any books, but ones that were special to us.

The kids picked ones that were read to them and my wife and I picked either ones that were read to us or ones that we read to the kids! After my wife, whose idea it was first announced the idea. Peter immediately said “I’ll get Where the Wild Things Are” – though Bossy Boots may have been a better choice! What surprised my wife and I, was the first book that Elizabeth picked, which was Abiyoyo! The picture book based on the Pete Seeger song….

Four out of the five books that I gave Oliver were ones that I read to the kids. The only one that I could think of from my childhood was The Little Engine that Could. I remember that my mother’s mother always read that one to me!! Here’s my other four….

In the Night Kitchen - Maurice Sendak

In the Night Kitchen – Maurice Sendak –  I always loved to read this one to the kids and I think that the controversy over the nudity of Mickey is ridiculous!

Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola – I always enjoyed the mayhem created by Strega Nona helper Big Anthony when he does what he is not supposed to do!

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher – Beatrix Potter –  I had to include a Beatrix Potter book on my list I think we wore out all the copies of the many books that we had!! This one was always a favorite but they are all great!!

Runaway Bunny –  Margaret Wise Brown – Now this pick was a little controversial only in that when my wife told me that it was one of the books I had on my list. I didn’t believe her. I thought that the fifth book on my list was Ezra Jack Keats’ Maggie and the Pirate and it wasn’t until she showed me my list that I believed her!! But I’m glad it is on the list because it’s a great book that talks of parental love!!

Other books included Ezra Jack Keats. The Snowy Day from Elizabeth. Gregory the Terrible Eater and The Tomten from Nick and Noisy Nora, Max’s Toys, and The Tale of Miss Moppet another Beatrix Potter favorite!

So Oliver we hope you enjoy these books, which are the start of a library that I know will get bigger and bigger, because you know Oliver, you can never have too many books!!

Now the reason that this all came to mind today is that I was looking at videos of Doc Watson’s music because today is his birthday (video to come soon) and while I was thinking about Doc – the other folksinger that came to mind was the late ( I hate to write that) Pete Seeger and I went and found this video taken from the show Reading Rainbow with Pete telling his tale of Abiyoyo!!1

https://youtu.be/uVGbgJqXuPc?si=iqhyQ5wBW4UQiotW

Postscript, 2025: My daughter recently read In the Night Kitchen to my granddaughter Emma — and, true to form, Emma didn’t bat an eye at Mickey’s lack of clothes! Some things age better than the headlines.

Books that “Rocked Your World”!

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Narcissus and Goldmund

This morning is was thinking about reading and books that “Rocked your world”, well maybe not rock your world, but those that opens your eyes, maybe make you see the world in a new light.

Books that touch you! One of the first books of mine that came to mind was, Jonathan Kozol’s Death at an Early Age. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve read but I remember at the time, this book revealed conditions that I really didn’t know existed and I remember being so touched by Kozol’s actions!

Just recently that’s what Stones into Schools did for me. It smacked me in the face with the conditions that people live under in both Pakistan and Afghanistan and their need for and their thirst for education particularly for their daughters!

The Imperial Cruise did it, too, by opening my eyes to US actions both in Hawaii and the Philippines!

As I thought about this topic two other books that came to mind were Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha and Narcissus and Goldmund. While I loved both books, I remember that Narcissus and Goldmund was my favorite. For those of you who don’t know the book, here is a synopsis from Wikipedia:

Narcissus and Goldmund is the story of a young man, Goldmund, who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as “the meaning of life”, or rather, meaning for his life. Narcissus, a gifted young teacher at the cloister school, quickly makes friends with Goldmund, as they are only a few years apart, and Goldmund is naturally bright. Goldmund looks up to Narcissus, and Narcissus has much fondness for him in return. After straying too far in the fields one day, on an errand gathering herbs, Goldmund comes across a beautiful Gypsy woman, who kisses him and invites him to make love. This encounter becomes his epiphany; he now knows he was never meant to be a monk. With Narcissus’ help, he leaves the monastery and embarks on a wandering existence. Goldmund finds he is very attractive to women, and has numerous love affairs. After seeing a particularly beautiful carved Madonna in a church, he feels his own artistic talent awakening and seeks out the master carver, with whom he studies for several years. However, in the end Goldmund refuses an offer of guild membership, preferring the freedom of the road. When the Black Death devastates the region, Goldmund encounters human existence at its ugliest. Finally he is reunited with his friend Narcissus, now an abbot, and the two reflect upon the different paths their lives have taken, contrasting the artist with the thinker. Full Wikipedia Article

Now as I think about the book and read the reviews at Goodreads: Narcissus and Goldmund I think I want to read the book again. I’m sure it would be interesting to read after all the life experiences that have occurred since that first reading!

So the question of the day is: What Book “Rocked Your World” and why??

Oh, another book that popped into my mind that I read in college at the height of the Vietnam War that had an impact was Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun

Current Reads: Kofi Annan, Andrew Johnson and the Amistad Rebellion

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Ok so this year I am making a very concerted effort to read more non-fiction books. I will be concentrating on history and politics with some of the other aspects of Social Studies thrown in to the mix. Currently, I have myself spread between three books. They are:

InterventionsInterventions: A Life in War and Peace Kofi Annan with Nader Mousavizadeh.

I must confess that I knew little about Kofi Annan prior to starting this book. I knew he was at one point Secretary General of the United Nations but that was about all. So far and I’m not that far into the book it has been enlightening. I didn’t realize that Kofi was the first Sub-Saharan African to serve as Secretary General. Here’s what others say about the book:
“In this thought provoking new memoir, Kofi Annan describes the peaceful and more equitable world that is within our grasp and offers his candid perspective on the challenges we must overcome to get there. Interventions is a powerful reminder that the United Nations still matters-and must continue to matter if we want our new century to be more free, peaceful and prosperous than the last” – President William J. Clinton

“Behind the velvet tones of Kofi Annan’s dulcet Ghanaian voice, there’s a fearsome, fearless iron will, intent on finding solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems“ – Bono

ImpeachedImpeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy  David O. Stewart

On February 24, 1868 – Accusing Johnson of violating the tenure of Office Act, the House approves an impeachment resolution by a vote of 126-47. When I read this on the day of the anniversary, I realized that I either knew little about the impeachment or like many things I had forgotten whati  did know! Anyway, I wanted to learn more about the Impeachment and maybe compare it to Bill Clinton’s (there is no comparison) I found David O. Stewart’s book and having liked his book on Aaron Burr this would be a good read. I was correct so far like the Annan book it has been enlightening. I have a new respect for the Radical Republicans and Thaddeus Stevens, though I still have a hard time thinking of them as the “Good guys”!

“Anyone who thinks that American politics has lately been at a high level of viciousness should read this gripping story of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial. There are fewer angels than we have thought, and more political hatred and knife work – all with the underlying issue of justice and race” – Anthony Lewis former NY Times columnist and author of Gideon’s Trumpet

Amistad RebellionThe Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom – Marcus Redeker

Unlike the above books I really didn’t seek this book out, rather it was at the library one day a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t pass it up. Back on January 13th to be exact I read about the verdict of the trial:

 Judge Judson announced his decision on January 13, 1840, after a weekend of deliberation. He ruled that the Amistad captives were “born free” and kidnapped in violation of international law. They had mutinied, he said, out of a “desire of winning their liberty and of returning to their families and kindred.” He ordered that the Amistads be “delivered to President Van Buren for transport back to Africa.” He ended his opinion with the observation, “Cinque and Grabeau shall not sigh for Africa in vain. Bloody as may be their hands, they shall yet embrace their kindred.” The Grampus sailed out of New Haven harbor without its black passengers. Van Buren was described as “greatly dissatisfied.” Full Story

So when I saw this book I thought it was a good time to jump in and learn about the Rebellion!

“Marcus Rediker writes that after completing The Slave Ship he felt the need to look into a ‘hopeful counterpoint to this gruesome history’; the successful Amistad rebellion. What a radiant, many-fingered dawn of hope he has discovered!” Staughton Lynd

So far I have learned a lot about the background of the amazing men who won their freedom in this rebellion! I’m sure that the rest of the book will be just as packed with interesting nuggets of knowledge!

He’s Just Sayin’ – Andrew’s 2012 Prog Rock Favorites

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Ok so now you’ll have it from a ProgRock expert and not someone who’s still learning about the genre! Here’s an abbreviated list of some of his favorite albums of 2012. This post is cross-posted from  his blog I’m Just Sayin’…

I have kind of let my blog slide a bit, so I wanted to kick 2013 off with a list of some of my favorite albums from 2012.  I’m a little behind with new releases this year, but I wanted to share some of the albums that have stuck with me throughout the year.  Hope you enjoy!

Big Big Train – English Electric Part 1

This album may very well be my favorite of the year.  It sounds to me like it could be a follow up to Genesis’s Selling England By The Pound.  The album has a very English feel to me, full of great melodies.  I enjoyed their previous album The Underfall Year but it really didn’t click with me like this one did.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDyBTqy1Z10]

Beyond The Bridge – The Old Man And The Spirit

I believe in one of my few posts over the past year I mentioned this album, it is probably my favorite progressive metal album in a long time.  It’s big, bombastic, full of amazing vocals and musicianship.  It has everything that I love.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPNW8o3WSU]

The Night Flight Orchestra – Internal Affairs

This is just a fun, fun album.  Formed by the singer from Soilwork and bass player from Arch Enemy, one would expect a heavy album, and that couldn’t be further from what this is, a straight up classic 70’s rock album with some of the catchiest melodies I have heard in a while.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE99mc_ubHc]

Thank You Scientist – Maps Of Non-Existent Places

This album literally has everything jazz, funk, prog, metal, alternative, horns & strings.  It’s just everything thrown together, but it works and it works extremely well.  This album got a lot of play by me throughout the summer..

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UMfPvl8EgM]

Jess And The Ancient Ones – Jess And The Ancient Ones

This is a more recent addition, but it catapulted to one of my favorites of the year very quickly.  Very retro sounding, great female vocals, songs about satan, how can you go wrong.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofI2heJhcOc]

That’s 5 for now, I’ll post a few more in the coming days.  Hope you check some of these out and maybe find something new to enjoy!

Christmas Books to Add to My To Be Read Pile! Oh Boy!

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The Boy in The Suitcase - one of my Christmas Books

So as we start 2013 let’s take a look at the boat load of wonderful Christmas books that I received. ! First there’s the book I received from my daughter Elizabeth, that I am currently reading The Boy in the Suit Case by Lene Kaaberboll and Agnete Frillis. This is the first book in a planned three book series featuring Red Cross worker Nina Borg. Elizabeth picked the book because, I told her after I picked up book two of the series a month or so ago for her at the library, that it said on the cover “Fans of Nordic crime fiction rejoice”,and that I was a fan of Nordic crime fiction, so the book sounded good to me! So far I was right!

 Two Joe Hill Books from Uncle Jim

Two books came from Kathy’s Uncle Jim and wife Nathalie both by Joe Hill Horns and Heart-Shaped Box. I’ve never read any of his books but I was a big fan of his dad, Stephen King’s early books! They also gave me a Book Light that will come in handy when I am staying up late to finish one of Joe’s books!

 A Thriller and Three Mysteries and A Civil War History book from My Wife

Four books came from my wife – Deep Sky by Patrick Lee. This is the third book featuring Travis Chase and The Breech an anomaly that is the governments most carefully guarded secret. I’ve really enjoyed the first two books in this series The Breech and Ghost Country and there’s no question that this one will be just as good!

One of the non-fiction books I received was Jeffrey D Wert’s new book about the Civil War A Glorious Army: Robert E Lee’s Triumph 1862-1863. This one has two things going for it Wert’s writing and Robert E Lee! I know I’m going to love it!

The last two books from my wife are from two of my favorite authors. The first is The Silent Girl a Rizzoli and Isles novel from Tess Gerritsen The Silent Girl. I’ve really enjoyed all the Rizzoli and Isles novels. It will be interesting to see how I like this one now that I’ll have the TV actors who play Rizzoli and Isles in my head when I read it!

The second book is the 19th book in the great Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. I’ve read every one of them but Book 8 Burning Angel. I think I will make it a goal to read that one this year, then I can say I’ve read the complete series!!

A History Book From Andrew and Meaghan

Son Andrew and daughter-in-law Meaghan gave me the other non-fiction book that you readers will read more from: Events that Changed the World. I bet you didn’t know that on November 20, 1917 the first tank battle was fought in Cambrai, France! On that day a large number of tanks were incorporated into a battle plan for the first time : they were used in a full scale assault on the Hindenburg Line in Northern France! Bet you can’t wait!!

Oops finally I also received Boyd Morrison’s latest book The Vault, which came disguised as Ruth Rendell’s book The Vault, because my wife says she couldn’t read my writing, but since she already had read the book I don’t know!!

So thanks everyone for setting up my reading for the first part of 2013!! Now it’s time to get back to The Boy in the Suit Case.!

New Books!

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So I took back books to the library that were overdue, some that I had finished and should have been back  on time and some that I didn’t read but should have! Anyway I picked up two new ones that I am excited about reading.  The first is the new C.J.Box Joe Pickett book Nowhere to Run and the other is the latest Lincoln Perry book by Michael Koryta The Silent Hour can’t wait to start them both! The Pickett book has to go first because it’s only a two week loan! Oh, by the way I’m only 51 pages away from the end of Dead Man’s Share and the book is a lot better over the second half!  I’m also a third of the way through Linwood Barclay”s Fear the Worst, which is very good and I probably should finish before I start the Box book but I will probably read them together until I get to the point where I just have to finish one of them! Too many books, too little time!