Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

38. by )Jeffery Deaver)
Date finished: June 16, 2013
Genre: Thriller
Rating: A-
Review: The latest in the series featuring Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic crime scene expert. This one involves a killing in the Bahamas. At first, it seems that Rhyme is a crime-scene expert without a crime scene. But, in a Jeffrey Deaver novel, things are seldom what they seem.

This is quintessential Deaver. Plot twists galore and the usual cast of characters. Although this is part of a series, it would be fine to read the series out of order.

The only flaw, I think, is the last chapter.

Warning: There are some very grisly scenes of torture. If that sort of thing gives you nightmares, this isn't for you.

Ah . . . one of my favorite authors . . . I haven't bought it yet, but will be adding it to my collection soon . . .

39. The Wit and Wisdom of Winston Churchill, ed. by Carol Kelly-Gangi (This book is not in the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ archive).
Date Finished: June 23, 2013
Genre: Collections
Rating: C
Review: This little book (137 smallish pages) does contain excerpts from many of the great speeches Churchill gave. But it's missing many of his great quips (e.g., Churchill, when criticized for ending a sentence with a preposition, replied "this is the sort of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put"). It is also a paean to Churchill, undoubtedly a great leader, but it makes little of his lesser qualities (there is one quote from WC about Gandhi, pointing to Churchill's racism).

I was disappointed.

Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ misses a few. I found others with that title but not that editor/author. I think the way you posted it is fine.

40. Alan Sontag(no photo).
Date Finished: June 25, 2013
Genre: Games
Rating: B
Review: Alan Sontag is a professional bridge player with many national and international titles. In this book, he talks about the life of a bridge player at this level. It's not an instruction book (there are some interesting hands, but not designed to teach). Sontag has a nice writing style, not fancy but literate, and he has had an interesting bridge life.

Don't forget to put in the spacing after the bookcover and the word by and add a space between the author's name and no photo.

But everything else seems OK.

Are you a bridge player Peter?

Bentley wrote: "Don't forget to put in the spacing after the bookcover and the word by and add a space between the author's name and no photo.

But everything else seems OK.

Are you a bridge player Peter?"

Yes, I am a bridge player - although not a very good one. How about you?

I fit that role (smile)

41. by Christopher Moore
Date finished: June 30, 2013
Genre: Humor
Rating: B
Review: Christopher Moore is a very funny writer, provided that you are not easily offended. However Island of the Sequined Love Nun is not his best work. Without revealing the plot, I'll just say that I found the topic too grim to allow the humor full reign. When Moore is writing about vampires (e.g. in by Christopher Moore) it is easy (at least for me) to view the whole thing as silly and therefore more enjoyable. In "Island" however, he is writing about evil that could actually exist.

JULY
42. John Milton Cooper Jr. (no photo)
Date finished: July 4, 2013
Genre: Biography
Rating: B+
Review: A large (600 pages), well-written and mostly favorable biography of Wilson, the book nevertheless failed to convince me that Wilson is one of our great presidents. The policy that he is most associated with, The League of Nations, was largely a failure. The policies he was most successful with were fairly technical and were overshadowed in our history by those of the New Deal some 25 years later. Wilson's racism was worse than that of many in his own time, and his stroke tarnished his legacy.

Nevertheless, this is definitely a good biography and worth reading for anyone interested in this President.

Thanks Peter for the review.

43. Raymond Sokolov (no photo).
Date finished: July 7, 2013
Genre: Food, memoir
Rating: B
Review: Raymond Sokolov loves food and knows a lot about it. He has written about food for 40+ years, for the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Natural History and other publications. In this book he recounts a lot of this history - with memories of meals from the high end of restaurants such as El Bulli and Per Se, to searches for the best hamburger and hot dog in America.

Sokolov writes well and knows a lot, but the book is rather self-congratulatory - does he have to tell us (twice!) that he was Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude at Harvard?

44.
Date finished: July 16, 2013
Genre: Essays
Rating: A-
Review: This is a collection of essays written in the 21st century. Hitchens was rather amazingly erudite and he wrote very well. The interest of the essays varies for me (and probably will for you). The only flaw is that he is sometimes a little pedantic (e.g. some of his criticism of Martin Amis relies on reading Amis' words too precisely). The final essay, on bibliomania, will probably ring bells for many on this list; and most of the essays are about politics or history (at least tangentially) so they should appeal too.

45. David Crystal
Date finished: July 14, 2013
Genre: Linguistics
Rating: B-
Review: English spelling is notoriously difficult; David Crystal knows why; in this book, he tells us. But, as I read, the different reasons all started to blend together.

46. S.J. Rozan
Date finished: July 20, 2013
Genre: Mystery
Rating: A
Review: This is part of the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series; I have read most if not all of the earlier ones, but I think you could read this as a stand-alone.

Lydia Chin is a private investigator in New York City's Chinatown. When Ghost Hero opens, a new client is hiring her to investigate some paintings by a famous dissident Chinese artist. Only, the artist is dead and the paintings are new. From there, we are off on a plot involving diplomats, embassies, politics, Chinese mobsters and a new protagonist in the series, another Chinese PI who has been hired on the same case.

Thanks Peter.

AUGUST
47. Terry Pratchett
Date finished: Aug 4, 2013
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, humor
Rating: B+
Review: One of Pratchett's great Discworld Series. Pratchett's different books vary in how fantastic they are, in both senses of the word: Fantastic (as in excellent) and fantastic (as in being fantasy). For me, the relationship is usually inverse, and this book uses too many elements of fantasy to earn the highest rating.

Still, there are many joys; most particularly the characters: Susan (Death's granddaughter) is prominent, and she is one of my favorite recurring characters. Also present are Lobsang Ludd (a monk with some unusual skills), Lu Tze (master of the way of Mrs. Cosmopolite, and of the martial arts of oopsie daisy and deja fu), the auditors (cravers of order who keep the universe .... ordered) and many others.

48. Terry Pratchett
Date finished: Aug 11, 2013
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, humor
Rating: A
Review: Terry Pratchett at his best, which is about as good as it gets. War is brewing between the trolls and the dwarfs and it's up to Commander Sam Vimes to stop it. Huge recommend.

49. Terry Pratchett
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, humor, young adult
Rating: A
Review: This book introduces us to Tiffany Aching, a 9 year old girl who lives on the Chalk, a region of Discworld that is home to grass and lots of sheep. Tiffany is a very mature girl and a very strong character, but still a 9 year old. Her baby brother has been kidnapped by the evil queen of the fairies and Tiffany has to get him back, armed with an iron skillet and assisted by the Wee Free Men (think leprechauns and you'll get some sort of idea).

Wonderful.

50. Carol O'Connell
Date Finished: Aug 29, 2013
Genre: Mystery/police
Rating: A-
Review: This is the latest in the Mallory series; it would definitely help to have read some of the earlier novels in the series, although it isn't absolutely necessary.

In this one, people who attend a play are being killed. Mallory and her team have to solve the crimes. This book is strong in the areas where O'Connell's books often are: In the depiction of unusual personalities and in the plot. It is also weak (although not bad) where the series often is: The dialogue could be better.

Mallory is a brilliant, neurotic former street child who was adopted by a policeman. Charles is a polymathic genius. Riker is an alcoholic policeman who nevertheless gets the job done. And there are many other characters as well.

If you like complex mysteries with lots of interesting characters, you will like this series.

SEPTEMBER
51. Spider Robinson
Date finished: Sept 2, 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B
Review: A re-read for me. This is the start of the Callahan's series, about a fictional saloon where almost anything can happen, almost any hurt can be healed, lots of puns will be told and just about anyone might show up.

52. Terry Pratchett
Date finished: Sept 7, 2013
Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, humor
Rating: B
Review: A re-read. There's a new type of music on Discworld. Music with rocks in. In Soul Music, Pratchett takes on rock and roll, with predictably hysterical results. However, the book is marred by too much reliance on unexplained magic.

53. Lee Child
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Rating: B+
Review: This is the latest in the Reacher series. For those who don't know, Reacher is a 6'6" 250 pound former policer of the military police. Since leaving the army he has traveled around, carrying nothing, sort of like a modern Lone Ranger.

If you are looking for great literature, brilliant characterization or sparkling prose - well, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a page-turner of a plot, with good descriptions of rampant violence, this is right up your alley.

54. Thomas Healy (no photo)
Genre: History
Rating: A+
Review: In the fall of 1919, Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote a dissent in the case of Abrams v. United States. That dissent fundamentally changed the meaning of free speech.

Holmes was not an apparent candidate to write such a dissent: He was old, and old men are not known for writing radical changes into the law. Further, his dissent not only challenged precedent, it challenged a precedent that had largely been established by Holmes himself; some of the cases establishing it had been written only the previous spring?

How did this come about? That is what this excellent book is about, but briefly, it came about because, despite his age, Holmes welcomed friendship with younger men and despite the fact that he was a Boston Brahmin, he welcomed people from different backgrounds (as long as they were brilliant and well read). So, this book is also about several other brilliant men including Learned Hand, Louis Brandeis, Harold Laski and Felix Frankfurter.

The Great Dissent is a great book.

Felix Frankfurter (no photo)
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Learned Hand
Louis Brandeis(no photo)

(Laski is also an author, but Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ doesn't seem to have him).

55. P.G. Wodehouse
Genre: Humor
Date finished: Sept 27, 2013
Rating: B
Review: Wooster and Jeeves are off to Totleigh Manor, where there are multiple marriages being planned, multiple crimes being committed, and the usual comedy of manners (lots of comedy and bad manners).

Peter wrote: "55. P.G. Wodehouse
Genre: Humor
Date finished: Sept 27, 2013
Rating: B
Review: Wooster and Jeeves are off to Totleigh Manor, ..."

I absolutely love Wodehouse. He writes the perfect parody of the "man about town" in the early 20th century England. Such fun!!!

P.G. Wodehouse

56. Joseph E. Persico
Genre: History
Date finished: Sept 29, 2013
Rating: B+
Review: This well-researched book tells the story of how FDR led a rather difficult cast of generals (e.g. MacArthur, Patton, King, Montgomery) to victory while also contending with an untrustworthy ally (Stalin).

Like most books on war, I think this one could have used more and better maps. Also, the final chapters of the book (perhaps inevitably) have a sort of hodgepodge character to them as the author tries to wrap up all the threads of the huge war.

Nevertheless, this is a very good book and well worth reading. One should probably have *some* knowledge of WWII before reading it, but, for this group, that's not likely to be a problem!

OCTOBER

57. (no cover) by Peter W. Riffle(no photo)
Genre: Education
Date finished: Oct. 13, 2013
Rating: B+
Review: Peter Riffle is a gifted teacher of special education students. He is also learning disabled himself (he has dyslexia). This book recounts his thoughts on teaching and has many short descriptions of some of the students he has had over the years. Recommended for teachers of special education in particular.

58. by Daniel Kahneman
Genre: Psychology
Date finished: Oct 13, 2013
Rating: A
Review: Along with his friend and colleague Amos Tversky, Daniel Kahneman led a revolution in psychology that reverberated in other fields (especially economics). People do not always make rational choices, even when the rational choice can be strictly defined. In this large book Kahneman summarizes decades of research. I always prefer to read about science from the scientist involved, and the author makes it easy by having a straightforward prose style. He writes for the intelligent layman and manages to make complex thoughts accessible without dumbing them down.

59. by Stephen Greenblatt
Genre: History, philosophy
Date finished: Oct 18, 2013
Rating: A-
Review: In the 15th century, the Italian scribe and humanist Poggio Bracciolini loved to search for old books. He found one that was a poem by Lucretius entitled De Rerum Natura (on the nature of the universe). This poem (and science treatise) written in the first century BC, is a beautiful exposition of the philosophy of Epicurus - which anticipated, in many ways, much of modern science (including atoms and evolution) and also atheism.

In The Swerve, Greenblatt tells not only of the philosophy of Epicurus (whom the Catholic Church spent centuries vilifying) but also of life in 15th century Europe (especially Italy and most especially in the Vatican) and the personality of Poggio (not wholly admirable, but heroic).

Oops, Peter, looks like your citation went awry.
by Stephen Greenblatt

I loved this book also.

NOVEMBER
60. Philipp Blom (no photo)
Genre: History, philosophy
Date finished: November 17, 2013
Rating: A
Review: This book tells the story of the radical enlightenment, in particular the lives and philosophies of Denis Diderot and Baron d'Holbach. Their thoughts are part of a thread of radical atheism running back to Epicurus and Lucretius and forward to Dawkins and Hitchens. They also anticipated part of Darwin and other modern thinkers.

I found it fascinating.

One quirk is that the author keeps referring to the main characters by different combinations of their first and last names (e.g. sometimes Rousseau is referred to as Jean Jacques). This is disconcerting, but doesn't detract from the book's many pleasures.

61. ed. by Gardner R. Dozois
Genre: Science Fiction
Date finished: November 23, 2013
Rating: B
Review: This is my favorite of the annual "best of SF" series, but this one was a little disappointing.

DECEMBER
62. by
Genre: Biography/math/philosophy
Date finished: Dec 12, 2013
Rating: A
Review: This is a brilliant and very well written biography of Kurt Godel, one of the most brilliant and strangest humans of the 20th century. Called the greatest logician since Aristotle, he was also a paranoid schizophrenic.

63. by Terry Pratchett
Genre: Humor, fantasy
Date finished: Dec 11, 2013
Rating: B
Review: This is a compilation of some favorite passages from Terry Pratchett's various books. If you are a fan, this is a nice read.

Peter....be sure to put December above you post #84. Thanks.

64. Terry Pratchett
Genre: Humor, fantasy
Date finished: Dec 22, 2013
Rating: A
Review: The free press has come to Ankh Morpork, and it's HUNGRY.

65. Mary Roach
Genre: Science
Date finished: Dec 23, 2013
Rating: B+
Review: This is the story of what happens to us after we die. Not a book to read while eating, but a fascinating one. There is, perhaps, a bit too much of Mary Roach in this book, but it's a good look at something that will happen to all of us.

66. Jon Meacham
Genre: Biography
Date finished: Dec 24, 2013
Rating: B+
Review: This is a fairly admiring look at Andrew Jackson's presidency, with the exception of Jackson's treatment of Blacks and American Indians. It isn't (and doesn't pretend to be) a full biography. Well written and well researched, the only negative for me was that it got a little difficult to keep all the characters straight (lots of people with similar names) but that may be me, more than the author.

67. Turing and Burroughs: A beatnik SF Novel (GoodReads seems to have missed this one) by Rudy Rucker
Genre: Science fiction
Date finished: Dec 29, 2013
Rating: B
Review: A weird book. Its premise is that 1) Alan Turing's suicide was fake - it was actually attempted murder by the British authorities. 2) Turing develops a method to make people able to merge with each other physically and also to change shape. The author has done his research into the main characters and then has gone on a sort of psychedelic bender. Not bad, but deeply odd.

A great year of reading for you,Peter. We will be setting up the 2014 challenge very soon.