en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2025 15:22:28 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 24638984 0 Mike Befeler Mike 0 to-read 4.43 2014
author: Mike Befeler
name: Mike
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219090484 176 cj cook 0998422487 Mike 5 5.00
author: cj cook
name: Mike
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2025/01/21
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review:
Excellent book about a woman who brought color to the world of black and white photography and produced beautiful pictures of Hawaii.
]]> 56556501
Dr. Robinson is asked to assassinate a high-level Chinese missile scientist who is on course to sell his novel technology to the North Korean government. Unbeknownst to Lily, Grigory Markovic, a Russian terrorist Lily has encountered in the past, is also planning an arms deal with the North Koreans—warheads filled with deadly poison.

The Power of Poison—sequel to The Queen of All Poisons—is a tale of espionage, love, relationships, and loyalty, all meeting at the “intersection of obligation and conscience.�� And whether it’s Boston, France, Seoul, or Hong Kong, as always, Dr. Lily Robinson is “dressed to kill.”]]> 272 BJ Magnani 1645991520 Mike 5 4.68
author: BJ Magnani
name: Mike
average rating: 4.68
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/03/24
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A strong female protagonist in an exciting international thriller that will keep you turning the pages with a dash of romance, lots of intrigue and a dynamite ending.
]]> 34890015 Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts.

When asked simple questions about global trends��what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers.

In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse).

Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases.

It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most.

Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. ]]> 342 Hans Rosling 1473637465 Mike 5 4.34 2018
author: Hans Rosling
name: Mike
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2018
rating: 5
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date added: 2020/12/29
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review:
Excellent book about how often what we think is true is not the case. People tend to think things are worse than they are.
]]> 1837718
Many seeds for Radical Middle 's overall perspective were planted by Satin's award-winning Washington, D.C.-based international political newsletter, New Options (1984-1992), which was often referred to as "post-liberal" or "post-socialist" in orientation.�� Many of Radical Middle 's specific policy ideas were floated in Satin's later Washington-based political newsletter (also called Radical Middle ) - and were refined though dialogue with readers from every walk of life.�� The result of this 20-year journey is a book that brings special strengths to the attempt to create an inclusive political perspective as an alternative to ideological
Although Washington, D.C. seems awash in partisan bickering, most Americans are pragmatic, imaginative, and incredibly resourceful - and often, in their communities and organizastions, are working out the lineaments of an innovative, genuinely American, post-ideological political philosophy.�� Benjamin Franklin saw it coming.�� Afer reading Radical Middle , so will you.

Radical Middle received the "Best Book Award" fot 2004 from the Section on Ecological and Transformational Politics (Section #26) of the American Political Science Asociation .]]> 220 Mark Satin 0813341906 Mike 5 3.57 2004
author: Mark Satin
name: Mike
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2004
rating: 5
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date added: 2020/12/29
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review:
Fascinating book about an alternative to the radical left and radical right. A little dated (2004) but still relevant to our current political polarization.
]]> 56120186 36 Laura Befeler Mike 5 4.50
author: Laura Befeler
name: Mike
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/12/29
shelves:
review:
A touch of magic and a dash of positive energy gives life to a holiday story you won't forget
]]> 45298750 28 Jessica D. Adams Mike 0 4.56
author: Jessica D. Adams
name: Mike
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 133738 304 Marlys Millhiser 0915230151 Mike 5 4.02 1978
author: Marlys Millhiser
name: Mike
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1978
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
shelves:
review:
One of my favorite reads in the last five years. Combines historical, mystery, romance, paranormal in an intriguing and effective page turner.
]]> 2059845 352 Jim Wallis 0060558296 Mike 5 3.69 2008
author: Jim Wallis
name: Mike
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
shelves:
review:
Important ideas on getting away from the polarization of the extreme right and left
]]> 6583596 Instead, the author reverses course from the usual finger-pointing to uncover what is actually working in schools to bring boys up to speed, and draws his conclusions from there. The answer is simple yet the world has become increasingly verbal, but boys have not. From heightened kindergarten reading expectations to language-dense math problems, many boys lack the reading and writing skills needed to keep pace. Their lagging literacy skills snowball through the school years and ultimately derail ambitions and prospects.
Why Boys Fail is not simply a depressing assessment of the fate of our nation's boys; it also offers suggestions for what works. Packed with inspiring case studies of schools that have successfully implemented programs for improving literacy - such as intensive phonics instruction and ongoing reading instruction in the middle years - this extensively researched, persuasive book is a must-read for parents and educators alike.]]> 239 Richard Whitmire 0814415342 Mike 4 3.65 2010
author: Richard Whitmire
name: Mike
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
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review:
Must reading for those with kids in school and educators
]]> 7747374
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.]]> 440 Pittacus Lore 0061969559 Mike 4 3.94 2010
author: Pittacus Lore
name: Mike
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
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review:
Kept my interest. Intriguing concept.
]]> 7857195 if mice kept pets and toads could cuss,
if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated,
sheep sat still and meditated,
then in the forest, field and dairy
you might find this bestiary,
read by storks, by rats and kitties,
skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties.
"I found the book to be most droll,"
might quip the bear, the owl, the mole.
Others, though, would be more coarse,
"Bull," could say the pig and horse.
As to the scribe, they'd quote the hen:
"Trust me, he's no La Fontaine."

(flap copy)]]> 163 David Sedaris 0316038393 Mike 2 3.38 2010
author: David Sedaris
name: Mike
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
shelves:
review:
After all the hype I was disappointed that many of the stories didn't have solid endings
]]> 10775
A sensational bestseller when it appeared in 1986, The Garden of Eden is the last uncompleted novel of Ernest Hemingway, which he worked on intermittently from 1946 until his death in 1961. Set on the Côte d'Azur in the 1920s, it is the story of a young American writer, David Bourne, his glamorous wife, Catherine, and the dangerous, erotic game they play when they fall in love with the same woman. "A lean, sensuous narrative...taut, chic, and strangely contemporary," The Garden of Eden represents vintage Hemingway, the master "doing what nobody did better" (R. Z. Sheppard, Time).]]> 248 Ernest Hemingway 0684804522 Mike 3 3.73 1986
author: Ernest Hemingway
name: Mike
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1986
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
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review:
Good view into self-involved characters
]]> 9584960 ��
After their last big con netted them a nice chunk of change, Radar Hoverlander and his grifter girlfriend, Allie Quinn, have vowed to go straight. But Radar’s fragile commitment to clean living is put to the test when an oddly hefty lady in red shows up and stalks him through the streets of Santa Fe. Except that’s no lady—it’s Radar’s dad, Woody Hoverlander, a world class con artist in his own right.

Radar correctly figures if his dad is in drag, he must be in trouble. Woody is on the lam, with a Vegas hard guy after him and a large debt to clear. To help him, Radar must break his vow to leave cons behind—and risk losing Allie, who is determined to protect their nest egg and steer clear of bad influences.

Radar’s best pal, the usually hapless Vic Mirplo, had started creating art as a con, but now he’s coming into money as his sculptures start to sell.�� When Radar needs someone to flash some cash in Vegas and play the reckless gambler so that he can get his father off the hook, he reinvents Mirplo as the ultimate high roller--the Albuquerque Turkey--and dangles him as bait.

Art fraud, casino cons, love, loyalty, and plenty of double- and triple-crosses…they all prove that the odds of what happens in Vegas staying in Vegas are about as long as Radar Hoverlander staying straight.��]]> 272 John Vorhaus 0307717801 Mike 4 Great quirky characters. 3.63 2011
author: John Vorhaus
name: Mike
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
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review:
Great quirky characters.
]]> 8686068
When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime...]]> 298 Keigo Higashino 0312375069 Mike 3 4.16 2005
author: Keigo Higashino
name: Mike
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
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review:
Excellent twists to story. Some things not quite plausible.
]]> 96884 297 Jonathan Haidt 0465028020 Mike 5 Very thought provoking 4.08 2006
author: Jonathan Haidt
name: Mike
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/05/11
shelves:
review:
Very thought provoking
]]> 2358737
Friedman explains how global warming, rapidly growing populations, and the expansion of the world’s middle class through globalization have produced a dangerously unstable planet--one that is "hot, flat, and crowded."�� In this Release 2.0 edition, he also shows how the very habits that led us to ravage the natural world led to the meltdown of the financial markets and the Great Recession.�� The challenge of a sustainable way of life presents the United States with an opportunity not only to rebuild its economy, but to lead the world in radically innovating toward cleaner energy.�� And it could inspire Americans to something we haven't seen in a long time--nation-building in America--by summoning the intelligence, creativity, and concern for the common good that are our greatest national resources.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded is classic Thomas L. Friedman: fearless, incisive, forward-looking, and rich in surprising common sense about the challenge--and the promise--of the future.]]> 438 Thomas L. Friedman 0374166854 Mike 0 3.70 2008
author: Thomas L. Friedman
name: Mike
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2009/04/13
shelves:
review:
Excellent book on the challenge ahead for the United States.
]]> 42975 174 James A. Michener 0749319747 Mike 5 3.45 1987
author: James A. Michener
name: Mike
average rating: 3.45
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 120158
As the caller's activities become more widespread, soon a witch-hunt is in full cry, exposing past and present duplicities, self-deception, and blackmail. Nobody is above suspicion. Only a few, blessed with a sense of humour and the gift of faith, can guess at the caller's identity.]]> 224 Muriel Spark 0811214389 Mike 3 3.62 1959
author: Muriel Spark
name: Mike
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1959
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
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]]> 206785
But Ariel’s family live at spooky Withering Heights, a crumbling old mansion home to some rather strange goings-on . . .

First, the kindly cook, Mrs Cake, falls down the stairs.
Then the visiting vicar dies in the middle of drinking a cup of tea.
And there are rumours that a mysterious villain is stalking the halls of Withering Heights, seeking revenge . . .

It’s up to Gothic romance addict Ellie to get to the bottom of these sinister events �� before anyone else meets a sticky end.]]> 256 Dorothy Cannell 031234337X Mike 3 3.63 2007
author: Dorothy Cannell
name: Mike
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 618196 439 Carol Berg 0451457951 Mike 4 3.99 2000
author: Carol Berg
name: Mike
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 334176 419 Mary Doria Russell 0449912558 Mike 4 4.13 1996
author: Mary Doria Russell
name: Mike
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
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review:

]]> 140099
But Harper's not crazy. Her "death" has made her a Greywalker- able to move between the human world and the mysterious cross-over zone where things that go bump in the night exist. And her new gift is about to drag her into that strange new realm-whether she likes it or not.]]> 341 Kat Richardson 045146107X Mike 3 3.47 2006
author: Kat Richardson
name: Mike
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
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review:

]]> 3189672 friend, who is kind of but not really a boyfriend. She has disagreements with her loving and slightly overprotective mom about how late she can come home (on her bicycle) and how short her skirts should be. Looking in a mirror makes Kate crazy, worrying about her curly hair, thick calves and less-than-curvy body. Kate Hope in an average teenage girl.

Except, she's also a lawyer.]]> 336 Wick Downing 0618891331 Mike 4 3.61 2008
author: Wick Downing
name: Mike
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2009/01/07
shelves:
review:
Entertaining young adult read about girl lawyer.
]]> 4885536 242 Bonnie Ramthun 0375845542 Mike 5 3.77 2008
author: Bonnie Ramthun
name: Mike
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2008/12/01
date added: 2009/01/07
shelves:
review:
Excellent young adult mystery that also appeals to adults.
]]> 43641
Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.]]> 368 Sara Gruen 1565125606 Mike 5 4.11 2006
author: Sara Gruen
name: Mike
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 1618 226 Mark Haddon 1400032717 Mike 5 3.89 2003
author: Mark Haddon
name: Mike
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
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review:

]]> 310516 The first and only vampire book to be declassified by the federal government . . .

Felix Gomez went to Iraq a soldier. He came back a vampire.

Now he finds himself pulled into a web of intrigue when an old friend prompts him to investigate an outbreak of nymphomania at the secret government facilities in Rocky Flats. He'll find out the cause of all these horny women or die trying! But first he must contend with shadowy government agents, Eastern European vampire hunters, and women who just want his body . . .

Skewering sexual myths, conspiracy fables, and government bureaucracy, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats reveals the bizarre world of the undead with a humorous slant and a fresh twist.]]> 354 Mario Acevedo 0060833262 Mike 4 3.28 2006
author: Mario Acevedo
name: Mike
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
shelves:
review:

]]> 56077 Cannery Row, the weedy lots and junk heaps and flophouses of Monterey, John Steinbeck once more brings to life the denizens of a netherworld of laughter and tears from Fauna, new headmistress of the local brothel, to Hazel, a bum whose mother must have wanted a daughter.

]]> 249 John Steinbeck 0143039474 Mike 5 4.11 1954
author: John Steinbeck
name: Mike
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
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]]> 4799 Cannery Row is a book without much of a plot. Rather, it is an attempt to capture the feeling and people of a place, the cannery district of Monterey, California, which is populated by a mix of those down on their luck and those who choose for other reasons not to live "up the hill" in the more respectable area of town. The flow of the main plot is frequently interrupted by short vignettes that introduce us to various denizens of the Row, most of whom are not directly connected with the central story. These vignettes are often characterized by direct or indirect reference to extreme violence: suicides, corpses, and the cruelty of the natural world.

The "story" of Cannery Row follows the adventures of Mack and the boys, a group of unemployed yet resourceful men who inhabit a converted fish-meal shack on the edge of a vacant lot down on the Row.

Sweet Thursday is the sequel to Cannery Row.]]> 181 John Steinbeck 014200068X Mike 5 4.06 1943
author: John Steinbeck
name: Mike
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1943
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
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]]> 923993 An Agatha Award Finalist for Best First Novel



Feeling neglected by her workaholic husband, forty-something gift basket designer Claire Hanover joins an aerobics class at the urging of her best friend Ellen. Divorced and bitterly unhappy, Ellen and most of the other women in the class add a little vicarious excitement to their lives by flirting with the handsome instructor, Enrique. In a moment of weakness, Claire agrees to let the charming Enrique come to her house to give her a massage. She realizes she has made a deadly mistake when Enrique is shot and killed in her bedroom and her husband Roger is arrested for the murder.

Determined to clear Roger’s name and save her marriage, Claire sets out to find the real killer, encountering drug dealers, jealous ex-girlfriends, and angry cops along the way.


“A tense, exciting debut.”�� KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Will appeal to Desperate Housewives fans and those who like cozies with a bit of spice.�� â BOOKLIST

“A real winner! Don’t miss it.”�� Maggie Sefton, bestselling author of Knit One, Kill Two







]]> 269 Beth Groundwater 1594145474 Mike 5 3.49 2007
author: Beth Groundwater
name: Mike
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
shelves:
review:
Escellent mystery with massage, murder and maritial mayhem.
]]> 33453
Just ask C. Thomas Flood. Waking up after a fantastic night unlike anything he's ever experienced, he discovers that his girlfriend, Jody, is a vampire. And surprise! Now he's one, too. For some couples, the whole biting-and-blood thing would have been a deal breaker. But Tommy and Jody are in love, and they vow to work through their issues.

But word has it that the vampire who initially nibbled on Jody wasn't supposed to be recruiting. Even worse, Tommy's erstwhile turkey-bowling pals are out to get him, at the urging of a blue-dyed Las Vegas call girl named (duh) Blue.

And that really sucks.]]> 328 Christopher Moore 0060590297 Mike 5 Funny book. 3.84 2007
author: Christopher Moore
name: Mike
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
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review:
Funny book.
]]> 1097633 –Luanne Rice, author of The Edge of Winter

Sometimes the past comes looking for you. . . .

Two years ago, in idyllic Carystown, Kentucky, nine-year-old Isabella Moon disappeared on her way home from school. Is it just coincidence that Kate Russell, a young woman with no discernible past, arrived in town just months before Isabella’s disappearance? When Kate walks into Sheriff Bill Delaney’s office to tell him that Isabella’s ghost has led her to the child’s hidden grave, he immediately views her as a suspect. Mystery follows mystery as a local athlete drops dead, inexplicably, on the basketball court, and someone close to Kate is viciously murdered.

Quiet Carystown was to be Kate’s salvation, and she’s settled into a comfortable job, a charming cottage, and a blissful romance. But having lied to her boyfriend, Caleb, for so long about the terrors of her past life, she finds she can’t trust him to understand the terror that Isabella Moon has now brought. And Kate’s best friend, Francie, is too wrapped up in her own troubles–particularly a secret affair with a man she at once loves and despises–to give Kate the help she needs. Utterly alone, Kate is torn between finding justice for the dead child and keeping away old ghosts of her own.

The unsolved disappearance of Isabella Moon has been the biggest disappointment of Sheriff Delaney’s career. But he senses that Kate is trouble. As he investigates her impossible claims, he also uncovers a series of unsettling truths about Carystown itself. Behind his hometown’s genteel façade is a morass of lies and murder, drugs and destruction. And Carystown’s residents are about to discover that even though the past is buried, it can rise again–with a vengeance.

Dark and suspenseful, tense and eerie, tinged with the supernatural, Isabella Moon is an engrossing, beautifully written debut novel, a breathtaking and artful story of the dark mysteries that can lurk in the most bucolic of places–and the ghost of a little girl who watches as evil rises unstoppably to the surface.]]> 368 Laura Benedict 0345497678 Mike 4 3.16 2007
author: Laura Benedict
name: Mike
average rating: 3.16
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2008/09/11
shelves:
review:

]]>