Required Reading

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Books I have authored.

Many times I receive books for FREE to give them an honest review. I do not get paid to give a good or bad review. Spotlights are promotional and should be regarded as advertising for the book spotlighted. Regardless of where or how I got a book, my review will be as honest as I can make it.

Monday, July 29, 2013

By Order of the President by W.E.B. Griffin

 
I haven’t read any Griffin for awhile and had forgotten how much I enjoy them.  This book is book one in the Presidential Agent series.  Carlos Castillo is a man of many hats who works temporarily for Home Land Security.  He is tasked by the President to find out how well the intelligence community is interacting after the debacle of 9/11.  

The book is formula Griffin, with short chapters, likeable characters and detailed settings.   Once again Philadelphia plays a part in a Griffin tale.  Charley Castillo is a likeable jack of many trades with a very international family.   Griffin does a great job in crafting likeable characters.  He also shows his distain for bureaucratic malaise.   I’m also guessing he has had less than positive experiences with the FBI.

The plot moves quickly, Charley finds some unlikely allies and there are plenty of secondary characters to enjoy.

I recommend the book.

Site:  http://www.webgriffin.com/home.html
  

  This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child

 


“You do not mess with the special investigators.”  Reacher reunites with his old unit in this terrorism focused thriller. (BTW I am not having a Lee Child love fest. I am trying to read his Reacher books in order.)

Reacher’s unit reflected his own dynamic ethics.   “You do not mess with the special investigators”, was followed up by dramatic action.   Then they all left the service.   Years later Reacher is contacted because one of his special investigators is in trouble.   Predictably Reacher and the others come together to help their friend.

Regardless of how you feel about vigilante justice you have to love the camaraderie and loyalty that Jack Reacher incorporated in his unit.  Their stalwart defense of their own is admirable. 

Once again there is a great deal of violence and if you are Old Testament oriented much of it is explainable.  Good character studies and a solid plot are once again very much a part of this page turner. 

Repeating myself, Child has a very vivid imagination.  He comes up with some amazingly despicable people.   Some of this book was hard to read but fits perfectly with Reacher’s style of justice. 

You can’t really describe Jack Reacher as a hard man with a soft heart because the soft spots on his heart are not readily accessible.  He is a hard man with an overdeveloped sense of justice, perhaps not legally acceptable justice but justice never the less.

As in all the Jack Reacher books I have read so far, there is non-stop action and lots of violence.  

I enjoyed the book and I recommend the book.

Web Site: http://www.leechild.com/
           


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Hard Way by Lee Child




Jack Reacher ends up working with an ex-FBI agent in this book.   A mercenary leader’s wife has disappeared and all his hard core special force types are useless to him until Reacher finds the perp.

Child has a very vivid imagination.  He comes up with some amazingly despicable people.   Some of this book was hard to read but fits perfectly with Reacher’s style of justice. 

You can’t really describe Jack Reacher as a hard man with a soft heart because the soft spots on his heart are not readily accessible.  He is a hard man with an overdeveloped sense of justice,  perhaps not legally acceptable justice but justice never the less.

As in all the Jack Reacher books I have read so far, there is non-stop action and lots of violence.  

I enjoyed the book and I recommend the book.

Web Site: http://www.leechild.com/
           
This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

My Losing Season by Pat Conroy



 



Normally I prefer something to be illuminated in a one or two word description rather than buckets of prose.  I’m not fond of poetry.  (I know, GASP!)  However Pat Conroy’s writing brings new heights to prose and poetry.   This book details his basketball career at the Citadel.  



Conroy’s lush descriptions and vivid emotional portrayals captivate you from word one.   His soul searching and searing self condemnation bring new bloody wounds each time you turn a page.  I’m not sure how I missed this book as I thought I had read everything he had written.  I have reveled in each of his books even though so much of his writing is an in-depth, over the top depiction of numbing and brutal emotional torture.  



I suspect that each book provides catharsis to a man who appears to have had a strife filled life.  The bi-polar aspect of someone in love with life and literature is shadowed by the persona willing to accept ego crushing blows from parent and coach.  



Conroy’s books smack of philosophy.   His premise that his losing season taught him strength and character and allowed him to have a measurable counter-point for loss and gain seems to suggest that a life with out loss leaves one with no benchmark to measure ones successes.   Regardless of his personal philosophic musings, his writing is simply beautiful.   We all have self doubt, Conroy waves his at the world and tells us regardless of self doubt we can succeed in our endeavors.  Having been a mediocre basketball player myself and by my own standards having a wonderful life, I found much in his book that resonated and chimed in my own batty belfry.  



I highly recommend the book.   





This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

The Enemy by Lee Child



This books seems like it should start the series not be labeled as number eight.  
Jack Reacher is an MP Major in this book in the special investigation unit.   He finds himself embroiled in the arm forces reshuffling occurring during the fall of the East Berlin Wall.  The reshuffling was not done easily by the hidebound traditions of the military.

Reacher’s personal code of ethics figures prominently in this book too.   We also get good back story on what makes this man among men tick.   He is an unforgettable character whose sense of honor is often self detrimental.   There is frequently a strong female in Child’s books who never gets carried into the next book. (or at least not yet)  Summer provides a good counter point for Reacher. 

The extent that Reacher’s peers extend themselves is indicative of the regard they have for his personal integrity.   Their loyalty and respect appear to be practically boundless. 

Once again, mayhem and murder abound followed by the implacable Reacher’s search for the truth.  

There is non-stop action and lots of violence.  

I enjoyed the book and I  recommend the book.

Web Site: http://www.leechild.com/
           
 This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Free Love Thug July 10-12, 2013 at Amazon

 FREE at Amazon -- Amazon only 
 this Wed-Fri (July 10 -12)

 See my Review

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Running Blind by Lee Child







Jack Reacher runs afoul of the FBI.   Former Army personnel are being found dead and Jack is the FBI profilers’ perfect fit as the perpetrator.  



Jack finds himself confused about what he really wants in life.  Someone from his past appears unexpectedly and impacts his life immeasurably. 



I like the intricate plots that Child crafts.  There is plenty of head scratching when trying to figure out who really is the bad guy.



Reacher’s methodology changes very little in this book.  He brings his brand of rough justice whether he is digging swimming pools or bouncing in a strip bar.   He finds help when he needs it from people who he has helped in the past.  Reacher epitomizes the old boy network in a rugged way. 



As in all the Jack Reacher books I have read so far, there is non-stop action and lots of violence.  



I enjoyed the book and I recommend the book.



Web Site: http://www.leechild.com/

           
This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Friday, July 5, 2013

The Healer by Antti Tuomainen



This was a book that seemed to feature despair.  It is a dystopian future where environmental impact is ruling the world.   The world is changing for the worse.  Tapani’s wife goes missing and his quest to find her is the focus of the book.

The frustration of Tapani’s search is almost felt palatably.  The author does a good job describing the feelings of the characters.   The plot has some plausibility without pontificating on the causes of the world’s problems.  

Radical environmentalists and crass opportunists populate the sub-characters.  The book flows but not rapidly.   It didn’t captivate me but it does provide some thought provoking situations.

Web Site: http://anttituomainen.com/
           


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.

Monday, July 1, 2013

The Traveler by Garrett Addison



A morality play depicting a overworked and under appreciated corporate traveler.

Whether intentional or not, I have no recollection of the protagonist name and I just finished the book and hour ago.   My thought is that the author’s intent is that you focus on the protagonist’s actions rather than mundane aspects like names.  Of course in college I disagreed vehemently with my literature professor on what Robert Frost really meant when he took a walk in the woods.  So assuming I know what the author meant is probably what assumptions are usually worth. 

The female boss of said corporate drone is the epitome of evil.  Anyone who has worked in any structured environment has encountered this type of individual.  They advance over the bodies of the weak.  

The premise of MBA short term thinking is questioned by the plot of the book.   Are consultants working for the common good or the quarterly report?  Sadly the newspaper business sections bulge with companies that have collapse because they have focused on short term concerns and ignored long term success.

The book has some epiphanies that clarify the overall direction of the plot.  In a lot of ways the book was depressing as there are entirely too many folks stuck on this dreadful treadmill.   Too me the message was wake up and smell the roses before you get sucked into the sewer.  I don’t know if that is what Garrett intended but that is what I got. 

Sadly I think this is an accurate description of too many lives. 

Web Site: www.garrettaddison.com

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.