The Kill Artist
After two books of the Gabriel Allon series (one early, and one late in the series), I can say that Daniel Silva is one of my favorite authors of the Spy Thriller. Not as psychologically dense as Le Carre, but not soulless, Silva seems to have a good balance between the psychology of the character and the action of a thriller.I felt The Kill Artist was solid. The characters had dimension, and did not require a great effort of suspending disbelief, even looking at this through post-9/11 eyes. (Some disbelief must be set aside, but what the hell, it's fiction.) The plot was fun to follow and relevant for the time it was written (before Osama bin Laden changed the game).
If you like a spy thriller that is not shallow like Ian Fleming, does not become over-laden with the inner workings of the character like Le Carre, but still has the soul and psychology of what drives an espionage agent, then I recommend this book.
The First Wave
I'm never sure whether to start with what I liked or what I didn't like about a book. I really liked this book, and I thought the second half was much stronger than the first half. I got tired of being reminded by the narrator that he used to be a cop in Boston for the first third of the book, and that a good half of the book kept throwing in his motivation (Diana) as an afterthought. All sorts of things would happen in a chapter, and then, oh yeah, I am worried about Diana and hope I get to go looking for her. But once Diana came back into the picture, it was solid. The motivation was real, and the experiences mostly felt honest. All-in-all, I thought it was a solid espionage thriller, but average for the genre based on my comments above. Sadly, and not the author's fault, but the copy editor(s) did a terrible job, and there were many mistakes that went into the printing.
Bridging the Century The story of North Kansas City
The author used a lot of nostalgic language and cliches, but I got a lot of good facts out of this book as well.
Rapture Practice
Call me sentimental, but I loved this book. A memoir written in my town by a man who is five years younger than I, dealing with evangelical Christians. I did not grow up in a house like Hartzler. I probably would have committed suicide. (But maybe not. If you grow up in that, it is all you know.) I did, however, adopt some of these attitudes about life from my involvement through a youth group through my church. Instead of being imposed by his parents, I internalized that myself. I quit listening to the "devil music" of my own accord, whereas Hartzler sought it out himself. I didn't have the aversion to TV or movies, though. And the fact that my home was not the source of my brush with evangelism probably kept me from delving too far into it.So, enough about me...
I thought Hartzler did an excellent job. His writing style is relaxed and easy to read. It just feels honest. So honest. And that makes you want to keep reading to see how he is handling this life of his. I wish it would have gone a little further chronologically into his life. Maybe that will be another book.
I missed him speak at a local Barnes & Noble, but I got a signed copy from him. Now that I've read it, I want to sit down with him for a beer to talk about it.
Religion for Atheists
I have a fascination with religion and what it provides, outside of hope for salvation, and how I might be able to incorporate it in my life. In fact, that's why I will sometimes attach myself to a liberal church that doesn't seem to care much that I think of myself as a pantheist. Since the book dealt with that very subject matter (what religion has to offer for the non-believer), and since I really loved Botton's How Proust Can Change Your Life, I snatched it up in a second when I saw it on display in the bookstore.Compared to How to Live the Good Life, by Arthur Jackson, I think this is a little more practical, but like Jackson's book, this one delves a little into reshaping society at large, and I am looking a little more for the discussion about the here and now. (Not that we shouldn't have that conversation about reshaping society, but that's just not what I was looking for.)
Although I compared it a little in my mind to Jackson's book (which I have yet to finish and review), I spend most of the time comparing it to de Botton's book on Proust. Unfortunately, I didn't feel this book delivered as well. Maybe de Botton didn't want to inject as much of his wit into this book as he did Proust, but I wish he had. Because of that, I rated Religion for Atheists as an average read. Interesting, but not outstanding.
Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer
Soccer was just on the edges of my radar in high school since we had a team. I went to a few games and was friends with the players. It drifted toward the center of my radar when MLS formed and my city had a team. As my interest in gridiron football waned over the years, soccer has moved to dead-center of my scope. This book mirrors that in many ways, and I think much of America is headed the same way.If you are a fan of American soccer that has dabbled in the goings-on of the English Premier League, this book will give you insight into the fans, the culture, and the system of relegation. It helps that the author is an accomplished sports journalist, leading to comfortable readability.
A Slice of Murder (A Pizza Lover's Mystery)
How cozy. If one can remember it's not a police procedural, but a "cozy," then it's an enjoyable diversionary read. I felt some of the dialogue was stiff, but again, I overlooked it and just enjoyed it for what it is.
Post Captain
I'm a little torn on whether to give this three or four stars. I was bored with the portion of the story that took place on land, and the romancing of the ladies. Let's face it. The reason to read the Aubrey-Maturin series is for the bromance. There were great scenes between the two in this book, but sometimes the bitches got in the way.
The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights
Would it surprise you that it is a bit dated? It was published 118 years ago. Considering it in its context, I give it four stars.
Every Day
Another strong book by Levithan, but the end left me wanting, and expecting, a sequel.** Possible Spoilers **
I really enjoyed the insight the main character had about different people he(?) inhabited throughout his life. I liked how he(?) saw them all as human, regardless of their problems, idiosyncracies, and differences. He(?) didn't think all were admirable, but all were human and not automatically labeled villains.
Let me explain the question mark after "he." The main character was without gender and inhabited both male and female bodies along the way. "He" was comfortable with either gender. I say "he" mainly because the relationship between the love interest seemed to be most comfortable as a heterosexual relationship.
Blogging For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers))
This gave me a better understanding of how RSS works and how people promote their blogs. I still don't know if I want to jump into that.
The Mission Song: A Novel
This book took a very long time to develop, but that's typical of John le Carre, isn't it? When the psychological state of the protagonist is the most important driving factor, it takes time to build to that point of action. But even when you reach that point in The Mission Song, it isn't enough to rank this among le Carre's greats. It took me a long time to care enough to finish the book, and even when I did, the victims who were going to be affected by the "operation" were faceless and distant, making it hard to care. Perhaps this is le Carre's point.
Specimen Days: A Novel
Fantastic writing. Three genres in one. Section one: a ghost story. Section two: a police procedural. Section three: a sci-fi tale. The only thing I thought was lacking was a more definitive ending that wrapped up the ties between all three tales.
Soccer Rules & Positions In A Day For Dummies, USA Edition
It gave me a little more explanation of how the strikers and wings work in soccer.