Books I've Read
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Naked Came The Florida Man
Serge Storms, #23. Serge visits the memorable to all the victims of the hurricane that stirred up Lake Okeechobee in 1921 drowned 611 people in Belle Glade (where the memorial is) and over 1,800 statewide. Also, some scrawny girl named Chris wants to play football. I wept a bit reading the epilogue.
Quote:
"Be myself? Okay." He pulled a pint of Southern Comfort from his pocket and lifted it to the sun as he guzzled.
"once again, my words were not chosen with adequate care," said Serge. 'Be like other people."
"That's different."Quote:
...named after the army fort built during the Second Seminole War in 1938.-- 1938? maybe 1838!Read:
5/2024
No Sunscreen For The Dead
Serge Storms, #22. Serge and Coleman help out some senior citizens, and get involved in some Cold War spy residue. Great stuff, I love these books!
Quote:
"Will I be okay?"
"As long as you stay under your deks, you'll be fine," his father lied.Quote:
Then Ted would turn on his tape recorder at the appointed time and hope his correspondence would be read on the air. -- It happened to me, once! Quote:
A good-looking hooker had been first on the scene and called in the explosion over her police radio.Read:
4/2024
Nuclear Jellyfish
Amazing Serge and Coleman tale of diamond couriers, diamond thieves, and traveling salesmen. First fiction book that mentions "numbers stations", although I'm not sure that a 1941 Trans-Oceanic can transmit, even with a Latin bombshell with full, fiery lip, operating it. Whoa, the imagery!
Quote:
... Melvil Dewey of Dewey Decimal Sytem fame, who changed life as I know it, and not for the better. Can't tell you how many times I've been hot on the trail of a book, and the library's aisles run out before I get to the number and I go, 'What the fuck?'... (pg. 51)
Quote:
Serge on the 1909-SVDB Lincoln cent:
"I stared at that empty hole in my penny book every day after school until it represented all issues of emotional rejection. I despise that coin with every cell in my body." (pg. 173)
Read:
8/2009
Orange Crush
Serge Storms, #3. Political race in Florida. Where is Serge?
Words I Had To Look Up:
Morpheme -- A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that contains meaning. Quote:
...was embossed with von Zeppelin's HO-gauge vision.Quote:
"But he's different in other ways," said Escrow. "Acting erratic, bizarre."
"Like how?" asked Perry.
"He's started reading."
Dempsey nodded with concern. "Keep an eye on that."Quote:
"Thanks," said Tanya.
"M-m-m-my treat," said Jenny.Quote:
"What's this whole Parrot Head phenomenon about, anyway?" asked Crease.
"It's kind of like AA in reverse."Quote:
A shaken Jimmy Carter appeared on CNN outside a post office in Palm Beach, flames in the background. "I've never seen anything like this!"Read:
4/2024
Pineapple Grenade
Serge Storms, #15. Serge tries prevent the assassination of a Latin American President. Plus other stuff.
Quote:
"The Canadians! Christ!"
"No shit. They scare the hell out of me," said Serge.Quote:
"Where's the rule that says you can't just unilaterally declare yourself a spy and snoop around for no reason?"Quote:
...in dim light that only came from the glowing bars and cocktail tables, fitted underneath with special diodes. -- "Special diodes"? What are those??? Quote:
"Federal agent!" Serge flashed his badge. "Open this room! Now!"
"No inglés." -- Why Felicia is right there, why doesn't she translate? Read:
4/2024
Shark Skin Suite
Serge decides to become a sort-of paralegal, and so he and Coleman assist Brook on a court case she is involved with.
Read:
5/2018
The BIG Bamboo
Serge and Coleman go to Hollywood.
Words I Had To Look Up:
(pg. 50) -- A light open-necked cotton shirt, often with large pockets and pleats down the front, that is typically worn outside the pants.
Read:
11/2011
The Maltese Iguana
Serge Storms, #26. Serge takes on COVID. The Alexa/Seri interaction is hysterical. Fart.
Quote:
"It's all there in black and white," said Serge. "You all should read the rules instead of embarrassing yourselves." -- I did this in Monopoly too. People were mad!! Quote:
The immoral song "Let It Be" was winding down... -- Huh?? Read:
5/2024
The Pope Of Palm Beach
Serge Storms, #21. Serge goes to a book-signing or two. The library book return gets over-filled. Some coke smugglers get delayed revenge ... or not.
Quote:
Pablo stood still a moment, comprehending the folly of shooting multiple times into anything that's around your neck.Read:
5/2024
The Riptide Ultra-Glide
Segre Storms, #16. Recently unemployed teachers Pat and Bar McDougal go to Florida for a vacation, while Coleman finds he is famous.
I feel like I might have read this before, but it's not on the list!
Quote:
"That's wrong," said Coleman.
Serge resumed work on his Spanish fort. "I knew I should have bought those cannons ahead of time."Quote:
A two-stroke engine gunned.
...
"He's on a motorcycle," said Coleman.
...
"[...]...Now he's offering a ride[...]."
...
"He's gunning the engine again."
...
A final fuel injection of the V-twin. -- A two-stroke V-twin?Quote:
Serge examined the gift. "That is cool. I'm jealous." -- I never figured out what the cool gift was.Quote:
The trio nodded. "I think we got it."
"Repeat it back," said Coleman.
"Use sunscreen; don't do heroin."
Coleman nodded. "Carry on."Quote:
"I didn't invent coffee; I just do what it tells me."Read:
4/2024
The Stingray Shuffle
Serge Storms, #5. Serge is still chasing that suitcase, and it takes him on a railroad trip from New York to somewhere in Florida, I forget exactly where.
Quote:
...and a fishing guide named Skip. -- A nod to Hiaasen?Quote:
"... Wait! Look! There's something shiny down there! Help me move these bales of dope."Quote:
"I'm glad I was never part of the drug culture," said Serge, loading an automatic pistol in his lap.
"This isn't about the drug culture--it's about women," said Lenny.Quote:
Serge raised up and exploded: "I did it my way!Quote:
"... As long as you know the gauge conversion, which happens to be three-point-five millimeters to the foot, the rest is easy..." -- I would have gone with scale conversion there. Read:
4/2024
Tiger Shrimp Tango
Serge and Coleman go through the self-check aisle at the grocery store, among other things.
Read:
5/2018
Torpedo Juice
Serge Storms, #7. Serge gets married, almost killed by a serial killer, and, oh yeah, Colman comes back from the dead.
Quote:
"Stop right there," said Serge. "This is beginning to sound like some lame soap opera device to bring back a character they regretted killing off."Quote:
"...To borrow from Fire-sign Theater, Everything You Know Is Wrong..."Read:
5/2024
Triggerfish Twist
A nice family moves to their new home on Triggerfish Lane in Florida. Serge, Coleman, and Sharon move in across the street. A very funny book with lots of great quotes. None of which are repeatable here.
Read:
12/2010
Tropic Of Stupid
Serge Storms, #24. A bit of touching and inspirational religious stuff that made me tear up a bit, amongst the usual shenanigans of Serge and Coleman.
Quote:
"That was just wrong," said Sparrow. He didn't mean immoral. He meant tactically short-sighted.Quote:
"Naw." Serge flicked his wrist. "The nearest serial killer is probably a million miles away..." Quote:
"What's that?" Asked Serge.
"Nettle's baseball card...So he can smell my ass!"Read:
4/2024
When Elves Attack
Serge Storms, #14. It's Christmas time in Florida. Will there be any snow this year?
Quote:
I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.
--SHIRLEY TEMPLEQuote:
"How about some ice cream? There's the food court."
"Jim, why do you always think a woman just needs ice cream to put her in a better mood?"
"It doesn't?"
"No, it's true. Where'd you see the ice cream parlor?"Quote:
"Last time you went the wrong way on the interstate. The semi missed us by inches."
"The traffic signs were confusing."
"'Do Not Enter,'" said Eunice. "Yeah that's a mystery for the ages."Read:
4/2024
The London Eye Mystery
Ted and sister Kate try to figure out how their cousin Salim disappeared from the London Eye "Ferris" sort-of-wheel. EDIT--There was no Read date, don't know when I read it!
Words I Had To Look Up:
Oesophagus (pg. 2) -- British spelling of esophagus. Duh!
Shreddies (pg. 5) -- British breakfast cereal, from Post. Looks like Wheat Chex to me!
Lilo (pg. 42) -- An inflatable mattress.
Topological (pg. 45) -- A simplified map not necessarily related to geography. The famous London subway map is an example.
Topographical (pg. 45) -- Basically, has contour lines showing hills and such.
Dialled (pg. 258) -- Same as dialed, I guess.Read:
No date
Phineas L. MacGuire... Erupts!
Third grader Mac is allergic to purple, loves science, and is too old for dinosaurs.
Read:
5/2009Read:
12/2009
Shooting The Moon
Jamie's brother enlists in the Army, to the objections of their officer father, as a medic and is sent to Vietnam. She volunteers at the base rec center and learns to develop and print the photographic film he sends home to her.
Read:
12/2009
The Secret Language Of Girls
Sixth-grade Kate is learning about romance, and best friends, and ex-best friends. I really enjoyed this book!
Read:
10/2013
20 books displayed
[Dahl - Dean] [Deaver - Disilverio] [Dixon - Dorsey] [Dorsey - Dowell] [Dozois - Duncan] [Dunning - Durham]