Books I've Read
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River Of Teeth
In an alternative time line it seems hippopotamuses have been introduced to the Mississippi river region to serve as a food source. Well, Houndstooth has a agreement with the Government to rid the area of feral hippos. They think he is going to trap them. No, his plan involves dynamite. Also, revenge.
Quote:
"It's not a caper, it's an operation."Read:
1/2024
Taste Of Morrow
River Of Teeth #2. What's left of the gang is still separated from the last book, plus a baby. I'm not sure what happened, but all of a sudden the story is over and everyone has reconnected. I think everyone (well, everyone important) is still alive, too! What a hippo nightmare!
Quote:
"Pollas en vinagre," she murmured...Read:
1/2024
Worth Her Weight In Gold
River of Teeth #0.5. Well, THAT was much shorter than I expected. What, sixteen pages? Eighteen? I forget. This one is about Ruby the hippo.
Read:
1/2024
American Gods
Shadow gets out of prison, meets a bunch of crabby gods who have ended up in America, where they aren't doing so well. A much better book then that sentence would suggest! Good stuff.
Words I Had To Look Up:
nacreous -- (pg. 323) resembling mother-of-pearl; lustrous.Read:
1/2008
Anansi Boys
Fat Charlie discovers a few interesting things about his estranged father when he attends dad's funeral. Raised some self-examinations on my part about father-son relationships, karaoke. Read the Thorndike Press Large Print edition.
Words I Had To Look Up:
saveloy (pg. 188) -- A saveloy is a type of vividly red sausage served in English fish and chip shops.Quote:
"I think I ought to show you something," he said.
..."Is it something kinky?"...
"It's not ... a model train set, it it?"Read:
11/2007
Coraline
A British girl having a boring summer finds a quite a bit of excitement going through a bricked-up door.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Peradventure (pg. 85) -- By chance.
Beldam (pg. 81) -- An old woman, especially considered ugly.
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2/2008
Fragile Things
Collection of short stories and poems. I especially liked the Sherlock Holmes story.
Read:
12/2009
Good Omens
Co-authored by Terry Prachett. Armageddon, witch hunters, satanic nuns. It is all here!
Words I Had To Look Up:
Snatch pastry (pg. 357) -- A greedy fellow.
Dick Turpin (pg. 340) -- An 18th century English highwayman.
Quote:
"What was that, Mr. Shadwell?" Madame Tracy looked at him sharply.
"I said, De 'il ding a divot aff yer wame wi' a flaughter spade," said Shadwell.
That'll be quite enough of that kind of language, Mr. Shadwell," said Madame Tracy... -- Pg. 276.
Quote:
"What's a Velvet Underground?" he said.
"You wouldn't like it," said Crowley.
"Oh," said the angel dismissively. "Be-bop." -- pg. 78.
Read:
5/2010
Neverwhere
Richard stops to help a wounded girl, has to deal with the denizens of London Below. Extremely excellent.
Quote:
"You've a good heart," she told him. "Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go." Then she shook her head. "But mostly, it's not." -- pg. 3
Read:
10/2016
The Graveyard Book
A baby inadvertently escapes the murderer of his family when he crawls away from his crib, out the door, and into a graveyard where the ghosts (and others) take care of him. Very excellent.
Words I Had To Look Up:
flibbertigibbet (pg. 29) -- Second book I've read this week to use the word!
Read:
10/2010
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
I really really loved this little story of a man visiting his childhood home and area.
Read:
11/2017
Of Rice and men
Really good MASH-like novel of a young mans year in Vietnam. Did I say really good? Yes, really good. Read it.
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4/2006Quote:
Bong bong bong ga bong bong.
Dead End In Norvelt
A young boy, oddly named Jack Gantos, has an exciting summer. I like the part when dad sneaks an airplane into the garage.
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11/2011Read:
9/2014
Hole In My Life
Autobiographical account of author's time in prison for smuggling hashish. Very good.
Read:
7/2003
Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key
Hyper kid gets meds. A very good story!!
Read:
9/2002
Cassandra French's Finishing School For Boys
Cassie takes the problem of immature men into her own hands. And basement.
Words I Had To Look Up:
a thin veneer of drywall and Sheetrock (pg. 44) -- Are they not the same thing?
I don't know the Dewey decimal system all that well (pg. 102) -- She is talking about a UCLA library, they probably use LC. And I think the "d" in decimal should be capitalized.
schmeared a bagel (pg. 170) -- The relationship between "schmear" and "smear" struck me.
bottle of...chloroform languishing...after a stint at learning photography (pg. 186) -- Today I Learned of its uses in the photographic arts.
Read:
12/2011
Casual Rex
The dino P.I.s head off to Hawaii to investigate a dino cult.
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11/2011
Seven Complete Novels
Contents:
The Case Of The Glamorous Ghost
The Case Of The Terrified Typist
The Case Of The Lucky Loser
The Case Of The Screaming Woman
The Case Of The Long-Legged Models
The Case Of The Foot-Loose Doll
The Case Of The Waylaid Wolf
Pretty good stories. All I know about trials and such I got from My Cousin Vinny. The procedure in these cases is remarkably different, I am moved to research how the law has changed over the years. I would like to know more about the relationship between Perry and Della. Having watched the television series for many years, I keep visualizing the television actors as I'm reading!
Words I Had To Look Up:
...Hamilton Burger said unctuously (The Case Of The Terrified Typist, pg. 221) -- Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness.
...and his defalcations would be discovered. (The Case Of The Terrified Typist, pg. 243) -- The fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else
"Oh, bosh!" Hamilton Burger snapped. (The Case Of The Lucky Loser, pg 357) -- Pretentious or silly talk or writing. I thought I invented this work in sixth grade, but as it turns out...
...and a Strobe-light in the other hand... (The Case Of The Foot-Loose Doll, pg 633) -- It is a proper noun? I don't think so.
Quote:
She was emotionally unstable and I believe temporarily insane. She had come to believe the world owed a living both to her and to her unborn child. It was quite in keeping with her emotional state for her to hold up a bank. -- The Case Of The Foot-Loose Doll, pg. 695.
Read:
7/2009
Ascending
More adventures of Festina and Oar. I am such a one as would like to see more of Oar!
Read:
1/2012
Expendable
Explorer woman gets sent to planet where everyone who is sent there disappears. Some good dialog, story seems lacking somehow, but I will read the sequel!
Read:
12/2011
20 books displayed
[Gailey - Gardner] [Garrigue - Gladwell] [Gladwell - Gormley] [Gould - Granger] [Grann - Greenleaf] [Greenleaf - Grimes] [Grimes - Grisham] [Grogan - Gutman]