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Slan

van Vogt, A. E.
Classic science fiction from the 1940s. Not a "Weapon Shops Of Isher", but not bad.

Read:

10/2016

Hillbilly Elegy

Vance, J. D.
Author relates his life from poor hillbilly to Yale lawyer. Pretty good.

Read:

9/2019

Wild Thyme, Green Magic

Vance, Jack
Twelve stories by the author, with a couple of bios by his wife, Norma, and some editorial commentary. My favorite story was Coup De Grāce.

Words I Had To Look Up:

punctilio (pg. 226) -- A fine point of etiquette.

Read:

10/2009

Magic can be murder

Vande Velde, Vivian
The jacket quote says "A funny and charming story". It is a good story, but it is neither funny nor charming. Goofy romance at end. The last line implies a future book that might BE funny and charming.

Read:

10/2009

Now you see it...

Vande Velde, Vivian
Wendy finds magical glasses that allow her to see all sorts of strange things. A pretty excellent story, moves right along. Poignant subplot of grandmother who has Altzheimers. One weep.

Read:

3/2006

Read:

2/2013

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem

Vande Velde, Vivian
Six versions of the Rumpelstiltskin story. My favorite was Straw Into Gold. I teared up a few times.

Read:

4/2013

Moon Over Manifest

Vanderpool, Clare
During the Great Depression twelve-year-old Abilene is sent to live in her vagabond father's hometown of Manifest where over the course of the summer she uncovers the events of years ago that changed so many lives.

I got near the end and thought, this is moving but I haven't weeped once. Then, the next chapter. Bawling so I could hardly read! I see why this is the Newbery medal book for this year.

Read:

4/2011

Red Lightning

Varley, John
Book two of the series, Manny's son goes to Earth his family to rescue Grandma Betty from the r avenges of an ginormous (and mysterious) tsunami. Also, Mars is invaded, and Jubal disappears for a while.

Words I Had To Look Up:

Winchester .30-06 (thirty-ought-six) rifle (pg. 85) -- Wikipedia says it is thirty-aught-six, and I agree!

Read:

9/2010

Red Thunder

Varley, John
A group of high school kids and an ex-astronaut drunk build a spaceship to beat the Chinese to Mars, and possibly rescue an American ship in trouble.
How come there are twelve password astericks on page 184, but only eleven letters in the password on page 185? Eh?

Words I Had To Look Up:

hubris (pg. 188) -- Overbearing pride or presumption
the Coast Guard freak (pg. 299) -- I STILL think "freq." is a better abbreviation.

Read:

9/2010

Rolling Thunder

Varley, John
Podkayne Strickland sings her way through the Martian Naval Corps in the third book of the series. Many Heinlein references throughout the series.

Words I Had To Look Up:

[my] face doesn't stop clocks (pg. 9) -- I thought this expression was a positive one, but apparently it is not!
a Bendel bonnet (pg. 47) -- From the Cole Porter song Your The Top, a woman's hat from the fashionable Bendel store in New York.
the doohickey was synchronized with the absquatulator (pg. 285) -- One who absquatulates; to make off, decamp, or abscond. Seems to be misused.
andouille abd cheese omelet (pg. 301) -- A spicy pork sausage.

Read:

9/2010

Fellowship Of The Seven Stars

Veglahn, Nancy J.
This poor lonely book has never been checked out from our library since it was acquired in 1982, so I took it and read it. A minister's daughter joins a cult. An interesting story.

Quote:

At least I know a lot of Bible verses I never knew before. (page 175)

Read:

11/2012

Rain Of Gold

Villasenor, Victor
The author tells the history of his family's emigration from Mexico to the U.S. in quite an earthy manner. I'm giving it five stars on Goodreads.

Read:

4/2016

Candide

Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet De
Wacky story of innocent young man experience real life, but maintaining his sense of optimism through all.

Read:

2/2002

Charlesgate Confidential

Von Doviak, Scott
Set in Boston and told in three timelines (sometimes a bit confusing to me) is this story based on some real events. Art theft, murder, more murders. I enjoyed reading it. So did Steven King, I hear!

Quote:

"This Italian, Irish, whatever the fuck. Tribal shit."

Quote:

"Bob Boone." -- I think I went to high school with his brother. Didn't know him, of course.

Quote:

In fact, I never did any of the things depicted in this novel. I certainly never purchased a fake Maine driver's license from a classmate for the purpose of illegally purchasing alcoholic beverages. Who would believe such a thing?

Read:

9/2024

Death Gets A Time-Out

Waldman, Ayelet
Juliet Applebaum, P.I., former lawyer, investigates the murder of a woman by her son, for her movie star friend. Read 10/2004

Read:

10/2004

Nursery Crimes

Waldman, Ayelet
New Mom/Lawyer/P.I.? Juliet Applebaum decides having babies isn't enough, she wants to find out who kill the principal of the preschool that rejected Juliets child.

Read:

7/2001

Son of a grifter

Walker, Kent
The authors story of how his mother and brother ended up murdering a woman in New York City. Very interesting, and thanks to Google Earth I could see the foundation of the house mom burnt down in Las Vegas!

Read:

11/2006

Puerto Vallarta Squeeze : (The Run for El Norte)

Waller, Robert James
This guy wrote Bridges Of Madison County. Read Sometime In

QUOTE:

Check out these reviewtoids from Amazon.com

PURE TRASH:

"Tremendously poignant portrayal of man-woman relationship" "Pretentiously written, but interesting.... " I agree!!! Especially the TRASH one!!!

Read:

10/1998

Cold Tracks

Wallingford, Lee
Forest Service law enforement officer Frank Carver and his assistant Ginnie Trask work together to solve a murder in Oregon.

Read:

8/2001

From Lance To Landis

Walsh, David
An account of drug use in cycling during the Lance era, with a bit of Landis at the end. Fairly depressing.

Read:

1/2008
20 books displayed
[Abadzis - Aiken] [Aiken - Allinghamc] [Alvarez - Angelou] [Anthony - Atkins] [Atkinson - Backman] [Baen Publishing Enterprises - Balliett] [Balliett - Barnard] [Barnard - Barr] [Barr - Barrows] [Barry - Bear] [Bear - Beaton] [Beaton - Beaton] [Beaton - Bester] [Bingle - Block] [Block - Block] [Block - Bosch] [Bosch - Brashares] [Breathed - Bryson] [Bryson - Bujold] [Bujold - Bujold] [Bujold - Card] [Card - Card] [Card - Caunitz] [Caunitz - Cheaney] [Chesterton - Clancy] [Clare - Coben] [Coben - Colfer] [Colfer - Collins] [Collins - Connelly] [Connelly - Conroy] [Constantine - Cooper] [Corbett - Cornwell] [Cornwell - Crais] [Crais - Crichton] [Crichton - Crusie] [Curry - Cussler] [Cussler - Davis] [Davis - Dilloway] [Dionne - Dorsey] [Dorsey - Dowell] [Dowell - Duncan] [Duncan - Elkins] [Elkins - Evanovich] [Evanovich - Fairstein] [Fairstein - Ferris] [Fforde - Flanagan] [Flanagan - Ford] [Forester - Francis] [Francis - Francis] [Francis - Francis] [Francis - Frey] [Frey - Gantos] [Gantos - Gibson] [Gibson - Gores] [Gores - Granger] [Granger - Greenberg] [Greenfield - Grimes] [Grimes - Grisham] [Grisham - Haddix] [Haddix - Hall] [Hall - Hallinan] [Halpern - Haugaard] [Hautman - Heinlein] [Heinlein - Heller] [Heller - Herbert] [Herman - Hess] [Hess - Hiaasen] [Hiaasen - Hobb] [Hobb - Hoose] [Hopkinson - Hudson] [Huff - Jacobs] [James - Jones] [Jones - Kaminsky] [Kaminsky - Kellog] [Kellog - King] [King - Kline] [Klise - Kowal] [Kowal - Lamott] [Lampman - Lawrence] [Lawrence - Lee] [Lee - Lescroart] [Lescroart - Liebster] [Lindsay - London] [Long - Lubar] [Luna - MacLachlan] [Maclean - Mandel] [Mankell - Martin] [Martin - Mass] [Mass - McBain] [McCaffrey - McCrumb] [McCrumb - Medwed] [Meier - Millard] [Miller - Moon] [Moon - Morrison] [Mortimer - Mysterious Press] [Nance - Nimmo] [Niven - Novik] [Novik - O'Brian] [O'Brian - Oliver] [Oppel - Paretsky] [Paretsky - Parker] [Parker - Parker] [Parker - Paterson] [Paterson - Paulsen] [Paulsen - Peck] [Peck - Phelan] [Philbrick - Posey] [Powell - Poyer] [Poyer - Pratchett] [Pratchett - Prineas] [Pronzini - Pullman] [Pullman - Quinn] [Quinn - Reeve] [Reeve - Ringo] [Ringo - Robinson] [Robinson - Rowling] [Rowling - Russo] [Rust - Scalzi] [Scalzi - Schmidt] [Schmidt - Scottoline] [Scottoline - Seranella] [Setterfield - Shusterman] [Shusterman - Smith] [Smith - Soto] [Sparks - Stark] [Stark - Stephenson] [Stephenson - Stroke] [Stroke - Strunk] [Sturgeon - Taylor] [Taylor - Townsend] [Tracy - Updale] [Urban - Van Name] [van Vogt - Walsh] [Walsh - Weber] [Weber - Wells] [Wells - Westlake] [Westlake - Westlake] [Westlake - Willis] [Willis - Wodehouse] [Wodehouse - Yep] [Yep - Zusak] 

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