Books I've Read
Books Listed by Author
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z All
The Talented Mr. Ripley
I could only find this book in a collection "Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s". It was so ungodly LONG that I'm entering as a separate entry! Since the collection contained four other NOVELS, one can assume the print was rather tiny. It was. I didn't much care for this book, and do not intend to read any others in the Ripliad. There were 340-odd pages of, did I mention it, TINY, print? I didn't feel any sympathy for any of the characters. About eight pages from the end, just before Ripley boards the Hellenes, he mentions THREE murders. I only remember two. I'm sure I just missed the point of the sentence. Hadas recommended this book. I don't hold it against her, though, it just didn't work for me.
Words I Had To Look Up:
celeri remoulade -- a type of salad. (op cit, pg. 175)
faute de mieux -- for lack of something better. (ibid, pg 202)
Read:
6/2007
Hunting Badger
Chee and Leaphorn looks for three guys who robbed a casino.
Read:
1/2001
Shape-shifter
Joe Leaphorn investigates a rug that was supposed to have been burned a few years ago. Good story. I WAS confused when the gift box of cherries made their appearance on page 199. I cannot find any reference to it before that, and I LOOKED!!
Read:
2/2007
Sinister Pig
Bernie becomes a Customs agent. A satisfying story, but not overly complicated. Chee finally gets his stuff sorted out.
Read:
12/2003
Skeleton Man
Jim Chee goes into the Grand Canyon to search for diamonds from an airliner mid-air collision back in 1956. Dup entry under last name of Tony.
Read:
5/2005
The Fallen Man
Another good mystery set in the Navajo nation. I got a little confused though.
Read:
7/1998
The First Eagle
Jim Chee investigates a policeman's death, Joe Leaphorn searches for a missing fleacatcher. Curiously these come across as "clean air", while the Lovejoy books seem so dark.
Read:
2/1999
The Wailing Wind
Chee and a retired Leaphorn look for clues in a tragic story of a lost gold mine, murder, and a missing wife. Very good.
Read:
12/2002
Lost Horizon
The classic story of four people who end up in the remote valley in Tibet at the Shangri-La monastery. Non a lot of action, and I was depressed at the end. I wonder how the movie versions came out?
Words I Had To Look Up:
esplanade (pg. 17) -- A long stretch of open level ground (paved or grassy) for walking beside the seashore
quia impossibile est (pg. 19) -- From the Tertullian quote, which freely translates as "It is certain, because it is impossible."
cantonments (pg. 24) -- A temporary or semi-permanent military quarters.
laconic (pg. 34) -- Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.
leitmotif (pg. 45) -- A melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation. A dominant recurring theme.
inculcate (pg. 69) -- Teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions.
iniquitous (pg. 75) -- Characterized by iniquity; wicked.
convolvulus (pg. 91) -- Any of a genus (Convolvulus) of erect, trailing, or twining herbs and shrubs of the morning-glory family.
chiaroscuro (pg. 119) -- Pictorial representation in terms of light and shade without regard to color.
illimitably (pg. 177) -- Incapable of being limited or bounded, measureless.
altiplano (pg. 177) -- A high plateau or plain.
Read:
3/2009
A Rage In Harlem
First published in 1957 as "For Love Of Imabelle", this gritty crime novel introduces us to Harlem police officers Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones.
Quote:
Exclamations in seven languages were heard -- No doubt!!Quote:
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child. -- I know that song, it's from Then Came Bronson!Read:
10/2023
Terminal Alliance
Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse #1. When the Krakau command crew is wiped out Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos, Lt. boss of the Shipboard Hygiene and Sanitation team, takes over. Fun read!
Quote:
"...Stick to the plan."
"Krakau make plans," snorted Wolf. "Humans barge in and kick ass."
"Of those two species," said Mops, "Which still has a functional civilization?"
Quote:
Cook had done a nice job of repairing the damage to his restaurant. He'd also added a new sign to the door: "NO BOMBS ALLOWED".Read:
10/2023
Terminal Peace
Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse #3. Very fun read! I read the author's note (at the end) first, a bit of spoiler, but not a big deal. Very moving, though!!
Quote:
..."Nusurans are the only known race to have invented contraceptives before the wheel"... -- Did I read this one of the other books?Quote:
"Are you out of your mind?"
"I don't understand the metaphor," said Johnny. "Krakau brains are internal, not external."Quote:
"It's called checkers."Quote:
"Second chances are for the weak."
He moved another piece. "King me."
"However, if that is your tradition..."Quote:
"I once saw a young varkaw pick a fight with a boulder."
"Who won?"
"It was a draw."Quote:
"It's probably examined your records as well."
"Our records are encrypted," said Kumar.
"It's a supercomputer the size of a moon," Monroe pointed out.Quote:
"Jesus H. Christ on an Oreo cookie," yelled Gabe. "What the hell just happened?"{Read:
11/2024
Terminal Uprising
(Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse, #2). Mops and the crew head to Earth. Really an enjoyable read!
Quote:
"I read a lot," she preened. "Nusuran war romances, mostly."
Wolf cringed. It was a popular genre, but they all ended with overwritten cross-species sex scenes. Her mouth went dry as she realized Cuaxil might have another motive for chatting up a bored human.Quote:
"...I've never fit in well with my peers. I find much more pleasure in arranging things so I can watch our enemies destroy themselves."
"Remind me to shoot you before this is over," Wolf snarled.Quote:
"Different religions had different traditions and rituals and symbols. Stars, crosses, candles, an apple with a bit missing..."Quote:
"Who are you?" she whispered. "What are you?"Quote:
"What if we fire at it together?" suggested Melvil. "It can't shoot us all."
"I'm pretty sure it can."Quote:
"Do you know what the Prodryans would do to this planet if we hadn't deterred them?"
Cate perked up. "I do."Read:
11/2024
Evergreen
Novel about Japanese-Americans returning from the camps after the war. A mystery, a who-done-it.
Read:
8/2023
The Darkest Path
Set in the near future, a boy escapes from a military/cult group that has taken over several states and is poised to defeat the government.
Read:
12/2014
Daring Detectives
Eleven stories of crime and intrigue. I enjoyed meeting The Saint, Hercule Poirot, and Ellery Queen again. CONTENTS:
The Day the Children Vanished / Hugh Pentecost -- Through a Dead Man's Eye / Cornell Woolrich -- The Disappearance of Mrs. Davenheim / Agatha Christie -- Green Ice / Stuart Palmer -- The Grave Grass Quivers / MacKinlay Kanton -- The Case of the Irate Witness / Erle Stanley Gardner -- Adventure of the Grice-Paterson Curse / August Derleth -- The Headmaster / Michael Gilbert -- The Adventure of the Seven Black Cats / Ellery Queen -- The Wicked Cousin / Leslie Charteris -- The Footprint in the Sky / John Dickson Carr.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Dacoit -- A member of a robber band or gang in India or Myanmar (Burma).
Read:
11/2007
Assassin's Apprentice
Book I in the Farseer trilogy. Bastard son of a prince becomes an apprentice assassin, 'cause, what's a bastard to do? Good story, really felt the characters were real. Now I gotta find the second book!
Read:
5/2016
Assassin's Fate
Book three in the Fitz And The Fool trilogy. About four hundred pages in this books really starts moving along.
Quote:
"That does not happen," I told him gently. -- pg. 539
Read:
10/2017
Assassin's Quest
Book three of the Farseer trilogy. Pretty good, but nearly seven hundred pages long. What's next?
Read:
11/2016
Fool's Assassin
Fitz And The Fool trilogy #1. Guess I didn't read the books in between, this one takes place quite a few years after the Liveship Traders. Great characterizations!
Read:
9/2017
20 books displayed
[Abadzis - Aiken] [Aiken - Allinghamc] [Alvarez - Angelou] [Anthony - Atkins] [Atkinson - Backman] [Backman - Balliett] [Balliett - Barnard] [Barnard - Barnes] [Barnhill - Barr] [Barr - Beanton] [Bear - Beaton] [Beaton - Beaton] [Beaton - Berendt] [Berger - Block] [Block - Block] [Block - Bonham] [Bonham - Box] [Boyle - Brown] [Brown - Buckley] [Buffett - Bujold] [Bujold - Cameron] [Cameron - Card] [Card - Carter] [Castle - Chandler] [Chandler - Clancy] [Clancy - Coben] [Coben - Cole] [Cole - Collins] [Collins - Conklin] [Conly - Connelly] [Connelly - Cook] [Cook - Corey] [Corey - Crais] [Crais - Crais] [Creech - Crumley] [Crumley - Cussler] [Cussler - Datlow] [David - Dickens] [Dickens - Doig] [Doohan - Dorsey] [Dorsey - Drake] [Drake - Eggars] [Eland - Emerson] [Emerson - Faherty] [Faherty - Farmer] [Farmer - Flanagan] [Flanagan - Flint] [Flint - Foster] [Foster - Francis] [Francis - Francis] [Francis - Francis] [Francis - Gailey] [Gailey - Garmus] [Garrigue - Gladwell] [Gladwell - Gormley] [Gould - Granger] [Granger - Greenleaf] [Greenleaf - Grimes] [Grimes - Grisham] [Grisham - Haig] [Haldeman - Hall] [Hall - Hannah] [Hannah - Hawkins] [Haynes - Heinlein] [Heinlein - Heller] [Heller - Herman] [Herman - Hesse] [Hiaasen - Highsmith] [Highsmith - Hobb] [Hobb - Hornibrook] [Hornung - Huff] [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 - Older] [Oliver - Paolini] [Paolini - Park] [Park - Parker] [Parker - Parker] [Parker - Paulsen] [Paulsen - Pearson] [Pease - Petry] [Peyton - Pohl] [Pooley - Poyer] [Poyer - Pratchett] [Pratchett - Pratchett] [Pratchett - Pronzini] [Pronzini - Quinn] [Quinn - Read] [Readers Digest - Rhodes] [Rich - Roanhorse] [Roberts - Rose] [Rose - Russell] [Russell - Sacks] [Sagan - Scalzi] [Scalzi - Scieszka] [Scieszka - Scottoline] [Scottoline - Shea] [Sheinkin - Silverberg] [Silverberg - Smith] [Smith - Spinelli] [Spinelli - Stead] [Steel - Stockett] [Stowell - Stross] [Stross - Taft] [Tapply - Tesh] [Thompson - Turtledove] [Turtledove - Valente] [Van Allsburg - Vanderpool] [Varley - Wambaugh] [Wasdin - Weber] [Weber - Wells] [Wells - Westlake] [Westlake - Weyn] [Wheeler - Willis] [Winchester - Wolff] [Wollheim - Zahn] [Zahn - Zusak]