A writer friend has a rule for reading books.
take 100 minus your age and if you are not hooked by resultant page number throw it and try one of millions of other books. (@Corwin might be negative though, not sure how the algorithm handles that.)
 
Hurls said:
A writer friend has a rule for reading books.
take 100 minus your age and if you are not hooked by resultant page number throw it and try one of millions of other books. (@Corwin might be negative though, not sure how the algorithm handles that.)
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Heh. Shouldn't it be the other way around? When I'm retired I will have a lot more time to waste on slow starting books than now 🤪
 
Making It So was a fine literary treat, I enjoyed how it focused more on Stewarts' earlier life in western Yorkshire rather than the more recent times. I've been lucky enough to catch him in five plays over the years and he was never a disappointment. With any luck he'll be around for a few more decades to entertain us all.

Now I'm onto the next Pickett book, Force of Nature. Considering how the last one ended this should be a ride of pure mayhem.
 
I finished Force of Nature this morning, and a tour de force it was, mostly dealing with Nate and Joe, a few minor characters from the series are with us no more after all the literal dust settled.

And I plowed right into the next book, book thirteen, Breaking Point. Looks like Pickett finally has a new overseer.
 
I finished the first book in the original Dune trilogy. I liked it, but was less blown away than the first time I read it. It was more science fantasy than I remembered, but I like that genre as well.
 
I finished Breaking Point this morning, this book sees a riff on a real incident that's tailored to this series. I remember the case well, and it was a serious black eye for the EPA at the time, which was maybe ten plus years ago, now. At the end we're left wondering where Pickett might end up next....

And now I'm into another DeMille tale with the Talbot Odyssey. It seems rooted in the mysteries of clandestine operations during World War two, so I'm already basically hooked.
 
I finished with the Talbot Odyssey this morning, a top notch spy thriller/end of civilization novel. The backdrop is the old OSS organization and how it morphed into the CIA, and...well, I'll leave it at that. Great story for sure.

Now I'm onto another DeMille story, the Gold Coast, which is a tale about the old estates and lands of the New York sound area.
 
I completed the Gold Coast this morning, a fantastic read and I see why people rave about this particular novel. It's like Gatsby met Godfather, with some humour and life lessons along the way. I shouldn't have waited so long to read this one, yet I know this is a book I'll be back to again and I'm keen on checking out the sequel.

Next up for me will be a trip back to Spenser-land with book nineteen in the series, Double Deuce.
 
Double Deuce was great, and something a tad different for the gang, this time an innocent gets gunned down with her child and someone must be held accountable. And some growth for the Susan/David relationship as well as a glimpse into Hawk's romantic world.

Now I'm onto Djibouti, one of Leonard's last works. It'll be a shame when I've read them all, though I know I'll have them forever to revisit.
 
While I've read the first C.B. Strike novel before I'd never gone past that, until this month. I started by re-reading the first book, which is still damn excellent, the second I found enjoyable yet a bit weaker, and the third is turning out to be really good!
 
Reflecting on my recent rant in a CP77 news tread - I'm happy to say that last week I've finished William Gibson's Neuromancer for the fifth time.
Fifth time? Yes - my first read ended with a baffling "why on earth this garbage considered to be one of the best?"
So I re-read, re-re-read, etc - and NOW FINALLY I get it. Not the story mind you (it is very simple), but Gibson's prose.
The man is a bona fide literary genius.
 
I've been reading "Gulp" by Mary Roach. She's a science writer whose books are also hilarious. Very interesting and very entertaining. It's the first book by her I've read, but I highly doubt it'll be the last.
 
I've read Neuromancer maybe three times myself, it's excellent and I'm probably due to read it again soon. Gibson never disappoints!

Today I concluded book three of the Striker series, Career of Evil. When I first read the title I was like, "do they know this is a song title"? Secret Treaties is a damn fine Blue Oyster Cult album and this particular song stands out. Oh, and yes, the author was quite aware of the origin of the title and got permission to use it and many other references to the band! So, my impressions overall of Rowling as both an author and person went up a few notches.

The book is the best of the three, at least for me. Book one had a lot of world/character building to do, the second went in paths that really didn't interest me much, oh but this third, good gravy in the morning!! It's really good! My library doesn't have the fourth book so I'll have to see if I'm able to continue this series in another fashion.

Now I'm back to the Pickett series with Shots Fired. This is a collection of short stories rather than one novel, so far it's good.
 
Shots Fired was good, I'm usually not a fan of short story collections yet if the universe is one I'm familiar with, featuring characters I enjoy well, that can intrigue me. Two of these tales would have made good novels imo, if they'd been a lot longer.

Now I'm back to David Spenser with Thin Air. One of Spenser's police friends has a missing wife, then that same officer winds up getting shot in the back and Spenser is all in on trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
 
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