Books read and other media of note: |
The Way West, a Walk across America, by Peter and Barbara Jenkins. This
was great to read out loud while driving in comfort across the west on
our trip. A story from a similar aged traveller, in the late
70's, hiking with his new wife from New Orleans to Oregon. Peter
even was trained as a potter, as I was, but apparently never tried it
as a profession. From the book, it was obvious the pair had
interpersonal issues--through the web it was easy to learn that they
divorced after a few years (and 3 children). Their walk was an
epic event of that era, helping to craft a better image of America than
the dregs of the Vietnam war had left it in. Dead Beat by Jim Butcher A good Zombie novel in the Dresden series. Cons, Scams, and Grifts by Joe Gores Another gypsy scam novel in the DKA files series. Very fun plot, excellent cover art, showing a woman picking the pocket of a mark on the front, while the back cover shows him stealing her purse concurrently. Split Image by Elmore Leonard. These early novels of Leonard he's still looking for his voice, which I believe he found later in a mixture of clever hip funny dialog and the terse suspense plotting. This novel had a perfect romance which should have been a tip off that it was too good to last... The title refers to the split image of a charming handsome rich guy who obsesses about killing people. Cat Chaser by Elmore Leonard. Leonard's early novels seem to be about moral dilemmas--a strong man presented by temptations and moral relativism. In Hammett's Falcon, Spade might love Bridgit, but he sends her up the river. You can't be sure of either happening in Cat Chaser, where a veteran slacker motel owner falls for a rich former Central American general's wife. La Brava by Elmore Leonard. Leonard is a master of lowlife scheming and great characters and dialogue. Most of his novels are guy novels, like this one, in which a former secret service agent, disillusioned from his job of guarding Mrs. Truman, gets involved with a movie star he was screen-enamored with as a young man, and her adventure on the wild side. Star Wars Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn This is a prequel to Survivor's Quest, explaining what happened to a failed intergalactic mission, full of intrigue and inter-species discord. Although a young Anakin and ObiWan are characters in it, they seem more spectators to the event, with Thrawn and Car'das as the protagonists. |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | INBMA | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |