Read Books This will provide a list of the books I've read with a brief review. Users are blocked, contact me for access. I welcome discussions, but I'm tired of spam.

April 3, 2016

The Long Road Home by G. B. Trudeau

Filed under: Humor,Series — Tags: , — Randolph @ 7:23 am

The Long Road Home by G. B. Trudeau

This is a collection of cartoons relating to B.D.s recovery from an RPG attack near Fallujah. It deals with recovery issues and the loss of a limb. It also tells the story of Fisher House, a recovery house for wounded vets. It not only addresses B.D’s and Boopsie’s recovery, but addresses some of their friends. But Trudeau keeps it light, there is a suggestion we might find out what his initials stand for, and Zonker can keep any subject light.

This collection keeps its distance from politics and the stronger political characters don’t make an appearance. The book really focusses on the recovery issues without any distracting side-stories.

March 20, 2016

Ochoco Reach by Jim Stewart

Filed under: Mystery,Series — Tags: — Randolph @ 8:46 am

Ochoco Reach by Jim Stewart

This is Jim Stewart’s first book, and he is establishing himself among the big names in mystery novels. This novel is in the style of John D. MacDonald with a special forces-trained and capable hero, Mike Ironwood, who has a PI office in Portland, Oregon. Mike has a half-brother, Daniel, who is more spiritual and half Nez Pierce. Daniel, who was trained as a Navy Seal, provides some support.

Here, a green-eyed woman, Willimina Hayes, who has a ranch near Prineville. Someone seems to be trying to gain control of her ranch, by hook or by crook. She came to Mike just to get some answers.

In an adventure taking Mike into Mexico to deal with a drug cartel and a rogue DEA agent, there is a good mixture of suspense and action with a few surprises thrown in.

The book has interesting characters and is well-paced. I’m looking forward to the next installment.

March 9, 2016

Landscape Painting Essentials by Johannes Vloothuis

Filed under: Art — Tags: — Randolph @ 10:25 am

Landscape Painting Essentials by Johannes Vloothuis

The author has studied many paintings to gather what he believes are the essential rules of composition. He presents these as simple rules and provides examples of their use. He also has several step-by-step painting examples that expand on the compositional instruction he’s providing.

The book is composed of seven chapters which collect different concepts based on the chapter heading. These include (roughly) how we see, abstract shapes, color theory, movement, simplify, shape repetition and depth. The top of each page is further color coded to help finding sections of the book.

Overall, the book is excellent. It is easy to read. The examples really help teach the subject and make the concepts stick, I feel just reading this book will improve my composition in both plein aire and working from reference material. I believe a second reading will help even further.

February 22, 2016

Morning Spy, Evening Spy by Colin MacKinnon

Filed under: Mystery — Tags: — Randolph @ 6:26 am

Morning Spy, Evening Spy by Colin MacKinnon

In the months leading up to 9/11, an agent is killed in a targeted shooting. The story is about tracking down his killer. The main character, Paul Patterson, is a middle-aged agent in the CIA. He is tracking down the killer in a methodical, research-oriented process. There is very little action in the story, it is more about the CIA and how it operates. As you meet each character, you get a dossier on him. There were too many for me to remember.

The book wasn’t able to make me care much for the murder victim, nor the main character. It wasn’t bad, but I wanted more.

February 10, 2016

Barefoot Walking by Michael Sandler

Filed under: health and fitness,self-help — Tags: — Randolph @ 11:11 am

Barefoot Walking by Michael Sandler

I was sorely disappointed in this book. Having foot problems, I was hoping for some insights and guidance. The author’s lack of scientific statistical understanding left me wondering what else he might not understand.

For instance, he repeatedly, through anecdote, discusses the advantage of barefoot walking over a sedentary lifestyle. However, he never shows that going barefoot is better than wearing shoes.

He also seems to believe that the ground in electronic devices means there is a wire the is connected to the earth.

The book is more spiritual than it is a solid medical guide. He has some good motivational text and a lot of advice. A lot of this can be validated though other sources. But given the weak buildup of his arguments, I wouldn’t have faith in his advice without backing it up in other sources. So not using this text seems to be a reasonable approach.

If you want the motivation or enjoy the spiritual aspects of the book, it may provide some value for you.

February 9, 2016

The Constant Art of Being a Writer: The Life, Art and Business of Fiction by N. M. Kelby

Filed under: Art,Writing — Tags: — Randolph @ 11:09 am

The Constant Art of Being a Writer: The Life, Art and Business of Fiction by N. M. Kelby

The author, N. M. Kelby, has experience both as a publisher and an author, she is providing her insights and experience to the novice author. This book give the reader a solid foundation of, what I presume are, all the steps toward publishing and selling a book.

The book starts with developing discipline, good writing habits and finding support. It continues through writing, editing, finding an agent, finding a publisher or self-publishing, selling, touring, and even estate planning. If you haven’t actually published a book, this will help you work through steps you haven’t even considered.

The book is an easy read and well-organized. It takes you though the steps pretty much in order of how you will encounter them with lots of advice and tips on the way. She provides lots of URLs for online support, both in writing and editing groups, to authors’ anecdotes of bad experiences.

Even for the non-author, it is interesting and will give you a real appreciation for what these guys go through.

January 28, 2016

Death Dance: A Novel by Linda Fairstein

Filed under: Mystery,Series — Tags: — Randolph @ 10:14 am

Death Dance: A Novel by Linda Fairstein

This is another in the series of Alexandra Cooper. She is investigating the apparent suicide of a ballerina at the NY Met. Unfortunately, she isn’t someone the reader cares about, nor are the incidental characters. Most are flat and uninteresting, although there is some interest in a few of the interactions.

The book opened with a drug-rape scene and its ensuing courtroom actions. The judge was a mysogenist, although way over the top. He was too extreme to be believable as a character. Although probably within the realm of reality, he was too much for a book. This plot line was more interesting and more appropriate for Alexandra. Unfortunately it was a subplot and happened in the background and was resolved without much interest.

Overall the story felt flat. It wasn’t a bad mystery, but just barely held my interest.

January 17, 2016

Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon) by Daniel Silva

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — Randolph @ 8:28 am

Moscow Rules (Gabriel Allon) by Daniel Silva

Gabriel is on his honeymoon, when a Russian journalist insists on meeting with him. Gabriel reluctantly accepts the invitation, but when the man is killed before the meeting, Gabriel is drawn into a mystery involving a very powerful weapons dealer with dangerous plans.

Gabriel’s art plays a bigger role than in some of the stories, it has always felt it should be a bigger part of this stories, so this was refreshing.

This is a very well-told story with a lot of intensely interesting characters. The story has a good pace and will keep the reader involved.

January 12, 2016

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

Filed under: Mystery,Series — Tags: , — Randolph @ 5:24 pm

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

This is book 13 of the Mary Russel stories of Sherlock Holmes. This book is more a cultural story of Japan and Japanese culture in the 1920s than a true mystery, I’m not sure there’s enough information for the reader to solve the puzzle.

The story opens on a cruise from India to Japan. Sherlock cannot relax and enjoy the trip, he finds questions to ponder, a suspicious English lord and an odd acrobat are part of a growing mystery that involves royalty and extortion.

The Japanese culture is exposed through two unusual characters. They become closely intertwined in the mystery for most of the book. They present a cultural experience that seems extreme, but can be forgiven due to the nature of these characters.

One of the books minor themes are haiku by Basho. Each chapter begins with a haiku, presumably in the style of Basho. The haiku does relate to events in the chapter and can provide additional meaning. They are well worth reading for content.

Overall, the book has good pacing and is interesting enough to keep the reader involved. Laurie King does not disappoint her audience.

January 3, 2016

Batman: Gothic by Grant Morrison

Filed under: Fantasy — Randolph @ 5:03 pm

Batman: Gothic by Grant Morrison

This is a rather dark Batman tale with the expected gothic overtones. The artwork by Klaus Janson does reflect the spirit well, but the story does not. The characters are a bit flat and the story a bit predictable.

Although certain liberties are acceptable with superhero stories, this story delves too far into the supernatural and feels out of place with the Batman cannon. It was not a satisfying read.

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