November Books

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Echo Burning [audio book]
by Lee Child

I actually read/listened to this in October and totally forgot to add it to my list last month. I was thinking (today is 11/4), “Wait, that doesn't seem right that I didn't finish a single audio book in October...” Well you did Dan, you silly, take credit for it! This was a really good Jack Reacher book. I'm glad I gave this series another chance. Jack tries to help a young Hispanic bride trapped in a loveless, seemingly abusive relationship in a very isolated part of western Texas. I thought I knew who the true villain was, but I was wrong as usual. Good read! 4/5

Just One Look
by Harlan Coben

I haven't enjoyed Coben's standalone books as much as the Myron/Mickey Bolitar books, but I really liked this one. A suburban mom finds an old picture in the middle of her envelope of developed photos sets off a string of mysteries that involve her husband, his past, a famous singer, and a traumatic event from her past. The pacing is very fast as usual for Coben's books, and I flew through it on a couple days. Hard to beat the Bolitar books, but this was pretty good. 3.5/5

Empire of Debt
by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin

This is a highly cynical, hilarious look at the state of the U.S.A., its status as the modern empire, and the economic house of cards that is going to collapse all around us someday soon. It's mostly ground I've already covered, but it was a entertaining read. More than a little depressing as well, but that's the reality. 3.5/5

You Can't Make This Up
by Al Michaels

Al Michaels is the most prolific sports announcer of all-time, having done seemingly millions of sports broadcasts, including multiple Super Bowls, World Series, and NBA Finals. Basically if you've ever watched any nationally televised sports you've probably heard and seen him. I like him, and he's definitely one of the best ever. The book was just OK though. I was probably expecting too much from a book about the life story of a broadcaster. I mean, it was fine and there were some nice anecdotes and stories, but I'm glad I got it from the library and didn't pay $24 for it ; ) 3/5

The Last Wizard
by Dan Spurrier

Ugh, this is one of the worst books I've ever read for sure. It felt like like an alpha version of a video game that hadn't been tested yet (or the first draft of a book, I suppose). It felt like the author had no idea how to write a book at all. I normally like short books with little to no description, but this was too short even for me. Apparently this is his first effort; well nowhere to go but up, buddy! 1/5
[Hey, I spent a heck of a lot of time on this book last month, I'm at least going to take credit for reading it!]

Books for November: 5
Books for 2014: 67

Comments

[moredetails.livejournal.com]

Ha! Dan!! Cut the author of Last Wizard some slack! He has a full-time job between all his writing. :)

And goodness you finished a lot of books for also writing one. Sheesh! I'm not sure I'd get any in with that kind of project. Nice work!

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Thanks! No break for that author though, he needs to get it together!

[moredetails.livejournal.com]

PS Do you have a blog post going up soon? :) Feel free to link your blog posts in this community! I forgot to mention.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you have Lee Child another shot! I liked Echo Burning quite a bit, though it's still not one of my favorites.

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Not one of your favorites? Wow, I guess I have some good books to look forward to! I have a couple paperbacks sitting on the shelf my mom passed to me, but they're like two of the latest ones in the series and I'm only on book 5 or whatever. Plus I'd listened to the whole series so far and I really liked the reader, so I'd like to stick with audio books. But...my commute is super short now (yay!) so audio books are not much of an option anymore. Hmm, what to do...

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Are you reading them in order, then? That's a cool way to do it, although not really necessary unless you want to track Reacher's character development (such as it is - it's not like he changes dramatically.) But yes, pretty much the further on you go in the books, the better they are. :)

[danialand.livejournal.com]

I've read Just One Look!I liked it. For me, I read more of the stand alone books first, so I don't think about the Bolitar books as much when I read his other stuff.

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Oh that's interesting. I think of him as "the guy who wrote the Bolitar books...plus some other stuff I guess"

I'm going to start Tell No One tonight or tomorrow, have you read that one?

[danialand.livejournal.com]

Yes! I think that might have been the first one of his books that I read!

[dantheman23.livejournal.com]

Nice! Well I'll have impressions in next month's ratings : )