2016 book totals
Hi! It's been several months since I posted any kind of book list, so this covers the last three months of the year. I felt all year that I wasn't reading very much, but in the end my total was fine. Not as high as some years, but totally acceptable.
Enemy of God
by Bernard Cornwell
Second book in Cornwell's Arthurian series, and a lot of fun to read. Betrayals, wars, romance, all the stuff we think about with Arthur and the legends of Camelot. 4/5
Memory Man
by David Baldacci
Baldacci introduces an interesting new character; a former football player who was nearly killed on the first play of his NFL career and not only did he recover, but he developed new abilities: synesthesia and hyperthymesia. He puts these new abilities to work as a private investigator, accelerated by his family being murdered. Pretty good read and a good new character, it will be interesting to see where this new series goes. 3.5/5
Order to Kill
by Kyle Mills
The second Mitch Rapp book by Mills, this series goes on without a hitch after Vince Flynn's untimely death. It's heresy to say it, but I think the series might be even better since Mills took over. This time Mitch faces off against Pakistan and an extremely capable agent who may be his match. 4/5
Odd Apocalypse
by Dean Koontz
Ugh. I loved the first book in the Odd Thomas series, but each subsequent book has gotten a little less enjoyable. I nearly quit this one halfway through but managed to soldier through it. By the end some things started coming together in an interesting way, but I was too annoyed at the first half to care. I remain convinced this series should have ended after the first book. Probably won't be reading any more. 2/5
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
I like Bryson and the title sounded promising but in the end this book wasn't about “everything”, just the big bang, evolution of the Earth, etc. It should have been called “A Short History of Nearly all Science”. I did like a lot of the little factoids and personality quirks of historical figures he included. 3.5/5
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
So I finally gave in and read this. I had read Inferno recently and thought it was just OK, so I wasn't planning on reading this. But when I saw a copy sitting around at work and the back cover had endorsements from two of my favorite authors (Vince Flynn and Harlan Coben) I decided to give it a shot. It was fine, but I don't see what the big deal was. I remember when this came out in the 90s and it was such a big deal, but I didn't really see it. 3/5
Intensity
by Dean Koontz
As I'm sure many reviewers have said before me, this book was very aptly titled. A college girl with a traumatic past spends the weekend with a friend and her family, and the whole family is murdered by a psychotic killer. She ends up trying to save another one of his potential victims while trying to avoid becoming one herself. The book starts out with about 3 pages of background and then just jumps into it, with the murders happening first thing. And the intensity never does dial down. Not the happiest book ever written, but definitely a wild ride. 4/5
Fool Me Once
by Harlan Coben
Saw this at the library and decided to grab it. I love Coben's Myron Bolitar books but most of his other stuff is just OK, and this one is no exception. It was fine, about a former solider who has a strange experience involving her dead husband while being haunted by her past at the same time. It was fine but nothing special; just sort of another book to read. 3/4
First Thrills
by “Lee Child”
I saw this at work and was like “What, a Lee Child book I haven't read?! No way!” Upon closer inspection I saw in small print “EDITED BY Lee Child” Oh. Turns out it was a collection of short stories written by up and coming thriller writers. I kept it in my desk for most of the year, reading it a short story or two at a time when I finished a regular book. And overall it was pretty bad. Thrillers just aren't suited to the short story format; you need time to develop the story and the characters before you can have that emotional thrill. There was one short story that was decent so I read a longer story by that author but it was just OK. Overall a pretty disappointing book. 2/5
The Flame Bearer
by Bernard Cornwell
Ah the latest in the Uhtred series, he finally makes a real attempt to take back his homeland after all these years. It seemed like this would be the final book in the series, and the story left off at a natural concluding point, but in the afterword Cornwell says there will be more Uhtred books, which is fine by me. 4/5
The Whistler
by John Grisham
I had forgotten it was the new Grisham book time of year, but when I spotted this at the library I snagged it. It ended up being just OK. It's about a corrupt judge in Florida and the investigation into her activities. I don't know exactly why but this one just didn't do a lot for me. I still read it very quickly, but it just wasn't as good as some of his older stuff. 3/5
Books for Oct - Dec: 11
Books for 2016: 55
I feel like I had a decent year for reading. I really enjoyed the Bernard Cornwell stuff (thanks to the gal at work that introduced me to it!) and am looking forward to reading more of his stuff. This year is bringing just a few changes so I don't know what my reading will be like this year but hopefully I can hit at least 50 books again.
Enemy of God
by Bernard Cornwell
Second book in Cornwell's Arthurian series, and a lot of fun to read. Betrayals, wars, romance, all the stuff we think about with Arthur and the legends of Camelot. 4/5
Memory Man
by David Baldacci
Baldacci introduces an interesting new character; a former football player who was nearly killed on the first play of his NFL career and not only did he recover, but he developed new abilities: synesthesia and hyperthymesia. He puts these new abilities to work as a private investigator, accelerated by his family being murdered. Pretty good read and a good new character, it will be interesting to see where this new series goes. 3.5/5
Order to Kill
by Kyle Mills
The second Mitch Rapp book by Mills, this series goes on without a hitch after Vince Flynn's untimely death. It's heresy to say it, but I think the series might be even better since Mills took over. This time Mitch faces off against Pakistan and an extremely capable agent who may be his match. 4/5
Odd Apocalypse
by Dean Koontz
Ugh. I loved the first book in the Odd Thomas series, but each subsequent book has gotten a little less enjoyable. I nearly quit this one halfway through but managed to soldier through it. By the end some things started coming together in an interesting way, but I was too annoyed at the first half to care. I remain convinced this series should have ended after the first book. Probably won't be reading any more. 2/5
A Short History of Nearly Everything
by Bill Bryson
I like Bryson and the title sounded promising but in the end this book wasn't about “everything”, just the big bang, evolution of the Earth, etc. It should have been called “A Short History of Nearly all Science”. I did like a lot of the little factoids and personality quirks of historical figures he included. 3.5/5
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
So I finally gave in and read this. I had read Inferno recently and thought it was just OK, so I wasn't planning on reading this. But when I saw a copy sitting around at work and the back cover had endorsements from two of my favorite authors (Vince Flynn and Harlan Coben) I decided to give it a shot. It was fine, but I don't see what the big deal was. I remember when this came out in the 90s and it was such a big deal, but I didn't really see it. 3/5
Intensity
by Dean Koontz
As I'm sure many reviewers have said before me, this book was very aptly titled. A college girl with a traumatic past spends the weekend with a friend and her family, and the whole family is murdered by a psychotic killer. She ends up trying to save another one of his potential victims while trying to avoid becoming one herself. The book starts out with about 3 pages of background and then just jumps into it, with the murders happening first thing. And the intensity never does dial down. Not the happiest book ever written, but definitely a wild ride. 4/5
Fool Me Once
by Harlan Coben
Saw this at the library and decided to grab it. I love Coben's Myron Bolitar books but most of his other stuff is just OK, and this one is no exception. It was fine, about a former solider who has a strange experience involving her dead husband while being haunted by her past at the same time. It was fine but nothing special; just sort of another book to read. 3/4
First Thrills
by “Lee Child”
I saw this at work and was like “What, a Lee Child book I haven't read?! No way!” Upon closer inspection I saw in small print “EDITED BY Lee Child” Oh. Turns out it was a collection of short stories written by up and coming thriller writers. I kept it in my desk for most of the year, reading it a short story or two at a time when I finished a regular book. And overall it was pretty bad. Thrillers just aren't suited to the short story format; you need time to develop the story and the characters before you can have that emotional thrill. There was one short story that was decent so I read a longer story by that author but it was just OK. Overall a pretty disappointing book. 2/5
The Flame Bearer
by Bernard Cornwell
Ah the latest in the Uhtred series, he finally makes a real attempt to take back his homeland after all these years. It seemed like this would be the final book in the series, and the story left off at a natural concluding point, but in the afterword Cornwell says there will be more Uhtred books, which is fine by me. 4/5
The Whistler
by John Grisham
I had forgotten it was the new Grisham book time of year, but when I spotted this at the library I snagged it. It ended up being just OK. It's about a corrupt judge in Florida and the investigation into her activities. I don't know exactly why but this one just didn't do a lot for me. I still read it very quickly, but it just wasn't as good as some of his older stuff. 3/5
Books for Oct - Dec: 11
Books for 2016: 55
I feel like I had a decent year for reading. I really enjoyed the Bernard Cornwell stuff (thanks to the gal at work that introduced me to it!) and am looking forward to reading more of his stuff. This year is bringing just a few changes so I don't know what my reading will be like this year but hopefully I can hit at least 50 books again.