2009 Reading #36: The Story of the Stone
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Dôra, Doralina by Rachel de Queiroz.
32. The Mercenaries by Donald E. Westlake.
33. A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter.
34. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (Part One of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox).
35. Saint Paul: The First 150 Years by Virginia Brainard Kunz.
36. The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart (Part Two of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox). Master Li and Number Ten Ox solve several mysteries (tell me the beginning of this book isn't modeled after Sherlock Holmes), steal several things (all in the aid of good, of course), go several places they aren't supposed to (including Hell--or, really, Hells, since as Wang Chi once noted, the Chinese have a lot of hells), and win through thanks to purity of heart (on Ox's part) and a slight flaw in character (on Master Li's part). Hughart's Wikipedia entry notes that he had planned to do seven books in this series, but dissatisfaction with his publishers led him to truncate it to three. That makes me very sad, as these books are a helluva lot of fun.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
31. Dôra, Doralina by Rachel de Queiroz.
32. The Mercenaries by Donald E. Westlake.
33. A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter.
34. Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (Part One of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox).
35. Saint Paul: The First 150 Years by Virginia Brainard Kunz.
36. The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart (Part Two of the Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox). Master Li and Number Ten Ox solve several mysteries (tell me the beginning of this book isn't modeled after Sherlock Holmes), steal several things (all in the aid of good, of course), go several places they aren't supposed to (including Hell--or, really, Hells, since as Wang Chi once noted, the Chinese have a lot of hells), and win through thanks to purity of heart (on Ox's part) and a slight flaw in character (on Master Li's part). Hughart's Wikipedia entry notes that he had planned to do seven books in this series, but dissatisfaction with his publishers led him to truncate it to three. That makes me very sad, as these books are a helluva lot of fun.