Amazon link I stopped by the library a few days ago and picked up a bunch of books that I was vaguely interested in, but not enough to toss into one of my Amazon orders. Mostly quick reads, so you’ll see several book reviews over the next couple weeks as I slam through them. This […]
Category: fiction
Down Here, by Andrew Vachss
Amazon link In my last Amazon order, I picked up the latest Andrew Vachss, an author whom I adore, and own all of his books. Well, maybe not all, but certainly all the Burke novels, and most of his fiction. I’m missing a couple of his graphic novel creations, things like that. Anyway. I think […]
The Dark Tower series, by Stephen King
A few weeks ago, when I was in the library, I saw books 5, 6 and 7 of the Dark Tower series by Stephen King (that’d be Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower). Since I’d liked the first few books in the series, but had dropped it when it wasn’t […]
The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad, by Minister Faust
Amazon link I saw this in the library. The title was just too good to pass up, especially since I’m always fascinated by tales of the trickster, of which the coyote is one of the main avatars. I flipped through the first few pages, liked the tone, and checked it out. I mean, each character […]
Inversions, by Iain M. Banks
Amazon link Christy read this and then gave it to me. It didn’t do a lot for me. Several of my friends really like Iain Banks, so I keep on trying his work, but very little of it sticks with me. I think I have three or four of his books on my bookshelf, and […]
Clans of the Alphane Moon, by Philip K. Dick
Amazon link Brian bought this on our layover in Chicago on the way out, mostly because his other choice of reading material was a mathematical optics book. I don’t know what he was thinking. Anyway, I was running out of reading material on the way back, so I borrowed it from him, and traded him […]
Sucker Bet, by James Swain
Amazon link I’ve liked Swain’s previous books, so when I saw this one in paperback at the used book store, I picked it up. Not as entertaining as the previous entries in the series, partially because Swain doesn’t spend as much time explaining various casino swindles. The centerpiece scam isn’t as interesting or intricate either. […]
Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace
Amazon link As previously noted, I picked this up after reading a book of Wallace essays and enjoying them quite a lot. It’s an enormous book, 980 pages with a further 100 pages of end notes. I’ve been slogging through it for the past six weeks after borrowing it from the library, and finished it […]
Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane
Amazon link I’m a big fan of Dennis Lehane’s Kenzie/Gennaro series. I didn’t enjoy Mystic River as much, although the movie was well done. So I didn’t know what to expect from this novel, which I picked up from the library. It was okay. Pretty standard psychological thriller. Interesting characters, breezy writing. I should have […]
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand
Amazon link I never got around to reading Ayn Rand in college when everybody else did, but I was going away for a week on business, and wanted something long but compact to read, so I picked this up in paperback form at the used bookstore. Her basic thesis of Objectivism is that reason and […]
