Read "Game Change" over the weekend. About the 2008 election.
Pretty good stuff in there, a lot of gossip. By far John Edwards comes off as one crazu a**hole.

From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain by Minister Faust.

I don't quite know how to describe this book. I liked it a LOT, I can say that. It's a satire that works on at least three different levels, maybe more, not all of which may be immediately obvious. It's definitely the sort of work that bears reading twice. The closest comparison would probably be "Watchmen" but this book is a LOT funnier, covers more subjects and moves more quickly. It's like if Phillip Dick, Tim Dorsey, Ishamel Reed, Lenny Bruce, Kurt Vonnegut and Kevin Smith all got together in one person to do a bit of writing.

It's definitely the FUNNIEST thing I've read in a long time. This has more jokes per line than any book I can think of.

The surface story is that in current day America, all of the costumed superheroes have apparently defeated, killed or imprisoned all of their bad guy counterparts. Unfortunately instead of ushering in an era of peace, there is more conflict, deadly office politics, sniping and profiteering than ever before. So the most prestigious umbrella superhero organization, the Fantastic Order of Justice (or F.O.O.J-it used to be the Fraternal Order of Justice before an equal opportunity lawsuit by a lesbian superheroine) has decided that its six most notable members need to undergo psychological counseling or be thrown out of the organization completely.

These members are:

X-Man-a former member of the League of Angry Blackmen –he can make words into reality.
Omnipotent Man –an extraterrestrial "man of steel" he is the last survivor of the planet Argon and mild mannered rube/nerd.
The Flying Squirrel-an elderly billionaire industrialist, angry white man and self-proclaimed "World's Greatest Detective".
The Iron Lass-a Norse lesser goddess and first female member of the F.O.O.J. She led the war to wipe out the supervillains. That she did this after her divorce is a pure coincidence...
BrotherFly-a wall crawling jokester who has the proportionate strength and speed of a fly after having been bitten in high school by a radioactive fly.
Power Grrl-a defiantly narcissistic third wave feminist superheroine and recording artist who can't decide whether to fight crime or promote her latest sexual exploits or digital download.

Reluctantly, all of these people are forced, singly and en masse, to undergo therapy sessions with Dr. Brain, a woman psychologist who intends to help them deal with their issues, whether they like it or not. And of course most of them don't think THEY have any issues, although they certainly think their co-workers do.

The author obviously has a very deep understanding of and love for comic book culture and his book works very well as simply a parody of comic books/graphic novels. The more you know about classic Marvel and DC storylines, the more you will get out of this book.

But it's also a deconstruction of comic book tropes and an examination of what it would mean to the world for there to be people that by definition were greater than human or as Dr. Brain puts it "Hyper-hominids". But even beyond that the book goes into pretty deep examinations of racism, homophobia, greed, feminism, 60's style protest, conspiracy theories, capitalism, identity politics, dysfunctional families, US foreign policy, socialism and many other things. This is all held together by the humor-which is really non-stop. The humor makes it quite easy to overlook the other things going on if one is not careful or if one disagrees with the author's take. Some stuff I didn't see the first time through and had to go back and read very carefully. The author treats his readers as adults and doesn't beat you over the head with things.

The majority of the book is told from the standpoint of Dr. Brain, who is writing a book on how to deal with the psychological needs of hyper-hominids and speaks in an insane parody of the self-help lingo made popular by people like Oprah, Tony Robbins and Dr. Phil. As is made increasingly clear by reading her internal book, she is not necessarily without her own biases and isn't the most reliable narrator.

One character grudgingly admits of another one, "I'll tell you one thing, that Australopithecus is smarter than he smells". Similarly this book is a lot deeper than one might think by looking at the cover.

Just bought BLUE BLOOD by Edward Conlon. All about an insiders view of the NYPD. Looks very good!

I just finished "After Etan". Etan Patz was a 6 year old boy who disappeared in May of 1979 while walking to school. He was never found. The book explores what happened to his family after his abduction.

There are times that I put the book aside because it was far too heartbreaking to continue. However, I couldn't put it down for long, because the story of the Patz family was too compelling. His parents showed enormous courage, although the police and the public put their lives under a microscope for years.

THUNDERBALL

I never really cared for the film or the novel (story doesn't seem as interesting as others). The end was a pretty big let down. They built it up pretty well but once what happens happens, I'm asking myself, "really, that's it?" Hopefully the next novel will be better.

I just started this the other day, got interrupted by a busy weekend. Can't wait to get at it again this week.

For the record...and final turnout aside, I always found it hilarious and quite fitting that Obama ended up usurping Hillary for the nomination she (and Bill) had assumed was hers from the word GO.

Apple

Just read THE RESTLESS SLEEP by Stacy Horn. All about the NYPD Cold Case Squad investigating old homicides and fighting inter office hassles.

Very,very good!

I couldn't agree more. Their sense of entitlement still pisses me off. Poetic justice for Bubba and his overly aggressive First Lady.

"The Man with the Golden Torc" by Simon Green. Simon Green is a British sci-fi/fantasy author who is generally more entertaining than serious.

As the title indicates in some respects this book is a goof off the James Bond series. The lead character's real name is Edwin Drood. But he jokes that he's known as "Bond. Shaman Bond".

He is indeed a secret agent. His family, the Droods, work behind the scenes to keep the world safe from all sorts of conspiracies-human, alien, supernatural, scientific, the works. Edwin has always been a sort of rogue agent, having a bit more conscience than his family prefers. At the beginning of the book he is formally declared an outlaw by his family. To save himself and find the real traitor he must ally with some of his most bitter enemies in this world and beyond.

This may sound somewhat formulaic because it is. Drood has an Armourer, who is a stand in for Q and the Matriarch of the Family is a stand in for M. Still it works because it's fun. Green has a writing style that is very dry and humorous, somewhere between Neil Gaiman, Benny Hill, and Monty Python.

If you've read Green before this may just seem like rewrites from his Nightside or Deathstalker series. If you are new to Green or a Green fanatic, this book is a lot of fun.

One of the better "Agent inflitrates OC group" books I've read. OMGs are very interesting. Like the mafia but not limited to one group and of course, the bikes.

My daughter introduced me to the books of Augusten Burroughs. I've since read all his books. It's amazing how someone who lived such a crazed and abusive childhood could write about it, and still make you laugh out loud.

I am finishing up "Berlin The Downfall 1945" by Antony Beevor.
It is a really good book that gives the reader exactly what the title implies. Hitler wanted a fight to the finish and he got just that.

The fury and hell that was unleashed on Berlin in those final days was nothing short of amazing. Hitler and his insane inner circle could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives by surrendering or evacuating the city earlier, but lost in their Wagnerian fanatasies they could do neither. In fact fanatical Nazis roamed the streets shooting or hanging "traitors" or "shirkers".

The book doesn't pull any punches and was criticized by some Russian scholars or politicians for describing exactly what sexual atrocities were committed by The Red Army in those last days. I think whether we like it or not every human has the capacity for ultimate evil or angelic good within. Certainly the Russians were not going to shed tears for those who had committed similar or worse horrors against Russia. Still, even in these last days there were some Russian officers who maintained order, made a differentiation between soldiers and civilians, protected German civilians and even shot Russian soldiers who had committed crimes.

Fascinating book.

I just finished The Third Reich at War by Richard Evans. It's based on the latest info available although none of that info is that startling. One thing it reveals is how uncoordinated the Allies' strategic bombing efforts were until 1944. It also emphasizes how fanatic the Reich's security forces were right up until Hitler's suicide, executing people left and right.

Just finished THE LOVERS by John Connolly.He writes good spooky crime fiction, this guy. Top stuff!

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

A nice little story told almost entirely from the victim's point of view and hardly involves James Bond. At first I wasn't a fan of it but towards the middle and end of the book I did enjoy the back story about the main character. Again, not a typical Bond book (more of a short story) but still enjoyable.

Just read a biography about Stormin Norman Schwarzkopf. Very interesting it was as well!

Did you know that one of his ancestors worked the Lindbergh baby kidnapping??

Just read Solar by Ian McEwen. Much better than the reviews IMHO

Just got around to "Eating Animals," by Jonathan Safran Foer, Don T. While I'm not giving up trips to Peter Luger's anytime soon, you're 100% right, it was a very enjoyable and thoroughly researched book. The material about his grandmother being a Holocaust survivor was powerful and unexpected. The book is also laugh out loud funny at times. I still think that Foer is a bit of a pretentious windbag but that's certainly not the case here.

Highly recommended.

Just finished "Ford County", a collection of short stories by John Grisham. They were entertaining, but nothing more. I don't believe that Grisham ever lived up to the promise of his first book "A Time To Kill". I still think it's his best.

I also read "Dead Man Walking" by Sister Helen Prejean, which is what the film was based on. Much of the film stays true to her life and her relationship with death row inmates, but she is an ardent opponent to the death penalty. I don't think the strength of her opposition was portrayed properly.

Because many took her role of spiritual adviser to death row inmates as a sign that she condoned their actions, she also gave a good amount of time and raised money to help the families of murder victims.

While I have supported the death penalty as a punishment for certain crimes, this book really made me think. Because the punishment can vary from state-to-state, depending on local law, and even from trial to trial within the same state, it seems to be meted out quite unfairly. How can two criminals be found guilty of the same crime, but one sentenced to life and the other to death??

Agreed. But if not for the success of "The Firm," no one ever would have heard of "A Time to Kill."

"A Time to Kill" was originally published in '89 by a tiny publisher and nobody read it. After the success of "The Firm" in '91, Random House published it as a favor to their new "Boy Wonder," John Grisham.

His books are still readable but too formulaic for me at this point. I think Scott Turow, James Grippando and Lisa Scottoline are all better writers, in the lawyers-turned-authors genre.

No Babe. But i do now

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

Probably one of my least favorite Bond books and movies. Really the only thing I enjoyed about either was the ending (a GREAT way to end the story). But the whole thing about the girls with the allergies was just weak from my standpoint.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.
I really liked Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy (FLT). It was a corrective in some respects to the more insipid high fantasy which infests bookstores. Abercrombie writes in an unabashedly adult and quite profane style. So I bought his new novel "Best Served Cold" (BSC)with high expectations.

BSC is quite similar to FLT. It is set in the same world, more than a few of the minor characters from FLT show up in BSC and it has some of the same themes-what does revenge really profit someone, how can you be good in an evil world, are men and women really all that different, and does what anyone does in life really matter in the long term. After all good or bad, we all end up "back in the mud" as one warrior reasons.

It is a stand-alone book. You can read it and enjoy it without having read FLT. Reading BSC will not spoil FLT.

The story opens with the mercenary leader Monza Murcatto and her brother Benna being invited to an honorary event by her employer, the Grand Duke Orso. It is no spoiler to reveal that Orso has decided that he can't trust either of the Murcattos any longer and has them both murdered. Or so he thinks. Monza, who is also known as the Butcher of Caprile and the Snake of Tallins for her brutal style of warfare, improbably survives and swears to take out Orso, Orso's sons and everyone else who was in the room when her brother was murdered and she was scarred for life.

We have the woman obsessed with revenge, her motley crew of recruited quirky psychopaths and money hungry killers who will assist her and may betray her, old lovers or would-be lovers showing up and of course an ice cold murderer who is dispatched to put her down for good. In short, although the ride is exciting, it's not exactly a new story. There are more than few shout outs to "Kill Bill" and "The Princess Bride".

Abercrombie gets a little lazier about national stereotypes. Styria, where all of the action takes place is SO MUCH of a stand-in for Renaissance Italy that one wonders why Abercrombie just didn't do away with the pretense entirely and set his tale in 15th century Italy. It would have read EXACTLY the same. Murcatto is somewhat based on the real life terror Caterina Sforza. Many of the names Abercrombie uses are either real life Italian names or sound as if they could have been- Vinari, Nicomo Cosmo, Grand Duke Orso, etc.

Women have several key roles in the book. This is not done in any sort of riot-grrrl feminist style but more or less realistically. Abercrombie's female characters are just as self-centered,morally vacuous, flawed and dangerous as his male ones. Abercrombie maintains a sharp ear for dialogue. I think he has an advantage over Simon Green in that regard. No one stops in the middle of a fight to say something snarky. And it is not a given as to who will survive. There's (virtually)no magic, and no elves, dwarves or anything like that. It's very grim and realistic. People actually get tired and make mistakes. Lovers quarrel and cheat, etc.

It was literally impossible to sympathize with ANYONE in this book. Perhaps that was what Abercrombie wanted. Unlike say Quentin Tarentino or Rob Zombie he does not make heroes out of what are after all evil characters.

BUT it would be nice to see what Abercrombie could do with characters who are not 100% selfish, twisted , sadistic and cynical. Some humans actually do try to do the right thing and succeed from time to time. That's part of the Hero's Journey in which Abercrombie doesn't seem to have much interest.

Maybe his point is that there is NOTHING heroic about war, revenge or killing and pretending otherwise is stupid. Perhaps.

But if you read this book keep in mind that no one in it is anything close to good.
There is not much of a character arc for anyone. Those who are openly evil remain so. Some people that appear to be decent are revealed to be evil. And even those few people that try to be good eventually decide that being good doesn't work and become as evil as anyone. As one person says repeatedly "Mercy and cowardice are the same thing". Just to make this point crystal clear the author opens chapters with quotes from Machiavelli and various Borgias.

There was one depressed, socially maladroit, verbose poisoner-very reminiscent of the Tom Hanks' role in The Ladykillers who was in some respects the closest thing the book had to a voice of reason. Outside of that though the book is EXTREMELY nihilistic.

So all in all don't get me wrong. I did enjoy it -just not as much as FLT. FLT actually did have a few people try (and usually fail) to do the heroic thing. FLT had better misdirection and slower reveals. There are more than a few moments of humor in this book-mostly centered around the aforementioned poisoner.

It's a very long book-over 600 pages and may have been helped by a bit more editing. 3 out of 5 stars.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

Another pretty weak story about a "Garden of Death" in Japan. I'm glad the film didn't go this route and went with the space story instead. I was sort of surprised though as usually the early novels are faithfully adapted onscreen, but not this one.

Re-discovered the Complete works of Sherlock Holmes by the legendary Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Classic stuff

"A Man of Respect"
Found this on Amazon. I was looking for a better copy than what I had.
It's a entertaining story of a thug, Bepy Menesiero, who becomes the best hitter on the East Coast and later gets to run his own crew and finally his own family.
It's told in a very profane street style.

Man of Respect

I finished it the day before yesterday - seeing the film tomorrow.

The Swedish title - "Men Who Hate Women" - is curious, given the author's decision to fetch the story to an impossibly and formulaic romantic conclusion, raising Blomqvist to Man of the Year status.

It's a ridiculous novel quite badly written, I think; full of cinematic stereotypes painted in broad predictable brush strokes. That's not to say it's not a 'page-turner' though (whatever that means).

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

Not a bad story but short and a little too thrown together for me. I mean, Bond is hunting this guy Scaramanga and after 3 or 4 chapters into the novel he's already hiring him as a bodyguard and he doesn't even know him? Come on!

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell