| Recursion |
Blake Crouch |
*** |
Sci-fi story exploring memory and time
wrapped in a thriller |
| This Tender Land |
William Krueger |
*** |
3 orphans head out on their own in
Minnesota during the depression |
| A Woman of No Importance |
Sonia Purnell |
*** |
Non-fiction story of Virginia Hall -
American spy working behind enemy lines in occupied France |
| American Dirt |
Jeanine Cummins |
*** |
Tale of the journey of mother and son
escaping violence in Mexico and landing in the U.S. |
| The Splendid and the Vile |
Erik Larson |
*** |
Churchill during the Blitz. Keep Calm |
| Before We Were Yours |
Lisa Wingate |
*** |
Orphans torn from their family and
separated reunited in later life |
| The Brothers K |
David Duncan |
**** |
American family facing various hardships.
Baseball and Religion as central themes |
| Say Nothing |
Patrick Keefe |
** |
Non-fiction - History of murder in Northern
Ireland via the IRA |
| The River Why |
David Duncan |
*** |
Finding spirituality while steelhead
fishing. |
| The Quiet Americans |
Scott Anderson |
** |
Story of 4 CIA spies during the dawn of the
cold war |
| Chances Are |
Richard Russo |
*** |
Reunion of 3 friends from college and the
resolution of a missing 4th |
| Poisoner in Chief |
Stephen Kinzer |
** |
CIA exploits with LSD - lots of casualties.
Jason Bourne stuff |
| The Dreamnt Land |
Mark Arax |
*** |
A look at California use/abuse of water.
Focused mainly on the over planting of land (almonds) and
excessive ground water use. |
| Fall, or Dodge in Hell |
Neil Stephenson |
** |
Laborious, meandering and painful to read.
Upload your brain connection data and run a simulation in
the cloud. A new world is formed with others doing
likewise. I couldn't tell you how it ends |
| The Bridge of Clay |
Markus Zusak | *** |
A story of brothers growing up
together and the tragedies they endure |
|
The Dreaming Void
The Temporal Void
The Evolutionary Void
|
Peter Hamilton |
** |
Long sci-fi trilogy - A quasi religious
movement to migrate to another mirror galaxy - the void.
This pits two groups which aim to either help or hinder
the quest |
| The Death and Life of the
Great Lakes |
Dan Egan |
*** |
What happens when invasive species
enter an ecosystem |
| Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies
in a Silicon Valley Startup |
John Carrreyrou |
**** |
The story of Theranos and the fraud
of Elizabeth Holmes |
| Leonardo Da Vinci |
Walter Isaacson |
** |
Biography of Da Vinci |
| There there |
Tommy Orange |
** |
Stories of urban 'Natives' centered
in Oakland |
| Where the Crawdads Sing |
Delia Owens |
*** |
Growing up alone on a marsh as an
abandoned child |
| The Labyrinth of Spirits |
Carlos Ruiz Zafon |
*** |
Well written conclusion to Forgotten
Books series. Life during post Spanish civil war |
| Artemis |
Andy Weir |
* |
Murder mystery on the moon. Swing and a
miss follow-up to The Martian |
| The Sympathizer |
Viet Thanh Nguyen |
*** |
Well written tail of a Vietnamese spy |
| The Girl From Venice |
Martin Cruz Smith |
** |
Life in WWII Italy during German downfall |
| Doctorate-S |
Steven Coll |
** |
Slog of a war, slog of a book - Afghanistan
wars |
| The Fifth Season The Obelisk Gate The Stone Sky |
N.K. Jemisin |
** |
Sci -Fi trilogy - Mother in search of
daughter during catastrophic Earth seasons - hard to
follow at times. |
| Killers of the Flower Moon |
David Granns |
*** |
Non-fiction - Story of the Osage "Reign of
Terror" - Murder of Indians holding mineral rights in
Oklahoma in the 1920's |
| The Big Burn |
Timothy Egan |
** |
Story of huge forest fire in 1910 Idaho -
Nascent years of the forest service |
| Seveneves |
Neal Stephenson |
*** |
Sci-Fi - Moon blows up. Mankind seeks
refuse in space as life on Earth is destroyed |
| Cryptonomicon |
Neal Stephenson |
*** |
Historical fiction - Quest for WWII buried
gold in Philippines |
| Energy |
Richard Rhodes |
* |
History of various energy sources - boring. |
|
Red Sparrow
Palace of Treason
The Kremlin's Candidate
|
Jason Matthews |
**** |
Well written spy novels. Counter
intelligence episodes and moles in the CIA/Kremlin |
| Beneath a Scarlet Sky |
Mark Sullivan |
*** |
Italian ware hero - based on true story -
Allied spy |
| Unsheltered |
Barbara Kingsolver |
**** |
Parallel stories in time of hard times in a
shaky house |
| Born To Run |
Bruce
Springsteen |
** |
Tough sledding in the early years. |
| Countdown to Zero Day |
Kim Zetter |
*** |
History and analysis of Stuxnet |
| The Undoing Project |
Michael Lewis |
** |
Perils of trusting your gut |
| The Earth is Weeping |
Peter Cozzens |
*** |
History of the American Indian Wars |
| A Gentleman in Moscow |
Amor Towles |
**** |
Life under house arrest in the Soviet Union |
| Dark Matter |
Blake Crouch |
*** |
Sci-fi multi-dimension universe - what if? |
| A Legacy of Spies |
John le Carre |
** |
Cold war tale retold from retired actor |
| In the Heart of
the Sea |
Nathaniel
Philbrik |
** |
True story of whaling disaster - the
inspiration for Moby Dick |
| Code Talkers |
Chester Nez |
** |
Navajo secret code use during WWII |
| The Three Body Problem |
Liu Cixin |
**** |
Science Fiction - First contact with alien
intelligence - they are on the way. Are they good or evil? |
| The Dark Forest |
Liu Cixin |
**** |
Tri-solaris probes arrive. Riveting sequel. |
| Red Notice |
Bill Browder |
** |
What can go wrong in business when dealing
with corruption in Putin's Russia |
| Everybody's Fool |
Richard Russo |
**** |
Sequel to 'Nobody's Fool'. Sully and
friends in upstate New York |
| Barkskins |
Anne Proulx |
** |
Multi-generational saga featuring cutting
down forests, exploiting Indians, and tragic death. Blah. |
| Before The Fall |
Noah Hawley |
** |
Plane crash mystery. Beach read |
| All the Light We
Cannot See |
Anthony Doerr |
**** |
Blind girl in France briefly meets Germain
solider during WWII |
| The Martian |
Andy Weir |
*** |
Rescue mission to pick up stranded
astronaut |
| In the Kingdom of Ice |
Hampton Sides |
** |
Tragic tail of the USS Jeannette and it's
polar journey |
| Dead Wake |
Erik Larson |
** |
Sinking of the Lusitania. |
| The Wright Brothers |
David McCullough | *** |
The story of the Wright brothers of
course |
| Wool |
Hugh Howey |
** |
Science Fiction. Life in
a post-apocalypse silo |
| The Billion Dollar Spy |
David Hoffman |
**** |
Non-fiction. Soviet spy working for
the U.S. |
| The
Sleepwalker's Guide to Dancing |
Mira Jacob |
**** |
Story of an Indian family in the U.S as
they face tragedy, sorrow and discovery. |
| One Summer |
Bill Bryson |
*** |
1927 in America. More turbulent than I
expected. Lindbergh, Ruth, Capone, Hoover, Coolidge |
| Mr Penubra's 24-hour Book
Store |
Robin Sloan |
*** |
San Francisco based mystery |
| The Boys in the Boat |
Damiel Brown |
*** |
Rowing crew winning the Olympic medal
in Berlin |
| Flash Boys |
Michael Lewis |
*** |
High frequency trading on Wall St.
explained. |
| Fall of Giants Winter of the World End of Eternity |
Ken Follett |
*** |
The Century Trilogy. Historical fiction.
20th century from WWI, WWII, and the cold war. |
| The Son |
Philipp Meyer |
*** |
Multi-generational saga of western
family |
| An Army at Dawn The Day of Battle The Guns at Last Light |
Rick Atkinson |
** |
WWII - Europe/Africa. Painstaking details
of every battle. 1800 pages. 3 books. |
| The Ocean at the End of the
Lane |
Neil Gaiman |
*** |
Short novel about a mysterious farm |
| Frozen in Time |
Mitchell Zuckoff |
*** |
A series of rescue missions in Greenland
gone bad |
| Flight Behavior |
Barbara Kingsolver |
*** |
Monarch butterflies on a journey |
| Waging
Peace |
Neil
Young |
** |
Neil likes cars, but
doesn't like MP3 quality |
| Lamb |
Christopher
Moore |
*** |
Story of Jesus told by
Biff, a childhood friend |
| Beach
Music |
Pat
Conroy |
*** |
Great writing. A bit
over the top on the ending |
| Lost in
Shangri-La |
Mitchell Zuckoff |
*** |
Plane crash in New
Guinea during WWII - Non fiction |
| Man
Hunt |
Peter
Bergen |
*** |
Inside look at the 10
year journey to find bin Laden |
| Project
Azorian |
Norman
Polmar |
** |
CIA mission to raise
Soviet Sub under the guise of a Howard Hughes ocean mining
operation. Read Blind Mans Bluff instead. |
| In the Garden of Beasts |
Erik Larson |
** |
Life during the emerging Nazi power in
Germany told thorugh the eyes of the US ambassador - Poor
choice of characters for this story |
| Sacre
Bleu |
Christopher
Moore |
** |
Vincent Van Gogh was
murdered. A comedy |
| 11/23/63 |
Steven
King |
** |
Time travel. What
would the world be like if you could save JFK |
| The Quest |
Daniel Yergin |
*** |
Continuation of "The Prize"
- Future of Energy. Non-fiction |
| Boomerang |
Michael
Lewis |
** |
How other countries reacted
to the global financial meltdown. Non fiction |
| That
Old Cape Magic |
Richard
Russo |
** |
Not up to par. Characters
are pathetic |
| The
Disappearing Spoon |
Sam
Kean |
*** |
Non Fiction - Stories
surrounding each of the chemical elements |
| The
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks |
Rebecca
Skloot |
** |
Non Fiction - The story
behind HeLa cells |
| City of
Thieves |
David
Benioff |
*** |
Life in Leningrad during
WWII |
| Unbroken |
Laura
Hillibrand |
*** |
Japanese POW story - Non
fiction |
| Water
for Elephants |
Sata
Gruen |
*** |
Depression era story of
traveling circus |
| The
Little Book |
Seldon
Edwards |
** |
Time travel to Vienna om
the 30's |
| State
of Wonder |
Ann
Patchet |
**** |
Journey into the Amazon |
| Juliet Naked |
Nick Hornby |
*** |
Funny novel about music
obsessed groupie discovering rare album |
| Life |
Kieth
Richards |
** |
Auto-biography of Rolling
Stones guitarist/song writer/druggist |
| Death,
Taxes, and Leaky Waders |
John
Gierach |
** |
Fishing trips in the west.
This man loves fishing |
| The Big
Short |
Michael
Lewis |
**** |
I kind of understand what a
credit default swap is now, but wish I didn't. |
| This is
Where I Leave You |
Jonathan
Trooper |
*** |
Funny, well written account
of dysfunctional family coming together for Shiva |
| Cutting
for Stone |
Abraham
Verghese |
**** |
Twins growing up in
Ethiopia and their amazing fate |
| The
Dead Hand |
David
Hoffman |
**** |
Cold Ware account beginning
with the collapse of USSR. Inside look at Soviet programs.
Terrifying |
| Straight
Man |
Richard
Russo |
*** |
Similar in style to 'The
Risk Pool' but funnier. Life as a college professor facing
a downsizing |
| Half
Broken Horses |
Jeannette
Walls |
*** |
Precursor to 'The Glass
Castle'. Life and times of authors grandmother. |
| The
Lacuna |
Barbara
Kingsolver |
*** |
Slow developing. Writers
life growing up in Mexico / U.S. |
| The Risk Pool |
Richard Russo |
**** |
Similar to 'Nobody's Fool'
only better |
| The
Story of Edgar Sawtelle |
David
Wroblewski |
*** |
Mute boy and his
relationship with dogs and murder |
| The
Nuclear Express |
Reed/Stillman |
*** |
Nuclear weapons
proliferation. Scary. Non fiction |
| Horse
Soldiers |
Doug
Stanton |
** |
Non-fiction. Soldiers in
Afghanistan |
| The
Angels Game |
Carlos
Ruiz Zafon |
** |
Confusing story, but well
written book. Mystery in Barcelona |
| The
Things They Carried |
Tim
O'brien |
** |
Non-fiction. Stories from
the Vietnam War |
| The
Graveyard Book |
Neil
Gaiman |
*** |
Ghosts raise a child in the
graveyard. Quick read. |
| A Man
on the Moon |
Andrew
Chikin |
*** |
Non fiction.
Historical recap of each Apollo mission. |
| Let the
Great World Spin |
Colum
McCann |
** |
Lives of various people
interwoven together using twin towers tightrope walk
as the catalyst |
| Polar
Star |
Martin
Gruz Smith |
*** |
Another episode of Renko
the Russian detective |
| The Book Thief |
Markus Zusak |
**** |
Nazi Germany through the
eyes of a child. Narrated by Death |
| Ghost
Wars |
Steven
Coll |
*** |
Afghanistan history through
the eyes of the CIA. Leading to the Taliban |
| My
Fathers Secret War |
Lucinda
Franks |
** |
Author unveils the life of
her father during WWII |
| The
Shadow Catcher |
Marianne
Wiggins |
** |
The life and times of
Edward Curtis - Indian Photographer |
| The
Gatehouse |
Nelson
Demille |
* |
Disappointing sequel to the
'Gold Coast' |
| The Audacity of Hope |
Barack Obama |
*** |
Barack expresses hope in
America. Refreshing |
| A long
Way Gone |
Ismael
Beah |
** |
Life as a child in Serria
Leone |
| The
Places in Between |
Rory
Stewart |
** |
Walking across Afghanistan
alone. Non fiction |
| A
Thousand Splendid Suns |
Khaled
Hosseini |
**** |
Life in Afghanistan between
the Soviet occupation and Taliban |
| The
Worst Hard Time |
Timothy
Egan |
** |
Life during the dust bowl.
Non-fiction |
| A Look
Over My Shoulder |
Richard
Helms |
** |
CIA director memoirs. Cold
War - Vietnam. |
| A
Looming Tower |
Lawrence
Wright |
**** |
History and rise of
Al-Qaeda. Sad turf battles between CIA/FBI and
consequences |
| Three
Cups of Tea |
Greg
Mortenson |
*** |
Amazing story (too amazing
perhaps) of one mans quest to build schools in Afghanistan |
| Stalin's
Ghost |
Martin
Cruz Smith |
** |
Another Russian detective
Renko book |
| The
Prize |
Daniel
Yergin |
** |
The history and politics of
oil. Laborious to read |
| The
Road |
Cormac
McCarthy |
** |
Journey of father and son
through post-apocalyptic world |
| The
Glass Castle |
Jeanette
Walls |
*** |
Memoirs of tough childhood
with bizarre parents |
| A Dirty
Job |
Christopher
Moore |
*** |
Picture a comic version of
'Neverwhere' Death merchants in San Francisco |
| Arsenals
of Folly |
Richard
Rhodes |
*** |
Non-fiction. The making of
the nuclear arms race and the end of the cold war. |
| The
River of Doubt |
Candice
Millard |
*** |
Non fiction. Roosevelt
journey down an uncharted amazon tributary |
| Bridge
of Sighs |
Richard
Russo |
*** |
Small town story centered
on convenience store as home |
| The March |
E.L Doctorow |
** |
Civil War Novel |
| A Crack
in the Edge of the Earth |
Simon
Winchester |
** |
Non-fiction. 1906
Earthquake |
| Collapse |
Jared
Diamond |
* |
What I did trying to read
this. Boring |
| A Team
of Rivals |
Doris
Kerns Goodwin |
*** |
A little long, but well
written book on Lincoln |
| Nobody's
Fool |
Richard
Russo |
**** |
If you liked Empire Falls.
This is better |
| Shadow
of the Wind |
Carlos
Ruiz Zafon |
**** |
Fun Mystery! |
| Marley
and Me |
John
Grogan |
** |
Rowdy Dog |
| The
Tender Bar |
J.R. Moehringer |
** |
Growing up in a
neighborhood bar |
| American
Theocracy |
Kevin
Phillips |
** |
Non-fiction. Bush
Administration and the role of religion in the white house |
| Charlie
Wilson's War |
George
Crile |
*** |
Non fiction. CIA backed
Afghanistan war against the Soviets in the 80's. Amazing
but true |
| Iron
Coffins |
Herbert
Werner |
*** |
Non fiction account of U2
boats during WWI |
| The
Time Traveler's Wife |
Audrey
Niffennegger |
*** |
A love story in a time
paradox |
| One
Percent Doctrine |
Ron
Suskind |
*** |
Non fiction. What drive
Dick Cheney to act |
| Acts of
Faith |
Philip
Caputo |
*** |
Missionaries and gun
runners in war torn Sudan |
| Fiasco |
Thomas
Ricks |
** |
Non fiction. War in Iraq.
Unplanned occupation. Not turning out so well :-( |
| Wildfire |
Nelson
DeMille |
** |
Suitcase Nukes. Similar to
Plum Island |
| Lay of
the Land |
Richard
Ford |
** |
Slow read. Life as a real
estate agent |
| The Rule of Four |
Ian Caldwell |
*** |
'Da Vinci Code'-lite at
Princeton |
| 1776 |
David
McCullough |
**** |
Talk about a tough year for
Washington |
| John
Adams |
David
McCullough |
** |
Adams/Jefferson/Franklin |
| Truman |
David
McCullough |
** |
A good editor would have
helped this book |
| The
Survivor |
John
Harris |
*** |
Bill Clinton |
| Anaazai
Boys |
Neil
Gaimen |
*** |
Science Fiction/Fantasy -
'Neverwhere' is better |
| The
Five People You Meet in Heaven |
Mitch
Album |
*** |
The people you meet on the
way up... |
| The
Killer Angels |
Michael
Shaara |
*** |
The Battle of Gettysburg |
| The
Kite Runner |
Khaled
Hosseini |
**** |
Growing up in Afghanistan |
| Saturday |
Ian
McGregor |
** |
Simple day in the life of
average Joe |
| Blink:
The Power of Thinking |
Malcom
Gladwell |
** |
Non-fiction. A book about
trusting your instinct |
| Wolves Eat Dogs |
Martin Cruz Smith |
*** |
Murder mystery in Russia |
| Prey |
Michael
Chihton |
** |
Biotech thriller |
| Whiteout |
Ken
Follett |
*** |
Biotech thriller |
| A Short
History of Everything |
Bill
Bryson |
*** |
Comical description of
science |
| Empire
Falls |
Richard
Russo |
**** |
Small town life in Maine |
| The Da
Vinci Code |
Dan
Brown |
*** |
Great summer read |
| Angels
and Demons |
Dan
Brown |
*** |
Not quite as good as 'Da
Vinci Code' |
| Being
Dead |
Jim
Crace |
** |
A view of death from the
rear view mirror |
| American
Gods |
Neil
Gaiman |
** |
Science Fiction |
| Addicus |
Ron Hansen |
**** |
A father in search of his
son |
| A Man
Called Intrepid |
William
Stevenson |
**** |
Non-fiction. British agent
during WWII |
| Gorky
Park |
Martin
Cruz Smith |
*** |
Murder mystery in Russia |
| Shoeless
Joe |
Ray
Kinsella |
**** |
Field of Dreams |
| Billy
Bathgate |
E.L.
Doctorow |
**** |
Young teenager joins Dutch
Shultz gang |
| Eye of
the Needle |
Ken
Follett |
**** |
WWII novel |
| Plum
Island |
Nelson
Demille |
*** |
Long Island murder mystery |
| Up
Country |
Nelson
Demille |
*** |
Journey back to Vietnam |
| Gold
Coast |
Nelson
Demille |
**** |
Living next to mafia Don.
Hysterical |
| Blind
Mans Bluff |
Shelly
Sontag |
**** |
Non-fiction. Nuclear
submarines during cold war |
| The
Company |
Robert
Littell |
**** |
CIA. Fictional look at
historical events |
| The
Power of One |
Bryce
Courtney |
**** |
Uplifting story of boxing
in Africa |
| Tandia |
Bryce
Courtney |
*** |
Follow up to Power of One.
|
| Postcards |
Anne
Proulx |
*** |
Life on the lam told
through postcards |
| The
Shipping News |
Anne
Proulx |
*** |
Life in Newfoundland |
| Into
Thin Air |
Jon
Krakauer |
**** |
Non fiction. Tragedy on Mt
Everest |
| Crazy
in Alabama |
Mark
Childress |
*** |
Traveling with husbands
head in a basket. Somehow it makes sense |
| The
Miracle of Edgar Mind |
Brady
Udall |
*** |
|
| A
Thousand Acres |
Jane
Smiley |
*** |
|
| Cold
Mountain |
Charles
Frazier |
** |
Civil Ware Novel |
| Life of
Pi |
Yann
Martel |
*** |
Tiger in rowboaat |
| Snow
Falling on Cedars |
David
Gutersand |
** |
|
| Prodigal
Summer |
Barbara
Kingsolver |
*** |
|
| Animal
Dreams |
Barbara
Kingsolver |
**** |
|
| The
Poisonwood Bible |
Barbara
Kingsolver |
**** |
Missionaries in Africa |
| The
Bean Trees |
Barbara
Kingsolver |
*** |
|
| Lost in
Place |
Mark
Saltzman |
**** |
A look back at the teenage
years |
| Fly
fishing through the mid-life Crisis |
Howard
Rains |
** |
|
| The
Sportswriter |
Richard
Ford |
*** |
|
| Independence
Day |
Richard
Ford |
*** |
Mid-life crisis |
| Fountainhead |
Ayn
Rand |
**** |
Howard Roark vs Peter
Keating |
| Atlas
Shrugged |
Ayn
Rand |
**** |
Who is John Gault? |
| The
Making of the Atomic Bomb |
Richard
Rhodes |
**** |
Non-fiction. Physics of the
bomb |
| Dark
Sun |
Richard
Rhodes |
**** |
Non-fiction. The making of
the H-bomb - Spying |
| Endurance |
Alfred
Lansing |
**** |
Non-fiction. Shackletons
voyage |
| Cadillac
Desert |
Marc
Reisner |
**** |
Non-ficiton. Water politics
in the west |
| A
Confederacy of Dunces |
John
Kennedy Toole |
*** |
|
| Neverwhere |
Neil
Gaiman |
*** |
Science fiction. London
underground |
| Surely
You're Joking Mr Feynman! |
Richard
Feynman |
**** |
Stories of famous physicist |