I picked this book up in a bookstore a couple weeks ago. For years I’ve occasionally watchined Anthony Bourdain on his “No Reservations” show on the Food Network. He always seemed like a ready for anything, at ease guy as he goes around the world eating chopped lamb brains from street vendors and other adventuresome cuisine. He looks like a guy who smokes and drinks too much and stays up too late and probably doesn’t read his Bible every day. He also seems like a guy who can tell some good stories.

Kitchen Confidential came out ten years ago and is still in print in this 2007 updated edition. It is Bourdain’s description of his career as a cook and chef and many observations on the restaurant industry. The man can write. It is one of those books where you start reading it and you can’t stop. He says he wrote the book for the guys who work in restaurants. He tells a lot of stories about working in restaurants. I am sure that some of the stories are actually true. They are all entertaining.

I rate the book 4 stars out of 5 it is a darn good read.

I just got through reading “The Dinosaur Hunter” by Homer Hickham. A whodunnit based on a ranch in Montana. The narrator of the book is Mike Wire, a former LA Detective turned ranch hand. The book starts out like one of my son’s Hank the Cowdog books but then Mike gets a look at his naked female boss owner of the Square C Ranch, who he happens to have a crush on. After his look Mike has to get back to running the ranch. Later on, valuable dinosaur bones are found on the ranch by a famous paleontologist, Pick, and his young adoring female assistants.

As the story moves along it turns out that the Russian mafia is after the bones (This is the second book in a row I’ve read about the Russian mafia.) Cows get killed mysteriously then somebody else gets killed mysteriously and then the story is on. It is lots of fun. Mike never gets to consumate his love for his boss but he and one of the young paleontologists express their fondness for each other (off scene.) In the meantime there is lots of interesting discussion about digging about Tyrannosaurus bones. It turns out that Homer Hickham is an amateur bone digger. Check out the link above to his web site. Interesting dude.

I give the book 3.5 stars out of five. It is not going to win the Man Booker prize but it is a fun and interesting read. Think of it as Hank the Cowdog for grownups.

I got my copy from the library!

“Our Kind of Traitor” is the latest John le Carre book and like some of his earlier books it is about the Russians and the British. Except now it is Russian money launderers that the British are concerned about. A Russian wants to defect to Britain with his family. But you know they may not let him. He has to prove that he is worth it. The British spies have to prove to their government that he is worth it.

You know, John le Carre is a great writer and his books are very interesting but the ones I’ve read couldn’t really have been called thrillers. They were good but most of the action takes place off stage. This book is a thriller. It takes a while to build up but when it does it is riveting.

Plus the moral ambiguity is fascinating. Have you ever been in a position where you don’t know who you could trust. Or maybe you trust the guy you are dealing with but are not sure about the people he is dealing with, who happen to be the real decision makers. But at the same time you have to commit or not. Have you? This book is all about that.

I give it four stars out of five. It is a great read.

Portobello is a sort of detective novel about several widely disparate characters who live in the Portobello section of London. It centers a middle aged antiques dealer who discovers some money on the street near his home. He wants to return it to the rightful owner so he posts an ad inviting the owner of the money to come claim it. As you can imagine this invites all sorts of losers into his life that he wouldn’t have otherwise come into contact with.

I don’t think that I’ve read any of Rendell’s books before but I’m intrigued by what she did in this book as she deals with all the different paths the characters take. The book is somewhat of a mystery but is more of a character study that is very interesting.

I give the book three and a half stars out of five, which is good, but not great. It is worth reading.

I just got through reading “The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest” by the late Stieg Larsson. The “Girl” is Lisbeth Salander, a dynamo who suffered severely as a young teenager in a psychiatric hostpital the hands of the Swedish Government and was then brutally raped by her legal guardian when she was in her 20’s.

This book wraps the whole story up. It involves nuclear secrets, Russian Spies, rogue intelligence agents. If you like thrillers you have to read the Millenium Series. If you haven’t read the series this book won’t make too much sense by itself. Start with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I give this book four stars out of five. I got mine on Kindle.  I think its coming out on paperback soon.

I bought this book last Fall but didn’t read it until recently. You know how it goes, so many books, so little time. I love short stories and I have been reading this series since the mid 8’s. The 2010 edition should be coming out in October or so.

This year’s edition has some great stories.

“The Idiot President” by Daniel Alarcon -(No, it is not about W!)

“Rubiaux Raising” by Steve de Jarnatt – A story that incorporates the war in Iraq and hurricane Katrina.

“Hurricanes” by Adam Johnson – (One guess which hurricane it refers to .)

“Modulation” by Richard Powers – This story about music and viruses, and musica piracy is brilliant.

“Them Old Cowboy Songs” by Annie Proulx – Another story of the how hard life in the west was. This story is set back in the 1800’s. Annie Proulx may be my favorite author. Many people don’t realize that “Brokeback Mountain” was a short story by Proulx.

“Into the Gorge” by Ron Rash.

“The Peripatetic Coffin” by Ethan Rutherford. – A story incorporating the confederates submarine , the H.L. Hunley, used in the Civil War.

If you don’t want to buy the book, get a copy from your local library to read any of the above stories.

I give this book a solid four stars out of five. It is great.

I just finished “Think of a Number” a very clever whodunnit by John Verdon. It features a very cerebral retired New York City detective, Dave Gurney, who has retired to the Catskills of New York and just wants to live in peace. He is called by an acquaintance from long ago who has received some threatening mail and wants to know how to deal with it.

That’s about all I’m going to say. I thought I had the mystery figured out about a fourth of the way through the book I was WRONG. A shocking curve is thrown and wow, I was hooked.

This book is great. I rate it a good solid 4 out of 5. A great read.

The book was featured in the New York Times book section. Also Amazon made the book available for just a few dollars on their Kindle store, so I snatched it up and it was a great buy.

Speaking of Kindles have you noticed that many of their new books are pushing $20!! What they Hay!!

“Star Island” is Carl Hiaasen’s latest book and it is a hoot (sorry, couldn’t resist). Its about a young lady who, although she can’t sing, is a superstar and acts the part. She does drugs and alocohol to excess, stays way out way too late, and pretty much sleeps with anyone who stands still long enough. She pulls a few shenanigans and gets cross-ways with a paparazzi who wants revenge. Throw in two very greedy, uncaring parents, a music promoter, a former Florida governor who disappeared into the swamps years ago and a body guard with a weed eater for a hand this book is very funny.

Note, unlike “Hoot” which was a book for young adults, this is definitely rated “R.”

I rate this book at 3 stars out of 5. It is a good read but I didn’t just love it.

Check out Hiaasen’s web site.

Below is a trailer for the book.

I just finished “The Girl who Played with Fire” by Stieg Larsson. The second novel in the millennium series of novels originally written in Swedish. The author Stieg Larsson is now deceased.

Lisbeth Salander, the “Girl” is back from the the first novel. A fascinating character, she is the “Girl who hates men who hate women.” She is also a world class computer hacker, a kick boxer, and although she weighs less than 100 pounds, she doesn’t take any crap from anyone.

This book, like the first one takes over a 100 pages to set the scene but once the action starts it is very compelling.

I rate this book four stars out of five. A good read.

You really have to read the first novel “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” for the second to make any sense.

Jeffery Deaver has a new Lincoln Rhyme novel out, “The Burning Wire.” It is a crime/suspense novel and it involves electricity. I will never feel quite the same about door knobs, metal doors, street lights, and my friendly local electric utility company.

This a very good read. I got my copy from the library. I rate it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It’s good.

Check out Mr. Deaver’s web site here.

It turns out that Jeffery Deaver has been selected to write the next James Bond novel. Read it about it here.