Category Archives: Books

“The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb

This is one awesome book. It is a novel about Caelum Quirk and his wife Maureen who are an English teacher and school nurse respectively at Columbine High School in Colorado. Caelum is in Connecticut attending to a deceased aunt’s affairs when Maureen is trapped in a cabinet during the Columbine murders. Maureen survives but is badly traumatized and her life slowly spins out of control as the years go by.

There is a a parallel story concerning the Caelum’s ancestors and how their lives were messed up by the Civil War.

Through all this Caelum slowly finds out secrets about himself and his forbears. He also finds out love, steadfastness, and honor. And why he is so messed up.

I’m not really doing this book justice. This may be one of the best books I have ever read. Lets just say it is over 700 pages and I tore through it in five days.

This book is four stars out of four. Read it if you can.

“Elijah of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis


SuperPizzaBoy and I just finished “Elijah of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis. This is a great book that came well recommended. It is a Newberry Honor Book and has won several other awards.

The book is about a boy, Elijah, a free born black youth, who lives in Buxton, Canada just before the Civil War. Buxton is a settlement of former slaves who one way or another escaped slavery and made it over the border. The village is very close knit and values education, hard work, thrift, honor, and church.

The book is humorous in tone mostly but not everything is funny. Just over the border are slaves attempting to cross and slavers trying to intercept them and take them back to the south. It is serious business.

One of Elijah’s adult friends, steals money from another freedman, and goes south to the US. Elijah follows him across the border to get it back and finds himself in a terrible predicament. He displays courage and honor in figuring out what he should do to resolve it.

This book is very compelling. Both SPB and I loved it and I recommend it highly. It does have complicated situations and I think that it would be most appropriate for 5th graders and higher.

I give this book four stars out of four.

“Runner” by Thomas Perry


I am a Thomas Perry fan and have enjoyed his books but I just couldn’t get into this book. This was my first Jane whitefield book of his and Jane and I never quite hit it off. The action seemed perfunctory, the suspense wasn’t there. I didn’t feel anything about the characters at all.

I rate this book 1.5 stars out of 4.

Library Loot

Went to the library today and picked up:

“Brothers” by Yu Hua

“The Hour I First Believed” by Wally Lamb

“Eclipse” by Richard North Patterson

I’m currently reading:

“The Women” by T.C. Boyle

“New Moon” by Stephanie Meyer

“Emma” by Jane Austen

So I’ve got a lot of reading to do!

Tulsa Adult Reading Program
Last Saturday I took my little card to my local Tulsa City County Library and got my red tote bag complete with coupons. One of the coupons is for a free used paperback at Gardner’s Used Books. Baloney suggested I think about John Sandford so I used my coupon to pick up his “Hidden Prey.” I also bought Alan Furst’s “Night Soldiers.”

If you live in Tulsa County and you read, take advantage of this. All you have to do is read 6 books. They don’t even have to be library books. It goes through sometime in March. No pre-registration required. Just get down there, fill out a form with your list of books along with your library card number (If you don’t have a card, they can fix you up right then and there.) and get your stuff. You don’t want to miss out on free stuff.

Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell

I just finished “Scarpetta” by Patricia Cornwell. Baloney at “That’s Baloney” asked me if I had ever read her. Another friend Diamond Girl was also a fan. So I had to try and I’m glad that I did.

In my book reviews I don’t try and examine how the book helped me explore the inner realm of my outer consciousness, or wait, is it the other way around? Oh, darn I forget. Nor do I worry about the plot, unless it is cheesy. I just try and report if the book is a good read. A good read is a book that just grabs you and makes you read it. Necessary are good characters, a believable story, and a smooth writing style.

This book is a good read and is not cheesy. The plot is not for the faint of heart. But hello, the lead character is a medical examiner. You got a weak stomach go read something else.

This book rates 3.5 out of 4 stars.

I recommend it highly. It has been out for a while. I got my copy readily from the library. Don’t buy it!! Its a great book but go to the library, get a card, get the book.

Roads to Quoz – An American Mosey by William Least Heat-Moon


Roads to Quoz” is William Least Heat-Moon’s latest book. It based on travels that he and his wife took to various parts of the United States. Quoz refers to the odd and remarkable but unexpected that one finds on the road while traveling. This book is not so much a travel book but a book of stories that he picked up while traveling. Darned good stories also about forgotten expeditions, drug running, real estate speculation, childhood escapades. Story after story.

Is this a good read? Sure. Just be ready to jump ahead because he bogs down every now and then. There is an excellent 250 page book in this 535 page book. I rate this 3 stars out of 4.

“Blue Highways”,”PraireyErth”, and “River-Horse” are other books that he wrote that I read. They are all travel books except that PraireyErth was confined to a township in central Kansas. Blue Highways was his first book. He had just got fired and divorced. The writing was to the point. Hey, he needed the money. Its the only book besides Tom Sawyer that I’ve read three times.

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

I am really into these Blogging Reading Challenges. So far, I’ve entered more challenges than what I’ve read books in 2009. Let me see, so far, four challenges and, well, … one boook. Hey, quit smirking.

I use the Tulsa City County Library a lot so I wanted a challenge for public libraries and I found one on the Oklahoma Book Lady blog. It is sponsored by J. Kaye’s Book Blog and you can read all the rules and enter the challenge by clicking on the graphic above.

There are three levels of participation: 12, 25, or 50 books. They all have to be checked out from a library and they all have to be begun and finished in 2009.

I’m going for the 12 book level. I picked up my first book on Tuesday.

Here are my 12 books.

1. “Roads to Quoz” by William Least Heat-Moon – 1/20/2009
2. “Scarpetta” by Patricia Cornwell – 2/20/2009
3. “Runner” by Thomas Perry, due January 2009
4. “Murder in the Latin Quarter” by Cara Black, finished 5/2/2009.
5.”The Associate” by John Grisham , finished in April 2009.
6. “The Monster in the Box” by Ruth Rendell, finished November 2009.
7. “The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood, finished November 2009.
8. “The Associate” by John Grisham
9. The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power” by Jeff Sharlet, 2009

10. “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown 2009
11. “War Dances” by Sherman Alexie 2009
12. “The Scarecrow” by Michael Connelly 2009
13. “Roadside Crosses” by Jeffery Deaver 2009
14. “Road Dogs” by Elmore Leonard 2009
15. “Parallel Play – Growing up with Undiagnosed Asperger’s” by Tim Page 2009
16. “Runner” by Thomas Perry 2009
17. “That Old Cape Magic” by Richard Russo 2009
18. “Rough Country” by John Sandford
20. “The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year” by Michael Stein 

Reading Program, Book Bags, and a Chili Coney Special

If you live in Tulsa County and you like to read and get free stuff then head over to your local library and get started with the 2009 Adult Reading Program. You pick up an enrollment card, read 6 books by the end of March, turn in the card, and get a book bag! You can enroll online if you want. Check out the details here.

Afterwards head over to Coney Island Hot Dogs and get the Three Coney Special. Three dogs, with cheese, onion, and chili if you wish and a soft drink for $4.70, including tax. Bring your own nitroglycerin pills.


Three coneys, with chili, onions, and cheese, with hot sauce and chili powder for an extra kick.

They are good but really, really, bad for you. You want to know the secret of eating healthy? Uh? I’ll tell you, If it tastes good, spit it out. You’ll live to be a 100! But you won’t enjoy it.

I’m doubling up on my Zocor tonight.

“Asperger’s from the Inside Out” by Michael John Carley

“Asperger’s from the Inside Out” is written by Michael John Carley, who is the Executive Director of GRASP, (The Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership). The book is meant to be a guide to life for people with Asperger’s Syndrome (“AS”) with emphasis for those who were diagnosed with AS when as adults.

Carley is well qualified to write the book. He was diagnosed with AS as an adult and part of the GRASP mission is to set up support groups all over the country for adults with AS.
I read the book not because I have AS but because I’m the father of a son with AS and I thought that it might help give me a heads up on what to expect with him as he continues on his journey.

Carley, I think, is realistic about these kids can expect. Life for them may be difficult but there is an excellent chance they can adapt and live product, even happy, lives. They may suffer lots of rejection and reversals on the way.

It is asking a lot of a book to be a guide for life for somebody with a disability and I’m not sure this book is it. I think the story of AS changes quickly and I’m not sure that books are the best way to learn. That said, I rate the this book as a 3 stars out of 4 for helping this Dad understand what my son may be in for as he continues to grow up.

Read Your Own Book Challenge

I found another Reading Challenge listed on the Oklahoma Booklady blog. It is called the Read Your Own Book Challenge. You challenge yourself to read in 2009 a certain number of books that you already own. You sign up for it with MizB here.

I’m going to do 12 in 2009. One a month.

1. Asperger’s from the Inside Out by Michael John Carley – finished.

2. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer – in progress

3.

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