Category Archives: Books

Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” for Guys

I had never heard of the Twilight series until the middle of last year when I noticed the books all over the place. People were reading them on airplanes, in restaurants, everywhere. It seemed like it came out of nowhere.

When I checked into it a little, I found that the books were initially marketed to young adult girls but it had morphed into a hit for women. I didn’t know of any guys that were reading it.

I was reading that this was the next Harry Potter series. That really perked my attention since I love the Harry Potter books.

The thing that puzzled me though was when I asked women if they thought a guy would like it, I never got an answer. Not once. Strange. Sweetie told me that I wouldn’t “get it.”

I couldn’t resist, especially if the series is the next Harry Potter series.

I read it. I liked it. The writing just sucks you in. Not much happens for the first 335 pages. The female protagonist, Isabella (“Bella”) and Edward Cullen engage in endless conversations that establish the relationship and sets up the yin and yang of attraction and danger that drives the plot. I saw this a being in a tunnel, all Bella and Edward see is each other and the rest of the world doesn’t really exist.

Finally they are deeply in love and meet each others parents and then stuff start happening. Meyer engages in a little too much “deus ex machina” rescues for me but given the target market of teenage girls the mechanism is needed to avoid too much blood. Given that, there is enough drama and tension in the last part of the book for anybody. However, a little more description and detail of what happened in the final crucial rescue scene would be much appreciated.

There are lots of plot holes in the book and I could enumerate them but they don’t really matter. What matters is the relationship between Edward and Bella, how it began and how it develops.

The ending leaves me wanting to read more and I will.

Did I “get it?” Nope, not entirely. Why Bella was attracted to Edward mystifies me. Did I like it? Yep. Is it the next Harry Potter series? Not even close, but it wasn’t meant to be. “Twilight” is its own thing. Will guys like it? If they have patience to get through the first 2/3 of the book, sure they will like it.

I give the book three stars out of four.

There is a Stephenie Meyer reading challenge out there. I’ll post about it soon.

Book Review “Look Me in the Eyes” by John Elder Robison

“Look Me in the Eye” is a memoir written by John Elder Robison, a very talented and determined man who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when he was 40 years old. Robison overcame indifferent if not hostile parents, no help from the school system, and a lack of education to eventually become an audio and special effects specialist for the rock band KISS and then later work for Milton Bradley developing video games and then eventually forming his own sucessful business restoring and repairing classic cars. He married twice and has child of his own.

The book is very heartening to this Dad of a 10 year old boy with Aspergers. Robison is a good writer, if kind of flat (like maybe he has Asperger’s) and he has some hair rasing adventures to tell. One of the more fascinating things he talks about is how he thinks and how his method of thinking has changed over time as he became more social.

The book is very encouraging and I recommend it highly to those who have a child with Aspergers or is otherwise interested in the subject

Operation Actually Read the Bible

I have slowly been making my way through the Bible the old school way. I am starting at the front and working toward the back. Its working out to be about 3 or 4 chapters a week. I have finished Genesis and am now deep into Exodus. I’ve read most of the Bible before, this time I’m trying to read it as if it were a regular book. There is a lot of great stuff in there if you stop and look at the stories. There is also a lot of inconsistencies that I don’t understand.

You can sign up here.

Just for the record: I’m a believer!

This is the home page for the project where I’ll track my progress.

Books Completed

  • Genesis ( one down and a bunch to go) – Main takeaway – Many powerful stories and a hard headed pharoah. Most memorable image, God forming man from mud.
  • Exodus – Could be sub-titled “The story of a stiff nicked people.”I was amazed at the the details of the tabernacle, tents, and such, on an on. The most memorable image was at the when they talked about the glory of god filling the tent. Loved it.
  • Leviticus – I have taken a couple of Bible survey courses and this is one of the books that gets mostly skipped because it has a lot to do with the dietary laws. Well I went threw the whole thing and read every word. It has the dietary laws but also lots of laws about skin blemishes and such as that. Makes me glad that we are off the hook for a lot of the laws. I was impressed though with the scope of the laws. I wonder why though. I suspect just because God is God and that is the way he wants us is the answer. (2/15/2009)

The following list was provided by Into Thy Word that I found via link from Operation Read Bible. I’m going to use it help me chart my progress. The red numbers are the chapters I’ve read. At a chapter a day, 3 or 4 days a week it may take me a while.

Genesis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Exodus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
Leviticus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Deuteronomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Joshua 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Judges 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Ruth 1 2 3 4
1 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
2 Samuel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
1 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
2 Kings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
2 Chronicles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Ezra 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Nehemiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Esther 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
Psalms 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
Proverbs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Ecclesiastes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Song Of Solomon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Isaiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Jeremiah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
Lamentations 1 2 3 4 5
Ezekiel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
Daniel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hosea 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Joel 1 2 3
Amos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Obadiah 1
Jonah 1 2 3 4
Micah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Nahum 1 2 3
Habakkuk 1 2 3
Zephaniah 1 2 3
Haggai 1 2
Zechariah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Malachi 1 2 3 4
Matthew 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Mark 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Luke 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
John 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Acts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Romans 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
1 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2 Corinthians 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Galatians 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ephesians 1 2 3 4 5 6
Philippians 1 2 3 4
Colossians 1 2 3 4
1 Thessalonians 1 2 3 4 5
2 Thessalonians 1 2 3
1 Timothy 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 Timothy 1 2 3 4
Titus 1 2 3
Philemon 1
Hebrews 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
James 1 2 3 4 5
1 Peter 1 2 3 4 5
2 Peter 1 2 3
1 John 1 2 3 4 5
2 John 1
3 John 1
Jude 1
Revelation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
The Bible contains 1189 chapters: 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New. Reading 3 chapters each day and 5 chapters on Sundays will cover the entire Bible in one year. Follow some plan. Even one chapter each day will cover the New Testament in only 9 months. God’s Word is alive. The more you expose yourself to it, the more it will expose itself to you.

“The Woman of the House” by William Trevor

Pardon me while I try and work out how all the links are supposed to work on this reading challenge thing.

“The Woman of the House” is a short story set in modern day Ireland. Within the story are two parallel stories. That of a “crippled old man” and his female cousin living with him and two house painters from “Carinthia” (Wikipedia says Carenthia is a real place) but who pass themselves off as Polish.

The story is about the bargains people make with each other and themselves and the consequences of those bargains.

Not a whole lot of action here but the two stories slowly merge in a very clever and satisfying way. Not to say that everybody is happy.

I loved it.

I’m listing this story on my “100 Shots of Short” reading challenge list.

2009 Pub Challenge

I peruse so called “reader blogs” with great interest. I am always interested in what people read and why and am astonished by how many books some of these folks go through. Many of these blogs have “challenges” listed on them regarding goals for reading books. These can be for a specific time or specific theme or both, like “2009 Romance Novels.” Each challenge is sponsored by somebody and they lay out the guidelines and rules.

I’ve decided to do the 2009 Pub Challenge as my first challenge. I first saw it on the Oklahoma Booklady blog. You sign up for the challenge here.

Basically you read 9 books first published in 2009. Five must be fiction and no Young Adult titles are allowed (it is a pub.) (Is the Twilight Series YA? I know that what has been published so far do not qualify)

I checked my local library books ordered list for my account and the following is what I have ordered that are due to come out in 2009. So I guess that this is my starting list. Note, I feel absolutely free to change my plans at any time, for any reason.

The thing about Challenges is that many of them allow crossovers. So I will be adding challenges as I learn more about them.

Wish me luck!

– “Runner” by Thomas Perry, due January 2009 – finished 3/2/2009

– “Murder in the Latin Quarter” by Cara Black, finished 5/2/2009.

– “The Associate” by John Grisham , finished in April 2009.

-“The Monster in the Box” by Ruth Rendell, finished November 2009.

-“The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood, finished November 2009.

-“The Associate” by John Grisham

-“The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power” by Jeff Sharlet, 2009

– Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear by Max Lucado. 2009

-“The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown 2009

-“War Dances” by Sherman Alexie 2009

-“The Scarecrow” by Michael Connelly 2009

-“Roadside Crosses” by Jeffery Deaver 2009

-“Road Dogs” by Elmore Leonard 2009

-“Parallel Play – Growing up with Undiagnosed Asperger’s” by Tim Page 2009

-“Runner” by Thomas Perry 2009

-“That Old Cape Magic” by Richard Russo 2009

-“Rough Country” by John Sandford

-“The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year” by Michael Stein

Book Review “The Best American Short Stories of 2008” edited by Salman Rushdie

I am addicted to short stories. I even liked them in the English Lit classes in High School. It is easier, I think, for an author to sustain a mood, or intensity level, or tension than in a novel.

If you like short stories then try out this book. I have been buying these books for over 20 years. There is a different editor every year, generally an author of some renown, who selects the stories so you get a little insight into what they like. Also, they have a small bio of each author selected that is interesting and they write a little about what inspired them to write the story. Often is just an image they had in their mind. It is amazing that some of the stories have been years in the making and sometimes dozens of drafts.
This book contains the latest craze, a vampire love story. It also has failed redemption after cold blooded murder. Also science fiction, love turned cold. All sorts of genre’s.
I give it 3.5 stars out of 4.
Try the 2007 edition. Steven King was the editor. Not only can he write, he can pick out stories.

Book Review “Loving Frank” by Nancy Horan

Loving Frank is an historical novel about Mamah Borthwick Cheney and her relationship with the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. It is a very well researched and very well written book about two not so likeable people. Wright of course is probably the best known architect of all time and is widely considered a genius. Cheney and her husband were clients of Wrights. One thing led to another and Wright and Cheny each left their spouses and children and ran off together. It causd quite a sensation at the time.

The book does a great job describing the difficulties they went through with the situation and how they perservered in their work. Wright of course designing buildings and Cheney translating the works of Ellen Key, an early day feminist.
These were two imperfect, selfish people. The times they lived in were much different also. Running off with your architect and leaving your husband and children just wasn’t very acceptable back then. The story is compelling and well written.

I give this book 3.5 stars out of 4.

“The Brass Verdict” by Michael Connelly


Michael Connelly writes books with hard boiled characters, Tough Guys. He is most famous for his Harry Bosch series. Harry Bosch is one tough LAPD Detective. You mess with him you are messing with trouble. Mr. Connelly has added another tough protagonist, Mickey Haller, a tough defense attorney. He was introduced in “The Lincoln Lawyer.” Haller doesn’t have an office, he works out of Lincolns. He has several that he rotates.

The Brass Verdict has both hard boiled guys. Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller. Haller is the main guy, Bosch just has a side part in this book. Two tough guys. They are kind of working together but not really. This avoids the confrontation where one of the tough guys has to blink.

I’ll spare you the story. You can read the book to find out the story. I don’t care about the story. I go for the writing. I’ll just give you a flavor of the book, Chapter One, page 1:

“Everybody lies. … A trial is a contest of lies. … The trick if are sitting at the defense table is to be patient. To wait. Not for just any lie, But for the one you can grab on to and forge like hot iron into a sharpened blade. You can then use that blade to rip the case open and spill its guts out on the floor.”

This isn’t chick lit. It isn’t the Red Tent. This is a guy book.

I give it a 3 out of 4. A great read.

Book Review -“Half Moon Investigations” by Eoin Colfer

SuperPizzaBoy and I just finished this book. We read it for his nightly story time. It is a lot of fun for a 10 year old boy and his Dad to read. It is about a boy, Fletcher Moon, who obtained his detective certification on the internet after, of course, lying about his age. He is smaller than other boys his age so his nickname is Half Moon.

He hires himself out to other kids to solve crimes. He falls into a real tangled nest that gets him framed and crossways with the real law and quite an adventure results. He runs away from home and hangs out with the town’s outlaw family under disguise while he tries to unravel the various threads of a big conspiracy in town.

Half Moon is very Spocklike in his ability to analyze evidence and make deductions. He also has a password that gets him internet access to the local police records. PizzaBoy loved this guy.

Half Moon even gets friendly, but not quite romantic, with a very pretty 12 year old girl in town (“That’s embarrassing!” SPB tells me, “don’t talk about it”, I’m told. I tell him “there is nothing quite like an older woman”, “Ahhhhhh” he yells, “Mom, Dad is embarrassing me again!” Me and PizzaBoy have a lot of fun during storytime, or at least I do.)

The book is set in Ireland which makes it all that much more exotic.

Of course Half Moon figures it all out and is a hero in the end. He doesn’t quite get the girl (that would probably ruin it for this age group of boy, maybe next time.) SPB and I both loved this book and recommend it heartily to any 10 year old boy.

Book Review “Through the Storm” by Lynne Spears (with Lorilee Craker)

Through the Storm is a memoir written by Lynne Spears, the mother of Britney Spears. It talks about Lynne’s own life and her marriage and subsequent divorce with Britney’s father, Jamie and continues on through their life and Britney’s career from precocious toddler on to a international pop music superstar. Then it describes Britney’s estrangement and weird behavior last year from a mother’s perspective.

I know that Lynne Spears involvement in her daughter’s affairs are very controversial and that some people accuse her of not taking care of her daughter. I may be very naïve but I found her account of Britney’s rise t fame to be believable, it has the ring of truth. Britney had great talent and they work ethic and drive to make the most of that talent. What parent would not do what they could to help their children reach their full potential? I think that it would also be very hard to make wise decisions regarding a child’s career. Who could you trust?

I have to admit that I am more of a rock and roll and indie label music fan and do not particularly care for pop music all that much except that I am hooked to American Idol. Also, I don’t follow the celebrity news like who Is dating who and who has been arrested for DWI. I do though have sympathy for people who are hounded by paparazzi. I say all this because I guess that I am the only person in the world who had not heard anything about the ordeal that Britney Spears went through last year. I found her mother’s account of her daughter’s ordeal horrifying but believable.

One of the best things about the book is the description of being married to an alcoholic and how destructive it is to the family. I have read about it before. This book made me feel it.
I highly recommend this book. Not so much for learning about a pop star but to read about the love of a mother who admits she might have made a few mistakes but never stopped loving her daughter.