Reamde - Neal Stephenson

Wow, this is a great story.  Not my usual genre, but very exciting.

This is why libraries have value to Authors. I checked out the book on my Kindle for Ipad through the library. I had to wait 1 month to get the book and I only get it for 3 weeks. Then I have to get back on the waiting list. I won't finish it in time.

I bought it on Amazon for $10.79.  I rarely buy books but this one is too good to wait a month to pick up again and it is long. over 1000 pages.

Also this book blog is being rendered obsolete by goodreads.com. but I thought I would take a moment to share this story.  See you on goodreads!

Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami

WOW! What a great book. My friend and client suggested Murikami, a very popular novelist from Japan whose books have recently been translated to English.

The book switches characters between a young run away with an Oedipal curse and an old man who was involved in some unexplained oddity during WW2 who now talks to cats, but can't read or write anymore.

 Honestly, I do not fully understand what happened, but it was so fun to read and try to figure it out. The stories of the two do come together, as with most stories, but exactly how? not sure.   It was really interesting, but as I said, I am still not 100% sure what happened! I believe that is what the author intends. He seems to want us to come to our own conclusions.. I have some theories, but it still remains a fascinating mystery.

Time and space parallels? Purgatory? It has been described by one critic as "insistently metaphysical mind-bender".  Well said.

Lying with the Dead - Michael Memshaw

Alan Cheuse, National Public Radio's longtime "voice of books," has called him “the best novelist in America that nobody knows.”

I agree! Very well written novel that deals with a family member murdered by another family member. Written from the perspective of each of the three siblings, each one so very different, yet all tied together by one tragically dysfunctional mother. At times it reads like three books, but it all comes together well. I really enjoyed this book, probably will put this on my all time best list.

latest reads.
Journey of a Thousand Miles - Biography of Lang Lang by David Ritz.  Fluffy story of Lang Lang, Chinese pianist. What parents do to ensure their children's success. WOW.

Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver - Slow at first, but slowly this became a very good story. Stong political statements are made by the end, but in the beginning you would have no idea it would take that turn. Another great Kingsolver book. Poisonwood Bible is still among my favs.

Trawler: A Journey Through the North Atlantic - Redmond O'Hanlon.  I can't think of many books I couldnt get through, even when I wanted to quit, I have finished the book. Not this one. I just couldnt do it any more. Longwinded ramblings of sleep deprived fishermen which, as far as I could tell, really had no meaning to the story itself. I gave up on this one.

Lying With the Dead. Micheal Mewshaw. How did I stumble upon this? I am not even sure. It is a great book so far. It has been a while since I have been so wrapped up in a story from the first paragraph. The story is told by three children, one of which killed their dad when they were young.  Heavy at times, fun and lighthearted at times. I am not done yet so I'll add more later.

Finished All about Lulu by class mate Jon Evison.  I liked it! It was a fun, quick read. I found another Bainbridge reference! Obergottsburger! He was a class mate of ours! I never have heard that name before. Funny.

The book was a refreshing coming of age story with some interesting twists. I can't wait to read West of Here now.

I just finished Orange County Noir, a collection of short stories all taking place in Orange County and all are really weird and morbid, very Orange County like. It reminds me of a book that still haunts me several years later. Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. 

reading what ever I want now!

I won this book on a book blog site, three guys one book, featuring Jon Evison from BI. I went to school with him. http://threeguysonebook.com
the book is The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt.  It was a good book, about two brothers who are contract killers back in the wild west.

Just as I was about done with it, Prashant handed me a flash drive. On it was Shantaram,  Gregory David Roberts. It was 1200 pages! Thankfully it was really good. It is the story of a man who breaks out of jail in New Zealand and flees to Bombay to start a new life.  Fascinating tale that takes him to the slums, to remote villages and even to the Afghanistan war (against Russia at that time).  He captures Bombay (Mumbai now) very well. I felt like I know Mumbai and its people.   Prashant and I discussed it a few times, I felt that the main character is a big wuss really, he is in love with a woman who doesn't love him back, yet his quest for his love never stops. He meets a man who becomes like a father to him and teaches him philosophy, he is such a soft character, a man really in touch with his emotions. Prashant seees him as a tough soldier!  funny how we both have differing views on the main character. He is very complex.

Now I am finally reading Evison. I got his first one "All About Lulu" from the library. I really enjoy his style. In the beginning when he meets Lulu, he describes her a Mr Potato. All the parts are weird, but they come together to make something beautiful.  It is a coming of age story set in the 80s, when we were coming of age! But, its purely fictional as far as I can tell. The only real reference I have found is his high school counselor, Larry Pitts. He was real.  I am a little over half way, when I am done, I will post a follow up.

The List

A-Z
Letter	Author/Book	Notes
A	Ellis Avery The Teahouse Fire	waaaty too long. I was waiting for something to happen and it never did.
B	Chico Buarque Budapest	Entertaining. Weird though.
C	John Casey Spartina	Cool story of a Rhode Island fisherman.
D	Sean Dixon The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal	Malfunctioning robot, pre op tranny, a bunch of self deprecating women, and an old Iraqi story. It works. One of my all time favs.
E	John Ehle The Road	Great historical fiction story of a man who managed a road project over the North Carolina Mt range. Prison laborers, food shortages, a love story, a rogue doctor, mountain folk and railmen.
F	Paradise Travel Jorge Franco	Story of a Columbian immigrant who loses his g/f shortly after getting to NY.
G	A Lesson Before Dying Ernest J. Gaines	Instant top 5 all time. Wow, this was a great book. Very well written. Sad and powerful. Very moving. Everyone should read this.
H	The Killing Fields Christopher Hudson	Wow, so powerful and sad, I just don't understand how Humans can be reduced to the level that killing and torturing other Humans is ok. I am going to volunteer with Red Cross now.
I	SnakePit Moses Isegawa	Heavy read of corruption, greed and power struggles in Uganda. I hope it was mostly fiction, but the author is from Uganda, so I suspect it was based on real life events. Sad.
J	Mick Jackson Five Boys	It started out strong, I was really bonding with Bobby, the main character in the beginning who leaves his family in London to escape the bombings during WWII. He has a great journey to the countryside, meets the townfolk and of course the 5 boys, then he disappears. He went home i guess, the rest of the story reads like a collection of short stories all themed in the small English town. It was ok, but I was a bit disappointed by the sudden shift in storyline.
K	Rose in a Storm Jon Katz.	It was well written, kept my attention, made me happy and sad, but frankly a bit to poppy and mainstream for my liking. I don't read best sellers much and this is why. Just like mainstream movies, all fluff, little substance.
L	Utterly Monkey Nick Laird	Good book, but ended rather abruptly. I kept looking at how many pages were left, wondering when something was gonna happen. I liked the book, but the ending seemed rushed.
M	If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things Jon McGregor	Awesome! What a great find! Jon takes ordinary life and spins it into something beautiful and artistic. His writing style is like nothing I have ever read. I have to read this again, I know i could read this several more times and get something out of it each time. A true masterpiece.
N	Meriweather David Nevin	good book, a bit long in the beginning and end. The actual journey part of the story was very interesting. I only wish I had a map to visually follow them on their journey
O	Stewart O'Nan Last Night at the Lobster	I heard about this book somewhere.. not sure where. Anyway, my first e book. I downloaded from Seattle Public Library.
P	Shipping News Anne Proulx	Highly recommended book. However, having spent a lot of time in small fishing towns, this story seemed rather normal. Well, aside from a few oddities that made the book quirky. I guess I didn't really capture the pain Quoyle had over his ex wife. It reminded me of my D book, Last Days of Lacuna Cabal. Are all Canadians quirky?
Q	Ishmael Daniel Quinn	Good read. A talking Gorilla who teaches lucky students on the theories of human existence and how man and earth relate. Damn, that is one smart Gorilla!
R	Adam Ross Mr Peanut	very interesting book
S	Carl Sagan Contact	Love the movie, loved the book. Interesting how a science fiction book can make you think about God.
T	Fathers and Sons Ivan Turgenev	Written in 1862, this book is about the cultural shift in Russia in the late 1800's. The two sons are "Nihilists". My only other reference to Nihilists is from "The BIg Lebowski". It was a quick read thanks to a great translation. The sons visit each of thier parents and learn how differnt they are after being away at school for years. But, as usual, one thing never changes and that is love. Both fall in love, but have vastly different experiences.
U	Rabbit Run John Updike	I really like his writing style. That guy could make anything sound interesting. The way he portrays scenes is brilliant. I wish I saw like Updike, it must have been a pretty awesome world he lived in. The story was good. Rabbit, the main character, reminded me of myself in my 20's. He really does not know what he is doing from one moment to the next, and sadly his choices are self serving. yep, sounds like a 20something! I will probably read the rest of the series, especially since it didn't really end!
V	Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. Vida Vendela	This is one of my top books in the list! I loved it! The story is about a woman who loses her father and learns some family secrets when he passes. The secret takes her to Lapland, Northern Finland. What a great story, told by a great writer. I was mesmerized.
W	Libby Prison Breakout Joseph Wheelan	This was an educational book on the atrocities committed during the Civil war. It was sad to read about what countrymen did to each other over politics.
X	Xu Xi Habit of a Foreign Sky	Wow, getting hard to find books.. Well, this one started out pretty good, a Chinese businesswomen dealing with the death of her child and mother. But then it turned into a romance novel... It was pretty sappy towards the end, and speaking of ending... what happened?  Did she take the job, which guy did she choose? What about her money and her brothers loan?  Too many questions left unanswered.
Y	Cries in the Drizzle Yu Hua	ugh, almost painful. The story of a poor chinese boy who is sent away when he is 6. 6? so these are his memories from 1-6? ok.  The problem with it  is that each memory starts early and goes on for some time, and the stories intersect each other so sometimes in one story you read something from a previous story. It's like, "hey, I read this already". but you didn't really,  you just read that memory which apparently as a lot of stories.
Z	Paul Zweig Departures	DONE!  it was a short story. I didn't realize it. Thank god cause it was sad and depressing. I'd like to read one of his Novels some day. This was about his cancer treatment.