What I'm Reading

On My Kindle

Finding Forgiveness, by Eileen R. Borris-Dunchunstang.Chronic hate and resentment not only sap our ability to experience happiness and to grow, they can also take a serious toll on our health and impede future relationships.In Finding Forgiveness internationally acclaimed expert on conflict resolution and trauma recovery Eileen R. Borris-Dunchunstang outlines her proven, seven-step program for shedding your emotional baggage associated with loss, betrayal, or resentment. Modifying the techniques she uses to resolve international conflict to address personal issues, Borris-Dunchunstang gives you the tools to break free of anger and bitterness and find your path to healing.

On My iPod

Good Neighbors, by Ryan David Jahn. At 4:00 A.M. on March 13, 1964, a young woman returning home from her shift at a local bar is attacked in the courtyard of her Queens apartment building. Her neighbors hear her cries; no one calls for help. Unfolding over the course of two hours, Good Neighbors is the story of the woman's last night. It is also the story of her neighbors, the bystanders who kept to themselves: the anxious Vietnam draftee; the former soldier planning suicide; the woman who thinks she's killed a child and her husband, who will risk everything for her. Revealing a fascinating cross-section of American society in expertly interlocking plotlines, Good Neighbors calls to mind the Oscar-winning movie Crash, and its suspense and profound sense of urban menace rank it with Hitchcock's Rear Window and the gritty crime novels of Dennis Lehane, Richard Price, and James Ellroy.




On My Droid Devices

Scat, by Carl Hiaasen. Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.  But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.  And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture. That's life in the swamp, kids.

2012 Archive


15. Oath of Fealty, by Elizabeth Moon. ★★★★☆
14. Agatha Raisin and The Quiche of Death, by M.C. Beaton. ★★★☆☆
13. Winner-Take-All Politics, by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson. ★★★★★
12. Feed, by Mira Grant. ★★★★☆
11. Oath of Swords, by David Weber. ★★★★☆
10. 3rd Degree, by James Patterson. ★★★☆☆
9. The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. ★★☆☆☆  
8. Flush, by Carl Hiaasen. ★★★★☆
7. The Believers, by Zoe Heller. ★★★★☆
6. A Bittersweet Season, by Jane Gross. ★★★★★
5. The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta. ★★★★★
4. Boomerang, by Michael Lewis. ★★★★★
3. Vault of the Beast, by A.E. van Vogt. ★★★☆☆
2. Dreadnought, by Cherie Priest. ★★★★☆
1. All Clear, by Connie Willis. ★★★★☆

2011 Archive

93. The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt. ★★★★☆
92. Lavinia, by Ursula K. LeGuin. ★★★★☆
91. The Miracle at Speedy Motors, by Alexander McCall Smith. ★★★★☆
90. The Viral Storm, by Nathan Wolfe. ★★★★☆
89. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. ★★★☆☆
88. Night of the Living Dead Christian, by Matt Mikalatos.  ★★☆☆☆  
87. Explosive Eighteen, by Janet Evanovich. ★★★★☆
86. Oath of Gold, by Elizabeth Moon. ★★★☆☆ 
85. Toward a True Kinship of Faiths, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama‌. ★★★☆☆
84. Thud! by Terry Pratchett ★★★☆☆ 
83. Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape our Lives, by Dean Buonomano ★★★☆☆ 
82. Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville. ★★★★★
81. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, by Alexander McCall Smith ★★★★☆ 
80. Clementine, by Cherie Priest. ★★★★☆ 
79.  The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson. ★★★★★
78.  Questions for a Soldier, by John Scalzi. ★★★☆☆
77. The Sagan Diary, by John Scalzi. ★★★☆☆
76. Wolf Time, by Lars Walker. ★★★★☆ 
75. Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen. ★★★★★
74. Them, by Jon Ronson. ★★★☆☆
73. Blackout, by Connie Willis.★★★★☆ 
72. This Perfect Day, by Ira Levin. ★★★★☆ 
71. Divided Allegiance, by Elizabeth Moon. ★★★★☆ 
70. In the Garden of Beasts, by Erik Larson. ★★☆☆☆  
69. The Boys from Brazil, by Ira Levin. ★★★★☆ 

****End of Summer Reading Program****

68. Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett. ★★★★☆ 
67. 2nd Chance, by James Patterson. ★★★☆☆
66. The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown. ★★★★☆
65. A Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin. ★★★★☆
64. Cold Vengeance, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. ★★★★☆
63. Bellwether, by Connie Willis. ★★★★☆
62. Out of the Deep I Cry, by Julia Spencer-Flemming. ★★★☆☆
61. Embassytown, by China Miéville. ★★★★★
60. Vortex, by Robert Charles Wilson. ★★★★☆  
59. Glory in Death, by J.D. Robb. ★★☆☆☆  
58. Loud and Clear, by Anna Quindlen. ★★★★☆
57. For the Win, by Cory Doctorow. ★★☆☆☆
56. Bedlam Boyz, by Ellen Guon. ★★☆☆☆
55. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, by Elizabeth Moon. ★★★☆☆
54. Still Summer, by Jacquelyn Mitchard. ★★★★☆
53. Die Trying, by Lee Child. ★★☆☆☆
52. The Concrete Jungle, by Charles Stross. ★★★★☆
51. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, by David Sedaris. ★★☆☆☆
50. The Draco Tavern, by Larry Niven. ★★☆☆☆
49. Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, by David Eagleman. ★★★☆☆
48. Tabloid City, by Pete Hamill. Hamill ★★☆☆☆
47. Smoking Seventeen, by Janet Evanovich. ★★★★☆
46. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, by Daniel Okrent. ★★★★☆
45. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest. ★★★★☆ 

****Summer Reading Program Commences****

44. The Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett. ★★★★☆
43. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris. ★★★★☆
42.  I Think I Love You, by Allison Pearson. ★★★★★
41. Fuzzy Nation,by John Scalzi. ★★★★☆ 
40. The Internet is a Playground, by David Thorne. ★★★★☆
39. The Sea Hag, by David Drake. ★★★★☆
38. The Psychopath Test, by Jon Ronson. ★★★★☆
37. Bad Science, by Ben Goldacre. ★★★★☆
36. WWW: Wonder, by Robert Sawyer. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
35. Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb. ★★★★★
34. Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O'Nan. ★★★★☆
33. The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry. ★★★★★
32. Kraken, by China Miéville. ★★★★☆
31. 1st To Die, by James Patterson. ★★★☆☆
30.  The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht. ★★★★☆
29. The Zero Game, by Brad Meltzer. ★★★☆☆
28. The Panic Virus, by Seth Mnookin. ★★★★☆
27. A Fountain Filled with Blood, by Julia Spencer-Fleming. ★★★★☆
26. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin. ★★★★☆
25. Naked in Death, by J.D. Robb. ★★★☆☆
24. Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. ★★★☆☆
23. A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge. ★★★★☆
22. Gideon's Sword, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. ★★★☆☆
21.When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris. ★★★★★
20. The Spellmans Strike Again, by Lisa Lutz. ★★★★☆
19. War, by Sebastian Junger. ★★★★★
18. Inherit the Stars, by James P. Hogan. ★★☆☆☆
17. The Way Home, by George Pelecanos. ★★★☆☆
16. God's War, by Kameron Hurley. ★★★☆☆
15. The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee. ★★★☆☆
14. Black on Black, by K.D. Wentworth. ★★★☆☆
13. In the Bleak Midwinter, by Julia Spencer-Fleming. ★★★★☆
12. Third World America, by Arianna Huffington. ★★☆☆☆
11. Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes. ★★★★★
10. Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen. ★★★★☆
9. Identity Theft, by Robert Sawyer. ★★★★☆ 
8. The Moral Landscape, by Sam Harris. ★★★☆☆
7. Ancestor, by Scott Sigler. ★★★★☆
6. Earthweb, by Marc Stiegler. ★★★☆☆
5. Packing for Mars, by Mary Roach. ★★★★☆
4. Revenge of the Spellmans, by Lisa Lutz. ★★★★☆
3. The City and the City, by China Mieville. ★★★★★
2. Killing Floor, by Lee Child. ★★★★☆
1. MedShip, by Murray Leinster. ★★☆☆☆