Book Talk on a Foggy Day

Last week I bit the bullet and started going to Water Aerobics at the Brookings pool. It’s an outdoor pool and while it’s heated .. it’s outdoors! One morning I decided to go to the Crescent City pool, my reason was it was only 39 degrees at 6:45 – how warm could it get by 8 am?? LOL!

So Friday I went to the outdoor pool, even though it was nicer when I decided than when it was actually time to go!

Yesterday – oh my!! It was one of the top 100 days ever! 70 degrees by the afternoon, almost 60 and sunny during WA class! Exactly what you hope for and rarely get on the Oregon coast!

Today – not so much!! C*O*L*D and foggy. To keep ourselves distracted we talked and got caught up with our ‘summer pool’ friends! And after a while, we came around to "Read any good Books lately??"

I keep track of the books I read – I even rate them – 1-4 stars. And there are those occasional 5*s – but not many!! And I have to say – if it doesn’t grab me from the beginning is set aside and returned to the library!! Life’s too short to waste time on a bad book; too many good books out there.

I’m pretty eclectic in my tastes in ‘books’. – I wouldn’t go so far as to say ‘literature’ – I read a lot of mysteries; sci-fi and yep, even some ‘fluff’! And I adore a good “Nancy Drew for adults” book! A good female character is my fave!!

So-o I’m making a list to give to my friend tomorrow … but you might be looking for a good book too!

Some Stand-Alone [non-series, at least so far!] books from the last year are:

• The Sweet By and By -Todd Johnson
• Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand -Helen Simonson
• The American -Andrew Britton
• Extremely Loud and Incredible Close -Jonathon Safran Foer
• The Highest Tide -Jim Lynch
• The 12th Imam -Joel Rosenberg
• Keeper and Kid -Edward Handy
• The Way Home -George Pelecans
• The Silver Ship and the Sea -Brenda Cooper
• Ready Player One -Ernest Cline
• Spiral -Paul McEuen
• Ape House -Sara Gruen – so much better than  “Water for Elephants!”
• A Land More Kind Than Home -Wiley Cash
• Remarkable Creatures -Tracy Chevalier  About the woman in England that discovered the first fossils

Series I love [along with some favorite authors] – I grab them as soon as I can!!  I try to read series in order because even if they kind-of stand alone ...  there IS character development that builds!

Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games - well I was addicted!

Janet Evanovich!! I loved the movie “One for the Money” now on DVD. Even though DH was unimpressed with the movie!  Love her Stephanie Plum series

11-22-63 Stephen King  This was a great book.  Not horror, more SciFi - I really liked it, and of course, I'm old enough to remember that date!

Lee Child – the Jack Reacher series

John Sandford – great series about detective in Minneapolis; one even ‘featured’ a quilt group!

Jonathon Kellerman – series about child psychologist in LA

Faye Kellerman – Jonathon’s wife – series about Jewish community life

Nevada Barr – Anna Pigeon, series set in National Parks as she transfers between them

Thomas Perry – old series of a 'one woman witness protection '

Dana Stabenow – Kate Shugak series set in Alaska

Sue Grafton – ABC series of private investigator in So Cal in the 60s

John Larion – Oregon author and boy does he have us down!!

• Northwest of Normal
• Holding Lies

Jack McDevitt – SF – The Engines of God series. Love his characters

Erica Bauermeister – just found her!

•  The School of Essential Ingredients
• Joy for Beginners

Douglas Preston – very good mysteries dealing with natural phenomenon – or are they?? LOL!

• Impact
• Tyrannosaur Canyon

So - now you're all ready for some summer reading!!  Enjoy!  And please, tell me what you've been reading lately!!