I know! Right! I'm kind of surprised that I've been doing this for 5 years! OK ... I would still have been reading for the last 5 years but my having a car has let me visit some libraries that I wouldn't have been able to get to otherwise and I wouldn't have been able to blog about them if I didn't have this laptop. So, first, this month's selections.
Series
NYPD Red - James Patterson and Marshall Karp ( $10.00/$.50, copyright 2012, 360 pages, Paperback)
This is the latest series out of the Patterson workshop and it's a doozy. NYPD Red is an elite squad who's primary responsibility is to protect the rich and famous. Detective Zach Jordan has worked it for years and he and his new partner - and former lover - Kylie McDonald are faced with a serial killer. It's Hollywood on the Hudson time and some of the powerful people are being killed - dramatically. The killer is very well prepared and stages some dramatic escapes, and there is some great character development here. Like all of Patterson's books, the chapters are short and the action keeps on intensifying. I enjoyed it.
Odd Hours - Dean Koontz ($9.99/$.25, copyright 2008, 397 pages, Paperback)
This is the fourth in Koontz's Odd Thomas series and I understand he intends it to run to seven volumes. Odd is a fry-cook with a special power - he sees ghosts. They don't speak to him but he feels compelled to help them resolve whatever keeps them here. And he gets visions of upcoming tragedies that he tries to prevent. Here, Odd is working as a personal chef to a retired actor in a place called Magic Beach. His vision leads him to a mysterious, pregnant woman and gets him involved in a plot to smuggle nuclear weapons into California. There are the usual assortment of strange characters that Odd deals with, and some of them are very interesting, but I found Koontz's mixing of the supernatural with a real-world situation felt forced. And he's left a lot of open questions, which I guess will be answered in the next three volumes. I don't think I'll be looking for them. I have to say that I was disappointed with this.
Miscellaneous
Boy's Life - Robert R. McCammon ($5.99/$1.99, copyright 1991, 578 pages, Paperback)
This is the story of Cory Mackenson, an 11-year-old boy living in Zephyr, Alabama. It starts when he's helping his father with the early morning milk deliveries and they come across a dead man - an obviously murdered man. This imbues the book, and it creeps in from time to time, but it's not the main focus. This is the story of a young boy's coming-of-age, and McCammon fills in with the joys and tragedies that life holds. He gives us Cory and his friends as they go to movies, ride their bikes, play baseball, and camp out. And he shows us how Cory and his family and friends deal with racism, bullying, and death. I've read several of McCammon's earlier works and I'd thought of him as a "horror" writer, and he does include some elements here but they're seen through Cory's eyes and that makes them sort of magical. If you haven't read this book, go out right now and get yourself a copy. I love it.
Totals
There's a couple of things I feel that I should say here. Firstly, I no longer mention books that I start but don't finish. My opinion shouldn't cloud yours. Secondly, I tend to read several books at the same time. So when you see that I've read a 500 page book in a month along with other books you should imagine a carry-over effect.
Now to the numbers ....
Series - 20 books, $198.57 total cover price, $23.68 actual cost.
Miscellaneous - 13 books, $150.84 total cover price, $23.04 actual cost.
Graphic Novels -2 books, $17.98 total cover price, $.25 actual cost.
Sherlock Holmes - 4 books, $38.98 total cover price, $2.50 actual cost.
Ten Books/Off The Shelf - 2 books, $3.45 total cover price, $3.45 actual cost.
Yearly Total - 41 books, $409.82 total cover price, $52.92 actual cost.
Five Year Total - 228 books, $2429.82 total cover price, $230.93 actual cost.
I would like to acknowledge the fact that my parents allowed my brothers and sisters and I to read whatever we wanted to. This included comic books which - growing up in the early '50's - were restricted under the Comics Code. (And my Dad always read my Mad Magazine when I was finished with it.)
Anyway.
I have another - more personal - anniversary coming up in a few days. Thanksgiving is just a week away. Christmas is coming up quickly. It's cold out so find yourself a good book to cuddle up with and ..
Keep reading.
