Eighth Anniversary Edition!

Eight years. That's a long time. A lot has happened and I have to say that the good has outweighed the bad ( and there has always been a book or two to get through the bad). Lately, I've found myself looking for specific titles  so I've been buying more from a couple of on-line discount sites but I still go on a Library run every week or so. You never know what you'll find.

Non-fiction

Ghost Soldiers - Hampton Sides ($14.95/$4.29, copyright 2009, 334 pages, Trade Paperback)
Recently, I've been picking up  some Non-fiction books - specifically Histories. This is a great war story that traces American GI's from the Bataan Death March through their internment in the Japanese prison system.   It is a gripping and well written story that begins with the massacre of American prisoners at Palawan and ends with the eventual liberation of several hundred during a daring raid on the prison at Cabanatuan.  Knowing that 500 prisoners were at the Philippines camp, the US Sixth Army unleashed what is perhaps the war's most dramatic rescue mission in early 1945. Hampton Sides is a good writer who knows how to keep a story moving. He weaves back and forth between the prisoners and their Ranger rescuers without breaking the story pace. He also traces the history of the prisoner's experiences under Japanese authority. The sadistic barbarity with which the captors treated American prisoners is amazing for its uniformity. The threads of the story come together nicely with a climatic battle scene that glued my attention to the pages. I enjoyed it.

The Murder of Napoleon - Ben Weider and David Hapgood ( $3.50/ $.50, copyright 1982, 256 pages, Paperback)
I first read this book back in the mid-90's. I don't know where that copy is but I picked this one up at the Library in Metuchen. It's common knowledge that Napoleon Bonaparte died while imprisoned on the island of St. Helena. Until very recently, it was widely believed that he died of stomach cancer, which was prevalent in his family. This book investigates the case made by Swedish dentist who began to suspect something else. Along with Ben Weider, the two delved into sources of available information regarding Napoleon, his imprisonment and those close to him. The authors present a very likely scenario of what really happened based on results of this investigation. A likely suspect to the murder as well as a motive are also named. I know that this review is a little vague but I didn't want to give anything away. It's written in a way as to make the scientific details understandable and they did a good job with the characters. It was OK.

Miscellaneous

The King Must Die - Mary Renault ($13.00/$.50, copyright 1958, 332 pages. Trade Paperback)
I picked this up at a Library sale about 2 years ago because it looked interesting and I've always wanted to read one of Renault's books. Here, she tells the story of Theseus as if he was a real person, not a mythical character, using history, archaeology, and a deep understanding of the cultures of the period to place him in a realistic context. I knew nothing of his history but her descriptions bring the period vibrantly to life in ways consistent with the historical record. From his lifting of the stone to find his father's sword to his becoming King of Eleusis, Renault writes with elegance and a fine appreciation for the details of daily life, the art of the period, and the pantheon of gods thought to control men's destinies. Still, it reminded me a bit too much of the Arthurian legend. It was OK.

Totals

I'm pretty sure I haven't read as many books this year, and I'm pretty sure I've spent more, but I've tried a few more genres and I've enjoyed the experience. (Again, there have been books that I tried but didn't like and I don't mention those). Here are this years numbers:

Miscellaneous -

19 Books, $227.86 cover price, $56.44 actual cost

Off The Shelf  -

5 books, $33.05 cover price, $31.80 actual cost

Series -

4 books, $57.93 cover price, $$3.00 actual cost

Non-fiction

2 books, $18.45 cover price, $4.79 actual cost

Overall Total For 2017

30 books, $337.29 cover price, $96.03 actual cost

Eight Year Totals 

324 books, $3212.75, $354.93

That's it for now. I'm looking forward to Year 9 and the upcoming Christmas Season.

Be good, Enjoy, and ...

Keep reading.

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