“The Da Vinci Code” Dan Brown
[
][bookdetail]
It is difficult to say exactly what this book is about. There is a murder, but you know who did the killing from the beginning, although there is a mystery about who is the brains behind the killer. But the heart of the story is a set of riddles, left for a granddaughter by a grandfather as he lay dying.
The riddles lead the granddaughter, and an innocent bystander who happens to study an esoteric field, on a wild chase crossing France and England. Did I mention that the grandfather was the curator of the Louvre? And the riddles involve art, religion, and the Catholic Church.
This book was exceptionally absorbing. The pacing is exceptional, and the plot inspired. As a warning, however, there are accusations about the Catholic Church which may be offensive to some readers. Over all, however, one of the few books that lives up to the hype!
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/609
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Dan%20Brown
“8.4″ Peter Hernon
[
][bookdetail]
Interesting novel of an earthquake (8.4 magnitude, of course) on the New Madrid fault in Southeast Missouri/Southwest Illinois/Western Tennessee, etc. The science was fun to read. The romance was bad, as there was no basis for the romance. Over all, worth reading if you are an earthquake buff, or interested in the science of quakes.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/611
“Labyrinth of Night” Allen Steele
[
][bookdetail]
In the near future, several governments and corporations are working to explore/colonize mars and make our presence there profitable. One key to that is uncovering the mysteries of the Face and City of Mars.
When the Viking probe flew past Mars in 1976 it sent back several images that caught the public's imagination. A photo of what looks very much like a human face and ruins of a city.
The author, [Allen Steele][author] makes it clear in the introduction that he doesn't support or deny the belief in the Face of Mars, only that it makes an interesting story.
And he's right. As an international group of scientists study and explore the city, they discover a labyrinth of tests and traps, each more difficult then the last. It soon becomes apparent that someone is testing them, but who and why?
[Allen Steele][author] (official web site is [www.AllenSteele.com](www.AllenSteele.com)) has created an interesting group of characters. The [Labyrinth Of Night][bookdetail] is well written, fast paced and entertaining. Good solid science fiction.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/528
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Allen%20%20Steele
“Once Upon a Winters Night” Dennis L. McKiernan
[
][bookdetail]
This is the re-telling of a fairy tale. Camille betrays the trust of her beloved Prince Alain, sentencing him and all of his household to a horrid unknown fate. Camille begins searching for Alain, having been given the clue that he is east of the sun and west of the moon.
This tale works wonderfully as a fairy tale, but because the [author][author] has expanded it, the underlying messages of the tale are more obvious. While the tale is about love and romance, it shows the development of Camille, who originally appears to have little backbone or character, although the potential is there. As she goes through her struggles to find her beloved, she is required to use her mind (an unusual thing for women in fairy tales) and even occasionally other charms, like her singing. As the book continues, her resolve to find Alain never waivers, but her mental and emotional strength grows with each challenge.
Fairy tales like this one remind us why handing children everything they want is not a good idea. Adversity and challenges build strength of mind and emotion, and, most of all, character.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/595
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Dennis%20L.%20McKiernan
“Sacred Trust” Hannah Alexander
[
][bookdetail]
Lucas is a young doctor, and he is a good doctor. He was kicked out of his residency in a large hospital in Kansas City, MO, because the directors believed false rumors about him. He had to take them to court to get his medical license reinstated.
So...he decided to move a nice, quiet, small-town hospital in Southern Missouri. His experience is in emergency room care. He is hired as the hospital's first full-time ER doctor. But...it seems hospital politics is everywhere...even in small towns. Lucas is again in danger of losing his job because he refuses to practice medicine with anything less than the highest integrity.
Sacred Trust is fast paced...just like the emergency room. It's one of those that you can't put down even though you know you need to sleep some before morning arrives. The writing style is conversational. The characters are well-developed. I felt like I knew the people well by the end of the book. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series.
What captured my attention about this [author's][author] work is that the stories take place in and around where I live in southern Missouri. I recognize many of the landmarks, restaurants, hospitals. I like that. It made the characters and the stories seem quite real to me.
I highly recommend [Sacred Trust][bookdetail] by [Hannah Alexander][author].
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/589
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Hannah%20Alexander
“A Kiss of Shadows” Laurell K. Hamilton
[
][bookdetail]
Merry Gentry, a member of the Faerie royal bloodline, has been in hiding for the past three years. Now working as a Private Investigator in Los Angeles specializing in supernatural crime, she is drawn back into the Royal Court and all the dangers she tried escape.
[Laurell Hamilton][author] has done it again! This is a great book with intriguing characters and great action. Merry Gentry's world is like our world except that Faeries and Goblins still exist in the world and through political alliances have made a home in America.
In several ways, the Merry Gentry character is similar to another of [Laurell Hamilton's][author] characters, Anita Blake. Both are attractive, petite, have supernatural powers and are tough as nails.
[A Kiss of Shadows][bookdetail] is a great story, hopefully the start of a great series, full of mystery, intrigue, sex, magic, great characters and suspense.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/51
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Laurell%20K.%20Hamilton
“Lazy B” Sandra Day O’Connor
[
][bookdetail]
Sandra Day O'Connor, as the first woman Supreme Court Justice, is an admirable figure. She has broken ground for many women and for many lawyers. This book, however, is about her life as a child, and what it was like to grow up on a cattle farm in the Southwest during the 1930s and 1940s. Mostly, this is a memoir of O'Connor's parents, and a way of life that is gone.
O'Connor's parents raised three children on the Lazy B; Sandra was the oldest. Her younger brother continued with the ranch until it became infeasible to continue. The stories told are mostly from the days of O'Connor's childhood. The writing is not the perfect flow of a seasoned novelist; it mostly resembles story telling. And it is extremely interesting, telling tales of windmills, horses, and cowboys. If the old West and the traditional cowboys from the movies interest you, this book will be a wonderful read.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/552
Bad Votes Destroy Families
Great post over at [SuicideGirls.com][detail] talking about the recent Prop 8 in CA and how it will effect real families. Go read it now...digg it as well.
[detail]: http://suicidegirls.com/news/politics/23405/
Hope
What an interesting election cycle. There were certainly some characters to keep things interesting, from Palin and her folksy manner to Biden and his knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. And don't forget Ted Stevens in Alaska, a convicted felon. Of course, he was convicted by 'outsiders'...you know, those American's in the lower 48.
The election of Barak Obama as president, and the nomination of a female vice-president, certainly eludes to great advancements in civil rights. What a great and hopeful sign that we are growing as a society. There were still those that attached labels to Palin for her sex, and Obama for his skin color, but not enough to pollute the process.
The struggles for civil rights are long difficult battles. The opponents to freedom, those that don't think a man can be president because of his skin color, or a woman because of her sex, are old and entrenched. The opponents hold on to their bigotry and hatred like mold on cheese. It's inside them.
I've often said that real change happens by attrition. And I think to a certain degree that is true, social evolution takes generations.
And while this election cycle was a defeat for the civil rights of some, for example, prop 2 in Florida, it was also a reaffirmation of hope and trust in human nature. It is possible for freedom to prevail, it just takes time. Equality may not be possible in our lifetimes, but it is just down the road, and future generations will have greater hope, and greater opportunities to stand as free men and women, regardless of their sex, color, sexual orientation, race, or any other differentiating factor.
We need to celebrate our differences.
What Time is it where you live?
Prop 8 in California, Prop 2 in Florida. The whole notion that people still think it's a good idea to write bigotry into the constitution, that personal rights and freedoms should only apply to certain people, just sickens me. We live in the 21st century. Molly vents well about the issue over at the [Adventures and Misadventures in the Land of the Molly][post].
Let me be perfectly clear. I am, to the very core of my being, opposed to Proposition 8. I believe that passage of Prop 8 effectively creates a religious dictatorship in California and would export bigotry and discrimination to the rest of the nation and the world. I believe that the right to marry is universal, constitutionally protected, and that it is a civil rights issue to the core.
Get it right tomorrow people...we don't live in the dark ages.
[post]: http://themolly.com/blog/?p=91