Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Books update
Time for a review of my reading since the last update
THE DROP EDGE OF YONDER by Donis Casey
I really enjoy Casey's series set in early 20th century rural Oklahoma. One of the benefits of getting review copies of new books is discovering an author I would have passed by had I only glanced at the jacket blurb. Alafair Tucker is the busy mother of ten living children, running the domestic side of a successful farm and sharing a loving supportive relationship with her husband, children, in-laws and neighbors. In each of the three books in Casey's series, one of Alafair's children has been threatened and although she has no position in law enforcement, she has played a major role in bringing a criminal to justice. Casey has an enjoyable, believable combination of historical and medium boiled mystery with an amateur protagonist. Books like this are hard to find!
HE WHO FEARS THE WOLF by Karin Fossum.
Translated from the Norwegian and featuring police inspector Sejer. The murder of an elderly woman who lived alone on her farm, a bank robbery by chronic ne'er do well, the escape of a schizophrenic patient from a local hospital, and the bored wandering of a boy living in a group home coincide with violent results. Nice and dark, the way I like them!
BANK JOB by Steve Brewer
Three stupid, ornery crooks botch a liquor store robbery and end up barging into the mountain cabin which is home to a retired couple. Turns out the husband of the couple has retired from bank robbery as a career. The three persuade him to pull one last job, but he's a lot smarter than they are. Brewer plays it for laughs, but leaves the reader thinking when it's all over.
ONE LAST BREATH by Stephen Booth
I'm ashamed to consider how long this one has been on the bookshelf waiting to be read. Ben Cooper and Diane Fry track a recently released prisoner who may be working on a revenge list. But maybe not. As will all of Booth's books, the reader is in for surprises along the way. Only recently available in the US and American readers should do their best to keep an American market worthwhile for Booth's publisher.
THE COLONY by John Tayman
Most of us have heard about the Hawaiian leper colony on the island of Molokai, and the legendary Father Damien who devoted his life to serving there, eventually dying of leprosy. Tayman spent nearly a year in the islands, and the result is this impressively researched and highly readable book relating the entire history of the colony up to the present day.
HARD REVOLUTION by George Pelecanos
This book tells of the early career of one of Pelecanos' protagonists - PI Derek Strange. Strange was a cop in Washington DC in the late 1960's and had an epiphany and moral awakening during the riots which followed the death of Martin Luther King. As the late spring of 1968 moves toward the tragic events we all remember, Pelecanos follows two trios of young toughs - one white and one black. Each group is headed for big trouble, yet Pelecanos skillfully builds reader sympathy for one man in each group. There is no happy ending for any of the characters, but a very satisfying read.
THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR by John Nichols
The "One book, one Denver" choice of Denver's mayor for the year 2007. A small New Mexico town struggles to maintain an economic foothold against massive real estate development. One of my book discussion groups chose it for this month's discussion. Parts are laugh out loud funny, the entire book poignant and uplifting and also infuriating at times. The issues of water rights is an issue very familiar to residents of the entire high dry area I live in, and I thought Nichols did a good job of presenting the issue clearly and providing an entertaining read as well
THE DROP EDGE OF YONDER by Donis Casey
I really enjoy Casey's series set in early 20th century rural Oklahoma. One of the benefits of getting review copies of new books is discovering an author I would have passed by had I only glanced at the jacket blurb. Alafair Tucker is the busy mother of ten living children, running the domestic side of a successful farm and sharing a loving supportive relationship with her husband, children, in-laws and neighbors. In each of the three books in Casey's series, one of Alafair's children has been threatened and although she has no position in law enforcement, she has played a major role in bringing a criminal to justice. Casey has an enjoyable, believable combination of historical and medium boiled mystery with an amateur protagonist. Books like this are hard to find!
HE WHO FEARS THE WOLF by Karin Fossum.
Translated from the Norwegian and featuring police inspector Sejer. The murder of an elderly woman who lived alone on her farm, a bank robbery by chronic ne'er do well, the escape of a schizophrenic patient from a local hospital, and the bored wandering of a boy living in a group home coincide with violent results. Nice and dark, the way I like them!
BANK JOB by Steve Brewer
Three stupid, ornery crooks botch a liquor store robbery and end up barging into the mountain cabin which is home to a retired couple. Turns out the husband of the couple has retired from bank robbery as a career. The three persuade him to pull one last job, but he's a lot smarter than they are. Brewer plays it for laughs, but leaves the reader thinking when it's all over.
ONE LAST BREATH by Stephen Booth
I'm ashamed to consider how long this one has been on the bookshelf waiting to be read. Ben Cooper and Diane Fry track a recently released prisoner who may be working on a revenge list. But maybe not. As will all of Booth's books, the reader is in for surprises along the way. Only recently available in the US and American readers should do their best to keep an American market worthwhile for Booth's publisher.
THE COLONY by John Tayman
Most of us have heard about the Hawaiian leper colony on the island of Molokai, and the legendary Father Damien who devoted his life to serving there, eventually dying of leprosy. Tayman spent nearly a year in the islands, and the result is this impressively researched and highly readable book relating the entire history of the colony up to the present day.
HARD REVOLUTION by George Pelecanos
This book tells of the early career of one of Pelecanos' protagonists - PI Derek Strange. Strange was a cop in Washington DC in the late 1960's and had an epiphany and moral awakening during the riots which followed the death of Martin Luther King. As the late spring of 1968 moves toward the tragic events we all remember, Pelecanos follows two trios of young toughs - one white and one black. Each group is headed for big trouble, yet Pelecanos skillfully builds reader sympathy for one man in each group. There is no happy ending for any of the characters, but a very satisfying read.
THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR by John Nichols
The "One book, one Denver" choice of Denver's mayor for the year 2007. A small New Mexico town struggles to maintain an economic foothold against massive real estate development. One of my book discussion groups chose it for this month's discussion. Parts are laugh out loud funny, the entire book poignant and uplifting and also infuriating at times. The issues of water rights is an issue very familiar to residents of the entire high dry area I live in, and I thought Nichols did a good job of presenting the issue clearly and providing an entertaining read as well
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