Category: Books

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Steve Hamilton

Title: Winter of the Wolf Moon

Review: this is the second of the series of Hamilton’s Alex McKnight books that I have read….and was really impressed with the progress in writing style from the first one. McKnight is an ex-Detroit cop with a lot of baggage, who basically lives a hermit life in the far reaches of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula- surrounded by Ojibwa Indian reservation folks. He is a very reluctant private investigator -surrounded by a wooly cast of characters. The action is fast and furious and the characters are well written. Hamilton’s sense of the UP is magnificent. Somewhat farfetched-as in how could one person survive this many near death beatings..…but hugely entertaining. I read this one in two days flat.

Genre: Book

Grade: A

Notable People: Bill Bryson

Title: A Walk in the Woods

Review: My good friend, the Nave (short for Naven , as in “ the phone book’s here, the phone book’s here) , gave me this book for my birthday-before we left the hinterlands for Vermont. He told me I would laugh out loud while reading it, which I took to be a metaphor….but NOT. I could not stop laughing out loud… even while reading in bed, and waking up Jenn and Lucy. Bryson is REALLY funny in a very dry, acerbic kind of way….and this may be the best “travel” book I have ever read. Two old, out of shape guys decide they will rediscover America by thru-walking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine (2200 miles). Needless to say, adventure and misfortune awaits. I have now rounded up five more of Bryson’s deep catalog of “travel books” from the local library, which typically is not that well stocked- but has lot of Bryson. Turns out everyone in the world (almost) had read this guy …but me. Gonna start from the beginning…too god to pass up. Thanks, Nave!

Genre: Book

Grade: B+

Notable People: William Shirer

Title: The Rise and Fall of Adolph Hitler

Review: OK- this is a really odd choice for a read…but we were getting ready to leave Ohio for Vermont and I did not want to take any new books out of the library-so hit my archived book shelves at home….and found this book I have owned my entire life , but never read. Not even sure how I came to have it, but it said “Mousie” on the cover and was from the Bronx public library, so I’m guessing I somehow got if from a local neighborhood legend where I grew up who has stolen it from the library. But enough context, no? Shirer wrote this book in 1961 when the end of the war was still pretty fresh and people did not yet know much about the Third Reich. It is very dry and academic, only moderately well written but a fascinating history of the lunatic’s strange life, and of the time (1961 ) when it was written. Pretty short an easy to read (very big type)….another in a long line of informative books about a time in history that seems unimaginable to have been so recent. Not foe everyone, but a good choice if you are a history buff of the era.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Paul Auster

Title: Invisible

Review: Yes….I am in the midst of a Paul Auster obsession at the moment…but well worth it…and this is my last one for now. Bug…what a beauty. Auster is always dark and complicated, but this one takes the cake….a book within a book within a book…all focusing on a few turbulent months in 1967. Set in NYC and Paris, it is a moving story of a young man trapped in the giddiness of youth at Columbia University and new exotic friends- that turns into a life changing exploration of regrets and promise unfulfilled. This is not for the faint of heart…material is explicit….but very, very worthy. The guy is master.

Stu’s Reviews

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: Paul Auster

Title: Oracle Night

Review: I have been on quite an Auster kick over the last six months and none of his work disappoints…but this was quite a shift from the joie de vivre of “Brooklyn Follies”. Back to very, very dark Auster…with plots within plots within plots….so much so that you have to stop and consider which story line you are on. Oracle Night is the title of story by a writer within a story Auster is wring about a writer (figure that out). On top of all the writers writing stories , the protagonist ,Sid’s, story, is quite convoluted as well. Auster always does a great job of capturing internal dialog and external setting (Brooklyn-his favorite),and this book is hard to put down (I finished the 180 pages so in three days)- but I found the ending surprisingly dissatisfying…..seemed like an easy way out. Still, Auster is Auster…which makes it worth the effort.

Genre: Book

Grade: A

Notable People: Jim Harrison

Title: The Ancient Minstrel

Review: Jim Harrison is the undisputed King of the Novella form. From is early efforts with Legends of the Fall through his death a few years ago, he continued to find maybe his greatest strength as a writer in this medium. This volume, written a few years before his death, pretty much sums up all his lifetime writing themes. The first story, set in Montana, is most clearly his own- dealing with his aging and swan song (the ancient minstrel), the second is one of those famous stories, for which he became mush acclaimed, told from a first person woman’s point of view and in the third he brings back one of his infamous UP (Upper Peninsula of northern Michigan) characters- the retired lecherous detective, Sunderson (no first name!) . I absolutely love these stories and have great sorrow that there will be no more. These are perfect for late winters afternoon reading.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-/B+

Notable People: John Clarkson

Title: Bronx Requiem

Review: Wow…this one is barn burner. This is apparently a series featuring James Beck- former convict in the NY penal system- a pretty tough guy, wrongly accused for killing a cop, who gets his conviction overturned after eight hard years in the joints and sets out with his crew to make things right for ex-cons. a kind of Robin Hood crew of ex-cons who do a lot of good things and lot of very bad things to bad people. I could not put this book down even though I would not say the writing is “A” caliber. But the story is fast paced and tantalizing, the characters are great and the guy knows the Bronx- every inch of it. Certainly an escapist read…but I’m going for more.

Genre: Book

Grade: A+

Notable People: Paul Auster

Title: Brooklyn Follies

Review: Paul Auster is an absolute gem…a treasure…I try to sparse out my readings of his substantial catalog so as not to take these excellent books for granted. Many of Auster’s’ catalog of writings are very dark and morbid, but he may be having a change of life as I found this beautiful book to be quite uplifting and energizing. Aging man comes to Brooklyn from his life in the Burbs to get ready to die and finds family and renewal in a quirky set of characters and circumstances. I found the protagonists- Uncle Nat- to be downright heroic. Doesn’t hurt that there is a wonderful road trip to Vermont thrown in to the mix. Read Auster….soon.

Genre: Book

Grade: A-

Notable People: CJ Box

Title: The Highway

Review: Box is a rare bird. A genre writer (Crime fiction-Dark)…who is really just a very fine writer- regardless of chosen genre. His beloved Montana really shines in all his books as a co-star. I have been reading his game warden Joe Plunket series for years- but this is newer more recent thread of a series- focusing on a couple of deputy sheriffs in a corrupt department in central Montana. Box does one of the most unusual things you will find in literature in this one…a shocker…though I’m not seeing what. Awfully good read about the case to stop a serial killer that I polished off in a few nights. Rustic!

Genre: Book

Grade: B/B+

Notable People: Carl Hiassen

Title: Double Whammy

Review: This is one whacked out book- featuring the author’s favorite muse: the former and missing governor of Florida- now calling himself Skink and living in the depths of the Everglades on fresh roadkill. which gives you the ides of the whole book. Hiassen is a South Florid legend and his sense of the area is quite remarkable. Being in the Keys myself, at the moment, it is an excellent place to read one of his farfetched and over the top stories. He seems to walk a straight line between the eccentricity of Tom Robbins and the hard boiled romantic prose of his hero, John D. McDonald (the Travis McGee creator). This is one in a long line of whirlwind books he has produced and a decent thrill ride, though the deeply entrenched sense of irony gets to be a bit much for 500 pages. Best to read in the South Florida sun!