I am Reading

Books Read in 2023

1. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain–His first book, which was considered controversial in its time. I liked it because it had a stark and painful realism to it. I didn’t watch many of his programs, but when I did, I enjoyed them in all their cantankerous glory.
2. It’s on the Meter: Traveling the World by London Taxi by Paul Archer and Johno Ellison–three slightly drunk would be graduates plan to travel around the world in a London Taxi. There were some interesting bits at the beginning, but the ending ran out of steam.
3. The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series.–Interesting if you were a fan, but there are bound to be omissions that you might wonder about. However, lots of interesting tidbits.
4. Fallout by Mike Lupica (writing Robert. Parker’s Jesse Stone)–Still lacking the light touch of Robert B. Parker, but I will soldier through it.
5. The Iran Wars by Jay Solomon. Considering everything that is happening right now, this book should be required reading.
6. A Song for Dark Times by Ian Rankin. The latest Rebus book is another winner. I may have to go back and read all
7. Lost and Found by Kathryn Schulz. I am only 30 pages in, but I must admit that it is beautifully written. Some sentences are just captivating. of these books.
8. Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation by Steven Hyden–I might have enjoyed this more if I were more than a casual fan of Pearl Jam. I liked their first two albums, but I really don’t know much beyond that. The writing was good, if not a bit too sweet on the band.
9. Paradise Lodge by Nina Stibbe–I chose this book because the title of her latest book (Someday I will Astonish the World) really struck me. This book had some good moments, but I think it could have been funnier.
10. Eat the Apple by Matt Young–There was some good writing in this book, but the shifting between straightforward narrative and post-modern narrative bothered me. It was stated that this was somewhat of a creative writing exercise, but war is hectic enough without making me read it that way. I can’t say as I liked reading the future tense to describe things that were happening.
11. The Rebel and the Kingdom by Bradley Hope–A pretty good read, and definitely and interesting story.
12. A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway–Like other posthumous Hemingway books, it just isn’t the same. I want a story like “The Sun Also Rises”, but this isn’t that. There are some very good chapters and there are some fantastic moments in Paris, but it isn’t what I am looking for.

Currently reading

Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam by Fredrick Logevall

Books Read in 2022

1. Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay (of Dexter fame)
2. Fool Me Twice by Jeff Lindsay
3. No is a Four Letter Word by Chris Jericho
4. Sexplosion by Robert Hofler
5. The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami
6. Not Dark Yet by Peter Robinson
7. Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima
8. Someone to Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins (writing Robert B. Parker’s Spenser)
9. Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
10. Fault Lines by Emily Itami
11. The Bitterest Pill by Reed Farrel Coleman (writing Robert. Parker’s Jesse Stone)
12. Fool’s Paradise by Mike Lupica (writing Robert. Parker’s Jesse Stone)–disappointing */5
13. The Last Post by Renee Carlino (left at a hotel in Morocco)
14. Safe and Sound by Philippa East (left on the “giveaway table” at work
15. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata ****/5
16. A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations by Pico Iyer***/5
17. Quantum Night by Robert J. Sawyer
18. Tokyo Junkie by Robert Whiting***/5
19. Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
20. Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell***/5
21. We Promised you a Great Main Event by Bill Hanstock **/5
22. Assassin’s Revenge by Ward Larsen ***/5
23. Double Threat by F. Paul Wilson
24. Around the World in 80 Trains by Monisha Rajesh**/5
25. The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker
26. A Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica (writing Robert. Parker’s Jesse Stone)
27. Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins (writing Robert B. Parker’s Spenser)
28. Off the Edge by Kelly Weill
29. Going Home Again by Dennis Bock
30. The Kindness of Strangers Edited by Don George
31. Binge by Douglas Coupland
32. Assassin’s Run by Ward Larsen
33. How Canada Fought the Vietnam War by John Boyko
34. The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams
35. Love Murder by Saul Black
36. Peking to Paris by Dina Bennett
37. Racing Through the Dark by David Millar
38. Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut
39. Diamondhead by Patrick Robinson
40. Intercept by Patrick Robinson
41. No Cure for Love by Peter Robinson (not an Inspector Banks novel)
42. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell (Funny and touching)
43. The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner (excellent and lacking both cliché and formula)
44. All the Marvels by Douglas Wok (I will give myself a half point on this one–it became tedious and wasn’t really what I was looking to read)
45. Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi (Quite an interesting read)
46. The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner
47. The Caped Crusade by Glen Weldon
48. How Not To Die Alone by Richard Roper (Wry and sarcastic)
49. For Fukui’s Sake by Sam Baldwin (I must have read this before, but I was unable to convince myself until I was halfway through it)
50. What’s Your Number? by Karyn Bosnak (Not a typical book for me, but she has a wicked sense of humour)
51. M*A*S*H* Goes to Maine by Richard Hooker–the original books was great, but this was not. I originally bought this for a bargain and gave to a friend (along with the original). He was clearing out books and gave them back to me before my trip.
52. Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler–finished at 6:31pm EST on New Year’s Eve.

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