More Kathy Reichs

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84. Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs
85. Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs

Two more Kathy Reichs books down. I've really come to enjoy the forensics in her books; admittedly, that was always the draw, but I am just a knowledge whore at heart and cannot get enough of forensic anthropology, and just the plain old anthropology thrown in for perspective and crime solving.

Here's the wiki page on Reichs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Reichs - she sounds like someone who would be absolutely fascinating to have dinner with.
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Updated List

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1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman
16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic
22. The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble
23. Heartburn - Nora Ephron
24. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
25. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich
26. Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
27. Lean, Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
28. Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich
29. The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time - Mark Haddon
30. Skinny Dip - Carl Hiaasen
31. Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich
32. Native Tongue - Carl Hiaasen
33. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
34. Morrigan's Cross - Nora Roberts
35. Dance of the Gods - Nora Roberts
36. Valley of Silence - Nora Roberts
37. Strangers in Death - JD Robb
38. The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd
39. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
40. The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton
41. Flush - Carl Hiaasen
42. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
43. Bare Bones - Kathy Reichs
44. Sick Puppy - Carl Hiaasen
45. Plum Lucky - Janet Evanovich
46. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
47. Lucky You - Carl Hiaasen
48. Stormy Weather - Carl Hiaasen
49. Necessary Losses - Judith Viorst
50. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
51. Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
52. Blue Dahlia - Nora Roberts
53. Black Rose - Nora Roberts
54. Red Lily - Nora Roberts
55. The Little Book of Letting Go - Hugh Prather
56. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
57. How to Survive the Loss of a Love - Peter McWilliams, Harold H. Bloomfield, and Melba Colgrove
58. New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
59. Mom's House, Dad's House - Isolina Ricci
60. Naked - David Sedaris
61. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
62. The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall
63. Wicked Nights - Nina Bangs
64. To Bed a Beauty - Nicole Jordan
65. Key of Light - Nora Roberts
66. Pictures of Hollis Woods - Patricia Reilly Giff
67. Ellen Foster - Kaye Gibbons
68. Key of Knowledge - Nora Roberts
69. Key of Valor - Nora Roberts
70. Auriel Rising - Elizabeth Redfern
71. Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
72. Open House - Elizabeth Berg
73. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah
74. Kafka's Soup - Mark Crick
75. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
76. Strip Tease - Carl Hiaasen
77. Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs
78. Charlie Wilson's War - George Crile79. Bones to Ashes - Kathy Reichs
80. Drowning Ruth - Christina Schwartz
81. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous
82. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
83. I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) - Laurie Notaro
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Books 78-81

78. Charlie Wilson's War - George Crile

If I were rating my reads, this would get 6 out of 5 stars.

I loved this book. A review quoted on the cover says "Reads like a best-selling novel ..." and I couldn't agree more. But it's not a fictional novel, it's an unbelievable but true story of how the Afghan war went from a poorly funded and little known covert CIA battle to the massively funded (but still not truly overt) final battle of the Cold War.

Read. This. Book. It's not a fast read, but it is an amazingly rewarding one.

79. Bones to Ashes - Kathy Reichs

Hallelujah - The end of this one didn't find Tempe in the grasp of the bad guys!

80. Drowning Ruth - Christina Schwartz

Well-written, believable characters and an interesting story line. Once I was into this book, I couldn't put it down. I did find the author's writing style a bit ... disjointed, maybe? It was a bit awkward at times, but still a good read.

81. Go Ask Alice - Anonymous

The (allegedly - some controversy surrounds this) true story of a young girl's journey into drug use, Go Ask Alice is one of those 'must read' books I somehow never read. It's heartbreaking and hopeful, and unflinchingly accurate. A haunting book, one I tore through in about an hour. I enjoyed it even more knowing that Sarah Palin sought to have it removed from Alaska's school libraries.

Latest Reads

I've been slacking on updating.

76. Strip Tease - Carl Hiaasen

Another great book, but I miss the Governor and Jim Tile. But at least it had Al Garcia.

77. Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs

I love Reichs' books, even if they make something inside of me recoil in horror.

Since I complain about Nora Roberts' books being 'formulaic', it's only fair to make a similar comment about Reichs' novels. Without fail, the heroine comes face to face with the criminal, (this is only a spoiler if you've not read *any* of her books - if you've read one, you know that the build up and the situation are varied enough to still surprise you) and finds herself in peril at books' end. But so far, the situations and the crimes have been varied, and horrifying, enough to keep me turning the pages with baited breath.

I've been working on Charlie Wilson's War in between these books. This is a fab book, just awesome - but it's taking me forever to read, because I am so into it I'm cross-referencing things and taking notes. I loved the one international relations class I took in college, and this book brings it all back and then some.

I also read a little over half of The Out-of-Sync Child. I've some suspicions that my older daughter has a few sensory issues, but I read enough of the book to know that, even if she does, she's not having serious issues - they're more like quirks. But it's a fascinating read, and it offers a ton of insight into children who have some degree of sensory processing dissonance, even very mild dissonance like my daughter displays.

Book #75

Drum roll, please ...

Book #75 is The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver.

Awesome, AWESOME book.

A tale of a Baptist preacher who takes his family into the Congo in 1959. (I absolutely hate the concept of missionary work - hate it. It's arrogance, narcissism and condescension in their highest forms.) The book traces their arrival, struggles and tragedies over the years - first as missionaries, then in their lives as they move on - some out of Africa, some still within.

What stays with me most of all is the (recent) history of the Congo/Zaire, the politics and the devastation of a once vital population by Europeans and Americans. I've developed a respect and admiration for the continent as a whole, and the people, that I never would have had without Kingsolver's novel. Like "A Long Way Gone", I think this of this book as required reading, especially for those who are ignorant of Africa's struggles.

1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman
16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic
22. The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble
23. Heartburn - Nora Ephron
24. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
25. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich
26. Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
27. Lean, Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
28. Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich
29. The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time - Mark Haddon
30. Skinny Dip - Carl Hiaasen
31. Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich
32. Native Tongue - Carl Hiaasen
33. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
34. Morrigan's Cross - Nora Roberts
35. Dance of the Gods - Nora Roberts
36. Valley of Silence - Nora Roberts
37. Strangers in Death - JD Robb
38. The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd
39. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
40. The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton
41. Flush - Carl Hiaasen
42. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
43. Bare Bones - Kathy Reichs
44. Sick Puppy - Carl Hiaasen
45. Plum Lucky - Janet Evanovich
46. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
47. Lucky You - Carl Hiaasen
48. Stormy Weather - Carl Hiaasen
49. Necessary Losses - Judith Viorst
50. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
51. Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
52. Blue Dahlia - Nora Roberts
53. Black Rose - Nora Roberts
54. Red Lily - Nora Roberts
55. The Little Book of Letting Go - Hugh Prather
56. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
57. How to Survive the Loss of a Love - Peter McWilliams, Harold H. Bloomfield, and Melba Colgrove
58. New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
59. Mom's House, Dad's House - Isolina Ricci
60. Naked - David Sedaris
61. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
62. The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall
63. Wicked Nights - Nina Bangs
64. To Bed a Beauty - Nicole Jordan
65. Key of Light - Nora Roberts
66. Pictures of Hollis Woods - Patricia Reilly Giff
67. Ellen Foster - Kaye Gibbons
68. Key of Knowledge - Nora Roberts
69. Key of Valor - Nora Roberts
70. Auriel Rising - Elizabeth Redfern
71. Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
72. Open House - Elizabeth Berg
73. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah
74. Kafka's Soup - Mark Crick
75. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

A Long Way Gone

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73. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah

What a powerful book.

You know this kind of stuff happens - young kids are forced into warfare and and experience horrors that few of us will ever see. But knowing, in some abstract way, that it happens is very different from reading a memoir of a boy who lived it.

It's heart-wrenching to imagine Beah's life: one day he's a happy-go-lucky 12 year old getting ready to perform with his friends in a talent show, and the next, he hears that rebels have attacked his home village of Mogbwemo, Sierra Leone. By the time he's 13, he's seen men, women and children murdered, cheated death himself and spent months on the run, hoding from the rebels. He is picked up by government forces and, after a brief period of safety and stability, turned into a soldier.

Beah's story is incredibly hard to read, but that difficulty makes it *necessary* to read.

http://www.alongwaygone.com/index.html
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