Guess I get to kick this off.

Just finished "Shadow of Self" by Brandon Sanderson. Grade: A

- Sanderson is one of the better story tellers right now, and the twists in this book are awesome.

Final book in this series comes out soon.

Reading "Saturn Run" by John Sandford. I am about half way through and am enjoying it.

Listening to "Starship Grifters" by Robert Kroese. I enjoy it, very clever.

Going to read "Girl in the Spider's Web" next. Started it and it just seems a little off from previous books. Like the new author is trying to imitate the old authors writing style, but is sitting in the land of "not quite right".

Received "Reagan - The Life" by HW Brands for Christmas. Reading right now. So far so good.

If you are interested in Reagan, check out a book called, "The Dead Hand", by David E. Hoffman.

Great history of the Cold War in the 80s.

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If you are interested in Reagan, check out a book called, "The Dead Hand", by David E. Hoffman.

Great history of the Cold War in the 80s.

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I got The Dead Hand and The Billion Dollar Spy for Christmas! I have a few other books to read first, but I can't wait to dive in.

But, on the bright side, that leaves room for a half dozen or more other books.
Currently reading -- The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

You will enjoy it! I haven't heard of the billion dollar spy, but I want to read it now! Thanks for the suggestion.

Killing Reagan - easy read - lots of trivia about those involved. We went to Gordos Pizza in Dallas for years - John Hinckley was cleaning the tables !

Just ordered Caliban's War (Book 2 of The Expanse series). Excited to continue the story.

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Just ordered Caliban's War (Book 2 of The Expanse series). Excited to continue the story.

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I listened to the audiobook of the first one and did not enjoy it as much as I wanted to. Though I like the premise and I really enjoy the TV show so I will soon do book 2 and sludge through another sub-par performance...

Trying to finish Two Towers. Been nursing the last 50 or so pages for 2 months.

Also reading Birdsong...got a while to go on that one.

Next will be Return of the King and then maybe Sense and Sensibility.



*Going through one of the many "100 books everyone should read" type of lists. Made some good progress last year, but been slow going as of late.

Just finished The Lost World.

Closing in on the final pages of Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates.

I finished Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel, Make Me, a few days ago. It had about 5 pages of really uncomfortable subject matter that I wasn't fully expecting toward the end. Pretty twisted stuff.

Currently reading Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. Not far enough into it yet to have a great feel for it, but I'm intrigued.

Also been trying to get through We Were Soldiers Once...and Young by Hiram Moore. It's pretty detailed; interesting and hard to put down once I pick it up, but not easy to pick up again, if that makes sense. I think I'm just on a fiction kick right now.

1) Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves". Have read a number of his books ("Snow Crash", "Crytonomicon", and "Reamde"). Have enjoyed all his books for knowledge he puts into the books of old and cutting age technology and his plot lines. His character development is not his strong suit and I rarely care that much one way or the other about his characters, but as a creator of story lines and worlds he is great. "Seveneves" can be overly technical at points (aren't all science fiction?), but well worth the read. (B+)

Next: Salman Rushdie's memoir "Joseph Anton"

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1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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One of my favorite books of all-time. I recommend "World Without End" - the sequel that takes place ~75 years later than the end of Pillars. They also made a mini-series out of it.

My list thus far:
1. Personal - Lee Child
2. Rasputin's Shadow - Raymond Khoury
3. Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King

I really enjoyed both Rasputin's Shadow and to some extent Mr. Mercedes. I don't read as much Stephen King as I used to, but it was a easy read. If you've read 1 Lee Child book, you know exactly what to expect.

Hero Protagonist has to be on the short list of greatest character names ever.

Read Malazan Gardens of the Moon and enjoyed it once I kind of figured out what was going on.
Currently working on A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. So far it's really good and I'm not really a nonfiction reader.

Actually Hiro Protagonist, but yeah same thing just went with sword play better.

Finished Flashpoints - the emerging crisis in Europe by George Freidman. It's was a pretty interesting read the first of many current events and non-fiction I have lined up for myself this year.

Started Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.

Oh My God - it is so incredibly biased and kind of stupid. I am really disappointed. Come on, the mongols were a horde of thieving mouth breathers on horseback. They killed, raped and pillaged across half the world, yet advanced nothing. No arts, sciences, literature, etc.

The author ignores anything bad the Mongols did and amplifies anything bad the enemies did. The author also attributes all manner of good things to the Mongols they weren't really responsible for.

1) Go Set a Watchman (Harper Lee)- I read it as the draft that it is and enjoyed seeing the seeds of To Kill a Mockingbird. No rating because it is not a finished novel, so I think any rating is unfair.

2) The Street Lawyer (John Grisham)- Read it for my book club. It is an older book (1998). The story was enjoyable, but I felt the pace was a little rushed and the plot a little underdeveloped. Rating: B- (It was on the good side of okay)

Wife bought me a subscription to "Marvel Unlimited" so I've been rolling through comic books right now.

Started rereading Way of the Kings again since it has been a couple years since I read the first book.

I've pre-ordered the following which should show up next week:

1. The Bands of Mourning - Finale to the second Mistborn trilogy
2. Staked: The Iron Druid Chronicles - Started this series a while ago. Think this is the finale as well. Not the best series, but somewhat entertaining.

Ashley Bell - D Koontz

This is on my audiobook list. Glad to hear it is good.

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I finished Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel, Make Me, a few days ago. It had about 5 pages of really uncomfortable subject matter that I wasn't fully expecting toward the end. Pretty twisted stuff.

Currently reading Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. Not far enough into it yet to have a great feel for it, but I'm intrigued.

Also been trying to get through We Were Soldiers Once...and Young by Hiram Moore. It's pretty detailed; interesting and hard to put down once I pick it up, but not easy to pick up again, if that makes sense. I think I'm just on a fiction kick right now.

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I really enjoyed Alas, Babylon. I read it about a year ago. It was wild to think that my father could have read that during his A&M years.

read a couple of the free Amazon First offerings
Split Second by Douglas E. Richards and it was pretty interesting and offered a unique take on time travel. I might look into some of his other books later this year.

Just finished This is the NIght. I kept hoping it would get better but it just dragged on and on. It felt like it was a draft and still needed to be filled in a bit.

I just started Genesis by Paul Antony Jones. Book 4 in his Extinction Point series, I enjoyed the first 3 enough to buy this one. I ready the first 3 on the Kindle Lending Library.

Marilyn by Andre de Dienes - Tashen - lots of photos before she was a star.

Marline ( Dietrich) by Charlotte Chandler- Simon and Shuster - quite a woman ! Had sex with most of her male costars . Like a good German, she cooked breakfast for them in the morning. During WW2 she entertained our troops all over the world !

She became a recluse in Paris in her last years. Was lured out for her last movie - was hard up for money.
$ 250,000. For two days work !

Now into Michael Palin's diaries covering 30 years - 3 volumes - 600+ pages each !

A new book about Aggie History of 70 years ago - In early 1946, WWII veterans returned by the thousands from battlefields to Texas A&M. This wave of hardened men mixed with newly graduated, 17+/- year-old high school Fish created an unavoidable controversy, and spurred the beginning of a significant cultural shift on the campus.

In response to this wave, Aggie HOF Coach Homer Norton honored previously granted football scholarships to all returning pre-war players. These men would go on to compete in what has been described as "glory days" of the old Southwest Conference, when A&M rivals fielded players with names such as Doak Walker (SMU), Tom Landry (tu), Bobby Layne (tu), Darrell Royal (OU), YA Tittle (LSU). The Aggies sported a few great players of their own during this colorful period, a number of which would later be drafted by the NFL to play professionally.

One of these notable players was QB Buryl Baty, whose life and amazing coaching impact are detailed in the book, Champion of the Barrio, The Legacy of Coach Buryl Baty, published by TAMU Press. This is an inspiring historical account of the life and times of the Greatest Generation and the groundwork they laid for us all. It is also an fascinating snapshot of the history of football in Texas, and the emerging Texas A&M that was in that day. A TexAgs radio interview with the author can be heard at www.championofthebarrio.com, or on facebook - Champion of the Barrio.

Champion of the Barrio can be ordered from TAMU Press, Amazon, B&N, or purchased at Aggieland Outfitters. You will not want to put it down.

Here is my list so far this year:

1.) The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry
2.) Trevayne by Robert Ludlum
3.) Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham

Next Up:

1776 by David McCullough
Why the West Rules-for Now by Ian Morris