Recent Books Read

[The Schofield Kid]

Ever read Lee Child, SK? A few of us in my set are big fans. They're a little improbably plotted, but there's lots of action, and the hero bears a certain resemblance to Clint in his "Man with No Name" days.

I've seen a lot of his books whenever I'm at the shops and the library has some but I wasn't sure if I could just pick any one of the Jack Reacher books and not start with the first one?

[KC]

I started out with Echo Burning, which I think is the fifth in the series, then went back and read them more or less in order, starting with Killing Floor, which was the first. But I don't think the order matters too much. There are things that sometimes get carried over from book to book, like in one of them he acquires a girlfriend and a house, so in the next one he'll have to find out a way to lose those encumbrances. But you figure he would, anyway, because that's his nature.

Only thing is, two of the latest ones, 61 Hours and Worth Dying For, really should be read in that order because 61 Hours ends in a cliffhanger.

There are two "prequels" in the series, going back to Reacher's days as an Army M.P. They're The Enemy and the latest to date, The Affair. I think you get more out of them if you read them when you already know the character, though you could argue that if you start with them, you would be following strict chronological order.

Anyway, by all means, pick up any one you can find from the library or buy a cheap paperback if you come across one, and see if they're to your taste.

[The Schofield Kid]

I started out with Echo Burning, which I think is the fifth in the series, then went back and read them more or less in order, starting with Killing Floor, which was the first. But I don't think the order matters too much. There are things that sometimes get carried over from book to book, like in one of them he acquires a girlfriend and a house, so in the next one he'll have to find out a way to lose those encumbrances. But you figure he would, anyway, because that's his nature.

Only thing is, two of the latest ones, 61 Hours and Worth Dying For, really should be read in that order because 61 Hours ends in a cliffhanger.

There are two "prequels" in the series, going back to Reacher's days as an Army M.P. They're The Enemy and the latest to date, The Affair. I think you get more out of them if you read them when you already know the character, though you could argue that if you start with them, you would be following strict chronological order.

Anyway, by all means, pick up any one you can find from the library or buy a cheap paperback if you come across one, and see if they're to your taste.

Thanks KC.

I just checked my library's website and they have about 8 or 9 Lee Child books. I would prefer to read them in order and Killing Floor isn't on that list so I might see if I can find it cheap somewhere and go from there.

[The Schofield Kid]

I would prefer to read them in order and Killing Floor isn't on that list so I might see if I can find it cheap somewhere and go from there.

Picked it up this morning for $10.

[The Schofield Kid]

Very enjoyable. This is set out in three parts. Part 1 is the  background to why French terrorists want Charles DeGaulle assassinated, the hiring of "The Jackal" and his preparations for the assassination attempt. Part 2 is the investigation by authorities in tracking down "The Jackal". Part 3 is the big finale with the authorities closing in and whether they can apprehend "The Jackal" before it's too late.

4/5.

[AKA23]

I've started reading a new author that I've really been enjoying and wanted to recommend to you all. Her name is Gillian Flynn. The first book I read that she wrote is actually her newest, which is called "Gone Girl." It has recently been optioned by Hollywood. Her second book that I read was called "Dark Places." It has also been optioned by Hollywood, as a potential starring vehicle for Eastwood's soon-to be co-star, Amy Adams. Gillian Flynn is a very talented writer. Her stories are very expertly plotted and her characters are rich and well developed. If you're looking for a new writer to thrill and excite, terrify and enlighten you, pick up one of her books today! Once you pick one of her books up, you won't be able to put them down. I read a lot, but her work really is unique. 

[The Schofield Kid]

I've started reading a new author that I've really been enjoying and wanted to recommend to you all. Her name is Gillian Flynn. The first book I read that she wrote is actually her newest, which is called "Gone Girl." It has recently been optioned by Hollywood. Her second book that I read was called "Dark Places." It has also been optioned by Hollywood, as a potential starring vehicle for Eastwood's soon-to be co-star, Amy Adams. Gillian Flynn is a very talented writer. Her stories are very expertly plotted and her characters are rich and well developed. If you're looking for a new writer to thrill and excite, terrify and enlighten you, pick up one of her books today! Once you pick one of her books up, you won't be able to put them down. I read a lot, but her work really is unique. 

What are the books about AKA?

[AKA23]

What are the books about AKA?

I'm not very good at plot descriptions, so I'll link to what Amazon has to say about these books:

Gone Girl: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
 
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Dark Places: Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn/dp/030758836X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Places-Novel-Gillian-Flynn/dp/0307341577/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343061219&sr=1-1&keywords=dark+places

[Sylvie]

CLINT EASTWOOD , L'ICONE .  A beautiful big book full of worldwide Clint Eastwood's movies affiches, with comments, a must for a real fan ! I had it yesterday evening, and spent at least 2 hours to discover the various ones from everywhere, a real pleasure !

David Frangioni : THANK YOU !!!
I know several Members have already got it on their "Eastwood Books shelf" !

[The Schofield Kid]

I was very disappointed with this. I got about 70 pages into it and it just hadn't grabbed me and I thought, "Mmm, this doesn't bode too well, I've still got 450 pages to go." It slowly got a little interesting but if it wasn't for my hard and fast rule regarding books and films that I stick it out till the end, I would've given it away. It reminded me of watching a really long film and the painful wait just for it to slowly get to the conclusion.

2/5.

I've started the second book in the series, Die Trying but again after 100 pages it hasn't grabbed me and this one is even longer but I'll reserve final judgemnet until I've finished.

[Christopher]

You might want to switch to a different series of books!

That is cool, though, that you stick it out. Sometimes it seems I'll start a book and will just get away from it without actually meaning to. It's not that it didn't interest me or I didn't like it, but I just get my mind on other things it seems.

I have started The Hunger Games and am committed to finishing the book. I would like to get in the rest of the series too.

[The Schofield Kid]

You might want to switch to a different series of books!

That's what I'll be doing.



This didn't improve on the first novel. The same drawn out feeling like it was a chore just to get through it.

I know it's only fiction but there was one page in this book that I just couldn't stop shaking my head in bewilderment.

Reacher and FBI Agent Holly Johnson are in the woods and come across a body that has been crucified. Of course she can't handle the sight of it and throws up. Reacher cuts the body down and buries it. Before the end of the page, they're naked and having sex in the dirt! I mean, come on, are you kidding me?

2/5.

[Christopher]

Reacher and FBI Agent Holly Johnson are in the woods and come across a body that has been crucified. Of course she can't handle the sight of it and throws up. Reacher cuts the body down and buries it. Before the end of the page, they're naked and having sex in the dirt! I mean, come on, are you kidding me?

And I see these are the Jack Reacher novels that the new movie is adapted from!

[KC]

That's what I'll be doing.



This didn't improve on the first novel. The same drawn out feeling like it was a chore just to get through it.

I know it's only fiction but there was one page in this book that I just couldn't stop shaking my head in bewilderment.

Reacher and FBI Agent Holly Johnson are in the woods and come across a body that has been crucified. Of course she can't handle the sight of it and throws up. Reacher cuts the body down and buries it. Before the end of the page, they're naked and having sex in the dirt! I mean, come on, are you kidding me?

2/5.

If I recall right, that was the one where Holly was abducted because she's the daughter of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Reacher gets abducted with her because he just happens to bump into her at the wrong time. They're taken off to a site where a paramiltary cult is plotting to overthrow the US government. I don't recall the sex in the sand at that particular juncture, but I do remember thinking it was pretty improbable that they would let Reacher escape, recapture him, then let him escape again ... over and over.

But the Reacher novels aren't really about the stories, they're about the character, and about he is always, always, bigger, stronger and smarter than any opponent he meets up with. And he never becomes attached to anyone. If he has sex with a women somewhere along the way, he'll be saying goodbye to her by the last page (with a couple of "cliffhanger" exceptions), And for the most part, the women are pretty strong, smart and capable themselves ... worthy partners, not just bimbos along for the ride. All this may help explain why a lot of Reacher fans are female.

And I see these are the Jack Reacher novels that the new movie is adapted from!

It's adapted from a later novel in the series ... and Tom Cruise is starring. A lot of Reacher fans are up in arms about that. That little superannuated shrimp is going to play Jack Reacher, six foot four and two hundred and forty pounds of brute strength and intelligence?

[Lin Sunderland]

It's adapted from a later novel in the series ... and Tom Cruise is starring. A lot of Reacher fans are up in arms about that. That little superannuated shrimp is going to play Jack Reacher, six foot four and two hundred and forty pounds of brute strength and intelligence?

I so agree with you KC.  Reacher could have been played by many of the hunky male stars of today so why pick a little squirt?

[The Schofield Kid]

I took AKA's recommendation and picked this up last weekend at the library. I enjoyed it more than the last couple of books I've read. I would've enjoyed it more had it scrapped the first 60 pages and the last 100 where it concentrated on the journalist's libel court case and then his revenge. Had it just been about the journalist's search for a 40 year mystery of what happened to a 16 year old girl who vanished, that would have been enough for me. When that was resolved, I still had 100 pages to go and I wasn't interested in the other storyline.

3.5/5

[KC]

The second book, or maybe it's the third, also has a long digression involving the editor of the magazine where the journalist works. She takes a job at a major Stockholm daily and finds herself being stalked by someone who works at the paper. You get the feeling when you read all three books that Larsson had been saving up little bits and pieces of stories for years, and was determined to make one long, continuous story out of them. (And by the way, he had planned for the series to run several more volumes.)

They're all pretty good as page-turners, though. And the central character, Lisbeth Salander, is a remarkable invention.

Did you see either of the movies based on this first book (which in the original Swedish was titled Män som hatar kvinnor, "Men Who Hate Women")?

[The Schofield Kid]

Did you see either of the movies based on this first book (which in the original Swedish was titled Män som hatar kvinnor, "Men Who Hate Women")?

No, I haven't. Are they worthwhile and which is better?

[Christopher]

I've only seen the US version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it made me want to read the book. I don't know when that'll happen... and I'd like to see the Swedish films too.

[AKA23]

I'm glad you took my suggestion, and that you ended up enjoying the book. I actually found the second book to be the best of the trilogy. For me, the first was the weakest of the books. There was way too much exposition of all the different family members, and their life stories, that detracted from the more interesting elements.

As for the movies, I've only seen the American remake, directed by David Fincher, and I thought that it was quite good. Of the Swedish films, I've heard the first is the best, and that the second and third are much less good, though there is apparently an extended release version of all of these movies (the Swedish films were originally designed as a miniseries, which were cut to make the films). The extended release version is supposed to be much better.

You read pretty fast, SK! I hope you enjoy the rest of the trilogy.