Friday, December 30, 2005
TV: 2005 TV Episodes Watched and Ranked
Chart is based on a 5 point scale, with 5 being the best rating.
Books: The List, What I read in 2005 And Reviews
I read 101 books in 2005, and overall found it to be a good year (overall average of 4.30 out of 5 stars). I read books in many different genres and sub-genres, sometimes at the same time. I also read a Jane Austen book for the first time. I mention Austen because one of the two books I read by her was my highest rated book of the year, and a pretty good movie too. I'm speaking, of course, of "Pride and Prejudice" (movie website; book). I ended up giving the book a rating of 4.65 out of 5, and the movie somewhere between 4.40 and 4.55 stars.
The List, in order of when I finished reading it (does not contain all 101 books):
And at the end of 2005, here is my category chart (this list contains just the main categories, and none of the sub-categories):
My reviews:
My reviews appeared on Amazon.com (and through it seemingly throughout the web, based on an agreement they have with other websites), Epinions.com, my blog on TV.com (very few, though a samll acknowledgment of the book did pop up occasionally), and on this blog. The reviews tended to be for the same product but worded differently, and on occasion, with completely different reviews.
In Books:
5 Star Books, some notes
Roger Macbride Allen: "Rogue Powers" (Amazon, just information)
Doug Allyn: "The Burning of Rachel Hayes" (and the review on this blog)
Lawrence Block: "The Sins of the Father" (Amazon, currently first page, date: 3/28/05) (and here)
Aaron Elkins: "Where There's a Will" (Amazon, currently in the spotlight, date: 4/7/05) (and here)
Harry Harrison: "Stonehenge" (Amazon - just information about the book, not a review)
Nancy Kress: "Oaths and Mircales" (and the review on this blog)
Peter Lovesey: "The Circle" (and the review on this blog)
Margaret Maron: "Bootlegger's Daughter" (and the review on this blog)
John Maddox Roberts: "King of the Wood" (and the review on this blog)
John Maddox Roberts: "The Princess and the Pirates" (and the review on this blog)
James Rollins: "Map of Bones" (and the review on this blog)
In Movies:
Layer Cake (with the New James Bond) (and the version on this blog)
Kung Fu Hustle (and here)
Sahara (Amazon; I'm on there somewhere; date: 4/12/05) (and here)
Note on "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Legend of Zorro"
Note on "Batman Begins" and "War of the Worlds"
Note on "Wedding Crashers" and "Fantastic Four"
Note on "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Sin City", "XXX: State of the Union", and "Kingdom of Heaven"
Note on James Bond
In Music:
CMT Most Wanted Volume 1 (Country) (and the version on this blog)
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 (Spanish) <- apparently, my most read review on Amazon and Epinions (and the version on this blog)
In TV:
Top 10 Episodes of 2005
Pre-Midseason Report (11/18/05)
TV Fall Season: Monday
TV Fall Season: Tuesday
TV Fall Season: Wednesday
TV Fall Season: Thursday
TV Fall Season: Friday
TV Fall Season: Saturday
TV Fall Season: Sunday
TV: So Far (9/21/05)
My Guides:
A Guide to Ancient Egyptian Fiction (modern fiction set in ancient Egypt; updated version)
A Guide to Ancient Egyptian Fiction (earlier Amazon version)
A Guide to Books set in Ancient Greece or about ancient Greeks (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in Ancient Rome (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in Medieval History Part I (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in Medieval History Part II (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in the Renaissance period (Amazon)
A Guide to Alternate History Part I (Amazon)
A Guide to Alternate History Part II (Amazon)
History:
The Man Who Made Himself General: Nathaniel Bacon and his 1676 Rebellion in Virginia
Play:
Freshman Year
The List, in order of when I finished reading it (does not contain all 101 books):
And at the end of 2005, here is my category chart (this list contains just the main categories, and none of the sub-categories):
My reviews:
My reviews appeared on Amazon.com (and through it seemingly throughout the web, based on an agreement they have with other websites), Epinions.com, my blog on TV.com (very few, though a samll acknowledgment of the book did pop up occasionally), and on this blog. The reviews tended to be for the same product but worded differently, and on occasion, with completely different reviews.
In Books:
5 Star Books, some notes
Roger Macbride Allen: "Rogue Powers" (Amazon, just information)
Doug Allyn: "The Burning of Rachel Hayes" (and the review on this blog)
Lawrence Block: "The Sins of the Father" (Amazon, currently first page, date: 3/28/05) (and here)
Aaron Elkins: "Where There's a Will" (Amazon, currently in the spotlight, date: 4/7/05) (and here)
Harry Harrison: "Stonehenge" (Amazon - just information about the book, not a review)
Nancy Kress: "Oaths and Mircales" (and the review on this blog)
Peter Lovesey: "The Circle" (and the review on this blog)
Margaret Maron: "Bootlegger's Daughter" (and the review on this blog)
John Maddox Roberts: "King of the Wood" (and the review on this blog)
John Maddox Roberts: "The Princess and the Pirates" (and the review on this blog)
James Rollins: "Map of Bones" (and the review on this blog)
In Movies:
Layer Cake (with the New James Bond) (and the version on this blog)
Kung Fu Hustle (and here)
Sahara (Amazon; I'm on there somewhere; date: 4/12/05) (and here)
Note on "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Legend of Zorro"
Note on "Batman Begins" and "War of the Worlds"
Note on "Wedding Crashers" and "Fantastic Four"
Note on "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", "Sin City", "XXX: State of the Union", and "Kingdom of Heaven"
Note on James Bond
In Music:
CMT Most Wanted Volume 1 (Country) (and the version on this blog)
Fijacion Oral Vol. 1 (Spanish) <- apparently, my most read review on Amazon and Epinions (and the version on this blog)
In TV:
Top 10 Episodes of 2005
Pre-Midseason Report (11/18/05)
TV Fall Season: Monday
TV Fall Season: Tuesday
TV Fall Season: Wednesday
TV Fall Season: Thursday
TV Fall Season: Friday
TV Fall Season: Saturday
TV Fall Season: Sunday
TV: So Far (9/21/05)
My Guides:
A Guide to Ancient Egyptian Fiction (modern fiction set in ancient Egypt; updated version)
A Guide to Ancient Egyptian Fiction (earlier Amazon version)
A Guide to Books set in Ancient Greece or about ancient Greeks (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in Ancient Rome (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in Medieval History Part I (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in Medieval History Part II (Amazon)
A Guide to Books set in the Renaissance period (Amazon)
A Guide to Alternate History Part I (Amazon)
A Guide to Alternate History Part II (Amazon)
History:
The Man Who Made Himself General: Nathaniel Bacon and his 1676 Rebellion in Virginia
Play:
Freshman Year
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
TV: Best Episodes of 2005 (Full Year)
Top 22 Episodes of 2005, Full Year (25 episodes total):
Chart is based on a 5 point scale, with 5 being the best.
Number 1 episode is an episode of Committed (NBC).
Committed: was a series that lasted just 13 episodes in the spring tv season of 2005 (1/4/05-3/15/05) and starred Josh Cooke, Jennifer Finnigan, Darius McCrary, Tammy Lynn Michaels and Tom Poston. Overall, I gave the series a rating of 4.10 out of 5 (8.2 out of 10), but despite that relatively low rating, 2 episodes made it onto the top 19 list (and 2 episodes in the worst 19 episode list; the two episodes on the top 19 list: The Apartment Episode and The Perfect Person (1)). Relatively low 4.10 season rating? On my list of all seaons I've watched (season, not series), Committed ranked 259 out of 430 seasons watched. Committed was an ok series about two somewhat deranged people starting a relationship. Series was marred by both the fact that the episodes were shown out of order and the sense that the series was dead-on-arrival (DOA). Series was interesting, but at this point I’m neither eager to acquire a DVD copy of it, nor too disappointed that the series was cancelled.
Number 2 episode is an episode of Life on a Stick (FOX).
Life on a Stick: was another spring 2005 series (3/24/05-4/27/05). Series lasted just five episodes before being cancelled. I was able to see four of those episodes, and I gave the series an overall rating of 4.34. Keeping in mind that this is just based on four episodes, I’ll note that the season falls 23rd on my list of seasons seen. I don’t recall now what it aired against, but I recall seeing the series on a small tv that basically forced me to attempt to watch the episodes through fuzzy “snow.” Only reason I would watch on that small screen is if I was recording on the other TVs. I’m not sure if I overrated the series because I was compensating for the fuzzy reception or if I underrated the series because of being unable to see the episodes (basically turned into a somewhat funny radio program, with some shadowy flickering pictures). Series was marred (at least for me) by poor reception and, like Committed, a sense that the series was already DOA, and was just being burned off by the network.
Third ranked episode is from the series Bones (FOX).
Bones: is the first new series of fall 2005 on the list. Series is based on Kathy Reichs life and books (I read the first book long before I knew of the series and disliked it). Due to my dislike of the only book I’ve read by Reichs, I was somewhat hesitant to watch the series. I watched the first three episodes before its break for baseball, and was not tremendously impressed. The episodes ranged from bad to good with no consistency. When the series returned from its break, I had already decided to drop it and didn’t pay attention to the new episodes. Then the show I was watching in place of Bones took a break, so I ended up catching another episode of Bones. It was good enough to pull me in to try another episode, and eventually enough consistently good episodes to finally decide that this is actually a series that I’m watching instead of just something casual. Overall I’ve rated the series 4.25 (which actually falls 154th on my list of seasons watched).
And eventually, maybe, I’ll continue this rambling discussion with myself.
Chart is based on a 5 point scale, with 5 being the best.
Number 1 episode is an episode of Committed (NBC).
Committed: was a series that lasted just 13 episodes in the spring tv season of 2005 (1/4/05-3/15/05) and starred Josh Cooke, Jennifer Finnigan, Darius McCrary, Tammy Lynn Michaels and Tom Poston. Overall, I gave the series a rating of 4.10 out of 5 (8.2 out of 10), but despite that relatively low rating, 2 episodes made it onto the top 19 list (and 2 episodes in the worst 19 episode list; the two episodes on the top 19 list: The Apartment Episode and The Perfect Person (1)). Relatively low 4.10 season rating? On my list of all seaons I've watched (season, not series), Committed ranked 259 out of 430 seasons watched. Committed was an ok series about two somewhat deranged people starting a relationship. Series was marred by both the fact that the episodes were shown out of order and the sense that the series was dead-on-arrival (DOA). Series was interesting, but at this point I’m neither eager to acquire a DVD copy of it, nor too disappointed that the series was cancelled.
Number 2 episode is an episode of Life on a Stick (FOX).
Life on a Stick: was another spring 2005 series (3/24/05-4/27/05). Series lasted just five episodes before being cancelled. I was able to see four of those episodes, and I gave the series an overall rating of 4.34. Keeping in mind that this is just based on four episodes, I’ll note that the season falls 23rd on my list of seasons seen. I don’t recall now what it aired against, but I recall seeing the series on a small tv that basically forced me to attempt to watch the episodes through fuzzy “snow.” Only reason I would watch on that small screen is if I was recording on the other TVs. I’m not sure if I overrated the series because I was compensating for the fuzzy reception or if I underrated the series because of being unable to see the episodes (basically turned into a somewhat funny radio program, with some shadowy flickering pictures). Series was marred (at least for me) by poor reception and, like Committed, a sense that the series was already DOA, and was just being burned off by the network.
Third ranked episode is from the series Bones (FOX).
Bones: is the first new series of fall 2005 on the list. Series is based on Kathy Reichs life and books (I read the first book long before I knew of the series and disliked it). Due to my dislike of the only book I’ve read by Reichs, I was somewhat hesitant to watch the series. I watched the first three episodes before its break for baseball, and was not tremendously impressed. The episodes ranged from bad to good with no consistency. When the series returned from its break, I had already decided to drop it and didn’t pay attention to the new episodes. Then the show I was watching in place of Bones took a break, so I ended up catching another episode of Bones. It was good enough to pull me in to try another episode, and eventually enough consistently good episodes to finally decide that this is actually a series that I’m watching instead of just something casual. Overall I’ve rated the series 4.25 (which actually falls 154th on my list of seasons watched).
And eventually, maybe, I’ll continue this rambling discussion with myself.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Books: Top 10 books published in 2005
The "ten" best books that I've read in 2005 that were published in 2005 (actually 12 books because of ties).
Important note:
rating scale: out of 5 "stars" with 5 stars the high (best) and 0 stars the low (worst)
Notes:
1) to make the chart/list work correctly, I needed to put it within the "pre" code, which aligned everything correctly, but keeps me from using code inside the beginning and ending "pre" code.
2) Roberts, John M. is normally listed as Roberts, John Maddox, shortened to fit.
3) The categories (Genres) are of my creation, let me know if confused.
4) Rating scale - see top.
5) Read = date finished reading the book - no I did not read these books in one day.
6) The Rollins book is actually part of a loose series, or at least some characters and organizations from prior books reappear in this book.
7) The first books in a series are somewhat guesswork on my part (I'm guessing that they are a beginning of a new series). I've had some indications that they are in fact the first books in a new series.
8) Series names - some official some guesswork on my part.
9) the Peter Lovesey book could be considered, by some, as the ninth Peter Diamond book, but he is in the book just a very short period of time.
10) I've written reviews for the SPQR book, the "The Circle" book, and the "Map of Bones" book. Those reviews can be found on Amazon, Epinions, and my Entertainment blog (do not recall if all are on all websites, but do know that each website has a modified version of the review).
Important note:
rating scale: out of 5 "stars" with 5 stars the high (best) and 0 stars the low (worst)
Rank Author Title Rating
01 Roberts, John M. "The Seven Hills" 4.64
Series: Nova Roma (2nd book); Genre: Alt Hist War;
read: 3/4/05
02 Nance, John J. "Saving Cascadia" 4.62
Series: none; Genre: Thriller Disaster Natural
Earthquake; read: 11/23/05
03 Flint, Eric "The Rivers of War" 4.49
Series: Sam Houston (1st book); Genre: Alt Hist War
read: 6/4/05
04 Geagley, Brad "Year of the Hyenas" 4.44
Series: none; Genre: Hist Ancient MYS;
Read: 3/24/05
04 Turtledove, H. "End of the Beginning" 4.44
Series: Infamy (2nd book); Genre Alt Hist War WWII;
read: 11/14/05
06 Weber, David "At All Costs" 4.43
Series: Honor Harrington (11th book); Genre: War
SF; Read: 9/30/05
07 Roberts, John M. "The Princess and the
Pirates"
4.39
Series: SPQR (9th book); Genre: Hist MYS Rome;
Read: 6/8/05
08 Haig, Brian "The President's Assassin"
4.38
Series: Major Sean Drummond (5th book); Genre:
Legal Lawyer, JAG; Read: 2/22/05
08 Lovesey, Peter "The Circle" 4.38
Series: Hen Mallin (1st book); Genre: Legal Police
Great Britian; read: 6/24/05
10 Ringo, John "Into the Looking Glass" 4.38
Series: Into the Looking Glass (1st book); Genre:
War SF; read: 5/17/05
10 Rollins, James "Map of Bones" 4.38
Series: none; Genre: Advent Arch; read: 5/27/05
10 Weber, David & John Ringo
"We Few" 4.38
Series: Empire of Man (4th book); Genre: War SF;
read: 4/5/05
Notes:
1) to make the chart/list work correctly, I needed to put it within the "pre" code, which aligned everything correctly, but keeps me from using code inside the beginning and ending "pre" code.
2) Roberts, John M. is normally listed as Roberts, John Maddox, shortened to fit.
3) The categories (Genres) are of my creation, let me know if confused.
4) Rating scale - see top.
5) Read = date finished reading the book - no I did not read these books in one day.
6) The Rollins book is actually part of a loose series, or at least some characters and organizations from prior books reappear in this book.
7) The first books in a series are somewhat guesswork on my part (I'm guessing that they are a beginning of a new series). I've had some indications that they are in fact the first books in a new series.
8) Series names - some official some guesswork on my part.
9) the Peter Lovesey book could be considered, by some, as the ninth Peter Diamond book, but he is in the book just a very short period of time.
10) I've written reviews for the SPQR book, the "The Circle" book, and the "Map of Bones" book. Those reviews can be found on Amazon, Epinions, and my Entertainment blog (do not recall if all are on all websites, but do know that each website has a modified version of the review).
TV: Top Ten Episodes for Fall 2005
Top Ten Episodes for Fall 2005:
1) Note: I rate on a 5 point scale, something rated 5 is best, something rated 0 is worst.
Updated: 12/16/05
Notes:
1) Criminal Minds shortened to C. Minds to fit.
2) Out of Practice shortened to Out of to fit.
3) Episode "Natural Born Killer" shortened to "Natural Born" to fit.
5) Two and a Half Men modified to 2&1/2 men to fit.
4) Episode “We Called it Mr. Pinky” shortened to “We Called”to fit.
5) Episode “Won’t be Fooled Again” shortened to “Won’t Be” to fit.
6) Episode “Delta Does Detroit” shortened to “Delta Does” to fit.
7) How I Met Your Mother shortened to How I Met to fit.
8) Bones episode: "The Man in the Fallout Shelter" shortened to "The Man in the" to fit.
So far I've seen 189 episodes that aired in the Summer of 2005 (some episodes were put on the Fall 2005 chart and some were put on the Spring of 2005 chart) or the Fall of 2005. Overall rating of 4.22 out of 5.0 (8.44 out of 10).
Series included on list:
American Dad (3 episodes, overall rating of 3.43)
Bones (6 episodes, overall rating of 4.25)
+1 episode raising average from 4.18 to 4.25
Boston Legal (1 episode, rated it 3.94)
Charmed (8 episodes, overall rating of 4.17)
Criminal Minds (11 episodes, overall rating of 4.25) -updated
after last episode overall rating dropped from 4.33 to 4.25; dropped from overall show rank of 17 down to 61 out of 171 ranked shows
CSI (7 episodes, overall rating of 4.23)
CSI: Miami (9 episodes, overall rating of 4.23)
CSI: NY (10 episodes, overall rating of 4.30) - updated
after last episode overall rating for season down 0.01 point
E-Ring (11 episodes, overall rating of 4.38)
Everybody hates Chris (1 episode - 3.79)
Family Guy (11 episodes - 4.18 - Summer and Fall)
Head Cases (1 episode - 4.23)
How I Met Your Mother (10 episodes - 4.27)
Invasion (1 episode - 4.11)
Joey (12 episodes - 4.23) - updated
Killer Instinct (7 episodes - 4.29)
King of the Hill (2 episodes - 4.04)
King of Queens (9 episodes - 4.23)
NCIS (9 episodes - 4.27)
Numb3rs (5 episodes - 3.96)
Out of Practice (10 episodes - 4.25)
Rome (9 episodes - 4.30)
Simpsons (2 episodes - 4.23)
Supernatural (10 episodes - 4.23)
Surface (2 episodes - 3.72)
Threshold (9 episodes - 4.29)
Two and a Half Men (10 eps - 4.28)
1) Note: I rate on a 5 point scale, something rated 5 is best, something rated 0 is worst.
Updated: 12/16/05
Rank Series Episode Title Rating Airdate
01 Bones "The Man in the" 4.68 12/13/05
02 E-Ring "Cemetary Wind 1" 4.64 11/02/05
03 E-Ring "The Forgotten" 4.57 11/23/05
04 E-Ring "Tribes" 4.49 10/12/05
05 CSI "Gum Drops" 4.44 10/20/05
06 C. Minds "L.D.S.K." 4.43 10/26/05
06 Out of "Brothers Grimm" 4.43 10/17/05
08 C. Minds "Natural Born" 4.39 11/16/05
08 2&1/2 Men “We Called” 4.39 10/17/05
10 C. Minds “Won’t Be” 4.38 10/05/05
10 E-Ring “Delta Does” 4.38 11/16/05
10 How I Met “Pilot” 4.38 09/19/05
Notes:
1) Criminal Minds shortened to C. Minds to fit.
2) Out of Practice shortened to Out of to fit.
3) Episode "Natural Born Killer" shortened to "Natural Born" to fit.
5) Two and a Half Men modified to 2&1/2 men to fit.
4) Episode “We Called it Mr. Pinky” shortened to “We Called”to fit.
5) Episode “Won’t be Fooled Again” shortened to “Won’t Be” to fit.
6) Episode “Delta Does Detroit” shortened to “Delta Does” to fit.
7) How I Met Your Mother shortened to How I Met to fit.
8) Bones episode: "The Man in the Fallout Shelter" shortened to "The Man in the" to fit.
So far I've seen 189 episodes that aired in the Summer of 2005 (some episodes were put on the Fall 2005 chart and some were put on the Spring of 2005 chart) or the Fall of 2005. Overall rating of 4.22 out of 5.0 (8.44 out of 10).
Series included on list:
American Dad (3 episodes, overall rating of 3.43)
Bones (6 episodes, overall rating of 4.25)
+1 episode raising average from 4.18 to 4.25
Boston Legal (1 episode, rated it 3.94)
Charmed (8 episodes, overall rating of 4.17)
Criminal Minds (11 episodes, overall rating of 4.25) -updated
after last episode overall rating dropped from 4.33 to 4.25; dropped from overall show rank of 17 down to 61 out of 171 ranked shows
CSI (7 episodes, overall rating of 4.23)
CSI: Miami (9 episodes, overall rating of 4.23)
CSI: NY (10 episodes, overall rating of 4.30) - updated
after last episode overall rating for season down 0.01 point
E-Ring (11 episodes, overall rating of 4.38)
Everybody hates Chris (1 episode - 3.79)
Family Guy (11 episodes - 4.18 - Summer and Fall)
Head Cases (1 episode - 4.23)
How I Met Your Mother (10 episodes - 4.27)
Invasion (1 episode - 4.11)
Joey (12 episodes - 4.23) - updated
Killer Instinct (7 episodes - 4.29)
King of the Hill (2 episodes - 4.04)
King of Queens (9 episodes - 4.23)
NCIS (9 episodes - 4.27)
Numb3rs (5 episodes - 3.96)
Out of Practice (10 episodes - 4.25)
Rome (9 episodes - 4.30)
Simpsons (2 episodes - 4.23)
Supernatural (10 episodes - 4.23)
Surface (2 episodes - 3.72)
Threshold (9 episodes - 4.29)
Two and a Half Men (10 eps - 4.28)
Books: Notes on some books that I've rated 5 stars
Important Note: My ratings are out of 5 stars (with 5 stars being the highest rating), just double rating to match TV.com’s 10 point scale.
Genre: SF Game
Summary: A man of the far past is “reborn” in the far future and must compete in a game.
Notes: The book was an attempt to inject real history into a science fiction setting. Considering that Anthony wasn’t given a book contract to make this into a series, or to write more books like this, I would guess that the attempt failed to be commercially successful. I read the book too long ago to recommend it, unfortunately. I rated his version of “Total Recall” (movie novelization) an impressive 4.90 out of 5 stars, and rated his first book in the Magic of Xanth series, “A Spell for a Chameleon,” a just ok 4 out of 5 stars. Every other book I’ve read by Anthony has been a disappointment. Removing the three books mentioned above from my list of books read written by Anthony, and Anthony’s overall rating drops to 3.47 out of 5 stars (11 books). I rate combined authors books separately from their solo works, so I’ll just add that I read a book by Anthony and Francis Hall that I rated 4.80 (and raises the total number of books that I’ve read with Anthony on the cover to 15 books; I probably overrated that book because I read it around the time I saw the “Stargate” movie and the story was seemingly similar). I can’t recommend the author or the book.
Genre: Thriller Disaster Aftermath
Summary: A man journeys from an underground complex to see what the surface of earth is like many years after a disaster.
Notes: I picked this book up on a trip from a book store that does not appear to be part of a chain, at least I’ve never found that book store again (except in its original location). I read the book during that trip, and really liked it. The book I had said that Dvorkin was a bestselling author, so finding books by him should have been easy, right? I tried to find more books by the author and had trouble finding any more books by him. Many years later, I finally started finding books by Dvorkin, and none has lived up to my high hopes. If you try Dvorkin, and like him, I’d next recommend “Ursus” by him (and with a copyright date of 1989). I read the book a long time ago and my recollection of it doesn’t seem to be similar to reviews I’ve read of the book, so I’m somewhat hesitant to recommend “Central Heat” (though I read “Ursus” in 2002 and gave it a rating of 4.30 out of 5 stars).
Genre: Legal
Summary: A man just out of law school joins a southern law firm. Unfortunately the firm has strong connections to the mafia.
Notes: I don’t really have anything to say. I read the book a long time ago, so the rating is suspect, but I’ve read some books closer in time (date read, not copyright), and rated them highly (in 2003), but then again I’ve read two of his books in 2005 that I ended up giving ratings of 3.64 and 4.20. “Skipping Christmas” hit me in just the right mood and just at the right moment and ended up being rated by me a 4.88 out of 5. I’ve never seen the movie based on the christmas book, and my enjoyment of the book has been dampened by the commercial and critical reaction to the movie. I’ve also never seen the movie based on the other highly rated Grisham book, and I’m not sure, now, why I liked it so much, based on later reports from family to skip the book (told without realizing I had already read “The Runaway Jury” and given it a rating of 4.70 out of 5).
Genre: children’s
Summary: A new pet bunny joins the family and the cat is suspicious (Bunicula - vampire rabbit), told from the point of view of the dog. Notes: I wasn’t much of a reader in my early days (childhood), but I really enjoyed the Bunicula series. I haven’t reread any of the books since I gained my adulthood, so I don’t know if I would recommend the book to anyone, child or adult. I believe the next book I read for pleasure after this series was “The Gunslinger”, many years later (I was annoyed when told that the author had died and no more books could be read by me because they didn’t exist, so I stopped reading altogether for pleasure for about 5 years - it took me awhile to get started reading, then I skipped the next 5 years, I’ve tried to make up for that since then).
Genre: Thriller Disaster Terrorism
Summary: Terrorists take over a US freighter and torture the crew. US President refuses to respond, and Speaker of the House decides get Congress to go after the terrorists (using language in Constitution).
Notes: Two books by the same author on the list and I can’t think of anything to say. Huston wrote a book a year from 1998-2003 (“Balance of Power” was his first book), but hasn’t published anything since (or he published a book a year). Huston is my highest rated author with more than five books read by me, but he stopped publishing his books. Quite disappointing. Just to be fair to the other authors on this list, I rated one of Huston’s books a 3.80, so he isn’t perfect (on the other hand, remove that book from the list, and his overall average shoots up to an almost un heard of 4.78 out of 5 - 1 book rated 4.70, two books rated 4.60 and the last book is below). Next two people down the list of having at least five books read by me and being highly rated, would be Paul Doherty and Eric Flint (both 5 books each and both rated overall 4.54). Michael Z. Lewin is a mutli-book-read-by-me-author higher rated than Huston, but that is just two books (4.80 overall rating); and Eric Flint & David Weber combo books (written by both) are also rated higher than Huston, but again, just two books (4.69). Take away that 1 3.80 book and Huston would have 5 books at a overall rating of 4.78 and be just below Lewin on the list.
Genre: Thriller Disaster Terrorism
Summary: A book about terrorists attacking the US, published and read by me prior to 9/11. Not sure I can recommend the book now, because of events that have occurred (about a year after 9/11, I read a book about terrorists attacking NYC written prior to 9/11 and couldn’t stand it).
Genre: MYS PI Bath
Summary: A family of private investigators investigates cases in Bath England.
Notes: This is the second book in the Lunghi Family series. I first read Lewin in short story format, specifically Lunghi Family stories (among others), and finally found a book-length work that involves this family when I found “Family Business” (rated 4.60). Lewin is not a short-story writer that very occasionally writes book length work, nor a new writer, yet I’ve only read his most recent series (not counting children’s books). He has a long running series that follows the character the private investigator Albert Samson of the US (I think it might be of Indiana; the third book in the series has a copyright of 1974). If you like mysteries and private investigators, then I would strongly recommend this series, but start with the first book. Might as well, since there’s just the two of them.
Genre: Horror
Summary: A woman is stalked by her supposedly dead ex-husband.
Notes: Leigh Nichols is a name used by Dean Koontz, bestselling horror novelist. I’ve read one book by Koontz under the pen name David Axton (“Icebound” - 4.70), one under the name Brian Coffey (“The Voice of the Night” - 3.50), six under the Koontz name (overall rating of 3.67), and two under the pen name Leigh Nichols (other book, “Twilight,” received a rating of just 3.50). If I recall correctly, all but the Axton book are horror books (the Axton one is a thriller), a genre type that I rarely read. It has been a while since I read the book, and the book I read was under the Dean Koontz name (reprint, might be exactly like the Nichols book, or might not be). Look time since I read it and I do not normally read this type of book, so I can’t recommend “Shadowfires.”
Genre: Hist MYS Rome (Historical mystery set in Rome, specifically about 56 BC)
Summary: This is the first book in the Gordinous the Finder series that follows a somewhat lower class man that investigates for powerful people during the waning days of the Roman Republic (and the author’s first novel). In this specific book, Gordinous works for Cicero who is acting as the defense of Sextus, accused of killing his father.
Notes: I strongly recommend this book, especially since it is the first book in the series (I like reading books in order, and so it is easier if I can recommend the first book - in story chronological order, not necessarily published date order). Saylor has written other books, but I’ve only read his Gordinous the Finder series. I’ve found most of the books in the, so far, ten book series to be quite good, with just two to be somewhat disappointingly rated 4.20.
Genre: Adventure SF
Summary: This short novel, which can be found in the book “More than Honor,” a collection of stories set in the Honor universe (though not necessarily starring Honor). This specific short novel tells the tell of the first pairing of Human and treecats.
Notes: I highly recommend this particular story, though no military or war is involved in the story. Just a little girl, a treecat, “jungle” and two species exploring. I think that a reader can like this story without knowing anything about the Honor series, but the rest of the stories in the “More than Honor” book would probably be best read by someone with at least a slight knowledge of the series. Oh, almost forgot, I actually rated this 4.98 out of 5, not 5 out of 5.
Genre: Alt Hist War 100 Yrs War (alternative history, set during the 100 years war)
Summary: A 2000 AD (I believe) town in West Virginia is sent back in time to 1632 AD Germany during the 100 years war. This is the first book in the Assiti Shard series.
Notes: This is the first book that I’ve read by Flint and I had originally rated it 5 out of 5. At some point I downgraded it to 4.95, which still rounds up to 5. I have to warn you, though, that if you like the book, you will find that the rest of the books in the series, for the most part, are works written by Flint and some other author (including one with David Weber).
Notes:
1) copy = copyright date
2) Date = date finished reading
3) BKS RD = books read = books read written by the author
4) AVG = average = overall average rating of the books read by author
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
Piers Anthony “Steppe” 1976 1996 14 3.72
Genre: SF Game
Summary: A man of the far past is “reborn” in the far future and must compete in a game.
Notes: The book was an attempt to inject real history into a science fiction setting. Considering that Anthony wasn’t given a book contract to make this into a series, or to write more books like this, I would guess that the attempt failed to be commercially successful. I read the book too long ago to recommend it, unfortunately. I rated his version of “Total Recall” (movie novelization) an impressive 4.90 out of 5 stars, and rated his first book in the Magic of Xanth series, “A Spell for a Chameleon,” a just ok 4 out of 5 stars. Every other book I’ve read by Anthony has been a disappointment. Removing the three books mentioned above from my list of books read written by Anthony, and Anthony’s overall rating drops to 3.47 out of 5 stars (11 books). I rate combined authors books separately from their solo works, so I’ll just add that I read a book by Anthony and Francis Hall that I rated 4.80 (and raises the total number of books that I’ve read with Anthony on the cover to 15 books; I probably overrated that book because I read it around the time I saw the “Stargate” movie and the story was seemingly similar). I can’t recommend the author or the book.
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
David Dvorkin “Central Heat” 1988 1989 7 4.23
Genre: Thriller Disaster Aftermath
Summary: A man journeys from an underground complex to see what the surface of earth is like many years after a disaster.
Notes: I picked this book up on a trip from a book store that does not appear to be part of a chain, at least I’ve never found that book store again (except in its original location). I read the book during that trip, and really liked it. The book I had said that Dvorkin was a bestselling author, so finding books by him should have been easy, right? I tried to find more books by the author and had trouble finding any more books by him. Many years later, I finally started finding books by Dvorkin, and none has lived up to my high hopes. If you try Dvorkin, and like him, I’d next recommend “Ursus” by him (and with a copyright date of 1989). I read the book a long time ago and my recollection of it doesn’t seem to be similar to reviews I’ve read of the book, so I’m somewhat hesitant to recommend “Central Heat” (though I read “Ursus” in 2002 and gave it a rating of 4.30 out of 5 stars).
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
John Grisham “The Firm” 1991 1993 10 4.37
Genre: Legal
Summary: A man just out of law school joins a southern law firm. Unfortunately the firm has strong connections to the mafia.
Notes: I don’t really have anything to say. I read the book a long time ago, so the rating is suspect, but I’ve read some books closer in time (date read, not copyright), and rated them highly (in 2003), but then again I’ve read two of his books in 2005 that I ended up giving ratings of 3.64 and 4.20. “Skipping Christmas” hit me in just the right mood and just at the right moment and ended up being rated by me a 4.88 out of 5. I’ve never seen the movie based on the christmas book, and my enjoyment of the book has been dampened by the commercial and critical reaction to the movie. I’ve also never seen the movie based on the other highly rated Grisham book, and I’m not sure, now, why I liked it so much, based on later reports from family to skip the book (told without realizing I had already read “The Runaway Jury” and given it a rating of 4.70 out of 5).
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
James Howe “Bunicula” 1979 ? 5 4.40
Genre: children’s
Summary: A new pet bunny joins the family and the cat is suspicious (Bunicula - vampire rabbit), told from the point of view of the dog. Notes: I wasn’t much of a reader in my early days (childhood), but I really enjoyed the Bunicula series. I haven’t reread any of the books since I gained my adulthood, so I don’t know if I would recommend the book to anyone, child or adult. I believe the next book I read for pleasure after this series was “The Gunslinger”, many years later (I was annoyed when told that the author had died and no more books could be read by me because they didn’t exist, so I stopped reading altogether for pleasure for about 5 years - it took me awhile to get started reading, then I skipped the next 5 years, I’ve tried to make up for that since then).
Author Title Copy date BKS RD AVG
James W. Huston “Balance of Power” 1998 1998 6 4.62
Genre: Thriller Disaster Terrorism
Summary: Terrorists take over a US freighter and torture the crew. US President refuses to respond, and Speaker of the House decides get Congress to go after the terrorists (using language in Constitution).
Notes: Two books by the same author on the list and I can’t think of anything to say. Huston wrote a book a year from 1998-2003 (“Balance of Power” was his first book), but hasn’t published anything since (or he published a book a year). Huston is my highest rated author with more than five books read by me, but he stopped publishing his books. Quite disappointing. Just to be fair to the other authors on this list, I rated one of Huston’s books a 3.80, so he isn’t perfect (on the other hand, remove that book from the list, and his overall average shoots up to an almost un heard of 4.78 out of 5 - 1 book rated 4.70, two books rated 4.60 and the last book is below). Next two people down the list of having at least five books read by me and being highly rated, would be Paul Doherty and Eric Flint (both 5 books each and both rated overall 4.54). Michael Z. Lewin is a mutli-book-read-by-me-author higher rated than Huston, but that is just two books (4.80 overall rating); and Eric Flint & David Weber combo books (written by both) are also rated higher than Huston, but again, just two books (4.69). Take away that 1 3.80 book and Huston would have 5 books at a overall rating of 4.78 and be just below Lewin on the list.
Author Title Copy date
James W. Huston “Fallout” 2001 2001
Genre: Thriller Disaster Terrorism
Summary: A book about terrorists attacking the US, published and read by me prior to 9/11. Not sure I can recommend the book now, because of events that have occurred (about a year after 9/11, I read a book about terrorists attacking NYC written prior to 9/11 and couldn’t stand it).
Author Title Copy date
Michael Z. Lewin “Family Planning” 1999 2001 2 4.80
Genre: MYS PI Bath
Summary: A family of private investigators investigates cases in Bath England.
Notes: This is the second book in the Lunghi Family series. I first read Lewin in short story format, specifically Lunghi Family stories (among others), and finally found a book-length work that involves this family when I found “Family Business” (rated 4.60). Lewin is not a short-story writer that very occasionally writes book length work, nor a new writer, yet I’ve only read his most recent series (not counting children’s books). He has a long running series that follows the character the private investigator Albert Samson of the US (I think it might be of Indiana; the third book in the series has a copyright of 1974). If you like mysteries and private investigators, then I would strongly recommend this series, but start with the first book. Might as well, since there’s just the two of them.
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
Leigh Nichols “Shadowfires” 1987 1994 2 4.25
Genre: Horror
Summary: A woman is stalked by her supposedly dead ex-husband.
Notes: Leigh Nichols is a name used by Dean Koontz, bestselling horror novelist. I’ve read one book by Koontz under the pen name David Axton (“Icebound” - 4.70), one under the name Brian Coffey (“The Voice of the Night” - 3.50), six under the Koontz name (overall rating of 3.67), and two under the pen name Leigh Nichols (other book, “Twilight,” received a rating of just 3.50). If I recall correctly, all but the Axton book are horror books (the Axton one is a thriller), a genre type that I rarely read. It has been a while since I read the book, and the book I read was under the Dean Koontz name (reprint, might be exactly like the Nichols book, or might not be). Look time since I read it and I do not normally read this type of book, so I can’t recommend “Shadowfires.”
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
Steven Saylor "Roman Blood” 1991 1999 10 4.46
Genre: Hist MYS Rome (Historical mystery set in Rome, specifically about 56 BC)
Summary: This is the first book in the Gordinous the Finder series that follows a somewhat lower class man that investigates for powerful people during the waning days of the Roman Republic (and the author’s first novel). In this specific book, Gordinous works for Cicero who is acting as the defense of Sextus, accused of killing his father.
Notes: I strongly recommend this book, especially since it is the first book in the series (I like reading books in order, and so it is easier if I can recommend the first book - in story chronological order, not necessarily published date order). Saylor has written other books, but I’ve only read his Gordinous the Finder series. I’ve found most of the books in the, so far, ten book series to be quite good, with just two to be somewhat disappointingly rated 4.20.
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
David Weber “A Beautiful Friendship” 1998 04/30/04 25 4.42
Genre: Adventure SF
Summary: This short novel, which can be found in the book “More than Honor,” a collection of stories set in the Honor universe (though not necessarily starring Honor). This specific short novel tells the tell of the first pairing of Human and treecats.
Notes: I highly recommend this particular story, though no military or war is involved in the story. Just a little girl, a treecat, “jungle” and two species exploring. I think that a reader can like this story without knowing anything about the Honor series, but the rest of the stories in the “More than Honor” book would probably be best read by someone with at least a slight knowledge of the series. Oh, almost forgot, I actually rated this 4.98 out of 5, not 5 out of 5.
Author Title Copy date bks Rd AVG
Eric Flint "1632" 2000 2000 5 4.54
Genre: Alt Hist War 100 Yrs War (alternative history, set during the 100 years war)
Summary: A 2000 AD (I believe) town in West Virginia is sent back in time to 1632 AD Germany during the 100 years war. This is the first book in the Assiti Shard series.
Notes: This is the first book that I’ve read by Flint and I had originally rated it 5 out of 5. At some point I downgraded it to 4.95, which still rounds up to 5. I have to warn you, though, that if you like the book, you will find that the rest of the books in the series, for the most part, are works written by Flint and some other author (including one with David Weber).
Notes:
1) copy = copyright date
2) Date = date finished reading
3) BKS RD = books read = books read written by the author
4) AVG = average = overall average rating of the books read by author
