The Crossing by Michael Connelly

After finishing Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills on June 3, I picked up The Crossing by Michael Connelly.  I started this gem on June 24th and finished it on July 4.  This is another of Connelly's Harry Bosch novels, and one of just a few that include Micky Haller (aka The Lincoln Lawyer).

As with spy novels, I love Connelly's Bosch series of books.  Bosh isn't a spy, he's a detective with the LAPD.  So, I guess I love cop novels too.  They are well-written, have a foundation in reality (Connelly uses real places in Southern California), are extremely entertaining, and they are easy to read.  Like with the Mitch Rapp books, these books, especially near their end, do the exact opposite of what I use nighttime reading for - these rile me up and make me stay up way past when I should in order to finish them and see what happens.

This book has Harry, now retired from the LAPD, bamboozled into helping his half brother, Micky Haller, with a case he's working on.  Generally Harry does not work with defense attorneys on cases, but somehow Micky entices Harry to want to learn more about the case.  And, as all of the previous Harry Bosch novels show us, when Harry's interest is piqued, he's in.  That's precisely what happens here and how he ends up working with a defense attorney.  Of course Harry relies on some help inside the LAPD for his investigation into the murder of a woman allegedly by Haller's client.

I'm from Southern California so it is easy for me to imagine the sights and sounds as Connelly writes them.  This helps make the book more vivid and real in my imagination.  Connelly's books are always entertaining, interesting, and thrilling to read.  I've never been disappointed, and keep coming back for more.

Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills

After finishing The Last Unicorn on May 15, I started Enemy of the State by Kyle Mills on May 24 and finished it on June 3.  This is the 3rd book by Kyle Mills in the Mitch Rapp series, originally written by Vince Flynn.  The series is now written by Kyle Mills since Flynn's passing.  I've read the other 2 books by Mills and have enjoyed them both:  The Survivor, and Order to Kill.

I love a good spy novel, and I have loved every Mitch Rapp novel so far.  Enemy of the State did not disappoint.  This book finds Mitch going rogue and operating outside the CIA to find and destroy an enemy of the state (hence the title).  Mills brings in some characters, both friend and foe, Rapp works with on this rogue operation.

While outlandish, the escapades and capers that unfold in this novel really do have a foundation in reality.  I love the action and the drama that unfold in this book.  I find myself really able to visualize the details as Mills (and Flynn before him) paint elaborate and vivid pictures with their words.  I usually read before bed to clear my mind and wind down.  But Mitch Rapp books sort of do the opposite - I get riled up and anxious to see what happens next.

If you like spy thrillers, you'll like this book.  I'd recommend reading the books either in publication order or chronological order - either will work.  It is definitely best to read the books in either of those two orders as there is so much character development and relevant information in previous books that you may be lost a little if you read them out of order.  Two thumbs up for me!

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

The Husband was VERY excited for this book for me...  He read an article about it and requested it from the library for me as a surprise.  It took a few weeks to arrive - there was only 1 copy at our public library - but when he presented it to me, he had the biggest smile on his face.  I cracked this open on May 10th and finished it on the 15th.

For me, this wasn't like the typical books that I read - this was a graphic novel.  Apparently this was a normal book and a movie back in the 1980s, but I wasn't familiar with it.  Then it was made into a graphic novel - published in 2011.

This is the story of a beautiful unicorn who is the last unicorn (hence the title).  This unicorn leaves her unicorn forest in search of the other unicorns.

The unicorn runs into some trouble along the way, meets a young magician, comes into the company of a young girl, and begins a quest to find the giant red bull in a faraway castle.

So - I've never really been interested in graphic novels or comic books, or other literature in this genre.  I find them difficult to read - I don't know which bubble to read first and in what order.  I find the illustrations to be beautiful but also distracting.  I never really know where to look.  Do you read the bubbles first or look at the illustrations?  How can you take a whole book and condense it down into a graphic novel with maybe 1/4 of the words?  How much is lost in translation?

I found this book difficult to follow and difficult to get invested in.  Generally when I start a book I feel the need to finish it.  There are maybe only 3-5 books that I started and didn't finish.  Because The Husband was so excited about this one, I felt I needed to finish it and I also wanted to see if I would like it.  It was interesting and the illustrations were beautiful, but I don't think I'll be venturing back into the graphic genre again anytime soon.

Does it Fart? The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence by Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti

Still suffering from reading irregularity.  The Husband told me about this book and it sounded so funny and absurd that we had to get it (translation, he ordered it from Amazon).  I started reading this on April 22 and finished it on April 28.  This book is HILARIOUS.  If you love animals (I do), and/or love or hate farts, this is the next read for you!

Now - Does it Fart? may seem to some like a novelty book that you find at Urban Outfitters or Paper Source - something kitschy and fun to have around, but lo and behold - there is real science and substance in this book!  It is kitschy and fun to have around, but you might learn something too!  It's that useless knowledge about hind gut fermentation and animal flatulence that might help you win when you find yourself face to face with Ken Jennings on Jeopardy! or playing a heated and competitive game of Trivial Pursuit.

I was surprised about some of the animals that don't fart: parrots, sea anemone, goldfish.  I was also surprised by some animals that do fart that I didn't think would: boa constrictors, American cockroaches, beaded lacewing (yes, this is a thing).  I was even more surprised by what some animals do with their farts: one species of lacewings fart on prey - their farts are so potent to termites that they are stunned, paralyzed, and then they die.  African Wild dogs apparently get so excited after hunting and returning to the pack that they spontaneously poop and fart everywhere (and subsequently are very stinky).  Poor sea cucumbers are non-farters and have a species of pearlfish that live inside their bums - they are safe from predators in there.  While there, the pearlfish eat the gonads of the sea cucumber, which isn't as devastating as it may seem - their gonads regenerate.

So - science!  learning!  farts!  animals!  This book has it all.

I loved it.  The illustrations are hilarious - just check this one out:

If you like learning, animals, and think farts are funny - you'll like this book!  It doesn't stink.

Act 2: WWII - The Adventures of Bruce Monkman 1941-1945 by Bruce Monkman

My reading has been a little sporadic lately.  I'll pick up a book and read it, then not read for a while.  Then pick back up Hamilton (by Ron Chernow) and try to get through more of it.  These last several months have been a little irregular.  My Grandfather, Bruce Monkman, died in December.  He was 96 years old.  He lived a long and adventurous life.  He also wrote this book about his experiences during WWII.

He joined the Army (after the Navy failing to take him) when he was quite young and went to war.  He spent several years in Europe not on the war's front but in supplying the troops with things they needed.  He wasn't so far removed from the front that he was immune to shelling and danger either.  Reading his book brings a little of him back to me.

Bruce was a fantastic man - full of spirit and life and life experience.  He was a quiet man, but boy did he have stories.  About everything and nothing.  It didn't matter.  When you got him talking, his charisma oozed out of him - it was infectious.  And that comes through in this book.

It isn't a book full of blood and gore.  Sure, there are mention of those things, but more than a traditional "war story", Bruce wrote about the adventure of being in several foreign countries and about his observations and experiences in those places.  The war was a backdrop, not the main character.

There are countless stories of him being drunk and "high" (I don't think on drugs), about people he encountered in the different places his regiment stopped (Northern Africa, Italy, Germany, France), funny things that happened, hookers, townspeople, landscapes, close calls, Nazis, General Patton, President Roosevelt, girls, men, and everything in between. 

My favorite story is when he describes his intake into the Army.  Bruce had to:

"...sit in a chair, bare bottom and all, with the doctor at my side about three feet from me, who whispered quite loudly, "Can you hear me?"  Naturally I could hear him; it was just below normal talk.  I passed my hearing test with flying colors.  I'm in the Army now."

 Another funny story is about a U.S. Army run house of prostitution:

"...(a whore house).  Naturally we headed for it.  We were all young, hormones were working and this was what young studs did.  Right?  The place was originally run and owned by a local citizen with local girls to entertain.  It was now controlled by the Army medics; they inspected the girls for any problem and let the madam continue to run the operation.  The Army felt that it was safer for an operation like this than have the soldiers cruise the streets and pick up who knows what.  Anyway, this was my chance to see what life was all about as I was still a virgin.  In my simple mind doing this could enhance my idea of romance.  What a learning time...  While sitting there...awaiting my turn, a door upstairs...flew open, a nude girl came rushing out screaming, in a French accent, "too beeg, too beeg."  The soldier came out, also naked, and his private was "too beeg", but demanding to be serviced...I thought, this is not for me, can't do it, I'm not ready for such a thing.  I got up and headed for the door..."

It's not every day you get to seemingly hear your grandfather talk about whores and losing his virginity in a whorehouse in northern Africa.

This book is a great read and it also special because I know/knew the person who had these experiences.  To see and hear Bruce talking about his wartime adventures was a treat.  He would have such a smile and grin on his face.  I can't help but see that in my head when I read or look at this book.

An enthusiastic two thumbs up from me - not just because I know Bruce, but because this is an interesting first-hand account of his experience in the war.  Sadly, I don't know where you can purchase this book - it isn't on Amazon, as Bruce self-published it.

Darker by E L James

Yes, I read the 50 Shades series.  Yes, I liked it.  No, it won't win any Pulitzers (or Oscars for the movie versions).  Yes, they (books and movies) were entertaining.  They are literally like book porn.  Shit, they are book porn.  Back in July 2015, I read Grey, the 4th book in the series, and ironically, the Husband told me that a 5th book was coming out and he put me on the waiting list for it at the public library.  He won't read these books, he won't see the movies, yet, he has told me about the last 2 books that have come out...  I think he's secretly a 50 Shades fan...

Well, this book continues being raunchy, dirty, and pornographic.  It tells the next part of the story from Christian's perspective.  It was entertaining and I tore through it in 8 days - started it January 14th and finished on January 21.  I liked it.

Here's what I didn't like.  This is the telling of the story in the 2nd 50 Shades book - 50 Shades Darker (hence this book's title just Darker).  However, this book departs from the original story it is based on.  Things in this book are completely different than in the book it is derived from.

For example, Christian's sub, Leila, does pull a gun on Ana in her apartment, but it happened at a different part in the story than the original,  Leila buzzes Ana into the apartment - Ana assumed it was Kate's brother who was there already waiting for her.  Kate's brother doesn't make an appearance in the original.  When Ana leaves the apartment, in the original she walks alone through a rainy Seattle.  In this version, she leaves with Kate's brother and gets drunk.  There are many many examples of inconsistencies and flat out different scenarios in Darker than in 50 Shades Darker.

So, while entertaining, and a page turner, this was off-putting.  It was basically a different story.  Maybe this is intentional - this is supposed to be from Christian's perspective, but most of this book is revisionist history.

If you are a die hard fan of the original, this will likely be off-putting.  If you don't care that much, you'll probably like it.

Oh, and reading this, I see even more direct correlations to Twilight.

The Girl who takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz

I'm a big fan of the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series - I've read all of the books and I saw the original movies in Swedish.  I haven't actually seen the English version of the movies.  I read The Girl in the Spider's Web in September 2017 and really liked it.

I started this one on/around January 1st and finished it on January 13th.  While I generally liked this book, it, to me, seemed a bit too formulaic.  It picks up where the Spider's Web leaves off, and Lisbeth is in jail serving time for her part in the craziness from the prior book.

Of course, Mikael, Holger, and several other regular characters, make their appearance, and of course we meet some new players.

Like with the other novels, Lisbeth takes an active role in righting a wrong.  In this one, there are a few wrongs that get righted all at the hands of Lisbeth and Mikael (as per usual).  They've really turned into quite the crime-fighting duo.  Like Scooby and Shaggy, Batman and Robin, Crocket and Tubbs, Cagney & Lacey.  Lisbeth does the sketchy behind-the-scenes stuff, and Mikael puts it all together and publishes an article to bring it all to light.  This version is very entertaining, and we find out a lot more about Lisbeth's tragic childhood and the source of inspiration for her dragon tattoo.

Even in jail, Lisbeth gets access to a computer and does some work with lists of people.  She clues Mikael into something but doesn't give him too much so as not to bias him.  It's slow going for Mikael at first since he really doesn't know what's going on.  But then... he figures it out.  There were some twists and turns with twins, and a bad people, revelations, violence, and revenge.

Bottom line - this book was entertaining and went to some unexpected places.  I don't think you need to have read all of the prior books to be able to enjoy this one, but I think it certainly helps to have some background into the characters and relationships they all have.  Lisbeth is a bad-ass and I like her.  

I'd give this a medium thumbs-up probably because I wish it had a little more originality and wasn't so formulaic.  But I guess that's sort of what you get when you are reading a book in a series.