The Better Part of Darkness, by Kelly Gay

Time on airplanes leads me to unpredictable book choices. I'm not even sure how to categorize this one: paranormal'ish, fantasy, sci-fi; kind of aliens on Earth with a magical slant.

So I've set this up to explain away how I distracted myself during a flight with some crummy novel, right? But it wasn't! This was well written, interesting, suspenseful and a generally enjoyable read that even took two flights to complete (a big bang for the buck!). I do tend to enjoy books with a strong female hero (possibly due to years of having read "The Paper Bag Princess" to my kids), and that notion of female independence is strong in this novel.

I'm even planning to read the sequel. (Warning: there were a couple of moments that felt as though we were descending into romance literature; fortunately the author quickly raised the elevators and we returned to a safe altitude. Go figure.)

Daemon, by Daniel Suarez

I do one of two things on airplanes: read magazines or read books. For the latter, this one was just perfect -- it completely fit within my flight and kept my interest.

The story line: a multi-player online game developer distributes a program across the internet to affect people's actions after his death from brain cancer. Key characters include the bold but unfortunate police officer, the brilliant NSA scientist, two genius hackers, one evil and one good (but with a checkered past), and a mysterious and possibly naughty government agent / assassin. Stir ingredients, but don't over mix them, and saute on low heat for 617 pages.

By the end of the book it was clear that there would be a sequel, which I see has been published -- and is now on my reading list.

How to Survive the Most Critical 5 Seconds of Your Life, by Tim Larkin

This is a tough book to read -- not that it is poorly written, far from it. Rather because of the subject matter. This book is about violence; it is somewhat graphic and definitely disturbing.

The essence of the text is, if you are in a situation where a criminal will apply violence to you, then you must choose: either to apply violence to him, or to be a victim.

The author differentiates anti-social situations (e.g., when a drunk at the bar hassles you, the easiest solution is to walk away, avoiding confrontation) from asocial situations (e.g., when the criminal has a knife to your neck, and you have to decide if you will fight, perhaps literally for your life).

As I've mentioned before, sane people in the USA prefer to not think about such things. Larkin quotes Jeff Cooper early on:

"...many men who are not cowards are simply unprepared for acts of human savagery. They have not thought about it (incredible as this may appear to anyone who reads the papers or listens to the news) and they just don't know what to do. When they look right into the face of depravity and violence they are astonished and confounded."

Larkin also touches on the Virginia Tech situation, about which I've also commented in the past, asking, why didn't any group of students swarm Seung Hui Cho, even when he stopped to reload? This is a (sad) commentary on our readiness as a nation to protect ourselves in general, the culture of political correctness swirled with litigation-as-a-way-of-life.

As an (is this controversial?) aside, this culture of acquiescence is why the USA is today ill-suited to deal effectively with terrorism. Maybe that's why terrorism protection theater at our airports continues to suffice to appease the masses, or at least the politicians.

But Larkin's book isn't really about theory or politics or philosophy; it is about deciding if violence is a realistic choice for you in dangerous situations.

The Pocket Field Dressing Guide, by Andrew Harris

Not that useful; but if each typo were replaced by an additional diagram, might be worth the price. The author clearly doesn't live in the southern US, as he repeatedly points out the importance of speed when the temperature is above 45° Fahrenheit; sigh.

Just 2 Seconds, by Gavin de Becker

This is an excellent, albeit niche, text; unlike de Becker's prior book, which addressed a broad civilian market, this one is meant for the personal protection professional.

Dave Grossman addresses a general audience topic in Appendix 12, where he points out that most Americans are sheep. What does he mean by that?

We're trained to not think about defending ourselves. We're trained to think that those who do worry about such things are a bit off. We're trained to think that nice, liberal thinking folks who drive Prius cars are somehow immune to the violence of the world.

One example of this is the zero-tolerance of violence in schools -- a fine notion, except for how it applies to self-defense situations. If a child is attacked, shouldn't we want her to fight back, without worry about being expelled as part of a politically correct policy? (I've written about this before.) In fact I advocate a response to force which is slightly disproportionate -- make it just a bit more uncomfortable for the attacker, so they never consider you as a target again.

Another example is the reaction I sometimes get about some of the books I read about handguns; in the USA today, folks who (legally) carry handguns are considered fringe, even nut cases, especially by folks who live on the coasts (NY and California). (Sorry about that generalization people, but you know it is true).

But these same people will conscientiously ensure their smoke alarms work in case of a fire, and will only buy vehicles that have plenty of air bags in case of a crash -- as we should. So, why not be prepared in case of a violent attack -- as we should?

Law enforcement is not (per case law) responsible to protect you, only to investigate afterward, unless they accidentally are in the right place at the right time and do the right thing (and they have immunity from liability if they do not).

Firefighters show up when the flames are enveloping the building, and EMTs show up after the car's hit the tree. That's why you want smoke detectors and airbags and such.

That's why some folks carry handguns or mace or stun guns, learn martial arts techniques, and the like. It really isn't so crazy to act counter to popular culture.

Back to Grossman's sheep analogy. He says there are also wolves. (Think bad guys.) Wolves prey upon sheep. And then, there are sheepdogs. They attack wolves who threaten the flock.

Usually we think of sheepdogs as representing our military and law enforcement professionals. But sheepdogs also represent those of us who refuse to be sheep.

Grossman writes, "[Sheep's] only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, 'Do you have any idea how hard it would be ... if your loved ones [were] attacked ... and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?'" [p626]

Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me, by Howie Mandel

This book was a failure for me -- in that I couldn't get past page 29. Just too bleak. I'm sure this book is quite helpful for many people; I'm just not one of them.

Now I feel doubly guilty: that I gave up so quickly on this book, and that my empathy to folks with a variety of disorders might be lacking.

My rationalization on the second concern: empathy isn't lacking, I just don't want to read about this topic.

Just like some folks probably don't want to read about how to field dress a deer.

Field Dressing & Butchering Deer, by Monte Burch

This is as clear a treatment of the subject matter as you might want; plenty of diagrams, plenty of detail, at least to get you started. On the other hand, this book might also convince you that -- if you do eat animal flesh -- the butcher shop is so very much less hassle!

Deer Hunting 101, by David Pruet

This is a very good, very introductory, very brief view of deer hunting. Remember, hunting is a vital part of a good conservation program to help wildlife flourish (well, not the ones you successfully hunt, but you can eat those, and help their peers have more to eat themselves, and / or do less damage to crops, fauna, etc.).

Arguing with Idiots, by Glenn Beck

I happened upon this book by accident; it is my spouse's, but any book in sight is fair game in my view. I wasn't sure what to expect: Beck is demonized by the left as a nut-case, and I don't have any real experience of his views. To my surprise, I find my self agreeing with everything he has to say.

Beck does a great job of pointing out the insanity of the nanny state, where the combination of inane legislation and the fear of litigation causes people to abandon common sense for their own protection. Even worse, to abandon common decency because to act on the public's behalf is a significant risk these days.

I particularly liked his chapter on the Second Amendment. Beck points out:

1. We oughtn't be confused by the preamble, which mentions a militia (which at the time consisted of the whole set of able bodied men). Notice, for example, that Congress has the power "to promote the Progess of Science and the useful Arts" by enacting copyright and patent laws. That doesn't mean that every copyrighted work must promote scientific progress and useful arts, because we don't limit copyright and patent protection only to things that so promote. [p38]
   
   
2. The point of the Second Amendment is, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Why is this less important than the First Amendment, "the right of the people peaceably to assemble," or the Fourth, "the right of the people to be secure... against unreasonable searches and seizures," or any other Constitutional guaranty?
   
   
3. And many other points that are too numerous and common-sense obvious for me to even type here, although it seems that most Democratic politicians are comfortable rejecting this Amendment and most of the media salutes in the brainwashing of the day.
   

The chapter on teachers' unions was similarly great. Actually, all the chapters were great.

Beck may be a nut-case, but he's a libertarian, common sense nut-case, and those are the kind that I relate to best.

The Professional, by Robert B. Parker

If you've read Parker's Spenser novels before, this is just another in the series. If not, don't start with this one; it is a trifle. Parker's earlier books had elements of plot and suspense, both lacking in this one.

The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro

This is a combination vampire - biological disease - horror - action novel. I didn't know until after finishing the book that this one is the first of a trilogy.

I'd say it was two-thirds good, one-third crummy. The crummy part is the low credibility scenarios (yes, even in the context of a vampire horror novel).

How to Build a Business Warren Buffett Would Buy, by Jeff Benedict

This is the story of the furniture and electronics store RC Willey and how Bill Child grew it into a huge success, culminating in its acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway.

It isn't easy to make a business biography interesting, but Jeff Benedict pulled it off with excellence.

The bottom line to the story is to work very hard, bring joy to your clients, act always and only with integrity, be open to change, take some risks, and avoid debt. Easy to list, difficult to do.

Thanks for the book, Phyllis.

American on Purpose, by Craig Ferguson

I was skeptical before reading this, but since my spouse, who was going to read it, was away, I took a shot at it. To my surprise, it was well written, interesting, and completely worth reading.

Realize though, it is an autobiography of an alcoholic, and not a comedy: my one and only chuckly came at page 251.

Wild Hog Hunting, by Craig Marquette

I was generally satisfied with this book and learned quite a bit. The section on field dressing was, however, ridiculous -- a separate text on this topic is essential for anyone who needs the knowledge, as the one page description in Marquette's book just doesn't cut it. So to speak. But otherwise worth reading. I may have to try out Marquette's competition just for the comparison.

2009 Best Of Lists

Best fiction of the year:

* Invisible, by Paul Auster
* The Eighth Day, by Tom Avitable
* The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
* Beat the Reaper, by Josh Bazell


Best non-fiction of the year:

* Always Looking Up, by Michael J. Fox
* The Use of Hand Woodworking Tools, by Leo McDonnell
* Woodworking Basics, by Peter Korn


The year-end numbers are in, and clearly I've been goofing off more than usual: only 92 books read, of which 51 were non-fiction and 41 fiction. This is a huge drop off from last year's numbers of 112 fiction and 39 non-fiction; I'm at merely 61% reading productivity this year!

Now of course I know it isn't a contest... but still, it is useful to look at comparisons over time periods. As you can see from the rather narrow topic of two of my best of the year non-fiction picks, I could claim to have spent much of my reading time in the shop... but I don't know that it would be an accurate explanation. Oh well, we can only look to 2010 to see which way this trend moves!

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

You can view Prof. Pausch's last lecture at CMU on the web; this is the accompanying book. He succeeded in keeping it from being maudlin, and in keeping it interesting.

You might wonder, what qualifies someone to write a book like this: just knowing that he's about to die of pancreatic cancer? But it turns out that by describing the things that worked for him, Prof. Pausch added value in this book. And, he was a pretty accomplished fellow.

The short list of takeaways: work hard, persistence counts, have integrity, work well with others, love your family.

My recommendation: thumbs up; worth reading.

The Concealed Handgun Manual, by Chris Bird

This is an excellent book. Even for folks not interested in carrying a concealed handgun, Mr. Bird touches on an obvious, yet not talked about phenomenon that dramatically affect the way we live: we are taught that being a victim is appropriate, acceptable behavior. We are taught to be sheep, and to not protect ourselves and our loved ones. And we are taught that if one does protect oneself, there will be hell to pay.

Does that seem over the top? It isn't really. Consider public schools: many have a zero tolerance policy on violence. If little Sally is attacked at school and appropriately fights back, she's in as much trouble as her attacker, at least as far as the school district is concerned.

These lessons, unfortunately, work well, with insidious consequences. Look at the Virginia Tech situation, where Seung Hui Cho murdered 30 people. All reports indicate that no one fought back -- even after it was clear that individuals were being murdered, that there was no negotiated agreement to be had. The Incident Review Panel pointed out that playing dead amid the carnage was a survival technique for some students. Frighteningly, the Panel didn't make any recommendation or comment about the opposite behavior: that students should be taught to fight back. In fact, the event was credited with the opposite outcome -- with reducing the ability of trained, law abiding citizens to defend themselves with weapons.

If the passengers on United Airlines flight 93 on September 11th, 2001 had been brought up in this politically correct, ultra-liberal, CYA - lawsuit avoidance mentality, thousands more innocents might have been killed by terrorists. Fortunately, Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, and Lou Nacke, took the heroic high road and defended if not themselves, at least their nation.

Notifying and waiting for the authorities is clearly the best course of action in any life threatening situation. Except for when it gets in the way of saving your life. If your assailant is about to kill or inflict severe bodily harm upon you, you should defend yourself. Otherwise, all the police will be able to do is investigate your murder after the fact.

The author attributes to Professor John Lott Jr that "... a woman who defends herself with a firearm is 2.5 times more likely to survive a violent confrontation with a criminal without serious injury than if she were not to resist at all... with anything other than a firearm, she is four times more likely to be hurt..."

As Mr. Bird writes, "US courts have consistently held than law-enforcement agencies have no duty to protect an individual citizen."

The question that bothers me is: why do so few politicians trust their law-abiding citizens, even those willing to be trained and tested, to carry guns for protection?

[An aside on the "law-abiding" part of this: based on the most recent data provided in Texas, licensed concealed handgun carry (CHL) holders accounted for 0.26% of the criminal convictions in the state. It would be nice for the number of convicted CHL holders to be zero, but problems with fewer than 0.05% of the licensed CHL holders is still pretty good.]

Mr. Bird's book is informational as well as thought provoking.

Leading Lean Software Development, by Mary & Tom Poppendieck

You could accuse me of some bias here: I'm a big fan of Mary & Tom's books, and Tom wrote the forward for my book. But I assure you, my fully objective opinion is that this is an excellent text.

It differs greatly from their prior work primarily in that LLSD takes more of a systems tone: in fact, the "software development" part of the title is too much of a constraint. I'd recommend this book to anyone responsible for delivering value to clients, in any industry.

Harrington on Hold'em, by Dan Harrington

This is an excellent book on no-limit, tournament style Hold' em poker. Probably this book will improve my game, and equally likely, I'll need to re-read it several times as I continue to play, to better understand nuances that weren't as obvious (to a beginner like me) the first time.

It is far better than other poker books I've read thus far.

The Gift of Fear, by Gavin De Becker

The sub-title of this book is, "this book can save your life." I believe that to be true.

Some key points: trust your intuition, if a situation doesn't "feel" right, then it isn't right, and perhaps most important, don't hesitate to be rude to protect your space and your safety. On that last point, De Becker gives several examples of how appropriate it can be, especially for a woman in a potentially dangerous situation (e.g., an elevator, stair way, parking garage) to tell an unwanted male, "I don't want your help," and to even follow up with, "I said NO!" The point being, rudeness is preferable to many other outcomes.

Negatives about this book: there's quite a bit of discussion of celebrity stalking, about which I have no interest, and serial killers, for which, ditto my lack of interest. You can skim those parts and still get quite a lot out of this book.

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

I liked the first section of this book best, as I learned (or confirmed) a lot about the place of corn in factory farming in the US.

After the Echo, by Russ Clagett

This excellent little book was recommended to me by a firearms instructor. The instructor was right: it is a useful book for anyone who might imagine using justifiable deadly force to stop an assailant. It also gives valuable insight into the world of police snipers and the issues with which they must deal.

Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzucchelli

Imagine Strindberg on acid, writing (and drawing) a depressing graphic novel.

I found it pretentious and unappealing.

Then again, it's the sort of book around which my alma mater might build an upper level class.

Yuck.

Securing the City, by Christopher Dickey

This is an excellent and very readable view of New York City's efforts towards counter-terrorism. Dickey gives a historic perspective of terrorism in NY, describes the tensions between Federal agencies and the NYPD, and touches on the sometimes thin constitutional line between preventing a calamity and over-stepping the law.

An aside: why is it that everything I read paints the DHS, FBI and CIA as often bumbling, always in-fighting, bureaucracies that treasure individual political favor and control over what's best for the nation? I'm beginning to believe that it is true.

Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, by James McManus

You'd think this would be a cool, interesting book.

You'd be wrong.

The Book of Genesis, Illustrated by R. Crumb

This is rather an unusual work: the famous Crumb illustrated the first book of the Bible, stuck to the words (based on a couple of basic sources), with no subversion. After all, the actual text is odd enough: enough violence, drama, sexual intrigue, envy, pride, and duplicity to more than fill a few seasons of any prime time show, or more likely, telenovela. Well, I'd not read this in a long while, and the illustrations did help me through it.

Invisible, by Paul Auster

This was a delightful surprise. The last book I chose from the New York Times' "100 notable books of 2009" gift list turned out not so well. But this one: all is forgiven, NY Times! Interesting, captivating even, and sometimes disturbing, it held my attention to the very last page.

More Hold'em Wisdom, by Daniel Negreanu

This book of poker tips was far more interesting than Negreanu's prior text. I found the advice interesting, and I was only occasionally confused. (Unlike when I'm playing hold'em; then I'm often confused!)

The Venetian Judgment, by David Stone

This is a very enjoyable spy thriller. No Man Booker Prize for this sort of book, but just what the doctor ordered for spending a couple of hours in a waiting room.

Shop Class as Soulcraft, by Matthew Crawford

In this entertaining book, Crawford positions building or repairing things as a noble alternative to - well, whatever it is that knowledge workers do.

There are several quotable nuggets: "... some diagnostic situations contain so many variables, and symptoms can be so under-determining of causes, that explicit analytical reasoning comes up short." [p27] That certainly describes many software problems.

Crawford suggests that one needn't abandon a virtual profession to work with one's hands, as he did, a PhD who operates a motorcycle repair shop. To that end: "So what advice should one give to a young person? If you have a natural bent for scholarship; if you are attracted to the most difficult books out of an urgent need, and can spare four years to devote yourself to them, go to college. ... But if this is not the case; if the thought of four more years sitting in a classroom makes your skin crawl, the good news is that you don't have to go through the motions and jump through the hoops for the sake of making a decent living. Even if you do go to college, learn a trade in the summers. You're likely to be less damanged, and quite possibly better paid, as an independent tradesman than as a cubicle-dwelling tender of information systems or low-level 'creative.' To heed such advice would require a certain contrarian streak, as it entails rejecting a life course mapped out by others as obligatory and inevitable." [p53]

Crawford is no less critical of the self esteem movement: "The educational goal of self-esteem seems to habituate young people to work that lacks objective standards and revolves instead around group dynamics. ... The more children are praised, the more thy have a stake in maintaining the resulting image they have of themselves; children who are praised for being smart choose the easier alternative when given a new task. They become risk-averse and dependent on others." [p158]

And, "Children who enjoy drawing... some were rewarded for drawing ... whereas for others the issue of rewards was never raised. Weeks later, those who had been rewarded took less interest in drawing, and their drawings were judged to be lower in quality, whereas those who had not been rewarded continued to enjoy the activity and produced higher-quality drawings. The hypothesis is that the child begins to attribute his interest, which previously needed no justification, to the external reward, and this had the effect of reducing his intrinsic interest in it." [p194 - 195, referring to Lepper, Greene and Nisbett]

Does Crawford take an unfair, one sided view of things? You betcha. I suspect it is quite deliberate; he needs to push hard to compensate for thousands of business management articles.

Dark of the Moon, by John Sandford

This had been sitting in my truck's console for a very long time, as a back up book. Since I wanted to avoid a trip to Sam's this weekend, I opened it up -- and had a tough time putting it down. So now I need a new backup book, because I finished this one that very evening.

Interesting plot, interesting characters, well written.

Hold'em Wisdom for all Players, by Daniel Negreanu

The notion of the book is to provide tips on improving performance at Texas Hold'em, presumably targeted to amateurs. For that it is perhaps okay, although the editor should have paid more attention: it uses jargon that the target audience may not follow.

It isn't that the advice seems bad -- to the contrary, it seems quite reasonable. The problem is, there's nothing unique about his advice: it is rather a compendium of generally good ideas, told in an easy to read, conversational fashion.

So not a bad book, just not a great book. But was it worth the brief reading time? Sure! I figure the more I learn on this topic the better a player I can be, and perhaps there's some important lesson that this book reinforced that I don't even realize yet.

Amateur Barbarians, by Robert Cohen

If this novel represents modern American literature, then I'm sorely out of the loop. As the jacket points out, Cohen was "...touted by The New York Times Book Review as the 'heir to Saul Bellow and Philip Roth.'" I should have quit right then.

It was, in fact, the New York Times that pointed me to this book, top of the "100 notable books of 2009" gift list.

The problem is, the main character, Teddy Hastings, bored me so much by his narcissistic whining that by the end of the first chapter I was irritated. Just a few more pages about the other main character, as the chapter title puts it, the "melancholy" Pierce, was enough to shut me down.

Not even the attempts at building suspense worked: why was Teddy briefly in jail, why did he take a sabbatical from his job, what's up with his weird relationship with is wife? Who cares. It just isn't interesting enough to find out.

This novel gets filed in my seldom-used category of "unread."

Sin in the Second City, by Karen Abbott

What a strange book! This is a biography, of sorts, of the Chicago madams Minna and Ada Everleigh. They were proprietors of a successful house of prostitution in the early 1900s. The author writes about their business and the surrounding politics of the time.

It wasn't really very interesting to me, but I admire the author's Schama -style invention of dialogue and event details to fill out a historical text.

How Doctors Think, by Jerome Groopman

This was a disappointment: it was painful to read and it lacked useful and well organized information.

Why painful? The author makes his points through anecdotes which are invariably depressing. Attribution error leads to mis-diagnosis: the patient looks a certain way which distracts the physician from even considering other causes then the most obvious. This is similar to the mental prototypes that get in the way of complete diagnoses. Then there's diagnosis momentum, where a choice is made and rationalized even as conflicting data, e.g., test results, appear. People are ignored, erroneously diagnosed, put near death, all due to physician error.

The goal of Groopman's book might have been to help physicians do a better job. Hard to imagine this organization structure would do so; which busy doctor, seeing ever increasing numbers of patients under the scrutiny of insurance payer guidelines, would take the time for this?

The goal might have been to alert patients as to how to minimize if not eliminate such defects in their personal medical care. But there is no clear advice on what information to present, in what fashion, or what specific questions to ask, to reduce the risk of medical failure.

When the author, himself a physician, described years of failure in treating his own medical problem, complete with details of horrible malpractice by three out of four specialists he saw, I just about threw in the towel. My conclusion -- although it is not clear this was Groopman's goal -- is that if you have a medical problem outside the typical 75% of diagnoses, you're screwed. Might as well offer goat's bones to a mushroom scarfing shaman as have optimism in a US teaching hospital or their well-published specialists.

But I told you up front that this was painful to read...

Emergency, by Neil Strauss

The sub-title of this book is, "This book will save your life." Hard to imagine, unless you use it to swat a mosquito carrying a virus.

The good news is, this is a very fast read; I read it on a relatively short flight. The bad news is, it is as empty of meaning as a mediocre cheese danish. Said differently, I tried to list the things I'd learned from this book:

1. This is where the list is supposed to go. You've seen the phrase, "this page intentionally left blank?" Well, this list intentionally left blank.
   

In fairness, there were a few pointers to interesting training firms, like Gunsite for shooting skills, and onPoint Tactical for urban evasion skills.

It probably would have made for a fascinating magazine article.

Secrets of a Modern Day Bounty Hunter, by Richard James

This is really not my cup of tea. But I know from personal experience how difficult it is to get a book publisher to help market one's work, and the author was standing in front of the HEB supermarket autographing copies for anyone who'd buy one... How could I say no to that?

As for the book? What do you expect when the only way to market it is at a supermarket on a Saturday morning?

Vanished, by Joseph Finder

I was excited to read this new novel because I really enjoyed the last book from this author. But what a disappointment! Convoluted, and not in a, "enjoyed the puzzling plot lines" kind of way at all. Boo.

The Defector, by Daniel Silva

This is the ninth of Silva's novels featuring spy Gabriel Allon. It does not measure up to his previous writing: the "catch up" prose, to fill new readers in on essential plot development of earlier episodes seems bulky and redundant. The first half of the book, or more, read slowly.

Having said that, nine novels in, it is unlikely I'll pass on the next one. But you could pass on this one and miss little of importance.

Hothouse Orchid, by Stuart Woods

This is the latest in a series by Mr. Woods featuring recurring characters. It was fast paced; Woods doesn't waste words. Yet, this gets a lower grade than his prior work because it reads like part one of a three part novel. Sure, it is good writing when the author gets the reader excited about buying his next book, but that's not the feel here. Instead, it just feels too brief, as though he was in too big a rush to get it done.

The bigger issue is a major failure in character development. Without giving away any secrets: a hero is attacked, yet has no reaction. None. Zilch. This is totally out of character. Woods needed to handle that situation far better than he did. And, since it is a recurring lead role, this is a glaring problem.

Still, for fans of the series, a positive recommendation. For those unfamiliar with the characters, start with Orchid Beach.

Rules of Vengeance, by Christopher Reich

This wasn't difficult to read, but it at times felt like a chore. I don't mind a story that stretches plausibility, and I don't mind plot complexity. But this just wasn't that good -- I'm not sure how else to convey my view. It was like airplane food.

The Apostle, by Brad Thor

This could have been an acceptable action novel, of the "Navy Seal goes off the books into Afghanistan to save overly idealistic kidnapped physician at request of her rich mother who was influential in election of new US president" genre.

Oddly though, the author interspersed a parallel story of a completely unsympathetic, unethical Secret Service agent's efforts to bring down said president.

The verdict: for a long flight, in paperback, to be left behind, a C+. Otherwise, don't bother.

Eyes of the World, by Rob Palmer

This was a very interesting thriller. The plot was good and it kept my interest to the surprising ending. I recommend it.

The Gray Man, by Mark Greaney

This was a very enjoyable spy novel. A touch bloody, definitely stretches believability, but still kept my interest right to the end. Would also make for a good "B" movie; just right as a vehicle for the current generation Steven Seagal action star -- maybe Vin Diesel, or better yet, some new aspiring action hero.

Dictator's Ransom, by Richard Marcinko

I often load up on paperbacks when I'm facing long flights, and this week I prepared for the flight from London's Heathrow airport to New York's JFK. The idea is to leave the paperbacks behind, so a random stranger might enjoy them, and to lighten my load.

That's my excuse for this atrocity of a novel.

Probably leaving this one behind for others to read is needlessly cruel to strangers.

Predator Hunting, by Ron Spomer

I was curious about this topic (hey, I'm curious about lots of things!) and when I saw this at Half Price Books, figured, "why not?" It was pretty interesting. I'm not quite ready to start nailing coyotes, but at least I have some basic concepts.

(If you're wondering: the idea is to reduce the impact of varmints like coyotes, foxes and the like, as they kill cattle and chickens and generally annoy ranchers.)

The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson

I had very high expectations for this book, given how much I enjoyed Larsson's prior novel in the series. Simply put, this just wasn't as good.

I found the first third of the book slow moving, the second only a touch better. The last third seemed to move faster, although the ending became predictable.

Still, I'll read Larsson's third (and sadly final) novel when it is printed.

Cutting-edge Band Saw Tricks, by Kenneth Burton

This is an excellent reference. It has great illustrations, shows practical tips, and even includes a couple of projects.

Fragment, by Warren Fahy

It would have been easy to stop reading this after only a few dozen pages, that's how uninteresting the character development and writing are. But I kept going on this Jurassic Park riff (compared to which Fahy does not deserve comparison against Crichton's writing skill), and in the end I'd give it a C+. Surely there will be a sequel, and the author is no doubt shopping the script to Hollywood.... maybe the movie will be better than the original.

The Bandsaw Book, by Lonnie Bird

This was an okay introduction to the bandsaw, but not great. Perhaps it was just too introductory in nature, but for whatever reason, I don't recommend it.