Buried Secrets, by Joseph Finder

It has been a while since I last read one of Mr Finder's novels and I'd forgotten that I didn't enjoy it.   But this novel is solid.   It helped that I recalled some of the back story as this book continues with the exploits of its hero, Nick Heller.   I expect that even without the familiarity the story would be understandable; Mr Finder handles this continuation / back story reference far better than some other (failed) authors.

Nick is a private eye with a mysterious, spy oriented background.   He helps out a friend of his mother's whose daughter has been abducted.

As mentioned, a solid story - say a strong B.

Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield

This is an outstanding novel!   I'm not a fan of history or military books and this is both, yet it is so well written and so compelling that is transcends genre limitation.

The novel is about the Spartans and the battle at Thermopylae in 480 CBE.   The king of Persia, Xerxes, wanted to incorporate Greece into his enormous empire; the Spartans sought to slow their advance and, by sacrificing their lives, affect the morale of both groups (the Persians negatively, the other Greek forces positively).

The story is told by Xeo, the only Spartan survivor of the battle who is captured by Xerxes' forces and asked to explain the thinking that led to the Spartan's campaign.   Consequently there's ample room for story line that goes far beyond the gory battle description.

I was impressed by Mr Pressfield's writing in another of his novels that I read recently; this one, however, is even stronger.    I recommend it highly as a dramatic read that happens to have some war scenes, that happens to take place a long time ago but which stands on its own as an excellent work.

Blood Trust, by Eric van Lustbader

I'll cut to the net-net first:  do not waste your time reading this novel.   Spending 90 minutes watching reality shows on TV would be a better choice.

No point in listing the many failures of this book, but here's an example:  the way you realize that this is a sequel to a prior novel with the same characters is the cryptic and confusing reference to characters' back stories, told as though you should understand what is going on.   Well, either that or hideous editing.

The Profession, by Steven Pressfield

This is a war novel, with a bit of suspense and drama.   It takes place in 2032 at which point the USA has turned the bulk of its military activity over to private contractors.   Our hero, Gent, follows his Patton-like commander, General Salter, with love and obeisance, even as Salter prepares to change the governance of the nation.

The paragraph above doesn't convey how well written this novel is; it pulls you forward, demanding you read it in a single setting.    Highly recommended.

Spycatcher, by Matthew Dunn

Mindless action with a comic book action figure hero.   There is an interesting plot line but it is overshadowed by the silliness of the hero.   Shot multiple times - no worries, up and about in a day or two. Shot again - no worries, hardly did any damage.   Stoic about his mission, but kicks furniture like a poorly behaved child when upset.  Sigh.

For a borrowed read (support your local public library) on a hot day with nothing else to do but sit by the pool, well sure, you'd might as well read this as any other trashy best seller list novel.    As an alternative to reality TV, absolutely worth reading.   As an alternative to reading any real fiction:  nah, don't bother.

Shut Your Eyes Tight, by John Verdon

I was concerned at first that the hero of this novel, Dave Gurney, retired heroic NYPD homicide detective, would spend too much time groveling in misery over the tense and nearly dysfunctional relationship with his wife.  This would make it far less of a murder mystery and far more of a novel I wouldn't prefer to read.

Fortunately though, Mr Verdon compensated for this initial direction with an interesting and engaging novel.  One that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

To avoid inadvertent spoilers to the plot, I'll stop with that.

My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store, by Ben Howe

This is a book of unattained potentiality:  it could have been great.   The author, then an editor at The Paris Review, is the epitome of WASP, tracing his heritage back to the Mayflower.   Living with his wife, of Korean heritage, and his in-laws, he gets sucked into buying and running a deli in New York.

It is close enough to good that I don't regret reading it, but can't recommend it.

The Peaceful Stillness of the Silent Mind, by Lama Yeshe

I've written before about Lama Yeshe and the wonderful job the people at the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mayahana Tradition are doing in making books about Buddhism readily available, in particular through the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.   This is another wonderful collection of transcribed talks from the starter pack.

In this book, Lama Yeshe talks about religion and its relationship to the practice of Buddhism, and about calmness.   Asked how to control emotions, he says:

"Instead of letting your emotions run wild with your mind, unable to forget whatever it is that's bothering you, sit down, relax, and focus your mind on the flow of your breath -- watch exactly how your breath flows into your nervous system on inhalation and out of it on exhalation.... When you concentrate on your breath, you automatically calm down.... I can guarantee that if you watch your breath for just twenty-one cycles, your nervous emotions will vanish."

I highly recommend this book.

Making Woodwork Aids & Devices, by Robert Wearing

This is a bare bones book:  no narrative, just a catalog of jigs for different woodworking situations.   Some of them seem low on aesthetics, some seem unnecessary (a jig for photographic slides -- anyone remember what they were?).   I flat out couldn't understand the tools for drawing perspectives.

In spite of this, the book seems well worth having as a reference.   What if you need to cut a disc (item 170) or put a groove in a dowel (item 121) or precisely gauge a cylinder (item 66)?

Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion, by Janet Reitman

This is a fascinating book, an expose of Scientology with detailed references behind every assertion.   The net-net:  Scientology comes across as not only a business exploiting tax laws to increase profitability by claiming religious exemptions, but also as fundamentally evil at the top.

The predecessor of Scientology, Dianetics, doesn't seem that bad a notion:   by identifying conflicts in your past (though a structured conversation called an audit), you bring those conflicts to the surface, resolve them, and more forward with greater mental health.    Seems no worse than Freudian psychoanalysis.

The religion's narrative is a bit tougher to swallow.    We (people) are the vessels of thetans, entities trillions of years old, that, a brief time prior to one's inception, select which human embryo to inhabit.  Where do thetans come from?   It turns out there was a galactic ruler named Xenu who was in charge of 76 planets in our galaxy.  He had a population problem, as each planet had an average of 178 billion people.  So he transformed his people (aliens) into thetans (aka souls), trapped them and packed them off to Earth, then called Teegeeack.

So my immediate response to this is something like, "huh?"

But in fairness, isn't is the case that the narratives of all religions read like science fiction or fantasy novels?   Noah, with two of every creature stuffed into his ark.   Joseph Smith learns about the transatlantic journeys of Christ through the translations of the Angel Moroni of gold plates found in his New York fields.   The Hindu god Yama, previously in disguise as a dog, takes the virtuous Yudhisthira to the underworld en route to heaven.   The resurrection of Jesus.   Moses parting the Red Sea.  

So how to get past the admonition that folks living in glass houses oughtn't throw rocks?   (Probably you're allowed to throw rocks if you're a follower of one of the more logical Buddhist sects, but doing so wouldn't be right action.)

There's a believability issue.   Perhaps because so much is known about L Ron Hubbard (the inventor of Scientology), it is easier to dismiss Scientology as just a tax dodge religion gone wild.    He was more or less a screw up, a known liar, a failure as a US Navy officer, a pulp fiction writer later specializing in science fiction, and was widely quoted as pointing out that the best path to business profitability is to invent your own religion.

Sure doesn't sound like the resume of Moses, or of the Prophet Muhammed pbuh, now does it?   But who really knows -- maybe the alien emperor Xenu really liked the stories that L Ron Hubbard was churning out and decided to make Hubbard his equivalent of Joseph Smith.

Okay, so although I've tried really hard to cast the nonsense of Scientology as no less valid than any other major religion, you can tell that it is at the lower end of my plausibility spectrum.

Also, many other religions try to do good at the same time they attempt to not do harm.   They advance charity or love in the world while not organizationally promoting death to non-believers (or apostates); they don't engage in a crusade of torture against those of other beliefs, and they don't start wars about their belief set.   Examples include Baha'i, Buddhism, Judaism, and of course FSM, and no doubt some others.   Scientology doesn't do too well on this dimension either, according to Ms Reitman, as it thinks nothing of destroying the lives of anyone who gets in the way of its fundamental goals (tax exempt revenue growth and expansion).

Funny that folks sign up for this stuff.   Then again, as a species we seem to be really good at ignoring inconvenient facts that get in the way of our favorite beliefs.   And besides, cool actors like Tom Cruise are doing it.

If reading about scams like this make you ill, avoid this excellent book.