SHARING A FEW BOOKS

One of the first questions people often ask, as they look at all of our books, is "how many of these have you read?" Well, between the two of us, we try really hard to read them all but 50,000 is more than one lifetime's work. Still we never have to feel like we have "nothing to read."

The books mentioned below are just a few we picked up off the pile - selected randomly to fit whatever mood we might be in - if there are gaps, it usually will indicate that I am too busy actually reading to update this!

Interested in a copy for yourself? You might be able to find them at http://bookfever.com , but if not drop us a quick email. Sometimes we read them before we catalogue them so they won't be listed yet and sometimes they sell fast, but we might be able to dig up another copy.

8/1/05 - James Paterson and Maxine Paetro 4TH OF JULY (Little Brown, 2005.)

As the title implies, this is the quintessional pure escapist summer read - large type, big margins, lots of blank pages - but a fast moving and professionally written outing in the 'Women's Murder Club' series: serial killers are stalking California's idyllic coastal town of Half Moon Bay.

7/28/05 - Eric Jager THE LAST DUEL: A True Story of Crime, Scandal and Trial by Combat in Medieval France (Broadway Books, 2004.)

History which reads almost like fiction. It even sounds pretty modern: lawsuits over land, accusations of rape and accusations of false accusations, and more. Although the author admits to using his imagination to fill in gaps when the record is silent, he based this account as much as possible on the original records from the era, and in doing so manages to debunk most of the myths which quickly promulgated about this duel as a miscarriage of justice. He notes that the respected 11th edition of the Enclycopedia Britannica in the article under "duel" cites this event as a having a result "so preposterous that even the most superstitious began to lose faith in the efficacy of such a judgement of God." The "last duel" was not the last one ever, of course - but it was the last judicially sanctioned duel in Paris (that is, in France proper). Such duels had already become rare by 1386, when this one was fought: the previous duel in Paris had been in 1354, and Parliament had turned down many appeals in the interim. The illustrations from early accounts add to the pleasure of reading this book.

7/18/05 - John Taliaferro GREAT WHITE FATHERS: The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore (Public Affairs/Perseus Group, 2002.)

I've never been to Mount Rushmore - but after reading this it is on my list of places to visit. An amazingly comprehensive, and very interesting account, full of details that you just want to share with others; a picture not just of Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor, but of America during the early 20th century.

7/14/05 - Caleb Carr THE KILLING TIME (Random House, 2000.)

Since this novel was written back in 2000, it doesn't take into consideration the post 9/11 world, but you might never feel the same about the internet again after you read this: sort of a combination of Jules Verne "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and Orwell's "1984", but a good read! I am not quite sure if the ending was an unexpected pleasure or a cop-out....

7/13/05 - Todd Borg TAHOE BLOWUP: An Owen Mckenna Mystery Thriller (Thriller Press, 2001)

With Northern California in the midst of one of its notorious "hot spells" (the first of the year), and temperatures well over 100 degrees for several days in a row and no relief in sight, I guess I was feeling masochistic when I picked this up. As they say "it's a dry heat" and after an unusually wet spring, the fire load is a lot higher than usual and getting very, very dry - and we live, with our books, in a 'wild fire zone!' This book was a fast read, entertaining, etc - but what I really liked best about it was the information the author snuck into the story: on the behavior of wildfires,especially. And even if you aren't a dog lover, you are going to fall for the Great Dane named Spot.