Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Reading Log 2017 (Plus Robots)


Reading Nook: photo by Cliff Hutson
Reading Nook: photo by Cliff Hutson

I made it through fifty-nine books this past year.

Reading Log 2017

  1. “Night School,” Lee Child
  2. “Secrets of the Oak Woodland,” Kate Marianchild
  3. “Potshot,” Robert B. Parker
  4. “Sage Living,” Anne Sage
  5. “Island of Blue Dolphins,” Scott O’Dell
  6. “How to See,” George Nelson
  7. “Breaking Cat News,” Georgia Dunn
  8. “An Old Captivity,” Nevil Shute
  9. “The Kill Clause,” Gregg Hurwitz
  10. “Deep Blue,” Randy Wayne White
  11. “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” Robert Galbraith
  12. “The Silkworm,” Robert Galbraith
  13. “The Negro Cowboy,” Philip Durham & Everett L. Jones
  14. “Career of Evil,” Robert Galbraith
  15. “The Short Drop,” Matthew Fitzsimmons
  16. “On Trails,” Robert Moor
  17. “The Big Blow,” Joe R. Lansdale
  18. “The Pencil Perfect,” Caroline Weaver
  19. “The Revenge of Analog,” David Sax
  20. “The Gun Seller,” Hugh Laurie
  21. “The Highwayman,” Craig Johnson
  22. “The Redbreast,” Jo Nesbo
  23. “Nemesis,” Jo Nesbo
  24. “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need,” Andrew Tobias
  25. “Cars & Culture,” Rudi Volti
  26. “Setting Up Shop: The Practical Guide to Designing and Building Your Dream Shop,” Sandor Nagyszalanczy
  27. “Murder at the Opera,” Margaret Truman
  28. “How to be Black,” Baratunde Thurston
  29. “The Bat,” Jo Nesbo
  30. “Stuff White People Like,” Christian Lander
  31. “The Late Show,” Michael Connelly 
  32. “Blind Spot,” Teju Cole
  33. “A Choice of Weapons,” Gordon Parks
  34. “Sorted Books,” Nina Katchadourian 
  35. “A Rage in Harlem,” Chester Himes
  36. “The Real Cool Killers,” Chester Himes
  37. “The Crazy Kill,” Chester Himes
  38. “The Heat’s On,” Chester Himes
  39. “Cotton Comes to Harlem,” Chester Himes
  40. “Blind Man With a Pistol,” Chester Himes
  41. “The Cooking Gene,” Michael W. Twitty
  42. “The Urban Bestiary,” Lyanda Lynn Haupt
  43. “Deep Freeze,” John Sandford
  44. “Invisible Beasts,” Sharona Muir
  45. “Double Play,” Robert B. Parker
  46. “Two Kinds of Truth,” Michael Connelly
  47. “Little Green,” Walter Mosley
  48. “The Yard,” Alex Grecian
  49. “The Black Country,” Alex Grecian
  50. “The Devil’s Workshop,” Alex Grecian
  51. “The Harvest Man,” Alex Grecian
  52. “Lost and Gone Forever,” Alex Grecian
  53. “NYPD Red 2,” James Patterson
  54. “Brunch Is Hell: How to Save the World by Throwing a Dinner Party,” Brendan Francis Newnam and Rico Gagliano 
  55. “White Butterfly,” Walter Mosley
  56. “Gone Fishin’,” Walter Mosley
  57. “Charcoal Joe,” Walter Mosley
  58. “And Sometimes I Worry About You,” Walter Mosley
  59. “Rose Gold,” Walter Mosley

Most of them were good, but the highlight of the year was what I call the shootout between Chester Himes and Walter Mosley.  As I mentioned before Himes was introduced to me by Luke Cage. He made it clear, to me anyway, that he preferred that author over Mosley, partially because the former's stories are based in New York - opposed to Los Angeles. (Note: Mosley also writes books set in New York.) So, as LA is where I was born and grew up I decided that I had to make the comparison for myself by reading the Easy Rawlins series.

Hometown bias aside, I enjoyed reading Mosley's work the most. This is partly due to the fact that his  latter stories are pretty much contemporaneous with my life and I like to see his perspectives on those times. Another reason is that he takes the time to contemplate (or comment) on being black in America. Himes ably illustrates what life was like in an earlier era, but offers little reflection on the rampant racism.

One of the final scenes of the first season of Luke Cage has a US Marshal reading The Heat’s On by Chester Himes. Luke comments on it and the marshal asks if he’s ever read Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series. I have read all of the Bosch books over the years and look forward to the next season of Luke Cage for more book suggestions.

Robots

Even though I spent quite a bit of time reading, I carved out enough time to start building three robots. Two were seen through to completion.

Some Assembly Required: photo by Cliff Hutson
Some Assembly Required: photo by Cliff Hutson






Insectoid: photo by Cliff Hutson
Insectoid: photo by Cliff Hutson







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