I decided both that the actual lists of books read is my favorite part of this tracking nonsense, and that I cannot wait until an entire new century of books has been read before updating you, my impatient readers. Thus, I herewith present the most recent twenty-five (25) books read, #301 – #325 if you’re keeping score at home. (As usual, I do not include comics and graphic novel books in my count, though they are listed below.)
Book read #301 is the almost-forgettable thriller Dead Watch by John Sandford, about which I’ll say no more, save that I only remembered reading it previously when I had already gotten through 2/3rds of this airport novel.
My fourth century of books started out pretty poorly, overall, and included the so-called “scrapbooking mystery” Bound For Murder, about my disdain for which I’ve written here. The delightful Cold War indoctrination manual for future Apollo scientists, aka Tom Swift on The Phantom Satellite, was probably my favorite of the first five books in this list.
| # | Read | Author | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | 3/31/19 | John Sandford | Dead Watch | Mystery |
| 302 | 4/8/19 | U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases | USAMRIID’s Medical Management of Biological Casualties Handbook | Militaria |
| 303 | 4/11/19 | Elmore Leonard | Cuba Libre | Mystery |
| 304 | 4/15/19 | Laura Childs | Bound For Murder | Mystery |
| 305 | 4/16/19 | Victor Appleton II | Tom Swift on The Phantom Satellite | Children’s |
The Best of Analog anthology from 1979 was my favorite of the next five books (though the children’s books were really quite swell), with the powerful “A Thing Of Beauty” by Norman Spinrad still a nostalgically morose Jeremiad forty years later. Other standout stories by Vonda McIntyre and George R.R. Martin show Ben Bova’s strong editorial vision. I finished this collection and later that same day sped through Margery Allingham’s The Case Of The Late Pig, which was fun, mostly.
| # | Read | Author | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 306 | 4/20/19 | Anne H. White | Junket | Children’s |
| 307 | 4/24/19 | Joseph L. Baron, ed. | Stars and Sand: Jewish Notes by Non-Jewish Notables | History |
| 308 | 4/27/19 | Ben Bova, ed. | The Best of Analog | SF/Fantasy |
| 309 | 4/27/19 | Margery Allingham | The Case of the Late Pig | Mystery |
| 310 | 4/28/19 | Lilla M. Waltch | Mystery of the Inca Cave | Children’s |
The Amar Chitra Katha bumper issue (a 3-in-1 comic book) Adventures of Krishna was the first comic read in this new century of books, and the best through the first quarter. Also of note was The White Flag Principle which I pulled out of humor but returned to the Militaria section after reading its earnest pages. I had thought that a book about why losing wars makes more sense than winning them had to be a joke, but the polemic tone hides a quite reasonable argument from this Israeli dissident.
| # | Read | Author | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 311 | 4/30/19 | Page duBois | Torture and Truth | History |
| 312 | 5/1/19 | Jerome Beatty, Jr. | Matthew Looney’s Voyage to the Earth | Children’s |
| 5/3/19 | Kamala Chandrakant | Adventures of Krishna: Krishna and the False Vaasudeva / Krishna and Shishupala / Krishna and Narakasurua | Comics & Graphic Novels | |
| 313 | 5/5/19 | Shimon Tzabar | The White Flag Principle: How to Lose a War (and Why) | Militaria |
| 314 | 5/8/19 | Jerome Beatty, Jr. | Matthew Looney’s Invasion of the Earth | Children’s |
| 315 | 5/9/19 | Maan Meyers | The Dutchman’s Dilemma | Mystery |
I really cannot say enough about Caligula For President, though I tried to say ‘Bravo! Brava!’ to Cintra Wilson’s tour de force before. You can read my meagre words and insufficient praise, if you like, or you could just get the book and enjoy the savage brilliance yourself. I recommend the latter.
The only real reason to read the Matthew Looney series of kids’ books (except perhaps for the first volume) is for Gahan Wilson’s slightly off-kilter illustrations. ‘Nuff said.
| # | Read | Author | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316 | 5/11/19 | Cintra Wilson | Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny | Other |
| 317 | 5/21/19 | Bruce Pennington | Eschatus: Future Prophecies From Nostradamus’ Ancient Writings | Wacko |
| 318 | 5/22/19 | Jerome Beatty, Jr. | Matthew Looney in the Outback | Children’s |
| 319 | 5/25/19 | Russell Chandler | Doomsday: The End of the World–A View Through Time | End of the World |
| 5/26/19 | Toni Patel | Akbar – The Great Mughal | Comics & Graphic Novels | |
| 320 | 5/27/19 | Jerome Beatty, Jr. | Matthew Looney and the Space Pirates | Children’s |
| 5/28/19 | Rajinder Singh Raj & Subba Rao | Bhagat Singh: The Story of a Martyr | Comics & Graphic Novels |
The real winners in the quarter-century of books just completed came at the end, though I hesitate to admit just how long I had been slogging through the Harold Jenkins edition of Hamlet. Of course, though the play is a problem (har-har), it was the critical apparatus that slowed me down so. So much, in fact, that I had to take a turn through John Dover Wilson’s simultaneously insightful and outdated What Happens In Hamlet before reading the last half of Shakespeare’s play. That guy was a freaking genius. (Shakespeare, that is.)
| # | Read | Author | Title | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 321 | 5/29/19 | John Dover Wilson | What Happens in Hamlet | Shakespeare |
| 322 | 5/31/19 | Eric Grzymkowski | The United States of Strange/em> | Reference |
| 323 | 6/5/19 | John Hollander | Rhyme’s Reason: A Guide to English Verse | Poetry, Drama & Criticism |
| 324 | 6/15/19 | Cecelia Holland | Jerusalem | Fiction |
| 325 | 6/18/19 | William Shakespeare; Harold Jenkins, ed. | Hamlet (Arden Shakespeare) | Shakespeare |
You’ll have noted that I’ve been hitting the kids’ books lately, and this is because I have recently regained some access to those. I have a few odds and ends on my on-deck circle, and am also trying to purposefully attack that pile which sits next to my bed, and which is slightly lower today than it was yesterday. Until next time….
The lists of previously read books may be found by following the links:
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