{"id":5272,"date":"2026-07-06T00:18:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/?p=5272"},"modified":"2026-07-06T08:52:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T15:52:38","slug":"book-list-1800-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educatedguesswork.com\/?p=5272","title":{"rendered":"Book List: 1800 Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After far too long a wait (I first told you I’d read my 1800th book<\/a> back in April), here is the promised list of the last hundred books read in my silly little book tracking project. I’ve already spoken of the first book in that century of book reading\u2014the December 1964 issue of Fantastic<\/em> which contained the first appearance of Philip K. Dick’s novella “The Unteleported Man”\u2014and since I’ve recently read the most ‘complete’ version of the expanded novel (in my reading as Book #1824 (I said I’d made you wait too long)), and since after reading that version I’ve determined to go back and read the other two ‘complete’ versions released (in the ’80s, I believe), we’ll postpone more discussion of that PKD story until the next set of 100 books.<\/p>\n

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The first 10 books of the last 100 saw me reading a lot of comics, trying to balance my books (so to speak) in another little aspect of my OCD-hoarding-anal-what-have-you book acquisition problem\/joy\/neuroticism. That is, though I do not count comic books and that ilk towards my official ‘Books Read’ number, I do (of course) keep track of all the things I read, and I also maintain (for about two years now) a spreadsheet detailing what is called in the health profession my ‘I\/O’ for my library; that is to say, I now track and compare how many books I buy and try to maintain at least parity with the books I read. (I came to this when I realized that I might possibly read all the books I already have within my lifetime only if I never got another new book. Now that I’ve been tracking my ‘diet and intake’ (so to speak) of my library, I believe that I should be able to finish all my books\u2014assuming I can live for another century.) And for that systemic tracking project, I include comics in the overall count, as they are a volume bought or read. Soooo…… this is a long way ’round to say that I was reading a lot of comics in January of this year because I’d gotten not only some excellent books for Christmas but also because I scored a number of great books at a few estate sales nearby. (Not as great as I’d hoped, as I discovered the copy of Farwell’s Prisoners Of The Madhi<\/em> was missing its first dozen or so pages.) Sooo… long way ’round almost completed now, this is just to say that I’ve been going systematically through my entire comics collection, and so reread my copies of Reid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman<\/em>, and they’re great! Surrealist violence to give even Zippy a run for the money, and a warm lovable character if you might find Bukowski warm and lovable. Excelsior!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1701<\/td>\n1\/13\/26<\/td>\nPhilip K. Dick; Norman M. Lobsenz, ed.<\/td>\nFantastic<\/em> Vol. 13 No. 12 December 1964<\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1702<\/td>\n1\/16\/26<\/td>\nJoyce Godsey<\/td>\nBook Repair for Booksellers: A handy guide for booksellers and book collectors offering practical advice on how to improve the quality and look of your books and ephemera<\/em><\/td>\nBooks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1703<\/td>\n1\/17\/26<\/td>\nMichael Bonner, ed.<\/td>\nUncut Magazine<\/em> April 2025<\/td>\nMusic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/17\/26<\/td>\nS. K. Ramachandra Rao & Subba Rao<\/td>\nTales of Buddha: Buddha, Angulimala, Amrapali<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/17\/26<\/td>\nPradeep Paul, Meera Ugra, Luis M. Fernandes<\/td>\nTales of Hanuman: Hanuman, Mahiravana, Hanuman To The Rescue<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/17\/26<\/td>\nSubba Rao<\/td>\nTales of Shiva<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/17\/26<\/td>\nSubba Rao<\/td>\nTales of Yudhishthira (retold from the Mahabharata)<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/18\/26<\/td>\nMeena Talim<\/td>\nTanaji: The Great Maratha Warrior<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/18\/26<\/td>\nDolly Rizvi<\/td>\nTansen: The Musician of the Court of Akbar<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/18\/26<\/td>\nDavid Boswell<\/td>\nReid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman<\/em> Vol. 2, #1<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/18\/26<\/td>\nDavid Boswell<\/td>\nReid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman<\/em> Vol. 2, #3<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/18\/26<\/td>\nDavid Boswell<\/td>\nReid Fleming, World’s Toughest Milkman<\/em> Vol. 2, #4<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/19\/26<\/td>\nPeter Bagge<\/td>\nNeat Stuff<\/em> #15<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1704<\/td>\n1\/19\/26<\/td>\nH. L. A. Hart<\/td>\nLaw, Liberty, And Morality<\/em><\/td>\nLaw<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/19\/26<\/td>\nMike Baron<\/td>\nBadger<\/em> #43<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/19\/26<\/td>\nMike Baron<\/td>\nBadger<\/em> #44<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1705<\/td>\n1\/20\/26<\/td>\nRainer Maria Rilke<\/td>\nAuguste Rodin<\/em><\/td>\nArt<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1706<\/td>\n1\/20\/26<\/td>\nWilkie Collins<\/td>\nArmadale<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1707<\/td>\n1\/21\/26<\/td>\nJohn D. MacDonald<\/td>\nA Bullet for Cinderella<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1708<\/td>\n1\/21\/26<\/td>\nErle Stanley Gardner<\/td>\nThe Case Of The Silent Partner<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/22\/26<\/td>\nMike Baron<\/td>\nBadger<\/em> #45<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1709<\/td>\n1\/22\/26<\/td>\nA. E. Van Vogt<\/td>\nThe Universe Maker<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1710<\/td>\n1\/22\/26<\/td>\nEdwin A. Abbott<\/td>\nFlatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

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I have been a huge fan of C. M. Kornbluth since first I read “The Little Black Bag” and “The Marching Morons” as an impressionable teenager. Here he teams up with Judith Merrill to create the story of Gunner Cade<\/em>, military Science Fiction from the time before Dorsai and whatever current war SF is thrilling the kids today. The story of soldier Cade is a fascinating one, where Kornbluth and Merrill (writing as Cyril Judd) create a rigidly segmented far-future society with sparkling imaginative touches. The novel shows how ’50s sci-fi could pummel the reader with amazing ideas and trenchant commentary all while telling a terrific story. Sure there are some silly points, but that’s true of most books. And that headlong rush to the plot’s denouement is a wild and quite enjoyable ride.<\/p>\n

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One thing I’ve been engaged in over the last few time periods is a re-read (so far) of the Philip K. Dick novels in publication order, and thus I came to Clans Of The Alphane Moon<\/em>. I loved this the first time I read it and I loved it this time around. It’s an excellent working out of another of PKD\u2019s unusual conceits, the mental hospital that forms its own strange government and special interest groups. (Sort of like San Francisco politics, perhaps.) A crazy SF use of psychology, true, and the wish fulfillment ending and other points shows once again how little Dick seemed to understand women or at least some of their aspects (most?), but the kooky story of how the domestic squabbles of two not-very-nice people turn the grinding wheels of two space empires is very enjoyable and well worked out. And of course the slime mold is a winning character.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1711<\/td>\n1\/23\/26<\/td>\nErle Stanley Gardner<\/td>\nThe Case Of The Empty Tin<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1712<\/td>\n1\/23\/26<\/td>\nWallace Fowlie<\/td>\nRimbaud and Jim Morrison: The Rebel as Poet<\/em><\/td>\nLiterary Criticism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1713<\/td>\n1\/24\/26<\/td>\nC.M. Kornbluth & Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd)<\/td>\nGunner Cade<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1714<\/td>\n1\/25\/26<\/td>\nWilliam S. Burroughs<\/td>\nNova Express<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1715<\/td>\n1\/25\/26<\/td>\nPhilip K. Dick<\/td>\nClans of the Alphane Moon<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/25\/26<\/td>\nMike Baron<\/td>\nBadger<\/em> #46<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/25\/26<\/td>\nMike Baron<\/td>\nBadger<\/em> #47<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n1\/25\/26<\/td>\nMike Baron<\/td>\nBadger<\/em> #48<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1716<\/td>\n1\/27\/26<\/td>\nJohn Farman<\/td>\nThe Very Bloody History of Britain (Without the Boring Bits!)<\/em><\/td>\nHistory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1717<\/td>\n1\/27\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Secret of the Old Clock<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1718<\/td>\n1\/27\/26<\/td>\nRaymond Chandler & Robert B. Parker<\/td>\nPoodle Springs<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1719<\/td>\n1\/28\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Secret at the Hermitage<\/em><\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1720<\/td>\n1\/28\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Hidden Staircase<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

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I loved these strange mysteries from the so-called ‘golden age’ of detective fiction, though Ernest Bramah\u2014the creator of Max Carrados, perhaps fiction’s first blind detective\u2014was a literary polymath, writing humor and political and supernatural fiction in addition to crime stories, as well as creating the (possibly problematic to this age full of problems) character Kai Lung. In Max Carrados Mysteries<\/em>, my biggest problem is one other readers may also have, that I am not convinced that the titular detective is in fact blind. Still and all, these are craftily crafty crafted tales of wonder, and I found all but one to be very well thought out mystery stories and liked them very much. The one exception, “The Strange Case of Cyril Bycourt”, I found to be a bit much, but my tastes rarely run to supernature especially as an explanation in mysteries, though on the other hand the low frequency explanation for ghosts shows that perhaps it is I who have the closed mind.<\/p>\n

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Right up front I should give warning to prospective readers of Sadness<\/em> by Donald Barthelme. If you love Barthelme, you’ll find much to love here. If you like him only some of the time, you’ll only find some of these stories to your liking. And if you haven’t read him at all \u2026 well, I’m not sure if this is the collection to start with. Me, I loved these perfect little stories of affecting disaffection and fascinating ennui. I think Barthelme is hot stuff, and this set of tales has a lot of fire, especially the first (perhaps highly autobiographical) story, the weird Paul Klee piece, and the “Rise of Capitalism”. Your mileage may vary. (I know mine does.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1721<\/td>\n1\/29\/26<\/td>\nRex Stout<\/td>\nThree Men Out<\/em><\/td>\nMystery & Thriller<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1722<\/td>\n1\/29\/26<\/td>\nErnest Bramah<\/td>\nMax Carrados Mysteries<\/td>\nMystery & Thriller<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1723<\/td>\n1\/29\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Bungalow Mystery<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1724<\/td>\n1\/29\/26<\/td>\nDonald Barthelme<\/td>\nSadness<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1725<\/td>\n1\/30\/26<\/td>\nGeorges Simenon<\/td>\nSunday<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1726<\/td>\n1\/30\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Secret of Shadow Ranch<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1727<\/td>\n1\/30\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Secret of Red Gate Farm<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1728<\/td>\n1\/31\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Clue in the Diary<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1729<\/td>\n1\/31\/26<\/td>\nArthur William Upfield<\/td>\nThe Mountains Have a Secret<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1730<\/td>\n1\/31\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Message in the Hollow Oak<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

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In this slim volume (144 pages) are a plethora of the strangest ‘inventions’ to come from the mind of man. The Best of Rube Goldberg<\/em> lives up to its title, and may be too much to read all in one sitting. Not only does Mr. Goldberg point out in his kindly way how much effort we will go to just in order not to get up from the chair to shut the window, for example, but he also slyly notes well the ‘accepted ideas’ of our time (well, his time) just as Flaubert did for the bourgeois ideas of his<\/strong> time. Readers will also notice actual objects and inventions which have disappeared in our oh-so-modern world, such as the (apparently) ever-present expanding hat rack. True, the humor can be dated, and will offend some, but I found it funny. Of course, I offend some.<\/p>\n

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Boy these are perfect little tales. In Cosmicomics<\/em>, the justifiably famous Italo Calvino writes like Gamow if that science writer had been a litterateur \u2026 and a much better writer. The science is good\u2014as good as Calvino\u2019s contemporary sources at least\u2014but the magic is how he takes the tiniest kernel of science fact and spins insightful stories about age-old human habits and longings and regrets and life. I particularly liked \u201cThe Aquatic Uncle\u201d\u2014about our aging relatives with their old prejudices that we misunderstand at our peril\u2014and \u201cThe Dinosaurs\u201d\u2014how perspective changes with time and our own presence in the past now being critiqued by the now\u2014, but almost all of these stories are powerful stuff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1731<\/td>\n2\/1\/26<\/td>\nJune-Alison Gibbons<\/td>\nThe Pepsi Cola Addict<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1732<\/td>\n2\/2\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1733<\/td>\n2\/3\/26<\/td>\nFrederik Pohl & Jack Williamson<\/td>\nStarchild<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n2\/4\/26<\/td>\nRube Goldberg<\/td>\nThe Best of Rube Goldberg<\/em><\/em><\/td>\nHumor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1734<\/td>\n2\/4\/26<\/td>\nVictor E. Kappeler, Mark Blumberg, & Gary W. Potter<\/td>\nThe Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice<\/em><\/td>\nLaw<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1735<\/td>\n2\/5\/26<\/td>\nDashiell Hammett<\/td>\nThe Dain Curse<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1736<\/td>\n2\/6\/26<\/td>\nItalo Calvino<\/td>\nCosmicomics<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1737<\/td>\n2\/7\/26<\/td>\nWalpola Rahula<\/td>\nWhat the Buddha Taught<\/em><\/td>\nReligion & Spirituality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n2\/8\/26<\/td>\nSuresh Chandra Sharma<\/td>\nTulsidas<\/em><\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n2\/8\/26<\/td>\nKamala Chandrakant<\/td>\nUloopi (from the Mahabharata)<\/em><\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n2\/9\/26<\/td>\nSubba Rao \/ Anand Prakash Singh \/ Kamlesh Pandey<\/td>\nValiant Kings of Ancient India: Paurava \/ Vikramaditya \/ Baladitya & Yashodharma<\/em><\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n2\/9\/26<\/td>\nKamala Chandrakant<\/td>\nVasantasena: An Adaptation of the Famous Sanskrit Play, Mrichchakatikam<\/em><\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1738<\/td>\n2\/11\/26<\/td>\nTalbot Mundy<\/td>\nTros Of Samothrace: Tros<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1739<\/td>\n2\/16\/26<\/td>\nJulian Symons<\/td>\nThe Blackheath Poisonings<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1740<\/td>\n2\/17\/26<\/td>\nCarolyn Keene<\/td>\nThe Quest of the Missing Map<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

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I picked up Daddy Cool<\/em> by Donald Goines at Green Apple Books in San Francisco, and I’ve rarely gotten more bang for my eight bucks. The blurb on the back of this edition calls the tale Shakespearean, but it’s more\u2014to my mind\u2014Jacobean crossed with Greek tragedy. Daddy Cool is a larger-than-life character trying to escape a world always getting smaller. Some readers will find this powerful book unreadable, and there’s at least one wholly horrific scene. At least one. Really, if trigger warnings mean anything to you, best give this one a pass. But the d\u00e9nouement unrolls with the inevitability of ancient tragedy or an Icelandic saga.<\/p>\n

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I’ve had the movie version of The Night of the Generals<\/em> on my TiVo queue for some time now, waiting until I’d re-read the book before re-watching that classic story of murder amidst murder and madness on a massive scale. And I’m glad I returned to the Hans Helmut Kirst novel with a fairly fresh mind, for this amazing book spoke to me on so many levels, as Kirst no doubt intended it to do. Yes, the book’s ending may be flawed to a certain extent, but the fraught tale demonstrated only too well how memory and history and all that change under the pressure of time and new events and politics, how evil becomes duty becomes creditable action and back again. Doubtless such tales will be needed again in the future, or even in the now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1741<\/td>\n2\/17\/26<\/td>\nJulian Symons<\/td>\nThe Detling Secret<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1742<\/td>\n2\/17\/26<\/td>\nDonald Goines<\/td>\nDaddy Cool<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1743<\/td>\n2\/18\/26<\/td>\nMichael Bonner, ed.<\/td>\nUncut Magazine<\/em> May 2025<\/td>\nMusic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1744<\/td>\n2\/18\/26<\/td>\nJohn D. MacDonald<\/td>\nThe Green Ripper<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1745<\/td>\n2\/19\/26<\/td>\nJohn D. MacDonald<\/td>\nThe Dreadful Lemon Sky<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1746<\/td>\n2\/21\/26<\/td>\nJohn D. MacDonald<\/td>\nThe Beach Girls<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1747<\/td>\n2\/24\/26<\/td>\nJohn D. MacDonald<\/td>\nBallroom of the Skies<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1748<\/td>\n2\/27\/26<\/td>\nAndrew J. Offutt<\/td>\nThe Iron Lords<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1749<\/td>\n2\/28\/26<\/td>\nHans Hellmut Kirst<\/td>\nThe Night Of The Generals<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1750<\/td>\n2\/28\/26<\/td>\nC. M. Kornbluth<\/td>\nThe Marching Morons and other famous science fiction tales<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

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I can hardly speak highly enough of the excellent short stories of Charles W. Chesnutt, and this collection of Conjure Tales and Stories of the Color Line<\/em>. Chesnutt proves himself a master of the art form with these sly, wry, and sometimes heartrending tales written in the final years of the American 19th Century, and the decades after Reconstruction’s tragic failure. The first dialect stories are great, and his ear is perfect (tho\u2019 I had to read some passages out loud to get the sense\u2014at which point I could hear the voices perfectly). The others are ‘straight’ fictions, and are also amazing, a message from a POV otherwise lost to us, and stories such as \u201cThe Sheriff\u2019s Children\u201d and \u201cThe Bouquet\u201d show a terrible insight. All but one of these stories are about race, though that one (“Baxter’s Procrustes”) shows the same deviously brilliant mind at work.<\/p>\n

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Continuing my re-read of Philip K. Dick’s novels in publication order, I did not expect to be so affected by Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After The Bomb<\/em>, but the conclusion swept me along and lifted my up and what a nice ending, for a change. Surprised to see PKD being the voice of hope in overwhelming and dire circumstances but the end of this sometimes vicious story really tied everything together nicely, and the kooky elements (Hoppy, and the dead twin, and \u2026 well, did Dr. Bluthgeld really control those bombs, hmm?) were used in what for Dick was a deft and almost light touch.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1751<\/td>\n3\/4\/26<\/td>\nRichard Kadrey<\/td>\nMetrophage<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1752<\/td>\n3\/6\/26<\/td>\nThomas Carlyle<\/td>\nSartor Resartus<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1753<\/td>\n3\/6\/26<\/td>\nA. E. Van Vogt<\/td>\nPendulum<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1754<\/td>\n3\/8\/26<\/td>\nCharles W. Chesnutt<\/td>\nConjure Tales and Stories of the Color Line<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1755<\/td>\n3\/11\/26<\/td>\nEdwin Newman<\/td>\nSunday Punch<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1756<\/td>\n3\/12\/26<\/td>\nPhilip K. Dick<\/td>\nDr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After The Bomb<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1757<\/td>\n3\/12\/26<\/td>\nAlan Bold, Edward Brathwaite, & Edwin Morgan<\/td>\nPenguin Modern Poets 15: Bold Brathwaite Morgan<\/em><\/td>\nPoetry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1758<\/td>\n3\/13\/26<\/td>\nRyunosuke Akutagawa<\/td>\nJapanese Short Stories<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1759<\/td>\n3\/13\/26<\/td>\nStephen King<\/td>\nThe Colorado Kid<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1760<\/td>\n3\/14\/26<\/td>\nHarry Harrison<\/td>\nA Stainless Steel Rat Is Born<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

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I was surprised by The Invisible Flag<\/em>, by the pseudonymous Peter Bamm, a Penguin paperback from the ’60s (originally published in 1956), which is a sort of roman \u00e0 clef about a military surgeon during World War II, sort of a M*A*S*H<\/em> on the Eastern Front. This tale of a Wehrmacht doctor is really engaging, despite the fact that it acts as apologia for some complicity in the heinous acts of the German Army in WWII\u2014though it is true that the worst offenses were committed by the Waffen SS, not the army per se. (The author never writes the word ‘Nazi’, speaking instead of “the Others”.) And the \u2018invisible flag\u2019 trope (of humanity, the writer explains) seems a bit heavy-handed. Still, a fascinating inside look at a strange fraction of a small slice of war from a man who really is a good writer, and lived in those times, in those places.<\/p>\n

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I was tempted to speak of the fantastic Philip K. Dick novel in this next set of 10 books read, or the sprightly little Daniel Pinkwater tale; but I couldn’t bring myself to highlight PKD for the third time (not yet!) in this list of a hundred books, and my notes are sparse on the Snarkout Boys<\/em> (something about a delightfully walkable affordable city with great goings-on after dark). And the Jim Thompson TV tie-in book Ironside<\/em> is really just 3rd rate, with creepy musings to boot. So let’s talk instead about Hammond Innes’s The Doomed Oasis<\/em>.
\n       This is actually a very good novel, a very interesting story of small Arabian sheikhdoms under the influence of big oil and geopolitics writ both large and small. But mostly Innes give us a thrilling story (told almost in a Heart Of Darkness<\/em> manner) of miscommunication and misunderstandings between a father and son, as well as just about every damn body else. Crazy and brutal with plenty of romance of the desert, as well as the dangers of going native and some insights into just how world commodity markets are made at the ground level. Superseded by time and passing events, but aren’t we all?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1761<\/td>\n3\/15\/26<\/td>\nOffice of Civil Defense<\/td>\nIn Time of Emergency: A Citizen’s Handbook on … Nuclear Attack … Natural Disasters<\/em><\/td>\nMilitaria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1762<\/td>\n3\/17\/26<\/td>\nJoseph Koenig<\/td>\nFalse Negative<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1763<\/td>\n3\/19\/26<\/td>\nPeter Bamm<\/td>\nThe Invisible Flag<\/em><\/td>\nFiction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1764<\/td>\n3\/20\/26<\/td>\nPeter Dickinson<\/td>\nThe Lively Dead<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1765<\/td>\n3\/21\/26<\/td>\nJoe Haldeman<\/td>\nAll My Sins Remembered<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n3\/24\/26<\/td>\nJerry Siegel & Joe Shuster<\/td>\nSuperman – Archives, Volume 3<\/em> (DC Archive Editions)<\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1766<\/td>\n3\/24\/26<\/td>\nPhilip K. Dick<\/td>\nNow Wait For Last Year<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1767<\/td>\n3\/24\/26<\/td>\nCalvin M. Knox [Robert Silverberg] \/ A. E. Van Vogt<\/td>\nOne Of Our Asteroids Is Missing<\/em> \/ The Twisted Men<\/em> [Ace Double F-253]<\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1768<\/td>\n3\/25\/26<\/td>\nDaniel Pinkwater<\/td>\nThe Snarkout Boys & The Avocado of Death<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1769<\/td>\n3\/26\/26<\/td>\nJim Thompson<\/td>\nIronside<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1770<\/td>\n3\/28\/26<\/td>\nHammond Innes<\/td>\nThe Doomed Oasis<\/em><\/td>\nThriller<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Now we come to one of those works which we already know, just like I knew about Rosebud long before I finally saw Citizen Kane<\/em>. I mean, besides the Hitchcock silent movie, there were two other talkies in black and white, all of which I’ve seen. Not to mention the two separate radio adaptations on Suspense<\/em> (both of which I’ve heard; seriously, check out all the Suspense<\/em> episodes\u2014they’re great!) There was even a Doctor Who<\/em> episode based loosely on the novel. Heck, I’ve even seen my daughter in the play, which I hadn’t even mentioned yet. All of which means that when I came to read The Lodger<\/em> by Marie Belloc Lowndes (and yes, she was Hilaire Belloc’s sister), I thought I knew the story every which way. And indeed, I did know the plot, and the pacing, and the primary focus on Ellen Bunting and her ‘Is he? Isn’t he?’ worry throughout the story. (The novel is a 1913 expansion of Lowndes’s original short story of 1911.) What I wasn’t expecting was just how darkly oppressive and ever-tightening this suspense book proved to be, strangely compelling for a hundred-year-old work. I also never expected what appears to be the primary difference from the plays and movies, in what I suppose we\u2019re still calling Stockholm Syndrome though that like all else is discredited and no more heroes anymore.<\/p>\n

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Unexpected as well was the cornucopia of poetic wonders in Another Republic: 17 European and South American Writers<\/em>, an old anthology (50 years old now) of poets more unknown then than perhaps they are now\u2014which shows perhaps that this collection has done its job. Thus Milosz and Paz and Cort\u00e1zar and even Pessoa are fairly familiar to the 1% of people who read poetry (if I’m being generous), with Milosz perhaps already past his ‘sell by’ date for some. And I was already a huge fan of Amichai, having been introduced to his work by a co-worker back before the first tech bubble burst. But authors such as Parra, Ritsos, Ponge, Celan, and (especially!) de Andrade were sheer revelation, and have been added to my list of people to search for when haunting bookstores. True, my tastes run to the more surrealist side of writing, at least this sort of writing, and the works may seem dated to some, all ‘cis-gendered’ and male and like that, but the anthology was important enough to be reissued thirty years after its first publication, and there aren’t a lot of books that rate that anymore, certainly not poetry books. Check it out!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1771<\/td>\n3\/29\/26<\/td>\nDaniel J. Pinkwater<\/td>\nThe Snarkout Boys & the Baconburg Horror<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n1772<\/td>\n3\/30\/26<\/td>\nTarthang Tulku<\/td>\nGesture of Balance: A Guide to Awareness, Self-Healing, & Meditation<\/em><\/td>\nReligion & Spirituality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1773<\/td>\n3\/30\/26<\/td>\nMarinos of Neapolis<\/td>\nMarinos of Neapolis, the Extant Works: or, the Life of Proclus and the Commentary on the Dedomena of Euclid<\/em><\/td>\nPhilosophy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1774<\/td>\n3\/31\/26<\/td>\nJohn Lennon<\/td>\nIn His Own Write & A Spaniard In The Works<\/em><\/td>\nPoetry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1775<\/td>\n3\/31\/26<\/td>\nMichael Bonner, ed.<\/td>\nUncut Magazine<\/em> June 2025<\/td>\nMusic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1776<\/td>\n4\/2\/26<\/td>\nGlenn B. Infield<\/td>\nSecrets of the SS<\/em><\/td>\nHistory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1777<\/td>\n4\/3\/26<\/td>\nMarie Belloc Lowndes<\/td>\nThe Lodger<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1778<\/td>\n4\/4\/26<\/td>\nRobert van Gulik<\/td>\nThe Red Pavilion<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1779<\/td>\n4\/5\/26<\/td>\nCharles Simic & Mark Strand, eds.<\/td>\nAnother Republic: 17 European and South American Writers<\/em><\/td>\nPoetry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1780<\/td>\n4\/6\/26<\/td>\nRobert Linssen<\/td>\nLa M\u00e9ditation v\u00e9ritable – Etude des pulsions pr\u00e9-mentales<\/em><\/td>\nForeign Language<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Surprised to see that, though I’ve had several of the Judge Dee mysteries in my Book Lists before (They even appear in my first 100!), I don’t seem to have called them out before. And these historical mysteries by Robert van Gulik definitely should be mentioned, because they are great. So we’ll let The Lacquer Screen<\/em> stand for all these marvelous tales, and it’s a great story\u2014or stories, rather, because as usual Judge Dee is faced with three different cases (it’s almost always three) in each book. This time Dee has to go ‘undercover’ as they say today and enter the demimonde, well the actual criminal underworld. The underclass and underworld are often subjects of the fictional ancient China of van Gulik, and in this novel I was fascinated by Judge Dee’s ability to travel in and through multiple worlds whilst keeping his integrity intact. Though perhaps the series’s frequent trips to these strange outskirts of civilization show something about Gulik’s own taste for The Strange.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1781<\/td>\n4\/7\/26<\/td>\nRobert van Gulik<\/td>\nThe Lacquer Screen<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1782<\/td>\n4\/8\/26<\/td>\nIan Fleming<\/td>\nThe Man With The Golden Gun<\/em><\/td>\nThriller<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1783<\/td>\n4\/9\/26<\/td>\nSteven Saylor<\/td>\nRubicon<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1784<\/td>\n4\/10\/26<\/td>\nRobert van Gulik<\/td>\nThe Emperor’s Pearl<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1785<\/td>\n4\/11\/26<\/td>\nClifford D. Simak<\/td>\nCity<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1786<\/td>\n4\/11\/26<\/td>\nSax Rohmer<\/td>\nThe Trail of Fu Manchu<\/em><\/td>\nThriller<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1787<\/td>\n4\/13\/26<\/td>\nMichael Bonner, ed.<\/td>\nUncut Magazine<\/em> July 2025<\/td>\nMusic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1788<\/td>\n4\/13\/26<\/td>\nJohn Dickson Carr<\/td>\nThe House At Satan’s Elbow<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1789<\/td>\n4\/14\/26<\/td>\nMack Reynolds<\/em> \/ Claude Nunes<\/em><\/td>\nDawnman Planet<\/em> \/ Inherit The Earth<\/em> [Ace Double G-580]<\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1790<\/td>\n4\/16\/26<\/td>\nMargaret Frazer<\/td>\nThe Clerk’s Tale<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Over a thousand books later (I read Charles Martin’s Catullus as Book #784) I read another of the works about this poet recommended by Steven Saylor (whom I didn’t highlight in the last tranche of books solely because I’ve mentioned him time and time again), the very fine Catullus & His World: A Reappraisal<\/em> by T. P. Wiseman. I found it to be another excellent work on a poet who I must admit I know very little about and likely\u2014being somewhat of a cracker philistine\u2014understand even less. But it is always a pleasure to read a good writer who knows expertly his subject. While I might doubt the identification of the poet Catullus with the mime playwright, Wiseman makes his case well and boldly, in every field. I even found myself tearing up when reading the David Vessey lines on Lesbia that Wiseman quotes in his closing section on the afterlife of Catullus and his poetry up to our time.<\/p>\n

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Too big perhaps to read twice in paperback, but the end of this last century of books saw me finish my 3rd read-through of the magisterial The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich<\/em> by William L. Shirer. This tome is simply one of the best histories of all time, its depth and insight made possible only by the fortunate capture of so many Nazi documents after World War II. Indeed, some of the revelations make one wonder how many other secrets lie beneath our \u2018common knowledge\u2019 of other historical events. But Shirer is very good at what he does, keeping this huge book on track even as he has to make drastic choices as to what to cover (the futile tales of military \u2018resistance\u2019 to Hitler) and what he does not (much military history (esp. the naval), and almost all of the War in the Pacific). The sad truth is that far too many people who read this or other histories of the rise and fall of Hitler will take the wrong lesson: instead of \u2018maybe one person can never know everything\u2019 they always seem to think, \u201cWell, if it had been me, I wouldn\u2019t have made those mistakes; I\u2019m much too smart for that!\u201d Very very well worth reading, and very readable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nRead<\/th>\nAuthor<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\nGenre<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1791<\/td>\n4\/17\/26<\/td>\nT. P. Wiseman<\/td>\nCatullus and his World: A Reappraisal<\/em><\/td>\nLiterary Criticism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1792<\/td>\n4\/17\/26<\/td>\nCrockett Johnson<\/td>\nHarold and the Purple Crayon<\/em><\/td>\nChildren’s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1793<\/td>\n4\/19\/26<\/td>\nWillam L. Shirer<\/td>\nThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich<\/em><\/td>\nHistory<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1794<\/td>\n4\/22\/26<\/td>\nTerry Carr, ed.<\/td>\nUniverse 12<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1795<\/td>\n4\/23\/26<\/td>\nCarter Dickson [John Dickson Carr]<\/td>\nThe Plague Court Murders<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1796<\/td>\n4\/24\/26<\/td>\nBasil Copper<\/td>\nThe Further Adventures of Solar Pons<\/em><\/td>\nMystery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1797<\/td>\n4\/25\/26<\/td>\nNigel Pennick<\/td>\nThe Complete Illustrated Guide to Runes<\/em><\/td>\nMagic & Witchcraft<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1798<\/td>\n4\/26\/26<\/td>\nAndrew J. Offutt<\/td>\nShadows Out Of Hell<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n4\/27\/26<\/td>\nJon Morris<\/td>\nThe Legion Of Regrettable Supervillains<\/em><\/td>\nComics<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1799<\/td>\n4\/27\/26<\/td>\nHenry Wadsworth Longfellow<\/td>\nThe Laurel Poetry Series: Longfellow<\/em><\/td>\nPoetry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n1800<\/td>\n4\/28\/26<\/td>\nPhilip K. Dick<\/td>\nThe Crack in Space<\/em><\/td>\nSF & Fantasy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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And so another book list of 100 Books Read comes to an end, several months after I finished the PKD novel that ended up being Book #1800. Due to my unconscionable delay, I am already halfway through the next century of books, which began with a cheery read of the kids’ encyclopedia volume pictured here. I’m still tending to read too many short books, though I did maintain an average book length (excluding comics and the ilk) of 215 pages \u2026 though that may have something to do with the enormous history of Nazi Germany by Shirer. The next set of 100 will see me reading far too many comics, the result of a silly purchase made while on vacation. Until I finish this next hundred, hope all your books are good books!<\/p>\n

 
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The lists of previously read books may be found by following the links:<\/p>\n