Having both an enlightening and somewhat terrifying journey through "The Body Keeps The Score".

Going to read something light and flippant after this one.

I've read a few good ones since my last post:

"The Boys from Riverside" - Thomas Fuller. The story of a high school football team where they are deaf. I didn't know about 8 man football or about the deaf community. Excellent

"Crashing Through: A True Story of Risk, Adventure and the Man Who Dared to See" - Robert Kurson I did not plan on reading about deaf people and then the blind. This was really good, I liked Kurson's book "Shadow Divers" and was not sure about this one. I'm glad I took the time, it told quite story.

"Bandit Heaven- The Hole-in-the Wall-Gang and the Final Chapter of the Wild West" - Tom Clavin I really enjoy Clavin's books, including some he writes with Bob Drury. He gives a good history and details on the characters. Of course, it features Butch and Sundance but a whole lot more.

"Tombstone- The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday and the Vendetta Ride from Hell" - Tom Clavin. I've read other books on Tombstone, this is my second favorite next to "The Last Gunfight" by Jeff Guinn. Clavin does give credit to Guinn for his excellent telling of the story. I couldn't get Dana Delaney out of mind from her role in the movie "Tombstone".

Little did I know that I had about 3 pages left in Radigan when I last posted, but I finished it. I really enjoy Louis L'Amour's writing.

Been trying to decide what to read, and settled on some history with Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.

I'm only barely started, but it is absolutely fascinating, and the writing is very readable. Really interesting.

Edited to add 3/8: The premise is the author examining the history of Islam's conquests and attempts at conquest, dispelling the "religion of peace" concept started during the GWB administration. They really use the same playbook over and over again.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: AUTiger89, March 08, 2025 12:58 PM

Still waiting on The Black Ice from my local library.
Re-reading Project Hail Mary

Found out Libby is Kindle compatible & our library does ebooks via Libby. Put me at #8 for the next Bosch book, instead of 14th for the physical book.
Need to find something available to test that my old Kindle is compatible

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P250UA5, March 05, 2025 07:28 PM

Just finished “Gone Baby Gone” by Dennis Lehane and starting “The Wanted” by Robert Crais.

Just finished “The Wanted” by Robert Crais and starting “Mortal Prey” by John Sandford. For those who have not read the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series by Crais, I recommend you give them a try.

I’ve been listening to the Audible version of Jack Schaeffer’s classic western Monte Walsh. I really liked Tom Selleck’s movie; but as is so often the case, the book is not only very different from the movie, but is about one hundred times as interesting.
Schaeffer was born in the east and had never been in the West when he wrote Shane in 1947; but by 1963 when Monte Walsh was published, he had moved to New Mexico and had become completely immersed in Western cowboy culture and history.
His detailed descriptions of cowboys’ actions on and off their horses; the horses’ movements; and basically everything in the surroundings is amazing. There’s a lot of repetition of actions, as the point is the sameness of cowboys’ lives over 30 years. Monte pulling a pouch of tobacco out of his buddy Chet’s pocket, pouring some on the paper he pulled out of his own pocket, lighting a match with his thumbnail, etc. Repeated countless times. The overall effect is you’re living with these cowpokes over the years as they get older and their time is past. Love it.

Went from #15 to #1 in a day
Midway through The Black Ice & have Concrete Blonde on hold.

The Libby/Kindle thing was a no-go, guess my Kindle is just too old for it. Amazon has an 'upgrade/trade-in' program. Mine is worth $5

JUSSI ALDER-OLSEN
Department 'Q' Book 9

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.

Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.
--
Groucho Marx

I will look fir Soulstealers by Philip Kuhn

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I’ve been listening to the Audible version of Jack Schaeffer’s classic western Monte Walsh. I really liked Tom Selleck’s movie; but as is so often the case, the book is not only very different from the movie, but is about one hundred times as interesting.
Schaeffer was born in the east and had never been in the West when he wrote Shane in 1947; but by 1963 when Monte Walsh was published, he had moved to New Mexico and had become completely immersed in Western cowboy culture and history.
His detailed descriptions of cowboys’ actions on and off their horses; the horses’ movements; and basically everything in the surroundings is amazing. There’s a lot of repetition of actions, as the point is the sameness of cowboys’ lives over 30 years. Monte pulling a pouch of tobacco out of his buddy Chet’s pocket, pouring some on the paper he pulled out of his own pocket, lighting a match with his thumbnail, etc. Repeated countless times. The overall effect is you’re living with these cowpokes over the years as they get older and their time is past. Love it.

As I’m sure I’ve posted before, Monte Walsh is my favorite Western novel.

Just finished Mortal Prey by John Sandford. The Lucas Davenport series by Sandford is on par with the Bosch series and easy reading; highly recommended.

Just starting another book in the Jesse Stone series which was initially written by Robert B Parker. The last book in the series by Parker before his death was Split Image however, the series was continued by other authors writing in his style. Michael Brandman penned the book I’m starting named Killing the Blues and after a few pages I find his writing very close to Parker’s in the Jess Stone books.

quote:

As I’m sure I’ve posted before, Monte Walsh is my favorite Western novel.

Ok, so we have the same taste in westerns.
I haven't read any Louis L'Amour; I've read Lonseome Dove by McMurtry.
What author do you recommend I tackle next?
Does Jack Schaeffer have any other outstanding western novels?

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

What author do you recommend I tackle next?

For novels set in the west, C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series. Mr. Box uses the English language exceptionally well.

The local County Library has most of his books available for free downloads to Kindle e-readers. If you don't have a Kindle (they are on sale frequently at Amazon), you can download free Kindle reading apps for just about any type of smartphone, tablet, computer, etc.

Homer's "The Odyssey"... Strangely enough, I have much more patience for it now than I did in high school.

quote:

הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים

I’ve been reading «my hovercraft is full of eels » not Elsa. That’s my granddaughters’ hovercraft.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sjtill, March 15, 2025 08:32 PM

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:

quote:

As I’m sure I’ve posted before, Monte Walsh is my favorite Western novel.

Ok, so we have the same taste in westerns.
I haven't read any Louis L'Amour; I've read Lonseome Dove We Pointed Them North by McMurtry.
What author do you recommend I tackle next?
Does Jack Schaeffer have any other outstanding western novels?

Schaefer also wrote Shane, as you can imagine, also well worth reading. Let’s see… There’s always All the Pretty Horses, McCarthy, along with the two others of the “Border Triology.” Elmer Kelton, The Day the Cowboys Quit, Ivan Doig, Bucking the Sun. We Pointed Them North, not McMurtry, but Teddy Blue Abbott, and the other two classics of the Texas Trail era: A Texas Cowboy, Charlie Siringo, and Log of a Cowboy, Andy Adams. Leaving Cheyenne is by Larry McMurtry though, and it’s great, and about anything by Will James, start with The Cowboy. Riders of the Purple Sage, Zane Grey, is a classic, and certainly worth reading. I found Louis Lamour a bit formulaic, but he certainly wrote some good ones. I’d have to poke around in some boxes to figure out which ones I thought were worth keeping.

Just finished Killing The Blues, a Jesse Stone book. Michael Brandman did an outstanding job of writing in Robert B Parker’s style.

Going to switch gears and read another of Robert B Parker’s Looking For Rachael Wallace where Spenser is the main character. I don’t find this series as entertaining as Jesse Stone but still it’s worthwhile

In response to someone’s post that I can’t find now, in which Lonesome Dove was criticized for having taken too much of its story from the life of Charles Goodnight, I have bought and am reading Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman by J. Evetts Haley.

It’s definitely a story from a different time; describing slaughtering of Indians; slavery in Texas before and during the Civil War; and getting caught in a buffalo stampede. Not prettied up.