Books and other things

I've had trouble blogging this week. Partially because of the whole broken power cord thing. I usually combine my internet time with sitting on the sofa and Tivo time. And if I must choose, well, Tivo won this week!

So, a few things I have for you. I'm going out to get Shadow of the Wind right now, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, based on the review on Good Reads by my friend Amy. Amy has the BEST Good Reads reviews ever. I have found countless books thanks to her. Here's a snippet of what she has to say about this one (um, Amy, hope you don't mind a little cut and paste action here...)

It's full of spooky houses, foggy european streets at night, strangers in trenchcoats, beautiful mysterious women, and dangerous family secrets.

Sold!!! What's better than foggy streets and trenchcoats, I ask you?

Only a mysterious woman and family secrets!


Also, I've read a few books recently myself and am not nearly as good as Amy is about getting reviews up on GR, but, I will tell you here.. run, don't walk, to go buy Dog On It, a Chet and Bernie mystery, by Spencer Quinn. It's told from the dog's point of view. Yes, it sounds gimmicky, but it's hilarious. The dog's always getting distracted by she-dogs or donuts or cats and running off so you miss bits of dialogue. It's a great device and the characters are really likable. It's very, very low on the violence scale and has a sweet romance, but is low on heat level too. It is the dog narrating, after all.

And I read my first Jack Reacher novel. Where have I been, indeed. It's the best thriller I've ever read by a mile. I've heard he can be violent, but I thought this one, Echo Burning, was very low on violence for a thriller, no bad language, and still felt gritty and tense. Nicely done, Lee Child.