Books, Music and Movies

Personally, there is almost nothing worse than spending good money on books that suck. I am fresh out of books at the moment, having finished two Janet Evanovich books back to back. Please send your suggestions.

Personally, there is almost nothing worse than spending good money on books that suck. I am fresh out of books at the moment, having finished two Janet Evanovich books back to back. Please send your suggestions.

The following is a list of books. I have read and recommend most of them.

Gone with the Wind
Fortune's Rocks
Memoirs of a Geisha
Life of Pi
Time Traveler's Wife
Da Vinci Code
Snow Falling on Cedars
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
The Divine Secrets of the YA-YA Sisterhood
Like Water for Chocolate
The Red Tent
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Princess Bride
Empress By Shan Sa
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
The Five People you meet in Heven by Mitch Albom
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett
Ender’s Game by Orsen Scott Card
Alvin the Maker (series) by Orsen Scott Card
Lamb: The Gospel of Jesus Christ According to His Childhood Pal Biff
The Stupidest Angel
A Dirty Job
Outlander Series
The Stand
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
The Other Boleyn Girl
One Thousand White Women
Secret Life Of Bees
Atlas Shrugged
Great Expectations
The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus
Kite Runner
Forever by Peter Hamill
Janet Evanovich
The Good Earth
Battlefield Earth
Flowers for Algernon
Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

I recently read my first Jimmy Buffett book, A Salty Piece of Land. I found it to be well worth reading. On the back cover Michael Harris of the Los Angeles Times Book Review says, “It goes down like a pina colada: smooth and sweet.” Upon picking up the book I found this difficult to believe, now that I read it, I have to agree.

While I am not a hardcore fan of Buffett’s music, I do appreciate the emotions that he captures in his music and somehow this also communicates in his writing. It is almost like the music is a soundtrack for the main character’s life.

This book captures the feeling that all of us have had to be somewhere else, leading a different life without thoroughly romanticizing the “beach and margarita” lifestyle. The little bits of humor throughout, including some of the characters names such as Ix-Nay and Captain Kirk are well done without being overbearing. The improbable adventures of the characters are made probable.

This is definitely a non-cerebral read. But it is a fun little adventure.