DHS Alumni Message Board

Run to Wally-World NOW do not delay! do not pass go! do not collect $200! (well, unless you want to send it to me ) I hit a pretty good sale at Books-A-Million- 40% off with membership. (30% for nonmembers)

I agree RANGER all the way! We need a drooling emoticon here.

Enjoy!

finished "Love, Janis" and i agree with steve, it was a great read! one thing i thought was really interesting, in a macabre kind of way, is the point that Laura Joplin made that most people who die from heroin overdoses are actually not killed solely by the heroin, but by mixing it with alcohol. i know she's not a coroner or anything, but i'm inclined to believe she did her research!

now i'm reading "Beasts" by Joyce Carol Oates, who has long been one of my favorite writers.

I always seem to read a bunch of books at a time. I'm still finishing the afterword from The Princess Bride, and last night I finished Zombie Haiku, both of which I would recommend, although the second one was a bit icky. I picked up Cold Mountain last night as well, though I'm not sure if I'm interested enough to read it. And I checked out King Matt from the library. There are times I don't read much at all, and then at other times I'll read over 1,000 pages in one week.

If you're into satirical thriller-type stuff, and also into what makes Florida Florida, try Carl Hiaasen. He wrote the novel which the awful movie 'Striptease' was based on - and trust me, the novel is SOOOOOOOOO much better than that movie.

He writes columns for the Miami Herald, and has written novels since 1986. I haven't read all of them, but the early ones are fantastic, especially 'Tourist Season' (about a Miami columnist who turns terrorist) and 'Stormy Weather', which is about what happens after a hurricane destroys a south Florida community...and the former governor is a homeless roadkill-eating bum. There are all sorts of references to things uniquely Floridian, and most of the time those references are funny as hell.

Over the weekend I read Jodi Piccoult's "My Sister's Keeper" and then the rather fun but brainless "Confessions of a Shopaholic" before jumping into "The Lovely Bones." (I couldn't read two serious, depressing books back to back.) Has anyone read any of these?

I read "The Lovely Bones". Did not like it at all. I kept hoping that it would get better and have a more positive ending...nope. I hear they are going to make a movie of it.

Upon Keith's advice, I decided to read the Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker. Enjoyed them immensely. Unfortunately, I've now read all of them in the two libraries closest to me. (I've also read all of his Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall books.) Since they were next to each other, I decided to try some of the T. Jefferson Parker books. They're pretty good. A few have recurring characters, but even those can be read independently of one another. They are all set in southern California.

Lately, I've been reading quite a bit by David Baldacci and Linda Fairstein. I would have to say that his books are similar to Grisham, but a slightly heavier, yet still captivating, read. He has a couple of sets with recurring characters, but most do not have them. Her books have a set of central characters but can be read out of order with no problem. I'm enjoying both authors, but I'm finding the books are lasting longer. Not sure if that's a reflection on me or them, but I'm not racing through a book per day.

I started reading Steve Martini lately. He's another legal thriller author, though the first one I read "The List", seemed like a move in another direction for him. From the two books I've read so far, he's big on a odd little twist at the end. They've been entertaining, but like Sheri, I seem to linger a little longer on the books, which to me means it hasn't really captured my attention.

I just bought a few more Michael Crichton books too, so that'll keep me busy for the summer.

That one was twisted and depressing.

I don't know why, but I can't seem to find any books that capture my interest lately.

I rediscovered one recently that everyone will likely enjoy, but those with kids might get double enjoyment in reading it to/with them.

'The Animal Family' (1965) by Randall Jarrell is a fun, fantasy children's book that, IMHO really gets into the themes of home and family and what those terms really mean. Very early Maurice Sendak drawings in there (though only a few, and not what we've come to expect from him). Anyway, worth the read as it's very quick, easy, and deep enough to think about for a few days.

I'm struggling through Margaret Truman's "Murder at the Washington Tribune" right now. She writes murder mysteries set in D.C. and I've enjoyed the ones I've read in the past. However, this one is a struggle. The writing style is different from the ones I read previously, so perhaps that is part of my problem with it.

The last couple of weeks I've been reading quite a bit of Nevada Barr and Dick Francis. The Nevada Barr books feature a national park ranger, Anna Pigeon, and each book is set in a different national park. The background in Dick Francis's books is usually the British horse racing scene. I would put both authors in the murder mystery category.