1. Commander In Chief - Greaney (Clancy) 7/10 2. The Devil in the White City - Larson 6.5/10 3. True Faith and Allegiance - Greaney 7.5/10 4. The Gray Man (Gray Man Series #1) - Greaney 7.5/10 - 5. Duty and Honor - Grant Blackwood 3/10 6. On Target (Gray Man #2) - Greaney 8/10 - Much improved story/plot from the 1st installment... While "The Gray Man" was action packed, there was little character development & the plot just wasn't believable. Vol. 2 struck a better balance & the story benefited.
1. The Gray Man by Mark Greaney (Gray Man Series #1) 7/10 2. Days of Rage by Brad Taylor (Pike Logan Series #6) 7.5/10 3. The First World War: A Brief History with Documents by Susan R. Grayzel 7/10
1. The Atlantis Gene, A.G. Riddle, 6.5/10 2. Grimscribe, Thomas Ligotti, 9.5/10 3. The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch, 10/10 4. Red Seas Under Red Skies, Scott Lynch, 9/10 5. Hounded, Kevin Hearne, 7/10 6. Banquet for the Damned, Adam G. Nevill, 1/10 7. The Body Reader, Anne Frasier, 7.5/10 8. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett, 9/10 9. The Winter Over, Matthew Iden, 5/10 10. Huntress Moon, Alexandra Sokoloff 8.5/10
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James
1. The Crippled God (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #10) - Steven Erikson (9/10) 2. Dune - Frank Herbert (7/10) 3. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) - Carlos Ruiz Zafón (9/10) 4. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (6/10) 5. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) - Stephen King (7/10) 6. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) - Stephen King (8/10) 7. The North Water - Ian McGuire (6.5/10) 8. The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower #3) - Stephen King (7.5/10)
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline
At least they're written. I got a huge bone on for Scott Lynch and found out he's mentally ill and struggling to write. Like Martin and such.
Yeah, I'm not putting the guy down. Can't imagine the pressure on top of some mental health concerns. But it's terribly disappointing in a decontextualized sense.
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock
1. The Gray Man by Mark Greaney (Gray Man Series #1) 7/10 2. Days of Rage by Brad Taylor (Pike Logan Series #6) 7.5/10 3. The First World War: A Brief History with Documents by Susan R. Grayzel 7/10 4. Persuader by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #7) 7/10
1. Commander In Chief - Greaney (Clancy) 7/10 2. The Devil in the White City - Larson 6.5/10 3. True Faith and Allegiance - Greaney 7.5/10 4. The Gray Man (Gray Man Series #1) - Greaney 7.5/10 - 5. Duty and Honor - Grant Blackwood 3/10 6. On Target (Gray Man #2) - Greaney 8/10 7. Ballistic (Gray Man #3) - 8.5/10 - series is picking up steam, as this book was better than the last. Court Gentry reminds me of John Clark, in Clancy's "Without Remorse". On to #4.
1. Dune, by Frank Herbert (6.5/10) 2. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry (7/10) 3. The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1) by Daniel Silva (8.5/10) 4. The Templar Legacy (Cotton Malone #1) by Steve Berry (6.5/10) 5. Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth (6/10) 6. Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer (7/10) 7. Empires of the Sea, by Roger Crowley (9/10) 8. 1984 by George Orwell (8.5/10) 9. The North Water, by Ian McGuire (7/10) 10. The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon #2) by Daniel Siva (8/10) 11. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (9/10) 12. The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone #2) by Steve Berry Mamaw is hilarious. Hillbilly Elegy was a great. Had been on my list for a while, and saw a few you read it, which finally prompted me to. Good insight into that portion of our population.
1. Dark Matter - Blake Crouch (9/10) 2. Hillbilly Elegy - JD Vance (8/10) Dark Matter was awesome and can easily see it translate well to the big screen. Hillbilly Elegy was also very good. I'm from a very large "hillbilly" family (granddad has 14 siblings) in Virginia so there are a lot of parallels between his childhood and lot of my relatives. His story is pretty remarkable.
1. The Crippled God (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #10) - Steven Erikson (9/10) 2. Dune - Frank Herbert (7/10) 3. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) - Carlos Ruiz Zafón (9/10) 4. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (6/10) 5. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) - Stephen King (7/10) 6. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) - Stephen King (8/10) 7. The North Water - Ian McGuire (6.5/10) 8. The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower #3) - Stephen King (7.5/10) 9. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (7/10) 10. Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4) - Stephen King (9.5/10) 11. Snapshot - Brandon Sanderson (8/10) A Confederacy of Dunces is one of the more unique novels I've ever read. Hard to explain. Really well written, super quirky. Won the Pulitzer back in the '80s. Wizard and Glass was incredible and is squarely in my favorites books now. Points deduction primarily due to its (short) beginning. Snapshot is Sanderson being Sanderson. Super interesting novella about detectives in a "snapshot" recreation of a specific day where they investigate a crime.
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard 8. First as Tragedy, Then as Farce - Slavoj Žižek
1. Dune, by Frank Herbert (6.5/10) 2. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry (7/10) 3. The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1) by Daniel Silva (8.5/10) 4. The Templar Legacy (Cotton Malone #1) by Steve Berry (6.5/10) 5. Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth (6/10) 6. Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer (7/10) 7. Empires of the Sea, by Roger Crowley (9/10) 8. 1984 by George Orwell (8.5/10) 9. The North Water, by Ian McGuire (7/10) 10. The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon #2) by Daniel Siva (8/10) 11. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (9/10) 12. The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone #2) by Steve Berry (7.5/10) 13. Star Wars: Empire's End (Aftermath #3) by Chuck Wendig (7.5/10) 14. Animal Farm by George Orwell (8/10)
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard 8. First as Tragedy, Then as Farce - Slavoj Žižek 9. Civil Wars: A History in Ideas - David Armitage
1. Dune, by Frank Herbert (6.5/10) 2. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry (7/10) 3. The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1) by Daniel Silva (8.5/10) 4. The Templar Legacy (Cotton Malone #1) by Steve Berry (6.5/10) 5. Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth (6/10) 6. Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer (7/10) 7. Empires of the Sea, by Roger Crowley (9/10) 8. 1984 by George Orwell (8.5/10) 9. The North Water, by Ian McGuire (7/10) 10. The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon #2) by Daniel Siva (8/10) 11. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (9/10) 12. The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone #2) by Steve Berry (7.5/10) 13. Star Wars: Empire's End (Aftermath #3) by Chuck Wendig (7.5/10) 14. Animal Farm by George Orwell (8/10) 15. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (7/10) 16. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (8.5/10)
1. The Gray Man by Mark Greaney (Gray Man Series #1) 7/10 2. Days of Rage by Brad Taylor (Pike Logan Series #6) 7.5/10 3. The First World War: A Brief History with Documents by Susan R. Grayzel 7/10 4. Persuader by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #7) 7/10 5. The Brusilov Offensive by Timothy C. Dowling 6/10
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard 8. First as Tragedy, Then as Farce - Slavoj Žižek 9. Civil Wars: A History in Ideas - David Armitage 10. Songs of a Dead Dreamer - Thomas Ligotti
1. The Crippled God (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #10) - Steven Erikson (9/10) 2. Dune - Frank Herbert (7/10) 3. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) - Carlos Ruiz Zafón (9/10) 4. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (6/10) 5. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) - Stephen King (7/10) 6. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) - Stephen King (8/10) 7. The North Water - Ian McGuire (6.5/10) 8. The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower #3) - Stephen King (7.5/10) 9. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (7/10) 10. Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4) - Stephen King (9.5/10) 11. Snapshot - Brandon Sanderson (8/10) 12. Blood and Bone (Malazan Empire #5) - Ian C. Esslemont (6/10) I just never could get into this one.
1. Poisonfeather (Gibson Vaughn #2) - Matthew FitzSimmons (7.5/10) 2. The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture - Glen Weldon (8.5/10) 3. Waking Gods (Themis Files #2) - Sylvain Neuvel (7.5/10) 4. Red Rising (Red Rising #1) - Pierce Brown (8.5/10) 5. Golden Son (Red Rising #2) - Pierce Brown (8.5/10) So it took me a bit longer to get through this one than it did the first book of the trilogy. I felt like it was uneven at the start and really good or great chapters were followed by the politics of the world to the point where I was bogged down in them. So I put I off and put it off and suddenly I went into tonight with about 25% left of a book I started a month ago. So I decided I needed to finish it and set some time aside to do just that. And I'm happy I did. So I'm giving this book an 8.5/10, the same grade as #1, even though I didn't enjoy it on the whole as much as I did the first book. Why? Because what happened at the end, including the setup for the final book of that trilogy, has me changing my reading plans. I will immediately dive into book #3. What a middle part that ended up turning into. My heart was beating incredibly hard for about the last 10% of the book.
I was actually pretty disappointed with it. The narrative makes for a decent story, but the supposed profundity of its observations on rural poor whites has really been overrated. There's a lot of bootstrapping and whitewashed welfare queen myths.
1. Dune, by Frank Herbert (6.5/10) 2. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry (7/10) 3. The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1) by Daniel Silva (8.5/10) 4. The Templar Legacy (Cotton Malone #1) by Steve Berry (6.5/10) 5. Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth (6/10) 6. Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer (7/10) 7. Empires of the Sea, by Roger Crowley (9/10) 8. 1984 by George Orwell (8.5/10) 9. The North Water, by Ian McGuire (7/10) 10. The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon #2) by Daniel Siva (8/10) 11. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (9/10) 12. The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone #2) by Steve Berry (7.5/10) 13. Star Wars: Empire's End (Aftermath #3) by Chuck Wendig (7.5/10) 14. Animal Farm by George Orwell (8/10) 15. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (7/10) 16. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (8.5/10) 17. Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (8.5/10)
rv12 joey jo-jo jr shabadoo and anyone else that has read 1177 - I came across this lecture by Cline on the book, which was pretty good if you want to nerd out
1. Golden Son (Red Rising #2) - Pierce Brown (8/10) 2. Morning Star (Red Rising #3) - Pierce Brown (8/10) 3. Scrappy Little Nobody - Anna Kendrick (6.5/10) 4. Dune (Dune #1) - Frank Herbert (7.5/10) 5. Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #1) - Dan Simmons (9/10) 6. The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos #2) - Dan Simmons (9/10) 7. The Blade Itself (First Law #1) - Joe Abercrombie (8/10) 8. Before They Are Hanged (First Law #2) Joe Abercrombie (8/10)
1. Dune, by Frank Herbert (6.5/10) 2. The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry (7/10) 3. The Kill Artist (Gabriel Allon #1) by Daniel Silva (8.5/10) 4. The Templar Legacy (Cotton Malone #1) by Steve Berry (6.5/10) 5. Carve The Mark by Veronica Roth (6/10) 6. Master of Formalities by Scott Meyer (7/10) 7. Empires of the Sea, by Roger Crowley (9/10) 8. 1984 by George Orwell (8.5/10) 9. The North Water, by Ian McGuire (7/10) 10. The English Assassin (Gabriel Allon #2) by Daniel Siva (8/10) 11. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (9/10) 12. The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone #2) by Steve Berry (7.5/10) 13. Star Wars: Empire's End (Aftermath #3) by Chuck Wendig (7.5/10) 14. Animal Farm by George Orwell (8/10) 15. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (7/10) 16. Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (8.5/10) 17. Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (8.5/10) 18. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (10/10)
1. Commander In Chief - Greaney (Clancy) 7/10 2. The Devil in the White City - Larson 6.5/10 3. True Faith and Allegiance - Greaney 7.5/10 4. The Gray Man (Gray Man Series #1) - Greaney 7.5/10 - 5. Duty and Honor - Grant Blackwood 3/10 6. On Target (Gray Man #2) - Greaney 8/10 7. Ballistic (Gray Man #3) - 8.5/10 8. Dead Eye (Gray Man #4) - Greaney 9/10 - Best book of the series... Finally learn more of Court Gentry's back story. This series is made for Hollywood, but I'm unsure who I'd want to play the lead
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard 8. First as Tragedy, Then as Farce - Slavoj Žižek 9. Civil Wars: A History in Ideas - David Armitage 10. Songs of a Dead Dreamer - Thomas Ligotti 11. The Reivers - William Faulkner
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard 8. First as Tragedy, Then as Farce - Slavoj Žižek 9. Civil Wars: A History in Ideas - David Armitage 10. Songs of a Dead Dreamer - Thomas Ligotti 11. The Reivers - William Faulkner 12. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
1. The Crippled God (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #10) - Steven Erikson (9/10) 2. Dune - Frank Herbert (7/10) 3. The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) - Carlos Ruiz Zafón (9/10) 4. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (6/10) 5. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower #1) - Stephen King (7/10) 6. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) - Stephen King (8/10) 7. The North Water - Ian McGuire (6.5/10) 8. The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower #3) - Stephen King (7.5/10) 9. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (7/10) 10. Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4) - Stephen King (9.5/10) 11. Snapshot - Brandon Sanderson (8/10) 12. Blood and Bone (Malazan Empire #5) - Ian C. Esslemont (6/10) 13. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments - David Foster Wallace (8/10) 14. The Heroes (First Law World #5) - Joe Abercrombie (8/10)
1. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Jungle City - Greg Grandin 2. On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State - Joseph R. Strayer 3. The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution - C.L.R. James 4. 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Eric H. Cline 5. The Bitter Road to Freedom: The Human Cost of Allied Victory in World War II Europe - William I. Hitchcock 6. Gengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Jack Weatherford 7. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome - Mary Beard 8. First as Tragedy, Then as Farce - Slavoj Žižek 9. Civil Wars: A History in Ideas - David Armitage 10. Songs of a Dead Dreamer - Thomas Ligotti 11. The Reivers - William Faulkner 12. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 13. Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism - Ha-Joon Chang