The Book I Read 2023

The Book I Read 2023

***** = Must read.
**** = Really good.
*** = Worth reading.
** = A waste of time, but one or two good moments.
* = Not worth your time.

-0 = Less Than Zero: a book so bad that you actually lose several IQ points from the reading experience. 

1. Mage: The Hero Discovered Volume I by Matt Wagner ** I think this is the first time I read most of these issues: this collection spans issues 1 - 8, and many moons ago I started reading the title with issue 6 (and continued through to 15, way back in those Comico days). And I enjoyed it, for sure...but the writing was stilted at times, and the art had more than a few of those awkward moments that never seem to have left Matt Wagner's work. Hoopla has the whole series (all three parts, that is), and I'm thinking I'll probably keep on reading. (I only made it four issues into The Hero Defined arc...no idea why.) 

2. Jenny's Moonlight Adventure by Esther Averill  *** Only 30 pages long,  but hey, a book is a book. This one wasn't as much fun as my previous Jenny read, but I've got three more and I'm probably going to read all of them. How can I not read about the adventures of a black cat, after all.

3. Asimov's Mysteries by Isaac Asimov *** Still going on my Asimov kick--just reading 2 or 3 pages a day, but hitting in every day, and so have now put down 15 of his books in about three years. They've all been at least good. This collection, which includes Asimov's first published story ("Marooned Off Vesta," 1939), was an entertaining Baker's Dozen of tales. I wish that there had been a little more fore- and after word material--there was some, but it was pretty brief--as I often enjoy that as much or more than the stories themselves, but what there was of it was fun. And now...on to Nightfall and Other Stories. 1/6/23

4. Grammar for a Full Life: How the Ways We Shape a Sentence Can Limit or Enlarge Us by Lawrence Weinstein 12/7/22 to 1/7/22 Read this one at the urging of my #1🌞, who wanted to try out the Daily Devotional Reading approach (a few pages per day, every day). He enjoyed it, and we're already planning to start another book in a day or two. Which means I now have three every day books (Dickens, Asimov, and #1🌞) as well as six almost every day books (3 with #1Daughter, 3 with #2🌞). That's a lot.

Not 5: Upon finishing Ben Guterson's Winterhouse, I planned to go straight on through the rest of the trilogy, with The Secrets of Winterhouse next up. And I did start said book on 12/2/22...but I didn't get very far. I just ran out of steam. For one thing, it just seemed to be more of the same...same problems, same setting, hell, even the same villain. So I'm moving on, moving on, it's getting phony.

5. Cable/Deadpool Volume 1: If Looks Could Kill by Fabian Nicieza, Mark Brooks, and Patrick Zircher 1/7/23 Just felt in the mood for some Cable. It happens. This wasn't particularly good Cable...and both his and Deadpool's characters seemed off to me...but it wasn't bad, either. I'd say **. There was one little tribute bit that made me smile:                                                  

The library has more Cable/Deadpool, but I might not need any more. News as it happens.

6. Dombey and Son Volume I by Charles Dickens 12/26/22 to 1/12/23 

7. Sphere by Michael Crichton 1/8/23 to 1/12/23 For the first third of this book, I thought it was excellent. Then for the second third things got a bit strained. And from there to the end it was just awful. Clearly Crichton had no idea what to do with this story, so it devolved into cliche and nonsensicality once the set-up was complete. In fact, this book ended so badly that when I saw two Crichton books (Congo and State of Fear) at Goodwill today for 99¢ apiece I wasn't even tempted to pick them up. Sad.

8. The Secret Garden (Great Illustrated Classics) by Frances Hodgson Burnett, adapted by Malvina G. Vogel 12/26/22 to 1/19/23

9. Mage: The Hero Discovered Volume II by Matt Wagner ** That's about enough of that, I think. 1/21/23 

10. Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld 1/23/22 Kind of cute cartoons about books and the pandemic and stuff.

11. The Efficiency Expert by Edgar Rice Burroughs  (11/28/22 to 1/23/23 ) This was the 79th ERB book that I read out loud to Joe. It's also the only ERB book that I only "read" via audiobook previously, so this was my first reading reading. And it was pretty stilted at times, and relied way too much on coincidences, but it was still pretty entertaining, and I enjoyed it quite a bit, actually.

12. Dombey and Son Volume II by Charles Dickens   1/12/23 to 1/24/23 The big turnaround / redemption at the end was a bit much, but still, I think this is my favorite Dickens so far.

13. Musical Tables by Billy Collins The first poetry book I've read in awhile...and by a poet I have liked quite a bit in the past. But this? It was mostly just silly shit. In fact, there was only one poem that I liked. Part of that, I suppose, is that Mr. Collins decided to write a book of very short poems...and let's just say that he's no haiku master. Part of it was his propensity to silliness and wordplay, which just didn't work for me. 1/25/23

14. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe **** I had some problems with this book, but I think I'm going to write about them in greater detail elsewhere. For now, let's just say this this book made me feel great sympathy for people whose sexuality doesn't fit into a neat box, and I think that Maia was very brave in the way e portrayed The Struggle in this book. 1/25/23 

15. A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller. *** I've been Jonesing to read some pays, and Arthur Miller has been on my list of playwrights I wanted to jump onto, so when I saw a paperback of this one on the spinner rack at Half Price Books for a mere $1.99, I went for it. Read it pretty quickly and found it compelling....though it seemed rough around the edges and I thought the very brief (A page at mist) denouement was unsatisfying. But Eddie in SUCH an American: good-hearted, but full of shit. Violent, passionate, generous, selfish, envious, incestuous, impotent. If nothing else, it made me want to read more Arthur Miller. 1/27/23

P.S. And due to the munificence of the Louisville Free Public Library, I was able to find three volumes of the collected plays of Arthur Miller (Everyman's Library editions), and even as we speak, the first of these tomes is winging my way. This one includes All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, and The Crucible, so its pretty much the Greatest Hits package. News as it happens.

16, Sketches By Boz Volume I * The worst Dickens book I've read so far. I am not sure I have it in me to read Volume II right now.

17. The Story of Ruth by Isaac Asimov 1/21/23 to 2/7/23 *** An interesting book: it takes the complete text of Ruth, pulls it apart, and surrounds the parts with context and useful information. There were times when it felt a little "talky down," but it is written for kids, after all. Well worth doing, and I wish there were lots more of these.

18. The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill 2/8/23 **** Not the easiest play to read for various reasons, but it really pulled me along.

19. Rivers of London Volume 1: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, & Lee Sullivan *** I've been meaning to get around to this one for awhile now, so when I saw it on hoopla...and as a free loan, no less...I went for it. It was a quick read and not without moments of interest, but (1) seemed like the same old stuff I've read before more than once and (2) the art was pretty basic. So I don't know if I need any more of the series...though hoopla does have a lot more. Not as free loans, though.

20. Sketches by Boz by Charles Dickens * The worst Dickens book I've read thus far...and I would predict the worst of all IMHO. I really had to drag myself through most of this. It's trite, it's silly, it's a waste of time. Don't even bother to go there.

21. Apache Delivery Service by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins ** Interesting, but more for the art than the story...and more for the covers than for the art. I guess there will be more trade paperback collections of this, but I won't be there for them. Glad I read it for free. Thanks,  hoopla .

22. Milestone Compendium One by A Whole Lotta Folks **** Great comics, great project--I'm assuming they're going to do the full Milestone run since they've just published Compendium Two. If they don't, I'll be an unhappy camper. But anyway: quite the historically significant publication, too: 1,300 pages of comic books about heroes of color produced primarily by writers and artists of color. And really a bargain: you can get a copy for $40, which works out to about 3¢ a page. A regular comic book these days runs about 20¢ a page. The only drawback is that this is one heavy motherfucker. I usually lay on my back and put it on my chest to read. And it took a long time to work my way through it...but it was a pure, plum-pleasing pleasure.

23. David Copperfield Volume I by Charles Dickens   2/16/23 to 2/23/23 **** Ah, yes, this is the Charles Dickens I have known and loved. And as you can see, I tore through Volume I...523 pages (plus the intro stuff) in 8 days. 

24. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Great Illustrated Classics) by Mark Twain, adapted by Deidre S. Laiken. This is the 39th book that Joe read to me. 12/31/22 to  2/26/23

25. B.P.R.D.: Plague of Frogs, Volume 1 by Mike Mignola and a bunch of other folks, Guy Davis being the most noteworthy for me.

26. A First Bible Story Book by Mary Hoffman So Jacqueline and I are now reading three different versions of The Bible. That's a lot of Bible.  2/9/23 to 2/28/23

27. David Copperfield Volume II by Charles Dickens   2/24/23 to 3/8/23 Superb book!

28. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 3/1/23 to 3/8/23 This book really sucked ass! Don't bother with it! Even if it is Very Popular! Read some Dickens instead!

29. The Man-Eater by Edgar Rice Burroughs  (1/26/23 to 3/12/23) This was the 80th ERB book that I read out loud to Joe. Sorry to say that I remember reading this book previously, and I thought it was a really bad book. Here's hoping that I get a better impression of it the second time through. And? I was actually thinking, "I was wrong, this isn't THAT bad," until the last few chapters, when a ton and a half of shit hit the fan. Impossible coincidence piled on top of impossible coincidence to make the reading pretty unpleasant. But I think Joe still liked it, especially since a lion mauled several bad guys at the end.

30. The Uncommercial Traveller by Charles Dickens, 3/9/23 to 3/20/23. I'm sorry to say that this is another Dickens book (along with Sketches by Boz, all of the Christmas Stories except for A Christmas Carol, and Martin Chuzzlewit--7 of the 21 1/2 volumes I've read so far--that I would suggest you skip if you would like the keep a sharp edge in your love for Dickens. The "stories" here are mostly trite and unamusing, and quite  few if them seem pointless as well. Just sayin', sir.

31. Lessons You Can Learn From the Bible by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society 10/30/22 to 3/26/23 A Jehovah's witness book that Jacqueline got from a pair of them set up outside of the library.

32. A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens  3/20/23 to 3/30/23 A most excellent book. 

33.  Volume 1 by Jed MacKay and Ig Guara. *** Not a great comic book, but interesting enough for me to start Volume 2 when I finished it.

34. Reprinted Pieces by Charles Dickens 3/24/23 to 4/6/23 Not a good book and certainly not recommended, but there were a few pieces--including the last one, for which um grateful also at least there's that.

35. Hamlet, Protagonist Unbound: Being, Truth, Identity, and Reality in Hamlet--A literary-philosophical close reading of Hamlet, Drawing upon scholarship in the interdisciplinary field of literature and philosophy, and the history of ideas by David Wright 

36. Nightfall and Other Stories by Isaac Asimov ** Sorry to say that this short story collection--which purportedly includes The Greatest Science Fiction Story Ever Written (though I beg to differ on that)--was more trial than joy for me. In fact, I'm glad to close the cover and move on. 4/12/23

37. Magic Volume 2 by Jed MacKay and Ig Guara *** I'm still more than a little bit confused by this comic book's there's obviously a huge backstory that I know nothing above I don't like the art style used on the interior pages, as it is very manga-ish without the charm of manga...but despite all of that, the story is growing on me. Think I'll go ahead and read Volume 3. 4/16/23 

 38. Old Testament, Orthodox Study Bible--published by Thomas Nelson, New King James Version 4/16/23 

39. Magic Volume 3 by Jed MacKay and Ig Guara *** I'm starting to slip between the sheets of this book (finally). And yes, I believe that I shall have another volume (for free, courtesy of Hoopla).  4/17/23 

40. Magic Volume 4 by Jed McKay and Ig Guara *** You know, I think I'd actually be willing to pay for this book. Which is a good thing if I want to continue, since this collection had issues 16 - 20, and the current issue is #25, and Volume 5 won't be ought until September 5th...and will cost $25. Fortunately, Hoopla has issues 21, 23, and 24, so with a maximum of two purchases I can get caught up. After that, though...it's fish with $5 per issue or cut bait. Time (and I) will tell. 4/17/23 

41. Pride and Prejudice (Great Illustrated Classics) by Jane Austen, adapted by Fern Siegel. This is the 40th book that Joe read to me. 3/2/23 to 4/17/23 

42. The Deputy Sheriff of Comanche County by Edgar Rice Burroughs  (3/16/23 to 4/17/23) This was the 81st ERB book that I read out loud to Joe. 

43. Miscellaneous Pieces Volume I by Charles Dickens 4/4/23 to 4/22/23 A terrible, horrible, no-good book. To be avoided at all costs --unless you're an OCD Dickens enthusiast who just can't leave it alone. If that's the case...I'd suggest taking this book in small bites, maybe five pages per day, and reading a Dickens novel alongside it. That way your love for The Man won't be diminished. As much.

44. Bleak House Volume I by Charles Dickens 4/22/23 to 5/13/23 Ah, that's more like it. *****...only because that's as high as my rating system goes. This novel is just so good....

45. Alessandro Scarlatti: An Introduction to His Operas

by Donald Jay Grout 5/14/23 An interesting foray into Mr. Scarlatti, though at times above my head with respect to technicalities of music. Worth reading, for sure, though, and got me in the mood for more on AS.

46. Miscellaneous Papers Volume II by Charles Dickens -0 Don't do it. Just don't. 4/22/23 to 5/19/23 

47. Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov *** This was actually a pretty good book, despite Asimov's disdain for it. (Which stemmed primarily from the fact that this was a novelization based on a movie script, and that he was thus very constrained in his writing of it.) I'm actually thinking about reading Fantastic Voyage 2: Destination Brain at some point. Just so happens to be available via Internet Archive. 4/13/23 to 5/27/23

48. Deliver Me From Nowhere by Warren Zanes **** I don't buy many new hardback books, but I couldn't resist this one: a book devoted to examining Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska album. And it was goo-oood. Felt like I was climbing inside of Springsteen's mind, heart, and soul. Also made me really feel the impact of the Nebraska album...how different it was, how daring...and what a technological challenge. Excellent book, even if you're not a Springsteen fan. If you are interested in how music is made, this is the book for you, for sure. Don't remember when I started reading it, but it only took me a few days--because I was so absorbed in it. Finished 5/27/23

49. Bleak House Volume II by Charles Dickens 4/23/23 to 5/29/23

A most excellent novel. Maybe my favorite Dickens. (I'll know for sure once I finish the others...which is happening even as we speak.)

50. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle (Great Illustrated Classics) by Washington Irving, adapted by Jack Kelly. The 41st book Joe read to me. 4/20/23 to 6/5/23

51. Hard Times by Charles Dickens 5/30/23 to 6/10/23

52. Forgotten Tales of Love and Murder by Edgar Rice Burroughs  (4/20/23 to 6/9/23 ) This was the 82nd ERB book that I read out loud to Joe. And the second time that I've read this truly wretched book. The only piece in it worth your time is "Elmer," which is the original version of "The Resurrection of Jimber Jaw."

53. Hitomi Volume 1 by H.S. Tak and Isabella Mazzanti **** This was a pretty great comic book. Looked like "real" manga...but I guess not since the writer is American. The art reminded MT of Paul Pope very fluid and kind if sketchy...but in a GOOD way. I'm looking forward to reading more of this, but for now this is all there is. 6/10/23

54. Fantastic Voyage 2: Destination Brain by Isaac Asimov

** Sorry to say that this wasn't a very good book--inferior in every way to its predecessor and completely unnecessary. Finished 6/13/23

55. Uma Wimple Charts Her House by Reif Larsen *** A cute kids' book that made me want to make charts. 6/15/23

56. Entrances & Exits by Reif Larsen *** An interesting little "book" that cannot be read in print form, as it relies on searching through pictures and clicking through links to get to the next "page" of the story. 6/15/23 to 6/16/23

57. You Lucky Girl! by Edgar Rice Burroughs  (6/10/23 to 6/24/23) This was the 83rd ERB book that I read out loud to Joe. It wasn't very good, but it wasn't terrible...and it was quick. In fact, we read it in five 25 page chunks and one 44 page superchunk, so just six reading days. One ERB to go now.

58. Little Dorrit Volume I by Charles Dickens 6/11/23 to 6/27/23 Not a fun read...nor a good one, sorry to say. Unless Volume II is much better, I'd suggest that you skip this one.

59. Little Dorrit Volume II 6/27/23 to 7/8/23 This was a lot better than Volume I. I would seriously suggest skipping Part I and starting with "Book the Second: Riches." It would be a much better reading experience.

60. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 7/9/23 to 7/17/23 Cracking good read that.

61. Robinson Crusoe (Great Illustrated Classics) by Daniel DeFoe, adapted by Malvina Vogel. The 42nd book Joe read to me. 6/8/23 to 7/26/23

62. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 7/18/23 to 8/2/23

63. Philip Wylie by Truman Frederick Keefer finished 8/6/23

64. The Collected Strangers in Paradise. Volume One

by Terry Moore ** For some reason I've been thinking about this book for a couple of months now, so when I saw that the LFPL had an online copy of the first collection (first three issues), I had a free look at it. And? Didn't get my money's worth. The art was not great, and the story irritated me. It was almost like it was a story about women written by a man who didn't really understand women very well.

65. Dawn of the Robots by Isaac Asimov 5/27/23 to 8/11/23 Read most of this at a very slow rate...literally a couple of pages a day... but when I got to the last sixty or so pages I couldn't take it anymore and I gulped it down. A pretty satisfying read...which I really needed after laboring through the autobiographies and the very disappointing Nightfall and Other Stories. More Robot novels, please!

66. Our Mutual Friend Volume I by Charles Dickens 8/2/23 to 8/16/23 Very not good. Very, very not good.

67. Lone Wolf #1: Night Raider by Mike Barry (Barry Malzberg) This was a pretty idiotic "Men's Adventure" thing, but that said (1) I burned through it in a few days, (2) it's Barry Malzberg, man, and (3) if I could put my mitts on #2 for free, I'd read it, too. (Alas, Internet Archive only has this and one other of the 14 books in this series.) 8/27/23

68. A Christmas Carol (Great Illustrated Classics) by Charles Dickens, adapted by Malvina Vogel. The 43rd book Joe read to me. 7/27/23 to 8/27/23

69. Our Mutual Friend Volume II by Charles Dickens 8/17/23 to 8/30/23. A terrible book, I'm sorry to say. Don't save it for your last Dickens the way John Irving and Desmond from Lost did.

70. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens 8/30/23 to 9/4/23 Finished My Dickens Project on a high note. I'm very grateful that I didn't succumb to John Irving Pressure and save Our Mutual Friend  for my last Dickens read. This book was SO much better...even incomplete...that it's ridiculous.

71. Dickens and Kafka by Mark Spilka 9/4/23 to 9/10/23 

72. View From a Height by Isaac Asimov 9/12/23

73. Holly by Stephen King 9/19/23 More police procedural / detective story than horror. In fact, there's no supernatural element to this one at all. A very quick, exciting read...and it held together quite well. I liked the way King structured this book. He alternates between two time lines, and then they converge at the climax of the book. Well done, Stephen.

74. Franz Kaka: A Biography by Max Brod 9/10/23 to 9/18/23 Pretty good...and containing some Kafka writings that might not have seen print elsewhere...but in the end it's Brod's love for Kafka which taints this tome. He's so over the top in his praise that Kafka's every utterance is indicative of genius. In reality not so much.

75. The Frozen Sea: A Study of Franz Kafka by Charles Neider 9/19/23 to 9/23.23 With a title like that, I was expecting some great things, but this was a complete waste of time. I can only conclude that Neider was a freshman in college when he wrote this, and that he was suffering from some serious mental illnesses at that time. I hope that he got better.

76. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 1 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/2/23 

77. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 2 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/3/23 

78. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 3 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/4/23 

79. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 4 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/4/23 

80. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 5 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/4/23 

81. Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by David Polonsky & Ari Folman *** I'd heard that this book had been banned somewhere or other, so I thought I'd have a look at it. And the LFPL had an e-copy, so that was easy. And? Well, it was good. The stuff that it was banned for--a mention of wanting to kiss another girl and a description of female genitalia (not illustrated)--was really quite mild, and only a truly fucked up person could have a problem with it. But that's no revelation, is it? At any rate, it's worth reading, but never really got deep enough to be emotionally moving. Finished 10/5/23 

82. Franz Kaka, A Writer's Life by Joachim Unseld 9/24/23 to 10/5/23 The best of the three On Kafka books I've read, but still I am left with no clear idea of what was published during Kafka's lifetime or in what order. Don't know why that would be difficult to ascertain, given the fact that he published very little during his life, but there it is.

83. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 6 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/5/23 

84. Marcia of the Doorstep by Edgar Rice Burroughs (6/25/23 to 10/6/23) This was the 84th ERB book that I read out loud to Joe--and with this, we have read all of ERB's books together (and out loud). Woo hoo. This was ERB's longest book...and far from his best...but its been a fun, strange trip, for sure.

85. Newburn Volume 1 finished 10/7/23 Not bad, but pretty much a same old shit thing: guy who works solving crimes for the Mafia. Been there, done that.

86. White Fang (Great Illustrated Classics) by Charles Dickens, adapted by Malvina Vogel. The 44th book Joe read to me. 8/28/23 to 10/13/23 

87. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 7 by Shuzo Oshimi

88. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 8 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/13/23 

89. The Flowers of Evil, Volume 9 by Shuzo Oshimi 10/15/23 

So...that's all that hoopla has. But the are two more volumes Out There. Two possible solutions: (1) buy them ($7.99 each for e-comics from Kodansha) or (2) join Kindle Unlimited and read them. Don't know if I can get a free trial since I previously had a membership, but even if I had to pay for a month it'd be cheaper than buying them. Hmmmm.

90. Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories 10/6/23 to 10/21/23 A big disappointment. Almost all of the previously unpublished material was of no value to me...and that was the majority of the book. With regret, I suggest sticking to Kafka's Greatest Hits if you want to love him.

91. Killing Moon by Jo Nesbø 10/24/23 to 10/28/23 Not great, but hey...489 pages in 5 days. So there's that.

92. Deathtopia Volume 1 by Yamada Yoshinobu   Guess I'm not through gorging on manga quite yet. I'll confess that I picked this one up on hoopla because of the cover--

 

--and I have not

been offended by the bare breasts displayed throughout the pages... but I've also gotten interested in the story, which is kind of a Japanese They Live. Interested enough that I was worried when I found out that hoopla only had 6 of the 8 volumes. Internet Archive to the rescue! They have all 8 volumes...and now I won't have to spend all of my month's hoopla credits on this smut!

93. Amerika: The Missing Person by Franz Kaka 10/22/23 to 11/3/23 This was a waste of my time. A truly insignificant work, written with almost no hint of substance or elegance. The only thing I actually appreciated was the brief description--a few words-- of the Statue of Liberty holding a sword instead of a torch. This book was So Bad that it killed my interest in pursuing The Complete Kafka. Onward and Upward.

94. Deathtopia Volume 2 by Yamada Yoshinobu This one lost some of the titillation power as it featured several scenes of young girls who had been kidnapped, bound, drugged, stripped naked, and put into a prison cell to await their murder. Kind of takes the thrill out of nurdity.  So that might be it for me and Deathtopia, not sure yet. 11/2/23 to 11/3/23 

95. Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov 8/11/23 to 11/9/23. Quite a good read. And I've decided to polish off the other R. Daneel Olivaw stories, so next it's back to his first appearance in The Caves of Steel. Hat-cha.

96. David Starr, Space Ranger by Isaac Asimov  (10/7/23 to 11/9/23) Joe and I finished all of Edgar Rice Burroughs' books (84) and are now moving on the Asimov's Lucky Starr series. And yes,I did finish two Asimov novels on the same day.

97. Deathtopia Volume 3 by Yamada Yoshinobu 11/9/23 ...and I'm out. The cutting people in half (vertically) was just about it for me, and that was very early on. Then there was the lesbian sexual molestation and the imminent threat of gang rape.... Yep. Don't need any more of this.

98. The Night House by Jo Nesbø I wasn't expecting to read another Jo Nesbø book so soon, but as I was walking past the 7 Day Bestsellers table this one caught my eye, and I decided to have a go at it. It's one of those small books that keep cropping up these days (5.7 x 0.98 x 8.55 inches) so even at 256 pages, its a very short novel. More like a novella, really. And I'm sorry to say that it's a really bad novella. The main conflicts that set the story in motion are (1) a kid being eaten by / sucked into a telephone and (2) a kid turns into a cicada. Mmm-hmm. And beyond that, none of the characters react to anything the way human beings actually react. It's worse than a waste of time, because if this was someone's first Jo Nesbø, it would undoubtedly be their last. 11/17/23 to 11/19/23.

99. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 11/4/23 to 11/27/23.

100. Anne of Green Gables (Great Illustrated Classics) by L.M. Montgomery, adapted by Eliza Gatewood Warren. The 45th book Joe read to me. 10/13/23 to 11/29/23

101.  Alien Volume 1: Thaw by Declan Shalvey & Andrea Broccardo ** Read it on hoopla, and grateful for that, as it really wasn't worth doing. The art was good reminded of John Romita, Jr., which is a high compliment, but the story was just the same old shit. Funny, I almost bought a new issue of Alien at The Great Escape yesterday. Very happy that I didn't now. 12/2/23 

102. Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids by Isaac Asimov  (11/11/23 to 12/7/23) 

103. The Eternal Husband and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

104. Poor Folks by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 12/10/23 

105. The Flowers of Evil Complete 4 by Shuzo Oshimi **** This one is different from the previous books I read in that it contains more parts...but I get confused when I try to figure out which part is which. I'm pretty sure that I've read the whole series, though, so there's that. And it was quite good. Might even want to read it through again some day.

106.  Menthor (Thunder Agents) by Wally Wood and others. Pretty corny...but I loved it. 

 

In Progress: 

The Village of Stepanchikovo by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 12/23/23 to 12/30/23

The Philosopher's Handbook: Essential Readings from Plato to Kant by Stanley Rosen 1/8/22 to  

The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov 11/9/23 to 

Now reading:

Orthodox Study Bible--published by Thomas Nelson, New King James Version (Not sure when we started this--maybe in 2015--but we resumed reading 11/19/20) Started The New Testament 4/17/23.

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales 3/2/23 to 

The King's Daughter by Vonda N. McIntyre   3/27/23 to //23 

Good News For Modern Man (1966) 7/3/21 to  This was used at Emmanuel Luther Church way back when I went there as a child. I always liked this little Bible...from the "newsprint" cover to the stick figure drawings to the "modern English." Many years later I thought of it and looked to see if one was available online, found it, and it was pretty expensive. So I thought that was that. Then I found one at Goodwill for like a buck. And then I found another one, probably at Half-Price Books, for the same. So now I have one...and I either gave the other one to Pat or meant to do so. I'll have to ask her. Anyway, I thought it was worth a try to read this to Joe. 

Ivanhoe (Great Illustrated Classics) by Sir Walter Scott, adapted by Margins G. Vogel. The 46th book Joe read to me. 11/30/23 to  

 

Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus by Isaac Asimov  (12/9/23 to  ) 

NIrV Children's Bible, The Beginner's Bible Ed. (1998, Zondervan)
Started 7/22/2020, stopped 11/27/2020--after we read page 120--and switched over to Beautiful Bible Stories by Patricia Summerlin Martin. The NIrV was a bit too hard...and not really all that interesting. Here's hoping that BBS is more to Joe's liking.