Book Review #18: My Reading Life

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

My Reading Life is a non-fiction book by Pat Conroy, author of The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline and The Prince of Tides, among others. In this book he writes about books that he's read that influenced him and his writing throughout his life. He writes about the people that introduced him to the writings such as his mother and teachers. He also talks about some of his life experiences and how he learned to write about them in his books to make them seem more real.

I ran across this book in the library when I was just browsing in the non-fiction section. I like this book because he discusses books and authors in a way that makes me want to read them. These vary in genre and when they were written. I think that it is a good book for people to read who are looking for other authors and books that they might like to read.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book in various formats at:

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/My-Reading-Life-Pat-Conroy/dp/0385533578/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1482939026&sr=8-10&keywords=pat+conroy

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-reading-life-pat-conroy/1100291006?ean=9780385533577

Tim's Rating:  ****

(Four out of five stars)

I'm off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #17: The Sign of the Four

The Sign of the Four is the second Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle. In it Sherlock Holes and Dr. Watson are hired by Miss Mary Morstan whose father disappeared ten years earlier just after returning to England from India ten years earlier. Four years after her father's disappearance, she started anonymously receiving one large pearl each year. then suddenly she received a letter saying her she was wronged and to come meet that evening at a particular public place and she could bring two friends, but no police. She brings Holmes and Watson as her friends since she had no other friends around. From there they are on an adventure solving a murder and chasing a stolen treasure.

I enjoyed this book. I think it is a must read for anybody that likes mysteries. It is full of adventure on both land and water.  In this book he also gives a small glimpse at how Holmes and Watson spend their time while not trying to solve a crime.

Download links:

You can download this book in various ebook formats at:

Project Gutenberg:  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2097

ManyBooks:   http://manybooks.net/titles/doyleartetext00sign410.html

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Sign-Four-Wisehouse-Classics-illustrations-ebook/dp/B01H6J6ZLA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1481572647&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sign-of-four-arthur-conan-doyle/1100097443?ean=9789176371770

Tim's Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)

I'm off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #16: Absolute Power

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

Absolute Power is the first novel by David Baldacci. It is a thriller in which an  professional burglar, Luther Whitney, was burglarizing the home of a billionaire. He was in a vault that was accessed from the closet in the master bedroom. The door to the vault consisted of a two way mirror. Nobody was in the home when he broke in and bypassed the security system. While he was in the vault, he heard some people coming up the stairs, so he closed the door and sat in a chair in the vault that looks out. The billionaire's wife (much younger than her husband) and a high ranking government official came in the room and started having sex that was getting rough and ended in the death of the billionaire's wife.  After the others left the house Luther ran. He approached attorney Jack Graham, his daughter's ex-fiance, and a friend to defend him in case anything happened.

I came across this book in the library recently. I noticed they had several of his novels on the shelf, so I pulled up Goodreads on my phone and found out that this was his first. I have been reading thrillers for several years and have gotten in to them a lot more recently. This one ranks up there with some of my favorites. It has you wondering what will happen next up to the conclusion of the book. Be assured that you will eventually see reviews of more of his books in the future on this blog.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book as a hard cover, paperback, or ebook at the following locations:

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Power-David-Baldacci/dp/044656656X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480980829&sr=8-1&keywords=david+baldacci+absolute+power

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/absolute-power-david-baldacci/1100307672?ean=9780446566568

Tim's Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)

I'm off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Short Story Review #2: The Last President: A Speculative Short Story

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

The Last President: A Speculative Short Story by Martin Roy Hill is a futuristic story where the United States had gone bankrupt and corporations had taken over running the government. They changed all the textbooks about the history of the United States so that they only show the history back to when the corporations took over the government. In the story, Sgt. Frank Wengler was sent to evict an older gentleman from corporate owned housing that was refusing to budge. Sgt. Wengler goes in the house and talks to the gentleman who tells Sgt. Wengler about the real history and the last president. The gentleman his willing to go after he tells Sgt. Wengler his story.

Some people might classify this story as science fiction but there is no technology or science used in this story. When the gentleman is telling the story you can see similarities to whats presently going on in the United States. I like this story. Another good story by Martin Roy Hill.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase a Kindle edition of this story at:  https://www.amazon.com/Last-President-Speculative-Short-Story-ebook/dp/B010IMLS8C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480813292&sr=8-1&keywords=martin+roy+hill

Tim's Rating: *****
(Five out of five stars)


I'm off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.

Book Review #15: Bubblegum: The History of Plastic Pop

***Note:  This book is not in the public domain.  --Tim

In this post I'm finally reviewing a non-fiction book which is related to my other big hobby is my music  collection. The book is Bubblegum: The History Of Plastic Pop by Nick Brownlee. It tells about bubblegum or "manufactured pop" from the 1950's through the 1990's and beyond. It talks about around 200 groups mainly from the UK and US, but there are a few from other countries that he talks about in the book. He also talks about early seasons of Pop Idle and American Idle.

I read the Nook version of the book and the rating reflects my opinions of the layout of the book. He has a lot of good information about the groups and the managers and producers. My only problem is the layout as I said above. He will be talking of one group or artist and finish a paragraph and then write about one or two other groups and at times I found myself lost for a little bit when he returns until he shows the name of the group. This isn't once or twice in the book, but throughout the entire book.

You may have noticed that I changed the name of this blog from Tim's Reviews to Tim's Book Reviews. I did this to point out that I post only book reviews and short story reviews in this blog and no music or movies that I suggested in my first post to the blog. I have also made it so just about anybody can leave comments below.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase this book either as an ebook or paperback at the following links:

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Bubblegum-History-Plastic-Nick-Brownlee/dp/1860745121/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480793154&sr=8-2&keywords=Nick+Brownlee

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bubblegum-nick-brownlee/1103504450?ean=9780857124487

Tim's Rating:  ***

(Three out of five stars)

I'm off to read another book. Check back periodically for more book reviews.