Book Review #20: The Great Santini

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

The Great Santini is the third book written by Pat Conroy. It is about U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot, Lieutenant Colonel W.P. “Bull” Meecham and his family. This story takes place beginning during the summer prior to the Cuban missile crisis and ends that following May. Bull is the new commander of a fighter squadron at Ravenel Air Station, South Carolina where the two previous squadron commanders weren’t good leaders. Bull, a strict disciplinarian and abusive husband and father, is assigned the task to whip the unit in shape in case the United States ends up going to war against Cuba and Russia. This novel depicts more of the family life and their adaption of the community more than Bull’s work on base, but also shows how the two tie in together. Pat Conroy modeled Bull after his own father who had been a Marine Corps fighter pilot and an abusive father.

I watched the movie that was based on this novel with the same title a couple nights before I started reading it. All the way through it I was comparing the two. I like the book a lot better than the movie which says a lot since I also enjoyed the movie. The military aspect of it made me think of my ten years in the U.S. Air Force two decades later than the period depicted in the novel. I was enlisted, not an officer, but I was never as strict as Bull and definitely not an abusive husband or father. But with the strict discipline adhered to by any branch of the military, could see how it could happen. I also like how the author also depicts the turbulent times in the southern United states during that time period. The author also does a good job of tying in humor with the seriousness of the book. If you have seen the movie and like it, I recommend reading the book. It has so much more than what is shown in the movie.

Purchase Links:

You can purchase the book in various formats from the following sites:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Great-Santini-Novel-Pat-Conroy/dp/0553381555/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484319957&sr=8-1&keywords=the+great+santini

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/great-santini-pat-conroy/1100180840?ean=9780553381559

Tim’s Rating: *****

(Five out of five stars)

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

Book Review #19: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Happy New Year! The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the third Sherlock Holmes book by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is the first short story compilation of Sherlock Holmes short stories. The stories in this book take place after Dr. Watson got married and started a private practice or were from before he got married, but wern't writtenuntil after he was married. He would occasionally go on investigations with Holmes after he got married when things were going slow in his doctor's office.

I like this book, some stories better than others. Some of the stories contained in this book I've heard on old time radio programs ore have seen on episodes of the old Sherlock Holmes television series. But here I am experiencing them as written by Doyle, which are better without the sensalizations that they put in the old radio or television programs. I've been watchin the BBC series "Sherlock" on Netflix and PBS where I see them tie in some of the activities from these stories. When they do tie in something I read, I try to remember which story contained those characters or incidents.

Download Links:

This book can by downloaded in various ebbok formats from the following links:

Project Gutenberg:  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1661

ManyBooks:  http://manybooks.net/titles/doyleartetext99advsh12.html

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Sherlock-Holmes-Wisehouse-Classics-ebook/dp/B01BTITH82/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1483412113&sr=1-2&keywords=the+adventures+of+sherlock+holmes+kindle+edition

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-doyle-arthur-conan/1121461680?ean=2940152130027


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

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

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.