Book List & Ratings

This is a list of books I’ve written about here.  I’ve included the rating and the day of the review.

***** Perfect!

**** Nearly Perfect.  You should read it.

*** Average.  Read it if the topic or author interests you.

** This was pretty bad.

* I only finished this so that I could enter it on the blog. 

Non-Fiction (alphabetical by author)

**1/2  A Prison Diary  by Jeffery Archer (9-2-09)

****1/2  New Earth from Above:365 Days by Yann Arthus-Bertrand (10-18-09)

***  Green Goes With Everything by Sloan Barnett (12-15-08 )

****1/2  Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt (7-8-09)

**1/2  Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke (6-3-09)

***1/2  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating by Steven Brown (5-21-08 )

****  Children of Eve by Kevin Casey (7-5-09)

***  Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell

****  700 Sundays by Billy Crystal (8-20-09)

***1/2  The Funny Thing Is…by Ellen Degeneres (11-4-09)

****1/2  Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr (6-20-08 )

***1/2  WITSEC, Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program by Earley & Shur (2-18-08 )

*1/2  The Author’s Toolkit by Mary Embree (6-18-08 )

****  On the Run: A Mafia Childhood by Gregg & Gina Hill (5-7-08 )

**1/2   Gangsters & Goodfellas: The Mob, Witness Protection & Life On the Run by Henry Hill (5-4-08 )

*****  On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King (1-23-08 )

***1/2  Why We Suck by Denis Leary (1-28-09)

***1/2  Ultra-Longevity by Mark Liponis, MD (3-4-09)

***1/2  How To Be Invisible by JJ Luna (5-16-08 )

***  Freakonomics, A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Levitt & Dubner (3-23-08 )

***  Craft & Technique by Paul Raymond Martin  (2-4-09)

****1/2  How Not to Write a Novel by Mittelmark & Newman (8-26-08 )

***1/2  Behind the Mask … No More by Byron Nease (3-27-09)

****  Noble’s Book of Writing Blunders by William Noble (2-11-09)

****  The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (10-22-08 )

****  You Learn by Living by Eleanor Roosevelt (7-12-08 )

***1/2  SeinLanguage by Jerry Seinfeld (10-09-08 )

***  Yesterday I Saw the Sun by Ally Sheedy (5-23-09)

***1/2  Stitches by David Small (8-16-09)

***  Presidential Leadership  edited by James Taranto & Leonard Leo (4-19-19)

****1/2  The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (5-6-09)

Fiction (alphabetical by author)

****  A Worthy Legacy by Tomi Akinyanmi (9-17-09)

*****  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (10-1-09)

****1/2  Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (8-19-09)

****  Sense & Sensibility  by Jane Austen (7-26-09)

****  An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender (3-25-09)

***1/2  Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg (3-29-09)

***  The Handmaid and the Carpenter by Elizabeth Berg

****  Joy School by Elizabeth Berg (2-19-09)

***1/2  Open House by Elizabeth Berg (6-27-08 )

**  Dear John by Norma Betz (7-18-08 )

***1/2  Smart Women by Judy Blume (5-21-09)

***1/2  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (5-23-08 )

***1/2  God on a Harley by Joan Brady (2-26-09)

****  Angels & Demons by Dan Brown (2-25-09)

***  Bittersweet Rain by Sandra Brown (7-14-08 )

***  Chill Factor by Sandra Brown (2-12-08 )

**1/2 Play Dirty by Sandra Brown (9-6-08 )

***1/2  The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain (11-8-09)

**1/2  A Useful Affair by Stella Cameron (8-26-09)

****  Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (10-4-09)

*****  Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (12-21-08 )

****  Foul Play by Tori Carrington (12-13-08 )

*  Shameless by Tori Carrington (9-5-08 )

***1/2  Working Stiff  by Tori Carrington (1-29-09)

****  The Quilter’s Apprentice  by Jennifer Chiaverini (7-29-09)

****  Killing Floor by Lee Child (11-22-09)

****  Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (4-20-08 )

****  Long Lost by Harlan Coben (4-8-09)

****  Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen (9-1-08 )

****1/2  The Poet by Michael Connelly (5-14-08 )

**  Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (3-12-08 )

****  The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud by Jenny Cote (11-21-08 )

***1/2  The Cove by Catherine Coulter (6-25-09)

***  Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie (11-5-09)

**1/2  Mistletoe & Holly by Janet Dailey (11-24-08 )

****1/2  The Divorce Party by Laura Dave (10-22-09)

**** The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (11-9-08 )

****  The Bone Collector by Jeffery Deaver (6-23-08 )

****1/2  The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver (9-3-09)

****1/2   The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver (8-24-08 )

****  The Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver (6-30-09)

****  The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaver (11-12-08 )

***1/2  Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver (1-15-09)

***1/2  The Stone Monkey by Jeffery Deaver (2-7-09)

***  The Twelfth Card by Jeffery Deaver (6-12-09)

****1/2  The Vanished Man by Jeffery Deaver (6-7-09)

****  While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky (9-20-09)

***  An Angel For Emily by Jude Deveraux (5-20-08 )

****  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (8-2-09)

**  Storm Rider by Cassie Edwards

****  Fault Line by Barry Eisler (12-27-08 )

***1/2  Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich (7-17-08 )

***  Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovch (8-11-09)

**1/2  Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich (1-20-08 )

***1/2  Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich (2-14-09)

***  Hot Stuff by Evanovich & Banks (5-8-08 )

****  April Morning by Howard Fast (4-30-09)

***  Travel Writing by Peter Ferry (9-16-09)

***1/2  Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (11-12-09)

**1/2  Mad River Road by Joy Fielding (1-18-08 )

***  The Zero Hour by Joseph Finder (3-18-09)

**1/2  Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (2-22-08 )

****  The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (8-4-08 )

****  Enemy Combatant by Ed Gaffney (5-11-08 )

***  Suffering Fools by Ed Gaffney (7-23-08 )

***1/2  Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons (5-31-09)

***  Golden Conspiracy by Robert James Glider (11-18-09)

****  A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi (7-22-09)

***  Playing For Pizza by John Grisham (3-18-08 )

***  Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (4-11-09)

*** The Appeal by John Grisham (10-14-09)

***1/2  The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton (9-6-09)

***  Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah (6-4-09)

****  Tess of the d”Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (5-20-09)

****  Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck (9-4-08 )

***1/2  A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (11-17-08 )

**1/2  Naked Came the Manatee by Carl Hiaasen et. all (1-18-09)

***1/2  Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen (6-7-08 )

****  Tourist Season by Carl Hiassen (1-14-08 )

**1/2  Magic by Tami Hoag (5-27-08 )

**  Sarah’s Sin by Tami Hoag (10-28-08 )

**1/2  Second Nature  by Alice Hoffman (1-25-09)

****  Dead Sleep by Greg Iles (5-14-09)

****  A Dangerous Love by Brenda Joyce (11-14-08 )

****  The Fires of Paradise by Brenda Joyce (3-13-08 )

***  The Perfect Bride by Brenda Joyce (1-7-08 )

***  The Rival by Brenda Joyce (3-7-09)

****1/2  Splendor by Brenda Joyce (8-10-08 )

***1/2  The Third Heiress by Brenda Joyce (4-17-08 )

**1/2  The Metamorphosis & Other Stories by Franz Kafka (4-25-08 )

***1/2  Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon (2-4-08 )

*****  The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (4-3-09)

****  The Taking by Dean Koontz (10-08-09)

****1/2  Watchers by Dean Koontz (1-8-09)

***1/2  Salty Like Blood by Harry Kraus, MD

**1/2  Outtakes from a Marriage by Ann Leary (1-4-09)

****  Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (10-30-08 )

***1/2  Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts (3-11-09)

****1/2  The Last Ember by Daniel Levin (9-24-09)

**1/2  The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino (4-17-08 )

***1/2  The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (1-9-08 )

**  Billy Budd by Herman Melville (3-5-09)

***1/2  Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (1-13-09)

**1/2  Pot of Gold by Judith Michael (4-22-09)

***1/2  House of Many Shadows  by Barbara Michaels (7-30-09)

**1/2  Hey, Good Looking by Fern Michaels (1-26-08 )

***  Fluke, Or I know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore (7-29-08 )

****  Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (5-1-08 )

***1/2  Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley (8-19-08 )

****  The Angel by Carla Neggers (1-20–09)

***  The Carriage House  by Carla Neggers (8-13-09)

***1/2  The Mist by Carla Neggers (11-11-09)

***1/2  The Widow by Carla Neggers (7-5-08 )

****1/2  Fear & Trembling by Amelie Nothomb (3-8-08 )

****1/2  The Housekeeper and the Professor  by Yoko Ogawa (10-29-09)

***  The First Patient by Michael Palmer (3-10-08 )

***  The Blue Hour by T. Jefferson Parker (7-1-08 )

***1/2  2nd Chance by James Patterson  & Andrew Gross (5-29-08 )

***  3rd Degree by James Patterson & Andrew Gross (8-6-08 )

***  4th of July by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (9-22-08 )

***1/2  The 5th Horseman by James Patterson  & Maxine Paetro (6-17-09)

***  The 6th Target by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (6-18-09)

***1/2 The 7th Heaven by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (6-28-09)

***  The 8th Confession by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (7-9-09)

***1/2  Sundays at Tiffany’s by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet (12-2-08 )

****  A Day No Pigs Would Die  by Robert Peck (6-9-08 )

***1/2  What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (2-22-09)

**  Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil by Christopher Pike (4-18-08 )

****  The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (5-28-08 )

***  Slightly Shady  by Amanda Quick (7-12-09)

***  Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (12-7-08 )

****  Fox River by Emilie Richards (5-10-09)

****1/2  Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (5-29-09)

****  Deep Shaker by Les Roberts

***  Full Cleveland by Les Roberts (9-18-08 )

***1/2  Pepper Pike by Les Roberts (6-13-08 )

***1/2  Angels Fall by Nora Roberts (4-18-08 )

****  Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts (5-2-09)

***1/2  American Pastoral by Philip Roth (9-24-08 )

**1/2  I Married A Communist by Philip Roth (10-08- 08 )

****  Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell (3-14-09)

***1/2  The Second Son by Charles Sailor (8-5-09)

***  Dark of the Moon by John Sandford (6-4-08 )

****  Invisible Prey by John Sandford (2-24-08 )

***  Phantom Prey by John Sandford (6-16-08 )

***1/2  Rough Country by John Sandford (10-21-009)

***1/2  Wicked Prey by John Sandford (5-27-09)

***1/2  Love Story by Erich Segal (5-27-08 )

****  The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (3-7-08 )

****1/2  The Man Who Ate the 747 by Ben Sherwood

****  Red Leaves by Paullina Simons (5-31-08 )

**** A Gentle Rain by Deborah Smith (1-22-09)

****1/2  Silk and Stone by Deborah Smith (9-23-09)

****  When Venus Fell  by Deborah Smith (7-16-09)

***1/2  Small Town Girl by Lavyrle Spencer (1-11-09)

****  Murder on Nob Hill by Shirley Tallman (10-28-09)

****1/2  The Russian Hill Murders by Shirley Tallman (11-15-09)

****  Follow Your Heart by Susanna Tamaro (8-14-08 )

***  When A Man Loves A Woman  by LaConnie Taylor-Jones (8-17-08 )

***1/2  Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas (5-24-08 )

***1/2  Godmother:The Secret Cinderella Story  by Carolyn Turgeon (10-31-09)

****1/2  A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler (2-20-08 )

***  The Red Siren by M.L. Tyndall (2-18-09)

****  Sliver of Truth by Lisa Unger (8-6-09)

***1/2  Scarlet Moon by Debbie Viguie (2-8-09)

***1/2 Yellow  by Janni Visman (7-15-09)

****  The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1-6-09)

****  Death Takes the Cake by Melinda Wells (9-30-09)

****1/2  Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells (8-27-09)

****  The House on Tradd Street by Karen White (11-19-09)

***1/2  A Body to Die For by Kate White (6-24-09)

***1/2  Lethally Blonde by Kate White (6-13-09)

***  Over Her Dead Body by Kate White (10-21-08 )

****  Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston (12-9-08 )

***1/2  How I Found the Perfect Dress by Maryrose Wood (10-13-08 )

***  Destiny Unleashed by Sherryl Woods (3-29-08 )

****  The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods (4-23-09)

****1/2  Sky Burial by Xinran (7-23-09)

***1/2  Blood Bayou by Karen Young (5-17-09)

****  The Pigman by Paul Zindel (1-1-09)