B

Bradbury, Ray

Something Wicked this way Comes- I read this book trying to identify a quote from a TV commercial and was extremely glad I did. This is a great book. Bradbury has a tru gift of capturing what it is to be a kid and effectively relaying it to us. He’s not just an expert at writing sci-fi, he also does a wonderful job of conveying human emotions and actions. This book made me miss being a kid in the summer almost as much as another of his books, Dandelion Wine. You long for those long summer nights from back when you were a kid while reading this book. It tells the tale of a carnival that comes to town and the two boys that know its true nature. They fight to be older so the adults will believe them, but they also fight to hold onto their childhood. It’s a great book with a mediocre movie adaptation. The movie would have been better if filmed in black-and-white with a 30’s or 40’s feel to it. Maybe I’ll film a suitable version myself someday. Until then, read the book.

D

Demille, Nelson

Plum Island-This book tells the tale of a wounded New York City cop recuperating in a small town. He gets caught up in a double murder investigation since he knew the victims. THe deceased worked at Plum Island, a govt. biological research facility. We are stuck trying to figure out if they stole germs for a weapon or a vaccine, or if they stole treasure / artifacts from the island, or none of the above. Demille weaves in lots of elements like this to create an intriguing and complex plot. The wounded cop is a wonderfully rich character who’s constantly cracking jokes. It’s a very entertaining story that has a superbly intense ending. Quite a worthwhile read.

F

Fletcher, Tony

Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend- As those of you who know me are aware, I LOVE music. I can't get enough of it- I'm constantly doing all I can to learn more about it (VH1's Behind the Music and Legends series are among the best on TV and I watch religiously). Part of that stems from the fact that I also love history- any event or thing you can tell me more about, tell me the story behind the story and I'm that much more interested. This applies to this book as well. Everyone knows (or should) that the Who, one of rock's greatest groups, had a revolutionary drummer who was notorious for his pranks, his boozing, and his generosity. You might not have known his name, but I'd be willing to bet that almost everyone knew something about Keith Moon. This book is the extremely thorough biography of an extremely complex man. True, he was a phenomenal drummer, a true comedian, and a rambunctious partier. But it's also true that he was prone to spousal abuse, to violent mood swings, and was extremely self-destructive. Tony Fletcher does a good job of trying not to paint Moon the Loon into one of these corners, but rather give us all the details (and boy, in this 500+ page tome, I don't think he missed many) and let us make up our own mind. This is a wonderfully interesting book that paints a tragic portrait of yet another rock legend who couldn't control his demons.

G

Grisham, John

Partner, The- This book is far and away my favorite by Grisham. It’s the tale of a lawyer who steals millions of dollars from his firm and then fakes his death, but gets caught while on the lam and needs to find a way out for himself. He is forced to turn to the law to save him, something he had turned his back on before. He can’t do it alone, though, and he enlists the aid of a woman friend while he’s busy preparing his defense. It seems like a perfect matching- too perfect. You can see the ending coming a mile away, but you keep hoping it won’t turn out the way you fear. This book is incredibly fast-paced and will make a great movie if properly adapted (in fact, Grisham didn’t sell the movie rights for this book immediately like he has done with his other books. I think he knows how good a story this is and that it’ll be a blockbuster movie.) It’s definitely worth a look; it’s a true page turner (I finished it in two days, I just couldn’t put it down.) Do yourself a favor and read this book- you won’t be disappointed.

Street Lawyer, The-This is a very good book, structured somewhat differently from how Grisham's books typically are. Usually they revolve around a windfall lawsuit that reaps loads of money for a firm and loads of recognition for the hotshot attorney. That isn't the case with this book, though. This book revolves more around a single issue and tells us of the changes in one lawyer's life with the lawsuit being more minor than usual. The issue we're educated about is homelessness and the lawyer whose life is thrown into turmoil is Michael Brock. The book starts out with a hostage situation perpetrated by a disgruntled homeless man, one hostage being Mr. Brock. This event changes his life and he is turned to helping the homeless, especially after he finds out that his firm was involved in the suffering of some. He is forced to deal with a crumbling marriage, physical injuries, thoughts of leaving his job, and mainly the realization of how greedy most people are and how little they help the less fortunate. This book makes me want to run out and volunteer my time to soup kitchens and to donate money to homeless shelters. It's a great book that shows a lot of compassion for the homeless' plight, without preaching at us about how horrible we are if we don't help. Grisham does a great job of focusing on and effectively portraying human emotions, something that is usually lacking from his high-powered law oriented books like The Firm and The Pelican Brief. This book is a wonderful read that will make a great character driven drama when adapted for the movies. I read this book in two days and I liked it for its emotion and heart as much as I liked The Partner's action and thrills. Both are super books that show off Grisham's talent as an author. This book is a wonderful change of pace from his other books and is highly recommended.

The Testament- Well, this is the latest novel from the ultra-bestselling author Mr. Grisham. The man who gives us great pageturners that involve the wonderful world of law. But, STOP THE PRESSES!, this isn't quite the same Grisham novel. Don't get me wrong, there still is a legal aspect here. There are the usual lawyers, the greedy firms, etc., but as was the case in the Street Lawyer (his last novel) Grisham seems to be more intent on sending us a message. In Street Lawyer his message involved the plight of the homeless and how one man actually CAN change things for the better. In The Testament, it's that no person is so horrible that they can't change for the better, that ultimately no mistake is unforgivable, and that love, redemption, and other assorted life lessons can be learned in the strangest of places, if we only slowed down enough to look for them. This book tells the tale of a billionaire tycoon, Troy Phelan, who writes a controversial last will and testament (get the title now?) and then complicates the matter a little further (I won't say how, but it's interesting). A nasty fight for the man's money ensues by his greedy heirs, as does an adventure into swampy terrain of Brazil. You might be asking yourself how a legal fight in Washington could be connected to a river ride in South America, but believe me, it's possible. The key word to describe this book is "adventure". It's not the usual page-turner that we're used to from Grisham, but who said changing things up and exploring new horizons was a bad thing? Do you really want to have a one-dimensional, one-style author who keeps churning out the exact same book, only with different characters and settings? Even my favorite author Stephen King has shown remarkable depth and creativity in some of his most recent books. If it's OK for the King of Horror to change (and it is), then the same goes for the King of the Courtroom. Both men's characters are getting more interesting and multi-dimensional, as are the plots. Pick this one up, it's a nice change of pace.

K

King, Stephen

Insomnia- Probably my favorite book by King. It’s a wonderfully original book that deals with the exploits of Ralph Roberts, a geriatric insomniac. As his insomnia worsens, he begins to see things. He sees auras and balloon-strings coming from everyone around him, plus he sees three little doctors. He struggles to understand what’s going on around him and how to stave off the Crimson King and his evil. This book has a wonderfully original idea as to why we die when we do that you should look for. I’ve read this book half a dozen times and it keeps me riveted each time. Truly a great book.

Tommyknockers, The- This tells the tale of Haven, Maine and the problems the townfolk experience after Bobbi Anderson unearths something in the ground. She stumbles across a spaceship and begins to dig it up. The more they remove, the stranger things get in town. The townfolk become incredibly adept at making complex adjustments to everyday items and become more brainwashed in the process. Only one man is immune to the control and takes on the task of saving the town and his love Bobbi in the process. This is a really cool story of how costly curiosity can be, especially when King is dishing out the punishment.

Gunslinger, The- This kicks off the Dark Tower series with a bang. It chronicles the journeys of Roland the gunslinger across the barren wasteland Earth has become. He runs into trouble from town to town, saving himself with his lightning fast shooting ability. The scenes with the gunplay are fast-paced as is the whole book. I completely picture Clint Eastwood as Roland, King had to write this character with him in mind. That said, this obviously would make a great TV miniseries, especially when you add in the other volumes in this series. This book does a good job of developing Roland and setting the stage for the next book.

Drawing of Three, The- This was my favorite volume in the series. It picks up right after the first one and tells the tale of Roland’s crossing the beach towards the Dark Tower. Along the way he encounters three doors and “draws” an ally from each of them. One’s a junior, one’s a crippled black lady, and the third’s a surprise. This book is extremely fast-paced and really gets you into the main tale of Roland’s relentless pursuit of the Dark Tower.

Wastelands, The- This continues the quest towards the Dark Tower for the trio of gunslingers. They encounter many interesting hardships and learn more about their mysterious destination. They unite to bring Jake to their world and then rescue him from the Tick-Tock man. They end their arduous trek at Blaine the mono, a riddle-asking train that takes them over the wastelands, ever closer to the Dark Tower.

Wizard and Glass- The latest edition in the Dark Tower series starts with the cadre onboard Blaine, trying to stump it with riddles to save their lives. The group in the present doesn’t get very far in this book, they only make it to an emerald castle, very Wizard of Oz-ish. This book is mainly a flashback that tells of Roland’s first love and adventures with his gunslinging buddies. This flashback takes up most of the book, but it is a supremely vivid and memorable tale. It’s a great book that makes you long for the next volume so the group can finally get to the Tower.

The Green Mile: Parts 1-6- This is one of my favorite books by my favorite author. It is an absolutely beautiful, highly emotional story that will break your heart several times over. It tells the story of Cold Mountain Penitentiary in 1932, specifically the happenings on the Green Mile, that prison's version of Death Row. This story is narrated by Paul Edgecombe, the head guard for the Green Mile. He tells us about the comings of convicted felons like Eduard Delacroix, the Cajun w/ the adorable pet mouse Mr. Jingles, William Wharton, the wild inmate who lives to cause trouble, and mostly about John Coffey, the giant felon that's misunderstood, or is he? We also learn about the deplorable Percy Whetmore, a prison guard that will infuriate you to no end. This story is absolutely brilliant and King shows that he has immense talent at writing human emotions, not just incredible horror stories. This book leads you on an emotional roller coaster where you're overjoyed one chapter, incredibly tense or furious the next, and on the verge of tears in others (the entire 6th volume, for example). In this regard, this book is very similar to another of King's stories, the phenomenal Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (from Four Past Midnight), which was made into my favorite movie of all-time, 1994's Best Picture nominee, The Shawshank Redemption. I can't convey how great this story is; you really should read it. I read the entire 6 volumes in two days- it's that good. King shows us his versatility at story telling in this true gem- it's a definite must read.

Rose Madder- What an interesting book this is. It tells the tale of Rose Daniels (eventually Rosie McClendon), a battered woman who spontaneously leaves her abusive marriage one day. We are told of her nerve-wracking escape and the stressful job of rebuilding a life, one that she hopes won't involve her abusive cop husband Norman. It does, though, as he comes to get her and pay her back for leaving him. This is an extreemley uncharacteristic book by King. It's not like anything he's written before. He takes on a very serious topic, that being spousal abuse, and he does it very well. Hard-core King fans like myself won't be disappointed because of a simple painting. Rosie buys this painting at a pawn shop, but it's not normal (as if anything is truly normal in a King novel). How it deviates from reality is up to you to find out. This is a very good book that has a very satisfying ending. If you don't like King normally (I don't know how that's possible, but maybe you have mental issues), I definitely recommend you read this. It's a wonderfully insightful change of pace for a King book, give it a look.

N

Nancy, Ted L.

Letters from a Nut- This book is absolutely hilarious. Ted L. Nancy write phony letters to companies asking ridiculously funny questions. The letters and their responses are printed in this book. You can’t help but laugh out loud at the insane responses he gets. He writes hotels and casinos asking if he can bring his lucky mattress, mirror, shrimp suit, etc. to the hotels during his stay. Some of my faves are the letters to Hawaiin Tropic, the suntan lotion company. I can’t effectively convey how funny this book is, so you’ll just have to go read it.

P

Preston, Richard

Cobra Event, The-This book is terrifuing and extremely disgusting. It’s a tale that is fictional, but firmly based on scientific facts. Richard Preston creeps us out and makes us realize how scary germs can be (he did the same thing in The Hot Zone, a terrifying book about an Ebola outbreak.) This time he’s convincing us how real the threat of germ warfare and biological weapons are with a fictional outbreak in New York City. I read this book in two days because I couldn’t put it down, even if it was disgusting me. It’s a great real-world horror story that’s even scarier beacuse you know it could happen hust like Preston says. It really makes you wonder what Saddam Hussein is doing in Iraq after Preston fills us in, if only partially.