Lonesome Dove

I caught part of the TV miniseries a few weeks ago and ever since I've been itching to reread "Lonesome Dove", which is one of my favorite books of all time. Even though I've read it dozens of times, I still enjoy it, it's like visiting old friends. So, even though I have stacks of library books I haven't read yet, I spent my two days off rereading and visiting with my old friends, Captain Augustus McCrae and Captain Woodrow F. Call (did we ever find out what the F stood for? I don't think we did). I used to imagine, when I was younger, that if I ever had a son I would name him Augustus. I had a stuffed bunny I cared around as a teenager (I was a weird teenager) I named Woodrow after Captain Call. I still have the bunny, by the way, and I still love reading this book.

Jack and Norman

Back when Norman Mailer was writing "The Executioner's Song", he started a correspondence with an inmate named Jack Abbott, who's life story was similar to that of Gary Gilmore, the subject of his book. Abbot had spent the majority of his life in reform schools or prisons, often exacerbating a light sentence by breaking prison rules and getting additional time tacked on. Mailer was so impressed by Abbott's letters and the fact that he was self-taught that he championed his cause with the parole board and offered him a job if he was released. Abbott got out of prison and was unceremoniously dumped in a dangerous part of New York. He had a hard time adjusting to life out of prison, and Mailer found he was much more charming in letters than in person and started pulling away from him. For a while, though, Abbott was the toast of the New York literary set, publishing a well regarded book on prison life called "In the Belly of the Beast". Just as the book was set to be released, however, Abbott committed murder, brutally slaying a twenty-two year old man outside a restaurant and then fleeing. He went on the run and eluded capture for awhile, but was eventually caught and returned to prison, where he stayed until he committed suicide. It's a fascinating story, I'd vaguely heard about it (I read "The Executioner's Song" many years ago) and it was nice to get some backstory.

Dodge City; For This We Left Egypt?; Night Ocean

"Dodge City" by Tom Clavin was really great, I enjoyed it a lot, so much so that when I visited a new library a few days ago, I bought a bunch of used books in their bookstore on the Old West. It has reignited my passion for that era. Now if I ever get around to reading them is another story :0 At any rate, this one was fun, I learned a lot about Wyatt Earp, who I knew a little about, and even more about Bat Masterson, who I knew absolutely nothing about. There were some bits about Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, and other notable miscreants sprinkled throughout. He had a very fun writing style, it was sort of snarky, sarcastic, darkly humorous, which made for lively reading.

A quick, fun spoof on the Haggadah (for those of you who don't know, a Haggadah is a book you use for your Passover Seder. You buy the same copy of each one for everyone at your feast, and they're usually pretty short). The Haggadah explains the Passover story, why the Jews fled from Egypt and why we continue to celebrate thousands of years later. The authors (including Dave Barry, one of my favorites) had a good time.

I checked out Paul La Farge's "The Night Ocean" because it was about H.P. Lovecraft, and he's always piqued my curiosity. I really enjoyed this one, I couldn't put it down. Charlie Willet is a nonfiction writer who loved reading Lovecraft as a kid. The book is told from his wife, Marina's, POV. Charlie finds evidence that Robert Barlow, a man who was purportedly a lover of Lovecraft's, is still alive, having faked his death in the 1950s. Charlie goes chasing him down and brings his story to light, publishing a huge book purporting "the truth" about H. P. Lovecraft. There are cracks in the foundation from the beginning that Charlie willfully ignores, hoping for the best, but of course after the book is published and becomes a huge hit, scholars start digging and discover Charlie has been duped, the man claiming to be Barlow is not actually Barlow. After Charlie's suicide (that happens early on in the book, Marina fills us in on what led him to do it) Marina is determined to get to the bottom of things herself and goes looking for Barlow and in the process, the truth about Lovecraft.

Game of Queens; Killer Instinct; All In; Bad Blood

Sarah Gristwood's book about the important roles that Queens played during sixteenth century European politics was well written, but unfortunately all the parts about Katherine of Aragon, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and all the other women in England was pretty repetitive for me based on all the other books I've read on the subject, so I had a hard time paying attention. The queens elsewhere were more interesting. I think I'm just a bit burned out on the Tudors right now, plus I was under a time crunch (due date, holds, couldn't renew it) so I didn't enjoy it as much as I normally would have.

Speaking of due dates and holds...this book was due back weeks ago and I've been waiting anxiously ever since I put it on hold. When it was finally returned, I dove into it (completely ignoring the stack of books I have that were due before this one, but oh well). Book two of the Naturals series picked up where book one left off. There is a killer on the loose who appears to be copying Dean's father's crimes. Talking to Daniel Redding doesn't get anyone anything useful. Because Redding had once captured and held the director of the FBI's daughter captive, he's a big priority. The Naturals figure out that the kills aren't a work of a copycat, but an apprentice and Redding definitely knows more than he's letting on.

I dove right into "All In" after finishing book two. Book three finds the team traveling to Las Vegas, Sloane's hometown. A string of bizarre murders has casino owners on edge. Sloane figures out the kills are following the Fibonacci sequence, and by hacking the FBI's database, she discovers unsolved murders following the same pattern going back for a century. They determine they are dealing with the work of a cult, who keeps recruiting members by forcing them to murder following strict guidelines. They also determine that Cassie's mom is being held hostage by the cult.

Apparently, from all my online digging, I've determined that "Bad Blood" is the fourth and last Naturals novel. Which makes me really, really sad. I'm hoping Jennifer Lynn Barnes will change her mind and continue to write them, but I understand if she doesn't. The team has found the cult that is holding Cassie's mom captive, now they just have to infiltrate it and rescue her. Easy, right? God, these books were so fun.