Sgt Big G reads 75 (100?) for 2012

Yup, I'm still around even if school, work, and kids try to prevent me from showing my face much. So here's my 2012 thread. I read 88 books in 2011, although I might make 89, I still have two and a half days to go. I'd like to make 100 for 2012 but we'll see what happens. Lately I've been reading some doorstoppers, if that keeps up then I doubt I'll make 100. Happy 2012 everyone.

Glad to see you back, Mike, and an early 'Happy Birthday' to you!

Welcome back!

I'm glad you're staying with us, Mike! Happy New Year!

Found you! As you know, I'm a 'club' reader now, but will definitely be keeping up with your thread here in the 75ers.

#5- hey Peter, glad you found me. I also have a thread in the NF Challenge so I'll see you there as well.

# 2, 3, and 4 - Thanks

1. 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

A time travel story in which the main character tries to prevent the Kennedy assassination, which is harder then it sounds because history tries to defend itself. Not a bad story but much like King's Under the Dome, I was unhappy with the ending. Overall I'm glad I read it.

2. 101 Reasons Why You Should Not Become a Cop by James Warner

Actually only about a dozen reasons why you should choose another profession, especially number 101 - shortened lifespan. The rest of the reasons given, while all true, are more like annoyances. A short book that is worth reading if you think you want to become a cop.

3. Zone One: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

Zombie story that never uses the word zombie. The undead are brought about by some type of plague. As the story begins the survivors are beginning to reclaim New York City. Whitehead has some thought provoking things to say about today's popular culture. I saw the end coming from about a mile away but this was still an enjoyable book.

Edited because book 2's touchstone is funky.

Adding Zone One to my wishlist - I don't mind so much if I can predict the ending, as long as the rest of the book is enjoyable, and this one sounds like it is. Thanks for the review!

#7 Mike - I have both Under the Dome and 11/22/63 (as well as Danse Macabre and On Writing). Having been a King adict as a child, thankfully cured now, I buy these almost out of nostalgia rather than any real desire to read them. Although, I must admit, I did have a bit of a relapse a couple of years back when I read Cell and Duma Key in relatively quick succession! Anyhow, if you're glad you read 11/22/63 then I'm sure I would to.

Zone One sounds interesting, onto the wishlist it goes!

My father planned to be a copped and was devastated when he failed the eye test. He didn't know what he was going to do with his life. I, for one, am thankful he failed because my mother, who my dad had not yet met, said she never would have been able to handle the stress of worrying about a police office husband and figured she they wouldn't have dated/married. Ergo: no me. Thank goodness the NYPD is picky about vision.

I've been sick for over three weeks, an undetermined virus that turned into pneumonia, so I've been doing light reading since I'm not able to concentrate. But all the resting and time off from work has helped me get some books read.

4. I'm Gonna Live My Life Like a Jimmy Buffett Song by Anthony Bjorklund
(No touchstone)

After Jack Danielson is almost killed in a car accident he gives up his job, his girlfriend, and his condo and leaves Minneapolis for warmer climes. A fun story that somewhat reminded me of Tully Mars. A good story for all of us who have considered chucking everything and living life like a Jimmy Buffett song.

5. Wahoo Rhapsody by Shaun Morey

Atticus Fish is a retired lawyer living in Baja California, he got rich by winning a class action lawsuit against god. The story involves drugs, crime, fishing, and Mexico. Sort of Carl Hiaasen goes to Mexico. A fun book to kill an afternoon with. Hopefully we'll get some further adventures of Atticus Fish.

6. Other Times Than Peace by David Drake

A collection of Drake's short stories. Mostly military SF with some horror thrown in. If you like Drake, you'll like this. Most of the stories have been published previously, but not recently.

7. Sharpe's Christmas by Bernard Cornwell

Two short stories featuring Richard Sharpe. If you have to read every Sharpe story then read these. If you haven't read any of the Sharpe books yet, this is not the place to start.

I'm sorry to hear that you've been ill, Mike. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Glad you're getting some reading done!

Hoping you're on your way to recovery.... Best wishes :)

It's nice you're reading, but I hope you feel better soon.

Chiming in with my well-wishes for you to feel better very soon!

Hope you get to feeling better soon, Mike!

#12-16 - Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm back to about 85%. Hopefully I'll be fully mended before much loner.

8. The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski

Time traveller attempts to save the Titanic, but all he does it push back the sinking by a few hours. All sorts of changes ensue. Some folks from the future decide to change the world back to the way it was supposed to be before war ends life on earth. Overall an enjoyable book with a few minor issues. I received this book as an ARC from Titan Books. My full review can be found here.

I listened to Duma Key on audiobook and really enjoyed it. I have 11/22/63 on my TBR pile and am looking forward to it because it is different from his usual horror and I think he is a wonderful writer.

I wish I could say I haven't posted anything in a month because I have been too busy reading books, alas it is not so. I've been reading a good bit of non-book material and I wrote a paper which took up about a week of reading time. At least I did read one book in February and so far I have two for March.

9. What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes

Marlantes uses his experiences in Vietnam as a jumping off point for a discussion into how soldeiers should be trained prior to combat and how they should be treated afterwards to lessen the effects of PTSD. Marlantes delves into some pretty deep philosophy and psychology which I was wasn't expecting based on the title, however he makes a number of good points. Definately worth reading.

10. Triple Tap by Fred Reed

Reed recently released two books on KDP that he wrote but couldn't get published in the 1990s. This is the first and better of the two, a more or less standard mystery that benefits from Reed's knowledge of Washington DC and its police department. He does a good job of capturing the early 90's atmosphere. If you like gritty non-PC police stories/mysteries, give this a try. Extra credit for reminding me about The Nighthawks.

11. Killer Kink by Fred Reed

The second of Reed's 1990's DC mysteries. Similar to the first, including some recycled discriptions and lines. This one involves a serial killer and I found it a little lacking compared to the first one.

Hi, Mike! I hope that the paper you had to write went well. The Marlantes sounds intersting.

#20 - Thanks, it did go well, I have another one due in two weeks that I've been putting off, but it's about time to get to work.

Marlantes was interesting, unfortunately my description doesn't do it justice.

12. Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Book number six (?) in Cornwell's Saxon series. I thought this one was lacking something that was present in the earlier books, but I can't say just what. It was still a good book with pagans, shield walls, death, and destruction and Cornwell can really make you feel like you are in the shield wall with Uhtred. I look forward to the next volume in the series, hopefully whatever was missing from this one will return next time.

Mike - I have the Marlantes book and look forward to reading it. Sounds good!

13. WTF What the F@&k: A DC Law Enforcement Officer’s Perspective, From the Inside Looking Out by Officer Mac

Well there's an hours of my life that I can never get back. Possibly the worst book I have ever read. A friend asked me to read this otherwise I would never have gotten it in the first place. The author apparently did not use his name in an effort to hide his shame. In the unlikely event you ever come across this "book" run the other way. The only good thing about the book is that it's only 130-something pages, it only feels like it's 2000 pages long.

Ugh! My sympathies on the time lost with a horrible book, Mike. Hope your next read is much better!

Mike - Your review intrigued me, so I did some searching and found Officer Mac's website, which contains some lengthy excerpts from the book. So, I took a look. And... err.... umm..... :(

#26 - I warned you. The fact that he doesn't use his name bothers me. Since he's no longer with the agancy he has nothing to fear. Of course, if he used his real name it would probably be revealed that he was not the super-cop he made himself out to be. I've been asking around to see if anyone knows who he is, but no luck so far.

14. Cain at Gettysburg by Ralph Peters

A fictional account of the Battle of Gettysburg to rival The Killer Angels. My review is here.

Good, helpful review, Mike! I've given it a thumbs-up vote, and added the book to my wishlist. We used to live near Gettysburg, and I never tire of reading about the battle, both in non-fiction and in novels -- it was such a multi-faceted battle, there are so many different perspectives from which one can view it all.

#29 -Thanks, glad you liked it. I've only been to Gettysburg twice, once when I was about ten and then again about three years ago. It's not that far, so I really need to go more often.

15. A Rising Thunder by David Weber

Book number 17 in the Honor Harrington series and substantially shorter than the most recent volumes. Unfortunately, not much happens in this book, and much of that action that does take place, happens off camera with the reader only hearing about what happened and not actually witnessing the events. The title seems to indicate that it is a precursor to the next volume(s) but I cannot say that I am interested enough to continue. After 17 books, I’ve realized that I no longer like Harrington, I came to that realization about a third of the way through the book when I noted that I was enjoying the book and there had not even been a mention of the main character. Then she appeared and my enjoyment dropped off. I am not sure why I no longer like her, I think it is at least in part do to her awkward dialogue, it never sounds like a real person. That and the fact that she has become a perfect, do-nothing wrong heroine. However, in A Rising Thunder, she is really just a do-nothing heroine, because there is nothing for her to do because nothing happens. Maybe Weber has gotten bored with writing these books but continues to put them out due to fan demand; this book will go a long way to ending that demand.

16. 1634; The Baltic War by Eric Flint & David Weber

This is the third book in the "1632" series. Ok, it's not really, but it's the third of what could be called the main plot novels. There are any number of books in the series that follow events outside of Northern/Central Europe, written by several other authors either with Flint or on their own. I've read a few of the non-main plot books and eventually gave up on the series entirely primarily because I didn't really enjoy the minor plots that had been elevated to book status. I recently decided to give the series another try but only the main plot books, the result is 1634: The Baltic War. Perhaps in a few years I'll read the next book, perhaps the novelty of the series has worn off but I had a difficult time getting into this book. I hit a wall about have way through and had to force myself to continue on. There was nothing particulary wrong with the book or story, I was just uninterested in the characters and what happened to them.

17. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam by Stephen Sears

Probably the best battle study of Sharpsburg and possibly the best of any Civil War battle. If you have an interest in the ACW you really should read this.

Double post

Mike, I'm eager to read Landscape Turned Red, which is at our local library. Sears' Gettysburg book may well have been the best account of that battle that I ever read. Have you read that one?

#35 - I have Sears' Gettysburg but haven't read it. I did read Chancellorsville last year and found that to be very good as well. I also want to get his book on the Penninsula Campaign.

18. Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell

In Arctic Rising, global warming isn't as bad as you thought it was going to be. The opening of the Artic Ocean grants access to all the natural resources that had previously been buried under ice. This leads to the growing economic power of the Artic Tigers, Canada, Greenland, etc. The region is patrolled by the United Nations Polar Guard. When UNPG airship pilot Anika Duncan is shot down by the crew of a Gaia Corporation ship, more then the earth begins to heat up. It seems that not everyone is cool with global warming. Buckell has created an interesting and plausible world populated by realistic characters, hopefully he'll return here for another book. My only complaint is that the ending seemed a little rushed.

19. Candidate Without a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Athesit in the Bible Belt by Herb Silverman

Review to come

*waving* at Mike

20. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly

Obviously this is a classic, it's probably the world's first science fiction story, and you should read it for that reason alone. That being said, it was not what I expected, my expectations were based on years of Frankenstein films which bear only a passing resemblance to the book. The biggest difference was the "Monster's" intelligence, no grunting here. Well worth reading for its historical literary alone, but it's also an interesting story. While you may thing you already know the story of Frankenstein, if you've never read this book, you don't know the real story.

21. Don't Vote: It Just Encourages the Bastards by P.J. O'Rourke

O'Rourke takes a humorous look at modern politics. Not as funny as his earlier books, I would describe it as a book about politics that happens to be funny as opposed to a book which is funny and happened to be about politics. Still worth reading, but if you're never read O'Rourke before, this is not a good place to start. I think he has gotten more serious as he's gotten older.

22. The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole who Infiltrated the CIA by Joby Warrick

Well written story of Humam Khalil al-Balawi, the Jordanian doctor, turned suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees in a bombing at the Khost CIA station. Best book I've read about post-9/11 CIA.

Hi, Mike! I hope you're having a good weekend. You've been doing some great reading.

Popular culture has really made Frankenstien into something very different from Shelly's original. Glad you enjoyed the real thing. I should reread it sometime -- it's been years and years!

I love the title of #21. :)

The Triple Agent book sounds like a disturbing subject. Glad it was well-written.

23. A Desert Called Peace by Tom Kratman

During the mid 21st Century, a rift is discovered in the outer solar system. The rift leads to another solar system with an earth-like planet populated by animals from the end of earth's Ice Age. There are other plants and animals that appear to be from elsewhere and some that appear to have been artificially constructed. The governments of earth begin sending their malcontents and other unwanted population to the new world, imaginatively named Terra Nova. 400 years later Terra Nova is divided into nation states copied from earth - the United States/Federated States, Russia/Volga, Iraq/Sumer, and so on. So far so good. Then Muslim extremists crash three blimps into skyscrapers in the Federated States capital on 7/11 causing the destruction of the buildings and thousands of deaths, sound at all familiar? Just wait it gets better, the Federated States then invades Pashtia to drive out the terrorists and later invades Sumer over reports of WMDs. Kratman’s characters then proceed to fight the war the “right” way and by the right way I mean the way the most dedicated bomb them back to the Stone Age, water boarding hawk would want the war to be fought. I’m of two minds about this book, I liked the set-up but the repeat of the last 10 years doesn’t really do justice to it. This is the first of a projected eight book series, I might read the next one just to see where he goes with it and after that we’ll have to see.

24. Last Men Out: The True Story of America's Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam by Bob Drury

An account of the final days of America in Vietnam as seen through the eyes of the last Americans to leave, the Marine Security Guards assigned to the embassy in Saigon. Even knowing the final outcome, the book manages to create a feeling of suspense. If no one has bought the movie rights to this book yet, they're missing out. Great book.

25. Some of the Best from Tor.com ed. Patrick Nielsen Hayden

A collection of SF short stories published on Tor.com during 2011. Most of the stories were interesting enough to keep reading, although there were a couple that I had to struggle to finish and one which I gave up on. That doesn't mean they were bad, just not my style. That's not unusual for a collection such as this. Since Tor is offering this book for free, it's hard to go wrong.

One-third of the way to 75!

One-third of the way to 75!

Great work, Mike! We're about one-third of the way through the year, so you're right on track.

Last Men Out sounds like a good one. I may look that up.

#47 - You definitely should, it's well worth it.

26. The Balkans: A Short History by Mark Mazower

If your knowledge of Balkan history begins and ends with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand then this might be the book for you. The only real complaint I have is that the 20th Century was sort of rushed through, particularly the newsworthy events of the 1990s. In part this is probably due to the book's 2002 publication date.

27. The Diary of a U-Boat Commander by Stephen King-Hall

I was under the impression that this was an actual diary from a First World War U-Boat commander, so it's my own fault that I read this. It's actually a fictional romance between a U-Boat commander and a girl he meets while on leave in Belgium. As a romance it's not bad, but it was not really my cup of tea.

#49 Mike - Being half Dalmatian (i.e. from Dalmacija) on my mother's side, I've always got an eye out for good books on Balkan history, and this is one I've considered from time to time since I already have Mazower's Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe, and Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44. But first I need to read two I've already got. Namely, Endgame in the Balkans: Regime Change, European Style by Elizabeth Pond, and John Fine's When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods.

#50 - Ive almost been caught out a couple of times like that. I remember once reading reviews of one book on Amazon in which half the reviewers thought the book fiction and the other half non-fiction; which is why I like the recent trend to put "A Novel" on the front cover or as part of the title.

#51 - I found the book in the history section for the Kindle. I guess I'll have to be more careful in the future. Some versions of it list the fictional main character as the author.

28. A Detailed Man by David Swinson

A well-written mystery/police procedural/crime book featuring DC Police Detective Ezra Simeon. Simeon was recently detailed to the Homicide Cold Case squad to give him a break and hopefully to give him the chance to recover from a persistent case of Bell's Palsy. Simeon's break doesn't last long and he's soon on the homicide squad handling a well publicized case. Written with a dry humor and an intimate knowledge of the DC Police, Swinson has written a good first book that is impossible to pigeon hole into a particular genre. I look forward to his next book.

I used to work with the author and he was an outstanding detective.

29. Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 1 by U.S. Grant

Interesting account of Grant's experiences in the Mexican War and the American Civil War up until the fall of Vicksburg. I would have liked to see him address the drinking issues but I guess it's not surprising he did not. A must read for those interested in the ACW.

30. Gabriel's Redemption: Book 1 of the Evan Gabriel Trilogy by Steve Umstead

A well-written and decent SF story. Special Ops soldier is brought out of retirement for a new mission, but unsurprisingly, all is not as it seems. Umstead avoids the pitfalls of many independently published authors, namely typos, poor grammar, and generally weak writing. The background to the story is somewhat reminiscent of Kratman's "A Desert Called Peace" but then takes it in an entirely different and better direction. I had some minor issues with a couple of things but overall a good book. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I started reading Grant's memoirs, and had to return them to the library before I finished. One of these days, I'm going to check them out and finish reading. I found the quality of his writing quite good -- especially considering that he was dying of cancer as he wrote.

#55 - Grant's memoirs are generally considered to be the best of any Civil War figure.

I got both volumes on my kindle for free from Amazon. I look forward to reading volume 2.

31. By the Blood of Heroes:The Great Undead War: Book I by Joseph Nassie

First World War and zombies, how could you go wrong? It's not really the First World War, more of a steampunky version of it. Not sure how I feel about the whole idea, it probably rates about 3.5 stars but I'll read the next book when it comes out.

32. The Ninth District - A Thriller by Douglas Dorow

FBI agents in Minnesota track a bank robber turned murderer. Pretty good story and well-written. I liked the FBI characters, but I had a hard time with the bank robber, he didn't feel like a real person and I didn't understand some of his motivations. There were a lot of unanswered questions by the end of the book and I'm willing to read the next book in the series and look for some answers there, but I have a feeling they are just loose ends.

33. Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner

Weiner provides a scathing account of the history of the CIA, in which it comes off looking like a bunch of amateurs playing at spy. He accomplishes this without resorting to anonymous interviews; everything in the book has a name attached to it. Seemingly everything also has an endnote attached to it; there are a lot of notes. The book is well written and easy to read and while I recommend it, I also offer a cautionary note. Nicholas Dujmovic of the CIA’s history office has written an extensive review of Legacy of Ashes, and while Dujmovic may be biased, his comments should be noted.

34. Gabriel's Return by Steve Umstead

Book two of the trilogy and the story continues. A new mission for Gabriel and his team returns Gabriel to the scene of the mission that caused him to be cashiered. The bad guys are a little to easily overcome and the big surprise is not really surprising, but an entertaining read.

35. Gabriel's Revenge by Steve Umstead

Book three and the weakest of the set. The ending was unsatisfying and supposed surprises aren't really surprising (an unfortunate theme throughout the series). Regardless, I wouldn't mind reading more about Evan Gabriel. It spite of the flaws in all three books, they are entertaining. What more could you want.

Wow, I've really let this list go. Time, where does it go? I've read about 30 more books, so I'll have to do some updating. Watch this space.

I'll be watching, Mike! Great to see you posting. Glad to see that you've been reading.

36. The Zimmerman Telegram by Barbara Tuchman
Tuchman’s first book is an interesting and well-written account of the German effort to gain Mexico (and Japan) as an ally against the U.S. during the First World War. Tuchman provides a lot of background which does a good job of placing the telegram in context. I enjoyed Tuchman's writing style, as I also did in her A Distant Mirror, and look forward to reading more of her books. Fortunately, I have at least three others.

37. Gabriel: Zero Point by Steve Umstead
A good, if too short, story, about Evan Gabriel's early days. A prequel to Umstead's other Gabriel novels.

38. Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas
While partly a history of the entire naval war in the Pacific, it focuses on the Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 23-26, 1944. Thomas does this by focusing on four naval commanders, two American and two Japanese. Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, commander of the American 3rd Fleet, Commander Ernest Evans, captain of the destroyer USS Johnston, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita, commander of the Japanese 2nd Fleet and Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki, who commanded a battle-ship division in the 2nd Fleet. Thomas does a good job of summarizing the naval war both before and after Leyte Gulf and explains the battle in detail. However, I found the inclusion of Evans and Ugaki somewhat surprising. Evans, who did play a pivotal role in the battle, was not on the same level as the other commanders included and Ugaki, who was undoubtedly an interesting character, played little role in the battle. I found the book to be both enjoyable and informative, with both Japanese and American perspectives. There was one thing that bothered me about Thomas’ writing. Whenever he gave a time of day, he would write “0650 hours, 6:50 AM” each an every time. While I’m sure there are some people who cannot grasp the way military time works, I’m sure another way could have been found to address this.

39. Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
This is the first book in the Sheriff Walt Longmire mystery series, which the A&E show “Longmire” is based on. The book is set in Wyoming and Johnson does an excellent job of transporting the reader there. The characters are well drawn out and seem like real people. I’ll be reading the next book in the series. There were a couple of minor errors in the book that should have been caught during editing, in particular there was a reference to Grant at Gettysburg and an intoxicated character was said to have a BAC of 4.5%. Obviously Grant was not at the Battle of Gettysburg, being otherwise engaged in Mississippi at the time; and a person with a BAC of 4.5 would be dead, I assume the author meant .45% which is still ridiculously high but not automatically deadly, there were a couple of other minor errors like these but they did not seriously detract from the book.

40. A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution by Carol Berkin
An adequate account of the creation of the U.S. Constitution. Something about this book just didn’t work for me.

41. War is a Racket by Smedley Butler
Yes it is and Butler would know. Two-time receipt of the Medal of Honor, Butler discusses who benefits from war and who doesn’t. Spoiler alert, soldiers don’t make any money but they do an awful lot of dying.

42. God No! Signs You Might Already be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales by Penn Jillette
Some fun and interesting stories from Penn Jillette. I’ve you listen to “Penn’s Sunday School” you will have heard some of this before. He’s a good storyteller but I was underwhelmed by the book, perhaps my expectations were too high.

43. Redshirts by John Scalzi
Redshirts are the unnamed and unknown extra characters on television who routinely get killed off before the end of the episode, sometimes they don’t even get a name or a line of dialogue. On Star Trek they were always the characters wearing red shirts and thus the name. Scalzi writes a story about a real life starship with real life red shirts. What happens when they realize they have an extremely short lifespan? Entertaining and a little bizarre.

44. Kop by Warren Hammond
The first book in the Juno Mozambe mystery series. Juno is a dirty cop on a dirty planet. I look forward to reading book two.

Well that's a start. I'll post some more soon.

Hi, Mike! Some interesting reading here.

Cold Dish is on my list, as the series has been recommended; those bloopers about Grant and the BAC would drive me crazy, though. I hate that kind of carelessness!!!

Redshirts sound interesting. Yes, I have often remarked on those unfortunate fellows on Star Trek. An interesting premise for a novel.

I think I listened to Sea of Thunder as an audiobook, so didn't have the problem you did.

I've got War is a Racket secreted around here somewhere...

Can't say I'm quite the Tuchman fan you are, but hope you enjoy the other titles you have ;)

Looking forward to your next set of reviews, and if they don't appear before the 25th - a very Merry Christmas to you and yours :)

Redshirts! I saw an ad for that a little while ago and keep meaning to grab a copy. Maybe I can give it to El Husbando for Christmas under the guise of it being "for him"... yeah, he won't buy that for a second. LOL.

Mike, I just wanted to stop by and wish you Happy Holidays.

Thanks Terri, same to you.

45. Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race by Jon Stewart
Funny

46. Long Island Noir ed. Kaylie Jones
OK, but most of the stories could have been set anywhere.

47. Bitterly Divided: The South’s Inner Civil War by David Williams
Many in the South were against succession and actively aided the Federals. Good book, if a little reliant on anecdotal evidence.

48. In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Post-War Asia by Ronald Spector
The Second World War ended but someone forgot to tell anyone. Another outstanding book from Spector.

49. The Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
Time travel with some good ideas but Mullen went in a different direction than I would have liked.

50. Arrested Development by David Couper
Former police chief has some good ideas about improving police.

51. Helmet for my Pillow by Robert Leckie
Leckie at war in the Pacifics. A WW II classic.

52. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Interesting story involving a giant online RPG and 80s trivia.

53. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
Winter is Coming!

54. Under and Alone by William Queen
ATF agent goes undercover with the Mongols.

55. Humble Heroes by Steven Bustin
The story of the USS Nashville in WW II.

56. No Easy Day by Mark Owens
Osama bin Laden is dead and this guy was there. Different story then what we heard from the White House and non-involved authors.

57. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
I hope it's not six years before the next book.

58. A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage
Beer, wine, spirits, tea, coffee, and coke explain the world. He makes an interesting argument.

59. Drift by Rachel Maddow
I was prepared to hate this, but I didn't.

60. Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
Life in authoritarian Britain. I found the ending to be underwhelming but expected.

61. Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi
Wow.

62. Make Room! Make Room! By Harry Harrison
If you're seen the movie Soylent Green is not what you think it is, otherwise a decent 1970s overpopulation warning.

63. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Science, it works!

64. Forty Days at Kamas by Preston Fleming
Life in authoritarian America, gulags are not fun.

65. Sub-Human by David Simpson
First of a series, earth is divided into two camps: those who are in favor of a super-AI that can control everything; and those who have ever seen a movie. There's also some travel between alternate universes.

66. How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story by John Scalzi
Sex with aliens, enough said.

67. The God Engines by John Scalzi
Just voted one of the top 10 novellas of the 21st century.

68. The Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
Finance is beyond me but Ferguson made a valiant effort. Lots of interesting information.

69. You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to the Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing by John Scalzi
Scalzi about the business of writing, taken from his blog, "Whatever!"

70. The Penal Colony by Richard Herley
The film "No Escape" was based on this.

71. Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks
Space battles, firefights on alien planets, giant aliens, etc.

72. The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston
Trauma scene clean up is apparently a cutthroat business.

73. Chancellorsville and Gettysburg by Abner Doubleday
He didn't invent baseball but he did fight in the Civil War. A decent account but it's done better elsewhere. Valuable for his personal observations of the events, unfortunately he was on the opposite side of the field most of the time.

74. Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdie
Rushdie's life while in hiding. Interesting if a bit long and repetitive. Made me want to read The Satanic Verses and then made me change my mind.

75. Post-Human by David Simpson
Book two in the series, don't know what happened between books one and two, but this was terrible. We do get to see what happened to the folks in book one who never went to the movies.

2012 over, I'm going to make an effort to keep up a little better in 2013. If anyone would like an expanded view of any of these books, please let me know.

My 2013 thread is here.

Congrats on 75!

You have been busy! 75!!! Well done.

Happy new year :)

Congrats on the 75, Mike!

By the by Mike, make sure you post a link here to your 2013 thread once it's up and running... if it isn't already.

Peter, he's over here. (Mike I hope you don't mind me jumping in and posting the link.)

http://www.librarything.com/topic/147114

#75 Not at all, there's also a link at the end of #70, but it's kind of hidden.

#71, 72, and 73: thanks - lots of reading , not so much writing.