Just completed Ian McEwan's latest book called Sweet Tooth. Great writing for sure with a pleasant blend of poetic and personal stylized writing, psychological depth, and mysterious goal-direction. Sort of hints of Reynolds Price and Graham Greene without the excessive confusions of plot or extraneous sentimentality. He captured first person from a woman's perspective as well as I have ever read in a book. Quite a writer and worth a slow, careful read.
Now I am in The King and the Cowboy, a biographical sketch of the relationship between Edward the 7th and Theodore Roosevelt. Very fine book with lots of great information and perception on royalty and the complexity of Germanic roots that occurred during the post-Victoria and Albert years in England. Having read several biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, it is time to dive into the trilogy by Edmund Morris. He will be on the Howard Payne campus in a couple of months and I want to know his writing style well before hearing him speak.
Still working my way through James Lee Burke's Creole Belle. Wonderfully descriptive and full of precision and creativity, the story contains personal depth, amazing characterizations, and a strong sense of good versus evil. Yet I feel as though I have read this story before and am simply reading another James Lee Burke novel. He is one of my favorite thriller writers, but I may need to take a break from his books for awhile.
Strange for me, I have also read several books on management and leadership. Good reading but they all have a similar message to me. Still...I do like learning how to be a better manager and it is sort of fun to imagine making more money!
I continue to be disappointed that I have read every Louis L'amour book, Robert Parker book, Larry McMurtry, Philip Roth, Ian Fleming, John MacDonald, and Donald Hamilton book written. But there are several Graham Greene books I have not read and I am still working my way through Gore Vidal, Cormac McCarthy, and Jeff Shaara books. While I do not enjoy David Morrell quite as much as I used to, he still packs a powerful punch in spite of his quasi-comic book approach to writing of the last few years.
Having enjoyed In the Garden of the Beasts and The Big Burn, I am beginning to enjoy reading non-fiction historical books about certain events. Unbroken continues to occupy my thoughts and I plan to read more about British history in the future. Can't go wrong with a Charles Dickens novel and who can beat Nathaniel Hawthorne?
Of course there is the occasional Jonathan Kellerman, Harlan Coben, Michael Palmer, and David Baldacci. Lee Child is especially popular right now, but I got weary of the constant explosions and fights. I tried to read a Vince Flynn book but after a couple dozen shootings, I decided enough was enough. I probably need to read Nelson DeMille's latest, but I think I will wait awhile. Of course my favorite book remains Les Miserables but I must admit I have only read two abridged versions. One of these days, I intend to read the entire set of books in spite of hearing that the middle book is quite dull!
Addressing digital books: I cannot fully embrace the concept yet. I somehow prefer to hold a book in my hand. The digital idea is fine for trips and for those times I am not near a bookstore, but overall I sure like turning real pages. Audio books are great for running but that is about all. Okay, call me old-fashioned but I just plain old like real books, great stories, smooth writing, and depth of thought. Ah, books...may they always be a valued part of my life!
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