- Joined
- Jan 26, 2003
- Messages
- 22,146
I have posted once or twice to weigh in on Barbara Kingsolver and Margaret Maron, but I haven't reported on my own reading in a while. When I last wrote, I was finishing Vince Flynn's Consent to Kill about his protagonist Mitch Rapp who is a CIA counter-terrorism agent (read: assassin). Since then, I quickly went through his Act of Treason; Protect and Defend; Extreme Measures; and Pursuit of Honor. I think that Mr. Flynn got better and better as he matured as a writer. I dislike his politics, but I think he really delivers on an exciting story. I also find that he draws some likeable characters. Knowing that Mr. Flynn has recently struggled with health problems, I have also found myself rooting for him and praying for him, even though Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh (whom I loathe) compliment his books in their opening pages!
After I finished Pursuit of Honor, I took a break from Mitch Rapp and Vince Flynn and read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee bender. It was, as described by someone, gorgeously weird. It was just what I needed for a break. It is about as unlike a graphic thriller based on geo-political realities as anything on earth. I enjoyed it a lot, but some of why I enjoyed it so much may just have been that it was so different from what I had been reading. It was also very easy to read!
I then reread Thomas Perry's first book about Jane Whitehead,Vanishing Act. Jane is an Indian (Native American/Seneca) woman who helps people in fear of their lives disappear. She also has enormous fighting skills and skills for survival in the wild, however, skills she derived in part from her background. The books about her are written with great respect. In Vanishing Act, there is a part where is pursued in a forest and becomes cold, wet, and frightened. There is no lack of realism in what she faces; she is not a super-hero. But in time she slowly comes into touch with things she learned about the forest from a Native American perspective and she realizes that although she is outmatched, she is not totally helpless. I had never reread any of the books about her, although I love all of them and could reread any of them again and again because they are so satisfying! I really highly recommend these books.
Deb/AGBF
After I finished Pursuit of Honor, I took a break from Mitch Rapp and Vince Flynn and read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee bender. It was, as described by someone, gorgeously weird. It was just what I needed for a break. It is about as unlike a graphic thriller based on geo-political realities as anything on earth. I enjoyed it a lot, but some of why I enjoyed it so much may just have been that it was so different from what I had been reading. It was also very easy to read!
I then reread Thomas Perry's first book about Jane Whitehead,Vanishing Act. Jane is an Indian (Native American/Seneca) woman who helps people in fear of their lives disappear. She also has enormous fighting skills and skills for survival in the wild, however, skills she derived in part from her background. The books about her are written with great respect. In Vanishing Act, there is a part where is pursued in a forest and becomes cold, wet, and frightened. There is no lack of realism in what she faces; she is not a super-hero. But in time she slowly comes into touch with things she learned about the forest from a Native American perspective and she realizes that although she is outmatched, she is not totally helpless. I had never reread any of the books about her, although I love all of them and could reread any of them again and again because they are so satisfying! I really highly recommend these books.
Deb/AGBF