Books Read
As I studied successful authors, I spotted a trend—they read a lot of books. Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series, says he reads 300 books a year. Stephen King, who says he reads about 80 books a year because he is a slow reader, states, "If you want to write, you must do two things above all others—read a lot and write a lot."
When I working in the corporate world, my time was too limited to read much, but dropping out of the rat race to focus on an author career changed that. I now read 1-2 books per week, exceeding 100 books read the last few years—mostly fiction and different genres. I watch for recommended books from authors I have never read, but also read everything a handful of authors write (two of those mentioned in the first paragraph).
Many of my readers asked that I share that list and a lot of the newsletter subscribers email me regularly to recommend I try a book (something I love). Thus, this section of the website has evolved to list all of the books I finish reading.
To be clear, these are not reviews. You will find I never rate a book as "bad" because, frankly, I never finish a poorly written book. Too many good books exist out there to waste a minute of time reading a bad one. Since the books reported here are only the ones I finish, they are all good.
When I read reviews from on-line bookstores or review sites, I find most of them are based on whether the reader "liked" or "didn't like" the book. The problem with that approach is whether the reader "likes" a book has as much to do with the topic as the writing skills of the author. For example, I am not a fan of sci-fi romance books with werewolves (which is probably a genre, but who knows?). So if I said I didn't like such a book, and you enjoy time-traveling, shape-shifting lovers, then my review is useless to you. It might even prevent you from discovering a book you like.
So instead of like or not (since every book listed I liked enough to finish), my reviews take a few paragraphs to explain what the story is about. Hopefully, that will help you decide whether to read or not.
And, yes, if I really, really, really loved a book and think it's awesome, I will say that. Count on that once every month or two.
Hope you enjoy my list and find something new to read.
P.S.—Please, share what you are reading. I try very hard to read authors I have not tried before.
Book 39 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Bryan Cranston: A Life In Parts—The celebrated actor’s funny and poignant memoir entertains.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 38 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Michael Koryta: Last Words—Private investigator Markus Novak finds himself in some tight spaces.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 37 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Dean Koontz: The Forbidden Door—Top FBI Agent turned fugitive Jane Hawk fights to save her five-year-old son.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 36 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—David Joy: Where All Light Tends To Go—Dad’s a meth dealer, mom’s an addict, and the son is stuck in the darkness.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 35 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Christopher Swann: Shadow of the Lions—A man returns to teach at his boarding school where his best friend disappeared
Click to Read SynopsisBook 34 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—David Baldacci: One Summer—A terminally ill man lives, his wife dies, and he rebuilds his life with his children.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 33 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Joe Hill: NOS4A2—A vampire-like creature kidnaps children and feeds off their energy.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 32 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Michael Koryta: Rise The Dark—Recent widower Markus Novak tries to stop a terrorist group plotting mayhem.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 31 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Bryan Reardon: The Real Michael Swann—A bomb kills hundreds in NYC. Is Michael Swann a victim or a terrorist?
Click to Read SynopsisBook 30 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Delia Owens: Where The Crawdad’s Sing—An abandoned young girl grows up in the marsh of North Carolina.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 29 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Fiona Barton: The Widow—The widow of an accused child abductor faces police, the media, and an outraged public.
Click to Read SynopsisBook 28 on my “March to 100 for 2019″—Jeff Abbott: The Three Beths—Is a serial killer stalking Beths or is something else causing a moniker disappearance?
Click to Read Synopsis