A Fistful of Fig Newtons - Jean Shepherd

Most people recognize this author's name as the writer that brings us twenty-four hours of "A Christmas Story" on TNT every year. Many years ago, I enjoyed his "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" novel, from which the movie was adapted, but this author was a brilliant essayist and humorist as well. This collection covers a lot of material, from an eating contest in a college dorm, to KP duty on a sealed military train, to a price war between ice cream parlors. Mr. Shepherd passed away in 1999, but his stories will be enjoyable for generations.

Identity Crisis – Brad Meltzer

I used to be big into comics years ago, even had my own mail order business I attempted to start up when the internet was in it's infancy. I've since fallen out of the industry and have fallen way behind on my story lines. I've since been trying to pick up some trade paperbacks to try and get caught up. I've yet to read any of Brad Meltzer's novels, though I've got a few on the shelf and am looking forward to getting to them some day soon, so when I saw this story I was excited to get into it.

I wasn't disappointed, here was a story that held me entranced throughout and I finished this in one sitting. The artwork was superb and as with most comics, enhanced the story, set the pacing, built the suspense and entertained in it's own way. The problem I had with this book were of my own creation. I was too far out of the stories to truely understand what was going on or why. While this is a standalone series and I didn't need to keep up with the characters, I really felt no sympathy for them either. Most of the characters that starred in this, were side characters in series that I didn't follow before anyway. The ones I enjoyed back in the day, were really sideline characters in this one, so in that I was a bit disappointed, but as I said that was my failing no the authors.

If you enjoy comics and even have a passing interest in the characters and story, pick this up it will be worth it.

The Silent Blade – R. A. Salvatore

Another adventure in the world of Drizzt. I just didn't enjoy this one as much as the others.....nothing seemed to really happen and the pace, which typically for Salvatore is blistering, was sluggish in this book. I'm sure we're getting setup for future adventures and this was just a necessary step to put all the characters in the right place, but it just didn't make for an enjoyable read. I think I'll hold off for a bit on future Drizzt novels....I need a break.

The Art of War for Writers - James Scott Bell

This is, quite possibly, the best writing book that I have ever read, and over the years, I have read far too many. For the wannabe writer, most of these books offer the same formulas, but this author offered very concise 1-4 page chapters with simple and inspiring lessons. Coming out of this book, I was excited to get back to my manuscript, make some revisions, and plow ahead to the end (which I'm aiming to have done by Christmas). To anyone thinking of writing a novel, or almost done with one, this book is well worth the few hours of reading!

Smile When You're Lying - Chuck Thompson

I do enjoy a good bit of travel writing, and this author has definitely in his career of writing for various travel magazines. The chapters jump around quite a bit, sometimes telling a story about smuggling a Russian flag across the border, and sometimes critiquing the commercial nature of the industry that employs him. It was a fun book to read, and I look forward to jumping into his next book in a few weeks.

Letters from an A**hole - John Lindsay

This is my second book this month that uses asterisks in the title to mask something offensive, and honestly, I thought about excluding this book from my list. Get past the title, however, and the book is actually pretty funny. The author reaches out to individuals on the web, answering their ads with preposterous comments and stories that are often very fitting. My favorite may be the guy that posted an ad looking for a Wal-Mart receipt for a specific TV model, and the author created one replete with spelling errors to help the guy out. Basically, if the person taking out the ad leaves the door even slightly open, the author pounces. We've all thought about doing this once or twice (really, you want a free car, but feel like you can spell out the model, color, and condition?). I enjoyed this book - don't judge me! :-)

The Stainless Steel Rat Returns - Harry Harrison

This author was one of the best of the pulp science fiction authors of the 60s, and Jim DiGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat, is his best character. As the author is in his eighties, and the last Rat book appeared in 1999, I had given up on seeing another book. Last week I was perusing Amazon, and was shocked to see that this book had just come out. It was on my doorstep two days later, and read two days after that. So, honestly, it isn't Harrison's strongest work. Jim's rural relatives interrupt his retirement, with a host of relatives and porcuswines, and in attempting to relocate everyone to another planet, Jim and company stumble into a race war. I was happy to see the Stainless Steel Rat again, but the book was just so-so for me.

The Emperor’s Tomb – Steve Berry

I was lucky enough to receive the ARC for review. Being a Steve Berry fan this novel jumped to the top of my list of books to read. I wasn't disappointed. This was a fun book. Typically in Berry's fashion is a fast-paced novel, full of action, suspense and enough twists to keep you guessing. Also enjoyed the historical aspect of this one as I learned more about Chinese history then I expected and Steve used this history to twist in a current debate over the availability of oil. Very interesting and well written. Recommend this one. It comes out on November 23rd, head over to Amazon to preorder this one!

Butcher Bird - Richard Kadrey

This is a great story of a tattoo artist named Spyder who, after being attacked by a demon, is able to see the other spheres of existence around humankind. The woman that saved him from being eaten, a swordswoman named Shrike, is hired to go to Hell to reclaim a book of magic, and she recruits Spyder to help her on the quest. This novel is replete with humor and action, and a host of great characters (my favorite being the Black Clerks, who bargain away life, one organ at a time). The story concludes with a battle in Hell, with Lucifer, one of his generals who seeks to take over, and a host of the Old Dominion. If you like A. Lee Martinez or Christopher Moore, you should definitely check out this novel!