Dark Tower book 4.5 (that is, takes place between _Wizard and Glass_ and _Wolves of the Calla_).

I've known this was coming for a couple of years, but lost track of it until I saw it in the bookstore tonight.

... I wonder if I can remember where the heck I was in it so I can pick it up again? I hope you'll provide some followup on how you liked this one.

for Dark Tower fans, anyway.

It was a story inside a story inside a story.

The outer wrapper was Roland and his ka-tet just after the end of _Wizard and Glass_, and contains spoilers for that book. That wrapper is pretty thin, though--they ease on down the road and get caught in a violent winter storm (called, appropriately enough for Song of Ice and Fire fans a "starkblast&quot and while spending the night in an abandoned building next to a fire, Roland tells a story. (About 1/8 of the book.)

The story he tells is of his youth when, again just after the flashback events of _Wizard and Glass_, he is sent by his father with Jamie DeCurry to a neighboring barony to track down reports of a "skin person"--potential shape shifter. They do as young gunslingers should in restoring order in a world moving on, and Roland does learn more about his mother. (This is about 3/8 of the book.)

This story is split in the middle when young Roland tells a frightened kid a story that his mother read to him often, "The Wind through the Keyhole". This is placed back in "once upon a bye" and is a story of a youngster, surprise, dealing with his fears and a bad situation and taking it on. It is a full half of the book and the touch and tone is very much like King's other fairy-tale type books: paced, direct, matter-of-fact, and marvel-filled. (If you've read them, you know what I mean. If not, trust me, he's not all about suspense.)

Overall it adds nicely to the Dark Tower canon. However, someone just reading the basic seven books isn't going to miss this one. King says in his introduction that it was pleasant discovery for him that these characters hadn't finished speaking yet.

And I'm always up to sit up late at a fire and hear Roland spin a yarn.

Part of that sounds familiar (the journey when they were kids to a far-off land). The rest of it doesn't... Maybe I just need to pick them all up and start over from the beginning. That should keep me busy until I die....

Book 19 of M. C. Beaton's mystery series about Constable Hamish Macbeth in the Highlands of Scotland..

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/B_Authors/Beaton_M-C.html

Book 54 of 2012

Second in the Steve Winslow attorney series. Written many years ago, newly available on kindle.

I'm exactly 1/2 way through this one, and enjoying it as much as I did the first. The writing style takes me a bit to get used to, but there are some laugh-out-loud moments scattered throughout and it's an interesting storyline.

Takes place entirely in NYC.

The story of a 15 year old boy who is alone at home in Iowa when the Yellowstone caldera erupts with 2500 times the energy as Mt St Helen's. He must make a harrowing trek through a new hellish world to get to his parents.

It's an intense book along the lines of The Road and seems very well researched and believable.
Even though it's a young adult book the story will be engrossing for older readers as well, like the Hunger games were.

It's also rather disturbing because it describes an apocalyptic future that might actually come true some day.

Just finished "The Memory of Whiteness" by KSR, which was different.

Then Kafka : "The Complete Stories", and "Cities of the Plain" -- Cormac McCarthy.

In re-reading the Border Trilogy, I'm seeing a lot of connections that were not obvious the first time through, for instance there is a dialog on "Cities of the Plain" (decadent and corrupt places) in "The Crossing", foreshadowing the third volume of the trilogy.

I really loved "The Kiterunner" and learned so much from it. I just started this book and hope to learn as much from it while enjoying the reading.

by Luis Alberto Urrea. I just started it last night but I can already tell that it is going to be an adventure.

I just ordered the Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy, it should arrive tomorrow. I am looking forward to reading it because McCarthy is one of my all time favorite authors . Just be warned... he is not for the faint of heart!

I just finished The Devils Highway (non fiction) by LAU. It was harrowing. I had to lay it down a couple of times and shed a few tears, but It was worth it . I will NEVER look at an illegal (or indeed call them illegal) again.I thought I had compassion before , isolated from all that here in the mid west but this book has shown me that I had no idea....

I've had it sitting on my bookshelf for years and finally decided to read it. It's pretty good. It reminds me a bit of some of Ruth Rendell's books.

8th in the Walt Longmire series...sheriff in Wyoming...lots of Indians, comedy, sad and scary parts...this book just came out..


http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/J_Authors/Johnson_Craig.html

Book 55 of 2012

The first half of Hell Is Empty was okay, the last half was dreadful, imo...but stuck with Johnson hoping he'd wake up, and he did.

This new one is just a notch not as good as the first 6, but it wasn't bad....in the middle, things lagged a bit but picked up.

Am not a fan of books wrapped around planning a wedding. Hope Cady moves to Philadelphia so her dad could get back to leading his own life which is a sight more interesting when he's not a doting father (or grandfather?)...

And Johnson better not kill off any more of my favorites. Still sore about that.