Tripwire

Tripwire is the third book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher novel. I have been reading the series at the suggestion of my friend and colleague, Tricia. The beginning of this book finds Reacher digging pools in Key West. This is disrupted when a private investigator, and later two hired thugs come looking for him. These disruptions force Reacher to return to the mainland. The following adventure is one that becomes incredibly personal and has many twists along the way.

While this novel was good, it is not my favorite from the series. The writing style seemed a bit different from the preceding books and the resolution seemed to happen far to quickly. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read. Reacher continues to be an interesting and complex character, who grows incredibly more deep with each novel.

Tripwire

Die Trying

Die Trying is the second Jack Reacher novel written by author Lee Child. I was introduced to this series by my friend Tricia, who has become rather obsessed with the novels. This was another fast-paced, action adventure novel starring an intriguing lead character.

The novel starts with Reacher getting kidnapped along with injured FBI agent Holly Johnson. What follows is an interesting story dealing with kidnappers, militia separatists, and would-be terrorists. As in other novels, Reacher must use his background as a military investigator to save Holly and himself, while simultaneously attempting to thwart the schemes of the villains.

Child has created an interesting character in Jack Reacher. He is a man of absolutes, laden with personal rule and plenty of mystery. This series has provided inspiration for the new Tom Cruise movie, Jack Reacher.

I would definitely suggest this story to anyone who enjoys action, adventure, and/or suspense novels.

Die Trying

 

Blues from the Delta

I bought Blues from the Delta by William Ferris after purchasing another book by him. Dr. Stephens sent me a picture of a book he saw in a bookstore because he thought it may interest me. That book was Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues, also by William Ferris. After scanning that book briefly and looking at some footage from the accompanying DVD, I decided to order  Blues from the Delta.

Blues from the Delta is the book that came out of William Ferris' dissertation, and at times, really reads as such. However, it has a lot of great insight into the blues from musicians who are living and playing in the Mississippi delta. It is evident that Ferris truly cares about this style of music and the people associated with it. He takes an ethnographic approach to his study, spending time with the musicians, getting to know them and talking about their life as it relates to the blues. As such, Ferris is able to provide some great insight into the lyrics, lifestyle, musicianship, and racial tension associated with the blues.

While not a book I will use as one of the textbooks for my course, it certainly has a lot of information that I will likely use as supplementary material.

Blues from the Delta

The Red Tent

I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant at the suggestion of my friend, Hannah. I suggested that she read The Alchemist, one of my favorite books, and she reciprocated by suggesting I read one of her favorite books. I put it off for a couple of weeks, as I was reading a few other things in my queue. However, in the last week of the semester, I picked it up to give it a read.

The Red Tent focuses on the (minor) biblical character Dinah, Jacob's only daughter. While Dinah is the daughter of a rather important patriarch in the Bible, her famous father and brothers have relatively minor roles in the book. The story focuses mostly on the women in the family- Dinah, her mother Leah, and her three aunts. It's a book focuses on women's narratives, in a world that is mostly patriarchal.

Diamant does a great job of recreating the world of shepherds, tribes, traders, and caravans. It is an interesting narrative about a character about whom I knew very little. I enjoyed the story, especially as it focused on one of my favorite areas of the world, the Middle East.

The Red Tent

Killing Floor

I read Killing Floor by Lee Child at the suggestion of a friend and colleague, Mrs. Tricia Smith. We were chatting about books we were reading and she mentioned that she was currently deep into the Jack Reacher series. I had never heard of the series, but I knew there was a new movie coming out soon called Jack Reacher. So, I figured I'd pick up a copy of Killing Floor and read it, as it was the first of the series. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a copy of that book. It appears that it was going to be re-released sometime in the near future and the only other addition I could find was as an e-book. Fortunately, however, I found a lot of 5 Jack Reacher novels for $12 on ebay.

I really enjoyed the novel. It was a fun read. It wasn't anything too deep, but was full of action. Reacher is an ex-military policeman who stumbles into strange situation in a small town in Georgia. He's a bit of a drifter who just happened to visit the town to find the fate of a bluesman whose music he enjoyed. What follows is an action-packed mystery.

The story seemed to be a bit better thought out than some James Patterson novels I had read, although I could find some comparisons between the two authors' writing styles. Overall, it was good and I look forward to reading more of the Jack Reacher series.

Killing Floor

South of Broad

I received South of Broad by Pat Conroy as a gift from Dr. Terry Papillon, Virginia Tech's director of University Honors. He has a yearly tradition of giving the Honors staff a book at the holiday party each year. Apparently, Conroy is one of Terry's favorite authors and this is one of his favorite books. Somehow, it took me nearly a year to read. I kept buying other books and putting it lower on the queue.

However, I am really glad I finally read the book. It is a great piece of Southern literature. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, the book is set over the course of two decades. The story follow protagonist Leo King, his slightly dysfunctional family, and his very close friends. It follows the group through many trials and tribulations. It is simultaneously funny and achingly sad. The lives of these individuals are hauntingly broken, and consequently there is something very authentic about the novel. I rather enjoyed it. One of the quotes from the book that I found to be rather poignant is, "Growing up is odd, no matter where you do it

For anyone interested in a story that will make you laugh, cry, and consider the human condition, this is a novel for you. It also captures the spirit of living in the South.

South of Broad

Favorite Father Brown Stories

I picked up a copy of Favorite Father Brown Stories by G. K. Chesterton from a discount bin at Barnes & Noble. The back of the book indicated that Chesterton liked to probe topics of Christian theology through his writing, especially through the stories involving his priest/detective, Father Brown. It seemed like an intriguing combination and worth the cost of two dollars.

The stories proved to be fairly entertaining. I enjoyed the twist of having a Catholic priest solving mysteries in early 19th century England. As a fan of Victorian era crime fiction, I thought this would be intriguing. The stories were fairly interesting. The mystery did not always present themselves early in the story and Brown's methods were not always the most clear, but that added to the fun. The resolution often occurred in the concluding paragraph of the story. I can't say I favored these stories as much as I do the Sherlock Holmes canon, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

Favorite Father Brown Stories