Ring of Truth by Brian Vaughan

First Published: Y: The Last Man magazines 24-31, 2004
Edition Read: DC Comics, 2005
ISBN: 978 1 4012 0487 7
Series: Y: The Last Man 5

This series is really starting to pick up. Sex, violence, redemption quests, geopolitical competition, pseudo-science, monkey crap as the key to mankind’s survival, torturous revenge – this book has it all.

The Seance by John Harwood

First Published: Jonathan Cape, 2008
Edition Read: HMH, 2008
ISBN: 978 0 15 101203 9
*** Random Book ***

One of those is-it-or-isn’t-it-a-ghost-story stories where the creepiest thing about the book turns out to be the characters and their strangely self-obsessed world views.

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

First Published: Harper Collins, 2007
Edition Read: Harper Collins, 2007
ISBN: 978 0 00 714982 7
*** Random Book ***

You have to be at least somewhat impressed by a book that creates an alternate history in which atom bombs dropped in Europe and Marilyn Munroe Kennedy as the First Lady are mentioned in a totally off-hand, background manner.

Body of Lies by Iris Johansen (M Post)

First Published: Bantam, 2002
Edition Read: Bantam, 2003
ISBN: 0-553-58214-3
Series: Eve Duncan 3

****RANDOM BOOK****

I’m not sure where to start with this book. I guess the best summary is to say that it reminded me of why I stopped reading this series years ago. To be fair, though, I dimly remember the first two books of the series as at least modestly entertaining. If they’d been as epically bad as this one I would have remembered. Right?

Maiden Post (pun intended)

Soooo I have been invited to periodically post in J’s blog (aside from the snarky comments I write as M the Magnificent). I don’t intend to write many entries, but if I read a book that’s particularly terrible (normally the result of our Random Book Project), I may write something about it. And I’ll give it a harsh grade as necessary.

The Breaking Wave by Nevil Shute

First Published: William Morrow & Co., 1955
Edition Read: Ballantine Books, 1964
ISBN: ?
A.k.a.: Requiem for a WREN
*** Random Book ***

Sometimes when you’re reading a book you can tell that it’s  a good book – well written, potentially poignant – and yet it doesn’t touch you at all. For me, this is one of those books.

Safeword by Brian Vaughan

First Published: Y: The Last Man magazines 18-23
Edition Read: DC Comics, 2004
ISBN: 978 1 4012 0232 3
Series: Y: The Last Man 4

Despite the addition of a new type of crazy (“redneck anti-federalism crazy”), we’re back on track and better than before.

Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

First Published: Walker & Co. 1990
Edition Read: Berkley Prime Crime 2007
ISBN: 978 0 425 21871 6
Series: Aurora Teagarden 1
**Random Book**

When you read a lot of good books you can forget what a difference good writing makes. I have to thank Charlaine Harris for reminding me just how excrementally bad writing can be.

Random Books

Every now and then, I will tag a book I read with “random books,” so I thought I should explain what that means. M and I have a huge number of books that one or both of us haven’t read. So, every now and then, we both agree that the next book we’re going to read will be randomly selected from our library. The rules are that whatever book it is (and we include almost all categories, such as: history, economics, philosophy, political science, etc.) you have to read it next. If the book is super long (e.g. Les Miserables or The Wealth of Nations) then you don’t have to read it exclusively, though you do eventually have to finish it. The only exceptions are the few books you have the right to blackball. You only have one blackball so there is the possibility that you’ll blackball one of these books and then end up with another, but that’s unlikely. The books you’re allowed to blackball are all textbooks, the Complete Works of Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Plato, the Basic Works of Aristotle & the Bible.

One Small Step by Brian Vaughan

First Published: Y: The Last Man 11-17 magazines
Edition Read: DC Comics, 2004
ISBN: 978 1 4012 0201 9
Series: Y: The Last Man 3

It may be realistic, but eventually “Oh my God, everyone’s crazy!” gets a little old.