Category: Book Review

I found a good book by accident

I found a good book by accident

Posted on by Jack

It was an accident and later I thought it was a mistake. This is how I remember it. I had finished the book that I was reading on my Kindle. Since it was a Netgalley book, I figured I should review it. But I did not feel like it. I’d just put it off for a few days and look for a new book.

Truth is that I enjoy reading books more than writing reviews. So the next book I picked was The Great Money Reset. Title sounded good but when I started reading it seemed to be about stuff I was not very interested in. I thought I should write to Netgalley that this book was not what I thought and I would neither finish it nor review it. It was probably my mistake in not reading the book description completely.
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The Electric Detective by Peter Ward.

The Electric Detective by Peter Ward.

Posted on by Jack

I’ll start with 2 things I found surprising. BTW, the book is The Electric Detective by Peter Ward.

Surprise #1 was the book was available on Netgalley. I’d like to thank Netgalley and the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency for a chance to read and review it after publication. I normally get Advanced Readers there but for some reason this was still available several months after publication.
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American Healing

American Healing

Posted on by Jack

This is an optimistic book.  And that will stay with me. It is also a realistic book and that will also stay with me.   The full title is Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing by Benjamin Todd Jealous.

The title make sense but to explain takes a while.  So I’ll just skip that part and hope you are curious enough to get the book.I thank Netgalley for allowing me to read it before publication. The book will be released January 10.

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Sherlock Holmes: a short Christmas story

Sherlock Holmes: a short Christmas story

Posted on by Jack

The full title is “The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story” by J. Lawrence Matthews. Beaune is a French wine (I had to look it up). It is pronounced like bone and that leads to a few jokes. I found this to be a good short story and one very suitable for Christmas.
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Nazis are not Nice

Nazis are not Nice

Posted on by Jack

Do you like Nazis or allied groups such as White Supremacists? Do you think they are good for America? If you answer “yes” to both questions you probably won’t like this book. But it might open your eyes if you decide to read it anyway.

Personally, I don’t like Nazis. They were bad for Germany. We fought them in World War 2 at tremendous cost. These hate groups were fringe in the United States but are becoming more mainstream.
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Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle

Posted on by Jack

Jon Meacham has provided us with a great biography of Abraham Lincoln. It is especially good and timely because of the many divisions in the United States. Our country is more divided than any time since the Civil War. And learning about Lincoln and the evolution of his beliefs could yield a few useful lessons that could help us through the current situation.
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One Thought Scares Me…

One Thought Scares Me…

Posted on by Jack

Richard Dreyfuss argues passionately and convincingly in “One Thought Scares Me…” that a major problem in our educational system is that schools gave up civic education about 50 years ago. I first though the argument was flawed.  After all, I think I had a pretty good civic education.
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1989 by Val McDermid

1989 by Val McDermid

Posted on by Jack

Welcome to 1989. This is the second novel in Val McDermid’s series featuring journalist Allie Burns.  I liked the first one (https://www.jackreidy.com/blog/2021/10/04/1979-by-val-mcdermid/) and now it is 10 years later and there have been quite a few changes in 10 years.

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Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle

Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle

Posted on by Jack

The full title is The Evolution of Charles Darwin: The Epic Voyage of the Beagle That Forever Changed Our View of Life on Earth by Diana Preston.

And it is an extensive story of that journey which was so important for our understanding of the development of life and how life and the Earth changed over time. At almost 500 pages it is rather long and detailed for the casual reader. There are extensive quotes which made the book enjoyable for me.

I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read it in advance. The book was published October 4 so It should be readily available at you favorite source

A Life Care Plan: Helping You Navigate The Aging Journey

A Life Care Plan: Helping You Navigate The Aging Journey

Posted on by Jack

I had my reservations about this book after reading the first few pages. It seemed like a promotional advertisement for a specific firm. The full title is A Life Care Plan: Helping You Navigate The Aging Journey by Barbara McGinnis; Bryan J Adler; Tim Takacs; Jerold Rothkoff; Debra King; Kathleen Magee; Jacinda Graham
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former Republican book review – Why We Did It

former Republican book review – Why We Did It

Posted on by Jack

The book is “Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell” by Tim Miller.  Many of us may recognize the author fr0m his TV appearances as a commentator.

I liked it.  For those of you who like a short summary you could stop there but please don’t.
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Fenian Street by Anne Emery

Fenian Street by Anne Emery

Posted on by Jack

I have read and reviewed several of Anne Emery’s book on this blog. I have always found them enjoyable and interesting reads.

So I’ll start this review as I started the review of The Keening. “This book is both a good mystery novel and historical fiction.”
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The Rising Tide: A Vera Stanhope Novel by Ann Cleeves

The Rising Tide: A Vera Stanhope Novel by Ann Cleeves

Posted on by Jack

Because I have read several books and short stories by Ann Cleeves  (see The Darkest Evening ) I jumped at the chance to read this one when I saw The Rising Tide  on Netgalley.

I was a bit surprised when it started out slowly for several chapters.  With a book by an author I did not know, I would have probably just put the book down and told Netgalley that I would not be reviewing it.  But since it was Ann Cleeves I was sure she had her reasons and a great murder mystery would soon follow.  I was not disappointed.
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Don’t Run Out of Money in Retirement by Allen P. Harris

Don’t Run Out of Money in Retirement by Allen P. Harris

Posted on by Jack

The full title is Don’t Run Out of Money in Retirement: How to Increase Income, Avoid Taxes, and Keep More of What Is Yours by Allen P. Harris.

After the first few pages, I thought I would not like this book. Those pages seemed more about how the author’s company was helping the community and I suspected this would be more of an advertisement than a substantive book on retirement. I was wrong.
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