Jim's (drneutron's) Life in Books - 5

I'm Jim, 62, husband of 38 years, father of a son gainfully employed creating our robot overlords, who reads pretty much anything. We're in central Maryland with roots in Louisiana. I like to read (obviously), cook, trail bike ride/kayak with mrsdrneutron, and want to learn to fly fish. There's probably bourbon somewhere in there too. Of course, LT is a big time sink, but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction...

1. The Creeping Shadow by Jonathan Stroud
2. The Godfather by Mario Puzo
3. What Moved the Dead by T. Kingfisher
4. Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia by Gregory J Wallance
5. The Magic Order Vol 1 by Mark Millar
6. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
7. The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor
8. The Syndicate Spy by Brittany Butler
9. Evidence of Things Seen: True Crime in an Era of Reckoning by Sarah Weinman
10. Mothtown by Caroline Hardaker

11. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
12. The Amur River: Between Russia and China by Colin Thubron
13. The Magic Order, Volume 2 by Mark Millar
14. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
15. The Militia House by John Milas
16. Atlas of Extinct Countries by Gideon Defoe
17. Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
18. Hokuloa Road by Elizabeth Hand
19. The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
20. The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
21. The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste
22. The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir
23. The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World's Fastest-Growing Sport by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg
24. Magic Order, Vol 3 by Mark Millar
25. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
26. The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder by Douglas Preston
27. What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

28. The Hunter by Tana French
29. Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
30. Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism by Stephen Breyer
31. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
32. Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan C. Slaght
33. Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey
34. Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age by Norman Ohler
35. The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean
36. Mindblindness: An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind by Simon Baron-Cohen
37. Lone Wolf by Greg Hurwitz
38. Holmes, Marple & Poe: The Greatest Crime-Solving Team of the Twenty-First Century by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
39. The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond
40. Ghost Station by S. A. Barnes
41. The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
42. Mengele: Unmasking the "Angel of Death" by David G. Marwell

43. The Gathering by C. J. Tudor
44. Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado
45. Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
46. Wild Fire by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
47. Sociopath: a Memoir by Patric Gagne
48. The Shining by Stephen King
49. A Brotherhood of Spies: The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War by Monte Reel
50. Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks by David Bushman and Mark T. Givens
51. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
52. The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands: A Novel by Sarah Brooks
53. Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 1 by Ellen Datlow
54. Birds Aren't Real: The True Story of Mass Avian Murder and the Largest Surveillance Campaign in US History by Connor Gaydos
55. A History of Uyghur Buddhism by Johan Elverskog
56. The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman
57. The Romanovs: 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag Montefiore
58. The Anomaly by Michael Rutger
59. I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
60. The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion by Sean Carroll
61. Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe by Sean Carroll
62. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
63. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
64. The Future of Geography: How the Competition in Space Will Change Our World by Tim Marshall
65. Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
66. Black Wolf by Juan Gomez-Jurado
67. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick
68. Hide and Be by Gary L. Stuart
69. The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss by Margalit Fox
70. The Violent Take It by Force: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy by Matthew D. Taylor
71. The Keep by F. Paul Wilson
72. Blue Labyrinth by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
73. Moriarty: Clockwork Empire by Fred Duval
74. Polostan by Neal Stephenson
75. American Rapture by CJ Leede

Total Books: 75

Author Gender
Male: 57 (70%)
Female: 23 (28%)
Nonbinary: 1 (1%)

Author Status
Living: 78 (96%)
Dead: 3 (4%)

Publication Medium
Hardback: 19 (25%)
Trade: 9 (12%)
Mass Market: 2 (3%)
eBook: 45 (60%)

Category
Fiction: 51 (68%)
Nonfiction: 24 (32%)

Source
Library: 59 (81%)
Mine: 14 (19%)

ARC: 3
Re-Read: 2
Series: 24
Group Read: 3

Open for business!

Happy new one, Jim!

Happy New Thread!

Thanks, Katie and Jeff!

Happy new thread!

Congrats on a new thread Jim. Here's to good reading and other sources of happiness!!

Happy new one!

Belated congrats on 75, Jim, and happy new thread.

Happy new thread, Jim.

>11 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel!

>12 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba - I have a couple of others to add as soon as I get a minute!

>13 figsfromthistle:, >14 ArlieS:, >15 Kristelh: Thanks, Anita, Arlie, and Kristel!

Happy New Thread!!

Thanks, Harold!

Checking in on the new thread, Jim!

happy new thread Jim :)

Happy new thread, Jim! I think I forgot to congratulate you on reaching 75 on your old thread, so congrats!

Happy new thread Jim!

Happy New Thread!

Happy new thread, DocRoc.

>19 alcottacre: Welcome, Stasia!

>20 louisisaloafofbreb: Thanks, louis!

>21 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene!

>22 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

>23 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>24 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

Happy new thread, Jim, and congrats on reaching 75.

Thanks!

Happy New Thread!

Happy new thread, Jim.

So many congratulations!!! Maybe you should start a new thread! ;)

Sweet Thursday, Jim. Happy New Thread. We are already adding some shared reads for 2025, if you want to stop by and take a look at the list. I know you had a good time with The Razor's Edge.

I'm behind but I wanted to be sure to congratulate you on hitting 75.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365719

>28 SirThomas:, >29 jessibud2: Thanks, Thomas and Shelley!

>30 hredwards: I know, right? A new thread is so much work, though... 😀

>31 msf59: Absolutely! I need to dig out my copy of Don Quixote. I think it's in a box in the basement...

>32 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!

>33 SilverWolf28: Thanks for doing this every week, Silver!

Update time!



76. The New Couple in 5B by Lisa Unger

Couple inherits fancy New York apartment, there's family drama, ghosts, and odd neighbors. Plus the husband may not be what he seems. What could go wrong?

Owes some to Rosemary's Baby, but definitely not a copy. All in all, pretty fun horror-type story.



77. Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline by Paul Cooper

History of various civilizations across the millennia and how they fell. Cooper is a historian and novelist, so the writing's quite good unlike some dry histories. It's light on analysis, but the reader can certainly pick up some themes like how climate change affected brought about the fall of many of these.

Cooper's book is a follow-on to his podcast, and there's not much difference between them. So one could definitely listen to that as an audio version of this book for free...



78. The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell

Montell's Cultish was a good read - how cult language pops up in unexpected places - so I thought I'd give her most recent a try too. Here, she jumps off The Year of Magical Thinking to look at various biases in our thinking and how they affect our decision-making. I've read this sort of thing before, but Montell hits a homer by tying this to her personal life and showing how these biases affect our thinking in hidden and more emotional ways rather than the logical/rational look at biases in other books.

Hi Jim. Happy 5th thread, only a week late. As always, thank you for all you do for our group.



I saw a copy of Orphan X at book sort yesterday and remembered that it was you who turned me onto the series. I’ve read the first six, seem to now be three behind. Sigh.

>5 drneutron: Congrats on 75!

>6 drneutron: Love your statistics, as always.

>37 karenmarie: Thanks for stopping by! I'm still enjoying the Orphan X books - I hear there may be another one coming. 😀

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365998

Thanks, Silver!

Update Time!



79. 30 Days of Night by Steve Niles

Picked it up on Hoopla on a whim. I liked the movie - thought I'd give the source a try. Apparently, I'm doing my October read in November...



80. The Glass Woman by Caroline Lea

A bit of Jane Eyre, a bit of Rebecca, a lot new take, Lea uses 17th century Iceland as an effective Gothic setting, where a new wife finds her husband may not be the good man she hopes, and his first wife may get her branded a witch.

Another of my October-in-November scary books, I really enjoyed this one, and need to chase down more of Lea's works.



81. Horror Movie by Paul G. Tremblay

And another of my October-in-November reads! The Thin Kid is the last actor in an unreleased indie horror movie that's gone cult classic. Tremblay interweaves the bizarre story of making that movie with modern day effort to get a reboot made. This one's a weird one, folks, with a twisted set of characters. And not my favorite among the most recent batch of books - I just didn't connect with it in any meaningful way, and the unfolding of the story is just unpleasant. Ah, well. Plenty of other ones out there!

Happy Turkey Day to come, Jim!

Thanks, Richard!

>41 drneutron: Apparently, I'm doing my October read in November...
I always watch horror movies and read horror books in November, because I'm always behind (in fact, this year they'll probably stretch into December...)

>35 drneutron: Adding Fall of Civilizations to the BlackHole. It sounds like a book I would really enjoy. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Jim!

>41 drneutron: Horror is just not my genre so I will give those a pass. . .

Have a terrific Tuesday!

I've just read a ghost story myself...Craig Johnson's The Highwayman. I think the bare branches and gray skies of November lend themselves very well to spooky, scary reads.

>46 laytonwoman3rd: There is an English tradition of Christmas Ghost Stories and my brother loaned me a series published by Vallincourt (sp?) that collects some of these. Wonderful ghostly stories.

>44 norabelle414: I'm headed that way too...

>45 alcottacre: It was a decent book. Very big picture, but talked about some civilizations I was pretty unfamiliar with. Hope you enjoy it!

>46 laytonwoman3rd: Definitely!

>47 hredwards: Yeah, lots of folks today don't realize A Christmas Carol is part of that larger tradition. I'll see if I can find that collection.

Here's the Thanksgiving Readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366111

Jim you are truly the glue that holds the group together.

Thank you so much for all the hard work you do in keeping this special group going - I am eternally grateful to you and I hope we can meet up one day soon so that I can buy you a beer of three to say thanks in person.

Have a great Thanksgiving holiday my friend.

Thanks, Paul! I’d love to take you up on that beer someday - and follow up by sharing a glass of bourbon with you.😀

New thread! Happiness. As usual when I visit your thread, Jim, I picked up a bb. Amanda Montell. I opened up my wishlist spreadsheet to add The Age of Magical Overthinking and discovered that Cultish was still there, waiting...patiently.

Hey, Bill! You definitely should give Montell a look-see. Cultish would be my first recommendation, but either's good!

>51 drneutron: I love my single malts, Jim, especially Scots and Irish but I am also partial to a good bourbon whisky too.

Hi, Jim! I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. And congrats on finishing over 75!

Thanks!

Update Time!



82. Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman

Agnes, a junior editor at a failing publishing company, convinces their star author to write a sequel to her great, single, gothic novel that's also semi-autobiographical. But the author was blinded in a mysterious fire some time ago and Agnes gets sent to transcribe the new book. Opening a whole new set of mysteries that intersect with Agnes way more than she thought.

This one's a decent modern gothic with just enough mystery (that isn't all that mysterious). Quite enjoyable addition to my October-in-November reading!



83. Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova

A nicely done bit of fantasy/get-out-of-trouble-crime story based on Slavic folklore. The world-building is done well, the characters are fun, and the plot moves along nicely. All-in-all, one of the better books I've read recently.



84. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
A failed filmmaker now making his living with family retrospective videos for funerals is hired to make one about a dying rich man from a small town in Indiana. There's a mysterious bottle of mineral water that keeps getting colder and colder. And the water is addictive, and causes visions. And people that absolutely don't want a film made.

This one's a miss. Koryta is stretching away from his usual crime stuff, and there are some real structural problems: his vision of the supernatural elements doesn't really work, the story's too long and scattered, and some of the characters are pretty stock. Ah well, can't win 'em all.



85. The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning

Zo Gray has been taking care of her dying mother and generally failing at life. After her mother's death, she mysteriously inherits a mansion in southern Louisiana along with a *lot* of money. Except that she doesn't really inherit until she lives in the mansion for three years by herself (and the daytime staff of course, because there have to be staff...). And of course, there's the idyllic weird town and the weird happenings, and the strange characters...

Another miss for me. The writing is pretty overwrought in spots, the characters aren't particularly interesting to me, and worst of all, Moning gets south Louisiana really wrong. So it was a slog... Your mileage may vary.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366284

Thanks, Silver!

Well, Jim, I'm making up for your misses with a slew of hits on my new thread!

I’ll check it out!

>57 drneutron: goodman is a guilty pleasure read. Enjoyed all her books.

Yeah, I figured I’d try some others of hers.

Yes, Goodman is about as scary as I can stand. :) I've enjoyed a few of hers.

Just came to say hello

>64 BLBera: 😀 Pretty tame for me, but still very fun!

>65 paulstalder: Hello!

>66 drneutron: I sent you a PM.

Sorry, was away from LT yesterday - just saw this. I've replied.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366438

Thanks, Silver!

Yay for October-in-November (and December and any old month, really) reads! I have the Lea and Tremblay in the Swamp already, so will get to them sometime. Foul Days looks good too.

Foul Days was definitely fun. I'm looking forward to the next, but this one could certainly be a stand-alone.

Just checking in to see what you've been reading!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366615

>73 thornton37814: Last few days, I’ve been finishing up end-of-the-year tasks at work and traveling to Seattle to spend Christmas with the son and daughter-in-law. So I’ve been reading, but not updating much… But I have an update to do today!

>74 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

Update Time!

Ask Not by Maureen Callahan

Don’t read this book. It’ll just make you angry and sick to your stomach. Unless you *really* want to know just how big bastards three generations of Kennedy men are/were. And some of the Kennedy women. Well written and well told, glad I read it, but damn, these people are evil.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O by Neal Stephenson

Reread of one of my fave time-travel novels!



88. Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton

Part vampire novel, part Lovecraftian story, this one wound up on my fave list for the year. This one’s got real vampires - evil hunters of people - and more! Tightly told, with some uniques takes on the classic tropes, and with writing that really pushes the story along. Recommended if this is your sort of thing.



89. Where Dark Things Grow by Andrew K. Clark

Clark’s combining of several Appalachian/European folklore elements into a Deoression-era coming of age story makes for a pretty good tale. In some ways, the story was as if a storyteller was around campfire, in other places, a modern (maybe a little too modern for the setting) trafficking thriller.

In spite of some first-novel oddities - 1930s teenagers would know what a zombie is? - and a few spots of overdone prose, this is an entertaining book.

>76 drneutron: aren’t Zombies ageless, doc? 🤓

>76 drneutron: The teens of the 30s...no matter what I try that sentence refuses to look normal...you know who I'm talking about...knew from zombies! Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror by W. Scott Poole is all about that very subject, and is a very interesting read.

Happy Winter Solstice, Jim!

Well, you certainly scored a few—no, more than just a few—BBs. My wishlist just got significantly longer. Thanks, I think. 😂

>78 blackdogbooks: 😀 yep!

>79 richardderus: maybe. Just that the characters here are all poorly schooled poor from back in the mountains. Although the main character is supposed to be a reader. So msybe!

>80 Storeetllr: Happy Solstice! Looking forward to longer days!

Merry Christmas Jim!!

Here's the Christmas readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/366724

Merry Christmas, Jim. Have a wonderful time in Seattle with your son. Safe travels, my friend.

>82 hredwards: Thanks, Harold! merry Christmas to you!

>83 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>84 msf59: Merry Christmas, Mark! We’re having a great time here - our first chance to visit the area. I’m looking forward to coming back in warmer weather so we can do some hiking out in the mountains. 😀

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Have a great holiday, Jim, and a wonderful new year!

Thinking of you at this time, Jim

Jim, I hope you are having a lovely holiday. Thanks for all you do to coordinate this group!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2025, everyone! Hoping to get the new group made tomorrow… 😀

Merry Christmas, Jim and family! Looking forward to next year’s group. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the work you put into maintaining our group. It does not go unappreciated. All the best for the New Year!!

I'm kinda lonely over here... Come join me!

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24622/75-Books-Challenge-for-2025

>93 drneutron: Thanks for doing this, Jim. You know I never start a new thread until New Year's Day, but I'll come over and visit. :)

Sounds good!

>93 drneutron: I've joined the new group, but will probably be ultra slow getting my first thread up. Thanks for setting it up.

Thanks for all the work you do for the group each year, Jim!

Happy to do it, Ella!

Hi Jim! Thank you for all you do as group administrator for the 75ers. I'll see you in the new group on January 1st. I've got my first thread all ready to go...

>57 drneutron: I’ve read three by Koryta, and So Cold The River is my least favorite.

On another note, Parker made it through its first closest pass by the Sun! We heard from the spacecraft this morning and everything was normal.

>100 drneutron: Wonderful!

>100 drneutron: Woot!

>100 drneutron: I saw that on the news and thought how amazed I was that I know someone who is behind something that amazing!!

>101 laytonwoman3rd: Yeah, Linda, we’re pretty pumped. 😀

>102 ArlieS: Woot! Although, to be honest, the spacecraft has been behaving wonderfully, so we were pretty confident it would be ok. 😀

>103 hredwards: Yeah, it was the peak of my career. I don’t think I’d want to do it again, though… it was exhausting. 😀

>104 drneutron: It made me proud to read about it, so you must feel like a very proud papa! Congratulations!

Karen O

What >103 hredwards: said! I also saw it on the news this evening and thought the same thing! :-) Congrats!

>100 drneutron: like others I thought it was awesome when I saw this on the news today. Congrats and great work Jim. You rock.

>100 drneutron: I saw this on Bluesky and came here to congratulate you! What an achievement!

>105 klobrien2: Thanks! Yeah, I’m pretty proud of our spacecraft. It’s amazing how well it’s performed, and looks like we got another solid set of data.

>106 jessibud2: Thanks!

>107 RBeffa: Aw, shucks. Thanks, Ron!

>108 Storeetllr: Thanks! So far we’ve only seen a beacon tone to tell us the spacecraft flew through without anomaly, but in a couple of days, we’ll start getting performance data. The temperature measurements should be exciting! 😀

>41 drneutron: I really enjoyed The Glass Woman when I read it last year, I think it was. Happy New Year in advance!

Happy New Year!

By the way, The Son moved to Seattle and at some point when we visit, we want to wander up to Vancouver. Will see if we can make a meetup work!