February 2019 Newsletter
Welcome to the February 2019 newsletter!
First of all thanks for all the feedback last month for the mailbag topic of “breaking out of a funk”. There was lots of interesting feedback in there.
As it is the simplest method ended up being the one that worked – read a different book.
I’m not one for giving up on books and I can count on one hand the books I’ve given up on over the last decade. But for whatever reason, the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz just isn’t for me. I loved the first one, however I remember struggling through the 2nd one. The third one put me into a 2 month long funk.
It’s funny but I feel the same way about Hurwitz that I do about David Baldacci – I love their standalones, but can’t stick with a series.
With Hurwitz I loved the first book in the Rackley series and of course the first Orphan X books. But the rest – nope. Just can’t really read them. With Baldacci I don’t really read him anymore since he stopped doing standalones. I DID read a few of the Will Robie series unfortunately it seemed to gravitate into a “young adult” style so I’ve stopped reading that. I’ve tried most of his other series and after the first one – I just can’t continue.
So I switched books. The new Peter Ash book by Nick Petrie had just came out so I started reading that and couldn’t put it down ha. It was nice to be back to the “old me” – where I can’t leave the room without my Kindle in hand. And it was yet another excellent book in that series.
After that I read The Warning by Kathryn Croft. I’ve enjoyed some of her psychological thrillers in the past unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy this one and I don’t mind giving out a bit of a spoiler to save you getting deceived. It has one of those “secret narrators” every few chapters where you try and guess who they are. Turns out it is someone completely random that has never been mentioned in the book at any time beforehand, and just leaves you wondering what the heck she was thinking. Very disappointing.
Thankfully that wasn’t enough to put me off reading. I’m reading Trust Me, a standalone novel by Hank Phillippi Ryan. I am about halfway through and it’s an interesting one. She has written this in a very different style and it’s tough to say how I feel about the book. It has me intrigued at least but I think it’s one of those books where it’s not about the journey – it’s how it ends and that will determine my feelings on the book.
Soon as I am done that I’ll jump right into Judgement by Joseph Finder that just came out. He’s one of my favourite authors and I don’t think there is one book of his I don’t like. Looking forward to reading this one.
A quick shout out to the high school students who attend Meade River School in Atqasuk, Alaska. Your teacher Steve Jennette wrote to me and and we chatted a bit and he shared with me some of what you do there. It sounds fascinating! Be sure to take advantage of those dark, dark days and nights by getting into reading. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Atqasuk, Alaska or Dullstroom in South Africa or in Toronto, Ontario – reading is a wonderful thing that can take you you on a journey throughout the world.
You’ll hear some people say “Ugh I watch too much TV” but I’m yet to hear anyone complain because they read too much!
Always nice to hear from the readers. I make sure to reply to each and every e-mail received. It’s always fun seeing all the different walks of life you come from and never hesitate to e-mail me to chat about anything. It’s always fun.
Each month we give away 2 prizes to 2 random subscribers of $25 each in the form of Amazon gift certificates. To win all you have to do is be a subscriber. Nothing more! When we go to hit “Publish” we take a list of all of our subscribers, throw them into a random draw and those are the winners.
Our winners this month are Sherri T from Jackson, OH and Debra from Hollywood, FL. Both of you have been e-mailed. If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.
Book Recommendations:
In this section I give 4-5 random book recommendations. They can be old books, they can be new. But either way – I recommend you read them if the type of genre they are in appeals to you. Feel free to e-mail suggestions to site@orderofbooks.com as many of the suggestions each month are from our readers. If you wish to add a description for the book around the same size as the ones below that’d be great too!
The Detective Kim Stone Series by Angela Marsons:
If you’re a fan of detective series, be sure to give this one a try by the UK author Angela Marsons. There are 9 books in the series so far and it begins with Silent Scream. It’s a very intriguing book and you’ll be blown away knowing it’s her debut novel. It’s complex and has a lot of unique characters. There are many murders taking place with the only thing in common being that they were employed at a children’s home, which is now empty and abandoned. Give this series a try. Thanks to David Bergman for suggesting this one.
The Dismas Hardy Series by John Lescroart:
This series began back in 1989 and is still going strong. It starts off with the book Dead Irish. Dismas has left the police force and his law career behind and is wanting to start a quiet life in his new role as a bartender.
Of course that’d be a boring book! The bar owners brother in law is killed – apparently by suicide – and he hired Dismas to investigate. These are very enjoyable books and I remember discovering this series years ago.
The Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross:
If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries you may have heard of this series. Featuring books such as Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle and Miss Julia Paints the Town. Miss Julia is a widow who is wealthy, and lives in the town of Hendersonville, North Carolina with plenty of Southern Charm.
An enjoyable series still going strong today.
While You Were Sleeping by Kathryn Croft:
I was a bit harsh on Kathryn Crofts latest book above so I wanted to make it up by mentioning one of her books that I DID enjoy. It’s While You Were Sleeping. Tara has the perfect family – married with a teenager and an 11 year old. However her happiness is shattered when she wakes up one morning to find herself in her male neighbours bed. She can’t remember how she got there….oh and he’s been stabbed to death. This was a tremendous book that kept me reading throughout the night. The Stranger Within was another book by Kathryn I loved.
February 2019 Book Of The Month
Mission Critical by Mark Greaney.
The “Gray Man” series by Mark Greaney is one of the best series I’ve read, and the latest book in it comes out on February 19th.
In this one, Gentry is on a CIA transport plane. A security team bring a hooded man aboard the plane and want to kick the Gray Man Off. They are overruled. The plane then lands at an isolated airbase in the UK and are attacked by a hostile force who kill everyone except Gentry, and take the prisoner.
The Gray Man is sent to retrieve the hooded man by any means possible.
10 Other Notable Books Released in February
The Hiding Place by author of The Chalk Man, C.J. Tudor.
Connections In Death, latest in the In Death series.
The Wedding Guest, latest book in the Alex Delaware series.
The Border by Don Winslow. Third in the “Power of the Dog” series.
Chocolate Cream Pie Murder, the latest Hannah Swensen Mystery.
Inspector Ian Rutledge is back in The Black Ascot.
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella.
Detective D.D. Warren is back in Never Tell.
Say You’re Sorry, first book in a new series by Karen Rose.
Mike Lawsons Joe DeMarco is back in House Arrest.
Your Thoughts:
Last month I asked how you get out of a reading funk. Your feedback is later in the newsletter.
This month I am – what popular authors are there out there that you just can’t get into? Basically it seems like everyone else in the world likes them except you.
I got the idea for this one from Max who wanted me to do a mailbag on most over-rated authors. I do try and stay away from negativity because there’s enough of that in the world – I’d rather try and stick with the positive.
So what popular authors or series out there does everyone love except you?
Right off that bat I have to get controversial and say the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva. This is one of the most popular series by our readers but it’s one that I just can’t get hooked on. I forced myself to read through the first 5 books in the series due to all the love for it and nope – just don’t get it. Not my cup of tea. Sorry everyone.
Also Dan Brown. I know a lot of people mock him for his writing style etc but really I read a ton of those “airport fiction” style books. For me I just find the subject matter completely dull.
Finally Stephen King. I’ve read about 15 of his books and while I have enjoyed some of them, many have left me very disappointed. Don’t get me wrong the journey itself is good but I always find his endings very weak to the point they have ruined the book for me. I know people who absolutely devour everything King puts out and I just don’t get it. The man just cannot write an ending.
This should be a fun and controversial mailbag! Let’s hear it – what authors does everyone like that you just can’t stand?
E-mail us your feedback to site@OrderOfBooks.com or just reply to this e-mail, and we’ll pick the best comments and feature it in next months newsletter.