October 2018 Newsletter
Hi all and welcome to October!
Sorry for the delay in the newsletter this month. I always aim to get it out the first of the month but we were away on the weekend and that put me behind. End of the month/beginning of the month is always a busy time for me and this fell down the priority list a bit unfortunately.
It probably didn’t help that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed on Tuesday, the night I was planning to do the newsletter. I thought to myself “I’ll just make myself a cup of tea and read a book for 20 minutes to reset”.
That book ended up being Light It Up, the 3rd book in the Peter Ash series by Nick Petrie. I recommended this series previously to everyone who likes Jack Reacher and all I can say is WOW – so glad I discovered this series. The first two books were good but I thought this was a great book and I couldn’t put it down. Two hours later I was 40% through the book and well that was my night over with ha.
Speaking of Jack Reacher, for those unaware Lee Child released a new short story the other day entitled The Christmas Scorpion. Be aware it’s getting a lot of bad press in regards to how short it is. And of course we are exactly one month away from the latest Jack Reacher book, Past Tense. Can’t wait! While I feel the last few books aren’t a patch on the earlier Reacher books, I do enjoy how much Lee Child enjoys writing about the character.
Other than that I’ve continued reading the Harry Bosch books. I don’t want to burn myself out on them so I read one Bosch book, one non-Bosch book. Every book I read my appreciation for Michael Connelly goes up a notch. He’s just a step above so many other writers. His ability to write twists that make sense but don’t come off gimmicky etc – it’s amazing. I mean you go into a Harlan Coben book and you’re expecting twist after twist but Connelly is able to write them so naturally, to where the twists aren’t part of his gimmick.
One genre of books that I’d love to read more of but can never bring myself to do so is non-fiction. I mean it’s actual true stories – and sometimes reality is so much harsher or crazier than fiction. Problem is there is something I really love about diving into a fictional world. However I’ve found the solution that suits me – exclusively reading non-fiction at bedtime.
This kills many birds with the same stone – I’m reading the non-fiction that I always try to push myself to read, but I’m not immersed in the books and end up hooked all night long. Instead it’s 1-2 chapters then lights out. A nice little balance that I’m enjoying.
Off to Dallas later this month to see my best friend. Going to take in the Stars vs Ducks game then the Cowboys vs Jags game. Can’t wait. It’s funny as on my last trip away I took the Nintendo Switch with me. The kids asked if I was going to take it with me this time and I said “maybe” but I think they must have had withdrawal symptoms because they told me I shouldn’t. “You need a break from screens – why don’t you read a book instead!”. Funny as that’s something I’m often saying to them.
Speaking of – I got my son reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. I love getting people to read that early on in life because I think you gain a fondness of it, however when you go back and read it later on you appreciate it a whole different way. I also feel it’s a book that sticks with you. I still remember my friend when I was a teenager telling me to stop reading “that John Grisham garbage” and to read a “real” book as he threw Martian Chronicles at me. I still have that very beat up and torn copy as well. One of those books that really left an impression on me.
Fall is my favourite time of year. It can be very pretty out and growing up in Scotland I absolutely love the rain and miss it – well to a degree. I love just going for long walks in the rain – when it’s pouring down but not too cold is perfect. And then there’s something about relaxing on the couch, reading a book and hearing the rain batter off the window that is so tranquil.
I finally got around to watching that movie American Sniper. It was enjoyable and Bradley Cooper continues to impress, but more than anything it made me think “I’ve got to re-read the original Bob Lee Swagger trilogy immediately!”. For people who haven’t read that series, the original trilogy is one of my favourite book series ever. Hunter brought Bob Lee back years later due to fan demand but I was left extremely disappointed by them.
If you haven’t read them yet, I can’t recommend them enough. Read them in this order:
– Point of Impact
– Dirty White Boys (character appears in next book)
– Black Light
– Time To Hunt
Then when you’ve did that you can read the Earl Swagger series which is also excellent. So if you haven’t read any of those yet, get reading!
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 Debra from New York, NY and Joanne from Calabash, NC Both of you have been e-mailed. If you don’t see anything, check your junk folder or contact me.
Graeme
OrderOfBooks.com
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!
Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box: This is one of those series that I’ve recommended before but every few months I start getting lots of e-mails from people asking me to recommend it again. If you’re looking for a new series to take you through the winter months, check out this series featuring Joe Pickett. He’s not an action hero – he’s a Wyoming game warden who just wants to do the right thing. The common sentiment I hear from readers is “it introduces me to a side of America I never knew existed” in regard to the life and scenery in the books. There are 18 books in the series so it will keep you busy all the way through Spring.
The Gaslight Mysteries series by Victoria Thompson: This is a very popular series on our site. This historical mystery series has been running annually since 1999. The first book in the series is Murder on Astor Place and the series features midwife Sarah Brandt and Sergeant Frank Malloy who have to solve murders. They are enjoyable mystery books and also some excellent writing – you really can picture yourself there in 1893. A lot of historical accuracy to the books and the midwife Sarah Brandt is an excellent and likeable character.
Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt: The Andy Carpenter series is a legal thriller series that began in 2002 and is still going strong. Andy Carpenter is a lawyer with a love for dogs and him and his dog together solve cases. The first book in the series is Open and Shut where Andy is attending a baseball game with his dad. Unfortunately his dad dies while at the game leaving behind two big shocks for Andy – a $22 million fortune he never knew existed, and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall! A very tongue in cheek and enjoyable writing style and some very solid legal thrillers.
What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan: The first book in the DI Jim Clemo series and honestly? I haven’t read it yet nor know anything about it. I must have heard of it at some point however as my mum shares my Kindle account and I loaded her Kindle up with a wide variety of books. She messaged me just this morning to say that this was the “best book ever” and I should recommend it on my “computer thing”. So here I am recommending it! It’s a psychological thriller about a mothers search for her 8 year old son, who vanishes while on a walk with her. I’ll also have to read it this month and see if it holds up to such high praise
October 2018 Book of the Month:
The Reckoning by John Grisham.
Grisham is one of those authors who I feel has had a second wind when it comes to writing.
He was one of my favourite authors growing up but I felt there was a real lull in his books for a few years. However I felt Sycamore Row reinvigorated him and he’s back writing great books. Rogue Lawyer in particular was one of my favourite books he has written and I hope we see a Rudd series.
The Reckoning is out October 23rd. Pete Banning, who lives in Clanton, Mississippi on 1946 and is a WWII hero, church member and loved by everyone in the town walks into church one morning and kills his good friend Reverend Dexter Bell dead. Pete then doesn’t explain it, simply stating “I have nothing to say”. Sounds like a very intriguing book and one I’ve already pre-ordered.
10 Other Notable Books Released In October:
Dark Sacred,a Bosch & Ballard book by Michael Connelly.
The Meltdown, latest book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.
Kingdom of Ash, latest book in the Throne of Glass series.
The Witch Elm, a standalone suspense novel by the great Tana French.
A Map of Days, latest in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.
Elevation, a book by little known author Stephen King.
Holy Ghost, the latest novel in the Virgil Flowers series.
Ambush, latest in the Michael Bennett series by “James Patterson”.
A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult.
Shadow of the Fox, a new series by Julie Kagawa.
Your Thoughts:
Last month I asked what books or book series have you went back and read multiple times. Your feedback is later in the newsletter.
This month I have a more personal question: other than author/series listings, what would you like to see on OrderOfBooks.com?
Here’s the reason I’m asking. Next year I plan on launching a new website with a friend. It’ll be listings of books much like OrderOfBooks.com but there’ll also be so much more to it. I want to make this a big and brandable website that is a catch-all for all book lovers.
So I’d love to hear what you’d like to see in a book site. It could be a feature from another website you visit, it could be a unique feature you’ve never seen before or it could just be a change to the way we do things.
We’ve got a massive spreadsheet of ideas and just to get the ball rolling here are just a couple of ideas:
Printable Lists: it’s a common request from our readers – the ability to easily print our lists. The site will feature the ability to print off the lists in various formats.
Games Section: A fun little distraction category within the websites. The “Jack Reacher Trivia Game” or the “Stephen King Crossword”. That sort of thing. And if you have any ideas for games we’d love to hear them.
New Book Notifications. The ability to follow authors or series and get notified when they have a new book coming out.
What ideas do you have? What can we add to the website to help you, the reader? And if you’re an author or librarian or have another role in the world of books and there’s something we can offer to help you? Let us know!
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.