Books I've Read So Far in 2022

As April winds down, I feel it's a good time to talk a bit about the books I've read so far this year. It hasn't been amazing reading, but I've knocked out a solid eight books, with one now in progress, and one that I got halfway through, then set aside.... and I'm not too sure if I'll get back to it.

Only two of the books (oh, and the unfinished one) were physical paper books, the rest of them e-books. I love the much lower prices (even free, through the library) of e-books, plus I don't have to load up my already crammed bookshelves any further.  

Live Magnetic Air: The Unlikely Saga of the Superlative Max Webster, by Martin Popoff - maybe not as much fun as I expected, but hey, it's the only biography in existence about this little known Canadian rock band of the 1970's. So I got a copy, signed by the author, and will treasure it despite the rambling approach of most of the book. It is very repetitive due to various bandmembers and others recounting the same events over and over, and it didn't read as though an editor had a hand in its construction. Still, nice to have the real story on one of my favourite bands.

Every City Is Every Other City, by John McFetridge - a lightweight little crime novel, not much unlike other detective stuff out there, but it's fun in its own way.

The Redemption of Time, by Baoshu - a fan-fiction novel that somehow got published. A follow-up to the exemplary Three-Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu, this has bits of interesting stuff, but ultimately, it was disappointing, even hard to finish.

A Drink Before the War, by Dennis Lehane - my first book by this famed author, and I enjoyed its approach to the private detective duo formula. While not amazing it is certainly a solid story with likable characters (except for the bad guys, of course). First of a series.

Darkness, Take My Hand, by Dennis Lehane - second in the Kenzie & Gennaro crime series (see above), this is again a better than competent investigative tale. Fits the bill for this cloak and dagger fan.

No Country For Old Men, by Cormack McCarthy - I saw the movie many years ago, and was suitably impressed. It was another stretch of time before I discovered the books of ol' Cormack, and even longer 'til I finally got around to the source novel for that creepy movie. His distinctive writing style and knack for building believable characters and settings sets him apart from others. The modern day western never looked so good... even when it's a bad situation.

Faceless Killers, by Henning Mankell - somehow, the Wallander police detective never fell under my radar all these years, but my recent discovery via the prequel TV series led me to the original novels. This 1991 story kicks off the whole world of police detective Kurt Wallander. Loved it... and I have book two on deck. Top notch stuff!

Gridlinked, by Neal Asher - sort of James Bond meets The Matrix. This should grab me, but it doesn't exactly. The extreme amount of sci-fi techno-babble bored me and after sporadic revisits after straying to other books, I gave up on this. I might return to it, but also might not. Could have been a more tightly written novel with emphasis on the action and maybe the characters, too, but it just drags and drags. On hold. Sigh.

Primary Target, by Jack Mars - I can see the appeal of the book's protagonist, though the writing leans toward pulp, kinda rough around the edges, and even slightly cringey at times. Not a master craftsman, the author at least has a decent story and a bit of a clue of how to tell it. It's about a special ops guy called into critical situations that set up high tension action scenes. Not terrible, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Salem's Lot, by Stephen King - though I've read many of King's books over the years, I never got to this, the second novel of his prolific career, until very recently. I'd forgotten just how good this guy was at characterization, storytelling, and just plain writing prose that's worthy of examination. Salem's Lot is a long haul (okay, I'm just over halfway right now), but it's well worth it. Lengthy sections of descriptive details are fascinating, even if they don't advance the story. You just live in that world. I have long been a fan of the TV mini-series (movie on DVD) so I knew I was getting into some eerie vampire stuff here. Cool so far.