CRXCowboy's Thoughts From My Head

    At the beginning of the year, and incidentally my last post, I talked about keeping track of the books I read this year on Goodreads .  The goal was to read 24 books in a year.  With that being two books a month, I am about two books behind for the year.  I have started reading several books this year, but haven't finished any of them (Khafka's The Trial , The Spy Who Came In From The Cold , Bloodlands , and Meredith Bond's Magic In The Storm ). With that being said, I have to ask myself why I've started these books but not finished them.   I started reading The Trial when I had some quiet time and thought a little academic reading would do me good.  I liked the book, but just didn't pick it up again. I was on an espionage track with both my reading and my video watching ( MI-5 ) for a while, so I picked up The Spy Who Came In From The Cold at a book sale knowing it was a classic story which had been made into a movie (Richard Burton, 196...

“The Forever Girl:  Sophia’s Journey” by Rebecca Hamilton is the first volume in “The Forever Girl” series.  Ms. Hamilton’s story is a most original take on the vampire mythos.  She weaves in witches, shape shifters, and religious fanatics to produce an interesting story which makes the reader wish for an extended ending.  Ms. Hamilton has created an intriguing protagonist in Sophia.  The self professed practitioner of Wicca, which dominates the first sections of the story as a secondary conflict is set up in Sophia’s battles with Mrs. Franklin, a local fanatic Christian.  At first, I was afraid the entire book was going to be a pro-Wicca pamphlet and educational piece, but was relieved the story progressed beyond this. The progression of Sophia’s relationship with Charles, the attractive stranger a mutual friend introduces her to, seems to drag the flow of the overall story.  I found myself nearly dreading to read once again the “are we datin...

I just posted my first book review for another web site: Unleaded - Fuel for Writers. The site is run by friends of mine, Day and Renee. After my last review here on my blog, Day asked if I could fill in for their book reviewer. I gratefully accepted. Please stop by the site and see what all they have to offer there. The title of this post links to my entry, and here is a link for the main Unleaded site: Unleaded-Fuel for Writers

Heat Wave by Richard Castle Obviously, Richard Castle is a fictional author from the ABC TV show "Castle." The book, "Heat Wave" was released as a publicity piece, or even "stunt" if you will. Two famous authors have given critical blurbs for the book's cover: James Patterson and Stephen J. Cannell. Both of these authors have appeared on the TV show as Rick Castle's poker buddies. Since the book's release, Stephen J. Cannell has passed away, but I believe the he was the ghost writer for this book. It's possible that both Cannell and Patterson both collaborated or wrote the book. The next book, Naked Heat, is already out, with the third, Heat Rising, coming out soon. Heat Wave is a bit slow starting, but once the action starts a few chapters in, the story is a pretty easy read. If you have watched "Castle" you can't help but picture the characters from the show as the characters in the book. It is entertaining even ...