Reading 2024 Books 6-10
I am continuing my quest to read 36 books in 2024. I am 2 books ahead of schedule by finishing five more books for a total of ten. Of the new five, two are from my bucket list. Four of the books were fiction and only one was non-fiction. So here they are:
#6
Written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, this book came out in 2001. I give the book a 4.0 (Excellent).
This is now book number 66 on my bucket list. It was number 56 on the original list I created and I am very happy to finally have read it. What a wonderful book. The story was written in Spanish and has been translated to English by Lucia Graves. It has many levels of suspense and subplots. I highly recommend it. I also see that Zafon has two more books to make a trilogy, The Angel's Game, and The Prisoner of Heaven. I have already added them to my Goodreads Must Read List.
#7
Driving Blind
Written by Ray Bradbury, this book came out in 1997. I give this book a 2.0 (Good).
A paperback that has been sitting on my shelf for I do not know how long. I am not even sure where I got it. As I started to read it, a small boarding stub fell out for a trip to Moscow. It was a good read but most of the short stories were almost too strange for me. I am a big fan of most of Bradbury's novels, but these stories were not to my liking. It was like he was Driving Blind.
#8
Written by Joe Posnanski, and published in 2023. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent).
I found it at the library on the NEW books shelf. Non-fiction book about baseball and I loved it. So many great stories and moments. Most of the moments I remember but some were new to me. If you are a baseball fan, you should read this book. Joe was a senior columnist at Sports Illustrated.
Did you know that until 1952, players would leave their gloves in the field at their position? The book has a photo of Billy Martin turning a double play with a glove sitting just off the infield behind second base. Well, it was before I was born...
#9
Written by W.P. Kinsella, and published in 1982. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent).
After reading the previous Baseball book by Poz, I was in the mood for more baseball. One of my favorite movies, Field of Dreams, was based on this book. I finally decided to read it and it was a joy to read. The novel is more convoluted than the movie (for instance the writer he kidnaps is JD Salinger) but it is a great story about baseball in America. If you love the movie, I recommend you try the book.
An interesting side note, I actually saw this movie on a Bahamas cruise on a Big Red Boat. I had gone with Darrin Roberts and Dennis Kunkle. At the meals we were seated with two girls from the center of the country and we all went to the movies together. I may have cried in front of them when Costner says "Hey Dad? You wanna have a catch?"
#10
The Rabbit Hutch
Written by Tess Gunty, her first novel. It came out in 2022. I give it a 3.0 (Great).
This is now book #67 on my bucket list. What a strange book. First time author Gunty has created an unusual story with many interesting characters. The book was on a top 100 lists I used for my bucket list. I saw it on sale at B&N and recognized the title. Remember, my list is now 265 books (and some authors without specific titles), so I do not always know what is left to read. That is why I have two copies of War & Peace, which I bought on the same trip to B&N. I was walking around with two versions of a 1000 page book. What a maroon?
Since I own this book, I am pretty sure I will read it again.
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