The Naked Sun (Asimov's Robot #3) by Isaac Asimov

I must of picked this up at a thrift store or similar cheap place for used books. Who knows how many years this has been in my possession.

The Naked Sun (Asimov's Robot #3) by Isaac Asimov

A really nice thing about my read every book we own project is that I get to discover masterpieces hiding in place daylight on our book shelves. And The Naked Sun is a masterpiece.

My first time reading an Isaac Asimov novel and wow!... what a writer! Asimov invented the sci-fi mystery sub-genre after hearing it couldn't be done.

There seems to be confusion as to whether this the 2nd or 3rd in Asimov's Robot series. Goodreads says it's number 3; Wikipedia says it's number 2.



It does appear to be second of three novels featuring Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw. Baley is a NYC detective in his 40s. Olivaw is a robot that he has been partnered with once previously. 

Set 3000 years in the future, they are sent to one of the colonized planets to investigate a murder. The colonized planets have become much wealthier and more powerful than Earth and look down upon the inhabitants of Earth as inferior.

A totally masterful work. I liked the subplots and how Asimov shown a light on them. Asimov knew his readers were reading for leisure. When a character or subplot comes back around, he reminds us of what we read earlier. Much nicer than having to constantly page back looking for what I've forgotten. 

The story, the plot, the characters, and the settings are all excellently constructed and presented. As I was reading it, I was blown away by how good this book is.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

My read every book we own project continues with one of Maureen's books.


The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

I read this because we had it on our shelf. It's very much a women's book; men can enjoy it too, but probably no where near as much.





 ** spoiler alert **


It ends with a big Sixth Sense kind of twist. I'm not too sure how I feel about that. We really don't get "I see dead people" like clues so it seems a bit unfair.

The ending did solve 1/2 of the mystery of who is/are Towner and Beezer's father(s)?

It is well written and executed and I did enjoy the journey. It made me really want to see Salem and the rest of New England.

As I say, this book leaves me with mixed feelings. And if anything can make you feel something, then the artist has done their job.

No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews

My read every book we own project continues. There is no mystery as to where this book came from. I bought this and another Donna Andrews book as an Xmas present for Maureen a few Xmas ago.


No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews

If you like the Stephie Plum books (and I do), you'll like Meg Langslow stories too. The same easy, breezy writing style with interesting and likeable characters and lightly humorous situations.


Long story short, a female blacksmith and her professor fiance buy a small farm in a town filled with eccentric people. Most of the town is engaged in an Xtreme Croquet tournament when the narrator literally falls over a body.

There didn't seem to be a lot of clues to ponder to figure out who the killer was, so as a murder mystery, I don't know if it holds up, but it was a very pleasant journey.

The Book of Illusions and In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster

The Book of Illusions by Paul Auster

After being left disappointed by the conclusion of The Music of Chance,  I am happy to say that  this is a very solid one from Paul Auster. 

The story, which is really quite epic, held together well. A college professor loses his wife and children in a plane crash. After dwelling in misery and depression, the narrator finds himself laughing for the first time in a long time. The cause of this laughter is Hector Mann, an obscure, long forgotten silent movie comedian. The narrator then travels the world to various film archives where copies of Mann's movies have mysteriously resurfaced. The story continues from there.

I enjoyed the unfolding of the tale and where it led. Auster pulls together a lot of different things, such as French writers, and finds interesting interconnections. 

One complaint is that this book might be a bit overlong. Not a lot, just a bit.


In the Country of Last Things by Paul Auster

I love Paul Aster and wanted to love this one. I gave up after the first chapter. Reading about a post-apocalyptic world doesn't interest me. If that interests you, I'm sure you will dig it as Auster is a great writer. 

The Torturer's Apprentice: Stories by John Biguenet

The Torturer's Apprentice: Stories by John Biguenet

There is no mystery how this came to be in my possession. This was an Xmas present from my brother who was living in New Orleans at the time.  My copy is even signed by the author, which I didn't notice when he gave it to me years ago.

This is a book of very well written stories with shades of Kafka. The writing is concise yet full. An easy read but deep and fulfilling. Great stuff. The stories are only as long as they need to be, some of dozens of pages, some only two.

I put off reading this one because of the gory title, I shouldn't have. The title story is actually near the end and not really all that gory.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1) by L. Frank Baum

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1) by L. Frank Baum 

I read this as part of my project to read every book we own. I'm going shelf by shelf, which are arranged alphabetically by author. I put off reading it because it's a children's book and I'm an adult. While it reads like a first novel, it is great fun for all ages.

My copy has great illustrations, which definitely added to the experience.

I haven't seen the movie in decades. It will be interesting to re-watch it soon and see how it was changed for the big screen. There definitely are differences.

We have one other Oz book, The Magic of Oz. I look forward to reading that one and I won't be putting it off.

Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham

The Read Everyone of the 1000s of Books We Own Project continues.

Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham

This book was a tough read. The story kept my interest but the writing could have been done with a lighter touch. Nobody wants to read a book filled with simple sentences, but conversely trudging through paragraph length sentence after paragraph length sentence is a slog. You need to mix it up a little. Based on just this novel which isn't fair, Allingham was a good writer but no Steinbeck or Hemingway.






A nice thing about being alive right now is through social media, you can share what you are reading with your friends. I have been using Goodreads to keep track of the books I have been reading. My friend Joanne Countryman noticed I was reading this one. She loves the Campion books, which inspired me to keep reading to the end.

Arriving at seems to be around the middle of the Campion books, I have some curiosity regarding the story arc of Albert Campion, but I have a 100s of other books on the shelves to finish before I go looking for more.

There is a little bit of a mystery of where this book came from. Maureen tells me this book isn't her's. Normally there are clues as to how a book came into my possession. There is no price tag nor a used book store stamp on it, so I have to assume it was bought new. Since I never heard of Margery Allingham or Campion before reading this book, I find it unlikely I bought this book for myself or as a gift for Maureen. Maybe it was a gift (my brother perhaps?).