Goofy's Latest Reads

I promise I will continue my trip report, but since I have limited time this morning, I’ll do a quick book review.

Here’s what I’ve been reading/listening to lately:

NOTE: As an afterthought, I have ranked these books in 1, 2, 3 order. If you decide to pick one of these books up, pick up #1 first, etc.

“Shadow Divers” by Robert Kurson
I borrowed this audiotape from Cagey, oh about 6 months ago. It’s about a group of shipwreck divers that discover a sunken German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey. It sounded good, but I kept thinking, “it’s going to be a dry story about scuba divers and WWII history...yawn”. After finishing it, I was kicking myself for now listening sooner. This story grabbed me from the very first line and held me until the end. I can’t remember a boring part, even with bits of history sprinkled in (not my favorite topic). I actually learned something from this book, and it’s a true story, so the guys in the story are still around, discovering new sunken bits of history. Very cool!
Rank: #1

“S is for Silence” by Sue Grafton
This was a great book! The Kinsey Milhone “ABC” series has gotten a little dry lately, and I’m thinking Grafton knew that. With this book, she departed from the story revolving around Kinsey (the main character – a female private eye). While Kinsey is still in the book, Grafton uses the scenario of a cold case, and flashbacks to show the reader what really happened as Kinsey uncovers it, many years later. Even if you’ve never picked up a Grafton book, you will understand what’s going on, and will probably enjoy this book (if you enjoy a good mystery, with lots of red herrings).
Rank: #2

“The Pleasure of My Own Company” by Steve Martin (in process)
I’ve read all of Steve Martin’s books. Yes, I’m talking about the “King Tut”/”Cheaper by the Dozen” comedian. He is actually an awesome writer, although his books tend to be rather dark. I personally think this is cool. If he wrote comedy ala Dave Barry…yawn. Anyway, I’m on disc 1 of 4 of this audiobook, but it’s very good so far. It’s about a single guy who has some sort of obsessive/compulsive disorder, although he’s very smart and knows about his OCD. Martin puts you inside this guy’s mind as he tries to meet a girl he’s attracted to. She’s a realtor that is selling an apartment across the street. Since he can’t step off curbs, he must travel around the block, to a driveway, then back again, in order to “nonchalantly” run into the gal. He foreshadows that he will tell us what happened in this guy’s life to put him in this state, but for now, you have to accept this guy as he is. And you actually start to like him and understand him. Stay tuned on this one, but it’s looking good so far.
Rank: #3

Next up:
“Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal” by Christopher Moore
If you haven’t read a Christopher Moore book, you need to. “Fluke” and “The Stupidest Angel” are especially good. They are laugh-out-loud funny and clever all at the same time. This is Moore’s latest book, and promises to lampoon religion. This book promises to be controversial and funny…what more could you ask?

So, what had YOU been reading lately? Was it good? Bad? So-so?