"Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" Haruki Murakami

Murakami's writing was recommended to me because I had mentioned how much I enjoyed Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This novel certainly tended to the reasons why I like Marquez. It was rather ethereal and almost poetic in it's prose. Many scenes were almost hypnotically penned giving the reader an outer body feeling or, perhaps, the sensation of being in a dream. The novel follows two apparently separate stories. One is of a man in Japan who is hired to code research for a scientist and the other tells us the tale of a man whom is separated from his shadow in a strange land. The two stories share similar themes at moments but are set in different worlds with very different casts of characters. The novel is charming and I will gladly seek out more Murakami in the future.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Claire is transported to 1743 from post world War two. She begins to build a life and encounters a great number of the eras difficulties. The book kept my attention but didn't have me scrambling to find more reading time. Although a fun escape, I am not running to check out the next installment.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

How refreshing. After reading Under the Dome I was down on King but this novel was exceptional. A true beast and, perhaps, the 40 years of rolling around in his head crafted the piece beautifully. The novel follows a modern day high school teacher whom travels back in time to save Kennedy. Along the way he passes the preceding five years living in a very different, far simpler time. He falls in love with the era, the life and the people. i flew through the 900 plus pages and wished there was more. More King please!

"Hold Tight" by Harlan Coben

Light and frothy. This is a fine airplane read. You can skip fifty pages without missing too much. I had a difficult time caring about the characters but I did enjoy trying to figure out the "who" who done it. The story follows a doctor trying to find his teenage son and all the related trouble. Simultaneously, a man is killing women trying to protect his brother in law. Obviously, all the story are intertwined in the end. What kind of murder mystery could exist without the coincidental events. Fluffy. Good for fluffy reading situations. Beach read

"The Nasty Bits" by Anthony Bourdain

This was my first time reading a book written by Anthony Bourdain. For years I have been a fan of his television programs and was very excited to read his style of humor on paper. This is a book of short stories of all varieties. We get to see his experiences in Brazil, Vietnam, Singapore, as well as meet a fictional character trying to save a failing restaurant. All in all, though it took nearly a year to finish it, I found the book enjoyable. That said, not as enjoyable as the live programming I've come to appreciate.

"I Declare" by Joel Osteen

This was part two of a Christmas gift. I found the daily declarations as inspirational as his "You Can, You Will", which I read simultaneously. The specific statements the reader is guided to announce to the world are exciting, optimistic and self-fulfilling. As someone who seeks meditative releases in my life this book provided a short but concentrated thesis to start the morning and that simple concept to focus on through the day. Exactly what I was looking for. One can easily see the benefits of the declarations permeate their daily habits and manifest in the course of the 31 days. Reading these declarations will be a commonplace meditation for me from here on out.

"Gumption" by Nick Offerman

My friend who lent me this book warned me it was a somewhat verbose tribute to several of the author's heroes. That is quite accurate. Whereas I hoped to gain insights into American icons I felt more of a voyeur in the author's love affairs with the respective accomplishments of each subject. The author may very well have been striving for precisely that. Having read a number of presidential biographies and historically accurate takes on important moments in our nation's past (i.e. "team of rivals") I desired more flesh and less fellatio. Nick Offerman is someone I truly admire. I will still pick up another tome by him, I was just unfulfilled by this one.