Tag / Mary Kubica

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Book 11 (of 52) – It’s Not Her

Mary Kubica – It’s Not Her

A summertime vacation north to a lake in the Wisconsin woods seemed to Courtney Gray like a great opportunity for family bonding, at least until she found her brother and sister-in-law dead in their cabin, brutally murdered during the night.  With her oldest niece missing, she starts to suspect everyone, including her husband and her nephew.  However, once she learns of the pranks her daughter and youngest niece had been playing prior to the killings, the true murder reveals himself.

Local author Mary Kubica returns with It’s Not Her, her tenth novel, released earlier this month.  With a number of twists and two timelines split against the two narrators, she weaves an interesting tale that has both the protagonist, and the reader, thinking anyone could be the killer. I guess I will wait patiently for another two years or so for her next outing, which I assume will be another winner.

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Prolific Authors – Nine Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We continue today with the four authors I’ve read nine times, three more than two years ago.

Michael Jan Friedman

Known primarily for licensed works, Friedman first entered my world in 1990, thanks to a trio of Star Trek: The Next Generation novels.  There were another two in 1992 and then he reappeared in 1996 with another trio of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman tie-ins.  That was it until he reappeared on my radar in 2021, with yet another Next Gen entry.

The Judge’s List – John Grisham

John Grisham

The former attorney, who I first read in 1993 with his smash hit The Firm, returned to my attention with The Exchange, a sequel 31-years in the making.

Mary Kubica

The local author, who is a New York Times best seller, moves up two slots and has placed nine entries on my bookshelf over the past ten years, starting with The Good Girl, which I read in 2015.

Scott Turow

The Chicago-based lawyer, who I first read in 1992 with Presumed Innocent and Burden of Proof, returned to my attention in 2021 after an eleven-year absence and has added three books in these past two years.

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Book 40 (of 52) – She’s Not Sorry

She’s Not Sorry – Mary Kubica

Meghan Michaels, a divorced ICU nurse, cares for a comatose patient thought to have attempted suicide while raising a teenage daughter with a rapist on the loose.  When a witness comes forward that throws the suicide theory into doubt, Meghan finds herself too invested in her patient and her family. Can she keep herself, and her daughter, safe?

Local author Mary Kubica returns with She’s Not Sorry, her ninth novel.  With a number of twists and an unreliable timeline, she weaves an interesting tale.  I guess I will patiently wait another two years or so for her next outing, which I assume will be another winner.

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Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 97 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2021)

The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter – 6
Erle Stanley Gardner – 5
Jeffrey Deaver – 4
Grady Hendrix – 4
Richard Osman – 3
Alex Finlay – 3
Taylor Jenkins Reid – 3

Largest Increase (since 2011)

The Skin Collector – Jeffery Deaver

Jeffrey Deaver – 14
Erle Stanley Gardner – 14
Richard Castle – 13
Karin Slaughter – 12
Mary Kubica – 8

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Prolific Authors – 8 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the two authors I’ve read seven times, an increase of one since 2021.

Double Helix – Peter David

Peter David

The prolific comic book writer shows up mostly with Star Trek: The Next Generation novels that I read in high school.  Only two of his works show up from this century, the collection of his But I Digress columns from the Comics Buyer’s Guide and yet another Next Gen novel, which I read earlier this year.

Mary Kubica

The local author, who is a New York Times best seller, moves up two slots and has placed eight entries on my bookshelf over the past eight years starting with The Good Girl, which I read in 2015.

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Book 12 (of 52) – Just The Nicest Couple

Just The Nicest Couple – Mary Kubica

When a woman is attacked in the woods by the husband of a friend, she fights him off and, when he goes missing, assumes she has inadvertently killed him.  While she and her husband try to stay a step ahead of the police and any possible investigation, her friend looks for clues to her husband’s disappearance.  However, sometimes when you add one and one together, you end up with three.

The eighth outing from local author Mary Kubica, Just The Nicest Couple continues her winning ways, although some of the twists were fairly predictable.  I will patiently wait another two years or so for her next outing, which I assume will be another winner.

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2021: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2021, my first full year remote working, I managed to read a whopping 54 books, an increase of 31 books over last year and my first year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total in mid-June, passed my best years, 2015 and 2016, in late August, and completed book 52 with two weeks left in the year.  I read (or listened) to 18,670 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the second time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, 16 were non-fiction and, of the 36 novels, 10 were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 43 e-books and 4 audiobooks.  For the first time since I was a kid, I got myself a library card, which helped me procure 14 of the books.

Just less than half of the books I read this year were by authors I have read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

  • Tegan Quin
  • Sara Quin
  • Lucy Foley
  • Jenna Fischer
  • Matt Haig
  • Eric Nusbaum
  • Jon Taffer
  • Charlotte Douglas
  • Susan Kearney
  • Fredrik Backman
  • Jeff Pearlman
  • Minka Kent
  • Alan Cumming
  • Megan Goldin
  • Molly Bloom
  • Barack Obama
  • Ali Wong
  • Timothy Ferriss
  • Issa Rae
  • Walter Tevis
  • Tess Gerritson
  • Gary Braver
  • Andy Weir
  • Matthew Walker
  • James Clear
  • Grady Hendrix
  • Simon Sinek
  • Jason Fung
  • Julia Spiro
  • Jon Pessah
  • Ruth Ware

Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Kubica, Jeffery Deaver, Andy Weir and Karin Slaughter were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2021.

6 of the books I read were released this year, while 5 of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1933.

Finally, the breakdown by month, which was fairly consistent across the entire year.

Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 77 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2019)

The Knife Slipped – Erle Stanley Gardner

Erle Stanley Gardner – 5
Jeffrey Deaver – 3
Karin Slaughter – 3
Tom Perrotta – 3
Riley Sager – 2
Greer Hendricks – 2
Sarah Pekkanen – 2

Largest Increase (since 2011)

Deadly Heat – Richard Castle

Richard Castle – 13
Jeffrey Deaver – 10
Erle Stanley Gardner – 9
J.K. Rowling – 7
Mary Kubica – 6
David Mack – 6
Karin Slaughter – 6

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Book 42 (of 52) – Local Woman Missing

Local Woman Missing – Mary Kubica

When a missing child is found after 11 years, her father and brother adjust to their new reality.  But, rather than bringing her family together, she raises more questions.  Did her kidnapping and her mother’s death happen the way they had all thought?  Is she really who she says she is?  The answers to these questions end up tearing apart a neighborhood and expose secrets held for years.

Local Woman Missing, the seventh outing from local author Mary Kubica, moves the action to the Chicago suburbs (a thinly disguised Naperville).  I enjoyed this, for the most part, but the plot required some of the characters to act in very stupid ways in order to get where it needed to go.  That is hard to sustain over the long run and seems like something that can be tightened up in future outings.   Which, I’m sure there will be.

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Prolific Authors – 6 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the 4 authors I’ve read 6 times.

John Grisham

One of my favorites back in college, I last read one his works, The Testament, back in 2013.

Don’t You Cry – Mary Kubica

Mary Kubica

The local author has racked up all 6 of her books over the last 6 years.

David Mack

All six of his entries come from Star Trek: The Next Generation works I’ve read on my Kindle.

Pretty Girls – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter

Another recent favorite, I’m working my way through her Will Trent series.