Tag / Richard Castle

by jim

2015: The Year In Books

2015booksWith another year coming to an end, it is time to take a look back at the 31 books I read over the past year, an increase of 8 from last year and my highest total ever, surpassing the 27 books I read back in 1992.  Of those 31, 11 were non-fiction and, of the 20 novels, only 3 were TV show tie-ins.  Only 4 of the books came from the “to-read” drawer, and 11 were e-books.  I read a nearly 9200 pages, the most in 1 year since 1992 and my second straight year reaching the 9000 mark.

Once again, a majority of the books I read this year were by authors I’ve never read before. The 19 authors that I read for the first this year were:
Kurt Vonnegut
Jim Bouton
Melissa Joan Hart
Patton Oswalt
Erle Stanley Gardner
Doug Sohn
Kate DeVivo
Paula Hawkins
Jayson Stark
Scott Reifert
Oscar Wilde
Jeff Katz
Felicia Day
George Carlin
Max Allan Collins
Ann Brashares
David Lagercrantz
Graham Greene
Mary Kubica
Martin Short

The ghost writer for Richard Castle was the only author I read multiple titles from during 2015.

Ten books I read were released this year, while 3 of them were released prior to 1980, with one, The Picture of Dorian Gray, dating back to 1890.

Finally, the breakdown by month.  Vacations in March, November, and December certainly helped pad their totals a tad bit. Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors 2015

bookshelfWay back in December of 2011 and again in December of 2013, we took a look back at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 51 books from 42 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.  Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 54 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2013 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 13 13 0
Greg Rucka 13 12 1

Greg Rucka moves into a tie for my most-prolific author, thanks to his latest which I read last year.  Assuming he stays on the same schedule, he should take the lead by himself sometime next year.

Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Stephen King 12 10 2

After years of being ignored, Stephen King adds 2 new titles to his total over the past 2 years.

Richard Castle 9 5 4
Brad Meltzer 9 8 1

The top 5 rounds out with Brad Meltzer and Richard Castle, who put up the largest increase in the last 2 years. Continue reading →

by admin

Book 26 (of 52) – Driving Heat

Richard Castle - Driving Heat

Driving Heat – Richard Castle

The latest Nikki Heat novel, from the Nathan Fillion-portrayed author from the television show Castle, arrives with Heat taking over as captain of her precinct, just as Kate Beckett, as played by Stana Katic, has on the show.  She teams once again with Jameson Rook, now her fiance, to figure out who is killing a group of whistle blowers and the NYPD shrink.  After the case is solved, Heat and Rook get married, just as Castle and Beckett did.

As usual, Castle, or the mystery writer using the television character as a pen name, delivers an entertaining tale for fans of the television series.  I don’t know how much one would get out of these novels if you didn’t also enjoy the show, as there are a lot of in-jokes and allusions to the characters and actors, but it is a fun trip for those who do like the show.  I’m not sure if there will be more in this series, as the show’s ratings aren’t stellar in its 8th season, so this may have been the swan song for Mr. Castle.  If so, he’s gone out on a high note.

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Book 9 (of 52) – Raging Heat

Raging Heat - Richard Castle

Raging Heat – Richard Castle

“Richard Castle” returns with his latest entry in the Nikki Heat saga.  With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on New York, Nikki Heat has the billionaire candidate for Senate, who also is the commissioner in charge of storm preparedness for the Port Authority, in her sights as the culprit behind the murder of 2 illegal Haitians.

This latest installment both brings the characters in the novels more in step with their counterparts on the Castle television program, while also moving them further apart.  Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook get engaged, just as Beckett and Castle did.  On the opposite side of things, Heat gets promoted to Captain, which, as of yet, has not happened on the show.  These subtle differences do keep things interesting.

by jim

2014: The Year In Books

2014books

With another year coming to an end, it is time to take a look back at the 23 books I read over the past year, an increase of 5 from last year. Of those 23, 7 were non-fiction and, of the 16 novels, 8 were TV show tie-ins. Only 5 of the books came from the “to-read” drawer, and 8 were e-books.  I read a grand total of 9000 pages, the most in 1 year since 1992.

A majority of the books I read this year were by authors I’ve never read before. The 14 authors that I read for the first this year were:
Amy Poehler
James VanOsdol
John Passarella
Mary Karr
Thomas E. Sniegoski
William Lashner
Teresa Strasser
Adam Carolla
Bryan Bishop
John Green
Rob Thomas
Jennifer Graham
Brian Jay Jones
Gord Rollo

The ghost writer(s) for Richard Castle and David Mack were the only authors I read multiple times in 2014.

The six books that I read this year that were released this year were Richard Castle’s Wild Storm, Amy Poehler’s Yes Please, Greg Rucka’s Bravo, William Lashner’s The Barkeep, Adam Carolla’s President Me, and The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham.

Finally, the breakdown by month.  Vacations in April and December certainly helped pad their totals a tad bit.
Continue reading →

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Book 23 (of 52) – Wild Storm

Wild Storm - Richard Castle

Wild Storm – Richard Castle

In the second real-world Derrick Storm novel, terrorists have gotten hold of a powerful new weapon that allows them to bring airplanes down, killing hundreds.  After surviving one such attack, Derrick Storm is brought in by the CIA to find out who is behind the attacks and how they are doing it.  Storm needs to find a way to stop the terrorists without letting the weapon fall in to the arms of his government handler.

The ghost-writer for Richard Castle brings back his action hero for another go around in Wild Storm.  While not as directly tied to the show Castle as the Nikki Heat books, this spin-off series is still entertaining.  With the show closer to its end than its beginning, I wonder if these novels will continue once the series wraps up or if they are bound to come to an end sooner rather than later.

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Book 18 (of 52) – Storm Front

Storm Front - Richard Castle

Storm Front – Richard Castle

In the series premiere of Castle, author Richard Castle had just killed off Derrick Storm, the star of his best selling series of novels.  After the success of the first 4 Nikki Heat novels, Castle decided to bring Storm back in Storm Front, the first Derrick Storm novel released here in the real world.

In this tale, Derrick Storm is called in to investigate the deaths of a number of currency traders, each of which features the familiar MO of his old foe Gregor Volkov.  Storm, along with a Chinese agent, try to get to the bottom of the killings and stop Volkov before he brings down the world’s economy.

I must admit, I was a little worried going in to this one.  While I have enjoyed the Nikki Heat novels thus far, those have followed, somewhat, some of the plots of the show.  Derrick Storm was an unknown quantity.  Thankfully, my worry was for naught, as this book had the same charms as the Heat books, even featuring a brief cameo by Heat and Jameson Rook.  There’s already a second book in the series, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

by admin

2013: The Year In Books

2013books

With another year coming to an end, it is time to take a look back at the 18 books I read over the past year, 6 overall less than last year but the same total if you exclude the graphic novels.  Of those 18, 5 were non-fiction and, of the 13 novels, 5 were TV show tie-ins.  Only 3 of the books came from the “to-read” drawer, and 7 were e-books, which was a new category for me last year.

 

A majority of the books I read this year were by authors I’ve never read before.  The 11 authors that I read for the first this year were:
Alan Sepinwall
Joe Hill
Rebecca Forster
Sarah Silverman
Kimberly McCreight
Andrew Gross
Ben Mezrich
Tina Fey
Ron Rapoport
David Mack
Dustin Diamond

The ghost writer for Richard Castle was the only author I read multiple times in 2013.

The five books that I read this year that were released this year were Richard Castle’s Deadly Heat, Kimberly McCreight’s Reconstructing Amelia, Brad Meltzer’s The Fifth Assassin, Warren Ellis’ Gun Machine, and From Black Sox to Threepeats, edited by Ron Rapoport.

Finally, the breakdown by month.  Being off again for most of December certainly helped pad the total a tad bit.

Continue reading →

by admin

Prolific Authors 2013

bookshelfWay back in December of 2011, I took our first look back at the authors I have read the most dating back to high school.  Since that time, I’ve read 34 books from 31 different authors.  I don’t think there is going to be much movement since then, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time.  Once again, we will be limiting ourselves to the now 47 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

Author Name Current Total 2011 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0

No change to these two, who owe their totals mostly to Buffy and Angel tie-in novels.

Greg Rucka 12 11 1
Stephen King 10 9 1

Both of these long time favorites increased their total by one book.  Rucka’s newest is due out next summer and is already pre-ordered.

Michael Jan Friedman 8 8 0
Brad Meltzer 8 7 1

Brad Meltzer pulls into a tie for the top 5 with another author of tie-in novels, mostly Star Trek: TNG and Lois & Clark. Continue reading →

by jim

Book 16 (of 52) – Deadly Heat

Deadly Heat - Richard Castle

Deadly Heat – Richard Castle

The latest novel from Richard Castle, played as always by Nathan Fillion on the show Castle, picks up right after the previous one, with Nikki Heat learning the identity of her mother’s murderer but not knowing why she was killed.  In this followup, Heat, the novel version of Stana Katic’s Kate Beckett character, gets the closure she has been looking for while tracking down a serial killer that has targeted her.

These novels have been an intriguing marketing tool for the television show, as they are written by the character and featured in the show’s narrative.  It would be easy for these to be trashy, but someone is obviously trying to put out a product worthy of the best selling author.  One can only hope that the story of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook hasn’t ended with the closure of Heat’s mother’s case.