Tag / Mary Kubica

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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.

by admin

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.

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Book 13 (of 52) – The Other Mrs.

The Other Mrs. – Mary Kubica

Dr. Sadie Foust has seen her world turned upside down.  She’s moved across the country from Chicago to Maine after her husband’s sister commits suicide.  She suspects her husband has been cheating.  Her niece and children act strangely around her.  And when a neighbor is killed in the middle of the night, she finds that she is the chief suspect, despite having never met the woman.  Or has she?

The Other Mrs., the sixth entry from Mary Kubica, moves the action outside of Chicago and heads to the east coast, to a tiny island off the coast of Maine, where claustrophobia may as well have been another main character.  There are two big twists, which turns out to be a good thing because the first you could see coming from a mile away.  The second was probably just as predictable if you weren’t so focused on the first.

Netflix is said to be making a movie based on the book, but there’s been no word on casting, let alone a release date.  In the meanwhile, Kubica has another new book due out next month.  Like her previous outings, I’ll be sure to enjoy it once it shows up on sale for the Kindle.

by jim

The Decade In Books

The 2010s have drawn to a close and its time to take a look back at the previous decade. Today, we move on to books, specifically the 229 books I read between 2010 and 2019. This decade coincides completely with my starting the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge, which I have never really come close to completing.

2015 was my best year, with 31 books completed.  2010 was by far the worst year in terms of finished books, with only 7.  Over the course of 10 years, those 229 books totaled over 77,000 pages.


152 different authors contributed to the books I’ve read this decade, 35 of which I’ve read multiple times.  The ghost writer for Richard Castle leads the way and is the only author I read more than 10 offerings from over the last 10 years.  The most surprising entry is Erle Stanley Gardner, who passed away in 1970. Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors 2019

Way back in December of 2011 (and again in the Decembers of 2013, 2015, and 2017), we took a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 48 books from 50 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 70 authors from whom I have read more than one book.

 

Author Name Current Total 2017 Total Difference
Nancy Holder 16 15 1

Nancy Holder adds 1 new book over the past 2 years to maintain her lead.

Richard Castle 15 14 1

The writer (or writers) using the nom de plume of the main character from the television show Castle sees a slight increase, despite the show being off the air for well over 3 years now.

Stephen King 13 12 1
Greg Rucka 13 13 0
Christopher Golden 12 12 0
Brad Meltzer 12 11 1

Very little movement in the next tier the past 2 years.

Jeffery Deaver 11 8 3

We round out the double digits with Deaver, who will be going up again soon, as I’m currently reading one of his books. Continue reading →