Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Sixth Man by David Baldacci

September 29, 2011, South Amboy

Paperback 2011, 416 pages.

This book is about how two agents-turned-Private Investigators got involved in an attempt, by the Head of Homeland Security and a certain defense contractor, to destroy a competitor defense contractor.  It involves some (to me) far-fetched technology involving one single Analyst doing his job with all available information given to him.  Nonetheless, the plot is quite well thought out, and the action, especially towards the end, quite gripping.

One complaint is the book started a bit slowly, and the attempts at humor were a bit contrived.

Overall a good book.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Confession by John Grisham

September 24, 2011, Tai Po, Hong Kong.

Paperback 2010, 515 pages.

This is a rather straightforward accounting of how an innocent person was executed and how the attempt to save him during the last few days failed.  The only suspense, so to speak, is whether Donte Drumm would be executed.  Thus this is an undramatic book by the usual Grisham standards.

One wonders whether the author had an anti-death penalty philosophy and thus used the story to illustrate his point.  Since I don't need much convincing on this point, I am okay with that.  My other observation is the last part of the novel basically was simply a straightforward accounting of what happens to the various characters in the novel.  As Grisham tends to have trouble finishing his novels anyway, this is to be expected, and is perhaps a technique he should use more often.

Overall an average, easy-to-read novel.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

God and Stephen Hawking by John C. Lennox

September 8, 2011, South Amboy, NJ.

Paperback 2010, 96 pages.

An easy-to-read rebuttal of some of Hawking's arguments in the book "Grand Design."

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

September 7, 2011, South Amboy, NJ

Hardcover 2010, 198 pages