My Annual 136th Day Update

Did you read the title of this post?  I just made that up.  Normally, I don't do any recaps until the end of the year.  But, as I am finishing my 30th book of 2013, I decided to jump in now and list the 7 books that I have read so far that are 3.5 (out of 4) or higher.  Since I had 11-3.5's or higher for all of 2012, I'm already 7/11 of the way there in less than 5 months.  2013 is shaping up to be some year.  Here they are:

Vince Flynn - The Last Man - 3.5.  This is Flynn's 13th book in the Mitch Rapp series.  How cool is it that he's still on his game?  This one is as good as any of the others.

Virna DePaul - Shades of Passion - 3.5.  Virna has written 3 books in the same series for Harlequin's Romantic Suspense group.  I've read 2 of the 3.  The 1st one, Shades of Desire, I gave a 3.0.  This one's just a little bit better.  Lots of romance but also lots of suspense.  Great combo.

Jamie Ford - On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 3.5.  This is the story of the Japanese internment camps in the Western part of the United States during WWII.  This is a really good book.

W.E.B. Griffin - Empire and Honor - 3.5.  This is book 7 in the series (Griffin has 4 other military series, which I read, and 1 police series, which I don't read).  Again, like Flynn, book 7 is as good as the other 6, probably better.  Since he started writing with his son, his books have been at least as good as when he wrote solo.

Sue Diaz - Minefields of the Heart - 4.0.  Sue is one of 2 featured authors by Silicon Valley Reads (the other being Brian Castner) this year.  Her non-fiction book tells what it's like for the mother of a soldier (3 tours of duty) in Afghanistan.  She combines poignant stories with humor and hometown events.  Terrific.

Vanessa Diffenbaugh - The Language of Flowers - 4.5.  I've talked about this one ad nauseum.

Helen Bryan - The Sisterhood - 3.5.  Just finished this one last week.  Very good book about 2 old convents - one in Spain and one in South America.  The story goes back and forth between the present and the 1500's.  Enjoyed this one a lot.

As I go back through the list, I see that there's something for everybody - a mini-Fiction for the Non-Fiction Reader, if you will.  Hopefully, you'll all see something that piques your interest.  Happy Reading!