Dee Reads

Yes, just last week I said I had posted my last blog for 2024.  However, my brother, Jay, who has guest spotted here a few times, told me he didn't have anything to do. So, I picked up the ball of that challenge and asked him to give me HIS Best of 2024.  And here it is . . .  I promise this is the last blog for the year.   Happy Holidays! "First, I must thank Dianna for asking me to contribute thoughts on my favorite read this year.  Secondly, I must apologize to you for contributing my thoughts on my favorite read this year. I’m clearly not as voracious a reader as Dianna and most of you.  I had set a meager goal of 30 books for the year.  As of today, I have read 31 with 19 days remaining in the year.  Congratulations to me!  Here's a list of a few books that were part of making this goal: The Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change Tomáš Halík Hold Strong Robert Dugoni, Jeff Langholz, Chris Crabtree Ordinary Grace William Ke...

Like so many book resources; Amazon, Goodreads, and various bookstores Dee Reads is compiling a list of the best books of 2024.  That isn't to say they are new, bestsellers, book club recommendations or any particular favorite, they are just my most excellent reads of this year.   From a variety of genres, authors, and publication dates comes the Dee Reads Best of 2024. Like many of you, I'm sure, I used a reading tracker this year to tally my total books read and their "star" rating (1-5).  Of the 106 books on that list, I have selected nine to make my "Best of 2024" list.   DEE READS BEST OF 2024         The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee - 5 Stars         Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens - 5 Stars (Appeared in a previous blog on 08/28/2024)         Go as a River by Shelley Read - 5 Stars         Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke - 4 S...

  Every once in a blue moon, I happen upon a wonderful read, and then a second by the same author, that make for a outstanding twosome.  It isn't necessarily that the pair is part of a series or even of the same genre, rather these two gems strike my fancy and keep me reading page-after-page until I'm looking at the back cover.  On the flipside, there are the less frequent and less happy times when I read that first book, open a second by the same writer, and end up with a serious case of reader's regret.  Follow me down that road as I explore two such pairings.  The first, Reykjavik, published in 2022, I read in the late summer of 2023.  I had not heard of Ragnar Jonasson before I snagged  copy of Reykjavi k, which I then devoured like it was my last meal.  Although I am definitely a thriller/mystery reader, this was unique and might be set aside in its own genre, perhaps calling it a noir thriller.  Below is the review I wrote and posted in...