The Bias Reading Circle

Selected readings from the ‘Bias’ bookshelf

Andy Brack:
Nothing But Trouble
by Michael McGarrity
“Lately, I’ve been reading more magazines than books because time is more limited. Among the magazines that I’ve spent some time with over the last week are: The New Yorker, Newsweek, National Geographic, The Sun and Bottom Line.
“I’m reading Nothing But Trouble, a mystery novel by former Santa Fe, N.M., investigator Michael McGarrity. It is one of the latest in his series about a New Mexico police chief who runs into various forms of trouble with the bad guys.
“Also on my night table are two books that I dip into: Partisans and Redcoats, by Walter Edgar; and Thinking Points, by George Lakoff. The former is a history of South Carolina in the American Revolution. The latter is a look at how to make America more progressive.”

Adam Foard:
Problems and Materials on Secured Transactions
By Linda Rusch & Stephen L. Sepinuck
“For the past four months I have been engrossed in this thrilling tale of unrequited love, robbery, and a murder most foul. Yeah, don’t I wish. Actually, I have been learning about what happens to creditors when debtors default on loans. Basically, the moral is that a creditor should file his financing statements with the Secretary of State or else be left holding the bag.”

Linda Hansen:
The Autobiography of Henry VIII
By Margaret George
“This is not the first time I’ve read this book. Tudor England fascinates me, particularly the young Henry VIII, who wrote in defense of the Catholic Church during the rise of Martin Luther’s protestantism in Europe. A grateful Pope named Henry Defender of the Faith for his thoughtful, eloquent defense of the ‘one true faith.’
“England did, however, leave the Catholic fold, and Henry VIII led the charge. He upended the religious order in his country, not because he converted to Luther’s credo of a personal relationship with God, but for the lust for one woman and for a male heir to inherit his throne.
“Politics, religion and the corruption of both for personal ends. It’s nothing new, it’s oddly relevant and it’s a wonderful read.”

Vicky McLain:
One Shot, by Lee Child
“With Sudoku taking up so much of my time, I almost did not have another book to review. Lee Child came to my rescue. The library has his latest book, One Shot. The main character is Jack Reacher. An ex-Army Major/Captain. I am not sure about his whole army life and how he got demoted and riffed, but he is one entertaining guy. Before I go any further, when you read a Jack Reacher novel, park your brain at the door. The man is like Superman. He is naturally 6’5”, buff, a great fighter, and always has access to money. He is known for his ability to disappear from government scrutiny – police and politicians. He is a hobo that takes a bath. “Situations” always find him-the premise of most of his books. The thing that made One Shot different from other Lee Child books, was a slight change in the personality of Jack. He actually cared about other people in this book. In previous books, he would be a jerk just to be a jerk. One Shot was still filled with adventure, murder, mystery, and action, but Jack was a lot more likeable.

Wallace McBride:
The Black Seas of Infinity
by H.P. Lovecraft
“Lovecraft is one of those writers I can never get out of my system. Maybe it’s our shared dislike for seafood, our love of all things old or our stilted sense of ego, but there’s something comforting to me about his stories of ‘unspeakable’ horrors from far away planets.
“This collection includes some of my favorites (Dagon, The Rats in the Walls) but omits the underappreciated story The Temple written in 1920, about a German submarine plagued by ghosts from a long-dead underwater city.”

Ross Norton:
Cold Mountain
By Charles Frazier
“I’m supposedly reading it because my mother gave me the follow-up book so now I’m obliged to get moving on Cold Mountain. I’ve read only enough to know they say words like “obliged.” It’s been beside my bed for about a month and I’m still on page 12 or so. I don’t even remember what happened in those 12 pages, so I suppose I’ll have to start over. I’ve been staying up too late lately to practice my nightly ritual of reading myself to sleep. And when I try, I turn the lamp switch and hear the empty click of a lightless lamp. I’ve got to change that bulb, but I don’t remember the next morning. To my older son, I’m reading one chapter each night from a book about knights and dragons. It’s more satisfying at the moment than Cold Mountain, and they speak with British accents, I think, and never say ‘obliged.’”