The Devil’s Star   Jo Nesbø
Inspector Hole investigates a serial killer who uses a pentagram, chases the head of a smuggling ring, tracks the killer of his former partner, loses the woman he loves, and gets kicked off the police force. Well-accomplished, and very interesting and entertaining. Enjoyed it so much, I wish it hadn’t ended.

History of a Pleasure Seeker   Richard Mason
Interesting, well written historical novel about a young tutor trying to improve his station in early 20^th-century Holland. He is irresistible to both women and men and that causes his greatest advancements and failings. Not nearly as erotic as it sounds, and a little light on characterization. Though it says “to be continued” at the end, I think I’m done.

Nemesis   Jo Nesbo
Excellent police mystery about Nesbo’s detective Hole investigating murder and bank robberies in early 21^st Century Oslo. Cleanly written with gypsies, infidelities, corruption, and several believable narrative twists toward the end. Well, maybe one twist too many, but a very enjoyable read. Plan to read more in the series.

Betraying Spinoza: the Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity   Rebecca Goldstein
Disappointing “philosophy” book that begins by stating that there is no sense in which Spinoza id a Jewish thinker and then proceeds to discuss him as just that. Some good intellectual history about Jewish philosophy in the 17^th century, but valueless about Spinoza. A bit of a waste of time.

Lehrter Station   David Downing
Latest in Downing’s fascinating thriller series with John Russell. Now the war has just ended and Russell and Effie go back to the Berlin they barely escaped from to work for the Soviets and the Americans, and combat murderous smugglers. Excellent historical narrative very well written. Really enjoyed it.

The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World   Matthew Stewart
Excellent, very well written historical philosophy book. Perhaps the best, most lucid description of Spinoza’s Ethics I have ever read. Made me appreciate Spinoza’s achievement even more, and also dislike Leibniz personally and as a philosopher. Outstanding.

Flight from Berlin   David John
Long, marginally interesting thriller and historical novel about the lead-up to the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. While the history about the disaster, the 1936 Olympics, and Hitler’s growing power is accurate, the characters were, for the most part, not very likable, interesting, or believable. Not a total waste though.

The Iliad   Homer (Fagles translation)
Finally filled this giant hole in my education. Really enjoyed the beauty of Homer’s language and the power of an epic so ancient. Fagles’ translation made it easy and enjoyable to read. Deeply rewarding narrative and language. I wish everything I read was this important. Have to work on that.

An American Spy   Olen Steinhauer
Complex, superbly written spy novel that continues the Tourist saga. Even though Milo is trying to be retired, he is pulled into an operation ostensibly to revenge the murder of the entire department at the hands of the Chinese. Perfectly constructed, plotted, and executed. Steinhauer gets better with each novel. Excellent.

The Medusa Amulet   Robert Masello
Overwritten, overlong mystery/fantasy about a renaissance amulet that grants eternal life when a person looks at it during a full moon. Unbelievable and not very well written, so it was mostly tiring.

The Dead Do Not Improve   Jay Caspian Kang
Odd “mystery” about a down on his luck content provider and a surfer detective investigating the death of a hippie porn star in San Francisco. Yeah. Prose was convoluted. Didn’t really enjoy it. Too bad because the title was fantastic.

The Information   James Gleick
Deeply impressive chronicle of the history, theory, and impact of information. As usual in Gleick’s books, very difficult ideas expressed clearly in sometimes-even-beautiful prose. Non-fiction book of the year, so far. Absolutely fascinating.

Viral   James Lilliefors
Ingenious thriller about the plan to use a constructed virus to depopulate areas of Africa and the agents trying to stop it. Way too believable in the current political climate. Prose is pretty good, and there is some characterization, but the real impetus is the evolving plot. Enjoyed it very much.

The Informer   Craig Nova
Dark and atmospheric novel set in pre-war Germany about a prostitute who informs for both the communists and the Nazis, and the female detective trying to solve the serial murders of prostitutes. Grim, like the times. I have loved all of Nova’s other novels. While I liked this one the least, it was still good.

Up in Honey’s Room   Elmore Leonard
Typically entertaining Leonard novel about German spies and escaped POWs in 1945 Detroit. A Raylan-like marshal, some hot women, and violence. As usual, the dialogue and accomplished prose propel the narrative. Enough of a distraction.

The Professionals   Owen Laukkanen
A group of twenty-somethings who can’t get decent work become professional kidnappers. An FBI agent and a Minnesota BCA cop hunt them down. I liked the criminals the most, though all the characters had a little more depth than usual in this genre. Couldn’t put it down.

Satori   Don Winslow
Very entertaining “prequel” to Trevanian’s Shibumi. Nicholai Hel is entrapped to work as an assassin for the Americans, kills everything in sight, falls in love, deftly eludes those trying to kill him, avenges his mother, helps lay the foundations for the Vietnam war, and barely gets out alive. All based on the game Go. A lot of fun.

Dublin Dead   Gerard O’Donovan
Extremely well plotted sequel to The Priest. Mulcahy and Fallon are both on the trail of drug thieves, even though Fallon doesn’t know it. Nicely written as well, though there is still not enough characterization, and there wasn’t much mystery about who it was. A pleasing and entertaining read.

The Priest   Gerard O’Donovan
First Inspector Mike Mulcahy novel. He finds himself chasing a Dublin serial rapist and kidnapper who tortures his victims by burning them with gold crosses. Narrative moves well, writing is good enough, just enough characterization, and a rushing, slam-bang ending. Good entertainment.

Blueprints of the Afterlife   Ryan Boudinot
Highly imaginative and well written science fiction novel about the end of the world as we knew it, who caused it, and what follows. New York Alki, people popping into quantum super position, corporate war against the new humans, Bionet embodiment, and the last dude. Very entertaining and even a little thoughtful.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin   Erik Larson
History of the family of the U.S. ambassador to Germany from 1933-1937. Well written and documented. Some new insights into the Nazi personalities that destroyed Germany. Seemed like the ending got telescoped and came much too quickly. Really only covers 1933 and 1934. Glad I read it.

The Silent Oligarch   Chris Morgan Jones
Well written and interesting novel about a Dutch-English business man trying to escape his life working for a Russian oligarch, and the English investigator who ends up trying to help him. Compelling characters and descriptions of Russian state and corporate corruption. Well worth it.

Raylan   Elmore Leonard
Engaging novel about the further adventures of Leonard’s U. S. Marshall. Now he’s back in his home area of Harlan County, Kentucky dealing with large coal, murder, drugs, and women. Leonard’s prose slips right along, and the dialogue, as always sounds wonderfully authentic . A quick, very enjoyable, entertainment.

Prague Fatale   Philip Kerr
Latest Bernie Gunther novel. We’re back in 1941, Bernie is involved with a new woman, working closely with Heydrich in Czechoslovakia, and stumbling his way through an investigation of the murder of one of Heyrich’s adjutants. Very interesting and well-executed, as always. Resolution was a little slim, but very enjoyable.

Helsinki White   James Thompson
Third novel in the series. Things are disintegrating as Vaara recovers from his brain surgery, he becomes more corrupt in the special squad, and his marriage starts coming apart because he no longer feels emotions. Brutal, violent, and very interesting. Wish there were another one to start on.

Everyday Life in Early America   David Freeman Hawke
An outstanding social history of the American colonies in the first half of the 17^th century. Well written, highly informative, and very enjoyable. Too bad he didn’t use footnotes. Even so, a great step on my reading of American History. Very good.

Lucifer’s Tears   James Thompson
Second well-written novel in the inspector Kari Vaara series. He’s now in Helsinki with his wife and daughter, working homicide, and causing as much trouble as he is stopping. Tough, kinky, interesting, lovely, brutal, and a lot of fun. A very enjoyable read.

Hokusai   Matthi Forrer
Beautiful collection of woodblock prints and paintings by the late 18^th-century Japanese artist. Really enjoyed browsing through this book again.

Snow Angels   James Thompson
Gripping novel about a police detective in a small town in northern Finland investigating the very brutal murder of a film star. Complicated character and relationships, and kind of depressing like the weeks of total darkness around Christmas. Plan to read the next two in the series.

This Was America   Martin W. Sandler
Collection of photographs taken between 1890 and 1910. Interested because this toward the end of Mary Ann Burnham Freeze’s life. Disappointing for me because they are concentrated in the Eastern U.S. But it was worth it.

The Darkening Field   William Ryan
Second novel with Militia Detective Korolev solving a murder in Odessa and avoiding the political consequences in the Soviet Union in 1937. Takes a while to get going, and a little too much interviewing, but enjoyable, nicely written, and worth the time. Introduces a nice new character in Slivka. Not too bad.

You Suck, A Love Story   Christopher Moore
Second novel of the vampire trilogy. Now, Tommy is also a bloodsucking fiend and the lovers are trying to dodge the vampire who turned Jody and is trying to kill Tommy. More bumbling, hilarity, and the introduction of the new minion, Abby Normal, one of the great characters of vampire fiction. Still entertaining.

Bloodsucking Fiends, A Love Story   Christopher Moore
First volume of Moore’s vampire trilogy about Jody and Tommy and how she becomes a vampire and chooses Tommy as her minion. Funny, lighthearted, and endearing. Enjoyed the characters, the deft prose, and the love story. Very enjoyable.

A Spy by Nature   Charles Cumming
Very well written and constructed spy novel about the recruitment and failure of the spy Alec Milius. Industrial espionage against the Americans in the search for oil. Because of his personal inadequacies, Milius wrecks everything he gets involved in and harms those he loves. Really disliked the character, but very well done.

Taken   Robert Crais
Crais’ latest novel with Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. This time they are battling the nightmare of human trafficking and the bajadores who infest the borderlands between the U.S. and Mexico. Screams right along, couldn’t put it down. Another very entertaining read from Crais.

“The National Game”: A Social History of Baseball in Salt Lake City, Utah, 1868-1888   Kenneth L. Cannon II
Master’s thesis that I needed for my work on MABF. Only a few pages give a background on an entry from her diary, but I was interested in the broader history. Not just about baseball, but about the Americanization of Salt Lake City and Utah.

Dark Men   Derek Haas
Third novel about the assassin Columbus. This time he is trying to work with his girlfriend, and train her as an assassin while hunting down the dark men who kidnapped his fence. As before, interesting and well written enough to be useful while riding. Enjoyed it, but I’m done with these.

Columbus   Derek Haas
Second novel about the namesake professional assassin. This time he’s based in Europe trying to get out from a hit against him. Still captures your attention with an interesting narrative and simple, clean prose. Now, on to the third one in the series.

The Silver Bear   Derek Haas
Slim, interesting novel about the origins and activities of a killer for hire. Easy, clear prose moves the narrative along nicely. Captures just enough of your attention, the characters and plot are just interesting enough, to be entertaining. Excellent while on the bike. Enjoyed it. Plan to read the next two in the series.

Wild Thing   Josh Bazell
Second Dr. Peter Brown, aka Pietro Brnwa, novel. This time he’s in the Boundary Waters investigating a lake monster. The propulsive prose, smart-ass tone, and intelligence make it extremely enjoyable. One of the great theories of our coming demise. Couldn’t put it down and wished it hadn’t ended.

Potsdam Station   David Downing
Latest installment in the John Russell novels about the British journalist in Germany during the Nazi period. This one covers Russell getting back into Berlin to find Effi and his son as the war comes to an end. Very interesting and enjoyable, and surprisingly, a fairly good ending. Can’t wait for the next one.

Typhoon   Charles Cumming
Very engaging and enjoyable spy novel about CIA and MI6 operations in Hong Kong at the time of the turnover and in Shanghai in 2004. Interesting relationships and an absence of James Bond-like hyperbole. Seemed realistic. Good read.

The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction Bernard Bailyn
Beautifully written, incredibly informative overview of who came to North America in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the nature of their lives here, and the peculiar culture that developed into America. Couldn’t put it down. Easily one of the best history books I have ever read.

The Trinity Six   Charles Cumming
Very entertaining spy novel about an English professor of Russian Studies whose research gets him involved with British and Russian spies trying to cover up cold war treasons. A little light, but enjoyed the plot and the characters quite a bit.

Anathem   Neal Stephenson
Neal Stephenson science fiction novel, just short of 1,000 pages, about a planet in an alternate cosmos. He creates a whole new vocabulary that requires a detailed list in the back of the book. Once I broke through the language barrier, I couldn’t put it down. Didn’t want it to end, so I dragged it out. Really enjoyed it. Up there with Cryptonomicon for favorite Stephenson novel. I’m going to miss being able to live in that world with those people.

Our Kind of Traitor  John LeCarré
Beautifully written, interesting spy novel about a Russian mafia money launderer who wants to defect to the UK. Good characters and LeCarré’s usual indictment of the British spy agency. Sad ending, of course. Really enjoyed it.

The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories   Don DeLillo
Dark, well-crafted stories covering several decades. Liked the title story, but most of the others left me empty. I love DeLillo, but I could have missed these stories without any real loss. Too bad.

Pronto   Elmore Leonard
Entertaining 1993 novel introducing U. S. Marshall Raylan Givens. Miami mobsters, a bookie, girlfriends, and even Ezra Pound. Leonard’s strength is his characters and dialogue, and both are well done here. Quick, kind of fun, but a little light. Soderbergh could make a good movie from it.

The Affair   Lee Child
Very entertaining latest installment of the Reacher novels. This one goes back to the events that led to Reacher being involuntarily separated from the Army. As usual, crisp, quick prose, involved fast-paced narrative, violence, intelligence, and even some sex this time. As I said, very entertaining.

Parley P. Pratt: The Apostle Paul of Mormonism   Terryl L. Givens and Matthew J. Grow
Excellent, well-written biography/history of Parley that effectively makes the case for the claim in the title. Gave me a different, more realistic, and less flattering view of him. Amazing that he, and his brother Orson, could produce the works of theology they did with so little education. Most interesting point for me was that Joseph Smith actually used ideas that Parley originated. Also, seemed to me that Brigham wanted Parley out of his hair, so that’s why he was always on missions. Saddened by the resulting, constant poverty of his family and his lurid, tragic murder.

Reamde   Neal Stephenson
A 1000-page novel about terrorists, a virus infecting an MMORPG, and the many characters who get involved tracking both as they converge. Disappointingly slim characterizations, especially in a novel of this length, and far too much unimportant detail. But it reads well, and I was interested. Clumsy ending as if the editor finally said, “that’s enough, wrap it up.” Enjoyed it, but I wish it hadn’t cost $35.

The Kirtland Economy Revisited: A Market Critique of Sectarian Economics   Marvin S. Hill, C. Keith Rooker, and Larry T. Wimmer
An outstanding monograph covering the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society Anti-banking Company that caused so many problems in Mormon Kirtland and undermined Joseph Smith’s role as prophet. While it is extremely scholarly, well-reasoned, and very thorough, it is also a little too apologetic of Joseph, but extremely valuable historically nonetheless.

Read only 38 books in 2011, far less than my goal of 1 each week. Very disappointing even though, or maybe because, it reflects the disappointing year in general.

Sunset Park   Paul Auster
A beautifully written and deeply interesting novel about four people squatting in an abandoned house in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. Very interesting characters, but the narrative just ends as if artificially truncated for some reason. As a result, deeply unsatisfying. Wish I had a better sense of what happens to these people that I grew to care so much for.